by Lim Tean
When the Prime Minister and his two Deputy Prime Ministers have talked on an almost daily basis about the just concluded shambolic reserved Presidency, you know things must be bad for the People’s Action Party! Internal surveys have probably indicated a drastic drop in support for the PAP which they are trying desperately to reverse.
No amount of contrived reasoning put forward, ranging from the absolute necessity of the scheme to Ensure multiculturalism, to preventing terrorism ( the most absurd reason I have ever heard ) or the uprightness of the PAP in sacrificing political capital to maintain social harmony ( another baloney ) will ever convince Singaporeans of the righteousness of an evil scheme that has laid to waste 52 years of nation building. Everyone knew that this evil scheme was concocted by the Establishment to deprive Dr Tan Cheng Bock of the Presidency. So desperate were they to hold on to this lever of power that they were willing to sacrifice political capital to achieve it.
Singaporeans are not stupid. One only has to read social media to know the questions people are posing on why this dastardly scheme was introduced – what is there to hide ? What has happened to our CPF and why does the Government keep withholding people’s retirement funds, why was there no Commission of Inquiry called for the alleged abuse of power made by the Lee siblings ? Why are important positions in our Organs of State filled by people close to the ruling elite ?
All these are very pertinent questions and it is sad that today after 52 years of nation building and after Singapore had achieved a enviable record for being a multicultural and meritocratic society, these very base questions, more worthy of a 3rd world country, are being raised.
This reserved Presidency is the single most important political awakening for Singaporeans after half a century of nationhood. They have seen their political leaders and Establishment cynically manipulate the constitution in a bid to entrench their political power. They hated what they saw. They hated the way the Mainstream Media (MSM) acted as the mouthpiece of the Establishment with their spin on the scheme and no one bought their story. Many are celebrating the plunge in readership of the MSM, which they regard as the Purveyors of fake news, and instead turning to alternative news sites on social media. This trend will only accelerate.
For treating Singaporeans as fools, the PAP and the Establishment got their comeuppance in this disgraceful ” election “.
