‘Vote for right leaders’ to help S’pore stay united

SINGAPORE — To overcome challenges in the region and help its people achieve their aspiration, Singapore needs to stay united, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. This means voting for the right leaders, who will determine the right kind of politics and set the country on the right path, he noted.

“You do it wrong, put the wrong people in charge or you vote against good people, and you discourage good people from serving, the country goes wrong, very hard to come back again,” said the secretary-general of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) at a lunchtime rally yesterday (Sept 8).

Noting that the world and Singapore is changing, he said Singapore’s politics will also have to change. “But we have to work together, even if we have to work harder, to have a national consensus, to be able to form that will, that power, that strength together, so that when we move forward, we move as one people, and we get there as one united people.”

Listing what has made Singapore’s politics special, Mr Lee said that, first of all, Singapore’s politics have to be honest, and its people have to be clean and honest as well. Sounding a cautionary note, Mr Lee said voters also need to be able to tell the difference between people who are honest, and people who are not.

Stressing that Singapore’s Government must not have corruption and wrong-doing, Mr Lee said this is why there is the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, as well as the Auditor-General’s Office to keep the Government agencies, statutory boards and town councils straight.

“These are the PAP standards, and these also have to be the Opposition’s standards,” he noted. “Just because you don’t wear white, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be white, or needn’t be white.”

The late Mr Lee Kuan Yew cared deeply about this, as can be seen in his 90th birthday celebration with Members of Parliament. Although old and frail, he spoke briefly on only one thing — to remember to keep Singapore’s system clean, recalled Mr Lee Hsien Loong. He added: “You may be running the Government ... you can be in the stat board, you can be in a town council, doesn’t matter, Whatever level you are, uphold high standards, keep it clean. And don’t say ‘I didn’t go to jail, I’m okay!’”

Pointing out that politics must also take care of the people today and in future, Mr Lee said it will be easy to be in politics if there is no need to worry about the future. “I write cheques, tomorrow somebody else can pay, no problem, anybody can do that. But if I want to worry about today and tomorrow also, then I’ll have to balance, I have to trade off, I have to sacrifice, I have to plan, and I have to work hard,” he said.