No politician in his right mind will side with someone older
than Brezhnev ever was.
'Many remain hurt by MM Lee's remarks'
SINGAPORE - While Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew felt that his
remarks about Malays, Muslims and integration did not affect the
Malay vote for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), Senior
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed said
yesterday: "You need only ask the Malays and Muslims in Singapore -
many were hurt by those remarks and remain so".
Mr Zainul, who was a member of the PAP Aljunied GRC team which lost
the General Election (GE), made this point to "show how easily the
knots of racial harmony in our community can unravel".
"Integration does not only mean living in harmony. There must be
equally opportunities for all ... No Singaporean must ever feel
alienated, or worse, marginialised," he told reporters
yesterday.
Asked about the timing of Mr Lee's remarks, which were published in
the book Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going, Mr Zainul pointed out
the remarks had been made two years ago but as the book was only
published earlier this year, he acknowledged: "So in that sense,
(the) timing was bad for the GE."
Published by Singapore Press Holdings, the book is based on 16
interviews with MM Lee done by journalists from The Straits Times.
It was launched about three months before the General
Election.
However, Mr Zainul admitted that there "is no such thing as good
timing or bad timing" to discuss potentially sensitive issues
"because it sometimes touches on the raw nerves and this is where
we have to manage the way we discuss such potentially sensitive
issues, and issues that could also be divisive".
He also pointed out that some "very sensitive issues" pertaining to
the Malay-Muslim community - such as National Service, tertiary
fees and quotas in public housing - had been previously discussed
behind closed doors and in public.
"I think it's the combination of the approaches we have taken that
has brought the community to a level of maturity and be able to
face these issues squarely, and then move forward," he added.
Unlike his PAP team mates, Cabinet Ministers George Yeo and Lim
Hwee Hua, who had announced their retirement from politics earlier
this week, Mr Zainul, stopped short of saying as much.
"I will always be involved in community work and I can never say,
'never', in life or in politics," the 63-year-old said. "But given
my age ... I think it is unlikely for me to stand in the next
election."
TRANSFORMATION AN ONGOING PROCESS
While various PAP leaders have spoken about the need for reform
from within the ruling party, Mr Zainul noted the transformation
"is an ongoing process".
He also recounted some of the changes which he had witnessed within
the PAP.
As an editor with the Singapore Press Holdings between 1976 and
1996, Mr Zainul remembered Mr Lee - then Prime Minister - would
consult many editors before important decisions and speeches.
"We found that if we do our homework and we were sincere in giving
our feedback, in fact, Minister Mentor was even willing to change
decisions which they had already made," Mr Zainul said.
When Mr Goh Chok Tong took over as Prime Minister, Mr Zainul
pointed out the PAP Government tried to make the political process
"more consultative" and "open".
Similarly, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is "more engaging and
prepared to listen", Mr Zainul felt.
But he pointed out: "We have leaders among ourselves, or even in
the civil service, people who have strong views themselves, who
have their own opinions, and it's a matter of how do we actually
blend the opinions, positions and feedback, and how do we bring
them a policy that is acceptable to all."
While the Government "cannot please everyone", Mr Zainul felt it
could do better in managing the communicating policies, managing
feedback of people that may disagree with the Government and the
communication process. "This is something which I think the party
has started doing it, and I think we can only go deeper and do
more," he added.
SENTIMENTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN GOODIES
Recalling his political career, Mr Zainul noted that he was no
stranger to tough electoral battles.
He entered politics in 1997, contesting the "hot seat" of Cheng San
GRC, where the PAP garnered 54.82 per cent of the votes against a
Workers' Party (WP) team led by the late J B Jeyaretnam.
Mr Zainul described that contest as his "political baptism of
fire".
He contested Aljunied GRC in the 2006 election, when the WP team,
which included party chairman Sylvia Lim, secured 43.9 per cent of
the votes.
But the 2011 election, he said "was a different story".
While people appeared happy with the PAP team during their
walkabouts, Mr Zainul said: "The national mood, the national issues
just swept us from under our feet".
"When we realised that, in fact, it wasn't just local issues, but
national issues that had taken a kind of a different priority, I
thought it was rather too late," he added.
"It was a rollercoaster ride we had in 2011 but an experience which
I think will make me a lot stronger and a lot more savvy in terms
of understanding people's sentiments and how in fact people's
sentiments are equally, if not more, important than all the
programmes and all the goodies."
While he would "forever feel a tinge of sadness" about last
Saturday's results, Mr Zainul remained dedicated to serving
Singapore.
"This election result will not change my resolve. I will do what I
can, for so long as I am able," he added.
