My working life is a miserable life that I have been leading for the past 8 years. Sometimes I wonder whether this is one of the punishments that God is making me serve for my past sins. When I wake every morning and even though the air might be so belonging, I do not not know whether to cry or laugh. I used to be happy whenever I woke up. My parents told me that I used to smile whenever I woke up and that made them happy. However, they now see a grumpy face. Sorry folks.
Well, I told them that is my life. Miserable to the core!! Have anyone experience work that kills your brains cells? I would like to speak to those that have. I would like to learn how they survive it. My typical day starts at 6.00am. I brush my teeth, do my business in the toilet, have my breakfast and embark on the most painful journey of my life. Usually, I would read or sleep to reduce my pain.
When I reach to work, I will read for awhile. This is to jump start my brain if not it will not work until I reach home. It is like trying to jumpstart a car that has been stalled due to engine problem. However, my brain will die after awhile and I will become a zombie.
Surprisingly, I still can do my work because I have been doing it for eight years. If you were to blindfold me, I will still be able to do it. This goes on from 8.00am to 5.30pm ( 5,00pm on Friday ), five times a week. However, I have become more miserable at work these days. My heart is crying inside. I do not know whether it will come to a point where somebody has to put a gun to my head in order for me to do my work. The only time when my brain feels pleasure and and relief is during lunch time. It's a time when I get to eat with some wonderful colleques and enjoy our bantering together.
There are two reason why I am alive. One of the reason is due to my studies in Sociology. Thank God for it. It keeps my brain moving. I am so surprise that the study of society can really give me fullfillment and happiness in life. It is like drinking water from the fountain of youth. Hence, my blog will have some deep sociological thoughts. For those who read it and cannot fully grasp what is being written, fret not, I am always available for discussion. I love discussion because it gives me different perspectives to approach the subject that I am discussing about.
The other reason is because of my friends. I have just made some friends who have restored my confidence in life. You know you are. My wonderful thanks to you!! I have not been in confidence for a very long time due to some reasons I wish to keep it to myself. Thank the lord for making meet friends who were able to restore my confidence in life. I would not say that my confidence has been fully restored but each day is a stepping stone in regaining my confidence.
Well, tomorrow is Friday and I am still not happy until the clock hits five. May watch terminator again. It is a kick ass show!! I recommend that my readers go watch it. I will be writing about it, maybe tonight after I post another sociological thought. In the mean time take care and seize the day. Carpe Diem!!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Do You Know God?
I was born and raised as a catholic. I did not have any choice to choose my religion but it is best thing that has happened to me but lets say if I was a convert I might have got to know GOD better. I would have been able to make a choice whether to accept Christ or not. Most people would think that since I was a born catholic it would be easier for me to understand and accept him but for me the opposite is true. I am thirty five years old and only now am I getting to understand him better. I admit that I have a long way to go but as I deepen my faith, I can feel his presence in my life. I got to know GOD through our Lady. The problem with us is that we do not open up ourselves enough to the lord. We are afraid and do not have the confidence to do so. We do not have enough faith in him to do so. If we actually know him and have deep faith in him we would not have these problems. If all of us could understand and follow in his foot steps, we would all be Saints. All of us have the potential to be Saints since we have the holy spirit within us but we do not make use of these potential power that has bestowed down to us.
To know GOD is to know the bible. How many of us actually read the bible? Do we know the bible? Even if we did, how often do we read it? Do we skip the ones that we cannot understand? I believe we are all still in the learning process in knowing GOD. We have to read the bible in order to understand him. When I say read, we must really read and understand the passages. If we still don’t then we must take a contentious effort to ask the priest to help us to understand. God works in mysterious ways. I seldom read the bible but because I have to write articles about him I have no choice but to open and read the bible. See how God has made me read the bible.
There are certain text in the bible that can be confusing. For example, Scriptures says that “if your hand – or your foot – should cause you to sin,” Jesus says, “cut it off…And if your eye should cause you to sin, pluck it out.” Is he actually trying to say that you have to do this in order to be cleanse your sins? Let’s us look at three different people’s point of view. The first one will be the believer, the second one is a catholic but finds it hard to accept god’s word and the last one the skeptical, a non-catholic. For the first person there is not much a problem he or she understands what is being said. God is actually saying that you have to stand firm against sin and repent wholeheartedly. If you sin against against the church, you sin against him and if you don’t repent you will be condemned to hell. The second person may not even be bothered with passage. His or her attitude would be one of who care’s but I tell you solemnly that person will start caring when he or she meets the skeptical. The skeptical would most likely question our faith, sometimes even insult it. If we do not know God then we would not be able to defend him. It is very sad not to defend our creator.
GOD will always protect you. Sometimes he may do it directly or indirectly. “When you walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me”, how many of you remember these words. Very unfortunately there some who have turned away from the church because their prays were not answered and they loose their faith instantly. Their foundation in the catholic faith is not strong. Why? The reason is obvious. They do not understand the lord’s word!!!! They did not have enough faith to believe in him and not make an effort in knowing him. We are humans, we have our faults. The lord knows that so when we are down we must not loose our faith in him. These is where the lord’s shows his true strength. If we keep our faith in him, he will lift us up from our misery. Frankly Christ at one moment of time also lose his faith when he was hanging from the cross. He shouted to GOD : “Lord , my GOD, Why have you forsaken me.” But because of his undying love and faith for his father he accepted his faith. Just imagine if he did not accept his faith and saved himself from the cross ( he could have done that ) then Satan would have won. Here is clear cut witness that when there is suffering and pain, joy and happiness will eventually come to you if you believe in him and his words.
Another way to know God is by praying to Mary. Mary is the best person to know him because she was his mother. She was obedient and endured a lot of sufferings. She and the other disciples were given the task to spread the word of God. As she knows about suffering, she understands our sufferings and she always want us to come to God for help. She will intercede for us. The best way to pray to Mary is to attend the Novena and pray the rosary. My faith was strengthen through her. There was a time when I was very helpless and there was no one to help me. A voice inside me asked me to pray to her. At first I was doubtful because the problem I had was impossible to be solved. The odds of success was one out of one thousand. I apologise for not revealing the problem as it was a personal and confidential one. I hope my readers would understand. The voice continued to bug me for half a day so I decided to go Our Lady of Lourdes at Ophia road to pray. As I had sometime, I stayed praying there for about an hour. I prayed with my heart and soul, even cried when I was praying. Then a voice spoke to me. It said not to worry and that the problem will be solved. To my unbelievable shock the problem was solved within the same day. Since then I have been very devoted to her. She has continued to help me and guide me. I was a half past six catholic, a sinner but I am now trying to regain back my faith. I have a long way to go but I am not going to give up.
To know GOD is to know the bible. How many of us actually read the bible? Do we know the bible? Even if we did, how often do we read it? Do we skip the ones that we cannot understand? I believe we are all still in the learning process in knowing GOD. We have to read the bible in order to understand him. When I say read, we must really read and understand the passages. If we still don’t then we must take a contentious effort to ask the priest to help us to understand. God works in mysterious ways. I seldom read the bible but because I have to write articles about him I have no choice but to open and read the bible. See how God has made me read the bible.
