Monday, 31 December 2012

I have a new hero - her name is Melissa Low

Hi everyone, I hope you are enjoying your New Year's eve celebrations. I have stumbled upon another Singaporean blogger today who has just gone viral - Melissa Low and whilst I totally adore her writing (she so hits the nail on the head on so many issues), it saddens, frustrates and upsets me so that there are so many Singaporeans who leave such hateful messages for her on social media. Good grief, what is wrong with you Singaporeans? You don't need to like her or even agree with her, but to insult her by calling her names or even accuse her of being a fraud? Groan. It's deeply disappointing. It reminds me of the way that my mother avoided the issue back in 1995 about infidelity and adultery by accusing me of not understanding Malay or not understanding complex adult relationships.
Given that it is the 31st of December today, allow me to quote Melissa as she summarizes two episodes in Singapore this year and why stupid Singaporeans drive her (and so many like her) up the wall:

QUESTION ONE: A bus driver from China runs someone over by accident. What is the issue at hand?

Wrong answer: Bus drivers from China are shitty. We hate foreigners. They should go back to their country and stop stealing our jobs. 

Right answer: The real issue here is road safety and whether SBS has trained their drivers up adequately. 

QUESTION TWO: A French dining event comes to Singapore and do not want local food at their event, what is the issue at hand? 

Wrong answer: They are racist and we hate foreign talent. Oh and Singaporean food is the best. 

Right answer: The real issue here is the incompetence of the PR people in the event, demonstrated by their inability to define the type of cuisine they want at the event and their rudeness in un-inviting guests. 
Wow. Can we spread this around please, so that the stupid Singaporeans can finally read this and can this explained to them please? Thank you Melissa - and there I was, trying to tell people that all year on my blog.  Allow Limpeh to add question three using her same format please:

QUESTION THREE: Many Singaporeans struggle to get a job because of a very crowded job market because of there are so many PRCs in Singapore, along with foreign talents/workers from all over, squeezing out Singaporeans from both blue and white collar jobs. 

Wrong answer: We hate foreigners, we are going to be racist and xenophobic towards foreigners. Foreigners are the enemy. 

Right answer: The real issue here is the PAP's stance on allowing in so many foreigners in the first place, in this misguided quest to grow the population to 6.5 million. These foreigners are in Singapore because the PAP rolled out the red carpet for them - the enemy is not these foreign workers, the enemy is in fact the PAP and the 60.14% who keep voting for them. How can you win this war when you are targetting the wrong enemy you bloody stupid Singaporeans? The enemy is within, the enemy is as Singaporean as they come. Duh. 
I could go on and use whatever major issue of 2012 - from the Sun Xu Saga to the Alvivi sex scandal to the shameful Rohingya refugee episode - but it boils down to the same thing. Both Melissa and I are fucking fed up with fucking stupid Singaporeans who are somehow blind to the fact that foreigners are not the enemy, the enemy is in fact that PAP and the 60.14% who support them. Yeah it boils down to that. There could be a multitude of reasons why Singaporeans are so salah when it comes to identifying the enemy - but it's probably because Singaporeans want to imagine that they belong somewhere, that there is a notion of kinship with other fellow Singaporeans by virtue of their nationality. It's what they were taught in school, it's a nice thing to believe in - just like how some religious people like to believe in a benevolent God/world even when terrible things are happening around them. It's not a battle of Singaporeans vs foreigners, it's a battle between good and evil Singaporeans.

As for Melissa, she's leaving Singapore. I did the same thing years ago back in 1997 - there's no point in her trying to be the Aung Sung Suu Kyii of Singapore when the majority of voters (60.14%) do not want change bad enough. It sucks to be in the minority - you can try to drag a horse to water but you can't make it drink. Things aren't going to change in Singapore to suit Melissa in the near future in any case, so if she is a film maker, she has the choice to either try to strike it big in a country where she has the freedom to realise her true artistic potential - or stay in Singapore and be frustrated. Easy choice really. I suppose this would've been far less of an issue for her had she been an architect, accountant or chef - but she is a film maker after all.
Why are artistic people the most frustrated in Singapore?

