"OUR SINGAPORE" CONVERSATION

                                                                -my solutions and a quick conclusion to it!

 

A unique national dialogue was launched by our Prime Minister at the recent National Day Rally.  He urged our citizens to come together in a national conversation and appointed our Education Minister Mr Heng Swee Keat as chairman of a 26-member Our Singapore committee.

Mr Heng said: "This national conversation will first and foremost be about putting Singaporeans at the heart of our concerns. It will be an opportunity for Singaporeans to come together, and ask: What matters most? Where do we want to go as a country, as a people?"

The conversation is said to need to accomplish three goals: 

1. To reaffirm all that is good and relevant.

2. To re-calibrate areas where the country has gone off-course.

3. To refresh and innovate by charting new directions.

 

According to an on-line poll conducted by Yahoo Singapore, the major issues for such a national conversation are as follows:

1. Cost of housing 28% 

2. Manage flow, integration of foreigners 21%

3. Widening income gap 17%

4. Education (competition/stress in schools) 8%

5. Cost/access to healthcare 8%

6. Political/electoral reform (ISA, public assembly, GRC system) 4%

7. Social graciousness (online/offline) 4%

8. Tackling baby woes (parental leave, early childcare) 4%

9. Inclusive society (GLBTs, marginalised, single parents) 3%

10. Public transport crunch 3%

So far, the Conversation seems to lack focus.  Also, most participants merely express their opinions on certain issues, but they did not directly discuss or challenge the views of others.  A lot of questions being thrown up went unanswered.  But, the true spirit of 'conversation' dictates that there should be an interaction of perspectives and an engagement of opposing  positions.  Perhaps, it's the usual Asian dislike for confrontation and the fear of the loss of face that is the cause of such responses.  Or there may be more skeptics than suspected whose dismissal of the whole exercise has resulted in a general lack of enthusiasm.  In any case, if the Conversation goes on in this way, it's going to take forever and I can forsee no fruitful outcome.

I also happen to think that this situation is unlikely to improve even if we give it more time (1 to 2 years as stated officially).  In fact, interest and enthusiasm are likely to wane if this initial response is anything to go by.

In view of the above scenarios, let me attempt a 2-minute quick analysis and solution to "Our Singapore" Conversation using a doctor's perspective:

 

Our country's problems can be likened to a patient's illness:

Symptoms: 

1. Anxiety about affordability of housing and healthcare.

2. Fear of being displaced by foreigners in jobs and access to infrastructure.

3. Feeling of being marginalized in the quest for prosperity and national participation.

4. A dysfunctional education system.

5. Dissatisfaction with public transportation and our political system.

 

Signs:

1. Regressive and uncivilized social behavior. 

2. Suppression of the biological instincts of marriage and reproduction.

 

Analysis:

1. All signs and symptoms seem to be separate and unrelated.

2. Actually, they are inter-linked.

 

Diagnosis:

1. Unthinking materialism

2. Narrow view of meritocracy

3. Idealism overwhelmed by pragmatism

 

Inspired Hypotheses:

1. Tinkling with isolated measures to suppress each individual sign and symptom are not long-term solutions.

2. Rectifying the underlying structural sociopolitical imbalances and dysfunctions may do the trick.

 

Treatment:

1. To educate and enlighten that a fulfilled life consists of much more than satisfying material wants alone. Knowledge, friendship, love, self-esteem, self-actualization and morality are far more important.

2. To widen the concept of meritocracy into one of holistic functionality in our society.

3. To re-introduce the enduring values of the best of humanity into our national psyche. Reaching for "what should be" will be given more emphasis that merely recognizing "what is".

If the above can help our country save time in mere conversation, we can start implementing the solutions earlier and our nation can better face our present and future challenges.  Much work remains to be done.