Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Right now we have Low Thia Khiang, Chiam See Tong, Steve Chia. We can deal with them. Suppose you had 10, 15, 20 opposition members in Parliament. Instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I’m going to spend all my time thinking what’s the right way to fix them, to buy my supporters votes, how can I solve this week’s problem and forget about next year’s challenges? (2006)
Change has to take place in Singapore but change must take place not (between parties) but within the PAP. (2008)
Barack Obama
As we confront these challenges, the conventional thinking in Washington tells us that we’re a country divided into Red states and Blue states; that we’re doomed to fight the same tired partisan battles over and over again; that we can’t come together to grow our economy or meet the threats of the 21st century; that we can’t take on big challenges like healthcare, energy, or education; that Americans can’t reach past the lines of region, religion, or race; and that young Americans are unwilling to serve and act as citizens in the highest sense.
But at this moment, millions of Americans are already coming together to prove that thinking wrong and demand something better. They are hungry for a new leadership and a new direction for America. These Americans are Democrats who are tired of being divided; Republicans who no longer recognize their own party; and independents who are ready for a change in Washington. They are young people who’ve been inspired for the very first time and those not-so-young Americans who’ve been inspired for the first time in a long while. They include veterans and churchgoers, sportsmen and students, farmers and factory workers, and teachers and business owners. They all have varied backgrounds and different traditions, but they share the same values that bind us together as one country; commonsense and honesty; generosity and compassion; decency and responsibility.
What we need in the next President is the proven ability to bring people to the table and get things done. We need a President who understands the world we live in today and has a detailed plan to bring opportunities and security to all Americans. We need a leader who will level with the American people about what he will do if entrusted with the presidency and what we, as a nation, must do to get our country back on track.
“Change We Can Believe In; Barack Obama’s Plan To Renew America’s Promise.”
(Page 24-25)
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I may be late in penning this as i watch numerous talk and discuss about the prospect of a viable opposition. My views for wanting an OBAMA are as follows:
(1) Too much power resides with the current party which is in power for too long.
(2) Incumbent government is too used to getting their ways and ministers are not used to accounting to the public.
(3) Government is too caught up with making money, and clearly rewards those who help them in their endeavour.
Government rules too much with the brain with too little heart. Their focus group is beyond the middle class, and hopes that by rewarding the top those below somehow will benefit from it. I do not think this is happening now. We need someone to drive a movement that focus on the middle class and below, which are the workhorse and fabric of this nation.
Greed that causes the collapse of Wall Street may happen to us. We need someone who listens and is willing to walk the ground and understand the issues. Someone who feels the pain when families run into economic difficulties, who feels the need to find out why NS deferment cannot be granted so that an individual can continue his education, who wants to help expedite the solution for those who lost their money investing in financial instruments, who wants to know how we can delay streaming our students, who wants to help increase the MRT/Bus frequency so that we can have comfortable journey, who is prepared to control cars in the town instead of ERP/financial payment, who wants to reduce National Service commitment at no expense of operational needs and who allows people to tap into their CPF during downturn. This group of people should be chosen because they have the heart to serve the people. The people come first. Where is our OBAMA?
there’s no obama in singapore
simply because we dun deserve one
I think we are missing the point.
I don’t believe that this article was meant to be that in depth and therefore, all the comparisons that are listed on your comments are digging too deep.
By the way, I am not the writer of this article.
But, when I read this article, the only thing I saw was one incompetent mofo trying to justify why he (and his cronies) is dividing the country and a fresh, enthusiastic black man attempting to unite his country.
One sees the cup half empty, the other, the cup half full (and rightfully so, he had just broken one of the biggest barriers in the US by being elected).
One, doing everything in his (and his father’s) power to “fix them”, the other, with every intention to “bring people to the table and get things done”.
Yes, comparing LHL to Obama as a whole, is definitely not comparing apples to apples. I think the writer was just comparing the idea behind one speech to the other speech… which already says A WHOLE LOT.
TW political commentators who do not approve of Bian’s alleged misdeeds also supported the idea of having 2 strong parties, one to check on the incumbent.
Despite the disappointing behavior and performance of the ‘Green’ Party, the commentators who may be pro kmt also recognise the need for the EXISTENCE OF A STRONG ALTERNATIVE PARTY.
TW might be 1 party state before in its past history? anyone knows?
TW might be 1 party state before in its past history? anyone knows? – hum (#54)
Taiwan, like Singapore, adopts the dominant-party system. The dominant party system shares many characteristics with a one-party state and is usually marked by a climate of fear which aids in stifling opposition voices and prevent growth in opposition politics.
Prior to 1986, Taiwan was a dominant-party state under the KMT. Candidates opposing the KMT ran in elections as independents in the past. However, during the 1986 Taiwan elections, many independents grouped together to run and captured more than 20% of the vote. This led to the unofficial formation of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but the DPP only became a legal entity in 1989. Today, there are 106 political parties registered in Taiwan, with KMT and DPP dominating all upper and lower houses of parliament.
don insult Barack Obama…
one is god..,,others is suck pp blood devil..
so..
seen like one is heaven,,,others is hell..
