Singapore Democrats
The Singapore Democrats wrote about the appalling way in which the Government was organising the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Dr Chee Soon Juan added that the “Singapore Government knows very little about what the sports world wants, and even less about its marketing.”
In response, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports shot back and asked Dr Chee to see the response on the ground as the YOG made its way around the island. “The answer,” Dr Balakrishnan pointed out, “lies on the ground.”
You mean like this?
(YOG torch comes into view at 4:40)
The minister also took the opportunity to try to portray Singapore as a democracy. He said: “In any society there will always be people who disagree, that’s fine. This is a democracy they are entitled to that.”
Wrong again, dear minister. If this was really a democracy, you would be skewered by the media and the people, let alone the opposition, for running such a bad show and, worse, having the temerity to brag about it by asking people to see the non-existent response on the ground.
YOG a giant lead for small Singapore
AsiaOne News
12 Aug 10
(Excerpts of report)When asked about the criticism from opposition politician Dr Chee Soon Juan, who in a recent article said that “Singapore government knows very little about what the sports world wants, and even less about its marketing,” Dr Balakrishnan asked him to see the response on the ground as the torch is passed around, where Singaporeans have been participating as well as volunteers for the games and see how the national athletes are trying their best.
“The answer lies on the ground, what people do and how they feel. At this point of time, I am quite confident that Singaporeans are proud of this and want to show our best to the world. In any society there will always be people who disagree, that’s fine. This is a democracy they are entitled to that,” he said.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Sports/Story/A1Story20100812-231747.html
Read also: S’pore: Youth games expose Olympic-sized cracks (IPS)