Consulate-General of Singapore Mr. Jacky Foo has written in a rebuttal to the opinion piece by Dr. Chee Soon Juan that ran in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 28.
Mr. Foo called Dr. Chee "dishonest" in claiming that the local system "has failed" or that the government has "done nothing". He also said that Mr. Chee's piece lacked a "sense of reality".
In his letter, Mr. Foo argued that while income inequality has increased in Singapore as Dr. Chee has pointed out, the same has happened in many other countries. "But in Singapore, the low-income have access to high-quality education, health care and public housing, like other citizens," he wrote.
He also deemed Dr. Chee's call to revamp the government-linked to private company ratio "absurb", saying that the former "provide good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, but they make up just 10% of the economy". "Privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises employ seven in 10 Singaporeans and enjoy the bulk of government support," he said.
Dr. Chee's comment on the lack of democracy in Singapore was also criticised. "The reality is that elections in Singapore are free and fair," he insisted, not forgetting to mention SDP's past election failures and advising Dr. Chee "to take the interest of Singaporeans to heart, rather than pander to the editorial tastes of the Western media".
Photo: Facebook
Consulate-General of Singapore Mr. Jacky Foo has written in a rebuttal to the opinion piece by Dr. Chee Soon Juan that ran in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 28.
Mr. Foo called Dr. Chee "dishonest" in claiming that the local system "has failed" or that the government has "done nothing". He also said that Mr. Chee's piece lacked a "sense of reality".
In his letter, Mr. Foo argued that while income inequality has increased in Singapore as Dr. Chee has pointed out, the same has happened in many other countries. "But in Singapore, the low-income have access to high-quality education, health care and public housing, like other citizens," he wrote.
He also deemed Dr. Chee's call to revamp the government-linked to private company ratio "absurb", saying that the former "provide good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, but they make up just 10% of the economy". "Privately owned small and medium-sized enterprises employ seven in 10 Singaporeans and enjoy the bulk of government support," he said.
Dr. Chee's comment on the lack of democracy in Singapore was also criticised. "The reality is that elections in Singapore are free and fair," he insisted, not forgetting to mention SDP's past election failures and advising Dr. Chee "to take the interest of Singaporeans to heart, rather than pander to the editorial tastes of the Western media".
Photo: Facebook