Popular government does not mean that you do popular things all the time.

It takes political will to do what is unpopular but necessary, more so in the face of rising populism.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, "Popular government does not mean that you do popular things all the time. We do not want to be unpopular or to do unpopular things. But when they are necessary, they will be done. Popular representative government means that within each five-year period, your policies have demonstrably worked and won popular support. This is what it means. And if we flinch from the unpopular, we are in deep trouble."

If we flinch from the unpopular we are in deep trouble.

The water price hike is one such necessary thing to do. Fortunately majority of Singaporeans understand the need to raise water price.