PAP Hypocrisy

If there’s only one SDP video you watch, make sure it’s this one!

I’ve included a few quotes and summaries from the video below, followed by some personal thoughts on Dr. Chee Soon Juan.

You can watch the video on YouTube or through Facebook (I’ve linked to both platforms in case readers have a preference for one over the other).

1. “It’s Called Hypocrisy,” on YouTube

2. “It’s Called Hypocrisy,” on Facebook

Quotes from “It’s Called Hypocrisy”

1. For a long time, Singaporeans fell for this propaganda and gave the PAP uncritical support.

2. The PAP has been following the SDP’s lead in many policy areas.

3. How can the opposition be destructive if the PAP keeps following the lead of the SDP, an opposition party?

4. The PAP has been adopting the SDP’s proposals for over 25 years. Examples include:

• “universal coverage” healthcare (first proposed by the SDP in 2012; proposed by the PAP in 2015)
• education (in 1994, Dr. Chee Soon Juan mentioned how children in lower streams can feel less valued; 25 years later in 2019, education minister Ong Ye Kung remarked that entering a lower stream carries a stigma and proposed no more streaming for students)
• prioritizing Singaporeans over foreigners (in 2001, SDP proposed the Singaporeans First policy to hire Singaporeans first before turning to foreigners; in 2015, the PAP announced the Fair Consideration Framework to consider Singaporeans fairly before hiring Employment Pass holders)

5. There’s a word for this: it’s called hypocrisy.

6. If you’re quite shocked to hear about this, it’s because [the mainstream media] in Singapore censors such news. There’s a reason the PAP controls the media.

7. People need to know the truth.

8. Singaporeans want a constructive and responsible opposition that makes sense with them…not an opposition that just scolds the PAP and says how bad it is.

9. Singaporeans see the need for change…and are still fearful of the unknown because they don’t know what change will look like. That’s why [the SDP] tells them what change looks like, through drawing up policies to give people confidence to vote for that change.

10. For more information on a party offering constructive change in Singapore, visit yoursdp.org

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Dr. Chee Soon Juan In Person

I met Dr. Chee once at a book launch event several years ago.

He is very intelligent, level-headed, thoughtful, and engaging as a speaker. He gave me the impression that he’s of a much better caliber than many PAP party members. His wife (Dr. Huang Chih-Mei) is very elegant and intelligent too.

My signed copy of Democratically Speaking, by CSJ.

Chee’s tireless spirit for constructive change in Singapore is something I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I understand the change he’d like to see. On the other, I can’t believe he has continued to POLITELY and PATIENTLY push for these changes for over 25 years!

I like what one of the comments on the Facebook video expressed:

Ideas may be copied & preached, but the true calling to serve must come from the heart. Time is showing… and all the distressing news of widening gap in disparity (triggering rising stress, mental breakdowns and suicides), the extent of loss making investments (yes, they can deny and delude us that it’s not our hard earned taxpayers reserves, even while hoarding our CPF withdrawals and selling more bonds to raise funds), the elusive Swiss standard of living (attainable within its elite capture). These & more proves how much love the overstaying incumbent has for its people.
– comment by EQ SQ

As Francis Seow wrote in Beyond Suspicion?, politics in Singapore is a “dirty gladiatorial [and dangerous] game.”

So it was rather admirable to read Dr. Chee’s comments on “leaving behind the politics of hatred.”

Despite being persecuted and being the subject of repeated character assassination by the PAP, Chee urged his supporters in 2019 to rise above smear tactics.

In a Today article, he even graciously mentioned that not everyone in the ruling party was “out only for wealth and power,” as there were some individuals who genuinely cared about Singapore.

Can you imagine being so wise and compassionate after facing so many trials and tribulations from a VERY formidable opponent? Keep in mind that this dominant party does not take well to being criticised and has seemingly unlimited access to state funding and resources to put any opposition members or critics “in their place” (i.e. through bankruptcy,  detention without trial, and goodness knows what else) when it comes to politics.

If that combination of personal integrity and moral perseverance does not personify someone LEADING by example, I don’t know what does.

P.S. If you’re an entrepreneurial type, check out this post on Vulcan Post titled “7 Life Lessons That Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Opposition Politician Dr Chee Soon Juan.” You will learn about the power of oratory skills, perseverance, and treating your opponents with respect.

P.P.S. In case you’re new here, you can check out the hypocrisy posts on this small blog (reaching 100 posts soon) to be aware of this exemplary quality re: the PAP’s history of governance.