Apr 18, 2011 - Straits Times
by Grace Ng
BEIJING - THE ground is not so sweet for this coming election,
amid rising costs and inflation, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
on Monday.
But the People's Action Party will not duck such hot-botton
issues, said SM Goh said in an interview with the Singapore media,
wrapping up his visit to China.
He said the PAP has assembled a 'strong team' with solid
grassroots experience and the right motivations to steer Singapore
through challenges such as rising cost of living, the Middle East
turmoil, fallout from the tsunami-hit Japan economy and ageing
population concerns.
Mr Goh also defended the PAP's youngest candidate Tin Pei Ling,
27, who has been criticised as 'a rather lightweight character',
saying the online vitriol against her presented only a superficial
view of her.
He insisted that he would not change his mind about including
her in his Marine Parade GRC team as she is a 'strong person' and
was selected through a rigorous process which pared some 200
top-calibre potential candidates down to just 24.
In contrast, he said it is easy to get into the opposition
parties as their candidates do not need to have a solid track
record.
