Pls see the truth, my millionaire ministers

Pic from Insane Polygons

Is my country cracking up? Do my ministers (who need salary increases to keep them interested in the job) understand the pain and hardship that our fellow countrymen are going through? From the outside and from the local mainstream media, Singapore looks like a prosperous nation, the ever-rising star, the main joke (at least from my impression in Israel) is the chewing gum ban. But somehow, I just feel that there are too many problems, slowly accumulating. Its like earthquake plate tectonics, the stress building up until the earthquake erupts. I love my country so, and do not wish for that day to happen. While no government is perfect, the current government does have the ability (given their amazing CVs, and in comparison to the opposition) and should be doing more (given their pay rise) to address the problems faced by the country. There are many issues that this country has to face and solve such as:

• Freedom of mainstream media
• Human rights
• Declining birth rate
• Spiraling inflation and yet stagnant wages
• The boom of spoiled brats (from secondary school down)
• Complacency of our civil service (particularly Home Affairs)
• Fear of persecution/mistakes (leading Singaporeans to think within the box only, and become more concerned with not doing wrong than doing right)
• The influx of foreign workers and the loss of jobs for local Singaporeans (look at the bright side, they might just win us a medal in the Olympics)

But what concerns me the most is the widening income gap and increasing poverty of Singaporeans.

Like the picture says, don’t wait till its too late, act now! In a developed country like Singapore, why do so many old people have to work? They don’t choose it, they have to, living on paycheck to paycheck which has stayed constant or increased very little over the years. Why do so many people feel so poor? Young people, including university graduates, find it so difficult to start a family and buy a HDB.

But do the government see it? Everytime the ministers go for a grassroot event, there will be security aplenty to protect the minister, grassroot members dishing out the best wayang show imaginable. Its wonder whether the ministers see the ugly side of Singapore, the cracking up of the country. All we show them is always the good things, the fun and prosperity. Do they go visiting the old people working at MacDonalds, or the karang guni men?

Do I feel a sense of belonging? Do I run away? No! Once you start running, you will always be running away in your life. But what can the armchair critics like me do, I wonder? Do I have the power to change anything other than the chance to vote in the General Elections (if I am lucky enough to have opposition contesting in my GRC)? Can the opposition deliver what my hope is? There seems so much to be done, and yet so little I can do. How can I, and each person who loves the country, start making Singapore, our country, our home, a better place to live in, while stuck in the rat race? Right now, I just seem to be a blind mouse running on the wheel, round and round, along with many others. Can I get off the wheel, not just me, but bringing other people along too?

Pondering on my inner self and wondering about my purpose in life.

Viva Espana!

Firstly congratulations to Spain.

Attacking football reigns supreme again after the Greeks won Euro 2004 and Italia won World Cup 2006. My prediction almost came through too. Got the finalists correct, but the winner wrong. Guess I am like Ballack. We are the ‘almost’ people. For those of you who don’t know soccer, Ballack is the almost guy, if there is a count of the number of runner up medals a footballer gets, he surely has to rank among the top. He was in Bayern Leverkusen when they came in runner up in 3 competitions, and this year with Chelsea, he is runner up in another 3. And now you can add another runner up medal to his trophy cabinet. Too bad, but the better team won so he can’t complain too much.

And talking about Ballack reminds me of my previously stated similarities of him with Ana Ivanovic, the new French Open champion in tennis but got knocked out disappointingly in Wimbledon though. Anyone other than me who thinks the 2 of them look alike?

Now that the football is over and also having finished Forensic Heroes 2, I promised myself to do a lot of things. And that includes updating my blog more often. Well I was thinking since I want to write a blog, I should update it regularly and not neglect it. It is like cutting my nails. I should do it every week (even though my girlfriend thinks that I am crazy to cut nails every week) and not wait and wait, always delaying the writing until I really have the mood.

And lastly, something to talk about politics in Singapore and this man.

I have always reserved thoughts about him, maybe a little too stupid and extreme for his own good based on reports from the mainstream media. But my apathetic views on him and the opposition parties in Singapore were stimulated when MM Lee called Dr Chee a near-psychopath. I personally feel that is a little too overboard. If he is mad, then why are there still so many people supporting him? Are they all mad too. There is a nice article here which can express what I feel better. I personally have been a bit disappointed with the government in the last year or so. Sorry that I voted for the PAP last GE. I always thought that a government without opposition will be able to bypass all the squabbling with opposition (like in Taiwan) and implement policies efficiently for the good of its citizenry. This government system can be very useful when the policies are very necessary and may probably benefit the citizens as a whole in the long run but will not gain popularity with the majority of citizens. But when the policies are lame, such as increasing salary of civil servants, putting ERP on every road and increasing public transport costs, I realise the bad advantage of such a powerful government. Without the need to be accountable, they can just implement whatever they like, and always making it sound like it is for the overall good for the citizens.

I am sorry I made a mistake with my vote, please gimme another chance. And we probably need more Dr CSJ to come out and stand for the interests of the people. You risk going to jail though (note that CSJ has gone to jail 6 times now) and always get painted in a bad picture by the mainstream media. But I shall end this post with a quote from him: If you have truth on your side and you know your cause to be just, you need never fear your rulers and what they do to you.