Madam Wong (not her real name) cannot work because of a broken ankle. The 2-room flat she's staying in technically belongs to her divorced husband, who died years ago, but town council bills keep coming in. The arrears to date total $5,900. Her daughter, struggling to make ends meet with her own family commitments, stops by occasionally with a bag of groceries. One son who was given away has a doctorate in chemistry and works in a MNC, but is not on speaking terms with his mother. The PAP MP she sees at the MPS (meet the peopel sessions) takes the easy way out, shooting off another form letter to the government agency, asking ComCare to increase her pathetic $150 handout. Sorting out the mess with the HDB flat ownership, or tangling with the Maintenance of Parents Act, are too complicated to address. Anyway, Madam Wong has long past caring. All she wants is the placebo of an MP who promises to get her more money.
The vulnerable Madam Wongs are those housewives of the baby boomer generation, the golden age when one salary was sufficient to support a household, and pay for the flat. Her husband may have seen his CPF contribution trimmed gradually from 40% over the years, his age of withdrawal continually extended, but his workingman's grouses are alien to her. To her, the government has always been there to provide for her needs. That's why she's so grateful for the free bus ride to the rally and the packaged meal.
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| Boy-boy, auntie sure vote for you one |
With dialects supplanted by the Speak Mandarin campaigns, her internet savvy grandchildren are unable to communicate with her. Thanks to the language barrier, she is untouched by online debates over housing prices, health care costs, transportation debacles, university places and jobs taken away by foreigners. Her only concern about the killer Ferrari is not the nationality of the driver, but the licence plate number for a 4D bet. In a sense, she is blessed by her ignorant state.
Is it any wonder politicians are dropping by their households when an election is on? It could well be the rare occasion when these old and lonely folks have any visitors at all. They would not be likely to ask, like the NUS undergraduate, "can I pay less tax, and maybe take one or two years off my NS?" since their ward has always been short changed when it comes to state funds for Interim Upgrading Program (IUP), Main Upgrading Program (MUP) and CIPC (Community Improvement Projects Committee).
It's not too late to pick up dialects. This week is a good time as any to start a conversation with grandma. Plus, Low Thia Khiang's rally speeches are so much more acerbic in the original
Teochew.
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Dear Tattler, Dont forget the elite in Spore who turn the other way when confronted with blatant injustices and who decieve themselves into thinking that Spore is a wonderful place to live in, all because their bank accounts are bursting with money. Everyman does have a price. And dont forget how light the burden is, for the rich and elite.
ReplyDeleteIts not just the aunties but the frightened middle class and the pampered elite maintain MIW in power.
I am disgusted that such display of care only happens during elections. Why must they put up a show. Tomorrow he is elected, the poor old lady would not even go close to him and get his full attention. This is the politic of the past. People now expect less show and more meat.
ReplyDeleteRahman is correct. How can you expect scholars who had been segregated from the mainstream in their young age really know the suffering of the normal people who care nothing more than worrying when could they have their next meal.
Pork-barrel politics at its finest. Political Science majors, are you taking notes?
ReplyDeleteThe best part of it all is that all this kind of pork-barrel politics started with the father who it seems doesn't even have the courtesy to show his face.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, why is the absentee MP from all MPS sessions not showing his face this time to give his repentancy advice to the Hougang voters ?
Malu or what ?
Malu ?
Deletedidn't you know that he could be busily involve in his debut movie entitle 1965 starring himself as the saviour of the country ? What better way to preserve his legacy as commedian and dictator ?
http://www.sdpfans.com/blog/2011/07/lee-kuan-yew-1965-movie-to-be-released-in-2012
All these poor unintelligent Singapore Aunties I really pity them.Their brains are really fxxked day in and day for the past 40 years by the PAP-controlled state media,Just look at Media Corp Ch 8,it lacks intelligent contents,the actors particularly this chap Mark Lee,he can't speak Mandarin properly and his English is just as broken.But the poor Singapore aunties are impressed with him and that's where the PAP expolited their naviety and got most of the 60% votes
ReplyDeleteI FULLY AGREED WITH YOU.
DeleteYup...my dad is something like that, though he is much better off than the Auntie.
ReplyDeleteMy dad came to SG in 1955 and eventually took citizenship. His life was pretty good - he is retired now and spends his time in coffeeshops defending PAP.
I had to serve NS and am now suffering greatly from the super-screwed-up policies of the PAP. I try not to speak to my father, as all he does, in his rapture, is to praise LKY and condemn Malaysia.
The IPS survey showed that the greatest trait of being Singaporean is to HAVE THE MALE CHILD DO NS. To me, I say WTF. All will do NS. The old ones will serve in hospitals. Otherwise no talk. Why should the son suffer on behalf of the father - for such an idiotic cause?
NS here has over-blown. No one dare to challenge Nindef if their policy is still valid. NS is one thing but recalls irritates everyone, including employers.
DeleteIf they have a good program for recall, we have nothing to complaint but most of the time is a total waste of resources.
well, you can send your father to retire in Johore then because PAP says so. Since your father supports PAP so much, surely he support PAP's policies. don't feel guilty because it is a right thing to do to support PAP. Please tell your father and he will love you for that .
DeleteThe 2 year NS benefits the Sporean elite more than the working class person who has to slog in an economy which fills the bank accounts for the rich. The elite also pay less taxes. Hence the working class should do 1 year NS and the elite and those who are supportive of 2 year NS should do 2 or maybe 3 years NS.
DeleteNS has no meaning to me. During the best part of your life, Mindef keeps harassing you, some employers unhappy with the regular ICTs. On reaching 40, when Mindef tells you, you're free now and if unlucky, you lose your job at 40 or above due to companies restructuring. The society or country that you had been protecting for during your prime years just turns your back on you, saying you're old, you're condemned, if you work, you will get lower-paid jobs.
ReplyDeleteNS is a bad deal for male citizens!
More should be done to compensate male Singaporeans from this injustice. They served, they suffered, they protect but at the end no one cares about them. Only high ranking army officers are well taken care off albeit, they are really capable or otherwise.
DeleteThe uncles and aunties won't think PAP is so hot after listening to these Hokkien & Teochew speeches (WP's 19 May rally)... http://feedmetothefish.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteBTW, for decades, I too used to think LKY runs the best gov in the world*, really... until an ex-PAP minister mentioned TOC in the evening news and I checked them out.
*"By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise." - Adolf Hitler
The message is clear.
ReplyDeleteDon't just vote Opposition.
Get a friend, parent or relative to also vote Opposition.
If every one of the 40% can convince a PAP supporter to vote Opposition, we will have 80% votes in GE 2016.
80% votes and 12 Opposition seats in parliament.
Due to gerrymandering.
But never mind.
Just vote your conscience.
There will be no freak election results in GE 2016.
One must never underestimate the auntie vote. Many of them live one day at a time and are extremely grateful for the cheapest handouts like a bowl of porridge.
ReplyDeleteAnd after the Yaw Shin Leong debacle, many aunties who were disgusted with him have turned against the WP. I don't think it's going to be a very easy win for WP this time round. Embarrassing incidents like the "spare tyre" that backed out on Nomination Day have generated a few negative, anti-WP voices.
Honestly, the way thr ruling party has handled itself in the past few elections has made me completely against them. They are just a bunch of grossly overpaid bureaucrats living in their ivory towers and worshiping a "beyond shelf life" despot, who thinks that he is greatest gift to Singaporeans and that this country of hardworking citizens would be third world country if not for him.
ReplyDelete