That's because the Opposition would have started making significant noise in Parliament at a much earlier stage, forcing the PAP to pay attention and start tackling the problem sooner. The PAP calls this "gridlock". The correct term should be "feedback"
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/05/apology-from-pm-lee-hsien-loong.html
http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2011/05/apology-from-pm-lee-hsien-loong.html