One thing that PAP regime really failed at is nation building and creating national identity.

That is one reason why so many people migrate.

Get an ang moh educated person like Lee Kuan Yew to run a place where majority is ethnic chinese.

This is what you get.

Lim Chin Siong all the way for me.

A revisionist death in Singapore

 

SINGAPORE - The passing of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam, Singapore's best-known opposition politician, may not have been psychologically seismic enough to prompt Singapore's middle classes to search their souls, but it did offer an insight into how Singaporean institutions simultaneously constructed and sanitized his life for national memory.

Certainly, the manipulation of personal narratives by the state and its apparatuses is not new, a nation-building process that constructs heroes and demons for citizens to revere and despise.

To this end, the way the Singapore media and some members of the government chose to interpret the live and ideology of JBJ, as he is fondly referred to, is a reflection of how it sees opposition politics, society and, ultimately, the Singapore nation.

Reading through the numerous media reports of plaudits and  memories that various prominent people have of JBJ, and the way his death was covered, it is clear how he was posthumously reconstructed: as a fighter, a man of idealism and passion, and one who never gave up no matter how insurmountable the obstacles or opponents.

Comments in the national broadsheet, The Straits Times, included quotes from the dominant People's Action Party (PAP), one lawmaker observing that "He was like the Chinese doll, the bu dao weng - you knock him down, he comes back, you knock him down, he comes back up again."

Another PAP parliamentarian noted, "I have admiration for people like him, a person who never gives up, a person who suffered for his convictions, and who goes down fighting all the way." Why he needed to be knocked down over and over again, or go down fighting, was expediently left out of the reports.

A columnist of the same newspaper noted that "when both your friends and political enemies use the same descriptions of you, you can be sure they are true. In Mr Jeyaretnam's case, sincerity, tenacity and courage are words many have used to describe him." Other words that could have been cited include social justice, human rights, martyr and PAP hegemony, but you didn't see them used in the media.

In a way, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's silence about JBJ's death has been the most honest reaction so far. The mutual dislike between the two men was real, with Lee infamously promising to leave his rival on "bended knee". Lee's lack of a condolence message may seem uncharitable to some, but it is, at least, a dignified stance and more importantly spares JBJ's family and Singaporeans a public display of crocodile tears.

Of course, if the construction of JBJ is but a careful cherry-picking of the man's beliefs and actions, then his persona may have been turned into an ideological site to fulfill a specific purpose. In Singapore's politics, despite the country's economic success and material affluence, the one nagging concern amongst citizens and politicians alike has been the price of that success.

Political apathy, ignorance of national history, over-dependence on the state, and crass materialism winning out over idealism have all been perennial tropes in countless public forums and conferences dealing with local politics. The flight of talented Singaporeans overseas, adding to the estimated 150,000 already abroad, is another side-effect of economic success.

JBJ had always been the embodiment of idealism, but he was often portrayed as naive and full of rhetoric against the better-grounded, pragmatic and dependable - and ruling - PAP. As an idealist, JBJ was seen by the authorities as unsuitable for the technocratic demands of modern-day governance. It was precisely the authorities' response to his idealism and passion for what he believed in that made him a walking, talking reminder for Singaporeans to stay out of politics. As the embodiment of idealism, he was deemed politically irrelevant.

Now, after his death, when his response is no longer possible, this embodiment can be fashioned for the purpose of nation-building. It was never the case that JBJ was irrelevant, rather he was inconvenient. Now that the negative connotations that came with his idealism are purged, leaving only opaque words like sincerity, tenacity and courage, the man can now be rehabilitated for national memory. We can now co-opt his idealism and passion for our own agenda.

And so we sanitize him. We speak of him as a fighter, but not what he fought for - pluralist democracy, human rights and press freedom. We speak of his great struggles, but not what he struggled against - PAP hegemony, authoritarianism, the use of punitive lawsuits in politics and so on. He was a fighter in a vacuum; he struggled against the unspoken; and JBJ is well on his way to becoming an abstract museum artifact in the halls of our national memory.

