25 October 2006

Wee Shu Min, Globalisation, Singapore and America

I was reading this article about the now-infamous Wee Shu Min:
ST Oct 24, 2006
Teen blogger counselled for her 'elitist' remarks

By Ken Kwek

A TEENAGE blogger has found herself in the soup after comments she made in her online journal were criticised by many Internet users for being insensitive and elitist.

Raffles Junior College student Wee Shu Min, a daughter of MP Wee Siew Kim, sparked a heated debate on the Internet when she derided another blogger, Mr Derek Wee, for his views on the anxieties of Singapore workers.

Both Miss Wee's father and the principal of RJC told The Straits Times yesterday that she had been counselled for using insensitive language.

Miss Wee, a second-year student on RJC's Humanities Scholarship Programme, has since shut down her blog and apologised for her comments, though not directly to Mr Derek Wee.

Mr Wee, 35, a Singaporean who works for a multinational corporation, had written in his blog on Oct 12 that he was concerned about competition from foreign talent and the lack of job opportunities for older workers here.

He urged the Government to understand Singaporeans' plight.

Last Thursday, Miss Wee responded to him on her blog, calling him old and unmotivated and said he was overly reliant on the Government.

In dismissing his views, she wrote:

'Derek, Derek, Derek darling, how can you expect to have an iron rice bowl or a solid future if you cannot spell?

'There's no point in lambasting the Government for making our society one that is, I quote, 'far too survival of the fittest'... If uncertainty of success offends you so much, you will certainly be poor and miserable.'

She concluded by telling Mr Wee to 'get out of my elite uncaring face'

Her attack was criticised by hundreds of Internet users, who accused her of being elitist, naive and insensitive to the lives of Singaporeans from humbler backgrounds.

Though she has shut down her blog, her entry has been replicated on many websites and the issue is hotly debated.
In a curious way, this episode reminded me of a (much) more intelligent article I recently read. It's entitled America's Middle Class Has Become Globalization's Losers and is about how globalisation is hurting the lower and middle classes in the US. This excerpt provides a flavour :
Make no mistake about it: at the start of the new century, the United States is still a superpower. But it is a superpower that faces tough competition from outside and difficulties within. The feedback effects involved in globalization are especially intense for the US economy -- so much so that large parts of the US workforce are now standing with their backs against the wall.

The rise of Asia has only led to a relative decline of the US national economy. At least so far. But for many blue- and white-collar workers, this decline is already absolute because they have less of everything than they used to. They possess less money, they are shown less respect in society and their chances for climbing up the social ladder have deteriorated dramatically. They're the losers in the world war for wealth.
What struck me was the next part of the article:
But while that may be their fate, they cannot be faulted for it. And it's certainly not a private affair. Every nation has to face uncomfortable questions when an ever-larger part of its citizenry is delinked from the nation's overall wealth. This is all the more true of a society that has made the pursuit of happiness a fundamental right.
Why does the above strike me? Because it is so different from what I perceive Singapore to be.

When Singaporeans get hurt by globalisation (read: competition from India and China), all too often the signal I get from our government is - "That's YOUR problem. YOU lack skills. YOU need retraining. NO, you cannot have your *own* CPF money back. YOU are not competitive. YOU should accept lower pay. YOU are too fussy. YOU are to be blamed." Example here.

Which is really not that different in spirit, from this Wee Shu Min girl, is it.

In contrast, the article about the US asserts:
But while that may be their fate, they cannot be faulted for it. And it's certainly not a private affair.
In other words, the American worker may be displaced, but America knows that it is not his fault. And America knows that the American worker must not be left to die. America knows that the American worker needs help. The problem is serious, but it is not a private affair.

In Singapore, my sense is that the government is more likely to tell you: "Get out of my elite uncaring face". Not in those exact words, surely they would be more diplomatic, but the spirit of it would be largely the same. Yes?

If you need further confirmation, just read this further paragraph in the ST article, quoting PAP MP Wee Siew Kim (Shu Min's father). Emphasis mine.

Mr Wee Siew Kim said he stood by his daughter's 'basic point', but added: 'As a parent, I may not have inculcated the appropriate level of sensitivity, but she has learnt a lesson.

Then they wonder why so many Singaporeans want to emigrate, or don't like serving NS, or dare not have babies. Heheh.

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88 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess it can be hard sometimes for elitist people not to look down on peasants. But when a revolt does happen, the peasants know who are the elites that need to be crucified for being so proud, pompous and uncaring.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I dream of having a king in Singapore, the one not much different from the one in Thailand.

Anonymous said...

if king ask PAP to step down, will PAP leave without a fight?

"Army will intervene in freak elections" - Lee Kuan Yew, 15 Sep 2006

Anonymous said...

the whole episode only proves how disconnected our political leaders are to average singaporeans and how inhumane their ideals are.

Anonymous said...

you will be disconnected too if you eat mee siam with hums.

En and Hou said...

Nobody wants to see themselves exploited as expendable cogs. And this is what is happening to most Singaporeans right now.

Cheers,
Hou.

Anonymous said...

WOW REJOICE! Thats what we our RJC humanities scholars has learnt in her past 18 years!

PSC please give her a scholarship and let her study in the Ivies! Singapore is saved! The taxes our parents are giving yearly will pay for her studies to make her an "all-rounder with a strong global perspective" to make her "the 4th generation of good politicians"

Humanities Scholar leh! NUS is too lousy for her la.

