sad sad

it's sad to see george yeo lose.

i met george many a times back in the 90s when i did my usual runs at east coast regularly. he too was an avid runner. and he would do his chin-ups at the exercise area closest to the marine terrace pedestrian overhead bridge. despite his ministerial position, he would go about doing his exercises without airs. he would smile at people, wave and acknowledge people when people call out to him and he would occasionally have little chit chats with people who approach him. he was a superbly humble man. this all despite his position in the government.

over the last few years, as the foreign minister, he oversaw many many foreign policies and resolved many many issues that singapore couldn't solve. these include issues such as those with our closest neighbours about the ktm railway land, water deals, airspace, international waterways, horsburg lighthouse, just to name a few. and in the international arena, he was well respected. it was directly because of him that singapore enjoys such high-standing and respect internationally in recent years. and i admire him for his pragmatism. despite his policy and high-level thinking, he was always clear in his head that in the areas of diplomacy, one must always be realistic and not be disappointed if things do not go the way one wishes too. i remembered him making this point some years back and this resonated with me deeply when i held a defence relation post several years back.

i am really sad to see him bear the brunt of people's dissactisfaction with the party, made more challenging by a credible team. i think people vote against not becos he is no good, but because they simply wanted a voice and they found it in wp. but admittedly, i was not very impressed and rather angry with wp for choosing to challenge the aljunied ward instead of, say, tampines. george did not deserve such a challenge. residents of aljunied cannot and should not be made use of in this manner. it was pure emotional blackmail. to me, it was not a win for singaporeans, it was a lost. a country's lost. a lost of a internationally well-respected giant in the areas of diplomacy. that the country had to have to lose such a international giant in replacement of local politics is, to me, not worth it. and from that perspective, i find wp very irresponsible. that is totally not in line with their war-cry of wanting the best for singaporeans...

then again, i supposed this is politics. and as george had said himself, one needs to be realistic when one is in politics. i can only wish george well now. and of cos, to wp, i hope they can fulfil their promises. they better do well and keep their promises. we shall all be watching you closely.