Politics: MY politicians welcome Lawrence but take a dig at SG’s opposition
Khairy Jamaludin, former Malaysian health minister, was the latest to question the conservatism of Pritam Singh, Workers’ Party chief, at GE 2025. “Surely your ambition isn’t just to be 30 percent, right? If that’s the case, then forget it. We’d rather give our vote to the PAP [People’s Action Party],” said Khairy on the “#KenaSoal” (Being asked) podcast, co-hosted with Shahril Hamdan, another former fellow politician with UMNO. Shahril said there are still “no consecutive elections where the opposition managed to make progress in vote share.” Perhaps it’s because of the “stereotypical conservative nature” of Singaporeans, he speculated, being less daring or less desirous of the sort of “radical change” that Malaysia has seen over the past two decades. Though he also acknowledged that it has to do with the PAP’s economic track record, the “national myth” of vulnerability, and the conflation of the Singapore identity with the PAP.
Khairy praised Lawrence Wong, prime minister, for being practical and eschewing “fireworks” that might “inflame sentiments among Singaporeans with regards to Malaysia.” Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian prime minister, and Wong have already “gotten off on the right foot”, he said, so he doesn’t expect any major changes in the bilateral relationship following Wong’s thumping victory. Shahril noted that both countries were in new territory in terms of their refreshed cabinets—in Malaysia much of it from Pakatan Harapan—not having the long history of personal relations that the PAP and Barisan Nasional of old had for decades after independence.
One of the more fascinating segments was when Shahril interrogated the appeal of style versus substance in politicians. He took a dig at Singapore’s (so-called TikTok) politicians, noting that they often went viral through comical statements at rallies. He said their jokes generally don’t land, and contrasted them with Malaysian politicians, “trained from a young age to have great rhetoric”. He said it was perhaps a “backhanded compliment” to Singaporean politicians that their rhetoric isn’t on par with their counterparts across the causeway, alluding to the more cogent substance of their message. “So in terms of oratory, we win. Our oratory wins. Content can be discussed later, but in oratory, Malaysian politicians win.” And yet one might argue that in both Malaysia and Singapore, there are contemporary politicians—Khairy, Shahril, Singh and Ong Ye Kung, for instance—who are adept at both. Gaya, mutu, keunggulan: maybe that’s what electorates in both countries want.
Politics: The Fujian problem may linger
The hobnobbing between Su Haijin, part of the notorious “Fujian gang” in Singapore’s biggest-ever money laundering case, and PAP politicians Chee Hong Tat, Ng Chee Meng and Ong Ye Kung, looks like a problem that’ll linger. Sure, the politicians can hardly be blamed for not knowing everything about everyone, as Jom argued last week, and cries about possibly flouting Covid restrictions are petty. (No Boris Johnsons here.)
But Singaporeans should ask three important questions. What’s the vetting process when ministers attend dinners with strangers who they’ve admitted might turn out to be “unsavoury”? Why do they indulge possibly unsavoury characters with cheery photographs of them and their spouses wining and dining, which a criminal might leverage to demonstrate credibility? And if Ng, the labour chief, claims to sip wine in atas places to “better understand” the concerns of industry, exactly what sector did Su claim to represent? As The Economist reported, Su is connected to the same online scams industry, which “may already be as big a scourge as illegal drugs”, that the government has been trying hard to fight. If foreign crooks believe they can access our ministers through businessmen like Sam Goi, Singapore has a perception problem.
This week, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) called for a “full and transparent investigation” to “preserve Singapore’s reputation for integrity and incorruptibility”. Alas, given the SDP’s failure to win a seat at the recent GE, its cries will likely go unheard. By contrast, if the WP says something, the mainstream media and more Singaporeans will listen.
