Philip Jeyaretnam: My father would be happy that I joined PS
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Philip Jeyaretnam: My father would be happy that I joined PSC
Written by Our Correspondent
In an interview with the Straits Times, Mr Philip Jeyeretnam, the younger son of late opposition leader Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam said that his father would be very happy for him joining the Public Service Commission (PSC).
“I have no doubt that my father would be very happy for me….It would not have been terribly different from how happy he was for me when I graduated from Officer Cadet School or when I was made a Senior Counsel – and the following year, when I became president of the Law Society,” he said.
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam was recently appointed to PSC which is involved in the selection of government scholars by President S R Nathan leading to many netizens to speculate that he had been “co-opted” by the establishment.
He disagrees with the perception, countering that the reason for “this reaction stems from an identification of the state with a particular political party” and it is wrong.
A key reason to him joining PSC is to safeguard the independence of PSC.
“The breakthrough which Singapore needs to make is to have an establishment which encompasses the full range of political opinions within the constitutional set-up of Singapore,” he added.
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam also revealed that he had difficulties securing a job in a law firm in Singapore after returning from his studies in Cambridge, England due to his father’s involvement in opposition politics.
He made up his mind that his character is not suitable for politics in the mid 1990s much to the disappointment of the elder Jeyaretnam.
When asked about his elder brother Kenneth taking over the reins of the Reform Party which was founded by his father last year, he pauses and seems to struggle for an answer.
“We have always respected each other’s choices in life and we have made slightly different choices,” he says.
The late Mr Jeyaretnam had won the respect and love from many ordinary Singaporeans for speaking up fearlessly for them.
He won two elections in the Chinese-dominant seat of Anson in 1981 and 1984, both against Chinese opponents. (Anson is now part of Tanjong Pagar GRC led by MM Lee Kuan Yew)
In 1985, he lost his parliamentary seat after being sentenced to one month’s imprisonment for allegedly mis-stating his Workers’ Party’s (WP) accounts.
He would to remain in the political wilderness for the next two decades except for a brief period as a NCMP from 1997 to 1999 before he was bankrupted again by another ruinous defamation lawsuit.
After he died last year from heart failure, thousands of Singaporeans attended his funeral to mourn his passed.
A candle-night vigil was held at Hong Lim Park a week later by 200 or so young Singaporeans many of whom are still children when JBJ, as he was fondly known, was fighting his one-man battle against the PAP juggernaut.
Till today, “Jeyaretnam” is still a “brand name” in Singapore politics with many Singaporeans urging his two his sons to carry on the family name.
Unfortunately, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam does not appear to be flattered by the high regard the public held for him.
“I’m not a believer in dynasties at all…..I don’t think there’s any need to carry on a particular name…” he said.
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where one sought to serve the public by joining the public service commission, another sought to serve the people by joining politics...
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Philip Jeyaretnam: From rank outsider to public guardian
By Sue-Ann Chia from Straits Times
Tongues wagged when Mr Philip Jeyaretnam was sworn in as a member of the Public Service Commission. Has he been co-opted by the Government? Is it not at odds with his political pedigree as son of opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam?
What does he think of his elder brother Kenneth, who now heads the Reform Party set up by his late father? The lawyer bares his thoughts and feelings in a 90-minute interview.
ARMED with a Cambridge University law degree, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam thought it would not be too tough to clinch a job back in Singapore.
Instead, the first-class honours degree holder had the doors of law firms slammed in his face, one after another. But one reply really rankled him.
‘Not recruiting,’ said the big law firm. Yet when his friend applied to the same firm, she was invited for an interview.
It was a ‘pretty ridiculous situation’ which led him to conclude that the brush-off had something to do with his family name – one which is viewed by many as being on the wrong side of the establishment.
He is the younger son of late opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam, who – with his fiery speeches, thick sideburns and gravelly voice – was at one point a one-man fighting machine against the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).
Yet his father’s political battles were the very reason he chose to return after graduation: to stay by his side and give him support – from legal advice to attending his opposition events.
But if he was expecting the warmth with which he re-embraced his homeland to be reciprocated by the Singapore system, he was in for a disappointment. It would take many a twist and turn before he was able to come in from the cold to take his place in his profession and in society.
Today, if he needed an affirmative answer as to whether he would be welcomed, his recent appointment to the Public Service Commission (PSC) would provide the clearest signal yet.
