What I've realized from the SMRT Strike episode...

Now as I have observed the SMRT strike episode from a distance, I was reminded of one of the reasons why I had left Singapore years ago. I have always said proudly that I didn't leave Singapore because I hated Singapore - I left Singapore because the world is a big and fascinating place with many countries to explore and experience. However, the Singaporean reaction to the strikes did make me think, "urgh, you guys frustrate the hell out of me."

The strike took the locals by surprise because it is illegal to strike in Singapore without giving at least 14 days notice - but the PRC drivers did it anyway. This would not have been the kind of thing that Singaporeans would do - not without giving 14 days notice anyway. It has been very much a part of the Singaporean psyche to do everything by the rules and follow the law. Not that there's anything wrong with that - but it does create a situation whereby the citizens sit back and allow the government to get away with anything and everything no matter how ludicrous.

Now this PRC drivers' strike should be a wake up call to all Singaporeans - the message is simple, "if you're not happy with the system, do something about it! Don't suffer in silence! Make your opinion heard, stand up and speak up." Instead, the vast amount of crap voiced by Singaporeans on social media is nothing more than a tirade on anti-PRC xenophobic abuse. I know Singaporeans have been very unhappy on the issue of immigration for a long time - but aren't you missing the point here?

Even if you have plenty of reasons to dislike PRCs, why are you berating them for standing up for their own rights? After all, there's a lot Singaporeans can learn from these PRCs - especially the 60.14% who seem blind to the PAP's misdeeds over the years. My mother is one such person - pardon me if I keep using her as an example but she is such a typical Singaporean, she really does represent the 60.14%.

Now given my mother's limited language skills, education and social skills, Singapore is the best place in the world for her as she would really struggle to adapt to life in another country. To be blunt, she would never survive outside her comfort zone. Now that's not the same as saying, "Singapore is the best country in the world", rather "Singapore is the most suitable country in the world for someone like my mother," or even, "Since she can't adapt to life anywhere else, so she may as well make the most of her life in Singapore." She would like to believe in the former, that she lives in the BEST country in the world - but I disagree. I see it as the latter. However, in order for her to believe in the former, she would need to ignore all the problems in Singapore - after all, how can the best country in the world have big problems and unhappy citizens? Oh no, problems are for other countries, not her beloved Singapore.

This is why she has this kind of almost religious-like faith in the PAP, trusting them wholeheartedly, believing that they are the best government in the world. Here's the irony, she's not doing this because she likes the PAP - but rather, she's doing this because she wants to perpetuate the myth that she lives in the best country in the world; rather than the truth: that Singapore is the most suitable country for her to live in despite there being nicer, better countries out there, but there's no way she can move to those countries. Such are the games she plays in her head to convince herself that she is lucky and blessed. This goes hand in hand with the fact that she is pious Christian as well and she loves the idea that she is somehow oh so very special to Jesus, that's why she was blessed enough to be born in Singapore and not some poverty stricken African country or war torn part of the world. IMHO, she was lucky to be born in Singapore - such is the nature of luck, it has nothing to do with being blessed or special.

My mother has a lot of faith in this lot. 

So if the government says, "strikes are illegal as they are bad", then she will believe it without questioning the rationale behind such a statement. I used to dismiss her pro-PAP fallacies out of hand, without even questioning why she is like this. I'll be like, "yeah yeah mum, whatever helps you sleep better at night, whatever." But when I see people like her challenging and attacking anyone such as the PRC strikers who dare to defy the system in Singapore, I have to say, "hold on a second, yes they may be attacking the system you support - but can't you see that this may be opening up new possibilities for your relationship with the government? This could be the kind of wake up call the government needs to take another look at so many of the problems in the labour market."

But are people like my mother interested in engaging in this process of making Singapore a more progressive and fair society? Hell no. They're far more interested in maintaining their wet dream that Singapore is already perfect and anyone who tries to challenge the system are against Singapore. It is unreal just what lengths they will go to to maintain that vision in their heads. Take the issue of immigration for example - many Singaporeans feel that there are too many PRCs in Singapore already, but instead of blaming the government for opening the floodgates in the first place, they become xenophobic towards the PRCs whilst being very hesitant to blame the government. Hello? Am I the only one to spot this major blind spot? Are Singaporeans really unable to see the big picture?

As for the SMRT strike episode, it does show how badly mismanaged the whole organisation is - that is why the situation deteriorated to the point where the drivers had to resort to an illegal strike to make their voices heard. Why are xenophobic Singaporeans so quick to blame and condemn the foreign workers? Why aren't they blaming the poor management by SMRT, the minister of transport or NTUC? If proper channels were opened to the drivers in the first place, do you think they would have resorted to an illegal strike?

