Quote The Straits Times Friday, 21 Jul 06
Lim Kim San 1916 2006
The man who helped to house a generation -
..Even though
he was serving a PAP government and was close to the top PAP
leaders, he took a strictly non-partisan approach in housing
allocation. Flats were allocated on the basis of first come, first
served, and on the size of the family.
When parliamentary secretary for home affairs Lee Siew Choh
demanded preferential treatment for his Queenstown constituents and
was rebuffed by Mr Lim, he snapped: What are you here for, if not
to give priority to party supporters?
Mr Lims retort: I am here exactly to prevent misuse of
position.
Now back to the PAP strategy since 1992, then-prime minister Goh
Chok Tong served notice that wards which supported the PAP would be
given priority for the then-highly popular programme to upgrade, or
improve Housing Board estates using government funds. In the recent
election, he and PAP candidates revived the strategy for Hougang
and Potong Pasir promising $180 million of upgrading projects if
voters tossed out the opposition there and voted in the PAP. Voters
did not bite the carrot offered.
Just compare Mr Lims stand as then Chairman of the Housing Board
(he was just a volunteer, did not get paid a cent) in allocation of
the flats, and the way PAP (who are being paid peanuts) is handling
the upgrading projects for the Housing Board estates in the
opposition wards (misuse of position?). I think you will agree with
me that we really lost a great leader of Singapore.
I hope that we all read more about Mr Lim Kim San PROUD TO SERVE
HIS COUNTRY and know more about him.