The double standards of Singaporeans

I've only just returned from Somerset and I've been catching up with many things after a weekend away, but here's an article I wanted to respond to about how some Singaporean Netizens have responded to the Alvivi scandal. Basically, I see blatant hypocrisy on the part of Singaporeans here - are you guys really that oblivious to the double standards?

Are you guilty of double standards?

Singaporeans have no qualms complaining about Singapore - especially about the government. Various groups on Facebook as well as websites like ThrealSingapore, Stomp, Hardwarezone and TR Emeritus (formerly Temasek Review) are all highly critical of the government and are often blatantly anti-PAP. However, the moment Alvin Tan wrote an article comparing and contrasting life in Singapore and Malaysia - Singaporeans reacted with such rage without actually realizing the following points:

1. Alvin's article was very well written and evaluated Singapore very fairly. This guy is a highly intelligent law student and he knows how to present a well balanced argument. 
2. The article was equally critical of Malaysia - Alvin was candid about how the Malaysian law enforcers are easily given to corruption and will take bribes, unlike their counterparts in Singapore. 
3. Alvin does not resort to any low-brow name calling, instead he relies of facts and statistics to compare and contrast the two countries. 
4.  Many of the points that Alvin has made about Singapore are the very same points that Singaporeans complain about all the time, such as the cost of living and the semi-competent yet greedy politicians in charge, making life a living hell for everyone with price hikes, non-sensible immigration policies, and even more new laws to curb personal freedoms or scare people into voluntarily surrendering their freedoms (CPF withdrawal age, anyone?).
5. Alvin is in a unique position to make such comparisons having lived in both Singapore and Malaysia - Singaporeans who have never lived in Malaysia are in no position to comment on the issue. 

Have you considered what life is like in Kuala Lumpur?

Having read Alvin's article on Facebook, I can say that it is at best inaccurate, at worst libellous of David Sun of the New Paper to accuse Alvin Tan of "bad mouthing" Singapore. I have news for you people - Singaporeans "bad mouth" Singapore all the time. Why? Because Singapore is by no means a perfect country, there are loads of things which are going wrong and can be improved - it is by talking about such problems that one can start to find solutions for them. This is something that citizens of all countries around the world do - they talk about the problems in their country in the hope of finding solutions. 

Admittedly, some people are more constructive than others when talking about the problems of their country - however, one of the easiest way to analyse such problems is simply by making comparisons with another country. This is exactly what Alvin Tan has done in his article and what I do all the time when I write articles comparing the UK (or London) with Singapore. The fact is, governments do this all the time and this is nothing new - information is shared on issues ranging from education to healthcare to flood defence to irrigation to dealing with pollution. Anyone who has ever done geography at school would have had to memorize plenty of case studies from around the world, comparing and contrasting different approaches by governments on these issues. 

What Alvin wrote was no more than an A level geography project really.

What Alvin wrote really isn't that different from say an A level geography project - it's just that he has managed to use humour to make his piece far more humourous. I'm not sure my old geography teacher would have made of his point, "You know something is wrong with a country when the government has to pay its people to have sex and bang each other." It takes a Singaporean with a sense of humour to be able to laugh at a line like that because it is completely true - but unfortunately too many Singaporeans are so insecure that they react very negatively to Alvin's piece and accuse him of "bad-mouthing" Singapore. Why is this so? 

Now these people are pissed off with Alvin because they think he should be grateful to Singapore for his scholarship - Alvin Tan has studied for 7 years in Singapore as a scholar and would've been given over S$110,000 in that time from the Singaporean tax payers via the government. That is why some Singaporeans feel that in exchange for this amount of money, Alvin should show some gratitude, even loyalty to Singapore. This begs the question - what kind of foreign talents and foreign scholars do you want? Would you want a foreigner who will become some grateful to the government and will repay the government by voting PAP for the rest of their lives? Or do you want a foreign scholar who will critically evaluate the system in Singapore for what it is and criticize the PAP when necessary? Alvin is clearly the latter and not the former - he is just the kind of foreign scholar Singapore needs, except that many of you Singaporeans are just too stupid to realize that. 

Would Alvin be voting for this lot? I don't think so!

After all, one of the many benefits that foreign talents bring to Singapore is their perspective in having spent many years in a different country. This ability to compare and contrast the two different systems will enable them to come up with ideas and solutions that Singaporeans (who have never ever lived abroad) simply can't. What good is a foreign talent if you expect him to somehow forget life before Singapore? More importantly, why are you so afraid of comparing Singapore to other countries? Are you so scared to hear that other countries may have done things better than the Singaporean government? 

Let me share a story with you. It's my family and my family members would be mortified if I shared this story on my blog but tough shit - they've gotta live with it. Okay, you all know I have an autistic nephew. Now my mother makes a real effort to get to know my nephew's classmates as well as their parents so as to help him make more friends at school. As a grandmother, she is trying so hard to help him improve his social skills - that is an area autistic kids really struggle with as they simply do not know how to relate to others. One day, my mother got to know a really nice boy in my nephew's class and she then had the pleasure of meeting this boy's mother. The two of them chatted and my mother had a lovely time chatting with the mother as my nephew played with this boy. 

My mother then went to my sister with the story - telling my sister just how lovely this boy and his mother was. How did my sister react? She was eating something, she picked up the plate and threw it against the wall - food and broken china went everywhere. She swore at my mother and told her that if my mother ever brought up the name of that boy and his mother in her house ever again, my sister would personally throw my mother out of the front door. My mother tried to defend her actions, "But I was just saying..." Then my sister started throwing more things and my mother didn't dare to say another word. 

In my sister's defence, she is highly stressed trying to care for an autistic son. She gives so much of her time, energy and love and what does she get in return? Those of you who have never dealt with autistic children will never understand what she has to go through on a daily basis - so don't underestimate the amount of shit she has to deal with everyday with a disabled son. But the bottom line is this - she couldn't bear hearing my mother praising another child in her presence, nor could she bear hearing my mother praise another young mother in her presence. She couldn't stand the comparison between her son and another child - knowing full well that trying to compare a normal kid and an autistic kid is never going to be a fair comparison. As for comparing her (however indirectly) to that very pleasant mother, well - she was so afraid of being labelled a bad mother as a result of that comparison. So she effectively banned my mother from making any forms of comparison however indirect, she put her foot down and censored my mother. 

"If you dare to ever mention that boy and his mother in my presence ever again..."

You might think that my sister's stance is a bit extreme, but isn't that what you Singaporeans are doing? You are censoring Alvin, you are not allowing him to make any kind of comparison between Singapore and Malaysia however justified. Actually, I have observed this amongst PRC (Chinese) people as well - they are simply so insecure that they are not willing to allow any outsiders take part in any kind of conversation that would tantamount to criticizing their country or even comparing their country to another (unless that comparison was a favourable one). 

So there you go, even if you don't agree with what Alvin said, you shouldn't try to censor or silence him. Instead, how about engaging him? Discussing the issues with him - maybe there are other great things about living in Singapore that you have observed that you wish to share with Alvin? You may not be able to change his mind, but you should at least be able to make him see your point of view. What it is the point of throwing the plate at the wall and swearing at the other party? Is this any substitute for a calm, decent, conversation between reasonable adults? It's sad to see Singaporeans come across as so irrational, insecure and immature in this episode. You know the saying, when in a hole, stop digging. You Singaporeans really should stop making such fools of yourselves over the Alvivi episode. Enough already, sudah cukup lah alamak!

Update: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/in-defence-of-vivian-lee.html