Tony Tan’s MRT controversy: old newspapers analyzed

"You are putting words in my mouth!"

You can’t please everybody. First we got accused of being too pro-Tan Jee Say. Then somebody said we were being a bit harsh on Tan Cheng Bock. And now we have a bunch of Tony Tan supporters going after us for discussing Tony Tan’s son’s medical PES status in NS.

To bring Balance to the Force, we are now going to put out an article that debunks a myth about Tony Tan.

NB: Nobody has sued us or told us to do anything. We are doing this because we are nice people and even Tony Tan deserves a break from being deep fried once in a while!

FIND OUT MORE

There’s a story going round that Tony Tan said it would be “foolish to build MRT”. This seems a daft notion, given that the MRT is doing so well nowadays and is continuously being expanded. Some say there will eventually be a dedicated MRT line to Sentosa Cove.

Our research team has dredged up the full story from the National Library’s online newspaper archives. The full article is enclosed below for your enjoyment. Like old newsprint, the story has some shades of grey. A lot hinges on the word “now“, which seems to have disappeared in the retelling of the story.

Does the word “now” matter? Quite a bit.

• e.g. Foolish to let Mas Selamat use the toilet now, while there is an open window.
• e.g. Foolish to let in too many foreigners now, when there isn’t enough space.
• e.g. Foolish to jump out of the plane now, before putting on a parachute.

Returning to the original article…

MORE EMPHASIS ON HDB FLATS?
Foolish to build MRT now: Tony Tan

The construction industry has become overheated and if Singapore were to be foolish enough to want to build its proposed mass rapid transit (MRT) system now, it will find itself in trouble.

Who would have thought that "now" would be such an important word?

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