The Singapore Daily

The vibe I got when 7 will be charged over the IMF-World Bank Protests held in Singapore in 2006 after the rally promised easing of restrictions.

The PM spoke at the NUS University Cultural Center last Saturday. He attempted to show bits of his personal life – meeting his girlfriend’s parents without a gift, changing a cloth nappy without hurting anyone with the safety pin, etc.

He spoke of how foreign talent is imperative for the development of the IRs. Fair enough. Singapore hasn’t had any IR and it is only logical to engage people who already have knowledge in that field to help developed Singapore’s IRs. Then again, it also goes to suggest that Singapore doesn’t have enough talent. This then opens up another can of worms to question if the government is doing enough to nurture and retain talent. This vicious cycle then brings me to relate to the table tennis team that got us our first Olympic medal in 48 years and the then dream of getting Singapore into the World Cup in 2010.

Given the population of Singapore (compared to China’s) naturally the number of talent we have pales in comparison. Fair enough, Singapore hasn’t had any IRs so we have to engage people who have had experience in developing them i.e. FT. While I agree this may make sense, the government should ensure that there are a sufficient number of locals that would be training under this FT so that the locals can take over when the project is done or when the FT decides to suddenly leave.

The $4000 to have a child incentive could be attractive to those who are not sure about starting their families and handy for those who want to start their family anyway. If the government is truly sincere about helping families to raise their children, then children who are born after the rally speech should have privileges such as increased medical benefits, priority access to local institutions, cheaper tuition fees and lower insurance premiums. Else, $4000 is barely enough to last even before the child begins teething.

The ever reliable Straits Times wrote on the front page that rulings on protests and videos would be eased. Within a week, reports from foreign media informed that 7 activists (including Dr Chee Soon Juan and his sister Chee Siok Chin) will be charged for the 2006 IMF-World Bank protests. Whatever brownie points that were scored from the rally were vanished immediately. With their lawyer M Ravi being deemed medically unfit first by the party that he had helped defended then by the media, we can only look forth to more courtroom. Perhaps in the government’s defense, they would say that it was a 2006 incident, way before the 2008 NDP rally. No worries, we have from now till the next rally and general elections to evaluate how much the restrictions have eased.

Personally, I got the vibe that the PM was trying to engage the audience with a fair bit effort. At some points, I thought I saw his face contort alittle, probably at the effort. It striked me that the speech was tailored in hope of engaging Singaporeans. Not just any Singaporeans, it’s Singaporeans like you and I who go online, the generation that the term Post 65ers is too broad to cover.

When I looked abit closer, I realised that the PM was afraid. Alittle afraid at least.

In this case, you and I are probably doing something right.

Thanks for reading,
the B

P.S. No, we didn’t get the bronze.

August 24th, 2008 | Category: Weekly Roundup | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL