Worth defending
NUS Graduate Student Society.32 student officers.
None of them Singaporean!
(You can verify this for yourself from here (my original source).)
I have nothing against foreigners per se.
This post is about how native-born Human Batteries have been betrayed by our Matrix Masters (MM) and how we are now systematically being replaced by foreigners, who in the eye of the Matrix Masters, are better than us because we are "the uneducated, the less well-off (who) will stay here and rot" (Yeah, those were MM's exact word. See the quotes on my previous post).
If you were an NUS alumni, would you donate to your alma mater?
If you were an NSman, would you defend this nation?
Let's not even talk about national identity or other high-sounding terms or abstract concept.
Let's start with something more "concrete" - memories i.e. the concrete buildings, our schools, the physical environment.
All demolished! All went the way of the National stadium, National library, National theatre!
Tell me:
Human Battery: What else is left that is worth defending?
(The brand new toilet bowl from my previous post??)
posted by The Human Battery @ 4/03/2007
21 comments
21 Comments:
Exactly what I was trying to say in my post to "Singapore Election Watch - top jobs for stayers". We are SIngaporeans but we are forced to compete with thousands of foreigners, not just for jobs, but for a place in uni. Our own are not given any priority but must struggle and then be told they are not good enough and never will be for their own government! How many times have we Singaporeans been told by PAP we need to work harder, need to be more productive, need to upgrade, need to run faster, need to work longer!? We are running to keep the PAP machine well-oiled. When we fall off the treadmill, we are left behind to pant and die off an undignified death. At the end of the day, what have we achieved for ourselves and our families? For our relationships and our quality of life? We run until die so they can line their pockets with millions and enjoy retirement in comfort. Actually they are already enjoying life even before retirement - see the golfing, the holidays, the overseas education for their children, the luxury of good food and good living? Where is the place for Singaporeans to live, relax, appreciate life, enjoy friends and have equal opportunities? Damn, we don't even have equal rights to speak out! Why are we living in fear, in oppression, in frsutration, always stretched to our limits? What is the meaning of life for the ordinary Singaporean, the ones who are not gifted, talented, rich and well-educated? So we are more low class than even foreigners in our own country - the one our sons have to defend, the one our fathers work to their bones for, the one our grandfathers built? MM Lee did not build Singapore alone, he did it with the thousands of ordinary hardworking commoners, why is he enjoying the glory and the commoner working even harder right till death just to put one meal on the table and pay rent for a one-room roof?
"MM Lee did not build Singapore alone, he did it with the thousands of ordinary hardworking commoners..."
He never did build the Island, alone or otherwise. I was replying to your comment when it got too long. So I rewrote it as a post, in its own right. Haha!
NUS and NTU are now foreign students centric. I went for a post graduate talk recently and more than 50% in attendance are foreign hopefuls. Heck even the lecturer holding the talk is not local and speaks in heavily accented english.
NS for Singaporeans! Scholarships for foreigners!
SINGAPORE for SINGAPOREANS!!! SINGAPORE for SINGAPOREANS!!! SINGAPORE for SINGAPOREANS!!! SINGAPORE FOR SINGAPOREANS!!!!!!!!
Another threat from LKY!!!
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/070405/3/47ndo.html
But Lee Kuan Yew -- modern Singapore's first prime minister, who is still the leading voice in his son's cabinet -- will have none of it.
"The cure to all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government," Lee senior told the Straits Times on Thursday, adding that it is "absurd" for Singaporeans to quarrel about ministerial pay and warning that Singapore would suffer it the government could not pay competitive salaries.
