Daft & Dafter

On religious harmony, Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday appealed to religious leaders to speak up if a leader within their own religion makes comments that are offensive, dangerous or divisive. [Link]

On the same note, I appeal to PAP leaders to speak up if a leeder (or MP) within their own party makes comments that are offensive, dangerous and divisive. Especially derogatory comments that make morons out of citizens.

I'm sure most have read or heard of MM Lee's remark that Singaporeans must be "daft" if they vote against PAP.

Having read the following from callous and self-serving MPs, can we blame Singaporeans for being "daft" when election comes?

• “I know of one family who complain the cleaners in their precinct are lazy and too old. They don’t want local workers who are old, they want young foreign workers. To satisfy the demand, I changed the local workers to foreign workers. Foreign workers are not a burden to us. Their presence here is not negative. Without foreign workers, things will be worse,” - MP Ong Ah Heng in Parliament.
  
  

• "A segment of the Malay community has been likened to bankrupt English soccer club Portsmouth by Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Education) Masagos Zulkifli. Both spend beyond their means, he said yesterday during the debate on the Government's proposed Budget.

  He drew the comparison when he and Dr Ahmad Magad (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) spoke on the issue of Malay families who live in tents by the beach, and explained how they came to be homeless. Going by the cases which they have handled, it was clear that many such families ended up homeless because they had sold off their flats and spent the cash.

  They used the proceeds to pay off the debts they had chalked up and, having frittered away the rest, they ended up not having enough to pay even the rent. 'They do not think about buying a new flat or where their family is going to stay, even though they have young children,' said Dr Magad" ST [Link]

• An MP has argued for more spending to help new immigrants integrate with Singaporeans, going against the general calls from many locals for lesser privileges for permanent residents and foreigners.

  Noting that the Government has set aside $10 million in the Budget for national integration, which has generated criticism online and in coffee shops on the use of public funds for foreigners, Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng said more needs to be done to help new immigrants 'work with the old team and feel a part of us'.

  'First, we need to make sure that they are called new Singaporeans rather than new migrants. They are not even new migrants - they are an old hand at migrating, and want a new life. They want to settle down and to make Singapore a new home,' said Mr Seah in his speech during the debate on the 2010 Budget Statement on Wednesday. ST [Link]
  

  
  
• MP Koo Tsai Kee who is also the Minister of State for Defence sucked up to DPM Teo Chee Hean as being the “best man” to lead the National Productivity and Continuing Education Council because of his long years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). He said, “The SAF, despite its manpower constraints, has been able to face up to a widening range of security threats in recent years under Defence Minister Teo… And I am not saying this because he’s my boss,” he added.

Above is the picture of MP Koo's "Best Man" sleeping on the job in Parliament. [Link]

To be fair to DPM Teo, it's never easy to listen to PAP ministers. As always, they simply tire you out with their self-shoulder-slapping-congratulatory ramble of the good job they do in their respective ministry. In today's seating, SM Jayakumar was trying as hard to keep his eyes open when Mah Bow Tan went on about his productivity thing on his MND. I hope the poor TV cameraman and editor will not get sacked (like the old cleaners in Ong Ah Heng's ward) for the embarrassing news footage.

For productivity sake, maybe MM Lee can recommend the right spurs to be stuck on the hides of his sleepy ministers to keep them awake at their million-dollar-job in parliament.

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