Our response in italics:
Speech in English
“Testimony of 48 year old retrenched worker who went to e2i and got a job: ‘I am so happy now. I am earning more than before.’”
- For every one person like him, how many were not able to find a job, or was paid less and by how much less? I think what we need are the statistics, and not just one positive example.
“First class Government, best leadership.”
- Why is it that paying the highest salaries in the world to our ministers has failed to find a 4th Prime Minister, who may have to be a new candidate in the next election around the age of 30?
“The most dangerous fault line is race and religion. We don’t talk very much about it. From time to time, we need to.”
- The Malay community may arguably be the least economically well off on a relative basis. As their (if not most Singaporeans’) biggest asset may probably be their HDB flat, the HDB Ethnic Quota policy may need to be reviewed, as it is generally harder to sell and the market price is much lower.
“The 3Ms (Medisave, Medishield, Medifund) are working well”
- How many have zero or less than $500 in their Medisave account? How many are unable to pay their medical bills? How many are deliquent on their medical bills, being chased by hospitals to pay, paying by installment, etc ?
“No need for new prescription now – review at the end of the year”
- How many more have to be unemployed? How many more have to apply for financial assistance, before we take additional measures?
‘The ‘Then and now” slide show and commentary was great’
- Let us all be united and work together to review the policies that may be causing more Singaporeans to lose their homes, life CPF savings, low savings for retirement, declining incomes against rising cost of living, etc
Speech in Malay
“Buy a flat that is within your means”
- With the prices of new HDB flats continuing to escalate because of HDB’s “market subsidy pricing policy”, despite the economic downturn, is it any wonder that the HDB visited 60,000 HDB households last year who had difficulty in paying for their HDB flats.
“Do not spend every dollar you earn”
- With the wages of the lower-income continuing to decline, how to make ends meet?
Speech in Chinese
“Unemployment rate has increased slightly”
- The resident unemployment rate has increased to six per cent in June, with 116,600 unemployed.
“Basically, most Singaporeans can afford their medical costs”
- What about the 750,000 who do not have any form of medical insurance, according to Mdm Halimah Yacob, Chair-person of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) on Healthcare?
- Khoo Teck Puat hospital wih 500 beds will cost S$500 million, compared to the 600-bed Sungai Buloh hospital in Malaysia which we understand only cost RM50 million.
“Community hospitals can provide good step-down care”
- With the recent increase in fees of up to 100 per cent at community hospitals, the net effect, even after the increase in Government subsidies, may be that patients end up paying more.
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already yawning………
I am more concerned about the foreigner problem and how to limit them.
But seeing LKY’s message 2 days ago, it is a lost cause. I am disappointed but not surprised that PAP is going to continue letting foreigners flood our land…
LHL will not have a different message.
“Buy a flat that is within your means” from Malay message
So Malays are supposed to buy 2-room and 3-room flats as foreigner PRs move the HDB prices sky-high?
Malays have been driving the SG population up and up. No space how to raise population?
hahaha…. LHL so scared of religon and religious groups…..
is he talking down to the citizens??
WTH is LHL doing??? Always talking about religion and halal food?
This guy giving us lessons on how to treat people… as if we’re not old enough to know all this. I am getting very angry.
“hahaha…. LHL so scared of religon and religious groups…..”
I thought that PAP is a religion itself with many people and supporters especially ShittyTimes worshipping Godfather and quoting Godfather’s freaking “word of wisdom” despite his senility and mortality. Even best, dean-list student writing partisan and nonsensical article to enter into good book of Pappies for preparation and expedient climb into Pappy’s organization.
As far as Im concerned, this guy is in no position to tell me to do anything. He can P*** O**.
“But seeing LKY’s message 2 days ago, it is a lost cause. I am disappointed but not surprised that PAP is going to continue letting foreigners flood our land…”
They have to since their main purpose aside from economical contribution is to dilute the voice and vote of the citizens. It will be a interesting election.
Now he is talking about how great HDB was.
yes….”was”
HDB today is terrible.
‘Affordability for citizens’ is no longer a concern for our HDB
He talking about the past and the present…. what about the future???
Another reason not to give up your PR:
Medical cost is less expensive (According to LHL).
You would only need it when you are old.
Therefore, keeping your PR will allow you to return back to your country and take out all the CPF monies to pay the medical bills.
And you probably have a lot left.
If you convert, you will end up with a large medisave account and an equally large medical bill, and there is nothing you can do.
