May 9, 2011
MM: Past struggles forgotten by young
He reminds S'poreans of economic progress the country has made
By Elgin Toh
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave his first - albeit indirect - assessment of the 2011 General Election result yesterday, remarking at a community event that the younger generation 'does not remember from whence we came'.
'That is to be expected,' he said. 'But I do and those amongst you who are older than 50 will remember.'
'And do not believe that the Singapore flight can be on autopilot. We will run into a storm, we will run into all kinds of emergencies and we must have good pilots on board,' he added.
Mr Lee was speaking a day after the May 7 polls, at which the People's Action Party's (PAP) share of the votes dipped to 60.1 per cent - its lowest in post-1965 history.
The opposition, led by the Workers' Party (WP), won six seats in Parliament. This was its strongest showing since the 1963 election, before independence.
Reminding Singaporeans how far the nation has progressed economically since 1955, Mr Lee said productivity upgrades had led to corresponding wage increases.
'That is the way Singapore has to go. It's the only way you can raise standards of living, increase our skills, increase our capabilities,' he said.
He cited the improvement in the lot of dock workers in his own Tanjong Pagar constituency, for which he has been a representative since 1955.
He said he had chosen Tanjong Pagar as his first electoral constituency because he saw the poor living conditions of the harbour board workers there.
Today, however, port operations have been mechanised, he noted.
'No longer do people carry sacks of rice. They use fork-lift trucks, they use computers, they use cranes. So, as a result, salaries have gone up, productivity has gone up,' he said.
However, these developments appear to have gone unappreciated by the young.
In an apparent reference to the General Election results, he said, with an amused chuckle, that '2011 has seen a generation that does not remember from whence we came'.
At a brief press conference after his speech, reporters quizzed Mr Lee on the 6.5 per cent vote swing against the PAP in Saturday's election.
He said he was sure Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team would 'sit down and carefully analyse the reasons (for the swing) and adapt our policies'.
'I can't say more. I'm not the Prime Minister,' he said.
Asked how the PAP would work with a much expanded contingent of lawmakers from the WP, he retorted rhetorically, without elaborating: 'You believe the Workers' Party is in Parliament to help the good of Singaporeans or to oppose the PAP?'
Mr Lee lamented the loss of 'a valuable minister' in Mr George Yeo, who was unseated by the WP in Aljunied GRC on Saturday. Mr Yeo, he noted, contributed not just as foreign minister but also as minister for trade and industry before that.
'But that's the way the cards have fallen. And we'll have to live with it.'
Finally, he said he did not think Malay-Muslim support for the PAP at the ballot box had been affected by the comments he made in his latest book, Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, questioning the Malay community's commitment to integration.
'Big national issues were at stake,' he said of the election, before reiterating his desire to see the Malay community become more integrated with society.
Yesterday, Mr Lee also held a thank-you parade, touring his constituency on an open-top bus with the other MPs-elect of Tanjong Pagar GRC: Dr Lily Neo, Ms Indranee Rajah, Major-General (NS) Chan Chun Sing and Dr Chia Shi-Lu.
[email protected]
MM: Past struggles forgotten by young
He reminds S'poreans of economic progress the country has made
By Elgin Toh
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave his first - albeit indirect - assessment of the 2011 General Election result yesterday, remarking at a community event that the younger generation 'does not remember from whence we came'.
'That is to be expected,' he said. 'But I do and those amongst you who are older than 50 will remember.'
'And do not believe that the Singapore flight can be on autopilot. We will run into a storm, we will run into all kinds of emergencies and we must have good pilots on board,' he added.
Mr Lee was speaking a day after the May 7 polls, at which the People's Action Party's (PAP) share of the votes dipped to 60.1 per cent - its lowest in post-1965 history.
The opposition, led by the Workers' Party (WP), won six seats in Parliament. This was its strongest showing since the 1963 election, before independence.
Reminding Singaporeans how far the nation has progressed economically since 1955, Mr Lee said productivity upgrades had led to corresponding wage increases.
'That is the way Singapore has to go. It's the only way you can raise standards of living, increase our skills, increase our capabilities,' he said.
He cited the improvement in the lot of dock workers in his own Tanjong Pagar constituency, for which he has been a representative since 1955.
He said he had chosen Tanjong Pagar as his first electoral constituency because he saw the poor living conditions of the harbour board workers there.
Today, however, port operations have been mechanised, he noted.
'No longer do people carry sacks of rice. They use fork-lift trucks, they use computers, they use cranes. So, as a result, salaries have gone up, productivity has gone up,' he said.
However, these developments appear to have gone unappreciated by the young.
In an apparent reference to the General Election results, he said, with an amused chuckle, that '2011 has seen a generation that does not remember from whence we came'.
At a brief press conference after his speech, reporters quizzed Mr Lee on the 6.5 per cent vote swing against the PAP in Saturday's election.
He said he was sure Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his team would 'sit down and carefully analyse the reasons (for the swing) and adapt our policies'.
'I can't say more. I'm not the Prime Minister,' he said.
Asked how the PAP would work with a much expanded contingent of lawmakers from the WP, he retorted rhetorically, without elaborating: 'You believe the Workers' Party is in Parliament to help the good of Singaporeans or to oppose the PAP?'
Mr Lee lamented the loss of 'a valuable minister' in Mr George Yeo, who was unseated by the WP in Aljunied GRC on Saturday. Mr Yeo, he noted, contributed not just as foreign minister but also as minister for trade and industry before that.
'But that's the way the cards have fallen. And we'll have to live with it.'
Finally, he said he did not think Malay-Muslim support for the PAP at the ballot box had been affected by the comments he made in his latest book, Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, questioning the Malay community's commitment to integration.
'Big national issues were at stake,' he said of the election, before reiterating his desire to see the Malay community become more integrated with society.
Yesterday, Mr Lee also held a thank-you parade, touring his constituency on an open-top bus with the other MPs-elect of Tanjong Pagar GRC: Dr Lily Neo, Ms Indranee Rajah, Major-General (NS) Chan Chun Sing and Dr Chia Shi-Lu.
[email protected]
