"I will stand again in Tanjong Pagar," said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a National Day Dinner, as reported in the Straits Times yesterday (Sat, August 19/06).  If MM Lee runs in Tanjong Pagar, he will win.  And he will win more convincingly than his son did in Ang Mo Kio GRC.  I wonder if that will cast his shadow even longer over PM Lee's regime.

"The trouble now is that Singaporeans believe we'll always have a PAP government," MM Lee also said.  "One day they will wake up and they'll find the opposition is the government, a miscalculation." By then, it would be "too late to regret".  Sigh.  I was going to tackle this step by step, but I'll leave it till later.  One interesting thing I did note was that the justification for upgrading has changed a little bit from the original, trite, "a party has the right to favour its own supporters" (commented on here).  It is interesting to see how new arguments are woven everyday to justify old wrongs.  It is also interesting to read how MM Lee said that "I hope in a quiet way, this message will be understood".  Yes, residents of Hougang and Potong Pasir, make sure you suffer quietly.  Don't disturb the peace and stability of the rest of us obedient PAP-fearing citizens.

PM Lee to deliver National Rally Speech tonight.  I can't pay very close attention to it (more prelim papers tomorrow!) but one possible theme could be the consequences of globalization.  Off the top of my head, here are some predictions: overseas Singaporeans, foreign talent, oil prices affecting all of us and hence the need to accept rising costs of living, the realization that the need to stay competitive will affect people from the lower income groups more, but that opportunities will be given, re-training, maybe a welfare scheme or two, same goes for older workers who find that their CPF is not enough, or those who struggle with healthcare costs.  Also, the need to modernize our city to deal with global visitors e.g. the IMF and World Bank, or beyond that, tourists; the Integrated Resorts (which will provide much employment), perhaps something about speaking good English, the need to remain a stable society so as to attract investors, hence the need for law and order and a tight watch over racial sensibilities (esp. given the threat of terrorism and also the Israel-Lebanon crisis), however, the need to balance that with liberal and progressive thinking, people who know their minds and speak it, yet being mindful of their responsibilities (maybe blogs and journalists will get some sort of mention at this point).  Also perhaps to balance globalization with the recognition that we are still very much our own sovereign nation and should only absorb the good stuff, not the bad, and to guard ourselves well from the shocks of globalization, and furthermore, to always see Singapore as our home in this big wide world no matter how globalized it is, and hence stay together while we move ahead, etcetera, etcetera.