Anti-establishment propaganda stole my photo
In Singapore, there is this phenomenon called “blame stuff on the government”. It is a national past-time where people free themselves of all social responsibilities and blame everything that goes wrong on the government.
This photo was used in the video without my permission
Someone made a “documentary” called One Nation Under Lee on how Singaporeans are suffering under the iron fist of dictatorship, brutally forced to live in a country with one of Asia’s highest standards of living, and on how it is evil for the government to make money through smart investments.
Normally I wouldn’t be interested in local political squabbling, but apparently these guys used a photo taken by me without my permission.
The photo was taken by me some time ago and placed in my gallery as part of my Haruhi Time Capsule Project. The picture is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 license scheme, which requires all usage of it to be non-commercial and properly attributed.
Since no one is likely to pay for this terrible documentary anyway, I guess non-commercial is pretty much guaranteed. However, I was not credited in the video! This makes me sad. :(
Fear, uncertainty and doubt
Moreover, the message of the video is nonsensical, illogical and full of FUD. I’m happy to criticize government policies when it makes sense, such as the completely asinine censorship policies that resulted in my hardcore guro Elfenlied DVDs getting confiscated, but it’s seriously an insult to the viewer’s intelligence for the video to shamelessly blame every social ill in Singapore on the country’s lack of democratic governance.
We all know how American democracy has completely solved the poverty problem and that there are no ghettos anywhere in the States, right? Oh, wait a minute…
And the sad thing is that Singaporean youth buy into these blatant propagandas because it’s “cool” to be rebellious and everyone knows that only intelligent people can see through the “lies and deceit” of the establishment and become anti-government crusaders of democracy, justice and love.
I mean, jeez, is the Singaporean government corrupt or what? Just not too long ago, I had to bribe someone hundreds of dollars to get my passport renewed… Oh wait, no. That was back in China. My bad.
And yeah, isn’t it outrageous that government ministers in Singapore earn millions of dollars a year? Those poor Western politicians have to survive on measly hundreds of thousands! It’s a good thing that they can earn back the difference from lobbyists and corporations through “political contributions”, i.e. legalized bribes, or they would never have been able to afford the same luxuries that Singaporean politicians are allowed.
I guess some people would rather have government policies be dictated by lobbyist money.
Anyway, enough ranting. Go watch the video on YouTube and see for yourself. If this is the best argument that Singaporean opposition parties can come up with, then I hope they never come into power.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
The film is quite spot-on with its criticisms. I don’t see anything wrong with offering a different view on how life is in Singapore so the film should be praised for trying to be different. The film should not be praised for being very one-sided.
Some of the stuff said in the film, particularly about people being detained as so-called Marxist Conspirators actually being innocent, is true but account of their close family. I don’t agree with everything in the film, but I think that this one bit of ugly S’porean history isn’t something which can be ignored or glossed over. The ISA was used to detain people who were, according to their close family, perfectly innocent.
That’s all I have to say.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:24 am
You are saying that the Singapore government has proven itself ineffective in manipulating public opinions
Uhh, no, can you please stop twisting my words? Can I twist yours a bit too, just to get even? Here it goes: So you’re now saying your government is unable to win over Singaporean citizens without lying to them? Basically, the truth they’re offering isn’t enough to keep them on their side?
I was talking about presenting their case in the right way. No need for lies, all they need to employ is competent people who will be able to effectively tell your countrymen that outside forces are simply out of their control, and with them having mainstream media down on their knees, this should be a relatively simple task.
Your government is actually very lucky; we have the press working against our governments no matter who’s in charge, because populist tunes bring in higher ratings. You’re good at this yourself. *pachi pachi pachi*
June 17th, 2008 at 6:28 am
The difference between Singapore and the US, is that Singapore government ministers in top positions have personalities suited to that of scientists and engineers, while the US have guys who are better suited to being erm politicians and lawyers. Because to gain power in the US, you have to be pretty smooth thanks to the democracy, which is essentially a race to charm the clueless people and greedy corporations.
Would a scientist make a better logical decision than a politician? Most probably. At least there wouldn’t be issues like OMG WE HAVE TO TEACH CREATIONISM!
June 17th, 2008 at 11:10 am
As long we can poke fun at the dysfunctional, I’m happy.
