So many people come to Singapore - in fact 11 million of them last year - to visit, to live, to work and to enjoy the clean air, the wonderful places and the fantastic food.
Some come to this country - amazed by the wonders of this little red dot, amazed by the people who have created wealth out of this tiny island virtually with no natural resources. And a government that can make so many people of different races and religions live and work together peacefully and in harmony. It's a miracle to some!
Many would like to trade places to live and work here, and bring up their children. However, this tiny island can only take in so much, take in so many of them.
Secure a future for children and family
Some are willing to risk their lives and buttocks to feed their children and secure a future for their family - they swim across the seas at night, they hide in cars and lorries to enter the country, they extend their stay here illegally - not to commit crimes but to earn an honest day work while they can.
Think different
But why are some Singaporeans - especially the young - thinking differently?? No, don't blame it on the Apple ad!
They have the only country in the world where 1 out of every 6 families have domestic helpers from other countries to look after their children, clean their homes and cook for them while they or their parents are at work. Some themselves are even brought up by maids while they and their parents are busy. Even my middle-class ang moh friends from first world economy tell me they cannot afford a foreign domestic helper in their country.
They travel to Asia and first world countries in Europe and America every school holiday or every year for recreation and to shop. You can actually hear them chirping happily "cheap, cheap, cheap"!
Virtually everyone - from kids in primary schools to the sicks on their deathbed -carry a branded handphone with them; two-year old babies play with iphones and ipads instead of forks and spoons!
Not happy, not satisfied
Yet some are unhappy, and unsatisfied!
Is it because they have too good a life? Is it because they have not experienced the baptism of fire that their parents and grandparents have in the 50s and 60s - all within this one generation and life-time? One even went to the extent to get his maid to carry his full-pack while reporting for national military duty.
The will to do better
I would want to attribute it to their desire to want more, to want something better for themselves, for their future. Nothing wrong with that - indeed it is good. The will to do better - the kiasu mentality is ingrained in them since their forefather immigrant days when they stepped onto this island barefooted with only the singlet on their back. The only lifeline was the temple, the clan associations and for the luckier ones, some connections from their relatives and fellow villagers back home.
The Goose that Lays the Golden eggs
However, in our desires to yearn for more, one must not forget the goose that lays the golden eggs. Yes, we want the goose to lay more golden eggs. Yes, we want a bigger share of the golden eggs. But the goose can only lay so many eggs. We need to feed the goose better, we need to take good care of the goose - so that it can lay more golden eggs, even finer quality eggs.
Ducks quack but Geese honk
Some new geese may claim and promise you that they too can lay golden eggs. They quack and quack a lot. But only ducks quack! The golden goose honks! They have yet to produce a single golden egg. Given the choice, we should naturally choose the goose that has already proven that they can lay the golden eggs.
We value the goose because it can lay the golden eggs. Take good care of the goose, so that it can lay more good eggs!
Some come to this country - amazed by the wonders of this little red dot, amazed by the people who have created wealth out of this tiny island virtually with no natural resources. And a government that can make so many people of different races and religions live and work together peacefully and in harmony. It's a miracle to some!
Many would like to trade places to live and work here, and bring up their children. However, this tiny island can only take in so much, take in so many of them.
Secure a future for children and family
Some are willing to risk their lives and buttocks to feed their children and secure a future for their family - they swim across the seas at night, they hide in cars and lorries to enter the country, they extend their stay here illegally - not to commit crimes but to earn an honest day work while they can.
Think different
But why are some Singaporeans - especially the young - thinking differently?? No, don't blame it on the Apple ad!
They have the only country in the world where 1 out of every 6 families have domestic helpers from other countries to look after their children, clean their homes and cook for them while they or their parents are at work. Some themselves are even brought up by maids while they and their parents are busy. Even my middle-class ang moh friends from first world economy tell me they cannot afford a foreign domestic helper in their country.
They travel to Asia and first world countries in Europe and America every school holiday or every year for recreation and to shop. You can actually hear them chirping happily "cheap, cheap, cheap"!
Virtually everyone - from kids in primary schools to the sicks on their deathbed -carry a branded handphone with them; two-year old babies play with iphones and ipads instead of forks and spoons!
Not happy, not satisfied
Yet some are unhappy, and unsatisfied!
Is it because they have too good a life? Is it because they have not experienced the baptism of fire that their parents and grandparents have in the 50s and 60s - all within this one generation and life-time? One even went to the extent to get his maid to carry his full-pack while reporting for national military duty.
The will to do better
I would want to attribute it to their desire to want more, to want something better for themselves, for their future. Nothing wrong with that - indeed it is good. The will to do better - the kiasu mentality is ingrained in them since their forefather immigrant days when they stepped onto this island barefooted with only the singlet on their back. The only lifeline was the temple, the clan associations and for the luckier ones, some connections from their relatives and fellow villagers back home.
The Goose that Lays the Golden eggs
However, in our desires to yearn for more, one must not forget the goose that lays the golden eggs. Yes, we want the goose to lay more golden eggs. Yes, we want a bigger share of the golden eggs. But the goose can only lay so many eggs. We need to feed the goose better, we need to take good care of the goose - so that it can lay more golden eggs, even finer quality eggs.
Ducks quack but Geese honk
Some new geese may claim and promise you that they too can lay golden eggs. They quack and quack a lot. But only ducks quack! The golden goose honks! They have yet to produce a single golden egg. Given the choice, we should naturally choose the goose that has already proven that they can lay the golden eggs.
We value the goose because it can lay the golden eggs. Take good care of the goose, so that it can lay more good eggs!
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