"Your security will be at risk and our women will become maids in other people's countries," he said. (Additional reporting by Sakari Suoninen in Helsinki, Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo, Joanne Allen in Washington)
Some years ago, I went for an interview with NUS for a lecturer position. I got through a few rounds of interview until the part where I have to give a demonstration lesson to all the lecturers. Many of them are foreigners. I demonstrated "Situational Leadership" as a lesson and I adapted it for the local culture. I was told by the head I was unsuccessful as the lecturers felt that I have changed academic work in my demonstration lesson. That very night, Goh Chok Tong was on national TV saying how Singaporeans should be flexible and be able to adapt well. That was what I did in the demonstration lesson but was roundly rejected by the many foreign lecturers present. Life will be getting even harder for our children with all these so called FTs. Actually we all know what will happen when we have foreigners in charge of the group, that is why FTs are not allowed in our top government positions, but for the rest of us, we are not so fortunate, we have to bite the bullet. But please do not migrate because it will then become even harder for Singaporeans to assert their own right in our own country. Imagine if the able migrated, our less able will be managed by FTs and it will be somebody's utopia. We cannot allow that, do not take the short cut. Stay on and bite the bullet.
Anonymous above,
that's why A*STAR is trying its best to train PhDs to head our research institutes. But they cannot close all loopholes - once they let in so many foreigners, there are bound to be some foreigners in the middle-management level who will be the one interviewing locals and rejecting locals at interviews, based on their own foreign culture.
On emigration, I really dont know how long more those capable young singaporeans will want to stay back (latest suvery showed that 50% of youth want to emigrate if given a chance)! If those lower- and middle-class citizens do not quickly overthrow the Matrix Masters in the next 1-2 election, I doubt if there will be any capable singaporean left to counter the tide of foreign "invasion" - all would have emigrated by then.
We will then have a 3-tier society:
1. Elite Singaporeans (groomed on scholarships) at the top
2. Foreigners in the middle making the bulk of middle-management/middle-class.
3. Poor locals at the bottom serving as fuel cell i.e. "human batteries" for the middle and upper class Matrix Masters!
The middle class citizens that are supposed to have occupied the 2nd-tier, will all be in Australia, USA, Europe etc.
Wat do you people think? Is this prediction reasonable?
The only way S'pore will hit 6.5 million population is to let in foreigners. And yes, S'poreans born and bred here will be marginalised and displaced. The PAP leaders do not care as long as the current system remains and they stay top of the pile politically, which will ensure they get their due million dollar salary hikes which we are witnessing now and god knows what else rewards we can't see. To be blunt, the PAP has betrayed S'pore and S'poreans. They have transformed S'pore into something S'poreans cannot even recognise. They have committed treason.
Human Battery,
Yes, in fact it will be any ruling party's utopia. Just imagine, 66.6% of local fuel cells, managed by FTs, who can be removed if they do not tow the line, ruled by the ruling elite at that time. This is any political parties dream. This is the reason why I ask for Singaporeans to remain and bite the bullet, otherwise there will not be any local management to balance things out.
By the way, human battery, I think your blog is ingenious. You managed to illustrate the state of affairs with such uncanny resemblance it is almost like a parallel universe. Well done. I am thinking of starting a blog too but not quite sure how to do it. How can I contact you to find out more?
Why would you need to contact me to find out how to blog? If you know how to leave comments on my blog, you can of course learn easily how to blog by clicking on "create blog" on the top right of my blog. I said "of course" because you are a brilliant higher-degree holder and a NUS lecturer applicant, according to your earlier comment. I am merely a naive gullible human battery who doesnt even have a clue if emails have IP addresses attached to them. So who am I to teach you how to start a blog, right? Thanks for finding my blog ingenious. Happy Blogging! :)
Human Battery,
For example, how do I put in background like yours, where the entire background is an illustration of the matrix. I would like to put my favourite pictures as a background. I do not want to bore the other readers by asking for details here. I rather liase with you directly. But never mind, I understand your concern for privacy. I have the same concerns too.
Thanks anyway.
Cheers
Alas, "concern" is an understatement. This blog has been visited several times by lawyers from 2 top law firms, Lee and Lee being one of them! It could be just individual readers having no further agenda. I don't know. But in our "unique" environment of fear, one can never be faulted for being too cautious, right? :) It shouldn't be like that. Sigh.