But we aren’t allowed to do that outright, unlike the US.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
OK, this particular topic has gotten as bad as the other non-animé topic.
Considering the social situation in Singapore, the politics that govern the country isn’t as bad as what people perceive it to be.
In my opinion, there has to be a critical mass of “enlightened” citizenry, where their knowledge of current affairs, economy, and every other related fields in nation-building are above the national average. Take for example, the US. There is the division between the “cosmopolitan” coastal regions, and the “heartlander” central and midwestern regions in the US. The number of people on each side is approximately proportional to each other, so while the US is perceived to be in a mess, the contrasting forces balanced each other out so as to provide a healthy platform for vocal opinions.
Singapore, on the other hand, has a skewed balance of citizen mindsets. The influx of foreign talent makes Singapore “feel like a cosmopolitan city,” but there still exists the majority “heartlander” population — the ones that stayed through and through the country’s 40 years of nation building, so-called the “big spine” of Singapore — and they have no less liking of the new ideas and mindsets of the evolving social situation. Suddenly, their contributions to the nation has been cut short by these new “invaders”, and with the convoluted economy of the world, all their savings seemed less valuable than before.
In the midst of the “mindset conflict,” the younger generation of Singaporeans, not having enough experience of the “sweat and toils” of the previous generation, are more influenced by the new ideas and mindsets, brought upon by the opening up of spaces of expression and thinking. The Government, knowing that they also need to capture the hearts and minds of the newer generation, have to accommodate to their needs, lest they want to venture the path of Malaysia and Indonesia.
So, herein lies the Government’s dilemma: how to open up their economy with the rest of the world without losing touch of those that had made Singapore what it is today? You can’t expect Singapore to abandon these people, lest you want a Walter Reed scandal here. (Since Singapore has no experience in emergency or wartime situation post-independence, I take that by being a contributor to the economy is something that brings a similar vibe, in terms of Singapore’s local landscape.)
I think there are other convoluting factors in the political freedom equation of Singapore. I dare not say that “Singapore is unique,” because I hate that kind of monogenetic ideology. But to speak about [political freedom] in the context of “as it is now,” hope will be the only thing that’s keeping this idea alive.
In short, you need to have a very large number of “enlightened” citizens that are not brash at deciding how and what they want the country to be run.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Ah… this made me read up more on our govt. Interesting indeed! Somehow I believe alot in them. LMAO!
Issue a take down man.. haha!
June 21st, 2008 at 9:38 am
I was reading about the type of government that Singapore has and its Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and I see why Darkmirage would be angry at the documentary. I watched it and I also found it distasteful. Singapore is a wealthy nation because of the type of government it has. It is a city state so everything needs to run as perfectly as possible to be able to compete with the huge nations in the world.
Kudos bro, I am with you on this one
June 22nd, 2008 at 9:22 pm
I have to agree with DM’s views. Singapore’s has a strict government, thats for sure, but they are one of the wealthiest nations with virtually no poverty, and the most educated people. Makes us Australia look bad D:…
Imho that documentary is BS, propaganda. Dropping the severity of regulations in a country such as singapore would allow for corruption.
June 28th, 2008 at 2:41 am
I was about to post a long comment.
I changed my mind.
You must be the typical jc kid who counts ST and CNA as his media fodder.
Don’t get me wrong. I was from an elitist JC too, so it’s not an issue of peer envy here.
The world out there is bigger than it is from your pothole.
Learn to read.
June 28th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I don’t know what gave you that idea, because I only read Time, Newsweek, BBC, Asahi Shinbun, Slashdot and the International Herald Tribune. So what do you suggest then? The Epoch Times? That video above? At least the government packages its propaganda more intelligently.
And as you have just proven, (actually you haven’t but I’ll take your claims at face value) Singaporeans who give a damn beyond their own personal comforts can easily find out what they want if they learn to read. The government isn’t sending RST packets to disrupt TCP/IP connections based on keyword filtering, it’s not instituting compulsory registrations for cybercafe users, nor is it blocking access to Wikipedia, CNN or Epoch Times.
“Oh noz the mainstream media is pro establishment!” Well no kidding, Sherlock. It doesn’t take someone as intelligent as you to realize that shocking truth.
