Quote of the week

Welcome to a new regular Friday feature, designed to showcase some of Asia's more pithy, controversial or just downright bizarre orators (from politicians to hawkers)...while also giving me the time to do some proper work before the weekend.

"All things being equal we have always put the PAP wards first."

Mah Bow Tan, Singapore's minister of national development, restating the ruling People's Action Party's long-held policy of bypassing opposition-run constituencies when it comes to much-needed lift upgrading programmes on the city-state's older housing estates.

This week, the PAP finally announced that the government would release the funds to upgrade lifts in Hougang and Potong Pasir, the only constituencies in Singapore that returned opposition MPs in the last election.

For a view on the problems with this policy, see this piece by charity worker Ravi Philemon at The Online Citizen.