He joins a panel, which includes 10 other professionals and businessmen, tasked with selecting government scholars and deciding on the promotions and postings of senior civil servants.
It is a non-partisan position but is as closely linked to the Government as it can get; one which cements his crossover to the establishment.
Despite deviating from his father’s political path, he believes the elder Mr Jeyaretnam, who died last year, would have been proud of his new role.
‘I have no doubt that my father would be very happy for me,’ he says, looking visibly relaxed as he lounges on a sofa in his high-ceiling living room filled with bright sunlight.
‘It would not have been terribly different from how happy he was for me when I graduated from Officer Cadet School or when I was made a Senior Counsel – and the following year, when I became president of the Law Society.’
Indeed, there have been many feathers in his cap. But life had not always been smooth-sailing for the 45-year-old writer and lawyer, who bared his thoughts and feelings in a 90-minute interview at his Upper Bukit Timah home.
At times, his nasal chuckle would reverberate across the cavernous space – adding to the homely sounds of his wife and mother-in-law pottering in the kitchen, and his three children watching television in the den downstairs.
At other times, he stared beyond the glass doors into the gardens as he spoke, giving long and thoughtful answers.
A Singaporean outsider
AS HE was growing up, he was kept out of the education system here by his lawyer-parents, who fell in love while studying in University College London.
His British mother wanted her two children to receive an ‘English education’. So both Philip and his elder brother Kenneth studied in international schools here and, later, boarding schools in Britain where they did their A levels.
His father’s foray into opposition politics, after leaving the judiciary, was another reason why they were shielded from the Singapore system.
‘Those were the days when you had to have a certificate of suitability to get into the University of Singapore,’ he recalls.
‘My father was understandably concerned about insulating us from any political fallout from his being in the opposition.’
Those fears were apparently real, not perceived. For example, he said that during his national service (NS), he was informed that his security clearance was lower than that of others. He presumed it was because of his father, who made political history with his win at Anson around that time, in the 1981 by-election which broke the PAP’s monopoly in Parliament.
Later, after attending an advanced training course for officers, some of his coursemates who were interviewed by the military’s security department told him that ‘mostly, they were asking questions about you’.
These episodes, however, did not put him off the idea of getting a military scholarship as he enjoyed his NS days. But he remembers his ‘father’s face dropping’ when his opinion was sought.
A government scholarship and a career in the civil service was also out of the question, he adds, noting the irony of his current PSC appointment.
The only option was to study in a foreign university, on his father’s ’scholarship’, which eventually became a financial strain because of the opposition MP’s legal tangles. Two months after the late Mr Jeyaretnam’s 1984 re-election, he was charged with allegedly mis-stating his Workers’ Party’s (WP) accounts.
Luckily, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam managed to complete his studies at Cambridge and returned home in 1986 amid the political maelstrom which led to his father being disbarred as a lawyer, going to prison and being expelled from Parliament.
What brought him back, he says, was ‘the thought that with my father under attack, I had to be back here with him’.
The other reason was his then-girlfriend and now-wife Cindy, 45, whom he met in Cambridge. She was a PSC scholarship holder who had to return to Singapore to serve her bond.
So even though Britain beckoned with a life of comfort and charm as he had the right qualifications and was in the top set of chambers, the 22-year-old followed his heart home – only to be rebuffed by potential employers here.
He recounts how a senior partner at one top law firm apologised for not being able to hire him, as his other partners had ‘concerns’.
He finally found a job with a newly set-up firm, Robert Wang and Woo, headed by his father’s friend, Mr Woo Tchi Chu.
He moved on to Helen Yeo and Partners, which was run by the wife of former transport minister Yeo Cheow Tong. The firm later merged with Rodyk and Davidson – coincidentally, the first firm his mother worked for when she came to Singapore.
Will young lawyers face similar discrimination now? ‘It jolly well should have changed. I certainly hope so and I can say for a fact that in my law firm, it wouldn’t be an issue,’ he says.
My father and me
AS HE built up his law career, he made sure he never failed to support his father in his legal troubles – behind the scenes.
‘I didn’t represent him because I thought that I’d be too emotionally involved, but I helped him all the time with his responses to legal matters…In fact, it took up quite a bit of time at various points of my life.’
His father was involved in several lawsuits over the years, which caused him to be declared a bankrupt in 2001.
But he did emerge from the shadows from time to time.
