2/17/2013

We are Singapore…16.02 to 2016





16 Feb was not the best day to hold a rally. It was still in the midst of CNY festivities and people would be too caught up with visiting friends and relatives and having parties and feasting. And to ask them to go down to Hong Lim Park in black was not exactly a good idea when the in colour was red. Though this would not affect the other communities, it was still a drawback in terms of getting as many people as possible to the ground.

Then the organisers were quite cheap skate too. No packet chicken rice and no free coaches to bring the supporters to the site. And no goodie bags too. I am sure by throwing some money up front the attendance would definitely improve. How many Sinkies would take the trouble to be there when getting there also cost money as public transport is not cheap any more. Then there was the risk of being caught in a train disruption and not even getting there.

And of all things, the sky was threatening. It was raining and could pour dogs and cats. Many would choose the comfort of staying at home, high and dry and continue with their CNY celebration.

And many did not even know that such an event was being held. There was not an inkling of news in the main media that there was a protest rally at Hong Lim. Only the internet savvy Sinkies were privy to this event. And they could do just so much to get it across to their close friends and people close to them. The dissemination of this event was slip shod at best and restricted by having no access to the main media, the newspapers, radio and TV. No neglect on the part of the organisers of course. They did their very best.

But they came, the Ah Gongs and Ah Mahs, the mums and pas with their children, toddlers and babies despite the inclement weather. The young adults were there too. I have never seen so many Sinkies in one place for a long time. At least 5000 were there, or more. And there were many familiar faces. Bumped into several old friends and acquaintances, and practically everyone present a Sinkie. You knew, you could feel it, you felt comfortable, felt like you were back to a time when nearly everyone was a Sinkie.

Where have you Sinkies been all these years and only to show your face in Hong Lim, to be together as one people, one country and one Singapore? We have lost that feeling. We have lost that sense of belonging, that this is our country. Our daily encounters, every one other person is a stranger, a foreigner. And the media and the Govt were talking non stop about these foreigners and how good they were and how indispensable they were to our good lives. We are now a poor and pathetic lot that could not help ourselves and are dependent on these foreigners for our welfare and well being.

When will this country become a Sinkie country once again? At Hong Lim, you could sense that the people were one, together as one people, and wanted to have their country back. They knew something was missing and they had to act to get it right again. Would they have the good fortune to recovering their country and be owners once more, or it is a lost cause. They are now nearly a minority in their own country. By 2030, they will be the absolute minority and may be herded into some reservations for their own protection and their own good, so that they would not become extinct, like the Red Indians. Johore, Batam and Bintang are good sites for reservations for Sinkies by then.
It was a wet day and it was umbrellas everywhere.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Despite the overwhelming fact that the rally is so well attended, Shitty Times decided to report at best 1000 to 1500 people attended. How to trust them anymore?

Anonymous said...

The Greatest Speech Ever Made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IvPIWzQcUY

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an Emperor
- that's not my business.

I don't want to rule or conquer anyone.
I should like to help everyone, if possible
-- Jew, gentile, black man, white.

We all want to help one another;
human beings are like that.
We want to live by each other's happiness,
not by each other's misery.
We don't want to hate and despise one another.
In this world there's room for everyone
and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls,
has barricaded the world with hate,
has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed
but we have shut ourselves in.
Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.
Our knowledge has made us cynical,
our cleverness hard and unkind.

We think too much and feel too little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.
More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together.
The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men,
cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all.
Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world,
millions of despairing men, women, and little children,
victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.

To those who can hear me I say, "Do not despair."
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed,
the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.

The hate of men will pass and dictators die;
and the power they took from the people will return to the people
and so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers: Don't give yourselves to brutes,
men who despise you,
enslave you,
who regiment your lives,
tell you what to do,
what to think and what to feel;
who drill you,
diet you,
treat you like cattle,
use you as cannon fodder.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men,
machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines!
You are not cattle!
You are men!
You have the love of humanity in your hearts.
You don't hate;
only the unloved hate,
the unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers: Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!
In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written,
"the kingdom of God is within man" -- not one man,
nor a group of men,
but in all men,
in you,
you the people have the power,
the power to create machines,
the power to create happiness.
You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful,
to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power!
Let us all unite!!
Let us fight for a new world,
a decent world that will give men a chance to work,
that will give you the future and old age a security.

By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power,
but they lie!
They do not fulfill their promise; they never will.
Dictators free themselves,
but they enslave the people!!

Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise!!
Let us fight to free the world,
to do away with national barriers,
to do away with greed,
with hate and intolerance.

Let us fight for a world of reason,
a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers: In the name of democracy, let us all unite!!!

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Fuck the Straight Times. However, the foreign press reports:

1. News Ltd, Aust: about 2000
2. BBC: more than 1000
3. Times of India: nearly 3000
4. Singapore Police Force: "we not monitoring the size of the crowd". Yeah. Right.

Let's give the organizers the benefit of the doubt: 4000-5000. IMO, that is still SMALL.

I was happy to see one sign that mentioned the word "Sheeple".

Best result: CROWD MAINTAINED AND DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY OF SINGAPOREANS TO PROTEST PEACEFULLY. ** Excellent job! **

Anonymous said...

Yup. I saw that sign too.
Matilah's legacy to Singapore and Singlish.

Sheeple.

PS: More peek-tures please.

oldhorse42 said...

The crowd is definitely overwhelming. It was achieved without inducement in inclement weather and against the boycott of one political party. It is time that the people be seen and heard and their happiness be taken noticed of and not be taken for granted.
The protest must have given an old man a heart attack and he is now under observation in hospital.

