My two cents worth on the state of Singapore these days...

We are a farce, a puppet show designed to please our masters.You know, I once thought that this island could give me what I wanted in life.I may be in my 20s but I've lived here long enough to see the gradual change from a idyllic place with a hallmark for reliability and a good quality of life become a place where the only things that matter are the interests of the establishment.We have produced good schools, institutes which teach us in a holistic manner, telling us that there is more to life than the power that you possess or the car you drive.Sadly, even they have been co-opted by the tentacles of an insidious command and control entity.We are exhorted to speak up, yeah , to mouth the official lines and act out the scripts smacked in our faces,like actors who are forced to perform for one single mega-company.

Substance is also something which is slowly disappearing from our landscape.Look around you, everything is a false picture, from the sweaty grins on the faces of our NSmen to the "humility" that the establishment show when they turn up for the nation's birthday not in suits but white shirts becuase they do not want to "appear" elitist.People are just lamely following the trend in everything they watch, listen or consume, akin to lemmings.Where is the individual in all of this?Dead and buried alive almost like Arafat, our destiny sold for a measly bag of gold? I am sick of seeing my friends and acquaintances sidelined for far too long in society because they are dramatists, artists and poets; people who dare to think and ponder on the sorry state which we are in now.People whose lifestyle and attitudes piss off the ones that are in charge.Sure, it pisses them off grealty because these control freaks can't keep us dear lemmings from escaping the cage which supposed to be the best place for us, safe from the threats of creative destruction.Will someone enlighten me what the hell is creative thinking lessons?And what in God's name does anyone mean when they say you can do any project as long as we approve it?Over-regulation only chokes the blood vessels of the nation, and yeah it bleeds white over time.

I see old men working their asses off at hawker centers and fast food outlets, not because they are too bored to enjoy their golden lives, but by the stubborn refusal of certain people to realise that there are other ways to reduce the livi ng cost of the old and infirm.Have we become a South East Asian Maquiladora, merely a factory for MNCs to come in and not be subjected to a minimum wage?By passing the buck to another generation, is this securing a stable future for our children?I want and call for socially equitable FDI.Not wanton exploitation of the dreams of our children because we are told to study Subject A because Industry A is gonna bring in the bucks.And more often than not, the sugary sweet forecasts leave a bitter pill in the mouth for our young.

I want my Singapore to be a place where I can raise my children to be people who are not penalised in one way or another for being themselves, not be treated as units of produciton but as individuals with goals and worthy desires which we must accord mutual respect.They must not come home and tell me that they are afraid of the police because Daddy is an opposition politician.Is this hard to acheive?We must grab the future we desire, no one will hand it to us on a silver platter.What I have said may sting, but it is the truth, whether you like it or not.The faster we as a society wake up and realise WTF is wrong here, the better.Time waits for no man.

Can we have a proper democracy without all the vested interests getting in the way?Yes.But for that to happen, our legal and democratic institutions must be stronger and independant from cults of personalities which have a unhelpful influence for too much of the time.One might argue that the incumbent will always do their best to secure a political advantage so that they will not be easily defeated in the polls, but the situation here goes beyond simple voting and legislation.We are looking at the near-total dominance of Singapore commerce and politics by one family who happens to have her members in key posts of GLCs and statutory boards.The establishment may claim that they are there due to performance and ability, but the facade tells a story which is not palatable to society at large.

This point aside, what is unnerving is the creeping of the GLCs hands into every segment of the economy.Trade unions are co-opted into the so-called TriPartite compact.More often than not, reasons like efficiency and peaceful conflict resolution are given for the close cooperation between traditionally independant institutions like trade unions and the Press.Granted, this might have been the best solution in the 1970s-1980s where a strong foundation was needed to be built rapidly and effectively without the need of being bogged down by adversarial politics.However, times have changed and this latter is what we need to spur competition and ensure that the state does not rest on her laurels.When key people in charge are faced with grilling and sharp questioning, it keeps them on their feet, as opposed to a company whose shareholders are bullied into silence, thus lulling the management into thinking that all is hunky-dory.I am ashamed of how our govenrment has muzzled our local press to the extent that stellar journalism and strong, confident and intellectual writings have disappeared and replaced by bland, plain reportage of government events and other things pleasing to the establishment.The Printing Presses Act has emasculated our society into having a check and balance on the establishment, with the Whip constantly on the MPs' heads in Parliament, where else do we go for an independant system of checks and balances?

Man is falliable.Remember that.No one in power is absolutely right , nor charitable.They all have their own interests, and the only thing worth noting for us common folk is that the men and women we place in trust to run our country better have similar interests as us.