Can Singapore borrow to fund soft capital like education: Jamus Lim
Sri Lanka’s financial crisis didn’t happen overnight. It began harmlessly enough. Sri Lanka operated budget deficit after budget deficit. Instead of taxes, they borrowed at commercial rates to fund public services. Everything was okay as long as they were able to repay the loans and interests on time. But when their sovereign credit rating was […]
Lessons from Sri Lanka on bad politics, mismanagement and populism
Good politics, honesty and integrity, and good governance are topics the PAP Government repeatedly remind Singaporeans of, sometimes like a broken record. But the experience of Sir Lanks tells us just how important these are. Sri Lanka is in its worst crisis since its independence in 1948. A severe shortage of foreign currency has left […]
Lawrence Wong: political leadership is about an entire team, not one person. Even a giant like Mr Lee Kuan Yew had a team.
“Throughout my life, I have never hankered for post, position or power… So I have never gone out looking for additional work, but somehow the work finds me,” Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said. He gave the example of the pandemic which started 2 years ago when he was Minister for National Development. “DPM called me […]
4G Leadership: why you can be excited about Lawrence Wong
“I’ve devoted my life to public service, first as a civil servant and later in politics. I will continue to do my utmost to serve our people.” Lawrence Wong The 4G Leadership has decided who will lead them. The choice fell on Finance Minister Lawrence Wong Lawrence who is also co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce handling the […]
Three New Faces Unveiled in Sengkang GRC
Three new faces have been unveiled as the new branch chairs of Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) earlier today (27 Mar). They are NUS Assoc Prof Elmie Nekmat; Ms. Theodora Lai Xi Yi, chief strategy officer of food website Burpple; and Mr. Ling Weihong, a lawyer, replacing Mr. Ng Chee Meng, Mr. Amrin Amin, and […]
A poisonous shrimp. Lee Kuan Yew: “We are what we are because we can stand for ourselves. If we can’t, we’ve had it.”
“Big fish eat small fish. Small fish eat shrimps.” From time memorial, this has been the order of nature, said Mr Lee Kuan Yew in a speech on big and small fishes in Asian waters. But shrimps have developed defence mechanisms to stay alive. Some shrimps are poisonous. They sting. If you eat them, you […]
WP Sylvia Lim satisfied with Shanmugam’s reply, says no need for forensic examination of her phone
The anticipated drama did not happen after all and Singapore is spared being dragged through the mud of another political game. Workers’ Party MP Sylvia Lim met the Police on 23 February 2022 at the Police’s request regarding a notification that appears similar to what Apple had sent to various Apple phone users, the Police […]
On Pritam Singh, playing victim and absence of shame in the Raeesah saga
You know what’s the saddest thing about this whole saga of ‘lies upon lies’? It is the total absence of shame. Up till now, there is a complete lack of admission of wrongdoing by the three WP MPs and leaders, Mr Pritam Singh, Ms Sylvia Lim and Mr Faisal Manap. There is absolutely no contrition. […]
PM Lee’s speech at COP debate: quality of a country’s democracy hinges on people’s values
In Parliament today, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered a 40-min long speech during the debate on the Committee of Privileges’ report on the Raeesah Khan saga. He talks about integrity as the linchpin of democracy, that the quality of a country’s democracy hinges on its people’s values: what they judge to be right or […]
WP’s motion for Gender Equality passed in Parliament with support from the PAP
A motion on gender equality tabled by the Workers’ Party was passed in Parliament on August 3 2021, albeit with an amendment from PAP Vikram Nair. This shows that, contrary to popular claim, an opposition party does not need a sizeable presence to have its motion passed in Parliament. The determining factor is whether it […]