Sunday, July 11, 2010

A different Singapore.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If you were born in Singapore like I have, you would have noticed it has changed completely. What it was in my younger days is a far cry from what it is now.

Lee Kuan Yew's government wanting to develop Singapore, albeit for himself alone, while at the same time confronted with a serious shortage of babies, with reproduction below replacement level, coupled with massive emigration of the educated, an insurmountable double whammy, caused him to solve the problem with human imports especially from Mandarin speaking China.

This meant of course that Singapore is today a far less an English speaking country and I expect in a few years, the main language of communication, if it is not so already will be Mandarin, not English. This is not something Lee Kuan Yew, in his determination to preserve power in himself can possibly avoid, since it has already become impossible for a Malay or Indian to engage in even basic communication in several parts of the city like Chinatown and Ang Mo Kio.

With Chinese Mandarin being the lingua franca in Singapore within the next few years, Singapore can forget it's plans of becoming a great nation, albeit a small one, with a thriving science and arts culture, like the great democratic cities of London and New York. At best it can play second fiddle to Shanghai and Beijing to act as translator and interpreter in their poor English, for the Communist Chinese who have no English at all.

As Lee Kuan Yew continues to deny basic human rights and the rule of law to it's citizens, educated Singaporeans who do not see the need to live under any dictatorship continue to pack their bags for a life abroad. And this would mean an ever greater number of Mandarin speaking Chinese pouring into Singapore to replace those leaving, thereby increasing the dissatisfaction of the local Malays and Indians and forcing even more educated Singaporeans to flee the island.

As for educated Singaporeans still living there, it takes a particularly anaemic and weak individual, weak and helpless in spirit, to willingly remain in an island where he knows he has no rights at all. A meeting with any Singaporean clerk or executive will make that clear. He will say he is helpless, there is nothing he can do, to challenge Lee Kuan Yew is a dangerous thing, and according to him, the best thing is to simply accept the government's repression and go on with life. He has no courage, no sense of pride, honor or adventure. He, an average Singaporean is as good as dead. Life for him is to be lived as safely as possible without any uncertainty or challenge whatsoever. As long as you work in Lee Kuan Yew's HDB, you will get a pay check and have 3 meals a day. And that for the average Singaporean, who has opted to remain in the island, is more than enough.

But for those at the very top of society, with a college degree, preferably a foreign one, with the ability to earn a living at home or abroad, such a life is not enough. His pride, self confidence and a faith in his qualities tell him that he is as good a Lee Kuan Yew if not better, therefore who is he to talk down at me and treat me like a slave? Such qualified men an women, the very ones Singapore needs the most are the very ones who continue to leave the island in ever increasing numbers, leaving behind only those who are weak, cowardly, incapable and content individuals incapable of doing anything, except to follow orders.

In this competitive world, such unimaginative Singaporeans consumed with fear and incapable of taking risk cannot possibly push Singapore ahead into 21 century as a great nation. All it can hope to achieve is a second rate nation behind Communist China.

If Singapore is run, it is not by Singaporeans but by foreigners. Both the foreign and local banks employ foreign high level executives to run the show temporarily for very high salaries. Local Singaporeans have no part at all in this, and in any case they don't have the skills that the foreigners have, and they never will.

It is the same story with international businesses in the island and with commercial lawyers and executives of both local and foreign businesses. They are all foreign, not local. Lee Kuan Yew does not have the schools to train these people and in any case, if they did have the training, they would have left Singapore anyway.

Singapore is today and will increasingly become a joke, a one party state, with a state controlled press, where the import of gum is a criminal offense, and where a criminal is beaten with a stick in judicial punishment; a country not for Singaporeans but a place for foreigners who come in temporarily to make money and leave. As Singaporeans continue to be disgruntled by having to live as a slave in their own country, more will leave, even less babies will be born meaning even more Chinese Mandarin speaking human imports.

Progressively its position as a banking and commercial center will also be lost because banking requires English, not Mandarin Chinese and in any case there won't be any more skilled thinking Singaporeans left. They would all be in Australia or Canada.

I found it impossible myself to live under such circumstances and I am not the only one who thinks this way. And neither did I want my children to live such lives.

They live in America, a society where their success depends on their ability alone, not the patronage of a particular dictator and his political party. A society in which they can think openly and express their thoughts freely without fear. A society in which they can live as human beings, as it was intended. A society in which their destiny is in their own hands, not that of any dictator. They will never live in a country like Singapore.

Gopalan Nair
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914
Email: nair.gopalan@yahoo.com
Blog: http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/

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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's the trap of any tyrant. He knows his reign should end but he's powerless to quit.

Intoxicated with power, wealth and self grandeur he will persist fully aware that all he could do is buying time for the inevitable regress of the society and country he's controlling. In the end he would stop caring for his own citizens simply because he would be unable to do so and put the wealthy investors and executive foreigners at the forefront of every business in Singapore, basically selling his pots to the foreigners and hoping they would continually support his regime.

Renaldi

mycroft said...

Singapore's like a shiny Christmas tree bauble, gleaming on the outside but brittle and hollowed-out of value inside. A monument to one man's inferiority complex and overweening hubris. You are correct in pointing out that the place is inexorably emptying of smarts and they're being rapidly replaced by dross. The very best and creative minds clear off just as soon as they can afford to, taking their families with them. Apart from a few brave souls, few intelligent people with any self-respect would willingly choose to spend all their lives in a cage, even a gilded one.The earlier less-brainwashed generations are ageing and dying out. What's left in the general populace is, to be honest, what might fairly be described as the losers. But no matter, the native Singaporean species is expendable anyway, soon to be replaced by native Mandarin speakers.

