联合早报电子版020208全文摘录：
http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp080202_513.shtml
新加坡人是“一流的抱怨者”
（2008-02-02）
● 蔡添成 周殊钦
政府所制定的一些政策，虽令国人抱怨不已，但这却是为了在国际的激烈竞争中保持新加坡足以同别人区别开来的独特性，而必须做的。
内阁资政李光耀举政府最近所宣布的公共交通改革措施为例，调侃新加坡人真是“第一流的抱怨者”，有些人甚至搬出既然曼谷市民可以忍受每小时15公里的汽车行驶时速，那为何我们就必须达到45公里为理由，对公路电子收费（ERP）的调整发牢骚。
“那是因为新加坡必须与众不同。如果我们没有流畅的交通，就会失去竞争优势。”
他提醒人们，新加坡目前之所以能吸引到跨国公司的经理到来开会，交通的便捷是其中的关键因素之一。如果我国不保持无论是从机场到开会地点，或从总公司到市中心都可在20分钟内抵达这个优势，跨国企业或许就会选择到空气污染比较严重的香港召开会议。
事实上，国际协会联盟（Union of International Associations）不久前才把新加坡选为世界十大最佳会议国家之一，而且是唯一入榜的亚洲国家，此外我国也第23度蝉联“亚洲最佳会议城市”。
李资政说，为了继续保持优势，政府着手改革交通政策，例如调高具惩罚性的公路电子收费以解决交通高峰时的塞车问题；把车辆的年增长率减至1.5％；拨款200多亿元扩建地铁网络；增建高速公路以及考虑建造轻型轨道系统等。
他指出，这么一来地价必定又会上涨，因此一定也会引来年轻一代埋怨屋价太高，造成他们买不起房子。不过，这一系列硬体设施的建设将使房地产的价值上涨，而政府只限公民买地，正是照顾人民的一种方式。
The following content taken from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ZY4Bn6q2s
THE COMPLAINTS CHOIR LOCAL LYRICS
(taken from cloudywind)
We get fined for almost everything
Drivers won't 'give chance' when you want to 'change lane'
The indoors are cold, the outdoors are hot;
And the humid air, it wrecks my hair
Those answering machines always make you hold
Only to hang up on you
When a pregnant lady gets on the train
Everyone pretends to be asleep
I'm stuck with my parents till I'm 35
Cause I can't apply for HDB
We don't recycle any plastic bags
But we purify our pee
What's wrong with Singapore?
Losing always makes me feel so sore
Cause if you're not the best
Then you're just one of the rest
My oh my Singapore
What exactly are we voting for?
What's not expressly permitted
is prohibited
"Ooh"
When I'm hungry at the food court, I see
People 'chope' seats with their tissue paper
To the aunty staying upstairs:
Your laundry's dripping on my bed sheets
Please don't squat on the toilet seats
And don't clip your nails on MRT
Stray cats get into noisy affairs
At night my neighbor makes weird animal sounds
People put on fake accents to sound posh
And queue up 3 hours for donuts
Will I ever live till eighty five
to collect my CPF?
Singaporeans too kiasu! (so scared to lose)
Singaporeans too kiasi! (so scared o die)
Singaporeans too kiabor!(scared of their wives)
Maybe we're just too stressed out! (even the kids)
"Ooh"
Old National Library was replaced by an ugly tunnel
Singaporean men can't take independent women
People blow their nose into the swimming pool
And fall asleep on my shoulder in the train
Singapore's national bird is the crane (the one with yellow steel girders)
Real estate agents' leaflets clogging up my mailbox (en bloc, en bloc; en bloc, en bloc)
Why can't we be buried when we die?
No one wants to climb Bukit Timah with me
"Ooh"
There are not enough public holidays
My neighbor sings KTV all night
Wedding dinners never start on time
My hair is always cut shorter than I want
Channel 5 commercials are way too long
Why do men turn bald?
At first it was to speak more mandarin
Then it was to speak proper English
What's wrong with my powderful Singlish?
People sit down during rock concerts
We have to pay for tap water at restaurants
ERP gantries are everywhere
But I can still see traffic jams on the road
All the bus stops have tilted benches to keep you off balance
we live in a country fighting to hav world class public transport, to be world class place for mangers to hav meeting, of course, the citizen hav to the the world class complainer also lah.
ReplyDelete李资政是站在一个在国际瞬间变化的宏观角度来看新加坡发展，而一般民众是以个人的材米油盐的微观角度来谈我们的日常生活所需。
我只是想，是不是一般老百姓的生活需求都一定会对新加坡的发展有所阻碍呢？什么时候政府才可以更了解和贴近一般老百姓的生活需求呢？
we live in a country fighting to hav world class public transport, to be world class place for mangers to hav meeting, of course, the citizen hav to the the world class complainer also lah.
ReplyDelete李资政是站在一个在国际瞬间变化的宏观角度来看发展新加坡，而一般民众是以个人的材米油盐的微观角度来谈我们的日常生活所需。两者的看法自然而然有所冲突。
我只是想，什么时候政府才可以更了解和贴近一般老百姓的生活需求呢？
http://www.complaintschoir.org/
ReplyDeleteWe have to complaint until one of the best, not just one of the rest?
