12/04/2011

Surrendering one’s right

Political activists are always a minority in all countries. But they are organised, just like gangsters. And as an organised force, they wield tremendous power over the people. They dictate how society should be structured, how people should live their lives, they control and run the country in the name of being the govt, elected, self appointed or by inheritance.

When a country is blessed, the political leaders are wise and will make decisions for the good of the majority. Some could really be idealistic and selfless. On the other extreme, political leaders could be selfish, self serving and ruthless. Most political leaders lie in between the good and the bad, some uglier than others.

We are blessed with good fortunes for 4 decades, with the winds blowing our way and with good men and women assuming political leadership. The blessing has made Singaporeans apathetic to what is going on around them. They surrendered their rights to decide what is best for them and allowed the political leaders to think and decide for them. Can’t blame them when good and talented leaders are thinking and working for them. When good men are in charge, an amicable populace that give the leaders a free hand will facilitate more efficiency in policy making. When not so good men are in charge, such a situation will hasten the making of bad policies.

Has Singapore reach a stage when bad policies are being made and claimed as good policies and shafted down the unthinking populace who have forgotten that they are the one to decide what is best for their own good? Or would they continue to let political leaders to rubbish them with flawed or half baked ideas and policies and tell them that they are good, the way forward?

There are many policies which I personally think are bad for the people. But the people think otherwise. Some still think that they are good. Some unsure and some just do not want to think.

This morning I will just touch on small is good. This is the new idea that is being spread in the media. Small is good, in fact can be better. So Singaporeans are being prepared mentally to expect to live in smaller spaces and pay more for them, as they are told that it is a good thing. One issue is whether this is really good or another Singaporean myth that daft Singaporeans will have to live with. The second point is whether daft Singaporeans are willing to accept this new myth and allow their lives to be structured around small is good. The third issue, which Singaporeans would not want to think about, is whether this is inevitable, that there is no way out. That we must keep increasing out population to eat up all the space that is needed for a decent and healthy living environment?

If they continue to surrender their rights to decide what is good for them and their children, it will be soon that they find themselves living like the Hongkies and the Japanese in Tokyo and trying to compete to see who is more ingenious in living like dogs in kennels.

I think it is okay for dogs to live in kennels as they are not supposed to think and will accept whatever the master provides. But some masters are more generous and even petition the govt for more space for their dogs to run around, to swim in public pools or the seas.

One day, Sinkies could really be competing with dogs for more space and the ending will be that the dogs will win and the Sinkies will have to be content to live in dog’s kennels. Have Singaporeans awaken to their rights to think for themselves, to think what is good for themselves? Or would they allow some foreigners or jokers to tell them that living in dog’s kennels is good?

I must say that some political leaders are wise, some think they are wise, and some strongly believe that they are wise, and all their policies are also wise. And when they proclaim something is good for the people, it must be good for the people. Would Sinkies be bothered at all, I mean the average Sinkies that are at the wrong end of the stick?

17 comments:

joveyb said...

The problem with the HDB director to say small is good is rubbish. She should just be honest and say with limited space avaialble coupled with population growth and increasing construction cost, the result is a lesser space. Well
maybe they should build bigger space for those willing to foot the bill.

joveyb said...

The problem with the HDB director to say small is good is rubbish. She should just be honest and say with limited space avaialble coupled with population growth and increasing construction cost, the result is a lesser space. Well
maybe they should build bigger space for those willing to foot the bill.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Hi joveyb, good morning.

The issue of small is good is really a sub issue. The major issue is whether we want to allow the govt to continue to import more foreigners and grow the population further? Is the island congested enought that we do not want to take in more?

Do we want to go along with the govt's policy of growth by increasing the population forever and ever after?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Modern PAP-centered Singapore was started by MASSIVE political action (by current local standards). People were killed in the rioting. Gangsters were involved.

Lee Kuan Yew is quite ok with being called a 'gangster'. You have to respect the man for his honesty.

Poltics is gang warfare. You have to be willing to destroy lives and reputations and you have to be willing tossed and draw blood. You have to be willing to put morality and decency aside and sell out friends and if necessary family. You have to be willing and be comfortable with shedding your humanity and becoming a ruthless, ends-justifies-the-means, amoral ASSHOLE.