150 years of a slowly evolved, uniquely local patois which contained elements from all the local languages and united the different races was consigned to the dustbin of history by control-freakery and an overpowering urge to play God. Frankly, setting out to create an over-armed, prickly Chinese-speaking fortress smack dab in the middle of a Malay ocean doesn't exactly strike me as the best way to win first prize for friendly neighbourhood relations. I suspect it is more to do with ratcheting up the xenophobia level in order to keep political power than it is to do with national security. One day, a price might have to be paid for the sabre-rattling but of course not by the original perpetrators. Certain Westernised Oriental Gentlemen would long since have fled the scene of their crime to enjoy their ill-gotten gains in comfort and safety elsewhere - in an English-speaking bolt-hole, I'm willing to bet.

LEEapore said...

Where we used to have meritocracy, now we have meLEEtocracy. We used to have lawyers, now we only have LEEyers, anything that is legalised is now LEEegalised.
We used to support the grassroot but now, we are wary of the grassLOOT, even the founding ministers have given way to miLEE$ter$.
The butter & bread issues are still the same. We have not progressed. In fact, we are being marginalised.

Anonymous said...

A different Singapore?
Some things have not changed.

Eg Using the 1966 Vandalism Act which was originally passed to curb the spread of communist graffiti in Singapore during the period following Singaporean independence.

Most countries have found other ways to deal with vandals. Consider this comment ...
"Obviously this Swiss citizen did not follow the laws of Singapore. It's your decision, but the perception in our country is not a positive one because for a long time, we have moved from such penalties to other than physical punishment," said Swiss President Leuthard.

Next, Internal Security Act. Need I write more ... Conveniently left behind by Lee to create a fascist state.

Anonymous said...

Hi :
What is your opinion on the recent PAP banning of Lim Hock Siew video?
http://www.vimeo.com/13292596

Gopalan Nair said...

Hi Anonymous of Jul 14, 0208,

If you are following my blog, you would know what my opinion is by now.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

Many do want to leave spore but need to bridge the new countries first before allowed to renounce their citizenship here. So it becomes false imprisonment since floodgates are opened to foreigners but Sporeans cannot get out since other countries do not grant citizenship easily: You are LUCKY TO HAVE GOTTEN OUT. Bless You Sir!! & keep enlightening us!!!

Gopalan Nair said...

To Anonymous Jul 14, 0955,

Getting out of Singapore is not as hard as you think. Of course countries such as Australia and Canada require qualifications and skills before they let you in. If you do not have the skills, you can always gain it to move out. If you want to get out, you will be able to. I am sure of that. If you need some specific help, call me.
Good Luck

Gopalan Nair said...

To Anonymous,
In fact the emigration rates from Singapore is already one of the highest in the world. There are already many hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans all over the world today, and very soon, there will be more Singaporeans outside Singapore than within. They are being replaced by recent human imports from the Peoples Republic of Communist China, resulting in Singapore having an entirely repalced population or a foreign population within the island.

Josh Ng said...

To the Anonymous (Wed Jul 14, 09:55:00 AM)

"other countries do not grant citizenship easily"

From the Singaporean viewpoint, you will need to do some research work and understand that countries like Australia, the UK, NZ work differently from Singapore. Dealing with Singapore, you can never work out what the outcome is going to be. In Australia, the UK, NZ, these countries spell out what kind of migrants they need. As long as you meet their requirements and stay within their quotas, you will get your visa and after a period of time, become a citizen.

AS for USA, you are already spoken to Mr Nair who is an Immigration lawyer. http://www.us-immigrationlaw.com/

If you want to escape from your "jail", better act fast. Age is a factor in migration.

Anonymous said...

A foreign talent that will be welcomed.

LKY is paid $3 million a year by his son to ]forecast'.

What a ripoff. Germany's Paul the octopus can do it for much less.

Time to start a petition to bring Paul to Singapore and retire LKY.


Foreign talent comes in many ways.

Anonymous said...

Leaving Singapore and emiggrating was the best decision I've ever made. Many people don't know that the PAP and its crony the HDB's secrets. Those who lived in HDB flats do NOT own that flat. They have only paid the rent for 99 years or the balance of that. HDB is the landlord. Yet you have to pay for any upgrades. After 99 years, its worth zero for the "owner".

To come out on top, move out of Singapore or have nothing to do with the HDB. Collect all your CPF. Singapore is truly run like a company. Do not think for a second that the PAP is concerned for your wellbeing.

You remember the movie "The Matrix"? Well to the PAP, you are the battery! You are only there to generate wealth for them! And they don't care about you!

srbhk said...

What I wonder is why the Singapore Govt. is allowing all the immigrations in the first place, if the situation is so alarming? Is it not making any efforts to keep its talent from going away?

sunny said...

harry dreaming singapore one day would become switzeland of asia.

but with the frequent flash flood now affected most of singapore land i think singapore is more appropriate to become vanice of asia. hehehe.

i don't know whether harry worth 3 million dollar a month???

Anonymous said...

http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/07/18/newspaper-photographer-detained-for-taking-flood-photos/comment-page-4/#comment-111033

Anonymous said...

Dr. Lim Hock Siew is Singapore's Mandela.

The video was powerful and Dr. Lim so eloquent.

One can understand why LKY still fears Dr. Lim


http://us.asiancorrespondent.com/the-asia-file/does-censorship-work-in-singapore


http://www.vimeo.com/13292596