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[h=2]My friend, Jane, is angry and worried[/h]
October 11th, 2012 |
Author: Contributions
I think I should share this with all of you.
It is unlikely that Jane is reading this because she is now probably overcome with anger and worry.
Jane is my friend of many years. She is a pretty and an educated woman. If not for her poor acting skill, she might have become a famous actress – perhaps, Michelle Yeoh the second!
As far as I know, Jane never understood why many Singaporeans disliked the PAP Government – until that day when she lost her job. I actually met up with her on that day when she was given the pink slip; she was confused, angry and sad; at one point, she broke down in tears as she related her story to me. Like her, I also felt that she lost her job more because of office politics and government policies, than what she had done.
I can’t use my friend’s real name, so I have to use a fictitious name – Jane. Sorry about this.
Anyway, the worst was yet to come. Before Jane could find a new job, her husband lost his job several months after she was retrenched!
Since then, the couple never got back their previous income-level jobs; the couple never voted for the PAP since then. How could they? The thorns were in their flesh! I was told that in the past, both husband and wife voted for the PAP not because they were fans of the ruling party, but rather, they felt it was the ‘proper’ or ‘logical’ thing to do. “No particular reason, it was just something you ought to do, just like the rest of Singaporeans,” Jane once told me. While both are now somewhat slightly more interested in politics than previously, I have this strong feeling that they will no longer vote for the PAP.
I met the family again, after the NTUC Amy Cheong’s case – husband, wife and their son were having dinner in a food-court. We had a chat and the subject drifted to Amy Cheong’s FB comments and how the ministers as well as the media came down very hard on her – too hard, perhaps.
My friend, Jane, was angry and worried: angry because NTUC, an organization tasked to protect Singaporean workers’ rice bowls, chose to hire a non-citizen for its senior executive position (an uncomplicated role which many Singaporeans could perform); worried because her son spent much time on internet and FaceBook reading political related materials.
The conversation along the following lines between parents and son may interest some of you because it showed an outcome (intended or unintended) which will probably please the PAP Government :
Mother to Son : This is why I have been telling you, don’t spend so much time on FaceBook or internet, especially reading those hate materials! You keep saying I like to nag at you! See what happened to that woman? She lost her job … her photo was shown in all the newspapers and TV, everybody now knows what she did … wherever she goes people also can recognise her … all the ministers and public criticized her! Her future and career are now finished! No company will employ her!
Son to Mother : I said many times, it was just one of my classmates liked to read jokes and cartoons about government and forward the links to us. We just had a quick look and laughed, that was all …
Father to Son : It is not that we object your access to internet, you should use internet for the right purpose … internet has many things which are unhealthy … many people wrote hate things and criticized others … you read too much of it, you will be influenced and get yourself into deep troubles … your friend likes it, that is his probleim … you will never know what you said or wrote would one day offend the government and get yourself in big trouble! I have no money to send you to hide in Australia!
It seems to me, great fears have been instilled in the general public by the recent out-of-proportion responses hammered out by the ministers and media. My friend and her husband belong to the 39% electorate. Can you guys imagine what the other 60% voters will advise their children or friends about reading and writing internet materials that are not in line with the PAP’s position?
.
Celia Lim
It is unlikely that Jane is reading this because she is now probably overcome with anger and worry.
Jane is my friend of many years. She is a pretty and an educated woman. If not for her poor acting skill, she might have become a famous actress – perhaps, Michelle Yeoh the second!
As far as I know, Jane never understood why many Singaporeans disliked the PAP Government – until that day when she lost her job. I actually met up with her on that day when she was given the pink slip; she was confused, angry and sad; at one point, she broke down in tears as she related her story to me. Like her, I also felt that she lost her job more because of office politics and government policies, than what she had done.
I can’t use my friend’s real name, so I have to use a fictitious name – Jane. Sorry about this.
Anyway, the worst was yet to come. Before Jane could find a new job, her husband lost his job several months after she was retrenched!
Since then, the couple never got back their previous income-level jobs; the couple never voted for the PAP since then. How could they? The thorns were in their flesh! I was told that in the past, both husband and wife voted for the PAP not because they were fans of the ruling party, but rather, they felt it was the ‘proper’ or ‘logical’ thing to do. “No particular reason, it was just something you ought to do, just like the rest of Singaporeans,” Jane once told me. While both are now somewhat slightly more interested in politics than previously, I have this strong feeling that they will no longer vote for the PAP.
I met the family again, after the NTUC Amy Cheong’s case – husband, wife and their son were having dinner in a food-court. We had a chat and the subject drifted to Amy Cheong’s FB comments and how the ministers as well as the media came down very hard on her – too hard, perhaps.
My friend, Jane, was angry and worried: angry because NTUC, an organization tasked to protect Singaporean workers’ rice bowls, chose to hire a non-citizen for its senior executive position (an uncomplicated role which many Singaporeans could perform); worried because her son spent much time on internet and FaceBook reading political related materials.
The conversation along the following lines between parents and son may interest some of you because it showed an outcome (intended or unintended) which will probably please the PAP Government :
Mother to Son : This is why I have been telling you, don’t spend so much time on FaceBook or internet, especially reading those hate materials! You keep saying I like to nag at you! See what happened to that woman? She lost her job … her photo was shown in all the newspapers and TV, everybody now knows what she did … wherever she goes people also can recognise her … all the ministers and public criticized her! Her future and career are now finished! No company will employ her!
Son to Mother : I said many times, it was just one of my classmates liked to read jokes and cartoons about government and forward the links to us. We just had a quick look and laughed, that was all …
Father to Son : It is not that we object your access to internet, you should use internet for the right purpose … internet has many things which are unhealthy … many people wrote hate things and criticized others … you read too much of it, you will be influenced and get yourself into deep troubles … your friend likes it, that is his probleim … you will never know what you said or wrote would one day offend the government and get yourself in big trouble! I have no money to send you to hide in Australia!
It seems to me, great fears have been instilled in the general public by the recent out-of-proportion responses hammered out by the ministers and media. My friend and her husband belong to the 39% electorate. Can you guys imagine what the other 60% voters will advise their children or friends about reading and writing internet materials that are not in line with the PAP’s position?
.
Celia Lim
