By “Perhaps the Multi Ministry Task Force should have been led by an infectious disease specialist, or at least a doctor instead of being driven by politicians,” said PSP’s Lee Hsien Yang on his Facebook page on Friday (3 July).
In Mr Lee’s Facebook post, the son of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew noted that the Vice President of Taiwan is a “Johns Hokins-trained epidemiologist and an expert in viruses”, who led the fight against COVID-19 there.
“Taiwan avoided a lockdown, the disruption to people’s lives, and the massive attendant economic fallout as a result,” said Mr Lee.
Mr Lee also mentioned the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman Dr Paul Tambyah, who is contesting at Bukit Panjang SMC, highlighting his credentials as the incoming president of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases (ISID).
He also shared an article of Dr Tambyah speaking at the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS) Pre-General Election Forum 2020. It was reported that Dr Tambyah, who is also an internationally recognised infectious diseases expert, praised the country’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he said that “all hell broke loose” in March with incoming cases from returning travellers and massive outbreaks at migrant worker dormitories.
“I have an opinion as to why that happened, I don’t know for sure. But you know that was the time they started talking about an early election. And you wonder whether the ministerial committee lost their focus on the public health and started thinking about the election,” said Dr Tambyah.