Minister Mentor’s speech in Parliament on Wednesday, 19 August.
Video source: Channel NewsAsia. Watch Part Two below.
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Why is MM Lee “doing physiotherapy and reading newspaper” in Parliament ???
We pay him 3 million a year to do that in Parliament ???…..Ridiculous and atrocious…..and he is so bloody open about it with no guilt…..
Imagine openly reading newspaper while working in office and he wants to compare his pay to private sector….please ask him to wake up his ideas !!!!
No work ethic and professionalism for 3 million a year.
I want LKY to go back to Earth (陆土为安) too
the reality is MM is old, please retired at home and play with ur grand-grand-kids. thats the reality!
please make a motion calling for MM to stay at home.
based on justice and equality.
what is read each morning by students.
lky ever so subtly imply that it will take decades or centuries before his regime be overthrown and how little he think of the malays in particular.
so was it 1976 or 1977 ???????????????????????????????????????
why compare with USA?
so far, so different?
why not compare with Denmark?
juz curious.
So MM LKH said that this is not a “national pledge”, it is a “national aspiration”.
Next year NDP, we shall recite the “national aspiration”. “We the citizen of Singapore, we aspire …..” I also remember, my marriage vow is also an aspiration.
usa is a very large country.
It takes longer for them.
that is only human.
singapore is a very very small country, if not city.
how to compare ???
7) Xanado on August 21st, 2009 12.37 am
why compare with USA?
so far, so different?
if you want to compare with USA then start reducing your bloody salary USA standard, sick old man!
why mention this aspect of the Pledge only now?
students have been reciting it every for decades.
8) Aspiration on August 21st, 2009 12.40 am
So MM LKH said that this is not a “national pledge”, it is a “national aspiration”.
Go and tell it to your military army and police force then!
his last sentence is the most ear-catchy to me.
MM Lee introduced an amendment to Mr Viswa’s motion which was eventually accepted by a bunch of running dogs in Parliament.
I may sound cruel, but I am secretly pleased by the videos. Why? From the videos, it is obvious LKY is aging and stumbling badly compared to his prime. #2 Oxford Dude on August 21st, 2009 12.10 am will not have to wait for long to get his wish granted.
Is the MM’s health in any way correlated to the rush to rubber-stamp the bill to legalise human organ for sales, even before the critical details are ironed out?
I like to know how will or would the youths be aware of what he said?
Or would youths bother to check out videos like these and articles on social political websites?
Are they current with current affairs ?
wah, do physio-therapy in Paliament?
can ministers & MPs do other stuff like call for food to be delivered, surf online shopping portals, play PSP, listen to MP3 music, take a nap…?
what a monkey… :)
@ 15
honestly, I’m not too sure, doubt many youths are even aware or ever give a damn for that matter.
I was watching blogtv.sg just now. judging by the comments on the shoutbox. it seems that the youths are pretty much clueless or ignorant, rather. topic was about racism in singapore and all I see them discussing were about, what they think about racist jokes in singapore.. so.. there you go.
I myself only stumble upon this site today while googling viswa. there should be more awareness of this site in facebook. that ought to give our youths some education of sorts instead of, well.. whatever that they have been doing on facebook.
I’ll agree with him on the part where we shouldn’t remove certain privileges from Minorities, especially the poorer ones. But I’ll not agree on the a few other things he said.
We’ve the opportunities to witness the many wrong paths history has shown us. We do not require a decades and centuries to evolve. If we’re to need that much time, as such a small nation, then I’d say we’ve failed horribly as a human being and is not better than an evolving ape. We’ve had the opportunities to learn what racial riots could bring, and also the opportunities to learn of civil and human rights, together with how to treat fellow human beings and finally, how to climb out of poverty.
But along the paths we’ve taken, we’ve also witnessed how people can justify obscene salaries with horrible reasons. How our system has shunned responsibilities and perhaps how thick a face some people can maintain. And also we’ve seen rising GDP along with obvious problems when the common men gets no obvious benefits. We were educated to respect each other regardless of Race, Language or Religion by the pledge, nearly daily, when we were young. Four decades have gone and I do not see why we’re not able to continue this harmony.
I cannot see accountability, and his views on the party being elected again for so many years due to ‘Being Accountable’ is flawed. With all due respect for this man, Lee Kuan Yew, I respect him with my heart for all the work he has done with the pioneers of Singapore, his genuine thoughts and feelings back then for his country. I even respect the measure he undertook back then to maintain order. (I believe it was needed back then when people had no clear goals, and were easily swayed by vocal thoughts)
But not his son, really. Ever Since 2006, I’ve been seeing no change, nor any effort to change for the better. Perhaps better change for themselves, but not the common men, nor the people of Singapore. Every year the newspaper says we’re better off, but at the same time I’m seeing more families sinking under the poverty line. Every year costs increase due to inflation, and flats become more and more expensive, but I do not see my income rise along with it. Perhaps it’s because I’m still young, but is it wrong to expect better treatment as a Singapore Citizen? Is it my fault, that I’m seeing such sharp increase in various costs and yet my PR counterparts don’t seem to care about it? Is it my fault, that I am seeing more old people collecting cardboard boxes, cans and even managed to witness a quarrel between 2 persons over a trolley full of cardboard boxes?
