Saturday, May 28, 2011

Allow me to indulge in some mindless rambling.

To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing with my life. It gets even more obvious when you're in university, when you're around people with such clear ideas what they want to do with their lives, and when and how they want to achieve. They are so driven and determined, I feel like I can never ever be like them. I don't mean to put myself down or allow myself to feel inferior to others, but it seems I've gotten a lot more apathetic after the A levels. Back then, in secondary school and junior college, I knew what I wanted: as many A's as possible. The whole point was to get to the school I want. But now in university, where the next step after graduation is employment, I'm more lost than ever. And time's running out for me to decide.

I don't regret majoring in English Language (okay, maybe a little - I often wonder if I would enjoy majoring in English Literature instead), but that's all I'm sure I want to do. What happens after, I haven't made any solid decision. My peers are already planning their career journeys and setting goals on when they want to earn their first million or buy their first condo or take their PhDs. All this planning just gives me a headache. Maybe I don't thirst for all that as much as they do. Maybe I don't give a flying crap about scaling the corporate ladder and the ranks of society, or luxury-car and condo ownership. Maybe I'm just not a fan of planning, period. Maybe I've been too protected by my father, that I don't feel the need to work for anything. I want him to not work so hard and be so tired all the time. So I guess I'll work for the sake of that. But I don't know what else I want beyond that.

And it's not like I'm doing fantastically in school. There, I said it. I'm not doing all that well. Just average, occasionally slipping below average. But the good thing is, I'm not planning to take honours, so I'm staying thankfully out of the fray, away from all those people slugging it out amongst themselves. Maybe the reason I don't kill myself trying to get on the honours track is because I don't see how that's going to make anything better. Sure, everyone says the pay will be better and all that. But what if I don't even know what I want to do after graduation? Despite my efforts, I can't do as well as my peers, so I'm not going to die trying. I don't believe education is the be all, end all of life anyway.

Still, it's still nice to know you can ace the modules you choose. Nothing like university to make you feel uncertain about yourself and your abilities.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The 9 Paradoxes of Patriotism in Singapore

A post by Jack Sim on The Online Citizen that I feel makes some good points (though there are also some I disagree with):


The 9 Paradoxes of Patriotism in Singapore

It’s election time, a time for review and reflections.

I’m 54 but had only voted once before due to the walkover nature of our politics.

This time, opposition candidates will challenge almost every constituency.

Our political maturity has entered a new phase, but what does Singaporeans really want?

After all, Singapore is much appreciated by foreigners who are fed-up with their own countries and found it better here with jobs, safety, low taxes, and an almost predictable growth path.

Here are 9 Paradoxes that the government must grasp with our new political reality:


1. The more attractive Singapore is in attracting massive droves of foreigners, the more unattractive it is for locals. It feels like a crowded 6-Stars Hotel where people come and go. There is no distinction between treatment of citizens and foreigner. This creates an ‘unloved’ feeling among locals when the government’s emphasis that foreign talents are better than local becomes demoralizing. Singaporeans wonder what is the use of chalking up economic numbers by importing so many foreigners? Singapore and Singaporeans becomes two very different words.

2. The more government focuses on the Economic Growth Model; the less they focus on our Soul. The building of two casinos shows clearly the trade-off between increasing jobs (largely jobs for foreigner labor) and increasing the misery of gambling, broken families and hardship. The pursuit for economic growth model won over the soul here. It is even worse since the casino is located directly in the heart of the banking and civic district, instead of a further location or off-shore island.


3. The more the government focus on meritocracy (defined as good academic results), the more they made people think the same way. Creativity suffers when kids has no opinion of their own. Schools and parents improves academic excellence by getting kids to read and memorize past 10 years exams questions and model answers and regurgitate them well during exams. In addition, schools hold special sessions to train both parents and kids on “Exam Techniques” so as to score better marks for the glory of the school’s ranking. Whoever has the best conformist’s memory wins top marks. This cultivates the habit of looking the “the right or approved answers”.

Our educational system has thus transformed into a “Marks-Factory”. These kids grow up as deteriorated adults unable to have an opinion of their own, always looking for leadership by others.

4.The richer we are in our pockets, the poorer we become in our soul. In our rush for an ostentatious life-style, we’ve neglected the social need for nurturing soft-skills like love, acceptance, empathy, compassion, listening, harmonizing, and a Can-Do Spirit of Enterprise. This has led us into a culture of high conformism and extremely selfish safety needs. To build resilience in people as a nation, we need to first nurture strong value systems and a sense of community that comes from within our hearts and not prescribed by orders.

5. The more the government reminds the voters that “You are vulnerable but luckily you have good government”, the more dependency and expectation they create that the government will solve all problems. Naturally, disappointment is larger when expectation is raised high through the creation of such a dependency relationship.

6. The more Singaporeans are educated, the more they want to contribute in their own way in nation building. Yet, the prescriptive culture of the government does not offer effective channels for innovative ideas to get through. In the process, a great misunderstanding occurs when government sees innovators as troublemakers who are unappreciative of what the good government has done for them. The truth is most Singaporeans do appreciate the prosperity achieved, but they want to play a more active role in building their nation, not merely a passive recipient of goodies. Yet, the current government-supported channels are seen more blockers than listeners. By disallowing active citizenry and rejecting their diverse views, the government alienates the moderates and patriots at mutual detriment.

7. The more the government celebrates the foreign talents; the less they appreciate or notice our homegrown talents. These local talents are actually very much appreciated by foreign countries while we’re are so busy trying to attract foreign talents from abroad. The old adage that “prophets are not appreciated at home” is true everywhere but Singapore should a review this thinking so that good citizens can have their natural place in our society doing their best for the social good.

