10 years ago, when Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as prime minister of Singapore in 2004, he gave a speech, ‘Let’s Shape Our Future Together’ A key message he said was, “We will continue to expand the space which Singaporeans have to live, to laugh, to grow and to be ourselves. Our people should feel free to express diverse views, pursue unconventional ideas, or simply be different. We should have the confidence to engage in robust debate, so as to understand our problems, conceive fresh solutions, and open up new spaces. We should recognise many paths of success, and many ways to be Singaporean. We must give people a second chance, for those who have tasted failure may be the wiser and stronger ones among us. Ours must be an open and inclusive Singapore.” Last week, the organiser of the #ReturnOurCPF protest, Han Hui Hui, some of the speakers, supporters and volunteers were hauled up by the police to be investigated for illegal assembly at the Hong Lim Park. This is the state of the “confidence” that the PAP government has, to “engage in robust debate, … (to) understand our problems, conceive fresh solutions, and open up new spaces”. Perhaps the PAP government needs to take a leaf out of its own book. It is those among us “who have tasted failure (who) may be the wiser and stronger ones among us”. It is time we help the PAP to become wiser.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:56:54 +0000
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