Recently, there was much debate on whether a nuclear reactor should be built in Singapore. To me, as an ordinary citizen in Singapore, I completely oppose to this approach because the construction of nuclear power plants causes more harms than benefits.
Security issues are the main concerns of people. Building nuclear power plants is a very dangerous thing. Experts have repeatedly stated, to be safe, the are in the radius of thirty kilometers around the nuclear reactor is dangerous, and is not habitable. There is already so little land in Singapore, if a nuclear power plant is built, at least half of Singapore is not suitable for any activity. For example, if the nuclear power plant built in Jurong, once an accident happens, the only place left safe may only be Changi. Singapore has a very high population density, if a nuclear reactor is really constructed, we will only have of Singapore's land left to be used, and the public would definitely oppose to this.
Moreover, we cannot predict the future. Although Singapore is rather safe for now, there is still a possibility that natural disasters may hit us. When natural disasters hit Singapore, and a nuclear leak happens, almost the whole of Singapore will be affected. We should not risk so many people’s lives just to solve an issue of little electricity available. Even if we can have the best preventive measures, in the event of an accident, all precautions are in vain. We all saw the seriousness of the Japanese nuclear leak. People infected by the radiation had increased risk of cancer and newborn children may be deformed. Now, Singapore has in the face of low fertility rate, and if the child is still born deformed, Singapore's future is very bleak.
People have suggested that we can build nuclear power plants underground. However, if the plant is underground, a nuclear leak and troubles of radiation would be less likely to be detected. If it is not treated in time, it will cause more damages and losses. Furthermore, the radiation leakage will directly affect the soil, threatening plant growth, resulting in a horrendous Singaporean environment. To make things worse, if there is radiation leak contaminates our water supply, we would be in serious trouble. If imported water from Malaysia is insufficient, many Singaporeans would die of a lack of water. The construction of a nuclear power plant can lead to such a terrible crisis, is there really a need for us to take the risk?
Even if no security problems arise, other problems will emerge. When neighboring countries hear that Singapore is going to build nuclear power plant, they would start suspecting us of creating nuclear weapons. This will make the other countries unhappy with the Singaporean government, and have a bad relationship with us as a result. Then, Singapore’s reputation built up over five decades would be lost overnight. At that time, all regret is too late. Can we really bear such consequences?
One such example is North Korea. They have emphasised that they are only development nuclear power, and not nuclear weapons. However, countries do not believe them, and cause the sour relationships with other countries. Can the Singaporean government bear that, looking at our dependency on other countries’ ties with us right now?
Finally, if Singapore really wants to build nuclear power plants, the budget for education, health care and basic facilities would be greatly reduced. Undoubtedly, this would cause dissatisfaction and the community will certainly oppose to it. The government may also raise taxes, and the public would be even more displeased. Without the public’s support, the government would not be able to accomplish anything.
A lot of funds are needed to build a nuclear power plant, which could use up all the reserves Singapore have currently. This would result in our beloved country fall into an economic crisis. Such serious consequences may arise just to save costs on the import of oil. Is it worth it?
Therefore, I conclude that the building of the nuclear plant is definitely more harmful than beneficial, and thus it should not be done. I strongly believe majority of the Singaporeans would agree with my stand, and I hope the government would not act rashly on this matter as well.
(Adapted from my Chinese Chinese Current Affairs Script)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Reasons Why Students Should Wear School Uniforms to School
In Singapore, almost all schools require students to wear uniforms to school. In my opinion, it is not just a habit. In fact, it is an important and essential part of schooling, for very simple reasons. Wearing school uniforms to schools promote good values in students, and thus it should be continued in Singapore.
School uniforms, as the name implies, promotes uniformity within the school. Uniformity can be achieved through wearing the same piece of clothing, and people can feel a sense of unity. In addition, it provides a sense of belonging, where you feel that you really belong to a certain school. A sense of pride is too cultivated since school uniforms show what school one is from. Some people say that school uniforms are dull and unattractive, but school uniforms, and only school uniforms, can create a sense of uniqueness. You can say the school song, school flag, school logo, school motto, school mission and school vision is different, but nobody really notices that. It is the school uniform that people notice. School uniforms represent the school as much as the students represent the school, and thus they are extremely important and should be worn.
