Gloves Are Off

Any question about how important the upcoming General Elections (GE) is has been thrown out of the window these past few days. The spat between Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and opposition Workers Party chief Low Thia Khiang gives us an indication of how high the stakes will be.

It all started with the departure of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew. Mr. Low publicly expressed disappointment at Mr. Lui's  impending departure and even praised him as a "hardworking minister". Mr. Teo took issue with that, saying in an interview Mr Low was trying to squeeze some political mileage out of Mr Lui's departure and that Mr Low was shredding crocodile tears.

The response was almost immediate. In a well-thought reply to a question from a reporter, Mr. Low turned the tables back on Mr. Teo. Mr. Low emphasized the fact that Mr. Teo was the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and "ask" Singaporeans to judge the standard of politics from the government for themselves. 

I love it! The GE hasn't even been announced yet and the gloves are already off. Not to mention these aren't mid-level guys, but senior politicians on both side of the aisle. Secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Dr Chee Soon Juan even hit out at the accountability levels of various Singapore’s government investment arms, calling them “woeful”. All without even a date set yet!

This GE is going to be an exciting one!