What the Benjamin Lim case tells us about the mindset of Singaporeans

Hi there, I would just to do a quick follow up on the Benjamin Lim case, given the intense discussion that it has provoked in Singapore. Now you know I normally don't use social media like Facebook as I hate getting dragged into flame wars with unreasonable people who are just spoiling for a fight, but as I am using alternative media in Singapore to try to follow the developments in this case, I gave in to the temptation and left a comment on the TOC's Facebook page when they published a letter written by Mr Lim senior, the boy's father. The comment I had left has since garnered 164 likes (and counting), but there have been some people who also left quite angry messages for me.

Not everyone agreed with Limpeh

I think the one that irked me the most is the person who suggested that I don't have the right to comment because I am no longer a Singaporean. Now, in this day and age, anyone can leave a comment on social media - you don't get to decide who gets to leave a comment and who doesn't get to express an opinion. The process is quite democratic actually, those who leave thought-provoking good comments will get many likes and those who write something stupid will either be ignored or be lambasted by the others. Thus people are judged on the quality of what they have written, rather than whether they had the 'right' (however defined) to express that opinion - this isn't just democracy at work, but meritocracy too. It is a shame that Facebook hasn't brought in a 'dislike' option yet, otherwise this will give us a clearer picture of just how unpopular some opinions expressed are.

But why do some Singaporeans hate what I have to say? Well, firstly, it is because I can be very critical of the Singaporean system and in the case of Benjamin Lim, quite rightfully so. It is what it is - even I am cynical that anything will change at all after this tragic case, there will be an investigation that will take an awfully long time and the authorities are waiting for people to move on, for the next big story to help them forget about Benjamin Lim's suicide. So when you are faced with a problematic situation you cannot resolve, what do you do? Some people will try to do something to improve the situation (however futile their heroic efforts may be), others simply choose to ignore it - it is too easy to look the other way and think about something else. People who choose the latter get angry with people like, me, who try to remind them that they really need to be thinking about the issue even if I do not have a solution to offer. Oh dear. They really hate being reminded of the problem they would rather ignore. So they either try to dismiss me as someone who doesn't have the right to speak up, or discredit me as someone who hasn't made a valid point.

It is not the first time people have tried to silence me.

Have I encountered people like that in Singapore before? Oh yes, they remind me of the older generation, people like my parents who voted for the PAP election after election. I wonder what kind of lies they have to tell themselves about the PAP to help them sleep at night. but I daresay many of these people are delusional. They justify voting for the PAP by convincing themselves that they are making the right choice and once they have made up their minds, they dismiss anyone who comes up with evidence to the contrary. Listening to someone like me go on and on about the injustice only makes them feel extremely uncomfortable - after all, they know that a friend or a close relative could become the next Benjamin Lim. And the only way they know how to counter that thought is to go into denial mode, "won't lah, aiyoh this one is an unfortunate case but an isolated incident lah." But should we be focusing on the death of a boy, when we should be focusing on the system which caused his death in the first place? The boy is already dead, but the system that cause his death is still there. And that should scare the shit out of anyone resident in Singapore.

But what do Singaporeans do when they get such thoughts? Some accept that this is part of living in Singapore but then there are those who go into denial mode, they shoot the messenger who delivers the bad news (ie. yours truly, Limpeh). I have been accused of simplifying the situation - that it is not simply the fault of the PAP since none of the opposition MPs have said anything about the situation either. But wait - I do have a simple solution. Leave Singapore, do what I did, start a new life abroad in a country where human rights are respected, greener pastures await you abroad. If you do have children and you want them to have a brighter future in a better country, then start considering the options. I left Singapore because I knew that Singapore wasn't going to change much in my life time, I wasn't prepared to wait, so I left when the opportunity presented itself.  I have a reader who didn't have such an opportunity, so he is studying to retrain as an X-ray specialist in order to get a work permit in the west, just to get out of Singapore.

Why am I speaking up on this case then, since I am doing it from the safety of my living room in London, eight time zones away as a British citizen? Well, there are a few reasons. Firstly, my family is still in Singapore and I am concerned about their well-being. I have an autistic nephew who is social awkward (and that's putting it mildly), I do worry that someone like him may find himself in the same position as Benjamin Lim - what will happen then? I have no faith in the system treating an autistic boy with any kind of sympathy or dignity. They would probably just assumed that he was guilty because of his autism because autistic people face such prejudices and discrimination in Singapore. Secondly, many Singaporeans do not have the experience of living in another country where people are treated differently by the law enforcement authorities - I have had the experience of living in so many different countries and am in a position to compare and contrast. Some are better than Singapore, some are worse and boy do I have a few interesting stories to tell. Part of the reason why my blog is so popular is because I am able to offer that 'compare & contrast' perspective for readers who have not experienced living outside Singapore and these people value my insight. And lastly, I really feel for Mr and Mrs Lim as well as Benjamin's sister. I think the worst thing to do now is to ignore the whole incident and celebrate Chinese new year as if nothing has happened, as if what happened doesn't matter at all. In keeping the debate alive, it is my way of saying that Benjamin Lim's life did matter to us and we need answers, we need to keep talking about this so as to try to prevent it from happening again to others (and it is clear that this kind of interrogation happens all the time in Singapore).

Finally, I don't think that this is just a domestic issue that doesn't concern anyone outside Singapore. If you're talking about some really local issue, like whether or not to build a new bus stop in Hougang, then yeah, believe you me when I tell you that I am not interested at all in trivial matters like that. But Singapore's image in the world is so important to the government, Singapore welcomes everyone from foreign talents to foreign investors to foreign businesses to come and be a part of the Singapore success story. The opposite of Singapore would be North Korea, Kim Jong Un's regime doesn't give a rat's ass what the rest of the world thinks about their reclusive country. In fact, Singapore cares quite a lot about what the rest of the world thinks about Singapore! In the age of the internet when many people access information about Singapore via Google, there is a pretty high chance that they will stumble upon a popular blog like mine rather than the official Singaporean government's website if they are looking for information on a particular Singaporean issue that I have blogged about. Google searches drives more traffic to my blog than any other website.

Well read bloggers exert a lot of influence over public opinions, thanks to Google.

Thus whether you like it or not, I have more influence on affecting the outcome of events in Singapore because of the success of my blog, despite the fact that I am neither Singaporean nor a resident in Singapore. Is this fair? Certainly not, but since when has democracy and social media ever been about fairness? Social media has enabled anyone to voice an opinion if they wish to, but it doesn't mean that everyone's opinion will be heard. The moment I post something on my blog, it is read by thousands of people within hours - can the same be said about everyone who has an opinion to voice? Certainly not. Such is social media for you. It has never ever been a level playing field, the internet has created an environment where a lot of people can speak at the same time, but few people are actually heard and if you are under the impression that you will be heard just because you have something to say, then you're seriously kidding yourself. Come on, get real. Katy Perry has 81 million followers on Twitter, how many have you got? When Katy Perry has something to say, people listen - what makes you think that your opinion is going to be heard?

So what has this case told us about the mindset of Singaporean? It is not good news I'm afraid: we have learnt that many are suffering from a bad case of denial and some don't even understand how social media works. Damn. Well, I do hope I have better news for you next time. But until then, thanks so much for reading Limpeh's blog. Kumsiah.