Listen to this 'National Conversation"

On 8 Aug, eve of National Day, I was having so much fun doing the Singapore Cheer with my 4-year-old granddaughter "S.I.N...G.A.P.O.R.E   . . . . oooooh  . . . Singapore!" She just learned it in her nursery school.

It was spontaneous and I sensed the rest of my family members were a little uncomfortable (embarrassed) because this 61-year-old geezer, behaving like his 4-year-old granddaughter was attracting weird stares at, of all places, T3 Changi Airport!  But heck, my dear granddaughter and I were having such fun!

She did the Cheer after seeing the display of "SINGAPORE" with certain letters replaced by durian and pineapple at T3. We we taking a stroll after our dinner. I do not know what it means to my granddaughter to be so happy shouting the Singapore Cheer. Me? I was momentarily struck by a sense of joy, pride, love, nationalism? I'm not too sure. All I know is my granddaughter and I had the "happy together moment" with our country Singapore and it felt good!

Which leads to another happy story.

"Red is the New White"

For the first time is decades, I managed to watch the National Day Parade on TV without hurting my eyes. In past NDPs, when the TV camera panned or focused on the area where the MIW sat, I got a bloody headache. Yes, I'm allergic to white! This 2012, it was such a wonderful sight to have them dressed in shades of red!

Now seriously, because of my perception of PAP's arrogance, greed, self-interest and callousness like

1. Declaring "Buying and fixing" citizens who disagree
2. Asking if poorest of the poor have "3 meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant"
3. Making a song and dance of "$8 Heart Bypass"
4. Ignoring the latest hippo-ducky-mah-bow-tan tender contract which concerned citizens are dying to know,

I keep myself sane (and loyal to Singapore?) by writing what mainstream media refuse and neglect to do.

Isn't it a shame that paparazzi and newshounds were camping outside the house of Prof Tey (day and night without a thought for his wife and daughter) on the sex-for-grades corruption case but none of our professional journalist/reporter bothers to investigate and write about the latest hippo-ducky-mah-bow-tan tender affair. How discriminatory (sucking up?) can journalists be?

However, a kate is a kate and spade is a spade and I must give credit where credit is due. I am grateful for the following:

1. I'm delighted to note that finally, NDP is no longer tainted by white. Whether by choice or by pressure (what with the continuing loss of electoral votes), I believe PAP has wised up not to advertise white PAP on NDP.
2. PM Lee Hsien Loong has called on Education Minister, Heng Swee Keat to set up a committee to study how to have a country that "must offer hope for the future, it must have an inclusive society and it must be a home that everyone loves" 
3. 'No sacred cows' in review of policies: THERE should be no sacred cows as Singapore reviews its policies and principles in the national conversation being started by the Prime Minister, said several MPs and government leaders yesterday. ST 10 Aug 2012.

Action speaks lounder than words. Having seen them stripping off their whites for NDP, can we see more of PAP doing right? Sincerely do more to heal Singapore with kindness of heart for the those less endowed especially the old, the poor and the sick?  

• Can PAP leaders change to become true leaders of the people instead of puppets of leeders? 
• Can PAP leaders tighten the immigration rules to help Singaporeans breathe and live easier?
• Can PAP leaders loosen the taxpayers' purse strings to help the Singapore's needy without making the them beholden to PAP?
• Can PAP leaders and their supporters, especially leeders in RC's and CCC's who somehow win "pingats" (medals) at every National Day and those working in CDC's not take away the dignity of Singaporeans in dire straits by insulting them when they ask for help?
• Can PAP leaders step up the block and stop kidding us that HDB flats are subsidised?
• Can PAP leaders be transparent about CPF and use it for the benefit of common Singaporeans and not the fat cats in Temasek and GIC? (The unbelievable ruling of having to pay an admin fee of $3plus to use one's Medisave in Polyclinic is a joke that must die. Truly, have a heart for the old and poor before coming up with atrocious policies like this. Not unless, it's meant to help decimate the helpless poor, giving them another reason to kill themselves by jumping MRT track or skydiving HDB highrise!) Or does PAP finds financially unproductive citizens of Singapore so undesirable that they prefer them better off dead?
• Can PAP leaders come clean instead of talking clean when committees are set by Heng Swee Keat to  'offering hope for the future, building an inclusive society and building a home that everyone loves'?

For once, I'm hopeful that this may be the real thing. At the rate that Singapore is going, though arrogant, PAP leaders are not daft not to know that current social fracture can and will lead to dire consequences even before 2016! When push turns to shove, hell may break loose!

Let's see Swee Keat and his committee can come up with mindful policies that will heal and reunite Singaporeans. Let's listen and see how he and his team "reviews its policies and principles in the national conversation being started by the Prime Minister" for a more decent Singapore where leaders lead by example in building a democratic society based on justice and equality regardless of race, language, religion, gender, age and/or political affiliation!

My sincere hope on the 47th year of Singapore is that this ministerial committee that 'offering hope for the future, building an inclusive society and building a home that everyone loves' will not come to pass as another of the many pappycocks we've heard and seen so often performed by Lee Hsien Loong and his rich merry men and women  to divert attention from problems at hand . . . ending up as naught!

PAP, you hear me. You hear the people sing. Unless you do right and do fair to the people, you know your 60% support will turn to less than 50% in 2016.

Meanwhile, stop playing "masak". Stop treating common Singaporeans like duds. It's hard but you have to respect your citizens without whom your current riches and luxurious playground would not been nothing but a pipe dream!

If you can stop your silly pappcocks; If you can start being humble; If you can be transparent with kindness and care like a real human instead of 'wayanging' all the time, there may be hope yet for my little granddaughter and her kid brother to continue living in Singapore!

And hopefully when I'm finally fedtothefish, my grandchildren can continue to cheer "S.I.N...G.A.P.O.R.E   . . . . oooooh  . . . Singapore!" 

So PM Lee and Education Minister Swee Keat, this is my contribution to the "national conversation being started by the Prime Minister" which your coming committee may or may not like to hear. I'm not charging you $860,000 as Mercers did in the Ministers' Salary Review.

You are getting this free of charge from a true blue Singaporean!


feedmetothefish