And Wait for Govt to Solve Everything…
At the launch of his book, “The Making of NTU: My Story”, Cham Tao Soon who was the university’s founding President and currently its Emeritus Professor, criticised the younger generation of Singaporeans whom he said only know how to complain and wait for the Government to solve problems.
Taking the example of recent years’ floods, he said that during his time, the people would take it in their stride and continue with their daily lives instead of making noise.
This, he said, is in contrast to the current generation of Singaporeans who would complain over the most trivial issues. He said that he once saw on TV, someone complain about having to wait 5 mins for a bus instead of 3.
He pointed out that the difference between Hong Kongers and Singaporeans is that the former are more striving and entrepreneurial.
Cham Tao Soon’s mind perhaps has fossilized as he grows old.
Has he forgotten how the majority of Singaporeans were sold the idea that we have to pay top dollar to get the best people into the Government? Today, a junior minister can earn over a million dollars a year.
So who is guilty of raising Singaporeans’ expectations?
And Cham Tao Soon should remember that this is not the 1960s.
Singapore after all has been trumpeted to be a First World country with a world class civil service. If so, how can we allow major floods like the one that struck Orchard Road not once but twice to occur? And isn’t this a blight to Singapore’s reputation?
Finally, poor planning, lack of foresight and a conscious attempt to stinge on maintenance are different from acts of nature.
An example of an act of nature in which we will take in our stride is the hailstorm that struck Hong Kong last week resulting in several of its MTR stations being flooded. That we agree is beyond everyone’s control.
In contrast in Singapore, problems like frequent breakdown of trains are caused by complacency and incompetence, exacerbated by a system of cronyism under which incapable individuals like Saw Phaik Hwa can be appointed as CEO of a train company despite having no experience in running a train network and having been retrenched from her former workplace.
Surely, Cham Tao Soon is not asking us to take all this lying down?
The Alternative View
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