Fear is the key to the Singapore Story
Monday, April 12, 2010 at 9:48PM Khairulanwar Zaini analyses the Singapore Story as promulgated by the PAP, and lays bare the critical theme that makes it such a successful political strategy: fear.
[W]e need our insecurity, because we thrive on our collective anxiety. The mechanics of this clockwork country is impelled by fear. ‘We can fall over’ – anytime, warned the redoubtable Deputy Prime Minister. Such a familiar line. Vulnerability, the thematic core of the Singapore Story; fear, its emotive heart. How we are always in danger of falling ‘irrelevant’. How we are too small, how ‘we don’t have a lot of room for error’.
This tactic of appealing to the base fears of Singaporeans have worked for decades, ensconced securely in our minds so as to accept whatever draconian and senseless laws passed by the PAP as "necessary". This fear drives us to maintain the status quo, a self-perpetuating fear machine that urges Singaporeans to not rock the boat, that any moves to do so will result in the collapse of this country and everything they have worked for.
This fear of alternatives, of a different journey to reach the same goals, is what is holding us back as a people, and enables the PAP to continue holding us back. We need to change this mindset if we are to progress, even if we do it one person at a time. Talk to your neighbours, your friends, your family, especially those who rely on mainstream media, and show them what they're not seeing, what news have been hidden from them, and get them to question everything they know.
It's a tall order, but we cannot keep waiting for change to happen. This is in our hands.
Reader Comments (2)
I often have this misgiving that many Singaporeans don't have an intellect - who cannot hold an opinion, form their own idependent opinion, cannot think straight, very naive and low self-esteem.
An Ah Q. It will probably take another 100 years before Singaporeans would learn to take to the streets like the Thais to fight for what they believe in. I am talking about a character attribute, not taking side in the Thai situation. The Singaporeans we need must be able to assert themselves like the Thais, Iranians, Hong Kongers and, surprise, surprise, mainland Chinese!!!
without fear we can do anything...nice posting...