There are certain text in the bible that can be confusing. For example, Scriptures says that “if your hand – or your foot – should cause you to sin,” Jesus says, “cut it off…And if your eye should cause you to sin, pluck it out.” Is he actually trying to say that you have to do this in order to be cleanse your sins? Let’s us look at three different people’s point of view. The first one will be the believer, the second one is a catholic but finds it hard to accept god’s word and the last one the skeptical, a non-catholic. For the first person there is not much a problem he or she understands what is being said. God is actually saying that you have to stand firm against sin and repent wholeheartedly. If you sin against against the church, you sin against him and if you don’t repent you will be condemned to hell. The second person may not even be bothered with passage. His or her attitude would be one of who care’s but I tell you solemnly that person will start caring when he or she meets the skeptical. The skeptical would most likely question our faith, sometimes even insult it. If we do not know God then we would not be able to defend him. It is very sad not to defend our creator.
GOD will always protect you. Sometimes he may do it directly or indirectly. “When you walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me”, how many of you remember these words. Very unfortunately there some who have turned away from the church because their prays were not answered and they loose their faith instantly. Their foundation in the catholic faith is not strong. Why? The reason is obvious. They do not understand the lord’s word!!!! They did not have enough faith to believe in him and not make an effort in knowing him. We are humans, we have our faults. The lord knows that so when we are down we must not loose our faith in him. These is where the lord’s shows his true strength. If we keep our faith in him, he will lift us up from our misery. Frankly Christ at one moment of time also lose his faith when he was hanging from the cross. He shouted to GOD : “Lord , my GOD, Why have you forsaken me.” But because of his undying love and faith for his father he accepted his faith. Just imagine if he did not accept his faith and saved himself from the cross ( he could have done that ) then Satan would have won. Here is clear cut witness that when there is suffering and pain, joy and happiness will eventually come to you if you believe in him and his words.
Another way to know God is by praying to Mary. Mary is the best person to know him because she was his mother. She was obedient and endured a lot of sufferings. She and the other disciples were given the task to spread the word of God. As she knows about suffering, she understands our sufferings and she always want us to come to God for help. She will intercede for us. The best way to pray to Mary is to attend the Novena and pray the rosary. My faith was strengthen through her. There was a time when I was very helpless and there was no one to help me. A voice inside me asked me to pray to her. At first I was doubtful because the problem I had was impossible to be solved. The odds of success was one out of one thousand. I apologise for not revealing the problem as it was a personal and confidential one. I hope my readers would understand. The voice continued to bug me for half a day so I decided to go Our Lady of Lourdes at Ophia road to pray. As I had sometime, I stayed praying there for about an hour. I prayed with my heart and soul, even cried when I was praying. Then a voice spoke to me. It said not to worry and that the problem will be solved. To my unbelievable shock the problem was solved within the same day. Since then I have been very devoted to her. She has continued to help me and guide me. I was a half past six catholic, a sinner but I am now trying to regain back my faith. I have a long way to go but I am not going to give up.
The Education System : Britain and Ghana vs Singapore
Most countries view education as an important factor contributing to the modernization of the country. A country becomes modern when it allows industrialization to take place on it’s soil. New innovations are developed. Technology grows. There are new handphones, ipods, computers, vehicles and much more. New factories and officers are also built. It’s communication and financial sector expands. However for all these to take place, a country needs an educated labor force that will overlook and run the development of the country. Education inculcates the necessarily skills and values to the person in order for he or she to go out to survive in the world. Education also inculcates one’s country’s political ideology so that their citizens would remain loyal to his or her country. Unfortunately it does not always work as we humans have a brain and are able to make decisions on our own.
Countries around the world have different and similar education systems. Some countries develop their education system in accordance to the education system of the country that colonized them. For example, Singapore and Ghana. In this essay I will illustrate two different countries and their education system. They are Great Britain and Ghana, I will compare these systems with Singapore education system. At the same time I will also show how these countries education system also reflect their countries political system and their distribution of power.
In Williamsons’s model, four kinds of societies are mentioned. They are developed socialist societies, underdeveloped socialist societies, advanced capitalistic societies and dependent societies. He claims that the education system is structured towards the political and ideologies of the country. (Ballantine, pg 346, 2001)
Britain falls under the advanced capitalist societies category. It has a free market labor. Businesses are privately owned. Some are government owned. The aim of most businesses is to make profit. It has a high Gross Nation Profit. Britain consists pre-school, primary schools, secondary schools, private schools , polytechnics and private and government run universities. Britain boasts of a literacy rate of 99%. Britain needed an educated population to expand capitalism in the country. Marxists theorists saw it as a way capitalist preserve and produce their culture through education. Education was first confined to the elites but later as the working class grew, education was opened to the working class. Morality, obedience & frugality was in the education curriculum. (Ballantine, pg 359, 2001). Compulsory attendance began at the age of five and later it was moved to eleven. Before one leaves secondary school, one takes the GCSE school examinations ( equivalent to O – levels here in Singapore ). After secondary schools, students can advance and take two more years of education which would lead to the A- Levels. The next step is going to polytechnics or the universities. Some of the universities in the past only excepted certain class of students, especially those that attended grammer school. A example of a grammer school and a prestige university is Eton and Oxford. (Ballantine, pg 360, 2001)
After world war two, education became free. There were schools for various classes. Grammer schools for the Elites and secondary comprehensive schools for the majority of the working class. The secondary comprehensive schools were created to give the working class access to subjects that were taught only in grammer schools. This also was to increase the labour force. There was also secondary technical schools which conducted trade training programs. There was differentiation between secondary schools. One was academic based and the other was vocational base.
The goals of education for Britain according to the Education reform was :
(Ballantine, pg 357, 2001)
a.) To raise standards at all ability levels
b.) Give parents a wider choice of schools
c.) Improve partnership between schools and parents
d.) Make further and higher education more economical and relevant to the majority
e.) Obtain good value for money from educational service as a whole
As written above, Britain had and still has two set of social classes that have unequal access to certain areas of education. The elite usually attend public schools or grammer schools. They are too expensive to attend, therefore only the rich can attend these schools. These schools provided excellent academic foundations and also training in the art of being “ ladies and gentlemen” It also teaches these elites how to adopt a certain manner of speaking and behavior. It imparts the necessary skills to past entrance exams to prestige’s universities. (Ballantine, pg 362, 2001) The students of these schools have easier access to prestige universities than other students from other schools. Large number of senior civil servants and business and professional leaders are drawn from these schools.In the eyes of Marxists, education helps these Elites to reproduce their social class which also perpetuates into the capitalist labour market. An example of a grammer school is Eton. Ballantine, pg 357, 2001) The students there are destined to be statesman & gentlemen. They are taught the politics of their country as they are looked upon as the potential ones to run the country. They walk in a purposefully manner and they attend rigid rituals ceremonies and dress in their uniform of black and white pin – stripped trousers, white bow ties, black vests and waistcoats and braided hair. Ballantine, pg 357, 2001) It underpins Williamson’s claim that education is a plan of action to advocate a country’s political ideologies. However, it does not mean those from comprehensive schools would not have a chance to go to Oxford and Cambridge. They still can but they must do very well in order to qualify a place.
Another way of getting easier access to top universities is by having connections with influential people or by having family ties with the university.
The local community through the Local Education Authorities has control over the running and decisions the schools. Research, planning and restructuring of the education system is decided by the government. Ballantine, pg 355, 2001) The LEA have authority and management over the conduct of administrators, both county ( state – supported ) and voluntary schools ( church ). British elementary schools have also been a model for other countries like US. The curricula for pre school includes ample free time, music, art, time for projects and a range of opportunities for TV Education, theater trips & museum visits. The pre-school are also designed to give a child like feeling, with toys, personal drawings, books and artwork decorating the classroom. (Ballantine, pg 356, 2001)
Britain is also an exam and credential society. It places great expectations on exams and certificates. As mention earlier, it has various exams that are credical to students when applying for jobs. They are the GCSE, A- Level exam and International Baccalaureate exams. The last one is however opened only to the elites and those with high IQ. (Ballantine, pg 358,2001)
By contrasts Ghana comes under the category of developing countries. The country fellows the British model of education. One of the reason is that it was once colonized by Britain. Even though there is social class differentiation in Britain, the rest of the population do have a good chance in obtaining good education but in Ghana, not all can obtain a good education. The social distinction is higher. The urban elite has a more disproportionate share of places for education.
The income gap in Ghana is quite wide. There are many still living in rural area parts of Ghana. Children usually attend school from the age of 6. Some will go to secondary schools at around twelve years and secondary school last around five years. The subject taught are mathematics, general science, social studies, religious education and physical education. (Ballantine, pg 366,2001) Where in Britain its focus is mainly on modernity, capitalism and politics, Ghana emphasizes on African heritage and necessarily skills for life. Why is this so? Well, education to some families is not a primary condition. As they are involve in farming, their main concern is for the young to help out in the farming. Most of these of families are poor also. Therefore there are some factors that families consider first before sending their children to school. The factors are cost to the family, school quality, travel time and anticipated cost of return. (Ballantine, pg 367,2001), There are some areas in Ghana where children have not gone to schools. Most parents can afford to place their children in school in Britain. Money is much not a factor even though it is still to some. There are schools in various districts, therefore traveling to school is rather convenient. In Ghana. those who attend school usually stay on and move up to university if they are able to do so. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
When Britain colonize Ghana, education was one of their top priority. They needed an educated labour force to help them. Countries like Ghana saw education as a way out of being dominated by another country and to achieve independence. Therefore Ghana’s education is structured to in a way that its curriculum encourages independency, leadership and the full cultural knowledge of Ghana. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
For Britain, the values of capitalism was important, for Ghana values about independency, leadership and culture are the three most important. Leadership is needed for technological development, Industrialization and politics. Therefore, even a developing country would want to groom their youths for politics. Some parents could send their children overseas and when they return. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
They brought with them expertise like agricultural skills, emphasis on preventive medicine in the area of traditional tribal medicine and integration of new knowledge with existing values and traditions may be more relevant to the needs of the nation. The children usually attend prestige’s schools like Oxford and Cambridge in Britain. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
In Singapore, the education system like Ghana is modeled after the British system. Singapore was also colonized by the British once. It became their main trading port. Education was needed to create a work force to mend this hugh city port. Singapore education has thus made some modifications but it’s exam system is still following the British system. Singapore education like Britain, is based on exam and credentials.
Singapore has become an independent and capitalized country. Like Britain, its capitalist markets are open. Industrialization is flourishing. Gross National Product is high and majority of Singaporeans earn enough to support themselves and have a decent living. The aim of Singapore’s Education System is to achieve world standard. It wants to be recognized around the world. These would encourage overseas students to come to Singapore to learn. Indeed, National University of Singapore has become one of the top leading business schools around the world.
Singapore’s education curriculum is created towards achieving this goal. Students are taught to be creative. Rote learning has come to pass. There are more projects to do. These projects involve critical thinking. These will help to inculcate skills to solve problems. When these youths go out to the labour force, they will be equipped with problem solving techniques. Moral and religious education is still being taught. Education is controlled by the government but more autonomy has been given to schools, especially private schools, to manage and run their schools in the best possible way. Teachers are allowed to explore their horizon and are encouraged to expand their knowledge. With more knowledge, they can then pass on more knowledge to their students. Education fees for primary school are free. For Secondary, Colleges and Universities, fees have to be paid. The ministry give support to those who cannot afford the fees. Private schools and Universities set their own fees. There are bank loans to finance these fees.
The education base their system on three goals. They are
a.) Students must acquire sound values and skills to take them through life as responsible adults and active citizens. It comprises the non – academic curriculum (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
b.) Students must acquire knowledge skills. This will help develop the student’s thinking process and communication skills. This will enable students to analyse and use information and be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
c.) Students must have a good grounding in content across different areas of study. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
For primary schools, education is up to six years of compulsory education. There are no school fees.. After six years the child will seat for the Primary School Leaving Examinations. Student are encouraged to take part in Co-curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programme. This is for the child to have a more rounded education. Subjects taken are English, mother tongue, Mathematics and Science, Social Studies, Art & Crafts and Music. (http://www.moe.gov.sg/)
Secondary schools last from 4 to 5 years. Exams like in the British system to be taken after the 4 or 5 years is GCE ‘O’ Levels. For some in the Technical stream will only take the ‘N’ Levels and move on ITE. Some schools have integrated programmes whereby students skip ‘O’ Levels and go straight to ‘A’ Levels. Some prefer to take the International Baccalaureate exams. Britain also offers this exam. However these exam is open to the elite schools in Singapore like Raffles Institution and Raffles girls. Subjects taken at secondary level. English, Mother, Tongue, French, German, Japanese, Malay, Chinese, Geography, History, Literature in English, Visual Arts, Music, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Home Economics, Accounts, Design and Technology and Food & Nutrition. For Pre – University Education ( Junior Colleges ), it last from 2 to 3 years. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
After that, students sit for the ‘A’ Levels ( Same in Britain ). The subjects taken are Mother Tongue Languages, 3rd Languages, Art, Economics, Geography, History, Literature in English, Music, Theatre studies & Drama, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, computing. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
From ‘O’Levels, students can go on to polytechnics or do their ‘A’ Levels. Polytechnic subjects are more catered to the relevant industries that they are teaching. However, there is more prestige do A levels than to go to polytechnic as there is a better chance to enter NUS or NTU.
Elitism in Singapore, like in Britain and Ghana, do exist. The universities due to their goal in trying to achieve world standard have raised their entry levels. Faculty like the medical faculty has even higher standards. Therefore to enter these universities, you have to do well. There is even a quota so even you do well does not mean you will get a place in the university. Most civil servants from local universities have better chances in obtaining jobs in government control organizations. Same goes to those in Britain
There are other options however, like going overseas to study. Recently, overseas universities have opened their campuses here so it is now more convenient to attend overseas universities locally. The open university is one of them. Recently it has been given the statues of the first private local university in Singapore and the government recognizes the university.
