by Augustine Low
Yesterday Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned of dangerous and troubled times.
He told Singaporeans that “we must, therefore, be prepared for more shocks that can severely disrupt the world and our region, and surely Singapore.”
They have been ramping up such talk of Singapore facing danger and trouble.
Just a month ago at the May Day Rally, DPM Wong highlighted “the increasingly dangerous and troubled world we live in.”
A couple of weeks before the rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had already said in Parliament that the world has “turned much more troubling, even dangerous.” He sketched out a scenario of three major geopolitical storms that threaten to make things difficult for Singapore.
Singaporeans are a pragmatic bunch. We know that not everything is peace and bliss in this world.
But for the government to keep harping on danger, trouble and storms is going way over the top.
Is there any other government that persists in painting such a gloomy, dreadful picture to its citizens?
What makes it even more galling is that after playing doomsayer, they then turn cheerleader.
DPM Wong said at the recent May Day Rally: “So despite the dark clouds around us, I say: never fear, and never lose heart. Singapore may be small. But this little red dot is shining brighter than ever.”
It was exactly the same with PM Lee only days before in Parliament.
After talking at length about multiple storms, he said: “We may be a small island state, but we are not a small people, and neither are our hearts nor our aspirations. Let us think boldly, aim high, and seek far.”
Are they playing games?
One minute, they exude enough pessimism to make us worry and despair, next minute they tell us to be bright and cheery.
After so many years, we get it. Impossible not to.
All they are saying is that the people are always better off with the People’s Action Party (PAP) government. Have no fear, the PAP is here. When storms hit, take shelter with the PAP.
The presidential election is coming up soon. The general election may not be far off.
So we must be prepared to keep hearing of shocks, danger, trouble and storms. They been been doing this for more than 20 years.
Back in 2001, then Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo talked extensively about Singapore being at the receiving end of the “perfect storm” – the mother of all storms.
Since then, it’s been one storm after another.
At the 2010 May Day Rally, for example, PM Lee spoke of Singapore being “vulnerable to global storms.” “This is a dangerous world we live in, we try our best to avoid and steer around storms . . . ”
What he said back in 2010, is repeated almost exactly in 2023.
It shows a bankruptcy of ideas and messaging.