Anonymous said...

shu min is just expressing what her seniors/family talk behind peasants back!

imagine the fate of 4 million pesants being discussed at a family dinner table: papa Lee, mama Lee, junior Lee and his wife hoching.

Jt said...

i am sure right now, PM Lee is asking all the ministers and MPs to check their daughters/sons/cousins/nephews/
greatgrandnieces' blogs....:)

Anonymous said...

they are also transferring as much money as possible to their overseas account and buying assets overseas. so even if peasants drive the PAP out, they can still live an elite lifestyle like thaksin.

Anonymous said...

I think he does more than that to fix the problem :)

Issue guidelines on what to blog - safe topics like church gatherings, mooncake festivals, what your pet eats for breakfast lah

After reading all these elites' comments, I still have this perception that they don't understand what the internet is about?!

Her blog is private? Anonymity is less credibility? Look at youtube!

C'mon, how to embrace the digital age like that?!

Anonymous said...

Foriegn talents wonder why Singaporeans must act like "pigs". Looks like elites have answered the question for them. Well done!

Anonymous said...

She has strengthed my resolve to migrate. Her father's reply leaves me with no regrets for wanting to leave.

Joseph Chiang said...

if you believe in karma, she would probably reincarnates as a pig in her next life.

PanzerGrenadier said...

As a ex-humanities class participant (I was in the class but was not a Humanities scholar) from RJC back in the 80s, not all Humanities scholars are a**holes. Most of them turned out to be decent folks although there are bad apples (eggs?) in every cart.

I guess most bloggers' beef with WSM is her elite background that epitomises all that is so wrong with the MIW culture, the technocratic survival of the fittest mindset, zero-sum game economic mentality and the callous cruelty quitely dealt out as exuberant youthful ignorance.

She has come to respresent everything mean and degrading that is so quintessential of the regime.

"Machines to save our lives.
Machines de-humanise."

Welcome to the matrix - uniquely Singapore!

Lunatic Fringe

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure that there is a point to your making the point that Singapore is less caring than the US. Ultimately, the people in both countries are facing the pressure from low-cost countries. Is saying "there, there, it's not your fault" better than "you're losing out, you better do something about it"? If so, this would just be subscribing to the MP's view that his daughter should just have presented the facts a little more nicely.

Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang said...

Point is very simple.

It's not so much:

"there, there, it's not your fault"

vs

"you're losing out, you better do something about it"

... but

"you're in trouble, we know it, and we will help you"

vs

"you're losing out, you better do something about it".

Globalisation wipes a lot of people out. I know it very well - just from where I work alone (ie in my industry), I can see how many, many jobs in many countries are going to be wiped out by financial institutions outsourcing to India.

Shu Min's views are not merely arrogant, but actually very naive and ill-informed. She seems to put the problem down to the individual's incompetence, lack of motivation etc (in other words, the individual is to be blamed)

but it has not that much to do with individual competence, really. Eg what is the use of being in the top 10% of IT professionals in Singapore, if 100% of top IT jobs in Singapore are going to be outsourced to India? Read the story of Singapore Serf (http://singaporeserf.blogspot.com) - a senior IT manager in Singapore who ended up delivering pizza in Australia. Oh, btw, I think he came from the same junior college as Wong Shu Min.

To be frank, even I wonder whether my job, or a good part of it, will be lost to India. I am definitely not incompetent - I work for the top global business division of one of the world's top financial institutions, and I am one of the most highly paid lawyers of my cohort (excluding those who moved to London, New York & HK), in NUS, I was Dean's List, academic- distinction law student etc etc ... but even I can easily imagine that there could be a time when my current job could disappear into Mumbai.

See this for example, of how US lawyers are losing their jobs to Indian lawyers in India:

http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/May-June-2005/scene_brook_mayjun05.msp

The thing is:

Jobs disappear. People don't. Unless they jump onto the path of oncoming MRT trains. Is the government going to help them? Or not? Or just make fun of them and say that they're stupid idiots.

Anonymous said...

OK, I think I see why I'm not really in agreement with you on this post. It's certainly not right to make fun of people and say that they're stupid idiots, but I don't have much of a problem with the government not proclaiming that they want to help because I'm not convinced that the government -- any government -- can actually do very much to help. Note your own evidence of US lawyers losing their jobs to Indian lawyers in India despite the more caring "you're in trouble, we know it, and we will help you" sentiment.

Jimmy Mun said...

Wah, Mr Wang, you are a bit excessively pessimistic. There was a time when Hong Kong was the world's manufacturing base for cheap plastic toys, but not any more. Just as Hong Kong became too expensive to manufacture anything, so will India and China become less cheap at some in the future, but it takes a lot longer because of their sheer size.

Coupling the declining birth rate with the beginning of the retirement of the baby boomers in the developed world, I think we will have a serious shortage of the "knowledge worker" within ten years (may be later if the boomers delay retirement, but sooner or later, they will kick the bucket en masse...oh yes, time to corner the casket business...)

Oh, lest one forgets, both India and China have draconian birth control policies and a very serious preference for the male babies. Both countries could potentially start a population implosion real soon now. If and when that happen, any warm body will be a precious commodity. It's good to be really young now.

