I have several titles in mind for this piece, like Crowd
Funding or People’s Power Singapore style. The above title is quite catchy and
amusing and had my vote. The gist of this article is not about who is afraid of
who but the evolving political consciousness of the Sinkies crawling their way
back to become Singaporeans again. There are so many serious issues facing the
Sinkies today, once timid and docile to the extent of being daft, but gradually
rediscovering themselves and recognising the need to stand up to fight for
their rights to live a decent life in a country overwhelmed by the presence of
foreigners poised to edge them out of their comfort zones. Many have already
fallen victims to this deluge of so called foreign talents or funny talents
that their life style and livelihood have taken a serious setback.
The current hot issue is the life savings of the people in
the CPF and this is gradually transforming into a grey area when ownership
becomes a questionable issue to the detriment of their rightful owners. While
the Govt continues to behave smugly and try to explain away their rights to
determine and decide for the people in the use of their savings, and when and
how much should be returned to them as if the money belongs to the Govt, the
docile Sinkies are rising to demand to have their money back as promised. For
the moment the Govt is still having the upper hand, holding the trump card of
legislature to make whatever it wants to do legal. The Sinkies are not taking it
quietly, not going to be pooh poohed away by superficial explanations that even
children would not find them funny.
This tussle for the return of the people’s savings has
indirectly led to a defamation lawsuit involving a young blogger and the Prime
Minister. Roy Ngerng has crossed the line by his comparison of the trial of
misappropriation of the City Harvest
Church fund and the CPF money and
the Prime Minister. The PM is demanding for his pound of flesh by engaging the
island’s top defamation lawyer to sue Roy Ngerng.
Many people in the social media are rallying to support Roy
financially and morally in his legal battle with the PM not because they agree
to his allegation but more because of their unhappiness over the CPF money and
also a righteouness to defend the weak against the mighty. It is like the
people standing up to the govt. It is like a surge of People’s Power against
the Govt. And the people are doing it the Singaporean way, through the legal
system, abiding by the rule of law.
To protest or to challenge the Govt, they are not marching
in the streets with their feet. They are storming into the courts of law with
their money. In one day, $15,000 was raised through anonymous contributions
ranging from $2 to $1,000. By end of yesterday, more than $36,600 has been
received. Roy is aiming to raise
$70,000 to cover his legal fees and it looks that this is not a difficult
target to achieve. The People’s Power
will be determined by the sum of money raised. No violence, no street protest,
no burning of police cars or rioting. It is all about money, the only language
Sinkies understood.
No money no talk. No money no justice as the price for
justice will not come cheap, at least $70,000 for a start. The rich and powerful
can literally drown the poor and weak by unleashing the might of their war
chest of money.
Would Roy get
the support from the people, would the people rise in tandem like a spontaneous
uprising by throwing their money behind Roy?
Or would the CPF members abandon Roy
to fight his own battle, just like all the pathetic Sinkies? From the donations
received so far, there are enough Singaporeans who are willing to put their
money behind Roy.
Kopi Level - Yellow