ermm...I think you over-analysed his response. In response to
the question of "What about those who don't know how to help
themselves?", his answer simply meant that he can't help every
single Singaporean. He didn't admit to any mistakes.
For the elitist issue, it isn't really a government thing but a
Singaporean thing. The way we like to rank each other, see who is
better than who. What schools you go to? Where do you live? There's
so much fuss about the ranking of every single aspect of our life.
This isn't a trait directly derived from the government. It's a
trait learnt from watching how other Singaporeans behave. It seems
to be the Singaporean culture.
In a meritocratic society, the elites get to where they are based
on their own efforts. That's fine. There will always be those that
are more succesful than others. The problem begins when we begin to
place a value on a person. If he's ranked higher, then he is deemed
to be more valuable to the country. That a higher ranked person
should have a greater 'voice' than those lower-ranked or that their
opinion should matter more.
I think that we should not place each other on a scale, merely rate
someone as higher or lower. We should instead treat each and
everyone of us as different individuals who have different opinions
and that our opinions should be judged as it is without regard to
how highly or lowly ranked we are in society. So, really, it's not
an autocracy thing or whatnot. It's a social issue which requires a
social solution not a political one.