The trouble is, can you stay a warm body for that long, before the temptation of hurling yourself at the MRT become too strong?

I am more disappointed with the father than the daughter. One should think that the MP can be more sensible in his choice of words and attempt some damage control. But then, why bother. As though anything will happen to him anyway. Afterall, the boss's wife just burnt a billion dollars of the people's money. So what?

angry doc said...

Just like to share another article on globalisation:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/26/news/edpfaff.php

Anonymous said...

I'm a friend of the late SingaporeSerf and I feel it is necessary to speak up for him. Is it necessary to bring up his temporary job delivering pizza in Perth? He went to Perth because it is the cheaper option. His plan was to wait for D to join him in Perth before moving to bigger cities like Melbourne and Sydney where most IT operations are.

Chris said...

"you would be disconnected too if you ate mee siam with hums"

WAHAHAHA...LOL..ROFL...LMAO
Thats so damn funny!

Anonymous said...

"Retrenchment is good for singapore. If there is no retrenchments, then I worry." - SM Goh

"I don't think that there should be a cap on the number of directorship that a person can hold." - PAP MP John Chen who holds 8 directorships.

"It's not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year." - PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who holds 11 directorships.

"If you want to dance on a bar top, some of us will fall off the bar Top. Some people will die as a result of liberalising bar top dancing... a young girl with a short skirt dancing on it may attract some insults from some other men, the boyfriend will start fighting and some people will die." - Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports

"I would want to form an alternative policies group in Parliament, comprising 20 PAP MPs. These 20 PAP MPs will be free to vote in accordance with what they think of a particular policy. In other words, the whip for them will be lifted. This is not playing politics, this is something which I think is worthwhile doing." - SM Goh

"If you sing Jailhouse Rock with your electric guitar when others are playing Beethoven, you are out of order. The whip must be used on you." - SM Goh again, on a dramatic u-turn, rethink or backtrack, whatever you call it.

"Save on one hairdo and use the money for breast screening." - another gem from Lim Hng Kiang

"We started off with (the name) and after looking at everything, the name that really tugged at the heartstrings was in front of us. The name itself is not new, but what has been used informally so far has endeared itself to all parties." - Mah Bow Tan on the $400,000 exercise to rename Marina Bay as Marina Bay.

"Having enjoyed football as a national sport for decades, we in Singapore have set ourselves the target of reaching the final rounds of World Cup in 2010." - Ho Peng Kee

"Only 5% are unemployed. We still have 95% who are employed." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"Singaporean workers have become more expensive than those in the USA and Australia." - Tony Tan

"People support CPF cuts because there are no protest outside parliament." - PM Lee

"No, it was not a U-turn, and neither was it a reversal of government policy. But you can call it a rethink." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"...I regret making the decision because, in the end, the baby continued to be in intensive care, and KKH now runs up a total bill of more than $300,000..." - Lim Hng Kiang, regretting the decision to save a baby's life because KKH ran up a $300,000 bill

Anonymous said...

"Army will intervene in freak elections" - Lee Kuan Yew, 15 Sep 2006

Anonymous said...

Absolutely man. The thing that irks me most is her dad agreeing with her 'basic point'. And from what I understand, the original guy that wrote about how globalisation is affecting the poor here, he wasn't speaking for himself. He was speaking up for the old folks and the uneducated. Is there anything wrong with that?

Anonymous said...

retraining is good....upgrade skills is good...

so can our MPs do it too? :)

Anonymous said...

laws are made by the strong to maintain their power over the weak. unless all of the 'peasants' stop doing their dirty work and let them realise their own folly, they will forever continue to live in their own
wonderland.

unfortunately, this scenario will never happen.

who can blame the 'quitters'? if they could all 'stayers' would have left.

Anonymous said...

2 concerns for me, both linked.

1. What will happen to WSM because of her 'private' entry in the blogsphere? Other bloggers such as mrbrown have been reprimanded or worse, penalised in some form or another. Her entry on Derek is no less ideologically and politically laden as the reasons that political blogging in Spore has become a careful art. If only a warning is given, as is happening now, does it not speak volumes of elitism or even worse, protectionistic nepotism? If she wasn't an MP's daughter, would she have been reprimanded differently?

2. Even more serious is the idea that meritocracy, as she and her father (and presumably the government) advocates it, is an outmoded concept. After all, one of the foundational premise of meritocratic systems is equality of opportunity . But equality can be such a farcical concept when entry into top/elite primary schools are circumscribed by so many conditions (eg family background, alumni status etc) to render equal access to good education impossible. Unfortunately, WSM and sadly, many others like her who form the elite cadre, believe in propogating the impossible notion of meritocracy precisely because it perpetuates their own social class, while keeping out, as she calls it, 'the complement'. Merit is not just premised on intellectual capital (the narrow understanding that WSM has), but is bounded by access to social and economic capital (which WSM and the elites have, but the majority of Singapore do not).
-Bourdieuan

Anonymous said...

we outsource government to FT or Worker's Party.

let the PAP go and retrain. we watch them leave office and then suan them "retrenchment is good for you".

veii said...

Let them eat cake.

Anonymous said...

If I may say something, I think we are ourselves complicit in and equally to blame for what's going on.

We have become a nation of pple without the little things like social grace or regard for our fellow Man. It is so ridiculous to the point that we have to be reminded to smile.

