What I DON'T appreciate
Saturday, August 1, 2009 at 8:19PM Despite the near constant stream of dissent emanating from this blog, I have to concede that I do, in fact, appreciate some facets of Singapore. We have a safe and secure environment with low crime rates. We have a pretty good infrastructure, accessible transportation, available education, well-developed and stable business environment. We are not terribly impacted by earthquakes or volcanic eruption or such terrible manifestations of Mother Nature's wrath. We get our rubbish cleared every day. We do not experience strikes or mass protests or other forms of large-scale social unrest. All things that should not be taken for granted.
What I don't appreciate, however, are people who think that those reasons are enough, that we should be grateful, that we should not complaint, that the government is merciful and we should not go against them, that we should not demand more, or want to improve the situation further, that dissent is disloyalty, and is therefore unpatriotic. Or claim that Singaporeans are ingrates in a public letter with glaring omissions and factual errors.
Yes, Mr Brooks, no other country quite takes care of its people like Singapore. Where the government enacts overreaching laws in its distrust of its electorate, keeps discriminatory laws that criminalise sex between consenting adult men, and fails to repeal unjust laws that allow immunity to marital rape. Where recommendations to freeze wages of employees is made together with increases in the pay of our already well-compensated ministers. Where government-run town councils can get away with playing the market with public money and losing $16 million of the people's money. Where we can't even keep a known terrorist locked up, and not only did they not take responsibility, but blamed it on Singaporeans being complacent.
Getting sheltered walkways (which, by the way, is NOT universal, even in a new estate like mine) or our rubbish cleared does not mean we stop discussing real issues. It does not mean we shirk our responsibilities as citizens to desire improvements and changes that can progress our country and our society. If Lee Kuan Yew and his cohort just sat back and "be grateful", would we even be a nation today?
To stagnate, wallow in complacency and gratefulness, is as big a disservice to the country as confusing dissent with disloyalty. It is a lesson that everyone would do well to remember and take to heart.
Eric J. Brooks, ST Forum, dissent is not disloyalty, rubbish in Personal, Rant, Singapore
Reader Comments (6)
I'm confused. Are you standing up for Singapore or slamming her? or both? Lol.
I'm slamming the author's arguments and this government. I don't need people to tell me what to be grateful for, and neither do most locals. Besides those, there are a lot to gripe about beneath the shiny and clean surface of this country. Hard as it might be, we would do well to de-link the government from the country.
I love this country, and that is why I'm railing against this government.
And I might have been a little sarcastic, but it should be pretty obvious where those parts are and where my loyalties lie.
What do u want to do? Overthrow the ppl in power?. Lol. I feel that every country has its own problems, including Singapore. The Government is not perfect and will never be. But the least we can do is support them. Would we still be thriving if LKY didn't put the structure of governance in place?.
Don't get me wrong though. I'm not a PAP supporter. I just support the Government which is not corrupted, I don't give a damn which party is in charge.
I totally agree with you that we should not stop discussing the real issue at hand. But how many people is ready for that in a country that still shunned people with tattoos? How many of them are ready for the hard truth?.
First, why should we support the government, when it is their job to look after the people who elected them? It should be the other way around. This is exactly what I mean by de-linking the country with this government. Your assumption is this government is the reason we're "thriving". We're not thriving. We are an export-based economy, which means there is nothing we can do in the face of a global economic slowdown.
LKY may have done his bit, and I will not doubt his achievements; at the same time, we need new ideas, fresh people, and progress, and not be held back by the old ways.
This government is not corrupt, but that is a very clever ruse. Can you say that the governments of Germany, UK, US, Canada or other developed countries "corrupt", just because their system is different? Or are they getting along just fine? "Supporting a government that is not corrupted" is a cop out answer.
And the truth is immutable whether they are popularly accepted or not. Just because people aren't ready does not mean the issues don't exist, or do not deserve discussion, or even pushing for. You seem to be advocating for the status quo, to which I ask this: do you think this country need changes or not?
If your answer is yes, then maybe the government needs to go, or at least get severe kick up the butt to remind them that they are fast losing touch with the electorate, that people are unhappy, that Singaporeans deserve better. If the answer is no, then perhaps we deserve to be treated with the distrust and disrespect that the government hands out to us.
First of all, I would like to clarify my statement. When I said 'But how many people is ready for that in a country that still shunned people with tattoos? How many of them are ready for the hard truth?' in my previous comment, I was referring to the general population. For me, I definitely think that this country need changes.
But the question is, how do we go about changing decades old laws?. How do we change or remove a particular law without offending a particular race or religion?. The government has done one thing right for many years. That is allow, an atheist like you and a Christian like me to live together in peace and harmony.
But then again, like you, I don''t agree with many decisions the Government make. An example is the installing of cameras at Hong Lim Park. What 'Freedom Of Speech'? Apparently, that term doesn't appeal to the Government.
Actually, what makes religious and non-religious people live together peacefully are the people themselves. We overstate the importance of the government in regulating the presence or absence of religion..
I do not think that retaining laws for the sake of not offending people is a good enough reason. Take for example, Section 377A: would repealing that law remove the viability or relevance of your religion in your perspective? Or say, rephrasing the definition of marriage as a civil union between two persons, as opposed to "a man and a woman". Would that change, again, devalue religious sensibilities?
No. No it wouldn't, because it really does not affect heterosexual males or marriages. Unless I'm missing something, in which case, feel free to point them out.
Let us not forget that it always falls to brave men to defy and overturn convention before progress is made. 56 men signed the US Declaration of Independence in 1776, and the moment they did, they were traitors in the eyes of the British. Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues like Hon Sui Sen, EW Barker, Rajaratnam took a brave stand to get this country on its feet when we were expected to fail. Lincoln fought a war and freed slaves.
All of this, and more, would not be possible if people just stay "contented" (sounds like code for complacent) and chose to not offend. “At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 men to guard the past.”