Random Discourse – Resentment Against Foreigners and Bogeyman

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” The person who contemptuously speaks about immigrants could also be capable of turning against the minorities here at home. ” – Vivian Balakrishnan

The above comment was made several days ago at the Sinda Youth Leaders Seminar last Saturday. It almost escaped my notice. I often consider myself to be a master in “talking cock” (i.e. saying things that is full of nonsense), but this really takes the cake. If it isn’t “cock”, it would be propaganda from some long gone fascist regime, which often vilify certain groups and prop them up as a bogeyman.

As an ethnic Chinese, I felt threatened by the above comment in two ways. First of all, the Chinese community is the majority in Singapore as a result of history. The above statement gives me the impression that if anyone among the Chinese community speaks out against the immigration policies, this person is thus considered to harbor an agenda against the other communities in Singapore and is capable of turning on them.

How is this helpful to our nation building at all? After having come so far to build our little nation to the point whereby Chinese, Malay and Indians can sit and eat at the same table without fear of offending each other’s religious or cultural convictions, this comment has turn the clock all the way back to the 60s of the previous century. All the hard work the different races have painstakingly put in to live together in mutual respect and peace, if not in harmony with each other, has gone to waste.

Frankly, the prime suspects that would contemptuously speak out and hurt the sensitivities of our people (and not only against minorities), would be some of the foreign workers or new citizens that the ruling party has let indiscriminately into our country. Singaporeans wouldn’t even dare say something like that when they consider the Sedition Act hanging like a sword over their heads. These newcomers would have very little knowledge of our common history and the pains our grandparents and parents have all gone through. That is evident in a recent case where a mainland Chinese worker made derogatory remarks about one of our Malay brothers in a Chinese forum. If I recalled correctly, that chap was let off with just a warning. Now contrast that with the treatment of Lai Shimum, a poly student who lashed out against migrant workers and then got pounced on by a Member of Parliament [MP] from the ruling party. Further contrast that with us being asked by yet another MP of the ruling party to “reflect” when we are called “dogs” by a foreign student enjoying a scholarship given out by our country.

That brings up my next concern. Even though the Chinese are a majority in this tiny red dot, we are a minority in the Malay Archipelago. While I was born in the years after the last major racial riot in Singapore, my Malaysian Chinese friends have shared with me their understanding of the May 13 Incident in Malaysia which spilled over to Singapore. My mother spoke about the horrors of Maria Hertogh riots which she experienced as a child and how important it is for us to respect the other races. Thus, I have often cautioned my friends to be wary of the “anti-PRC” postings (i.e. postings that are hostile to those from mainland China) on shit-stirrer (if not downright xenophobic) sites such as “Temasek Times”.

There are two reasons why I do so. First of all, some of my friends often wondered if the people behind these sites have some nefarious agenda of their own. In one of the outrageous “conspiracy theories” proposed: these sites are actually run by certain “pro-government trolls”. Certainly, they deliberately cater to those who already have some grudges against the foreigners on their own, and they appear to voice the grumbles in some of our hearts. In short, these sites focus the irrational anger and hatred on certain groups of the foreigners. That amplifies the voices of certain extremists so that they drown out the reasonable concerns of those who wants a closer examination and re-evaluation of the immigrant policies. The ultimate objective would be to condition Singaporeans into believing these people to be harmful, fringe elements of our society so that we readily accept whatever law enforcement actions taken against them. In the end, all dissent against the immigration policies is put down once and for all because no one wants to be associated with these “extreme elements”.

Next, as a person of Chinese descent, to encourage or embrace “anti-PRC” sentiment is self defeating. There is only a thin line between Singapore and PRC Chinese (regardless whether they are new citizens, PRs or just migrant workers). We are different and yet similar. What happens if anger against the mainlander Chinese boils over and turns into anger against all ethnic Chinese as a whole? I would have sowed the seeds of my own destruction. Though most of us of age 40 and below would have experience any violence directed at the Chinese in Singapore, violence against the Chinese in this region is not unheard of. One of most recent happened in Jakarta in 1998.

