I wasn’t too bothered when Mr Fanthome’s reply to Singaporeans’
adverse reaction to the PAP’s proposed
‘cooling off day’ first appeared on the P65
blog.
That is, until I found out that Mr Fanthome, unlike true
Singaporeans who had to bear the brunt of PAP
rule and policies for decades, was one of those new ‘citizens’
recruited by the PAP to suppress the voice of
Singaporeans like myself. Many Singaporeans believe that new
citizenship are so readily granted to foreigners, who do not have
to sacrifice years of their lives to serve National service and who
were largely unaffected by many of PAP’s
draconic policies dating back to the 60s, was because the
PAP need new blood to bolster their ranks and
their share of the votes for the next election. A quick fix if you
will. If you can’t get your own people to support you because you
have failed so abysmally, simply recruit new followers to edge out
the old timers. Whether or not these new recruits will have the
same loyalty as citizens born and bred in Singapore doesn’t seem to
be an issue the PAP are concerned with.
In fact, when PR Zhang Yuan Yuan went back to China and publicly
declared her loyalty and support for mother China, the PAP seemed unfazed and even went so far as to
DEFEND Yuan Yuan’s actions! That was a marked
contrast from the way the PAP used to treat
citizens merely suspected (usually falsely) of being communists.
Now they are actually defending one of their pet PRs when she
publicly declared support for China. How low will they go just to
secure votes from new ‘citizens’?
Now, back to Fredric Fanthome… In his blog, he wrote that:
“There will be more freedom in the coming elections – podcasts
will be allowed, the internet will be abuzz – and the government is
also putting in place measures to ensure the presence of at least
18 non-PAP members or about a fifth of the house in the next
parliament regardless of election results. That is remarkable by
any standard. No other country gives losing parties anywhere near
as much voice.”
Fanthome’s ignorance of Singapore’s history and politics makes
me shudder in horror. Is this the sort of ‘talent’ that the
PAP wants? Is this the sort of ‘citizen’ that
the PAP so shamelessly court, just to edge
out true Singaporeans who have sacrificed their time (decades) for
the country?
Mr Fanthome, allow me to enlighten you. First of all, the
internet has always been abuzz. No thanks to the PAP. The real reason is simply because the PAP cannot control the internet completely. Thus, they
make a show of tolerating it.
And are you truly so … obtuse as to believe that the
government’s measure to ensure at least 18 non-PAP members in the
next parliament to be a sign of more freedom for Singapore?!? If
you are truly that obtuse, I don’t know if I can use sound
reasoning to get through to you. Let me use a parable instead:
Ah Huat is a gambler who frequents the Turf Club. A old-timer
with many connections within the racing circuit. A streetwise
gambler who can spot bull-shit a mile away. One day, he brings his
young friend, Ah Beng to the club. Ah Beng is young and naive. He
didn’t have Huat’s experience nor street wisdom. Now, at the club,
there’s a big-time horse owner, Mr Beh. And Mr Beh, sensing Beng’s
naivety, told Beng that he (Mr Beh) is going to let Ah Beng win the
next race by arranging a certain horse to win. But why? Ah Beng
wanted to know. Mr Beh told Beng that’s because the Turf Club
believes in fair play and sportsmanship, so that noobs like Beng
can win occasionally too.
Ah Beng, being the young sucker he is, went to his old friend Ah
Huat and told him gushingly that the Turf Club believes in fair
play because Mr Beh is letting people win by arranging for the
right horse to win!
Ah Huat listened quietly for a minute, then he slapped Beng on
the head. “Are you an idiot?? Don’t you know that if Mr Beh told
you with certainty what horse is going to win, it means he
FIXED it so the horse can win! It has nothing
to do with fair play! It isn’t fair play anymore if he ‘ARRANGED’
for the horse to win!”
Mr Fanthome, wake up your idea. Please do not be naive like
Beng, ok?
And Mr Fanthome, you said ‘No other country gives losing parties
anywhere near as much voice’. Are you in earnest? If by ‘as much
voice’, you are referring to the numerous times the PAP has attacked, jailed and sued their critics to
bankruptcy, then yeah, no other first world country has that sort
of track record.
Mr Fanthome also referred to the PAP’s 66
percent win in the last election and translated it to mean a strong
mandate. Please don’t talk cock lah, Fanthome! As an old citizen
who has lived here for decades, I can tell you that many
Singaporeans did not get to vote in the last election! If there
isn’t universal suffrage, I wouldn’t be so quick to point out that
a 66 percent out of the limited number of voters they allowed to
vote equates to a ‘strong mandate’.
And this passage from Mr Fanthome’s blog betrayed his ignorance.
Not just ignorance of how things truly are in Singapore, but
ignorance of how the rest of the world operates. He wrote:
“The electricity never fails, the transport system works, the
drainage system works. You
can drink water from the tap without worrying about getting a tummy
ache.”
Please lah… Can’t you lie better than that, Mr Fanthome?!? How
long have you lived in Singapore? Truly? Here. I have a link with a
report about blackouts in Singapore. But you said ‘electricity
NEVER fails’! Can I call you out now? Liar,
liar, pants on fire…
http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/power_supply…
Transport system works? What do you mean by ‘work’? You mean the
laws of physics work in Singapore, and cars can run just like in
any other country? Which first world country do not have a working
transport system? Perhaps if you have lived in parts of India where
they are still in the difficult process of building proper roads,
you are amazed to see cars running smoothly along Singapore roads.
But as citizens of a supposedly first world country, who have to
pay the leaders obscenely bloated salaries, we kinda expect our
buses and cars to be able to run. There’s nothing spectacular about
that. In fact, I would go so far as to say our leaders haven’t done
a satisfactory job making sure we have a comfortable public
transport system, instead of just a ‘working one’. Especially since
they are paid so much more than their counterparts in other First
World countries. Hell, if I pay my staff exceptional salary, then I
expect exceptional results, and not just a passing grade!
And the remark about drinking water… Please lah… In other first
world countries, you can also drink their tap water! What’s so
phenomenal about that? And because we have something that other
countries have, and where their leaders are paid so much less for
providing that, you are telling us (citizens who have lived here
for decades) to worship the PAP as if they
are the best thing since… well since we had electricity and tap
water.
With new citizens like Mr Fanthome in the youth cadre of the
ruling party, I find our future bleak indeed.
