Taking part
Aki has a post talking about how the government stifles political participation. and then i had a thought. what exactly do we mean by political participation? the freedom to air our grievances about the government? the ability to hold politicians accountable? the ability to have a significant say in the way our country is run (i.e. the policies that our government implements)?
of course, all of the above count. but i feel that there is more to political participation than that. it is also about serving the people. it is about getting down, getting our hands dirty and serving the people. and it is impossible to do that unless we are actually down on the ground, immersing ourselves in the situation, mingling with the people. are youths doing that? or are youths so insulated in their i-Pod MP3 world, so cut off in their LAN Maplestory universe, so lost in their own extended egocentric personal fables to care about anyone else but themselves?
posted by rench00 at 12:01 AM
13 Comments:
You might as well have posed the same questions about our politicians, instead of the ever-popular scapegoats, the youths.
1:08 AM
cos i can't do as much about the politicians as i can about the youths. and hence my question is directed towards the youths. further, the youths are the future, they are the key to a better (or worse) future.
9:58 AM
Absolutely agree. I wrote particularly of the youth during the time leading up to Nguyen's hanging. Why should apathy be be seen as being any less irresponsible? Like the saying goes (roughly), 'all that it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing'. I also emphasised the embarrassing lack of opinion from overseas students who utterly fail to take advantage of their academic institutions as platforms for free speech. Admist organising basketball games and dim sums, I'm sure the "future leaders" and "ambassadors" of their country could have at least said something in all the media hype surrounding Nguyen. They sit on the fence, neither defending their own country (PR-wise) nor attacking the death penalty. They do what they do best and eat dim sum.
....or perhaps I am just too ambitious over expectations of overseas students.
9:50 PM
Clyde, my lecturer had this to say about our students, both overseas and local.
Inside Singapore, no one dares; outside Singapore, no one cares.
9:57 PM
Aki:
i love that statement!!!
that's the problem i had with some of my fellow Singaporeans/Malaysians in my Uni... see... my uni isn't one of the best ones... so those who go there are typical with only one exception, they are rich. so a good significant majority of them are very... Singaporean, i.e. pragmatic, practical, get as much money as fast as possible types. very few of them would care about much of these issues... though they would know where to get the best dim sum, know the latest gossips, etc etc.
it's unfortunate...
2:05 AM
You guys expect the sky from overseas Singaporean students. Other than the hanging of Nguyen, even for the American students overseas in other countries, they are not fantastically vocal either of GWB's hawk policy against Iraq. The most I ever seen was from a fiesty exchange American student who defended the decision to invade Iraq based on September 11 in a philosophy class, other than that they don't go around waving flags on campus. Yes granted I am describing it in Australia but nontheless it's a valid example. Sheesh.
And yes, organising basketball games and dim sum sessions are ways to gel Singpaoreans studenst overseas for those once in a while occasions, so that they won't feel too homesick. Those who don't participate in such events are able to take care of their own social lives, it's all done on a voluntary basis. Not all overseas Singaporean Student Orgs are representative of the home government's decisions nor should they be expected to defend or attack such decisions as a priori assumption/expectation.
3:07 AM
Well ted, just to straighten things out, I don't have a problem with dim sum eating, basketball playing Singaporean students abroad. But I will say that Americans don't go around campus with a patriotic flag supporting the war namely because (a)wherever you are in the world today, you will find yourself severely outnumbered by people pissed off that Bush lied and (b) more than half of Americans did not support the war from the beginning and a report by CNN today shows that Bush is as unpopular as ever today.
You have to be one arrogant American retard to try defend the war in this year. If Bush and Blair can't even defend nor explain the absence of WMDs, how is anybody else suppose to... Some americans I come across take it upon themselves in fact to start ranting off about what an idiot Bush is. Hmmm.
The difference between the American and Singaporean student, while involving 2 completely different issues, is that everybody knows what the American probably thinks of Bush and his invasion of Iraq. Show me an apathetic American and I'll show you a Singaporean who doesn't just eat dim sum all day.
Second, and this is strictly from personal experience, Americans seem more sporadic in overseas institutions compared to Singaporeans who seem to cluster at all the popular universities en masse. Therefore it'd make more sense for a sizeable demographic of Singaporeans in Aussie to have spoken up. Take part in a protest. Join a campaign. Either way do something to show an opinion that actually matters. I completely challenge your assumption that student orgs shouldn't be held representative of their country. I challenge the embarrassing culture of apathy and the right to bear the "Singapore Society" tag and not have any association whatsover with government actions that have an impact on the outside world. The absence of politics from the Singaporean identity, whether at home or abroad, is what's completely wrong with the typical Singaporean. The definition of 'uniquely Singaporean' to me right now is for one to be completely divorced from politics...and probably know where all the good dim sum places are. And these are suppose to be the bright leaders of tomorrow?? In a recent article, Alex Au (Yawning Bread) observed how few people he saw whose minds were really at work, in any sort of meaningful way. An overwhelming majority of people immerse themselves in their own worlds, rarely bothering to explore anything else, whether it's another culture, or the political machinery. I see many Singaporeans go overseas, but sadly few ever open their minds.
