Tag: election

GE2015: Likeability – The Tipping Factor

Viswa Sadasivan is Editor-in-Chief for Inconvenient Questions, a former Nominated MP of the Singapore Parliament and a former TV current affairs host. The views expressed here are his own.

Being likeable is not difficult, is it? Yet, why is it that I am finding so many politicians appearing unlikeable during the rallies – even those I know to be reasonably nice people. Quite sad, actually.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not talking about those who try very hard to show care and concern and end up looking totally plastic. Neither am I talking about the politicians who are clearly too well prepped by spin doctors and end up smiling awkwardly, raising their voices at inappropriate moments, speaking broken English (ostensibly to connect with the crowd), showing off their mastery of multiple languages, or in some cases even crying.

What our politicians need to come to terms with is: your audience may not all have strong academic credentials, but we are not dumb! We can tell a worthy politician from a ‘wayang king’ (‘drama king’) or a charlatan. Nobody likes being talked down to, patronised or, worse, treated like an idiot. And the more you come at us with highly curated speeches delivered in a rehearsed fashion, the higher the possibility that we won’t just like you less, but actually start disliking you.

And this is the reality, guys – whether you like it or not. If I like you I am more inclined to believe what you say, and even make excuses for you when you fumble or stumble. If I don’t like you, here’s what will happen. My mind will build barriers to shut out what you say – no matter how correct your facts and figures are and regardless of how polished your presentation. In fact, if I don’t like you, I will find reasons to dislike you every time you say or do something. To believe that the human mind (especially when it interfaces with the heart , which does happen every now and then) thinks and behaves rationally all the time is a dangerous assumption.

In these hustings I have sensed that likeability has become a distinctly more important quotient that the electorate value and are seeking in candidates and party leaders – a lot more than in the previous GEs. And I have been following our all our elections closely since 1984, when I was just a rookie broadcast journalist. This is probably because we are quite tired of bureaucratically crafted speeches that spew little more than facts and figures and platitudes. We want more than just the CVs of the candidates; we want to see their character and personality and know what they stand for. I am seeing a more discerning and mature electorate this time. Delightful.

So, what is this likeability quotient – let’s call it LQ, shall we? I think it mainly centers on three factors:authenticity, being human and humane, and competency and conviction.

We value authenticity because there is just so much rehearsed pitches and double talk. There is simply too much noise. We want clarity and honesty. We want to see people who are the same on and off stage and who speak from the heart. We want people who are comfortable being who they are and prepared to expose their vulnerabilities.

Being human is about having the capacity for human emotions – fear, joy, sadness, anxiety, anger, apprehension – and being comfortable showing it. Increasingly, we shun those who lack plain human decency. I am seeing too many politicians having this almost-permanent smirk on their faces when explaining something, talking about their adversaries, and especially when others are trying to make a point. I find this absolutely deplorable. Hey, if you are upset or angry – just show it. No need to be cocky about it. It is much more acceptable to show outright displeasure or anger. Being humane is just as important because we don’t want as our leaders people who can’t empathise, sympathise or show compassion. No matter how smart or competent you are, why should we elect you if you rejoice in inflicting pain on others and or in seeing them squirm? I don’t see why we can’t expect a strong but clean fight in an election. We want a leader who treats his adversaries with decency. Human dignity is important. Nobody likes to see a dying horse being flogged!

It’s hard to sustain likeability if you have the above qualities but can’t demonstrate competency. Competency goes beyond technical skills or domain knowledge. It is about having the ability to read the situation accurately and come up with solutions that allow us to achieve the desired outcome, and not just the desired output.

And increasingly when choosing a leader, we want to see competency going hand-in-hand with the ability to persuade and get a buy-in. This requires conviction – a deep belief in and commitment to what you are preaching, especially when the idea is original and the territory uncharted. This, for me, is the single most important factor that distinguished the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew – his conviction in the face of the many uncertainties and trials we faced as a nation. I find this sadly lacking among the candidates in this GE, especially on the PAP side.

In this election campaign, three rally speeches stood out for me. They each brought to sharp relief the qualities I have highlighted, making them likeable enough for us to be moved by them and follow them, regardless of whether we fully agree with everything they say or even disagree with them.

SDP Secretary-General Dr Chee Soon Juan’s first rally speech had a huge impact not only on the thousands present at the event but also the many more who watched the recording of it as it went viral. Part of this can be attributed to the curiosity that we have about this much-maligned opposition politician for whom this is the first GE he is contesting in after 15 years. What is interesting is that, for me, this rally speech had the power to convert several people who had previously viewed him negatively or even seriously disliked him. Simply put, he came across authentic, reasonably knowledgeable, and very human and humane, with an indefatigable conviction for what he believes in. I am sure the facts he asserted or even his arguments were debatable for many, but the other qualities he exuded defined him and how he was received. It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it. By this, I am not talking about rhetoric or eloquence, but clear articulation with conviction, and being critical of his political opponents without resorting to vitriol or suspending decency.

Similarly, when I did an exclusive interview with him for IQ, the same qualities came through. Even though I asked him questions he was clearly uncomfortable with – such as what he had to say about the allegation that he orchestrated the exit of Mr Chiam See Tong from the party (SDP) the latter formed – he responded honestly and with dignity. When criticizing the PAP he was not disparaging or disagreeable.

The second rally speech that was outstanding for the reasons I highlighted was that by DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam. He was, in so many ways, the quintessential political leader – visionary, caring and committed, supremely articulate, conveying his knowledge in a simple yet not simplistic way, inspirational. Above all, he was decent in the way he criticised his political opponents. As always, he didn’t see the need to make caustic or disparaging remarks to put down the opposition. DPM Tharman was also willing to openly acknowledge that the government could have handled some things better. Like Dr Chee Soon Juan’s speech, I am sure there are arguments there that we may not agree with, but his manner and approach took precedence. More than his compelling mind, his heart and gut took centrestage.

