Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Patriotism?? ... NOT!! -Part 2

I read with total disgust bordering on revulsion at Mah Bow Tan's response to Mr. Chiam's request for assistance with the street light conditions in his ward, Pong Pasir.
It can be summed up trenchantly in two phrases: "You don't vote for me ... so I don't help you lah! Too bad but tit for tat!" (pardon my Singlish - a blot on my otherwise scrupulously phrased blogs. But it was a necessary evil ... and once only, I promise!).
To think that we have such childish responses from one who is a Minister for National Development is abhorrent. What ever happened to the PAP's call for "transparency", or has it all become pap and washed out with the drainwater?
I would go one step further and say this is egotistical sore losing of the highest order, the sort of kiasuism (apologies again for that horrible word) the ruling party often proselytises against but are not averse to practicing themselves when it suits them or the situation: A "hypocrisy is not OK in others but I can practice it myself because I'm the MP" if you will! Therefore, if the ruling party sees a decline in their popularity, as evinced by the results of the last election, then they have only themselves to blame. But alas, even though its as plain as the proverbial pikestaff to all but the beknighted Sassenach who is our Prime Minister, what more can I say, or should say?
I'm thankful I don't live in Potong Pasir, though kudos to Mr. Chiam's are in order for winning the seat for the sixth straight term that neither bribes nor threats could shake. We need more people like him in the corridors of power to ensure that egotism, nepotism and despotism don't get an upper hold. The PP residents certainly agree, preferring the shabby grandeur of their estate to a slick, mall-infested colony that the "other" wards have become. I, certainly, for one, would not like an estate headed by a sore loser, no matter how city-slick its upgrading promises.
Be thankful for people like Mr Chiam who refuse a steady diet of pap, no matter how much and how often it has been forced down your throat. And if the popularity of Eleanor Wong's recent play is any benchmark, that sentiment is growing.

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