Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is certainly no stranger to social media. In fact, he regularly posts on his Facebook page. Just recently, Lee had uploaded a post about a family of seven otters visiting the Istana. While ostensibly cute, one might wonder if there is a subtle message ahead of the General Election in there?
After all, his wife, Ho Ching is no stranger to posting cryptic messages on her own Facebook page.
Lee does not reside in the Istana. It is the official residence of the President. For now therefore, it is the official residence of Madam Halimah Yacob. Founder of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP), Tan Cheng Bock was once interested in contesting the office of the presidency. However, close to the time of the presidential elections, the rules were amended which resulted in Tan being unable to contest.
This led to Yacob becoming President in a walkover. It is also noteworthy that the mascot of the PSP is the otter. Most recently, members of the PSP were also stopped for allegedly breaking social distancing rules
Is Lee sending a subtle message to Tan that he is but a playful visitor to the halls of power and that he is being watched closely? Is it also a dig at Tan’s party members apparently breaking safe distancing rules?
Looking at how the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) has possibly nabbed prime time slot to televise speeches that sound just like election speeches on the pretext of COVID-19, is it a surprise that every Facebook post could have a hidden message to up the PAP’s chances at the general elections?
Lee also uploaded another post in relation to the dissolution of Parliament ahead of the general election.
Among other things, he said “The road to recovery after COVID-19 will be one of Singapore’s greatest tests. To overcome the challenges ahead, we must stand completely united as one people. A general election now, when things are relatively stable, will clear the decks and give the Government a fresh five-year mandate. Then, we can focus on the agenda of recovery, and the difficult decisions that will have to be made.”
From this, it can be alluded that Lee is saying that to “stand completely united as one people” we need to give the current Government a fresh five-year mandate. This is completely untrue.
We can stand united as one people no matter who forms the Government. Singapore will stand as Singapore no matter which political party is in power. In any case, having more alternative politicians in power will lead to greater representation and better unity. What’s wrong with that? More alternative voices also means more checks and balances. That can only be a good thing.
To somehow muddy the waters between the PAP and the sovereignty of Singapore in a post calling for a dissolution of Parliament ahead of the general election is disingenuous.
Perhaps, when looking at Facebook posts of politicians, we need to read between the lines!