When his father led the WP team in the hotly contested Cheng San GRC in the 1997 polls, he asked son Philip if he could introduce him and his family at a rally.
Sure, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam replied. So he, his wife and elder son Tristan – who was then two years old and asleep in a pram – greeted Cheng San voters on stage.
Some, however, expressed reservations over his appearance at such events.
‘People said to me, ‘Should you really be doing that if you’re not in politics?’ I said, ‘I’m his son and if he wants me to be there to frame him as a family, of course I can do that’,’ he asserts.
When his father set up the Reform Party last year after emerging from bankruptcy with financial help from both sons, Mr Philip Jeyaretnam attended the dinner to launch the opposition party, along with his second son Quentin, who is now 12.
While he stood by his father, he made it clear that he did not intend to follow in his political footsteps.
‘There were times when I did think that I wanted to go into politics as well…but I realised after a while that it was not the life I wanted, that I’m not a political animal,’ he reveals.
‘I was really motivated mostly by love for my father and the fact that his wife had died; there was nobody else for him.’
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam’s mother, Madam Margaret Walker, died of cancer in 1980, missing her husband’s first electoral victory a year later.
Apart from his lack of stomach for politics, he was also worried that a political career could compromise his writing. He would lose a certain detachment to write what he wanted, says the award-winning writer.
‘I told my father this; I’m sure he was a little disappointed,’ he says of his decision that was firmed up in the early to mid-1990s.
But despite his repeated declarations, there is constant public speculation over his intentions – especially after the death of his 82-year-old father in September last year.
‘People wrote to me and said: ‘Oh, you have to take up the baton.’ I’ve always answered in the same way…’I don’t think my character is right for it’.’
While he eschewed politics, he has not shied away from taking up public positions, the latest as a member of the PSC.
The reaction from Singaporeans has been predictable. ‘Has he been co-opted by the Government?’ netizens queried after his appointment ceremony last week.
He sees it another way.
‘The reason for this reaction stems from an identification of the state with a particular political party. And that is wrong,’ he counters.
‘The breakthrough which Singapore needs to make is to have an establishment which encompasses the full range of political opinions within the constitutional set-up of Singapore.’
New image for PSC
SAFEGUARDING the independence of the PSC is the key reason why he said ‘yes’ to its chairman, Mr Eddie Teo, who had approached him a few months ago.
Mr Teo, Singapore’s former spy chief and diplomat, took over the top PSC post last year and was looking for ways to refresh the membership. Younger members and women came on board early this year, with Mr Jeyaretnam being the latest addition.
But he hesitated for more than a month. He was unsure if he could spare so much time to interview scholarship candidates, as his principal priority was to steer his law firm through these uncertain times.
Eventually, he agreed as he enjoyed interacting with young people. He also wanted to play a ‘guardianship role’ within the PSC to ensure the independence and integrity of the civil service.
He concurs with Mr Teo’s advice to scholarship candidates not to give politically correct or pro-government answers just to please the panel.
‘Well, I suppose one of the reasons for my being on an interview panel is that it makes it harder for the interviewees to second-guess what the panel might be wanting to hear,’ he says, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
‘They’ll be torn between saying that they want to have the death penalty abolished to please me, and saying the opposite to please somebody else.’
His advice: Don’t offer bland views or outrageous ones that cannot be substantiated. ‘When you’re 18, you’re entitled to try out different viewpoints. Part of the fun of being smart and young is actually to argue different sides of the coin.’
Family ties
WHILE he remains a non-political figure, he knows he can never escape the political ties to his famous family.
After all, his elder brother Kenneth took over the reins from his father and is now heading the Reform Party.
Asked how he feels about this, he pauses and seems to struggle for an answer.
‘We have always respected each other’s choices in life and we have made slightly different choices,’ he says.
The Jeyaretnam brothers studied in Cambridge, where they graduated among the top of their cohort – Kenneth, in economics and brother Philip, in law.
Both came back to work in Singapore, but brother Kenneth was posted overseas and eventually became a hedge fund manager in London before returning recently.
But is he happy that his brother stepped up to the political plate? Was there a concern about carrying on the family name?
‘I’m not a believer in dynasties at all,’ he replies. ‘I don’t think there’s any need to carry on a particular name and certainly, the last thing I would ever expect of my children is that they should become writers, or they should become lawyers, or they should support my (favourite) football clubs, or any of those things.’