Singapore’s education is also tailored in way at it promotes its political ideologies. It curriculum develops youths into what the government want to be so that they can bring in wealth and prosperity to the country. There are some who do not share the government’s political ideology so they would migrate to other countries. These causes a brain drain. One example that S
Singapore preaches it’s political ideology is through the National Education programme and its history subjects. All Singaporeans have to learn what happened to Singapore in the 60’s, how it was founded and who is who in the government. We are then taught what is right and wrong for the country. It goes to show that education is actually a course of action to promote one’s political ideology.
Different countries have different education system. All their education system reflect their countries political system and ideologies. The three countries that I used as examples are Singapore, Britain and Ghana. The first two are capitalist countries countries and the last one is a developing country. Singapore and Ghana use the British model of education because they were both colonized by Britain. The difference is that countries like Singapore and Britain have better facilities to carry out their educations system. Literacy rate is also above the 90% mark. Unfortunately for Ghana it is around the 60% mark. They vary in what is taught in school.
Elitism is most obvious in Ghana because of the income disparity and not all people in Ghana can access the education system. In Singapore and Britain, even though there is elitism, majority of their citizens can access the education system.
Therefore there is still more room for improvement in upgrading the education system in one’s country. I hope they make me more egalitarian.
Countries around the world have different and similar education systems. Some countries develop their education system in accordance to the education system of the country that colonized them. For example, Singapore and Ghana. In this essay I will illustrate two different countries and their education system. They are Great Britain and Ghana, I will compare these systems with Singapore education system. At the same time I will also show how these countries education system also reflect their countries political system and their distribution of power.
In Williamsons’s model, four kinds of societies are mentioned. They are developed socialist societies, underdeveloped socialist societies, advanced capitalistic societies and dependent societies. He claims that the education system is structured towards the political and ideologies of the country. (Ballantine, pg 346, 2001)
Britain falls under the advanced capitalist societies category. It has a free market labor. Businesses are privately owned. Some are government owned. The aim of most businesses is to make profit. It has a high Gross Nation Profit. Britain consists pre-school, primary schools, secondary schools, private schools , polytechnics and private and government run universities. Britain boasts of a literacy rate of 99%. Britain needed an educated population to expand capitalism in the country. Marxists theorists saw it as a way capitalist preserve and produce their culture through education. Education was first confined to the elites but later as the working class grew, education was opened to the working class. Morality, obedience & frugality was in the education curriculum. (Ballantine, pg 359, 2001). Compulsory attendance began at the age of five and later it was moved to eleven. Before one leaves secondary school, one takes the GCSE school examinations ( equivalent to O – levels here in Singapore ). After secondary schools, students can advance and take two more years of education which would lead to the A- Levels. The next step is going to polytechnics or the universities. Some of the universities in the past only excepted certain class of students, especially those that attended grammer school. A example of a grammer school and a prestige university is Eton and Oxford. (Ballantine, pg 360, 2001)
After world war two, education became free. There were schools for various classes. Grammer schools for the Elites and secondary comprehensive schools for the majority of the working class. The secondary comprehensive schools were created to give the working class access to subjects that were taught only in grammer schools. This also was to increase the labour force. There was also secondary technical schools which conducted trade training programs. There was differentiation between secondary schools. One was academic based and the other was vocational base.
The goals of education for Britain according to the Education reform was :
(Ballantine, pg 357, 2001)
a.) To raise standards at all ability levels
b.) Give parents a wider choice of schools
c.) Improve partnership between schools and parents
d.) Make further and higher education more economical and relevant to the majority
e.) Obtain good value for money from educational service as a whole
As written above, Britain had and still has two set of social classes that have unequal access to certain areas of education. The elite usually attend public schools or grammer schools. They are too expensive to attend, therefore only the rich can attend these schools. These schools provided excellent academic foundations and also training in the art of being “ ladies and gentlemen” It also teaches these elites how to adopt a certain manner of speaking and behavior. It imparts the necessary skills to past entrance exams to prestige’s universities. (Ballantine, pg 362, 2001) The students of these schools have easier access to prestige universities than other students from other schools. Large number of senior civil servants and business and professional leaders are drawn from these schools.In the eyes of Marxists, education helps these Elites to reproduce their social class which also perpetuates into the capitalist labour market. An example of a grammer school is Eton. Ballantine, pg 357, 2001) The students there are destined to be statesman & gentlemen. They are taught the politics of their country as they are looked upon as the potential ones to run the country. They walk in a purposefully manner and they attend rigid rituals ceremonies and dress in their uniform of black and white pin – stripped trousers, white bow ties, black vests and waistcoats and braided hair. Ballantine, pg 357, 2001) It underpins Williamson’s claim that education is a plan of action to advocate a country’s political ideologies. However, it does not mean those from comprehensive schools would not have a chance to go to Oxford and Cambridge. They still can but they must do very well in order to qualify a place.
Another way of getting easier access to top universities is by having connections with influential people or by having family ties with the university.
The local community through the Local Education Authorities has control over the running and decisions the schools. Research, planning and restructuring of the education system is decided by the government. Ballantine, pg 355, 2001) The LEA have authority and management over the conduct of administrators, both county ( state – supported ) and voluntary schools ( church ). British elementary schools have also been a model for other countries like US. The curricula for pre school includes ample free time, music, art, time for projects and a range of opportunities for TV Education, theater trips & museum visits. The pre-school are also designed to give a child like feeling, with toys, personal drawings, books and artwork decorating the classroom. (Ballantine, pg 356, 2001)
Britain is also an exam and credential society. It places great expectations on exams and certificates. As mention earlier, it has various exams that are credical to students when applying for jobs. They are the GCSE, A- Level exam and International Baccalaureate exams. The last one is however opened only to the elites and those with high IQ. (Ballantine, pg 358,2001)
By contrasts Ghana comes under the category of developing countries. The country fellows the British model of education. One of the reason is that it was once colonized by Britain. Even though there is social class differentiation in Britain, the rest of the population do have a good chance in obtaining good education but in Ghana, not all can obtain a good education. The social distinction is higher. The urban elite has a more disproportionate share of places for education.