Anonymous said...

Matilr, u should have been there as there are many pretty chicks there too. I counted about 5000 at its peak

Anonymous said...

One good thing that came out of this is that I finally manage to convince a die hard sinkie that all is not well and that pap will screw him and his children so finally he was awaken


Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Folks,

Yes, I would have liked to be there. Unfortunately it's busy post-festive season for me here in Arse-tralier.

Singapore chicks are *consistently* pretty ;-).

I hope the people don't rest on their laurels. This is a good start but by no means (IMO) qualifies as civil disobedience.

Before I got fed-up of being an exploited wage earner struggling for money and then became a no-nonsense free-market greedy capitalist; I was very much involved in the Australian Labour movement. My mentors at the time were heavy hitters from the Australian Union movement and the Australian Communist Party.

I've attended several rallies and participated in several protests -- the last one being one of the biggest: Australia's revolt on Bob Hawke's attempt to introduce the "Australia Card" (an identity card) back in the mid 1980's, universally REJECTED by millions of Australians -- including the people in the military, police, parliament.

This was an eye-opener for me and the experience of realization sticks forever: that is ordinary people can put together the divisive issues and come together for a common cause/ shared SELF interest, wonderful things can happen -- in this case, hammering the government into one we not only DESERVE, but the one we WANT.

Wise words from American founding father Patrick Henry:

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests."

The People MUST control the government. Not just the PAP, but any party who wins the right to form government. The government is your servant. If it's the other way around the situation becomes INTOLERABLE.

Anonymous said...

Wah! Matilah!
You make another piece of history today.
I cannot find one single bad word in your last post.

Anonymous said...

One good thing that came out of this is that I finally manage to convince a die hard sinkie that all is not well and that pap will screw him and his children so finally he was awaken

Anonymous said...

One good thing that came out of this is that I finally manage to convince a die hard sinkie that all is not well and that pap will screw him and his children so finally he was awaken

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

@anon 220:

Are you sure?

I used the words "government" and "PAP". IMO these are very bad words because they describe very bad ideas. Any experience with these is likely to cost you your money, your freedom, your sanity your life ... or all four.

Contrast is with the words "fuck" and "cunt". Some people think that these are bad words, but most will agree that these are indeed delightful things -- definitely worth experiencing!

Anonymous said...

I suggest people boycott all the shops that employed foreigners.

Anonymous said...

TODAYonline

[Your views are star of this show]

"TODAY’s Voices section is making the leap to live television, with a new half-hour talkshow with a difference — the views of regular S'poreans are the star of the show.

And just as it will aim every week to highlight the key issues that matter to people, the debut episode of VoicesTODAY will tackle the national soul-searching question of recent days: Whither the S'porean Core?"

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/your-views-are-star-show

Anonymous said...

Sgpolitics

[5,000 turn up at Hong Lim to reject population white paper -
Written by Ng E-Jay, 18 February 2013]

"What this rally signifies..."

http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=8166

Anonymous said...

Tattler
Monday, February 18, 2013

[Squaring Off At Hong Lim Park]

"The Arab spring is widely believed to be incubated by dissatisfaction with the rule of local govts, with some speculating that wide gaps in income levels may have fueled the rising tide.

Our local equivalent will be the abysmal Gini coefficient.

Other factors attributing to the protests bear a familiar resonance too, such as issues of dictatorial tendencies, human rights violations, political corruption in high places, economic hardships, lost employment opportunities, extreme poverty for the destitute, and a number of demographic structural factors, key of which, in our context, is the dilution of the S'pore identity."

http://singaporedesk.blogspot.sg/2013/02/squaring-off-at-hong-lim-park.html

Anonymous said...

STFORUM Feb 18

[Why I am a Singaporean]

"I WAS born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), lived in Britain and Sierra Leone (West Africa), came to S'pore in the 1970s as an economic migrant, and then became a S'porean.

I am proud to be a S'porean because the Govt...

As a result, my family also prospered in tandem with S'pore; and...

Sabaratnam Ratnakumar"

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/why-i-am-singaporean-20130218

Anonymous said...

STFORUM Feb 18

[Filipino migrants are 'Others']

"PASIR Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari asked whether it was true that new S'pore citizens of Filipino origin are classified as Malays ("What about Malay migrants?"; Feb 8).

This is not true.

They are typically classified as "Others" under the race category.

Vincent Ng
Head, Public & Internal Communications
Corporate Communications Division
ICA"

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/my-point-20130218

Anonymous said...

STForum Online

[Closing door to foreigners is un-Singaporean]

"WORKERS' Party chairman Sylvia Lim said in Parliament that 'for the S'pore core to be strong, the core must be strongly S'porean in values, world view, culture, sense of place and history, and network of friends and family' ("WP rejects road map, offers its own"; Feb 5).

... I am saddened that many S'poreans seem to have adopted such a negative attitude towards foreigners and immigration.

We are a great country because of them, and not in spite of them.

Restricting the flow of immigration and closing the door to foreigners go against the very values, world view, and sense of place and history that make S'pore strong.

Don't turn our country into a place we truly do not recognise.

Simon Huang Minghui"

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/closing-door-foreigners-un-singaporean-20130218

Anonymous said...

"16 Feb was not the best day to hold a rally."

Not only that, another 10,000 Girl Guides and Brownies and their parents etc were diverted to the Gardens by the Bay. I view these people as traitors who value their selfish interest in plants and flowers more than the severe overcrowding in this country.

I will never support Girl Guides and Brownies from now on.

Robert