Nik


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Saturday, May 7, 2011 @ 2:59 PM PERMALINK

Its finally Voting Day! All these awkward conversations, debates between friends, unsolicited Facebook insults and views, political rally videos should die down in 3-5 days, a week tops.

And what I've really come to realise is who rules in country is not as important as the people in it.
Come 930pm we will start to see how the people have voted. We are saying we voted for change but who is overseeing the change that should take place IN Singaporeans.

We use democracy as an excuse but I don't see anyone asking for more free speech, less control over the media, no more bans on websites..what we really want is the Government to baby us more. We say we do, but we don't really care that our democracy functions more like a communist country (except when it inconveniences us) 

In fact, Democracy is wasted on Singaporeans who have taken it and bastardized it to a whole new level. We want more money, we don't give enough to the people who need it, we are selfish and then we blame the Government. We say the Government does not help us enough, that our CPF accounts (mandatory savings) don't have enough money. We complain that we deserve to buy public housing even though we earn 2x the average working class citizen.

Well done Singapore, our democracy is really capitalism at its worst. We want more money than we can earn but we want it for ourselves yet  we expect the Government to baby us, give us what we demand AND take care of those poor, weak citizens. We've been content with living in this smothering state (I had a lecturer that very aptly called it a socialist democracy) until now when we are given to air our issues and what really hits me is how selfish these issues brought up are.

------kinda ranty, ignore if you like. Leftover angst from pre-election day------

Wake up Singapore, how many of you out there complaining have given your time, effort or money to help the poor you talk about seeing on the street? How many rich people do you know, give their money to charities, to the people with no roofs over their heads instead of boozing it up every weekend?

What really gets on my nerves is the number of young couples demanding to be allowed to buy public housing when they have combined incomes of >$8000, do you know how much that is to someone else? Why should you demand to be allowed public housing? Did you know that Singstat has pegged the Average Monthly Household Income from Work Per Household Member at $2326? (True Story)
Two of you earning >$8000 is double what an average couple would earn and yet so many of you raise this issue?

This leads me to see how short-sighted people are. If you really were worried about Singapore, why did no one bring private housing up? Its ridiculous that small old houses cost over $1million based on the area they are located in but no, we assume that we should be entitled to public housing without thinking about the thousands of other people earning less and struggling to make ends meet. And we want public housing because that gives us more money to save (so we say while jetting around the world) nevermind the people around who need public housing so they can have a roof over their heads and send their children to school.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (/end rant)

There are poor people around. Yes. There are people that live in squalor and filth. Yes. There are people who are in situations made worst by the Government's policies (true story, I live one every day). We struggle but you know, the Government cannot help each and every poor Singaporean out there. I wish it could, but it can't and it doesn't have to.  As much as it sucks to hear, the Government is there to ensure the country runs smoothly, to ensure that it remains competitive in the world and to ensure that overall its people are happy and safe.

It absolutely sucks that there are poor old people selling tissues, begging and sleeping on the street. But ask yourself this, when is the last time you donated money to these people. How often do you avoid them or politely say no? When is the last time you've helped someone from a lower income bracket than you?

We are quick to jump and say that the Government wastes its money on frivolous things (here is looking at you YOG and F1) but so do we.  If each one of us used a quarter of the amount we spent on clubbing, clothes and other frivolous things, could we not also help these needy people? Why is $1 for 3 packets of tissue often too much to ask from us?

People are now quick to jump and exploit stories where our current Government has failed, but let me tell you this.

When my father was otherwise occupied and could not earn any money for our family, we were stuck with a flat that no one could pay for but we could not afford to sell because of the loan we had taken on it.  My mother was the sole breadwinner who had to put two children through school. For two years, HBD allowed us to default our loan on the house. For two years we stayed in a house without the fear of losing it even though we didn't pay a single cent on it.

(That being said, I will not say I have not had a problem with the way HBD has its policies in order, I have. It is also not as if we aren't struggling now to pay the defaulted loan and that it kills me every day to see my mum struggle BUT help is help)

But I digress, apart from this help from the Government, the biggest help I ever got was from strangers. My mum works Sundays at a church and one of the members there used to give our family money (straight out give) for me to pay my polytechnic fees. They don't know me nor did they expect anything back. They just gave it to me. I only managed to complete my diploma because of this money, because there are people out there generous enough to share what they have.


Which leads me to my point people, you can only depend on your Government for so much.
Individually I am sure they are great people, individually they could care for your cause. But as an entity and a money making one at that, there is only so much you can expect from them.

As a whole, we Singaporeans need to start being less selfish, stop thinking about our own needs (as it is so painfully obvious in the key concerns brought up in this election), stop blaming the Government for things we've never done.

Which is why Singapore, it is not as important as who rules us but who is being ruled.  How sad is it that we define who we are by what the Government does.

A different Government cannot cure a selfish country. Change needs to come from within Singaporeans, have a heart.

As a wise person said on Facebook (even though I suspect in a whole other context) Power the fight, not fight the power.

(okay, so serious and depressed now.)

Labels: Insights, Voting

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