Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Misguided Heroism of Minister George Yeo

The dramatic exposure of the sexual exploits of the renowned Singapore film producer and director has no parallel in recent Singapore's history. What is perplexing to Singaporeans, especially feminine Singaporeans, is the bombastic manner in which the normally sensible Foreign Minister George Yeo called on Singaporeans to rally behind and support Jack Neo and his family in their so-called hour of distress, arising out of the infidelity and sexual exploits of the amorous Jack Neo.

What people cannot understanding is whether this a a just cause for the Foreign Minister to come out in his official capacity to lend his name to rally support from Singaporeans. True, Jack Neo was in a state of panic and Minister George Yeo was the person he could think of as his saviour when he confided in the minister his amorous predicament before it became public. It looks like Minister George Yeo was suddenly confronted with a grave situation involving his personal friend Jack Neo that he probably did not think through the possible repercussion when he merrily made his controversial public statement rallying support for Jack Neo.

At best, this is a personal matter and Minister George Yeo should have treated this on a personal basis and quietly given Jack Neo his moral support. It cannot be denied that Jack Neo is a public figure but he is caught in a scandalous amorous affair. Would it be proper for a government minister to come out in open support of any other celebrity caught in a similar amorous situation? It does not make the action any proper even if the perpetrator is a personal friend. In Jack Neo's case, is Minister George Yeo not sending a wrong signal to the public? It will be an irony if his robust rallying call turns out to be counter-productive considering the extensive adverse reaction on the internet.

The internet is full of caustic criticisms of the improper action of Minister George Yeo in calling for support of Jack Neo. There was in particular a woman blogger who was especially acrimonious in her lengthy posting. This was not the first faux pas in recent months by the embattled Minister George Yeo. He was caught wrong-footed in the Romanian charge-d'affaires hit-and-run accident investigations when he merely said enigmatically that this was very bad when asked to comment.

His booboo notwithstanding, Mr. George Yeo is otherwise considered a more creditable PAP minister whose discourses in and out of Parliament are of an intellectual standard reminiscent of the brilliant oratory of the late Mr. S. Rajaratnam. He has a bright future if only he can avoid making silly mistakes in his public utterances and postures. Of course this will depend on how long the decadent PAP dynasty can last.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

One of the main points which bothers me is how the Çlique' mentality came into play when BG Yeo was cinfrinted with the issue.

Notwithstanding that Amorous Jack is a cadre member of the PAP, when something wrong is done - it is still wrong. Being a PAP bootlicker does not and should not lend the offender added backing to worm out of the situation. When this occurs, the idea of cronyism come straight to mind. Poor BG Yeo was commenting in his personal blog. So like it or not, he is entitled to his opinion. He should clarify his statement as a personal one and not an official response as a Minister.

A salient point seems to stink through the canopy of events. PAP will protect its own; regardless of the fact it is immoral or unfair to the victim. They carry this attitude in all their action and response to the feedback of the people in the country. I wonder how long are the citizens going to hold on to the inaccurate image taht everything PAP does is clean and correct or for the good of the people. Events of late has shown otherwise.

Anonymous said...

I feel Minister Yeo is speaking out of concern for Jack Neo and his family, not on official basis or whatsoever. Frankly, whatever happened in Jack's fiasco, this is between him and his wife to resolve and more so, for the latter to decide whether to forgive him or not. Jack holds no political position to stay goody-goody, simply put he is a movie producer in a glitzy celebrity environment. Minister Yeo supporting and encouraging him is based on friendship and surely, he does not want to see Jack's family ruined as a result.

Recruit Ong said...

the lack of political competition is leaving its mark, and this latest in a series of gaffes by pap ministers and mps is yet another sign of pap's decadence and incompetence.

Bloom said...

Older, unemployed workers are the ones who would need BG Yeo's rallying.