August 21, 2007
Well well well... although I was too busy to watch the National Day Rally in the weekends, I managed to read the news online. I was kind of upset that the CPF minimum sum cannot be drawn till a citizen reaches the age of 65. 65!!! Wow... That's a long way to go for me. But, even though I don't plan to retire, at least, please spare some fucking thought about those who are sick in their bodies. What if they die early? I know ministers can live longer because of their extravagant and lavish lifestyle. But have they realised that not everyone in the population has the privilege to live till 65? What if disaster strikes? What if there're health problems in certain individuals? I do have medical history and I don't know if I can live that long. It would be great if I can live to see my CPF in those days when I get that far.
Then again, the government really made it sound so convincing over the media - the TV especially. And even though the policies are so fucked up, many Singaporeans are conformed to their fate. I'm not. I'm never convinced with any of their policies. And though I've voted for them in the last election, I strongly admit now that I've made a wrong decision. I'm not ashame to say that I've made a big mistake in voting for them. It's a disaster that I've caused due to my past conformity to their rule.
In fact, as a citizen, I resent this. And I feel that I do have every right to vote them off their throne. Anyway, some people even caught them sleeping during the rally. True enough, it was dead boring. Nothing but lousy policies and incentives. Well, I don't live just for incentives, but for goodness sake, have some sensible policies instead.
I know that Singapore has a large pool of aging population, it's because the younger people like us are constantly working our ass off in our offices and advancing our career because seriously, the pay and wages are just NOT enough for us to use in this island where every prices goes up and never down. It seems like the prices in Singapore are good at deceiving mother nature of gravity! It's very hard for those in the private working sector (majority of the population) to make ends meet, not just the elderly mind you! It's very hard for those in the private working sector to balance work life and family life altogether. With the constant increase in taxes, who would dare form a family with kids to feed? There will be one-child or no-child policy in many households for that matter. Lack of talent? Look at what Singapore have done? We are trapped with the survival mentality, trying to struggle to put food on the bloody table for our own self... to feed our intestines.
Talking about having a good life? I don't think just finding a job is enough to survive in Singapore. It's also not enough to get into a certain position. It is rather, a constant struggle to get as much money as possible to feed not just ourselves, but our family members. If it is such a struggle for many in the working sector, there bound to be some fighting mentality over positions and status in order to get the sum of wages they are eying for. With such struggles in this conforming society, what makes one think that the elites or the better, more capable group of individuals would go all out to help those who are in need and who are left behind?
I can give some examples. Young elites like Wee Shu-min, an RJC student, daughter of Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Wee Siew Kim, made nasty comments in
her blog reply to a blogger Mr Derek Wee, who was frustrated of not being able to have his views aired on the Straits Times Forum Page. Mr Derek Wee was concerned that the increasing population of migrants and foreign talents in Singapore would cause many locals to find it hard to get a proper job. I'm not saying that either views are correct, but the Straits times has made it very clear in its effort to self-censor Derek's concerns and views over the public press. It's obviously a deed made to silence the commenter (Mr Derek Wee), while continuing its propagandas convincing the population of the government's "cool" policies. And what's more, the last thing which Wee Shu-min said to Derek was, "GET OUT OF MY ELITE UNCARING FACE!". It is firstly, not a battle of opinions. It is rather a battle of who's better than who! Is this a case of elites helping those left behind? Or is this an example of superiority complex?
Another recent example,
Lee Hong Yi, better known as PM Lee's son, had fired off an e-mail within the military network lambasting the "quality of leadership" in the SAF to the top brass, including the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Force (SEE my previous blog entry July 12 2007). It's all about being a responsible leader. And to be responsible, one has to start from his youth. How can one be so abusive in his own authority or status when it comes to certain circumstances? And no way am I going to erase these post entries because all these, in my opinion, are memories of what our "future leaders" showed to the working population. Is this the kind of role model we ought to follow? If this island is only about survival of the fittest, then where is the Singapore spirit or love where we should help one another and provide help to those who are in need? If we are constantly living in fear of losing our incomes, finances and job stability, would we ever think of helping others when we ourselves are struggling to make ends meet? Those ministers and their children don't have to worry much. Because they have the whole island to themselves.
The government can try to erase or censor every opinions on the street against them. In addition, they can erase every form of freedom of expression here in this island. Though they may think that all is forgotten in the currents of time and history, the citizens have not. And nobody have ever forgotten the damages those elites have done to the people who are perceived "lesser" than them. I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. And with this, I will never forget!
Singaporeans can continue to conform to the media, which is strongly criticized for their obeisant mouthpiece of the establishment, but don't ever forget what those elites have done. They ought to be the role model, but the local policies and changes have certainly made them abusive in their power.
And believe me, with such policies and tight control over the media, forbidding the absolute freedom of speech or expression (just because multi-ethnicity is present), there will be an imminent danger that this society would produce conformity (which it has already did), stagnation, and worse, abuse of power (which has already happened). And this paragraph has been extracted from a book entitled, "The Singapore Press: Freedom, Responsibility and Credibility" by Tan Teng Lang (1990, p.19).
In closing, I've also discovered online in
STOMP that not only the people are bored out during the rally, the ministers too are sleeping during the session. If not, a "wayang" (singaporean term for "acting" or "pretense") would do some favor to boost the atmosphere. Take a look at the evidence below.
Then again, no offense manz... although I'm an active advocate for relativism, I too believe that if there is an evidence of truth, then IT IS AFTER ALL TRUTH! If the journalists of Singapore emphasize any sense of moral ethics in their career, it would be an oxymoron when truth are censored by the press, which is the monopoly of this society. It would be a lousy form of 'code of practice' if morality and ethics, or even journalists are controlled by the law. In the end, there will be no more ethics, only obedience to the eye of the law. No wonder many Singaporeans have poorly developed ethics.
That said, I wish to highlight the evident truth between the widening of income gap in Singapore. Well, not by words, but certainly, there's such a phrase that "a picture paints a thousand words".
Staying Together, Moving Ahead?The Proletariats
The Bourgeoisie
Alright, enough for ranting... now straight to do my assignments! ~whee!!!
