Lee Hsien Loong spent his Saturday night (8 Feb) celebrating Chinese New Year with his Teck Ghee residents. Other than participating in a louhei and having dinner, he also made a speech trying to assure Singaporeans that the 4G leaders are still “strong and competent”.
“Sticking to two fundamental factors that have brought us here today: First, having a strong and competent Government that anticipates challenges, earns your trust, and makes good decisions to secure your future. Second, by staying united as one people, who understand the world we live in and the challenges we face, and work closely with the Government to make our dreams a reality.” – Lee Hsien Loong at Teck Ghee CNY Dinner 2025
4G leaders have repeatedly shown that they are not living up to the high standards Singaporeans expect.
If Lee Hsien Loong truly believes in the importance of a “strong and competent government,” then it is time for him to take a hard look at the state of his party. The 4G leaders have not been very good at anticipating challenges – they have been reacting only when things go south, and even then they don’t do a good job.
Look at the number of MRT failures that are still happening today. If the government had been anticipating challenges, they would have looked into all the other tracks especially after the major disruptions on the East West Line last year. Yet we are seeing lines with signalling or track faults even in February 2025.
Until this reality is acknowledged, no amount of speeches about unity or competency will restore the public’s trust.
They repeatedly use Lee Kuan Yew’s name when they don’t seem to take into consideration what he has said
Look at the influx of non-Singaporeans that have ruined our social structure. The number of public defecation/urination incidents, or even just the disorderliness of some foreigners being imposed onto Singaporeans. Even Lee Kuan Yew expected this back in the day.
“For our resident population, we are conscious that we need to keep the character and values of Singapore society. So we are carefully controlling the inflow of PRs and new citizens, to maintain this balance. But still the new arrivals will need time to adapt and integrate into our society, and we should help them.” – MM Lee Kuan Yew at the Tanjong Pagar 44th National Day Celebration Dinner 2009
Why did our 4G leaders not anticipate this by having the right system in place? How about ethnic integration policies for foreigners? The fact that most of them live together in enclaves (Chinatown, Little India, East Coast etc.) only reaffirms their behavior because they see people around them doing the same. There is no need for them to “adapt and integrate”. If they were forced to live among Singaporeans then they would be forced to follow the majority.
PAP cling to the legacy of past leaders like Lee Kuan Yew, invoking his name to reassure citizens that the country is still on the right path. Yet their actions contradict this legacy. This is not what a “strong and competent” leadership looks like.
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