On Thursday (28 February), TODAYonline published a rather confusing article titled “Strong core of S’porean academics needed to ask ‘critical questions’: NMP”.
The article basically talks about how Singaporean academics continue to face obstacles when they are studying issues that affect the country. This was a concern that was brought to attention by Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), who said that in order to have a strong core of Singaporean academics, the Government needs to be more transparent in sharing official information and data, as well as be more accepting of research results that go against the official narratives or policies.
However, the article had a perplexing Introduction paragraph that indicated that the current People’s Action Party (PAP) government may be voted out in the upcoming election.
The paragraph:
“There needs to be a strong core of Singaporean academics to keep the country on the right path if a time comes when the government of the day has less integrity and ability, or is not in power at all.”
Now, this seems like an odd line as how can the “government of the day” (or administration) be out of power (office)? By definition, the “government of the day” has to be in power.
So, is TODAYonline indicating that the “government of the day” can be voted out? Or is it a typo or a subtle attempt to affect the subconscious of the readers?
