Joan Hon's reply to her ex-colleague Catherine Lim

[Papsmearer]

Good example of insular thinking, all of them. They mixed with each other, reinforce each other's biases and prejudices, share the same scales over their eyes, sought comfort in each other's jaundiced views.

Catherine Lim was making a fair comment on the politics of the man and not his personal life. Why get so sensitive? Even if she was, all's fair in love as in war, and in politics too.

How do you think Chia Thye Poh's and Lim Hock Siew's families feel when they missed their men in the centre of family life for over a generation, until the children cannot recognise them? Does Joan think that only the Hons and the Lees of this world are only entitled to compassion, sympathy, family warmth, comfort, and love?

Recall what LKY said acc to Devan Nair? He wanted JBJ to crawl on his knees and beg for his mercy. Right, LKY is such a harmless kindly father who couldnt hurt a fly. What he should have learnt from history of emperors and kings is that if you live long enough to become feeble and weak and unable to defend yrself, that's when yr enemies will come out and stick their knives into you. That is Machiavelli 101.

Idiot!

This bitch forgot Old Goat was in parliament waving Devan's private medical files around and calling him a drunkard and a wife beater. Anyway, if daddy dearest was still alive, he would have forbade Han May from having anything to do with old goat after the so call marxist conspiracy bullshit.

 

[scroobal]

I too wondered about the Hons for decades and how they reconciled with the practices of the old man. Nicest family that ever lived. ever flaunted their wealth, dressed decently, no airs, mixed freely and she taught until she retired. Catholics from cradle to grave. I can't help but think that she chose to blank out the excesses. Ben if you note never touched home affairs but just concentrated on finance and the economy. Interestingly I see a parallel to what Tharman seem to do and live by.

I always wondered about Joan's relationship with her father and her father's relationship with his own family. I respected Hon Sui Sen, I think he is a genuine person, and I wish there were more of him in Cabinet at that time. I know Hon and his wife were fervent catholics. I always wonder why he never goes to church with the family. he usually went to a small chapel in Changi Point by himself, with 1 bodyguard. Judging by what han may is saying, how they were close and all that, I would have thought sunday mass would be a family affair. Anyway, Han May is seriously mistaken about Uncle Lee. All I can say is that if her father had lived another 4 years, he would have seen Operation Spectrum, and i believe he would have gone into direct confrontation with Old Goat over this. Hon Sui Sen would have resigned and told his family that old goat was a devious lying piece of shit over the way he prosecuted these so call marxist conspirators. I wonder than how Han May would have perceived old goat. I doubt if she would have even attended Gecko's funeral.

 

[Papsmearer]

I too wondered about the Hons for decades and how they reconciled with the practices of the old man. Nicest family that ever lived. ever flaunted their wealth, dressed decently, no airs, mixed freely and she taught until she retired. Catholics from cradle to grave. I can't help but think that she chose to blank out the excesses. Ben if you note never touched home affairs but just concentrated on finance and the economy. Interestingly I see a parallel to what Tharman seem to do and live by.

I am sorry, I don't see the parallel whatsoever. Sui Sen would never have been comfortable with the set up of Temasek, Ho Jinx in charge and losing all the money, Old Goat in charge of GIC, etc. Too many naked conflicts of interest. Even worse, once Old Goat went after the catholics in Operation Spectrum, If Sui Sen was still in office he would not have been able to turn a blind eye. Tharm on the other hand does not even investigate or audit Temasek after all those loses, and conflict of interest. Tharm is definitely more of an ass kisser, and knows which side of his bread the butter is on. Sui Sen is much more so the honourable man, he would have resigned rather than cover up these things.

 

[lockeliberal]

dear PAP

Sui Sen like GKS would have been ok with the setting up of both Temasek and GIC. they existed in some form during his and GKS time and were a direct result of their successes. The management structure would be different but e basic structure the same


Locke

I am sorry, I don't see the parallel whatsoever. Sui Sen would never have been comfortable with the set up of Temasek, Ho Jinx in charge and losing all the money, Old Goat in charge of GIC, etc. Too many naked conflicts of interest. Even worse, once Old Goat went after the catholics in Operation Spectrum, If Sui Sen was still in office he would not have been able to turn a blind eye. Tharm on the other hand does not even investigate or audit Temasek after all those loses, and conflict of interest. Tharm is definitely more of an ass kisser, and knows which side of his bread the butter is on. Sui Sen is much more so the honourable man, he would have resigned rather than cover up these things.

 

[Papsmearer]

dear PAP

Sui Sen like GKS would have been ok with the setting up of both Temasek and GIC. they existed in some form during his and GKS time and were a direct result of their successes. The management structure would be different but e basic structure the same


Locke

I don't mean the setting up of Temasek. I meant the set up it has right now. i.e. Wife as CEO, Kwas as Director, lose money so easily with no accountability, etc.

 

[scroobal]

The original name of Temasek is ShengLi Holdings which GKS started. It was owned by Minister of Finance. In those days, it wasn't dabbling in investments but germinating business and keeping the cost of defence down by doing many of things within Singapore such as armaments, servicing including food supplies. The whole thing changed when Ho Ching took over. It became a fund and her hobby. It started going into high stakes including the Thai Shinawatra disaster, Global Crossing and many others. None of this has seen daylight in terms of accountability in the public eye.

The single biggest stigma is that she is the wife of LHL. She did not get this gig or any material gig despite being a scholar until after the marriage. Ask anyone in the establishment and they will tell that if she had not married LHL, they are pretty sure that she won't be close to this by any measure.

Dhanabalan was the original proxy for recommending her just as Rajaratnam for recommending LHL into cabinet even though his ministry never ever was in the same orbit as the LHL.

If he trulys want to signal a change, he would remove his wife and father from both funds. Unfortunately the Ah Soh and Ah Peks of Singapore have no clue what Global Crossing or micropolis is. If Mother Theresa ran Singapore Technologies, she would have been sacked for micropolis.

I am sorry, I don't see the parallel whatsoever. Sui Sen would never have been comfortable with the set up of Temasek, Ho Jinx in charge and losing all the money, Old Goat in charge of GIC, etc. Too many naked conflicts of interest. Even worse, once Old Goat went after the catholics in Operation Spectrum, If Sui Sen was still in office he would not have been able to turn a blind eye. Tharm on the other hand does not even investigate or audit Temasek after all those loses, and conflict of interest. Tharm is definitely more of an ass kisser, and knows which side of his bread the butter is on. Sui Sen is much more so the honourable man, he would have resigned rather than cover up these things.

 

[KuanTi01]

2 intellectual heavyweights locking horns but where's the bone of contention? The implication is quite clear-that Catherine Lim is just being unfair; petty & personal without the benefit of getting close to the Lees & knowing that they are actually gems and models of gentlemanly behaviour; humility & forgiveness. Joan Hon thinks she is therefore much more qualified and well-placed to comment about the Lees because she knows them personally & they are not as bad as Catherine Lim has made them out to be, wittingly or unwittingly. So she felt exasperated! Rightly so since she has shown how very devoted & impressed she is with the Lees. Catherine is commenting from the macro perspective of Lee-style politics. A bird's eye view if you like! I don't think there is a need to micro-analyse or score little brownie ponts! As far as my own 2 cents worth is concerned before I go back into the shadows myself, it is Catherine-1 Joan-0.