Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
SINGAPORE : Singapore’s Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong, has said the issue of rising costs has rendered the ground " not so sweet" for elections.
Speaking to the Singapore media at the end of his visit to China, Mr Goh said: " I would not duck the issue, because politics is about people’s livelihood. Therefore, rising cost is a very big issue facing, not just Singapore, but facing every other country."
He questioned whether having more opposition members in Parliament would solve the problem.
He also pointed out that the government had transferred cash to the people, which more than offset additional costs due to inflation.
On immigration, Mr Goh said the government recognized it as a concern among citizens, and has moderated the flow.
But he said doing so has economic trade—offs that sometimes may not be apparent to the people.
Mr Goh also commented on People’s Action Party chairman Lim Boon Heng’s recent public display of emotions.
He said: " The man might be very quiet, might be very reticent, he has emotions,
so he’s very human. Right? So in this particular case, I can understand why he broke down — because he was against the setting up of the IRs (integrated resorts). We had to debate.
" He was a very staunch Catholic — he was against it. We debated. We debated among the cabinet members, among ourselves, and he debated within himself.
" From the point of religion, he would say no. In fact, he said so quite clearly. He would be against it from that ground. But then he was a union leader — he had to create jobs."
In reply to a question on new candidates standing in single member constituencies, Senior Minster Goh said the PAP strategy is to field incumbents.
So whether it is Heng Swee Keat, Chan Chun Sing, or Tan Chuan Jin — they are members of the team, so we fight as a team in GRCs, and the 12 singles will fight as singles. And of course, the whole party will fight as a party to win the elections."
Turning to the slate and quality of opposition candidates, Mr Goh said it is easy for some voters to be impressed because so few good opposition candidates were fielded in the past.
He also said better qualified candidates could be a reflection of a greater interest in politics.
He added: " The key is to assess the
motivations of the people standing for elections. I am not casting any aspersions on them. I am not suggesting that they have bad motivations. What I am saying is that in the PAP, when we interview candidates, we always try and probe the candidates’ motivations.
" It’s very important. What are your motivations.
Is it to advance your self interest, or are you there to serve the people?
Are you prepared to make time and energy, and be available to serve the people?
" So we probe for motivations, we probe for your convictions, your commitment and of course into your character."
When asked about his role in the upcoming election, Senior Minister Goh said
it is the prime minister’s election and the prime minister will take charge.
He said both he and the minister mentor will take on what he called an "
active role outside the arena" , watching developments and giving the prime minister feedback, when needed.
He added: " So my role will be to give some reading where I think it is useful for them to know, but without trying to crimp their style because the government has to fight it their way.
" This is the
new environment, new electorate, so let them handle the new electorate. And to ensure that I win the Marine Parade GRC, so that two new candidates can be in parliament."
The senior minister also defended the PAP Manifesto, which was criticised as being
short on details.
He said a manifesto cannot be too detailed or it would end up looking like a budget speech.
He added: " I frankly would like an elaboration on the challenges facing Singapore because I do believe that we are going into a
period of uncertainties. Just look at events in the Middle East. How will that pan out? We don’t know yet.
" At the moment, the impact is not that large because the oil price has shot up, but Saudi Arabia is pumping more oil into the market, so the oil price is within a manageable limit.
" In our case, Singaporeans have not felt the effects of the oil price because we have tightened our monetary policy. The Singapore dollar has strengthened against the US dollar.
" So, while the oil price has shot up over 100 dollars, in terms of Singapore dollars, the prices have not gone up very much. So people don’t see that."
— CNA/al
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