More disagreement with LKY
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No politician in his right mind will side with someone older than Brezhnev ever was.
'Many remain hurt by MM Lee's remarks'
04:47 AM May 13, 2011SINGAPORE - While Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew felt that his remarks about Malays, Muslims and integration did not affect the Malay vote for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed said yesterday: "You need only ask the Malays and Muslims in Singapore - many were hurt by those remarks and remain so".
Mr Zainul, who was a member of the PAP Aljunied GRC team which lost the General Election (GE), made this point to "show how easily the knots of racial harmony in our community can unravel".
"Integration does not only mean living in harmony. There must be equally opportunities for all ... No Singaporean must ever feel alienated, or worse, marginialised," he told reporters yesterday.
Asked about the timing of Mr Lee's remarks, which were published in the book Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, Mr Zainul pointed out the remarks had been made two years ago but as the book was only published earlier this year, he acknowledged: "So in that sense, (the) timing was bad for the GE."
Published by Singapore Press Holdings, the book is based on 16 interviews with MM Lee done by journalists from The Straits Times. It was launched about three months before the General Election.
However, Mr Zainul admitted that there "is no such thing as good timing or bad timing" to discuss potentially sensitive issues "because it sometimes touches on the raw nerves and this is where we have to manage the way we discuss such potentially sensitive issues, and issues that could also be divisive".
He also pointed out that some "very sensitive issues" pertaining to the Malay-Muslim community - such as National Service, tertiary fees and quotas in public housing - had been previously discussed behind closed doors and in public.
"I think it's the combination of the approaches we have taken that has brought the community to a level of maturity and be able to face these issues squarely, and then move forward," he added.
Unlike his PAP team mates, Cabinet Ministers George Yeo and Lim Hwee Hua, who had announced their retirement from politics earlier this week, Mr Zainul, stopped short of saying as much.
"I will always be involved in community work and I can never say, 'never', in life or in politics," the 63-year-old said. "But given my age ... I think it is unlikely for me to stand in the next election."
TRANSFORMATION AN ONGOING PROCESS
While various PAP leaders have spoken about the need for reform from within the ruling party, Mr Zainul noted the transformation "is an ongoing process".
He also recounted some of the changes which he had witnessed within the PAP.
As an editor with the Singapore Press Holdings between 1976 and 1996, Mr Zainul remembered Mr Lee - then Prime Minister - would consult many editors before important decisions and speeches.
"We found that if we do our homework and we were sincere in giving our feedback, in fact, Minister Mentor was even willing to change decisions which they had already made," Mr Zainul said.
When Mr Goh Chok Tong took over as Prime Minister, Mr Zainul pointed out the PAP Government tried to make the political process "more consultative" and "open".
Similarly, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is "more engaging and prepared to listen", Mr Zainul felt.
But he pointed out: "We have leaders among ourselves, or even in the civil service, people who have strong views themselves, who have their own opinions, and it's a matter of how do we actually blend the opinions, positions and feedback, and how do we bring them a policy that is acceptable to all."
While the Government "cannot please everyone", Mr Zainul felt it could do better in managing the communicating policies, managing feedback of people that may disagree with the Government and the communication process. "This is something which I think the party has started doing it, and I think we can only go deeper and do more," he added.
SENTIMENTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOODIES
Recalling his political career, Mr Zainul noted that he was no stranger to tough electoral battles.
He entered politics in 1997, contesting the "hot seat" of Cheng San GRC, where the PAP garnered 54.82 per cent of the votes against a Workers' Party (WP) team led by the late J B Jeyaretnam.
Mr Zainul described that contest as his "political baptism of fire".
He contested Aljunied GRC in the 2006 election, when the WP team, which included party chairman Sylvia Lim, secured 43.9 per cent of the votes.
But the 2011 election, he said "was a different story".
While people appeared happy with the PAP team during their walkabouts, Mr Zainul said: "The national mood, the national issues just swept us from under our feet".
"When we realised that, in fact, it wasn't just local issues, but national issues that had taken a kind of a different priority, I thought it was rather too late," he added.
"It was a rollercoaster ride we had in 2011 but an experience which I think will make me a lot stronger and a lot more savvy in terms of understanding people's sentiments and how in fact people's sentiments are equally, if not more, important than all the programmes and all the goodies."
While he would "forever feel a tinge of sadness" about last Saturday's results, Mr Zainul remained dedicated to serving Singapore.
"This election result will not change my resolve. I will do what I can, for so long as I am able," he added. -
More and more people are turning against Lee Kuan Yew.
They are losing their fear of Lee Kuan Yew.
Now the tables have turned. It is Lee Kuan Yew that fears.
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Give him a nice present before he goes.
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I totally agree with MM Lee's remarks. The Malays and Muslims just can't seem to accept the truth that they are too distinct, too unique and have not successfully integrated into our society. Why is it that they have so many restrictions? They should look at themselves in the mirror and wake up to reality that they have not made enough concessions to weave themselves into our society.
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What he said is politically incorrect, and for that reason alone he should not have said it. However, I agree with his comment.
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Originally posted by nfshp253:
I totally agree with MM Lee’s remarks. The Malays and Muslims just can’t seem to accept the truth that they are too distinct, too unique and have not successfully integrated into our society. Why is it that they have so many restrictions? They should look at themselves in the mirror and wake up to reality that they have not made enough concessions to weave themselves into our society.
