Dear Minister, I feel sorry for you. A lot of these issues probably are not your fault, but you will face the brunt of public anger because of your position, just like your predecessor, Raymond Lim, who was removed from the Cabinet.
To me, the real problem with this whole MRT fracas is that we have been overloading the system since the late 2000s with the over-excessive immigration policy. Once you overload an aging system, cracks and faults will start to appear.
How can one open the tap on immigration with absolutely no regard on how the infrastructure might be able to handle the overload? Whatever maintenance issues you have now is just papering over cracks if the system is unable to handle the increased frequency and load.
edit to add:
The more I think about it, the more I feel that the appointment of the Transport Minister is used as a scapegoat for failed planning by other Ministers. The Transport Minister is not directly responsible for the vast influx of immigrants. And both Raymond Lim and Lui Tuck Yew are not in the PAP EXCO. Does that say something by itself?
When public transport fails, at most the public will complain against Raymond Lim or Lui Tuck Yew, when they fail to realise it is the broader economic policy which has brought about these failures.
The fact of the matter is that no matter who you appoint as Transport Minister, the situation is unlikely going to be resolved any time soon. Even if PAP loses the election, the railways will still not be fixed immediately by the next government. Even if Desmond Kuek loses his job, the railway issues will not be resolved immediately by the next CEO. There are very deep underlying reasons behind the breakdowns.
Keith Lang
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