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In this CNA article, Law Minister Shanmugam is quoted as saying “Mr. Alfian Sa’at [...] loves Dr. Mahathir.” https://t.co/pgRnc8Z9fA https://t.co/cG49yAAZMn
This statement can be backed up with direct quotes. But the quote in context reveals a much more nuanced picture. Alfian isn’t saying “I love Mahathir”, he’s IMO really saying “it’s creepy how charismatic Mahathir is” https://t.co/kQpJlJ1nzA https://t.co/e3T4YcZLek
Law Minister then goes on to say that POFMA only applies when “specific facts are not true” or “you put out lies”. And sure, he hasn’t told any lies. He knows how to present a damning picture made up of cherry-picked facts out of context (see above) https://t.co/OluBXF2VLr https://t.co/lT4ESiIjhN
In Shan’s latest FB post, he says “(Pritam) admits now that he hadn’t examined these statements...” - I know, I know, this is politics. But it’s worth pointing out that this is a classic use of rhetoric to imply guilt, with plausible deniability https://t.co/OVZk2sBCTZ https://t.co/Ig9Yq1XSB7
My point here I guess is that skilled actors don’t need to resort to lies to portray their opponents as incompetent and even almost treasonous. You can do it with facts. It doesn’t actually mean your assessment is correct.
Thankfully, it appears to me that there are a growing number of thoughtful Singaporeans who are learning to see this. And we need people like this for the long-term flourishing of our civic life https://t.co/lsf6rQ7MPs https://t.co/lBygYip1Bq
I'm energized! It makes me proud and happy that the top comment on /r/singapore about the dominant political party questioning the loyalty of a local poet is a thoughtful, nuanced perspective on what it really means to love your country https://t.co/nVlo7jIrsv
Part of what’s going on here is what our Foreign Minister described as “the calculus of domestic politics”. Which is to say, you can use questions &allusions - some call these dog-whistles -to paint a picture for the electorate. Marketer in me is impressed https://t.co/xsPBL7ExGl https://t.co/NmB1s02tGB
But, y’know. There are costs to this. It sullies the game. There’s an implicit expectation that the Men In White would keep their hands clean and avoid needlessly smearing their opponents like this. My friends who know our history laugh at my naïveté here
But ok, suppose I’m wasting my time here tilting at windmills, because the nature of the game isn’t about to change anytime soon. Will the authorities then recognize + acknowledge that *this* is a core reason why citizens are so often disengaged and apathetic?
We crush our caterpillars and complain there are no butterflies https://t.co/E1tkXZRhMP https://t.co/WkDiadL42F
@visakanv https://t.co/Uo1N6iSoYZ
the people behind the mourning pins are bright young men who were doing their National Service at the time. earlier in the year, Minister Grace Fu posted about them, "look(ing) forward to their contributions to Singapore in the future."BUT! NOT! LIKE! THAT! https://t.co/R6kxsXTrp7
@visakanv communication is super hard, especially with language. sometimes, I think the best thing to do is to state truths that if they mislead, the mislead only kindly. if the statements are true it's at least error correcting.