I disagree, whatever they want to do is in their private spiritual and religious realm. If a small number of them want to stick to prayer times, wear scarves, avoid pork, let them be. I don't see them causing any great disruption.
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I think old dogs should be euthanised lest they become a nuisance to their masters, his chronic paranoia about racial sagregation amongst his other paranoia about all other opposition MPs trying to do Singapore in. Always barking up the wrong tree.
Also, you can't teach an old dogs new tricks.
This is evidence that they have already lost touch with the people on the ground and continue to make policies from their tall tall ivory towers.
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I cannot agree more....by having one of his ministers implement the 'No Cats in HDB flats' rule, they are already discriminating against the Malays. So what's this...people from the other races in Singapore can keep loud barking dogs that can snap and bite at strangers but Malays/ Muslims cannot even keep cats as they cannot be in contact with dogs..its plain ridiculous
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Originally posted by shaun87:
I cannot agree more....by having one of his ministers implement the 'No Cats in HDB flats' rule, they are already discriminating against the Malays. So what's this...people from the other races in Singapore can keep loud barking dogs that can snap and bite at strangers but Malays/ Muslims cannot even keep cats as they cannot be in contact with dogs..its plain ridiculous
Is your cat more important than HDB cleanliness?is your cat more important than national issues?
Is your cat more important than racial / religious / language issues?
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What to do he is God of Singapore, what he says is perfect. That is how he possibly has viewed himself.
This old man getting more and more worthless with each passing day. Sigh!
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Originally posted by Redwhite spore:
Is your cat more important than HDB cleanliness?is your cat more important than national issues?
Is your cat more important than racial / religious / language issues?
This guy is a PR troll and a PAP plant. Please ignore him.
He can't win any arguments so he goes round trying to waste our time and brain cells.
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I'm a chinese and I'm also offended by MM Lee's remarks, not just the malays, lol.
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I stand corrected.
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if social psychological dimensions such as peoples' sentiments are not heeded...we wil see more discontents...
humans are capable of being rational...but they are deeply and instinctively irrational as well...
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LKY misses the 1950s and the 1960s.
For him, those were the days, my friend.
Its not the young ones don't remember, its that they were not born yet.
He remembers the olden days, but he don't remember what the 1990s and the millennium was like.
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His way of communication works with the older generation of the 1950s to 1980s.
But today, ppl is eat soft dun eat hard
heck, these days you tell kids outside off for being funny, you believe they'll listen?
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do we need so many bangla? when then gahmen and mom going to control pest infestation?
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Originally posted by alize:
This guy is a PR troll and a PAP plant. Please ignore him.
He can't win any arguments so he goes round trying to waste our time and brain cells.
U are making personal attacks now?
No problem as forummers can see the real side of your character. Hope your brain cells are not the same IQ level as cats!
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Originally posted by Redwhite spore:
U are making personal attacks now?
No problem as forummers can see the real side of your character. Hope your brain cells are not the same IQ level as cats!
Stop being a troll pls, keep your posts civil -
Originally posted by laurence82:
Stop being a troll pls, keep your posts civil
There are those making stupid remarks, launching personal attacks. Why don't u tell them the same thing? Fair? -
Originally posted by alize:
I disagree, whatever they want to do is in their private spiritual and religious realm. If a small number of them want to stick to prayer times, wear scarves, avoid pork, let them be. I don't see them causing any great disruption.
YES. I'm really happy to see someone like yourself actually voicing this out. xD
nfshp253, just like alize said.. i too really diagree with u to the max >.>. What do u mean they have too many restrictions? its their religion. what u want them to do? They were taught what and what not to do. Their restriction didnt really bother us. Actually doesnt even bother me at all and I'm sure people with logic are with me. I know my friends are. The majority people of this country are us.. chinese. So why do u want to act like their society might corrupted ours? They dont even bother us. They mind their own business, we mind our own business. WHATS THE DEAL?
Dont start with these american black and white routine. Ok its really starting to piss me off. I starting not to like lee kuan yew now. geez.
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i dont get it. For over the past years, we are all so peaceful to each other. u know, no one actually bothered about anything. Just a normal chit chat. walk here and there. friends outing with mix race. Just like every other day then suddenly lee kuan yew bash about malays? because of their religious issue? WHAT IS HIS PROBLEM?
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Originally posted by Redwhite spore:
There are those making stupid remarks, launching personal attacks. Why don't u tell them the same thing? Fair?
You are the being troll, the others just point it out, i am being fair, yes -
Originally posted by shaun87:
I cannot agree more....by having one of his ministers implement the 'No Cats in HDB flats' rule, they are already discriminating against the Malays. So what's this...people from the other races in Singapore can keep loud barking dogs that can snap and bite at strangers but Malays/ Muslims cannot even keep cats as they cannot be in contact with dogs..its plain ridiculous
Lol nobody follows that rule la. If they want a cat, they just get one and keep it in their flat.
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Originally posted by laurence82:
You are the being troll, the others just point it out, i am being fair, yesU are the trolley or the door stopper now?
U follow the mass without using your brain (if u have any)