All the best to Melissa in 2013, I am sure she will excel in New York or wherever she goes. I only regret that Singapore has lost yet another brilliant talent. That's a shame really, Singapore could really do with more people like her. There's only one thing I don't really get - she allows her haters to post some horrible comments on her blog. Good grief. It's ugly, but perhaps that's her way of exposing their ignorance.... It's like, "if you have the audacity to post a comment like that, you're only telling my readers just how misinformed and ignorant you are."

Melissa, you're awesome, I adore your blog.
Update: http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/dear-melissa-my-new-friend.html


at

12 comments:

  1. Chee Wai Lee31 December 2012 at 18:52

    And another *two thumbs up* for you too! Happy New Year! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent1 January 2013 at 03:41

      And to you too, happy new year. :)

      Delete
    2. Kevin Jang5 February 2013 at 06:57

      By the way, LIFT, a Happy new yeat 2013 to you. I am left with one more year to tendering my notice of resignation here and am actually looking forward to the beginning of a new life come summer 2014 away from Asia.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous1 January 2013 at 02:43

    yes, the both of you are very outspoken, that's why i enjoy reading you guys. and i think that you guys are at the tip of the iceberg. there should be a large group of young people who questions the system and want change. so the both of you can lead the shout and the charge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent1 January 2013 at 03:44

      Ooh I don't know, I wouldn't be too sure - Melissa and I did choose to leave S'pore rather than lead a revolution there. We may blog about our thoughts, but I'm sorry - it's not a fight I think I can take on. Call me tactical (or whatever), but I pick my fights and that's one I chose not to go for because I will lose. How many of you brave souls wanna take on the 60.14% ? I just look at the negative, hateful comments Melissa has received from her haters on her blog and I'm like ... ah well. It's bed time for me, well, way past my bed time, 3:45 am but it's still noisy outside because of the new year's celebrations.

      Delete
    2. Chee Wai Lee1 January 2013 at 03:53

      I ran away like a little girl ... still not fully successful ... we'll see.

      Delete
    3. Kevin Jang5 February 2013 at 07:19

      Chee Wai, I do not actually think that leaving conscientiously is the same as running away. Even 'escape' does not describe the complex of reasons as to why Singaporeans like us leave with such indignation and the boiling sense of injustice within us, because 'escape' indicates a rather frivolous and shallow attempt to try not to face up to reality. As LIFT himself says, well, no point leading a revolution against a hardened 60%.......it's like dashing eggs against a brick wall upfront when you can use the eggs on better stuff like pan-frying them in a wok with olive oil or canola oil :p

      Delete
  3. Unknown1 January 2013 at 04:41

    Happy New Year, stranger.

    http://milomel.blogspot.sg/2013/01/dear-stranger.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent1 January 2013 at 14:54

      Thanks so much Melissa, I'm extremely flattered by your reply. Let me get another coffee and I will write you a longer reply :) Happy new year to you my new friend :)

      Delete
    2. Limpeh Foreign Talent1 January 2013 at 17:33

      http://limpehft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/dear-melissa-my-new-friend.html

      Delete
  4. entrydenied3 January 2013 at 08:08

    I think people like to deliberately miss the real issue when they hate certain things and add more fuel to their own hatred. My block has a woman who hates cats. She thinks cats spreads SARS and all sorts of diseases. So she takes it upon herself to complain to the town council which will in turn try to solve the stray cat problems by calling the AVA to come and catch strays.

    There is this woman who feeds cats and liaise with the town council and other animal shelter like the SPCA whenever there are stray cat complaints in my area. She told us to help keep a lookout (us being our family;we feed the 2 to 3 strays that roam our block and void deck) for the strays. The cat hating woman apparently called the town council again because she thinks that our cat feeding is causing the area to be dirty and more rats have been seen.

    Question: Why is our block and void deck dirtier these days and why are there more rats?

    Wrong answers: Stray cats and cat feeders are dirtying our block and feeding the rates with left over cat food.

    Real answer: Why is the town council not hiring more/better cleaners to handle the rubbish and general cleanliness of the block? Since they sacked the last uncle that does the cleaning the block has been dirtier than before. They also only clear the rubbish bins once a day and leave the trash overnight for rats to infest in. The real issue should be why aren't town councils hiring more people to clean with the money in the sinking funds and not cat feeders.

    There are also those who blame foreigners who bring their littering culture for a dirtier Singapore but I think the question is why aren't we using more of those town council funds (that were used for failed investments) to hire more cleaners.

    ReplyDelete