Yes, we all know that IMF/World Bank is going to hold its annual meeting in Singapore. We’ve been told to smile, the drivers in cabs I’ve been in this week or so seem generally more conversational and friendly. All that motivational speak did work after all. They’ll still cut 3 lanes to get to their destination, but hey, it may be to your favour. Lariena and I took a spin in chel’s car after sending marycherry home last saturday. We decided to cruise around at the town area, to see the flowers that were purposely planted by the roads and highways to show that we truly live up to our name as a Garden City. There were sunflowers, chrysanthemums, the works. The govt definitely pulled out all the stops on this one, bending over backwards, so eager to please. But of course, that’s not the point, the point is how Singapore is treating those activists. We’ve banned them, designated places for them to wave their placards– no more hot and sweaty streets for you, the streets are for the good honest people of Singapore who subscribes to capitalism, the activists can go and protest in an air-conditioned environment somewhere at suntec city. Unless you want to go to Batam to join the other group of supporters offering moral support of such protests overseas.
Singapore has been made to look like the the usually paranoid, insecure single-party state it has been portrayed as in international media. Fair enough, I personally think that a lot of things about the paranoia, insecurity and single-party part is true. But the thing is IMF knows this, the World Bank knows this. My take on these things is that they actually chose Singapore for its high level security, so that the protests don’t get out of hand. And seriously, I think they understand that Singapore will also do more than what is required. And that by choosing Singapore, the activists and the World Bank can actually have a common ground/goal or enemy– Singapore. Thus uniting them when they can never be united. This will then distract them from the issues at hand, be it destroying Starbucks and MacDonald’s outlets. I think it’ll be very shrewd and cunning of them. Of course this is just speculative, my little conspiracy theories, but think on it. IMF/World Bank will be able to be the good guys on this one, Sg will be the bad cop. This has never happened. They are almost, always never the good guys in this respect. By trying to grant activists their space, trying to cajole the govt into giving them seats at the table, they get on the good side of the activists. One starts to think maybe they’re not so bad after all. One shouldn’t bite the hand that gave you that seat in the conference. Either way, it’s a wayang. The audience smiles in the mean time, taken for a ride.
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