Moreover, school uniforms promote responsibility and discipline in students. The school uniform would always have the school name and logo on it, no matter which school it is, or at least initials. Students who disrupt the crowd might get reported to the school principal. Therefore, students must maintain the school’s and their own reputation. For instance, forms of media like Straits Time Online Mobile Print (STOMP) users usually take photos of people in school uniforms and their behaviours in public. Therefore, students learn to responsible and disciplined when they are outside of school when they are wearing the school uniforms since they are representing the school.
Furthermore, by wearing school uniforms, students can learn the value of saving time. The students do not need to waste time just to choose branded or trendy clothing. Students want to be their best so that classmates would have a good impression on them. This would make them waste lots of time choosing the clothing that is the nicest to them, thus using up a lot of time which could have been used to do more productive work. Although people may think that only a little more time is used a day, the amount of time wasted on choosing clothes would be enormous when it becomes a week or even a year. Thus, I strongly believe that school uniforms would teach students the importance of treasuring time.
Some people may argue that students can have more liberty and can show off their creativity by not wearing the standard ‘boring’ school uniforms, but this might cause distraction among students and let them be too comfortable during lessons. Not wearing school uniforms not only causes distraction and disallows the teachers to teach well, it might also cause students to wear scantily, which is ungraceful and not pleasant at all! This teaches students the lesson of respect and prioritizing, putting studies above fashion, since their main focus should be studying now. Therefore, school uniforms teach students respect and the importance to prioritize.
Therefore, I conclude that school uniforms are necessary and essential because it promotes values of paramount importance. I believe that Singapore would continue to have students wearing school uniforms as it is beneficial to our community.
School uniforms, as the name implies, promotes uniformity within the school. Uniformity can be achieved through wearing the same piece of clothing, and people can feel a sense of unity. In addition, it provides a sense of belonging, where you feel that you really belong to a certain school. A sense of pride is too cultivated since school uniforms show what school one is from. Some people say that school uniforms are dull and unattractive, but school uniforms, and only school uniforms, can create a sense of uniqueness. You can say the school song, school flag, school logo, school motto, school mission and school vision is different, but nobody really notices that. It is the school uniform that people notice. School uniforms represent the school as much as the students represent the school, and thus they are extremely important and should be worn.
Moreover, school uniforms promote responsibility and discipline in students. The school uniform would always have the school name and logo on it, no matter which school it is, or at least initials. Students who disrupt the crowd might get reported to the school principal. Therefore, students must maintain the school’s and their own reputation. For instance, forms of media like Straits Time Online Mobile Print (STOMP) users usually take photos of people in school uniforms and their behaviours in public. Therefore, students learn to responsible and disciplined when they are outside of school when they are wearing the school uniforms since they are representing the school.
Furthermore, by wearing school uniforms, students can learn the value of saving time. The students do not need to waste time just to choose branded or trendy clothing. Students want to be their best so that classmates would have a good impression on them. This would make them waste lots of time choosing the clothing that is the nicest to them, thus using up a lot of time which could have been used to do more productive work. Although people may think that only a little more time is used a day, the amount of time wasted on choosing clothes would be enormous when it becomes a week or even a year. Thus, I strongly believe that school uniforms would teach students the importance of treasuring time.
Some people may argue that students can have more liberty and can show off their creativity by not wearing the standard ‘boring’ school uniforms, but this might cause distraction among students and let them be too comfortable during lessons. Not wearing school uniforms not only causes distraction and disallows the teachers to teach well, it might also cause students to wear scantily, which is ungraceful and not pleasant at all! This teaches students the lesson of respect and prioritizing, putting studies above fashion, since their main focus should be studying now. Therefore, school uniforms teach students respect and the importance to prioritize.
Therefore, I conclude that school uniforms are necessary and essential because it promotes values of paramount importance. I believe that Singapore would continue to have students wearing school uniforms as it is beneficial to our community.