I am not laughing…
TO LHL,
Don’t lose monies in your investment or our investments.
My dear prime minister,
What’s your point now??
When I heard Obama’s Cairo speech, I could feel his passion for America
When I saw Ma Ying Jiu’s speeches during this terrible typhoon in taiwan, I could feel his love for his country.
When I see LHL, I just feel it’s plastic. The issues in his speech are uninteresting and does not address my concerns.
Who cares about obesity? Racial harmony is not a problem now. The problem is Locals vs Foreigners, and national identity.
The issue is jobs, accountability for temasek losses.
LHL is really detached from the rest of us.
why is there so little discussion on the rally speech? how many pple are watching it i wonder…
agree, it’s quite boring. his last year’s speech was more exciting.
LHL compared early fifties and sixties HDB flats, but he did not mentioned the prices paid then and now. Who is he trying to fool. Perhaps all the papies audience now lisitening live to his propangnada.
Agreed. The HDB prices are now ridiculous!
We cannot let PRs move prices like this anymore!
We are literally being chased from house and home!
Holy mama… this PM is lousy. You know how hard it is to participate in the NDP. So many weekend burn!
George Yeo seems happy…
Worse National Day rally ever … where is the beef? i.e. policy statements for the future? Seems like we were basking in the past …
The most critical issue is the local vs foreigner divide and this was not even raised!
Am I missing something here?
Gee that man… where’s the passion?? all fake n plastic. no sincerity at all.
But to his credit, at least there’s no “mee siam mai hum” or ” can see packed MRT from CTE” this year … ;-)
As a 3rd generation citizen, the speech was very un-inspiring to me. Most of it is feel-good recaps, motherhood statements of what should be and how we should behave.
I don’t understand why so many in audience clapping or nodding their heads. None of the speech resonate with me. Is something wrong with me? Very sad.
Shallow. No substance.
27) befuddled on August 16th, 2009 9.57 pm
I don’t understand why so many in audience clapping or nodding their heads.
This is an order from the old man, all must clap or else pay cut tomorrow. Can’t you see its very obvious the front rows are packed with all those MIW?
I didn’t catch the entire rally, but only tuned in when PM was talking about religious harmony. Lots of nodding heads there, and personally, I agree. Even though many of the points he was making was painfully obvious, apparently many Singaporeans don’t think it’s wrong to force their religious views down other people’s throats, and his message pretty much sets the baseline of what is acceptable behaviour for religious groups in the secular arena. I hope this will be a sufficient wake-up call for any religious group which thinks it has a monopoly over social and moral values.
The NDR is not over yet, channel 5 has more images, details and more reports to elaborate on PM speech. Some of the reporters appeared in the afternoon to report on the void deck issue even before the speech. PM cant conveyed the idea clearly enough?
He deliberately missed out the foreigners conquering Singapore. Too guilty or too shy to talk about it since it affected our livlihood the most – I am sure there is no other answer. As usual, using his digital photo to up the mood and talking about all the hardwares. Where is the heartware of Singapore? has it improve from 1959 to 2009….if not, than something is very wrong with this leadership.
my dear mother kept asking when he’s going to stop “liam keng”? She missed her weekly dosage of taiwanese serial “LOVE”..for once i missed that show too!
31, Spin :: u think he got any idea at all? He’d be nothing if not for the national propaganda spinning for him. and his dad too of coz.
I agree to what PM mention about religious harmony but the government must remind those who wanted more religious space to a point of disturbing their neighbour, HDB is not enforcing and we are just helpless if the immediate neighbour is turning their unit into a “temple”. How can you tolerate neighbour who bit their religious drums and with the whole family singing religious song at the peak of their vocie? How to tolerate neighbour who wash their feet at the common corridor claiming that is their religion practise and make the corridor wet? How to tolerate neighbour who ring the bell and burning of incense to the point of polluting the surrounding? Since the government allow building of place of worship all this big scale worshipping should only be done at the place of worship and not at HDB unit. The government should look into such problem, I have make complaint to HDB and they are not taking any action at all.
PM LHL sidestepped the foreign workers issue altogether and painted a rosy
picture on the achievements of the past years to the present.
It is hard to believe that in Singapore many of us are happy with PAP.
To people in other countries tuning into the National Rally speech, PAP is a great government.
Sorry LHL we do not take your shit anymore. Whatever you said, the deciding vote will be casted to include more oppositions MP into parliament.
