The most important article by Catherine Lim that comes to my mind is "PAP and the people: A return of disaffection?"
That is the article that earned her a direct rebuke from the then PM Goh - the ex-champion of a Singapore with a 'open and consultative government'.
Below is the article :
PAP and the people: A return of disaffection?
By Catherine Lim Straits Times, Aug 26, 2000
FIVE years ago, I wrote an article called "The Great Affective Divide", published in The Straits Times, in which I described what I felt was a serious problem in Singapore, namely, an emotional estrangement between the Government and the people.
I had identified the chief cause of the estrangement as a general resentment by the people of what they perceived as an arrogant, high-handed and authoritarian government style that cared little for their feelings, so that, despite the good life created for them by the Government's efficiency and hard work, they felt justified to express this resentment freely through whatever channels were available, such as coffeeshop and cocktail-party talk, and the casting of votes in the elections.
In the years since, this relationship between the Government and the people had, very hearteningly, improved, thanks largely to the Prime Minister's earnest launch of a new dispensation, which, in its emphasis on trust, understanding and caring, was a marked departure from the past.
It was a dispensation that fitted well with the Prime Minister's personal popularity.
Touchingly called "The Singapore Heartbeat", the new movement for national renewal was envisioned to create a strong sense of bonding among all Singaporeans, regardless of ethnicity, age or socio-economic background, and a robust, unabashed loyalty towards Singapore, true, cherished home at last and not some station on the way to greener pastures.
The Prime Minister's vision clearly found resonance in the hearts and minds of the people.
What followed was a sincere attempt on both sides to give substance to the vision.
It was best demonstrated during the Asian economic crisis by the readiness of both Government and people to pull together and make sacrifices, no matter how painful, to see the country through that difficult time.
Through it all was the exhilarating sensation that for the first time in the government-people relationship, there was the beginning of a real camaraderie, even warmth, which truly befitted the spirit of the nation's new rallying cry of "Singapore 21".
But something is happening now that is threatening to sour the spirit. There seems to be a return of the old disaffection, triggered by the return of an old issue.
Whether cause or symptom, the issue of the ministerial pay increases is once again provoking strong reaction from the people and causing them to raise their voices to a new level of concern, as seen in the letters to the press, newspaper commentaries and articles, public forums, TV phone-in comments and question-and-answer sessions with government representatives, not to mention the ubiquitous coffeeshop talk.
The arguments on both sides have basically remained the same.
On its part, the Government, to justify the hefty pay increases, comparable to the best in the private sector, is reiterating the old emphasis on the need, so crucial for the very survival of Singapore, not only to attract the best talent into public service, but also to keep it there, free from the temptation of corruption and fully focused on the task of good, clean, efficient government.
On their part, the people are reiterating the old reasons for their disquiet -- the anomaly of assigning a precise monetary value to national leadership, the danger of creating a culture where such time-honoured values as selfless public service and personal sacrifice no longer count.
HARD PRAGMATISM VS IDEALISM
The only new thing about the arguments from both sides is the elaborateness of their illustrations, the Government giving detailed statistics of so many billion dollars saved as a result of astute decision-making during the economic crisis, and the people reeling off examples of countries, such as Finland, Denmark and New Zealand where no high ministerial salaries are needed for fine public service and incorruptibility.
In essence, the Government's stand is that of hard pragmatism and the people's that of moral idealism. Why has the controversy cropped up again, when others, equally heated, such as that related to the bringing in of foreign workers, have apparently been settled once and for all, or simply consigned to oblivion?
There are clearly two reasons.
Firstly, the issue, being about money, is of special interest to all, whether professionals or blue-collar workers, young or old, HDB Heartlanders or Condominium Cosmopolitans.
The dollars-and-cents aspect of the issue is the one most readily grasped by all, especially the working man-in-the-street who still cannot get over the fact that the monthly pay of a minister is more than his total life savings will ever be.
Already there is the suspicion, clearly unfounded but no less real, that once launched on this path of a relentless tie-up with the high achieving private sector, the Government's policy on ministerial salaries can only spiral upwards in the coming years, creating an even more breathtaking gap between the public servant and the public he serves.
The debate has, in the most alarming way, moved away from principles to the crude outlines of money-talk, with the leaders in effect saying, "To be a good, honourable, efficient, clean government, we have to pay ourselves well," and the people saying, "To be a good, honourable, efficient, clean government, you don't have to pay yourselves that well."
The second reason for the persistence of the issue as a debating topic has to do with its uniqueness. Whereas previous topics seemed clear-cut, this issue is fraught with self-contradictions.
A decision purportedly made for the good of Singaporeans in the long term is seen to benefit the decision-makers, and most substantially too, in the short term.
Here is an odd situation where nobility of end is obscured by dubiousness of means, where sincerity of intention is clouded by ambiguity of method.