Crisis spoils Singapore celebrations

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1c940fa-f8a5-11dd-aae8-000077b07658.html

Excerpts:

The economic downturn threatens to expose some of Singapore's vulnerabilities, including a wide gap between rich and poor and a heavy dependence on foreign investment for growth.

Terence Chong, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, says: "Political order and economic stability may go hand in hand, but there is increasing awareness, even within the PAP, that that may no longer work."

He points to a feeling that the PAP is "out of touch with the general suffering".