If you can achieve that... you are on the way to a promising political career... provided you don't get ASSASSINATED! :-))

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

"Surrendering one’s right" -- @redbean

The whole article is based on some fictitious right redbean pulled out of his arse.

There is only one right - self ownership. From that basic right is derived the idea of private property.

Therefore if you are free to move and have the financial means or marketable skills at your disposal, you have EVERY RIGHT TO SUCCEED.

Success is not a zero-sum game. ie unless there is criminality involved, one person's success doesn't come at the expense of someone else's failure.

Anonymous said...

" There is only one right - self ownership. From that basic right is derived the idea of private property."

Singapore got private property rights meh?

Rochor Centre property "owners" got a lot of rights hor.

Sacrificing themselves for the "greater good".
Whose greater good ah?

redbean. You got benefit from Rochor or not ah?

Anonymous said...

“A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.”
– Bertrand de Jouvenal

“When people fear the government, there is tyranny; when government fears the people, there is Liberty!”
– Thomas Jefferson

“Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.”
– Dr. Milton Friedman

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Two types of rights. One type, according to Matilah, is from the arse. This type of right is the right to claim what is yours in the land you claimed to be yours, but also fictitious.

Another type of right which Matilah is enjoying, is the right without an arse. So just runaway and hope that there is a silly govt that will invite non citizens to take advantage of the citizens. If there is no silly govt, this type of right is as good as no right.

Right or not, Matilah?

Anonymous said...

when ppl insult my intelligence by telling me small is beautiful. I only ask one question, how big is your house?

He cannot answer the question.

The end

Anonymous said...

Anyone who proclaims and preaches that small is good but owns huge bungalow and mansion to live in, is simply lying with his/her eyes wide open.
Do they have the decency to show example of themselves?
If not.
Why not?

There is a very big problem with the Sin Leadership and that is; THEIR DEEDS NEVER MATCHED THEIR WORDS(kou si xin fei). And their desires for remuneration, reward and eulogy are so audaciously glaring. Are there more greedy folks than them? Are they even aware that they are making our society very sick?

patriot

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

As I have said before: in reality there are no such "special rights" for citizens by birth or oath.

Just because your mother's chi bye was in S'pore territory when you popped out doesn't make you special over and above someone else.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@patriot

The idea of 'sick society' is another fiction. There is no such "thing" as society. All you have are individual men, women and children who are interconnected by their relationships with one another and who have each individual brains, which generate individual minds and autonomous behaviour.

Everyone is an individual. Everyone owns themselves and the property they LEGITIMATELY aquire.

Kawan-kawan, and saudari saudara:

It doesn't get more BASIC than that. And I don't give a shit how many worthless Phd's you have or who the fuck you're connected to. Everyone owns themselves.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That was fast Matilah Singapura.

Me has no argument with your idea of individuality, it stands. However, me would like to decipher society as a space shared collectively by individuals that co-exist in a very symbiotic and interdependent mode. No one is born to exist alone, there is the parents, sibling, kith and clan. More importantly, no human young is born INDEPENDENT, EVERYONE owes his/her existence to those that love and care for him/her until a person becomes independent.

Once independent, it is time for any human to love and care for their dear ones. Humans are social animal; one may survive alone, however, he/she will find no meaning in existence living alone. We cannot deny that we are born into a collective unit known as family at the very least.

Me never believe that Matilah is as individual as he preaches, he is however independent even to the extend of fucking any government, country and individual as he likes.
He will have to, like it or not, to CHOOSE A(ANY) SOCIETY TO HAVE HIS FEET GROUNDED.

patriot

Anonymous said...

THE BIG LIE - Adolf Hitler

The source of Big Lie technique is this passage, taken from Chapter 10 of James Murphy's translation of Hitler's Mein Kampf:


" All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--
that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility;

because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily;

and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.

It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation.

For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. "

—Adolf Hitler , Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X[1]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lie

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@patriot

You are free to believe anything about me your feeble mind can contours up. Since you have self ownership and autonomy - you have the RIGHT and the FREEDOM to be wrong ;-)

If you want so desperately to win the argument, go ahead - knock yourself out!

Cheerio!

Anonymous said...

Sermons are getting longer and longer. Difficult for an old fogey like me to concentrate. Sometimes I just surrender my rights to read lah!

Anonymous said...

This matilah guy's mother think got no chee bye. He thinks he is delivered not by his mother's. Oh dear, sori, not his mother's. Don't have.