Yushui Village in Lijiang, Yunnan, with snow mountain backdrop and cascading waterfalls.
10/03/2013
When trust is an issue
When Chok Tong handed power over to Hsien Loong, the PAP govt was still smooth sailing and trust was not an issue. It was riding on its past glories and good track record. The govt had delivered a better life for most of the citizens and trust was a given. The people trusted the govt and allowed the govt to do what they did best while the people went about their lives with a certain level of contentment.
The trust was still there in the first few years of Hsien Loong’s premiership. Today Hsien Loong is asking the people to trust the govt. This is a tell tale sign that something is not right, or something seriously not right. The govt must have felt it. This time the feedback on how dissatisfied the people are with the govt got through. Even if the grassroot leaders are still telling only the good news, there are many other sources and events that said the sentiments of the people are not with the govt. The by elections and election for the President did not bode well for the ruling govt.
For a govt that thinks and believes that it is doing all the right things for the good of the people and to lose the trust of the people is a strange feeling. Either the govt is doing all the wrong things but thinking that they were the right things, or the people are just ungrateful and too demanding. It could be a mix of both.
So? Is Hsien Loong’s plea for trust going to be received kindly and reciprocated by the people? Or is it going to be a futile last gasp to regain the lost confidence and votes of the people? It cannot be just a plea and expecting the people to come back to give him a big hug. There must be things that went wrong that drove the people away from the PAP. And these must be put right if the support and trust are going to return.
What should the PAP do to win back the trust of the people? Policies and leadership are two of the main bugbears that make the people lost their trust of the PAP. The leadership today, and the leaders, are simply appalling. They don’t lead and still think they could talk down to the people with fuzzy logics and loose talks. When ministers and MPs could not explain govt policies coherently to the people, they lose the people.
And bad policies don’t help either. Maybe it is unfair to blame them when the policies are unacceptable to the people and cannot be explained away even by the cleverest minister. Bad policies are bad policies. Policies that don’t benefit the people or make lives more difficult will be just that. No amount of communication of fake and obtused reasonings and logics can change them.
the people start to trust the govt again? I think it is not so easy. The people want the govt to prove that it is worthy of trust, to deserve to be trusted again. So far no good, and getting worse by the day. The people are not saying anything. They can’t, or even if they do, is the govt and the political leaders listening or willing to listen? There is a huge gap in the meetings of minds. The govt only want to hear what it wants to hear. The people are saying things that the govt does not want to know. How can there be trust?
The govt needs to do the right thing to gain the trust of the people. And the people are the ones to decide whether it is the right thing or the wrong thing.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteit is very funny...
when the trust is 'broken', it is lost forever......
you may smile with each other, but somehow there is a transparent barrier in between ......
it is very very very difficult to win back the trust....the most you can win back is the support....
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments
ReplyDelete- good summary of all the types of reasoning PAP inflicts on Singaporeans
SOURCE
https://bookofbadarguments.com/?view=allpages
I would think it is a matter of who, the PAP or the opposition, that the people trust more lah.
ReplyDeleteAnd 60% of the people trusted PAP more than they trusted opposition to be govt!
If I were Hsien Loong, what better trust than this one, you tell me lah?
"Building trust comes from working together", says PM Lee on Singapore's social compact.
ReplyDeleteAh Loong.
I work with you, how much I get paid?
How much you get paid?
You think I stupid is it?
Opposition laujiao (wise old timer) Low Thia Khiang already said people very scared they accidentally vote PAP out in a GE what.
ReplyDeleteAnd coming from a laujiao, you better listen OK.
So what happens if I accidentally or purposely vote PAP gahmen out in GE 2016?
ReplyDeleteWhat if PAP is voted out in GE 2016?
And Singapore continue functioning just as well if not better?
Less blood sucking PAPigs.
More money for social services for needy Singaporeans.
Hi RB
ReplyDeleteBarrie scold your blog again.
Hi Veritas, when you see a mad man, stay far far away.
ReplyDeleteDon't bother even to reply.
The anti Chinese sentiment of Malay Muslim in Malaya is real. Some of these sentiments trickle to SG. The racist do not want to do comparative civilizations or it will debunk their lies and hate.
ReplyDeleteThere are a regions whereby Malay Muslim like Chinese. The Moro and Sulu are Malay Muslim. They like Chinese. Not to say ALL Malay Christian like Dayak, Iban, Kadazan, Pinoy, Torajan has no problem with Chinese AT ALL.
Unfortunately, many Malay Muslim do not study history and geo politic enough. Else they will be able to see through what went wrong.
No use when the mind is dull.
ReplyDeleteWe do not see any problem here between and among different Races.
ReplyDeleteWe see the Local Chinese having disputes here and there in Sin.
