Singapore - A Facade of Lies

Looking back at Singapore, I realised it is an island of mypoicism. A system of rigidity and conformism. A place where people lose their identities and their individualism. To have independent thought is a defect, to say yes and be agreeable to what the government says is a norm. To have your voice heard is a threat to national security. Reporters are told what to write by the state controlled newspapers. Televisions only show what the government wants the people to see. A beautiful garden city it is, with a swiss standard of life. The citizens grow disillusioned at their own surroundings, thinking it is the safest place in the world - at the expense of their freedom.

The citizens have no idea how much money is in the reserves. No idea what the government is doing with their savings. Or is there even a penny left after the recession. All they know is that, the government is doing a fantastic job, so they deserve the world’s highest paying salaries to its ministers for a world class government. No qualms on that, Singaporeans are just too happy to oblige and nod their heads to what the government wishes to do with them. After all, they go through a system of route learning and become obedient servants to the nation by going into occupations that the economy needs, working overtime with low pay and living in small cramped HDB flats. That is life to them, nothing else. To have shelter, good education and a stable job is all they need.

As a national past time, there is always shopping. With so many shopping centers being built every year, it is becoming a playground for the rich. To add to the buzz is the up and coming casinos, yacht facilities and a new downtown at marina bay. I wonder if its citizens feel like tourists in their own island. Commercialisation is the central motivation to every person’s lives. To make money to spend, to dine and wine and lose themselves to the material world. In the city with the highest percentage of millionaires in the world, no doubt they could enjoy their lives in their elite playground till they die.

You see, Singapore is not like any country. It is not a country really, it is a country running as a company - termed as Singapore INC. We employ the best ministers to be the CEOs, the best civil servants as the best employees so as to generate the most revenue for the country’s prosperity. After all, a good economy is the country’s essential survival tool given its fragile shores being flanked by Muslim dominated countries on all sides. The island’s continual survival is questionable, and risky, if the economy weakens, the fear of an attack is very real. This vulnerability is well known amongst its citizens, and this weakness is what makes the citizens subservient to the government gasp of power. For its only resource is human resources, the country does not have water, food produce, minerals - no resources at all in an area size of 693 sq km that it is seen as a dot on the world map.

Despite is fragility, it is also believed to be the safest country in Asia due to the lack of natural disasters. Or rather, it is a lie. After the leader of the terrorist group walked out of jail in broad daylight, the nation’s perceived safety is questionable. Or that there are cases of missing people notices being plastered all over the train stations. Or the brutal butchering of body parts being dumped into Kallang River. Or that a 5 year old girl was killed and thrown into a box hidden under a bridge. The frequency of these cases springing up on news headlines every year in this “safe” nation is sure to raise eyebrows - if this nation is truly safe from its own citizens despite having one of the stiffest penalties in the world?

Is Singapore a facade of lies it wants its citizens to believe in?
That you can only answer.