On a quiet afternoon at the office, I settled into the chair with that thick hardcopy of Men In White- The Untold Story of Singapore's Ruling Political Party by Sonny Yap, Richard Lim and Leong Weng Kam. I flipped the first few pages and sped read through it.
Fresh events that linger in my mind are Singapore's recent celebration of its 44 years of independence (and of the ruling political party in power) and the end of LDP's 54 years of dominance in Japan.
" "Not even half a loaf." "Half a loaf" "Just a plain slice of bread without butter or jam." These were the bread and butter metaphors conjured up by politicians to explain to the less educated, if not undernourished, population why the new consititution was deficient. " ~ Pg 65.
"Take a cursory glance at the headlines of the English language press after PAP's inauguration and you will see how the party had to contend with a bombardment of smears. It was painted red, extremist, pro-communist and communist. It was accused of being a "communist-backed party". Lee was titled "commissar". ~ Pg 66.
I'm convinced that the controversial 'graduate mothers' policy that has been scrapped is the root of kiasu-ism in Singapore parents today who have grown up being influenced by the policy. I grew up in a stable environment where a privileged education didn't exactly teach, but in its unspoken lessons, gave awareness that I shouldn't just wait for handouts, but go get it for myself. I'm not sure that I could empathize with this paragraph- "These were massive changes, and they touched and shaped the lives of just about every man, woman and child. If there were painful adjustments to be made, the people coped as best as they could. They trusted that their leaders would deliver them a better tomorrow." ~ Pg 357.
I'm not sure that the electorate today still trusts in our leaders to deliver a better tomorrow. I mean, going by the results of the last general election, 66% does. So that's still a majority. We're now playing the speculating game of when-is-the-next-round-of-elections in 2010. It's like how the leaders keep emphasizing on Asian values and society and whatever. But I'm not exactly feeling all that. As it is, I find it quite a challenge and not much of a point to fulfil the norms in this country when my relationship with it is purely wrought on an economic basis. I've learnt that if I put in anymore commitment, this country would break my heart and crush my ideals.
That Monocle (in the issue of Sep 09) Singapore Survey 2009 should have made its rounds by now. Regardless of it being commissioned by EDB, the survey views the Singapore Civil Service as one of the top 5 global brands the island has exported, along with our massively successful Central Provident Fund which provides major means of funding of ownership of our model of public housing. So....it's like......wow. Didn't the Minister for National Development just pronounce that HDB flats are still affordable? Well.
Full credit is given to the leaders in those early turbulent years. There're few clear directions to follow beyond getting the economy up and housing the nation. Meritocracy and education for all has by and large, worked well. A generation has grown up to be very well educated, well travelled and sophisticated. Otherwise we won't be laughing at a certain beauty queen's use of 'Boomz', or being irked by foreign talents who've come to supplement our service industry and build those flats and houses we live, work and play in. Find me a Singaporean who's a blue-collar worker? Can- few and far. Can we sustain all these with an electorate that hasn't known any other life?
So there is one paragraph in 'Men In White' that I agree with. "A new generation of Singaporeans had grown up who did not know hardship, he said, and if they were not lucky, they might discover at great cost that an opposition could cause much confusion by "raising false expectations of unattainable benefits from greater welfare spending, as in Britan and in so many third world countries." " (Aiyah. Forgot to note the page.)
I believe the PAP model of governance is effective, and importantly, decades down the road, it can be sustained as an efficient political system that will function even when PAP is no longer the incumbent.
14 comments:
I think so, too. I only hope that with political maturity comes wisdom as well, not just from the governance model, but also from the electorate.
Well it's 66% of the people who voted - and less than half of all Singaporeans did. I've never voted since I turned 21 because my estate has always been a walkover and most other people I've asked have said the same. And I WANT to vote :)
Plus you brought up a very valid point - if people stay in Singapore because it is an economic transaction, then what prevents people from leaving if there are better jobs/opportunities elsewhere? I think that a country needs something more to 'bond' the citizens to the country - the 'heartware' as someone put it.
Another issue is that often we are so coddled that it is hard to imagine what would happen if true hardship, as you said, does hit. Singapore is so small that we cannot help but be affected by the rest of the world. Will Singaporeans really buckle down when hard times come, or are we going to crumble? From the letters you sometimes see in the forum page, it seems that with some there is an attitude of letting 'the government' take care of it. There seems to be little ownership or initiative.
