The Star Online, 21 Dec 2013
An ex-general who is touted as a front runner to succeed as Prime Minister has delivered a hard-line speech to party members.
The occasion was the People’s Action Party (PAP) convention on Dec 8, the day Singapore’s first riot in 44 years broke out.
What fighting message former Major-General Chan Chun Sing uttered to 1,000 members at the time was overshadowed by the violence at Little India.
But as people digested it later, the reaction was one of shock.
“We will have to do battle everywhere as necessary,” said Chan, who is Social and Family Development Minister and PAP organising secretary.
“We will have to learn from the 1960 generation of PAP pioneers – to fight to get our message across at every corner – every street corner, every cyberspace corner, be it in the mass media or social media.
“If we do not stand up for what we believe, others will occupy that space and cast us into irrelevance. We must not concede the space – physical or cyber.”
Chan had also touched on other softer matters but, because it was a political speech, many Singaporeans zeroed in on his fighting tone. Full story