While it may appear that I have a similar objective as the government in ending the anti-foreigner sentiments among Singaporeans, it is certainly not done to justifying the current immigration policies. I simply felt it has to be done because we are above that. A person of Vivian Balakrishnan’s brilliance should be capable of something better other than creating imaginary bogeyman in a vain attempt to justify the ruling party’s broken immigration policy. Unless his reputation is undeserved, just like some of his peers has been found wanting…

Recommended Reads:
A Singaporean In Australia: Vivian Balakrishnan – The Snake in the Cabinet

Random Discourse – Second Rochor Road Accident

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There are a number of things that irks me. Superstition is one of them. Now that there’s a second accident at the Rochor Road – Victoria Street junction, It disturbs me that some people are now saying that the junction is haunted. They argued that the reason why there are so many accidents is because an evil dead spirit (or spirits) is looking for a substitute. Frankly I wished I had a time machine to send some of these clowns back to the Dark Ages. Whatever happened to investigative, scientific thinking?

Let me put it straight – that junction is not haunted! The beauty of technology is that at times it even saves me the trip of going down to the place to take a look to back up my own views on why the things that has happened at that junction is about as natural as taking a shit in the morning.

Here are some pictures obtained on Street View on Google Earth. These pictures are dated March 2009. Notice the overhead traffic light facing Victoria Street towards Kallang at the junction. I have made the effort to identify them for those with the reverse of hawkeye. Before anyone scream about these pictures being outdated, just take a look at them first as I am not done making my point.


Looking back at the overhead traffic light on Victoria Street towards Kallang
View of overhead traffic light from Rochor Road

Bus Stop and overhead traffic light in the distance from the direction of Victoria Street
Click for full size

Now on to the point I am trying to make. Take a look at this recent picture which Michael Cheng gave me permission to use.

The overhead traffic light facing Victoria Street towards Kallang is gone. It has been removed. I recalled some comments about this junction being accident prone, and the newspapers even reported that they caught several people beating the light at that area when their reporters stationed there one of the nights. However, the newspapers failed to tell us whether the accidents were a really recent occurrence or something that has been ongoing for years.

Personally, I think it is a fairly recent occurrence. This junction has existed for years but it was only recently modified for the construction of the Downtown Line (if not also the Bugis Station for that line). Did the problems only start after this modification?

Now consider this. When a driver cruises down Victoria Street at night, there is enough distance between the Victoria Street – Middle Road junction until the pedestrian crossing at Bugis Village to pick up speed. If both the traffic signals are synchornised and “red”, the driver would have slowed down as he approaches. However, if the traffic signal at the pedestrian crossing (just a mere 50 meters or more before the junction) has been green when the driver drove past the Victoria Street – Middle Road junction, and there isn’t another overhead traffic light at the Rochor Road – Victoria Street junction, the driver may be misled into believing that all traffic signals are in his favor and thus step on the gas towards the Ophir Road – Victoria Street junction. There simply isn’t enough reaction time for him to react when he realised that his perception was in error after that.

If this is the case, all the accidents that has happened at this junction is hardly supernatural but rather a situation that is caused by an oversight of the Land Transport Authority [LTA]. While the LTA can argue that a driver should slow down when he approaches a traffic light (even when it is in his favor), it cannot absolve itself from the responsibility of ensuring that drivers are not misled by traffic signals into making decisions that could cause harm not only to themselves but also other road users. LTA should explain why the overhead traffic light at this junction was removed in the first place and whether its removal is the cause of these horrifying and even fatal traffic accidents.

In my opinion, on top of restoring the overhead traffic light at the Rochor Road – Victoria Street junction, the LTA can consider turning off just after midnight the traffic lights at the pedestrian crossing just 50meters before the junction since there will be few people using that junction after midnight. Even better, the LTA should just remove this pedestrian crossing permanently since it is a hazard to pedestrians anyway. Just do a search on Youtube for “Traffic Light Bugis Village” and take a look at the videos put up by concerned members of the public.

Next, relocate the bus stop further up to Illuma. Pedestrians can then use the overhead bridge between Bugis Junction and Illuma for crossing. Apart from the reasons mentioned above that would support the removal of this pedestrian crossing, its removal should also smoothen traffic and reduce congestion along that part of Victoria Street as well.

I sincerely hope the LTA will act promptly to do something about the traffic signals at the Rochor Road – Victoria Street junction, and also to evaluate the feasibility of removing the hazardous and problematic pedestrian crossing between Bugis Village and Bugis Junction and to move the bus stop further up the road. That should put an end to all that mentally unhealthy, superstitious views that are now making their rounds on the Internet.

Update:
From TODAYonline: “After two accidents occurred at the same spot in as many weeks, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) yesterday said it would synchronise the timings of the traffic lights in the area. The traffic signals at the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street, and the pedestrian crossing linking Bugis Junction and Bugis Village will now turn green at about the same time.”