The income gap in Ghana is quite wide. There are many still living in rural area parts of Ghana. Children usually attend school from the age of 6. Some will go to secondary schools at around twelve years and secondary school last around five years. The subject taught are mathematics, general science, social studies, religious education and physical education. (Ballantine, pg 366,2001) Where in Britain its focus is mainly on modernity, capitalism and politics, Ghana emphasizes on African heritage and necessarily skills for life. Why is this so? Well, education to some families is not a primary condition. As they are involve in farming, their main concern is for the young to help out in the farming. Most of these of families are poor also. Therefore there are some factors that families consider first before sending their children to school. The factors are cost to the family, school quality, travel time and anticipated cost of return. (Ballantine, pg 367,2001), There are some areas in Ghana where children have not gone to schools. Most parents can afford to place their children in school in Britain. Money is much not a factor even though it is still to some. There are schools in various districts, therefore traveling to school is rather convenient. In Ghana. those who attend school usually stay on and move up to university if they are able to do so. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
When Britain colonize Ghana, education was one of their top priority. They needed an educated labour force to help them. Countries like Ghana saw education as a way out of being dominated by another country and to achieve independence. Therefore Ghana’s education is structured to in a way that its curriculum encourages independency, leadership and the full cultural knowledge of Ghana. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
For Britain, the values of capitalism was important, for Ghana values about independency, leadership and culture are the three most important. Leadership is needed for technological development, Industrialization and politics. Therefore, even a developing country would want to groom their youths for politics. Some parents could send their children overseas and when they return. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
They brought with them expertise like agricultural skills, emphasis on preventive medicine in the area of traditional tribal medicine and integration of new knowledge with existing values and traditions may be more relevant to the needs of the nation. The children usually attend prestige’s schools like Oxford and Cambridge in Britain. (Ballantine, pg 368,2001)
In Singapore, the education system like Ghana is modeled after the British system. Singapore was also colonized by the British once. It became their main trading port. Education was needed to create a work force to mend this hugh city port. Singapore education has thus made some modifications but it’s exam system is still following the British system. Singapore education like Britain, is based on exam and credentials.
Singapore has become an independent and capitalized country. Like Britain, its capitalist markets are open. Industrialization is flourishing. Gross National Product is high and majority of Singaporeans earn enough to support themselves and have a decent living. The aim of Singapore’s Education System is to achieve world standard. It wants to be recognized around the world. These would encourage overseas students to come to Singapore to learn. Indeed, National University of Singapore has become one of the top leading business schools around the world.
Singapore’s education curriculum is created towards achieving this goal. Students are taught to be creative. Rote learning has come to pass. There are more projects to do. These projects involve critical thinking. These will help to inculcate skills to solve problems. When these youths go out to the labour force, they will be equipped with problem solving techniques. Moral and religious education is still being taught. Education is controlled by the government but more autonomy has been given to schools, especially private schools, to manage and run their schools in the best possible way. Teachers are allowed to explore their horizon and are encouraged to expand their knowledge. With more knowledge, they can then pass on more knowledge to their students. Education fees for primary school are free. For Secondary, Colleges and Universities, fees have to be paid. The ministry give support to those who cannot afford the fees. Private schools and Universities set their own fees. There are bank loans to finance these fees.
The education base their system on three goals. They are
a.) Students must acquire sound values and skills to take them through life as responsible adults and active citizens. It comprises the non – academic curriculum (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
b.) Students must acquire knowledge skills. This will help develop the student’s thinking process and communication skills. This will enable students to analyse and use information and be able to express their thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
c.) Students must have a good grounding in content across different areas of study. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
For primary schools, education is up to six years of compulsory education. There are no school fees.. After six years the child will seat for the Primary School Leaving Examinations. Student are encouraged to take part in Co-curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programme. This is for the child to have a more rounded education. Subjects taken are English, mother tongue, Mathematics and Science, Social Studies, Art & Crafts and Music. (http://www.moe.gov.sg/)
Secondary schools last from 4 to 5 years. Exams like in the British system to be taken after the 4 or 5 years is GCE ‘O’ Levels. For some in the Technical stream will only take the ‘N’ Levels and move on ITE. Some schools have integrated programmes whereby students skip ‘O’ Levels and go straight to ‘A’ Levels. Some prefer to take the International Baccalaureate exams. Britain also offers this exam. However these exam is open to the elite schools in Singapore like Raffles Institution and Raffles girls. Subjects taken at secondary level. English, Mother, Tongue, French, German, Japanese, Malay, Chinese, Geography, History, Literature in English, Visual Arts, Music, Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Home Economics, Accounts, Design and Technology and Food & Nutrition. For Pre – University Education ( Junior Colleges ), it last from 2 to 3 years. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
After that, students sit for the ‘A’ Levels ( Same in Britain ). The subjects taken are Mother Tongue Languages, 3rd Languages, Art, Economics, Geography, History, Literature in English, Music, Theatre studies & Drama, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, computing. (http://www.moe.gov.sg)
From ‘O’Levels, students can go on to polytechnics or do their ‘A’ Levels. Polytechnic subjects are more catered to the relevant industries that they are teaching. However, there is more prestige do A levels than to go to polytechnic as there is a better chance to enter NUS or NTU.
Elitism in Singapore, like in Britain and Ghana, do exist. The universities due to their goal in trying to achieve world standard have raised their entry levels. Faculty like the medical faculty has even higher standards. Therefore to enter these universities, you have to do well. There is even a quota so even you do well does not mean you will get a place in the university. Most civil servants from local universities have better chances in obtaining jobs in government control organizations. Same goes to those in Britain
There are other options however, like going overseas to study. Recently, overseas universities have opened their campuses here so it is now more convenient to attend overseas universities locally. The open university is one of them. Recently it has been given the statues of the first private local university in Singapore and the government recognizes the university.
Singapore’s education is also tailored in way at it promotes its political ideologies. It curriculum develops youths into what the government want to be so that they can bring in wealth and prosperity to the country. There are some who do not share the government’s political ideology so they would migrate to other countries. These causes a brain drain. One example that S
Singapore preaches it’s political ideology is through the National Education programme and its history subjects. All Singaporeans have to learn what happened to Singapore in the 60’s, how it was founded and who is who in the government. We are then taught what is right and wrong for the country. It goes to show that education is actually a course of action to promote one’s political ideology.
Different countries have different education system. All their education system reflect their countries political system and ideologies. The three countries that I used as examples are Singapore, Britain and Ghana. The first two are capitalist countries countries and the last one is a developing country. Singapore and Ghana use the British model of education because they were both colonized by Britain. The difference is that countries like Singapore and Britain have better facilities to carry out their educations system. Literacy rate is also above the 90% mark. Unfortunately for Ghana it is around the 60% mark. They vary in what is taught in school.
Elitism is most obvious in Ghana because of the income disparity and not all people in Ghana can access the education system. In Singapore and Britain, even though there is elitism, majority of their citizens can access the education system.
Therefore there is still more room for improvement in upgrading the education system in one’s country. I hope they make me more egalitarian.
The Civil Servant. Good or Bad? Two point of view : World & Local
Singapore has been known as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. It has always been praised in it’s efficiency in conducting businesses with other countries. The efficiency of doing business can be contributed to certain factors. They are good banking practices, good working ethics, good organization laws, strict civil laws than prevent corruption and crime and a vision to be global & service oriented. There are many others but I think you get the picture.
Singapore is able to provide the goods and services very efficiently to other parts of the world than most counties. Beside Singapore, most developed counties like the United Sates, HongKong, England, Switzerland are doing rather well. We are praised because there are quite a number of countries that cannot provide the goods and services the way we do. The reasons range from corruption to social unrest. Countries like Russia, India & Dubai are seeking our help in improving their economy. The only sad think is that our closest neighbour seldom ask for our help and they keep giving us mix signals. Sometimes they want our help, sometimes they do not. I would not elaborate on this issue as it is not a concern here.
