“this political situation is man-made” - said zahari
i’ve just watched Martyn See’s film Zahari’s 17 Years, and i had/have so many things to say about it and Said Zahari and Martyn See. but then again, the whole thing makes me very sad and very angry, and more than a bit empty inside.
Said Zahari says of Lee Kuan Yew, that whoever is not with him is his enemy.
and somewhere in the middle of the film, Said Zahari says “i’m still a singapore citizen. i was born in singapore, i grew up in singapore. i love singapore, singapore is my country“.
and perhaps that is what the government has to understand. i might not agree with everything that they do, and i will continue to critically assess their actions. but this is not because i’m communist or i’m anti-singapore. in fact, it’s because i love singapore so damn bloody much that i’m doing it. who else, if not singaporeans, have a right to question the way in which we are governed? who else, if not singaporeans, have a vested interest in the governance of singapore? who else, if not singaporeans, should speak up?
it’s not about the government, it’s about singaporeans.
but y’know, i don’t think they care. they’re in power, and they’ll do whatever it takes to stay in power, and reap all the benefits that come with it.
the other day kim and i were talking, and we were saying what makes a successful politician: is it one who does what he/she says in his/her mandate that got he/she elected, or one who is in power term after term. obviously, if you ask the electorate they’d say the former, but if you ask a politician, it’s the latter. and never the twain shall meet.
anyway, it all makes me feel so very pathetic and wishing that i had the guts to do something. really really do something. but instead, here are pictures of pretty things.
- singapore, london, issues, garden, photography | Time: 8:49 pm (UTC+8)
The irony is that if it hadn’t been banned, I probably wouldn’t have heard of Martyn See’s films. Now kena ban, die die must watch!
Lovely photos btw. Especially like the recycled pots for the rocket plus purple basil (??) on the bottom right hand corner.
Comment by ringisei — April 20, 2007 @ 9:23 am
i think he’s attained a certain notoriety which the government probably didn’t expect would lead to such popularity.
and, nowadays, the problem is that if anything is banned, it’s immediately talked about and known about because everyone has the internet and you can get ANYTHING on the internet if you know where to find it. whereas in the past, if they banned a film or a book you’d actually have to be looking for it in the first place before realising that it’s unavailable.
also, human nature is such that we’re always looking to attain what is just out of reach. which is why prohibition laws are rarely successful except in circumstances when the sovereign territory and/or the population is of such a size that is easily controlled and/or manipulated.
p/s: it’s not purple basil, it’s purple tiger chilli. very prolific, and very ornamental.
Comment by ejl — April 20, 2007 @ 4:32 pm