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Singapore Storiesthoughts of a Singaporean
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May 11 Myanmar Gen Than Shwe's crime against humanityMyanmar's military regime's slow response or reluctance to allow foreign aids
to enter the Nagris cyclone hit country is cruel and deliberate.
I know that there will be more deaths among those people afflicted by cyclone Nargis -
if food and medical supplies dont reach the stricken areas now. March 20 Singapore chickensMost Singaporeans are afraid to speak up against the Government.
What is it that they fear?
As an example, during last year's Chinese New Year reunion dinner,
the men were discussing about certain government policies.
I mean we meet once a year to talk about such things or anything in fact.
My dear sister cautioned us not to speak so loud
because we could get arrested. She is a grassroot leader.
My sister typifies an average Singaporean's fear to criticise Government ministers publicly.
I asked her how so? I mean who is going to arrest us, the police or ISD or the prime minister himself?
She was bombarded by the guys at the table for being so naive and stereotyped.
And believe me, she is the stereotype of most Singaporeans I know.
Even though voting is guaranteed to be secret many foolish civil servants, and even businessmen,
are worried about being found out, if they vote against the ruling party.
This is because balllot papers are numbered.
The numbering trick is a sly and effective scare tactic that has worked very well all these years.
Singaporeans know our Prime Ministers, past and present, have successfully sued
various newspapers and opposition party members.
Are they afraid to be sued by PM Lee or other ministers too?
Or is it the ISA law that scares them.
Government can use Internal Security Act to imprison any person without trial or court order.
I think these are the reasons Singaporeans are so scared
to offend their Prime Minister and government .
I know, its hard to believe that a first world city people could be like that.
But it's true.
February 14 Singaporeans are leaving !Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew recently lamented Singapore is loosing 4-5% of its top talents each year.
This is a serious problem, especially when there are already about 150,000 qualified Singaporeans
working and living overseas. Once they taste the freedom and spaciousness of other countries,
many of these much sort after Singaporeans will be gone for good.
I share a same thought with MM Lee on this matter, question is -
if Singapore is such a great place, why are our intellectuals leaving en masse?
Isn't it because people want to have a voice to decide on national issues,
that they want more personal space ??
Singapore's liberal foreign talents policy is also hurting and alienating many talented Singaporeans.
Government can ignore the will of the people if they wish - but it will come with a heavy cost.
Our society will disintegrate.
The early signs of disintegration are already apparent. It began with the increasing migration of Singaporeans to Australia, USA, UK, Canada and New Zealand.
In a recent survey, it was discovered that one of the favorite discussion topics among college students today is 'emigration'. The Straits Times recent survey revealed that 53 per cent of Singaporean teens would consider emigration.
Foreign talents policy
Many foreigners holding PRs in Singapore come from true democratic countries with the exception
of China nationals and Burmese intellectuals. Chinese nationals come here to seek better paid jobs and most importantly, they want to escape the
communist sytem back home, where political leaders are selected rather than elected by the people. Singapore ruling party's political ideology do not go down well with China Singaporean PRs, some have expressed to me.
Less than 30% of China National Singapore PRs remained here,
the rest use their Singaporean status as a springboard to countries like USA.
The huge number of Indian National PRs do not exactly treat Singapore as their permanent
homes either. Most aim to enrich themselves, like buying HDB house cheap and selling them 10 years
later to reap huge profits. Get well paid jobs they never imagine they could get back in India.
Their children well educated in our excellent schools. Then they leave, before their children are
required by immigration law to perfom National Service in Singapore,
usually after 9-10 years of being PRs here.
But get this, I also know of American and British PRs who leave the moment their sons
are required to do NS.
So, who wins in this liberal foreign talent policy? Who are the real losers?
Surely the answer must lie somewhere in the fact that thousands of smart Singaporeans
have started migrating to other countries!
February 13 Longetivity InsuranceThis new scheme takes place in 2013.
Caring for old and poorer Singaporeans has largely been overlooked by
Government for too long. This is the general opinion.
Ministers do not talk about distributing Government's enormous wealth with the population
Their philosophy is people should take care of themselves, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Government invested hundreds of billions into foreign ventures, yet Singaporeans never benefitted
from these investments. Many ordinary people are still struggling to make ends meet.
Government has been propagating that its huge wealth is kept as an insurance against
any major gobal economic meltdown. I have heard this tired old excuse long enough
and know Government is avoiding this issue of a weathy state unwilling to share its
cake with the people.
This is evident by the enormous, world beating, salaries
Singapore Ministers are receiving.
Very few ordinary Singaporeans care about the future. They are complaining
Singapore has become a city for the elitists only.
This should explain why a new generation of better educated and knowlege based people
starting to show dissatisfaction by speaking up in blogs and public forums.
So, now there will be this long overdue financial solution (Longetivity insurance)
for old Singaporeans (but remember, this is not free money from government).
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