Special Deals Rehashed

Baey Yam Keng's muddled "explanation" of how he was charged $2.50 for nasi padang - which was magically repriced to $3.70 at a subsequent visit - is proof the man is a walking PR disaster. The stink he stirred up must smell worse than the bunched-up diaper he came across near the block where he conducts his weekly Meet-the-People sessions. Armed with the used diaper, he reportedly climbed 12 storeys and knocked on doors of 11 units in Block 444 Tampines Street 42, hell bent on nabbing the culprit who dared toss crap in his way. He was not successful. "I think we managed to identify which unit was the culprit. Without concrete evidence, I could only warn the maid not to do so. Hope that will born home the message," wrote the former managing director of Hill & Knowlton. Writing skill, you may note, is not exactly his forte.

But he did succeed in reminding folks about the extra egg Lee Kuan Yew once claimed he deserves in his hawker fare, and how tailors would fall head over heels trying to clothe him. Lee was standing before parliament, defending his bruised public image.

On April 23 1995, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had released a statement confirming they had received "unsolicited" discounts of between 5% and 12% for unlaunched units at Nassim Jade and Scotts 28 condominiums both had purchased. Shortly after, the duo announced they would treat the discounts as unsolicited gifts and "give them to the government".

The Lees' first statement came a day after the condominium developer, Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), was whacked with a stinging rebuke from the Stock Exchange of Singapore. The watchdog SES said HPL had withheld details of discounts granted to a board director, Lee Suan Yew, younger brother of the Senior Minister, and to the wife of another director. The stock authority said that while HPL had not apparently broken any laws, it "was not forthcoming in responding to the Exchange's requests for information." Rules under the SES Manual Listing stated that approval had to be sought for transactions involving "connected persons" of the company involved and those persons' associates. HPL did not seek the permission of its shareholders.

Here's how defiant the elder Lee can be when he demands his due: "There is no way - and I say this with some sympathy for the young aspiring professional or young executives - for them to have the same value to a seller of a product as a well-known public figure or a sports star or a TV star... Let me illustrate in my own small way.  My being me helped me get, if you like, the inside track and special treatment. ..." (Hansard, May 21, 1996, cols 190-91, 196).

Baey's version of "my being me helped" is rephrased "out of respect for my work and service in the community". It is difficult to imagine the respect he garnered while banging on doors with an odoriferous diaper in hand and challenging baby sitters to own up to killer litter. Undeterred by his major fail in social media, he is now moving on to uttering crap in print media. Speaking at the launch of Safe Clubbing Campaign, Baey said there were 13 cases of rioting this year, an increase of 3 from previous.