Temasek Review - January 31, 2010
Mah Bow Tan says he believes he can do the “best” for
Singaporeans and blasts opposition’s GE strategy
Written by Our Correspondent
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has lambasted the
opposition for “focusing” on him in the next general election and
claimed that only he can do the “best” for Singaporeans.
The Straits Times had earlier reported on a few opposition
parties which have expressed their interest in contesting in Mr
Mah’s Tampines GRC in the next general election due to his
unpopularity among Singaporeans.
Mr Mah was widely blamed for his failure to control
sky-rocketing prices of HDB flats which is imposing a great
financial burden on ordinary Singaporeans.
The report prompted Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew to describe
Tampines residents as being “daft” if they were to cast a protest
vote against Mr Mah. (read article here)
“A general election (GE) is not about me, an individual
minister or an individual MP. It’s really about the residents
themselves. I offer myself up for election because I believe that I
can do the best and the most for them. But ultimately it’s for the
residents, the people to decide,” Mr Mah said in an interview
with Straits Times.
Though he acknowledged that some people may be “adversely”
affected by the housing policies, he is adamant that they are
beneficial to Singaporeans as a whole:
“There’s no question that our policies are designed for the
good of the people. While there may be certain parts of the
policies that are not favourable, overall, I think these policies
are for the well-being of the people and are good for the
country.”
Mr Mah did not elaborate on the inadequacies of the policies and
how they can be fine-tuned to better suit the needs and interests
of the people.
The astronomical prices of today’s flats are contributed partly
by a limited supply of new flats and rising demand fueled by the
relentless influx of foreigners.
Only slightly more than 11,000 flats were built between the
years 2006 – 2008 when the rate of immigration is at its peak. Mr
Mah has still not explained to Singaporeans why so few flats were
constructed during this period:
