PAP CARES FOR ALL SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY - PM

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

SINGAPORE, May 4 (Bernama) -- The People's Action Party (PAP) feels it has
not talked enough about the needs and concerns of the middle-class and the young
people in Singapore in the current election campaign.

Hence, its secretary-general, Lee Hsien Loong, who is also prime minister,
was quoted by local television channel, Channel NewsAsia, as saying that he had
decided to focus his messages about these segments of Singapore society over the
last two days.

Speaking to the media after meeting residents at the Ang Mo Kio MRT and Bus
Interchange this morning with his Group Representation Constituencies (GRC)
team-mates, Lee stressed that it was not to address concerns of vote-swing.

He added that any voter would have to weigh carefully how he was going to
vote, but the PAP must try to reach everybody in the country and ensure that
this was an inclusive society.

Lee emphasised that the party looked after all segments of the population,
whether young or old, middle-class or low income.

He said, not every policy would benefit everyone equally "but if you take
the whole bundle over time, then I think nearly everybody in Singapore has
benefited considerably from them."

"But apart from having the results of the income tax cuts or CPF or GST
offset, it is also important for us to signal that we recognise people's
concerns, understand what they are anxious about and we have a sense of what
they are thinking and what they would like to see Singapore be and we empathise
with you and we connect with you," he said.

Lee was asked about his move at the lunchtime rally on Tuesday to apologise
for some mistakes which the government had made -- such as over the Mas Selamat
escape and incidents of flooding along Orchard Road.

He said the reaction to his apology was good. He said the party had
considered it carefully and it was a suitable message to Singaporeans at this
stage of the campaign so that the voters could focus their mind on key issues
like education and housing.

Lee feels that the audience had received it well and he hoped Singaporeans
too, would likewise.


The five-member Ang Mo Kio GRC team is being opposed by a team put together
from the opposition Reform Party and Singapore People's Party.

Elaborating on his point of the opposition borrowing candidates from one
another, the prime minister said this showed a lack of seriousness and
commitment.

Lee said: "When you join a party, it is a serious commitment. You study what
the party stands for, what sort of reputation it has got, what is it that it's
fighting for, what are your own values and beliefs, and ideals.

"And you choose a party which approximates that, and you join, and then you
fight on that basis. It doesn't mean that you are 100 per cent on one ideology
...everybody in the PAP believes in integrity, service to the people, in putting
the nation first, in growing our economy.

"There are certain fundamentals which you share to join the party and those
are what the party needs. If you can just change party overnight, then you are
really not serious about these basic things -- what are you in politics for,
what are you trying to achieve other than trying to become an MP or NCMP?

"And that cannot be the objective of being in politics. It must be to do
something good for the people. If you just swap around like this, it means that
you are not serious."