This year NDR: The PM tried his best

Every media person was in a hurry. Yahoo posted a pic of the PM upside down but at least they were quick to fix that.

This government finally nearly caved in to every request of the opposition over the years. That's shrewd. The PAP will win big by listening. The worry is we were told over the years we can't afford them, so the question is how will they be paid. The PM admitted as much that the cost will grow over time and Medisave is going up soon. We have seen how it grew in other countries. To me this NDR is more significant for what was unsaid than said. That's is the simplest way to look good. Not much talk about public transport.

The coming change in the PSLE should alleviate academic stress to the very young. It is cruel to make them compete so hard. Time for the tuition industry to make their calculations. Henceforth the business might grow more slowly.

The PM tried his best. I have to be mindful we cannot have the PM we wished for but the one we have. One can wish he would explain with penetrating insight the world today and tomorrow which Singapore must navigate safely but that is not his forte. Life would be much harder for all of us because the future is not clear until it is very near. We will often be scrambling. That is the practical meaning of adaptability, resilience and energy. He and some of his colleagues are good people but we need to be mindful they are not family or friends but politicians.

Update: 5:55am

The Independent Top Story.

Their story has many things I omitted in my earlier post. I hope unlike the ST they will keep it available indefinitely. Of course we can go to PMO site for the full speech but that's too much to read.

I am looking forward to Breakfast Network stories. It is smarter to be slower but better.













Update: 8:50am

I think Bertha Henson's presentation of the PM's speech is a lot better than the old style format of The Independent. I do not even bother with the ST. I feel that I have heard it from the horse's mouth last night; why bother?

BN has many of the topics I had cryptically put across as what was left unsaid. Had I read Bertha's article first, I wouldn't even have the 5:55am update.

I didn't say this earlier, but the government is losing its hands at the steering wheel. The people's taking over but we have not yet learned how to organize ourselves to do that well like the Swiss have. Actually I don't even know if the Swiss  model is practical for us given that our neighborhood is more unstable and uncertain. Some of the right decisions would be painful ones. It is rare to see people voting for pain. Granted if we have no leaders of legendary foresight, we have no choice. Also Switzerland was a long time in the making.