Of course it is MY FAULT! My fault for not being educated enough. My fault that my parents voted for the current government which does nothing for the poor because it’ll take Centuries to do so. But I’ve learnt, and I think the Party requires a good stiff lesson taught on changes. You need a few decades and centuries to help people live better you say? Well you guys freaking changed my motherland drastically in a span of 2 decades, and I’m sure your policies are going to change our landscape even more drastically, and to your liking, if I were to allow it. But no, carrot sticks won’t do any longer, not even Gold Plated ones. I still won’t vote for a monkey, but I’ll vote for any other human being than your party. I’m in need to see better change for this country, and I’ve seen a good three years of nothing done and yet expects us to be grateful. It’ll be a good scare, and even better one if things change abruptly, it’ll wake a lot of sleeping minds and caterpillars, as another friend put it.
Mr Lee KY, you’ve done good, and you’ve done enough. Please watch as this country you’ve educated move towards a better future on it’s own. We will learn from your mistakes and your successes, there’s no more need to bring us back to Earth, we are on Earth.
As usual, Harry Lee is avoiding the truth. Why are we having our national anthem in Malay? Why is our national language still Malay? These were in force before Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963.
Apart from the Malays there were and still are other minorities in Singapore. Why privileges for Malays only? What is the historical reason for this? Obviously, Harry knows all this but decided to sidestep the truth in parliament.
#19 seebeng
So what’s the truth?
“17) norace on August 21st, 2009 12.59 am
there should be more awareness of this site in facebook. that ought to give our youths some education of sorts instead of, well.. whatever that they have been doing on facebook.”
I think its TIME we do something productive.
Youths mentality affect the rest also.
Our future in their hands.
What kind of youths do we want to nurture?
As it is clear many youths are OBLIVIOUS to many current affairs issues,
its up to us, those who are not apathetic and aware of the details to point to them the right path, so to speak.
I am starting to send TOC links to all facebook friends and like those ‘viral’ or ‘mlm-style’ SMS’ing, I would also try to blast a group of contacts with website links and ask them to give feedback on the articles or issues or comments made by so and so. Email blast also can help a lot.
Guys, we need to keep youths informed. They may be too occupied with school work, PSP, PS3 , pocket …. , and playdol.
if youths are challenged to comment, they will.
1st , give them the issue.
Tell them how it affects them.
Then, challenge them to give their honest opinion and to ask pertinent questions.
hope this helps.
It looks like the Old Man is showing his age. He had the date for the US Declaration of Independence wrong even while reading it from the prepared text. You may review this episode in Part 1 (around 5:30 in the video). It’s 1976, 1977, back to 1976 while it should have been 1776 all along.
Of course, the MSM graciously provided the written text of the speech as it was intended (not a verbatim transcript) http://www.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20090820-162122.html .
The point is this. No one expects him to be a historian. However, that he has gotten things muddled up by a margin of more than 220 years without realizing it. It points to a more serious problem.
Not long ago, he claimed to have read a letter from the president of IBA praising the judiciary of Singapore when such a letter did not exist. More recently, he claimed credit for ExxonMobil’s investment as a direct result of meeting with the senior executives but ExxonMobil quickly denied that.
These episodes may not be unrelated. It is unsurprising if he is rapidly losing memory and not completely lucid at his age. The 3-million-dollar question is if he is still mentally fit to hold office.
“He (NMP Viswa) will know Indians are not equal. Brahmins will not be in Sinda. It is the non-Brahmins who are in Sinda.”
Regardless of his age, his racist and class-conscious views are still very dangerous today as they were in the past.
who is the author of the singapoor pledge?
writtenby non other than a fellow singaporean senoir minister
the belated respected rajaratnam who retired gracefully.
he did his duty as a kind and good minister which he was very good @ as foreign minister.
leekuanyew disgraced that scared pledge by breakin SENTENCE in it.
when his time come for him to meet st peters i am sured the belated rajaratnam and the few other colleagues of his would not be welcomin leekuanyew to st peter’s gates they will give him the thumb down if the previous teams were the gatekeeper’s juries in Heaven.
without a doubt………………………………….
leekuanyew will defiteniteLEE all alone by himself carryin all the golds he pocketed while in government, Heavens will maked sured of it
every ouched/kilo he earned as legalLEE in his honest capacity throughout his walks with lucifer and we all know lucifer domain is not ice cool so hot that the gold he carried will make him so hot that he will try to buy his way up to earth again.
afraid this time there won’t be any tokyo subway guards to assist him.
sayonara…………
“The 3-million-dollar question is if he is still mentally fit to hold office.”