I have a confession to make - guess what? I'm not that fond of PRCs in general myself - I have worked with them before over the years (having worked on a few Shanghai projects in my previous job) and they can be difficult people to work with. This is probably due to the huge cultural mismatch between myself and them as I am from Singapore, not China. Despite the fact that I do speak Mandarin very well and this clash of cultures can be overcome with goodwill from both parties. I have met some PRCs who are great people as well and have become really good friends with some of them. This is why I believe in judging PRCs on an individual basis - rather than jumping to conclusions and making sweeping statements about "all PRCs are _____" Hello? The population of China is 1.344 billion - how can you assume that they're all the same? You risk losing all credibility when you make ridiculous assumptions about PRCs - so be fair!

Why are Singaporeans so anti-foreigner now?

Allow me to stick the knife in and give it a good twist - one thing that pisses me off so much about stupid Singkies is the way they sit back and accept that they are second class citizens in their own country. It is common practice for white expatriates to be paid a lot more than local Singaporeans and Singaporeans just accept it, in the spirit of self-hatred and lack of self confidence to demand equal rights. Instead, you accept that you're inferior to Angmohs, even in your own country and in turn, you become racist and xenophobic towards PRCs and Filipinos. WTF? Wake up you fucking idiots, it is time for you to stand up for your own rights in your own countries against this tide of foreign talents - and no, being racist and xenophobic isn't going to change anything. I'm talking about growing some balls and confronting the PAP - the very party who are responsible for creating this situation in the first place. Ha! It's easy for you to be racist to a foreign worker, but have you got any balls to confront the PAP you Singkies eh?

Here's the irony yeah? Limpeh is the Ah Beng from Ang Mo Kio. I was born and bred in Ang Mo Kio. I have spent all of my working life in Europe and the Middle East, being treated as a first class citizen, a foreign talent who has plenty to offer. At no stage was I ever treated like a second class citizen. In fact, the only place where I would face that kind of discrimination is Singapore - the country of my birth, where I served 2 years 4 months of national service. That's why when I returned to work a stint in Singapore last year, I came back as a British expatriate, not as a local and enjoyed the perks of being a foreign talent (with local knowledge).

Oh and how do Singaporeans justify it? Racism. They keep telling themselves the ridiculous lie that white people are so evil and racist - really? Maybe someone like my mother might believe bullshit like that, but I'd like to think that younger, more enlightened, better educated Singaporeans can see through that blatant lie. It's a complete lie. White people are not racist - not the way Singaporeans paint them out to be anyway. Groan, take someone like my dad for example, he doesn't speak English, he doesn't have any friends who are white, he's barely had any contact ever with white people in seven decades - yet he would gladly assume the very worst of white people. Who's the one being racist here?

The way I see it, Singaporeans really have two choices. Either 1) do what I did, leave and move to another country where they will be better off, or 2) stand up for their rights, demand better treatment from the Singaporean government. But no, instead of doing either, they do 3) go into ostrich with head in the sand mode - they ignore the wrong doings of the PAP and feed themselves a bunch of bullshit lies to ignore the fact that they're second class citizens in their own country and fucked big time by their government. Crikey. Talk about the biggest blind spot in the world.

Singaporeans go to great lengths to avoid looking at the truth. 

Nonetheless, this refusal on the part of so many Singaporeans to engage with the facts of the case, the way they simply cannot get beyond their bitter xenophobia - that's ... plain stupid. Why? Because you should always seize every opportunity in life to learn something that could be used to your benefit. Let me share a true story with you from the world of tennis. "Diana" was a professional tennis player who couldn't defeat her nemesis "Zara". Diana hated Zara and she hated losing to Zara - all Diana ever wanted to do was beat Zara.

One day, Diana's coach said, "we'll do something different today, let's watch some videos on my laptop." When the coach started playing the videos, Diana was shocked - he had compiled a video of Zara's greatest victories over the years. "Turn it off!" Diana protested. "I can't even bear to look at her, she makes me so angry, she makes me sick. I can't stand that bitch! You know how much I hate her, why are you making me watch this?"

Diana couldn't stand the sight of her opponent Zara. 

Her coach replied, "If you want to defeat her, then you have to know your enemy. You have to study her every move, you have to learn from her, become a better version of her - that's what you have to do if you want to beat her. If you refuse to even look at her, then each time you face her on the tennis court, you have no idea what you are dealing with and that is why you keep losing from her. I'm not saying you have to like her, but you can hate her and still learn a few useful tricks from her if you were to watch her in action. See the way she serves... why do you think her serve is so powerful? Let's watch her. You could learn a trick or two from her you know."

Singaporeans - even if you don't like PRCs - why deprive yourself the chance to learn something from this episode? Like Diana's coach, I'm not asking you to like the PRCs, I'm just saying you'll be a fool to ignore the opportunity to learn some useful lessons from this episode. What do you think? We know that four strikers (supposedly the ringleaders) have been arrested and charged and a further 29 have been already deported. Nonetheless, the others who took part are not likely to be punished and might even get better accommodation as a result of this strike - hence the results are mixed. Has this episode changed your attitude on strikes? Is this a sign of this to come for the future? Have we just had a watershed moment in Singapore? You know the drill people - don't be shy, leave a comment below, thanks.