Has PM Lee gone into hiding?

Singapore Dino wrote:

The past week has been filled with news about the budget debates and the discussions. Various MPs and ministers have asked and answered questions and argued their side of the issue. But there has been one person who has stayed completely silent thus far: PM Lee.

He was last heard expressing his condolences to Chile on the aftermath of the devastating earthquake on February 27. He was also reported to have hosted a Lunar New Year party at the Istana for grassroots leaders on the same day.

After that, silence. No further comments. No speech in parliament. No dialogue session with residents. No interview in the media.

As the leader of the country, one would expect PM Lee to appear publicly at least once to discuss the budget and its impact on ordinary Singaporeans. Perhaps a passionate speech in Parliament to defend the PAP's policies. Or even a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.

But there has been absolute silence so far. Is this the appropriate behaviour of the most expensive PM in the world? Having been paid an obscene $3 million yearly, the least he can do is to show his face to the citizens more often and lead the government in explaining its policies.

So far, it has been left to others like Mr Shanmugaratnam, Mah Bow Tan, Teo Chee Hean and Shanmugam to explain and defend the government. Yes, they are all heavyweight ministers in their own right. But as the top dog, PM Lee is expected to share the burden as well.

This is not the first time he has gone incognito. After Mas Selamat's escape in 2008, he disappeared for 11 days before surfacing to give a weak response: "What to do, it happened."

With his government under increasing criticism over its immigration policies, PM Lee should adopt his party's latest mantra of productivity and work harder unless he wants "daft' voters to produce a "freak" result at the next elections.