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Count on me, YOG: The infectious apathy of Singaporeans in pictures
August 17th, 2010 |
Author: Your Correspondent
OPINION
The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games is becoming an embarrassing farce for the PAP regime which has spent nearly $400 million dollars on it.
Despite the mammoth efforts taken to publicize and promote the YOG, the response from ordinary Singaporeans has been most disappointing so far.
[Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here]
The competitions on the first two days suffered from low attendances with so many empty seats galore that the camera crew had difficulties avoiding capturing them completely on screen.
The number of volunteers far outnumbered that of the participants at YOG celebrations held in the HDB heartlands with the live bands at Marina Bay performing literally to rows of empty chairs.
To compound matters, the YOG was hardly reported in the international papers which have largely focused on the ballooning costs and the general apathy displayed by Singaporeans at the event.
While the state media has tried desperately hard to hype up the YOG with PAP leaders putting up a brave denial in front of the depressing response, the fact remains that no amount of money, publicity or astroturfing can generate genuine enthusiasm, affection and passion from Singaporeans.
We have been challenged repeatedly by PAP trolls here to provide photos to substantiate our claims that there is little interest in the YOG from the citizenry.
We now show you a series of photos taken by Leonard Soosay on Sunday, 15 August 2010 to set the record straight:
You can view all the 59 photos on Leonard’s Facebook here.
A picture speaks a thousand words, let alone 59 pictures showing the level of interest in the YOG from ordinary Singaporeans. The TRUTH is – the YOG is a FLOP. Nobody cares a damn about it as reflected by the online poll conducted by Channel News Asia lately in which 88 percent of some 6,400 respondents indicated clearly that they are “not interested at all” in the YOG.
Now, let us recap some of the most ridiculous public comments made by PAP leaders and YOG officials which are “quite DIVORCED from the reality” on the ground, to paraphrase the words of Law Minister Shanmugam.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong:
“It has been a challenge and great satisfaction for us to organise this first Games. I think it has struck a chord with our people.”
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam:
“The enthusiasm is very real and it’s infectious. It’s still early days but everybody who has been involved in making the YOG a special experience in Singapore has shown the world what Singapore can do on a scale like this.”
Community Development, Youth and Sportss Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan:
“The answer lies on the ground, what people do and how they feel. At this point of time, I am quite confident that Singaporeans are proud of this and want to show our best to the world.”
Singapore YOG Organizing Committee Chairman Ng Ser Miang:
“just look at the faces of the children that are there, the sparkle in their eyes and the smile on their faces. Those are not things you can force. I don’t think anyone will be forced to come to watch the torch relay or the games. So I don’t think there is any coercion.”
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge:
“I expect the Youth Olympics to overcome spiraling costs and the so-far subdued fan enthusiasm to evolve into one of the world’s premier sporting events.”
Sorry, Mr Rogge, but the YOG is not going to become a premier sporting event overnight, not in Singapore at least. If you have bothered to read the comments posted by young Singaporeans in cyberspace which remains out of reach of the PAP regime’s censors, you would have realized that not only are they not interested in the YOG, quite a number are cursing and swearing at it for messing up their lives.
If there is some consolation for Mr Rogge, the YOG coincides with the “Hungry Ghost” festival of Singapore when the “Gates of Hell” will be opened, releasing the spirits of our ancestors to earth who will surely enjoy this $389 million dollar “GETAI” put up by the PAP regime for them:
[Source: Bangles Ong Facebook]
EDITORS’ NOTE:
Has your life been turned upside down by the YOG? Please share your views with us. We assure you that your identity will be kept strictly CONFIDENTIAL. We will be your UNCENSORED VOICE. We will publish your letter in FULL with ZERO editing, moderating or censoring. You do not have to suffer in silence! You have the RIGHT to speak up as a citizen of this country. Remember: you are a CITIZEN of Singapore, not a SLAVE of the PAP regime.
Our mailbox has been swarmed by letters from YOG volunteers for the last few days. Unless you specifically want us to publish your REAL NAME, we will use a pseudonym instead. Please understand that due to manpower constraints, we may not be able to publish your letters immediately and we will have to stagger them a few hours apart to ensure that they get maximum exposure.
Please keep your feedback coming! Singapore for SINGAPOREANS! Your interests always come FIRST.
