Dear Friends,
For the Easter weekend, I have penned the following letter to the Forum page...
Have great long weekend,
Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan
Letter to Traditional Media:
(addendum: printed in Today click here)
Dear Editor,
Re: We welcome the prodigal son unless he is Chen Show Mao?
Singaporeans accept this maxim: Achieve success in a developed country overseas and recognition by Singapore society will be “automatic” and almost a given.
On this Easter weekend, many may know that the Bible mentions that “A Prophet Hath No Honour in His Own Country”.
That is why we are so proud of the few internationally recognised stars we have such as fashion designer Ashley Isham and pop stars Kit Chan (Chen Jieyi) , Stephanie Sun (Sun Yanzi) and JJ Lin (Lin Junjie).
Ashley left Singapore as a normal person in 1996, but when he made it in London after a stint in the prestigious Central St. Martin’s College, the whole of Singapore embraces him as our own, even if many of us may not dare to wear his esoteric creations.
So many of us loved Kit and her Heartache (Xintong) album and tracked her path to success in Taiwan with pride and it was only after she and Singaporeans like Stephanie and JJ became household names in Taiwan that we their countrymen knew how good they were.
In social circles, we call this the “Prodigal son” syndrome. Most of us have heard of the biblical parable where the father seemingly welcomed and loved the prodigal son more than the other children who toiled diligently at home.
This is true in most aspects of Singapore except for the strange case of a certain Mr. Chen Show Mao. I hereby state that I am not associating Show Mao with the wining and dining which the original prodigal son was accused of. I need not extol Show Mao’s credentials anymore as almost everyone has Harvard, Stanford and Oxford at the tip of their tongues and the more well -read would also know of the Agricultural Bank of China’s US$22b IPO (which is really a big deal!).
Yet the PAP chooses to treat him like a leper ( sorry- Easter reminds me of Bible again).
Why?
Is it because, Show Mao, and those that he may attract, poses a real threat to PAP’s hegemony and supremacy?
Food for thought for this long weekend.
Anyway, Show Mao, the rest of Singapore welcomes you home. Home is where your heart is.
You have nothing more to prove.
Cheers,
Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan
6 comments:
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I quite enjoy your post but I disagree with the sentence that the PAP is treating Chen Show Mao like a leper. Does asking a few questions, weven pointed ones, amount to that?
I remember a time when I watched in amuzement the PAP trundling out their prized catches and trumpeting the strings of academic qualificatiions each posseses - as if that is all that matters about the candidates' abilities and capabilities. Looks like the pendulum has swung to the other extreme and all Singapore is now agog with Chen Show Mao's academic credentials - as if that is all there is to it, and no questions to be asked please, lest Singapore loses a prodigal who is going to be our saviour from all the woes that beset us.
Chen Show Mao did the pure science combination in NJC. Show Mao aced it for his cohort year. Yet he was rejected for Medicine Fac.
Serendipity ... that a doctor is now standing up for Show Mao in his blog posting!
To Wang Sun -
I reckon that Chen Show Mao's interview comments have found a resonance with many of us.
Hence, some of us are (i) naturally protective of Show Mao and (ii) instinctively wary of PAP's handling of Show Mao, esp with PAP's track record to date.
I reckon that Chen Show Mao's Presidency of National Junior College's Students Council in his youth already points to his potential and inclination towards politics if and when the time comes.
And the time has come! Yeh!!!
I like your post, but I don't agree with this sentence, the people's action party is the treatment shows Chen MAO zedong as leprosy patients. And ask a few questions, pointed out that the amount of series?
I remember once, I look at the people's action party at the amusement park in their precious capture and preach the strings of academic qualificatiions each posseses - if this is most important on the candidate's ability and function. Looks like the pendulum turn to the other extreme, all Singapore now eagerly and Chen show MAO zedong's academic qualifications, if this is all it is, no questions to ask, in order to avoid losing please Singapore vagabond who will save us from all our problems.
Great bllog post
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