10/28/2013

A Singapore Renaissance

With our affluence and so much money floating around, in the pockets of individuals and in the govt coffers, Singapore and Singaporeans are indeed entering its golden years. We have the arts festivals, theatres and major sports events filling up our calendars and all the space available. The celebrities and rich and famous of the world are treating this island of fun as their playground.

The fun, the celebration and partying and money spending are just a few ways to show that we are at a stage like Europe in the 19th century, full of wealth and time for indulgence, that people can afford to have a lot of free time to dabble with the good things in life, to be cultured and refined and to enjoy life to the fullest. These are actually superficial in away, just fun loving. The real stuff in a renaissance is the literature.

We need to have our own literature, the really good stuff, not pray pray type, not the money not enough type. We need serious and deep thinking literature in the class of the ancient barbs, poets, historians, writers of novels, economics, the arts and sciences. We have a few good starts in the right direction with LKY writing a few books on history and politics. SR Nathan also wrote something and recently Raymond Lim also wrote something, likely to be about public administration or politics. Then we have the eminent academics like Lim Chong Yah, Wang GungWu and many others that have written their own books in their respective fields.

In the area of public administration and economics, we have so many brilliant ideas and first of its kind to teach the world, eg raising GST to help the poor, how to build public flats at practically no cost, except charging land cost at one’s convenient and selling at market price and losing big, how to populate the country with third world no talents and fake talents and still going strong, how to reduce the citizen population to improve the citizen core, how to pay the world’s never heard of salary to fight corruption and with the people agreeing to it, how to keep the people’s savings for as long as the govt wants and without protest from the people, and so many many other great ideas like making things compulsory for the people to pay, and more. These will definitely make it to the best sellers list and becoming classics for the civil service in many countries, a must read for their civil servants.

We need more. If all the ministers past and present were to write about their specialties, their achievements and their wisdom, we would have a good collection of the best literature by the best talents money can buy. And Heng Swee Kiat could start a new revision in the syllabus for the schools using our very own text books by our very own intellectuals. We would be original, our children on completion of the school system will be thinking original and quoting from our very own kind. There would not be any need to quote western philosophers, historians, scientists or economists as if they were gods. Out from their mouths will be wisdoms from the likes of LKY, Goh Keng Swee, not sure if he has written any books, Rajaratnam, Nathan, Raymond, and maybe Ngiam Tong Dow. Of course we must not forget to quote from Chan Heng Chee, Kishore, Simon Tay, Barry Desker, and yes, military strategies and stratagems from our very own generals. We could have our own versions to rival Sun Tzu or Clauswitz.

When that day comes, it will be our Renaissance, a Singaporean Renaissance. And some of them will be recipients of Nobel prizes for literature and the arts, and their books could be standard text for reading in schools and universities around the world. Then we can forget about Shakespeare, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Socrates, Orwells, Obama, Bush or Clinton…. All the retired or semi retired ministers should start thinking and writing their memoirs for the benefits of our future generations on their great works and their contributions to the well beings of four young.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

"It drips with sarcasm"

Anonymous said...

Truth hurts.

Anonymous said...

Without the 60%, there would not be a PAP govt.

Without the PAP govt, there won't be so many foreign talents coming to Sinkieland.

Without so many foreign talents, there will not be strong GDP growth.

Without strong GDP growth, there will not be Renaissance in Sinkieland.

Anonymous said...

Thank God, we have the 60%, we have money, we have everything money can buy, including Renaissance.

Anonymous said...

A discontent fill with bitterness and a faint of anger ridden within, frankly with all that has been said of 2016, in a place where absolute control is there, is there actual hope of a rephrase, however we are grateful of this tiny window given by MDA where we can shout our screams just like Desker Road given to let out frustration but always in control.

A place where not only the army, navy and marine is ruled, but also your gas, water, electricity, transportation, banks, hospital, food, and your waste products, even if they have lost to a drastic degree to %49, they can still rule, for they have the NMP which can still veto and all else, still within control, our friends over the bridge can testify to that.

Anonymous said...

What about the 40%? What about the opposition? You mean they have nothing to do with Singapore Renaissance?

Anonymous said...

"Without so many foreign talents, there will not be strong GDP growth."
@October 28, 2013 10:55 am

Sure or not?
I thot it was Lee Kuan Yew who was responsible for our strong GDP growth.

Anonymous said...