Unlike the case with Dr Chee, DPM Tharman already has the benefit of being liked for his authenticity, his fairness and decency, his competency and quiet conviction. This rally speech rode on that advantage and served to reinforce it. That’s why I feel that this is a speech that helped to tilt the balance in this GE.

The third rally speech that was quite outstanding and served as a further point of inflection for the ruling party’s campaign was the one delivered by PM Lee at the lunchtime rally in the UOB Plaza on 8 September. In both substance and style, this speech enhanced the Prime Minister’s already strong likeability on the ground. He presented himself more as a national leader and statesman than as the Secretary-General of the PAP. It helped very much that he steered clear of the AHPETC issue. His criticism of issues and arguments raised by the opposition was delivered in a straightforward and dignified manner, and with a dash of irony when he said that a strong PAP is needed to make the opposition work harder.

Like DPM Tharman, PM Lee’s willingness to acknowledge that we have a long way to go in addressing issues and the need for all of us to work together (possibly including the opposition) seemed to have a positive impact on the audience. His references to the work done by the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew went down well because they were tastefully delivered and didn’t look like an election tactic. In fact, it was inspirational even for this crowd, which tends to be cynical. More than anything else, what stood out in this speech was the PM’s conviction in his belief and his passion for his country and people. This was refreshing.

Elections and especially General Elections are great opportunities to provoke thought and introspection in a people. A GE need not be just a time for swords to be crossed and to contest ideas and ideals. It is an excellent opportunity to unify a people and unite a nation. For this, we need compelling speeches that go beyond rhetoric and that stir emotions. We need leaders who can deliver these speeches: leaders who command attention… leaders that we truly like.

Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

September 9, 2015
Polling Day: DOs And DON’Ts

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, the Old and the Young, the Retired and the Unemployed, Virgins and Veterans (voters), Smart and Stupid people, alike…

The Singapore General Elections is upon us.

***

Earlier we released a friendly-seriously reminder about Nomination Day Behaviour. Now we present you a seriously-friendly list on Polling Day Etiquette.

Trust us, in this social-media-trigger-happy day and age, some of you are going to need some pointers.

Here are some Dos and Don’ts for 11 SEPTEMBER 2015

SELFIES

We don’t think it’s been banned (yet) but it is discouraged – inside the polling station.

WHY?

It’s not just that your vote is sacred, and the ballot is a secret, yada yada, that we should collectively help to maintain that. It is also illegal to reveal how someone else has voted; a sloppy selfie might lead to that. Plus there are voters and volunteers identity we need to respect… Basically, there’s a potential breach of the law written on the wall, regardless of your intentions. and since this is a seriously friendly list, we just want to do our civic duty and join in the discouragement of SELFIES (and yes, that includes, wefies, and groupies, etc.

Do: If you must, take pics / tweet / be on your smart device outside the polling station before or after you vote.

Don’t: Take pics / tweet / be on your smart device in the Polling Centre.

SOCIAL-MEDIA-ING

Same as above. Keep all these real-time updates and LIVE-blogging you’re bursting to document, to yourself, at least until you’re outside the polling station.

In most countries, it is considered a criminal act to communicate information about the way someone has voted or is about to vote, and specifically to “directly or indirectly induce a voter to display his ballot paper after he has marked it so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom he has or has not voted”.

Don’t anyhow post

Do post responsibly

CHOICE OF CLOTHING

WHY?

Cos it’s not a red carpet and you’re not Bard Pitt, agree? Not only that, voters in inappropriate clothing, like shirts carrying political slogans / tag-lines for example, may be considered intimidating, and disallowed.Voters in hoodies, hats, sunglasses, and capes, headphones, (what, you don’t wear a cape from time to time?)please reconsider. Polling officers need to be able to see your face. This prevents cases of fraud, impersonation, etc.Voters in high-heels, and other uncomfortable footwear,we have two words: your problem. note there might be walking across the school lawns, etc.Voters planning to go topless, send us an image and let’s reassess if the public needs to see that.Don’t: Dress Inappropriately- – you might get stomped! 🙂Do: Dress normally and comfortably – you might get stomped! 🙂

KIDS & FUR-KIDS

First, let’s altogether say: “Awww”

WHY?

Let’s agree, we should not let our kids or pets disrupt the voting process. (folks with guide-dogs please obviously take them.)

If you have a wee-one that needs attention:

Do make arrangements. Perhaps take turns with your spouse, or arrange for a babysitter, instead of getting to the Polling station altogether, only to realise there is a queue, and you have to stand in the sun perhaps, and other unforeseen logistical nightmares that can mess with your voting Zen.

While there may be no other regulations on other animals such as your pet iguana, fish, or your favourite stuffed toy, decisions will be at the discretion of presiding officers, who are likely volunteers and cannot be assumed to be experienced babysitters or animal-lovers, let alone non-allergic, so best not try your luck.

Of course, some of you might want to bring your kids along, to show them how it is done. We hope they are generally welcome, but that will be down to the discretion / prevailing laws. – In any case, if that is the case, by all means go ahead, but please don’t let your child mark the X- it’s your vote after all.

SPECULATION

Do read up on your candidates, constituency beforehand, and form a decision.

Don’t expect a show (or worse, put up one) say start or engage in discussion the merits of different candidates or parties – as it may unsettle other voters.

Don’t ask someone about where there vote is going as this will break the secrecy of the poll.

Don’t distribute party leaflets or other literature in the polling station.

