Edmund Tee

Before I start in earnest, I hope everybody recognizes that despite everything that the incumbent has done to stack the odds in its favour, I am grateful that we have an electoral system that actually leads to a result which the incumbent is mightily upset about. I ask that Singaporeans not lose sight of that.

Now, the most recent salvo that got my goat was from what some might consider the George Washington of Singapore (only without a wig, although he might want to consider donning one):

“You believe the Workers’ Party is in Parliament to help the good of Singaporeans or to oppose the PAP?” – Lee Kuan Yew, May 9, 2011.

I read that statement and did a double take. Does it really have to be both? I mean, one could pose this following question, which would be every bit as valid:

“You believe the PAP is in Parliament and Government to help the good of Singaporeans, or to make a decent living?”

To which my response would be, both! If they do the former well (and they do), they deserve the latter.

My thoughts are that by being in Parliament, and providing responsible, intelligent debate to what the PAP proposes, the Worker’s Party is furthering the good of Singaporeans by opposing the PAP where needed.  That was why I voted for Nicole Seah, whom I think needs to join the WP or contest solo in an SMC, and I think that was why the many brave souls of Hougang and Aljunied put their trust in Low Thia Khiang and his team.

Now, to be clear, while I am generally pro-opposition, Mr Lee has a special place in my heart. Kind of like a grand-uncle you grew up loving and respecting, but then as one got older and developed one’s own ideas, start to find him a tad annoying.

Mr Lee is one of the founding fathers of the country, and he did what he felt he needed to do to get the job done, including crushing his political adversaries. Ok, yes, so he is unlike George Washington in more ways than not having a wig.

Nevertheless, I am still awed by what he and his generation has achieved, and they deserve my respect. Without them, and without what Singapore has achieved, I would not have been able to start a new chapter of my life in the US with my family, at least not as easily as if I had been a citizen of any other Southeast Asia country.

Going back to the grand-uncle metaphor, well, it can still be vexing to have one that keeps reminding you that you must be grateful, that you must show respect, and that you must always remember his track record. And that, yes, do not forget that he and his family deserve everything in the world given what they have done (don’t forget, in this metaphor, the man is only our grand-uncle, and we are just distant relatives).

These admonitions eventually become tiresome, and even rings hollow when one sees how the Uber Grand-Uncle’s progeny simply fail to measure up to him. The second generation leaders acquitted themselves fairly well, but by the time the third and fourth generation came into being, we started getting individuals who lack the same substance that the grand-uncle had, who behave with an air of arrogance, and who come with a sense of entitlement at the expense of the members of the extended family.

People are upset about “once in every 50 year” floods that occur twice in 6 months; ninja terrorists limp out of our version of Gitmo and actually escape the country; foreigners are brought into Singapore without the infrastructure being ready for them; ministers get salaries that make their peers in other countries look like volunteer workers. And so forth.

Mistakes get made. Things go wrong. That’s part of life, and part of learning. We tell our kids it is OK to make mistakes, so we should extend the same consideration to the people we choose to work for us (yes, MPs and Ministers work FOR us). But until forced to by the opposition in recent days, the incumbent party has rarely felt the need to account and apologize for its missteps, or to entertain sustained objections to policy that the rest of us disagree with.

I am heartened that we now have six MPs from the WP. I would love to have seen Vincent Wijeysingha and Nicole in Parliament too for their incisive wit and intelligence, and also Chiam See Tong given how hard he has carried the burden of being in opposition for so long.

Mr Lee will always be one of the founders of Singapore, and when he passes, I will mourn the loss of a great man, and an even greater leader. What I will not miss, however, are his admonitions and threats.

It is time for us all to grow up and write a new chapter for Singapore – the younger PAP members, the opposition, and especially the rest of us who hire, and maybe fire, them.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Gratefulness has nothing to do with it

This is a letter from a TOC reader. G Hui/ I would…

马共总书记陈平终于“回家” 巫统放软姿态:“尊重家属决定”

离开马来西亚超过半世纪,2013年9月16日在泰国合艾去世,马共总书记陈平生前遗愿是回到老家拜祭父母,致离世都无法如愿。 不过在一众老战友的安排下,成功在今年9月16日,把陈平的骨灰,送返马国霹雳州实兆远的老家。 据马国媒体报导,陈平亲属早在去年就委托陈平生前的老战友,组成“陈平亲朋好友及同志骨灰处理工作组”,安排把陈平骨灰运回马国。但为了避免引起争端,此前才未有张扬,行程保密。 该工作组负责人蔡建福,在昨日召开新闻发布会公布陈平骨灰“已回家”的消息。除了携带陈平骨灰到老家合照留恋,也前往红土坎本律华人义山,让陈平得以在祖坟前“拜祭”父母及兄嫂。 之后,他们带着陈平骨灰,乘船前往红土坎码头与邦咯岛之间的海域,将部分骨灰撒入大海;两日后将剩余骨灰撒到位于和丰的蒂蒂旺沙山脉山脚下,完成陈平的遗愿。 据了解,马国前朝政府国阵最大盟党巫统,在失去政权后也对陈平骨灰返马一事态度放缓;该党总秘书丹斯里安努亚慕沙指出,在宗教角度上,巫统尊重陈平亲友将陈平的骨灰运返马的决定。 “我们针对的是活人,不管是陈平或任何人,既然已经去世,那么我们应尊重家属要做的任何事,只要不违反法律。” 陈平原名王文华,17岁时加入马来西亚共产党,以在第二次世界大战时进行反英殖民斗争,过后则在日军侵略时,反过来获得英国的协助,对抗日军。 遭前朝政府内长拒绝 24岁时,陈平受委为马共总书记,并在1955年华玲谈判破裂后,走入马泰边境的森林。 自1989签署年《合艾和平协议》,渴望返回老家实兆远的陈平是第一个向马国政府申请回国的马共领袖。但却遭到拒绝,直至2013年离开人世都无法如愿以偿。 尽管此后陈平家属和老战友,都试图将其骨灰运返马国,却遭到时任马国国阵政府内政部长阿末扎希拒绝。当时他提出的理由,是考量到那些过往与马共战斗、或受害者家属的后代情绪。