Poem: Telephone Conversation
Telephone Conversation
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"
Analysis
This poem starts with an African asking to rent a flat. The poet expressed the fact the African saying that he was an African as a “self confession” (Line 4), as if he has done something wrong, when it is not even his fault that he is an African and there is nothing wrong with being African. This just shows that even he himself does not feel comfortable with himself being an African, which shows how severely the dark-coloured people are despised in other parts of the world.
The fifth line, with the African saying that he hates a wasted journey and that he was African, makes me guess that the African have been rejected multiple times and does not want to let similar cases happen again. This shows the prejudicial minds of people. Some reasons which may cause such thinking may be that they feel that Africans are dirty and messy and do not want them to dirty the place, or that they are uneducated and undisciplined, and thus would be hard to control. I feel that these are just biases without any basis, and it is terrible to see that people still cling on to their biases stubbornly.
Then, from the seventh to ninth line, I can see that the landlady was rich. People who are rich are often seen as educated and sophisticated. However, this is not this case as we can see from the next line. The landlady asked how dark the African was, asking “Are you light or very dark?”. This shows how badly the landlady wanted to categorize the African. This is confirmed even further when we see that the poet said “Button B, Button A”. It shows a form of categorizing. The desperate attempt to categorize somebody you cannot understand
The 13th to 14th line shows that the African was very angry from the emphasis of the colour red in “Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered Omnibus”. This shows, in my opinion, a change in the persona. At the front, he felt ashamed that he was an African. Now, he feels that there is nothing wrong and he feels insulted by the landlady. Although they are not exactly contrasting, there is still a gradual change, I feel.
Then, later in line 17, the poet describes the landlady as “considerate” by repeating the question again in line 18. This is ironic as repeating the question was obviously rude but the poet described the landlady as “considerate” instead. Also, when the poet mentioned “Revelation came”, he was referring to him knowing the fact that the landlady was racist. This, I believe, is also an irony as I am of the opinion that the African knew the landlady was racist from the start, and did not only wait until then. Moreover, “revelation” is not very suitable in this context, and I guess the poet used it for ironic purposes.
Later, in line 22, we can see that the African is educated as he knows how to use the word “sepia”. He uses the expression “West African sepia” as he knows that the landlady is uneducated based on the fact that she asked the question of his skin colour in an unsophisticated way. This is ironic as it is the landlady who looks down on the African because of his skin colour but now, the truth is that the African is insulting her with his knowledge.
The African continues to insult the landlady by describing his face as “brunette”, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet as “peroxide blond” and his bottom as “raven black”.
In addition, I noticed that all dialogues of the landlady is capitalized, giving her an image which paints her as simplistic and ignorant.
Why I chose Telephone Conversation
When I read the poem, I sympathized with the African in the poem and felt a sense of anger towards the landlady. I felt that discrimination was not supposed to exist in democratic societies, yet it still exists. In my opinion, have prejudice against people is already bad enough, and acting the prejudice out by discriminating against blacks is intolerable. However, despite my anger, I was glad for the educated African as he managed to insult the landlady without the landlady even knowing, which is like the good triumphing over the bad.
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis—
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused—
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"—sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"
Analysis
This poem starts with an African asking to rent a flat. The poet expressed the fact the African saying that he was an African as a “self confession” (Line 4), as if he has done something wrong, when it is not even his fault that he is an African and there is nothing wrong with being African. This just shows that even he himself does not feel comfortable with himself being an African, which shows how severely the dark-coloured people are despised in other parts of the world.
The fifth line, with the African saying that he hates a wasted journey and that he was African, makes me guess that the African have been rejected multiple times and does not want to let similar cases happen again. This shows the prejudicial minds of people. Some reasons which may cause such thinking may be that they feel that Africans are dirty and messy and do not want them to dirty the place, or that they are uneducated and undisciplined, and thus would be hard to control. I feel that these are just biases without any basis, and it is terrible to see that people still cling on to their biases stubbornly.
Then, from the seventh to ninth line, I can see that the landlady was rich. People who are rich are often seen as educated and sophisticated. However, this is not this case as we can see from the next line. The landlady asked how dark the African was, asking “Are you light or very dark?”. This shows how badly the landlady wanted to categorize the African. This is confirmed even further when we see that the poet said “Button B, Button A”. It shows a form of categorizing. The desperate attempt to categorize somebody you cannot understand
The 13th to 14th line shows that the African was very angry from the emphasis of the colour red in “Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered Omnibus”. This shows, in my opinion, a change in the persona. At the front, he felt ashamed that he was an African. Now, he feels that there is nothing wrong and he feels insulted by the landlady. Although they are not exactly contrasting, there is still a gradual change, I feel.
