We are not living in Disney World: MM Lee
In a statement issued just on Monday, two days before Nomination Day, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew urged voters to look at the fundamentals and not rock the foundations where Singapore was built from scratch.
He reminded Singaporeans to "remember where Singapore came from, and how difficult it was that we got to where we are".
"The schools, hospitals, universities, police force, armed forces, the air force, we built all of them up from scratch, from ground zero," said the 87-year-old, who is leading the Tanjong Pagar GRC team in the elections.
MM Lee said that Singapore's success was never by chance. It was through careful planning and selection of men and women of integrity and quality by the People's Action Party (PAP) that got Singapore to where it is today.
He also added that PAP's 24 new candidates are individuals with a proven character of high calibre and with a track record of performance that shows they will not fail in taking on responsibilities.
"We combed Singapore to select those with the highest integrity and ability to chart the way forward for Singapore. We will never reach a point where it can be on auto-pilot, so that any team can just take over. We are not living in Disney World."
Sharing Singapore's achievements, MM Lee stressed that no country in the world has housed 85 per cent of its population in public housing of high quality, with the remaining 15 per cent able to afford to buy condominiums and landed properties.
He said: "We decided in 1965 that Singapore must become a property-owning democracy. So at the bottom of the market in 1965, when investors thought that Singapore would not survive after our separation from Malaysia, we acquired and bought up all vacant lands and all fire sites. I also removed the right of seaside owners for compensation for loss of their foreshores so that the government could reclaim land without the high cost of compensating the owners of seaside properties."
Turning his attention to housing, MM Lee said young couples are impatient waiting for their homes. "Nowhere else in the world can a couple getting married look forward to a home well below market price and, after five years of occupation, sell their homes at a significant premium. My team had planned for this."
He also emphasised how a house in Singapore is worth 10, 15, 20 times the price of that same house built in Indonesia, and 5 to 10 times that built in Malaysia.
MM Lee also touched on the Central Provident Fund. He said the CPF was expanded and has enabled people to buy their homes, co-pay for their medical and dental expenses, and still have an adequate balance for their retirement.
With Singaporeans going to the polls on May 7, he advised voters to not risk their assets, property values and job opportunities and vote for men and women of proven character and track records of high performance.
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