绿色和平组织轰印尼政府执法不力 导致林火问题延续

印尼森林山火危机仍在持续,甚至严重影响当地生态与各国,印尼绿色和平组织(Greenpeace Indonesia)抨击,尽管事态严重,但自2015年至2018年,10家涉及焚烧大片森林的油棕公司并未受到行政或民事制裁。 此外,印尼政府也不曾因森林山火而吊销任何公司的油棕种植许可证。 “自2015年起,印尼政府本就应将遏制森林火灾再度发生作为首要工作,但实际上的结果显示,他们在打击这些企业上,只有空泛的承诺与出尔反尔的执法行动,所以吁请总统佐科威,马上撤销所有制造火灾的公司的许可证”,印度尼西亚绿色和平组织森林倡议人员陶菲克(Kiki Taufik)说。 绿色和平组织根据官方记录进行分析,发现在2015至2018年期间,逾340万公顷的土地被烧毁。 政府声称要应对火灾的同时还要兼顾执法,实属困难,但显然分析结果明显与政府所说有所差距。目前烟霾已经在过去两周内影响了邻国。 “为何造成严重火灾的10家企业,没有一家受到总统佐科威的严惩?为什么要豁免这些造成严重灾害的公司?很不幸的是,是因为政府并不重视执法,这也是为什么火灾会再度燃烧起来”, 陶菲克表示。 另外,绿色和平组织早前也揭露,因非法采伐与造成森林火灾的公司,尽管被政府向民事法庭起诉后,却没有一家偿还过罚款,截至今日,其欠款总额已高达12亿美元。 印尼森林山火不仅仅是普通火灾,更是对无论是生态、健康还是经济都有着重大影响。世界银行曾估算,2015年的森林山火已造成印尼损失160亿美元,其中来自各方面如林业、农业、旅游业以及其他行业的亏损。另外,烟霾导致数十万人患上呼吸道与其他疾病,据悉,可能带来逾10万人过早死亡。 在生态方面,因烟霾制造了每日1130万吨碳排放量到大气层中,其数字甚过整个欧洲联盟的碳排放量。…

反对调高消费税 毕丹星:公开数据,让百姓评断该不该涨

在上周参与国会2020财案辩论时,工人党秘书长毕丹星重申该党反对调涨消费税的立场,并呼吁政府应更透明地公开财政数字。 毕丹星在致词中也申诉,过去之所以该党都在质询储备金的数额,乃是为了能探讨储备如何更好地改善低收入国民的处境。但在上一次财案,王瑞杰对为什么不能披露储备金,做了冗长答复。 他当时以《商业时报》的一篇报导,引述人民希望对储备金有更广泛的讨论。他认为这种要求更多透明度的呼声,未来几年都还会延续下去。更何况这也与官方“群策群力,共创未来”的精神相呼应,由国人担起责任,共同探索财政解决方案。 毕丹星重申,消费税时会直接冲击中低收入百姓、甚至那些退休、乐龄人士的税赋。 回溯2018年,工人党在国会调涨消费税,正是因为缺乏有关其他替代收入来源的信息。财长曾表示,一个人未必需要掌握所有信息才能作出决定。但是,今年财案的声明和明年不调高消费税的决定,很显然政府仍需依靠预估收入与指出才能做出判断。 “政府会公开这些预估(数据),好让新加坡老百姓也能批判地判断,到底有没有调涨消费税的必要?” 他说,相信这种开放资讯,有助对我国财政权衡课题有更实质性的对话和理解。 不公开储备金是为保护国家 去年2月,在国会总结2019财案辩论时,王瑞杰指出这些储备可作为战略防御,阻止那些有心破坏新加坡和新加坡利益的群体。此举能够预防犹如货币投机或其他类似的攻击。 当时毕丹星同样也询问有关新加坡储备金的数据,以便人们能够更清楚了解预算案的政策权衡时,王瑞杰表示他“被误导了”。 “我们的储备金,包括新加坡金融管理局(MAS)、新加坡政府投资公司(GIC),以及淡马锡控股公司的资产。金融管理局和淡马锡控股的规模是公共资讯,只有政府投资公司的部分没有透露,那是因为一旦有了相关的数据,我国的储备金基本一览无遗。”