Then, later in line 17, the poet describes the landlady as “considerate” by repeating the question again in line 18. This is ironic as repeating the question was obviously rude but the poet described the landlady as “considerate” instead. Also, when the poet mentioned “Revelation came”, he was referring to him knowing the fact that the landlady was racist. This, I believe, is also an irony as I am of the opinion that the African knew the landlady was racist from the start, and did not only wait until then. Moreover, “revelation” is not very suitable in this context, and I guess the poet used it for ironic purposes.
Later, in line 22, we can see that the African is educated as he knows how to use the word “sepia”. He uses the expression “West African sepia” as he knows that the landlady is uneducated based on the fact that she asked the question of his skin colour in an unsophisticated way. This is ironic as it is the landlady who looks down on the African because of his skin colour but now, the truth is that the African is insulting her with his knowledge.
The African continues to insult the landlady by describing his face as “brunette”, the palm of his hand and the soles of his feet as “peroxide blond” and his bottom as “raven black”.
In addition, I noticed that all dialogues of the landlady is capitalized, giving her an image which paints her as simplistic and ignorant.
Why I chose Telephone Conversation
When I read the poem, I sympathized with the African in the poem and felt a sense of anger towards the landlady. I felt that discrimination was not supposed to exist in democratic societies, yet it still exists. In my opinion, have prejudice against people is already bad enough, and acting the prejudice out by discriminating against blacks is intolerable. However, despite my anger, I was glad for the educated African as he managed to insult the landlady without the landlady even knowing, which is like the good triumphing over the bad.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Should the Parents Maintenance Act be abolished?
Should the Parents Maintenance Act be abolished? Personally, I do not have extreme views on this topic. Its existence does not make much of a difference to me, at least for now. I would elaborate further in my following paragraphs.
The Parents Maintenance Act is a law passed by the government for children to provide for their parents over 60 years of age who are unable to provide for themselves. Parents can bring their children to court if they fail to do so. I feel that the main reason for the government’s decision is because Singapore is facing an aging population and the government would not provide for the many elderly in Singapore, thus giving the responsibility to the family members.
The Parents Maintenance Act should not be abolished for very simple reasons. Singaporeans nowadays only do things if there are certain benefits or if there are any demerits for not doing that certain thing. We can prove this by observing past examples. For instance, the government had a hard time solving the issue of chewing gums in the past. Although many posters were put up and there was a lot of publicity, people still persisted. Chewing gums were still observed in lifts, under seats in cinemas, on rubbish bins (not in), and many other areas where they do not belong. It was only until the government stepped in and imposed fines did Singaporeans stop their inconsiderate act. Another example is on littering and spitting. The problem was only alleviated when the government imposed fines and corrective work order for litter bugs.
However, looking from another perspective, this act does not really have much significance. I feel financial support is not enough. The family should not just stop at financial support. The elderly in Singapore need more than just sums of cash. They need emotional support as well. For this, the government cannot possibly set up another law to force Singaporeans to spend quality time with their parents or grandparents. Therefore, those who are truly filial will provide both financial and emotional support, thus making the act lose its significance.
Looking from the point of view of low-income group parents, I feel that this act would just add to the immense pressure they are already facing. Other than just providing for their own family, they have to provide financial support for their aged parents. This would add to their economic burden, thus making life even harder for them.
Taking the perspective of an elderly parent, I feel that they would not like this act as well. Having to force their children to provide for them through legal means would not usually be their preferred choice. All parents are the same. No one would want to see their own children in court. Therefore, no one would even want to bring their own children to court. I strongly believe the parents would rather suffer than see their children suffer having to provide for them, or having to be brought to court.
Therefore, I feel that this act has rather little significance, if any, and thus can be abolished. However, it can also stay for those Singaporean parents who really harden their hearts and sue their unfilial children.