26/11/08
Hi Gemami & Gilbert Goh-Today’s papers we read Thailand’s PAD has so-called taken over the new airport and Bangkok becomes frozen and the Army is so helpless despite its Chief of Staff called for disolution of Parliament and fresh General Election. Singapore must never be another Bangkok where mob rule and anarchy as Singapore is too small and fragile (don’t tell me we had those up to 1970s).Today, we are Modern Singapore and we must continue to use the Ballot box to fine tune the existing PAP policies and institutions (yes, there are flaws in these but these must not be dismantled at all costs,these only need to be fine tune for better,we dismantle these, we become backward).I am all for a much better Modern Singapore for all Singaporeans.
Singapore belongs to all of us especially we who are local born holding Singapore very dearly to our heart and will always put Singapore above all things.We must continue to do our best for Singapore our only place we called our home and I am sure our Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong will listen to all of us and make Singapore a much better home for all of us (I am not pro PAP,but all out for a better Modern Singapore and Modern Singapore needs a two party system for good governances and transparencies, and the present two elected MPs Mr Chiam and Mr Lau are not good enough, we need at least three single seats MPs and a GRC in the next Parliament.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
Some say that the comparison is baseless.
Thinking for a while, hmm, okay I’d buy that.
Why don’t we call out those who are currently in their 50s or 60s to ask for opinions / more information on how LHL and his associates were in the past?
I have often enjoyed hearing opinions from the elders as they often reveal interesting insights. Of course, we can’t take everything as a fact, but lets try to look more into the past instead of merely looking at what is happening in the present?
i think it’s too early to be comparing LHL and Obama? we haven’t seen the latter in action yet
One is a real MAN, the other is an ah kuah…… ha ha ha
aiyoyo
small dot vs states???
aiyoyo
2811/08
Hi Daniel *47-What I meant when I wrote “fine tuning” simply refers to when we have a formidable Opposition in Parliament who can then force the PAP goverment to fine tune its policies and institutions which are flaws, and on the other hand should one day the Singapore Opposition comes to power , they continue to fine tune the PAP policies and insitutions, not dismantling them which will spell trouble for Singapore and Singaporeans.
Today’s papers, besides Thailand where mob rules and anarchy, and both the Thai government and Thai army are very weak, this must not happen in Singapore-forget about Singapore up to 1970s (no longer relevant for Modern Singapore)> Singapore must always have a very strong goverment whether PAP or an Opposition party that becomes the government of the day and this strong government will continue to make Singapore a stronger Modern Singapore in all aspect and a home for all Singaporeans to be very proud of.Look at India, her government is weak and has been beseiged by problems one after another and yesterday Mumbai was blasted by Muslims Militants (not to forget Taiwan and South Korea whose governments are still weak and should their communists brothers attack them, I doubt they will be able to defend themselves).
As Singaporeans, we must always put Singapore above all things and always be very objective and focus and not simply wanting to dismantle the policies and institutions established by the PAP government. I am not pro PAP, I am pro Singapore 100% .
Regards
Andrew Chuah
Obama is someone who will lead america *hopefully* out of this current shit hole…while in our case, we are being lead into a shit hole instead by you know who instead….
LHL vs Obama?? That’s a totally wrong comparison!
Perhaps LHL vs. a janitor from India….even the janitor has higher integrity than this self-appointed good-4-nothing singapore roaches.
Obama works his way up, LHL ?…we know what took him to be a BG, running a rescure operation in 1982 when two cable cars cabins fell off rail.. it was actually the commndo unit did the rescure and he was not even commander in the commando unit.
The rest is history….
I think LHL is more clever than Obama. Certainly his academic record is superior to Obama’s even though the latter was a law professor and editor of the Harvard Law Review.Obama can connect with the young better but as the polls are showing he is losing his touch. He has the whole of the USA to choose his cabinet team but selected poorly. LHL has only parliamentary members to fish but his team is far and away superior to Obama’s.(For Obama’s economic team he could only go back to the old Clintonites,apart from Paul Volcker). By contrast, LHL’s team is superior, man for man. I would choose Shamugaratnam anyway day to Geithner, George Yeo to Clinton, Chee Hean to what’s his name. Of course, we also have LKY, GCT, Shmaugan, Ng Eng Hean, etc. Not only cleverer but more in tune with the people (but this may be due to Parliamentary system as opposed to the Presidential).
On the financial crisis, LHL is far ahead of Obama. Two years later and after spending trillions, the US economy is still sluggish and may yet go into a double dip recession. Maybe he does not really understand economics. Singapore got out within a year and is bound for the highest growth rate in the world with 15%.
Oratorical skills, Obama is a class by himself, no doubt. But he is not so effective without the telepromter which LHL does not use. And let’s face it, after sometime we want substance (read jobs), not words. In spite of his oratory, he has not managed to turn America round and his party will suffer cruel losses that will lose the lower house to the Republicans and even possibly the Senate. That means we will have a lame duck president for the next 2 years.
I teared when Obama won and still supported him strongly.But he got his priorites wrong in the first term. The Singapore government knew that jobs was the way out of a recession and worked very hard to get the tripartite parties together to get us out of the bind. Obama just pumped money into the economy. Even his banking reforms were so-so,surrounded as he was by Wall Street people. LHL has a better understanding of how thw world works compared to Obama.
One of the things Obama got wrong in his priorites was in health care. Health care reform was a great achievement and maybe given the situation he was in, the only time he could have squeezed in the legislation. But it took away the focus on the economy. It was a historic moment but how much better it would have been if he had solved the economic problems first and then in a stonger position, both in the country and in Congress, he would not have to make the compromises he had to in the health bill. And perhaps more importantly, he would have maintained his bipartisan approach to important issues, the platform he campaigned on.
My choice?LHL anyday.