Friday, March 18, 2011

Singapore Straits Times: "More Singaporeans heading Down Under for Studies"

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is easy to appreciate that anyone experiencing the freedom of life in the West would never want to return to repression. Burmese students who manage to come to the US never return to Burma and Communist Chinese students never return to China. So too with Singaporeans.

And this brain drain from Singapore will continue as long as citizens have to live under the clutches of the Lee Kuan Yew family afraid to act or speak or do anything independently for fear that the dictator will be displeased.

Singapore's state controlled newspaper the Straits Times of March 19, 2011 reports "More Singaporeans heading down under for studies". The story reads "Figures from the Australian government indicate that 10,000 Singaporeans are now enrolled in universities there at all levels".

This is very bad news for Lee Kuan Yew's government. He has managed to go on so far with a docile submissive Singaporean who would remain quiet even if he orders them not to speak at all, because of their deeply entrenched fear that cuts across the island.

But these figures continue to show that Singaporeans are increasingly unhappy to live in these stifling circumstances. If given a chance, just as a survey among young people not too long ago had shown, they would prefer to live in the West.

And in the case of this newspaper report, it is not just the 10,000 students that Singapore would lose just for Australia alone. It is ten times that number because these 10,000 once they enjoy the freedoms of the west, will persuade their family members and siblings to join them.

And their family and siblings will persuade their friends and acquaintances to leave as well. 10,000 will soon become 100,000 just for Australia alone. And then what about Singapore students leaving for Canada, the UK and the US?

And keeping in mind Singapore is a tiny island with no more than just 3 million native born citizens, a fraction of the size of even Bombay, this news has to be a death knell for them.

And this crippling brain drain coupled with the almost non existent birth rate and the aging population can mean only this. Lee Kuan Yew and his bully boys have misjudged the ground completely.

With these foreboding figures, he will simply have to make do with a transient foreign population given instant citizenship for short periods while educated real native born Singaporeans leave his island in disgust.

It is impossible for me to know how much this blog Singapore Dissident has had an impact in heightening this brain drain but even if it had any effect at all, I must claim success.

Lee Kuan Yew will be left very soon to enact laws to prevent Singaporeans from going abroad to study. He would have no other choice with these huge numbers leaving.

Although such measures may help stem the tide of emigration for the moment, it is a double edged sword. It may instead create a panic among Singaporeans and instead of stopping the brain drain, it will probably turn it into a flood, if it has not already become one.

When that time comes, Singapore will be left only with ignorant local coolies blindly obeying Lee's every order and foreigners running the show.

I am sorry for the comparison but surely here is Singapore's Nero, Lee Kuan Yew fiddling, while Singapore disappears.

Gopalan Nair
Attorney at Law
39737 Paseo Padre Parkway, Suite A1
Fremont, CA 94538, USA
Tel: 510 657 6107
Fax: 510 657 6914



Timothy said...

Mr Nair - You continually harp on how great the "democracy" (to me it is not) in Australia, the US, Canada etc. Ask any Australian citizen about the piss weak grossly expensive legal system in Australia - which punishes victims of crime and supports the criminals. Slaps on the wrist with a wet lettuce seems to be the most serious punishment nation wide these past years, and the criminals are getting more embolden by the lack of serious & proper deterrent sentences/punishment. Australia NEEDS stronger laws to check the growth of organised crime along with the dozens of serious assaults and property crimes daily. Thank you for the your otherwise interesting blog.

Gopalan Nair said...

To Timothy,
Surely you can see one glaring difference between Australia and Singapore. In Australia you can openly criticize the legal system and their government. In Singapore you cannot.

The people of Australia decide the extent of punishments. If it is lenient it is the will of the people. If not, it is also the will of the people. I am quite happy with that.

In Singapopre on the the other hand it is the will of the Lee Kuan Yew family. And if you opely criticize then it is either jail or bankruptcy for you. That is why it is wrong.

