I just read the full transcript of the Prime Minister’s speech. It was the quickest way I could think of to get seriously depressed and get an appropriately heavy counterweight to the heady euphoria of the first day of the academic year.

The supercilious, paternalistic tone was upsetting enough. Do this, so that we as a country may prosper. Don’t do that, because that’s wrong. This is the way to do things. Put in a generous mix of materialism (”the economy which is a precondition for everything we want to do”), linear narrow-mindedness in the unspoken assumption that there is only one correct way to do things, plus the buzzwords and cliches so well-worn that people are tired of even pointing them out, and it’s a potent, heady mixture, powerful enough to drain optimism without quite crushing the soul.

I will try to point out the hidden subtexts, the things unsaid. The things that convince me, more than ever, that my best course of action is to run far, far away. It’s already 26 hours by flight; I’m not sure of there are very many places I can go that are farther from home.

The whole casino integrated resort thing, to begin with. Does any one remember that not too long ago, someone withdrew from the bidding with a lot of huffing and puffing about the Singapore bureaucrats being too demanding in wanting to micromanage every last detail of the proposed resort?

[T]he government knows what it’s doing and can get people to go with it[...] if you plonk your investment here, few billion dollars, it will be safe, it will be profitable and people will work and there will be results.

I seem to recall something about risk and reward from freshman economics. I thought the whole point is that a large reward can only come from taking a large risk. How can something be both a safe investment and hugely profitable at the same time? I really must be missing something…

Each time there is a down cycle, people take training upgrading very seriously, then the economy recovers, then they slacken off, they find jobs, then down cycle, they are scrambling again

Well, excuse me, Mr. I-have-a-secure-job. Maybe the reason why people stop “upgrading” when the economy picks up is because they want to actually be able to feed their dependents. Duh.

Let’s be realistic here. The people most at risk in a downturn are those whose jobs are most easily replaceable, and this overwhelmingly means workers in entry-level jobs, even if they may be elderly. Maybe there’s a good reason not to hold the economy as a paramount rationale for government policy.

It’s not just smiles to welcome guests but it’s also service from the heart, not just being nice to them but knowing what to do and knowing your job and being able to take care of them and leave them with a clear impression that this is a special place and that what they can do in Singapore they can’t do in many other places in the world[...] Because this will be the real thing and not just a glossy picture.

We are trying but it’s a global market and we are in demand. We have to accept this reality.

It’s nice to know that at least one person up there appreciates, finally, that globalization cuts both ways. This is but an inevitable outcome of whoring the economy to the rest of the world and exposing it to (then) cheap and hardworking, if somewhat naive, labor.

But of course, while it’s good to have people abroad, we also hope that they don’t spend all their life there and at some stage, they will decide to come back to Singapore. We also worry, we worry because if every trained and skilled Singaporean is abroad, then who is going to be here in Singapore, jaga rumah, looking after the home, keeping Singapore dynamic, vibrant, beating?

This is statistically impossible, and also economically impossible, since the last few people to leave will have the market swing so strongly in their favor that they will have enormous incentives just to stay. Not to mention that many people who left Singapore have good reasons for doing so, and many of them will feel the push factors strongly, no matter what.

I think they had a good discussion with the ministers and I think this is something we should encourage. In fact some of these organizers will be invited to tea. We need to link up with them, serious events, not so serious events.

Tea sessions are such a convenient catch-all for anything ranging from planning serious policy to getting to know your scholars to a prelude for a dressing-down.

Countries know, people know Singapore.

Yes, most people know of Singapore. But do you really want to know what the average non-Singaporean will say when asked about Singapore? “Singapore is very clean, incredibly clean; it is also very safe because laws are very strict. Is it really true that you aren’t allowed to chew gum? Oh, and I heard you can get whipped on the butt for drawing on other people’s cars.”

How’s that for successful marketing?

You want Korean ginseng chicken, you can get the real thing cooked by a Korean.

Excuse me, but importing Korean people doesn’t automatically mean importing Korean food. Maybe I should clarify that: authentic Korean food. Anyone who has been forced to eat Chinese food in the Western World will understand what I’m trying to get at here.

In America, they take people from all over the world. They don’t become fully American immediately but [...] after four-five generations, the name is different but actually you speak the same twang.

Mr. Lee really ought to spend more time at the grassroots level in the US to realize how wrong he is. I will not comment on his comments on the Europeans since I have never spent any significant amount of time there.

And I am told some young people even get married on the Internet. I don’t recommend it.

In George Orwell’s 1984 there was mention of crimestop, of being selectively stupid so that the inherent contradictions of what one says or thinks never becomes apparent.

Think about it: is there really any objective disadvantage to getting married to someone you met online? You’d think that if you were in charge of a country with one of the world’s lowest fertility rates, you’d think twice before criticizing anything that might benefit the birth rate.

Our people take very easily to IT. It has opened up many opportunities for us, for our economy, lots of jobs which Singaporeans can do and broader benefits for the whole economy.

More correctly, take easily to using IT. Innovating is another story altogether.

We have got to keep this government serious and responsible[...] You have to have debates which will add reasons, which will add enlightenment, which will come to a conclusion and not just end up in angry words and name calling[...] passion and emotion must also be balanced by logic, thinking, calmness and wisdom. There is no point just working people up, running down our institutions because at the end you make our problems harder, not easier to solve. It leads to nowhere.

Crimestop. Insert my favorite quote about democracy not being a tea party here.

“being Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry but of conviction and choice”

I am quite sure that I am seeing this completely out of context; the best I can do is to analyze it in the context that I am seeing it. Of course being Singaporean is a matter of ancestry. Genealogical ties are some of the strongest bonds people can feel. The Screwy Skeptic can tell you that. It is also a matter of citizenship, along with its plethora of rights and responsibilities. But of course being Singaporean is also a matter of conviction and choice. You can always vote with your feet and leave if you’re not happy. But how many of those grouchy people will actually do so? How many of those will take the road less taken, the one KnightofPentacles took?

The sad thing, really, was that this was meant to be a rally speech. Not only was it tepid and uninspiring, it was downright soul-sucking. How’s that for beginning a new birth year with pomp and circumstance?

P.S I won’t even comment on the mee siam mai hiam omission from the official transcript that has drawn so much ire from the blogosphere.

P.P.S. Ditto on the tacit assumption that Singapore will do well by riding the gravy train from Chinese/Indian ascendency. That is an entire rant onto itself.