Singapore literary icon Catherine Lim has been involved in something of an exchange with government officials, notably Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Hong Kong-based consulate-general Jacky Foo.
The former did not reply to Lim's open letter published on her website on June 7, but the latter did, rebuking the fiction and political commentary writer for her assumptions. Foo also accused Lim of continuously "bemoaning" the "collapse of trust and respect for the government" when the government had in fact 'pulled Singapore through' various crises, including the 1997 financial breakdown and the period of SARS.
On June 14, Lim's response was published in the forum pages of The Straits Times.
In it, she wrote that while she shared Foo's admiration of the PAP government's many achievements, including its consecutive election victories and "skilful handling of global-size problems", they are not proof of the people's trust in it.
Lim cites several reasons for this, such as PAP's faltering performance in the 2011 General Elections, but this part of her speech was a standout: "The best proof lies, not in the graffiti, the mass demonstrations or the raucous social media, but in the most unlikely place—within the PAP camp itself."
According to her, there are voices urging the leaders to connect better with the ground, reflecting awareness that the problem has become serious enough to warrant attention at the highest levels.
Lim also says, in contrast to Foo's arguments, that "mistrust is very real, even if it only involves a minority."
Catherine Lim is one of Asia's most prolific fiction writers (The Bondmaid, Little Ironies, Following the Wrong God Home, The Serpent's Tooth) and a regular speaker and contributor of local political commentary.
Photo: Screenshot from her appearance on BBC's Perschardt's People
Singapore literary icon Catherine Lim has been involved in something of an exchange with government officials, notably Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Hong Kong-based consulate-general Jacky Foo.
The former did not reply to Lim's open letter published on her website on June 7, but the latter did, rebuking the fiction and political commentary writer for her assumptions. Foo also accused Lim of continuously "bemoaning" the "collapse of trust and respect for the government" when the government had in fact 'pulled Singapore through' various crises, including the 1997 financial breakdown and the period of SARS.
On June 14, Lim's response was published in the forum pages of The Straits Times.
In it, she wrote that while she shared Foo's admiration of the PAP government's many achievements, including its consecutive election victories and "skilful handling of global-size problems", they are not proof of the people's trust in it.
Lim cites several reasons for this, such as PAP's faltering performance in the 2011 General Elections, but this part of her speech was a standout: "The best proof lies, not in the graffiti, the mass demonstrations or the raucous social media, but in the most unlikely place—within the PAP camp itself."
According to her, there are voices urging the leaders to connect better with the ground, reflecting awareness that the problem has become serious enough to warrant attention at the highest levels.
Lim also says, in contrast to Foo's arguments, that "mistrust is very real, even if it only involves a minority."
Catherine Lim is one of Asia's most prolific fiction writers (The Bondmaid, Little Ironies, Following the Wrong God Home, The Serpent's Tooth) and a regular speaker and contributor of local political commentary.
Photo: Screenshot from her appearance on BBC's Perschardt's People