TR EMERITUS

The dust has not yet settled. Is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong the greatest or merely one of the greatest hypocrites? He is retiring from his exalted position of premiership after 20 years, having amassed a colossal amount of wealth at the public’s expense—a situation that boggles the mind, considering he is supposed to be a representative of the people. For those who have forgotten, PM Lee approved the increase in ministerial pay in 2007, resulting in his pay increased to S$3.1 million. Although it subsequently dropped to S$2.2 million following public outcry and a poor showing in the General Election of 2011, he still remains the highest-paid prime minister in the world. Additionally, let’s also not forget that his wife, Ho Ching, was the CEO of the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek from 2004 to 2021, and likely received a substantial salary. And now, he is shedding crocodile tears for his wrongdoing. In his moment of compunction, if any, he regales the public with tales of his so-called past life-saving services to the deprived and downtrodden. Not a day passes without his moaning. Indeed, these so-called underprivileged citizens have benefited in some way from his largesse, but his body language reveals a glimmer of doubt—was this all in the form of altruism or merely a cover-up for avarice? This will require serious and insightful stimulation of the people’s minds. No doubt, he is trying to leave a legacy of human kindness. Can there be a more comical joker than Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean? People know he is subservient to PM Lee Hsien Loong for obvious reasons. For him to come out at this time to praise the character of PM Lee sky-high is something as rare as a black swan. What is he trying to prove? In what capacity does he consider himself a proper person to comment on PM Lee Hsien Loong’s hostile relationship with his siblings? Lawrence Wong is a Hobson’s choice for the prime ministership. Can you imagine Lawrence Wong playing the guitar when Singapore is in crisis? Singapore is blessed to have him as our next prime minister, and we now have to make the best of it. What is the prognosis for Singapore’s foreseeable future? There is hardly any potential talent in the opposition now or even in the future, and the continuity of the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) governance, though not palatable, seems to be an unbelievably foregone conclusion. God bless Singapore.   Yoong Siew Wah   * The author was the Director of Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) from 1971 to 1974. He was Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the 1960s. He runs a blog, Singapore Recalcitrant.    Read More →

Singaporeans will not become the minority in Singapore-DPM Wong, 9 May 24. The Straits Times online. With a fast aging population, pap government's total failure at tackling our plunging total fertility rate over the decades, immigration and new citizens (NCs) are all related issues and will greatly affect our population policies. I am comforted by DPM Wong's assurance but at the same time, I have big reservations. Let me explain. Let us have no illusion but be absolutely clear in our minds that our new citizens do not come from their original motherland to Singapore to make babies for us. Each and every single one of them must have thought through very, very deeply and very, very carefully and have done their sums before they finally surrender their original citizenship to embrace ours. Those school going ones and the economically active adults must salivate and worship our education systems and for economic reasons and opportunities that our country offers them and for the seniors, more likely for familial reasons etc. Every single one of them has his/her/their own reasons and agendas to become Singaporeans. Please pardon me but I am quite unconvinced about their absolute and total loyalty to Singapore, at least for the first generation of new citizens. The no need to serve National Service policy for those first generation male NCs screamed so loudly in my face! In order to effectively make up for the successive passing and the much under replacement level of native citizens, pap government must work doubly or even triple hard to give out more and more new citizenships to ensure that, in the words of DPM Wong, 'Singaporeans will not become a minority in Singapore'. There is no rocket science in it and the realisation is definitely not worth SGD 2 million. In the midst of all the noises and online postings about NCs and population policies etc, I feel that one key point is missing. I would appreciate it greatly if the manpower or the home affairs minister can share with Singaporeans just how many NCs surrender their Singapore passport in the first 3 years and subsequently in the first 10 years after they have got them. This will give us some idea of their so-called commitment and loyalty to our country Singapore. I will repeat a past suggestion. I welcome NCs and I acknowledge their usefulness and contributions to Singapore, however, since first generation male NCs need not perform National Service of any sort and I doubt if any meaningful numbers of them even volunteer to serve, all NCs should not be allowed to vote in our electoral elections in the first 5 years after obtaining their Singapore citizenship to avoid any undule influence over our domestic affairs and more importantly, our national elections. Nothing, no policy should ever be craved in stone. I believe that my suggestion is not an unreasonable one. Think.   Simon Lim    Read More →

Israeli tanks and fighter jets bombed eastern Rafah as last-minute ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas broke down in Cairo. Footage released by Israel's army shows soldiers entering Rafah and engaging in urban warfare. Israeli jets and attack drones also carried out airstrikes on the eastern part of Rafah as more than 100,000 Gazan civilians fled the besieged city. Though US president Joe Biden had threatened to halt some military sales to Israel if Netanyahu attacked Rafah, the Israeli leader appeared to dismiss the threat, saying Israel would "fight with fingernails" if necessary. Can Israel beat Hamas without US weapons?    Read More →