December 12, 2009 by admin
Filed under Opinion
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EDITORS’ NOTE:
The below article by “citizen voice” was sent to us for
publication by the author who described himself as a former PAP
supporter. Of pertinent note is that he is not a “true-bred”
Singaporean citizen, but a first-generation PR who had served
national service and taken up Singapore citizenship. It was also
posted on the P65 blog (comment 75)
Dear Fedric,
You have a gift of writing. You should spend time understanding
the reasons and bases behind the “irrational rhetoric” as one
commentator has put it.
Only the biggest FOOL will think such rhetoric is rubbish
You have not been brainwashed by the media in your lifetime, nor
voices and lives controlled in every manner by the PAP to
understand the citizen behavior. You are not in the continuum of
true-bred citizen lives as you are dealing with the hearts and
souls of the Nation. You will never understand the underhanded
politics, the money politics and many polices the PAP use to
control and stay in power.
For many citizens the release of pent-up frustration and anger,
irrational as it may seem in the rhetoric of expression, which can
only be released through cyberspace, is not something to be
disregarded.
Your support of PAP, officiously and beguilingly, using your
superb intellectual rationality of argument could be perhaps
perceived as treason to the hearts of many true-bred citizens in
this forum who value dearly the sacrosanct meaning of citizenship
and nationhood.
Rationality of argument is one thing, the reality is another. If
you are a lawyer, you will understand. Rational reasoning with
misguide agenda or concealing hidden agenda is as deadly and
dangerous in hand of people with immense power.
With your gift of writing you can help many true-bred citizens
who are helpless against the powerful intellect of the PAP who,
unfortunately, use guise of rational reason to justify their
actions.
I hope one day you will be like a new true-bred citizen, perhaps
a party leader for the citizens, bringing glory to the citizen once
more as the great PAP did once upon a time.
Perhaps, one day you may and I hope you will use your gift
properly.
I hope you are not one of those dogs in YPAP who serve as
grass-root leader for self-interest (free HDB parking, priority of
HDB selection, etc) as I know of many in my life-time.
I was a true PAP supporter for many years but now my loyalty is
gone. I am not a true-bred citizen but I had served the army and
can empathize with the feelings of many true-bred citizens. I am
also thankful to the past Gov for giving my family a life which we
may not have gotten in our native country. You may say I am the
second generation voice.
This is my first time I wrote in the forum. Why did I write?
So please read on what I have written if you want to know. I may
not have the polish of your writing, the prose and style, the
rationality of your thoughts as it was written with my heart,
feelings and empathy with the citizens.
Dear Citizens,
CHORUS OF CHANGE: VOTE FOR MORE AFFORDABLE HOME, BETTER
LIVELIHOOD, BETTER GOVERNANCE, MODERATE IMMIGRATION POLICY:
We are thankful for the prosperity that our Gov has brought to
us in the past.
However, in the last few years or decade, in particular the last
three years, our Gov has morphed-they seem less compassionate, seem
to lose tune with the chords of the citizens.
We need to send a message, however rhetorical the tunes of the
message, to resonate the spirit of the citizens, the lesser
privileged. We OWE it all to ourselves to make a better NATION, a
better country.
The beautiful vase of the Nation, exuding the prosperity of the
Nation, built through the blood and sweet of citizens, extolled by
many outsiders, belongs to the credit of many citizens who
struggled and sacrificed, who died for the Nation, NOT just the Gov
and self-acclaimed achievement of PAP.
The vase, appealing from the outside, admired and enjoyed by the
rich, elite, and regaled by our leaders in their Ivory Tower; an
Ivory Tower capping the neck of the vase, entrapping the voices
inside. The inner side walls of the vase are marked by cracks of
fragility, of suppressed voices of the present and lost generation
reverberating with disillusionment, discord, frustrations, dashed
hopes and miseries of many heart Landers, echoing to be heard.
Our Gov seems to have lost focus in the mad pursuit of GDP
growth and money politics and is disconnected with reality at the
ground and with the citizens.
Their policies are heavily biased towards in
elitism/pro-business politics, foreigners and pro-business and to
support their continuous staying of power.
They have lived in their supreme Ivory Tower for far too long to
be able to empathize with the citizen hard-ship and anxieties. They
see through their own prism of self-deception, obsessive
self-righteousness.
They proclaim that they are the ONLY one and OLNLY one deserved
to govern and rule, no one is better than them-without them the
Nation will collapse.
They speak virtues on a podium of high self-enrichment of wealth
and power with absence of nobility of leadership: Is it real that
only with super-high pay that good governance can be sustained? ;
Is it true that there is no one without their kind of intellect who
is capable to govern? ; Is it true there is NO NOBLE citizen that
will govern with much lesser pay and their kind is the only kind
that can govern the NATION.
In their name of Current and Future Growth they have opened the
gate widely, too abruptly, for many foreigners/PRs to come in
without sufficient consideration of the impact such relentless
influx will have on commoner lives, housing and infrastructural
constraints.