I do not see the Squabbles here and there as RACIST PROBLEM.
It is PERSONAL IDIOCY AND IDIOSYNCRACY THAT ARE THE PROBLEMS.
patriot
I thought I was the only one that saw that it is GCT that set the trap, but it takes a idiot to take the bait, even after taking the bait and fell into a trap and covered by mud, still can say everything is ok and everyone should trust the government
ReplyDeleteIs trust the Issue
ReplyDeleteOR
Integrity the Issue??
patriot
Will PAP be voted out in 2016?
ReplyDeleteWP Laujiao Low Thia Khiang doubt so.
Laujiao Low said WP can win a by election but opposition will not win a general election.
I agree. Because he knows better than any Sinkie, although I don't regard him as better PM material than Ah Loong.
So trust or no trust, I think Sinkies who are suffering now will continue suffering till 2016 and beyond. Because PAP will still win in 2016.
Sinkies can reduce their mental suffering by reading and commenting on RB blog. Because he does not moderate comments before it is posted and seldom delete also.
ReplyDeleteSo please buy kopi kau for him in return.
I think no smart Sinkies will want Ah Loong's job also. I mean to do a better job than Ah loong lah, of course.
ReplyDeleteThose not smart of course want the job for the pay and not to do a better job.
Yes, kopi kau for RB. But we must also not go too far and mess up this unique blog.
ReplyDeleteCheers RB, kopi kau coming.
Hi Readbean,
ReplyDeleteOctober 03, 2013 11:41 am
"Veritas said... Hi RB Barrie scold your blog again."
"when you see a mad man, stay far far away.....Don't bother even to reply."
Agree!
Use to enjoy Barrie’s blog. He is a Baba and nothing wrong being a Baba, once lived in Canada. He understands the Social Politics issues in Canada and The States. Kind of agrees with much of the time. However, when he criticized Tan Wah Piow escaped to the UK and praised Teo Soh Lung who remains and arrested in the Operation Cold Store, further using religious’s faith to espouse his believe. I decided this guy is a religious manic.
JC
So many went to fuck this crazy madman in his blog that he censored all and talked to himself.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteOctober 03, 2013 2:17 pm
"...crazy madman..."
Indeed he's is mad. Mad beyond imagination.
JC
There will be no trust when a nation's people feel alienated in their own country.
ReplyDeleteAliens in paradise. Know where you are?
People with bad personal experience like being sodomised would possess such obssessive behaviours and hate. Ask him.
ReplyDeleteBarry, Harry same same lah. Just bend over and get spurred. You will enjoy, trust Harry.
ReplyDeleteTrusting politician is asking pig to fly. After trusting them for 50 years, sinkies especially those that cannot migrate are more screwed than ever in history.
ReplyDeleteTrust can only be earned by integrity and propriety.
ReplyDelete'Laujiao Low said WP can win a by election but opposition will not win a general election. '
ReplyDelete- I think he meant a coalition is the best for this small island and I agree. One cannot just kick out a party that ruled for half a century so fast.
Let's not forget that GCT didn't exactly hand over power to LHL... LKY made that happen.
ReplyDeleteI could tell that GCT was reluctant to hand over power, or he had another successor in mind.
During the handing over ceremony in 2004, I still remember that LKY took centrestage on the stage, and the first thing he did was to shake his son's hand after he became the PM.
This is what happens when you let a family hijack the entire country's political system.
Benevolent dictator is an oxymoron.
ReplyDeleteThe Rulers may have mis-intepret compliance and deference as trust.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the people have given them the wrong impression for behaving like sheep surrounded by shepherd dogs.
As a matter of fact, come to think of it, LKY is one hell of a guy! Imagine what he has accomplished here may have transcended time and space. Never mind the right or wrong of it but he knows exactly what he wants. He needs a system that will survive him. And he stress tested it to the limit. It has probably met his target. He must be an assured man. Possibly he is the first to accomplish this feat. Now he is gradually letting the system revert back to its un-stretched equilibrium. Almost everything is in place. He must have told loong chong of his close confidants what are the subsequent steps. Despite everything, nobody can deny his brilliance. To build a system that can survive him and withstand his passing.
ReplyDelete"To build a system that can survive him and withstand his passing."
ReplyDeleteSure or not?
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,....................,000,000%
ReplyDeleteMeans likely nothing would happen in 2016. Sleep on it. Chew on it. It should become obvious. It may be for the good of everybody. Reflect on what LTK said. There are likely a lot of wisdom, truths and realities in it.
ReplyDeleteNormally i would fall asleep while reading barrie's blog, rb, no worries dude, you're still tops.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Kaki
Indeed the Old Man had the Politics in Sin all constructed according to his plan and vision.
ReplyDeleteI commented that Singaporeans have to live under his spell for sometimes to come.