Why is this so? I would suggest to you my fellow citizens, that this is ultimately what comes to be by strict adherence to the logic of pragmatism and the 'practical'.

We have been consumed by it to the point that only recognize material needs and so is it altogether surprising that it becomes survival of the fittest?

Look arnd you, in Singapore there's no such thing as art for art's sake. Nothing has use unless it is profitable or instrumental towards some profitable end.

This materialist mentality has entrapped us to the point where we can be so effectively controlled without even us realizing it.

Anonymous said...

For all its faults, America never forgot the suffering of its people during the Depression and it was also probably the first major victim of globalisation (although arguably, one could draw a parallel with Britain in the early years of the last century). The lack of and reluctance to adopt a welfare state will always multiply the effects of a structural change to the economy. America is also not without its elite but the money may be older and some of the facets of its capitalism may just look a little more acceptable.

Anonymous said...

Singapore will never see a major political or sociological change as the ruling class is supported by a relatively substantial percentage of sub-elite class who have established a safety net for their generation to come. The lower and middle have accepted this hegemony and will never question this stratification. Those with the determination will eventually reach the sub-elite status and will help perpetuate this situation. It does not matter if you are commected to the masses or not, it just about your own self interest. Public service is not social service in Singapore. Then again social service is also about self-service in Singapore..for the elite

Anonymous said...

Those ppl who live in WSM's father's constituency, how do you feel having such a MP? If u go to him with ur problems, do u believe tat he'll sympathise with you and help u get a job or seek welfare benefits? Seriously, we only have ourselves to blame becos we voted these ppl into power. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

we get wat we deserve, n we deserve wat we get. *haiz*

Anonymous said...

what WSW said in her blog reflected her views, her opinions.

she is free to express her views while others are free to rebute her.

what's worrying is the views of her father. he is a elected MP, whom is paid very well to take care of his citizens.

if that's how his thinking works, what can we expect from him?

I understand that some forumers have raised their concerns to the PMO office. So rather just commenting maybe we should consider to do so as well.

Anonymous said...

A meritocracy does not necessarily imply the absence of an elite - rather, it defines the process by which one gets there. Also a meritocracy is only linked to the democratic process by very tenous threads - this presumes an informed electorate who would vote in the best candidates. Whatever that means.

Anonymous said...

aren't u a little naive to be surprised by what wsm's father said? when u r at their level, hanging around with fellow elites, eating mee siam with hums... it is hard not to change.

they r humans too and they will speak their mind in front of family members.

can u imagine the fate of all singaporeans being discussed and joked around on a LEE family dinner table? the MM, the PM, the PM's wife, the PM's brother (b4 he quits Singtel).

Anonymous said...

she shut down her blog? coward! come back and defend your basic point. clean up your own mess and earn my respect.

Anonymous said...

Just take a look at elder Wee's CV. Typical scholar path with a cushy route of advancement in ST all the way to the top.

What does he know about the suffering of the men on the street? What does he know about the challenges brought about by globalisation when his ricebowl had all the way been cast in iron?

AC

Anonymous said...

From the most fundamental perspective, this just reflects the kind of upbringing this girl went through. The Chinese say "mei jia jiao". Dragged up. Not brought up.

Then again, look at the father's comments and it's pretty obvious where all that came from. The fruit never falls far from the tree.

Anonymous said...

irony of it all.

woman earning $6,000 a year wants to donate the money the public has given her.

elites earning $300,000 to $1,000,000 a year continue to hold onto power. sending their children overseas and buying properties overseas with peasants money.

let's retrench these elites. it is good for them. if elites are not retrenched, then i start to worry.

- pea choke hum

Anonymous said...

Globalisation is not the problem, but rather the way it's being carried out.

I'm not opposed to outsourcing, but often one outsources to countries with poor human rights records, with workers having very low wages because there is no compassion in those countries.

That's why tariff walls should be established between countries like the PRC versus more developed nations.

But then again - we ourselves don't have a minimum wage. I don't get this, especially when someone can only have 5 cents at the end of the day.

Anonymous said...

elites say hire 1 singaporean = hire 5 indians or 5 chinese nationals.

why don't we retrench/outsource PM?

hire 1 PAP PM = hire 5,000 chinese PM or 5 australian PM or 3 USA Presidents

"Retrenchment is good for singapore. If there is no retrenchments, then I worry." - SM Goh

Anonymous said...

"No Singaporean should be left behind, and everyone should have full opportunities, to realise his or her dream" - PAP 2006

talkcock - gong jiao way. RFLMAO!

Anonymous said...

I'd like to say a few words in WSM's defence: the lang of her blog is fairly typical of the lingua franca of Internet fora and blogs.

The only difference is that typically Internet fora and blogs insult those who own or run the country. WSM's unfortunately hit out at those who would like to run or own the country but haven't succeeded, probably for lack of trying. I really hate the hypocrisy and double standards of the low lives and the pseudo anti-elites. If the non-Us can spew venom at the Us, why can't those spewed upon return the venom?

Anonymous said...

"would like to run or own the country"

speak for yourself

"the lang of her blog is fairly typical of the lingua franca of Internet fora and blogs."

how many angmoh politician talks and writes like that? way to connect with peasants. i see you in high office running/owning your country, not.

Anonymous said...