8. The more efficient the Government, the more they stifle innovation. Our current state of bureaucracy rewards people who make zero mistakes rather than those who made innovations (which requires some trial and errors).

“Get it right the first time” is a good quality control mechanism that is suitable for factory floor but totally detrimental to the promotion of innovative culture.

Innovation culture’s mantra should be “Dream it and do it till you get it”.

We need to re-design incentives to transform bureaucrats from rules-based workers into mission-driven people, unclogging the bureaucratic process and help our diverse range of talents flourish in ways most desired by society at large. An inclusive approach will bring out thought leadership beyond the narrow scholarly circles.


9. The final paradox is that while the people trust the government, the government does not trust the people. Absolute power in the past has also created a sense of arrogance in the bureaucrats and Members of Parliament. A recent message by the Prime Minister reminding his MPs they are servants and not masters is a sign of change that is so much needed. This new message will take many years to evolve into a culture in the government if the message succeeded in trickling down through the ranks.

The ruling party has every chance to listen and engage the people constructively to build a nation together. But they’ve chosen to go it alone.

There is a sense of “Statelessness” in many patriots here. These are ordinary thoughtful citizens do not want to enter the complicated political arena. They just want to contribute to make their country better. They are not content with being treated like a customer. They want to be embraced like a citizen, a nation-builder and a healer of social gaps. They are constructive if the government engages them constructively.

Monday, May 09, 2011

I generally do not like to discuss touchy topics like politics or religion on my blog, but in light of the recent General Elections, I feel the need to get my point out.

I don't claim to know a lot about Singapore's political history or its current state. But I know that I am one of its citizen who will come to inherit the nation as it is now. If given the opportunity, I'd love to vote, but as it is, I'm still one year short of the age to vote.

I'm pretty clear on who I support, and given the calibre of our leaders - their experience and wisdom - it is near implausible that I will swing over to any other parties. Unfortunately, what gets me riled up about Singapore politics is the fact that I am unable to make others see my point. They believe what they choose to - nothing wrong with that, of course, but a lot of voters seem to vote with their hearts and not their minds. Some get carried away with emotions and get lulled by promises and pretty words, and some oppose for the sake of opposing. Why must we be ruled by the same part for almost fifty years, they think. It's time for change. But when you ask them what they want to change, they draw a blank. Change lor! they declare.

Because to them, the government owes them a living. The government is not taking care of us. They bring in foreigners to snatch away our rice bowls, they give opportunities to foreign students so that locals have to go overseas. The thing is, Singapore has always been competitive. It's always been a Darwinian society that seeks to preserve the best, so that with competition each of us will strive to work harder and improve on the whole as a society. It's brutal, yes, but that's how we managed to rise from a Third World slumop to a First World nation in those fifty years. The fact is, no one owes us a living, much less the government.

Another point raised by naysayers is the salaries drawn by the ministers. According to them, the ministers collect their fat paychecks and tell people to improve productivity so that our GDP can increase and then they can collect fatter paychecks. This actually brings me back to the preceding argument, where the number of opportunities available to us should be directly. I'm aware that since I haven't started working I can hardly talk like I know how the common worker is struggling. But Singapore is irrefutably a meritocratic society. Maybe wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living, and the Singapore government is slower to address this problem of the widening income gap. The middle class is understandably frustrated. But with the amount of crap that the Singapore government has to deal with - along with ungrateful citizens who keep complaining about ministerial pay and expect regular handouts - I'd say they're entitled to the pay they earn. And my dad raised a point: if they are paid peanuts (and I'm not referring to $60k), there will be a heck lot of corruption going on, as in the case of our neighbouring country.

I defend the ruling party, but that's not to say, of course, that it is completely free of errors. GE 2011 has shown that more people want their voices heard, and are frustrated that no one is responding to their feedback. The ruling party can stand to make some changes, and bring themselves closer to the ground, in order to win the hearts of the people again, but to lambast their efficacy as the government just because you're worried you can't buy a house or that your bowl of noodles is now $5 when it used to be $3 is to overlook the big picture and zero in on the personal details. We chose our leaders because we want Singapore to progress as a nation, not for personal development. If everyone thinks that way, we're going to live in Singapore, Inc. with no true spirit, and a very diverse and polarised population.

I came across this comment on a forum, and I'd like to say that I completely agree with what is said:

Yingxin89:

Are u guys not agreeing that our MPs and minsters are probably the most educated and knowledgeable group in Singapore? If not, how could they lead us? And living in ur own world, you do not see that many of our entrepreneur friends and property agents and re misers are earning 70k-120k per month. I do not see why 15k for an mp or 120-200k for our country's minister could be overpriced. With their knowledge and abilities, they could be earning much more. Please do not be narrow minded into thinking everyone should earn the same to be fair. We are not communists. They deserve what they deserve.

And you say that housing is not affordable. Why is it that i don't see people crowding on the streets with cardboards? Why is everyone complaining about every single thing that doesn't even concern them?

Do you not have a home? Do you not have a job? Are your children not getting good education in a conducive environment? Is your neighbourhood inaccessible or dimmed with little or no streetlights? Is your living environment filled with rats and thugs? the answer is no.

We Singaporeans are living in such an awesome condition and environment and yet we complain about small insignificant things that are propaganda from another opposing team. I do not understand what aroused their unrighteousness for problems that are not even theirs to believe with.

Lastly, I love MM Lee and his robustness. If not for him, we wouldn't be where we are now. If not for sweeping thugs, secret societies, gangs, communists, marxists off the streets in the then Singapore with no foundation nor proper education for most. We would not be a democratic nation as we are now. Not to mention a prosperous first world country.

There are tough decisions to be made in tough times. And if we don't see the big picture. We will never progress. And if you are complaining about ur own life, DO something about it. Stop relying and blaming the government for everything. No one owes u a living.

Word!