One of the many reasons why I have given up on Singapore.
It is about this guy, Derek Wee, who wrote something to the Straits Times
Forum (I think) but it never got published. So he put it on his blog. And
this RJC girl's (Ms Wee) rebuttal to his letter. It was mentioned briefly in
yesterday's Straits Times.
Ms Wee is a very bright RJC girl. Her academic achievements are impressive.
She was from the elite gifted program at RGS who went on to top Singapore in
the GCE 'O'-levels in 2004. She also won the Prime Minister's Book Prize for
purportedly being effectively bilingual in Chinese and English (even though
she often expresses her disdain for the Chinese language). And she is fluent
in French. Her dad is an MP in Ang Mo Kio GRC. Naturally, hers is a highly
affluent and privileged background.
This is what Derek Wee wrote in his blog:
By Derek Wee
Oct 12, 2006
When I read the Straits Times article (dated 24 Sep) on PM Lee calling the
young to be committed and make a difference to Singapore, I have so much
thought about the issue.
I am 35 years old, graduated from University and gainfully employed in a
multinational company. But I cannot help but feel insecure over the future
of Singapore. Lets face it, it's not uncommon to hear, "when you are above
40, you are over the hill".
The government has been stressing on re-training, skills upgrading and
re-adapt. The fact is, no matter how well qualified or adaptable one is,
once you hit the magical 40, employers will say, "you are simply too old".
We have been focusing our resources and problem solving on low unskilled
labour. But in reality, our managerial positions and skilled labour force
are actually fast losing its competitiveness.
I travel around the region frequently for the past 10 years. It didn't take
me long to realise how far our neighbours have come over the past decade.
They have quality skilled workers, and are less expensive. When I work with
them, their analytical skills are equally good, if not better than us.
It's not new anymore. Taxi drivers are fast becoming "too early to retire,
too old to work" segment of the society. I like to talk to taxi drivers
whenever I am heading for the airport.
There was this driver. Eloquent and well read. He was an export manager for
12 years with an MNC. Retrenched at 40 years old. He had been searching for
a job since his retrenchment.
Although he was willing to lower his pay expectations, employers were not
willing to lower their prejudice. He was deemed too old. I wouldn't be
surprised if we have another No. 1; having the most highly educated taxi
drivers in the world.
On PM Lee calling the young to be committed and make a difference. Look
around us. How dedicated can we be to Singapore when we can visualise what's
in store for us after we turned 40? Then again, how committed are employers
to us? But we can't blame them. They have bottom lines & shareholders' gain
to answer to.
Onus is really on the government to revamp the society. A society that is
not a pressure cooker. A society that does not mirror so perfectly, what
survival of the fittest is.
But a society, where it's people can be committed, do their best and not
having to fear whether they will still wake up employed tomorrow. Sadly,
Singapore does not offer such luxuries and security anymore.
On the issue of babies. The government encourages us to pro-create. The next
generation is essential in sustaining our competitive edge. Then again, the
current market condition is such that our future has become uncertain. There
is no more joy in having babies anymore; they have become more of a
liability. It's really a chicken and egg issue.
Many of my peers, bright and well educated have packed up and left. It's
what MM Goh called "quitters". It's sad but true, Singapore no longer is a
place where one can hope to work hard their lives and retire graciously.
It's really the push factor.
A future is something we sweat it out, build and call our own.
Unfortunately, people like me, mid 30's going on 40's, staying put by choice
or otherwise, we can't help but feel what lies ahead is really a gamble.
To PM Lee and the Ministers, we are on a different platform. Until you truly
understand our insecurity, the future of Singapore to me remains a question
mark.
..... and this is Ms Wee's reply in her blog....
