Are we losing ourselves for growth? Hi Friends, A straight-from-the-shoulder article for your reading; do share it with your contacts. An interesting online comment: Tsk tsk: November 17, 2013 at 5:03 pm Tsk tsk(Quote) Anyone of you has decided to go to the scariest roller coaster, and then while you are in the midst of the twists and turns and you are feeling sick, you regret your decision . In fact, you told yourself ” why pay good money to get yourself sick and tortured ? ” Well, we are just (like) that with the PAP government. We pay good money ( ie they are paid millions ) and we come out sick and tortured. Who should we blame ? Of course, ourselves !! For choosing to go on this torture ride we had paid. VA:F [1.9.22_1171] THE ARTICLE Scholar: Are we losing ourselves for growth? tremeritus/2013/11/17/scholar-are-we-losing-ourselves-for-growth/ I’ve read countless articles on both the mainstream and new media for the past years on the sentiments of Singaporeans. (Singaporeans hereon represents “born & bred”, not naturalized) Has always been a silent reader, never made any facebook comments on TRE. But recent ludicrous policies, along with my pent up anger/disappointment, forced me off the mouse, onto the keyboard. I am a Singaporean, currently pursuing my Bachelors with a government scholarship. As a scholarship recipient, I do not wish to have any unwanted attention, hence the anonymity, just looking for an avenue that my thoughts could be heard. If you happen to agree with my article, well, here’s an online-five to you! If you disagree, then just take this article as another opinion of an average Singaporean, let’s agree to disagree. I still have vivid memories of the nights spent in Toa Payoh stadium, queuing up for NDP tickets. Those were the times where I would literally cry when the NDP songs (One People One Nation Singapore, Together, We are Singapore, etc.) were sung during the parade. I recited the national pledge and sung the national anthem with pride. Now, it’s just a “those were the times” memory. There are two things which I would like to write on, the resentments and disappointments amongst Singaporeans, and the transparency of media. It’s in my opinion, a “step-back” look on things, I will lay off the current affairs (hot-topics such as messiah, etc.) as there are countless articles on them. It’s quite a lengthy article, if you have the time, would appreciate if you could read the whole piece (I assure you, it’s something different J). Resentments and Disappointments The “modern” Singapore is battling low fertility rates, competitive global economy, etc. Being a small nation, we are constantly pushed by our government to be competitive and productive. In return, created a stressful, more than the quoted 44hrs work week, lifestyle; inadvertently resulting in low fertility rate. Amidst the countless “baby-boosting” campaigns, fertility rates weren’t going up. Seeking, in my opinion, the simplest and quickest, solution, the government lifted the floodgates and here came the surge (or scourge) of foreigners onto an island-sized nation. I agree, to a certain extent, that we need to remain competitive and productive. And we do need to replenish the aging baby-boom population but not at the expense of ourselves. Here’s an example, based on my experience: In the late 90s, with the Singa lion, the MRT “charge” (when the doors open) began to subside. The markings on the MRT platform became more of a reminder than just a suggestion. Singlish was also developed when bilingualism clashed with the dialects. In short, we have found, and in the midst of discovering more of, our identity, we had become more cultured and courteous. Amongst other traits, Singlish, though frowned upon and deemed unprofessional, was one of our identities. While on a family vacation 15 years back, on a busy street in Tokyo, we heard a “no lah”. I turned my head only to find another group of Singaporeans behind us. The parents started chatting and both families ended up having dinner together, all because of a “no lah”. 15 years after the Tokyo trip, on a recent vacation to a beach off an Indonesian island, I was having a beer with my buddy after a snorkel. A group of eight, dressed in the typical “Chinese style” beachwear, took the table bedside ours. The Malay waiter, knowing some mandarin, started chatting with the group and asked whether they were from China. The reply from one of the ladies, in mandarin, was “I am a Singaporean” in a strong northern Chinese accent (for Chinese readers, you would know what I meant, the “curly” endings of Chinese accent). Being a little buzzed from the x mug of beers, I raised my voice towards my buddy, “you’ve gotta be fxxxxxx kidding me!” The heavy influx of foreigners has not only created a lot of resentments, such