Ladies and Gentlemen,
Singapore state controlled newspaper or propaganda sheet, whichever name you want to call it, the Straits Times online edition of August 11, 2010 has the story "SDN gives singles a push". It is another hopeless effort on the part of a government to urge Singapore young men and women to get married, which they hitherto are stubbornly refusing to do in any meaningful numbers. The birth rate in the island continues to decline, it's population rapidly shrinking, which would mean sooner than later, there are no Singaporeans left.
The million dollar ministers there whose job is to be on the good side of Lee Kuan Yew, rather than using their heads which they should be doing, simply do not get it.
They simply don't understand that the declining birth rate, the massive emigration rate and the universal political apathy and indifference of Singaporeans is because they are unhappy.
They don't appear to understand that an unhappy people would refuse to marry, not have children, leave the country, and completely decouple from their government. And they don't appear to understand that to reverse these unfavorable trends, you have to make them happy. Any ten year old would have told you that. A happy people would marry, have children and make Singapore their home instead of trying to run away from Singapore as fast as they can.
This newspaper story refers once again to "marriage rates dipping over the last decade" and "singles will be urged once again not to leave it to fate to find that special partner". Really I find these efforts hard to believe. Do they really think that anyone, including the super obedient compliant Singaporeans, would marry simply because the government wants them to!
And then there is even more astonishing stuff. It says "a new campaign will encourage people to be proactive about expanding their social circle- it's OK to do it though an agency- as well as moderate their expectations of Mr. or Miss Right". Believe it or not, the Singapore government is asking people to get married regardless of whether you fancy the woman or man! What will they say next, go marry a one-eyed woman because Lee Kuan Yew wants you to do it!
There is even more rubbish in it. There is even going to be a televised dating program. I don't know what surprises they have in mind this time; perhaps you chose a woman on the screen, and meet her the next day at MacRitchie Park.
I remember last time, they had another similarly idiotic matrimonial exercise. This was about a year ago, when men and women were lined up at Singapore subway rail station platforms who would spend a few minutes with the opposite sex inside the arriving trains with the Minister Iswaran standing on the platform to persuade them to propose and fall in love instantly. What was more shocking was that each man or woman was given only about 5 minutes to decide on his life partner! You could call it "Love at first sight on Singapore Rail", with the minster officiating as some sort of an instant matchmaker!
Obviously, it simply didn't work and like every other of these dictatorships harebrained ideas, was never heard of again.
And now this new nonsense.
The Singapore government has to understand, which I don't think they will, is this. Unless you permit citizen participation and dissenting voices in the island, Singaporeans are simply going to withdraw into their cocoons, where thy now are. They are not going to listen to you, not cooperate with you, not have babies, not marry and they will leave your island, and ultimately you will simply fail.
As long as you think you can talk down to your people and order them to do this and that and bully them into submission, you simply cannot earn their respect. And not earning their respect, you will have a disengaged population. And a disengaged population means that none of your policies would ever be successful. It is as simple as that.
And each time you write this nonsense in the Singapore press, Gopalan Nair and numerous other like minded Gopalan Nairs will criticize you, and Singaporeans will read it, and even more Singaporeans would decouple and completely refuse to have anything to do with you or your policies.
In the end, you will be left talking to yourself. And no one will hear.
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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7 comments:
That's why we need to say NO to Your Overbearing Government aka YOG!
This is my testimony of the young Singaporeans in the campus:
THEY NEVER EVER LAUGH SPONTANEOUSLY when they hang around themselves or with fellow Singaporeans.
THIS IS IN STARK contrast than young people in my own country. They are a lot happier than any young Singaporean.
Young but have lost their spark of life!
NOT surprising considering they are living at the mercy of their despotic ruler, the same people who tried to murder me then defame me with nothing less than crazy to save their ass! These rulers are bunch of cowards and sissies!
Renaldi
The feudal lord of Singapore has missed a trick here. Since his is the only law, why not introduce the rule of droit de seigneur, "the lord's right", a term used to describe an alleged legal right allowing the lord of an estate to take the virginity of his serf's maiden daughters? Mao had a go at it, apparently.
All Singaporeans are serfs. This way he solves the national population drought at a stroke (or 1.5 million strokes as the case may be). If the plumbing no longer functions satisfactorily there's always Viagra. It's the perfect win-win solution for an eugenics freak with delusions of superior DNA, isn't it?
I agree with Renaldi. Young singaporeans have lost their spark.
I am currently in my 20s and ever since in secondary school (age 13-16) there is a huge pressure to perform. there's only one way to lead the singaporean life. good school, good uni, good grades, good job, and eventually marriage.
any other routes taken, ie to work after college and not going into uni straight away is highly frowned upon. or to take one year after graduating from uni to travel is also something that a lot of employers do not understand.
yet with everything else in singapore growing, our pay is the only thing that stays stagnant. How to even consider marriage when that in itself is another set of financial burden altogether? a burden that will most probably take almost the next thirty yrs slogging our guts out to pay for.
I am glad i'm migrating in 2 yrs time. in the meantime wish me luck!
Blame PAP. They claim that one-party is better for Singapore.
Anyway, it has been raining in Singapore and causing damages to cars (due to falling trees)
Flooding in Rowell Road, time to bring out the kayak
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/in_the_heartlands/431204/flood_time_to_bring_out_the_kayak.html
Stopping the flood Singapore style - because insurer won't pay for acts of nature.
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/in_the_heartlands/436132/driver_wraps_car_in_sheets_in_case_of_flood.html
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/lifestyle/CTrendsLifestyle-100815.htm
Perks for dating
A shocking 42% of men aged 30-34 are single; of all Singaporeans who married last year, four in 10 chose foreign partners. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Aug 15, 2010
WHEN the tight-fisted government gives away anything resembling free money, people here sit up. Such things rarely happen.
In an effort to encourage 75,000 singles to wed, it is subsidising 90% of their dating costs worth some S$500 each.
The state’s matchmakers, who began operation in 1984, are doing this for a crucial objective – to raise matrimonial rates.
At the same time, a government campaign will be launched to get singles between 20 and 35 years to actively expand their social circle to find life partners, even using a dating agency.
This govt really makes our lives miserable. They promote immoral activities such as love at 1st sight, bar top dancing, primary school sex education, makes divorce suit easier, etc. And last time they have SDU and SDS match making just to separate tertiary education and other level. Because of this, the chances of getting married even lesser. And they don't accept age more than 35 years old. They should know that for younger people they don't need much help of this kind of activity. Only older people need this kind of service. The govt just totally out of touch with the ground. Also, people don't get married because of their busy work schedule and low income level. Also they don't want to afar children because they don't want their children to suffer under this non democratic regime. All because of PAP and nooned else to be blamed.
What you're saying is total nonsense.
In a 5 000 000 city-state, the population will of course decrease, because there is just no place for so many people on a small island.
Also it is this way everywhere: the richer and more informatised, liberalised & secularised the population gets, the less children they have.
So, Singaporeans have few children because they are rich, have access to information, live ia a liberal society (concerning their personal life & activity) and don't pay much attention to religion, and NOT because they are "unhappy".
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