Oh, you are interested in the background thingy? Ok, it goes like this:
PART 1:
1. while composing a blog post, upload a favourite picture that you want to use as the background.
2. Once uploaded, click on "edit html" so that you can take note of the picture's url. You will need it in part 2.
3. Save your post as draft since you won't be needing it.
PART 2:
4. click on "Template"
5. click "edit html", then
6. scroll down to the part that reads somewhat like this: "
body {
...
background: #fff url(http://beautiful.picture.com/pic.jpg) repeat;
}
4. The "url" line in bold is the missing magic. So you need to add it in, using the http that you took note earlier in step 2.
5. The background command has several options such as "repeat", "no-repeat", "left", "right", "top", "bottom", "float". You can experiment with each command to see the effect. eg. "repeat" would repeat the picture if it is not big enough to cover the entire page. "Left top" would put the picture on the left top of the page and so on.
I hope this helps. If not, feel free to ask more. There is also a "help" link in blogspot, and it contains numerous help topics. Enter "template" or "background" and search for more info.
Dear Human Battery,
Thanks for the details. Seems pretty complicated, not sure whether I can do it as I am not too good at computer stuff. Anyway will try.
Sorry to hear about the visits by lawyers. So what will happen? Will they take action against you and posters of this blog?
To anonymous at Friday, April 06, 2007:
"But please do not migrate because it will then become even harder for Singaporeans to assert their own right in our own country. Imagine if the able migrated, our less able will be managed by FTs and it will be somebody's utopia. We cannot allow that, do not take the short cut. Stay on and bite the bullet."
IMHO, I do not agree with the above plead. I think each should do as he/she deem fit, be it to leave or stay. E.g. Hector Yee, by breaking his bond, proved to the law-by-law folks that there is real talent amongst Singaporeans, just that talent is turned-away by PAP's policies.
Staying to bite the bullet is going against the will of the blue pill taking majority. Unless and until the 66.6% develop some long-term memory and say 'no' to baits of various upgrades/packages, no point going against this majority decided salvery.
Be like the Cubans in exile, bidding for their time. Or like the overseas Indians, now being welcomed back with open arms by India. If one can exit and do more with one's life while overseas, why not? Some day, Singapore (like India) may welcome these talents back with open arms these talents.
Few are as dedicated or foolhardy (depends on your perspective) as JBJ, Dr Chee, Uncle Yap, et al. There is no nothing wrong with that, only some are meant to walk the road of sacrifice.
Nope, by sacrifice, I'm not referring to taking $1.2mil instead of $2mil per year paycheck with pension thrown in. If you can and are interested in making that $Xmil out there in the pte sector, please join the pte sector!
Yes, you can join the private sector by all means, but try not to leave Singapore. For if you do so, you may be falling nicely into somebody's plans. I cannot be more explicit than this.
Anonymous 3 comments up,
Actually, I was thrilled to bits by their visit to my blog. I hope they will tell their colleagues and eventually it ends up with Lao Lee reading my blog! That will be the ultimate ego-boost. hahaha! No lah, no commentator on this blog will ever get into trouble -- we are all anonymous here, remember? Just so long as no one is crazy enough to want to meet up with anybody :)
Anonymous 2 comments up,
I do not agree that Hector Yee's talent has been "turned away by pap policies". It is not right to treat public money as if it is our own - casual, bargainable and negotiable. If I had received some public money and in return, I had promised to start serving the public on a certain date, I had better keep up my end of the bargain and start on that date! It would be most immoral for me to go back on my promise and now demand to defer service by a few years. If it were my own money, I can do that. But as a taxpayer, I do not look kindly upon my money being abused by these people. Not only should Hector Yee be brought to task, but Tracey Ho too (the CalTech professor who took US$500,000 from A*star and now allowed to defer (note: not break bond i.e. she still get to keep the money!) her scholarship service indefinately and who was featured in The New Paper some time back). Do you think it is ok to have to import a (less bright) foreigner to replace her to work at an A*star lab AFTER giving her nearly half a million US dollar of OUR (you have a share in it too) money for free? These people cannot blame pap policies. I should be the one to blame them for robbing ME of MY hard earned money (and then make me have to fork out even more of MY money to employ foreigners to replace them)!