"the lang of her blog is fairly typical of the lingua franca of Internet fora and blogs."

gong xi mi lan jiao? lim peh sibei tulan gahmen, li bei song ah ?!? KNN.

Anonymous said...

So are these the "values" PAP MPs are imparting to their children nowadays?

Anonymous said...

To Anon of Thursday, October 26, 2006 6:37:12 PM. If what you said is true, then there would be no need for WSM and her MP daddy to apologize for their words. However they apologized, which is an admission of their errors. (sincerely or not only themselves will know) So plse get off first base and catch up, because your PAP masters have already done so and left you behind.

Anonymous said...

"So are these the "values" PAP MPs are imparting to their children nowadays?"

what kind of "values" do you think these - gong jiao way - elites have?

"Retrenchment is good for singapore. If there is no retrenchments, then I worry." - SM Goh

"I don't think that there should be a cap on the number of directorship that a person can hold." - PAP MP John Chen who holds 8 directorships.

"It's not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year." - PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who holds 11 directorships.

"If you want to dance on a bar top, some of us will fall off the bar Top. Some people will die as a result of liberalising bar top dancing... a young girl with a short skirt dancing on it may attract some insults from some other men, the boyfriend will start fighting and some people will die." - Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports

"I would want to form an alternative policies group in Parliament, comprising 20 PAP MPs. These 20 PAP MPs will be free to vote in accordance with what they think of a particular policy. In other words, the whip for them will be lifted. This is not playing politics, this is something which I think is worthwhile doing." - SM Goh

"If you sing Jailhouse Rock with your electric guitar when others are playing Beethoven, you are out of order. The whip must be used on you." - SM Goh again, on a dramatic u-turn, rethink or backtrack, whatever you call it.

"Save on one hairdo and use the money for breast screening." - another gem from Lim Hng Kiang

"We started off with (the name) and after looking at everything, the name that really tugged at the heartstrings was in front of us. The name itself is not new, but what has been used informally so far has endeared itself to all parties." - Mah Bow Tan on the $400,000 exercise to rename Marina Bay as Marina Bay.

"Having enjoyed football as a national sport for decades, we in Singapore have set ourselves the target of reaching the final rounds of World Cup in 2010." - Ho Peng Kee

"Only 5% are unemployed. We still have 95% who are employed." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"Singaporean workers have become more expensive than those in the USA and Australia." - Tony Tan

"People support CPF cuts because there are no protest outside parliament." - PM Lee

"No, it was not a U-turn, and neither was it a reversal of government policy. But you can call it a rethink." - Yeo Cheow Tong

"...I regret making the decision because, in the end, the baby continued to be in intensive care, and KKH now runs up a total bill of more than $300,000..." - Lim Hng Kiang, regretting the decision to save a baby's life because KKH ran up a $300,000 bill

"Army will intervene in freak elections" - Lee Kuan Yew, 15 Sep 2006

Anonymous said...

"It's not for the money because some of the companies pay me as little as $10,000 a year." - PAP MP Wang Kai Yuen who holds 11 directorships.

yes i'm sure it is hard on you. what a noble soul. slaving for us peasants.

Anonymous said...

one former ncmp said something to the effect tt if the ppl r not angry enuff with the system....he will also not bother.

Whispers from the heart said...

However much they are perceived to be running and owning the country,
the peasants (or those who did not try hard enough to do so) had forced them both, father and daughter to apologise, despite how unwilling and insincere they were.

I leave it then to all to think again, who should be running this country?!

Having fancy words and good spelling is not good enough anymore. LKY thinks he needs tanks one day. I don't know who is downgrading himself, seriously.

The peasants or the elites?

Anonymous said...

Talk so much for fsck?

66.6 of Singaporeans voted them in to perpetuate the system.

So keep your mouth shut.

Anonymous said...

this is what happens when elected government serves peasants.

"Employers have reacted with horror to the new Australian Fair Pay Commission's (AFPC) first minimum wage decision, which delivers up to $27.36 a week for the nation's poorest workers."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/061026/2/112bm.html

Anonymous said...

I live a million miles away from all of this, but I cannot help be feel the effects this situation has even had here in my workplace in California USA. Many of us take for granted the freedoms we have. We have a horrible President who called the Elite of american his "base".

As a former US Marine Grunt (non-officer) I can't but feel ashamed when I see our leadership say things like that. This young girl has made a joke out of all of us who came from poor families and have worked hard to get where we are today. I am only 32 years old, but my wife and I have achieved a lot.

We may not have the luxuries of life like this girl seems to have, but we earned it. Daddy didn't give it to us.

Anonymous said...

singabloodypore.blogspot.com

Dear All

I had on the morning of 25th October 2006 responded with biting criticism to the Straits Times report on MP Wee Siew Kim’s comments in defiant defence of his dear daughter.

I was totally disgusted by MP Wee’s comments which I will not let go pass untouched.

The ST’s Forum Editor had passed over my response and published another letter which was far less critical.

I am a strong proponent of freedom of expression, I will not stop at being silenced by elements of the mainstream press. Attached below is the letter that was targeted at our PAP AMK GRC MP Wee Siew Kim.

My purpose for publishing this letter is to encourage greater freedom of expression stronger and unrestrained criticism of the Ruling Party by all and I am taking the lead here.

Coincidentally, MP Wee made a statement in the press today which was of course published. This statement claims to be apologizing to the readers who were offended.