There are plentiful of evidence to show that the Civil Service is doing a good job but somehow it is still not up to the Singaporean expectation. Why? To address this issue, I will look at the comments and questions that had been presented in the article : “S’pore Civil Servant: Love Abroad, Hated at Home. Why do we love to put them down?”
Let’s consider the first question : Could it be a unfair generalization based on a few bad experiences?
There is a saying First impression last. How true is it when it comes to the standard of service we expect from a civil servant. One thing we have to accept is that not everything can be rosy. There are bound to have unpleasant times. We did not leave in a society where equilibrium can be achieved. I would suggest that those that have encountered bad experience with the service of a civil servant to give relevant feedback to the relevant organization so that the company can administer the proper procedures to correct what is not right in the organization.
The next question to consider : Civil servants’ resistance to try new things and ways of doing things?
There are two factors that I think would be relevant to look at. One is the internal organization behaviour of the company and the other the attitude of the person. An organization is made up of regulations and an employee must adhere to it inorder for the organisation to work properly. Some rules may be rigid & some flexible. It all bowls down to the structure of the organization and its functions. It would be encourageable that civil service organizations create more room for the employees to be creative. Give them a chance to do daring things and give them avenue to make suggestions that can need to organisational changes. Some employees are afraid to do this because they are afraid of the replications it has on their job like losing their jobs. Well, I am glad the civil service organizations are moving towards this direction. Civil servants should also change their mindset and realize that they are living in an ever changing room. They should be educated on this matter. Some times it is not their fault that they cannot be creative especially if they were not brought up to be a creative. Please do not forget that we are asians and we come from a conservative culture. We are taught to obey the rules!!! This is commonly true during my parents time. Therefore civil servants at around the age of forty five and above may be more resistant to change or suggest to make changes. As mention earlier, one of the major reason is because they are afraid to lose their jobs.
The next question to consider : Limited room for creative and mistakes. As for the comments of having limited room for creative I have already stated in the above paragraph. I would like to concentrate on mistakes.
Making mistakes has it’s good and bad consequences. It all depends on certain factors like who administered the mistake, how severe was the mistake & the level of tolerance for a company to accept the mistake that had been committed. There some people who think that civil servants should not make any mistakes. They should know their work. Well, civil servants are human too like you and I. Surely they will make mistakes. So far I find civil servants competent in their work. Of course there are occasional hiccups but they are corrected quickly. Depending on how severe the mistake was, a civil servant should be allowed to redeem him or herself. People learn from their mistakes. Team building sessions should be formed where brain thinking tasks are given to the employees to accomplish. Mistakes should be allowed and should be freely corrected. This will help the civil servant to be more daring and creative.
The next question to consider : Demands not meeting expectations? This is rather subjective. Different people have different demands. Of course it is common sense to say that if some demands are too high than they may be too difficult to be reach. Those commented never mentioned what types of demands that did not make their expectations. Therefore to state that the civil service do not reach people’s demand is just a convenient excuse to vent their frustrations on the civil service organization especially when their demands are not met. For my experience, the civil service is doing a good job in meeting demands. If not, the world would not have a high regard for our civil service.
Therefore in life, as there is no perfect human being , there is also no perfect organisation. Like humans, organisations also learn and grow. In Singapore, due to its objective in being nearly 98% transparent, the Civil Service Organisation is actually doing a good job. We cannot always expect them to be giving 100% quality service all the time. There bound to be some mistakes. Lets give the Civil Service Organisation a break and applaud for their great contribution to the society of Singapore
Singapore is able to provide the goods and services very efficiently to other parts of the world than most counties. Beside Singapore, most developed counties like the United Sates, HongKong, England, Switzerland are doing rather well. We are praised because there are quite a number of countries that cannot provide the goods and services the way we do. The reasons range from corruption to social unrest. Countries like Russia, India & Dubai are seeking our help in improving their economy. The only sad think is that our closest neighbour seldom ask for our help and they keep giving us mix signals. Sometimes they want our help, sometimes they do not. I would not elaborate on this issue as it is not a concern here.
There are plentiful of evidence to show that the Civil Service is doing a good job but somehow it is still not up to the Singaporean expectation. Why? To address this issue, I will look at the comments and questions that had been presented in the article : “S’pore Civil Servant: Love Abroad, Hated at Home. Why do we love to put them down?”
Let’s consider the first question : Could it be a unfair generalization based on a few bad experiences?
There is a saying First impression last. How true is it when it comes to the standard of service we expect from a civil servant. One thing we have to accept is that not everything can be rosy. There are bound to have unpleasant times. We did not leave in a society where equilibrium can be achieved. I would suggest that those that have encountered bad experience with the service of a civil servant to give relevant feedback to the relevant organization so that the company can administer the proper procedures to correct what is not right in the organization.
The next question to consider : Civil servants’ resistance to try new things and ways of doing things?
There are two factors that I think would be relevant to look at. One is the internal organization behaviour of the company and the other the attitude of the person. An organization is made up of regulations and an employee must adhere to it inorder for the organisation to work properly. Some rules may be rigid & some flexible. It all bowls down to the structure of the organization and its functions. It would be encourageable that civil service organizations create more room for the employees to be creative. Give them a chance to do daring things and give them avenue to make suggestions that can need to organisational changes. Some employees are afraid to do this because they are afraid of the replications it has on their job like losing their jobs. Well, I am glad the civil service organizations are moving towards this direction. Civil servants should also change their mindset and realize that they are living in an ever changing room. They should be educated on this matter. Some times it is not their fault that they cannot be creative especially if they were not brought up to be a creative. Please do not forget that we are asians and we come from a conservative culture. We are taught to obey the rules!!! This is commonly true during my parents time. Therefore civil servants at around the age of forty five and above may be more resistant to change or suggest to make changes. As mention earlier, one of the major reason is because they are afraid to lose their jobs.
The next question to consider : Limited room for creative and mistakes. As for the comments of having limited room for creative I have already stated in the above paragraph. I would like to concentrate on mistakes.
Making mistakes has it’s good and bad consequences. It all depends on certain factors like who administered the mistake, how severe was the mistake & the level of tolerance for a company to accept the mistake that had been committed. There some people who think that civil servants should not make any mistakes. They should know their work. Well, civil servants are human too like you and I. Surely they will make mistakes. So far I find civil servants competent in their work. Of course there are occasional hiccups but they are corrected quickly. Depending on how severe the mistake was, a civil servant should be allowed to redeem him or herself. People learn from their mistakes. Team building sessions should be formed where brain thinking tasks are given to the employees to accomplish. Mistakes should be allowed and should be freely corrected. This will help the civil servant to be more daring and creative.
The next question to consider : Demands not meeting expectations? This is rather subjective. Different people have different demands. Of course it is common sense to say that if some demands are too high than they may be too difficult to be reach. Those commented never mentioned what types of demands that did not make their expectations. Therefore to state that the civil service do not reach people’s demand is just a convenient excuse to vent their frustrations on the civil service organization especially when their demands are not met. For my experience, the civil service is doing a good job in meeting demands. If not, the world would not have a high regard for our civil service.