*sigh* Cosmetic changes. What about the “human jam” problem at the pedestrian crossing linking Bugis Junction and Bugis Village in the day and the traffic congestion it caused?

Photos – Army Open House 2012

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The best description of my feelings for National Service [NS] would be: It’s complicated.

My platoon mates and my officers know for a fact I am the worst kind of soldier. In fact, it is clear that I ain’t fit to be one since I am often lost and confused when in green uniform. The only good news is that I haven’t gotten anyone of them hurt (or worse, killed) during my Operationally-Ready NS training. Truth be told, I rarely passed my IPPT [Individual Physical Proficiency Test] and I am a regular visitor of Maju Camp for Remedial Training [RT]. That is why I have also previously mentioned that I probably won’t survive for long as a soldier if a war breaks out, and at times I really hated National Service and even considered it a waste of time. That said, RT has kept me healthy and fit as I do not have the discipline to exercise on my own. These days, I am just getting fat.

Yet, if you were to tell me about abolishing NS or reducing the conscription period further, you will see me jump out and defend it. That is not hypocrisy. Because whether I liked NS or not, if I won’t defend my country – then who will?

I am glad I visited “Army Open House @ Our City 2012” held at the F1 Pit building near the Singapore Flyer this year. I must congratulate the Singapore Armed Forces [SAF], the Ministry of Defense [MINDEF] and in particular the organising committee for making this year’s Army Open House a success. This has got to be the best Army Open House I have been to. Even if there are those who won’t feel the same, it is still one of the best Army Open House ever. This is much needed at a time when the institution of National Service has suffered some blow to its public image.

I had to say our army has come a long way. While it is the fighting men, and not the equipment or weaponry that wins the war, I am impressed by the array of equipment and armaments that the SAF has procured over the years. In fact, while I am not very convinced that our armed forces can fight any conflict over a prolonged period in the past, I am now more assured that we are better equip to prosecute such a conflict if it was forced upon us. It is not the state of art Leopard 2 Main Battle Tans or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that convinced me of that, but the mobile kitchens and field washing machines that did so.

It doesn’t matter how well verse you are in Sun Tzu or von Clausewitz or how good a military history student you imagine yourself to be when you cannot appreciate the significance of mobile kitchens and field washing machines. What you have learn is all in vain if you do not understand how much soldiers appreciate a change of fresh uniforms and hot food in the field. However insignificant these equipment may look and no matter how useless they are in actual combat, it makes up by boossting the morale of the troops. The army marches on its stomach and combat rations can only last you so long. Freshly cooked food would be as good as godsend. Powder baths may keep rashes at bay, but a fresh change in uniforms goes a long way in keep a soldier comfortable on the front line. It also meant that the SAF no longer need to maintain a long supply line back to Singapore, since it can now utilise food and water in enemy territory on the move. The prospect of the SAF staying for extended periods would give opposing military planners pause when they consider plans to wage war against Singapore.

Before I bore everyone with a lengthly, boring lecture… here are the pictures I have taken at the Open House on Saturday (May 26th, 2012). Enjoy the pictures and see how far the SAF has come from the days of our fathers in the army to the time of their sons.

Recommended Reads:
Xinyun: Event: Army Open House 2012 ( #AOH12 ) @ F1 Pit
DK: Army Open House 2012

Afterthoughts – Hougang By-Election

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Hougang voters celebrating
Photo of Rebecca Chin

Congratulations to the Workers’ Party [WP] and Mr Png Eng Huat for winning the seat of Hougang Single Member Constituency [SMC]. Mr Png has beaten his opponent by a majority of 5,237 votes. While the WP’s majority is reduced by 1548 votes, only a pathetic 145 (less than 10%) went to his opponent. For the ruling party’s candidate, it was like failing the exam a year ago and then doing just as badly in the sub-paper a year later. Has he actually been doing his home work? For starters, stop shamelessly saying that Hougang has fallen behind because of the opposition. If you really cared for Hougang as you have claimed and have any conscience left, the very least you can do is to resign from the very party which has deliberately punished everyone (even your own supporters) there for the past 20 years. Otherwise, there is no point even if you are capable of weeping yourself a new river in Hougang.

