Singapore Democrats

Singapore is a small country. It has a long coastline. It is porous, and it's easy for people and for goods to be brought in or even to leave Singapore. (Channel News Asia, 8 May 09)

- Wong Kan Seng,
Minister of Home Affairs
(Attributing how Mas Selamat had escaped Singapore by swimming across the Straits of Johor into Malaysia)

Well, ask yourselves two questions. In our region, which country would you rather be in? And amongst the countries in the world which became independent in the 1950s and 60s, which country would you rather be in? (14 Apr 09)

- K Shanmugam,
Second Minister for Home Affairs
(on passing the Public Order Act)

"Any job should do", Mr Gan Kim Yong urged the young participants at the MTUC dialogue session who raised discrimination concerns to “take up any job that is available”.

Mr Gan revealed his “dream job” had been to teach, but the closest he got to it was as Minister of State for Education. (Today, 20 Apr 09)

- Gan Kim Yong,
Minister of Manpower

If you are a troublemaker… it’s our job to politically destroy you. Put it this way. As long as JB Jeyaratnam for what he stands for - a thoroughly destructive force - we will knock him. Everybody knows that in my bag I have a hatchet, and a very sharp one. You take me on, I take my hatchet, we meet in the cul-de-sac. (The Man And His Ideas, 1997)

- Lee Kuan Yew,
Minister Mentor

I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn’t be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters - who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think. (The Straits Times, 20 Apr 87)

- Lee Kuan Yew,
Minister Mentor

If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it. (The Straits Times, 17 Aug 04)

- Lee Kuan Yew,
Minister Mentor

We talk about re-employment. We'd encourage, make it easier for people to work longer and when we've successfully gone through this transition, then the term "retirement" will be history. I don't think that we should think of retiring.

A person should work for as long as he can. (Chanel News Asia, 17 Mar 07)

- Lim Boon Heng,
Minister in Prime Minister's office

Cutting Ministers' pay won't trim fat. You're getting a bargain for the ministers' pay. As a surgeon, I worked half as much and made 5 times more.

I can say this with a clear conscience because I have been in the private sector and come in to government, and I will tell you squarely in the face that you're getting a bargain for the ministers you get. (Channel News Asia, 9 Sept 03)

- Ng Eng Hen,
minister of Manpower

Singaporeans looking for a job could consider driving a bus. Bus companies are short of drivers, and the job might even pay more than being a cabby in these times. (Straits Times, 23 Feb 09)

- Lee Hsien Loong,
Prime Minister

Anonymity in cyberspace is an illusion.....if need be, we can identify you, and if we have to, we will be prepared to prosecute you. (21 Feb 09, Channel NewsAsia )

- Vivian Balakrishnan,
Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister