PAP needs a dose of morality check

Despite opposition from various parts of society and numerous petitions sent to President S R Nathan, PM Lee Hsien Loong and his totally dominant party decided in 2005 that two casinos will be built in Singapore.
They even came up with an ingenious plan to charge Singaporeans $100 for each entry while foreigners walk in free.
The only other thing more ludicrous was when PM Lee said he was raising GST to help the poor!

Well you can argue that the casinos have contributed to GDP. They obviously fattened the pockets of Malaysia's Genting and the once nearly bankrupt American Las Vegas Sands Group.
While it may too early to measure the social cost of gambling, it is widely documented,  unsurprisingly, that the casinos have attracted more than its fair share of patrons, including prostitutes and petty thieves.
And accordingly to a study, Singaporeans have been losing big.

Has the PAP government taken on the right bet?

Did S.R Nathan play any part in all this? Now hold on. Before you start accusing him of doing nothing, think again. On the contrary, our President contributed in a massive way.
By keeping silent and counter-signing a blank cheque, he effectively sanctioned the casinos.

Could the President have stopped it? Nobody knows for sure. But if we had an independent President who cared for the people, he could have raised moral objections and increased public scrutiny of casinos.
Maybe we would have just gotten one, not two casinos. Maybe none.

This is why the elected Presidency is crucial to the future survival of the country. Paying another puppet $3 million dollars just to grace a couple of annual charity programmes, recite poems and cut ribbons is just gambling our future away.

We need a President who can return some moral authority to a government who has lost its moral compass. And a candidate that carries all that emotional baggage and cozy ties with Lee Kuan Yew and his merrymen is simply not cut out for this role.
And a candidate who presided over a staggering $59 billion loss in our reserves, monies, call it what you like, is certainly unsuitable.

The good news for Singaporeans is that there is one candidate who has an alternative vision for Singapore, one that creates better jobs for citizens, returns accountability to the government and importantly, puts Singaporeans at the heart of policy making.
Fortunately, this vision can be found here.