The Speech that Made me Blog
Haven't blogged for almost a month!
well it has been a really long month.
from jetting off to chiang mai, and then coming back for chinese new year, and then the madness of changing jobs, it all seemed so quick and yet so long.
I actually have a lot to write about this job changing experience,
but i won't bore myself or anyone else with it.
but let's just say that it's a traumatic experience and very draining both mentally and physically.
leaving is difficult and so is starting fresh. (especially if you're starting in something quite unrelated from your previous experience)
now i understand why pple stay at one job for decades.
i'm not sure if the pain of being stagnant is any less than the pain of moving though.
when you do something new, you get to experience, learn and feel new things.
Usually it's worth all the initial pain in the butt.
-----------------------------------------------------
anyway so i've been putting off blogging for weeks.
time flies by so quick!
and i have so many things i want to do in my "free" time.
i'm not that busy but i never seem to have "free" time.
but i just read something online that i just have to include on my blog.
This is a speech by one of our NMPs in Parliament, and it resonates with what I, and hopefully a lot of others as well, feel too.
http://siewkumhong.blogspot.com/2008/02/budget-2008-speech-on-budget-statement.html
Excerpts (bold emphasis mine):
"
Who benefits from GDP growth?
Sir, the Minister has attributed this massive surplus to an active property market and better-than-expected economic growth. But despite last year’s impressive real GDP growth of 7.7%, many Singaporeans still do not feel better off. Instead, in the face of the worst inflation experienced in 25 years, there is an extremely strong sense of being worse off amongst many Singaporeans. Why is that so?
..........
10. Indeed, there is a view amongst some Singaporeans, that our stunning headline growth numbers do not tell the full picture. We are told that Singapore has done well, is doing well, and will continue to do well. Our blistering GDP growth in recent years supports this view. Even with the imminent slowdown, we are still expected to grow by between 4 and 6 percent this year – healthy by any standards.
11. And yet, some questions persist. Who exactly has benefited from all this growth? How much have Singaporeans benefited from it?
.........................
....it all shows that there are some very legitimate questions that can be asked, that need to be asked, about the true extent to which Singaporeans are benefiting from all this economic growth.
22. I do not think it is enough to merely say that our economic growth has created jobs for Singaporeans, that the low resident unemployment rate serves as a proxy indicator of the benefits from growth. That is a purely quantitative measure. Quite apart from the point that the statistics available group both Singaporeans and permanent residents together, those figures do not shed any light whatsoever on the quality of jobs going to residents, on the extent to which residents have benefited.
23. Sir, I do not mean to be xenophobic, or to argue against having foreigners here. I work in a US MNC, mostly with foreigners, and certainly I appreciate the many important contributions they make to our economy. But surely, Singapore’s economic growth should benefit Singaporeans more than others.
.................
What does it mean to be Singaporean?
46. Many Singaporeans ask why the Government does not do more to help Singaporeans. Why doesn’t the Government help Singaporeans, when it has the resources to do so? I would rephrase the question like this: what does it mean to be Singaporean?
47. The Government consistently emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility, of ensuring that people do not abdicate responsibility for their lives to the Government. As a result, we provide the bare minimum level of assistance so that Singaporeans will not starve.
48. Yes, we are all responsible for our lives. We have to be. But that is not the full story. It cannot be.
49. The point is not about judging those who made mistakes or wrong choices somewhere along the line, of finding them undeserving. To cast the question in terms of whether a person deserves aid, is to miss the point.
50. The point is to help our fellow Singaporeans in their times in need. The point is to be compassionate, because there, but for the grace of God, go I. The point is to assure Singaporeans, that if, touch wood, they fall on hard times, they will be taken care of. Simply because they are Singaporeans, and Singapore will take care of its own.
.........
Conclusion
58. Sir, I want to live in a country that cares for its people first and foremost, not a country that prioritises GDP growth for its own sake. I want to see a nation where Singaporeans are valued for everything that we are, not just the economic contribution we can make. I want to grow old in a state that places a higher premium on helping citizens, than on ensuring that there is no wastage. I want to be part of a generous society that helps its most vulnerable members, instead of counting the pennies and tightening the purse strings.
59. I do not think that I live in such a country yet. And that disheartens me. I sometimes question what it means to be a Singaporean, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. This bodes ill for us in this era of global mobility, if other Singaporeans are similarly disenchanted. And those who leave, those who are able to leave, the 1000 Singaporeans who leave every year and never come back, are exactly the ones that we need to stay.
-----------------------
"
what a great speech. i wish i heard or read it in the media. i didn't.
doesn't the last line just keep ringing in your head?
Haven't blogged for almost a month!
well it has been a really long month.
from jetting off to chiang mai, and then coming back for chinese new year, and then the madness of changing jobs, it all seemed so quick and yet so long.
