During the NKF-SPH trial, Goh Chok Tong said he knew trouble was a-brewing when his wife, in ardent support of TT Durai, said $600,000 was peanuts. Somebody must have realised he himself landed in hot soup by telling his residents at the Marine Parade National Day dinner, "This (spin their own Singapore Dream) is far healthier than to live the Singapore Gripe and drone on like vuvuzelas".
The Straits Times editorial piece tried to soften the blow by claiming that Goh was being both "observational and exhortatory" in his "gentle goading". Goh had referred to current public concerns such as floods, high home prices, crowded trains and distance-based bus fares as The Singapore Gripes, complaints which Goh said, buzz on like the irritating South Africa noise makers. That's about as gentle as being run over by a Leopard tank.
While many would associate Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew with black mouthing Singaporeans as daft, ignorant, etc, it was actually Goh who cast the first stones. He had derided Singaporeans for going on like birds, "cheap cheap cheap", when sighting shopping bargains in Perth - this was when scores of retired civil servants had collected their CPF bonanza and emigrated to WA. Then there was the name calling of Stayers and Quitters. People who live in glass houses shouldn't really throw stones, as his own daughter packed her bags for a foreign land, married a foreign chap and gave him a foreign looking grandchild. This was before foreigners washed on our shores like oil spill from a punctured tanker.
But what is diificult to swallow is the editorial line that Goh - "or any leader" - can do only so much to bring about change, specifically, he "cannot dream for you". So the Swiss Standard of Living was really just for him and his immediates, and not for the general citizenry funding his salary and perks? Was Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech meant for him alone or the populace? It's easy to be cynical about "leaders" when they refuse, or don't know how, to lead the way. Here's the constructive advice: It's time to step aside for others who will, and can, do a better job.
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Despite the gaffes of the MIWs, there are still swarms of mobilized Singaporeans around them(MIWs) as though they are vintage honey.
ReplyDeleteAs for SM Goh Chok Tong and Mrs Goh, they are birds of the same feathers and breeds of the same, perfect mates!
Singaporeans 'mei you khong lao ye you ku lao' which is to say the citizens may have not collectively deserve any accolade or praise by the Leaders, however, it should be appreciated that the people have done their best they could to contribute to the developments of Sin.
AND
hence do not deserve the constant deridings from the Sin Leaders who dished out sinfully and wickedly without qualm and conscience derogataries at their fellow citizens. They were barking like wild dogs at anyone.
Shall i just say that THE PARLIAMENTARIANS scorn at the people as though their near 5 decades of leading them(the citizenry) has not yielded any positive result. So, all the mean, caustic and sarcastic words from their mouths.
patriot
frankly, the seat warmer has no self respect and whatever +ve reputation remaining for goh ct is really worthless. he has made himself useful to LKY and son and thus able to park himself nicely to collect $Millions every yr.
ReplyDeleteHow long can a government disconnected from the populace survive? Won't it be a joke if he found himself jobless after the GE? But I guess he would still have his millions. He is not only deaf to the pleas of the people but worse found it irritating, like vuvuzelas. He is not only not listening to the people but trying to shut them out!
ReplyDeletehow come all the pple who post comment in yr blog choose anonymous? they r ashamed of wot they write or wot?
ReplyDeleteto auntielucia,
ReplyDeletethere will come a time when all will be revealed.
but you can up the ante by posting your pic, then i'll say you walk the talk.
i give you the benefit of the doubt that you are not being cheeky but naive.
it takes wisdom to treat scumbags with caution,
no quarter will be given till then,
so cheers to you sweetheart.
granduncle
To post anonymous is not to be ashamed of what one says but because of the fearful culture LKY has laboriously and intentionally created so that he can rule forever and minimum effort!
ReplyDeleteCowards.... everyone :)
ReplyDeleteSome choose to be anonymous in Cyberspace out of modesty. They are humble of their great intellects and endowments. Conversely there are people who are glory seeking and want the world to know them.
ReplyDeleteAuntie Lucia must be all beautiful and intelligent except humble and graceful.
Now only I found out what a vuvuzela is - a musical instrument that resembles a pipe that the Pied Piper used. So what he is trying to say that we shouldn't gripe like a loud musical instrument - why not say like a loudspeaker, to be exact to the point.
ReplyDeleteOf all things why would he want to use that bombastic word when most Singaporeans would be wondering what that means. Not that we can anywhere anyhow buy one in Singapore.
Maybe he was trying to be sarcastic like his wife.
He's trying to impress people that he knew about vuvuzelas; a musical instrument made famous during the last World Cup in South Africa
ReplyDelete