I realize that it’s hard for you to accept the fact that people can know the same things as you and still not think the same way you do. It’s awfully convenient to claim that everyone who is against the opposition party is a sheep brainwashed by the government.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
When I first saw this video I cracked up because it was so crappy and full of unsupported allegations that I don’t think the government should even need to ban it or stop people from watching it because its crappiness speaks for itself.
However, the fact that the government took action against it (and was it in some kind of private screening? I don’t remember) is something I have against. Why should the government have control over what people are exposed to? I think Singapore’s citizens should have the right to make up their own mind on what they want to watch, and whether they agree with it. Seizing the video is really insulting their intelligence, and has the reverse effect of causing this huge uproar where loads of Singaporeans are rushing to watch the video online. Hope the government is happy now :P
That said, I do agree with DM about the following:
“And the sad thing is that Singaporean youth buy into these blatant propagandas because it’s “cool” to be rebellious and everyone knows that only intelligent people can see through the “lies and deceit” of the establishment and become anti-government crusaders of democracy, justice and love.”
Yup, all the youngsters I know are very much against PAP because they think:
- it makes them seem smarter because they “thought through” local politics
- it’s cool to be rebellious like you said
- anti-PAP tirades are really interesting. and there’re loads of conspiracy theories just begging to be swapped around
I personally think that the SG government is doing a pretty good job of running the country. I mean, what’s the alternative? I’m not sure a country run by the opposition would do as well. As long as the system works, having SOME members of the opposition in parliament to act as devil’s advocates during meetings suffice for me. (Currently there’re only two out of 84. I would prefer about 10. As a side note I think that even though the votes are not rigged, the whole election system is biased in favour of the ruling party.) Furthermore, I don’t believe that politicians belonging to PAP are just blindly agreeing with what MM Lee/PM Lee say… They did go to school you know??
Governing a country is an art, and I think no government can ever do it so perfectly that there’ll be no criticism (and then some people criticise just for the sake of being anti-establishment). Singapore has always been governed by the PAP since independence, so they have more experience than any other party in governing the country. Sure, Singaporeans can change the status quo by voting differently, but are they prepared to accept the circumstances, be it good or bad?
p.s a note on true democracy (sorry i’m so long-winded)
Singaporeans are pretty apathetic about politics. This might be because the political climate is such that PAP suppresses other political groups. In the event that this “oppression” is lifted, would Singaporeans learn to care about politics, enough to listen to rallies and weigh up the speeches of the different parties, and then cast an educated vote? (It’s difficult for me to imagine that, seeing as I can’t stand listening to political rallies omg boring). One must also remember that the USA has been democratic for how many donkey years. American kids were probably brought up listening to their parents debate politics at the dining table. My parents never talked about politics.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Ironically, we Filipinos envy Singapore because of the high standards of living. The media here is so free, sometimes to the point of becoming abusive.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 am
im i glad that Japan seems to be one of the countries where the media is not controlled my govermental assholes? first its Bittorent Witch hunt, second its 5 months in jail for spitting chewing gum on the floor, now the gov wants to completely kill the media and some day control the internet? im i the only one who thinks they need a nice 20.5 Earthquake to shake them back to reality.
July 5th, 2008 at 2:38 am
The problem with a badly skewed, subjective, ill-presented documentary like the above one, is that it actually detracts from the actual issues. It totally undermines the real efforts of people like NMP Siew Kum Hong, who raised the issues of income disparity in parliament.
And, meomix, if anyone needs a 20.5 Earthquake (whatever that means - were you schooled, by the way?), it’s probably some aggressor country who’s been attacking other countries to gain control of their natural resources.
July 6th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I somehow find it very amusing, from reading the comments, that everyone thinks their views correct, while the rest are all wrong. After all, surely this person or that person must only read narrowly, or must not have considered this point, therefore he is wrong, and I shall not listen to his views. Going by this logic, I guess I win, since I am majoring in Political Science.
But no, I’d be the first to object to that stereotype. In fact, I’m sick of hearing that nonsense. Granted, I might be more knowledgeable with political theories, current affairs etc., and may be able to make more astute observations, but then again, my opinions are worth no more than that of the normal man on the street. Both of us are entitled to only one vote in the end. Some of the comments here are just purely distasteful.
Then again, it’s the damn fucking Internet.