Seems this article also question sincerity in saying sorry late into election hustings.
Read and make up your own minds.
← LOW HITS BACK AT PAP ACCUSATIONS
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
Posted on May 4, 2011 by satayclub
Lee Hsien Loong apologised for the mistakes made by his administration at a rally yesterday - probably the first time ever that a PAP Prime Minister has done so
By Nigel Tan
Chief Editor
At yesterday afternoon’s lunchtime rally in the Central Business District, Lee Hsien Loong uttered the words we thought we would never hear.
“If we didn’t get it right, I’m sorry. But we will try better the next time.”
Many in the 1,000 audience must have been pinching themselves. A PAP Prime Minister apologising publicly and pledging to put things right?
Yet, by the time Mr Lee was done with his speech, the crowd warmly applauded and cheered. Though the applause was polite, it was also genuine and spontaneous. For the first time in this campaign, applause for a PAP candidate came naturally, without having to be prompted by any of the manufactured choreography normally present at PAP rallies.
That Mr Lee has found it in him to swallow a slice of humble pie and publicly apologise for the mistakes of his administration is an affirmation of his increasing political maturity; a sign that he has learnt that he can no longer ignore the frustrations of ordinary Singaporeans who believe that his party has grown complacent, arrogant and out of touch.
It is also an indication that perhaps he is finally becoming his own man, stepping out of the immense shadow of his father, who during his time as Prime Minister ruled Singapore with an iron fist, and indeed, who many Singaporeans believe still calls the shots.
In his speech, Mr Lee took pains to draw a clear line between his style of leadership and that of the Minister Mentor, stressing that “our policies have been updated, our approach has shifted, our style has changed”.
“MM will be MM, whether it is election time or not. He tells it like it is. I think you’ve gotten used to our style. We don’t try to do it MM’s style. We do it our way, we spend some time to talk, to explain.”
“Good as we are, we must never be self-satisfied. Wearing white does not give us an automatic right to govern. No government is perfect, and we will make mistakes. We made a mistaken when Orchard Road was flooded. We made a mistake when Mas Selamat escaped. But when it happens we should acknowledge it, we should apologise, take responsibility, put things right. If we are to discipline somebody, we will do that, and we must learn from the lessons and never make the same mistake again.”
Mr Lee’s words will have come as a welcome change to voters who are expected to deliver a blow to the PAP at this Saturday’s polls. The PAP that they are determined to vote against was best personified by the Minister Mentor himself when he told them that they would have to “live to repent” for five years if they chose to vote in the Workers’ Party in Aljunied – the only Group Representation Constituency in which the PAP stands a realistic chance of losing.
Could it be that this election will bear witness to the birth of a new, cuddly PAP – one that will, in the words of Mr Lee, treat its citizens like masters instead of servants? Could it be that Mr Lee’s speech will mark a departure from his party’s age-old formula of paternalistic government, and the dawn of a new age of consultative, people-oriented leadership that will seek to engage and consult us instead of likening us to economic digits who need spurs stuck into our sides?
Could Mr Lee's speech herald the beginning of a new era of compassionate, consultative government?
To expect that the PAP will transform overnight is perhaps one step too far, and indeed, it is probably wishful thinking. However, to hope that the PAP has at long last rediscovered the moral compass of its founding fathers is not.
The likes of Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Hon Sui Sen and Ong Teng Cheong were genuine servants of the people. It is not unfathomable that Mr Lee, who grew up in their midst, could be seeking to resurrect the ethos and spirit that the PAP espoused during their time. He has brought in some new cadres – most notably Tan Chuan Jin and Ong Ye Kung – who appear at face value to be sincerely motivated by the spirit of service, unlike some of the men who currently hold office as ministers.
It is important to ask ourselves, however, exactly why the Prime Minister has changed his tack.
He certainly didn’t just wake up one morning and decided that his party would be more humble; not even the most naive of individuals could possibly believe this to be the case.
Rather, the truth is that Mr Lee has chosen to take this softer approach because of the efforts of the opposition. It has not escaped him that people are incensed with the fact that they are struggling to make ends meet, that they have to compete for jobs with foreigners, that they have to squeeze into overcrowded buses and trains every morning.
He now knows that people perceive his government to be elitist, uncaring and solely driven by self-interest; that they, despite the denials of his Senior Minister, are outraged by the fact that he is paid more in an hour than some of them are in a month.
He knows this not because he himself has had to squeeze into the MRT during rush hour, nor because his job is being threatened by so-called “foreign talent”.
