The behavioral of being apathetic is ingrained in our youth’s mindset. It started the moment we are not taught proper civic education (USA has an excellent civic education for their high school students). Protecting the rights of citizens against their government is the utmost importance in their civic education lessons.

Singaporean youths in general are apathetic towards their country and also towards PAP’s policies. TOC and many NGO will guide us about active citizenship. I have always believe in the ideals of free speech and free expression. It’s in the constitution but the problem is our government has never taught us about these rights which we have. So being the naive citizens most of us are, we believe everything written in the Straits Times. Some of us even think the PAP knows our vote during elections. These are real Singaporeans mind you. Some of them as young as you and me. I am just astounded by these findings. I can’t blame them. This normally happens to people who refuse to think. They might even believe that Elvis is still alive.

As a person who always questions stuff, I believe we don’t have to dissent against the government. It’s only when they started to control every sphere of our life and created impending social problems that we need to do some soul searching. Is it worth being the public enemy or is being the public enemy the right thing to do? Ponder on this and you’ll be amazed with your own answer.

well written.

i would like to point out that the “Go to school, get good grades, get a good degree and find a stable and secure job” ideal is as much an offspring of the current government policies as it is the result of a largely asian society.

besides, being the pragmatic society we are, it is inevitable that aspirations to “break the cycle” are viewed as foolhardy and lofty.

and when this young lads/lasses graduated…
tell them to start earnin their FIRST $
then let them show ME how are they goin to buy a decent car..a modest little flat
have a weekends out in boatquays and get married in 5 years time..
if they still believed leekuanyew built schools and fed them
by all means..vote for the pap
don’t come cryin sayin i didn’t told YOU so…

fyi…
my youn nephew is costin me a bomb just by trainnin/feedin him durin his school off days while undergoin apprenticeships…
i ate a $2.80 lunch meal.. he ordered a $7.50 lunch meal..
plus soft drinks breaks in which he think is unlimited…
1 day alone would cost me almost $20 just to feed him….
haven’t even include all the goodies/toys/playmates i have to buy for him upon his ^graduation^ (more than 4 digit$ figure$)

Singapore’s system is a victim of its own success. The ruling government must realise that people are getting increasingly educated and want a voice. The top-down talk-down approach is not going to work if we want a better future for Singapore. We will see bright young minds leave the country if this change doesn’t occur.

Great piece!

I think it’s a two way street. On one hand, yes, the government has had a big part to play in shaping this train of thought that is so prevalent in young people today. But at the same time, we are in a day an age where information is readily available to us, apart from the mainstream media. Youth today are exposed to ‘outside’ views, ideologies and practices so much, that we can’t simply fall back on the ‘repressive government’ excuse for our apathy. At some point we have to be self-motivated and inspired, because freedom and rights didn’t fall on anybody’s lap. Everywhere around the world, it had to be fought for. It’s very easy to say that since we live in such a controlled environment, what’s the point? But we’re giving up too easily, it’s far too convenient. We may not have had the luck of being born into a free world, but therefore it is for us to build it. Remaining apathetic and unthinking will reinforce the need for the establishment to continue nannying. The more involved and discerning we become, the more we pressure the system to change.

we singaporeans are rich in every one of us. we can live a life and retire our old age but why we are still struggling? this is the cause of PAP and LKY. they squeeze out every bit that belong to us and into their pocket and their ministers pockets with millions of dollars and asking us to accept a low pay job and yet they keep rising everything and the cost of living is so high and yet they claim to give rebate in returned? what kind of stupid rebate is that?? do they really think we are that stupid? do we not been doing our calculations?

actually we have been giving them more then what we are getting and this been going on for past 50years. giving and gving and waiting for them to show us singaporeans a better future and life but till now we are still waiting and giving!!

enough!!

vote them OUT!