If you want a friendly discussion / debate, do so outside the polling station

OTHERS

Do remind, prepare, inform, and make arrangements to help e.g. the disabled, the aged, those who might be overseas (and have problem getting time-zones right)

LASTLY…

Do vote wisely

Source: https://forsingapore.wordpress.com

September 8, 2015
5 Things About The Fifth Night Of Election Rallies

The People’s Action Party took a breather from night-time rallies on Sunday (Sept 6) as campaigning for the Sept 11 polls heads into its second week.

Four opposition parties held rallies – the Singapore People’s Party (SPP) at Stadium Drive, Reform Party (RP) at Delta Hockey Pitch, Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) at Jurong East Stadium, and the Workers’ Party (WP) at Simei Road.

Here are our five highlights:

1. SO WHO WENT

Supporters at the WP rally on Sept 6, 2015. ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM

Judging by the crowds that filled a whole field in Simei Road, the fierce battle that is expected between the WP and the PAP for the four-member East Coast GRC might well take place. Thousands chanted and cheered as each speaker spoke. In the 2011 GE, the PAP got 54.8 per cent to WP’s 45.2 per cent.

The other opposition rallies saw much more modest turnouts.

2. DR CHEE HITS OUT

One of the fieriest speeches of the night came from SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan. His target: his Holland-Bukit Timah GRC rival, PAP minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Among other things, he took Dr Balakrishnan to task for overspending on the Youth Olympic Games budget by three times. But, he said: “When I disagree with Dr Balakrishnan, I disagree with him on what he says, but I don’t dislike him… I have great admiration for him.”

He and fellow candidate Paul Tambyah also spent time hitting out at comments Dr Balakrishnan had made about politicians’ salary.

At a forum last week, Dr Balakrishnan said that only two kinds of people can serve the people at zero cost – those who are wealthy, and those who are corrupt. He was responding to a participant who had questioned the MP allowance, which stands at $192,500 annually.

3. KEY ISSUES THAT CROPPED UP

SPP rally: Mr Bryan Long, SPP candidate for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and the first speaker, set the theme by holding Mr Chiam See Tong up as the exemplar of a good opposition parliamentarian.

Mr Chiam See Tong at the SPP rally on Sunday, Sept 6, 2015. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

He listed three ways in which the SPP team will follow Mr Chiam’s example – by being respectful of opponents, by being constructive and by not giving up even if they fail. And he exhorted voters to “keep Mr Chiam’s fire burning”.

Other speakers elaborated on this. SPP volunteer Choo Zheng Xi pointed to Mrs Lina Chiam’s active questioning in Parliament as an example of the need for opposition MPs to ask hard questions.

Mrs Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, who is contesting Mountbatten, also paid tribute to Mr Chiam’s long years of service, adding that his efficiency in managing Potong Pasir proved that opposition parties can run town councils. She also lauded his “passion to serve” the people, taking on the post of MP long before MPs received generous allowances.

RP rally: There was no clear theme at the RP rally. Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate Jesse Loo kicked off the night by answering questions that he said Singaporeans have posed, and reassured that the opposition is unable to raid Singapore’s reserves and that they cannot “anyhow” pass policies.

RP candidates (from left) Darren Soh, Noraini Yunus, Andy Zhu, Gilbert Goh, Kumar Appavoo, Kenneth Jeyaretnam, Osman Sulaiman, Roy Ngerng and Siva Chandran at the party’s rally on Sept 6, 2015. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Other candidates attacked hot-button issues like the cost of living and healthcare costs. Radin Mas SMC candidate Kumar Appavoo, in particular, covered everything from the care of the elderly and the price of HDB flats to birth rates and his strategies as a minority candidate. He ended by asking his “Chinese brothers” to vote for him.

Party secretary-general Kenneth Jeyaretnam (West Coast GRC) and blogger Roy Ngerng (Ang Mo Kio GRC) used statistics to back up their arguments. The former sought to detail where the money for his party’s plans – including an old-age pension of $500 a month for those above 65 – would come from. Mr Ngerng tried to prove that the PAP returns Singaporeans only a portion of what they collect.

SDP rally: Besides Dr Chee and Dr Tambyah, the other speakers worked their way through a spectrum of topics. These included the high cost of living in Singapore and the lack of government support for minority groups such as single mothers. Also raised was the lack of opposition voices in Parliament. Dr Wong Souk Yee, who is contesting Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, said that with the presence of the PAP party whip and only seven opposition seats, “laws are passed without meaningful debate or challenge”.

SDP’s Wong Souk Yee on party whip, GST and population paper

WP rally: Foreigners were the big theme at the WP rally. Ten of its 13 speakers talked about the issue, and many attacked the 2013 Population White Paper. East Coast GRC candidate Daniel Goh said that the document’s footnote on nurses being “low-skilled” workers touched a nerve as his mother is a nurse. He said: “The Singapore economy is not a machine, and Singaporeans are not screws and nuts.”

WP’s Daniel Goh on population white paper

Nee Soon GRC candidate Gurmit Singh said that immigration had Singapore “creaking at the seams”, while East Coast GRC candidate Leon Perera said the decade before 2011, which saw a large influx of foreigners, was the “lost decade”. Mr Low Thia Khiang’s speech focused on WP’s proposals to cap the increase of foreign worker population and grow the Singapore core.

The speakers also linked the PAP’s immigration policy to the wide income gap, and brought up their proposed minimum wage policy a number of times.

4. MEMORABLE MOMENTS

* The SPP rally started about 20 minutes late but the sparse crowd did not mind since there were free snacks available. A booth with a popcorn machine and volunteers dishing out old-school biscuits attracted a hungry queue of about 20 people in under five minutes.

ST PHOTOS: SAMANTHA BOH

* The RP emcee had, at the last few rallies, made his presence felt with his fiery introductions. On Sunday, he drew a swift correction from speaker Siva Chandran when he introduced the Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate as “a former PAP man”, causing the latter to say “I hate PAP” and clarifying that he had just worked for the People’s Association. Earlier, the emcee told a story of leadership involving Alexandra the Great leading his army through the Afghan desert on the way to India. He also read out a list, given to him by a resident, of 20 items that Singaporeans had not “approved of”, including “sending old folks to JB”.