Come on, his unprecedented title/post/office is simply to lend legitimacy to his “advice”. Even if he was to step down from the post of “Minister Mentor”, you want to wager he is not calling the shots? Regardless of his cognitive ability, mental stability or relevance to the modern world, we have to “respect” his views, if not strictly abide by them.
No actually, the S$400 billion question is when LKY goes to his final resting place. Will LHL be able to hold things together?
@ 21) I have an idea – viral networking — I’m gonna do the same!
@ 19) seebeng — ok granted I may not know the “truth” but here’s what I think of your statement from a malay pov. I’m obviously ignorant, but what privileges for being a malay am I missing here? I certainly would like to know.
again, people go back to referring each other to this race and that race, can’t we just be singaporean for once?
and just for ranting sake, as a malay I dont see any significance or advantage that the national anthem is in malay and that the national language is “still” malay. every caucasian, well the majority of them, still think singapore is a chinese country, hell even my tibetan friend thinks I am from malaysia because I am malay. you know how insulting that feels? how would you like it if some foreigner think you’re just another prc.
anyway, not to trying to stir anything, but one thing that has always remained a mystery to me is that why is it that the malays are not well represented in the navy or air force? I’ve heard ridiculous answers like “oh because the govt don’t want the malays to compromise the nation’s security and integrity by possibly be spying for indonesia and malaysia” I mean, seriously? again, that’s just insulting as a malay singaporean.
oh and I’ve nothing against other races, to be honest I’m almost immuned to being discriminated against. but I know better that not all are like that. it exists in every culture, even against each other.
While I don’t support the Pro-PAP Camp, even Ng Eng Hen and Michael Palmer sounds more balanced than LKY in objecting against Viswa’s motion. This old fart is obsolete.
Yi kong si mi kwee?
I find his wry and witty humour thoroughly entertaining, honestly. I guess that’s the result of a British education. Actually, I’d just like to know what he meant by his quip about Brahmins. That thoroughly hurt my family and I, being part of the Brahmin community here. I think such comments should not be publicly made, especially in Parliament. I’ve also come to realise that LKY is the only one who can be as blunt and dry as he likes… unfortunately.
#26, I watched the NDP with a group of Malay friends and they were all joking,
“wait, wait…look all the Malay in Civil Defense”…and then laughing that there were very few in the Airforce or Navy
I also heard that there are very few Malays in Signals or Intelligence, is this true? If it’s not, good :-) If it is, why?
LKY is grasping at straws. In a way i feel sad to see a man who had done so much for Singapore slipping downward this way. Nowadays, it seems that the things he says seemed more and more to justify and defend his own record, his son, his family, his party than anything that really benefits the country or its people. and the worst thing is that it usually does not make any sense. yet the nonsense it is usually delivered with a paternalistic tone.
His is fast losing his legacy. i think this is the saddest thing that can happen to any person; the more he tries to hold on to power and to leave a name in history, the more he destroys it.
LKY is not immune to the failings of man. i believe the ST has worked overtime to create a myth about his infallibility but the truth is unveiling itself with time. This has been proven in history time and again and even if the ST continue to work overtime they will not be able to sustain the myth of superman. in fact the more they try, the worst everything will look when it all falls a part. i believe if a broad view of history is to be taken, say, in 100 years time when historians write the history of Singapore (assuming PAP no longer dominates which i believe it wont), they will identify this era we live in as the start of the rot with LKY putting his son, hanging on to power to keep things within the family, ho ching’s appt etc. History may even judge people like CSJ and JBJ to be truer patriots than LKY even though LKY did do alot for Singapore before the rot started.
it will be a sad ending for someone so illustrious.
What more proof do we need that the old fart cannot handle the truth and it should not surprise us the old fart can never ever live up to the national pledge. How to ?……..
…….when his legacy is nepotism, cronyism, compliant judiciary, compliant law enforcement, compliant media, compliant union, ridiculous laws, obscene elections system, obscene distribution of wealth, avoidance of accountability,
…….in summary, the art of hoodwinking the citizens.
i fully applaud MM Lee’s speech in correcting the unbased & untrue.
viral networking? i did that also. friends get friends to support the gahmen and keep them in power. like MLM :)
the youths want the peace stability and prosperity here so that they can continue to earn their $$.
the last thing to do is to rock the boat, scare the investors away with a new unexperience alien gahmen and that’s it for this little red dot!!
my stand will not change. this gahmen has done well with good track record.
my family, friends and relatives will continue to vote this party in, election after election. :)
The whole speech sounded pretty racial to me.
