Fat Salary does not mean Perfection

One of Singapore’s top current affairs – Michael Palmer (Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) resigning due to an extra-marital affair with Laura Ong (Constituency Director of Pasir Ris West Constituency Office). 

…well, as of now – they’re both ex-MP and ex-Constituency Director anyway.

Both tendered in their resignations.

Now, as much as any culture could be as liberated as it wants to be… The fact is, we all want to believe that the people we look up to are supposedly perfect. 

That’s really idealistic thinking – everyone ought to know that. 

I have heard several good things about Michael Palmer, being one of the few MPs that the people actually feel comfortable around. So everything seemed to be good. 

Singaporeans are pretty vocal when we come to being unhappy about anything – take the MP Lim Pek Lin for example. Till now, I still hear people scorning her and vowing not to vote for her at the next elections. 

The thing is – sometimes Singaporeans like to think that perfection is a given. 

So here it is; Michael Palmer had an extra-martial affair. 

What’s the big deal? 

Is this honestly the first extra-martial affair you’ve heard of? 

If it is, you have been living under a rock! 

I had some friends who told me, “Oh my, he’s such a beast! How did people even think of him as such a wonderful person in the first place??” 

And then we get into a small debate because I do not see any point in lashing him. 

Like everything else, I have my reasons. 

I don’t understand why people expect MPs to be perfect. 

In case you don’t realise, they are also made of flesh & blood. They are subjected to temptation & downfall. 

What? You think just because you pack a nice salary, you would get a deity behind the desk? 

Be realistic, people.

People screw up all the time! 

If you ask me – sometimes it is more comforting when some little errors come up now & then. 

Because we all know that human beings are bound to make errors. 

And we don’t see them – chances are, they are covering them up. 

Now doesn’t that make things even scarier?? 

Honestly, do we know what his marriage is like?

He could be suffering, for all we know. And because he is an MP, he didn’t dare to bring up a divorce. 

You just never know what happens behind closed doors! 

An MP doesn’t mean that he would have a perfect life. 

In fact, I believe that some of them even suffer after they become MPs. 

The compromises of privacy, the impossible demands of the public… etc. 

I’m not contradicting myself here by saying that Michael Palmer is corrupted. However, we all know that when one has money & power – one tends to be easily swayed to the dark side. 

And being an MP gives you just that – money & power. 

And thus – more easily swayed to the dark side. 

So how can you blame him? 

Doesn’t mean when Michael Palmer was elected to be an MP, God came along and went, “Okay, Michael! Since you’re going to be an MP & expected to be so unreasonably perfect…. I shall make you less human! You will not screw up anymore!” 

Oh, puh-lease. 

Being an MP opens one up to even more temptations and what not. 

4. He really was a good & talented MP!

Okay, to be honest – I never had first-hand experiences on this.

However if so many people are telling me that he’s an okay-dude… He shouldn’t be all that shabby, right? And we all know the unreasonable expectations of the public.

To have him just resign like that, I feel it is a pure waste.

He was good in his job.

Granted, he screwed up in his personal life department.

But can’t that be handled separately? We hired him to be an MP, not specifically a married-man-role-model!

I honestly don’t see this as good enough reason to lose a talent!

5. Giving him a fat salary doesn’t mean we bought his soul. 

I’ve seen how some bosses behave. 

They think just because they give you a salary, they own you. 

In this case, Singaporeans think they own the MPs one way or another – as technically, the people pay the salary. 

So every time the MP does a screw up, the usual “Wa lao eh! Pay this bugger so much for what?? Obama earns lesser than him leh!!” 

Granted, Obama does seemingly earn lesser than our MPs. 

So? I don’t see much of a problem there. 

I’m not criticising the American government in any way.  I’m just talking about my own government here in Singapore. 

The government here isn’t perfect. DUH! Like I said, you expect to have deities run the show? 

However our government is extremely efficient. 

And Singaporeans ought to open our eyes to what is happening out there. We are a bunch of really lucky spoiled brats, I tell you. 

You cannot expect the people you elect to be perfect. They are bound to screw up. 

Just like parents – when we were younger, we thought of them as our world and they could do no wrong. However as we grow older, we know better.

Even our parents who once seemed infallible, are prone to errors too. 

Everyone here is human. Everyone makes mistakes. 

I’m not saying what Michael Palmer did was right. 

I’m just saying people should really let it go now. 

Why go digging into who Laura Ong is and go criticising her picture? 

True, since they did such a thing – and given their statuses, they ought to expect some public lashes. 

However Michael Palmer already did a public apology. 

Can’t we all just let it go? 

After all, he apologised. And really was a pretty good MP. 

He was good at his job – I believe that’s what his salary is for. 

We didn’t pay him to be a good husband, we paid him to be an MP. 

He might not be a perfect role model, but he isn’t all that bad either. 

So let up, people! 

Singapore is a lovely country. She has her flaws & she cannot please everyone, but for her age – she is doing really well.

And we wouldn’t have gotten here without our government. 

Let’s not always look and hype up their flaws. Like everything else, our government also has their good and bad. 

Expecting perfection is really unrealistic. 

XOXO. Love Love.