ReplyDeleteOR Keep working but not talking?
i also dono ler. u hav to ask our leader. hehehe....
ReplyDeleteAren't you glad to be born Singaporean?
ReplyDeleteLiving life in the middle of everywhere, middle of extremes, middle of no wear?
Equiped with the best of languages, best of cultures, best of climate, we are able to spend the best years of our lives doing our "international service" by living life in the middle to inspire those who live in the extremes?
Singaporeans have come of age, and are ready to exhibit to the world her madamly charms, be they of the Western or the Oriental origins; the Villagers have become the Citizens of the World. No longer just the crossroad junction. She's become the HUB!
Sing on, and be glad. Cheer on, and be alive. Live on, for we are the lions!
When the Lion roars, the World will hear.
And remember, Singapore was 'born' on 8 August, a Leo. Her leonine charms will conquer the rest!
As I was leaving your site, I saw the chinese title "一流的抱怨者".
ReplyDeleteThough my chinese is not so good, isn't 抱 meaning "carrying" or "embracing"?
What, do we as Singaporeans, carry with us daily? What does the individual carry with him as he faces life? Do we only carry 怨 to exercise our mouths and lungs with such cheer? If we who live in the middle, are to inspire those in the extremes, shouldn't we learn to put down the 怨 and switch to something more healthy?
This Complaints Choir is only presenting a style of "Bao" (report) 怨 and shouldn't be seen as representative of all Singaporeans. Bringing a subject to the focus of the media subscribes to a certain degree of skewd perspective. How about a Compliments Choir? How would that be seen? Would that generate comments of "fakeness" by the masses, as they would see the "realness" of the complaints?
of course i m gald and proud to be singaporean. but i don wanna go into arguing abt whether its the "best" cos it concern how individual view oneself n the world.
ReplyDeletealso cos i believe every way/ style of living hav its own good (of course bad), i rather staying put then "conquering" the rest.
i think with each it best.
again, i do no wish to go into detail arguing of definition of "words".
ReplyDeleterather i think i believe in balance in everything (and anything?). i agreed with ur idea of having "Compliments Choir". this will of course balance the situation. i actually complained abt our canteen operator to our dean abt some situation. however, when it rectified the issue and hav done well, i also wrote appraisal to our dean.
my stand of reflecting this Complaint Choir, as a mature nation (and/ or citizen and/or leader), we should n we could hav the space to speak out an alternative voice. and i think the lyric in the song is not too controversial. its jus a normal "complaint" in the kopi tiam. why cant we jus take a as a humor way that we "suan" ourselves.
my earlier point of clarifying why i place the news n the video together is how MM Lee viewing this world n how a individual looking at sg is diff. they r actually looking at sg in diff prospective and you cant deny each and other cos the base r diff.
when we hav the SARS in sg some years back, i saw a news report that sg gov officer went to kill all the chicken pulau ubin to prevent SARS. scene 1 showed an old lady, v sad complaining to the reporter abt the killing (i think the old hav jus 1 chicken if i m not wrong). scene 2, showing the rep of the poultry assos of sg saying they hav buy the chicken above the retail price.
does u see any thing in this piece of new? the gov, the pouty assoc and the old lady r looking at chicken diff'y. gov: chicken=possible SARA media, assos: chicken=$$, chicken=an animal i keep (may be i love).
i jus wanna point out that diff pp actually looking a things diff n it is natural (i don like to use the word "rights") to voice out issue diff'ly.
tts all for now.
Good points, and bless this internet space for us to communicate then. Being able to see more perspectives than our original point of view always help to enlighten ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI was on a bus journey this afternoon and an imagery came to mind: [symbols]
On a big giant seesaw, there is a fixed point (fulcrum) in the middle [like we see in the playground]; on both ends [extremes] are the humans [weights]; imagine in free space: where would you be hanging [sitting/clinging/resting]?
hopefully not wif rope. :p
ReplyDeleteAiya, what your wifey will think? You'd most likely be throttled anyway, not by hanging...
ReplyDeleteno diff i think :p
ReplyDelete“...醫病兩造的對話，常著眼於不同文本的詮釋，因而產生搭不上的語言，對話就此疏離。尤其是Toombs提到，兩種聲音主導了臨床對話：由生物醫學出發的「醫學之聲」，由尋求專業指引的病人，依據其存在經驗所發出的「體驗之聲」。前者是客觀臨床資料的醫事技術語言，後者是因此醫學問題而生活斷裂的經驗。只有後者呈現了個人價值和特定生活面貌，因而也只有「體驗之聲」才能溝通病人的痛苦處境和痛點所在。因此，承認這兩種聲音間的異質，保證對話不被其中一方壟斷，才能讓病人和照顧者之間的對話有效。”
ReplyDelete--龔卓軍〈生病詮釋現象學：從生病經驗的詮釋到醫病關係的倫理基礎〉，《生死學研究》創刊號2003年12月，57-75頁
醫生以專業生理醫學的角度，和病人以個人身體經驗分別來看生病，造成醫病之間溝通得斷裂。這相對於管理者和老百姓對事物的看法的分歧，是不是有值得我們反思的角度呢？