The current immigration influx policy will soon displace the
citizens in no time, take away citizen jobs, relegating citizens to
minority second-class status, depressing salary with higher living
costs. The policy itself is not flawed; the desperation of
implementing as seen recently is.
In the name of “wealth creation”, more so to support the
developers, the rich and powerful, and their cash needs, they have
manipulated the land prices, pegging HDB to resale prices,
resulting in huge price increase in times of the worst recession in
the century.
The PAP shield was once for the people, citizens. Now the
shield, gilded in gold and power, is wielded to shield the Rich,
the Powerful and the Elite. The increasingly huge divide between
depressed salaries of lesser mortals and the ever-increasing costs
of living which only the elite and rich can enjoy cannot be allowed
to continue.
This in sum is the dichotomy of the Nation: the money politics
that drives huge and widening divide between the super-rich,
super-paid ruling elite and highly costly, top-heavy governmental
and institutional machineries which continuously milk the
livelihood of, and marginalizing the lesser privileged true-bred
citizens or lesser mortals as branded by the leaders.
Lately, the PAP, the Gov, are using the FT/PR policy and
propaganda, welcoming them openly, using indiscriminately 10
Million public funds, apparently with hidden agenda or misguided
agenda, to garner their support in the guise of social integration.
In times to come we true-bred citizens will be marginalized.
The increasing number of new citizens, many sycophants, new
citizens and PRs lately, eager to join PAP grass-root organization,
some spoke so officiously and beguilingly for PAP to counter the
voices of the true-bred citizens, not knowing the truth beneath the
dissonant voices of the citizens, is very disconcerting; a making
of divide amongst the new and true-bred citizens that may lead to
social disharmony.
The huge influx of FT/PRs and the desperation of getting PRs to
convert to new citizens belie the intention of immigration policy.
It seems there is political agenda to recruit new citizens as
grass-root leaders to SUSTAIN THEIR OWN KIND.
PAP will pamper to populist appeal but once in power they
espouse and practice unpopular polices, even to extent of using “
policies of eugenics” to eliminate lesser mortals, the true-bred
citizens, through importing of “new citizens”, a hidden agenda, in
the guise of population replacement.
We NEED to send an overwhelming strong message to PAP that we
need a people’s Government that listen to the citizens. We need the
PAP shield, and the wealth of the nation, to uplift the citizens
more, NOT mainly for itself, the Elite, the Rich and Powerful. We
need PAP to not forget the spirit of the words “People Action
Party”; that PAP should act FIRST for the PEOPLE, the true-bred
citizens.
It is now time for all Citizens to band together urgently, to
stand-up as ONE to vote for our FUTURE, NOT to fear for CHANGE
under the THREAT of PAP that the NATION will not survive without
them.
We must STAND-UP NOW for ourselves, our NATION-HOOD, our
COUNTRY.
It is time for all Citizens to come together to build a BETTER
future based on our CONVICTION:
• that there is a cause for all genuine Singaporeans who believe
that Singapore is the place for our next generation where civil
liberties, justice, equality and all quintessential privileges of
citizens are preserved as every right of individual, not provided
according to the calibration of the elite.
• that we need to let our Gov sees that the voice of people must
count much more in their equation of progress, not just the
progress tilted towards largely for benefit of few elitism, the
rich, the business, the powerful, the fortunate and according to
their self-proclaimed “THE ONLY “ right way.
• that growth has to be balanced, moderated; not in the present
form, in name of rigorous and obsessive pursuit of economic
numbers, the foreigner flood-gates are fully opened
indiscriminately resulting in steep competition, lost of jobs and
depressed salary; whilst the inflationary cost as result of the
same action causes cost of living to escalate, creating untenable
juggling of costs and debts for many, more in the future, if the
current situation goes unchecked..
• that there is need to have adequate adjustments, provisions
and allowances in life and works in policies of Manpower, Health
and etc, in the manner and way such that people themselves do not
becomes own LIABILITY in themselves in the future due to artificial
asset inflation, as a result of necessity to eke a living in this
intensely competitive environment.
• that our esteemed Ministers has to be cautioned, rebuked,
restrained as they have lost touch with the ground, the people, and
the reality of cost of living for many.
• that as a Minister in a vantage position of powerful influence
to say Resale value will go “UP, UP and UP”, forgetting that such
remark (perhaps, irresponsible), pandering to the greed of
citizens, has an insidious impact on inflating asset.
• that Singapore in a longer horizon, the “stark reality” in 20
years times, we will NOT become the Swiss of Asia BUT a Monte Carlo
of Asia for the elites, rich and powerful if we allow the present
polices to continue unchecked.
• that the nation’s lost SOUL needs to be re-discovered,
identity lost to be re-instituted.
• that progress based only on relentless soulless pursuit of GPP
dictated by policies and rules of elite intelligentsia with little
regards for citizens and impact affecting mass lives cannot
continue without moderation,
• that Singapore shall survive without PAP and that we shall not
allow the sole existence of elite to rule and implement policies
that Singapore will vanquish without them; that we want a hand in
dictating the course of the Nation to ensure that NO PARTY can
destroy or degrade the Nation in its absence.