Reform Party Emcee at rally

* Radin Mas candidate Kumar Appavoo already faces a three-cornered fight, but things could get even harder if he keeps asking residents to vote for him on the “nine of…” September. He mentioned this date at the start and the end of his speech, quickly correcting himself both times. Polling Day is Sept 11.

* Activist Gilbert Goh, who is contesting in Ang Mo Kio on the RP’s ticket, called Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a “trader”, before carefully spelling out the word “T-R-A-D-E-R” to make sure no one thought he had said “traitor”. He gave five reasons for saying so, mainly involving how foreigners have come to Singapore to work and study.

* The WP’s can’t-miss neon-lit campaign trailer truck, dubbed the “Optimus Prime”, was spotted at the end of its rally. It was caught in the traffic jam after the rally, allowing rally-goers to snap photos and videos of it. When it moved, the crowd cheered.

Crowds cheer as truck with Workers Party banner leaves Rally

5. QUOTABLE QUOTES

“WE’RE NOT HERE TO PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT, WE’RE NOT COMEDY CENTRAL.”

– RP’s Jesse Loo

“THE PAP MPS ARE MICE WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE PA (PEOPLE’S ASSOCIATION) LAPSES, BUT THEY CROW LIKE ROOSTERS AT THE LAPSES OF THE ALJUNIED TOWN COUNCIL.”

– SPP’s Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss

“OUR LIFE IS LIKE A BIRD IN A GOLDEN CAGE.”

– RP’s Siva Chandran on HDB flats in Singapore. He said they are nice to look at from the outside but the people suffer inside

“(RADIN MAS CANDIDATE) KUMAR APPAVOO HAS BEEN ACTIVE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHERE HE’S ACTIVE.”

– RP’s Ang Mo Kio GRC candidate Osman Sulaiman

“THEIR SLOGAN IS ‘WITH YOU, FOR YOU, FOR SINGAPORE’. BUT IT’S ALL ABOUT THEM, NOT YOU.”

– WP’s Leon Perera

“DO NOT GIVE THEM (PAP) A BLANK CHEQUE OR THEY WILL SIGN IT FOR A VERY EXPENSIVE 6.9 MILLION.”

– WP’s Daniel Goh

“MAYBE IF THEY (PAP) SHAVE THEIR HEADS BOTAK, THEY CAN SCRATCH THEIR HEADS BETTER.”

– WP’s Gurmit Singh

Source: www.straitstimes.com

September 7, 2015
Disgruntled Singaporeans Hoping For Change Risk Voting In Destructive False Prophet

Hey guys,

So in light of the election coming up much sooner than anticipated, I have a sudden compelling need to assert my opinion to every one I know who is willing to listen, is interested in politics, or both. I don’t care if you are for PAP, or WP, or another opposition party.

I’m annoying you now because you’re on my Facebook list.

At this point in time, I don’t care who I’m talking to. You are probably my family member, one of my best friends, ex-primary classmate, ex-secondary classmate, someone I’ve met overseas, someone I had a one night stand with. Whatever. As long as you’re a Singaporean. Or if you are no longer a Singaporean but still have relatives who reside here.

So if you’re going “What the hell, so long never talk now suddenly write me such a long message?!”, I totally understand your annoyed curiosity. But this message is important because it is Singapore I am talking about – your country and mine – and I have a fierce innate need to protect it, and the people I care about who are currently living in this beautiful, thriving, yet vulnerable country which we call home. I just hope you read it all before deleting this message (or me from your friend’s list).

I can start by saying how much I’ve learnt from studying and working overseas as a Singaporean, how people are fascinated in my unique identity of being a Singaporean (because frankly you don’t meet many Singaporeans working in the US and Canada), and how much I’ve learnt to appreciate Singapore. But let’s cut the crap and get straight to the point:

We Singaporeans are a bunch of spoilt brats.

We are a bunch of complaint kings and queens. Just look at when the MRT breaks down. “Wah lao, half an hour already MRT still haven’t come, hot like shit leh”; “All those foreign workers lah! Country so small already still want to increase the population”; and my personal favorite: “LTA CEO Chew Hock Leong should be sacked!”

Seriously?? Well thanks to some unhappy ducklings, Mr. Chew decided to step down.

Now let me shift gears a little. I’m currently living in New York City, and have so experienced the pleasures of the subway, also known as the MTA. NYC is huge, so there are 22 different subway lines to accommodate people living all over the city. They have express trains to speed up the commute, and most trains run on a 24 hour schedule.

The subway systems are also ALWAYS delayed, has the most adorable brown rats scavenging for their latest snacks, and has a death toll of over 100 people a year who fall and die on the tracks, either by suicide or they get pushed down by some racist mad man. (See here: http://clashdaily.com/…/racism-black-guy-pushes-asian-guy-…/)

Compare the statistics to Singapore’s MRT. How many people have died since the establishment of the MRT in 1987? Just a handful.

My point is, that our present government is at least responsible. After the incident of the Thai girl who fell down the tracks in 2011, the government hurriedly put up barriers on all MRT stations ASAP.

The other thing too, is that the MRT is government-run, and most probably debt-free. The MTA on the other hand, located in USA’s most metropolitan city, is privately run, and is currently $10 billion dollars in debt.

You read right. A first-rate city in a first-world country: 10 billion frickin’ dollars in debt.

That’s why despite the constant fare increase every year and a half or so, the subway service is still in no better shape than it was two decades ago. Two-hour delays in the blistering cold or sweltering heat is not uncommon.

You get my point with the MTA vs. the MRT. But I want to head on to deeper, graver matters.