For the record, he supports Arsenal, which his father used to root for too. But he did not follow his father. It was the other way around.
‘He followed me because he knew I was very passionate in my support for Arsenal, and so he became quite a strong supporter,’ he says. – ST
Republished from Straits Times on 4 December 2009
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Interesting.
I did not know that he was rejected for jobs due to his father's political convictions.
I guess it must have opened his eyes to how things worked in sg.
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Gopalan Nair reveals circumstances surrounding JB Jeyaretnam’s conviction in 1985
Written by Our Correspondent
American citizen and former Singaporean Mr Gopalan Nair had revealed the circumstances surrounding the conviction of the late opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam in 1985 on his blog – the “Singapore Dissident” as part of his defence against the disciplinary proceedings commenced against him by the Singapore Law Society.
The Singapore Law Society had submitted an application to the Chief Justice accusing Mr Gopalan of bringing “the profession as a whole into disrepute and lowered its esteem in the eyes of the general public” (read article: here)
A two-man disciplinary tribunal has been formed to determine if he is guilty of misconduct “unbefitting” of a lawyer in March next year.
Though Mr Gopalan claimed earlier that he does not care “one way on another what Singapore does” as any action taken against him in Singapore will have no effect on him, he still wrote a spirited defence of himself on his blog.
He also shed light on a case involving Mr Jeyaretnam who was convicted for fraud in 1985 which got him suspended for two years from his law practice.
After he was sued for defamation by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and was ordered to pay several hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, Mr Jeyaretnam put out a plea to the general public for donations.
He opened a Standard Chartered Account to collect these monies and Mr Gopalan, a member of the Workers’ Party under Mr Jeyaretnam, was appointed the Trustee to receive these funds.
A total of $14,000 or $15,000.00 was received into this account.
Among the donors, there were a couple of people who wanted to donate and had made out checks to the Workers Party, but Mr Jeyaretnam had asked them to make out the check to him instead, since if the check was made out to the party, it would not benefit him since the party had already been would up by the courts.
According to Mr Gopalan’s account, Mr Jeyaretnam was charged with criminal breach of trust for having diverted “funds belonging to the court liquidator to himself” and sentenced to one month in prison which caused him to lose his parliamentary seat and disbarred from the Singapore Bar.
Mr Jeyaretnam subsequently appealed his disbarment to the Privy Council in London which duly reversed the judgment, noting:
“Their Lordships have to record their deep disquiet that by a series of misjudgements, the appellant and his co-accused Wong, have suffered a grievous injustice.
They have been fined, imprisoned and publicly disgraced for offences of which they are not guilty. The appellant, in addition, has been deprived of his seat in Parliament and disqualified for a year from practising his profession.
Their Lordships order restores him to the roll of advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of Singapore, but, because of the course taken by the criminal proceedings, their Lordships have no power to right the other wrongs which the appellant and Wong have suffered. Their only prospect of redress, their Lordships understand, will be by way of petition for pardon to the President of the Republic of Singapore.”
[Source: Wikipedia]
(Note: The right of appeal to the Privy Council was abolished by a change in the law the following year.)
Before the English court commenced the proceedings, it sent an invitation to the Attorney-General of Singapore Mr Tan Boon Teck to attend the session who declined to do so.
After Mr Jeyaretnam returned to Singapore , he applied for a “pardon” from the President of Singapore which was denied on the grounds that “the Attorney General of Singapore) was not given an opportunity to be heard before the English Court ” and secondly “JB Jeyaretnam had not shown remorse repentance and contrition for the crimes he had committed”
Mr Gopalan wrote to the Attorney-General asking why he claimed he was not given an opportunity to appear in the English court when he clearly was who replied by calling Mr Gopalan’s letter “scurrilous”.
Mr Gopalan wrote to Mr Tan again threatening to circulate the correspondence between them to all the law firms in Singapore if he still refuse to answer his questions which led to Mr Tan making a report against him to the Law Society.
The charges against Mr Gopalan were that he had “threatened the Attorney General” and that he had made “false accusations against the Attorney General”. He was disciplined and suspended from practice for two years.
Mr Gopalan Nair is a staunch critic of the Singapore government, especially its judiciary. He was sentenced to imprisonment in Singapore for 3 months last year for allegedly insulting a Singapore judge.
Before he was released, he promised the court that he would not repeat the allegations again which he immediately retracted upon leaving Singapore.
