Was this a complete waste of time or what?
Definitely poor optics for those involved.
It’s good for this to have an airing, but can I just say that Singapore is privileged to have such a small-potatoes issue to be considered a political saga? Even by the standards of Singapore’s own history, this is tame: LKY’s condominium-purchasing scandal from the 90s was 100x worse.
There’s first world issues, then there’s Singapore level issues. Oh I didn’t know about the Nassim Jade saga and did some digging
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/05/21/Singapore-leaders-defend-condo-buys/6903832651200/
“Calling himself a ‘walking model,’ Lee said he had also received discounts from his car dealer, tailor and shoe maker because of his status. ‘That’s the way business is done,’ he said. 'Let’s grow up.”
“'The elder Lee, 72, argued his high profile was a legitimate incentive for his real estate agent to give him a discount.”
Oh wow, OG Lee is quite something, wouldn’t have stood in today’s environment. I wonder if today’s opposition considered bringing this up in the Ridout Road saga. What angle could have been played?
Poor optics maybe but there is no reason why politicians should be denied opportunities available to non-politicians. It’s also good that this is debated in parliament but to involve their family members is low.