He knows this because he can see, from in front of his computer screen inside his plush office in the Istana, that his people are making themselves heard on Facebook, Twitter and at least a dozen other websites. He can see that his people are flocking to attend opposition rallies, standing in muddy fields and braving the rain to lap up the messages of hope and change.
Passionate crowds have turned up in force at opposition rallies, a reflection of public sentiment against the PAP
He knows that when they cheer their hearts out for the Workers’ Party, they are doing so because those very same hearts have been broken by the PAP that they once loved and trusted.
He knows that when they turn out in droves to support Mr Chiam See Tong, they are moved to tears not by his brilliance or astuteness, but by his spirit of selfless service – the same spirit that is so woefully lacking in his infinitely more talented comrades in the cabinet.
He knows that the cheers that they shout and the tears that they shed are manifestations of very raw, deep-seated emotions, at the very core of which lies a sense of yearning to once again belong to their country – a birthright that has been denied them by the cold, calculating, profit-driven policies of the PAP.
And despite his privileged and sheltered upbringing, he is certainly intelligent enough to know that these emotions cannot be artifically re-created by his legion of so-called grassroots leaders, RC chairmen and civil service staffers, no matter how much they spend on chartered buses, clappers or floral garlands.
The Prime Minister has changed his tack because he knows that if the PAP wants to retain its moral authority to govern, it has got to go back to basics and work at building an inclusive community, from the bottom up. He knows that he has got to start listening to people in order to find out what they really want, and that the era of the PAP just paying lip service in order to win votes has to end.
Which is precisely why a strong opposition is essential in the process of nation-building – because it serves to keep the government on its toes. It serves to remind the government that it cannot take the people for granted; that it cannot continue to lord it over the people with impunity and arrogance.
And this year, even before a single vote has been cast, before a single one of its candidates has been elected, it has already managed to achieve its primary objective. By contesting nearly all of the seats, by fielding a slate of candidates unprecedented in terms of quality, and by inspiring millions of Singaporeans with its message of change and compassion, the opposition has already proven its point resoundingly.
The point being that when a nation stands united, anything can happen. Including getting a PAP Prime Minister to admit that his party is not perfect, and to issue a public apology.
–
The author is the Chief Editor of The Satay Club.
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Read and make up your own minds.
← LOW HITS BACK AT PAP ACCUSATIONS
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
Posted on May 4, 2011 by satayclub
Lee Hsien Loong apologised for the mistakes made by his administration at a rally yesterday - probably the first time ever that a PAP Prime Minister has done soBy Nigel Tan
Chief Editor
At yesterday afternoon’s lunchtime rally in the Central Business District, Lee Hsien Loong uttered the words we thought we would never hear.
“If we didn’t get it right, I’m sorry. But we will try better the next time.”
Many in the 1,000 audience must have been pinching themselves. A PAP Prime Minister apologising publicly and pledging to put things right?
Yet, by the time Mr Lee was done with his speech, the crowd warmly applauded and cheered. Though the applause was polite, it was also genuine and spontaneous. For the first time in this campaign, applause for a PAP candidate came naturally, without having to be prompted by any of the manufactured choreography normally present at PAP rallies.
That Mr Lee has found it in him to swallow a slice of humble pie and publicly apologise for the mistakes of his administration is an affirmation of his increasing political maturity; a sign that he has learnt that he can no longer ignore the frustrations of ordinary Singaporeans who believe that his party has grown complacent, arrogant and out of touch.
It is also an indication that perhaps he is finally becoming his own man, stepping out of the immense shadow of his father, who during his time as Prime Minister ruled Singapore with an iron fist, and indeed, who many Singaporeans believe still calls the shots.
In his speech, Mr Lee took pains to draw a clear line between his style of leadership and that of the Minister Mentor, stressing that “our policies have been updated, our approach has shifted, our style has changed”.
“MM will be MM, whether it is election time or not. He tells it like it is. I think you’ve gotten used to our style. We don’t try to do it MM’s style. We do it our way, we spend some time to talk, to explain.”
“Good as we are, we must never be self-satisfied. Wearing white does not give us an automatic right to govern. No government is perfect, and we will make mistakes. We made a mistaken when Orchard Road was flooded. We made a mistake when Mas Selamat escaped. But when it happens we should acknowledge it, we should apologise, take responsibility, put things right. If we are to discipline somebody, we will do that, and we must learn from the lessons and never make the same mistake again.”