The courageous voters of Hougang have decided resoundingly to maintain the status quo of 6 WP Members of Parliament [MPs]. By electing Mr Png Eng Huat, they have not only resounding rejected the ruling party’s attempted character assassination, but also demonstrated that they accept (if not necessarily approve) how the WP has handled the indiscretion of Mr Yaw Shin Leong. Like I have mentioned, the WP deserved points for their political courage in expelling Mr Yaw from the party and going back to the people with a new candidate. As far as I am concerned, the outcome of this by-election simply indicated to me that when a political party diligent served the people and champion their causes, its candidates will always trump what those of the ruling party no matter how hard the ruling party’s leaders try to drag them through the mud. In this case, not only had the mud-slinging failed dismally, the very person who was the most enthusiastic at it has clearly been left in the mud pool himself. Just leave the scrutinising of the opposition candidate to the voters, alright? The ruling party can quit regarding the electorate with such low regard and contempt. We are NOT daft at all!

If there is one thing that made me remember this by-election fondly, it would be the rally at Hougang on May 22nd, 2012 (Tuesday). While I admired the WP speakers who stood in the rain until the rally’s end, what was more touching was the events that transpired among the rally attendees. A friend said that the elections always bring out the worst in people, but I beg to differ. In this case it has brought out the best!

There is courage – an old lady with two umbrellas kept them closed and stood in the rain along with the WP speakers. (For those who would fault her for not sharing her umbrellas, touch your heart and ask yourself whether you would share your own umbrella.) There is also a kampong spirit – people sharing their umbrella with those (even strangers) who didn’t have one, aunties tearing their plastic bags into 2 and giving it to others and some men taking off their shirts to shelter old folks and kids. And finally, there is also determination – where a family of 5 was observed gathering under a small umbrella. Many of the attendees that night stayed in spite of the rain and this was reported on social media fondly by those who were present.

What transpired that evening tells me that we can aspire to have a different Singapore. We can have a caring, non-elitist Singapore that cease to operate in a cold, selfish, calculative, ruthless, repulsive and inhuman logic where the people are made to believe that certain interests must be given priority. It shouldn’t be a Singapore where we believe that the people fell behind because of “their own fault”. Can you imagine that those with umbrellas kept to themselves and leave those without to suffer the rain because… “just who the hell asked them not to be prepared anyway”?

We Singaporeans can be better than that! That is perhaps why capable people who left Singapore never want to come back. Frankly, regardless of how many $4-million Singapore Day were organised overseas, no one would ever come back to a home that has turned into a hotel, and a country that is run like a corporation. While it is my regret that I wasn’t personally there to observe all that transpired at the rally that evening, it gave me the strength to drag myself to Hougang 2 days later in spite of my running nose, a nasty cough and a nagging back ache. Two other colleague went along with me, and one of them was similarly inflicted by the flu bug.

I was thankful the skies remained clear until the rally ended. After hearing them speak, I am convinced that Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Chen Show Mao and Mr Low Thia Khiang would have given any of the ruling party’s leaders a run for their money on a one-to-one stand up debate any time. Though it might appear on the main stream media [MSM] that the WP’s MPs were constantly rebutted and “beaten” in Parliamentary sessions, it merely convinced me that we need to further reduce the ruling party’s majority to put an end to these verbal “gang-rapes” that opposition MPs are subjected to in Parliament. Meanwhile, allow me to take this opportunity salute Mr Chiam See Tong and Mr Low Thia Khiang for having survived all those years when there were just two of them in Parliament. Special honor should also be given to JB Jeyaratnam, the first opposition MP since 1968. They have stood high with courage in spite of the jeers they received. Special mention should also be given to Anson, the birthplace of Singapore’s democracy.

MP-Elect Mr Png Eng Huat, I hope you will serve the people of Hougang faithfully and with all your heart and all your might. For it will be unforgivable if you or the WP let them down after bringing out the best of Singapore at the Hougang field next to Block 837 on the evening of May 22nd. It will also be as good as letting the rest of Singapore down. Good luck and all the best, sir!

Recommended Reads:
The Itch To Write: That spirit, the HOUGANG SPIRIT!
dk.sg: The day after Hougang By Election

Current Affairs – Hougang By-Election

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Crowd at the Workers Party Rally 22-5-2012 in spite of the rain
Photo obtained here

The hottest news this month has got to be the Hougang By-Election. This was the result of the Workers’ Party [WP] Expulsion of Yaw Shin Leong, who was the previous Member of Parliament [MP] of Hougang Single Member Constituency [SMC]. Whatever I had to say about the WP’s handling of Mr Yaw, I have already written it down in an old post here. The only thing I had to add on is that even though I didn’t like how the entire matter was handled, I would still give the WP points for the political courage to put its future in Hougang on the chopping block by coming back to voters with another candidate. I can’t really say the same about the ruling party when I consider the failures of a few ex-ministers who suddenly retired only last year – and probably enjoying their pensions.

