Not surprisingly, MP Sam Tan's speech, with its poetic description of 'the perfect citizen' to make his point 'on the political realities of an ageing population' the more passionate, was judged 'Speech Of The Day'' by your paper (Feb 26). Doubtless, his warnings about the potential 'political power' of 'the grey lobby' and that 'at election time, the heart sometimes rules over the head' were percipient and deservedly highlighted. But it was his ironic, poetic portrayal of 'the perfect citizen who makes our life so much easier' which caught the ear and eye.

The lines of poetry regarding the 'perfect citizen' from W.H. Auden's The Unknown Citizen were cleverly adapted, with 'Feedback Unit' substituted for ''Bureau of Statistics' three children for five, and (slyly) 'our Government' for 'our Eugenist'.

A parody of monuments to The Unknown Soldier who represents the nameless many who died for their country, and a satirical attack on bureaucratic indifference to individuals as long as they conform and don't give trouble, Auden's much longer poem also makes us contemplate what constitutes 'good society', 'the good life' and 'happiness'.

It is admirable that MPs should find in poetry the eloquence they seek to make their more heartfelt points. Indeed, one hopes more poetry will be quoted by public figures, not merely to dress up their speeches but also to express 'good sense; penetrating, often heart-rending sense', dispelling the notion that poetry, as another minister once said, 'is a luxury which we cannot afford' - which thereby gives to the study of literature in schools and the reading of poetry, the gloss of something superfluous and self-indulgent. Simply by changing some proper nouns, Mr Tan, has made Auden locally applicable, showing how poetry in its humanity can both be local and yet transcend locality.

But local and our own is still best when appropriate: How about lines from Edwin Thumboo's Catering To The People?

Koh Tai Ann