<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Lauding nation's achievements and criticising deficiencies not mutually exclusive
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WRITE in response to last Saturday's Forum Online letter by Ms Juliet Chua, 'Shame on you, young bloggers'.
First, with regard to Ms Chua's statement that she was irked by young people who 'blog negatively about the Singapore Government', I would like to point out that criticism or negativity about the Government is not exclusive to young bloggers; older ones are also critical of the Government.
In fact, being critical of the Government is not unique to any community or group, online or otherwise.
Like Ms Chua, I acknowledge, appreciate and applaud the achievements of Singapore under the leadership of the incumbent government. However, this does not preclude me from adopting a critical stance towards lapses in performance and deficiencies in public policies. Being appreciative of Singapore's achievements and being critical of the deficiencies are not mutually exclusive.
As Nominated MP Viswa Sadasivan aptly pointed out in his maiden speech in Parliament: 'There is a distinct difference between being pro-Singapore and anti-government.' Perhaps Ms Chua was hitting out against some of the baseless criticism against the Government that exists on the Internet.
With regard to this, while I concede that such criticism does exist on the Internet, it pales in comparison with the significant amount of well-reasoned and insightful discussion about local politics and public policies that also exist online. And Ms Chua would perhaps be surprised to know that such discussion is by both young and older Singaporeans.
Lastly, while Singapore may have progressed greatly, there remain aspects in which it can and should improve. I believe such improvement would not be possible if Singaporeans, thinking that criticism is a sign of ingratitude, keep silent about deficiencies they recognise. Such improvement will also not come about if all of us only praise Singapore's past achievements.
Loh Choong Chiat
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I WRITE in response to last Saturday's Forum Online letter by Ms Juliet Chua, 'Shame on you, young bloggers'.
First, with regard to Ms Chua's statement that she was irked by young people who 'blog negatively about the Singapore Government', I would like to point out that criticism or negativity about the Government is not exclusive to young bloggers; older ones are also critical of the Government.
In fact, being critical of the Government is not unique to any community or group, online or otherwise.
Like Ms Chua, I acknowledge, appreciate and applaud the achievements of Singapore under the leadership of the incumbent government. However, this does not preclude me from adopting a critical stance towards lapses in performance and deficiencies in public policies. Being appreciative of Singapore's achievements and being critical of the deficiencies are not mutually exclusive.
As Nominated MP Viswa Sadasivan aptly pointed out in his maiden speech in Parliament: 'There is a distinct difference between being pro-Singapore and anti-government.' Perhaps Ms Chua was hitting out against some of the baseless criticism against the Government that exists on the Internet.
With regard to this, while I concede that such criticism does exist on the Internet, it pales in comparison with the significant amount of well-reasoned and insightful discussion about local politics and public policies that also exist online. And Ms Chua would perhaps be surprised to know that such discussion is by both young and older Singaporeans.
Lastly, while Singapore may have progressed greatly, there remain aspects in which it can and should improve. I believe such improvement would not be possible if Singaporeans, thinking that criticism is a sign of ingratitude, keep silent about deficiencies they recognise. Such improvement will also not come about if all of us only praise Singapore's past achievements.
Loh Choong Chiat
