Remember the Four Million Smiles campaign that Singapore launched to greet the 16,000 IMF delegates who are currently within the 41.8 by 22.5km radius of our beloved country?
(Canopy thought the campaign was a quirky idea.)
This guy by the name of Seelan Palay thought that he didn't want to welcome the IMF delegates with four million smiles because he didn't like globalisation or the IMF or the World Bank or capitalism and so he decided to launch his own independent social art project titled Four Hundred Frowns instead. Kinda cute and innocuous I thought, since surely we are not ALL expected to embrace globalisation...
He got arrested.
I think IMF delegates visiting Singapore this time round really get a first-hand account of what Singapore is like. It is not a farce -- we really are that organised; we really can orchestrate an entire city of flowers to bloom at the same time, we really are that safe -- but it comes with a price.
I love my country, but sometimes I feel like a child because I keep hearing: "You don't understand. It hurts for now, but it really is for your good." I wonder if I'll get to grow up sometime.
Personally, I would submit my picture to the smiling site rather than the frowning site any day. But 400 out of 4,000,000 is a dissent level of 0.01%. Can we cope with that percentage of dissension, Singapore?
Technorati tags:
four hundred frowns | four millions smiles
singapore | flower magic
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Four Million Frowns
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4 comments:
Hmm, I wonder if they'll take it one step further and arrest all those faces?!
I love Singapore, but patriotism doesn't mean one must love one's government... or is it like that?
It's sad really.
... but even if you do love your government and your country, must you really smile all the time?
E, I don't think they'll arrest those faces. They seem to take the strategy of striking the root, and letting a healthy fear of the government take care of the rest. :) mrbrown's case is a case in point.
jim, exactly. :|
Hey there, Seelan Palay here.
I realize it's been a while but thank you for posting about this.
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