Quora Answer: Why Do Singaporeans Who are Unhappy with the Country Not Just Leave?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Why do Singaporeans who are unhappy with the country not just leave it?”

Being unhappy with issues and events in the country does not make a person any less a Singaporean.  People have the right to take issue with anything that does not meet their expectations.  That is how a democracy works.  And they have that right to not only exercise that dissatisfaction at the ballot box, but to feedback to the relevant organ of state, or even air it in public within reason.

No person is happy all the time, and no person is pleased with every aspect of the country.  That is an impossible situation.  If we were to remove every Singaporean who was ever unhappy about anything with the country, we would have no one left.  The segments of the population that are displeased should be engaged, not discounted.  That is how we grow as a nation.  It helps no one if we were to stifle discontent.  Issues are there to be addressed, not swept under the rug.