2	Deconstructing, PM Lee, Chinese New Year, Singapore

What better way to mark an occasion so steeped in superstition than a message filled with mythology? In PM Lee’s Chinese New Year Message 2010, enough falsehoods have been weaved into a few hundred words that can rival two thousand years of Chinese civilization. Let us de-construct some juicy bits below:

We are at a turning point in our economic development. We cannot continue importing foreign workers as liberally as before, because we will run up against space constraints. This means our total workforce will expand more slowly, which by itself would imply slower economic growth. To make up for this, and achieve the 3-5% growth target, we must raise productivity much faster, and do more with the resources that we have.

Space Constraints? What a euphemism; a term that grossly glosses over all the controversies of our liberal immigration policy; two words that make it sound like the only objection we have to foreigners is their uncanny ability to occupy space. What of the dilution of our culture, of second class citizenship, of sports medals won but lost forever, of the implied superiority of foreign talents, of a lost sense of entitlement, of pink ICs doled out freely, of the insulting depiction of the new hard-working migrant pitted against now-lazy Singaporeans with their thick hides un-spurred? Two words. Space Constraints. What a judicious economy of words, what un-paralleled summarizing skills.

Upgrading productivity is therefore a vital task. We must not fail, otherwise our economy will stagnate, our city will become less vibrant and our children will enjoy fewer opportunities.

If this line of narration is continued further, I am sure that the next line will be that our women will become maids in foreign countries. Yet another threat appears in the radar for impending national crises. Yet another monster to defeat. Singapore seems to be the setting for a Godzilla movie with so many threats always surfacing. I am sick of running on an adrenaline rush ever since I came out of my womb. Code red is always turned on in Singapore. Always.

Some Chinese couples prefer not to have children during the Year of the Tiger. In each of the last three Tiger years (1998, 1986 and 1974), the number of births dipped by 7%. It is one thing to encourage ourselves with the traditional attributes of the zodiac animals. But it is another to cling on to superstitions against children born in the Year of the Tiger, who are really no different from children born under other animal signs.

And guess who is the first to pat you on the back for being superstitious and having a baby in the Year of the Dragon? As with everything else - values, ideals, principles – what is not useful to the narrative of the ruling party is callously discarded, and what is useful, zealously promoted.

The family is the basic unit of our society. During this Chinese New Year period, Chinese families will gather for their reunion dinners, and over the next few days visit relatives and friends all over the island.

The old lie that the family is the basic unit of society is repeated again and again to the benefit of the ruling party. Repeat after me children. The family is the basic unit of our Confucian society.  The family is the basic unit of our Confucian society.  The family is the basic unit of our Confucian society. A Singapore with its patriarchal Father figure watching over us unruly children is the natural result that is thus justified.

A second lie can be inferred from the phrase “The family is the basic unit of our society”. The offending word is “our”. It presents an Asian-centric view bias that proudly defends the primal role of a family in an Asian culture but denies the equally important role of a family in Western cultures. The subtext is that the family is an Asian invention and by contrast, Westerners and other people are street urchins born and bred in the streets without knowing the warmth of a family.  And hence Asian values are continued to be trumpeted and our one party-state justified.

As a closing thought, don’t you think that it is rather insidious that so many truisms have been packaged into even simple addresses like this?

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Gently persuaded by several legal instruments, I am proudly protecting my nation in two years of forced conscription. As a result, blog posts will regrettably be slow. For those waiting for news of Mike, I am still in the middle of writing out my three days account with him. Please check back within the week. Have a very happy Chinese New Year, it has been really great having all you guys and girls as readers.