Does Kuan Yew fear a Pakatan rule?
It is in Lee Kuan Yew’s interest for BN to hold on to power forever as he has seen what Pakatan can do in Penang and Selangor, and this would challenge his Singapore.
He would most definitely not want Pakatan to helm the nation because he is shrewd enough to know that if Pakatan is the federal government, Malaysia can compete with Singapore and give the island nation a run for its money.
Selena Tay, FMT columnist
Lee Kuan Yew in his new book ‘One Man’s View of the World’ has described Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as “an opportunistic and ad hoc group not held together by even a vaguely coherent set of ideas but by a common desire to unseat the government” (as reported in an English daily on Aug 8).
He is absolutely wrong as all of Pakatan’s three component parties are championing the cause of good governance and that is the main ideology that holds the opposition coalition together.
Lee of course would love Barisan Nasional to go on controlling Malaysia so that Singapore can surge ahead in terms of economic prosperity. As long as BN is in power, Malaysia cannot hope to catch up with Singapore. Therefore Lee is certainly a great fan of BN.
This columnist’s Singaporean cousin who was in Malaysia for an aunt’s 80th birthday dinner last September had made this insulting remark about Malaysia:
“As long as BN continues winning general elections, I am very happy. With BN at the helm, you guys can only chase after the dust we left behind.”
Another Malaysian cousin of mine defended Malaysia by saying that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and ETP (Economic Transformation Programme) can challenge Singapore but this Singaporean cousin only laughed it off.
Thus Lee’s remark talking bad about Pakatan is certainly a great boost to BN. Many Singaporeans think that Malaysia is far behind Singapore in terms of economic progress.
Singaporeans brag that many Malaysians find greener pastures in the republic especially in terms of jobs and education.
This columnist’s friend who works in Singapore but stays in Johor is earning well and benefiting from the cheaper cost of living in Johor although he mentioned that he had to face the daily hassle of travelling across the causeway to his workplace.
Lee prides himself on building Singapore to what it is today and it is in his interest for BN to hold on to power forever as he has seen what Pakatan can do in Penang and Selangor.
