Shanmugam tells PSP Leong Mun Wai to put up a motion on CECA for debate

Singapore has been going down the path of racism and xenophobia. Let's see which opposition politician will stand up and consistently speak against racism and xenophobia and not pay lip service in Parliament.

In Parliament, Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said that if Singapore continues to fan the flames of racism, we will get to an uncomfortable position.

He said:

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢-𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞.

Comments on these sites have Indians being called “cockroaches”, “rapists” and so on. 𝐖𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 – 𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐧.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠, “𝐎𝐡, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬”, 𝐨𝐫 “𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐀”, 𝐨𝐫 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲”, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐱𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.

Just ask whether racism and xenophobia can ever be justified on these grounds.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐀, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧. If anyone here believes that CECA is a problem, put it up for a Motion, debate it openly and let’s hear whether Singaporeans benefit or lose from it.

I am looking at you, Mr Leong. I invite you to put up a Motion to debate CECA. You know that most of what is said about CECA is false.

And, what is happening on the ground? We are picking up from different coffeeshops. This morning, a friend of mine overheard in a coffeeshop, a conversation between five elderly gentlemen. They discussed the incident covered in the media of an Indian expatriate family.

We don’t know the facts. Several highly racist comments targeting Indians. So, it’s getting to the ground, and being repeated.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥.

𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐱𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

Singapore is 725 square kilometers of rock. We have to make a living by being open to the world. We will fail if we allow racism and xenophobia to become prevalent, and it is contrary to everything that has made us successful and proud to be Singaporean.

We will fail if we allow racism and xenophobia to become prevalent: Shanmugam

We are not 3.6 billion people with a large market to offer the world.

We are a tiny rock with 3.6 million Singaporeans whose government has managed to negotiate trade agreements with countries much larger than us through good governance, good policies, and by making ourselves relevant to the world.

Law Minister Shanmugam has issued the challenge to PSP Leong Mun Wai to move a motion to debate on CECA if he thinks it does not benefit Singaporeans.

Stop the xenophobia. Have a debate in Parliament instead and let every falsehood be put to rest.

Likewise, if WP supporters think the same on the CECA, they should ask WP to move a motion to debate on CECA. After all, they voted them to be their voice in Parliament. What's stopping them?

Singapore's success is built on multiracialism. If we do not treasure multiracialism, we will lose it.

The Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill - also known as SINGA

The Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Bill - also known as SINGA - was passed in Parliament yesterday.

The Bill allows the Government to borrow for huge infrastructure investments while spreading repayment over generations of Singaporeans. This approach is fair as such infrastructure investments are enjoyed by generations of Singaporeans, so each pay for their share of the investments.

With Singapore's triple-A credit rating, Singapore is able to borrow at low interest rates while reinvesting our reserves for higher returns.

The triple-A credit rating is the result of fiscal prudence and sound fundamentals.

However, we have an opposition that wants to erode this sound financial position.

WP for example, wants more of NIRC (currently 50%) to be made available for recurrent spending. This means less to reinvest and therefore less returns to spend in the future.

Not only that, they want land proceeds to be used directly for spending. Selling assets to spend is the fastest way to deplete reserves.

And then there is PSP Leong Mun Wai which thinks we have huge reserves and there is thus no need for the government to borrow for large infrastructure investments.

Such calls for in no time, erode our fiscal position and therefore, fiscal rating as well.

Our fiscal rating is hard earned. There are very few countries left in the world that have a triple-A credit rating. It is a rating not to be taken for granted.

We hope that the opposition can be more responsible not only to present Singaporeans but also to the young and to future generations of Singaporeans.

Ban flights from India?

If we had banned flights from India, we would be able to keep out the double mutant infectious Indian variant of the virus?

If only it is so simple.

First, it is infectious. This variant is now circulating in more than 44 countries according to WHO. The virus does not have to come in from India. It can come in from anywhere in the world as long as the world is not free of COVID-19.

So what do we do? Ban all flights from all countries?