FOREIGN WORKERS

We have issues with inviting tons of foreign labour into our workforce.

All the “stupid Chee-Na people shouting across the train cars, shitting in public outside our MRT platforms and Um Poo Nehs leaving their disgusting mucus on the side screens in the MRT where people lean on.”

It is unpleasant, I don’t deny it. In fact, after someone told me about the mucus, I got paranoid for a while making sure there were no mucuses before leaning when I saw an unoccupied side screen.

We complain about the shortage of jobs in Singapore, and it’s because of the tsunami inflow of foreign workers in the last decade or two. Every time I come back to Singapore (which has been rather frequent of late), I hear and see a lot of Filipinos working as nurses in hospitals, both private and government. I am uncertain of what kinds of jobs we are really complaining about in terms of having the foreign workers taking over our jobs, but I am certain they are jobs that most of us (especially us Millennials) will not want anyway.

Case in point: I know of someone, a Singaporean obviously, who recently after being registered as a nurse upon graduation, worked for 1.5 years and then quit. The reason she gave me was because she felt that working in the hospital was not for her. The real reason (fed back to me from someone else) was that she felt that the job was too tiring.

Thank god for foreign workers, or our hospital patients will be left sleeping and watching TV in their own poop all day because someone decided to quit because she is too tired.

My cousin’s husband, also a Singaporean and a team leader in an engineering firm, says he prefers to hire foreigners than locals, because “all the locals I’ve hired except for maybe one are lazy and have always given me attitude. They put out the least and expect the most. All the foreigners I’ve hired just work and get the job done.”
We need foreign workers, skilled and unskilled, because our work attitude is shit. For those whose work attitude is top-notch (which I’m sure yours are, since I like to pride myself in having quality friends and family), we still need foreign workers.

We invite the unskilled labor so that WE don’t have to go under the hot, humid heat laying bricks and cement for the construction of roads and the development of new buildings in our country.

WE get to sit in an air-conditioned room shuffling papers and building the economy that way. WE have the choice to be entrepreneurs, which the government highly encourages but which most of us don’t take advantage of.

This is how our economy has grown – and it is because of foreign workers doing the jobs that need to be done but the locals won’t touch.

We will have social issues inviting foreigners here. That is inevitable. It is also usually fixable with time.

We will have devastating economical issues if the country is unadaptable to change and ceases to grow. That… may not be so easily fixable in time.

Instead, the government has spun all the new developments into something that even other first-world countries lack. Public washrooms that look so luxurious you could spend all day putting your makeup on in there and not feel disgusted that you just tried to pretty yourself up ten feet away from someone peeing. A first-rate subway system that is 99% on time (fuck the complainers – you have not travelled. If you have, shame on you). High tech systems in our public libraries (in USA and Canada, the majority of books are still checked out by crummy old-lady librarians).

And I credit these advancements to the blood, sweat and tears of our unskilled foreign workers, as well as the innovation of some of our skilled foreign workers. And of course, the brilliance and efficiency of our current government body.

And some hardworking, innovative Singaporeans, of course. Just some.

HOUSING

Housing is not affordable.

At least that is the main complaint. A Howard Lee mentioned in the Online Citizen about how “homes in Singapore are not affordable. Affordability is not buying something you will pay for 30 years down the road, at possible risk to your own retirement and a future family you dare not have. Affordability is paying for something you are comfortable with today without having to bet on your future.”

While Mr. Lee’s statement makes sense – grammatically – he and many others fail to see the much bigger picture. Which is:

At least you have a home you can call your own.

I don’t know how he came about that definition of “affordable”. In my experience and through the eyes of many others, affordability is when you have the financial capability to acquire that which you want. “Comfortable” is hardly ever in the mix, especially not if you are just a white-collared worker. Or in his case, a journalist.

What most Singaporeans are, I suspect, are that we have acquired a dependent taste for comfort. So if something is not comfortable, something is not right.

I reiterate: Singaporeans are a bunch of spoilt brats.

Look around at the other countries. Let’s start with the first-world countries, USA and Canada. While their internal regulations differ, the general outlook is the same: most people can’t afford to buy their own homes. By standard definition, it means that if the bank doesn’t offer you a loan, the house is unaffordable. Hence, many end up renting, and most for the rest of their lives.

For those who can secure a loan, if they don’t make timely payments on their mortgage, the bank forecloses it and your home is gone. Just like that. In comparison, HDB is a lot kinder to you, as in the case of one of my relatives. I would disclose more details, but I am not 100% certain about the housing procedures here and so do not dare risk disclosing fuzzy data. All I know is, HDB will be kinder to you than banks will be.

In the case of a foreclosure, you are left with nothing but a bad credit record which will ruin the rest of your life. Because guess what? The government there doesn’t care.
Zooming over to Hong Kong. Population is skyrocket high. There is also a housing crisis. I have a Hong Kong friend who is going to get married in November. When she finally marries the love of her life, they will be staying in a rented flat. She is 29, her husband-to-be only a couple years older. And they are not expecting to own their own home ever, because the housing there is too expensive. They don’t even have the luxury of securing a loan for a place they can absolutely call their own, even though they are considered middle-class in Hong Kong.

Or the other guy who had to beg his employer to not increase his pay for the next ten years, because he had applied for government housing which takes 10 years to get approved. At any time in that ten years, if your income hits above a certain bracket, you are out of the loop to getting your own “affordable” home, and are kicked back to renting an apartment, or living with your parents.

I don’t even need to go to the third world countries at this point. Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand. Your own home? Sure! Build one in the middle of the forest, or swamp, and you can call it your own

We Singaporeans are extremely lucky that there is even such a housing program out there for us to own a home. Don’t forget, we weren’t too different from The Philippines sixty years ago. Philippines have not progressed much, if at all. We are now a first-world country with developments that have surpassed other first-world countries.
As the world-renown American blogger, Mark Manson once said, “Singapore is like Manhattan, 100 years from today.”

