LYK challenged Singaporeans that we can't live without them?
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Abstract from The Straits Time wednesday March 7 2007
Singapore's brand of democracy works because the Government gives the country's citizens every reason to vote for it at elections, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said yesterday.
The country has maintained the principal of British democracy, that the electorate can vote a government out peacefully.
"But we have engineered it so carefully that they must be very stupid to vote this government out" he added.
The government solved the housing problem by building public housing using Central Provident Fund(CPF) money. These flats are then sold to Singaporeans at cost price.
For the Singapore citizen, his flat is "something substantial" that he owns and has to pay instalments for.
"So he must have a job. If you change the government, you have no jobs, the house is taken back," Mr Lee said.
And as the flats become old after 20 to 30 years, the government upgrades the buildings, subsidising 80 per cent of the cost.
"suddenly, overnight your property goes up in value. Now you find another government that will do that. If you think you can, you try," he said.
The Americans try to prescribe democracy by saying governments should allow free association, demonstrations and free press, he said.
"Here you want to hold a demonstration, you must have a permit first."
As for his critics who say he is authoritarian, Mr Lee had this reply:"I say,'never mind'.
"Do they vote for me? Do i stuff the ballot boxes? No. Is it a secret vote? Yes. Do i win?
"Do i win 99 per cent? No. I win by 61 or 65 or 67 per cent."
The highest percentage of votes he ever won was 88 percent, he recounted.
"That was the year the British decided to get out and sell everything. So i immediately held an election. i knew the people will be dead scared." -
Somehow, I kinda like his brutal honesty.
Brutal, but "honest".
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-_-" cost price.
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ya, absolutely not shy about it.Originally posted by CoolMyth:Somehow, I kinda like his brutal honesty.
Brutal, but "honest". -
yes, but times are different ... you have to tickle the electorate's balls a bit now .... the problem with very smart people is that they assume everyone else is stupid .... and Singaporeans may be passive, but we are never stupid ....
seeing him squandering his political capital the way he did the past few years, I think the tooth is indeed getting way way too long ...
this goverment is always talking about the need to adapt to the changing environment ... but why isn't itself adapting to a changing electorate ? ... -
i fear LKY
he has never lost a lawsuit before...........
his flame is the most deadly
my idol
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The part about government selling to the people low cost housing at cost is a lie - our low cost housing were sold at market price less a bit of developer discount like that offered by Hotel Property even though lands were owned and paid for by the citizens in the first place.Originally posted by CoolMyth:Somehow, I kinda like his brutal honesty.
Brutal, but "honest".
The part about government being honest in election is also a lie. A government which used GRC under the guise of racial harmony to perpetuate cannot be all that straightforward, or brutally honest.
Problems caused by wrong policies took years to be admitted and by then the economy has already lost its competitiveness to others like Korea and Finland which were able to surge ahead because of real upholding of democracy and not practising self-interests under the cloak of democracy. -
HAHAHA, LKY is the best flamer of them all....Originally posted by allentyb:i fear LKY
he has never lost a lawsuit before...........
his flame is the most deadly
my idol
Hahahahahahaaaa
good one! -
Anyway, LKY's statements are peppered with so much confidence that only a pinoneer like him can command. But like they say, falling off a high horse can be very painful....and one day, even PAP will have to dismount.....
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using psychology, first we do not 'really' own our own shelter which is a basic need in maslow hierarchy of needs. secondly, we are always left with little after paying here and there leaving us with so much savings. with that we won't be able to abandon our jobs for days, weeks or months to start any protesting.Originally posted by robertteh:The part about government selling to the people low cost housing at cost is a lie - our low cost housing were sold at market price less a bit of developer discount like that offered by Hotel Property even though lands were owned and paid for by the citizens in the first place.
The part about government being honest in election is also a lie. A government which used GRC under the guise of racial harmony to perpetuate cannot be all that straightforward, or brutally honest.
Problems caused by wrong policies took years to be admitted and by then the economy has already lost its competitiveness to others like Korea and Finland which were able to surge ahead because of real upholding of democracy and not practising self-interests under the cloak of democracy.
in long term, we work and work until the day we die (no chance to even retire), we still won't be able to satisfy our 1st level of needs. -
creating an extremely strong front to intimidate any who attempts to challenge.Originally posted by blueheeler:Anyway, LKY's statements are peppered with so much confidence that only a pinoneer like him can command. But like they say, falling off a high horse can be very painful....and one day, even PAP will have to dismount.....
it takes someone as good as him to be able to dislodge but now i think things are going to change (that would take a few more years). -
Every man has his own courage, and is betrayed because he seeks in himself the courage of other persons. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The government he engineered with the devoted 'founding' ministers are a far cry to what we have today.
Today, we have ministers that are quick to push blame elsewhere, quick to reward themselves for mediocre performance and worse, lack of dedication to the citizens of singapore. We see them as spineless, always bias with the party whip... No matter how lacklustre or how poor decisions are, we see their hands raised, with a thumbs up.
I hope that voters will not be swayed with false promises during the next election. -
The building are sold to Singaporean as cost price meh? I dont think soo...
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shhhhhOriginally posted by Darkness_hacker99:The building are sold to Singaporean as cost price meh? I dont think soo...
its the worst kept secret -
I heard there from one uncle the govt forcibly acquire the land from them. As the land was owned by 4 brothers, The compensation they got was not even enough to buy 4 hdb flats.
one of the uncle said his family used to own a pig firm and the land was acquire for $1 per sqft. He said even for tiles, the price is higher than that.
its becomes cost price because the agency acquiring it resells the same land back to HDB at many many times profit. -
i think with them,sooner or later,it is us who cannot live and have to become quitters.......dread the day it is 6.5 million in singapore
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Very honest about his brutal twisting of logic to support himself. Not the first in history, though. Still thinking we are all stupid dumb sheep.Originally posted by CoolMyth:Somehow, I kinda like his brutal honesty.
Brutal, but "honest". -
Come on, all government sucks.
Every country in the world has people who are satisfied with their government and also people who are not happy with it.
It will always be that way no matter how the government is.
And Singapore is not going to be the first country in the world to have everyone satisfied with the government.
I am also not happy with the Singapore government, because I was retrenched in its economic restructuring, and I have not recovered from it and never will. I don't know if Singaporeans are really better off from the restructuring, maybe some are, I only know that I am not among them. But I do not go cursing the government, because I still have my life, my home, my family, my health, and I am grateful for what I have. I am only poorer in this millennium than I was in the 1990's. I was driving a car then, now I ride a motorcycle. Not too bad.
I am also not interested in National Day anymore.
I am glad there are no car bombs in the market, and that I won't be blindfolded and shot in the back of the head. -
sounds godlikeOriginally posted by allentyb:i fear LKY
he has never lost a lawsuit before...........
his flame is the most deadly
my idol 
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You don't have to please peasants.
You just have to let them know their place.
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Originally posted by NotFromVenus:You don't have to please peasants.
You just have to let them know their place. 
then whats the difference, we from the communist *cough* *cough* china -
sounded more like the unfair advantage. Cheat code activated.Originally posted by kIppEr:sounds godlike -
not sounds godlike,he is godlike until no one can control him liaoOriginally posted by kIppEr:sounds godlike 
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how to control him?Originally posted by GenX:not sounds godlike,he is godlike until no one can control him liao
you want someone from home affairs to come and knock at your door?
and detain you without trial, ah?