as overcrowding, rocket property prices, overload infrastructures, etc., amongst native Singaporeans but also threatened our identity (Singlish is just one example that I’ve raised to proof my point, there are many others). We have assimilated with Malaysians for decades, with minimum problems as our culture are fairly similar. To assume that Filipinos, Chinese (PRC), Burmese and Indians (India) share similar culture to Singaporeans, you’re dead wrong. The ignorance and arrogance of Filipinos and Chinese coupled with the uncouth acts such as the infamous “Chinese misconception on comfortable conversing audible levels” lead me to conclude, for the lack of a better term, cultural degradation. While voicing up to our dear leaders that our culture, our identity, is being threatened, we are labeled xenophobic, arrogant, inflexible, unwilling to assimilate (FYI, if we are xenophobes, the suburb/rural Aussies calling every Asians “Ching” are terrorists then). No amount of bar charts and statistical figures are able to justify the need to lose ourselves. Growth is important, fertility rate is important but “who we are” tops all of that. Is it possible to grow a little slower, in return, retaining what’s left of us? Is foreigners the one and only solution for the ageing population our “competitively” paid leaders can come up with? This is ludicrous. In times of adversity, we, Singaporeans (again, I emphasize, born and bred) are left to ride the waves whilst the foreigners (and naturalized Singaporeans) have the option of happily heading back to their country with their pockets full. They came in, jack up the property prices (half a million dollar resale public housing, you’ve gotta be fxxxxxx kidding me), crumble our infrastructure and walk off with their pockets full, leaving us with? Oh, right. As per our dear leaders, “a strong, rich and stable country” (oh. Hey. Don’t forget we are in the top ten countries with the most millionaires J, haha, what a joke). We are like a marshmallow, looks big, puffy and sturdy, capable of floating and riding through waves. But when pressure is added, we crumble and compressed to 20-30 times our original size. To the political leaders that happened to chance upon this article, please (please please please…..) understand that our rages and resentments stemmed at your very thought of “what Singapore need to do to remain competitive”. We are not a bunch of pissed off, hormones raging, ignorant defiant. We are a bunch of people that reacts as per all patriots would, when their very existence, metaphorically, is being threatened. Take a step back; look at Singapore, not the statistics and bar charts but the overall cultural landscape. I’m not talking about protecting historical/cultural landmarks but the cultural aspects deep down in every true blue Singaporean. We are like a bunch of Leprosy patients using tons to make ups and concealers to look healthy on the outside, in fact, we are diseased stricken on the inside. How long would this act last? Not everything is about dollars and cents, statistics and GDP. We were given presentation topics throughout our education on “Money equals happiness?” We were educated in a way where money isn’t happiness; teachers/lecturers went on to share about kampong days, etc. and here you are spearheading a country’s growth based solely on dollars and cents. You are making a mockery out of us. (FYI, we are making noise because we LOVE Singapore! We have yet to give up hope on this nation that we grew up on! We are just in extreme disagreement with your policies!) For starters, on a personal note, I am ashamed of saying I’m a Singaporean to my foreign friends (If the question came up, I will say, “Singaporean, born and bred”). I feel envious whenever my foreign friends share their local values and cultures with immense pride, not so much as what they are sharing but the opportunity which they are able to share and be proud of their country. I have nothing on Singapore, no identity, nothing. Food paradise? Hmmm… more than half the hawkers are Chinese (PRC) cooking fried kuay teow “Chinese style”, or Assam Penang laksa cooked by some gunagzhou joker, no pun intended. What’s left to share is, “we cane criminals, maximum 24 strokes, and the scar would be there for life”. Well… Try sharing that to your foreign friends, trust me, their reply would be “so you do execution by shooting as well? How about running students down with your tanks?” Soon after, Singapore becomes China. Oh well, that’s not the first, established foreign medias have already mistakenly (or not) labeled us as part of China. Media transparency I didn’t want to get into this, just wanted to write about resentment and disappointments but the recent “awards” made me spill my coffee on my keyboard, through my nose. Yes, it’s