We are living and breathing in a country that has taken extremely good care of us all these years. You don’t see smelly homeless people lying around the streets and in subway stations (i.e. NYC).

So housing complainers: Shut up and count your blessings.

GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION

I don’t need to go into the detail of the different government corruptions. It’s not necessary. All I will say is corruption is everywhere. It is in every country.
Psychological research has shown that people with power are highly likely to exploit the lesser people.

Human beings will always be imperfect. Even the government, which, surprisingly, is made up of – you guess it – human beings!

You have to focus on the bigger picture, which is: This country is safe. You can walk around in the middle of the night without having to fear being robbed. You can sleep without having to worry about being burgled. Sure, cases do exist here, but really, do spend a month in Malaysia; just the constant upkeep to be conscious about being careful when taking your phone out, just in case it gets snatched suddenly – in broad daylight. Or putting an electric fence around your home and feeling like a house prisoner every day, because burglary is rampant in your area.

You are living in fear all the time because the country is that corrupted.

The government in the United States is a joke. In reality, the United States does not have a government. It has many, and they are called corporations and banks. Yes my friends, the American government is controlled by the corporations and the banks.

Here’s how. Because of their free capitalist policy of having a president no longer than two terms, prospective candidates have to campaign, and you have to campaign all over the country, stopping by all 50 states. This incurs cost: food, travel and lodging, amongst other miscellaneous costs. It adds up. So how do they get the money?

Sponsors. Who sponsors them? You guess it. Whoever has lots of money. And in this case, corporations and banks have the financial power to sponsor the little guy: the ambitious lawyer, or doctor, or state senator, or the super gung-ho McDonald’s employee, so that they can get their message across and hopefully win votes.

Nothing is for free, however. There is always a silent pact made between the sponsor and the candidate. For example, if Bank of America were to sponsor Jeb Bush (George Bush’s brother who is currently campaigning for the 2016 election), they could propose something like: if you get elected president, you must make it legal to have credit card interest rates raise to 40% of the principal loan. Or mortgage rates to go up by 12%.

In return, they will house him in comfort and luxury for the length of his campaign.

This is just a hypothetical example and the numbers are a little over-exaggerated, but the underlying concept stands. Will Jeb Bush say yes? Sure. It doesn’t affect him. He gets paid $100,000/yr and lives rent-free when he is president. He doesn’t need credit from them. It’s the citizens who take up credit who will suffer from this proposal.
I don’t even need to spend my energy talking about third world country corruption. Seriously.

But okay, I will talk a little bit about that.

Malaysia:

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was exposed by The Wall Street Journal for embezzling US$700M (RM2.67 billion) to his personal accounts. He cites “donations” from Saudi Arabia. The ringgit has been in steady decline since his tenure. Earlier this year, the GST in Malaysia jumped from 0% to 6%. Overnight, just like that. I was in Malaysia on the day they implemented the GST increase (April 1, 2015) and couldn’t even get a calling card because all their systems were down.

Philippines:

Former president Marcos looted billions of dollars from the Filipino treasury during his 30-year rule. It is so widespread that they even made a Broadway production out of it.
Enough said.

Overall, Singapore is still developing, and at a rapid but steady rate. I don’t know about you, but I can totally overlook the tiny corruption innuendoes if the country continues to be SAFE and economically STRONG.

GOVERNMENT SALARY IS OUTRAGEOUS

Would you rather have an overpaid politician who does a rigorous job developing a country tremendously well so that we can all live comfortably; or an underpaid politician who doesn’t give two shits about developing the country and providing for their citizens – instead taking bribes left, right and centre from whoever sponsors them.

CONCLUSION

The reason I am taking so much precious time away from my projects to write all this is because I personally think that Singapore has entered into a dangerous zone in the last few years. Yes, I really think that this is more serious than what it seems. Maybe you are not smelling it yet. Maybe because everything is going so well. So comfortable.
However, seeing disgruntled comments on the internet, and hearing the rants of some family members and close friends, have made me conclude in the theory that if this inconsequential dissatisfaction goes on, Singapore will not last long.

Here’s why. When a person is disgruntled, they are open to change. When a “saviour” comes along, guess what happens?

By now, you would have guessed which government party I’m rooting for.

Because personally, I think that governing a country is not an easy feat. It takes a lot of brainpower, innovation, creativity and problem-solving skills to keep a country stable and its people happy. It is a few-men job serving an entire country. If you are a teacher, you will understand. How easy is it to maintain a class of 40 kids? The ratio of governing a country like Singapore is about 1:10,000. That is 1 government rep to 10,000 citizens. Will there be problems? Of course! Will there be discord? Sure!

However, we need to address the issues properly, not turn them into machine guns and use them to fire our own home team. As mentioned earlier, the government is made up of people. They are not Gods. They are regular people with brains and human DNA no different from the rest of us. People make mistakes. Yes, maybe they brought in the foreigners too fast too soon. But what matters is that the government is at least addressing their mistakes and striving to maintain stability for the country at the same time.

This is a vital point, so let me repeat (I wish Facebook would let me colour text):
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What matters is that the government is taking steps to address their errors, all while maintaining stability for the country and constantly focusing on its growth, all at the same time.
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Remember, our current government body did not just succeed in maintaining a country, it helped to DEVELOP it from a third-world country to a first-world country, in a span of a mere 50 years. That, my friends, is one helluva incredible feat. Have you noticed?
If you have been busy complaining, you haven’t.

I have been blunt up to here, but I will now half-apologize for being brute for what I am about to say next:
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If you decide to vote our present government out, you are not just foolish, ignorant and unappreciative, but you will be endangering the livelihood of all the other people who have benefited from the hard work that was put forth by PAP all these years since the beginning.
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Having said that, I now withdraw my half-apology. There is no apology needed for pointing out stupid actions.