I got to spend 4th of July here in the US this year and I was amazed at the difference in celebrations of National Days. In Singapore, we have a huge, impressive parade and it's awe-inspiring and very organised. In the US, however, people celebrate on their own! People organise their own barbecues, parties, etc to celebrate their nation's birthdays. There's a sense somehow of love of the country and the ideals it was founded on. I wonder how many of us would celebrate National Day by having parties with our own friends and family?
44yrs in e making ==> e gahmen have had made numerous changes in their policies n dey can simply say to 'accomodate' all e locals n expats..on e other hand we do not haf e say for the election as among e 66%, it has several constituencies dat walkover (cheatin lor..?!)..like Dawn, i did not haf e chance to vote too..blimey =s
Ms SG in e international pageant are oways bombarded by their gnarshin 'engrish' dat lead ppl to confront e education system here..last but not least, i can say dat e new gen are bein spoon-feed by e gahmen too, plus e headachin 'reminders' in MRT platforms etc..dats alot of contradictin issues here..
e gahmen bibliographies..? din bat an eyelid..haha =P
I've been wanting to grab a copy, any idea where I could get 1?
kachunknorge: I HOPE so. the electorate is still immature. but growing, most certainly. and getting ready. we simply lack a credible opposition. :(
dawn: true. i've NEVER voted because there isn't a need to. looking at my GRC, i don't think i ever need to vote. and I WANT TO VOTE. i staunchly refuse to do anything for National Day because I'm not feeling anything for it. we celebrate National Day a la Beijing style. Did u see the news snippets on that marchpast and parade that Beijing will be doing in 2 weeks? spot the similarities man. when hard times hit, i'm fairly sure i'll abandon 'ship'. why should i stay when i'm mobile??!
mochalatte: indeed. early policies came frm ignorance, fear and protectionism. these push points don't work anymore. if we're truly thinking citizens, then we'll not want to be spoonfed. so the other side of the coin will tell u not to accept everything u see blindly. i think that's why i want to read the book- to understand the psyche, the angle it's coming frm and how, more so than the stories within.
pebbles: i think major bookshops should carry a copy of monocle at S$20. otherwise the survey itself is linked in this post. can print out in color!
(one of) the only good thing about singapore is that it's safe. but at the price we're paying, i am sure the government can do better. it's becoming an inhumane place to stay in for many sectors of our society.
tuti: hmmm. i don't quite agree. yes- economically and CPF whatever wise, i expect full transparency and accountability from our govt. on other matters, i believe our citizens shouldn't demand govt to do better in some areas- but demand for more freedom and rights so that WE, as citizens could do something for society.
sgp is still one of the better places to live in...esp if one is not a citizen or is a mobile citizen. but for many sectors, we face the same problems as many other countries. we win some, we lose some. i really rather have this country than one with a high taxes welfare system. at this juncture, i believe our civil society should do more and our govt should let them rather than being anal. if our civil society is stronger, then our charity and animal rights' sectors would have a greater sense of being.
i rephrase, not expecting the government to do more, but maybe not controlling so much that we are not able to have a say in most things.
singapore is still a safe place. i appreciate that part.
anyway, i do not study enough to know how to better things. just know i find it very hard to survive here.
tuti: not too easy for sure because things in sgp aren't at all cheap in comparison with average salaries.
tuti - don't think you need to have fantastic grades to have a say in how we want Singapore to be. We're all Singaporeans after all. I think Imp will confirm some of the 'smart scholars' she's met are not all that bright. They may be good at passing exams but that's it.
dawn + tuti: those smart scholars make me want to throttle them, throw them out of the window down their ivory tower, squish them into a garbage can and put the lid tightly over them.
As long as politically competent people are led (by the nose?) to join the ruling party, the opposition has no chance to build a strong base unless the ruling party makes a serious stumble (which they're not supposed to since they've got all that talent).
And I just don't get the "walkover" policy. Whatever happened to the right (is it even one??) to vote for the incumbent or (horror!) cast a blank vote of no confidence in the incumbent? I don't think I'll ever get to vote in my lifetime.
Oh well. I like to think of myself as a global citizen... the world is my home, wherever that may be, as long as my family is with me in my heart.
kachunknorge: i think we're kinda ready for a sane and proper opposition. but there isn't a platform to explore anything of that sort. that's true. home is where the heart is. :)
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