Leaders’ duty: To be ‘trustees and stewards’ of S’pore
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Photo: Jason Quah
SINGAPORE — Recounting his own reasons for taking up politics more than 30 years ago, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday (Sept 8) reiterated how Singapore’s leaders have always had the country’s interests at heart.
During his speech at the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) lunchtime rally, Mr Lee, who entered politics in 1984, after then Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong asked him to, said he did so because he was convinced that each person could make a difference. That being the case, he said, he felt he had a duty to serve, instead of assuming that someone else would help solve the country’s problem.
“Because I think I can help, and because I think if I don’t step up, it doesn’t mean somebody else will come along and the problem will be solved and I can happily go home, and go to bed and have a hot shower, no problem. I feel I have that duty, I have to do something about it,” he said.
Mr Lee also pointed to Mr Goh who, after stepping down as Prime Minister in 2004, stayed on in politics to support and root for Singaporeans.
“Why does he do that, why do I do that? Because I feel a duty and he feels a duty too, to improve lives for Singaporeans, to make this a safe, secure, successful Singapore. To help Singaporeans improve their lives, year by year, and enable our children to have better futures and brighter opportunities,” he said.
He added: “And that’s what drives us, drives me to explore new possibilities, bring up spiky issues, tackle them — even immigration, very troublesome, but we have to talk about it, we have to do something about it, we have to explain to people what we are doing and why we are doing that.
“We are not the bosses of Singapore.” he added. “We are not the commanders or the owners of Singapore. We are the trustees and stewards of Singapore.”
Repeating the words of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March, in driving home his point about the conviction needed from leadership, Mr Lee said whoever governs Singapore “‘must have that iron in him or give it up. This is not a game of cards! This is your life and mine!’ And Lee Kuan Yew said, ‘I spent my whole life building this, and as long as I am in charge, nobody is knocking it down’.”
While Mr Lee Kuan Yew is gone, Mr Lee said, that spirit must continue, “that iron must be inside our hearts and as long as the PAP is in charge, nobody should be knocking this down”.
And this, said Mr Lee, is why he is in politics.
Mr Lee also talked about the need for a “deep bench” and the best possible team for Singapore and rebutted the Workers’ Party’s Mr Png Eng Huat’s comments that despite a military coup in the country, the Thai civil service kept the country going.
“If that is the Workers’ Party’s measure of good politics and success, if ever the Workers’ Party becomes the Government of Singapore, I say liao ah, finished!” he said.
Mr Lee also said that Singapore does not need an Opposition that says that it is not ready to form the government, “but never mind, just vote for me, you’re buying insurance”.
Insurance is good only if people buy the right ones from the right companies, such as NTUC Income or MediShield Life, which is backed by the Singapore Government, he said.
“If your insurance company is an Opposition party, has no track record, or worse, doesn’t know how to handle money … then you’ll buy your insurance now, you pay premium, you’ll feel okay, one day you’ll run into trouble, you’ll look for the insurance company to pay out, then you’ll know you’re in trouble,” he warned.