OPINION
The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games is becoming an embarrassing farce for the PAP regime which has spent nearly $400 million dollars on it.
Despite the mammoth efforts taken to publicize and promote the YOG, the response from ordinary Singaporeans has been most disappointing so far.
[Get instant updates and discussions about the YOG on our Facebook page here]
The competitions on the first two days suffered from low attendances with so many empty seats galore that the camera crew had difficulties avoiding capturing them completely on screen.
The number of volunteers far outnumbered that of the participants at YOG celebrations held in the HDB heartlands with the live bands at Marina Bay performing literally to rows of empty chairs.
To compound matters, the YOG was hardly reported in the international papers which have largely focused on the ballooning costs and the general apathy displayed by Singaporeans at the event.
While the state media has tried desperately hard to hype up the YOG with PAP leaders putting up a brave denial in front of the depressing response, the fact remains that no amount of money, publicity or astroturfing can generate genuine enthusiasm, affection and passion from Singaporeans.
We have been challenged repeatedly by PAP trolls here to provide photos to substantiate our claims that there is little interest in the YOG from the citizenry.
We now show you a series of photos taken by Leonard Soosay on Sunday, 15 August 2010 to set the record straight:
You can view all the 59 photos on Leonard’s Facebook here.
A picture speaks a thousand words, let alone 59 pictures showing the level of interest in the YOG from ordinary Singaporeans. The TRUTH is – the YOG is a FLOP. Nobody cares a damn about it as reflected by the online poll conducted by Channel News Asia lately in which 88 percent of some 6,400 respondents indicated clearly that they are “not interested at all” in the YOG.
Now, let us recap some of the most ridiculous public comments made by PAP leaders and YOG officials which are “quite DIVORCED from the reality” on the ground, to paraphrase the words of Law Minister Shanmugam.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong:
“It has been a challenge and great satisfaction for us to organise this first Games. I think it has struck a chord with our people.”
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam:
“The enthusiasm is very real and it’s infectious. It’s still early days but everybody who has been involved in making the YOG a special experience in Singapore has shown the world what Singapore can do on a scale like this.”
Community Development, Youth and Sportss Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan:
“The answer lies on the ground, what people do and how they feel. At this point of time, I am quite confident that Singaporeans are proud of this and want to show our best to the world.”
Singapore YOG Organizing Committee Chairman Ng Ser Miang:
“just look at the faces of the children that are there, the sparkle in their eyes and the smile on their faces. Those are not things you can force. I don’t think anyone will be forced to come to watch the torch relay or the games. So I don’t think there is any coercion.”
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge:
“I expect the Youth Olympics to overcome spiraling costs and the so-far subdued fan enthusiasm to evolve into one of the world’s premier sporting events.”
Sorry, Mr Rogge, but the YOG is not going to become a premier sporting event overnight, not in Singapore at least. If you have bothered to read the comments posted by young Singaporeans in cyberspace which remains out of reach of the PAP regime’s censors, you would have realized that not only are they not interested in the YOG, quite a number are cursing and swearing at it for messing up their lives.
If there is some consolation for Mr Rogge, the YOG coincides with the “Hungry Ghost” festival of Singapore when the “Gates of Hell” will be opened, releasing the spirits of our ancestors to earth who will surely enjoy this $389 million dollar “GETAI” put up by the PAP regime for them:
[Source: Bangles Ong Facebook]
EDITORS’ NOTE:
Has your life been turned upside down by the YOG? Please share your views with us. We assure you that your identity will be kept strictly CONFIDENTIAL. We will be your UNCENSORED VOICE. We will publish your letter in FULL with ZERO editing, moderating or censoring. You do not have to suffer in silence! You have the RIGHT to speak up as a citizen of this country. Remember: you are a CITIZEN of Singapore, not a SLAVE of the PAP regime.
Our mailbox has been swarmed by letters from YOG volunteers for the last few days. Unless you specifically want us to publish your REAL NAME, we will use a pseudonym instead. Please understand that due to manpower constraints, we may not be able to publish your letters immediately and we will have to stagger them a few hours apart to ensure that they get maximum exposure.
Please keep your feedback coming! Singapore for SINGAPOREANS! Your interests always come FIRST.