Thursday, October 19, 2006
mom's friend sent her some blog post by some bleeding stupid 40-year old
singaporean called derek wee (WHY do all the idiots have my surname why?!)
whining about how singapore is such an insecure place, how old ppl (ie, 40
and above) fear for their jobs, how the pool of foreign "talent"
(dismissively chucked between inverted commas) is really a tsunami that will
consume us all (no actually he didn't say that, he probably said Fouren
Talern Bery Bad.), how the reason why no one wants kids is that they're a
liability in this world of fragile ricebowls, how the government really
needs to save us from inevitable doom but they aren't because they are
stick-shoved-up-ass elites who have no idea how the world works,
yadayadayadayada.
i am inclined - too much, perhaps - to dismiss such people as crackpots.
stupid crackpots. the sadder class. too often singaporeans - both the
neighborhood poor and the red-taloned socialites - kid themselves into
believing that our society, like most others, is compartmentalized by
breeding. ridiculous. we are a tyranny of the capable and the clever, and
the only other class is the complement.
sad derek attracted more than 50 comments praising him for his poignant
views, joining him in a chorus of complaints that climax at the accusation
of lack of press freedom because his all-too-true views had been rejected by
the straits times forum. while i tend to gripe about how we only have one
functioning newspaper too, i think the main reason for its lack of
publication was that his incensed diatribe was written in pathetic little
scraps that passed off as sentences, with poor spelling and no grammar.
derek, derek, derek darling, how can you expect to have an iron ricebowl or
a solid future if you cannot spell?
if you're not good enough, life will kick you in the balls. that's just how
things go. there's no point in lambasting the government for making our
society one that is, i quote, "far too survival of fittest". it's the same
everywhere. yes discrimination exists, and it is sad, but most of the time
if people would prefer hiring other people over you, it's because they're
better. it's so sad when people like old derek lament the kind of world that
singapore will be if we make it so uncertain. go be friggin communist, if
uncertainty of success offends you so much - you will certainly be poor and
miserable. unless you are an arm-twisting commie bully, which, given your
whiny middle-class undereducated penchant, i doubt.
then again, it's easy for me to say. my future isn't certain but i guess
right now it's a lot brighter than most people's. derek will read this and
brand me as an 18-year old elite, one of the sinners who will inherit the
country and run his stock to the gutter. go ahead. the world is about
winners and losers. it's only sad when people who could be winners are
marginalised and oppressed. is dear derek starving? has dear derek been
denied an education? has dear derek been forced into child prostitution? has
dear derek had his clan massacred by the government?
i should think not. dear derek is one of many wretched, undermotivated,
overassuming leeches in our country, and in this world. one of those who
would prefer to be unemployed and wax lyrical about how his myriad talents
are being abandoned for the foreigner's, instead of earning a decent, stable
living as a sales assistant. it's not even about being a road sweeper. these
*#$@bags don't want anything without "manager" and a name card.
please, get out of my elite uncaring face.
.......... And this is what was reported in yesterday's Straits Times
article .......
'WHAT she said did come across as insensitive. The language was stronger
than what most people could take.
But she wrote in a private blog and I feel that her privacy has been
violated. After all, they were the rantings of an 18-year-old among friends.
I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic
point is reasonable, that is, that a well-educated university graduate who
works for a multinational company should not be bemoaning about the
Government and get on with the challenges in life.
Nonetheless, I have counselled her to learn from it. Some people cannot take
the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it.
In our current desire to encourage more debate, especially through the
Internet, our comments must be tempered with sensitivity.
I will not gag her, since she's 18 and should be able to stand by what she
says.
The new media of the Internet is such that if you don't like what she has
said, you have the right of rebuttal.
Hopefully, after the discussion, everyone will be the richer for it. As a
parent, I may not have inculcated the appropriate level of sensitivity, but
she has learnt a lesson, and it's good that she has learnt it at such an
early stage in life.'
ANG MO KIO GRC MP WEE SIEW KIM on his daughter's comments
........ and this is what 1 blogger wrote in reply, which reflects my own
sentiments exactly...
Her elitist father is just another idiot like her daughter. Did he really
bother to understand what Derek is trying to say? Is Derek speaking only for
himself? It is not the language that is offending us. It is the elitist
ideology and the 'only the strong will survive, the weak should all die'
concept from a highly educated youth (who'll probably be running some big
state-owned company some day) that is offending us. Get it? People who are
born to privilege knowledge of how the system works, people like Mr and Ms
Wee, should use this knowledge and their privilege position to help those
who cannot see nor has the time to understand (because they are working so
hard to earn a living). Is not this the reason why we elect them in the
first place?
...............................................
Just as I get really sad when I see good friends letting success get to
their heads, I'll definitely be devastated if this was my own child. Maybe I
have been out of the rat race for too long, maybe I'm getting old and not in
tune with times .. or maybe this is the price we all have to pay for
"success and progress"...
