"Lee cried and cried at our independence and ended up convalescing..."

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

First claim rebuttal catch my attention liao! I will make sure I keep one PDF copy in the cloud because of it!

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Source: http://www.tremeritus.com/2014/10/22...lawrence-wong/


REBUTTING MINISTER LAWRENCE WONG


I refer to the 18 Oct 2014 Straits Times report of Minister Lawrence Wong’s speech “Long-term policy issues must be studied objectively”.

Wong claim 1: Lee Kuan Yew had tremendous courage in the face of great adversity

Lee cried and cried at our independence and ended up convalescing at Changi chalet for six weeks. He also worked for the enemy during the Japanese Occupation. If those are examples of courage then crying, running away from problems and working for the enemy are the hallmarks of the courageous.

Wong claim 2: Military, Garden City, Singapore River were breathtaking works of audacity by PAP founders

Our military was trained by the Israelis who also provided our military doctrine. Like so many other things, the key job was always performed by foreign contractors or consultants. Let us not praise PAP so much that we forget that they merely brought in foreign contractors or consultants to do the job.

Our Garden City is essentially built upon what our former British colonial masters bequeathed us that includes our most famous Botanical Gardens which is also our best hope for a UNESCO listing. Let us not praise PAP so much that we forget that they inherited a solid foundation that virtually guaranteed their success.

There are so many beautiful rivers in First World cities. What’s so breathtaking about ours compared to so many others? It takes a person with Third World mentality to have his breath taken away by our Singapore River.

How can our 50th independence anniversary be our Golden Jubilee? We may have been independent for 50 years only, but we have been around for far longer than that.

Wong claim 3: Small states vulnerable

Small states are no longer as vulnerable today as their survival is now underwritten by the US.

Modern East Asia, including Southeast Asia is what it is today because of the crucial role the United States played in underwriting security in Asia-Pacific. The U.S. provided security and stability that helped to stem the tide of communism, the 7th Fleet kept the ceilings open. The U.S. generously opened its markets to the region, and that sustained economic growth and prosperity of many Asian countries. In turn, that created conditions that allowed East Asia, beginning with Japan, to seize opportunity to uplift their people’s lives, and China is a most recent example of that. Success of countries in the region created a dynamism which has also created new challenges and opportunities, and let me add … the U.S. did all of it.

The Brookings Institution, Southeast Asia and the United States: remarks by National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Singapore foreign minister K. Shanmugam, 22 Sept 2014

Wong claim 4: Communist war in Malaysia and region was our war too

Porous borders of the ISIL / ISIS conflict in the Middle East doesn’t mean that the ISIL / ISIS are at war with Singapore. Similarly, porous borders of the Malaysian jungles, doesn’t mean the Malayan communists were at war with Singapore.

Some Singaporeans joining the fight in Syria doesn’t mean that ISIL / ISIS are at war with Singapore. Similarly, some Singaporeans joining the communists’ fight in Malaysia doesn’t mean the communists were at war with Singapore.

Foreign interests being targeted by ISIL / ISIS doesn’t mean that ISIL / ISL are at war with Singapore. The Malayan communists on the other hand, operated strictly in the jungles of Malaysia and never once touched Singapore after being ousted by our Special Branch.

Lee Kuan Yew’s counter actions on home ground weren’t against communists but were against innocent people like Tan Lark Sye, Lim Chin Siong and his Barisan colleagues who weren’t communists.

Wong claim 5: Government means deciding together as one people

When the government ignored the people and bulldozed through the Population White Paper, did that mean deciding things together as one people? When the government ignored the people and went ahead to build two casinos, did that mean deciding things together as one people? Mr Wong must have puffer fish cheeks to be able to say that.

Wong claim 6: Singaporeans must try for themselves and trust the system

Picking cardboard pieces off the streets or cleaning tables at food courts in old age is the system that Mr Wong wants us to put our trust in?

Singaporeans contribute money to the central pot only to find it wasted in poor government investment decisions.

Singapore already had interracial and inter-faith harmony prior to PAP’s existence.

Wong claim 7: Lee Kuan Yew believed in equal opportunity for all regardless of wealth and status

Lee Kuan Yew’s Graduate Mothers Scheme is a clear example that Lee Kuan Yew did not believe in equal opportunity for all.

