Singapore may have started to crumble earlier but when an effeminate became a general in our army it was clear that cronyism was the order of the days ahead. That was when it became clear that it was PAP versus the people of Singapore. The political party made it a policy to entrench themselves against the general populace.
When the PAP ministers decided to pay themselves exorbitant salaries and in doing so, they also increased the salaries of their minions in the GLCs and ministries, they laid the foundation for Singapore 2012 and beyond. The cost of paying the PAP ministers millions also meant paying their GLC heads and staff and ministerial positions millions. The burden on the country is at the very least $1B per annum. For a country that has a high GDP but ridiculously small indigenous income, this meant the end of a vibrant and large middle income group in SG.