Yuan Blogs Yuan's Talks

They promised a change, an a change came fast and furious. Is it too big a change?

It marked the end of the First and Second Generation of leadership. 6 cabinet ministers stepped down at one go, most notably the departure of MM Lee and SM Goh. All the limelight went to Mr George Yeo previously, after he lost his post at Foreign Minister after losing his Aljunied ward. I wasn’t shock, because what went up must come down, the end would always arrive. It was
more of disappointment, not because we have lost two powerful politicians in the cabinet (they weren’t involved in much decision making anyway), it was more of sentimental attachment. After all, LKY was and is still synonymous with Singapore, he is a symbol. The non-presence of him as one of the highest office holders just feels weird. However, I believe we wouldn’t miss him/ them too much, they are still sitting on many government affiliated organisations and will continue to represent Singapore. Okay, Singaporeans wanted a change, detested the arrogance and authoritative styles of them, their $4m pay package, now that they are leaving, they are unhappy once again. Wrong timing they said.

But what is wrong timing?

Will it affect the results of G.E.? They still stood for their respective GRCs, they are not retiring from politics.

The oppositions have came out and said that had both of them expressed their desire of leaving the cabinet, the oppositions would have won two more wards in the election. Oh really? You mean when MM Lee becomes Mr Lee, you have higher chances of winning Tanjong Pagar?

Judging by the timing of announcement, they must have made the decision after 7th May and wanted to be out before the PM set his next cabinet. They walked the talk, it meant nobody is really indispensable, it meant letting go while proving they are not power-hungry.

Some say it was too sudden, too drastic. I believe as human, you need to have the sense of anticipation. Will the terrorist tell you when they are going to strike? Will you know when the next mega-earthquake will strike? Or even closer to us, will you know when your loved ones will pass away? We always need to remind ourselves that all things come to an end and you always need to be ready. If it’s too sudden, then how long do we need them to stay on? 1 month? Half a year? 2 years? 5 years? I think the highly respected MM Lee has served Singapore with his heart, with his life for 60 years, it is the right time to go. We don’t wish to see someone leaving the world while still serving his post, isn’t it? We do hope that as a normal elderly, he gets to relax a bit more.

People say remove the position of Senior Minister permanently while citing the MM and SM have been drawing humongous salary for nothing. I say, will you remove your tap when you are not using water from it? Just leave it there when unused, turn it on when you really need it. We say 家有一老，如有一寶，we have two! Besides their boo boos during the G.E. hustings, they have contributed significantly to the very nice place you are staying in isn’t it?

PM Lee said that it’s a tough situation and he would really need time to ‘seriously consider’ their resignation. Will younger Lee tell his father, no you can’t quit? So we can be sure that younger MPs can speak up without fearing a strong worded rebuttal from the omnipotent founder of PAP, which more often than not, left the pathetic MP dumbfounded.

If there was any doubt in the past that PM Lee is not completely independent because of the presence of MM Lee and SM Goh in the Cabinet, I think going forward, there should be no such doubt. Now the time has come, PM Lee would have to prove to the people that he has the ability to lead the country without the two statesmen. I believe he can.

okay, I give it to some who said ‘we want a change, but just TPL out of Marine Parade, not the old and wise ones!’