Wind of Change

It was the stormy winds of 1299 that blew Sumatran Malay prince Sang Nila Utama over to the isle of Temasek. Alienated, almost nonexistent and unknown-of, it was just a green islet off the southern coast of the Malay Peninsula. And as innocent as it can be, the first steps of our history begins.
Ground Zero -
We started from null. Then we had Singapura, a mere fishing village. And on came Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, modern Singapore was born. Before long, history renounces Adolf Hitler as we had World War II. Singapore, awe-stricken by the Japanese occupation, became Shōnantō. Hitler committed suicide and the Japanese surrendered. The British returned. Singapore was left in ruins after war.
Post war period saw many political strifes between the leftist and rightist, leading to the remodeling of the legislative structure, most notably the formation of the People's Action Party (PAP) in 1954. We had a partial self-government and remembered our early leaders - David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock. In 1959, the PAP swept the general election, thenceforth, we have Lee Kuan Yew. We became a self-governing state in 1959 and joined Malaysia in 1962. Tensions escalated in the region, notably among Malaysia and the Sukarno lead Indonesia. We had racial riots and the notorious bombing of MacDonald house in 1965 by Indonesian militants. After numerous bitter conflicts and differences in political agendas, we separated from Malaysia.
Building the foundation -
Singapore officially gained independence on 9 August 1965, the new state became Republic of Singapore. Yusof bin Ishak was appointed our first President, and Lee Kuan Yew, our first Prime Minister.
During the early days of independence, Singapore faced several difficulties. Our forefathers erected the underpinnings of our nation, laying the bedrock of the nation's 'pyramid'. We faced several problems. Unemployment, housings, sanitation, education, lack of natural resources and land were significant problems that our country encountered. We remembered the Bukit Ho Swee Squatter Fire that left 16,000 homeless. That's when the Housing Development Board (HDB) comes into play, and we have our Central Provident Fund (CPF). Most importantly, we started our first military, Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), and national service was introduced in 1967. The last British troops left in 1971.
Evolution -
People were skeptical and dubious about Singapore's survival. Many said that we won't make it and that we would eventually re-merge with our neighbour Malaysia. But we held on and kept going. The groundwork of our 'pyramid' has been laid as we made the headway in building our nation up to the top. We had a smooth economic progress in the 1980's. With unemployment rate falling low and high real GDP growth of about 8%, Singapore had stable economic developments, making steadfast and substantial impact on the region's economy. We stepped up our industries from labour intensive to high-tech industries, and opened up our economy in various sectors. Manufacturing/production; commerce; business and tourism industry open the way for new economic enterprises. That's where Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines and Port of Singapore comes into the whole blueprint. Futhermore, we have the Singapore Bus Service (SBS) in 1973 and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in 1987. Not forgetting our own media, Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) in 1980. The HDB also set up new towns to encourage public housings, with Toa Payoh New Town as one of the oldest New Town in Singapore. Since then many New Town projects are schemed to provide better housing for Singaporeans.
The New Age -
In 1990, Lee Kuan Yew, stepped down and Goh Chok Tong became the second prime minister of Singapore. In 1997, Singapore experienced the effect of the Asian financial crisis. Politics in Singapore became stable, with the PAP in total, absolute, supreme control since 1966. We had some of the big-time election 'skirmishes' between the PAP and its opposition, particularly in 1997 , the Cheng San Group Representation Constituency (GRC), and recently the Potong Pasir Single Member Constituency (SMC) and Hougang SMC. We also remember some notable 'important' political characters in Singapore politics. Some are in exile, some bankrupt and many became the victims of the PAP's aggressive onslaught.
-J. B. Jeyaretnam
-Teh Cheang Wan
-Tang Liang Hong
-Francis Seow
-C. V. Devan Nair
-Dr. Chee Soon Juan
-Steve Chia
-James Gomez
Then in 2001, we experienced the threat of terrorism. Uncovering the plot to bomb embassies and Yishun MRT station in Singapore. Following 2003, we were hit with the SARS outbreak, which Singapore did a impressive task to put the epidemic in control.
Now we move on, the problems that Singapore face are different from what we had in our early days. In the process of transforming into a first world country, we implement new policies and make changes to existing ones. We started off from a rural fishing village to a developing industrial nation; eventually progressed to a higher phase, pursuing to compete in the same league with first world countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong (PRC) in the region. We had scaled all the way from ground zero to the top of the 'pyramid', building on the strong foundations our fore fathers had laid at the base.
Today, we face new challenges ahead. Present -
In 2004, Lee Hsien Loong, the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, became the third prime minister of Singapore. Several changes in policies were made. And today, we face numerous issues and concerns. Questions leading to only more questions unanswered.
Instead of the conventional 'Singaporeans must learn to adapt to changes', 'We must stay strong and united', 'We do care for Singaporeans well-being', 'Together we move on as a nation', 'We will not leave any Singaporean behind' etc...
Singaporeans today want more 'real', substantial, forthright, heartfelt and unpretentious answers that provide no tangible grounds for dubiety. We want answers that addresses the heart of Singaporeans, not answers that were merely drafted manuscripts, hard-copied by some hired pussyfooter.
Looking back recently, we have:

NKF saga~
This is when S$600,000 of taxpayers' money was squandered to pay for the 'peanuts' used to feed the monkeys in NKF. I guess if you want premium monkeys, then you need premium peanuts. Was wondering if the monkeys would get choked by the 'golden peanuts'? Well, in this case, just find yourself a scapegoat (or rather scapemonkey) and hang him. There we have T.T Durai.