However, I like the part where you said: "Staying to bite the bullet is going against the will of the blue pill taking majority... no point going against this majority decided salvery". Well said indeed. These 66.6% know that many locals are emigrating (and in case they have a poor memory, MM just reminded them again that 50,000 are in australia alone) and the Matrix Masters are importing foreigners to replace them, yet they showed by their votes that they agree with the nonsense that their matrix Masters have done! So who are we to disagree with them? These MM and human batteries truly deserve each other's company. The rest of us should opt out.
Anonymous right above me,
Joining the private sector means that you are still contributing to the salary of the Matrix Masters via income tax and GST etc and indirectly channeling your money/tax to feed foreigners while leeching on locals. You are doing "evil", albeit indirectly. If you leave, you do NOT fall into anybody's plan. The Matrix Masters do not like talented locals to leave - no government like that; they need locals to man sensitive positions, to run the army, police force, stat boards etc. Their plan is to stem the tide of emigration, not to encourage it!
By leaving, (1) you are helping your family members and loved ones secure a brighter future, and (2) you are indirectly forcing the matrix masters to come up with policies to do things right, so as to encourage such people to return. Thus you are actually "bargaining" with them, on behalf of those who stayed behind. Doing a good deed. Alternatively, if they refuse to budge (but instead choose to replace those who leave with foreigners), you must understand that 66.6% of people agree that such mass emigration and replacement are better than changing polices!!. So there is no need for those of us who have taken the red pills to stay behind to help them (they don't want our help!) - One side say: "we want to replace locals with foreigners", the other side say: "yes, master! Please go ahead". We can all stay out of the mess, leave, shake leg and see how the two sides mess up each other -- theorectically that is. In reality, I have no lobang to get out of this Matrix Island. Sob!
HB,
Technically, those who post on this post can be identified because of the IP address.
"The Matrix Masters do not like talented locals to leave - no government like that" - It depends on whether the talented locals support the existing government or not. By replacing those talents who oppose them and replacing them with foreign talents who support govt policies, is it not a clever way forward? As for the majority of the 66.6%, many do not even know what is happening as they continually take the blue pill.
Dear Human Battery:
First of all, the Graduate Student Society is a student body, those are EXCO members, not the officers employed by NUS.
The fact that the entire members are non-s'poreans could be due the fact that:
(1) When u r an undergrad student without working experience, Extra-Curricular Activity is impt to u, that'y like it or not, u hv to actively involve in ECA to impress ur potential employers
(2) At the postgrad level, ECA is no longer impt, whereas ur research / thesis is more crucial. In short, there is no incentive for postgrad students to involve in ECA, unless they genuinely wish to participate
The fact that the entire members of a particular student body r foreigners, has nth to do with FT Policy or NUS discrimating against local students. Perhaps these postgrad foreign students simply enjoy involving in ECA.
Fyi, I'm a M'sian holding S'pore PR, graduated from NUS, working in M'sia now.
I understand where ur frustration come from, but pls don't give misleading presentation.
JH
>First of all, the Graduate Student Society is a student body, those are EXCO members, not the officers employed by NUS.
I know. I can read. It reads clearly: "Graduate **student** society", does it not? Thank you. But what is the relevance of clarifying this "first of all" - Did I say/imply that NUS employed them? Please point out the part where I said/implied so.
>The fact that the entire members of a particular student body r foreigners, has nth to do with FT Policy or NUS discrimating against local students.
Please quote the exact statement where you thought I accused "NUS [of] discrimating(sic) against local students". I don't like words to be put into my mouth :( But yes, of course it has to do with the FT policy. If our Matrix Masters (MM) did not betray us and import so many foreigners to systematically replace us with, the GSS would not have become populated 100% by them, with 0% locals.