I have read MP Wee’s statement and I am not of the view that the apology is full and unreserved. I trust Singaporeans can come to their own conclusions on the matter.

“RESPONSE TO PAP MP FOR AMK GRC MR. WEE SIEW KIM’S COMMENTS IN STRAITS TIMES REPORT OF 24TH COTOBER 2006.

I had read in amazement of what Ms Wee Shu Min had written in her blog. I ruminated on her statements and her lineage and illustrious background and after much thought, decided not to criticize her in spite of the callousness she had exhibited at such a tender age.

For to me, there is simply no reason to overreact to the ignorant bigotry of an 18 year old girl and that the matter is best left to rest after the barrage of criticism she met with on the internet.

However, when I saw the Straits Times report of 24th October 2006, I read with disgust what Ms Wee Shu Min’s father PAP MP for AMK GRC, Mr. Wee Siew Kim had said in brazen defence of his dear daughter justifying her callousness and adding further insult and injury to Singaporeans.

MP Wee, in his dismal attempt to soften the effect of his daughter’s ramblings, had sought to downplay the incident as a lack of sensitivity on her part and to quote him “Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it.”

Whilst the less discerning may opine that MP Wee has apologized on behalf of his daughter, in truth both father and daughter have exhibited no more empathy or remorse than when the remarks were first made in Ms Wee’s blog. MP Wee’s remarks albeit more diplomatic had in fact exhibited an even higher level of arrogance and lack of empathy.

MP Wee must note that her daughter has since removed the offending posting from her blog. That is itself discordant with the stance he exhibited in his interview in the Straits Times. One wonders whether the removal of the posting was a father-sanctioned public perception management exercise for damage control or was it a true indication of remorse and regret?

If indeed MP Wee had similarly been just as careless with his callous remarks, he ought to acknowledge so and then extend nothing short of an unreserved apology to all Singaporeans especially those who are in situations similar to that of Mr. Derek Wee.

And upon doing so, MP Wee should also take steps to inculcate the appropriate level of humility in his daughter and do so in an early stage of her life, for MP Wee must remember that the government that he backs has taken bloggers to court, punished and shamed them for the undue comments they have made similarly for a limited audience.

Whilst I do not hope that the current establishment gets richer as a result of whatever discussion that takes place, I do hope that the former does get a lot humbler and wiser for Singapore will need leaders who can truly empathize with the people instead of having to live with parrots perched tree high above ground and their dissonant cacophony of callouness and insensitivity.”

The PAP and its supporters are invited to attack this posting with unrestrained fervour.

Regards

Chia Ti Lik

Anonymous said...

another ELITE. why Singapore got so many FUCKING ELITES! KNNBCCB!

http://shadowbamf.blogspot.com/

David said...

A long time ago, Lee Kuan Yew compared Singapore to ancient Sparta. Perhaps unintentionally ironic but Sparta depended heavily on a massive serfs who farmed and took care of the menial tasks leaving their overlords, Spartan men, free to train for war. The Spartan men, being from a very masculine militaristic culture, were also homosexuals. As a result, Sparta collapsed due to declining birth rate.

Anonymous said...

USA Peasants Shall Rise: All Your Base Belong To US

Poll: Middle class voters abandoning GOP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap
/20061027/ap_on_el_ge/
election_ap_poll_3

Anonymous said...

I just don't get it, what the heck about this so call elites? The Local version of elites are those who get scholarship on the pockets of commom man's taxes and work are the highly protected GLC's. Look at those heavy losses of our foreign investments, Hang Seng by DBS, Optus by Singtel and now Shincorp by Temasek. These elites are no-brainers when it comes to serious competition away from well protected environment in our local shores with all possible competition wipe out by those in power. No offence against scholars, this is only a title of good grades but not ability. A country run by such elites will end up with more billions lost.

Anonymous said...

one can be a elite and yet has the inner beauty such as humility, understanding, love, care and compassion is indeed someone to be well respected. However, if one is an elite and yet full of arrogance and always look down on those non-elites, then he or she is not a respectable person.

An elite may think he or she is smart but there are others who are smarter than oneself. yi shan pe yi shan kou.

We can never be able to predict what will happen to oneself in the future in our lives. Perhaps, after one accident could cause oneself to be lying in bed for the rest of our life. Then, this elite with smart brain could become a non-elite in this instance.

Likewise, a non-elite now may work hard and with some luck can also become a millionnaire entrepreneur one day.

Feng shui lung lui swang. A poor can become rich and rich can also become poor. Nothing is permanent!! So, therefore it is still better to be humble at all times

Anonymous said...

I wonder if I may be allowed to draw attention to a 'definitional' issue which I think most, if not all, have missed? It might seem like a 'small' matter of semantics, but I think the implications are hardly small.

I refer to the definition of 'youth' according to the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports.

http://app.mcys.gov.sg/web/youth_exercise.asp

By this definition, Mr Derek Wee and Ms Wee Shu Min, are both surely 'youth'.

Food for thought.

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr Wang,

Thanks for the comparison between the Singapore government's "self-help" attitude and the purported American's "let's help" attitude. Food for thought indeed.

Personally, what I realise is that of most of those who were offended (rightfully, so I believe,) by her comments, of those who jumped on the bandwagon to hit out at her and her dad's insensitivities, there is strangely a derth of this line of thought: "Gosh, I actually do think like her."

