TR EMERITUS

On the surface, our homeland Singapore is a beautiful, peace-loving, orderly place. Almost everything from public transport, taxi services, hawker centres, food centres, roads, parks, bus-stops, taxi-stands, schools and so on are well organised and maintained. Electoral Map 2011 Moving around from place to place, one cannot helped but be impressed by the level of attention and meticulous planning in many aspects. Plants are well trimmed, watered regularly and surrounding roads and pavements are cleared of fallen leaves. Such meticulousness is not just seen on one or two streets but practically every street and corner in Singapore. Obviously, such cleanliness and well-organised features inherently built-in in the system are not by default or accidental. They are man-made. Purposefully and conscientiously planned, organised, carried out, maintained, supervised and monitored on a regular basis. Such are the amazing plus points of the highly successful institutionalisation of many functions and entities in this Little Red Dot. By nature, everyday, without fail each day of brightness at sunset gives way to an entire night of darkness albeit lit up by street lights and all kinds of man-made lightings throughout the land. Similarly, socially, it is inevitable that beneath the bright side of almost every aspect in this Little Red Dot, there are corresponding dark sides underneath. Real and genuinely human but obscurely "hidden and buried" below the gleaming success of this gigantic modern man-made metropolitan artifact. Looking at many issues confronting Singapore today, it is little doubt that some are calling for a momentous change such that some of the ills can be better looked at and tackled. But would a change in party really lead to a much better social sphere and a climate of hope and optimism? How much time would the people give the new leadership in terms of their political honeymoon assuming such a scenario really takes place? Before even the first bullet is fired and the first cent spent, perhaps it would do our nation valuable and precious good and hindsight if we think and look ahead under such a scenario. First and foremost, we need to ask ourselves what do we really want changed and what are we looking for in a new leadership. Obviously, this is a very grave, serious and momentous matter. Therefore, it must not be left to chance. Having said that, going by empirical observation since 1984 GE, like what many old stalwarts often said, the political entity is vastly different from the past. Only when we have gone through this stage and maybe decades later, historians would be able to give some kind of objective assessment. Meanwhile, looking at the past thirty-seven months after GE 2011, sentiments on the ground are not that optimistic. In fact, there are many who felt that it has been more of the same. For every step forward, inevitably there seems to be two steps backward. This pattern is so obvious that unless one's eyes are "stamp-pasted", it would be hard not to notice and feel it. Unhealthy as it may be for Singapore's short term interests, following the events of the last few years, to win the hearts and minds of the electorate, it seems the best strategy for the opposition is to do nothing. Do nothing? What does that mean? The answer is very simple. Just wait for the opponents to shoot themselves in the foot for the next two to three years. How would that be possible? Empirically, from many observations, it would be out of the norm if the incumbent does not shoot their own feet regularly. It seemed that it could have been imprinted in their DNA. Looking at the many "seeds of potential troubles" planted since 1990, it is only inevitable that going forward, there might not be much respite for them, even if try as hard as they possibly could. The end result may have already been decided before the battle even begins. Somehow, members are seen to be too aloof, too "cosseted in ivory tower". Dependability factor is sorely lacking. To lead, one needs trust of its people. If many in the masses view their "leaders" as "trustworthy" as "snake oil salesmen", even a miracle might not be able to turn the tide. Thus, whether it is political quantum change or incremental change to be augmented, it might be moot because the fate of trust might have already been sealed and waiting for the right time to descend on this Little Red Dot. As the Chinese saying goes, " In this world, there isn't any everlasting meal and gathering." Perhaps, too much pent up sentiments have been built up among the masses. As one blogger mentioned previously in one of his post's comment, " When mandate is over, mandate is over." Looking at the current scene and the supposedly "tsunami type of tide", it is hard, very hard not to agree with what many have been voicing out. Historically it is still less "traumatic" for society to "undergo incremental change organically and internally". But just like thousands of years of ancient Chinese history had shown, when "heaven mandate is up", many things might happen beyond human control and events might take place one way or another to precipitate the eventual outcome. The take of it is that inevitably, under such a happening, many common folks' needs and plights likely would be relegated to the back burner or not even featured in the "to-do-list". If history is anything to go by, sufferings and miseries of poor ordinary people might be even more accentuated during such a time of change before they can get better. How long the transitory period takes before situation even normalise, not mentioning getting better is often historically a dicey affair. Perhaps, initially people might feel liberated but if after the political honey moon period ended and the circumstances are not much better or much worst than before over fairly sustained length of time, patience might wear thin and the cycle might be repeated until the situation is gotten under control. Again, once a pandora's box is opened, it is like an equation with unknown variables. Mathematically, with multi-variables, there are still solutions using matrices to solve such unknown. But if even the variables are variable in the sense that they cannot be quantified or defined within a finite limit, it is not dissimilar to the notion of infinity. Technically, it can be endless. One possible example is Iraq in the 2000s and early 2010s and some others in Europe during the late 20th century. Once the glue to hold the cracks and disparate elements in a society are dissolved, it is like a fragile vase broken in an antique shop. It is impossible to glue it back. Whoever breaks it owns it... Confronted with such depressive realities and circumstances, the words of wisdom spoken, archived and printed by former PM, SM, MM Lee Kuan Yew come to mind. Are those recorded "data bank" meant for future generation Singaporeans or actually for the current leaders and scholars in the establishment to chew, bite, taste, feel, assimilate, understand, grasp the essence and extracts and incorporate and integrate into the current governance of this Little Red Dot. Arguably, in this world, there is no one size fits all idea, method, way, prescription, treatment. Scholars and leaders owned to our PG leaders and present and future generations Singaporeans to adapt and govern Singapore according to the situations and circumstances we are faced with now, not continued "self-denial", "cosmetic wayang", "go through motion", "official template remedy", "borchap", "pretending deaf", "ostrich response"... etc etc. Failure to adapt and rule with the heart as well as the head and respond to situations as they are with opened ears and eyes could jolly well mean this Little Red Dot might be edging closer and closer to a change nobody possibly wanted but forced to. Not standing up might mean the masses ending in the same fate as the fallen victims in the recent Korean ferry sinking incident. The current model of governing this Little Red Dot might need to be adjusted and revamped if the incumbent hopes for easier management of the masses and engenders a more sustainable growth path for the people, for the nation, for Singapore. P S S * The author blogs at pro-sustainable-sg.blogspot.  Read More →