(Adapted from my AAT Journal Entry)
The Parents Maintenance Act is a law passed by the government for children to provide for their parents over 60 years of age who are unable to provide for themselves. Parents can bring their children to court if they fail to do so. I feel that the main reason for the government’s decision is because Singapore is facing an aging population and the government would not provide for the many elderly in Singapore, thus giving the responsibility to the family members.
The Parents Maintenance Act should not be abolished for very simple reasons. Singaporeans nowadays only do things if there are certain benefits or if there are any demerits for not doing that certain thing. We can prove this by observing past examples. For instance, the government had a hard time solving the issue of chewing gums in the past. Although many posters were put up and there was a lot of publicity, people still persisted. Chewing gums were still observed in lifts, under seats in cinemas, on rubbish bins (not in), and many other areas where they do not belong. It was only until the government stepped in and imposed fines did Singaporeans stop their inconsiderate act. Another example is on littering and spitting. The problem was only alleviated when the government imposed fines and corrective work order for litter bugs.
However, looking from another perspective, this act does not really have much significance. I feel financial support is not enough. The family should not just stop at financial support. The elderly in Singapore need more than just sums of cash. They need emotional support as well. For this, the government cannot possibly set up another law to force Singaporeans to spend quality time with their parents or grandparents. Therefore, those who are truly filial will provide both financial and emotional support, thus making the act lose its significance.
Looking from the point of view of low-income group parents, I feel that this act would just add to the immense pressure they are already facing. Other than just providing for their own family, they have to provide financial support for their aged parents. This would add to their economic burden, thus making life even harder for them.
Taking the perspective of an elderly parent, I feel that they would not like this act as well. Having to force their children to provide for them through legal means would not usually be their preferred choice. All parents are the same. No one would want to see their own children in court. Therefore, no one would even want to bring their own children to court. I strongly believe the parents would rather suffer than see their children suffer having to provide for them, or having to be brought to court.
Therefore, I feel that this act has rather little significance, if any, and thus can be abolished. However, it can also stay for those Singaporean parents who really harden their hearts and sue their unfilial children.
(Adapted from my AAT Journal Entry)
Should Singlish be made an official language?
Should Singlish be made an official language in Singapore? In my opinion, it should not be made an official language. Personally, I love Singlish a lot and am a regular user of the language. I feel that it is very easy and a good tool to communicate with friends and family, and I strongly believe many other Singaporeans share similar sentiments. In fact, Singlish is so widespread in Singapore that almost everybody has a good grasp of the language.
However, I do not see a need in it becoming an official language. We have to know what is an official language for. Official languages are used in formal contexts, like in formal papers and in court. There are currently four official languages in Singapore, namely English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. I feel that there is no need for a fifth one. My reasons for me disagreeing with it becoming an official language are stated below.
Firstly, let us define Singlish. Singlish is not exactly a language on its own, but a mix of many different languages and dialects. Also, it does not follow a certain grammar. This is unlike the existing four official languages. Therefore, unless Singlish is given a certain grammar and limit to the vocabulary, it should not qualify as an official language. But if we do so, Singlish would lose its meaning since it is supposed to be convenient for people, not make them feel stressed having to remember a new set of grammar and vocabulary.
Moreover, Singlish is not recognized worldwide. We are assuming that everybody has the ability to code switch. But this is not so. Not everybody can code switch. If people get too used with Singlish, when they communicate with others who do not know about Singlish, it would cause language barriers and communication difficulties. In addition, Singlish would prevent people from speaking proper English, thus it is detrimental to people. Furthermore, different people have different versions of Singlish, thus even people with good grasp of the language may not understand one another because of the differences in their version. Therefore, common languages like English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil would be preferred.
I am sure most people would agree with my stand. I really do not see a point in making it an official language. It would only cause negative effects, thus it is not a wise move. However, I feel that Singlish can still be used in informal contexts, but Singaporeans still need to remember that the proper language to master in English, and not Singlish.
(Adapted from my AAT Journal Entry)
However, I do not see a need in it becoming an official language. We have to know what is an official language for. Official languages are used in formal contexts, like in formal papers and in court. There are currently four official languages in Singapore, namely English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. I feel that there is no need for a fifth one. My reasons for me disagreeing with it becoming an official language are stated below.
