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> there aren't huge issues to protest Aside from the issues mentioned in the OP? Or if you are gay? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377A_of_the_Penal_Cod

by fpgeek 13y ago

> there aren't huge issues to protest Aside from the issues mentioned in the OP? Or if you are gay? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377A_of_the_Penal_Code_%28Singapore%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_377A_of_the_Penal_Code_... Or immigration policy? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 Or... I live in Singapore too, and while there are plenty of pluses there are also plenty of minuses and they shouldn't be minimized or ignored.

latch 13y ago
Ok, you and zainny make fair points. I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of, say, Turkey right now..or Somalia. But even if it isn't at that scale, freedom of speech is important and I was wrong do dismiss it so casually.
- potatolicious 13y ago
  I don't think anyone seriously compares Singapore to Somalia or Turkey - by that measure it's a veritable paradise. The comparisons I have seen have all compared it to developed, first-world countries like most of western Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc. It is, after all, the league that Singapore wants to play in both in image and influence.
eru 13y ago
The protest about the immigration policy actually makes me glad that Singapore isn't run as a democracy.
- ValentineC 13y ago
  Do you mind elaborating?
  - tengkahwee 13y ago
    I think eru meant that a majority of Singaporeans are feeling the pinch and sentiments towards foreigners are at an all time low. Mainly due to loss to jobs and housing opportunities to foreigners. Our government however maintained that foreigners are essential to growth and had there been a voting process in this decision there will be ugly results. However I will not go as to say Singapore is less democratic due to this point.
    - eru 13y ago
      Yes. And I am with the government on this. I am a foreigner myself here, but where I grew up---in eastern Germany---the attitude towards foreigners is way worse. And the region has not benefitted in the least from that attitude. (As an aside, it is crazy how many Americans seem to have crazy xenophobic attitudes, too. On their `left' and `right' of the political spectrum.)
crdoconnor 13y ago
>Or if you are gay? Section 377A is pretty rarely (if ever) enforced nowadays, and judging by the government's current lacklustre response to protests against it, I have a feeling they'll probably be repealing it in the next couple of years. There's even a gay village up in Changi. >Or immigration policy? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 The government has reacted to that by tightening up visa requirements. Probably not nearly as much as the protestors, but they're still paying attention and responding. Not saying that these aren't issues, or that they shouldn't be protested, but compared to most other countries, you've still got it pretty good here.

by fpgeek 13y ago

latch 13y ago

Ok, you and zainny make fair points. I guess I was looking at it from the perspective of, say, Turkey right now..or Somalia. But even if it isn't at that scale, freedom of speech is important and I was wrong do dismiss it so casually.

potatolicious 13y ago
I don't think anyone seriously compares Singapore to Somalia or Turkey - by that measure it's a veritable paradise. The comparisons I have seen have all compared it to developed, first-world countries like most of western Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, etc. It is, after all, the league that Singapore wants to play in both in image and influence.

eru 13y ago

The protest about the immigration policy actually makes me glad that Singapore isn't run as a democracy.

ValentineC 13y ago
Do you mind elaborating?
- tengkahwee 13y ago
  I think eru meant that a majority of Singaporeans are feeling the pinch and sentiments towards foreigners are at an all time low. Mainly due to loss to jobs and housing opportunities to foreigners. Our government however maintained that foreigners are essential to growth and had there been a voting process in this decision there will be ugly results. However I will not go as to say Singapore is less democratic due to this point.
  - eru 13y ago
    Yes. And I am with the government on this. I am a foreigner myself here, but where I grew up---in eastern Germany---the attitude towards foreigners is way worse. And the region has not benefitted in the least from that attitude. (As an aside, it is crazy how many Americans seem to have crazy xenophobic attitudes, too. On their `left' and `right' of the political spectrum.)

crdoconnor 13y ago

>Or if you are gay? Section 377A is pretty rarely (if ever) enforced nowadays, and judging by the government's current lacklustre response to protests against it, I have a feeling they'll probably be repealing it in the next couple of years. There's even a gay village up in Changi. >Or immigration policy? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21485729 The government has reacted to that by tightening up visa requirements. Probably not nearly as much as the protestors, but they're still paying attention and responding. Not saying that these aren't issues, or that they shouldn't be protested, but compared to most other countries, you've still got it pretty good here.