All nation-building projects are exercises in cognitive dissonance on a grand scale. Cognitive dissonance comes about when one's beliefs do not match reality, resulting in a modification of these personal beliefs because reality is harder to change than beliefs. And so too with nation-building: historical events and personalities cannot be totally erased, but they can, and often are, redefined and reinterpreted to match the beliefs and values of dominant interests.

If this were to happen to JBJ, then Singapore's loss would be aggravated. We would not only have lost the man, but also his values. We would have allowed his life, his struggles, and his beliefs to be redefined and reinterpreted by the very institutions he confronted.

Terence Chong is a fellow at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

1. Jeyaretnam, a lawyer, served as an MP for the Workers' Party of Singapore from 1981-86, and again from 1997-2001. He was a continual barb in the flesh of the ruling People's Action Party. In the course of his political career, he faced numerous court cases involving defamation suits and other charges, which led to his disbarment, disqualification from contesting elections, and bankruptcy, from which he was discharged last year. He leaves two sons and four grandsons.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast

Time for a pay cut.

I think gold must fall from sky before our beloved PAP ministers will take pay cut.

PAP imposed an alien language and culture on the people, what are your views on that xXBlack_RebelXx?

The effect of that policy is to weaken local cultures and languages.

its not an entirely bad thing that youths are not aware

For PAP ruling regime, apathy and ignorance is a good thing.

I am skeptical of the claim that youths are aware and interested in social issues.

then what makes you think youths are not interested ?

So majority of youths are aware and interested in social issues?

You seem misunderstood the meaning of being interested in social issues.

PAP political repression, culture of fear and state controlled propaganda media are the main causes of ignorance and apathy.

Look at how NTU suppresses SDP propaganda activities on campus for example.

The younger Singaporean have lost more than just the dialects, how many of them know their culture?

That is due to PAP regime's education system.

Train people in alien language.

All these policies in the long run demoralises the people.

That is due to the PAP.

Above thinking is also quite naive about USA politics.

 

Your thinking is not that of rebel.

http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com

sorry but my vote is still with the PAP.

Then why call yourself rebel if PAP follower?

No... My stance are perfectly clear if you get to know me long enough in this forum... I don't hate 3/4 of Americans... I only hate their foreigh policy

I am also firmly opposed to USA's foreign policy which is aimed at USA being the global hegemon.

Totally and completely against their agenda and policies.

This is another point where I am in disagreement with PAP regime, because they are pro-USA.

Matrix of Death

http://www.flonnet.com/s

 United South

http://www.flonnet.com/st

Gone senile or what?
“14 July 2008
Lee Kuan Yew on Friday said Singapore's economy will be fine despite the slowing global economy. Speaking at a dialogue session at an essay competition awards presentation ceremony, Lee said, ”Next five to 10 years will be the most promising years for Singapore..."

Oh dear, did Lee Kuan Yew forget to take his medication?

Hope that there is someone still somber in our PAP government.

Depend on Lee Kuan Yew for economic advice, all die already. 

 

Really fed up with this fucking PAP fucking government.

Really want to fucking get rid of them.

sigh the more i think, the more worried i am.

Don't think.

F1 and our future

Singapore Democrats

As the souped-up engines roared and the fancy cars burned rubber on our roads, one in four Singaporeans turned up enthusiastically to watch the racing spectacle, making it a sport for the people with real mass appeal.

Yes, that's what happened in 1966 when the Singapore Grand Prix was held at its permanent Upper Thomson circuit. Half-a-million people from a population of close to 2 million thronged the area to witness and enjoy the event in a carnival-like atmosphere. With food and drink in hand, Singaporeans young and old converged on the grassy knolls and whatever space they could find to catch the action that included the vintage and saloon car categories.

Contrast this with the recent F1 race held downtown. Reportedly 100,000 attended the spectacle – half of them tourists. One wonders how many of the remainder are millionaire residents and expatriates. With tickets ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, you can be sure few were locals.

Hotel accommodation around the circuit went for as much as $1,000 for standard rooms with the Government apparently demanding one-third of the revenue. Luxury yachts were available for rent for as much as a million dollars so that tycoons could entertain their guests.

What about the locals? Too bad -- no money, no talk.

