A bending willow, Singapore's sorrow

My heart is feeling heavy after reading two articles from TODAY. One was titled "Size matters - for S'pore foreign policy'" and the other "Greet, smile, thank, but don't complain".

Article 1

Article 2

I can't quarrel with the underlying pragmatism (equals logic, loosely) for the messages put across in them.

In the first, the government tells us that Singapore is small and she cannot afford to be principled and idealistic in our foreign relations. We can't contribute significantly in the global arena given our smallness and survival should be our top priority because the world can do without us. How enlightening and truthful to hear it from the horse's mouth!

Suddenly, we are not world-class and invincible. We are reduced to a "tiny red dot" overnight.

Luckily, I understood this all along or I would be seriously disillusioned. Yep, yours truly was never caught up with the euphoria about us being world-class and an economic myth. While I am proud to be Singaporean, I do not trumpet our achievements loudly to foreigners and in foreign lands. More so, when I feel that we are not as great as we thought ourselves to be. Bigger countries had to struggle with more and worse obstacles. At most, we are lucky and partly because we are small.

Soon, Singaporeans will have to realise the sad reality of us needing to stoop low for a mere five scoops? of rice - 为五斗米折腰 as the chinese saying goes.

In the second article, we see how our smallness affects reality around us. The taxi drivers have started bending their willows. We will greet, smile and thank but we simply can't complain because the IMF/World Bank delegates can do without our taxis. I wonder if the same rule also applies when these customers complain about us 'unreasonably' and without giving solutions??!

Does having a cabinet of eighty or more "million-dollar ministers" and MPs solve Singapore's problem of size?

This is Singapore's sorrow. My Heart feels it too.


Singapore, sorrow