Ten things I wish will happen in Singapore:-
1. Public transport will be deprivatised - the privatization has brought on too much unhappiness due to profiteering because its now a business entity and fare kept going up as shareholders want more money. The strange thing about the latest fare hike is that the transport business is still profitable for both operators but yet fare has to increase. Greed...
2. Wage gap to close up - we are now the number two country in the world for having the highest wage disparity and this has cause much social unhappiness as mobility is getting more difficult.Many people still earn below $2000 a month and struggle for their whole life whereas well-paying expats open up $1000 bottles of wine during their weekend binge without blinking an eyelid. Lets continue to press on for minimum wage to be implemented here so our low waged workers can have a decent salary to survive on.
3. Young Singaporeans to be more aware of politics - everything is about politics in our country but our young people are strangely shying away from getting involved. Maybe years of conditioning through fear and control have created this massive apathetic feeling among the younger population. I wish that our younger lot be less apathetic as this is our country and we need you to rise up before its too late. Less fear and more heart.
4. Senior citizens need not work anymore because of finances - we probably have the highest number of senior citizens in the world toiling away in the tiolets and foodcourts and my belief is half of them don't have a choice due to various reasons. Set up a pension fund for them and allow them to retire comfortably without the need to work till they die.
5. Stop the foreigner influx - we now see more foreigners in the train than locals and its time to stop the influx before things boil over. Many Singaporeans are resenting the heavy foreign pressure and having to work under foreign superiors and managers. Tear up the population tiolet paper now and flash it down the bowl! No Singaporean in their right frame of mind will support the 6.9 million population target by 2030.
6. Be more caring for one another - I just heard of a heart-aching story of this Singaporean family who dumped their aching father in a nursing home in JB and disappeared when the home contacted them for over-due fees. Let's be more compassionate and caring towards our own kind and debunk the myth that Singaporeans are selfish and self-seeking. A gracious society is measured by not how rich you are but by how you treat the lowest rung in your own backyard.
7. Be less materialistic - the word most used in a conversation between two people is often called money. How much you earn, how much is that dress, how much should I pay you back are stuff that many of our own people talk about alot when they catch up. We also measure one's success by his paycheck and this is so wrong. Lets look beyond money in our outlook of life and focus on the finer things - love, hope, charity and peace of mind.
8. Encourage diversity - Singaporeans are becoming too homogenous and think alike for their own good. Shopping malls are also getting too boring due to their similar theme and some people are crying out for a different identity. Its time to embrace some diversity within our system and accept others for who they are than chiding them as weird and abnormal. Moreover, many artistes and talented people have to leave the country as they are seen as out of the mainstream and trouble makers. Change can only come if the differences are allowed to romp freely within a society.
9. Study less and play more - I personally find our children over study and many of them still have to attend all kinds of enrichment classes over the weekend when they should be having fun playing away. Academic pursuit won't get you very far here anymore unless you are those scholarly type and why not scrap those dreadful classes away and let your kids be kids for once! Anyway what good is a world-renowned educational system if you are constantly being replaced by incoming third-world foreigners?
10. Be more risk taking - I have recently heard of friends rejecting lucrative jobs abroad due to the fear factor and find that we really need to be less risk-adverse in order for us to move forward. Foreigners are flocking by the hundreds of thousands in search of a better life abroad whereas we are always feeling very contented with our life here. Lets take some calculated risk for ourselves as we need that challenge sometimes to lift us beyond the comfort zone.
Gilbert Goh