TR EMERITUS

In May 2014, PM Lee Hsien Loong sued Roy Ngerng for defamation over an article titled “Where your CPF Money is Going: Learning from the City Harvest Trial”. Roy’s removal of the article and offer of $5000 in settlement were rejected. PM Lee then made an application for summary judgement against Roy. That application was fixed for hearing behind closed doors on 19 September 2014. Sensing Roy's anxiety and feeling of loss at the impending hearing, friends and acquaintances gathered at Hong Lim Park two evenings earlier to show their solidarity with him. It was an occasion when hundreds of candles were lit throughout the night as an expression of hope - hope that somehow everything will turn out well. . In this video which was posted by Mr Wang Ruirong the following day, we remember that weekend, more than six years ago. when Roy’s life was turned upside down. Roy was subsequently found liable for defamation and ordered to pay $100,000 general damages plus $50,000 aggravated damages. He has been paying $100 a month for the past five years. From this month, he will have to pay $1000 a month until the balance of the judgement debt which amounts to $144,000 is paid. This will take 12 years. Fortunately, people have already donated more than $45,000 to help Roy discharge the debt. Hopefully, all will be well soon because Singaporeans are generous. We will right the wrong done to Roy, lift his burden and that of his family by paying this humongous debt. If you would like to help Roy, here are the details:  POSB Savings Account Number (Singapore) – 130-23068-7 (Ngerng Yi Ling)  PayNow (Singapore): S8113784F  PayPal – [email protected]  E.Sun Bank(玉W銀行) Bank Code 銀行代碼: 808 (Taiwan) – Account Number 存戶帳號: 0886-968-170270   Teo Soh Lung      Read More →

It must be hard for Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat to announce that he is not going to be Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s successor. At GE2020, Singaporeans were as surprised as Heng on Nomination Day when he was moved from Tampines GRC to East Coast GRC. By then, it was clear to him that his days in People’s Action Party (PAP) were numbered. Heng is a typical public servant, one who will work diligently and stay out of trouble type. He was simply too honest and competent to be just another “soulless” politician for the 4G (4th Generation) PAP. On matters of economic, finance and public policy, it is clear that Heng is competent, unlike many of his 4G PAP politicians, who are outright incompetent and arrogant. Nobody in their right mind will argue otherwise. As such, Singaporeans were generally not sold when Heng tried using his age as an excuse to justify why he is stepping down. This and other justifications by the PAP can be seen as a “managed” public relation exercise at best and begets the question, why? Did he simply get tired of waiting for Lee to step down or has he lost faith in his 4G peers and their politicking? A Divided PAP: Until Lee step down and hand over his premiership, there will be some degree of power struggle within the PAP, and with unlimited access of money, internal politicking within the current 4G PAP is to be expected. Using a broad stroke, the 4G PAP can be divided between the ex-generals at one end and those from the private and public sectors at the other end, with a few strays in the middle. Heng is obviously at the opposite end to the ex-generals. If competent politicians like Heng are busy working to earn their keeps, one does wonder what will be the main preoccupation of those incompetent politicians. Concerned Singaporeans have already initiated petitions against Chan Chun Sing, an ex-general, as they do not see him fit to be the replacement for Heng. Chan is looking like he may just be the most hated politician of the 4G PAP, and based on the endless comments online, there are several valid reasons raised that Lee ought to consider seriously if he values honest feedbacks from concerned Singaporeans. More Than Meets The Eye? When Heng claimed that he will not take on any job if he cannot do it well, it opens up the probability that there may be some “undue” constraints than meet the eye, and his stepping down may be his way of adverting any failure on his part to do what is right and good for Singapore. Is that why Heng is relinquishing his portfolio as Finance Minister because he think his recent budget could be more pro-Singaporean rather than pro-GLCs? Successor Of Successor: In itself, such a scenario has low traction but when the sudden talk of a need to have a longer runway, and his excuse of age is to be reinterpreted, then these statements collectively may be a hint that Lee may be already grooming someone much younger to be the successor of his successor. If so, then the immediate successor to Lee may just be an interim maneuver to prepare the stage for someone who Lee thinks is going to lead Singapore into greater greatness, just like his father, the late Lee Kuan Yew. Is this even remotely possible? If so, then this “successor of successor” must be someone with exceptional intelligence and must have greatly impressed Lee. If there is indeed such a great talent concealed within the PAP, then this person is most probably in his thirties or near forty. I use “his” as PAP is too conservative a party to be pushing for a female prime minister now or in the foreseeable future. That means none of the hopefuls currently in waiting to succeed Heng, could be this highly prized successor of Lee. So who could this be? If the stage is indeed being set for the possibility of such a “successor of successor”, then Lee is likely to pick a weak immediate successor for obvious reasons. If this remote possibility should come true, then Lee may just ignore the petitions of concerned Singaporeans and pick Chan instead as his immediate successor so that this future successor will have a much easier time when he finally takes over from Chan. But if all these were to be even remotely possible, then Lee must be applauded for being shrewd enough to be strategising such an elaborate plan that literally kills two birds with one stone. If true, then it is obvious that Lee has been pretty busy putting together a new game plan for the next General Election and is confident about winning big. Otherwise, all such painstaking efforts of his may just go to waste if he falters at the next GE. Reality Check – More Pressing Matters At Hand: Whatever the reason that prompted Heng to resign or however great a succession plan Lee may have, l hope he and the many hopeful “premier-in-waiting” have not forgotten that Singapore is still caught in a precarious economic crisis. Singapore and Singaporeans are too hard-pressed socially and economically to be overly concerned about PAP’s failed succession plan or who is going to succeed Heng as ultimately, only Lee, and Lee alone, gets to decide on that. As such, Lee and his 4G politicians should set aside any grand plan for now and dedicate all of their efforts and resources to help Singapore forward if they still believe that Singaporeans deserve better…   Joseph Nathan      Read More →

