I was looking forward to the forum between PM Lee and members of the public, ostensibly to discuss the future we Singaporeans envisioned for ourselves, that was broadcast on television recently.
I was disappointed. It seemed to me that the questions were tame, as if they had been screened beforehand for unfavourable or incendiary content. I also felt that a lot of important questions did not get asked; questions on issues that seem to divide society almost right down the middle now.
Singapore was already considered a success story 20-30 years ago. We were known as one of the Asian Tigers then and the productivity of our workforce was up there among the best in the world.
In those days the MRT had just been built and made travelling so easy. Our kids were doing well in school, health care was of a high standard and still improving, while wages for blue collar employees were rising steadily. Year by year more and more HDB dwellers were able to afford to move into bigger and better flats. Full story