Ultimately it is not whether one system has harsh laws or otherwise. It is whether the people have the power. It is whether there is democracy.

I may have discussed ideas which may be too difficult for you to understand. I am sorry but I cannot educate you. You have to do it yourself.

Finally let me say this. Even if what you say about Australia is true, which I doubt, any human being with any self respect and even the smallest amount of grey matter in his head would have preferred Australia to Singapore anytime.

And that is why thousands upon thousands of Singpaoreans are heading to Australia for permanent settlement. Not the other way round.

Hitler Mousallini and now Gadaffi would also compleletely agree with your arguments. In their countries there was no crime at all. Criminals heads chopped off. And no arguments about it.

mrb said...

A. I am an American, from the midwest specifically. B. I have been to Singapore and studied it quite extensively, for an American, that is.

I enjoy your blog and do believe that the PAP needs to make some serious reforms as Singapore dives headlong into the 21st century but at the same time I suspect that perhaps you are getting a little to utopian in your view of the west? For one, you come from a very wealthy region, and hold an upper class job, in this sense you are the "cream at the top" but you are resting on the other 90 percent of Americans (congrats on becoming a citizen by the way) who are not doing so well.

Also, 10,000 Singaporeans studying abroad in Australia is a huge, potentially a huge issue. Question? Do you know how many Singaporeans stay in Australia, and how many return to Singapore? I have met many students studying abroad, not from Singapore but elsewhere, who end up returning after they graduate school. Is this happening in this case?

From what I understand, Singapore only has two universities on par with universities in the West Nanyang and NUT, are Singaporeans really leaving bc they want to, or because they need somewhere to get a top notch education?

And is it perhaps a case of the "grass is always greener" on the other side? You think the US is great and amazing, but have you fully examined all of the downfalls? I.e. the HUGE income gaps, burgeoning debt,lack of access to healthcare, a Social Security coffer filled solely IOU's from an already bankrupt government, and legalized corruption through the government contracts market?

Also, why would you want students to leave Singapore? Wouldn't you want them to stay and fight the PAP? Most revolutions are student lead, if Singapore ever sees change it will likely be from student lead protests? Do you hate LKY or Singapore?

Anonymous said...

If Singapore students behave like mini Lee Kuan Yew, they should return to Singapore after their studies. It is for their own good.

Singaporeans are not really brought up to think much. All they have to do is to follow a set of rules, eg the harsher the punishment, the better the person will turn out. This will help them to feel better and survive in PAP Island

NS is partly to be blamed. it is like a human obedient school. I was never taught the Geneva Convention, and we love to tekan other humans in sadism and deprivation acts.

Perhaps, that result in Singaporeans being unable to understand dignity and respect. Maids, pets and blue collar workers are treated like dirt.

We fail to comprehend that humans are complex irrational creatures.
(Just look at the stock market)

Timothy wrote about lenient punishments in Australia. He totally missed the point.

Often, the media drum up all these court cases to sell newspapers, and we do not know enough to decide the cases. Moreover, in a jury system, the people participate in the court decisions.

Moreover, Aussies are not exactly obedient or orderly people. Just see the sporting contingent "marching" into the stadiums during sporting events - they are a rowdy mob - not walking in line, casually walking all over the place - making faces, taking photos and waving like kids.
That is what Aussies are, no pretense, genuine, direct, with a rebellious streak.

Brainless Aussies who do donut burnouts.
Aussie outlaws bikies helping old ladies crossing roads.
Racist Aussies complaining about newcomers while eating "dim sim" (dim sum) takeaway.

Many younger Aussies do not think ahead and do dumb things.

More progressive than conservative, more socialist rather than capitalist, like it or loathe it.

All this make up the identity of more than 150 nationalities that call themselves Aussies.

This Singaporean is lucky.

Anonymous said...

You don't hear of many Aussies trying to leave Oz for S'pore do you.

Anonymous said...

well. i am one.