gross, but that’s an involuntary reaction when you see something absolutely hilarious with coffee in your mouth. SPH wins “Most Transparent Company Award” for ten consecutive years – news.asiaone/news/singapore/sph-wins-most-transparent-company-award-ten-consecutive-years ST holds steady as most-read daily here – readerspost.straitstimes/snapshots/st-holds-steady-most-read-daily-here-20131107 Gosh, where do I start? First off, “ST holds steady as most-read daily here”. Dear ST, you’re the one and only largest mainstream media. It’s a joke to publish that. When I read the news, my first reaction was, of what sample size? Today paper? Business times? Who else is there? Well, too many jokes, too little time to write. So, kudos for (not winning but) giving yourself that award. Next off, “SPH wins “Most Transparent Company Award” for ten consecutive years”. Once again, Dear ST, are you dreaming? Oh, is the “Reporters without borders – Press freedom index” an unreliable source or it’s just a suggestion? We are ranked 149/179! Here are some countries within the list: Rank – Country 30 – Ghana 76 – Congo 85 – Kosovo 98 – Mongolia 104 – Uganda 115 – Nigeria 119 – Ecuador 124 – South Sudan 131 – Libya 143 – Cambodia 146 – Palestine 149 – Singapore 178 – North Korea Well, look at the bright side, North Korea is at 178/179. Let’s not look at Congo and Ghana, with rebels armed with AK47, being 73 and 119 places ahead of us or Libya with their nuclear nonsense going on, 18 places ahead of us, let’s focus on North Korea, they are 29 places behind us. Kudos, SPH! Without revealing too much, I took an elective last summer on “new vs mainstream media” conducted by a senior editor from our mainstream media. The topic of transparency came up within the first 15mins of lecture. He/She responded with “we are very transparent actually, just that there are some rules we need to adhere to.” Sitting at the back of the lecture hall, I burst into laughter along with half the class. It’s as good as “you can eat, but don’t swallow” or “you can take a dump, but make sure don’t dirty the toilet bowl”. The summer went on with lectures after lectures and ended with a mainstream vs new media poll. It’s a no-brainer on the results, lob-sided to new media. Dear SPH, straits times used to be my top choice of news before new media came into the picture. I trusted your reports. But now, it’s just a reference off from new media. I am on the verge of boycotting it totally. These are just my 2 cents worth on the current landscape in Singapore. I may be right, maybe wrong. Looking at one of the worries of Singapore, the Brain drain, if there’s nothing for us to hold on to, why should we stay? LKY started home ownership in the early stages of Singapore independence to allow us to have something to hold on to, to build a sense of belonging. Now, look at the sales of Iskandar Projects off the Tuas checkpoint. Are we as patriotic as before? Who are we? There are two principles that I live by, that apply to everything around us, be it its work, life, relationships, etc. “心态影响思想,思想影响行为” (translated to English – mentality/mindset give rise to thoughts, thoughts influence actions) “Analyse the past, Understand the present, Foresee the future.” With regards to the first phrase, take a close look on the actions of our dear leaders. What are they doing to Singapore? Are their concerns at the best interest of us? What significant measures have they taken to deter brain drain and Singaporeans leaving Singapore? Are they busy building up the sense of belonging amongst Singaporean to deter brain drain or busy forcing us to assimilate with foreigners? What should be done to really solve the problem in the long run? Stop the brain drain or forcing “harmony” down our throats? If, we resolve the “harmony” issue, what’s there to stop them from leaving? It pains me to say this, but the only action/solution is the influx of foreigners. If you reverse engineer the phrase, their mentality comes in as, “you want to leave, go ahead, I will replace you with 2 Filipinos or Chinese at a cheaper price” Second phrase, pretty simple, it’s a no brainer. What future do you want? Are we getting there? What future is actually there? Will you want your kids to grow up in such an environment? P.S. It’s a pretty lengthy article, appreciate if you’ve read it this far. Deepest gratitude to the new media that’s posting this up for US to read! I’m in no way trying to flip pro-PAP individuals to tip the scale in 2016, just an opinion of mine. Do share with your friends, make a difference. If other new media wants to repost, go right on,. Mainstream media, i.e. SPH, CNA, etc., please seek prior permission.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:54:17 +0000
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