Source: PM Lee Hsien Loong Facebook page.

by Yoong Siew Wah
Much has been said about the incompetence of drollish Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his mercenary ministers in handling the coronavirus, and now a second whammy in the form of a deep recession is going to descend on Singapore.
This is going to be a devastating disaster especially on the lower-income and poverty-stricken Singaporeans in trying to find where their next meal is coming from whilst the wealthy PM Lee Hsien Loong and his equally affluent ministers will be luxuriating in their livelihood.
The easiest solution is to dip into the reserves to help the impecunious Singaporeans but this is like taking the people’s money to help the people themselves. At least this will still show that they have some conscience in helping the people in their dire straits although with their own money.
This is like a sleight-of-hand with the people’s money and can make George Soros look like a novice.
The coronavirus is already making the PAP leaders look like a bunch of novices and with the advent of a deep recession will be so overwhelming that it would be a miracle if the People’s Action Party (PAP) charlatans can emerge unscathed. But the people can watch with amusement if they can withstand the severity of these two whammies.
Singaporeans can expect a long period of calamity occasioned by the coronavirus and the deep recession while the incompetent PAP leaders grapple with the intractable problems. There may be a general election in the midst of all this turbulence as a distraction of the people’s mind so that the PAP charlatans can get a new mandate from the people to govern for another five years. They are very likely to be returned because of the disunity of the opposition and the people will face another five years of PAP patriarchal rule.
I think the PAP leaders are gradually heeding the admonishments of discerning Singaporeans in dealing with the coronavirus and may a good sign that we may see a curbing of the spread of the virus. But it may be a long time, maybe until next year, before we may be able to see a cessation of the disease. I think that is the opinion of world experts and in the meantime, we will first have to bear with the torturous effect of the crisis.
America is the hardest-hit country by the coronavirus and President Donald Trump’s antics in dealing with the crisis is a reflection of his maverick character. We may be lucky in having a reasonably sane character like PM Lee Hsien Loong at the helm but whether his anointed successor Heng Swee Keat will be a more or less competent prime minster will be left to be seen.
* Mr Yoong Siew Wah was the Director of Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) from 1971 to 1974. He was Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the 1960s, and had a distinguished career in the Singapore Special Branch in the 1950s. Mr Yoong, who is in his late eighties, keeps a blog called Singapore Recalcitrant.

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