Now, I see his spell losing potency and he may have a great opportunity to see for himself the decline of PAP though it's collapse will happen not too long after him.
Lee Kuan Yew may even be prescient of PAP's ultimate Collapse. However, there is not much that he can do now as the damage is way beyond repair. Probably migration will be the choice of many incumbents in the Cabinet after the Next General Election.
patriot
"To build a system that can survive him and withstand his passing."
ReplyDeleteOh right - just like Hitler,Caesar, Napoleon, Tito, Milosevic, Stalin, Pinochet, Puyi etc. In good company.
We have trust earlier because PAP delivered what was promised. They created jobs, improved salary, upgraded our housing; provided realiable transport and clean hawker centres. Schools results were improved and our education system was copied by many countries. Law and order was tip top and people were generally happy.
ReplyDeleteAll these were gone within the past 15 years. We are in the rot. What happened? Someone up there had screwed up. Think we have had enough. Wake up or ship out!
When an avalanche starts, it crashes in double quick time and nothing is going to stop it until it hits the bottom of the mountain.
ReplyDelete@ RB 9.39 am : "When an avalanche starts, it crashes in double quick time and nothing is going to stop it until it hits the bottom of the mountain."
ReplyDeleteRb, I visit your blog often and even bought you kopi many times. But sad to say that you and some ardent people are living in "pipe dreams". Why do I use such harsh and ruthless words? Because realities are harsh and ruthless. Politics are many times more!!
Take for example the HLP gathering tomorrow 5 Oct 2013. The date is a joke. PAP people must be even more confident seeing such "clowning act". Is the organiser on opposition side or a ruling party mole? Where got sabotage own self so jialat one?
Expect big turnout? Come on! Before battle start already lose liao!
By choosing this date, the organiser has already "slapped the the faces and stepped on the toes of about 50% or 1 million voters"! Why?
Come on! You want to take on PAP, a 50-year entrenched incumbent and 10,000 pound gorilla Goliath and you never do any homework?
Come on! It's a big joke! I respect the organiser's hard work, spirit and persistence but the date .......... OMG? How to even fight a war like that? Who want to join?
Most JC1 students are in the midst of their promo or starting their promo coming week. JC2 just finished Prelim 2 and in the "midst of one of the most important fights of their lives" to buck up or further consolidate their revisions for coming "A" level exams. Most sec students are also in their midst of their year end exam or preparing for it in the coming week. Sec4/ 5 students same situation and predicaments as JC2 students. Pri 1 -5 students all in the midst of frantically preparing their coming year end exam which make up a big bulk of the entire year's results. Hello! Only Pri 6 just finished their PSLE papers after 1 year plus of exasperating, gruelling, frustrating, pain-staking and exhausting preparation. Some JC1 students just finish their promos after weeks and weeks of examination preparation stress and agonies. These two groups are eagerly looking to their first weekend of a long over due rest and break after weeks and months of intensive and frustrating mugging for their national and promo exams.
Taking 43,00 as an average year cohort. 43k x 12 years = 516,000. Multiply that by 2 parents = more than 1 million parents. Majority are citizens.
Foreigners, PRs and tourists cannot vote lah!
Your HLP protest organise for who huh?
Easily 50% or about half of voters are not free leh! How?
Take on 10,000 pound goliath and dreaming about ""When an avalanche starts, it crashes in double quick time and nothing is going to stop it until it hits the bottom of the mountain."!
Dream on!!
Now you know why RB's charity event some months back was a flop!
This type of logistics and planning and strategy want to run a nation in the midst of giants and sharks swimming around?
Think still a long way off lah!
Any guess why still cannot win Tampines GRC in GE 2011 despite massive ground swell unhappiness?
Also, from many feedback, even many NSP candidates are big jokes. Many residents wonder whether they are really serious! Want to know why? Go walk around and ask those residents in constituencies where some of the NSP uncles and towkays contested! You might be appalled by some of the residents' feedback! Many might be long term oppo supporters but they still shake their heads on the NSP uncles and towkays! How can the eventual results be otherwise in those wards the NSP uncles and towkays contested?
Trust without procedural verification is just BLIND FAITH
ReplyDeleteHi SGMODERATEVOTER, welcome to the blog and thanks for your kopi. I can't remember organising a charity event.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the date of Gilbert's event would be better if the exams are out of the way. You are right that many students and their parents would be stucked at home.
What Gilbert is doing is symbolic in nature. We don't have a culture of big protest in recent years. Those were the past. The event would only raise a little awareness and registering unhappiness on the walls.
Nothing would come out of a single event like tomorrow. Things like these will change gradually until a confluence of events take place and major change will happen.
Agree the establishment is too entrenched and too big to be moved. It can only move itself and implode.