(You can) count on me Singapore

posted by fitree in May 26th, 2007

Blog Battle Topic for Week 2:

What makes you proud to be a Singaporean?

If I was a primary school kid, I’d say…

“I can go to school and see my friends everyday. Mummy or Daddy will fetch me home and and I can watch cartoon on TV. After that I can go to the playground and play catching. At night, we will all go out to eat nice food at the hawker centre.”

If I was a secondary school student, I’d say…

“Singapore is a safe country so I need not worry about my well-being when I am outside. I also treasure the multi-racial community in the country which has taught me to respect and tolerate each other’s culture and religion. In doing so, Singapore has became a peaceful country to live in.

This, I believe, will continue in many years to come.”

If I was already in the tertiary education, I’d say…

“It makes my heart beam with pride to see my very own country develop from a small fishing village to a land equipped with a world-class airport and port, complete with a bustling economy and whose developments have been long touted by many as a perfect case study to look up to.

Much have changed and certainly improved for the past 42 years. Despite the change of hands from SM Lee Kuan Yew in 1965 all the way to

the present PM Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore has flourished with each passing year. Many crisises have been withstood with the Asian Economic Crisis in 2007 as the most notable one.

With the current push for Integrated Resorts and the F1 races to be held in Singapore, a first night race to be precise, the directional arrow for the country certainly is not pointing backwards. Look forth my fellow Singaporeans, the country’s future is bright.

And so is yours.”

But of course I won’t lie to myself by going further than that. I am only reaching a tender age of nineteen. Yet so much can be said of the country that I have been residing thus far. Sometimes I wonder how it feels like to be SM Lee - to see the country he build, continue to be built till what it is right now.

Actually to tell the absolute truth, I am proud to be in a country which is made up of kiasu people who loathes durian and are willing to queue up… just because they see many others doing the same.

If there was no queue at my neighbourhood 4D booth every Saturday, it certainly wouldn’t be Singapore. I just can’t imagine the disappearance of Ah Peks sitting at the coffeeshop, sipping their hot cups of kopi-o and just talk and laugh at the top of their lungs. Or just watch the soccer match on TV and pray that their (wagered) team wins.

No Karang Guni man with his ‘pi pot pi pot’ horn every now and then? No atap chee ice-cream for $1 by the roadsides? No sight of people thronging into every shop that shouts ‘SALE‘ out loud?

No, that wouldn’t be right. I want Singapore as what it is.

For that I am proud to be a Singaporean as I have the privilege to have Singaporeans around me. Their presence gives me a sense of pride and belonging. And no, I wouldn’t want to substitute that with any other. It’s something that is just…

priceless.

If you liked what I wrote, read these...

Migrain-ed by fitree on April 25th, 2007

‘Guess’ by fitree on November 20th, 2005

I thought I missed the ‘Notice of Evacuation’ by fitree on January 29th, 2006

Room to breathe by fitree on May 12th, 2007

Or so life says about me by fitree on February 9th, 2008

CHEESEjoobs

Hey cool blog/pictures! I have no idea who you are coz i’m bloghopping. Haha. Yes and i’m proud to be a Singaporean too. =)

fi3: heyy thanks loads for the compliments. and usually that occurs when you bloghop right? kaypoh-ing otr ppl! :p hahah

in other news, YEAHHH!!! you OUGHT TO be proud man. you may dislike it, like some people, but at least give your homeland some gratitude, unlike some people. so i’m proud that you’re proud to be a Singaporean. =)

May 26th, 2007

mike

eh lagu siti dont give up tu abang aku main ah..lol

fi3: ohh!! abang kau was still in the band eh when they play this song! wah lau!! one of my favs now lah! and ‘The Kids Who WTF’ too. damn melayu lah!

phew!

You are one delusional kid.
I am Singaporean too, but the very innocence you are so proud to cling to, speaks volumes of your apathy and it is the very point that the education has churned someone like you, and legions more, to manifest daily.

Allow me to prove my point:
.You perceive the grandeur and majesty of this island as sustenance for your need to feed on satisfaction. This satisfaction is able to do material things you are benign to do without impediment. The success of this little island means nothing if you but do nothing about your shallow perceptual skills.I implore that you hasten to the betterment of yourself.

. You gloat at the achievements of this country to mirror your very own inadequacies when you have done nothing so far substantially to prove your mettle as a Singaporean citizen. Are you aware of the real issues that needed to be addressed, or simply turn a deaf apathetic ear? Are you aware of your constitutional rights? Please ask your teacher about conformity and servitude.

.Nonstop distractions (tv, media) has gotten the best of you and see nothing beyond the wisdom of these modern influences, saved for who might win the next Anugerah or American Idol. I suggest you ration your greed for television and concentrate more on books that may help you.

I am very sorry if I may seem blatant. You see, my young friend, freedom, compassion and knowledge are as important breathing air. Without it all of us will die. Without freedom we are no longer functioning as humans. Freedom to speak, question and think, these values are never taught in schools. It is sad fact but true. If you could look through the cracks, would you really want to look behind the picture?

Perhaps you are still young to understand the meaning of my words but wisdom is not only attainable when you have gray hair but achievable with the right attitude and perception, even at a very young age.

This is my country too. Many who are disgruntled left. But I am not proud yet. The word authoritarian may seem alien to you. But that is the point here. And once that is completely eradicated, you and I, will know how priceless freedom is.

For your immediate perusal.
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2006/12/singapore-education-hub-really.html
Viva la France! I mean…Viva La Singapore!

fi3: my, my… thank you so much for spending much of your time reading my 2-cents worth of my beloved country and putting in your, what I think is worth more than 2 cents worth, of your stand.

first things first, sir.. if that’s the proper acknowledgement for you. I respect you for what you have said. But I also hope the very least you could do is to respect what I have said. And respect that each and everyone of us, you included, has our own opinions about things going on around them.

what I’ve written is a one-sided view of my country. Bias, if you prefer it that way. But I am not writing a thesis where I must substantiate my claims. Nor am I writing an argumentative essay where my views need to be given equal weight. True enough, there are certain things that I don’t particularly like about my country but more true is the fact that nobody’s perfect. I pick and choose to write the positive side of my country doesn’t mean I am completely oblivious to the other side.

and if you think I take everything that’s being reported in the papers or whatever I see as what it is on the surface, then you are wrong, sir. Credit to my education in media and communication in SP, I’ve learnt to look on both sides of a story and not to believe one side wholly.

and for the record sir, big words doesn’t mean uncomprehensive to me. but I choose to believe that simplicity does the work just as good. with that sir, I hope you have a good day ahead. Cheers!