The politics of non-accountability in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic

by Yoong Siew Wah
Is this the face of a selfless politician masquerading in the dedication of service to the people? Hard to convince when they enrich themselves by paying themselves millions of dollars from taxpayers’ money.
What is jangling the people’s mind right now is how much the Prime Minister’s wife is getting for helming the Temasek Holdings as CEO. Her appointment had actually raised some eyebrow as many people could not believe that she could qualify for the job if she were not the prime minister’s wife.
It will be a million dollar question if a candid answer could come from her selectors. It looked like a fait accompli foisted on the people which could only leave them flabbergasted. But a more sinister surprise awaited the public and they could not be more flabbergasted than the concealment of the arcane salary by the run-of-the-mill PAP Government that would be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
The people have never been so vociferous in their outcry for justice in demanding the Government of the drollish Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to be upfront in disclosing the arcane salary of his wife Ho Ching. They could be under the initial miscalculation that this demand could fizzle out in time but I think that the intensity of the vocal demand has rattled them and put them in a very untenable position which can continue indefinitely until there is a goodwill response from the Government.
With the general election on the horizon maybe it may have an auspicious effect of leveraging the political myopia of the Government to give a welcome acquiescence to the people’s demand. I think this will enhance the political standing of the PAP and is this really a great price to pay? The PAP leaders must show that they really have the interests of the people at heart.
It may not be out of place to give some adulation to the PAP Multi-Ministerial Task Force for showing some creditable imagination in their handling of the coronavirus pandemic with the circuit breaker measures notwithstanding the flaks that came from certain quarters.
I think it is not an accident that Taiwan is showered with accolades for their exemplary handling of the coronavirus pandemic and it would not be a lack of humility to take a leaf out of Taiwan’s book.
The world is changing and is changing rapidly and it would be matter of great regret if Singapore could not take the advantage of benefitting from the change.