SINGAPORE: Better communications and dialogue with
citizens - that's what the government will do more of, said
Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian
Balakrishnan.
He was speaking to the media at the sidelines of a
graduation ceremony at Republic Polytechnic.
Dr Balakrishnan said the election has been a good
learning journey and at the strategic level, many PAP policies are
right but their implementation and communication can be
improved.
He gave a medical analogy to illustrate his point.
He said: "It's not good enough just to do the right operation. We
have to take informed consent, which means especially when you are
going into an uncertain future, especially when there may be more
than one option, and especially when there are trade offs,
complications, implications and consequences from different choices
of procedure.
"It's very very important to talk to the patient, to explain these
choices and the different trade offs and make sure the people of
Singapore understand this and participate more actively in the
decision-making process."
At the same time, he said Singapore needs a strong government that
can make tough decisions.
As for George Yeo's defeat in Aljunied GRC, Dr Balakrishnan said it
is not the fault of the GRC system and that the people have made
their choice. However, he added it is a loss for Singapore.
Dr Balakrishnan said: "George was one of the people who brought me
into politics. I have served under him in MTI and he has been such
an inspiration and a mentor, so it was very disappointing but
politics isn't fair and politics is not predictable, so in a sense,
these are the realities of politics that all have us have to learn
to live with."
He said Mr Yeo's defeat proved that no politician is
"indispensable".
"It's an affirmation of a lesson in humility for all politicians
and never never take people for granted and never take people's
feelings, hopes, fears and pain for granted - and beyond policies
and implementation, we need to make sure people will trust
us."
As for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, he said his team will find out
why some 40 per cent voted against them and sort out any issues
residents may have.
At the graduation ceremony at Republic Polytechnic, Dr Balakrishnan
told graduates of an uncertain future, with more challenges and
opportunities ahead. He also told them that family was more
important than money in their pursuit of happiness.
-CNA/ac