I chuckled when I saw Desmond Choo’s slogan – “Always there for you”. Indeed, the ruling party has always been there for Hougang. It has always been there to ensure that the lives of Hougangers are as miserable as possible in a vain hope that Hougang voters will repent their decision for the past 20 years since Mr Low Thia Kiang was elected as the MP of Hougang in 1991. Lest we forget, before the General Elections [GE] last May, an ex-candidate of the ruling party who lost twice to Mr Low Thia Khiang even had the gall to call Hougang a slum. It doesn’t matter that on the HDB’s website, the resale prices of HDB flats in Hougang SMC weren’t very much different from those of Aljunied Group Representative Constituency (then under the ruling party) across the street. I cannot imagine why anyone who pay that kind of money for a HDB unit in Hougang had it been a slum!

Even if Hougang had been a slum, it certainly wasn’t the fault of the WP that Hougang has fallen behind in terms of facilities and upgrading. Mr Low Thia Khiang has said as much and those who had attended the rallies would have some idea what the WP had tried to do, only to see those requests rejected when the flats are older and should have higher priority than some of the newer flats in a constituency won by the ruling party. Simply put, it is not only the WP voters of Hougang that were punished for exercising their democratic rights, even those who voted for the ruling party were similarly punished. Is it a surprise that votes for the ruling party had constantly diminished in Hougang over the last 20 years? After all, why would anyone vote for a party that holds him in contempt even though he did not vote for the other side? It also goes to show that not only did WP serve the people, it is also doing something right that the voters found it worthwhile to keep the WP candidate elected in spite of the pain!

As the campaign progressed, I sometimes wondered whether it was Desmond Choo who is contesting for Hougang, or the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Teo Chee Hean. After all, Mr Teo appears to have the most to say about Mr Png Eng Huat, the WP’s candidate for Hougang. He started his attacks on Mr Png by suggesting that Mr Png wasn’t the best man WP has to offer because it was Mr Gerald Giam and not Mr Png that was selected for the position of Non-Constituency MP [NCMP].

Frankly, the fact that Mr Giam was selected as NCMP wasn’t because he was the best, but because he was young. The leaked memo clearly showed that to be the case as it stated that the Secretary General (Mr Low) and Chairman (Ms Sylvia Lim) “explained the situation and to impress upon Eric Tan the critical situation WP faced in the future regarding leadership renewal.”

As such, sending Gerald Giam as NCMP into Parliament was a sound strategic decision by the WP’s Central Executive Committee [CEC]. In fact, when we consider that the WP had no ministers which coat tails new blood can ride on to sneak into Parliament, this was the best way Gerald Giam can receive his baptism of fire and hone his debating skills in Parliament. His dismal performance during the ministerial pay revision debate would have taught him some valuable lessons. Just like training soldiers, the best training is to put them in the most realistic combat situation. It is horrendous that having been a high ranking navy officer previously, Mr Teo had forgotten that.

It was such a lame, cheap shot at Mr Png’s qualification as a candidate which shouldn’t have been given any consideration. If Mr Png actually have to dignify that with a reply, he should have simply pointed out that Ong Ye Kung would be an even better candidate than Desmond Choo because if I remembered correctly, Mr Ong was touted to be minister material and he certainly won more votes in the previous election as a candidate in the ruling party’s Aljunied GRC team! It would have been way better than saying that he had never been interested in the NCMP position. I was simply disappointed that Mr Png not only fell for such a cheap trick, it further created another opening for Mr Teo to question his integrity. I won’t bother to talk about that, since it is up to Mr Png to defend his own integrity and honor.

Anyway, had I been a resident of Hougang who is able to vote in this by-election, the decision is a no brainer. What the PAP is doing is almost like Chinese opera, where the party – as the government – plays the “White Face” (the bad guy) while Desmond Choo plays the “Black Face” (the good guy). It is nothing but wayang and there is simply no reason whatsoever to vote for a candidate from a party which caused all the pain and agony in Hougang in the first place. That’s not forgetting that the ruling party has complete dominance in Parliament. In a certain way, it is more than just one party dominance, it is a one party dictatorship. Had it not been the opposition’s historical break-through last year, it is unlikely that the ruling party would have put more effort into acting upon our feedback where it has for years pretend to listen to them. In short, the ruling party would have ignored us had the electorate “not stuck the spurs into their hide”.

There is simply no reason to pull the spurs out right now when we should have dug them deeper last May.

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