1. Same rhetoria - its the same rhetoria all over again year after year and many Singaporeans can memorize the whole format by hard if they are at least ten years old. Nothing fresh comes out of the programme, even the beautiful fireworks seem the same as before.
2. PAP propaganda - the whole programme and march-pass smells of PAP propaganda and many people are turned off because of this. There are more shots of the whole PAP cabinet on TV than the event itself!
3. Cloudy sentiment - many Singaporeans are also feeling uncertain about their future as jobs are scant and wages low. At 5.3 million population now, we all feel suffocated to the core, what if it hits 6.9 million! The country is now seen as a haven for the rich to enjoy in...
4. Weekend - many also take the opportunity to go for a long weekend break somewhere else than stay at home and watch the event on TV. Its their most precious time of the week and destressing is the name of the game for many weary Singaporeans.
5. LKY factor - many people also previously watched the programme due to the LKY factor - will he turn up or not? When he kept turning up faithfully despite some bad health condition, people simply know that he will be there - come what may.
6. Tickets for new citizens and foreigners - tickets were also allocated to the new citizens in the dirty name of integration and many people are unhappy because of this as they have to ballot hard for the tickets. There are also less flags being hoisted out at the HDB blocks and it could be a historical low as people refuse to celebrate a day that they don't feel happy about.
7. Nothing much to celebrate - Singaporeans basically feel that there is nothing much to celebrate nowadays - life is hard and sour faces are everywhere. The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer plus the skyrocketting cost of living is now at its worst.
8. Worst Prime Minister of all - Mr Lee Hsein Loong is seen as the worst PM of all as his pro-economic policies favour the foreigners and country more than the people. The mere fact that he may be seen on TV has put many people off. Basically, people also don't feel proud to be a Singaporean anymore.
9. Bad timing - the timing of the event close to dinner time also puts many people off as some families have dinner gathering and people just watch the snippets on news later.
10. Opposition getting stronger - as celebrating national day is seen as a pro-PAP event these days, many pro-opposition people are turning away from the event on TV and celebrate it in their own quiet way with friends.
Temasek Review
*Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=700844669968851&id=181...