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Thursday, May 05, 2011
Of occupations, views and judgement
I am at the airport now, waiting for my flight. The end of my holiday is coming. I am heading back to tie up some loose knots and then next week, I will be heading to Greece. Work is commencing on third week of May.
Right, I have gotten the job. It is a long wait but this break is good. I managed to spend my time with Love, sticking myself to him all the time and trying to assist. Of course, sometimes I do get destructive, be it at work or personally but to me, it is time well spent. I really wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to be a teacher at P4. Right, it was one of those common ambitions. That’s probably because we are only aware of a few occupations - the few occupations that we always see. For the record, I think most guys wanted to be policeman. Rarely will you find one that tells you he/she wants to be a banker because they most probably associated bankers with the bank tellers. I wanted to be a teacher and somehow, along the way, stumbled into Building and lost myself in it. Graduation came and I couldn’t let those 4 years go, besides the construction industry is a place full of dynamic and fun. So the whole thing about teaching was shelved. Opportunities came and I took it up so voila, Ms Koh became a Lecturer. :) I had a hard time convincing the panel. The fact that I was only 27 wasn’t helping much. I did not have masters in my pocket and this just compounded to everything. 3 rounds of grilling and there, Ms Koh is in now! I think the thing about poly students is they are a more mature lot to deal with and that is really something I am looking forward.
Speaking about age, I think the fact that Tin Peiling was fielded as a PAP candidate was a timely opportunity for me. I faced the same constraints that she faced when I was doing my interviews. Having said that, it does not mean that I like her or in any way approve of her presence in parliament. The fact that someone of her calibre is up there getting a fat pay check next month onwards just seem ridiculous. That is $15K we are talking about and we are paying for her tuition and grooming fee in Parliament. I often wonder on the sets of criteria that she was being judged on. How did PAP see her? Do they see her as the wife of principle secretary of PM Lee? How do the people see her? The fact that she is married to someone powerful and influential puts her up there? I was talking to a friend who happened to have a friend who knows TPL personally. Apparently, many of them feels that she is not ready. To me, this is just one of the many examples of complacency and not listening. Ahhh, goes to show how much I have been influenced by the book that I am reading! I am reading “what the dog saw” by Malcolm Gladwell.
We judge, no matter how hard we try not to, we judge. I have been away for almost 2 months, on and off, I come back to Singapore but having spent some time overseas, I must say Singapore is really uniquely safe and clean. I do have a problem with the pay that our ministers are paying themselves but I must say other than those issues, undeniably, they have not done a bad job. Corruption in other countries seems bad and the thing with corruption is it tweaked systems and systems are an integral part to making things work. Someone I was talking to overseas, in his country’s defense, mentioned that he see no difference between my government and his. While mine got paid legitimately and his is not, the amount of money lost is the same. In fact, corruption only works for the rich citizens and not for the poor and tax works in a miraculously way. My point was that my system has stayed intact and my people know exactly what to follow and where not to go. Nobody flaunts the rules knowing there are no other ways to get by it where corruption like I said, just make everything goes. For that same amount of money spent, we have a reputation and a system in place. Of course, that does not justify the high pay. Like Ms Sylvia Lim has said, politics is an occupation worth more than money. Our ministers salary are definitely outliers if you compare it with the world leaders. As a matter of fact, if I would probably advise a Senator running for election to come to Singapore and do politics instead. The fact that you are paid almost 7 times higher than Obama, something, somewhere has to be wrong. As a small country like us, to many, this whole politics thing we have seems like a joke to many.
Despite the grueling conditions, some of our opposition members have held strong. For Mr Low to come out of his comfort zone and go into the unknowns, I bet many fear for him. He is a strong voice I will want in parliament. It is a shame that this voice will come at a sacrifice of the residents in who has voted for him but I believe his area will not be managed any poorly. Indeed, the resources might be scarce and the residents might have to make do with whatever there is but what they will have will be a MP who will listen and serve. I have not heard about my MP nor see her physically until recently. I was having ice cream with a friend the other day and she told me residents in Potong Pasir even have a say in the paint colour of their flats! How cool is that?
People like Mr Chiam and Mr Low touch hearts. For someone who has contested 9 times and won 7 times, that is totally commendable! My friend uncontrollably emailed Mr Chaim expressing her regret that she cannot vote for him because she doesn’t stay in that area. For someone who has stood strong in difficult times and stand there firm, I find that touching. I, for one, kept asking and asking, for what does the opposition stands for? For fame and glory? For the hefty allowance? For being that voice in the parliament? Then you are all standing on the wrong side! That’s so because PAP can offer more. As a matter of fact, if you want to represent the people, you should have joined PAP because they are the ruling party! People from the opposition puzzled me and they are beyond my logics. Why? For the detainee who was locked away for decades, refusing to give in and relent, I cannot explain nor understand. What was it that motivates and keep them going? I saw Mr Chiam’s make shift cubicles and my heart goes out to him. His weak and frail body trampled by illness was held on by so strong a mind and determination that it inspires. I don’t know what makes him strong but I know he has earned my respect and support. I would love him as my MP.
It is a long, long way to go and it is not easy to be in politics. In fact, any job that deals with people is never easy. We are not easy to please and with one policy, the number of people affected and its outcomes can be of drastic ends but people like Mr Chiam and Mr Low, they are worthy politicians. Mr Ong Teng Cheong too. :) That is a very long post. Change might not be bad and some people do need our support. Yes, I know you heard this a thousand times, but please do vote wisely because your that vote will mean a future involving you.
Meanwhile, I hope for the best. Do take care and have fun!Labels: emo elmo, new chapter
JOanne thought hard on 6:54:00 PM.
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