Firstly, let us define Singlish. Singlish is not exactly a language on its own, but a mix of many different languages and dialects. Also, it does not follow a certain grammar. This is unlike the existing four official languages. Therefore, unless Singlish is given a certain grammar and limit to the vocabulary, it should not qualify as an official language. But if we do so, Singlish would lose its meaning since it is supposed to be convenient for people, not make them feel stressed having to remember a new set of grammar and vocabulary.
Moreover, Singlish is not recognized worldwide. We are assuming that everybody has the ability to code switch. But this is not so. Not everybody can code switch. If people get too used with Singlish, when they communicate with others who do not know about Singlish, it would cause language barriers and communication difficulties. In addition, Singlish would prevent people from speaking proper English, thus it is detrimental to people. Furthermore, different people have different versions of Singlish, thus even people with good grasp of the language may not understand one another because of the differences in their version. Therefore, common languages like English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil would be preferred.
I am sure most people would agree with my stand. I really do not see a point in making it an official language. It would only cause negative effects, thus it is not a wise move. However, I feel that Singlish can still be used in informal contexts, but Singaporeans still need to remember that the proper language to master in English, and not Singlish.
(Adapted from my AAT Journal Entry)
Monday, May 9, 2011
Singapore's General Elections 2011
Dear readers,
I am going to share my opinions on Singapore's General Elections (GE) 2011. Before I start, I would like to state that this are just purely my own opinions and I do not represent anyone or any organisation except for myself.
In this GE, we saw Workers Party (WP) getting 6 out of the 87 seats in Parliament, and became the first ever opposition party to win a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), which is Aljunied GRC. This is a breakthrough in Singapore's politics. In my opinion, the A-team from WP deserved the 5 seats of Aljunied GRC, but I feel that the team from PAP also deserved it as well. This is the flaw of the GRC system. Minister George Yeo is a popular, well-liked minister, and yet he lost the elections because he was contesting in a hot seat GRC. I feel that this is a pity as his talents would have gone to waste like that.
For me, I do not really approve of the GRC system. The GRC system was introduced in 1988, to ensure the people from minority races can be elected into Parliament. However, I feel that now, we would not need this system as the problem of racism is not very serious now in Singapore. As we can see from Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer, a MP of a miority race, won by 54.53%, although it was a three-way battle. Therefore, we can see that the argument does not stand.
Also, this GE also showed that people are dissatisfied with the PAP government. The low and decreasing percentages PAP win by is an obvious sign. Previously, having percentages over 60% was no feat for them, but this time, many GRCs and SMCs have faced strong challenges and many only won by a bit.
Two good examples are Potong Pasir SMC and Joo Chiat SMC. Potong Pasir SMC saw Sitoh Yih Pin triumphing over SPP's Lina Chiam, wife of Chiam See Tong, by just a small margin. However, this is a great success for Sitoh Yih Pin already since he has not been able to win that seat when Mr Chiam was contesting it. Joo Chiat SMC saw a win of votes by only a little over 400.
This really shows how the people are turning dissatisfied with the ruling party. If PAP does nothing about it, they would see even lower percentages and lose even more seats the next General Elections. We can all see how they promised to hear our voices in order to create a better Singapore. I really hope they would do so.
I am genuinely excited to see the People's Action Party (PAP) and WP working together hand in hand to create a better Singapore for the benefit of all Singaporeans.
I would like to elaborate on one of my above points about Aljunied GRC. I feel that all 10 people contesting for the seat deserved to be in the Parliament, and George Yeo did not deserve to lose. Singapore really needs his talent as a Foreign Minister. Now we are facing a crisis. Who will be our new Foreign Minister if George Yeo does not come back for this 5 years?
This is not just a matter of five years. In this five years many things can happen. ASEAN leaders and ministers have already expressed their disappointment in the fact that George Yeo is not one of our 87 MPs. This is detrimental to Singapore's diplomatic ties with other countries.
Minister Mentor Lee was really too rash in making that statement. Saying that Aljunied residents have to repent if they voted for WP was a bad move. This, I feel, angered the residents and made them vote for WP. Now, both PAP and Singaporeans have to repent. Honestly, we would really need Mr George Yeo back as our Foreign Minister, or else the future, in my opinion, will be bleak.
