PAP's New Strategy - will it work?

[metalmickey]

One can spend a whole lifetime talking about stuff, as there's endless stuff to occupy all available time, even many lifetimes. But it serves no useful purpose other than as a means to occupied all the time. Bickering academically over endless matters is pointless.

I'm not bickering with eremarf. Most of the bickering in this thread ended around 2 weeks back. I just want to say, people can criticise the national conversation all they want. The PAP has shown that it is probably a big wayang. But most citizens who go into that conversation aren't willing or able to ask all the tough questions. Those who can ask the tough questions either are too cynical to participate, or there are too few of them. The failure is on the side of both the PAP and the people of Singapore. It's still too early to condemn the National Conversation as a total failure. And my opinion is that people who want the national conversation to end are just not interested in democracy.

And no government can ever give the people what they want if the people do not know what they want. Not in this day and age. To me the people have failed to articulate what they want and are still dependent on the government to provide the vision. You probably won't hear this at an election rally in 2016 when all the opposition parties are lining up to tell you guys that you deserve the best government. The fact is that Singaporeans have never deserved anything. The PAP literally fell down from the sky onto their laps in the early years, and provided plenty of economic progress without Singaporeans having to work as hard as other people for it. The PAP were repressive but never as repressive as the military governments of Taiwan or South Korea or the Eastern European countries. We've had to struggle for freedom but never had to struggle as hard. We only ever had a small handful of dissidents being jailed. We turned a deaf ear to Chee Soon Juan's hunger strike, Tang Liang Hong and JBJ being made bankrupt. There has never been any rioting in the streets. Once there was a real fight at the ballot box, the PAP started backing off. Many opportunities existed for kicking out the PAP in the past but were not taken. Maybe times are getting tougher, and maybe Singaporeans will do something truly heroic but that is probably in the future and not the past.

The never-imagined arrival of the Internet has thankfully increased that uncertainty, if there was such uncertainty in the first place. But more likely, there was no such feeling of uncertainty, other than 'freak' events. Thus Internet media can be said to be the saving factor, to prevent, or at least for the time being hinder, things from getting worse than they could ever be.

Without Internet media, such advance would have been unthinkable and near impossible.

Your never-imagined internet was invented in the early 70s. Way before 1995, when the internet became widespread, the Singapore government, the PAP had already grasped the power of the internet and the implications on its hold on power. That is why your internet is configured to run on a proxy server.

Democracy is not only about kicking people out of power, otherwise China would be a democratic worker's paradise today. What we also need are citizens to be well informed, not just reliant on their leaders to find solutions, but having opinions, expressing them, doing some of the leading, rather than just shooting down the incumbents. I don't see that happening yet. There is a challenge for citizens to be met and I don't see it being met.

 

[metalmickey]

I have come across some of our best and brightest leave the education system and move to other fields. They all seem to have a similar message. I know of an outstanding lady who was in the pioneer batch of teachers to lead the gifted programme. She was an exceptional individual and had tremendous respect from those who met her.

I was sad to see her leave our shores to move to NZ. Though she never gave her reasons I am sure she was looking for validation from her pupils and what they did in life and not results in the form of grades.

And what a tremndous lady - swears like a sailor, had great leadership potential etc.

If you don't mind, PM me the name of this person and I'll see if I know her.

 

[liongsum]

That's the thing about Singaporeans - and I don't mind other people around here calling them Sinkies because of this. As much as they hate people like LHL and Teo Chee Hean and whoever getting scholarships and running this country, they totally wouldn't mind it if it happened to their own kids.

Give them a break. They are just ordinary joes. Of course they won't mind, they would love to have their kids in Govt. in fact they love to have their kids rub shoulders or play golf with the powers that be. From the time scholars were parachuted into the political arena, things changed. It has to change for these scholars to survive. No where in the world do we have so many scholars in Govt. Until we have scholars who can get in on their own steam and not on the coat tails of a GRC, we cannot expect any breath taking ideas from them. In a sense, these scholars have failed us. They have no better ideas than many of us.

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

Give them a break. They are just ordinary joes. Of course they won't mind, they would love to have their kids in Govt. in fact they love to have their kids rub shoulders or play golf with the powers that be. From the time scholars were parachuted into the political arena, things changed. It has to change for these scholars to survive. No where in the world do we have so many scholars in Govt. Until we have scholars who can get in on their own steam and not on the coat tails of a GRC, we cannot expect any breath taking ideas from them. In a sense, these scholars have failed us. They have no better ideas than many of us.

you ever encounter those scholars they have in the Police FARCE..........?

some of them are so brainless, you wouldn't believe it..............

 

[elephanto]

I'm not bickering with eremarf. Most of the bickering in this thread ended around 2 weeks back. I just want to say, people can criticise the national conversation all they want. The PAP has shown that it is probably a big wayang. But most citizens who go into that conversation aren't willing or able to ask all the tough questions. Those who can ask the tough questions either are too cynical to participate, or there are too few of them. The failure is on the side of both the PAP and the people of Singapore. It's still too early to condemn the National Conversation as a total failure. And my opinion is that people who want the national conversation to end are just not interested in democracy. ..... met.

very balanced narrative, the last sentence i especially concur

 

[methink]

I have come across some of our best and brightest leave the education system and move to other fields. They all seem to have a similar message. I know of an outstanding lady who was in the pioneer batch of teachers to lead the gifted programme. She was an exceptional individual and had tremendous respect from those who met her.

I was sad to see her leave our shores to move to NZ. Though she never gave her reasons I am sure she was looking for validation from her pupils and what they did in life and not results in the form of grades.

And what a tremndous lady - swears like a sailor, had great leadership potential etc.

Yes really sad. Keeping these exceptional ppl is the least of PAP's concerns. Holding on to power is their main goal.

We are no longer a nation. We are run like a corporation. Who is appointed is their business. We have no say!

It's time to change the system.

 

[andyfisher]

Sadly I agree with you on this.

cheenaporium is a racist money whoring city bereft of any humanity.

and also spilling over rather strangely with horny, dodgy miw...is it all them newater?

Yes really sad. Keeping these exceptional ppl is the least of PAP's concerns. Holding on to power is their main goal.

We are no longer a nation. We are run like a corporation. Who is appointed is their business. We have no say!

It's time to change the system.