Is the silent 69.9% impressed with LHY’s accusation? Are they convinced, persuaded? Do they think he has more of an axe to grind than a sharpened axe to cut down the decaying or already decayed oak tree?
Mind you, some of accusations are serious and the innuendos quite clear. If it were anyone, there could be a risk of legal action being taken out after the GE 2020 is over.
And I am not talking about what LHY said about “the vision of meritocracy has become a fiction.” Or that there is a “lack of rigour” or “the supermajority in Parliament has led to group think.” And not even this, “Pofma (used) to silence (others)” or the “defamation suits (were used) to ruin and bankrupt those who disagree.”
I am however talking about what LHY said that “PAP can change the Constitution and deny Singaporeans a chance to elect the president.” That’s worrisome.
And how about this - “Many Singaporeans feel they are running a rat race in a maze designed by the Government, which decides who to dispense rewards to. The chosen few are given a nice big slice of cake. For those who are not scholars or generals or privileged, there are only crumbs.” That smacks of political patronage.
As a sideline, I wonder when he made that speech online, did he also catch a glimpse of his own reflection in his accusatory words. You see, he was awarded not one but two scholarships. His army rank was that of Brigadier-General. And when it comes to privilege, he is from Singapore’s most famous and powerful first family.
(Need I also tell you that his Alma mater are Cambridge and Stanford University, and he landed a First Class? Not without hard work of course. So, you won’t be faulted if you walk away with this impression that PSP has borrowed his voice to read out a pre-canned speech that speaks about the people’s angst, and not so much his. For his seems to be an angst of another form).
Oh, I forgot to tell you that this distinguished scholar/general/privileged individual also said that the Govt sat “on CPF savings” and “has undisclosed billions in secret reserves.” What is even more loaded in his speech at such a sensitive time is that he said the Govt “can expose us to the risk of Covid-19 by prioritising politics over our lives.”
So, there you have it, every part of the accusation was calculated to inflict the deepest political damage on the ruling party. Yet, you somehow walk away with the feeling that the government is just collateral damage who happened to be standing unwittingly in the cross-hair of the real target, that is, his elder brother.
But, wither away the larger-than-life personality or the unfortunate coagulated blood ties, is there any or some truth in LHY’s scathing, no-holds-barred speech?
Well, of course there is, at least for me, and I can think of two important ones.
First, I always thought that the Elected Presidency was a Selected Presidency, walkover enthronement. And the public dismissal of OTC as our nation’s first Elected and most vocal President is just mind-bending or spoon-bending.
Writer Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh in fact said: -
“Singaporeans have always known that our politicians...consider themselves superior beings. Now, with this reserved presidency, we have irrefutable proof about just how stupid they think we are.”
And Alfian said this in his characteristic wit: -
“The risk of we, the people, denying Halimah her mandate was probably too great for the PAP. And thus they would much rather deny us the right to confer her with a mandate...no matter how much cynicism and loss of trust it breeds towards our political systems.”
And I believe the ruling party has acknowledged that the move has cost them “political capital”, but they justified it by saying it was for “the future of the country.” And just as history is written by victors, so is the victor’s future?
Second, how about the vision of meritocracy? Is it a fiction?
Well, whether LHY said it or not, it is admittedly part-fictionalised, part-lionised. Lionised, because our ruling party has been trying their darnest to balance the inequality gap. Equality is their political banner held high for all to see, especially during such time of pulling in the votes.
But, I also believe that they know what they cannot openly deny, and that is the “natural aristocracy” that LHY was referring to in his speech. There is part truth in that, that makes the enduring fight against widening inequality part-fiction.
Alas, somewhere along the road to independence and First World, we took a silent turn to pursue disproportionate economic enrichment for those at the top and left the road where growth could have been more balanced with fairer redistribution of the fruits of society’s labour.
Here, I can take a leaf off what Prof Teo You Yenn has to say: -
“Inequality, in fact, is a logical outcome of meritocracy. What the education system does when it selects, sorts, and hierarchizes, and when it gives its stamp of approval to those “at the top,” is that it renders those who succeed through the system as legitimately deserving. Left implicit is that those at the bottom have failed to be deserving.”
And lastly, I would like to quote PM Lee’s response to his brother joining the opposition party. It seems he took the high road with these words: -
“This GE is not about me or any family disputes which may involve my brother and me. It’s about Singapore’s future at a very grave moment in our history.”
As the elder brother, I guess he does not see the point in engaging LHY directly. It risks turning it into a family dispute, airing more dirty linens in public. And alas, that is the issue with politics when family members enter the fray at opposing sides. Your impartiality is to some extent undermined.
Yet, you will note that it seems only LHY had the chutzpah to say what he had said, and then get away with it. The first time was in 2017, when his brother had to open Parliament for a special session to close ranks with one and all, and perform a ritualistic ceremonial cleansing to stabilise public trust.
It would thus be interesting to see how this second confrontation between the siblings in the political arena would turn out. Because, if you think about it, some of what LHY had boldly asserted would require some rebutting, if not with equal ferocity, then with some clarity, for the sake of the people and the future of Singapore, right?
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