Perceived (mis)handling of the pandemic by the Singapore Government

21 May 2021

"Singaporeans want their Government to put their safety first."

once in a (very rare) blue moon, Straits Times published a pretty neat & well-articulated article.

"...this dissonance between complaint and response buttresses the feeling that the powers that be have chosen to obfuscate, temporise or not address what they consider as uninformed outbursts."

"What fuelled this perception is the regular official reminder that Singapore needs migrant workers and that there will be a grave economic cost if the country shuts its borders. This has not gone down well because Singaporeans, by and large, do understand that foreign workers are needed in construction, nursing and other sectors which the local workforce shuns. And they are not clamouring for a complete shutdown of the borders."

"It would also be wrong to call it xenophobic or racist... But Singaporeans want their Government to put their safety first."

"...it would be a mistake to dismiss the dissatisfaction uttered thus far as just "noise" in the ether..."

i will say this is a good lesson on 因小失大 (pyrrhic victory). being so desperate on prioritizing the economy, but end up losing World Economic Forum, Shangri La Dialogue, the cursed HK travel bubble, Brunei reciprocal green lane & people's trust/unhappiness. + do so much to 'suck-up', but yet still kena 'backstab' by a Chief Minister from that sub-continent. not that i support hosting major f2f MICE or leisure travel now, but this failed strategic planning is really a case of 得不偿失. jokes.

i feel, the pandemic exposed a few fundamental issues of the G & society at large:
1. Lack of mid-term to long-term national vision.
2. Poor communication of policies/measures that result in confusion & anger.
3. Lack of transparency in criteria & data, leading to adverse speculation.
4. Not actively listening to the people (or more correctly, selective listening).
5. Shoving away questions/feedback/concerns as noise & pushing away responsibilities agitate people more & escalate the tension.
6. Late in clarifying questions/concerns or explaining policies snowballed the effects of rumours, diminishing the credibility of any clarification made later.
7. Neverending reactive measures / repeating similar mistakes.
8. Lots of "You know it wont work, but still insist of pushing out" silly or pre-mature measures. (eg. SHN, safe-entry, ktv pivot).
9. Lack of enforcement & leniency to criminals/offenders send the wrong signals.
10. Social Inequality gap is widening rapidly in recent years (not everyone has access to the same resources).
11. Distorted Meritocracy.
12. Diminishing presence of a fair & inclusive society.
13. Leaders without technical expertise just dont work, especially during a crisis.
14. Need to stop "kowtowing" to big bully nations.
15. Some people can be really stupid/selfish. (eg. refusal to wear mask, huge gathering, irrational craving to travel for leisure during pandemic, panic buying, visiting 'lup sup ktv').

Response to "What lies beneath the unhappiness over Covid resurgence in S'pore?" by Straits Times (original article at https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/what-lies-beneath-the-unhappiness-over-covid-resurgence-in-spore).

Labels:

Perceived (mis)handling of the pandemic by the Singapore Government   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.