Because, stripped of Ms Wee's insensitivities, I realised that I am also guilty of such an attitude, that those who can't help themselves are probably undeserving of help. Am I alone in this realisation, since I appear to be product of such a system myself: SAP, good JC, good uni, professional, able to support my family comfortably (in circumstances quite similar to yours).

Judging from those who lashed out at Ms Wee and her father's response, their position is likely: "Those who cannot help themselves deserve to be helped..." However, What is (sadly) unspoken thereafter is, "...by the government". Am I wrong to have made such a presumption of their position?

Not really wanting to follow the tone of one of the (equally unsensitive) Bhavani commandments (that we all need to have the solution before we can criticise), how have all of Ms Wee's critics tried to make a difference to those who are retrenched, or facing employment uncertainties?

Perhaps, they can suggest, if they are SME owners, that they'd be more compassionate towards their own employees. Or perhaps, if they're currently employees, they may want to start businesses so as to provide secure employment to at least a few in society. Or even, they may want to set aside some of their funds to help those whom they know are in such economic doldrums.

Some thoughts. We're thinking, that's good. Let's think further and deeper still.

Anonymous said...

Emperor II: If you cannot pacify the peasants, I shall deliver your head to them.

Minister Wee: Yes ... yes my lord.

Anonymous said...

If people skip school and dont work their ass off.. can they blame the government for not being there? Of course the needy will need help, but what about the lazy bumps who just want to claim welfare benefits? Singapore cannot afford people like that. I do agree elites should not look down on others, but what about the so called 'peasants'? Are they working hard enough to get out of their plight? Do they work half as hard? Miss Wee was very insensitive. But if she was referring to the underserving people out there who only knows how to grumble? How wrong is that?

Anonymous said...

If people skip school and dont work their ass off.. can they blame the government for not being there? Of course the needy will need help, but what about the lazy bumps who just want to claim welfare benefits? Singapore cannot afford people like that. I do agree elites should not look down on others, but what about the so called 'peasants'? Are they working hard enough to get out of their plight? Do they work half as hard? Miss Wee was very insensitive. But if she was referring to the underserving people out there who only knows how to grumble? How wrong is that?

Anonymous said...

Chen Jiahao (AcidFlask EX-scholar) vs. Wee Shu Min

One Country, 2 Systems


A society in which the elite thinks that discipline applied only to others and not themselves soon finds that even the most efficient monitoring system would break down as the people in charge of enforcing discipline lose confidence about whether they can apply the same rules to everyone, and then learn to twist the rules to gain benefit for themselves. In other words, failure of elite members to apply self-discipline soon corrupts the whole society.

http://singabloodypore.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

To respond to Hawkeye's comment - Sparta was run by a bunch of Brigadier Generals and depended for Foreign Talent for lots of things besides the economy - arts, culture and even medicine. No wonder the Athenians sniffed. Apart from the homosexuality, the Spartans were known for their self-sacrifice and lack of individualism - individual heroics were discouraged. Entrepreneurial adventurism was similarly frowned upon. Does that sound like us? However, we are far better than the Spartans - we have the Humanities Scholarship!

Anonymous said...

I am very confused on why Wee Shu Min asked Derek Wee to not ask the Government for handouts when she is taking the Government's handout through the scholarship?

Her father cannot afford to pay meh? Or her father worry he get older will not be financially viable, like Derek Wee, so must start on Government handout first?

Very confusing leh.

Anonymous said...

Very confusing leh.

nothing confusing here. it is one country, 2 systems.

or

one country, 2 mee siams (peasant mee siam, mee siam with hums)

Anonymous said...

Damn you Sink-aporeans, vote for the assholes and you get shit.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Wang. I too work in the legal department of a leading international bank. I too graduated from a top university and was on the dean list throughout my years there. Even though I'm taking home a 5 figure (on the top end) monthly salary, I know this will not last.

Anonymous said...

Thank you all for all your comments because I laughed so hard at so many of your ingenius, funny, some vulgar and totally crazy comments. I am even grateful to the evil Wee shu Min for starting this whole debacle because without her insensitive comments, I would have missed this wonderful good laugh....

Through her thoughtlessness, she got many of us rethinking, through iher nsensitivity, she got us to wonder about the state of our leaders and the type of apathetic followers that created and evolved our leaders to what we have today. Good or bad, we are in this shit together... hopefully with all the shit surrounding us, we can turn it into fertiliser and get something lovely to grow... There is hope still? I hope so indeed.

Thank you all for the laugh! I really needed it.

joon said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
joon said...

Wee Shu Min is clearly the product of Singapore's elitist movement. As it is, most of our politicians are scholars or children of some big-shots and have long been blessed with a silver spoon in their mouths since they were born. As such, many had a relatively early and good headstart in terms of literacy and enrichment. Inadvertently, these people do well enough academically and in sports (blah blah blah) later in life to clinch prestigious scholarships and awards. Then they become politicians and govt agency directors. In all honesty, these people have never lived or set foot in a HDB heartland. Their friends are probably in the same league so they never had (a chance) to socialize with the masses or heartlanders. So forget about them knowing the plight of many Singaporeans, those who are really destitute. In schools, there are also a bunch of pupils who are sidelined because they are not academically-inclined, children who couldn't speak or write properly at the end of a 10/11-year education. Why is there no focus on them but only the GEPs, the IPs and the elitist programmes?