Let us vote for a really better S’pore with opposition voices, not just one voice of PAP.
The national rally speech is a real good wayang presentation of a rosy side of life. The other side of midnite is darkness we must not forget.
I yearn for more PASSION and COMPASSION in this National Day Rally. While the technology is great, I think the Singaporeans’ hearts were expecting to be warmed and uplifted. Images cannot replace oratorical passion and compassion.
Anyway, I love Singapore. I still wish Singapore well. It is our country, although we are still building it to a home from a house.
What a joke! LHL try to impress everyone viewing his speech with the old “jampun” (bucket toilet) and the modern HDB toilet of today. But he did not mention the amount of money the government sucked from us with the high cost
of owning a flat. Remember how Teh Cheang Wen, the corrupted minister who committed sucide when he was National Development Minister.
I wonder how much has Mah Boh Tan amassed all this years as ND minister now. Why are HDB prices so high within an ordinary citizens reach now? Many cannot owned a flat at such exorbitant price. Judgement day will come.
Harmony??? We will have REAL harmony if the gahmen itself doesn’t keep SIngaporeans apart and instill fear in us.
PM Lee is well trained in NS. Talk cock, sing song, play piano
Three words.
THEN AND NOW.
Three words.
LIFE HAS IMPROVED!
Pretty touching when he related how two men had to share a pant and how those villagers had to bathe in large century egg urn. Me happened to be from one of the many farming villages that are by now all resettled with many of those villages now left to breed mosquitoes. We paid few dollars a year for farming licences and property taxes to survive as farmers and living in the village was paradise. Now, the Government is planning to rent out those resettled unused lands for farmings again, what will be the prices of rents be ? I think only RICH people can afford to be farmers now. Even poor farmers have to make ways for rich farmers, talk about widening income gap, it became wide and gets wider and all because of their policies.
As for HDB, it will be for jumping rather than for living in time to come.
And he is still singing praises about PAP, Preposterous and Pathetic
patriot
LIFE HAS IMPROVED!
Yes, indeed for the MIW.
The part on racial harmony was all right. The rest are just Pappies’ spin – feeding the nation with empty calories. The fly-through segment on the marina development- what is the purpose? To glorify URA’s abilities? What is there for the lesser mortals? It is all for tourist $$$ and enriching the government’s coffer. How many can actually afford to dine at these attas attas places around there. For us lesser mortals, we can only just walk around.
Surely the Malay community has made progress, they worked harder on education too
But politically, GRC will lock up their votes for the ruling party, that is a great strategical plot
I too am surprised that Ho Jinx is there to show face.
LHL too does not mention anything on the amount of losses we have had overseas.
The dirty tricks that they play to increase vote favorable to them disguise me to the ultimate. By bring in PRC, Indian, Burmese, Flipinas and think that they can help to increase vote will hurt them more in future.
One day more gayman will learn from burning incident that occur to Mr Seng. Hopefully he is not last.
Enrich themselves by fooling the general public. We not stupid.
Phew to the system.
Year after Year, the govt keep talking ( down ) to people, keeping their parental roles.
Sunday times shows the 3rd generation of the royal family us raising their head, will Sg really go downhill without this family ?
Two men shared a pair of pants, what about father, son shared an istana ?
For Singapore to stay cohesive -
We must reach out to the New Singaporeans and expats into the mixs and we must not let them feel isolated. If they feel isolated and become defensive, they will recede with people of their same backgrounds, from the same town, and they never integrate.
Bearing in mind that they bring with them a whole set of culture different to ours. Therefore, I believe that learning about ‘tolerance’ is important as we must have an open heart for all our citizen including PR and expats.
We should start from young and in schools and learn about different cultures and behaviour. Perhaps the ministry of education can consider introducing more exchange programmes with other countries in the region?
Singaporen voters…i URGE you to begin to separate the rhetoric from reality. The realities in Singapore is much more GRIM than a bed of roses which LHL painted!
What a load of propaganda!
LKY has given the go ahead to import more foreigners. LHL ignores the problems he created and preach us how to live. I think many Singaporeans are already living within their means, just that this is not going to be enough. It is going to be harder and harder for Singaporeans in Singapore.
So far what’s holding me back is my elderly parents’ attachment to Singapore. If next election still no changes to status quo, I am going off. I think my parents are beginning to understand how Singaporeans can no longer remain here.