An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
Always a bit surprised when people say the old PAP was terrific and did a great job, while it is the new PAP who messed up and let in too many foreigners.
The old PAP introduced streaming at Primary 3, race based and ethnic based help groups, used ISA on opponents, and started the great CPF lockup starting in 1984 - the pivotal year that saw a massive tide turn against the PAP. The old PAP also introduced eugenics and the graduate mother scheme. Their policies cemented deep cracks in the fabric of society that would not emerge until decades later (meaning now).
Goh Chok Tong introduced asset price appreciation model for property development in Singapore, in essence using land price inflation to stoke property price inflation and using that model to convince Singaporeans a house is an investment vehicle no different from stocks and shares.
A disturbing trend beginning in GCT's era and which has continued until the present day is that Singaporeans started becoming less color blind with respect to race. In the good old days, true blue Singaporeans were truly color blind.
The economy grew at a terrific pace under old PAP and a rising tide lifted all boats, but it won't be fair if we pretended they were saints. Every blade has two sides. Let's acknowledge both, please.
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com.