Hi Friends,

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-covid19-omicron-concern-tracking-pm-lee-2343071 is an article published on a Singapore government-controlled news site. There is some political bias, but I found a few quotes (of Singapore prime minister) fairly valid rather than exaggerated. (For full disclosure, I have always voted for the PAP. )

• In his remarks, the prime minister had an incisive take on a key difference between Singapore and a few advanced democracies. Many Chinese intellectuals (me in the past) often say bulk of the Singaporean population is easily manipulated and controlled by the PAP government… 听话的傻孩子. Nowadays I disagree with those characterizations. I think the real difference is the (vast majority of) Singaporeans’ relatively high trust in their government leaders. Not blind trust.
• Prime minister said, “Some societies are high-trust, others are low-trust – and it makes all the difference in a crisis.” I agree 100%.
• Prime minister pointed out “political divisions and deep distrust” have made it harder for the US and many European countries to bring COVID-19 under control. He said of the public “Many of them are anti-vaxxers – not just because they are misguided or ignorant, but because of deep distrust – of authority in general, and of their own government in particular” Authority also includes scientists, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, mainstream mass media…
• Prime minister said “Singapore cannot claim to have better doctors or scientists, or better healthcare than the US or Europe. But the decisive difference in our response is this: We trust one another, and therefore we work with one another and not against one another.”