The Ordinary Cog

Hi Mr.Nix I have been following your blog for the past few months, today I had the urge to write to you. I wonder why, when we have not met It doesn't matter, I just hope for your feedback on my thoughts. When I was younger about 18 years old, I read a book by LKY on his son, our current leader. In his words ( I can't rem the exact quote) but it ran something like this: Singapore is where I want to be and where I belong. If I leave China or India it doesn't matter as the population is big, but it will matter if I leave . When I read that I was touched, I thought every Singaporean had a place and role here. I was naive. I guess people With outstanding family backgrounds say that, or the elite , or when things are prepared and laid out for you Do our leaders know what it's like to look for a job? Try approaching WDA. Its like banging your head against wall. how about having financial problems and approaching CDC? Approach MP before? Lol I tried some of them just to test the waters, moral is just save time and try to solve your own problems Over the years, many a morning I wake up with cold sweat. I don't feel a sense of security here. During my periods of joblessness I waited on tables and clean toilets, doing graveyard shifts in a non office environment . Going to work armpit to armpit with commuters, attending interviews with 3rd world hiring practices and idiotic questions. Question: if any of our leaders do the things I describe , will they still Sing the same flowery tune of: Singapore is where I want to be etcetera ?

Jeffrey




Hi Mr Jeffrey,


Let me share with you what someone who works as a waiting staff once told me, "If you want a job which makes you hate humanity, be a waiter." I'm sure this resonates with you, at least as a joke. Now, do you know why a Singaporean waiter cannot smile as well as his Pinoy counterpart? This is probably what goes through their minds when they work;

Pinoy: I'll build 3 houses and live on rental income back home when I'm done with these assholes.

Singaporean: Either the paramount task of becoming one of these assholes or spend the rest of my life serving them.


Not very much for the Singaporean waitress, to smile about, if you ask me. I will hardly be surprised if most do not agree with my views about the ugliness of Singaporeans in general, as this isn't probable as a proposition  before putting ourselves in a contraposition to discern.


Bear with me, I am coming to your question,  "If any of our leaders have to live a life that you described, will they still think Singapore is the they want to be?"


My answer is yes.


The reason for my answer is very simple. We have been indoctrinated to believe that Singapore is a paradise. We are convinced that the countries beyond our shores are a little worse at best and right next door to hell at worst. Just imagine being a waiter in a restaurant built on an active volcano with customers loaded with racists remarks ready to fire at you while that hailstorm shatters the windscreen of your parked car outside. All these would be avoided if you accept the dearer option of using the ERP, EPS, COE, HDB and the PAP. With this mentality in mind, workers within the lower social fabric do not think about where else they want to be. They work towards where they will rather be in our Singaporean society. When all hopes seem to fade, there is always the lottery to look forward to. It is far more comforting to hope to be a lottery winner than to think about the possibility of settling down in another country being happier, freeier, than before.


If our Ministers were to live vicariously of a peasant for a stint, the answer will be the same. If anything, it will fortify their beliefs that the Singapore system provides sufficient avenues for people who want to upgrade themselves and take themselves out of their current mire. The constant feeding of inspirational stories to the public, such as the $7000 taxi driver, the $1000 hdb family man and evergreen rags to riches accounts of Singaporeans, does its part to convince every Singaporean that we have an equal chance to be what we want and if we fail, we have ourselves to blame because we are not hungry enough to succeed. Their vicarious adventure will end with them convinced that they deserved their million dollar roles because they are men above men.



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