Although it may be a ceremonious event when WP wins Aljunied GRC, we must think deeper and look at the consequences. I am not anti-opposition, but I really do not wish to see Mr George Yeo to lose this.
This GE should be a wake up call for PAP. I really am excited for the next General Elections and observe the changes in all the seven parties.
I am going to share my opinions on Singapore's General Elections (GE) 2011. Before I start, I would like to state that this are just purely my own opinions and I do not represent anyone or any organisation except for myself.
In this GE, we saw Workers Party (WP) getting 6 out of the 87 seats in Parliament, and became the first ever opposition party to win a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), which is Aljunied GRC. This is a breakthrough in Singapore's politics. In my opinion, the A-team from WP deserved the 5 seats of Aljunied GRC, but I feel that the team from PAP also deserved it as well. This is the flaw of the GRC system. Minister George Yeo is a popular, well-liked minister, and yet he lost the elections because he was contesting in a hot seat GRC. I feel that this is a pity as his talents would have gone to waste like that.
For me, I do not really approve of the GRC system. The GRC system was introduced in 1988, to ensure the people from minority races can be elected into Parliament. However, I feel that now, we would not need this system as the problem of racism is not very serious now in Singapore. As we can see from Punggol East SMC, Michael Palmer, a MP of a miority race, won by 54.53%, although it was a three-way battle. Therefore, we can see that the argument does not stand.
Also, this GE also showed that people are dissatisfied with the PAP government. The low and decreasing percentages PAP win by is an obvious sign. Previously, having percentages over 60% was no feat for them, but this time, many GRCs and SMCs have faced strong challenges and many only won by a bit.
Two good examples are Potong Pasir SMC and Joo Chiat SMC. Potong Pasir SMC saw Sitoh Yih Pin triumphing over SPP's Lina Chiam, wife of Chiam See Tong, by just a small margin. However, this is a great success for Sitoh Yih Pin already since he has not been able to win that seat when Mr Chiam was contesting it. Joo Chiat SMC saw a win of votes by only a little over 400.
This really shows how the people are turning dissatisfied with the ruling party. If PAP does nothing about it, they would see even lower percentages and lose even more seats the next General Elections. We can all see how they promised to hear our voices in order to create a better Singapore. I really hope they would do so.
I am genuinely excited to see the People's Action Party (PAP) and WP working together hand in hand to create a better Singapore for the benefit of all Singaporeans.
I would like to elaborate on one of my above points about Aljunied GRC. I feel that all 10 people contesting for the seat deserved to be in the Parliament, and George Yeo did not deserve to lose. Singapore really needs his talent as a Foreign Minister. Now we are facing a crisis. Who will be our new Foreign Minister if George Yeo does not come back for this 5 years?
This is not just a matter of five years. In this five years many things can happen. ASEAN leaders and ministers have already expressed their disappointment in the fact that George Yeo is not one of our 87 MPs. This is detrimental to Singapore's diplomatic ties with other countries.
Minister Mentor Lee was really too rash in making that statement. Saying that Aljunied residents have to repent if they voted for WP was a bad move. This, I feel, angered the residents and made them vote for WP. Now, both PAP and Singaporeans have to repent. Honestly, we would really need Mr George Yeo back as our Foreign Minister, or else the future, in my opinion, will be bleak.
Although it may be a ceremonious event when WP wins Aljunied GRC, we must think deeper and look at the consequences. I am not anti-opposition, but I really do not wish to see Mr George Yeo to lose this.
This GE should be a wake up call for PAP. I really am excited for the next General Elections and observe the changes in all the seven parties.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Announcements (Font)
Dear readers,
I will be using Arial in future. Changing everything into Kristen ITC is too time-consuming.
Regards,
Me...
I will be using Arial in future. Changing everything into Kristen ITC is too time-consuming.
Regards,
Me...
Amy Chua
Dear readers,
I decided to write about Amy Chua because I feel that she is indeed a very interesting individual and I just saw her again in Time 100. For this blog post, I decided to use a different way of talking about her, through an open letter written from her younger daughter, Louisa.