Therefore in life, as there is no perfect human being , there is also no perfect organisation. Like humans, organisations also learn and grow. In Singapore, due to its objective in being nearly 98% transparent, the Civil Service Organisation is actually doing a good job. We cannot always expect them to be giving 100% quality service all the time. There bound to be some mistakes. Lets give the Civil Service Organisation a break and applaud for their great contribution to the society of Singapore
Are Singaporeans Getting Racist
Most of you will be startled by the title of this topic. Immediately I can foresee defenses being made in the brains of those who deny that Singaporeans are racists. I also foresee knives being thrown at me. I might become a hated person. However, I will not be affected by all these thoughts and threats if ever there were. The main concern that I would like to drive at is how prejudice we have become because of the rise of the standard of living and status. The government has a hand to play in it. I would want to ensure that there is no way I am blaming the government for the rise of status Singaporeans have acquired.
Singaporeans have recently adopted a sense of xenophobia towards foreign workers. The foreign workers that Singaporean's fear are the "dark man" and not "the white man". The government recently announced that they would convert an abandoned school building into a dormitory for foreign workers. The area chosen is Serangoon Gardens. It is allocated in the Northern – Eastern part of Singapore. It is populated by a few thousand Singaporeans and a considerable number of expatriates. It also houses the ever congested and famous food centre, Chomp Chomp. ( They do serve pretty good food!!!) Within a few days, there have been a barrage of fiery and ludicrous protest written in the newspapers to prevent the development. The reasons were based on the "dark man" committing Crime, Noise and causing Congestion.
Some of the suggestions given to keep them away from the Serangoon Neighbourhood were :
• "Jailing them like criminals or caging them like animals "
• "Creating a town in the outskirts of Singapore where they can roam and live happily"
• Restricting their freedom to roam around
Jailing them like criminals or caging them like animals
There were suggestions to confine the foreigners to the dormitory so that they would not be able to roam beyond it. Just consider this outrageous idea. These foreigners come to Singapore to take up jobs that Singaporeans do not want to do. They are not criminals yet we suggest that they be treated as one. Singaporeans should put themselves in the foreigner's shoes. What if we went to a foreign country to work in jobs that those citizens in that country do not want to do and we are confronted by calls to treat us as criminals. Well, I guess we would feel isolated, "complain" and fight for our rights because most Singaporeans are educated. Please do not forget that these foreigners are not educated and their position will be more precarious than ours. They may not be well informed of their rights and may not know how to go about fighting for it. There is a saying, if we cannot get rid of them, cage them. Do we want to stoop to such a low level?
How would these foreigners feel? Most of them would be living in poverty back in their home land. They may be suffering from racial discrimination back in their mother land. For example, African Black Americans. Workers from Bangladesh suffer poverty because there is a great income gap in India. They flock here to find jobs, find better pay and purchase electrical products and sell it back in their mother land. They also contribute to our economy. I think we are the 1st country in the world to suggest "jailing" non – criminals who contribute to our economy and flock here to find jobs. I guess we want to be 1st in everything we partake.
Naturally these workers would feel isolated and deprived. Being unable to live happily in Singapore and being treated like a criminal may cause these foreigners to feel resentment towards Singaporeans. They may begin to revolt and breakout of their "jail" ( Prison Break 3 – made in Singapore ). They may start riots in Serangoon to demand that they be treated equally and fairly. Please do not forget that in countries like India, violence is part of their lives. We have not had any riots for a long time so please do not rock the boat.
Creating a town in the outskirts of Singapore where they can roam and live happily
There were suggestions to develop the dormitory in the outskirts of Singapore. To create shopping and other leisure facilities in that particular "island" for the foreigners to enjoy. There is a great irony to this suggestion. As Singaporeans, we are thought to live happily among other races, religions and ethnicity. Yet when, it comes to these kind of foreigners which are of a different nationality, race and ethnicity, we are against living with them harmoniously . I think the government should re - look into their campaign in encouraging us to live among people with different races, religion and ethnicity. On second thoughts, I think that would not be necessary, we should be re-looking at ourselves. It is not that we cannot live with people with different backgrounds, nationality, race and ethnicity, it is that we choose who we should get along with. If it was a white race, we would welcome them with open arms. There are a lot of foreigners working in Singapore. The white foreigners are not prejudiced but the dark ones are. We have become racist in our own way. We are becoming like the Americans who discriminated against the blacks. Talk of Singapore advancing as a developed nation, I think we are retreating.
Restricting their freedom to roam around
There were suggestions of restricting their freedom as well. There were suggestions to set limits on where these foreigners could patronize. These limits were necessary in order to protect the elderly. I was appalled that such suggestions could be made. It also labels these foreigners as trouble makers and pose a danger to the elderly. In turn the elderly would be afraid of them. This fear can be contagious as it would spread to the young when their elders tell them to be vary of the foreigners. As Asians we are cultivated to obey our elders.
Singapore started off as a trading port. Foreigners have always flock to our land to do business. People from China, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, you name it have all come here to trade in our country. They have created jobs and businesses. Some of the businesses still exist to this very dying day. So why is it that there is now a big "hoo ha" about foreigners coming to Singapore and staying in the heart lands of Singapore. As mentioned before, it is a particular kind of foreigners that are being prejudiced and they are known as the dark ones. They are viewed as trouble makers, low class, living in dirty squalors, sexual predators and being uncivilized. The media is partly to be blame. There have been reports of foreigners having sexual relations with domestic maids, fights among them ( as if Singaporeans do not fight, more prevalent among Indians – sorry do not mean to be prejudice here.) and causing trouble around Singapore. Seldom are there any good reports about them.
Another reason is that we are adopting the white men's attitude. We regard the white race as superior and more civilized. If the dormitory was populated by white folks and they moved around shirtless, talking loudly, drinking beer and indulging in other entertainment ( maybe sexual promiscuous behaviour), I bet my money's worth that the people living around the dormitory would close an eye. The white folks are able to work among us, eat with us and partake his/her leisure with us. They are looked upon as an authority figure. It has been through historically. For example, when Australia was colonized by the British, Australians adopted the British behaviour of drinking tea in the afternoon. Aborigines were looked down upon and prejudiced as they were "dark sinned" and inferior to the "white skin". Australia only allowed citizens from Europe to migrate to its land. When the Australian government opened its door to Asians as well because it felt that it's population was depleting due to Australians migrating to European countries, there was a great protest. There is still racist sentiments in Australia. One politician that was against Asians was Pauline Hanson. Singaporeans aspire to be like the white folks. They are our bench mark to achieve a high standard of living in Singapore. Even the government is trying very hard to obtain a "Swiss" standard of living and they are not far away from achieving that goal.