Anyway, just something to share.
Cheers!
Forum (I think) but it never got published. So he put it on his blog. And
this RJC girl's (Ms Wee) rebuttal to his letter. It was mentioned briefly in
yesterday's Straits Times.
Ms Wee is a very bright RJC girl. Her academic achievements are impressive.
She was from the elite gifted program at RGS who went on to top Singapore in
the GCE 'O'-levels in 2004. She also won the Prime Minister's Book Prize for
purportedly being effectively bilingual in Chinese and English (even though
she often expresses her disdain for the Chinese language). And she is fluent
in French. Her dad is an MP in Ang Mo Kio GRC. Naturally, hers is a highly
affluent and privileged background.
This is what Derek Wee wrote in his blog:
By Derek Wee
Oct 12, 2006
When I read the Straits Times article (dated 24 Sep) on PM Lee calling the
young to be committed and make a difference to Singapore, I have so much
thought about the issue.
I am 35 years old, graduated from University and gainfully employed in a
multinational company. But I cannot help but feel insecure over the future
of Singapore. Lets face it, it's not uncommon to hear, "when you are above
40, you are over the hill".
The government has been stressing on re-training, skills upgrading and
re-adapt. The fact is, no matter how well qualified or adaptable one is,
once you hit the magical 40, employers will say, "you are simply too old".
We have been focusing our resources and problem solving on low unskilled
labour. But in reality, our managerial positions and skilled labour force
are actually fast losing its competitiveness.
I travel around the region frequently for the past 10 years. It didn't take
me long to realise how far our neighbours have come over the past decade.
They have quality skilled workers, and are less expensive. When I work with
them, their analytical skills are equally good, if not better than us.
It's not new anymore. Taxi drivers are fast becoming "too early to retire,
too old to work" segment of the society. I like to talk to taxi drivers
whenever I am heading for the airport.
There was this driver. Eloquent and well read. He was an export manager for
12 years with an MNC. Retrenched at 40 years old. He had been searching for
a job since his retrenchment.
Although he was willing to lower his pay expectations, employers were not
willing to lower their prejudice. He was deemed too old. I wouldn't be
surprised if we have another No. 1; having the most highly educated taxi
drivers in the world.
On PM Lee calling the young to be committed and make a difference. Look
around us. How dedicated can we be to Singapore when we can visualise what's
in store for us after we turned 40? Then again, how committed are employers
to us? But we can't blame them. They have bottom lines & shareholders' gain
to answer to.
Onus is really on the government to revamp the society. A society that is
not a pressure cooker. A society that does not mirror so perfectly, what
survival of the fittest is.
But a society, where it's people can be committed, do their best and not
having to fear whether they will still wake up employed tomorrow. Sadly,
Singapore does not offer such luxuries and security anymore.
On the issue of babies. The government encourages us to pro-create. The next
generation is essential in sustaining our competitive edge. Then again, the
current market condition is such that our future has become uncertain. There
is no more joy in having babies anymore; they have become more of a
liability. It's really a chicken and egg issue.
Many of my peers, bright and well educated have packed up and left. It's
what MM Goh called "quitters". It's sad but true, Singapore no longer is a
place where one can hope to work hard their lives and retire graciously.
It's really the push factor.
A future is something we sweat it out, build and call our own.
Unfortunately, people like me, mid 30's going on 40's, staying put by choice
or otherwise, we can't help but feel what lies ahead is really a gamble.
To PM Lee and the Ministers, we are on a different platform. Until you truly
understand our insecurity, the future of Singapore to me remains a question
mark.
..... and this is Ms Wee's reply in her blog....
Thursday, October 19, 2006
mom's friend sent her some blog post by some bleeding stupid 40-year old
singaporean called derek wee (WHY do all the idiots have my surname why?!)
whining about how singapore is such an insecure place, how old ppl (ie, 40
and above) fear for their jobs, how the pool of foreign "talent"
(dismissively chucked between inverted commas) is really a tsunami that will
consume us all (no actually he didn't say that, he probably said Fouren
Talern Bery Bad.), how the reason why no one wants kids is that they're a
liability in this world of fragile ricebowls, how the government really
needs to save us from inevitable doom but they aren't because they are
stick-shoved-up-ass elites who have no idea how the world works,
yadayadayadayada.