they are earning millions of dollars year after year from who?from us singaporeans who work this country up. without us they are simply nothing and what can they earn? maybe merely just a couple of hundred a month maybe. they are just riding on our back all this years and what we get is just a goodies bags before each election. we get wash brains before each elections. we get threaten that our future will be destroy and suffer if we make change. this is just crap! pure crap!

just make the change and see who will suffer the most and who’s future will be destroy. all the ministers and the rest will lost millions unlike us just a small fly. so who fear the biggest lost? not we singaporeans but they will. PAP and LKY and his relative and inlaws will feel the greatest pain and lost but for us singaporeans we can make the change to lift up our head.

vote them out or fellow singaporeans and their generation to come will suffer more pain and suffer.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

Youth of Singapore, UNITE AND VOTE AGAINST THE PAP.

RP members were reported in an article found on TOC that they feel that singaporeans are indeed apathetic. This article also does the same.

I am confused by MR Tan Kin Lian’s view he mentioned months ago which seem to say that singaporeans are not apathetic.

I like to hear Mr TKL explain why he said what he said.

To me, its too clear that the MAjoriity singaporeans, including the youths and working adults are really Apathetic more so than any other countries in the world that i know.

oh, and it may be wise to look at things this way:

if you “Go to school, get good grades, get a good degree and find a stable and secure job”, and emerge exceptionally well, then there would be no need for you (as one financially-sufficient) to be involved in politics at all. you are probably aware of the current situation, yet with a rice bowl that few foreign talent can break and more than enough money, you do not care about cpf, or tv licensing, or any of those squeezing-the-money-out-of-you methods the government employ; as such, you are not politically apathetic, but only unmotivated in nature.

on the other hand, those that form the lower strata of society have little to work on. being sunken precipitation in a test tube, they have their own ends to meet and it is not their decision to become myopic.

The PAP WANTS youth to be apathetic. Heaven forbid more of them become future Chee Soon Juans or JBJs!! The entire education and economic system is designed to destroy the people’s spirit. If everyone is too busy passing exams, working long hours and paying debts, they won’t have the time or daring to fight for airy-fairy ideals.

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The viral and memetic repetition of this rhetoric “that our youths are apathetic” shows that this is yet another successful attempt by the state media to indoctrinate the general populace, to force this shackle upon the collective mindsets of our citizenry, to isolate potentially “non-apathetic” and concerned youths and to instil in them feelings of loneliness and helplessness.

Those concerned youths inclined to voice out, but yet indoctrinated as such will think “Why struggle? No one cares anyway… Let me just endure in silence…” and continue to be docile. Since ages past, youths all over the world in all eras have been at the forefront of activity and change, for they are the leaders of tomorrow. This so-called apathy in our youths, even if it WERE true, is an unnatural state that is artificially engineered in the populace.

Apathy should have no place in the psyches of our youths. It is testament to how much the state fears the potential for change in our youths, for in its inability and impotence to fully harness and control the youths’ potential to satisfy its own selfish ends, it has chosen to stifle it completely, just like what it has done to our media.

I think apathy is present among youths from all over the world – not just Singapore. Even American youths are apathetic and so are youths from Asian countries.

To me apathy is not the real problem and to focus on that is not very productive.

What needs to happen is for those who are saying that youths are apathetic to do something to change this. If we all are just sitting behind our keyboards and lamenting that youths are apathetic, nothing’s gonna change.

So, for those who decry the apathy of youths, you yourself must step out and reach out to them – in whatever ways you feel comfortable with.

There needs to be a refocus from lamenting that youths are apathetic to doing something to overcome this apathy.

This, I feel, is the real problem – that those who lament the apathy of our youths are themselves not doing much to change this.

The best way to break apathy?

Vote in more opposition into parliament. With more opposition MPs, debates will be more lively, citizens will feel they have a voice (either PAP or opposition) and youth and older citizens can hear both sides of the story.

