Yes, clearly GY's parting shot is aimed at PAP. It is a genuine gesture, as well as being accurate and does allow him to step down (if he does lose) with dignity and statesmanship. Strange how much easier it is to play the big man when you think you may be on the way out.
LSL is a different story. Yes, he apologised but for what? For not anticipating the economic rebound and building HDB and transportation infrastructure to cater to the demand. Completely ignores the FT issue. Singapore was already bursting by 2008 when the crisis hit. He's basically saying we've been a victim of our success. Its a red herring, an empty shell, cheap nutritionless white bread.
Reading through his FB promises below,
- On making a better singapore. LSL's solution is that Singaporeans learn not to rely on government and take initiative to give up seats at MRT, be nicer to each other, etc. Motherhood statements with ZERO commitment from PAP. Do you see any suggestion of how he and PAP would do things differently? No, blugh...
- On cost of living. happy to hear young singaporeans' ideas. in the meantime, they should do more volunteer work to help the poor elderly. Again, LSL apologises and then puts the burden of the solution on the people. Zero commitment from PAP again.
- On housing. Singapore is a victim of our success - ie, we are so popular all the FTs drawn to us like moths to a flame. Made an allowance that he will grow infrastructure first before adding population the next time round...ya, right, very useful when we need to go to 8 million population. The main solution he proposes is raising income ceiling for HDB which means higher prices. Well done! Again, PAP would do NOTHING different.
-On transport. Again, the victim of our success excuse. The main solution he proposes is to get Singaporeans to give up cars for public transport. Man isn't listening. He's basically apologising and then parroting all the same solutions as before
- On FT. He empathises with singaporeans and urges more integration. Will watch the pace which FT comes in but then goes on to say volatile global economy may make it difficult to do so. Half-hearted, half-assed gesture.
-
Read the details yourself and form your own opinion.
------------------------------------
The following is extracted from the PAP's Facebook page. No edits whatsoever have been made to the text.
RELATED STORIES
* PM Lee fields more than 5,000 questions on Facebook
* AsiaOne's General Election Special
* More Election stories
1. Thank you for your active participation last night. I hv read thru yr overwhelming responses and feedback after the session. We must continue to find different ways and better platforms for us to chat. Let this be the start and not the end. Do keep the ideas coming.
Making SG a Better Place
2. Many commented that it is not just the hardware that we must be concerned with. I agree. We must also focus on heartware. We must work together to make this a more gracious and caring society. Each of us can reach out to someone less fortunate. We can start by giving up seats on MRT to those more in need, etc. Hearts, heads, and hands – first the right heart, and then the right thinking and ideas, and last but not least putting those ideas into action to become reality. And this cannot be a govt responsibility alone. I count on you to be part of this journey together to build a home for us all as Singaporeans.
3. I am in politics to put Singaporeans first. Why else should I be in politics for? I care about giving a leg up to all Singaporeans, by giving our children good education, our workers relevant training and creating higher value jobs. We must make sure that our education system produces ppl who can compete and win in the world. Only with good jobs, good productivity and good pay can we stay ahead of rising cost of living.
Cost of Living
"Please don't flame me, I'm a newbie :-)"
Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Lianhe Zaobao, TNP, ST & Facebook)
For more photos, click here.
4. I hear yr concerns about making sure the lower income grp can keep pace with rising cost of living. I am encouraged and proud that so many Singaporeans care for our less privileged grps. It means our ppl, and esp our young, have a good heart. Yes, we must help this grp of Singaporeans so that no one falls through the crack or is left behind. I am happy to hear more ideas of how govt and non-govt agencies can help the lower income group. But I wd also urge you to find ways to help in whichever way you can to make a difference. Many groups like our VWOs need volunteers to lend a helping hand, whether to cook or to do something useful for someone else in need.
5. I also hear the concerns of the middle income grp or what some called the "sandwiched class". I am committed to keeping housing affordable. As important, we must invest in our children's education. Education is the most effective way to ensure social mobility. You too are a product of our education system which improves year by year, and I hope in turn, you too will play your part to continue to support others to learn and to do better.
6. We hv no plan to increase GST after the GE. As long as the government is prudent, and not waste public funds on some of the wild ideas put up by opposition parties, we will have enough revenue. Pse do not believe the rumours.
Housing
7. I hear the concerns from new applicants for HDB flats. I assure you we have enough land to house our larger population. But we do not have a target to increase the population to 6.5 mn. We are building new HDB flats as rapidly as we can. When the property market was getting a bit frantic, we needed to calm things down. So we cannot try to do too many things all at once, or have policies which are contradictory. Lifting the ceiling will bring in more demand and drive prices higher. Hence, we decided not to change the income ceiling earlier. Now that ppl are cooling down over property, Mr Mah BT will review the income ceiling for purchasing new HDB flats. He will take 6 mths to complete this.
8. I promise that young couples will be able to afford and own their own homes. But don't get carried away in a frenzy. Ppl sometimes buy the most expensive flat they can afford, and then end up in trouble later. Pse pse have realistic expectations, and aim for something within comfortable budget range for your first HDB flat. You can always upgrade later. Btw, I encourage everyone to not let housing deter you from starting a family.
9. We also hv various subsidies to help those who need help.
Transport
10. Yes, I know our trains and buses are crowded during peak hours along certain routes. We are increasing the train and bus capacity as fast as we can. Pse bear with some inconveniences during this period. We know that a good transport system is impt for our quality of life. We also need ideas on how to encourage more to use public transport and fewer cars. That's one way to help keep our city green and our planet sustainable.
Foreign Talent
11. As some of you pointed out, we want quality and not quantity. For those whom we bring in, our community leaders and other social groups do work very hard to integrate them into our society. We welcome many who want to become part of our Singapore family, but we also urge newcomers to make the effort to contribute back to the community in different ways.
12. We will carefully watch the pace which we bring in foreign talent. It's a balance, and we may not always get it right. The global economy is much more volatile nowadays, as the world adjusts to major shifts such as the rise of China and the opening of India.
13. I empathise with pple who are not comfortable to deal with a non-Singaporean sales staff or someone in the foodcourt who cannot speak English or Mandarin well. We are putting them through language courses. We also need foreigners to do the jobs that Singaporeans do not like to do.
At 11:40pm on Thursday night, PM Lee posted a second response on the PAP's Facebook account:
In a few minutes, it will be "cooling off" day. Under GE rules, I'll not be able to post after 2359 hrs tonight. But pse keep yr ideas coming. We appreciate all yr inputs, and will follow up to study the ideas and proposals raised.
This is yr country. It's yrs to inherit and change, for the better. The future is what you make of it. All I ask is: Consider how special we are. Remember how precious Singapore is. Take care of this jewel.
Like you, we want Singapore to succeed. And we want you to succeed, because you are our hope for the future.
-Lee Hsien Loong