Shincorp saga~
49.6% stake of the Shin Corporation sold to Temasek Holdings. All thanks to Thaksin Shinawatra, currently in exile, a resident of London, and owner of the English football club Manchester City. The military coup that overthrew Thaksin forced Temasek to divest majority of its investment in Shin Corporation, again causing millions of taxpayers' money lost. You can't blame the Thais for being so aggressive. Just imagine a Malaysian Government investment arm buys over Singtel?
So this time, who is the patsy? We have the answers in our hearts.

Ministrial Pay Rise~
George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Junichiro Koizumi. Wondered what would Singapore be like if we have 3 Prime Ministers leading our country? Well, judging from the pay our current Prime Minister gets, that's what we can afford to hire. 3 in 1. Well i guess there is alot of difference between 'serve and pay' and 'pay and serve', the latter sounds more money orientated. Can we say that the amount of pay a minister gets will justify the performance of their duties? If so, this means that the Prime Minister of Singapore will be able to lead the nations of US, Britain and Japan together at the same time? Yes, its ok to pay our ministers comfortably, but how much is enough to be comfortable? Handsomely, exuberantly and lavishly paid? To prevent corruption? In the first place, money must never be the primary pull-factor to bring in future ministers. In fact, it should be the nature of love, passion, devotion, patriotism for the country that brings forth an individual to dedicate himself to serve the nation. Money and talent don't go into the equation. We don't pay millions for 'hums' in Mee Siam, CCTVs and maid scandals. Get real!


Transport hikes~
Public transports are services, systems of transport that ferry commuters of the general public from place to place. It should be made fairly affordable and cheap for commuters to travel. From the rate that our transport fares are hiking, i deem them as unfriendly! A S$10 concession will last you at most 2 days if you travel to and fro work. Bare in mind that's just for work alone. Besides work, people will need to travel for social events, i.e class outing/gathering, play sports, run family chores etc. These will cost you another S$10. Imagine going for a game of soccer from Jurong to Ang Mo Kio, already cost you about S$4 for the to and fro train trip? And maybe after game you decided not to go home yet, but to take a bus to Toa Payoh for lunch? One day like this is enough, and it's going to cost a bomb for a month. The most destestable thing is that our transport firms are not losing money, instead they are making handsome profits. They claimed that surveys were carried out and results showed that judging from the income of average Singaporeans, we were able to cope with the hike fairly readily. Well seriously, i think they should just cut their craps about the survey and say "we want more money!". Who knows if those surveys are real. There is nothing you can believe from the media and papers nowadays. They might just say that the sun rises from the west tomorrow morning!


ERP~
It's never easy to drive in Singpapore. The ERP and road taxes are enough to burn a big whole in your pocket, not including monthly car installments, mainteinance and petrol cost. The ERP system is implemented by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 1998 to ease traffic conjestions on roads and the discourage Singaporeans for driving. Likewise, to encourage Singaporeans to use public transport - which is also getting more costly. Either ways, we will still have to pay and pay. Now here comes the point where i really question the effectiveness of the system. Does it really eases traffic conditions? All the more, it only causes the traffic in a particular road to shift to another smaller road elsewhere, holding up traffic in smaller raods, hence giving greater reasons for the government to erect more gantries. This way of channeling and diverting the traffic makes us wonder whether it really solves the problem, or is it merely a tactic used to corner all vehicles into ERP zones? Making drivers look like sitting ducks in a garrison of ERP gantries.

CPF~
More of Cash Prior to Funeral. Current draw-down age (DDA) for minimum sum is 62, and it is expected to raise gradually to 65 by 2012. With rising life expectancy, an average Singaporean is expected to live for another 15 to 20 years. Planning early for a secure retirement is essential. We can buy houses, pay for education and insurance using our Ordinary Account. We also have the Medisave Account to aid us in hospitalisation expenses and medical insurances. These CPF savings plans provide Singaporeans with several benefits and most importantly adequate security for retirement and old age. But at the end of the day, what's the point of saving up so much for retirement when we are denied of the freedom to govern our hard earn money? Imagine losing your job at 55 years old, then how is one going to feed the mouths in the family with 10 years more to DDA? And now with the annuities mandatory for age 50 and below, this means that Singaporeans will only be able to get the annuities at 85! For all i know, not everyone is going to live to the age of 85. How many Singaporeans can actually still jog, swim, travel overseas, draw CPF and income at the age of 84? If you want to secure us with a safe retirement, please pay us back our money faster. 'Work until old' is more than enough, we don't want to 'work until die'. So once again please pay us back our money, before our annuities becomes 'white gold'.


Tomorrow~
The future of Singaporean lurks in the shadows. From the very first steps of Sang Nila Utama to the the day we stand here. We have come so far out together, building on the blocks of foundations laid by our fore fathers. Now that the wind of change has brought us this high up the pyramid, there is no room for falling behind. As we go higher up, more people are going to fall behind, only the strongest stays at the top of the pyramid. The wind of change goes strong, hopefully not a hurricane...

"Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time. - Winston Churchill"