This piece of shit was published on VOICES on Monday’s TODAY.
| Distorting the truth, mr brown?
When a columnist becomes a ‘partisan player’ in politics Letter from K BHAVANI Press Secretary to the Your mr brown column, “S’poreans are fed, up with progress!” (June 30) poured sarcasm on many issues, including the recent General Household Survey, price increases in electricity tariffs and taxi fares, our IT plans, the Progress Package and means testing for special school fees. The results of the General Household Survey were only available after the General Election. But similar data from the Household Expenditure Survey had been published last year before the election. There was no reason to suppress the information. It confirmed what we had told Singaporeans all along, that globalisation would stretch out incomes. mr brown must also know that price increases in electricity tariffs and taxi fares are the inevitable result of higher oil prices. These were precisely the reasons for the Progress Package — to help lower income Singaporeans cope with higher costs of living. Our IT plans are critical to Singapore’s competitive position and will improve the job chances of individual Singaporeans. It is wrong of mr brown to make light of them. As for means testing for special school fees, we understand mr brown’s disappointment as the father of an autistic child. However, with means testing, we can devote more resources to families who need more help. mr brown’s views on all these issues distort the truth. They are polemics dressed up as analysis, blaming the Government for all that he is unhappy with. He offers no alternatives or solutions. His piece is calculated to encourage cynicism and despondency, which can only make things worse, not better, for those he professes to sympathise with. mr brown is entitled to his views. But opinions which are widely circulated in a regular column in a serious newspaper should meet higher standards. Instead of a diatribe mr brown should offer constructive criticism and alternatives. And he should come out from behind his pseudonym to defend his views openly. It is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues, or campaign for or against the Government. If a columnist presents himself as a non-political observer, while exploiting his access to the mass media to undermine the Government’s standing with the electorate, then he is no longer a constructive critic, but a partisan player in politics. |
Haven’t we already seen this before?
What else can we expect from the gover-min and civil serpents? When these people are the mind and muscle behind some of the stupidest policies on this corner of the planet, it is not unexpected of them to rise up and defend their own crap ideas. It’s probably the same reason why they WOULDN’T vote for the opposition which constantly criticise and point out ‘Why the Emperor isn’t wearing anything?’ to everyone. Simply put, would you slap yourself in the face and admit what you are working for sucks by voting for the opposition?
Anyway, this mail is quite masterful in spite of its distastefulness. In one stroke, it REMINDS TODAY on what it should do to be a good newspaper. In another, it attempts to muzzle Mr Brown just like Lao Goh muzzles Catherine Lim.
All the above being said, Singaporeans should also give this the middle finger -> providing constructive feedback and alternatives.
Constructive criticisms? What for? They hear but they do not listen. Constructive criticisms are simply implicit approvals. Stop that nonsense. As for critics, they have got no need to give alternatives or solutions. After all, critics didn’t boast to have helicopter vision and aren’t paid a million bucks a year. And if they did come out with a workable alternative and solution that didn’t get shot down right away, will the incompetent currently on the job resign and let the person with the new idea take his pay and his job? And make sure the assh*le who got fired doesn’t end up in NOL or some GLC / TLCs to ensure he get a taste of what it is like to be jobless.
One should remind the Tali-PAP that criticisms are FREE. And if they want alternatives, their very own million dollar incompetents should pay with their jobs and their pay!
By the way, silencing Brown is the dumbest thing to do. A lot of Singaporeans basically won’t take their blog the way Brown has taken his, or speak their mind just like Brown did. In other words a lot of people would simply keep their mouth shut because what Brown wrote speaks their mind on the particular matter. To silence Brown would means these people will find their views unexpressed, and would inspire some to thus take it upon themselves to take up Brown’s mantle. Just like killing Zarqawi, a whole new group of people – more vicious and direct in their criticism – will rise up in his place. It is my personal opinion that leaving Brown alone to keep the rest silence would also create the impression that there’s very little dissent. But it is not that I object to more people making their dissent known anyway.
Here’s another blogger’s tribute to Mr Brown, and the least I can do is post it here:
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