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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Very touching poem indeed! Good piece of work! The absolute hopelessness and despondency of the average Singaporean is very-well showcased.
Where is our once beloved country called singapore?
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!)
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!
Poetry? We also got song!
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.
People wont wake up until they are badly hit by something putting everyone into despair. This is the sad reality of life.
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.
“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,
Yes, its TIME!
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.
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!
Is this a poem
or more like a complaint song?
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.
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!
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 !”
I agree with your poem, it deeply reflects what i think too!