Why the PM should try not to hurt the brain of thinking folk any longer.

“Do you want faster growth or do you want fewer foreign workers? Do you want more hard work or more leisure? Do you want more competitive schools and good results and good futures, or more relaxed schools and fall behind? How can we find that balance in between?” the Prime Minister asked. Whatever the hurdles, he emphasised that the PAP had always been open with Singaporeans, even when these trade-offs may be unpopular” – SPH.

– Do I want growth? Sure. Most people I imagine would as well. PROVIDING it doesn’t come at the terrible cost of hollowing out jobs and debasing salaries.

If growth has to come at the terrible cost of the average native having to watch helplessly as his lot gets smaller. As he can’t reasonably cope when the cost of living keeps going up and up while his salary stays the same and in certain cases even regresses year after year- then may I politely ask: what’s the bloody point of having stellar growth? When it adds zero to the quality of life of the average natives? How does the average native even benefit from the whole idea of bringing more people into Singapore to grow the economy? If he seems to lose out all the time.

I don’t understand. I really don’t.

Truth is no one in Singapore is against bringing in more foreigners to grow the economy.

But why can’t growth be had in a measured way that doesn’t produce so many of the undesirable fall out’s that we so often see these days in natives? Why can growth be pursued to produce real and tangible benefits for natives? Instead of chasing mindlessly useless abstraction of cold comfort from stellar GDP growth. Can anyone eat GDP? Can I mortgage GDP to get myself a bridging loan to tie me over the short term? Will GDP lower my interest rates for my bank loans?

Do I want more leisure time? Yes! I imagine so does everyone as well in Singapore. But how is this possible? The problem as I see it is the PAP’s formula for growth doesn’t leave much room for leisure time except probably work, work and only dehumanizing work for natives. As since country growth is NEVER coupled with corresponding pay increases – that simply means most natives find it impossible these days to gainfully turn the wheel of life whilst enjoying more leisure time.

What PM Lee mentioned is chimeric to the point of being woefully out of touch with the reality on the ground.

As since the salaries of natives aren’t nearly keeping up to the pace of rising cost of living. Most natives will probably need to work more hours or even find some desperate way to fit in two jobs just to put bread on the table. So what is Mini Lee talking about, when he mentions more leisure time? Where is the leisure time when both couples need to work just to turn the wheel of life in one of the world’s most expensive cities where salaries for the middle class stays the same to remain competitive?

How is that possible? Can someone please explain to me. As I don’t understand. I really don’t.

And since the PAP has a standing policy of passing the buck to the user irrespective of whether he can afford it or not. Life for the native is hard, if not impossible. The Hokkien saying, “Singapore asai see, besai puah peh” sums up the pity pathos of our times. It captures the terror of the native when faced with sickness – and if we stretch this metaphor further it may also provide us all with an insight of what it means to live day by day on the razor’s edge – watching helplessly as their lot goes smaller and smaller.

Fact of the matter is most natives, except those who are rich enough to enjoy the opium of cheap imported labor have seen their pie through the years getting smaller. In summary the vast majority of natives who used to enjoy significantly higher standards of living for less buck are real the losers in the PAP stoic policy of growing the economy –  by putting the economy on round after round of steroids to grow the economy by ramping up the population.

I don’t understand. Why do we need to grow the economy in such a destructive way? Why can’t we grow like Switzerland or Germany or even any country that is even better than Singapore where economic growth respects the lives, dignity and space of people.

I don’t understand. Really I don’t.

– Do I want competitive schools. Sure I do. I think every parent wants that as well. But the problem with the education system offered by the PAP is that it is so lousy that parents even regularly need to supplement it with out of pocket tuition. To put it another way, parents have to regularly hire tuition teachers just to do the SAME work that schools are supposed to do in the first place. You mean to say that is Mini Lee’s definition of a competitive schooling system?

If the truth be known the PAP has inadvertently made parenting such an expensive, stressful and hazardous proposition – even young professional native couples these days see children as a liability. Raising kids in Singapore these days seems to be only for the rich and well off.

And because of that I would much prefer a laid back and less competitive education and work environment like most well adjusted societies – at least that way parents can enjoy their kids along with the whole idea of dolce vita – and kids can enjoy being kids. As it is, it’s just one giant pressure cooker to serve the fuzzy abstraction of competitiveness by producing robots that just work for GDP.

– PAP has always been open to Singaporeans – disagree very strongly. Disagree even under the strongest possible terms to suggest that statement is a misrepresentation of fact!

If that is really the case why then resort to arm twisting methods to try to sue the shit out of bloggers? What might this idiotic strategy even accomplish???? Till today it’s still a giant big hole! No one seems to know what is the motivation of AIM or for that matter the custodians of power. Just a blank – Davinder Singh may have successfully served the writ, but none of us are any wiser as to what actually transpired or even why. No one knows.

To the perceptive reader. A rather odd way and funny way to be open. Agreed? – by sending lawyer letters to bloggers who may just be penning their opinion about their objects of interest. And when bloggers stick their necks out to ask pointed questions from time to time concerning transparency, conflict of interest etc – they get sued by Davinder Singh.

To exacerbate matters the nation destroying press churns out nothing except mind numbing propaganda that no one these days even bothers to read. As they all know there is nothing substantive there except doggy bites and feel good platitudes that can always be counted to paint the happy picture all is well in paradise.

So where does that really leave the thinking man? Like me and you. What are we expected to do. Turn off a switch somewhere in our brain. No wonder most of us have voted with our mouseclickers and migrate to blogoland. Either that, or we all get marooned in our own skulls. And why are we all here?

Could it be there is no openess?

You all judge for yourself: how can Mini Lee truthfully say his party has been open – time and again – many have asked the PM and his motley crew – what is the goal of chasing the rainbow of stellar growth when all it seems to do is to erode the quality of life along with heightening the sense of anxiety for the average native.

Time and again. No one in PAP has even bothered to answer this simple question.

I don’t understand. If someone can just give me a comprehensive answer to this one question.  I promise to give up social political blogging for good and just churn out my run of mill love stories – because believe it or not this is all I really want to do.

Truth is. Natives have ended up with the short end of the stick. Natives these days can’t even afford to own cars to ferry their children and aged around any longer. Young natives these days even have to get themselves into debt for an extraordinary long time (nearly 40 years) just to own a pigeon hole in the sky. And to make matters worst, salaries are not going up at all die to the unmitigated influx of professionals. They seem to be either stagnating and in certain cases regressing. And all the while the PAP behave like a bunch of people who are deaf and blind to the plight of the natives.

Maybe it is time for Mini Lee to look for another job. As from where I am standing – no one seems to take him seriously any longer. How can they? When no one it seems can even understand what is the REAL goal of PAP these days.

I just don’t understand. And that is the truth and nothing but the truth. I sumpah on my trusted farmer’s spade!

Darkness 2013

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“I think PAP will make a great opposition party in the not too distant future. I even believe they will do a very good job. Much better than even what they have done for the last 40 odd years. They really have their job cut out for them now. One thing is clear. If I am Mini Lee. I think it will be very hard for me to go to sleep every night – I will always be thinking to myself – why are they so ungrateful? Maybe that is the problem gentlemen. Then again maybe not.”

Life is cruel. Life is brutal. Life simply has no time and place for bull shit.”