Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Singapore’s Transport Minister Quits

With National Day over, all eyes are now on the General Elections (GE) next month. The People's Action Party (PAP) will win this election again but even before we can get started, news has already came that Singapore’s transport minister Lui Tuck Yew will not be contesting in the coming GE,

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong insist he and senior members of the Singapore government tried hard to change Mr. Lui's mind but they did not succeed. Which means Mr. Lui wanted to quit and no amount of persuasion could move him from his decision. With that, there is now no question that the transport ministry is the "poisoned chalice" of the Singapore government.

The constant and consistent breakdown of the MRT lines has claimed the political careers of Yeo Cheow Tong, Raymond Lim (okay, maybe not totally but you can't argue his career is on the way down after his stint as Minister of Transport), and now Lui Tuck Yew. In all fairness, Mr. Lui Tuck Yew probably did as good of a job as Minister of Transport as he could, but as long as the trains breakdown, the Singapore public will blame the man in charge. 

As they say, the buck stops with him. Add to this is the fact that Mr. Lui's Moulmein-Kallang GRC will be dissolved in the upcoming GE. I guess it can't come as a total surprise that he is quitting but good luck finding someone to take his place. I think this is one job no one will want. 

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