Don't expect many of these politicians to fight for the rights of the masses. They don't know how, some don't care and the rest are just doing their jobs.

If Wee Shu Min didn't post those words on her blog, she would easily become one of them anyway.

It's really not so much of what she has posted that is scary, but it's the tone/attitude with which she does it... the cpmplete lack of empathy and the reflection of very low emotional intelligence which is often overlooked.

Anonymous said...

I am based in US right now... and I am really afraid of going home and facing these crap from our supposedly "leaders".

Help me out here...

Anonymous said...

Personally, I do agree that WSM's remarks have been too harsh and outright insensitive. However, we cannot deny the fact that Singapore needs to stay on the competitive edge and people really must learn to continuously fight to upgrade themselves. You quoted the American plight and said the difference lies in that the American government do realise that its is not the fault of the worker. That reminds me of one major problem that American has been plagued with for ages. Social welfare. Where the survival of individuals who cannot find employment becomes the responsibility of the state (to put it simply). We cannot afford that kind of dependency on the government. Neither can we afford not to move forward in the globalised world. We must remember, for all the success we have, we are still an ISLAND nation. Unless we keep the competitive edge we now possess, we may lag behind and lose the "financially stable" lives we have now. While we lambast her for her insensitivity, we must also remember to keep our own remarks in check, lest we commit the same mistake of being insensitive.

Anonymous said...

Mr Wang, you say:


When Singaporeans get hurt by globalisation (read: competition from India and China), all too often the signal I get from our government is - "That's YOUR problem. YOU lack skills. YOU need retraining. NO, you cannot have your *own* CPF money back. YOU are not competitive. YOU should accept lower pay. YOU are too fussy. YOU are to be blamed." Example here.

Which is really not that different in spirit, from this Wee Shu Min girl, is it.

In contrast, the article about the US asserts:

But while that may be their fate, they cannot be faulted for it. And it's certainly not a private affair.

In other words, the American worker may be displaced, but America knows that it is not his fault. And America knows that the American worker must not be left to die. America knows that the American worker needs help. The problem is serious, but it is not a private affair.


Are you serious? You quoted a German Author in a Der Spiegel article and you claim that this somehow represents the views of Americans or official American policy?

All societies have been through these problems in the past. Large segments of many societies have been displaced when new technologies or techniques of ideologies have been embraced.

In my view it is better to encourage individuals to find their own solutions rather than have the government try to be everyone's nanny.

Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang said...

While I haven't closely followed the US situation, what I know is that they are a lot more protective of Americans' jobs than the Singapore government is of Singaporeans' job.

Example - you probably know that all over the world, major financial institutions are systematically outsourcing their call centre functions to India.

In other words, if a Citibank credit card customer (could be you) calls to make enquiries about his account, there is an increasingly high chance that the call isn't going to be answered by a Citibank employee in that customer's country, but by an Indian national working at Citibank's processing centre in Mumbai, India.

That's simply a very high % of such jobs have already been outsourced to India (and the respective employees in the "home" country have already lost their jobs as call centre operators), and the trend is set to increase & continue.

Now, from what I've heard, what the US has done (a President Bush initiative) is to make some rule somewhere that if an American citizen in the US makes such a call and he suspects that his call seems to be answered by a foreigner (that is, the Indian in Mumbai, India), then the American citizen has the right to demand that his call/query be transferred and answered instead by someone working in the US.

In other words, this is a way of protecting a lot of Americans' jobs as call centre operators. Financial institutions would still need to hire people in the US to be call centre operators.

Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang said...

Oh sorry, not a Bush initiative, but Kerry's.

http://kerry.senate.gov/low/record.cfm?id=215182

Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang said...

" ... In my view it is better to encourage individuals to find their own solutions rather than have the government try to be everyone's nanny ..."

---

But the government DOES want to be everyone's nanny. Only when it runs into problems that it can't handle, will it say: "Oh Singaporeans, you must learn to find your own solutions,"

At other times, they will want to dictate what you do with 20% of your salary; how many children you should have; what kind of sex is not legal etc.

Anonymous said...

Actually the US seemed to care for her own workers partly was due to the fact that suffering US corporations (who have influences on state politics and economy) lobbied their senators and House representatives. Examples in the past has been the major car makers in the US protesting against cheaper and more efficient imports of Japan, Korea and now China. Politics will remain politics.

Real action from the govt, employers and employess will have to happen in order to cushion the effect of globalisation.

In any case, to those who have said you want to leave, or considering. Pls do. Everyone have a choice.

So why are u still here? What is making you stay if everything is so stiffling to u?

Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wang said...

Aiyah, don't argue lah - basically US has a welfare system, we don't - that's it, for this point.

Anyway Singapore works well for me as an individual. However this blog is not really about me - I have another blog for that.

The present blog however is where I write about Singapore's current affairs - so I do not look at things here with a purely self-centred perspective.

But you're right. Singapore does have one of the world's highest emigration rates, and the government is concerned.

Anonymous said...

Amidst the ideology of a country that embraces Meritocracy but yet not its Myths, its citizenry can only hope to co-exist either in the sate of ignorance or blunt disregard for the welfare of others.

Anonymous said...

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