The concluding remarks by Manu hit the nail on its head. Mr Brown said the same but with his usual irreverence.
“Singaporeans didn’t express huge objections to the salaries, which have been around for about twenty years,” said Manu Bhaskaran, an academic at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. “One suspects that the real issue is not high salaries per se, which practical-minded Singaporeans didn’t begrudge for so long, but issues related to the delivery of the ‘goods’ Singaporeans desired,” Mr. Bhaskaran added.
Meanwhile netizens are having a field day making fun of Grace Fu's unfortunate remarks. While she didn't say anything wrong, but as a politician she wasn't able to read the pulse of the people accurately. I am sure she doesn't stand alone with this inadequacy. Singapore can no longer live with politicians that are purely technocratic and cannot connect with the ground. Ministers do not awe the public with their brilliance or wisdom and therefore the people must be consulted often.
Different times call for different leaders. The skills set and temperament needed for the next lap are different from what many PAP MPs and ministers offer. So we are entering uncharted and risky waters. These aren't the best times to experiment but history tells us these are the only times when change comes. The have until the next GE to reinvent themselves. It is possible but I am afraid the core leadership had caught religion even when it goes against established Science. I didn't understand what an iron cage this is for those caught in it until I started reading Kahneman's, "Thinking, Fast and Slow".
Conversion or rebirth is very difficult. Often they rather go down with the ship.
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