Ohhhh, I am so touched by what he says, that we are one big familee - the "Singapore familee".
Are we really in this together Mr Lee? You still take $3 million salary after pay cut while many are surviving on a few hundreds a month. Your senior civil servants spends $46k on cooking lessons in Paris, while the poor are relying on $30 monthly food voucher to help subsidise their daily meal.
Your newspaper thinks that it is damn big deal enough to shout about giving $20 more on ang pow money to 275 residents (increased of 55 residents), which amounts $2,750, while Temasek easily lost tens of billions of dollars on failed investments last year.
Are you and your govt really in this together with us?
What a joker!
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/296480.asp
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We’re in this together, says PM Lee </td></tr></tbody></table>
IT WILL be the Government’s most crucial response to the recession when the Budget is unveiled on Jan 22. But as the country waits, another important response should not be forgotten.
How the community reaches out to give extra help and support to fellow citizens in tough times will make Singapore a stronger society, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday. .
And that is better than being over-reliant on handouts and the Government. .
Mr Lee said: “We’re in this together ... not as individuals or even just as each family on its own, but as one big family which is the Singapore family. But if everything depends on Government schemes and it becomes a matter of bureaucratic organisation and entitlement, I think we will make this impersonal and we will weaken ourselves as a society. .
“And instead of having a sense of mutual support and warmth and comradeship, we will cultivate a sense of reliance and ultimately a society that will not be as strong as it should be.” .
Mr Lee gave this off-the-cuff address at an annual event to distribute hong baos to needy residents in his constituency.
This time, at least 275 residents received $100 in cash and a $50 NTUC voucher each — compared to 220 residents and $80 in the red packets last year. .
Things have not been easy for this group. .
One resident said: “I was retrenched. So was my husband last month. Although we should not solely rely on the Government for assistance, we still hope we can find a job through the Government’s help.” .
Another added: “Give money to people to buy things, then businesses (and) the economy can go up.” .
The number of residents in the constituency has also increased by 20 per cent from September to December, said assistant branch secretary for the People’s Action Party Teck Ghee branch, Mr Ng Chiang Wei, who expects even more to come forward after Chinese New Year. .
Mr Lee struck an upbeat note for his residents, though, with the Year of the Ox approaching. He described the animal as strong and, while not very aggressive, “completely dependable”, and added: “So in our quiet way, we’ll see through the Year of the Ox and we’ll come out of it alright, stronger than before and ready to grow and prosper.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA
