GE serious choice of the people, says MM

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PAP

Apr 23, 2011

GE serious choice of the people, says MM

By Fiona Chan and Robin Chan

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has weighed in on the continuing need to bring in foreign workers and talent from abroad so that Singapore could take on the world-wide competition for growth and progress. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW

SINGAPORE would not be what it is today if Singaporeans had made different choices in past elections, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Saturday night.

In a speech at the Tanjong Pagar GRC Family Day celebrations, he said: 'Every general election is a serious choice of the people: about whether they want to move forward, they want to move sideways, or they want to move backwards.'

Switching to Mandarin, he added: 'Over the last 12, 13 elections, if citizens had chosen wrongly, there wouldn't be the Singapore of today.'

He also said he wanted to remind Singaporeans that 'the Singapore you see - clean and safe, with good schools, good hospitals and smooth traffic - is because voters chose a Government that was competent and reliable'.

'I hope that in the next election, people will similarly make the right choice.'

In his speech, MM Lee also weighed in on the continuing need to bring in foreign workers and talent from abroad so that Singapore could take on the world-wide competition for growth and progress.

Addressing Singaporeans' concerns over the influx of foreigners who they fear are threatening their jobs, he said that Singapore needs 900,000 foreign workers on two-year work permits.

'They do the construction and other heavy work, jobs Singaporeans are not willing to do,' he said.

Read the full report in this week's edition of The Sunday Times.