And what was that part about the US constitution treating everyone equal, and yet the Singapore one says everyone is not, and that’s why we have special rules. Doesn’t the constitution promise freedom of speech and assembly, but that rule has been set aside so why not others, especially when they are for the greater good and more uniting.
Idolatry doesn’t help civil society. Our parents and grandparents should understand that. It’s ideas that define man, not the other way round.
Special treatment to Malays……..from MM Lee?
Of course, MM Lee is preparing his first fasting month,ramadan.
Can the most eminent observers here correct me if I’m wrong, isn’t equal representation in GRCs a form of reverse discrimination? What happened to the ethos of meritocracy?
It is so typical of PAP and MM Lee.
Instead of breaking Mr Viswa’s argument point by point (which he will not succeed) he uses the straw Hi Flatulin strawman and hi Brahmin strawman – to cast negative vibes on him. An NMP worth his salt.
I hope Mr Viswa shakes off from this and continue to speak for Singapore.
Thanks Mr Viswa.
Dear Yomi,
Certainly. You are entitled to your rights to vote who you want.
But my stand will not change too. They are doing a terrible job. Their track record is going down the drain. LKY is now like a pack of expired milk. Sour and bitter. If you insist on drinking it, you will probably get a throw up.
My family, friends and relatives will vote this government out this time. If this government is not out by this election, certainly next election.
As you said, everyone wants peace and stability to have a good living.
With highly flawed policies leading to so many problems citizens are facing from new immigrants, “False” talents (FTs), a wide rich-poor discrepany, a high cost of living, Singapore’s wealth shrinkage, scholars-talk-others-listen mentality, you will not be saying what you have said if you fall on the weaker half of the society.
friends, i implore that you do not let your present grievances, those real and those imagined, blind you to the lessons of history, nor allow them to prejudice you against wisdom wherever it may come from. it costs you nothing to listen, and you have all to gain.
when he speaks of the difference between the american constitution and our own, it might seem a distant and abstract point, but would be a profound reality if you had the chance to walk along the housing projects of inner-city baltimore or detroit, and see for yourself the fruits of utopian egalitarianism. if like steve wu #23 you believe his “racist and class-conscious views” are “dangerous”, let me assure you that life where these views are censured can be far more so.
certainly, you are entitled to your opinion, and endowed with reason, you may disagree. but do so with the due diligence of considered thought that you owe to him and yourself. he is a man that deserves our respect and gratitude for what he has done. it may be difficult for you, who have only known life on these shores, to imagine a singapore that did not have him. you need not imagine, for that alternate reality can be glimpsed just across the causeway and all around our region.
as for those who enjoy the shallow pleasure of mocking the natural afflictions of a man eighty-six years old, and mentally seventy-four years older, all i can say is that you only reaffirm the convictions of your masters; that some men simply cannot be reasoned with and must therefore be ruled over. for your own sake, prove them wrong.
I actually admire him greatly. It is he who made me the cynical pragmatist that I am today (no sarcasm intended). But as I’ve said, idolatry doesn’t help a civil society.
@#40: I’m sure that most of us here cannot deny that LKY has done great things for Singapore. Yet, I must say that he has to learn that his job is done; He’s done great things; Now he has to stay out of this. Sure, he may feel the need to constantly press his stamp upon every single thing that goes on here, but why? Can’t he just say, ‘Let’s leave it to them, I have faith.’ He’s established himself as an important figure, one without which Singapore wouldn’t be here. But I wish he’d leave it at that; Every word he utters just further tarnishes his reputation, IMO.
26) norace on August 21st, 2009 2.10 am
For 1 , i recall malay students given bursary or something like cheaper if not free education up to a certain level?
Not sure if this can be considered as privilege?
What MM says really make sense….accountability.
I am beginning to watch again the ONUL videos and voice recordings involving Chee and the creme dela cremes.
#45, fortunately, the youths majoritily prolly wont even know about these. heee heee
I respect the MM for what he has done for Singapore in the past; yes the PAP has made some mistakes but generally quality of life in Singapore got better from the 50s to the 90s. However under the current leadership, life in Singapore has gotten worst for the majority. Two major issues irks me a lot; the lack of accountability and the FT policy.
My family will vote this government out this time too.
TOC / Readers,
If I were to send links to friends and youths who are Apathetic,
what links should we send to get ‘quick wins’?
I was cheated by an employer due to weaknesses and loopholes.
As a citizen, i am appalled by the status quo.
I have vowed to seek for CHANGE.
If that is the last thing i do.