We are in this together…not as individuals or even just as each family on its own, but as one big family which is the Singapore family. But if everything depends on government schemes and it becomes a matter of bureaucratic organisation and entitlement, I think we will make this impersonal and we will weaken ourselves as a society.
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the irony. he just contradicted himself because, he represented bureaucracy and oligarchy and therefore, the obvious outcome as he succinctly puts it.
I don’t know about you guys but if I have one in the family who drinks birdnest and eats abalone for breakfast each day, and have that same fellow telling me we are family, and we must pull ourselves out of the deep shit he had created for us, I really don’t know about you guys, but if I could, I would fill my shoes with the excrement he created and throw it to his face, a la Bush-style.
Does he not know how much he had weakened the Singapore society eversince he took over as PM?
I wonder if the feller will ever realize that “make this impersonal and we will weaken ourselves as a society” is already an ongoing process.
And that it is being implemented very, very well. (Also read the story about HDB raising rent in this uncertain times, citing market rate. What a joke. They are the market.)
huh, FAMILY??? the last time i heard, we are in a COMPANY!!!
as in any company, top executives who cannot perform shld be shipped out, i say…
I wonder PM Lee Hsien Loong talked with his heart each time he spouted all those values with a straight face.
After so many years as a leader, one wonders if he had ever used his eyes and ears OR JUST USE HIS MOUTH TO LEAD.
Sicgaporeans need sincerities from the leaders NOT DIPLOMACIES AND SWEET TALKS.
AND
Please do not repeatedly make use of those sweet talking ministers like Lim Swee Say and Khaw Boon Wan to talk to the people, some Singaporeans burn their photos like other nationals burning effigies. MP Seng unfortunately was not as lucky.
MR PRIME MINISTER; ONE BIG FAMILY IS DEFINITELY POSSIBLE, IF YOUR FAMILY(KINS/CLANS) AND YOUR CABINET FAMILY ARE WILLING TO BE MEMBERS OF THE BIG FAMILY.
BUT
ALL OF YOU HAVE CHOOSE TO BE ABOVE THE PEOPLE.
patriot
Do people all wants to depends on Government’s schemes and bureaucracy? I think most would prefer the Gov just stop their scheming.
We are in this together…not as individuals or even just as each family on its own, but as one big family which is the Singapore family.
Since when?
Wow! Im really touched….the most inspiring piece for year 2009…my toes are chuckling! Can anyone blames me for being such a cynic?
Since when did I have so many foreign family members who are having the time of their life in my household while I have to guard the door and compete with them for underpaid jobs? Feels more like an orphanage than a home.
Now they are trying to imply that we are too dependent on them? Come on, if we don’t need government schemes or assistance to lead us out of this recession, then why do we “choose” them as our leader? Why are they receiving their million dollars pay scheme , and in this time of crisis, hinting at the people to survive on their own.
I mean yes, we must survive on our own, but the way i view this, it gives me the impression that we are leeching on the gahmen and dragging them down.
Family? Singapore family? geez, the irony.
Oh, and i won’t be surprised to see comments posting out supporting this and telling fellow TOCians to wise up and stop depending on the gahmen and to stop our whining.
LHL need to disguise hmself incognito and go among the people, live like the people and travel on public transport like the people – listen to their voices stripped of the filter of sycophants – hear what they are are really feeling and suffering. Don’t talk about family because the divide is so great and the elites have completely shown contempt for the peasants – like the PS who went on national paper to talk about his travelogues plus of course pedigree family lineage.
Talking about being too over-reliant on govt? They are the ones who are not lowering their fees, charges, etc in this bad business climate. did hdb rents come down, tranport hikes reversed, GST lowered, hospital fees lowered, rents lowered, S&C lowered? what kind of attitude TC took when millions are lost on risky investments? billions to rescue ailing american banks? the cpf goal gets shifted further and further – minimum sum higher and higher, we are told to work even older.
Go incognito and seek the truth from the people. for once let the heart prevail over $$$.
then we talk familiy.
Sorry, I’m not part of the famiLee, my surname is Tan.
I think you guys at TOC mis-spelt the words. The words actually meant:
“We are in this together…not as individuals or even just as each famiLEE on its own, but as one big family which is the Singapore famiLEE.”
Yeah forgive my pun. Since when has it been we are in it together? Since when had it been staying together, moving ahead?
Look, call me cynical. But of the past years, it has been a lot of mouth-talk. Shall I remind you of the BIG debate of $30 welfare increase, and the response from a certain minister?
