Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member Lee Hsien Yang on Monday (29 June) urged Singaporeans to make their votes count in this “COVID-19 election”, adding that the election is an opportunity for them to “end the status quo of the supermajority”.
In a Facebook video today, Mr Lee pointed out that “conflicts of interest are rampant throughout the Government” as the People Action Party (PAP) leaders are “very closely associated” with key persons from the Temasek, the Auditor-general, the Attorney-general, and others.
“There is so much ‘ownself check ownself’,” said the younger brother of the PAP’s Secretary-General Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Lee indicated the PAP only consists of “narrow groupthink”, with “lacking rigour in discussion and debate on policies” that could shape the country. He added that Singapore has “suffered greatly” because of the PAP, and now the people are angry.
“The PAP is no longer listening. The PAP vision of meritocracy has become a fiction. Instead of space to grow and prosper, our citizens are slowly suffocating from fear and stress.
“Singapore has become a country where we have very little say in how we live. There is little space in Singapore to be what we want to be, to say what we want to say, to grow, to prosper,” he asserted.
According to him, many Singaporeans feel they are “running a rat race in a maze” created by the ruling party, who decides the winners. The chosen few will get a “nice big slice of cake”, while others – who are not scholars, generals, or privileged – will only get “crumbs”.
“In this maze, the PAP government of today can create dead-ends, move walls, close off the exits,” he remarked.
Mr Lee explained that the ruling party can silence those who disagree with them by using the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) and defamation suits. It can also retain an outdated discriminatory law and prosecute an individual for an illegal public assembly.
“Indeed, during COVID-19, it is investigating 2 young persons who separately stood up in public on concerns about climate change,” he stated.
Besides that, Mr Lee pointed out that the PAP is capable of “crushing HDB owners’ dreams”, keep the Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings, and increase the GST to raise revenue for the Government, who posses “undisclosed billions in secret reserves”.
Referring to the former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s call for the election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PSP member said that the PAP can even risk the health of Singaporeans by prioritizing politics over lives, and dismiss the risk of transmission in the migrant worker dormitories.
“When decisions produce poor results, the Government can selectively use statistics and surveys designed to trivialise our fears, and imply that our concerns are unfounded. It can baldly tell us, ‘In Singapore, no one will be left to walk his journey alone’,” he added.
In fact, the PAP can amend the Constitution and deny Singaporeans’ rights to elect the president of the country due to its “overwhelming majority of seats in Parliament”.
Citing the former Prime Minister’s quote in 2004, he noted that Mr Lee Hsien Loong has failed to keep his word to ensure “an open and inclusive Singapore”.
“Singapore should not be a maze where people are denied a say in how the country’s riches are shared, where those who struggle and sacrifice every day have no voice,” Mr Lee added.
Thus, he urged Singaporeans to vote for a change in the coming election and “not for the past PAP glories”. He noted that this coming election would give Singaporeans an opportunity to “end the status quo of the supermajority”.
“In this COVID-19 election, the people of Singapore must seek accountability. We must vote for change. We must create a first-world parliament to strengthen the DNA of collective leadership in Singapore.
“Make your vote in this COVID-19 election count. Choose a Singapore where the daily struggle and sacrifice pays off for all, not just for the ‘natural aristocracy’,” Mr Lee asserted.
Noting that there are many other candidates from the alternative parties who have the potential to “build a better Singapore”, he believes some of the candidates that he met can bring the diversity that Singapore “desperately need”.
“For Singapore’s future, this has become an imperative. We must vote to end the supermajority. Singapore wants different,” Mr Lee concluded his video.
