Maybe we will be better off with a more authoritarian regime

Ok, something more interesting to share on National Day week. 

Maybe I’m slowly becoming a cranky uncle, but I’m beginning to miss the old days where Lee Kuan Yew would meet you at the cul-de-sac to resolve any political differences with him. 

One of the reasons is that I live in Woodlands and for more than a year, Marsiling Mall hawker centre had that policy of charging an extra $0.50 to use a tray and then, to get back your money, you needed to return the trays to the conveyer belt. Execution was expensive and muddled, I had grassroots folks or “ambassadors”  basically staring at me while I ate my food. I even scolded them for trying to take picture of me. The truth is that these ambassadors are facing a rebellious lot in the North. I’ve seen some old Chinese uncles would buy the food from the stalls, make a mess on the table and then return just the tray to get their money back, they’ll do anything to stick it to the government. 

It was then that I realise that Jackie Chan was right, Chinese people need to be governed. When the government started to impose fines for not returning trays, hawker centres became a lot more pleasant to hang out in. 

I don’t know what is wrong with policy makers, maybe they are infected by the Left as in many Western countries. A lot of money can be saved if we moved towards a fine immediately. By shuffling their feet and focusing on consensus and experimentation, the government makes itself seem weak and effete.   

As of now, we’re not dealing with recalcitrant tray non-returners anymore, there is a tribe of anti-vaxxer’s trying to frustrate our efforts to vaccinate a large part of our population so that businesses can resume. This movement is gaining traction and I can see some really unscrupulous individuals trying to monetise and sell products to these group of people. Over the past few days, friends who infiltrate these anti-vax groups have started sharing with me stuff that’s off the charts, from some religious fundamentalist claiming that a vaccine marking is the Mark of Beast to some new age spiritualist who think that spiritual purity will protect them from the virus. 

I think by now, we should know that the gloves are off. Our vaccination numbers are large enough for us to provide a firm differentiation between those who are vaxxed and those who are not. 

But that is only the beginning. 

Both PAP and WP support the vaccination efforts. I fail to see what political capital can be sacrificed if we pass some laws to deal anti-vaxxers. If we don’t do anything about these folks, they may evolve into a kind of 5th Column in Singapore. The government will have it’s hands full with the Leftists and Anti-Vaxxers in time to come. 

Human nature is like this. 

A percentage of the Singapore population is too disagreeable and non-conscientious to support policies that benefit everyone. If anything, they just want to watch the world burn. Social media enables them to form groups and even find corporate sponsors at the same time.

I hope before out National Day celebrations, the government can take firm action against anti-vaxxers in Singapore. 

If we can’t take them all down, taking down their leaders should set some kind of example for the rest of the country.