Ability is key; Signs of a new political landscape

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Apr 8, 2011
Ability is key
'Give Ms Tin the space to prove herself and her critics wrong.'

MR LIN HOWARD: 'The recent furore over the People's Action Party's youngest candidate is all about nothing ('Tin Pei Ling 'a good grassroots leader''; Wednesday). Ability is key to good governance regardless of age. What is important is that Ms Tin Pei Ling, 27, should have the intellectual capability and demeanour to handle whatever role she is assigned to perform. The baby-boomer generation is past and we now have a younger and better educated populace. Give Ms Tin the space to prove herself and her critics wrong. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore's first prime minister at age 35, young by world standards, but proved to be a heavyweight on the world stage. His transformation of Singapore to what it is today is legendary.'
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_654246.html
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ST Forum: HOME > ST FORUM > STORY
Apr 8, 2011
Signs of a new political landscape
THE range of questions posed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong by university undergraduates at the Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum on Tuesday (''Singapore can't afford to have a bad PM'' and other reports; Wednesday) has made me realise that the so-called 'climate of fear' issue brought up at another political forum on March 23 has totally lost its relevance.
Questions often shunned by Singaporeans, such as upgrading in opposition wards and ministerial salaries, were boldly brought up, and I was impressed by PM Lee's openness to such issues and his sharp and professional responses.
To say that Singaporeans are politically apathetic and fearful to speak up is really something that belongs to the past. Perhaps this is the start of a changing political landscape in Singapore which will possibly be evident in the upcoming general election comprising a substantial number of young voters.
Khoo Lih-Han
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_654243.html

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