For those interested to read this...
Day I witnessed PM and wife's
humility
I AM apolitical and I have no ulterior motive in writing this
letter. Nevertheless, I am certain that my letter will set many a
tongue wagging.
Last Friday, my wife and I were in for a surprise when we
accompanied our son to the Basic Military Training Centre on Pulau
Tekong for his enlistment into full-time national service: Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife, Madam Ho Ching, were also
there to send their son off.
The humility displayed by PM Lee and Madam Ho was indeed exemplary.
They did not claim any privilege, which rightly they could as Mr
Lee is no ordinary citizen.
During a tour of School 2, they were treated in the same way as the
other enlistees' parents. By this, I concluded that PM Lee must
have given instructions that he was not to be given any red-carpet
treatment.
What was most gratifying was to see PM Lee and his wife sitting
with the other enlistees' parents in the auditorium for a briefing
by the school commander, eating the same food, riding in the same
bus to and from the jetty on Pulau Tekong to School 2 and taking
the same launch to and from Pulau Tekong.
As protocol dictates that PM Lee and his wife be protected
adequately from harm and danger, they were escorted by a team from
the Police Security Command. Nevertheless, their bodyguards were
unobtrusive and carried out their duties in an even-handed
way.
I left Pulau Tekong feeling proud to be a Singaporean for two
reasons: I heard my son and the other enlistees taking the oath of
allegiance to defend Singapore and, if necessary, to lay down their
lives, and I witnessed the humility of PM Lee and his wife as they
rubbed shoulders with the people for more than four hours.
Lionel De Souza
as seen from today's ST Forum.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,364454,00.html?