Here we go again!  Another anti-Filipino blog.  I hope my Filipino friends won't take this miserable Singapore hate-blog too personally. To understand what is going on in Singapore, perhaps we need some perspective.  Did you know that workers in Singapore are ranked as the most unhappy in the world?  Yes, many people are very unhappy there.  Do you know what bothers unhappy people more than anything?  Happy people. Do you know who the happiest people in the world are? You Filipinos. Sure, that's just my opinion...but it also happens to be the opinion of many, many other foreigners as well.  It's no wonder that the unhappy people of Singapore are frustrated with all the smiley Filipinos roaming their city! It kills me that Filipino workers are being treated with so much disrespect - even though for decades they have helped Singapore become the economic powerhouse that it is today.  Reportedly, even the nationalists who fought for independence and helped build the Singapore we know today were influenced by the national hero of the Philippines - Dr. Jose Rizal. Many Filipinos in Singapore make very little money (much of which is dutifully sent home to the Philippines), and they work 6 days and 70 hours a week.  Am I correct that all this anamosity toward them is because they want to take their ONE day off and celebrate their country's Independence in a public space?  Am I missing something here?  Please...enlighten me, because from my current perspective, this situation just makes Singapore look really bad. On the other hand, now that Singapore is officially the most expensive city in the world, people there are probably working themselves to the bone just to be able to afford the high cost of living!  There may not be much of a work/life balance for them, and this blogger might not be the only one who's miserable.  People in the Philippines may not have a lot of monetary wealth, but in these ways the quality of life in the Philippines is far better than that of Singapore.  I hope we can try to have at least a little compassion for these overworked and unhappy people in Singapore. If I was living in that environment and struggling with the high cost of living, I might be unhappy, too!  I mean, I probably wouldn't write a horribly racist blog to let out my frustrations, but that's just me. Whether it's about Filipino food or just bashing Filipinos in general, one thing is clear: Filipinos are sensitive, and bloggers know it.  Of course it's understandable to be angry when people are ignorant or downright racist.  The problem is that when we get worked up into a frenzy online (and certainly when the media gets involved), we end up "promoting our enemies with our anger". That's right, the old expression "any publicity is good publicity" is really quite true.  For example, every single time we write about a Polish food blogger and post a link to her article, even though the attention she is getting is all negative, we are indeed HELPING her.  Google counts all those links, and her online reputation is actually boosted because of them.  To use another expression, then she is the one "laughing all the way to the bank."  (PS...it's not too late to take those links down.) . . . Personally, it's not easy, but I will try to find compassion for these unhappy Singaporeans.  I do not envy the life they live. In closing, I will just say this: It really is a shame that Filipinos abroad are not always treated with the same respect and hospitality that they extend to foreigners in the Philippines.   Nathan Allen www.idreamedofthis.com [Source]: http://www.idreamedofthis.com/2014/06/03/filipinos-please-read-this-before-reacting-to-the-singapore-blogger/    Read More →

Some folks think that xenophobia and racism are similar and their usage can be easily interchanged, but this is not necessarily the case.  Xenophobia refers to dislike or fearing the unknown or something that is different from you. Knowing that you can lose your job to an alien is pretty scary. Racism on the other hand is based on the belief that race determines the traits of certain humans and their innate capacity, making one race more superior to another. One stems from the crouching fear of the uncertain, the other is a disdain emanating from smug superiority. Xenophobia is not only aversion to a person but it is a fear or dislike of other cultures and beliefs. The phobic person knows that he or she is averse to the target group, but they may not accept the fact that they are actually afraid or it is their fear that motivates the hatred for the targeted group. Racism is best exemplified in history by slavery and colonization in which blacks were treated as inferior races. Hitler upped the ante by "proving"  Aryan whites were more superior to other races and that they were superior to the Jews also. The Philippine Embassy is levying racist charges against a blogger for advocating displeasure with Filipinos in country "without breaking the law". Probably the same officials who chose to stay mum over the attempted take over of Ngee Ann Civic Plaza, when they could have avoided friction by hosting the planned event on embassy grounds. Or alternate venues suggested by the police. The day after Contemplacion was hanged, Manila television aired a children's program where tiny tots were let loose into a room full of balloons and encouraged to burst them. "Stomp on them, imagine they are Singaporeans," egged on the program host. If our ambassador had filed a report on the festivities in his dispatches, one wonders whether the mainstream media will treat it as xenophobia or racism.   Tattler * The writer blogs at http://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/    Read More →