• that we need a Nation with dignity of free speech and assembly
without fear and censorship, to express views, even political
dissents, for general betterment of governance and its
policies.
• that we want a Government that works towards the interest of
citizens with duty and accountability.
• that we want a government that is caring for the interest of
citizens, providing much greater discrimination between citizens
and foreigners/PRs; not with the present policies giving too much
welfare and advantages to huge number PRs as if PRs are more
exclusive than the citizens at expense of many citizens in terms of
competition for housings, jobs and etc.
• that we want a forthright governance that is apologetic for
its mistake; not a government that is arrogant and speaks to the
citizens in condescending manner; a government that upholds
humility and respect for citizens, NOT pride and arrogance.
• that we want to have back our a Nation which has been
“Misplaced”, a COUNTRY which has been disregarded, Nation Pledge
which is “Lost”, Voice which has been “suppressed”, Citizens
interests which have “subordinated” to foreigners/PRs interest.
• that we want passionate leaders, with hearts, to serve the
citizens first with equitable policies, not with desire to govern
dependent on the salary scale.
• that we want a revamp of policies fairer to the citizens,
lesser taxation of reserves due to having to dispense hugely on
sustaining wasteful governmental machineries, like excessive use of
fund for Army, and huge pay package of incumbent and cronyists.
• that we want to have cheap land that is rightfully belongs to
all citizens to build affordable homes payable over shorter loan
period and yet have reasonable decent disposable income to live
decent life for family commensurate with the higher living
standard, yet save enough for retirement and contingencies.
• that we have only OUR last chance to stand together for the
betterment of ALL and future generation to cast our votes before we
are overwhelmed by NEW CITIZENS beholden to the incumbent, else we
will be forever be subjugated by the PAP dictate and policy.
• that fifty years of authoritarian rule is Enough, fifty years
of political suppression, fifty years of super-rich pay leaders who
earned enough for their own generations for many years to come
regardless of Nation survival; fifty years of media censorship and
brain-washing is Enough; fifty years of voice suppressed, living in
fear of ISD is Enough.
• that Singapore needs a refreshing political facelift of
leaders that inspires, that shares the wishes, hopes , woes and
aspirations of the citizens, that unite citizens NOT divide by envy
of huge and growing wealth creation biased for the Rick, Powerful
and ruling Elite.
• that this Nation will NOT fall without PAP as there are many
good gentlemen and women, more capable that the Incumbent, who can
serve for much less, who are ready to serve the Nation for the
Citizens.
• that we want to build a sustainable nationhood that can
survive through many generations to come regardless of any
political party in power; not espousing the inevitability of
rich-poor divide BUT espousing the inevitability of better standard
and living costs for middle and lower income groups at the expense
of the Elite, Rich and Super-Rich who can afford such expense if
they desire to stay in this pearl of Asia..
• that we need now citizen-pro policies that benefit more
“lesser mortals”; we need commensurate growth, commensurate
policies that help lower living costs, not at expense of the
citizens; a more moderate immigration policy, not the relentless,
thoughtless and unplanned FT/PR influx policies to satisfy growth
numbers which ultimately benefit the super-scale masters.
• that we can come together as ONE, to have more opposition to
represent the electorate to challenge the incumbent to listen to
the wish of the people, to get rid of callous leaders within PAP-a
PAP facelift or be voted out eventually.
LET US ALL SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE to PAP that policies have to be
more citizen-friendly.
LET US ALL STAND-UP TOGETHER to make sure we are not STRANGERS
IN OUR OWN HOME.
LET EACH OF US SPREAD THE CHORUS OF CHANGE VEHEMENTLY, to reach
every heart, mind and soul of true-bred citizen.
A very thoughtful piece to call for 'change'.
Thing is, is there anyone capable of rectifying the presumed
faults? And not leading to to other problems? None that I could see
at the moment. A case of 'from the boiling pot into the frying
pan'?
No. We citizens cannot attribute EVERY fault to the govt. This
is a democracy and one must understand how democracies function.
Singapore is not China where the leaders' words are law, without
even people's representation and debate.
This is not even Malaysia, where laws are created slipshodly
moving forward one step and reversing 2 steps back the next
day.
Credit must be given where credit is due, and similarly too,
must blame where it lays. It is only after thorough introspection
and debate can better laws be enacted. And for that to happen, we
need more credible and capable members of
citizens representative to voice our concerns, not roadside actors
that plays to the gallery.
Change can only happen at a pace everyone can be comfortable
with, at a pace that if we dont get the benefit from it, at least
the next generation will, otherwise, if change is done in haste
will only lead to the Malaysian comedy or draconian China
tragedy.
Rather than confront and everyone gets on the defensive, let us
all drop the rhetoric, and work out solutions together as one,
afterall, citizens or administrators, we are all fellow
Singaporeans, beneficiaries of our forefathers' sacrifices.
I humbly apologise to those who seek for immediate change with
this post. It is something I am not prepared to conternance for the
chaos and egoistical defence resistance that may result. My
vow to our pledge holds true in the quest for our common
Singaporean Dream - peace and prosperity for all amongst many other
noble values vowed by those before me.
