The heavy price of being a citizen

Another NSman missing in Brunei. Coxswain Muhammad Fahrurrazi went missing during an exercise and a search party is out there looking for him. This is the heavy price paid by every male citizen and their families for the good of this island. Some still sneered at National Service as nothing to crow about. If Muhammed is not found, a family would have lost their beloved son for good, in the service of the country, paying the ultimate price even in peace. All the hopes and aspirations of a family will turn into a just sad memory, plus a few consoling words, and to bear the pain alone for the rest of their lives.

How can the people and country compensate for this unquestioned loyalty and contribution to their well being and the welling being of all fellow citizens? Can anyone who has not done his NS claimed to have contributed more than an ordinary NSman? Can any PR or new citizen know and feel the pain and sacrifices of the NSmen and their families?

Can any company or organization still think it is okay to go for CBF, go for foreigners instead of the more expensive locals while operating here enjoying the peace and security because of the NSmen? Should corporations be made to do NS by recognizing and serving NSmen, by giving preference and priority to employ them? Would the govt seriously look at the contributions of NSmen and make sure all NS are given priority to own a home for their selfless sacrifices to the country?

Instead of empty words like all first timers would get a flat, would this be put to reality? Anyone being left out, cannot own a flat after serving NS, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country? Any cock crowing and demeaning the contributions of the NSmen, taking it for granted? This is tangible contribution to the economy and the corporations owed it to the NSmen.

What do you think? Is $195 or $900pm adequate as fair exchange for this little aspiration demanded from the young men by the country?

The big disconnect, where got?

When ministers openly claimed that earning a few millions is barely enough to maintain their decent standard of living while some spoke with contempt about the poor wanting to eat in foodcourt, how to miss the disconnect?

When ministers expect to be paid in the millions for a life time pension but did not blink when deciding to hold back the people’s hard earned savings through all kinds of schemes, is there a connect?

When ministers made a case that $1000 pm is good enough to buy a HDB flat when they splurged several millions on several properties, could there be a connect?

When the people are gasping for air in an overcrowded environment and the elite said there is room for another few millions, how to connect?

When on one hand ministers are telling the people to have more babies but keep shrinking the flat sizes and adding on the price tags, and then condescendingly telling the people to live within their means? What do you think? Does having more babies got anything to do with being prudent or being reckless and irresponsible?

When the people are struggling at the unaffordable property prices, the ministers are claiming that it is affordable, is it a case of being connected?

When the people are screaming and shouting for change, the govt is calling for a conversation. Is there a misconnect?

Leslie Fong’s no anonymity in forums

Leslie Fong, the ST’s former editor and current senior executive VP gave his reasons for no anonymity in ST forum. All writers must identify themselves. He wanted this to extend to bloggers as well for the same reasons. I could agree with the reasons but not with the reality of its relevance at this point in time.

He argued that there must be openness, transparency and accountability. He even brushed aside the fear by employees that their employers would not find their writing to forums acceptable. In his ideal state, the openness, transparency and accountability is applicable to all sides, including those in authority. He also assumed that the employers are all fair and well informed and are secured individuals who can distinguish rights from wrongs and would stand by them. He also assumed that the govt and political climate then and now are conducive to openness and transparency. Or is it a case of demanding every critic to be open while the executioner has all the right and power to remain anonymous and to wield the axe when it deems fit?

I also encourage openness and for all bloggers to identify themselves and take their stand without fear. But this is a good aspiration at this point in time. There are a hundred and one reasons why bloggers would not and could not and must not reveal their identities. That is the reality I feel should be seriously recognized. Too much cock and bull will just be cock and bull and no one would believe in cock and bull when the truth says don’t believe in them.

I would celebrate the day all bloggers are confident enough to use their real names. It will be a sign of progress and maturity, not in the bloggers, but in the authority. Till such a day, anonymity is still needed for people to express freely and confidently.

While anonymity is still an acceptable practice in mysingaporenews, I hope bloggers would not abuse this state of affair and allow it do go down in disrepute. So far the bloggers have been quite discipline and hardly abuse this privilege of remaining in anonymity and speaking the truth without getting too wild to discredit their credibility and the quality of their posts.

All, including the govt, should work towards openness, transparency and accountability other than state secrets. And it is no good hiding under state secrets to be non transparent and not accountable. And the govt needs a lot of confidence building measures, not in words but in deeds to be transparent and to respect contrarian views. There is some progress in this area but it is still too early to tell whether the Hundred Flowers Bloom campaign is what it is.

When the people are confident that being open, transparent and accountable are the new ethos, the new normal, there is no need for anonymity anymore. The ball is in the court of the authority and employers.

A national conversation for our common future

What is the point of having a national conversation for the sake of conversation, to give the impression that the govt is willing to listen, to engage the people, when all the decisions have already been made unilaterally by the govt? It has been like that all the time to the extent that a minister proudly claimed to be deaf and do what is right rather than listening to the lunatics.

If one is to read the Sunday Times today, the same attitude is printed in black and white, the govt has decided which way to go and that’s it. ‘Get married, have babies’ screamed the headline. ‘If we go on like that, this place will fold up because there will be no original citizens left to form the majority….So the choice is simple. Either accept migrants at a rate which we can assimilate them, and make them conform to our values….said LKY. He ended his speech with the following questions. ‘Do we want to replace ourselves? Or do we want to shrink and get older, and be replaced by migrants and work permit holders?’

Can a national conversation lead to a change of this migrant policies or a conversation that leads to nowhere if the people did not want to go along with the migrant policies? Can a national conversation lead to the govt returning the people’s saving in the CPF, or the lowering the public housing prices, or the lowering of the cost of govt?

The sad fact is that the policies in place are already replacing the Sinkies with migrants, and ‘If we go on like that, …there will be no original citizens left to form the majority.’ Isn’t this fear of being replaced by migrants the major concern of Sinkies and the source of their unhappiness?

And making babies is not so simple as the govt wants to put it. How many people can really afford to bring up two babies given the high cost of living, the shrinking of flat size and high cost of flats? Any citizen that goes forth and multiplies more than two is seriously undermining the social fabric of the nation unless they are able to afford them financially. If not, there are going to be many stray children running around, half educated, half fed, and poorly brought up, to roam the streets like unwanted cats and dogs. This would pose a bigger social political problem down the road when irresponsible citizens would reply that they were doing national service as told by the govt.

What do you think?

Quote from Seah Chiang Nee

'As the public opposition grew, the pro-government media argued strongly for the players, and acting Cabinet Minister (for Social and Family Development) Chan Chun Sing congratulated the table tennis team for “uniting the nation”.

Seah Chiang Nee wrote this in his column in The Star paper.