Don’t blame the youth for being apathy when dissident views are being suppressed mercilessly.

well, first things first…they need to learn how to clean up after themselves.

just go to any fast food restaurant after a school day.

you see dispassionate youths on their celphones eating fries and drinking their sodas and chatting with each other, oblivious to the fact that there are people waiting for seats in a crowded shop.

thereafter, they proceed to leave their mess for the elderly cleaner to clear up, despite the fact that the rubbish bin is just next to their seats.

i worry for the next generation, the education system, parents and the lack of civic-mindedness in society today. i worry for singapore.

Don’t worry for the next generation man. It’s apathetic people that makes the cogs run. If we were any smarter we’d probably be out of it by now. 6 years of overpaid ministers, how we’d want their jobs.

And the youths cleaning up after themselves? Maybe tomorrow, or maybe never. The generation after me is degrading as we speak, and I’m a young man. I’m now seeing spoilt brats running over the places like they’re king of the hill, underage drinking, smoking, making love. It happens in every generation, yea, but it’s especially hurtful these days.

Pummel some sense into them? Maybe, but talk to them about politics? People my age don’t even know who their MPs are. We try to wake em up, but from what I’m seeing, it’d take years to change their mindset when all they know is LKY is a great man from their social studies textbooks.

Here’s one upcoming event which you can attend and help get your youthful friends to attend.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/10/whose-right-is-it-anyway/

Very often we are faced with a very one sided attitude towards our opposition leaders. The ruling party would like our youth to think that the are no worthy leaders outside of the PAP.

The sad thing is that not only is it very easy for youths to be brain washed from young to buy all that nonsense wholesale, many parents actually go out of their way to enforce it or at the very least encourage they children not to even think about political issues, as if questioning the establishment equals ungratefulness(my very frustrating personal experience) !

The fact that Singaporean youths are that apathetic today actually makes them the biggest victims. So if you don’t consider yourselves apathetic, don’t wait for some messiah to come, its not like we are spoilt for choice, vote in more opposition MPs while you can,if we don’t give them a chance what difference can we ever make?

re:
Gp on October 23rd, 2009 5.14 am
Youth of Singapore, UNITE AND VOTE AGAINST THE PAP.

What’s the point of voiting against a party if the fundamentals are the same?
Instead, I think we should encourage youth of singapore to get proactively involve in grass roats activities that actually focus on the improving of the quality of life of people around them. When a large proportion of people sees that lifes is more about relationship, caring, concerns, welfare, love, quality time, then other things will change automatically. I don’t think radicalism is the most efficient way forward…

Well,

As much as I show disdain towards the above article, I must support it wholeheartedly. It really starts with the education system, really. Youths are taught to as you said “get good grades” and move on with life. Debating on political decisions has never been an option in schools for fear of radicalism or anti-government thoughts being bred amongst students. Therein lies our problem that students are afraid of authority, and feel that they will not be heard. Which is most of the time, I must say, true. Even when numerous petitions were sent to the Education Ministry about possible advancements that could’ve been made, a reply was not even given out.

If that is the way the government is treating the Youth, then yeah, I’d rather be apathetic to our future. Because no one dares question the ruling party for fear of being the subject of constant animus.

The entire education and economic system is designed to destroy the people’s spirit. If everyone is too busy passing exams, working long hours and paying debts, they won’t have the time or daring to fight for airy-fairy ideals.

let we all singaporeans here give a word.

we are sick of this and no doubt we are too busy with long hours and debt and so on.

HERE WE STOP!!

here we put a stop and end of PAP and LKY. we will and will VOTE THEM OUT for sure this time. if they live they will live with a few seats for them or maybe not at all!

The fact that there are apathetic people in any country does not mean that majority singaporeans are less apathetic then any other country in the world.
In fact, i feel strongly that majority singaporeans are MORE apathetic than any other country in the entire world and some say the milky way.

Singaporeans youth are too pragamatic as they are brought up in a society where economic success means everything…which is true to a certain extent as our housing prices etc are like sky rocketing….

This is why i boldly conclude, not predict, that
THERE CAN BE NO CHANGE , THE KIND OF CHANGE YOU PEOPLE WANT.

look at how the elderlies are so happy in events held by the Romeo Charley members.

