With the Raeesah Khan saga coming to a close (and the criminal proceedings for the WP leadership opening up), there was bound to be one last shot from the powers that be to close the book with. Those who’ve been keeping watch know that it was from a zinger delivered by PM Lee himself!
In rebuke directed solely at the WP (though couched in neutral tones), PM Lee took to the floor and talked about how integrity is intertwined with trust and the government and how Singapore’s is held to a higher standard than other ‘democratic’ countries like the United States.
Make no mistake though, the sights are dead set on Pritam Singh and the others from the WP, with PM Lee making direct references to what he feels are dishonorable actions taken by them and Raeesah Khan.
Of course, the Internet was having none of that.
Out of the woodwork, Netizens came storming out to make their thoughts known on Facebook posts.
Most of PM Lee’s detractors called upon the usual; personal attacks on his family problems, as well as how the PAP is filled with liars who are just as bad as Raeesah Khan.
Quite a few talked about the Oxley Road scandal and these detractors used it for their calling out PM Lee as a hypocrite.
The majority of those opposed to PM Lee’s speech take issue with the fact that PM Lee talked about trust, honesty and other similar qualities while he and the rest of the PAP ministers are acting the opposite.
Are they right? Are the wrong?
I have nothing to say on this because I’m not privy to the workings of parliament. Neither are they for that matter, but that obviously haven’t stopped them from forming their own opinions though.
Of course, PM Lee’s speech had the desired effect on PAP loyalists.
They took came out in droves to stand together with the Prime Minister and what he talked about.
Personally, while I might not totally agree with everything the PAP does, I do agree with PM Lee on the points he made. Singaporean politicians should be held to a higher standard because Singaporean expectations for our leaders are much more than other countries.
That’s why it still doesn’t sit well with me that Raeesah Khan just got off with what basically amounts to slight slap on the wrist.
Interestingly, there seemed to be a couple of Malaysians too who came to support PM Lee’s stance. They were of the mind that Singapore’s government (though flawed) is still leagues ahead of Malaysia’s.
On that fact, I don’t think anybody here would disagree.
There’s also the rare Netizen that took the fight to the WP.
From their point of view, the WP leadership’s already lost as they didn’t try to even contend to the charges and instead nitpick at inconsequential details.
Other Netizens didn’t give a hoot about standards or PM Lee’s character. They just want the whole damn thing to end.
Fixating on the Raeesah Khan lying fiasco has not been worth the time at all. It’s been dragging on for months, and the unsatisfactory punishment at the end for Raeesah Khan was just the cherry on top for them.
They want taxpayer money (and attention) to be focused on more important things. Covid-19 management and the upcoming Budget 2022 reveals (such as the GST hike) for example. We’ve seen this type of sentiment before in our previous coverage and it’s still unresolved as Budget 20202 is set for 18th February.
Of course there are also those who have zero idea about how economics and economic policies work but want to have their input.
One of them, I present below.
There’s stupidity and there’s…whatever that was.
I’m no economist and even I know that inflation, the world economy and other aspects completely out of the government’s control dictate our economic policies and fuel prices.
Apparently Gillian is so pissed off about petrol taxes that she felt it was the PAP’s fault.
Dear Gillian, if you can’t afford to drive, ride public transport like the rest of us piss poor folk. Don’t complain about bread and butter issues when you’re talking about a luxury (driving and fuel prices) that most of us simply aren’t privy to.