"Without so many foreign talents, there will not be strong GDP growth."
@October 28, 2013 10:55 am

But where do these foreign talents come from?
India? - But India got so many Indians. So why no strong GDP growth over there?

China? - But China got so many Chinese. So why no strong GDP growth over there?

Philippines? - But Philippines got so many Filipinos. So why no strong GDP growth over there?

Anonymous said...

We could have our own versions to rival Sun Tsu or Clauswitz.
RB

That the strongest opposition is not even ready to be govt and its leader even praised the PAP is testimony that PAP has leaders that rival Sun Tsu or Clauswitz, tio bo?

Hence they deserved to be leaders, and also deserved to be paid well.

Anonymous said...

"Without so many foreign talents, there will not be strong GDP growth."
@October 28, 2013 10:55 am

So it's true.
PAP does not bring strong GDP growth.
It's really the foreigners.
From historical Stamford Raffles all the way to the present.

Anonymous said...

October 28, 2013 10:55 am

"Without the 60%, there would not be a PAP govt."

Are you one of the 80% now changing tune?

I am the former 20% resisting the 80%! BTW, Readbean is a former 80%.

JC

Anonymous said...

RB

Very sad man, after seeing you write this, can feel the frustration, still dun know what to write in your Kampong sprit post, all the forgotten memories, the forgotten friends.

What ever happen, did someone took a wrong turn or what?, in exchange for the dollars and cents and modern living, we have given everything up, our culture, our identity and replace it with arrogance, your problem is your problem.

The saddest thing is that the future generation, will no longer have a identity and non will care as most will have to struggle even harder than us.

I keep on reading that most of our leaders come from humble beginnings but am seeing them from magnate of the OCBC empire or of very rich fathers, maybe amongst them there are......

Kaki

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Like someone here said, how can there be kampong spirit in a global city of strangers?

Anonymous said...

@ kaki
"I keep on reading that most of our leaders come from humble beginnings but am seeing them from magnate of the OCBC .... "

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

(Another CONfused Sinkie from the Lee Con Yew era)

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

redbean:

>> When that day comes, it will be our Renaissance <

Are you asleep? Already happening lah. That is why Singapore rocks so awesomely>

What other cuntree is experiencing its Renaissance?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Tiok, but just the beginning. They have started on writing books. Wait till more books are written then we will get the full renaissance.

The said...

To have renaissance, you first have to have a collapse of empire and/or massive culling of the population such as the Black Death.

Anonymous said...

Singapore Fairy Tales
By: Lee Con Yew

Chapter 1: "We are on your side"
Chapter 2a: "Singaporeans own their HDB flats"
Chapter 2b: "Singapore has the highest home ownership in the world"

Chapter 3: "HDB flats are subsidized"
Chapter 4: "GST is to help the poor"
Chapter 5: "Floods only happen once every 50 years"
Chapter 6: "We need 56 man-years to list the assets belonging to the Singapore government"

Chapter 7a: "I have groomed and mentored the next generation of operationally ready Ministers"
Chapter 7b: "They have earned and deserve their peanut salaries"

Anonymous said...

Redbean,
buying pappies' books are like you are paying people to scam and con you. Only unsound mind will buy these books that meant to insult your intelligence and exploit your naiveness.

Anonymous said...

See lah! A few days ago, I told redbean we can use HDB flats as the new global reserve currency. But he don't think I am serious.
-------------

London Property Has Become A New Global Reserve Currency

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/london-property-the-new-reserve-currency-2013-10#ixzz2j0mlka3v

b said...

What book? Some sort of Mein Kampf? Pls save the trouble and save the tree.

Anonymous said...

Pappies love to masquerade toilet paper as book, and must be the most expensive toilet paper in the world and also extremely bad quality toilet paper, that you may as well use your hand to wipe your backside. don't waste your time and money on them.

Anonymous said...

“By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.”
― Adolf Hitler

Anonymous said...

Jc, back in the old day till 1985, the pap while not perfect is quite good and run by different people from today. There was no reason not to vote for them.

But we are now talking about a different party though still using the same name. Like RB, I voted for pap too in the past. Voters are entitle to change their voting preferences. If the 20% had won back then! sinkie land may be in worst shit then it is now. You would not have the luxury of sending your kids overseas and retain the option now to migrate overseas.

Fuck your sarcastic remark, knn to you and your family lor that is all I can say to u.

Anonymous said...

Rb: /// And Heng Swee Kiat could start a new revision in the syllabus for the schools using our very own text books by our very own intellectuals. ///

So?