Govt accountable in actions, has worked towards non—discrimination

SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Wednesday the government has been accountable in its actions and has worked towards ensuring that no race is discriminated against in Singapore. He added that what the country has achieved so far is evidence of that.

Speaking in Parliament — which he seldom does — Mr Lee explained that he did not intend to intervene in the parliamentary debate initially.
But having read what a Nominated Member of Parliament said in Parliament on Tuesday, he decided to speak up.
He said: "I think it was dangerous to allow such highfalutin ideas to go un—demolished and mislead Singapore." Mr Lee took issue with the points the Nominated MP made, without naming the member.
The Nominated MP was Mr Viswa Sadasivan, who had called on Parliament to ensure that national policies be founded on the principles of the National Pledge such as racial and religious unity.
Mr Viswa had made several suggestions such as re—examining the current emphasis on racial categorisation and encouraging political associations to better reflect the tenets of the Pledge.
In fact, Mr Lee highlighted Singapore’s Constitution which provides for the minorities like the Malays.
He said: "We expressly stated in our Constitution, a duty on behalf of the government, not to treat everyone as equal. It’s not reality, it’s not practical. It will lead to grave and irreparable damage if we work on that principle. So, this was an aspiration.
"As Malays progressed and a number joined middle—class with university degrees and professional qualifications, we have asked Mendaki not to have special rights of free education in universities, but take what they were entitled to. Put those fees to help more disadvantaged Malays."
Mr Lee also pointed out that policies introduced have in fact taken into account the needs of the people.
He said: "Our Constitution spells out the duties of the government to treat minorities and Malays with extra care. So the basis on which the Nominated Member has placed his arguments is false and flawed. It’s completely untrue. It has got no basis whatsoever.
"And I thought to myself, ’perhaps I should bring this House back to earth’, and tell us and remind all what’s our starting point, what is our base and if we don’t recognise where we started from and these are our foundations, we’ll fail.
"We’re here today, we have this building, we have all these facilities, and all around us is evidence of our accountability. Without being accountable, we would not have been re—elected and there would have been no Singapore of today."
— CNA/ir

在上学的途中

今天早上，我在上学途中，看见了一些救护车，警车和火警车。我想到底发生了什么事，为什么那么热闹。在不远之处，我看到了在靠近地铁站有一股大火直冲上天，好像一把火柱子。我看见了不知道要怎么办，只是站在那里发呆。

我回过头来，看到了很多人受伤，一个个被送上救护车。没有人死亡，只有一些人伤势严重，有的头破血流。还有一些人在惊慌之下，四处乱跑。我怕到马上冲回家，把事情的经过全部告诉家人，讲得很详细。

第二天早上，我看到报纸上写着：“恐怖分子引爆地铁站” 这一幕，我想着应该跟我前一天目睹的那一场爆炸有关联，想起来真让我有点害怕。我觉得这些恐怖分子没有必要这么冲动，凡事都得三思而行，因为这种行为会伤害那些无辜的人和自己，真得很愚蠢。


作者：彭祺然

在上学的途中

一天早上，在上学的途中，我看出窗外， 看到了一辆警察车载追一个很漂亮，新款的跑车。 看到这一幕就让我想起了一件事，回想那件事给了我一个很害怕的经历，事情是这样发生的。

记得那时候，我们一家组织了一个家庭聚会，本来是聚会，结果变成了悲剧。我们想去海边野餐，叫了我们的车夫来载我们去海边。车夫把车开动，告诉了我们他已经开动了车，我们一家人跑了下来，转进了车，就开始了愉快地旅程。

在开车途中，我们的车被两辆车撞上了，我跟我的家人全部都逃脱了危险区， 可是不行的是我们的车夫死了。我的爸爸问警察是哪一辆车把我们的车给撞了，警察说是两辆恐怖分子不小心撞了我们，因为当时他们本是在逃脱。

我的父母在警察局当天哭了，直到现在我坐车都会有点害怕。总是往外看，看有没有什么不对劲。

突然间，有一个汽笛声把我从这一幕给唤醒过来，我已经到学校了。后面的学生正等着我下车。我在不知不觉之下到学校了。

作者：政阳