Everyone says 2016 is a bad year.
Why? The number of celebrity deaths, BREXIT, Trump.
Pretty strange, since deaths happen all the time and the effects of BREXIT and the Trump Presidency will not be felt until much later.
If anyone asked me what is bad about 2016, as a Singaporean I would say: Lee Hsien Loong fainting during the National Day Rally, Heng Swee Kiat suffering a stroke and the Terrex “incident”.
Not that I loved any of these “lea-duhs”. But as any good Christian should do, I should pray for them – not just for good health, but also for the guidance of the Lord be upon them, pagan believers or not. Why are these two incidents bad? Because there is yet a clear successor for the future of leadership within the government (unless you expect an Opposition party to come into power soon), and the succession appeared to be in disarray. If Singapore fails, all of us Singaporeans suffer. What is so hard to understand about that?
Why is the Terrex “incident” bad? The loss of those vehicles is really nothing much, unless sensitive electronic equipment is along with that shipment – such as signal sets. It however exposed a national identity issue – whereby I noticed that some folks, especially some from the older generation, put their ethnicity before their nationality first. Wisdom apparently does not come with age. That is about as worrisome as the loyalty of newly converted citizens of PRC origins. For those who haven’t already noticed, the “string of pearls” along the West Coast of Peninsula Malaya and the upcoming railroad across to Kuantan will diminish, if not completely neutralise Singapore’s strategic importance. That is perhaps why the Prime Minister pushed hard for TPP, even though I may not necessarily liked it myself.
In simpler terms, we are getting cut off. If history is any lesson, when part of the route along the Silk Road changed, it wiped out the ancient Kingdom of Loulan (楼兰古国). Nothing much but ruins stand in what was once a proud and powerful kingdom in the Taklamakan Desert today. Personally, I hope the Sinophiles in Singapore will be the first to suffer from China’s economic security positioning. If anyone were to ask me what I think about Sino-Singapore relations, my opinion is that it is NOT rosy. For those who think matters will simply be resolved if Singapore kowtows to China and bows to its demands, I don’t know to laugh at your naivete or be angry at your lack of a spine. I can only say you are NOT my countrymen and you are better off migrating back… “home”. Sorry about the frankness here!
And… here’s to Carrie Fisher.
May the Force be with you.
As for what is “good” about 2016? Well… “good” is a matter of perspective.
Russia bombing the anti-government forces in Syria is “good”, and it doesn’t reallt matter to me whether they are really bombing Daesh or just anti-Assad forces. To me, if that stop some of the refugees from the source, it’s actually a good thing. Way better than all that bombing by the West that seems to only strengthen Daesh and prolong the ongoing rebellion in Syria.
Amos Yee Anus Fish seeking asylum in the US is “good”. Good riddance to bad rubbish that is. May the good USA keep him so he can finally have his unfettered Freedom of Spit… erm… speech. Preferably, he can be allowed to try his religious views in Gitmo too. I’m sure the Al Qaeda and Daesh sympathizers in there will find his point of view refreshing and give him some neck-clutching encouragement.
Donald Trump winning the Presidency is “good”. He may not be President yet, but hopefully now opinion counter to those of fake-liberals will no longer be shouted down as bigotry, misogyny, hate, homophobia, Islamophobia and what not, so that the world can finally return to… at the very least… peaceably agree to disagree without some fxxks saying that no one should force their views on them and then arbitrarily make LAWS to make their views the only legal ones where those who disagree MUST accept. Of course, I can only hope Trump make rational and sensible decision… and not lead the world down the path of nuclear doom.
I can only wish for a better 2017, even though I can only see more gloom and doom ahead.