by Rudy Irawan Kadjairi
I don’t care much that we have one of the world’s top ranked airports. Not when there are still some of my elderly fellow citizens who can’t even afford to enjoy an overseas vacation from their jobs cleaning tables, washing toilets, selling tissues, and collecting cardboard boxes.
I shrug at foreigners who sing praises of how green our city is. Especially when we continue to blatantly destroy our remaining vestiges of forestland to develop soulless buildings for an increasingly soulless population.
How can I be impressed that so many like to spew about our low crime rates? Not when there’s a visible increase in the number of sexual crimes being mentioned in our courts.
I balk at the pride in our education system. The same system that cannot guarantee our average Singaporean a job against someone who comes into the country with a fake certificate, or worse, a fake accent.
I can’t help but laugh at labels of Singapore being a harmonious society. Just look at how people treat each other depending on their political affiliations; and you’ll see that there is a deep underlying disrespect for opposing views, opinions, status, and even rights.
I don’t think very highly of the amount of money we spend on our defence budget acquiring all the latest technology in armaments and weapons of war. Not when we could be spending more on education, healthcare, and social welfare.
I’m not even mesmerised by the quality of leadership we have inherited. Not when they’re paid the highest salaries of any democracy, but will not allow themselves to be subjected to any form of accountability.
And I know, I can even guarantee it. There will be those who see this post and say the ONLY first thing that comes to their mind – “If you don’t like it, get out of this country.”
And therein lies the crux of this entire message.
Singapore can be so much better still. There’s a lot to be grateful for. But we should never allow ourselves to be so far up our own arses that we cannot see problems.
And we do actually have many.
I am a proud Singaporean not because I like what I see.
I am a proud Singaporean because this is where I was born…..and this is where I will make an effort to make things better. Not just for me. But for all.
This was first published on Rudy’s Facebook page, and reproduced with permission.
