6/28/2007
There was a time, when...
It was just 40 or 50 years ago. Not that long. But many of you may not be born yet. It was a time when the people in this island were mere travellers, merchants, passersby etc. Even the natives were not more than part of the flora and fauna of the landscape.
There was no such things as citizenship of the island. We were called subjects as in the English grammar. A sentence must have an object and a subject. That was what was written in my birth certificate. A subject, without the rights that come with a citizenship.
And the island was run, managed and control by expats, just like a hotel. yes, we were a hotel at one time. And our forefathers' lives were dictated by the hotel managers. They were allocated red subject zone, blue subject zone and green subject zone to live in. The choice part of the island were reserved for the hotel managers.
That is not all. Employment of plum jobs or jobs of some significance were the reserves of the expats. The subjects were at best employed as chief clerks. And the expats would handpick and favour a few of the subjects and elevated them to half their status, which was a great honour for the subjects.
And clubs formed by the expats were reserved only for the expats. Locals and subjects not allowed. Don't ever think of becoming a member of the SICC or the Singapore Cricket Club or any of the expat clubs. Those were the days when the people of Singapore were denied citizenship status. And those were the lives of subject people without a country.
Do we want to go back to those days and give away our citizenship and the rights of citizenship and become subjects or flotsams once again? Do we want our little piece of land to be turned into a hotel and we be kept out of it?
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12 comments:
There was a time when we got rid of the overlord and became a free country, like the animal farm.
Then the 2 legged & 4 legged issues started to surface, where some r more equal than others.
Then slowly but surely, its starting to feel like most of us r subjects again, how strange.
And more unfortunate, the overlord is ONE of our own, the super talents among us, assisted by local & foreign talents.
Instead of being a subject, we are all now slaves, so that we may all work till the day we drop.
What is life if one has to work till death do us part and not because we choose to work but must work to be able to live?
Dear 红豆
Perhaps u can start a dialogue for a group of people who r not connected to the overlord and just watching the animal farm evloves starts to look at alternatives to save our plight and not work till the day we drop.
People connected to the overlord has their brain washed white already, thus they should be excluded.
There must be a solution, else at least 80 percent of people got to work till they drop. Its too sad.
As Matilah would have said, the people deserved the government they choose.
They chose a heavy handed government that would use laws to their own advantages, crushing much opposition in the name of communism and racial harmony, thus destroying any chance of a viable alternative government.
Lost4ever, there is an alternative, and that is to leave. Many have done it, so can you.
Perhaps u can start a dialogue for a group of people who r not connected to the overlord ...lost4ever
blimey,
i always assume that most of your are not connected except for the paid bloggers. how wrong am i: (
the best solution should come from the best brains. and the best brains are those that are best paid. that is only logical.
any other solutions would likely be from half baked beans like redbean. anyone without straight As or a string of distinctions are not worth listening to.
Personally, I like the idea of Singapore becoming a "hotel".
It is pointless talking about "citizenship" these days. Most people are globalised, and ideas like "country", "state" and "government" are (slowly) losing their relevance.
Anyway, at least when the English were here, the people HAD their country. 40 or so years later, the people have LOST their country to The State.
The idea of a Singapore Hotel appeals to me. It has its immense benefits!
But unfortunately, for the masses stuck here, it's going to be one wild ride after another. At the (un)mercy of the human one causing the storms. Without ship, and with no captain.
This is sad. :(
*elle*
a hotel or a nation, both will have some kinds of captains. the captain of a nation is supposedly to be part of a team consisting of the citizens.
the captain of a hotel will only take care of the shareholders.
well, matilah and elle both like hotel.
I too support the idea of Singapore as a hotel. That way, the association becomes purely commercial, without any misguided notions of loyalty or entitlements, rights or obligations coming into play. Singapore provides a service I require, I pay for that service, and at the end of the transaction, we go our separate ways. Very clean and efficient.
in a hotel, normally the security guards are not paid that well. that is the problem.
Too bad, Lost4Ever, in every situation there will be winners and there will be losers. It is just the Singaporean male's tough luck to be the loser.
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