Coming of Age

With the arrival of yet another milestone, it seemed fitting to talk about the passage of time, and the wisdoms that would have been presumably acquired along with it.

(This was by no measure reflective, of course, of the mock-anger I directed at younger well-wishing friends while I bemoaned the demise of my youth. -- Oh, I love them so. (I hate them, too, but that’s just pettiness, and there’s plenty of room under the rug.))

Studying abroad, I found that the longer I have stayed overseas - curiously - the more salient my Singaporean identity has grown, and with it my attachment to the associations of ‘home’ that the island conjures in my mind. In fact, my long deliberation on the painful choice I had to make between my Aussie and Singapore citizenship - I was born in Melbourne, bred in Singapore - had steadily tipped from the former to the latter rather dramatically, in the last four years.

Some time back, I had been pleasantly surprised by (then) PM Goh’s statement concerning the acceptance of homosexual individuals in the civil service. More (relatively) recently, I was particularly encouraged by Lee Jr’s call to a more ‘open society’.
Could it be - Singapore, a more progressive society?

Certain recent events, however, have compelled me to reconsider the assumed correlation between the passage of time - the ‘coming of age’ - and progress.

Such as the coerced withdrawal of Martyn See's Singapore Rebel, a short doco-turned-'party political film' on Chee Soon Juan.

Such as the coerced shutdown of a Singapore student’s blog, as a result of libel threats from head of A*Star following criticisms of the institution.

There’s more, for sure.

Things like debate, discussion, consultation, have been a large part of the ‘opening Singapore’ rhetoric for a while now. Yet when input comes in the form of criticism, it is deemed defamation. As for the arts, Singaporeans have been encouraged to be more creative (ostensibly with further economic development as a primary impetus) - but only within the confinements of the (pin)head size of Powerful Autocratic People.

We get mixed messages from our leaders. We are called upon to 'speak up even if it jars' and to 'step forward to make a difference to the community and country'. Yet when we speak out on human rights and political wrongs in Singapore, we are told to join political parties - it is the only way to ’be political’ in this country. That applies, of course, only if you have not already received libel threats, been sued for defamation or crushed for being a ‘subversive disturbance to the public order’ and - peculiarly - for seeking to achieve particular political ends.

One wonders why the powers that be are baffled about the numbers of (young, particularly) Singaporeans giving up, and taking off. There’s a label for them, too - ‘quitters’. It’s especially the case that these young (and not-so-young) Singaporeans must be getting frustrated because of all these ‘western ideas’ from living overseas for too long, or too much access to media (which we should limit, lah!).

What should we do, then - what hope do we have for our little lives? Get a 9-5 job, get a 3-room HDB, car if lucky, settle down with a partner (of the opposite sex only, please), and produce 2.3 babies?

Indeed, why would anyone want to go? We have the best airport, best economy, best education system, best public transport system, best shopping centres, and now, 2 casinos integrated resorts. We have strong Asian values, work ethic, ‘family values’ (remember, homosexual rights are against the public interest).

In this country, we can relax because we don’t have to fight for our rights. The government has kept them safely in a vault - that not even the UN can touch - and will dispense them according to their discretion. Unless, of course, you happen to have 1kg of marijuana on you - in which case, I’m sorry but your most fundamental right to life will have to be forfeited.

***
A quote from Alfian encapsulates the sentiment I fear to embody in the not-so-distant future:

If you care too much about Singapore, first it'll break your spirit, and finally it will break your heart.

It’s hard to swim to the surface when a rope that was there for safety is instead a chain pulling you to the bottom - but I don’t want to give in to fatigue, gravity, and most of all, the chain itself.

I don’t want to give up on this country.

I don’t want to give up on Home.

***
[Ed: I feel like there is more to be said. I’ll think about it. Meanwhile, I pay my last respects to Dr Wee Kim Wee as he moves on.]

[Ed again: Apologies for the malfunctioning links. Curiously, some work while some don't, despite me using the same coding method throughout. I'm trying to figure it out. Suggestions welcome.]
[Ed once more: Figured it out - wonky "quotation" marks.]

***
Technorati: Singapore politics, Singapore blogosphere