That Rally

Ok this is a bit slow but I caught the national day rally 2 weeks ago. Every year I look forward to these rallies not to specifically listen on what government policies or initiatives there are in the pipelines for the nation, rather I tend to see how the PM does public speaking. I think politicians all around the world have this ability to not only speak well but to also inspire (think Barack Obama).

But this year, PM touched on something which I think what makes us uniquely Singapore, and it was something which made me listen more intently, the race and religion issue. He deems it sensitive but something which must be discussed from time to time. Normally, these are shit stirring issues which should be kept away from the public eye but he decided anyways to discuss it openly with the approval and support of his whole cabinet.

I will spare the details of the speech but honestly throughout the whole speech he was being politically correct about the whole issue. To me, it was as good as it not being discussed, albeit it being a refreshing changes as compared to previous rallies. He particularly mentioned 3 things which should be done to maintain the peace within the nation, and that struck a chord with me; in fact it should do the same with everyone else. Don't hard sell your religion (aggressive preaching); be tolerable with each other and extremism; not integrating with other faiths.

Truthfully, if you were to really look and see, you can most definitely see these things happening around us. It is like a swan that swims gracefully on the surface but look beneath and you can see it paddling furiously. Only a minority group is actually doing them but if that small minority group manages to escalate the issue, you would really have a situation in your hands.

This was the same Singapore which has been through racial riots and also riots with regards to the Maria Hertogh’s case and almost 50 yrs on, we needed to be reminded of the vulnerabilities of own home. These issues I believe have been taken for granted over the years that we all feel that it’s completely ok to stereotype one another and express our feelings openly disregarding the feelings of others and their community. Keep things which you think isn’t appropriate to be discussed to yourself. Addressing unhappiness over something could also be done tactfully. Lastly also be mindful of your actions, be considerate to others and do what’s best for all. No one is restricting anyone from doing what he/she needs to do for their religion or race practices, but do so bearing in mind that we don’t live in this space alone, we live together sharing one common ground. Although now there seems to be a lot of other flacks about this issue, from university students and whatnot, I do feel that all the points brought up are valid and we need to look at it from multiple angles to fully comprehend it and take it into our stride.

Personally I feel it’s a very dicey issue so one must really be tolerable towards things. Although PM's message wasn’t awe inspiring and the effect was pretty subdued, I still feel he got the point across that it is something we cannot risk breaking.