source
http://redfist.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/the-reliably-unreliable-government/
The Reliably Unreliable Government
When reading an article (Straits Times, Saturday, April 4, 2008 - Prime pg.3) highlighting Mas Selamat’s escape and linking it to complacency, I can’t help but voice out the upsetting unfairness and…let’s face it…bullshit of the government.
Here is the golden response from MM Lee in an email interview:
“The people on the whole believed that the Government will take care of all security matters. But no government can be 100 percent on the ball 100 percent of the time. A government needs the active support and cooperation of the people.”
That’s what he said. And yet, how is it that the people is not rewarded the same way the government is? If indeed it is a collaborative effort to ensure the safety and security of this nation, and more so in the part of the people to be vigilant at all times, then why have the government so proudly raised their salaries without the people’s validation or approval and pat themselves on the back for doing such a good job? Since this Mas Selamat affair is a big deal and is a major compromise of Singapore’s security, then it’s only right and fair that the government decrease their ridiculous salaries for doing a shitty job. Don’t just blame it on the custodians. Ever since this whole mess started, we Singaporeans have yet to see any politician or state figure or high-ranking uniformed personnel stepping down because they’ve failed to re-apprehend Mas Selamat in a country that’s slightly over 647 sq km, where almost all exits have been tightly sealed.
Seriously, after all the claims of always delivering to the people and even having the cheek to act as consultant to countries like Russia when the government can’t even find one fugitive on this tiny island, is it still fair for the people? Is it still fair that the people have to tolerate the government’s high salaries when we are stuck with more taxes and 7% GST? Most importantly, is it still fair that after all the work the people have done, the government enjoys the fruits of our labor and let us fend for ourselves and ask we help them in cleaning up their mess, but when it comes to the glory, we have no say in it?
Seriously, is it fair?