We all have to remember, that we are a country with NO NATURAL RESOURCES. The reason that we have been able to survive and thrive all this while is because of the brilliance of Lee Kuan Yew and his dedicated team. Not only have they built a country from the swamps up, they have succeeded in maintaining a debt-free country and accumulated BILLIONS of dollars in reserves. When your country is debt-free, you are not subjected to the manipulation of banks and corporations to control your ruling, making the government free to do what it is meant to do.

The fact that we have NO NATURAL RESOURCES puts us in a very vulnerable position. Other countries that are in debt are still surviving because they have natural resources that they can always export to keep them alive. The reason we are able to survive and thrive is because of foreign investments. Foreign investments is the main reason we have made giant strides in terms of development.

Take away foreign investments, and what do you have? That’s right. Nothing. We have nothing, guys. But what we could do is export our people, since people are our only resource at this point, right? And so our women will work as maids, and our men will be construction workers for other countries. Get ready for your family to be split up just to put a roof over your children’s heads.

Or the likelier outcome will be that China will eat us up. We get sucked back in to the very country we constantly complain about. Hail Mao!
These are all hypothetical, but I do not believe them to be too far from a possible reality, if this disgruntledness from our short-sighted, unsatisfied local Singaporeans persists.

You have to be very careful about who you vote for. If you vote for a party who does not have sufficient experience in governing a country, Singapore will fall much faster than the time it took to build her up. And we have nothing to back us up, because we have NO NATURAL RESOURCES.

Personally, I think you have to really reconsider what you value. The government has only so much control in terms of staying in power. Because of our socio-democratic policy, you have to learn to fend yourselves against sweet talks. In my personal life, I have learnt to always be sceptical with what others say, and to only trust them by what they have done. This is even more so for politicians. It is easy to cajole disgruntled citizens to get their vote, but as a voter, can you trust that they will keep their word? More importantly, do you know if they will be capable enough to fend us from economic attacks?

The WP won Aljunied GRC in 2011. In these last five years, they have not shown us much in terms of progress. What significant progress has Aljunied shown? Nothing. What they have shown instead is a deficit in their accounts and a host of other issues. I don’t care for excuses of the PAP trying to squelch them out of that one constituency, since they can’t even manage one constituency well. Excuses are a symptom of irresponsibility, and they are used by the weak. The fact is, you either produce results or you don’t.

If I were in the shoes of the WP, I would put in 200x the work and make Aljunied progress significantly. I would work my ass off to surpass what the PAP could do. I would gather top brains and brainstorm with them to advance Aljunied and make the neighborhood symbolic to my efforts. I will want to show fellow Singaporeans that I can do this, so that you can vote for me with more confidence in the next election.

The WP has shown none of that. Which means they are either complacent, or incompetent. And either is bad news. In addition to their inadequacy, Low Thia Khiang said he would touch the reserves to reduce housing costs in order to appease the local population.

ARE YOU FOR REAL?!?!!??!?!

The reserves, which was painstakingly built over the years is NOT to keep whiny Singaporeans happy. The reserves is to buffer out emergency crises. The reason why we are still able to be competent as a country despite the 1997 Asian crisis and the 2008 crisis is BECAUSE of the reserves. Despite the crises, we are still able to develop and grow and surpass other first-world countries. If it wasn’t for the reserves, we would probably be in a very different scenario right now. You may not even have the opportunity to complain about so-called “housing affordability” while Singapore struggles to bring herself back to stability. It takes a few years to bounce back from an economic crash. Singapore was able to get back up on its feet with lightning speed both times because it has no debt and an abundance of financial reserves.

You don’t have adequate financial reserves and you end up worse than Greece, because this is Singapore we are talking about.

I have absolute zero confidence in the Workers Party and the other opposition parties. Mainly because they did not have the mentoring experience from MM Lee during the development period of Singapore. If the PAP was able to build a country from the ground up debt-free, it will be easy for them to maintain it, because the system is already in place. To vote for a new government means a change in the governmental system, which will take a number of years to get established. And frankly, because we have NO NATURAL RESOURCES, Singapore does not have the luxury to test out new forms of governmental implementation that have not yet been proven competent enough to lead the country.

Here is why: Foreign investors are watching us very closely. One wrong move in the change of hands of government ruling, and they will pull out faster than you can blink your eyes. These are the same foreign investors that we are highly dependent on for the survival of our country.

Despite these red flags, Singaporeans are still blinded with risky, lofty and IMO stupid promises. Both George Yeo and Tony Tan were key roles in bringing in foreign investments to Singapore in the last two to three decades. Remember what I said about that the only major source of growth we are dependent on right now is foreign investments?

And we are now entering a dangerous zone because George Yeo was voted out in 2011, and Tony Tan won by a narrow count of 7382 votes. That is only a 0.34% marginal win. If this electoral riskiness continues, we may not be a nation much longer.

Let’s just all go to China.

Personally, I think we all need to put our whimsies aside and focus on the bigger, overall picture. Yes, the government is responsible for the country’s growth, but we play a much bigger role in the country’s economy and stability than you can ever imagine. We need to work with the government to address issues that we are facing, not cuss and swear and threaten to vote them out when something falls out of place.

Because at the end of the day, if the key leaders in our current government do get voted out, it will be us who will have to bear the consequences of dealing with the never-ending issues of government reformation, not the MP’s. The MP’s, especially the senior ones, will have made their money. All they need to do is cash out and go some place else to start a new life with the experience that they have accumulated from serving a country.

Case in point: Three months after George Yeo stepped down from politics in October 2011, he was immediately engaged as a senior advisor to Kuok Group. Since August 2012, he has become chairman of Kerry Logistics Network, a logistics company based in Hong Kong.

