It’s been a funny two months, as funnily enough, very good for the ego. The day I landed back in the UK, I ended up at a function where I was deemed “Good Looking,” by someone whose opinion on the subject matters to me. Weeks later, I found myself in a yoga class where a few people came up to me and asked if I was a fitness instructor because they found I had a “muscular physique.” That phrase would be repeated later on at a client meeting when the client noticed.
I guess you
could say that it’s an ego trip. I am now pushing 50 and words like “muscular
physique” and “Good Looking” are not phrases associated with men pushing 50 and
so I guess one might say that I should just accept the compliments where I can
get them.
However, the
truth is I don’t feel particularly good looking or muscular, even if at least
one of the compliments came from someone I wanted to notice. While I am fitter
than I used to, I am well aware that I am far from muscular or good looking.
The reason for that comes down to one peculiar quirk of my exercise routine – I’m
usually topless when I exercise.
I bring up this
analogy because tomorrow is Singapore’s National Day and our 58th
birthday comes at a very particular time. Singapore’s formerly “perfect”
government has found itself in a rather “imperfect” position. We’ve had a corruption
scandal involving a minister and our Speaker of Parliament who was once a
prominent star in government had to resign over an affair. Our Prime Minister,
who is over 70 and searching for a retirement option has had the unenviable
task of explaining how the system is holding strong when a good portion of the
public suspect it is falling apart. Our Prime Minister’s Speech on the issue
can be seen at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5LwmjZSWJI
How did this
all happen? Why is Singapore’s once famously invulnerable and omnipotent
government looking like it has feet of clay?
Well, I would
argue that the problem is that the government never got naked and looked at the
one thing that would not lie – the body that is the nation of Singapore. Sure,
Singapore does compare very well to most parts of the world and everyone who
visits inevitably praises Singapore as wonderful place. We have, as our
mainstream media has reminded us, have the best airline in the world, the best
airport and we’re generally the best of everything, according to the number of
international polls.
I think of the people
who have praised my physique and I’ve been really thrilled to get that praise. So,
I can imagine what our cabinet must be feeling whenever one of the
international polls rates something about Singapore amongst the world’s best.
However, does the external praise do one any good?
Well, I’m lucky
in the sense that the faults of my own body are petty glaring. The tummy (the
place where fat is often the most difficult to remove) makes its presence felt.
Try as I might, the belly fat remains visible for all, including myself. So,
whenever someone tells me I look good, I go back to my basic work out routine
and my body has a way of reminding me that I still have plenty of work to do in
order to get to where I would like to get before my 50th birthday.
So, the
question is, do our ministers have a “get naked” moment where the one thing
that can lie, speaks to them. If you look at Singapore’s institutions, you’ll
notice that our ministers have effectively become like a radio station
commercial – “Hear only the good stuff.” Let’s face it, our President is
supposed to be “independent” but two of the last four have been effectively
selected. Our judges have made some good decisions but nobody seriously expects
the judiciary to rule against any senior politician. As for our mainstream
media editors, well, let’s put it this way, most know who not to offend.
Nobody wants to
get naked and look at the body that cannot lie. So, they only hear the good
stuff and take it as the gospel truth of how things are. Talk to enough HDB
residents and there is inevitably one complaint – the MP only appears during
election. So, its this clear that the good stuff that our government has been
hearing is not the whole truth. Shouldn’t we use this National Day to get naked
to see the real state of our nation?
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