Opposition MPs -- "Fix" them or have more of them?

"Right now we have Low Thia Khiang, Chiam [See Tong], (we have) Steve Chia. So we can deal with them. It's okay. But suppose you have a Parliament with 10, 15, 20 opposition members out of 80. Then, instead of spending my time thinking what is the right policy for Singapore, I'm going to spend all my time -- I have to spend all my time -- thinking what's the right way to fix them, what's the right way to buy my own supporters over, how can I solve this week's problem and forget about next year's challenges?" -- PM Lee Hsien Loong, speaking at a lunchtime election rally on 3/5/2006


"I think there are many benefits to doing this [i.e. having more Opposition and Nominated MPs in Parliament]. It will generate more robust debate, it will improve policy formulation, it will expose PAP MPs to the cut-and-thrust of the debate and it will demonstrate what the opposition can and cannot do.

Most importantly, changes like these will keep Parliament in sync with the concerns and aspirations of Singaporeans and strengthen the role of Parliament as the key democratic institution where important national issues are deliberated and decided" -- PM Lee Hsien Hoong, speaking in Parliament about proposed changes to Singapore's electoral system on 27/5/2009