The then-and-now of motor-racing is symptomatic of society in Singapore which has become the playground for the rich. There's really nothing wrong with this except that locals serve only as props and backstage hands to put up this grand show so that the PAP can bask in the accolades showered by the foreigners.

In fact, the commercial gain of the race to the average Singaporean was questionable. Businesses in the cordoned-off area were badly hit. Motorists couldn't get around the city area without having to take detours because of the road closures.

What about the jobs created from the race? As with much of everything else, foreign workers were available in abundance to ensure that no crumb that fell off the organiser's and Government's table was left behind.

The casinos are another example. Built by the foreign poor to cater to the foreign rich, Singaporeans are just bystanders cued to ooh and aah at the right moments when the Integrated Resorts are unveiled.

Easy money. That's what the F1 and casinos really represent. They are there for one purpose and one purpose only: To continue attracting the super-rich to this island by bringing in entertainment only they can afford. This way, the PAP can tell us how wealthy we are even as we see our real incomes shrink and retirement savings evaporate.

This is not the kind of economy built on enterprise and diligence. We know we can't compete on the innovation front with a system that is determined to wring the creative life out of every resident living here. So we resort to creating an island where dirty money, vice and thrills for the rich can call home. The PAP calls it "vision".

The question that Singaporeans had better be asking is: Is our country headed in the right direction? Is making money, however we do it, the be-all and end-all of this country? With the economic crisis looming ahead are we prepared for the knocks when we've placed ourselves in the hands of so-called financial movers and shakers?

Even as we build this playground that we call Singapore, we had better start thinking of the shelter we will be needing pretty soon.

http://www.yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/

small small island want to increase population?

Someone up there reading this post, wake the fuck up lah.

Stop dreaming already lah.

And get better propagandists to sell your fucking propaganda.

The island nation has no significant domestic economic drivers to lean on because its market of almost five million is simply too small, said economists.

"If the world is in a recession, there is little that we can boost," said Song. "Our plan B is really to try to make the local population bigger."

What sort of fucking logic is that?

Bigger population can solve recession?

This type of fucking logic, our neighours like Indonesia, Philippines all very wealthly already lah.

Five million too small, than 6 million, 7 million, very fucking big?

Standard of propaganda also getting poorer and poorer in the States Times.

making a fucking fool of themselves.

 

actually if you do google search for his works theres alot online too

Can you provide some links if possible?

thanks.

Prof Saw, the author of a book entitled Population Of Singapore and a professorial fellow at the Institute of the South-east Asian Studies, thus states emphatically: 'We need foreigners, forever and ever.'

The need to grow Singapore's population is a function of the need to grow the economy, he notes.

 

Haiz... school already alot of them, now my estate also alot of them... how? they are everywhere... not that i hate them.. but too much of them makes me lose my identity... its like i am staying in china and not them staying in singapore...

 

The diffusion of material elements from one society to another has a complex effect on the importing society. In the short run it is usually benefitted by the importation, but in the long run it is frequently disorganized and weakened.

The Plains Indians, for example, were weak and impoverished before 1543, but in that year the horse began to diffuse northward from the Spaniards in Mexico. Within a century the Plains Indians were raised to a much higher standard of living (because of ability to hunt buffalo from horseback) and were immensely strengthened in their ability to resist Americans coming westward across the continent.

In the meantime, the trans-Appalachian Indians who had been very powerful in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries began to receive firearms, steel traps, measles, and eventually whiskey from the French and later the English by way of the St. Lawrence.

These greatly weakened the woods Indians of the trans-Appalachian area and ultimately weakened the Plains Indians of the trans-Mississippi area, because measles and whiskey were devastating and demoralizing and because the use of traps and guns by certain tribes made them dependent on whites for supplies at the same time that they allowed them to put great physical pressure on the more remote tribes which had not yet received guns or traps.

Any united front of reds against whites was impossible, and the Indians were disrupted, demoralized, and destroyed.

Sad at current Singapore situation.

PAP in power, all they care is money.

Really despise them.

Political repression, opposition impotent, no one stand up to their worthless policies.

Sad.

I support foreign people come and form government in Singapore if they can cut the cost of minister pay.

Let them vote.