The future is here – it is no change that you want. there may be some changes but certainly not the change you expect.

juz methink.

Mission Impossibola.

You must handle the truth.

the only change singaporeans can get is once lee kuan yew die and the son will run under the table to hide from singaporeans

1. Blogs have very small portion of the population as readers.
This already provides Apathy exist.

2. Hong Lim Park is not utilised by people to speak up most of the time except lion dance people or students who use it for eca thingies and maybe used by members of the community club there.

singapore is no London where its Hyde park is used by its residents to voice up frequently.

This we must admit.

Its too clear. Majority Singaporeans (this includes young and 1st world undergraduates and graduates and adults) are Apathetic. Period.

you try to go speaker corner and talk out regarding PAP or LKY for just a minit you will see police arriving to arrest you. where is the freedom of speech? what for put up a speaker corner if you can talk about opposition and all bad about them and not even a word about pap and the goverment.

honestly PAP need to be voted out this time. chances are very slim as most singaporeans we spoke to has so much anger in oldfart and his pap. this people use to vote and support him but now their life getting far more worst as promises not been kept after winning and winning each election and gaining power. all lky can say is wait for good time. there is already a very good time but it is been snatch away from us for their own benefits

foreigners pay more taxes and levy than singaporeans and siingaporeans should be thankful to foreigners? oh really??

singaporeans:

1) pay high income tax

2) pay high property tax

3)pay high gst

4)pay high town counsil

5)pay high SP bills

6)pay high transportation fare

7)pay high medical fee

singaporeans are force to accept lower paid jobs

so this is what basically singaporeans are paying for the rest of their life and with low income how do you expect singaporeans to have even a small amount of savings for the future to retire old age?

or is there a retire for us singaporeans? we don’t see that yet.
the pap and the goverment have made a way that singaporeans are to earn within the limit as not to allow us to have savings and our saving is in the hand of the goverment and it is up to them if they wish to give it to us or to pocket in the own banks.

with low income and no savings..singaporeans are merely a slave working harder and harder each day to survive and what we earn are basically not ours, we only see the digits of our pay but do we really own it? NO!!

this is to contain singaporeans in this country as not to allowed any of us lower income earn to flee the country. the goverment knows well what it would be is one singaporeans were to give enough money and savings.., resulting them not wanting to live in singapore and flee away. why is this so? ask the goverment!!

so this is why poor singaporeans have no choice but to accept the indirectly of human slavery and torture and to let us live in pain despite knowing that we are suffering they simply doesn’t care as all this long in their mind is….WHICH SINGAPOREANS DARE TO VOICE UP?? the answer is NONE!!

vote after vote singaporeans blindly give in and hoping the goverment will pity and the old folks and the child to help them come up in live and feel the life they dreaming to live in. but the goverment simply do not have this time for us singaporeans

all their concern is:
you work you pay us
you sick you pay us
you want a house a place of shelter you pay us
you want help? sorry goverment has no money for us singaporeans

this is what will happen if singaporeans keep voting for them and they think we fear them
singaporeans think opposition will make our life more worst.
so are our life now any good? NO!!

as lky says..look at singapore now..yes singapore is beautiful!! with casino,F1 track, hotels,lots and lots of tourist attractions,lots and lots of entertainment for tourist

and what is singaporeans citizen getting out of all this? nothing. we have to keep sweating out daily to support and give the goverment the money they need to make more of this to attract tourist, foreigner working here and to give them support and welcome them with an open heart and help them even to land here with a high paying jobs and living in luxuries properties.

we singaporeans are carrying their loads.

ukrain in the ns?well…why not put the whole china national ,indian ,vietnamese ,japanese, korean and more.. into our army? must as well call in osama bin laden to join our army too as things would be easy for singapore to be destroy in any country finger tips. is this what we call defending our country?
STUPID LEE KUAN YEW!! you are exposing our country to disaster and open our country and selling piace by piece to foreign landing here. is this the promise you made for us singaporeans to vote you for the past 50years??!!

