IS THIS WHAT WE WANT S’PORE TO BECOME?

I was reading through the latest news on Facebook and States Times Review when I came across the news item of WP MP Png Eng Huat raising a concern of Minister Tan Chuan-Jin and his entourage of grassroots volunteers being given the special privilege of an express clearance at Tuas Checkpoint.

There were well meaning people on Png Eng Huat’s Facebook page who pointed out, rightly or wrongly, that it is standard customs protocol around the world for ministers and diplomatic envoys to be granted express clearance across the borders (Something which I don’t quite agree in Minister Tan’s case as he is not on an official trip. Also felt that he and his grassroots volunteers should have turned down the offer by ICA for express clearance). Unfortunately, these people are in the minority.

A majority of the PAP IBs commenting on Png Eng Huat’s 2 posts on the subject matter hurled all sorts of insults and personal attacks in Png’s comment threads, accusing him of being “sour grapes”, “poor quality”, “low”, “dishonest”, “petty”, etc.

Unfortunately this is the legacy Lee Kuan Yew left behind and his son, PM Lee Hsien Loong and his lackeys and sycophants in the cabinet, civil service, grassroots and some among the 70% seek to continue.

Was it not Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Chok Tong and PM Lee Hsien Loong who showed contempt towards the people by saying that Singapore doesn’t need democracy or should be a one-party state (or as they love to clothe it, Western-style democracy, which in essence moving toward the PAP-style democracy, which completely strips away the meaning of what democracy is about), disrespecting the voice of the people, calling dissenting opinions as “noise” and “stupid”, putting the dignity of the people below growth and development by saying that Opposition MPs and politicians and democracy will bring about ruin and disaster to justify the disgraceful way they treat Opposition figures, and of course Lee Kuan Yew’s comparison of leading a country to training dogs, which in a nutshell compared the people he is leading as dogs?

To top it off, Lee Kuan Yew laid down the vision of making Singapore in the mould of an Asian, more specifically a society built on Chinese values, which culturally and historically been built on hierarchy and disrespect and contempt for those below the food chain.

My question to PM Lee and his government is this – do they want this to be Singapore’s legacy, a society built on the traditions of feudal China, where instead of every individual living a life in dignity, instead of every individual learning to respect and accept each other, a society where people learn to disrespect others, eat others below the food chain and side and become sycophants to your government so that they have the right to eat up the “other”?

Is this the cost of being a first world country? Is this the price you and your government are willing to pay for “growth and development”? If this is so than we are better off being under British rule than living as a “free and independent” nation. If this is the price, why bother having the Singapore Kindness Movement? Close it down and don’t waste the time of its staff.

Ultimately, what goes around comes around. I’m sure you, PM Lee and your cabinet have heard of this saying. The culture of dishonour your father has sowed will reap its ugly fruits one day. Its effects are already in play with the massive brain drain from Singapore. Its no use wooing Singaporean skilled expatriates back to Singapore when they feel more respected and valued outside her borders than within Singapore. If ever, the history of China to 1911 and Korea until its colonisation by the Japanese shows one thing – building a society and country modelled after Confucian and Chinese values will bring short term success but long term ruin. Such a society promotes conformity and discourages the freedom to think, express and explore new ideas. At the end of the day, the government of the day becomes, unchecked, isolated, staffed and filled with sycophants, resulting in groupthink within the government, which led to imperial China’s and imperial Korea’s eventual downfall. Is this where you want Singapore to head?

To the PAP IBs, wherever you are, my question is this – is this the legacy you want to leave to your children, a legacy of dishonour and contempt for fellow human beings? Do you think this will be for the good of our society in the long run? Do you want a prosperous country that has lost its soul? Ultimately those who learn to value other will be able to draw able people to themselves. If you want to leave a “Chinese” legacy to your children, its best for you to start shuddering, because it would mean in the long run, skilled people will no longer value Singapore.

N Chan
A.S.S. Contributor