If you haven’t already caught on, he became chairman of a company in less than a year of his political resignation. Talk about rocketing up the corporate ladder.
The MP’s will be fine. It is us who will be stuck with the never-ending problems of a new governmental system, and the problems will be much more severe than MRT breakdowns, rude foreign workers or “comfortable housing affordability” (*roll eyes*). We will have to deal with actual job crises, the impact on Singapore during and after a world economic crash (which is bound to happen soon, if it isn’t already happening now with the recent stock market crash), and new forms of government corruption which, I am 99% certain that that will be imminent, and far worse than what we have all found in PAP.

They may overlook and/or take slight advantages of certain things while they busy themselves with building a country, but you will never find a better governmental system than the PAP. A business investor (whose name I forgot) once said in a Forbes magazine, that “if only China was like Singapore, the world would be a much better place.”
My mother always told me – and I love her to bits – that John F. Kennedy said during his inaugural address, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

It is time we all grow up. Don’t spend your time complaining about the nitty-gritty issues. Spend your time instead to find a way out of your rut, if you are in one. Don’t nit-pick inconsistencies, work on fixing them. Use those educated brain cells of yours to figure out a way to get ahead, not waste it on clever grumbling. If the country is advancing at a rapid rate, work to keep up with it. Figure out a way to forge ahead, far far ahead. If you get left behind, it will be your fault because you got complacent. Singapore is filled with ample opportunity to succeed. The government is giving out ridiculous grants for local start-up companies. How can you take advantage of that? Instead of grumbling about not having enough jobs, how about you take the initiative to create jobs for others?

At the end of the day, a country is a country because it is made up of people.

You.

You are responsible for how this country progresses. You will also be responsible for how this country might end up. The unfortunate thing is, that if you are careless in your actions, it may result in the downfall of others who do not deserve it.

So vote wisely.

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

September 3, 2015
Workers’ Party, PAP, To Launch Rally Tonight In Radin Mas And Hougang SMC

Poised at what the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) deems a critical juncture in its history, the Republic yesterday entered what will be its most intensely fought elections ever, with a record 181 candidates vying for 89 seats in Parliament.

After nominations were closed at the stroke of noon, the record books had a new entry: All 16 Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs) and 13 Single-Member Constituencies (SMCs) were contested, the first time since Singapore’s independence that an election will see a battle in every ward.

Yet, few surprises were sprung on a day that has traditionally thrown up its fair share. Almost everything went according to script, save for an independent candidate who appeared out of the blue to throw his hat into the ring, and in the process help the 2015 GE to notch another entry into the books: It will see the most multi-cornered fights in almost a quarter of a century, with the MacPherson, Radin Mas and Bukit Batok single-seat wards all seeing three-way contests.

Despite the tumult caused within the National Solidarity Party by its decision to go head-to-head with the Workers’ Party and the PAP in MacPherson — which led to the resignation of its head, Ms Hazel Poa, and a subsequent reversal by central executive committee member Steve Chia, who entered the ring, only to withdraw his candidacy later — the NSP stuck to its guns and entered the fray.

At Radin Mas SMC, the fight will be between the PAP, the Reform Party and independent candidate Han Hui Hui, an activist who had previously made headlines for her protests against the Central Provident Fund.

While private-car driver Shirwin Eu had his hopes of standing in the GE dashed after he failed to garner the required signatures, Mr Samir Salim Neji, 45 — who was previously virtually unheard of — turned up at Keming Primary School and successfully filed his papers to contest in Bukit Batok SMC.

Mr Samir, the managing director of business planning software company Anaplan Asia Pacific, will go up against PAP’s David Ong and Singapore Democratic Party candidate Sadasivam Veriyah. Adding that he stands for “more happiness and less stress”, Mr Samir told reporters that he wants to turn Bukit Batok into a “start-up village”.

At the eight other Nomination Centres across the island, there was little drama, with party supporters — who gathered as early as 8am before making their way to the centres with the candidates — in good voice and spirits despite the hot sun, notwithstanding the jeering at some of the candidates from sections of the crowd.

While the support was fiercely partisan, the mood was mostly benign and friendly — and this extended to the halls, where candidates were busy making sure their papers were in order.

Two PAP candidates, Mr S Iswaran and Ms Grace Fu, alerted their opponents to mistakes in their forms, helping them avoid disqualification. In return, Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam and SDP candidate Jaslyn Go showed appreciation for the gesture, even as they downplayed the significance of the errors.

With the battle joined, rallies will begin tonight, with the PAP and WP getting off the blocks in Radin Mas and Hougang, respectively.

Over the next eight days, rallies could be held at 46 rally sites — comprising one for each SMC, two for each GRC and a lunchtime rally venue in the Central Business District — across the island, before Cooling-Off Day puts the brakes on campaigning and voting takes place on Sept 11.

The WP has indicated that it plans to hold a rally every night over the campaigning period.

Yesterday, hours after the morning frenzy at the Nomination Centres ended, political parties began sending their representatives to apply for permits for the sites. These included supporters of Singapore People’s Party Mountbatten candidate Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss, PAP grassroots volunteers for Marine Parade GRC and Potong Pasir SMC, and a group of WP supporters representing teams from various constituencies.

In an advisory issued yesterday, the police strongly encouraged people to take public transport to the rally sites, given the large crowds expected. It added that motorists travelling near the rallies should be prepared for traffic diversions or lane closures. Real-time updates on the traffic situation will be broadcast on radio.

The police also sought the cooperation of supporters and members of the public to assemble at, and disperse from, the rally sites in an orderly manner. It issued a reminder that the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones is prohibited for public safety reasons, and added that police officers will be deployed at the rally sites to maintain law and order.

Source: www.todayonline.com

September 2, 2015