There’s a lot of development in Singapore right now: the F1 Grand Prix race is going to happen on the 28th September, lots of festivals being planned (Singapore Biennial), and for those who missed the previous electronics exhibition, there’s the Sitex on the 27th – 30th November.
On the ACG front: The Games Convention Asia on Sept 18th – 20th, Kaleidoscope 2008 on the 1st & 2nd November, the Anime Festival Asia 2008 on the 22nd & 23rd of November, and the EOY 2008 on the 13th December.
A lot of anticipation and excitement for an otaku in Singapore. To be honest, there’s nothing else like it this year. I mean, there’s now lots of options for fans to go legit and acquire their own anime. The status of otakudom in Singapore has never became this fantastic since Naruto became a hot staple in my polytechnic days.
Therefore it’s supposed to be a good time to be a Singaporean. We’ve won ourselves medals in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games; in short, we’ve become the most sought after national brand in the international markets.
Then, why is it that I feel very unhappy staying here?
Maybe one can start looking at the articles being submitted in Singapore Daily, a portal of a collection of articles and posts culled from various Singaporean bloggers, news sites and online commentaries. There are plenty of reasons I can find unhappiness, and then there are plenty of reasons to be happy. The confluence of the yin-yang attitudes that’s abound here makes me feel like it’s a constant struggle for survival. People will find some pointers and say, "See? Singapore is GOOD!", "Aiyah, why migrate? Got clean water or not?" or "Simi lan jiao, you big **** is it? Stay here, lah. Dun go be hero yourself, if you dunwanna come back dead from wild-wild <insert unnamed country here>." I think it’s more of a fear of the unknown, knowing that in Singapore society, failure is severely look down upon. It’s not really surprising, though: the government perpetuates that ideology. The greatest gripe I have with Singapore, is their local newspapers’ coverage of foreign countries. That, and the country’s increased similarities and mutual ties, with Israel. Both points tend to paint the whole world "as a big bad place," where they are ultimately alone in this sea of evil. The siege mentality ensues. It is this uncaring, xenophobic and incredulous approach to relations with the world (Google out for "Serangoon Gardens" — a perfect example of a NIMBY), that it became a clash of beliefs and aspirations between myself and Singapore, both its society and its leaders. To Singaporean readers, perhaps a cynical heart in you would say, "Go back, lah. Malaysia, Indonesia, whatever. You think Singapore has no place for you, then migrate, lah. Sai!" It is of no wonder that Singapore, as a society, can never progressed in grace. The selfish kiasu-ism prevails, and even after God-know-how-many courtesy campaigns have been raised, the average Singaporean still spits somewhere. Perhaps it’s a tall order to change the mindsets of Singaporeans. The 40 years of repetitive propaganda, the preception of "the ends justify the means" ideology, and the resultant affluence from that pursuit of ideology (also known as "the 5 C’s") solidified their arrogance towards anyone and everyone. (Increasingly, I’ve been reading up on the Warhammer & Warhammer 40,000 universe, so it explains my dystopic view of Singapore.) Unless people can convince me that this country is a caring society (I’ve seen cases of elderly neglect exemplified in some of the ambulance cases I’ve seen over my NS period), there will be no mistake where my allegiance lie.
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