XIV - Baey Lian Peck's advice to grandson Yi Wei on the changing political scene in Singapore via an e-mail exchange, 27 May 2011

Summary

Dear Kongkong and ZY [Zhong Yi],

Not sure if you have seen this, but I just watched this short clip that my dad linked me to and felt that it was quite insightful. Thought to share it with everyone.

I share the same sentiments as ZY — hasn't the PAP been doing a decent job all these years? What is all this whining about?

Perhaps a reason why we think in this fashion is because we have been blessed with being “the fortunate lot” in Singapore. And although we probably do have some awareness of the less fortunate, we can never fully empathize with what they have to live with. According to this video, they are apparently quite oppressed. This makes a lot of sense — an economically driven country like ours putting less economically productive people at the bottom of the food chain. Or is that fallacy?

Just some food for thought.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/101east/2011/ 05/20115494458152827.html

Love,

Yi Wei

Date: Fri, 27 May 2011 16:20:27 +0800

From: “Dr. Baey Lian Peck”

Subject: Re: Hello from Perth!

Dear Yi Wei,

What the PAP had achieved is water down the drain. Over time, people forget especially those who had not lived through the period of development. Politics like a family is a living thing, it has to change with the times. What is important is that the people who are asking for changes should fully understand the difficulties the country or organizations have gone through and try to put themselves in the same situations.

Take for example NTUC Welcome Consumers Co-operative Supermarkets. Dr Goh Keng Swee mooted the idea of a consumers’ co-operative to combat the seemingly uncontrollable inflation due to [the] decision by OPEC (Organization of Oil Producing Countries) in the middle of nineteen seventies to increase the price of oil from $1.50 to $11.50 per barrel resulting in serious worldwide inflations, particularly in Singapore with no natural resources when prices of essential food shot up over 200% overnight.