You have to trust me

So, why do they "need" to increase GST? To tax the poor so as to help the poor? That just doesnt make any sense. Now, finally, we have the real reason, from the Matrix Master (MM) himself!

Corporate tax to go down by at least 1%: MM Lee
Channel NewsAsia
21 January 2007

...Said Mr Lee: "Hong Kong's income tax (I think he meant corporate tax?) is 17%. In Ireland, its 14-15%. So we're going to bring it down at least by 1 percentage point, and that's going to cost us four to five hundred million dollars. Then we're going to top the lower income to make sure they do not stagnate. And the GST has to go up for the next 5 years. We have to do this either now, or next year or the year after. So let's do it now."


Aha, now everything makes perfect sense! This was exactly MM's principle of governance when he first became the Matrix Master 40 years ago - tax the poor locals to subsidise foreign corporations. Nothing has changed 40 years later, since he still is the Matrix Master!

I really miss those days when the Matrix Master governed the Matrix directly. In those days, we heard bullshits now and then, but many a times, we also got to hear the true reasons for implementing certain policies, reasons such as:

• The purpose of streaming is to prevent educational wastage - no point spending money to give a pupil a good secondary education if he is going to end up at VITB (the former name for ITE). (Not I guess one hor, the Matrix Master said that himself).


• the purpose of setting up SDU and of giving priority in primary school admission is to encourage graduate mothers to give birth, and uneducated mothers to stop reproducing and diluting our gene pool.
  

Now that the Matrix Master has decided to govern behind the scene, we hear bullshits all the time:

• Streaming is to help slower pace children to catch up.


• The HOPE scheme - where if you sterilise yourself, you will get money from the government to buy a flat - is to help poor people.

and now:

• GST increase is to help poor people!

What's the impact of such difference in governing style? Allow me to tell you: the impact is very serious!

It means that the Matrix Master was trusted by his people much more than his son is. Sure, he would lie whenever there was a need to, but generally, he spoke his mind. So while people may not have agreed with the shit he spewed, they trusted him generally. That's why they endured many of his unpopular policies because they trusted his reasoning and believed sincerely that these policies were for their future good (and indeed some of these policies turned out good). Of course, this also meant that whenever he really needed to lie, he could fool the people (since he was trusted much of the time).

Not his son. His son's government lies whether there is a need or not. It lies on a daily basis! This means that people will slowly not support his policies, because people do not trust his reasons (which indeed are mostly false), and do not believe that he has their welfare at heart. Furthermore, even when he is telling the truth, nobody will believe him (since his government is a perpetual liar).

Citizens become skeptical, cynical. They don't trust their leaders anymore! An untrusted government can only go one way: out! You have no ways to implement any policy! You implement unpopular policies -- people do not trust you that they will lead to good results. You implement popular policies -- also no use; people think there are some sinister motives behind them!!

Mark my words: PAP is on its way out, and years later, when political scientists sit in their cozy armchairs and analyse when the turn of tide occured , they will find that it boils down to this: the breakdown of trust, due to the tons of lies that started during Gok Chok Tong's reign and continued by Lee Hsien Loong - probably because the latter thought that such lying is the key to the former's popularity, and not realising that the former's popularity is due to his seemingly amicable mannerism.

In fact, one doesn't even need to be a Ph.D. political scientist to see this. China has gone through 2000 years of dynastic rules and has in store great wisdom about the reason for the rise and fall of rulers. Confucius said long ago:

子贡问政。子曰：“足食，足兵，民信之矣。”
子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯三者何先？” 曰：“去兵。”
子贡曰：“必不得已而去，于斯二者何先？” 曰：“去食。自古皆有死，民无信不立。”

(Zi Gong asked the principle of governance. Confucius replied: "enough food, enough military defence, the people's trust". Zi Gong asked: "If we were forced to give up one, which of the 3 should go first"?. Answer: "military defence goes first". Zi Gong asked: "If we were forced to give up one, which of the remaining 2 should go first". Answer"go without adequate food. Since ancient time, there has always been death in any country, but when the people no longer trust their leaders, no establishment can stand"!

The end of PAP is near!

Trinity: Please Neo, you have to trust me.
Neo: Why?
Trinity: Because you have been down there Neo, you know that road, you know exactly where it ends. And I know that's not where you want to be.