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.

Where can you find kampong spirit?

I mean the real kind of kampong spirit when the people feel as one, think as one, to protect each other’s interest as one people, as Singaporeans? This is not the fake or synthetic kind of kampong spirit where you have to ask the people to come out to meet everyone with free chicken rice thrown in and all you get is some plastic smiles that disappear the moment each goes his separate way.

There was this sense of belonging, of being one people, being Singaporeans at the few Hong Lim Protests. And you can also feel that when the free makans and free shows and free handshakes with ministers in the Singapore day in the big cities in some parts of the world when Singaporeans were invited. There were identity and belonging.

Unfortunately these events did not last for more than a few hours. The most enduring and endearing sense of belonging, of being Singaporeans, can be found in the social media. This is where, despite being rudely called the fringes, the Singaporeans gathered to share their thoughts and views and speak as Singaporeans, to defend the rights and interests of Singaporeans.

The issue of discrimination against Singaporeans for jobs, the rude foreign cyclist bullying a local female Singaporean driver, the mad foreigner at the Woodland Bus Interchange, etc are events that brought the Singaporeans together, without being told to do so. The Singaporeans spoke out as Singaporeans against the abuses against Singaporeans and their country. They share the same ideology, the same emotions and attachment that this is my home and country, that we are one. No prompting needed. It is spontaneity, the real kampong spirit that is missing in general.

In the social media, the Singaporeans gravitate together to be with one another, to side with one another, to look out for one another, to speak out for one another. How could these kinds of feeling and behaviour be spread across the island for all Singaporeans to feel Singaporeans again? It is tough in the train when 70% of the commuters are foreigners most of the time. It is tough at work if the majority of the staff is foreigners. It is tough when many of your neighbours are foreigners, PRs or new citizens that still act, feel and think like foreigners.

Social media is reviving and keeping the kampong spirit alive and healthy.

Time for celebration

Our success story and the riches we have accumulated are coming together nicely to make merry. We worked hard, very hard, to achieve what we have today. We have grown up, from being young adolescents to young adults that wanted everything that are symbols of success to celebrating our successes. It is time to party.

We have so many things to celebrate for and we do it in very big ways. We went overseas to celebrate with overseas Singaporeans and ex Singaporeans. We celebrate National Days and a big 50 year anniversary bash is in the works for 2015. There are so many things that we celebrated and partied, the F1s, the arts festivals, the international sports events, New Year and all the various festivals, saving mother earth, saving energy, green day, lights off day, teacher’s day, mother’s day, father’s day, children’s day….founding father’s day, mother and father in law’s day….dog’s day, cat’s day.  Why not, we have the money to spend.

The latest in the news is a one year celebration to mark 50 years of Singapore India relations. There will be a series of celebration in both countries with visits of dignitaries and delegations and shows and whatever. It will be a year-long celebration that would include a Singapore festival in India and an Indian festival in Singapore.

There will also be opportunities to celebrate our relations with the Asean countries in the same way, with the Americans, our protector, our former colonial master the Brits. We forget to celebrate the crowning of a new prince, but did we celebrate the Queens titanium anniversary or moon rock anniversary? We should also celebrate our special relationship with Israel for helping us built our armed forces. Now who else shall we celebrate as there is still plenty of money in the kitty? Nevermind, we will remember more countries and occasions to celebrate while we are in the partying mood. The people will be joyous and maybe got free chicken rice to partake too.

I have had fond memories of the last few days when the British Forces were here. There were celebrations everyday and in very big ways. They needed to spend whatever funds they have accumulated in the kitties of the Officer and NCO messes. It was like throwing money away as it was not right for them to take the money along. If they didn’t spend them, the money would become OPM. The SAF officers would inherit the wealth which they did not contribute to it. They simply cleaned out every cent they had and left nothing for us. Why should there when they would not be here tomorrow?

Everything is happening in the island today in a different way. There are so many celebrations that Sinkies would be so happy and could have made them the happiest people in the world, or at least a people in perpetual celebration. Spending money is always an easy and happy thing to do, especially OPM.

Knock knock, who’s there

Hi, it’s your friendly MP. Please open the door.

Yes MP, what can I help you?

Oh, is this yours?

What is that?

It’s a diaper?

No, that’s not mine.

Then what about this pad?

No, not mine either. Thank you and good day.

And the MP moved on to the next door. Knock knock, who’s there. It is really tough and labourious job to be an MP. The latest chore is to carry a piece of soiled diaper or sanitary pad going door to door looking for the owner. And the more capable ones would have to deal with little puppies put to sleep prematurely and pricking the conscience of dog lovers. There are plenty of expensive and pedigree stray dogs that need attention and tender loving care out there.

What else is expected of our talented MPs with a string of degrees and being top professionals in their fields? Catching snakes or catching spiders or chasing wild boars and monkeys straying into housing estates? Checking longkangs for mosquitoes is also an important part of a MP’s duty too.

Now who else, with all their high qualifications and income would want to be a MP and to do this kind of work? The pay is good though, $16k for a part timer. Cannot hiam right?

Reinvitation for Obama

A few days back Simon Tay wrote about a reinvitation or a standing invitation to Obama to visit Asean again after he missed his last fling because of the govt shutdown. Asean countries really missed him and the Asean Summit turned out to be so dull, no threats, no call for sanctions, no thumping of fist, no American fleet floating around.

Among the things that Simon Tay reminded Obama to bring along should he take up the reinvitation are: 1. No need to bring economic presents like Xi Jinping did. 2. No need to bring anti Chinese rhetoric. 3. Be mindful of American allies like Japan and the Philippines egging for a fight with their maritime dispute with China. ‘…keep it soothing , rather than possiblky stirring more actions or proclamations.’ 5. Better to update the Asean countries of US China relations as this really matters to Asean countries.

Indeed the last Asean Summit was a dull one without Obama’s presence and his leadership to stir up more shit to offer the military might of the 7^th Fleet to back any Asean country that is willing to take on the Chinese or to claim more of the islands that the Chinese are claiming. Without the tension the adrenalines failed to flow and the leaders ended up partying and making friends instead of threatening each other.

Obama’s absence was greatly felt and is greatly expected to return to show that the Americans are the boss and to set the agenda and lead the Asean states to military glory. For those who are expecting more fireworks, it was a big disappointment. Abe must be feeling that he had wasted him time for attending the Summit. The Pinoys must be feeling empty for not given the chance to demand a couple of mothballed American battleships to battle the Chinese coastguards.

Hail Obama, you are missed by your Asean friends.  We need your fireworks. The Chinese would not be able to colonise the area. We were reminicising on our good old colonial days and perhaps the American Empire could help us to relive those glorious days to be colonies again.