Forget the announcement on Heng Swee Keat giving up on his chance of becoming our next Prime Minister. It was a big 'wayang' on TV, and the official press release can't be any better. Use any metaphor you wish – thrown under the bus, the night of the long knives... It didn't happen last night, or last week. The first stab took place nine months ago on Nomination Day when he was suddenly told to move and helm East Coast GRC from his comfortable perch in Tampines. The last-minute move took him by surprise. He had prepared an impressive Tampines Development Plan to share with voters there. His move to East Coast left him with nothing to say... and he started blabbering about a (non-existent) East Coast Plan, bereft of details. One possibility is that he was “punished” for a serious oversight in leaving East Coast GRC relatively undefended, without an anchor minister in its slate of candidates. By comparison, Tampines GRC was helmed by him and another full minister, Masagos Zulkifli. There may have been other reasons, not the least of which is possible disaffection among the PAP rank-and-file. There were a number of defections of members and cadres to Dr Tan Cheng Bock's Progress Singapore Party (PSP). In any case, I will leave it to future historians to unveil the mystery of what really happened. And as the key architect for the PAP's campaign for GE2020, he may have been blamed for the PAP losing almost 10 percent of its total vote share. Personally, I never thought Heng would make the cut as PM, never mind what his colleagues tell us. By his demeanor, he's too nice a chap to make the nasty decisions a PM would have to make. His blabbering during his Nomination Day speech betrayed his inability to handle a stressful situation. Nor could his nearest rival, Chan Chun Seng. Also a nice chap by his demeanor, a sleep-deprived Chan went on public record as saying cotton wool comes from sheep, earning the derision of netizens. In recent weeks, Chan has been working hard to repair his image with credible statements as Minister for Trade & Industry. But with Heng stepping aside, I'm not holding my breath that the crown would pass on to Chan. So, who's next in line? Heng's downfall (sorry, I mean “stepping aside”) may have been the result of a power struggle, an 'Ides of March' event in our own halls of power. Beneath the veneer of 4G team camaraderie may be competing power centers. I see two such centers, and they may be more serious contenders than Heng and Chan combined. In one corner is Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung. Before entering politics, he was Chief Executive of the (now-defunct) Workforce Development Agency (WDA). I had the privilege of seeing him in action up close, when I was a Board Member at WDA. He has a good head on his shoulders, very strong analytical skills and good management and leadership capabilities. He was also a Principal Private Secretary to PM Lee Hsien Loong before that. He was probably handpicked by the PM, despite his father being a former MP under the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis. In the other corner is Education Minister Lawrence Wong. I don't know much about him, but he is occupying the Education portfolio which was previously held by Ong Ye Kung. Some people achieve greatness; others have greatness thrust upon them. Wong must be among the latter. If not greatness, Wong has become one of the most visible ministers in 2020. As co-chairman of the joint task force on COVID-19, he helmed the daily press updates on the pandemic. He effectively overshadowed his co-chairman, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. During these updates, he came across as confident and assertive. And he even showed a passionate side to him when he broke down before the TV cameras when talking about the sacrifices of our frontline workers. Even if it was a wayang, I think he succeeded in endearing himself to the people. In a surprise development, Wong chaired the PAP press conference to analyze the GE2020 election results, a task usually performed by the PM himself. I had asked then: “Is he the bearer of bad tidings, or is he The Anointed One?” Maybe we'll find out soon enough, though not for the next few months. In that time, expect more contestation among the 4G leadership. A lot of it will be behind closed doors. A bit more will be gleaned from the speeches of the key players. Who will eventually emerge as the Top Dog? Let's find out together...   Abdul Rahman      Read More →