i am inclined - too much, perhaps - to dismiss such people as crackpots.
stupid crackpots. the sadder class. too often singaporeans - both the
neighborhood poor and the red-taloned socialites - kid themselves into
believing that our society, like most others, is compartmentalized by
breeding. ridiculous. we are a tyranny of the capable and the clever, and
the only other class is the complement.
sad derek attracted more than 50 comments praising him for his poignant
views, joining him in a chorus of complaints that climax at the accusation
of lack of press freedom because his all-too-true views had been rejected by
the straits times forum. while i tend to gripe about how we only have one
functioning newspaper too, i think the main reason for its lack of
publication was that his incensed diatribe was written in pathetic little
scraps that passed off as sentences, with poor spelling and no grammar.
derek, derek, derek darling, how can you expect to have an iron ricebowl or
a solid future if you cannot spell?
if you're not good enough, life will kick you in the balls. that's just how
things go. there's no point in lambasting the government for making our
society one that is, i quote, "far too survival of fittest". it's the same
everywhere. yes discrimination exists, and it is sad, but most of the time
if people would prefer hiring other people over you, it's because they're
better. it's so sad when people like old derek lament the kind of world that
singapore will be if we make it so uncertain. go be friggin communist, if
uncertainty of success offends you so much - you will certainly be poor and
miserable. unless you are an arm-twisting commie bully, which, given your
whiny middle-class undereducated penchant, i doubt.
then again, it's easy for me to say. my future isn't certain but i guess
right now it's a lot brighter than most people's. derek will read this and
brand me as an 18-year old elite, one of the sinners who will inherit the
country and run his stock to the gutter. go ahead. the world is about
winners and losers. it's only sad when people who could be winners are
marginalised and oppressed. is dear derek starving? has dear derek been
denied an education? has dear derek been forced into child prostitution? has
dear derek had his clan massacred by the government?
i should think not. dear derek is one of many wretched, undermotivated,
overassuming leeches in our country, and in this world. one of those who
would prefer to be unemployed and wax lyrical about how his myriad talents
are being abandoned for the foreigner's, instead of earning a decent, stable
living as a sales assistant. it's not even about being a road sweeper. these
*#$@bags don't want anything without "manager" and a name card.
please, get out of my elite uncaring face.
.......... And this is what was reported in yesterday's Straits Times
article .......
'WHAT she said did come across as insensitive. The language was stronger
than what most people could take.
But she wrote in a private blog and I feel that her privacy has been
violated. After all, they were the rantings of an 18-year-old among friends.
I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic
point is reasonable, that is, that a well-educated university graduate who
works for a multinational company should not be bemoaning about the
Government and get on with the challenges in life.
Nonetheless, I have counselled her to learn from it. Some people cannot take
the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it.
In our current desire to encourage more debate, especially through the
Internet, our comments must be tempered with sensitivity.
I will not gag her, since she's 18 and should be able to stand by what she
says.
The new media of the Internet is such that if you don't like what she has
said, you have the right of rebuttal.
Hopefully, after the discussion, everyone will be the richer for it. As a
parent, I may not have inculcated the appropriate level of sensitivity, but
she has learnt a lesson, and it's good that she has learnt it at such an
early stage in life.'
ANG MO KIO GRC MP WEE SIEW KIM on his daughter's comments
........ and this is what 1 blogger wrote in reply, which reflects my own
sentiments exactly...
Her elitist father is just another idiot like her daughter. Did he really
bother to understand what Derek is trying to say? Is Derek speaking only for
himself? It is not the language that is offending us. It is the elitist
ideology and the 'only the strong will survive, the weak should all die'
concept from a highly educated youth (who'll probably be running some big
state-owned company some day) that is offending us. Get it? People who are
born to privilege knowledge of how the system works, people like Mr and Ms
Wee, should use this knowledge and their privilege position to help those
who cannot see nor has the time to understand (because they are working so
hard to earn a living). Is not this the reason why we elect them in the
first place?
...............................................
Just as I get really sad when I see good friends letting success get to
their heads, I'll definitely be devastated if this was my own child. Maybe I
have been out of the rat race for too long, maybe I'm getting old and not in
tune with times .. or maybe this is the price we all have to pay for
"success and progress"...
Anyway, just something to share.
Cheers!