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to be fair, i'm rather heartened by his appointment this time round.
the PAP could have done otherwise and told the world that if you join the opposition, you and your family will be condemned for life. and nothing will happen to the PAP. instead they won philip over by the merit of its own system.
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if you can't beat them, join them!!
one works in the govt sector, the other in the opposition...a tale of 2 bros
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All I wish for is he will not be brainwashed by the ruling party.
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can be groomed into a good potential PAP MP, good for him, good for the people...
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Originally posted by Bentsb05:
can be groomed into a good potential PAP MP,
Like who?
Can also be corrupted into a PAP bastard MP who only knows how to insult and scold people, suck Lee Kuan Yew's cock.
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Originally posted by Bentsb05:
can be groomed into a good potential PAP MP, good for him, good for the people...
I rather him join his brother if he has intention to enter politics.PAP is hopeless. all they want is money. I don't wish to see P J become heartless like the PAP members.
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Does a good election candidate have to come from the establishment? Yun-shan
The candidate that does substantial damages at the polls
By Kelvin Teo
Published: October 23, 2009
SINGAPORE - What do Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (JBJ), Sylvia Lim and Francis Seow have in common? A little known fact that most take for granted is that all three were formerly part of the establishment.
JBJ used to be part of Singapore’s legal service, serving in various various posts, including magistrate, district judge, crown counsel, deputy public prosecutor and registrar of the Supreme Court. Like JBJ, Francis joined the legal service and rose up through the ranks to become Solicitor-General. He was also the President of the Law Society. Sylvia Lim joined the Singapore Police Force as a Police Inspector and eventually became the staff officer to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department.
How did they perform at the polls? JBJ eventually became the strongest opposition candidate by the late 70s, and was the first opposition candidate to achieve a breakthrough in PAP’s stranglehold. During his maiden election, Francis was part of a team contesting Eunos GRC, which stretched the PAP to the limit, only to lose with a narrow 49.11% of the votes. It was the best result that the opposition could ever muster so far in a challenge for a GRC. Sylvia also turned in a decent performance, achieving a respectable 43.9% margin during her maiden elections with the team she helmed at Aljunied GRC.
Thus, it appears that there is some causal relation between an earlier career within the establishment and a strong performance later at the polls as an opposition. What can their strong performance at the polls be attributed to? Perhaps, their previous background within the establishment may have raised their credibility profile in the eyes of the voters. Maybe, due to their previous stint within the public service, they may be perceived as being in a good position to represent the public’s interests because the candidate by virtue of his previous links may possibly be in a good position to expedite on issues that concern voters the most. Their links to the establishment means it is easier for them to find support from there, which may in certain instances be crucial in improving their performance at the polls.
There is an upcoming candidate who appears to fit into the mold of candidates who were previously part of the establishment. He is none other than Mr Tan Kin Lian. Tan joined NTUC Income (NTUC is considered part of the establishment) in 1977 as the chief executive officer and gradually built up its business, assets and sphere of influence. From a base of S$28 million, the total assets increased to over $18 billion during the time of his retirement. It is also interesting that Tan was also a member of the PAP for over 30 years, but has since quit from the party. He made the following observation of the PAP: “When I joined the PAP, it was the party of the people. It carried out many remarkable projects, such as building HDB flats, and created a transparent economy … … But as the years go by, I think the party has lost touch with the ground.”
However, the verdict is not yet out on whether Tan would come forward to contest the next General Elections. If Tan finally decides to come forward, he could be a major coup for the opposition party that takes him in. Of course, he doesn’t have to join any of the opposition parties if he elects to contest as an independent candidate. Anyhow, history seems to favor him. After all, he shares a similar background of an earlier career spent as part of the establishment, just like the aforementioned candidates who have done substantial damages at the polls so far, albeit from the perspective of the ruling party. It wouldn’t be surprising if Tan turns in a strong performance in the event that he eventually decides to contest.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew predicted there will be an increasing number of well-educated candidates with university degrees who will come forth and contest against the PAP. However, one source he didn’t mention is that which comes from the very establishment around himself.
the kent ridge common
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Sylvia Lim joined the Singapore Police Force as a Police Inspector and eventually became the staff officer to the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department.
That is new to me.
