APEC 2024 Peru. Biden shafted to a corner in the back row. Xi in front row next to Peru's President
9/07/2006
my first enlightenment
After being kept in the dark for so long and unable to figure the logic of this urgency for more citizens, finally I was enlightened. I am so glad to have discovered the truth.
Singaporeans are in great demand overseas, which means that they will all be moving out to be foreign talents. Then what? There will be a big vacuum left behind, including a lot of empty flats and houses. If these are not taken up, then property prices will fall. Now you see why we need all the foreigners to become citizens, to buy up all the slacks and prevent a hollowing out of our talents?
Now no more Singaporeans are not talented craps. We need foreign talents not because Singaporeans are not talented. It is exactly the opposite. Singaporeans are so talented that they are now a rare specie in their homeland, poached by other countries. Let me quote Straits Times reporter Sue Ann Chia, 'It is opportunities galore for Singaporeans.'
Not to say that those who are left behind are the not so talented.
Cherche:
ReplyDeleteThis is my opinion on how to keep Singaporeans interested in their own country. Simply put, give them something to be proud of; adapt to the times.
I'm not talking about economic progress and racial harmony. Those indeed are qualities to be proud of. But Gen X, some of Y and all of Z have not been through Singapore's war of independence, her racial riots nor her struggle for financial sustenance. Not having had experience in all of these makes for an inability to truly appreciate these successes the way the Baby Boomers and Silent Generation do.
The concept is similar to how Japan and Germany are so accepted culturally, internationally, despite their horrific pasts. German products used to have "made in Germany" stamps on them so that people knew what not to buy. In this zeitgeist, products have "made in Germany" stamped on them so people know WHAT to buy. In essence, future generations forget the past. It is merely statistics in a textbook with yellowing pages.
So back to the main point: adapt to the times. Practice transition, because the generations are growing on without you. Sure, Small Lee tried that with his 'let's have some creative education!' motif, and Old Lee went political with his 'come and challenge me, youngsters!' debate.
Not enough.
The youngsters know the government are playing with them. No one will be taken seriously, anyway. When someone rises up to challenge the government, to challenge existing practices or even to offer an alternative political viewpoint (remember the white elephant artwork), they are immediately shot down.
When the rest see what is going on, what can they do? What would you do if you knew that putting in 120% of effort would reap -45% of results? People would naturally look for more cost effective avenues elsewhere, and that is overseas.
If there are so many people crying for change, I'm fairly certain not all of them are idiots who have to be treated indulgently and then shot down if they become too noisy. Listen, truly listen, to them instead of carrying an adversarial attitude towards any recourse they wish to present.
Collaborate with them; surely some within the dissatisfied crowd will have plans and solutions for ameliorating our problem.
hi Cherche,
ReplyDeletethose are interesting points. but the saddest thing now is that singaporeans are told to make way for foreigners in their own home. and foreigners also have the audacity to tell singaporeans that they are not competitive and not working hard enough, and buzz off from our own country. and our govt are doing their best to support this kind of idea.
it is not that singaporeans are soft or not talented, or not competitive. if we are in the same state of development as the foreigners from poorer countries, hungry and lesser needs, and lower cost of living, we will be just as competitive.
we can't for we are trapped in our own high cost environment. the way singapore is going is to go back to the 60s, cheap and lean labour. how to do that? reimport all the hungry people to replace the locals. and singaporeans who are less talented and not fighting fit, just too bad.
we are transforming our society, reinventing,and probably destroying some old to be replaced with new.
but people must not forget that the country belongs to the people and there is a bond between people and govt. yes, lky has said, we must build this bond of trust. once this is lost, it will be over.