Being the, ahem, patriotic citizen that I am, I sat through the entire National Day Rally speech made by newly inaugrated Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last night. Well yes, I amazed myself too. I mean, it was a 3-hour speech for god’s sake! But fact is, I wanted to listen to what he had to say and the direction in which he wants to steer Singapore in.
Some notable topics: Baby bonuses (as usual); changing people’s mindsets towards having children; equal medical benefits for women & men in the civil service; 5-day workweek for those in the service (previously it was 5 1/2); a more open and liberalised society by doing away with restrictions to speak/perform in public as long as the topics steer away from race & religion; China-Taiwan cross straits issue; more active citizenry by calling out to young Singaporeans to step forward and make themselves heard.
There were plenty of goodies for those with children under 12 or those planning to have children (all nothing to do with moi!). These included the lowering of the maid levy for families with children below 12, to longer maternity leave and childcare leave. To me, it’s all well and good for those who already have children. However I still think this isn’t going to convince people to have children.
There is supposedly also going to be a reduction in school syllabi. PM Lee said that we have to let them [the children] study less so they can learn more. About time! I don’t know if this will really materialise but I sure hope it does. Singaporean kids study too much and need to play more. Else, we’ll just end up with a whole generation of nerds!
Of course there were some points in time in which I sneered and raised my cynical head, but by and large, I am feeling optimistic about the future of Singapore which is something I haven’t felt in a long time. Yes, maybe I’ve been drawn into the rhetoric. The spin doctors have worked their intended magic. But I figured it wouldn’t hurt to be less cynical. For a while. ;p
Singapore may not be the best place to live in, but I reckon it’s not the worst either. Of course, there are things which I wished Singapore had. But these are things which will never happen so I should just stop hankering after them and live with the fact that I’ll have to do without mountains, lakes, rivers, nice beaches, lush green forests, snow, autumn leaves, clear blue skies, wide open spaces etc. Seriously, no place’s perfect, so the next best thing is to try and make the place perfect for myself and those around me!