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Crystal ball gazing by our Minister Mentor
By Timothy Neo
Published: September 9, 2009
SINGAPORE – Our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew made a candidly honest statement in assessing the chances of PAP in future elections. In a statement made over a dinner to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the elderly statesman remarked that the PAP will win the next two elections, but after that, it would be anyone’s guess. He cautioned that if the PAP cannot field a good team, and if the opposition gets a good team together, the PAP would be at risk.
Beneath the surface of Lee’s analysis lies an endemic problem that the PAP is facing – identifying good candidates that will take on the baton of the new guards. To begin, lets look at the PAP’s selection mechanism for prospective candidates. Diane K. Mauzy and Robert Stephen Milne gave an indepth account of the selection process in their book Singapore politics under the People’s Action Party (Routledge, 2002).
According to both authors, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong was placed in charge of recruiting prospective PAP candidates in 1976, and the latter worked out a proper and standard selection system. The process starts with a recommendation by Ministers, MPs, civil servants, corporate leaders and party activists; the recommended candidate is then invited to “tea parties” in groups of six to meet one of three ministers. Some of the candidates are invited to a second tea session and those found suitable will meet personally with Lee Hsien Loong, and then with the party whip. After clearing this hurdle, the prospective candidate will then face a selection committee comprising PAP ministers who will probe extensively into his character, motivation and ability to be a team player. Those who made it through this round are then interviewed by Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew. The selected candidate is then given a final interview by the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) to confirm their selection. What subsequently happens is that the candidates are matched accordingly by their linguistic affinity to a particular constituency, i.e. a candidate must be able to speak Teochew in a Teochew-speaking constituency. Those among the selected candidates with ministerial potential will be required to undergo a further selection stage – one-and-a-half days of psychological testing involving over one thousand questions. This form of testing was copied over from Shell in selecting its new executives. The test focuses on three qualities – power of analysis, imagination and sense of reality.
Ideally, such a gruelling selection system would ensure the very best gets selected, but Mauzy and Milne cited valid criticisms of the system. The first criticism is that the process is an elitist one and leads to the selection of people with similar backgrounds and outlook. This is risky as it could lead to a groupthinking phenomenon which negatively affects the decision-making ability of the entire group. The second criticism is that this selection process can be off-putting especially to those who could serve the government well but do not wish to go through the entire process; such people may be reasonably successful in the full view of the public sphere. Thus, it could be possible that many good candidates out there somehow slipped through the cracks.
Undoubtedly, the old guards of PAP such as Ong Teng Cheong, Goh Keng Swee and S. Rajaratnam contributed to the progress of our nation. It is somehow ironic that the PAP in the yesteryears didn’t have such an elaborate and intensive selection process like they have today. A difficult to question to answer is how many of the PAP’s more recent candidates, including those in the current ministerial cabinet, can be mentioned in the same breath as Ong, Goh and Rajaratnam? Your guess is as good as mine.
Even as Lee predicted PAP winning the next two elections, it will be difficult to predict the magnitude of their winning performance. Some predict the potential loss of a GRC, others, an increase in margin of the opposition votes, who knows? One cannot suddenly expect the PAP to completely lose ground after the space of two elections. There must be some gradual process leading to the loss of ground, thus, the possibility that the reversal of trend not in favor of the PAP may start within the next two elections, and the complete reversal may come after that.
What can be inferred from Lee’s analysis is that the PAP brand which has been built up by people such as Ong, Rajaratnam, and Goh has been successful among voters so far. But, branding is not forever, and its novelty wears out after a while. Thus, it is crucial that that the ambassadors of the PAP brand, i.e. new and recent PAP candidates, live up to their billing as good ambassadors. The dearth of good ambassadors will lead to the reversal of fortunes at the ballot.
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I can't understand his eagerness for inclusiveness into the system, given how much he has achieved exclusively, out of the system.
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The Public Service Commission is supposed to be a neutral body and above politics.
It is a Commission that seek out Singaporean talent to join the Civil Service - which is an institution that is supposed to be neutral and also above politics - to serve citizens of Singapore.
It is in the LKY's way of Total Control that had these institutions politicized with PAP appointees to oversee the critical departments that serves as the eyes, ears, mouth, and limbs in supporting the Executive Branch - which is a Political Body.
Philip Jeyaretnam is only a member of the Public Service Commission, and is not the Head - which is a Political Appointee trusted by LKY.
As a member of the PSC, Singaporeans can only hope that Philip Jeyaretnam will be given the space to be heard, and his sense of service to Singaporeans will reign supreme as did his father - JBJ even in the most desperate times.