freedoms?

Today, another case of youthful bravado clashed head-on with common sense. From what I gather, this isn’t the first for this kid.

So, let’s start with the question. Who is Amos Yee? Do you know? If you don’t spend much time, on the internet, the likely answer is – who? But I guess, he will shoot to infamy soon. By the time you read this, you probably would have heard his name once or twice on the news.

If you haven’t seen his video, here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD4y3U4TfeY . I am slightly surprised that the efficient men in blue have not taken it down. By the time you read this, it might be a dead link.  Just for the record, I haven’t seen the entire video. After approximately 2 minutes in, the rants of a little kid acting beyond his years for whatever attention his parents haven’t given him is too much for me to take.

He starts with declaring he is not afraid to be sued by the government. I wonder how much he understands with his threats. I bet you that his parents would be shaking in fear; maybe they might even have bought tickets out of the country. If they haven’t they really should consider. One-way tickets are good enough, don’t bother with the return. I do hope the government sues this kid. Amos, you deserve it.

Amos, you don’t know shit. For someone who speaks in a fancy accent, I seriously wonder what you know. You declare you are happy that the man who built up this country is dead, because you call him a tyrant. If he didn’t do what he did, you wouldn’t have the time to be an internet ‘star’. Singapore might still be stuck in the third world. Kids your age might be slogging away in a factory working long hours for minimal pay. You definitely wouldn’t be sitting in your OWN room, and using your FREE time to film yourself saying such degrading things. If LKY didn’t make some of the decisions he did, you might still be illiterate at 17. Your life expectancy might be 38 instead of 83. You might not even be able to speak any English.

You think that you can get ‘freedoms’ in another country that Singapore cannot afford to accord to you? Then I challenge you to go find that country. You will never find that country because that country doesn’t exist. For whatever freedom you think makes your life that much better, you have to have some (in the words of the western media) trade-offs. Personally, there are really any in Singapore? Is cleanliness a trade-off for gum? Is the ‘liberty’ to own guns a trade-off for personal safety? For your information, people feel the need to own guns because other people own guns. How does that solve a problem? 

Your exercise in your ‘freedom’ of speech is the very thing that can easily break the delicate nature of our country. The very thing LKY worked so hard to prevent. I am glad he is not alive to see this. I think he would have been very sad that you benefitted so much from the country and yet CHOSE to be an ingrate. Yes. Amos, you are an ingrate. You cannot see what has benefitted you because your selfish ambition has blinded you. Unless you have lived in many other countries with a wealth of experience, you are just repeating what you want to believe in – a blind faith in your own selfish hopes.

Lastly, I just want to tell you that the part about Christianity is worse than what you said about LKY. This is another thing that LKY worked his entire life to prevent and you managed to not just be a selfish ingrate, but a bigoted selfish ingrate. As a fellow Singaporean, I am ashamed of you. I am ashamed the education system has allowed you to turn out this way.

You have chosen to stand with the others. Now you have to learn that your ‘freedoms’ come with responsibility. 

You think you are something just because you have a youtube channel with 3257 subscribers? You don't know anything. When you have half the world coming at the drop of a hat to attend your funeral, then you are something. 

the day Singapore turned monochrome...

I had thought about writing for a long time. So many have written and so much has been written about him. What more can I write about? Then the urge to write couldn’t go away. I had to write – something, anything. The title kept echoing in my mind ‘The Day Singapore turned Monochrome’. It took a while but eventually, there would be an event that would shake me up enough to necessitate penning down some of my thoughts. As in all Asian typicality, it took a death to shake things up. Even the demise of my marriage did not rattle me sufficiently. Yet at that time, I was probably more inclined to hide rather than think.

This death is different. Though it is not of something or someone I knew personally, yet I knew many details of his life. His many decisions have deeply impacted my life and the lives of my fellow countrymen. Some know him as Harry, though no one calls him that. Many call him Ah Gong, though it is most ironic whenever the term of affection is used. Everyone knows him by his initials – LKY.

His death was not unanticipated. The country had been waiting, preparing to a certain extend. Many were logistically ready, though I guess judging by the current situation, not many were mentally ready. When it happened, it was the day that Singapore turned monochrome. Many company logos, display pics among others things online turned black and white. I noticed today that most turned up at work in a drab of dark colours. I guess everyone mourns in their own different way; all in their little way a sign of respect for a man who was so much larger than life.

The first world life that LKY has fought so hard to build has suddenly lost so much of its lustre. Yet, the first world cogs that turn this country’s delicate machinery will soon start to run at full speed again. Exactly how LKY had intended it to. In the grand scheme of things, nothing can ever alter the primary purpose of our nation.

His life had impacted the world and his death has impacted the world in a similar fashion. People from all over the world have come out to say something. People from far far away, where their connection to the man is just but a mere fibre have come out to thank him for his life work.

I am glad that our little red dot has been blessed with a leader with enough foresight to see how a backwater port could evolve into an economic behemoth.  Though at the same time, I am greatly sadden that we have lost a national icon. Not least we lost him before #SG50. They keep saying that #SG50 would be an important watershed year. It marks so many things to so many people. Never would anyone thing that it would also mean it would be the first National Day that LKY would not be there. He was there at our very first NDP. He was there at all 49 previous NDPs. It would be different without his appearance. While I think he would frown upon it, I hope they have a short segment just for him.

We need to learn to honour our pioneers. People who have literally fought through so much, just to ensure we never lose even a figurative advantage. After 50 years, we have just started to honour our roots. We must continue. If there are no roots to hold on to, there is nothing to build upon in the future.