The Real Meaning of Angst

Angst is German for “neurotic fear, anxiety, guilt, remorse,” from Old High German angust, the root of anger. It is usually applied to a deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom. George Eliot used it (in German) in 1849, and it was popularized in English by translation of Freud's work, but as a foreign word until 1940s.

Member of parliament Lily Neo knows the word all too well when she told Parliament, "In these times of more angst than gratitude, there is a need to change our handling of residents in terms of expanding communication and improving our engagement strategies."

In 2001 Neo had called for Medisave fund to be extended to cover health screening procedures, in particular, screening for breast cancer, only to have then-Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang demurring with dripping sarcasm, "Save on one hairdo and use the money for breast screening". And when she queried Vivian Balakrishnan in 2007 whether it is too much to ask for just 3 meals a day as an entitlement for the welfare recipients, the YOG profligate responded with “How much do you want? Do you want 3 meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?”

Given the shoddy treatment dished out to a person of her standing, it would be another sheer waste of public funds to send odious government staff for training to gain good communication skills as she suggested. What people like Goh Chok Tong needs is a full frontal lobotomy when he sprouts nonsense like "For those at the top 20 per cent, for every dollar that they pay in tax, they get less than a dollar back in benefits."  Eduardo Saverin and the multi-millionaires that made a buzzline to Singapore must be chuckling away.

Forbes said that for Saverin, tax purposes are probably the biggest reasons for renouncing his U.S. passport. He is clearly unaffected by the exorbitant car prices (a 2008 Bentley Continental that costs about US$130,000 in the U.S. commands over US$580,000 in Singapore), while locals are scrapping their vehicles because of the crippling Certificate of Entitlement (COE). His kind are also entitled to the choicest real estate in posh Sentosa Cove, while locals are relegated to the rat infested Bukit Batok precincts. Their lot can guzzle up all the alcohol at Boat Quay without the bother of police patrols overlooking shoulders in Little India.

While the Financial Times reported “Billionaires and their supercars add to Singapore inequality concerns", Lee Hsien Loong was saying, “if I can get another 10 billionaires to move to Singapore and set up their base here… I think Singapore will be better off". Lily Neo may still have faith in training, but many others strongly feel it's really time to pull the plug.