>Perhaps these postgrad foreign students simply enjoy involving in ECA.
No. It defies commonsense that ALL local postgrad are calculative kiasu assholes who will not do anything which has "no incentive, whereas ALL foreign students are noble people who "simply enjoy" ECA - as you seem to be implying with your point (1) and (2). That is stretching imagination - firstly, I do not view local postgrads as badly as you do, and secondly, there will be exceptions to your generalisation. Therefore, if the ratio of local to foreign postgrad is 50:50, one would expect that there should be at least 1 local student who "simply enjoy involving in the ECA" and doesn't mind "no incentive" in the GSS. The fact that there is none means the ratio is very unbalanced. And why is the ratio so skewed? See the bold highlight above.
>I understand where ur frustration come from,
Good. But really? Do you understand that the frustration is about what I wrote in red in the blog post and which I repeated in bold in this comment. Are you sure you "understand", because if you do, why did you write the following:
> but pls don't give misleading presentation.
Kindly point out which of my exact statements constitute "misleading presentation" and quote them. In my opinion, you are the one that is making a misleading presentation - and unlike you, I am going to substantiate my allegation: you misled by "clarifying" in your first paragraph that "first of all... not officers employed by NUS", thereby implying that I had claimed they were NUS's employee. You then proceed to accuse me of implying that "NUS [is] discrimating against local students" when I did not say such things - Firstly, I did not say discrimination. I said "betrayal", "systematically being replaced". Secondly, I was referring to "Matrix Masters (MM)", not NUS. (see words in red in post).
Ok, now's your turn - subtantiate your claim of "misleading presentation".
>Fyi, I'm a M'sian holding S'pore PR, graduated from NUS, working in M'sia now.
Fyi, I'm a Sink-a-Poor-Ren, holding S'pore citizenship, cannot graudate from NUS, working in S'pore now to support you through your tertiary education!!!
I am overjoyed and extremely pleased to hear you announce (by inference) that my parents and grandparents have been paying income tax, gst, coe, inflated hdb prices etc all these years to subsidise the education of you foreigners, only to have you people return back to your own countries after getting free rides at our expenses! Wiow. How wonderful! <-- is this how you expect me to react, which is why you are telling me this personal detail "for [my] info" :)
FYI the money was returned compounded with very high interest annually, and not 'abused'. They got back a lot more money than they put in.
In your case, yes, you were correct that you did return the money a few years later compounded with very high interest. Still, some "abuse" has occurred, in the sense that the money was originally intended to be used to (1) train you AND (2) for you to return to work immediately. Thus, when the money ended up being used to (1) train you AND (2) the money is then returned with compounded interest, such a usage of the money is already, in a sense, an "abuse" of the original intended use.
Your case however is mild in comparison to other cases and you had acted honourably, in the sense that you did return the money, and yes, even with compounded interest.
Unfortunately, I dare not say that others has your sense of honour and pride. After the govt had made an example out of you, it got cold feet and every scholarship holder after you got away scot-free and, unlike you, these scholarship holders truly and fully ABUSED the money, in every sense of the word ABUSE.
For example, till today i.e. 5 years after her graduation, Tracey Ho, has (1) still not returned to serve her bond, AND (2) has still not paid back a single cent of her Ph.D. scholarship money! And I doubt if she ever intended to return the money. 10 years later, when she finally got her American citizenship and her tenure, got tired of USA and decide dto come home, can she still label her 10-years-late return as "coming back to serve the scholarship bond"? I hope her parents have taught her basic moral values so that she knows that the answer is an overwhelming "NO"! I hope she has the basic decency to return tax-payers money right now compounded with 5 years interest, instead of shamelessly hoping to come back 10 years later than the agreed date without having to pay a single cent back.
So you see, Hector, not all parents have taught their children basic human decency, as yours have :)
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