C’mon, PM Lee, you can do better than that. Having these kind of sweet talk gets nowhere with real poor people pushing carts and sleeping in void decks. These folks once contributed to the economy. Now they are useless to you. And now it’s their children’s fault for not being filial to support their parents in old age. Look many of these children can’t even support themselves well.
Yeah it’s alll our fault. Then don’t have Union chief saying salary increment is different from salary inflation, and upturn the downturn, or turn the downside up, or whatever? Makes any sense to you?
Till now I’m still wondering what that mean, and people are still asking when you gonna ‘upturn the downturn’.
Kaffein
Say, Father of the nation and mother of the nation were enjoying their good lives. While some of their children lay destitute and improvished. We had a nice distant Aunty Eunice who asks for an increase in pocket money to help out our less advantaged siblings. And uncle Vivian stands indignant together with dad and mom, “How much more!? For hawker centre, food courts or restaurants?”
Is this the type of family I want to belong to? Where our “parents” or fellow family members leave it up to you, my fellow countrymen/brothers/sisters to save those who have fallen through the gaps by a “help the poor GST increase”?
I don’t know about you guys but I think child neglect proceedings are in order.
Oh wait, our parents have never to lost in the eyes of our courts.
Yeha, they are the ones who created all these problems to the society and the people, and now they are telling us we are all in one big family???? to stay together and help them to keep their $million salaries going??? what a joke is this? THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH OK SINGAPORE! remember?
富者不仁, 富不过三代.. it will end with LHL. Every dynasty comes to an end and it is usually preceded by the appearance of a woman who brings incompetency, cronyism, nepotism and signs of huge failure.
I am thinking the same too. Maybe, its already happening and the process is now taking place. History can never be wrong.
aiyoyo
not sure if the commoners are getting similar pay package?
aiyoyo
Doesn’t his comment very confusing! Is Singapore Inc a Country, a Family, a Company or a Hotel, I really don’t know till this day. He told us to be self reliant yet most of policies made was inducing dependency to our Government so as to establise control of the citizens.
Doesn’t we depend our Schooling, Housing and even our Career needs in GLC to our Governement. Even how and when we spend CPF is being control. Is this Self Reliant or Absolute Dependency, I don’t know!!
How many Singapore’s “World Class, Fortune 500″ company in Singapore doesn’t depend on the Governement while rest are MNCs, GLC. Very very few like Creative Technologies to be named. China and Taiwan are better than us in establishing “World Class Enterprises” like Lenovno, TCL, TSMC, UMC to produce products in their own name to sell to the World. Where are we now even though we start early than them cause our government’s policies crowded out small creative enterprises and establised rigid company like Chartered who isn’t competitive worldwide! Do we still have confident in our future?
I thought we suppose to learn from government. When government gave themselves a pay hike and raise taxes, did they ever consider this “family speech’?
Like the government, I am only interested in the bottomline, my bottomline.
There is nothing wrong is getting money from government since they dont feel anything wrong in getting from us and helping themselves.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20090112/tbs-new-issue-singapore-govt-prices-7-ye-7318940.html
The GREAT SINGAPORE BOND COMING UP
When economy is bad: We are in this together
When economy is good: It is because of good government.
Cool.
aiyoyo
interesting #23 Dee…
“When economy is bad: We are in this together
When economy is good: It is because of good government.”
aiyoyo
he writing lyrics for the new singapore 2009 national day parade song.
24) aiyoyo on January 12th, 2009 9.40 pm
I have a puzzle in my mind for a long time.
This singapore recession where thousands of jobs are cut and people retrenched and hiring frozen and salaries cut or lost,
i learnt that it is due to Global Financial Meltdown.
That is to be blamed.
I wonder when economy boom, who should we thank for the glorious GDP?
and then i eureka’d.
Its said the economy depends or relies or is reliant on developed countries importing the goods. something like that. So, if these countries get sick, also get sick.
This led me to think, why so reliant? is being so reliant good? wise? long term strategic?
secondly, Taiwan, HK , SKorea all have so different political systems than ours.
why they all became the asian Miracles and Tigers? all economic miracles? What can I deduce?
Where is the alternative and postive plan from the “opposition”?
seems like i have more and more questions in my mind….
i hope someone can clarify my doubts raised .
sometimes, i feel that being too concerned about my country’s future
is creating more questions in my head. very tiring.
i hope more jobs can be created in singapore.
USA lost many jobs but Obama is promising 3 million new ones.
I hope singapore can create 3 hundred k jobs.
else, expect more questions in my head. sian ah!!!!
Yah lah PM Lee doesn’t want us to have “crutch mentality”, cannot everything must rely on gahment. Like this, we can’t be one big family. Family must care and share, must depend on one another, isn’t it? Now, how to be one big family?