See, this is the problem with eating too much dim sum and playing ball all day... Eventually you'll find you're still living in Singapore no matter where you go.
9:16 AM
i've got to agree with Clyde.
there's nothing wrong with eating dim sum and playing b-ball, soccer etc. but when that is all that one does, when one is no longer concerned about the broader issues back home or in the wider community, then there is a problem. it's a problem of self-imposed isolation which leads to a delusion that, "oh, i've got dim sum to eat, so the world is a beautiful place."
and i've actually met Singaporeans in my uni who are shocked when i tell them that there are poor and homeless people in Singapore. that's how bad it gets.
to be fair, i do know some Singaporeans who are involved. a good friend of mine took part in a demonstration against uni fare hikes in UK. but Singaporeans like him are few and far between.
the next question is... what can we do about it?
3:47 PM
The thing about Singaporean student associations overseas are that they are voluntary. If the majority of their constituents are interested in exploring their host countries's places of interest and culture, they have to do them lest they would lose their relevancy. Most student associations are not sponsered by their home country government but the Malaysian, Chinese come to my mind, even they are less political . I don't see the Chinese students heckling the Taiwanese students over the straits tension issue.
Let's not just talk about Singaporeans, going by Clyde's point, then are the Famosa Student associations suppose to engage in a political dialogue with the numerous Chinese Student Associations (at least where I come from). Or at this point in time, would it be justifiable for the Thai student associations in any institution to demand an 'answer' from their fellow Singaporean Student Associations/Societies?
What I want to point out is that people who are prone to open their minds do not need to go through student organisations that are mainly social in nature, they will find their own avenues to explore. Opening their minds should not ever be limited to the political sphere nor be constrained by a parochial outlook. With regards to the hanging case, I think Clyde might have overlook the fact that there are indeed many people who actually supports the decision for whatever reason.
Well rench, most people who goes to the UK to study aren't poor and in fact I think are quite well to do, so it's not surprising to read what you said.
7:36 PM
Ted, you're missing the point. It's not about student orgs having a mandatory say on political issues. Of course everyone has the right to say nothing. But silence itself says something.
Yes, student orgs are social in nature. But you have to merit each individual situation for what it is. Given the massive media hype in the weeks before Nguyen was hung, given that the Straits Times was doing its usual propaganda tricks back home, and given the significantly large Singaporean demographic in Aussie, the entire controversy makes the silence even more deafening.
In the UK, it's not so seldom to find british students taking to the streets, talking to people, taking petition signatures, organising a peaceful street march in London, and anti-war/Bush/Blair banners strung across the student union. Singaporean students fail to exploit their acadmemic institutions as platforms for free speech. Not because it's voluntary. But because they probably don't care (the poll you're refering to I believe was of Singaporeans at home, not aussie students. And even that only indicated a severe lack of understanding for human rights). Or perhaps you'd like quote an instance where sg students DID organise something unaffiliated with the student society. I beg to differ how willing a typical sg student is to really open their minds on any real level, if they cannot even identify politically with their own nationality. How easy it must be to just not bother about such issues at home. How then is one suppose to appreciate anything else of real value outside of home I wonder. One singaporean who commented on Singabloodypore a few months ago couldn't even tell the difference between human rights and racism! Even at times when they use strong words, their ignorance never fails to surprise me first.
You'll find sooner or later that apathy, narrow-mindedness and ignorance are a product of one another. Of course, none of this really matters... provided one doesn't hold any expectations of the sg youth. If all that one brings back from an overseas education is a medical, law or engineering degree, then I truly rest my case.
11:24 AM
Clyde,
of course not! Singaporean students bring back a lot more than just a degree from their overseas education.
very often, they bring back a Malaysian/Hong Kong wife/husband. sometimes, they even come back with a little bundle of joy.
it's as if almost all Singaporeans who go overseas does a degree in pa-toh-logy.
2:06 PM
rench, I highly doubt it leh...perhaps a few lah not a high proportion...
Ok Clyde, in case you are not aware, during the hanging and before it,m the media hype occurred sometime during the examination and holiday period. I highly doubt you can get much support even among the local aussies.
And no i am not referring to the poll conducted in Singapore but rather through personal interaction.
And since you are located in the UK where expressions of human rights on campus can be pretty strong but in Aust, it's pretty much a very small section of the student population who are involved (locals yes). Among the general populance, yes but increasingly the people there are more concerned about economics.
8:31 PM
Please read and give your thoughts to this chap:
http://www.oikono.com/wordpress/?p=158
12:19 AM
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