Mr Lee’s words will have come as a welcome change to voters who are expected to deliver a blow to the PAP at this Saturday’s polls. The PAP that they are determined to vote against was best personified by the Minister Mentor himself when he told them that they would have to “live to repent” for five years if they chose to vote in the Workers’ Party in Aljunied – the only Group Representation Constituency in which the PAP stands a realistic chance of losing.
Could it be that this election will bear witness to the birth of a new, cuddly PAP – one that will, in the words of Mr Lee, treat its citizens like masters instead of servants? Could it be that Mr Lee’s speech will mark a departure from his party’s age-old formula of paternalistic government, and the dawn of a new age of consultative, people-oriented leadership that will seek to engage and consult us instead of likening us to economic digits who need spurs stuck into our sides?
Could Mr Lee's speech herald the beginning of a new era of compassionate, consultative government?To expect that the PAP will transform overnight is perhaps one step too far, and indeed, it is probably wishful thinking. However, to hope that the PAP has at long last rediscovered the moral compass of its founding fathers is not.
The likes of Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Hon Sui Sen and Ong Teng Cheong were genuine servants of the people. It is not unfathomable that Mr Lee, who grew up in their midst, could be seeking to resurrect the ethos and spirit that the PAP espoused during their time. He has brought in some new cadres – most notably Tan Chuan Jin and Ong Ye Kung – who appear at face value to be sincerely motivated by the spirit of service, unlike some of the men who currently hold office as ministers.
It is important to ask ourselves, however, exactly why the Prime Minister has changed his tack.
He certainly didn’t just wake up one morning and decided that his party would be more humble; not even the most naive of individuals could possibly believe this to be the case.
Rather, the truth is that Mr Lee has chosen to take this softer approach because of the efforts of the opposition. It has not escaped him that people are incensed with the fact that they are struggling to make ends meet, that they have to compete for jobs with foreigners, that they have to squeeze into overcrowded buses and trains every morning.
He now knows that people perceive his government to be elitist, uncaring and solely driven by self-interest; that they, despite the denials of his Senior Minister, are outraged by the fact that he is paid more in an hour than some of them are in a month.
He knows this not because he himself has had to squeeze into the MRT during rush hour, nor because his job is being threatened by so-called “foreign talent”.
He knows this because he can see, from in front of his computer screen inside his plush office in the Istana, that his people are making themselves heard on Facebook, Twitter and at least a dozen other websites. He can see that his people are flocking to attend opposition rallies, standing in muddy fields and braving the rain to lap up the messages of hope and change.
Passionate crowds have turned up in force at opposition rallies, a reflection of public sentiment against the PAPHe knows that when they cheer their hearts out for the Workers’ Party, they are doing so because those very same hearts have been broken by the PAP that they once loved and trusted.
He knows that when they turn out in droves to support Mr Chiam See Tong, they are moved to tears not by his brilliance or astuteness, but by his spirit of selfless service – the same spirit that is so woefully lacking in his infinitely more talented comrades in the cabinet.
He knows that the cheers that they shout and the tears that they shed are manifestations of very raw, deep-seated emotions, at the very core of which lies a sense of yearning to once again belong to their country – a birthright that has been denied them by the cold, calculating, profit-driven policies of the PAP.
And despite his privileged and sheltered upbringing, he is certainly intelligent enough to know that these emotions cannot be artifically re-created by his legion of so-called grassroots leaders, RC chairmen and civil service staffers, no matter how much they spend on chartered buses, clappers or floral garlands.
The Prime Minister has changed his tack because he knows that if the PAP wants to retain its moral authority to govern, it has got to go back to basics and work at building an inclusive community, from the bottom up. He knows that he has got to start listening to people in order to find out what they really want, and that the era of the PAP just paying lip service in order to win votes has to end.
Which is precisely why a strong opposition is essential in the process of nation-building – because it serves to keep the government on its toes. It serves to remind the government that it cannot take the people for granted; that it cannot continue to lord it over the people with impunity and arrogance.
And this year, even before a single vote has been cast, before a single one of its candidates has been elected, it has already managed to achieve its primary objective. By contesting nearly all of the seats, by fielding a slate of candidates unprecedented in terms of quality, and by inspiring millions of Singaporeans with its message of change and compassion, the opposition has already proven its point resoundingly.
The point being that when a nation stands united, anything can happen. Including getting a PAP Prime Minister to admit that his party is not perfect, and to issue a public apology.
–
The author is the Chief Editor of The Satay Club.
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