Light always takes the shortest and straight route, but not creativity!

Sometimes, I really can't help worrying for Singapore's future. Just heard on radio yesterday, a programme about South Korea, and I can tell you I don't have to see images, just hearing about the lifestyle, their technology and I feel that Singapore is not going to be able to compete if changes aren't made. As always, I feel that Singapore is a wonderul country and provides a relatively good life to its citizen. But where has all the dynamism gone? Where are the important forces that is supposed to make Singapore a cosmopolitan, exciting, cultural city?(That's what the trousim board always promote, but where is it?)

It is not one of those, insider boredom thing. It is not because I'm discontent as an insider. There really is something lacking in Singapore society beyond the farce we put up for tourists. The esplanade, the merlion, the orchid, trishaw rides, they are symbols with nothing to back them up. I am surprised that Singapore have such few talents that are international recognized and Singapore have almost no cultural produccts which we export. Sun Yan Zi is our only "national pride". Something is wrong. How can we be more influential in Asian? Is military might and economic prosperity enough?

There is a reason why Japan, and S.Korea are so glamourized nowadays. Yes they are economic powers, but they have a pop-culture which they sell. That's why many want to learn about their society, want to travel to the countries, want to eat their food, learn their language, buy their products, watch their movies. And then, you'll look at Singapore and wonder, what is missing? We have an educated force, we have the economic power. We have the cultural diversity, but why isn't there any chemistry to push Singapore ahead.

Again, I am surprised. But maybe I shouldn't really be. The government has been going on forever about creativity, but yet, they leave very little (if any at all) space for such creative exploration. How to? When most parents still think that STUDY is most important, anything else is CCA. How to, when most people still think Arts education is worthless compared to the hard sciences? How to, when the government tries to direct creativity processes? They are trying, we all can see that. BUt the trick is really to try less, so that an autonomous space can be carved out for the artists to explore. Right now, they are trying to encourage creativity, they have lots of activities in the new National library. But art is not born in the official spaces. Not in the library. Not in the esplanade. They come from the backstreets, from the underground tunnels. They don't take the structured path. they take the side routes and the dirt paths. And if the government thinks that by simply encouraging through official measures, artists are going to start popping out, they are quite wrong. They need to step back and give the society more space to think, debate, invent and create. And we really need to look beyond education to find something that can define us as a new generation of Singaporeans.