What can we reflect from the viral 'Human Tetris' video at our MRT station?

A recent video of a human pile-up at Lakeside MRT station went viral yesterday with more than 7,000 collective "shares" on Facebook. While this may be a one-off unfortunate event that is unlikely to happen again, deeper analysis will reflect on the PAP's failed leadership and disconnect with the people.

In its most simple form, the MRT system serves 2.6 million users daily which is hardly a small number in a country with a population of 5.5 million. Therefore, it has a key importance in defining the infrastructure system of Singapore. Yet, it seems that we have had it ruined by the poor leadership model adopted.

Despite a 40% growth in the population within the past decade, the increase in the number of trains and maintenance budget has fallen behind growth rates by a huge margin. Not surprisingly, the train system has started to face increased disruptions with an increasing frequency. On the other hand, fares have increased year-on-year with deteriorating services.

With ministers riding around in their chauffeured limousines and having GDP growth as a target, it is hard for them to understand the conditions that average commuters experience while on the MRT. Has this contributed to them voting for the population white paper without thinking of the impact and consequences to the average man?

Not only do Singaporeans face a decline in personal space on MRT, housing and leisure, they have also suffered from the kind of verbal insults from foreigners and PAP elites such as Sun Xu, Anton Casey, Wee Shu Min, Jason Neo and Nicholas-Seth Leong. In more extreme cases, certain foreigners are also known to use brutal force such as Olivier Desbarres.