Saturday, January 22, 2005
Political Incense
In a not so surprisingly politically heated discussion on the car ride back from dinner, it was brought up by my brother how nice it must be to be the president as we passed the Istana.
There were the usual singings of how easy it was for him, to tour the world promoting Singapore and shaking hands, how rich he was, cushy government job.
And of course, the usual puppet-head-of-state argument. Which brought up the discussion on past presidents and their contribution to our sunny little island.
More importantly, that the previous 2 presidents had caused quite a stir after their rather hasty exit from the top. One bringing up that he wielded mostly next to nuts in terms of power, and the other causing quite a stir when he uncovered some dirty little money/property matters, our own little watergate if you so please.
How will our current president fair. Was he selected for his race, his colour? Is he there to pacify both the people and the government by being placate politcally-senate wise?
See, the thing was that we had just paid a rather hastily silly visit to Chinatown, braving the heat, lights, sounds and the most terrifying Singapore mob crowd for some desserts. Unfortunately for me, no amount of sweet peanut, yam and sesame paste could erase the harrowing odeal of navigating through the throngs of people and being pummeted with the sights and smells of bak kua, traditional CNY goodies, and strangely enough, okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It's only my high sense of morals that prevent me from comparing that scene to the recent tsunami disasters but if it gives you an idea, that was exactly what was coming to mind when I was wading through the sea of stinky smelly dirty people.
The thing that shocked me is our realization that Singapore's getting way way too crowded for my comforts. What is with the need to import more and more people into our little island. Are the for-lack-of-a-better-world "native" Singaporeans not facing enough trouble today with the high cost of living, the over-crowded abeit heavily COE enforced roads and what looks like a public transportation system starting to bulge at the seams.
Do we genuinely have a system of government that is "of", "by" and most importantly, "for" the people? Has our heads of state been blinded by the need to inject more money through foreign investments and by foreigners? Are we trying to best Monaco out of first place for most densely populated country from our already very respectable third placing?
It was a shock definately, the day I returned from Australia to see at the void deck, PRCs hanging out, and I mean REALLY letting everything hang out. Pieces of food, fruits and groceries strewn all over...
Please I beg of you, stop the imports and the imposters...
There were the usual singings of how easy it was for him, to tour the world promoting Singapore and shaking hands, how rich he was, cushy government job.
And of course, the usual puppet-head-of-state argument. Which brought up the discussion on past presidents and their contribution to our sunny little island.
More importantly, that the previous 2 presidents had caused quite a stir after their rather hasty exit from the top. One bringing up that he wielded mostly next to nuts in terms of power, and the other causing quite a stir when he uncovered some dirty little money/property matters, our own little watergate if you so please.
How will our current president fair. Was he selected for his race, his colour? Is he there to pacify both the people and the government by being placate politcally-senate wise?
See, the thing was that we had just paid a rather hastily silly visit to Chinatown, braving the heat, lights, sounds and the most terrifying Singapore mob crowd for some desserts. Unfortunately for me, no amount of sweet peanut, yam and sesame paste could erase the harrowing odeal of navigating through the throngs of people and being pummeted with the sights and smells of bak kua, traditional CNY goodies, and strangely enough, okonomiyaki and takoyaki. It's only my high sense of morals that prevent me from comparing that scene to the recent tsunami disasters but if it gives you an idea, that was exactly what was coming to mind when I was wading through the sea of stinky smelly dirty people.
The thing that shocked me is our realization that Singapore's getting way way too crowded for my comforts. What is with the need to import more and more people into our little island. Are the for-lack-of-a-better-world "native" Singaporeans not facing enough trouble today with the high cost of living, the over-crowded abeit heavily COE enforced roads and what looks like a public transportation system starting to bulge at the seams.
Do we genuinely have a system of government that is "of", "by" and most importantly, "for" the people? Has our heads of state been blinded by the need to inject more money through foreign investments and by foreigners? Are we trying to best Monaco out of first place for most densely populated country from our already very respectable third placing?
It was a shock definately, the day I returned from Australia to see at the void deck, PRCs hanging out, and I mean REALLY letting everything hang out. Pieces of food, fruits and groceries strewn all over...
Please I beg of you, stop the imports and the imposters...
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