Can Singapore ban all flights and shut down Changi Airport until the pandemic is over?

Can Singapore also shut down our seaport since the virus also comes in through sea crew?

Can Singapore afford to break our own supply chains and expect manna from heaven while we close all our doors and keep the storm out?

Talk is cheap. If you are required to stay at home and shut your doors, and there shall be no movement in and out of your home, in no time you will run out of supply, and starve.

Incidentally, international flights between India and Singapore have been suspended by the Indian Government since March 2020.

Given the infectiousness of the double mutant, the taskforce is casting the net wide to detect every case circulating in the community. They are testing not just close contacts but people who could have come into contact with confirmed cases, people with possible exposure.

For every case placed on quarantine that tests positive, it means they have succeeded in removing one potential spreader in the community and cut a potential chain of transmission.

But controlling the spread is not the responsibility of the taskforce alone. It is everyone's responsibility. It is a social compact. Everyone has to adhere strictly to the safe management measures.

<< How Mr Goh managed to get President Bill Clinton to agree to a US-Singapore free trade agreement (FTA), a landmark breakthrough at the time. >> By Han Fook Kwang

 << How Mr Goh managed to get President Bill Clinton to agree to a US-Singapore free trade agreement (FTA), a landmark breakthrough at the time. >> By Han Fook Kwang

US officials were not keen on the idea and had blocked it from reaching the White House.

Mr Goh knew he had to get close and personal with President Clinton and the opportunity came at the Apec meeting in Brunei in 2000. At the end of dinner as the leaders were leaving the banquet room, Mr Goh made his move and told the President that he was planning to play a round of golf after the dinner.

President Clinton replied: "I was thinking of looking for someone to play with. Let's play."

But the plan was almost scuttled when moments later, a loud thunderclap shook the place and heavy rain poured down.

A US security officer turned to Mr Goh and told him that it did not look like game-on.

This is how the author recounted what happened next in the book (Standing Tall):

"Without missing a beat, Goh replied very assertively: "No, it is on. I know my weather. This is a tropical storm. It will pass within half an hour. The golf course is half an hour from this place. So, by the time we arrive, the rain would have stopped."

To be safe, he raised the odds. He told the US Secret Service officer: "Anyway, I'm going. But the President does not have to go if he thinks the weather is bad."

The one-upmanship paid off.

"If I'm going, how could he not go?" said Goh with a grin.

The rest, as they say, is history. The two played golf that night and after the game, over drinks, the Singapore Prime Minister made his FTA pitch which his golfing partner promptly agreed to, and the breakthrough was achieved.

A leader needs to be able to think and act on his feet and to seize opportunities when they present themselves.

Officials can do detailed ground work, but without political leaders to act decisively at the right moment, the best-laid plans may come to nought.

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 "𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭" 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚.

 

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 "𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭" 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚.

We wouldn't have been able to manage the pandemic the way we did if there was no trust.

Trust is of vital importance, not just for the media but governments and institutions.

“In Singapore, we take great pains — if you look at the Government — to retain, maintain the trust of the people because, if there is no trust, we can't govern well, we won’t be able to take long-term measures.

"𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟗 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝… (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟) 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝, it would inevitably lead to a government and political leadership that is not trusted, and we are all finished if that happens.”

Another circuit breaker will be a major setback for everyone, says PM Lee in his 2021 May Day Rally speech

Let's all play our part. Another circuit breaker will be a major setback for everyone.

PM Lee said at the May Day Rally this morning:

"The Government is doing everything we can to prevent these clusters from spreading in the community. And we will have to be agile and decisive in our response, to tighten measures promptly, when it's necessary, to clamp down on the spread and to avoid going into a second circuit breaker.

"I hope Singaporeans will work with us and not let down our guard.

"It is not time to relax yet. This is a marathon. Let's keep jogging. Let's keep ourselves safe.

"Don't make the mistake which other countries have done, celebrate too early, relax too fast, let your guard down, cause another wave to come - very often worse than the first - and more nasty drastic measures become necessary."