WE WILL VOTE YOU OUT THIS TIME AND WOULD NOT CONSIDER OVER YOUR GOODIES BAGS!!

why must we wait until he leaves this world. why can’t ppl just vote him out. I think you start the ball rolling that way. he can’t run too far. he will probably be like cheney, coming to say words of bitterness..for eg. singaporeans are ungrateful.

from there… you can then open the books…..pry into the truth. just use your votes and stop waiting….

As time goes by, issues are forgotten.
The longer the better.
People forgets.
Why?
People are indeed Apathetic.
Hope can come ONLY After the NEW Beginning.
provided u know what i mean.

“Why, one may ask? Are we born to be apathetic?”

you know, babies are born with glass empty.
young children are innocent and creative.
Thru nurturing, some became Wise, have compassion and learned while others are nurtured to be Opportunists, crones and kangs.

1) Muhamad Nur on October 23rd, 2009 12.05 am ,

Nur, i agree with you totally.

does it matter if we are apathetic or do we care about singapore? when even if we ask for a change, there are always ways to be clamped down by the almighty pap…is there any use in caring about singapore? roflmao…

As long as PAP is incumbent, does it matter if we care about our politics?

At the rate foreigners are invading us, it would even be our country soon.

Reminds me of the Titanic. The captain (leader) wanted to reach the destination too hastily for the benefit of his own wallet.

Too many people were let onto the ship, such that there is not enough life boats.

The rich are too absorbed with their indulgences to see the problem. The poor are not told of the problem. In the end what happened?

Singapore=Titanic?

Years later, I may be holding a blue diamond and telling the story of SG’s demise and collapse. Thank YOU PAP and thanks to the 2/3 of the population who chose them.

I would be holding a board saying “The End is Coming” and stand at Orchard, but heck, what do I care for this measly island…

The Evidence before us, i mean the number of postings here , clearly shows that singaporeans are apathetic.

Good article…reminds me of what we all were doing, when we were young,

The important part is that Singapore parents have a heavy load of work to talk about policies or events which happen among our midst to their kids.

Kids are nuturally meant to do well in school, they are kept busy too, with tuition and what not in school. We seriously can’t be blaming the kids because it’s a natural tendency to look for more fun and have fun. They are discovering themselves anyway.

The government our PAP, on the other habd is too paranoid of losing power and thus the idea of making Singaporeans….. Workers and workers for MNC’s and govt agencies …this did not come by accident. It was a policy.

What are we going to do in the next 20 to 30 years, now that is a big, in fact a very BIG question our PAP leaders themselves are asking, without any concrete answer.

One way is to go the same route, why fix something which is not broken, on the other hand, times have changed so much that if we don’t change then…ARE we going to be stuck.

I would like to throw back this question ….to the PAP leaders.
What would happen if the old ways do not work. What would happen, if Singaporeans are out of jobs and under-employed.
For most of us, we know, the ones who have made money would just leave.
What about the ones who are serious and committed to Singapore. What befalls them.
This question must be answered by the present PAP govt, I mean the ones who are going to be alive for the next 30 years. Where does their passion lie.
What is their answer. I wonder.

This is a pradigm shift..taking place in modern Singapore. It is interesting to watch. However, I must add that most people and students especially have come forth to ask such pertinent questions and it is encouraging to know that we have fighters among our midst.

I just hope the PAP does not turn it into a job scope to keep such young people in check, but to do what is best for the nation.

Then the PAP can live life satisfied doing the right thing and people choosing the right leaders who have their interest at heart.
For now, many things are lacking on both ends.

23) Pay when Paid on October 23rd, 2009 10.08 pm

The fact that there are apathetic people in any country does not mean that majority singaporeans are less apathetic then any other country in the world.
In fact, i feel strongly that majority singaporeans are MORE apathetic than any other country in the entire world and some say the milky way.

Come to Perth.
The youth here will challenge that!