Can't describe how I feel now but it definitely is not a good feeling. I very much want to help whenever I see a homeless soul sleeping by the void deck or the old woman selling muah chee that nobody buys at the bus interchange without a licence on a mat. I wonder if anyone is doing anything for them... any organisation or anyone at all... other than buying from the illegal vendors, I do not know what else to do for them. Seeing more and more of them on the streets breaks my heart because they are old and/ or homeless. They live by doing what they do because they probably have no other choices. How is our government helping? That is something I seriously am ignorant about... are they doing anything at all? I do wonder about that alot nowadays.
Did a google search as well as read some of the blogs linked by www.theonlinecitizen.com and here are some of the results:
Pictures of homeless people in Singapore
Why did I procrastinate?
An old man and his tin canned vases
Would anyone be homeless by choice?
There are no beggars and homeless in Singapore
"Sleepers" in Singapore
Sir, may I have the can please?
A stranger, my friend
Maybe the elites in our country have been blinded by their salary increment to think that life is all rosey and nice.
Kishore Mahbubani, while being Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, mentioned in his article that was published in the Earth Times in 2001 that,
"There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in Singapore. Poverty has been eradicated, not through an entitlements program (there are virtually none) but through a unique partnership between the government, corporate citizens, self-help groups and voluntary initiatives."
Then why are we seeing more homeless people sleeping on the benches at the parks, void decks and playgrounds etc?
On a more recent note, our very own MM Lee Kuan Yew, 'founding father' of Singapore as well as the father of our current PM Lee Hsien Loong, was heard to be saying that,
"You go down New York, Broadway. You will see the beggars, people of the streets... Where are the beggars in Singapore? Show me." (2007)
My goodness. Are they truly blinded to the ever existing problem (as I view it) of the homeless and the (unfortunately) old? Do they see a homeless person when they come across someone sleeping on a makeshift bed of cardboard boxes? Do they see the (unfortunate) old when they come across an illegal vendor trying so hard to sell his handmade wares to the passerbys? What do they see? I am really curious.
I do wonder how they will feel if they do watch the video entitled Nation Builders of Singapore. Or maybe they couldn't be bothered.
Now that the cost of living is increasing rather rapidly, will there be more of the homeless on the streets? Will the (unfortunate) old be joined by the (unfortunate) young?
Keep your eyes open. Maybe we will become one of them in due time, who knows?
 | When you are in an ivory tower, not having to account to anybody, busy visiting countries signing MOU's and you make laws to suit your fancies, do you have time to really care for the poor? A little lip service to Public Assistance of $330, maybe.
Nah, not with your feedback units sucking your balls instead of ballsy truthful feedback. Are you are so far from the truth, so far from your people, so far from the hawker centre that you can order mee siam mai hum from the istana?
Hey, if there's one thing that's keeping me cheerful is the fact that it's the beginning of PBT. Pay Back Time!
They are screwing up so consistently now that the mainstream media can't cope with the papaganda to cover up their mess.
Yes the messy jokes like Mas Selamat Jalan; LTA's taxi can/cannot stop in CBD; GST to help the Poor; our females in S'pore will end up as maids if we do not pay million$$$ to the mintsters; our SWF going down the drain; etc etc. I'm sure you know of more of the sad jokes that's going on.
And no, there are no beggars and homeless in Singapore in the view of the blind diplomat and the gaji buta lawmakers.
Funny, I may end up like those homeless beggars but I'm still cheerful.
Maybe freedom is another word for having nothing left to lose.
feedmetothefish |
 | Oh dear maybe I should start taking up a course in Effective Housekeeping or something to prepare myself for the future of being an underpaid but skilled 'expatriate' domestic help! Also considered a foreign talent right? Hahahahaa
Indeed they have been screwing up on many issues and have made a huge joke of themselves especially with the Mas Selamat wayang show. Hell, PAP cannot even train professional wayang actors! Even my PAP supporting folks are making a joke out of the whole thing by talking about the conspiracy theories surrounding the whole escape. That is a first and also a very surreal experience to see my mum so enthusiastic about the theories for the very first time. Pay back time indeed, that is something to stay cheerful about!
As the gap between the very rich and the very poor widens (I believe it is without looking at the stupid statistics), many people have no choice but to choose to stay on the streets. It is time that people go round interviewing these poor folk living around the void decks and sleeping out in public places, make a documentary out of it and release it to the general public via the internet or something. I wonder what those in the ivory tower will have to say to that really. They have been claiming denial as far as I know (can't be bothered buying the papers or watching news on TV anymore) but the reality is starting to speak louder and louder.
Maybe a copy of it can also be sent to the Istana, together with a special plate of Mee Siam Mai Hum, cooked specially for the folks up there by the illegal food vendors. That should bring a tear to their eyes shouldn't it?
Ahh... dreaming with my eyes wide open again! |
 | Well, it's all about toeing the party line. Kishore Mahbubani said himself: "politics is a black, black world." And he wasn't just referring to international politics! As for cheerfulness, perhaps real cheerfulness will come when the next elections come around and PAP reduces 'a strong mandate' to 49%? hehheh. As for a video on the poor...i wouldn't count on it. Perhaps you'll find it on YouTube...papaganda is not going to play such things because (gasp!) Singapore is not as perfect as it seems!
Conspiracy theories abound about everything. How about the one where Chee Soon Juan is a PAP mole whose only role is to discredit the opposition? Conspiracy theories are where you don't get enough transparency, and Singapore's environment is only all-too-conducive for those conspiracy theories discussed over coffee.
And lastly, Rachel, you should send the mee siam mai hum to a certain address in Oxley Road for the next Lee family dinner. Haha. |
| Wong, nothing is really impossible! ;) Maybe it is time to look for a team who is willing to make a 'daydream' work out into reality hahahaa and I am sure that there should be enough impact just by releasing it into virtual land. Not only on youtube but on blogs and such. (ohh dreaming of wonderland again! hahaha)
Chee's passion for what he believes in as well as what he does has amazed me to no end. Even though I do not always agree with his methods (the hunger strike), I do have a high amount of respect for the guy. Maybe the PAP has forgotten that they too started root as the opposition party. However it is very low of them to use Chee's 'controversial' methods to black mark the reputation of the opposition. Don't think they will be able to hold on to that for long though because from what I have been reading and hearing from bloggers and people around me, they are losing some credibility, no matter how slow. One thing I do not understand is that why these people are still voting for them during the GE. Someday they will become the formerly ruling opposition, that I do believe, but I also hope that I will be alive to see that, old and wrinkly I may become.
Hahhaaa imagine the looks on their faces when they receive a huge plate of mee siam mai hum for the family dinner! :P Maybe Temasek Holdings will endorse it, who knows? It can also be renamed Lee eh Mee Siam Mai Hum, the LHL specialty or something like that.
Awesome stuff! |
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