How to "Stay together and move forward"
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(as posted to Feedback Unit on 15.4.2006)
Citizens are concerned about jobs, economy, social and cultural cohesions and many other issues affecting their lives in this election as MM Lee put it in reply to journalist in recent TV discussion forum: "Does my vote matters".
If government is good it should try many of the above-mentioned issues and problems as posted to the Feedback Unit.
Try to recall that in the recent prolonged recessions of 1997-1999 and 2000-2002 2005 the government leaders were in total despair being unable to solve many problems eg. high costs of living and doing business, over-regulations, loss of economic competitiveness etc.
(read the old Straits Times to see that our government has met with many fundamental problems which they have themselve created due to their over-pragmatic tax and recover system of running the country)
Before claiming success please be reminded that the government has still not yet upgraded the economy to the value-adding technology driven or knowledge-based model announced in many recent economic restructuring exercises.
In addition, the government has failed to introduce accountable and transparent system of government to empower and bring about an environment to nurture creativity, entrepreneurship and determination etc.
Government will have to understand new problems in the new age and new aspirations of the younger population. It owes a duty to the people to identify the bigger challenges and not to continue with past tax and recover system to avoid further loss of economic competitiveness or go into domestic businesses to compete against its own people.
It is time to ponder whether it should be over-pragmatic to government the country based the monies it could collect to build surpluses every year to the exclusion of promoting more desirable values e.g. creating a pro-people pro-business environment, empowering the people, mass participation in knowledge application or morality etc.
As the ministers themselves have frequently told the people we must build a knowledge-based economy and create new technologies start-ups. We have to establish an education system which will mould good character and build a socially vibrant society. Students must be able to think and solve problems objectively and be effective in our many quests.
Think again whether the government has solved the above-mentioned problems which is not covered by MM Lee in his TV forum or the PM in his new party manifestos.
So government should not be over-pragmatic in taxing and recovering fees to the fullest market values but be more concerned with building the heartware or people-software needed to engender people's loyalty if it wants people to believe its latest manifesto : "Stay together and move forward".
If we are to live meaningfully together and move forward we must treasure everyone's contributions beyond the narrow policies like closing down of blogs or licensing of newspapers or banning wearing of explicit Tee-shirts by anyone or worse tamper with the one-man-one-vote system to prevent election of political oppositions. MM Lee should ponder over his frequent resorts to suing the political oppositions for speeches made in the heat of election. He should avoid over-promoting the elites and their rewards at the expense of the rest in society.
Even the hoi polloi or kopitiam people know the basic principle of what makes a cohesive society where citizens are loyal to the country and will work as one with the government.
The first prerequisite is we must build a caring system of government to promote good values as mentioned in the foregoing.
It is wrong to promote selfish pro-party HDB upgrading benefits or give out election goodies to induce citizens to vote for the party in power. What happen if the opposition party in power one day tries to give away monies likewise to buy votes and what will the PAP accept such future practice with a smile and acknowledge that they themselves have started such vote-buying in 2006 election?
Citizens would like the government to think big and try not to govern the country based on its narrow party interest. It should go back to real Confucianism to look after the people's interests e.g. solve their high cost of living and create worthwhile pro-people values to correct the wrongs implanted over the past years.
Otherwise our future generation will follow the government practices and become selfish as well and say to the government: "I will do what I like and study what I like as I want to be free and feel free to do as I like."
Good luck to MM Lee's thinking that it cannot level the playing field for the opposition but they must realise that in the first place it should not try to erect barrier to create unlevel playing field.
It looks like many problems such as the "20 major problems of the government" still remain unsolved while the government is loudly claiming success.
I hope it will be fair and honest and set good example of themselves to fight the election fairly not through buying votes with goodies and hand-outs or HDB upgrading. -
The motto is for now too idealistic as those who are medically ill are left to fend for themselves as shown in the NKF saga. More and more senior citizens are earning their twilight living picking cans and old papers for a living while the upper echelons with certain attributes whether proven or in papers will be well taken care through life with automatic career push and all the bumper crops dismissed as peanuts.
Let's be honest: by their current practices, the leaders have pre-ordained themselves as the special breed generally known as talents and scholars deserving auto-piloted career and good life from the rest.
People are still being divided into: "Elites and non-elites", "High IQs and those with low IQs", "RI" and "ACS", "2-roomers" and "3-roomers" or "bungalowers".
The rest will have to sacrifice 60% of their recession-crashed wages for essential government controlled transport and utility and those who cannot afford it will have to contend themsselves not to stay together but smaller 2-room HDB flats with shorter leases as Bigger flats will be a burden to the state.
Older workers who lost their CPF retirement nestegg due to asset enhancement fiasco will have to live by picking empty cans and left-overs from the neighbourhood.
Assistance will be given to flat upgrading depending on the pattern of precinct voting.
So to be honest and realistic the motto will always be read by the people as:
"Stay Together according to one's station and moving ahead according to one's connection." -
Staying together when the top are enjoying and the bottom are suffering?
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...... and the FTs are picking at our pie?Originally posted by grandeur:Staying together when the top are enjoying and the bottom are suffering? -
Originally posted by casefan:...... and the FTs are picking at our pie?
I only classify those foreigners earning $1M above as foreigner talent. The rest are just workers.