politics

I never thought that Singapore could have a city night view I can be very well be proud of. When I first look across the dark waters near the Merlion after a long night cycle, relishing the gentle cold breeze brushing past me, I could feel that serenity, in awe at not only the grandeur of the view, but also at what the nation has achieved in less than fifty years. When you look at it, at least when I did, I think you would want to believe that this country is progressing in the right direction, that the people on top to whom you pay your taxes to are doing a good job – their job.

Today, Singapore’s politics is still surrounded by lots of controversies. The state control over the media (be it the press, tv or radio), the questionable fact that power and influence seems to be held by a very small number of people (some say family), the predicaments of government opposers ended in seem to be just a few examples. It is no wonder that people regarded Singapore as a social democracy. The people are not happy. They blame it all at he government, as usual. It doesn’t help when the cost of living is shooting up, and at the same time, in their opinion, the only other thing rising up seems to be the ministers’ wages as well.

I’m not PAP fan, but I would like to think myself as an educated person, although been through education in Singapore but not brainwashed by government propaganda, but be able to discern for myself what is good and what is bad, able to appreciate what there is before me and thus be no complacent. Maybe before we go on and criticize policies, decisions, we need to be able to see that our standard of living is definitely one of the highest. We need to see that we have enjoyed peace for many, many years and have seen little of messy conflicts and violent demonstrations. And finally, we need to be able to see that the talented work for money. We should be sure that in today’s materialistic world, there aren’t many people to work just to serve the nation nowadays. There is always a more selfish agenda. This is reality, though sad, but I think we are all aware of it, beginning even from ourselves.

In a way, I’m an extremist. I’m not a supporter of democracy, because I have simply no confidence in allowing my government to be elected by a majority only concerned about themselves, about just the present, a majority which seems to be unable to see the greater picture, the larger scheme of plans. You look at America’s politics that you see a population more concerned about the candidate’s past and possible dirty linen instead of his abilities and what he has done. You look at Singapore and you see how HDB upgrading seems to work in favor of the ruling party just before the election. You look at Malaysia’s almost violent protests and demonstrations when the government decides to cut fuel subsidies and you would see a people failing to see that the money could be channeled to other areas for better and more efficient economic growth which will in turn affect them. How about the ones who keep harping about the rising ERP, cursing the government for that, requiring a reminder that COE has gone down by 80% from 50k to 10? How certain are we to let voters like that choose our government, and in doing so, dictate our future?

I think for us, as people living in this developed ‘developing country’ or even elsewhere, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Are we too used to excesses that we become incapable of identifying what’s necessity and what’s not?’

I would think the more important problem to date is not really our birth rate (which I don’t think can be solved by the baby bonus and longer maternity leave). I think it’s the growing wealth disparity that seems to be more worrying. I don’t think that’s a topic the Prime Minister would talk about in the National Day Rally either. It is a problem hard to solve since it is inevitable in any capitalist country. Even though there is GST, cash rebates, power credits etc all aiming to balance wealth a little, it won’t really help much. At the same time, the country will not want all the wealthy to emigrate, bringing along their fortunes. Overtaxing them seems unfair when their money is too earned by their own sweat and blood, through their own capabilities. Yet it would be bad if the situation is allowed to deteriorate. I mean, isn’t it hurting to see another family owning more than two cars when you have difficult making ends meet even without one?

These are issues which I found myself thinking about when I listen to the National Day Rally, and I hope you would too, and then take your own stand. Come next election, when I have to vote, I think I’ll still vote in favor of the ruling party. I may not be too happy with the one-party dominance, my controlled TV, but grudgingly I still have to admit, they are still doing their job.