38 Oxley Road: How ESM Goh is helping

On June 17, I posted "Would ESM Goh please help?"

I just read his speech on the subject in parliament and shared it with a few people.

Link to GCT speech.

ESM Goh was trying to restore confidence to the PM and his ministers in a carefully worded speech which I first heard and then read the text. Very well crafted to recover as much as can be recovered from the damage incurred from this public family feud.

Now he is hoping for the WP and NMP to also show their vote of confidence in the government. Would they?

Most important how does the public feel about this?

My most important blog posts on this subject were the first two.

June 15: LKY values in 38 Oxley Road - Demolishing the house is in keeping with our survivor values.

June 16: The practical vs the ideal - The siblings were idealists, their brother and late father were realists.

So after LKY passed away the idealists and the realists clashed. They could stay out of each other way but for the house, the rest as they say is history.

LHY and Suet Fern knew how this would end. They will be packing their bags and go like they said they were planning to.

Most important: ESM Goh never explained the motive of the siblings wanting to bring their brother down as PM. He creatively suggested there were "deep cracks within the family, cracks which perhaps started decades ago" I pretty much doubt that. They probably like any family have their share of squabbles but to hate each other to such a degree and successfully hid it from their parents and relatives, that is an disingenuous suggestion.

Most people will not try to read into ESM Goh speech too deeply. We need our Lenin's useful idiots except that I am not sure if we have many such people. LWL is confident that we do not. I know we are definitely much smarter than the average American voter.

Update: 10:25 pm

Important last words from the PM speech as he closes in parliament today.

When I recounted how when I was about 13, my father had told me: “If anything happens to me, please take care of your mother, and your younger sister and brother.”

Singapore was then part of Malaysia. We were in a fierce fight with the Central Government and the communalists.

My father did not tell me, but he knew his life was in danger.

Fortunately, nothing happened to my father then. He brought up the family. And I thought we had a happy family and he lived a long and full life.

Little did I expect that after my parents died, these tensions would erupt, with such grievous consequences. After so many years, I’d be unable to fulfil the role which my father hoped I would.

So, I hope one day, these passions will subside, and we can begin to reconcile.

Best they reconcile then our prayers are also answered but what a brutal answer. We live in a messy world and never pretend it to be otherwise. Always stay real. Honest politics is a thankless task.

Update: July 5 6:50 am

It was getting late but I spotted something very useful before I turned in for the night in a comment to ESM Goh's speech.

All the accompanying bird talk! How many would have followed events and news flow as closely as CJ Leo? Most people would not have the time and the PAP like vile politicians everywhere exploit this hard truth.

Update: July 5 8:10 am

Just shared this with a group chat of former classmates.

Bear in mind that leadership is taking a people to a place they would otherwise not go on their own. That is why LKY never bothered with opinion polls. If he listened it was because he needed to decide if we could make the journey successfully, if not then select a different destination. Now we need to be a different and better selves than our pioneer generation. We need to go where we would not naturally go because we are not useful idiots.

I saw Shanmugam boldly telling off US lawmakers in DC over the TPP but he is a chicken in front of voters. This is bad but sadly realistic. On the other hand LWL is no chicken and will like her late father give it to us unvarnished if necessary. She trusts us to rise to the occasion and I wish I have faith like hers.

Update: July 5 12:40 pm

A former pastor friend send me a video clip which developed into this picture in the first few seconds of play.

Unlike the astrological quality prayers that were circulating which are so general and hedged to be useless, I reminded him about praying for ESM Goh to intervene. So I responded as follows.

Update: July 6 4:30 pm

Evidence that demands a verdict coming or not? But sometimes the truth is more deadly than lies. We can live with the gradual but not sudden demise of a leader.