By by Yoong Siew Wah
Lawrence Wong was comparatively unknown but overnight wss propelled to the top post of prime minister.after his stellar performance as vice-chairman of the ministerial task force combating Covid 19 epidemic.
He gave one of the most spectacular inaugural speeches at his swearing-in ceremony on 15 May 2024 to the delight of and mesmerized the audience and an optimistic precursor of a renaissance of the Singapore future.
Indeed, his first days in office were capped with promising manifestations that would ameliorate the livelihood of the people, especially in reducing the high cost of living and a more relaxed political landscape like freedom of speech and political harassment of the opposition, including non-political activists.
He looks intent on transcending the venal image of Lee Hsien Loong as prime minister, although perfunctorily, he regards him as his political mentor. I think this is quite a given in any political parvenu, especially one that has just risen to prime ministership.
Lee Hsien Loong, in my mind, and that of many Singaporeans, is an insubstantial politician who happened to become prime minister on his father’s coattail.
The question of the obscene astronomical ministerial salaries is like a man-eating vulture hovering over Singapore for decades and it needs a man with a conscience and public dedication strong enough to annihilate it. Is there such a superlative crusader?
The fertile mind who formulated this evil ministerial salary scheme was the infamous Lee Kuan Yew, and Goh Chok Tong was the first transient beneficiary, but the real beneficiary was his son Lee Hsien Loong.
This treasure from heaven now falls on the present bright spark Lawrence Wong .Will he be the saint to modify this evil salary scheme? He is keepng this close to his chest and may take a miracle for him to wake up and take the initiative to change.
Sanguine Singaporeans may may have to be extremely patient for this long-awaited miracle to happen. In the meantime they may holler till their throats run dry but will only fall on deaf ears.
Hypocritical idiosyncracies of PM Lawrence Wong that attracted recent hostile brickbats on his pompous spouting to the public to move away from 5 or 6 Cs citing so-called adverse effects and to embrace his definitions of success give an insightful comprehension of a derisory aspect of his persona.
It’s God-forbidding coming from a prime minister who should have shown more sagacious thinking. The public would like to know how candidly can this ruling homo sapiens serve the people of Singapore without any artfulness.
It shows very clearly that he is imbued with Lee Hsien Loong’s style of political manipulation, who was his former political mentor to whom he was pathetically devoted, not excluding his venal admiration of Lee Hsien Loong’s questionable wealth.
Lee Hsien Loong is now out in the lurch, and how PM Lawrence Wong values his relationship with him is not yet possible to determine. He may decide to do away with a mentor and be able to act independently. It will be interesting to see the denouement of the comedy of error that will present itself from time to time.
Mr Yoong Siew Wah, was the Director of Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD) from 1971 to 1974. He was Director of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the 1960s, and had a distinguished career in the Singapore Special Branch in the 1950s. Mr Yoong, who is in his 90s, keeps a blog called Singapore Recalcitrant.