From: [email protected] on behalf of [email protected]
(keith lim) [[email protected]]
Posted At: Wednesday, July 05, 2000 10:11 PM
Conversation: Has PAP legalised corruption in the form salary increase!!
Posted To: soc.culture.singapore

Subject: Re: Has PAP legalised corruption in the form salary increase!!

Mike <[email protected]> wrote:

> Singaporeans work
> and study harder than Australian, Americans and yet we don't have a better quality of life! We are treated like small children by the
> Government and bullied constantly!

Exactly. *Exactly.* Singaporeans are treated like small children. I
think they *choose* this. This is *not* the same as saying they *want*
it, merely that they choose this over the alternatives. This choice is
reflected in the consistent returning of the PAP to power in election
after election with a solid majority of votes, and in quietly putting up with every new policy implemented by them.

A friend convinced me of the plausibility of this viewpoint a while ago, during a discussion we had of Singapore politics. The argument goes as follows.

1. People are, in general, politically apathetic. Note that this is a
general statement about people, not about Singaporeans specifically. In almost any country, ask people on the street to name their MP or Senator or name the key figures in their government, and most won't be able to answer. (Self test for readers: do you know your own MP? If so, follow up question: do you know how to contact your MP--where their constituency office is or their office phone number?) People are mostly not concerned with political issues, but only with their personal day-to-day creature comforts (i.e. they care about political issues only when the issues affect them personally).

2. People don't like responsibility. When problems are visible, most
people don't want to get involved. Instead, they will expect (or even demand) that other people take of them. The tendency is just to treat problems as other people's problems and push the problems away from them. This behavior is well known and recognized by the existence of terms like NIMBY ("not in my back yard")--people not caring about the details of a problem; they just want it away from them, and they don't care about the other people they're pushing it to. Taking responsibility also often involves thinking about difficult issues and making hard choices, and these things too are much disliked. They are seen as problems, which, like other problems, are preferred to be pushed to someone else to take care of.

So, the argument concludes, Singaporeans deliberately and repeatedly choose the PAP every time, despite its authotarian and paternalistic ways, precisely *because* it treats everyone like children, taking care of the basics for them, and removing the need to think too much or take responsibility. The economy is good, there's food and jobs and entertainment, the place is clean and green and mostly safe. For most people, that's not just merely what they want, it's *all* they want.

Most people are politically apathetic. They don't care all that much if the government is conservative or liberal, authorotarian or libertarian. As long as it provides bread and circuses, and keeps the trains running on time, that all most of the people care about. The Singapore government in the PAP does that.

But it does more than that. As a bonus, it also removes the need for the people having to take responsibility for various life issues.

* Raising children? You don't have to bother too much about your
children's education or the things they're exposed to. The State will
take care of that for you, by treating everyone like children, and not
allowing in any disturbing images or information.

* Struggling with ethical and social issues like homosexuality, public
nudity, drug use, military service, freedom of expression, ministerial
salaries, and political criticism? We'll make it easy for you by laying
down the law on them, and just telling you whether they're good or bad; you just go along with our view and everything will be fine. No need to think about them.

* Concerned with national defence? Don't worry, with compulsory National Service, we'll always have thousands of soldiers on the nominal rolls. They're always operationally ready and willing to fight for the country any time. We say so all the time, so it's obviously true. We're also spending millions of dollars buying lots of equipment like submarines and helicoptors, so no need to worry.

* Wondering about supporting yourself when you retire? Thinking about medical insurance? Financing your children's education or buying a home? No problem either; contributions to CPF and Medicare are mandatory. (You don't even have to think about whether to contribute or not, even that is decided for you.) CPF and Medicare will take care of your financial needs in the future. (Well, at least that was the official party line until recently. Even so, the recent admissions that CPF may not be enough for retirement hasn't led to any changes in the scheme.)

Probably I've made my point, so no need to keep churning out examples, though it's not difficult to do so. Living in Singapore means you don't have to think very much about anything and don't need to take very much responsibility for anything, whether on a personal, societal, or national level. Your day-to-day comforts are taken care of; there's lots of hawker centres and NTUC Fairprices for food; lots of cinemas, karaoke lounges, and shopping centres for entertainment; and the MRT and LRT provide quick, convenient, and cheap transport.

Let's look at the checklist. Bread and circuses, check. Trains run on
time, check. Little need to think or take responsibility, check, and
what a bonus! Don't know whether I've convinced anyone else, but this is my belief of why Singaporeans not only put up with the PAP but keep on electing them. It's a *deliberate* and *conscious* *choice*.

Admittedly, this is not the best possible choice out of all possible
choices, but it is the best out of what is offered in Singapore. The
alternatives to a PAP government all involve having to 1. think more
about issues, and 2. take more personal and societal responsibility for the future, and 3. lose some existing creature comforts. All these
things are disliked by a majority of people. Singaporeans are a
pragmatic people, so it has been said, and the pragmatic choice is the PAP, every time. As for the PAP's authoritarian and paternalistic
ideology, that is a secondary concern--people are generally politically apathetic--compared with its willingness and ability to deliver basic creature comforts and peace of mind.

Bottom line is that Singapore and Singaporeans are getting exactly the government they want, and deserve.

-- 
keith lim [email protected] http://pobox.com/~keithlim/
The floggings will continue until morale improves.