Don't let polls excitement cloud long-term view, ESM warns

SINGAPORE — Beyond the excitement generated by the hustings, Singaporeans should be thinking about the long-term stability of the country when they head to the ballot box, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong today (Sept 4), as he echoed a point previously made by several People’s Action Party (PAP) leaders.

Noting that the Republic is a “very well-run, orderly society”, Mr Goh said: “The excitement comes only during GE (General Election), once in four or five years, so naturally Singaporeans are very seized by the election.”

But he pointed out: “It’s all right to have excitement over these nine days, but after Polling Day, what kind of Singapore do we have?

“Do you want to have a very exciting Singapore, which means that politically it’s not so stable, or do you want life to resume like before the election, where you go to work, take the MRT, make a living and settle into orderly Singapore?

“I’m concerned (about) our longer-term stability, beginning with this election ... because I look at the region, and countries around us are politically uncertain.”

Mr Goh was speaking to reporters on Serangoon Avenue 3 during a walkabout with fellow Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency candidate Seah Kian Peng.

Mr Goh, who was Singapore’s second Prime Minister from 1990 to 2004, said he is not concerned with this GE as he felt the ruling party “will do all right”.

“It’s going to be a tough fight. The PAP must fight for every vote and we cannot take things for granted. We now face more opposition parties ... We have to fight for every vote through sincerity, service to nation and service to people,” he said.

His concern is about the subsequent two GEs.

“If we are written up by analysts, foreign investors, commentators, journalists as a politically unstable country 10 years from now (or in) 15 years’ time, then I think you have a big problem and younger people like you will have a very bleak future,” Mr Goh told the reporters.

Mr Goh said he had learnt from founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to take a “50-year view of Singapore”.

“I had sat down in a meeting between Mr Lee Kuan Yew and (late China leader) Deng Xiaoping. Deng Xiaoping thinks in terms of 100 years, 200 years.

“In 1978, I met him ... he was not concerned about China in 1985 or 1990 or 2015, but China in 2050. Where will Singapore be in 2050? We all have big worries.”

Adding that he wanted to put the GE “in context”, Mr Goh said: “It is very important that at this election, we must understand the issues.

“A lot of excitement but, please, for goodness’ sake, we have to decide for ourselves how to have a stable Singapore.

“ ... It’s not in PAP’s hands. It’s in the people’s hands ... You’ve got to decide how to have a stable Singapore, five years, 10 years down the road for yourselves,” he said.