Look at how a young man has united S’pore in 50 secs of swimming Olympic glory. Everywhere he goes, hundreds if not thousands cheer him and greet him like the hero he is. His winning the gold medal united Singapore and transcends all race, ethnicity, economic and social stratas in our society. Young and old, poor and rich, all the different races, embrace him and his victory. In 50 seconds, he united
Singapore and brought glory and joy to the country and put Singapore in such a great positive light. Imagine the Great Michael Phelps, one of the greatest Olympians ever, defeated by a young man from Singapore. I have not seen such unity and single purpose since the 1970s Malaysia Cup and the Kallang Roar. Singaporeans revel in a pride that they had never seen before. Singaporeans put their heads up high and celebrated with him as a country. When was the last time this happened? How about never? For all the millions of $ that the PAP spend on trying to buy medals with fake foreign talent, here we have one that cost the govt next to nothing. He did it when 50 years of PAP dictatorship and tyranny could never even come close to reproducing the unity that he managed to do.
For those detractors that say he is not Singaporean, well, he was born here and when to primary school here and has to do NS here. That makes him more Singaporean then all those FTs from PRC, India, etc that were given citizenship by the PAP after a short stay here, working at a job that was stolen from a Singaporean. So in my mind, he is Singaporeans. And for other detractors that say that LKY’s death also united Singapore, perhaps, they did for 70% of the population. But unfortunately, not enough PAP senior respected members die, so their ability to unite a nation in grief is a one off thing.
What Schooling did was the real thing. The sense of Euphoria and accomplishment felt by Singaporeans, warranted or not was real. But most importantly, he did it against the wishes and will of the Govt. He did it with hardly any support from his own countrymen and his own govt. Instead his own govt, sought to obstruct him with NS, while the state of Texas recognized his talents and gave him a scholarship to study and train at their state funded university. He determined for himself what was good for him, and not what was good for the govt. When told to report for National Service, he told them to go to hell. He was going to pursue his Olympic dreams and if they were not in accordance with the govt’s dream, well that was too bad. Schooling sat down, determined a course of action best suited for himself, and set out to accomplish that. Along the way, he had the temerity to tell the govt that he knew what was best for himself and not them. He exhibited independent thought process and belief in himself as well as defiance against a nanny state PAP that tells people that they are the best source of decision making for them. Schooling has not simply nudge the door open, he had kick the door down into smithereens.
Unlike the PAP, who tells Singaporeans how great the govt is, how talented they are and why they should be paid by far the most expensive salary for politicians in the world, Schooling has said absolutely nothing. He did not tell Singaporeans or Americans that he is the best in the world, that he will set an Olympic record, that he will win gold, etc. No one knew who he was when he went to the Olympics. Hell, even his own country had not bothered to obtain Olympics live broadcast rights to see him swim because they did not think he would amount to anything at the Games. He has proved that when you are truly talented, a record holder and gold medal winner, people all over the world will know you, and want to broadcast your achievements. When you have no real talent, as in the PAP, that is when you have to control the media and constantly fill people’s brains with their propaganda as to how great they were. In fact, they are so great that they almost cost Singapore a gold medal. Schooling could have as easily been swimming in Pulau Telong water obstacle course as in a pool in Rio.
Imagine a govt like the PAP who have been telling Singaporeans at every turn, how inadequate we are. We have LHL constantly harping on us to be more productive, as though we are on the same productivity level as Indonesia. We have Lim Swee Say exhorting us to be cheaper, better, faster or better, betterer, betterest, because we are lazy? We are constantly being told by the PAP that we are not good enough, and that is why foreign talent must be brought in. We are told that we are so irresponsible with money that we cannot be trusted with our own life savings and do the govt. will manage our own savings for us and give us a little bit at a time so we don’t lose it all. We are told that our mental state is so fragile that if it were disclosed that there were cracks in MRT trains, we might all be in a state of panic. Singaporean students are constantly told that they are not good enough so a certain percentage of spots in the universities are reserved for foreign students who are given scholarships not available to locals.
The PAP and LKY are like the stern father, always telling the kids to study harder, work harder. Always telling them they are not good enough, and that the world is tough and they will fail in it. Never praising them, never encouraging them, and never nurturing them. We are The kids grow up lacking confidence in ourselves, afraid to make a move without Papa’s approval and always frighten of making a mistake. Hence we keep voting in the PAP election after election after election.
Schooling has put the torch to all that. Here is a child and product of Singapore who has gone out and conquered the world in his field. If Singaporeans are to learn one thing from Schooling, it’s not that he won the gold medal. It’s the fact that he defied the govt. and believed in himself and then went out to successfully show that on the world stage. It was very fortunate that his family had the financial means to support his goals. How many Singaporeans were potential leaders in their fields of specialty, but were lost due to short sighted govt policies and lack of support. He has proven that all of us singaporeans can break this cycle of blind trust and reliance on the govt. It is time we believe in ourselves.
