Saturday, November 22, 2008 22:08

False Dawn

In Guest Writers, TOC Extra • 2,898 views • 17 Comments

false dawn

‘merdeka’, the people they assured,

was the road foward to a new dawn of

more jobs, better food, a greater well-being,

in a free and just, and more equal society

regardless of race, language or culture.

these the ‘action for the people party’, pledged.

the people soon realized they had been sold

on bold promises that were never delivered,

of an equitable sharing of the nation’s wealth-

the fruit of the people’s sweat, toil and tears.

‘meritocracy’ too the people had never sought to build,

especially one that fronts a ‘paradize’ for the elite few.

denied the right of a people free to think,

the people could think no more and so lost

the freedom-spirit of spontaneity and enterprise.

in the wake of globalization the toll begins to tell,

the people work harder for less, only soon to be told

citizenship assures them not the right of a livelihood.

one people, one nation and forevermore,

only in fulness of time to know, nationhood

confers on the nation’s pioneering builders,

not a jot more to claims for privileges or rights

than those freely gifted to quitters who’ve come

masquerading as ‘talents’ from some fereign shores.

which mother knows not

the children of her loins?

what shepherd heeds not

the bleating of his flock?

aye! what nation worth its name

cares naught for her very own?

and what champion of the people,

the people’s welfare he trivializes?

the people not any longer need to wait,

for now is the time their lot to remake.

only that they remember at the end of the day,

the people’s dream indeed has come to stay.

it would be a tragedy indeed for the people

at the end of the nation re-making process,

to find themselves similarly in the position of a man

who has many roads he could choose to travel on;

only that not any of these roads could he choose

would lead him on to a place he could call his home.

20th November 2008

by Ho Cheow Seng

Picture from John Ryan Recabar

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  3. Real death, false compassion
  4. President Obama’s widely-anticipated speech to Muslim world
  5. Rethinking welfare



17 Comments

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Arix
Nov 23, 2008 1:07

Very touching poem indeed! Good piece of work! The absolute hopelessness and despondency of the average Singaporean is very-well showcased.

tiredsingaporean
Nov 23, 2008 1:27

Where is our once beloved country called singapore?

Dora The Explorer
Nov 23, 2008 2:33

Who do we ask for help when we don’t know which way to go?

The map!

Hey wait! Where’s the map? Oh no, we’re gonna be lost! What are we gonna do?!

(Stayed tuned for the next episode of Dora The Explorer : Lost in Singapore!)

Gilbert Goh
Nov 23, 2008 9:30

Ho,

Brilliant peom and am almost t ouched to tears for it’s bare reality and truth.

Do not give up our fight for a better Singapore!

smallvice585
Nov 23, 2008 9:36

smallvoice585
Nov 23, 2008 19:33

Dear Ho Cheow Seng,
This is my honest verdict for your poem:
Effort : 8/10
Originality : 1/10
Inspiration for positive action : 0/10
—————————————————
Overall : 2/10
Sorry for the poor score, but I believe that your palpable despair and anguish in the poem is based on a premature judgement. Singapore’s political development is only in its neonatal stage.

James
Nov 24, 2008 4:03

People wont wake up until they are badly hit by something putting everyone into despair. This is the sad reality of life.

Daniel
Nov 24, 2008 5:56

This poem could well be our new Singapore pledge although a very long one. This poem reflect the reality rather than some “BUllSHit” we been reciting in school.

People should remember this new “pledge” to remind them of make-believe world created by the LEEgime.

Daniel
Nov 24, 2008 5:59

“one people, one nation and forevermore,”

Maybe this sound more real since certain real clown tell us recently we better off with one party.

“one people, one nation, one party and forevermore,

Its Time for repairs
Nov 24, 2008 14:59

Yes, its TIME!

pugdragon
Nov 24, 2008 23:06

The aspect of the poem describing Singapore as a nation that cares naught for its own citizens is very true. In welfare states like Canada & Australia, their citizens get priority in jobs. According to their immigration website, an employer can only hire a foreigner in a field that’s not in demand for workers only if he has genuinely searched & found no suitable local candidate. That’s a far cry from the situation over here. Employers readily accept lower-waged foreigners with no NS LIABILITIES. & what became of us? Forced to compete with foreigners for jobs while accepting lower payouts. Hey, aren’t we people of this land? I don’t feel that way.

What’s the worst thing about the influx of foreigners crowding Singapore to push Singapore to #3 in the list of most densely-populated countries? Singapore’s gov wants it that way & relaxed immigration laws & offered more benefits to foreigners.

I don’t feel a sense of belonging here at all. I see lots of foreigners everyday even in the neighborhood where I reside. To make myself feel less bothered about the gov not taking care of its own people & inviting lots of foreigners to crowd up the country, I convinced myself that this is NOT my country.

tiredsingaporean
Nov 24, 2008 23:26

I am getting to feel more like an alien these days when I go down to town during weekends, the streets and the shopping malls are filled up with sooo . . . .oooo aiyah . . . I really don’t know how to describe the scenes and goodness, the mrt stations especially in the central exchange and near chinatown area, at time I can even feel as though I am already in shenzhen, and also when the train passes through serangoon area, aiyoooohhhhhhh. . . . can die! big plastic bags, small plastic bags and all sorts of color and shape containers . . . . . I almost peng san liao . . . . and the noise, wa piang! they talk on their handphones all macham like long distance call, sooooo louuuuuddddddd sometime I tot they are quarrelling with the othe party . . . . . . see liao like that singapore!

rankthem
Nov 25, 2008 12:04

Is this a poem
or more like a complaint song?

pugdragon
Nov 25, 2008 22:44

Well put, tiredsingaporean, the true old Singaporean style! Yeah, we’re losing our identity as Singaporeans especially with the gov-endorsed influx of foreigners. It’s not that we hate foreigners, but the influx simply came too fast & furious. It’s a shame some of us, including myself, resorted to avoid going out on weekends & public holidays cos of the crowd. That’s one of the strong reasons I choose to work shift hours.

tiredsingaporean
Nov 25, 2008 22:55

pugdragon!

this is not just bad enough, wait until I tell you what I saw when I happened to drove passed geylang area one evening . . . . aiyoooohhhh! the jams so bad even on weekdays and along I saw soooo…many foreign chickens standing along the street and on every walkways, fat one thin one tall one short one . . . wa piang! you name it, they have it all kinds of colors and shades macham lelong lelong 3for $10, goodness me! imagine the number of chickens used daily by KFC oso cannot outnumbered them . . . . .see liao ar, sinkapor!

Daniel
Nov 26, 2008 11:14

Gov is “Money not enough” and “Foreigner not enough”

tiredsingaporean ,
you are right.

I can’t tell you enough how the MRT train really smell of Indian nowadays that it ought to be renamed IRT (Indian Rapid Train). It reminds me of the chemical warfare training I have during NS which I need to cover my nose. I am not alone as you see the female cover their nose in MRT as though they are wearing protective mask.

There are also tons of china chicks, and now worse, Indian chicks touting as I walk for makan in Geylang vicinity. But no thank to those expensive “chicken”, I prefer $3 chicken rice.

The ministar ought to take the MRT and walk around Geylang to see the ground reality. I’m sure they will enjoy the smell and “scenery” and happily proclaim that “Singapore is really a interesting place to be in !”

Poor Singapore Student
Nov 27, 2009 23:59

I agree with your poem, it deeply reflects what i think too!

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