The National Anthem at Hong Lim Park today

The thousands of people gathered at Hong Lim Park today ended the meeting with the singing of the National Anthem. As I watched the clip on Facebook, I thought how reluctant the students in our schools are singing it. In fact schools have given up. Unlike my time, the singing and music is played over the sound system.

My kids said in school they were forced to sing. Among these thousands they sang for solidarity and hope that they might not lose the country. I have mixed feelings. This protest gathering was naive. I wonder if they know what they are doing and which road they are going down. Of course I am angry with the PM. It boggles the mind how he and his ministers could be so out of touch.

Note to self: See also later post: Political Fodder at Speakers' Corner



Related:
Bloomberg: Singaporeans Protest Plan to Increase Population by Immigration
Reuters: Large crowd braves rain to denounce Singapore population plan
BBC: Rare mass rally over Singapore immigration plan

Update: Feb 17 7am

Channel News 5 report on the event, which I thought was quite good. Note that the WP was missing. They were the shrewd ones. This is not the wise (it's not wrong) to engage the PAP. We can't do it like elsewhere and get the best results for ourselves. If we were like other countries, you would have seen at least ten times more turnout. Most of us are quite inscrutable especially to the PAP. That is why we keep surprising them when we vote.