29) bing lan jie
Hi for your question on GDP, it will depend on which country you are talking about. but for singapore case, yes, our GDP growth is reliant on export. Based on 2007, our exports adds up to 302.7 billion, while our GDP is 161.3 billion, thus export is 187% of GDP.
Our export market are the developed or richer nation, and with the current crunch, you can’t really expect them to spend and buy.
as for Taiwan, HK , SKorea, their population are higher than ours and that affects quantity of labor, and the amount of labor affects GDP growth too.
Well said.. so he does feel our pain too.
Ya, we are one big family but with an enormous income gap. The Ministeres are getting $3m and I am earning only $28k per year. I will have to work more than 100 years just to earn one year of your minister’s income. We are one big family but you never invite me to your regular family dinners where sashimi is freshly flown from Japan. We are one big family but some of my relatives are living on only $390 per mth, and many have no home to go to.
This is how a traditional family works.
Parents stay at home to look after the household.
(Elites look after country)
Children go out to work.
(Citizens work their butts off)
Children give paycheck to parents.
(Elites build up National Reserves from your hard work)
Parents decide how much pocket money to give to children.
(Elites control your subsistent living standard)
When house looks beautiful and well-kept, parents get the compliments.
(In good times, Elites reward themselves handsomely)
When house looks horrible and terrible, children are blamed for not contributing enough to parents.
(In downtime, citizens get the blame for not being good enough and must go for re-training).
What a wonderful family.
When times were good, you and your Minitoots reap $40,000 pay increase per
month! and fed on abalone and caviar. When times are bad, you cut your
bonuses and treat it as a pay cut, and now telling us we in it together.
At least during his father’s time, I felt I belonged
Ever since he took office, why do I feel I am getting more and more detached
from this tiny little red dot?
[#12 anonymous]
“Talking about being too over-reliant on govt? They are the ones who are not lowering their fees, charges, etc in this bad business climate. did hdb rents come down, tranport hikes reversed, GST lowered, hospital fees lowered, rents lowered, S&C lowered? what kind of attitude TC took when millions are lost on risky investments? billions to rescue ailing american banks? the cpf goal gets shifted further and further – minimum sum higher and higher, we are told to work even older.
Go incognito and seek the truth from the people. for once let the heart prevail over $$$.
then we talk familiy.”
Well said, anonymous. I concur.
When a minister’s wife thought a yearly income of around $600,000 is mere peanuts, can you imagine the level of income her husband and/or she herself might be earning?
As I have mentioned elsewhere, the Singapore govt has been f–cking blind to many things. With the knid of salary they are enjoying, our government ministers and those of their ilk have little or no contact with the things happening at ground level. Despite the rising costs of living that adversely affect the majority of people, they are well cocooned. Hence, they think it is sensible to say “it is still affordable.” Affordable to whom? At least not to people who are struggling to make ends meet. And there are many people in this group.
WKC: Affordable to whom? At least not to people who are struggling to make ends meet. And there are many people in this group.
This is a gross misrepresentation and an understatement: Ouside of those in the White Camp, the many people you speak of are all of us, approximately 4,000,000 of us who are struggling to make ends meet.
#37 [gemami]
In which case it would be a non sequitur to say Singapore has attained so-called first-world status. In which case some people are presumably deluded for claiming Singapore is now a first-world nation.
If anyone wants to be a slave to their delusion, we can only say it is their right or privilege. Right?
hi, i dont know wat’s the problem with you guys who critisized LKW,LHL and so on. i feel that if you are so disppointed and fed up with Spore’s system and you think tat spore cant meet your requirments, why dont you jolly well migrate to other countries? stop blaming the gov and you should wake up and start working on a solution yourself.
last check … my surname is not Lee, or Silly.
It’s hard to be one big family when every new policy introduced since the last GE are to further widen the already huge gaps between the ruling members of the family and the poor peasants:
1. GST increase to help the poor?
2. Tripling of Minister’s salary and more SMs to help govern the poor?
3. Huge intake in foreigners to compete with locals?
4. Hospital means test to help the poor?
5. Increase in public transport fare due to oil price increase but this did not drop back when oil price plunged because “transport cost no longer related to oil price?
6. 22% increase in electricity price for households?
7. Goodbye to by-election?
8. Inflation hits 6.9% in just one year, but salary drops drastically for the poor?
9. $20m salary for a CEO when the poor is struggling just to survive?
10. new ERPs everywhere to help the poor motorists, even in HDB housing estates like Toa Payoh?