Hope you enjoy.
Dear Mum,
After reading the excerpt from your book, I finally understood your good intentions in being so strict with Sister Sophia and me. I know that you did all that for our own good, and I do know that my exemplary results and my talent in playing the piano and violin are results of to the stress you have given to me, which motivated me to perform even better.
However, the pressure you have inflicted on me is too much for me to bear and I hope that through this letter, you can understand my emotions better. It is not that I am totally against your strictness, but that you could be more lenient in certain aspects, and not be so autocratic in your decisions.
Some of your rules and regulations which you have imposed on Sister Sophie and me are, in my opinion, rather unreasonable. For instance, the rule not being able to watch the television or to play computer games is intolerable. I feel that watching the television and playing some computer games can be a good way to release some stress from school work and by you too. This is extremely important as too much of it can cause emotional problems and would also affect my performance negatively. Therefore, I feel that there should be a good balance between rest and work, and not just all the latter.
Also, the requirements about getting no less than a grade A and being the top student in every subject are extremely unrealistic and stressful for me. Honestly speaking, although I have mostly been able to fulfill your requirements so far, I am really very pressurized. I would definitely try my best in every subject, but without these demanding goals, I would then, in my view, be able to really show my true potential as with too much stress, no one can excel.
There are also other rules that you have instilled in me which I do not too agree with, but I would just name two examples. However, I am not saying that we have to be totally lenient and let sister and me do whatever we want. We should still have rules and regulations but I feel that such rules can be as we are older and more mature. This would definitely help in my emotional growth, which is of paramount importance to a growing child like myself. I do hope you can really understand what I am going through and why I oppose so strongly to certain rules I have been following blindly for so many years. Therefore, this letter is crucial to the changes which I hope would be brought out in the near future as this would definitely make my life and your life better.
Yours sincerely,
Louisa
I decided to write about Amy Chua because I feel that she is indeed a very interesting individual and I just saw her again in Time 100. For this blog post, I decided to use a different way of talking about her, through an open letter written from her younger daughter, Louisa.
Hope you enjoy.
Dear Mum,
After reading the excerpt from your book, I finally understood your good intentions in being so strict with Sister Sophia and me. I know that you did all that for our own good, and I do know that my exemplary results and my talent in playing the piano and violin are results of to the stress you have given to me, which motivated me to perform even better.
However, the pressure you have inflicted on me is too much for me to bear and I hope that through this letter, you can understand my emotions better. It is not that I am totally against your strictness, but that you could be more lenient in certain aspects, and not be so autocratic in your decisions.
Some of your rules and regulations which you have imposed on Sister Sophie and me are, in my opinion, rather unreasonable. For instance, the rule not being able to watch the television or to play computer games is intolerable. I feel that watching the television and playing some computer games can be a good way to release some stress from school work and by you too. This is extremely important as too much of it can cause emotional problems and would also affect my performance negatively. Therefore, I feel that there should be a good balance between rest and work, and not just all the latter.
Also, the requirements about getting no less than a grade A and being the top student in every subject are extremely unrealistic and stressful for me. Honestly speaking, although I have mostly been able to fulfill your requirements so far, I am really very pressurized. I would definitely try my best in every subject, but without these demanding goals, I would then, in my view, be able to really show my true potential as with too much stress, no one can excel.
There are also other rules that you have instilled in me which I do not too agree with, but I would just name two examples. However, I am not saying that we have to be totally lenient and let sister and me do whatever we want. We should still have rules and regulations but I feel that such rules can be as we are older and more mature. This would definitely help in my emotional growth, which is of paramount importance to a growing child like myself. I do hope you can really understand what I am going through and why I oppose so strongly to certain rules I have been following blindly for so many years. Therefore, this letter is crucial to the changes which I hope would be brought out in the near future as this would definitely make my life and your life better.
Yours sincerely,
Louisa
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Maycomb Tribune Article - Bob Ewell's death
This is the article I have written on Bob Ewell's death.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/54315447/Farewell-Ewell
Please give me comments so that I can improve.
Thanks. :)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/54315447/Farewell-Ewell
Please give me comments so that I can improve.
Thanks. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
