Tuesday 10 December 2013

Singapore Little India Riot 2013: Difficult times ahead for prosperous Singapore

Before the Little India riots broke out last Sunday, the last riot in 'squeaky clean' Singapore occurred in 1969 many decades ago. In 1969 it was largely between ethnic Chinese and Malays, in 2013 however it involved largely foreign workers from the Indian Sub-Continent. 

Read Forbes Report here for an interesting coverage of what many sees as something that will occur sooner rather than later.

Some videos of the Riots in Singapore:





This is a more interesting take on the Little India Riot by blogger GRK:

SINGAPORE ON THE BRINK

SINGAPORE ON THE BRINK
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong:
“whatever events may have sparked the  rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal  behaviour.”    “We will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with  the full force of the law,”.
It appears that the cloak of Singapore’s manufactured and artificial meritocracy (Sinocracy) is slowly but surely coming apart at the seams.
This “showcase” of “Asian values and economic prosperity” appears to be struggling to maintain its carefully crafted artificial image of a fair and prosperous society as the veneer of respectability peels away in the heat of an human experiment gone wrong.
Earlier this year Singapore deported with unholy haste 29 bus drivers (guest labourers) back to the mainland China. Their crime? Striking for better working conditions. The leader of the strike was jailed for 7 weeks. These were all ethnic Chinese (of the lesser variety if you asked a Singaporean).
“Human Rights” activists and civil societies supported by the US and George Soros have remained mute. First generation Singaporeans have nothing but contempt for its imported workforce with a common Singaporean insult being “you must be from China”.
A HUMAN DIMENSION OF SINGAPORE EMERGES FROM THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
With Thailand to the north on the boil, Malaysia now quiet having contained Singapore’s stirring of its political pot and the world economic mess not yet fully disclosed to Singaporeans, the government of Singapore through its Prime Minister continues to demonstrate the priorities  of his state. Human suffering and rights last, property and the island state’s image first.
The media carries a story about a riot in “little India” today. The story and any information about it will be contained and sanitized in every which way but……if Singapore has its way.
The prime minister has vowed swift and harsh retribution against these ‘offenders’. But little or no mention is made of the victim or the circumstances in which he met his end under a bus which precipitated the riot. Not even a cursory “my condolences to his family” or a “promise to get to the bottom of it” nor a “promise to investigate the root causes of what it is that created a flash riot in such circumstances”.
It is all about effect and image. It always was and the government hopes it always will be the case. And there are those who support such an ideological stand amongst Singaporeans. It is demonstrative of the contempt with which first generation Singaporeans treat their workers and those they consider a lesser people. Especially migrants with limited or no rights on the island. Read More here.
I think with the increase in migrant workers which now numbers more than a million to take up low paying but necessary Jobs in super rich Singapore which their people do not want, the root cause of the riots will fester, Singapore is indeed facing difficult times ahead.

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