He also admitted and sought our acceptance that our primary school admission system isn’t meritocratic but is based on the social class of parents.

http://education.asiaone.com/content...dmission-prima...

Asiaone Education, MM Lee acknowledges admission to primary school is unfair, 14 Nov 14 2010

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has acknowledged that primary school admission is ‘not meritocratic’, but is ‘inevitable in any society.’

‘At the primary stage, the choice is not made in a uniform way. You have a brother there or sister there, your father or mother is an alumnus, and so on,’ he said.

‘So it’s not meritocratic; it’s based on the social class of your parents, whether they went into better schools.’

Wong claim 8: Widespread social discontent, nationalism, xenophobia

Social discontent: Mr Wong can only blame himself and his government for not taking care of people’s welfare

Nationalism: What is wrong with nationalism? Does Mr Wong prefer widespread sellout of our country?

Xenophobia: Another one of Mr Wong’s attempts at painting white as black. Given current sentiments on the ground, xenomania is the black, rejecting xenomania is the white. Rejecting xenomania isn’t xenophobia.

Wong claim 9: First World democracies have become fractured, chaotic and unpredictable

Contrary to what Mr Wong said, the following table shows that the best run countries in the world are First World democracies.
Country 2013 WGI Government Effectiveness
FINLAND 2.17
SINGAPORE 2.07
DENMARK 1.97
SWEDEN 1.89
NORWAY 1.86
SWITZERLAND 1.81
CANADA 1.77
NETHERLANDS 1.77
NEW ZEALAND 1.75
HONG KONG 1.73
LIECHTENSTEIN 1.73
AUSTRALIA 1.62
LUXEMBOURG 1.62
JAPAN 1.59
BELGIUM 1.59
AUSTRIA 1.57
ANDORRA 1.53
ANGUILLA 1.53
GERMANY 1.52
UNITED STATES 1.5

Wong claim 10: Some groups called for zero foreign worker growth

Contrary to what Mr Wong said, those groups called for growth in resident workforce before turning off the foreign worker tap.

Straits Times, MPs spar over WP plan to grow local workforce, cap foreign labour, 6 Feb 2013

The WP plan envisions growing the resident workforce at a rate of 1 per cent a year through attracting more locals back to work. If this is achieved, the WP wants the tap on additional foreign labour turned off, and for the size of the foreign workforce to remain at the current level.

Don’t always quote Mr Rajaratnam

It is not always wise to quote from Mr Rajaratnam who said many stupid things including changing the one-man-one-vote system:

The Straits Times, 24 Dec 1986, page 1
Raja’s views are his own – Chok Tong
Govt has no intention of changing one-man-one-vote system, he says

The First Deputy Prime Minister yesterday made it clear Mr S. Rajaratnam’s remarks about remodeling Singapore’s democratic system were the Senior Minister’s personal views. Mr Goh Chok Tong also said that the Government had no intention of changing the one-man-one-vote system.

Mr Rajaratnam’s remarks were off-the-cuff … He had spoken freely, under the impression that the session was off the record.



Wong claim 11: Easy to win attention by disagreeing with government

Contrary to what Mr Wong said, it’s much easier to win attention by agreeing with the government rather than by disagreeing with it because state controlled television and newspapers give attention to those who agree with the government rather than those who disagree with it. Those who paint white as black and black as white are more often than not those who agree with the government. It is they who revel in their own “originality” in cocktail parties without realizing that they’ve become the laughing stock beyond the confines of their immediate circle. How can such stupid ideas as earthquakes in Singapore help solve real and vital problems affecting Singapore?

Wong rhetoric: Go beyond partisan politics

How can a School of Public Policy named after the biggest and baddest of Singapore partisan politics be expected to go beyond partisan politics? Going beyond partisan politics will require the thorough cleansing of the School of Public Policy to rid it of political elements. Renaming the school as the Albert Winsemius School of Public Policy will also help establish its new non partisan mission as Dr Winsemius was never involved in Singapore politics but had contributed immensely to Singapore public policies.

Any detailed exposition of policies will required similarly detailed critique of those policies in order that the democracy of deeds doesn’t become the autocracy of misdeeds. No matter how persuasive the arguments of professional oppositionists, they will never get as much publicity in state controlled media or press as mumbling state stooges.

Thank you



Ng Kok Lim


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