That sounds exactly like PAP's tactic for many things in the past. The most recent thing that comes to mind is that Serangoon Gardens foreign workers dorm mess, where the government department under MBT stupidly decided to allow a dorm housing up to over 1,000 foreign workers to be set up in the midst of the residential estate. The residents only found out about the dorm after news of it was leaked out. And when the residents rightly voiced their objections, the MSM engineered a massive defence of the dorm, accusing the residents of being racist and xenophobic.
But note that PAP is not always successful with this shameful tactic. In the example above, the Serangoon Gardens residents got together to vote PAP out. Word out on the street is that PAP polled less than 25% in Serangoon Gardens, contributing significantly to PAP's loss of the Aljunied GRC. The last time I heard from some residents in Serangoon Gardens, the consensus on the ground is that it will take lots of effort for PAP to repair its EXTREMELY BAD reputation there, because the residents are still deeply angered and disgusted by the PAP.
Moral of the story? You can fool people most of the time, but not all of the time, because there is a limit.
Right now, it looks like all over Singapore, the citizens are waking up and realizing PAP's shameful tactics.
Singapore is now an island dotted with gambling dens, with hordes and hordes of China PRC free-lance prostitutes roaming freely among the HDB heartlands, malls, streets, all openly and in broad-day light. If the policies are not reversed, Singapore will become just another de facto province of China, if not already.
If PAP continues with such tactics, it better be prepared to be kicked out of office in GE 2016. Enough is enough. PAP's tactics might have worked on the older generation of Singaporeans, but the younger generation of Singaporeans are not as naive and daft as PAP thinks.
Clearly, a case of if you cannot convince the people to go along with you, obfuscate and switch to stealth mode, muzzle the MSM while cleaning the backsides, and then blitz them with a fait accompli and hoping that by Ge2016 the ends will justify the means.
Must be after severe advice from Old Man, as it is clearly a Machiavellian tactic. he has done it successfully for years.