Is the National Day Rally speech of the nature of a charlatan?

There had been so much hype about PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally that it was not a surprise if Singaporeans, especially the less-privileged class, had expected something spectacular to be announced by PM Lee to uplift their living and social conditions.So apart from those privileged hundreds who deemed themselves fortunate to be in the audience listening live to the PM Lee's speech, other less privileged Singaporeans numbering in their thousands were glued to their TV sets in order not to miss out the divine message from their saviour prime minister. So one could say that they had placed very lofty hopes on the prime minister's speech.

PM Lee displayed excellent oratorial skills in his Malay, Mandarin and English speeches and it cannot be gainsaid that he did not mesmerise the audience, whether genuinely or not is a matter of conjecture, but it must be remembered that it was a captive audience. Of course, frequent applause from the awe-struck audience was only to be expected and a standing ovation at the conclusion of his so-called oration was a natural corollary. It could be inferred that the captive audience had been completely impressed by PM Lee's speech and the so-called divine message it was supposed to convey.

Would it surprise PM Lee and his acolytes if there are discerning Singaporeans who are utterly unimpressed and disappointed with PM Lee's Rally speech? They feel that there is nothing new or inspiring in his speech and that it was wholly a rehash of what he and his millionaire ministers had been harping on all the time, especially his elaborations on the Lease Buyback Scheme and the CPF Minimum Sum. He had scrupulously avoided touching on other CPF issues often questioned by CPF members which have been given frequent airings by the popular blogger Roy Ngerng, since being sued by PM Lee. He had avoided explaining the difference in the interests earned by GIC from CPF investments and the 2.5 per cent given to CPF  members' ordinary account. In fact the oration sounded more like a regalement of persons and events for the entertainment of the captive audience. Since his death in 1970 ex-President Yusof Ishak is suddenly remembered and resuscitated by naming a mosque, a leading think-thank and a professorship after him to appease the disillusioned Malays.

PM Lee claims to be "flame-proof" but still that does not prevent his sidekicks from apprising him of the disparaging remarks about him and his Rally speech prevalent in the social media. It is hoped that they will at least make him a tad more wiser, if not influence him to be more people-oriented in the pursuit of his decadent policies.