I actually have a lot to write about this job changing experience,
but i won't bore myself or anyone else with it.
but let's just say that it's a traumatic experience and very draining both mentally and physically.
leaving is difficult and so is starting fresh. (especially if you're starting in something quite unrelated from your previous experience)
now i understand why pple stay at one job for decades.
i'm not sure if the pain of being stagnant is any less than the pain of moving though.
when you do something new, you get to experience, learn and feel new things.
Usually it's worth all the initial pain in the butt.
-----------------------------------------------------
anyway so i've been putting off blogging for weeks.
time flies by so quick!
and i have so many things i want to do in my "free" time.
i'm not that busy but i never seem to have "free" time.
but i just read something online that i just have to include on my blog.
This is a speech by one of our NMPs in Parliament, and it resonates with what I, and hopefully a lot of others as well, feel too.
http://siewkumhong.blogspot.com/2008/02/budget-2008-speech-on-budget-statement.html
Excerpts (bold emphasis mine):
"
Who benefits from GDP growth?
Sir, the Minister has attributed this massive surplus to an active property market and better-than-expected economic growth. But despite last year’s impressive real GDP growth of 7.7%, many Singaporeans still do not feel better off. Instead, in the face of the worst inflation experienced in 25 years, there is an extremely strong sense of being worse off amongst many Singaporeans. Why is that so?
..........
10. Indeed, there is a view amongst some Singaporeans, that our stunning headline growth numbers do not tell the full picture. We are told that Singapore has done well, is doing well, and will continue to do well. Our blistering GDP growth in recent years supports this view. Even with the imminent slowdown, we are still expected to grow by between 4 and 6 percent this year – healthy by any standards.
11. And yet, some questions persist. Who exactly has benefited from all this growth? How much have Singaporeans benefited from it?
.........................
....it all shows that there are some very legitimate questions that can be asked, that need to be asked, about the true extent to which Singaporeans are benefiting from all this economic growth.
22. I do not think it is enough to merely say that our economic growth has created jobs for Singaporeans, that the low resident unemployment rate serves as a proxy indicator of the benefits from growth. That is a purely quantitative measure. Quite apart from the point that the statistics available group both Singaporeans and permanent residents together, those figures do not shed any light whatsoever on the quality of jobs going to residents, on the extent to which residents have benefited.
23. Sir, I do not mean to be xenophobic, or to argue against having foreigners here. I work in a US MNC, mostly with foreigners, and certainly I appreciate the many important contributions they make to our economy. But surely, Singapore’s economic growth should benefit Singaporeans more than others.
.................
What does it mean to be Singaporean?
46. Many Singaporeans ask why the Government does not do more to help Singaporeans. Why doesn’t the Government help Singaporeans, when it has the resources to do so? I would rephrase the question like this: what does it mean to be Singaporean?
47. The Government consistently emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility, of ensuring that people do not abdicate responsibility for their lives to the Government. As a result, we provide the bare minimum level of assistance so that Singaporeans will not starve.
48. Yes, we are all responsible for our lives. We have to be. But that is not the full story. It cannot be.
49. The point is not about judging those who made mistakes or wrong choices somewhere along the line, of finding them undeserving. To cast the question in terms of whether a person deserves aid, is to miss the point.
50. The point is to help our fellow Singaporeans in their times in need. The point is to be compassionate, because there, but for the grace of God, go I. The point is to assure Singaporeans, that if, touch wood, they fall on hard times, they will be taken care of. Simply because they are Singaporeans, and Singapore will take care of its own.
.........
Conclusion
58. Sir, I want to live in a country that cares for its people first and foremost, not a country that prioritises GDP growth for its own sake. I want to see a nation where Singaporeans are valued for everything that we are, not just the economic contribution we can make. I want to grow old in a state that places a higher premium on helping citizens, than on ensuring that there is no wastage. I want to be part of a generous society that helps its most vulnerable members, instead of counting the pennies and tightening the purse strings.
59. I do not think that I live in such a country yet. And that disheartens me. I sometimes question what it means to be a Singaporean, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. This bodes ill for us in this era of global mobility, if other Singaporeans are similarly disenchanted. And those who leave, those who are able to leave, the 1000 Singaporeans who leave every year and never come back, are exactly the ones that we need to stay.
-----------------------
"
what a great speech. i wish i heard or read it in the media. i didn't.
doesn't the last line just keep ringing in your head?
2 Comments:
At 1:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
Now that have created Singapore, all we have to do is create Singaporeans!
At 12:24 AM,
Anonymous said…
i'm not disenchanted, but there are just better job opportunities here for sure! if i went home, i dont know what i'd be doing cos the industry is just too small!
-lampshadeii
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