I agree fully with the sentiment concerning the virtues and advantages of the Singapore society as expressed here by Geoffrey Kirk, an English Anglican priest who knows Singapore well.
I have no knowledge of the details of his past association with Singapore. However this sermon and this article of his are online.
Fully recognizing the remarkable achievements of the Singapore government, I nevertheless deplore the suppression of dissent, and the infliction of emotional pain and financial loss on critics of the government.
Does such suppression serve the interests of the people, or those of the power elite?
The power elite claims that whatever is good for it is, axiomatically, good for the people. Therefore let the elite be untroubled, unexamined, and unchallenged, world without end.
I reject such a claim as preposterous.
With an electorate apparently (but not really, precisely because of the suppression of free inquiry) as well educated as those of most advanced democracies, when, if not now, will Singaporeans be mature enough to listen to all points of view, and think for themselves?
Here appear occasional jottings of my random musings. Profound or jejune, they reveal the contours of my mental universe, with world history, intellectual history, civilizations, philosophy, religion, society, knowledge, and books as some major themes. Since May 2011, this blog has been exclusively focused on Singapore. All my other reflections are now posted in "Notes from Noosphere" (see link under "Miscellany" on the right margin).
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