Singapore and brought glory and joy to the country and put Singapore in such a great positive light. Imagine the Great Michael Phelps, one of the greatest Olympians ever, defeated by a young man from Singapore. I have not seen such unity and single purpose since the 1970s Malaysia Cup and the Kallang Roar. Singaporeans revel in a pride that they had never seen before. Singaporeans put their heads up high and celebrated with him as a country. When was the last time this happened? How about never? For all the millions of $ that the PAP spend on trying to buy medals with fake foreign talent, here we have one that cost the govt next to nothing. He did it when 50 years of PAP dictatorship and tyranny could never even come close to reproducing the unity that he managed to do.
For those detractors that say he is not Singaporean, well, he was born here and when to primary school here and has to do NS here. That makes him more Singaporean then all those FTs from PRC, India, etc that were given citizenship by the PAP after a short stay here, working at a job that was stolen from a Singaporean. So in my mind, he is Singaporeans. And for other detractors that say that LKY’s death also united Singapore, perhaps, they did for 70% of the population. But unfortunately, not enough PAP senior respected members die, so their ability to unite a nation in grief is a one off thing.
What Schooling did was the real thing. The sense of Euphoria and accomplishment felt by Singaporeans, warranted or not was real. But most importantly, he did it against the wishes and will of the Govt. He did it with hardly any support from his own countrymen and his own govt. Instead his own govt, sought to obstruct him with NS, while the state of Texas recognized his talents and gave him a scholarship to study and train at their state funded university. He determined for himself what was good for him, and not what was good for the govt. When told to report for National Service, he told them to go to hell. He was going to pursue his Olympic dreams and if they were not in accordance with the govt’s dream, well that was too bad. Schooling sat down, determined a course of action best suited for himself, and set out to accomplish that. Along the way, he had the temerity to tell the govt that he knew what was best for himself and not them. He exhibited independent thought process and belief in himself as well as defiance against a nanny state PAP that tells people that they are the best source of decision making for them. Schooling has not simply nudge the door open, he had kick the door down into smithereens.
Unlike the PAP, who tells Singaporeans how great the govt is, how talented they are and why they should be paid by far the most expensive salary for politicians in the world, Schooling has said absolutely nothing. He did not tell Singaporeans or Americans that he is the best in the world, that he will set an Olympic record, that he will win gold, etc. No one knew who he was when he went to the Olympics. Hell, even his own country had not bothered to obtain Olympics live broadcast rights to see him swim because they did not think he would amount to anything at the Games. He has proved that when you are truly talented, a record holder and gold medal winner, people all over the world will know you, and want to broadcast your achievements. When you have no real talent, as in the PAP, that is when you have to control the media and constantly fill people’s brains with their propaganda as to how great they were. In fact, they are so great that they almost cost Singapore a gold medal. Schooling could have as easily been swimming in Pulau Telong water obstacle course as in a pool in Rio.
Imagine a govt like the PAP who have been telling Singaporeans at every turn, how inadequate we are. We have LHL constantly harping on us to be more productive, as though we are on the same productivity level as Indonesia. We have Lim Swee Say exhorting us to be cheaper, better, faster or better, betterer, betterest, because we are lazy? We are constantly being told by the PAP that we are not good enough, and that is why foreign talent must be brought in. We are told that we are so irresponsible with money that we cannot be trusted with our own life savings and do the govt. will manage our own savings for us and give us a little bit at a time so we don’t lose it all. We are told that our mental state is so fragile that if it were disclosed that there were cracks in MRT trains, we might all be in a state of panic. Singaporean students are constantly told that they are not good enough so a certain percentage of spots in the universities are reserved for foreign students who are given scholarships not available to locals.
The PAP and LKY are like the stern father, always telling the kids to study harder, work harder. Always telling them they are not good enough, and that the world is tough and they will fail in it. Never praising them, never encouraging them, and never nurturing them. We are The kids grow up lacking confidence in ourselves, afraid to make a move without Papa’s approval and always frighten of making a mistake. Hence we keep voting in the PAP election after election after election.
Schooling has put the torch to all that. Here is a child and product of Singapore who has gone out and conquered the world in his field. If Singaporeans are to learn one thing from Schooling, it’s not that he won the gold medal. It’s the fact that he defied the govt. and believed in himself and then went out to successfully show that on the world stage. It was very fortunate that his family had the financial means to support his goals. How many Singaporeans were potential leaders in their fields of specialty, but were lost due to short sighted govt policies and lack of support. He has proven that all of us singaporeans can break this cycle of blind trust and reliance on the govt. It is time we believe in ourselves.