I am not saying that this is bad. In fact, it is good for every country to prosper. However, in our relentless persuade of achieving a high standard of living, we have lost track of what being a Singaporean is. We have forgotten the Yellow Man in the street, the rickshaw puller, the street hawker, the construction worker. Therefore, I think we need to re-educate ourselves again. If we are prejudiced now against the dark man, how would our children feel towards them. This prejudice could become contagious. It would be good for Singapore as a whole. I hope in the future there would be improvements in the attitudes towards the foreigners but for now the future looks bleak
As Singapore prospers, there is a class divide that is starting to emerge. Income gap is widening. The rich will only get richer despite how much the government helps the poor. The reason is that the government has always adopted a Confucius thinking whereby, people must work in order to prosper. Poor people may not have the resources and capability to work. Living on handouts is not helpful. The amount is not as big as those given out in welfare states. Eventhough, there have been exploitation of welfare benefits by the citizens of welfare states, I still feel it can be implemented here if there were proper controls. Welfare states are even legislating proper controls to curb the abuses of welfare benefits. Maybe Singapore can look into this matter. After all Lee Kuan Yew is not the PM anymore. It was Lee Kuan Yew's idea in the first place to adopt the welfare system. It was due to something he witnessed in his first few years of his reign as PM. He visited a Shipyard and he saw the workers fooling around because eventhough the shipyard was on strike, it was giving out welfare benefits. From that instance, he decided that Singapore will never be a welfare state. I do hope the state would change it's mind on this matter. In a meantime, I really urge that Singaporeans re look at ourselves and have compassionate to the foreign workers.
Singaporeans have recently adopted a sense of xenophobia towards foreign workers. The foreign workers that Singaporean's fear are the "dark man" and not "the white man". The government recently announced that they would convert an abandoned school building into a dormitory for foreign workers. The area chosen is Serangoon Gardens. It is allocated in the Northern – Eastern part of Singapore. It is populated by a few thousand Singaporeans and a considerable number of expatriates. It also houses the ever congested and famous food centre, Chomp Chomp. ( They do serve pretty good food!!!) Within a few days, there have been a barrage of fiery and ludicrous protest written in the newspapers to prevent the development. The reasons were based on the "dark man" committing Crime, Noise and causing Congestion.
Some of the suggestions given to keep them away from the Serangoon Neighbourhood were :
• "Jailing them like criminals or caging them like animals "
• "Creating a town in the outskirts of Singapore where they can roam and live happily"
• Restricting their freedom to roam around
Jailing them like criminals or caging them like animals
There were suggestions to confine the foreigners to the dormitory so that they would not be able to roam beyond it. Just consider this outrageous idea. These foreigners come to Singapore to take up jobs that Singaporeans do not want to do. They are not criminals yet we suggest that they be treated as one. Singaporeans should put themselves in the foreigner's shoes. What if we went to a foreign country to work in jobs that those citizens in that country do not want to do and we are confronted by calls to treat us as criminals. Well, I guess we would feel isolated, "complain" and fight for our rights because most Singaporeans are educated. Please do not forget that these foreigners are not educated and their position will be more precarious than ours. They may not be well informed of their rights and may not know how to go about fighting for it. There is a saying, if we cannot get rid of them, cage them. Do we want to stoop to such a low level?
How would these foreigners feel? Most of them would be living in poverty back in their home land. They may be suffering from racial discrimination back in their mother land. For example, African Black Americans. Workers from Bangladesh suffer poverty because there is a great income gap in India. They flock here to find jobs, find better pay and purchase electrical products and sell it back in their mother land. They also contribute to our economy. I think we are the 1st country in the world to suggest "jailing" non – criminals who contribute to our economy and flock here to find jobs. I guess we want to be 1st in everything we partake.
Naturally these workers would feel isolated and deprived. Being unable to live happily in Singapore and being treated like a criminal may cause these foreigners to feel resentment towards Singaporeans. They may begin to revolt and breakout of their "jail" ( Prison Break 3 – made in Singapore ). They may start riots in Serangoon to demand that they be treated equally and fairly. Please do not forget that in countries like India, violence is part of their lives. We have not had any riots for a long time so please do not rock the boat.
Creating a town in the outskirts of Singapore where they can roam and live happily
There were suggestions to develop the dormitory in the outskirts of Singapore. To create shopping and other leisure facilities in that particular "island" for the foreigners to enjoy. There is a great irony to this suggestion. As Singaporeans, we are thought to live happily among other races, religions and ethnicity. Yet when, it comes to these kind of foreigners which are of a different nationality, race and ethnicity, we are against living with them harmoniously . I think the government should re - look into their campaign in encouraging us to live among people with different races, religion and ethnicity. On second thoughts, I think that would not be necessary, we should be re-looking at ourselves. It is not that we cannot live with people with different backgrounds, nationality, race and ethnicity, it is that we choose who we should get along with. If it was a white race, we would welcome them with open arms. There are a lot of foreigners working in Singapore. The white foreigners are not prejudiced but the dark ones are. We have become racist in our own way. We are becoming like the Americans who discriminated against the blacks. Talk of Singapore advancing as a developed nation, I think we are retreating.
Restricting their freedom to roam around
There were suggestions of restricting their freedom as well. There were suggestions to set limits on where these foreigners could patronize. These limits were necessary in order to protect the elderly. I was appalled that such suggestions could be made. It also labels these foreigners as trouble makers and pose a danger to the elderly. In turn the elderly would be afraid of them. This fear can be contagious as it would spread to the young when their elders tell them to be vary of the foreigners. As Asians we are cultivated to obey our elders.
Singapore started off as a trading port. Foreigners have always flock to our land to do business. People from China, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, you name it have all come here to trade in our country. They have created jobs and businesses. Some of the businesses still exist to this very dying day. So why is it that there is now a big "hoo ha" about foreigners coming to Singapore and staying in the heart lands of Singapore. As mentioned before, it is a particular kind of foreigners that are being prejudiced and they are known as the dark ones. They are viewed as trouble makers, low class, living in dirty squalors, sexual predators and being uncivilized. The media is partly to be blame. There have been reports of foreigners having sexual relations with domestic maids, fights among them ( as if Singaporeans do not fight, more prevalent among Indians – sorry do not mean to be prejudice here.) and causing trouble around Singapore. Seldom are there any good reports about them.
Another reason is that we are adopting the white men's attitude. We regard the white race as superior and more civilized. If the dormitory was populated by white folks and they moved around shirtless, talking loudly, drinking beer and indulging in other entertainment ( maybe sexual promiscuous behaviour), I bet my money's worth that the people living around the dormitory would close an eye. The white folks are able to work among us, eat with us and partake his/her leisure with us. They are looked upon as an authority figure. It has been through historically. For example, when Australia was colonized by the British, Australians adopted the British behaviour of drinking tea in the afternoon. Aborigines were looked down upon and prejudiced as they were "dark sinned" and inferior to the "white skin". Australia only allowed citizens from Europe to migrate to its land. When the Australian government opened its door to Asians as well because it felt that it's population was depleting due to Australians migrating to European countries, there was a great protest. There is still racist sentiments in Australia. One politician that was against Asians was Pauline Hanson. Singaporeans aspire to be like the white folks. They are our bench mark to achieve a high standard of living in Singapore. Even the government is trying very hard to obtain a "Swiss" standard of living and they are not far away from achieving that goal.
I am not saying that this is bad. In fact, it is good for every country to prosper. However, in our relentless persuade of achieving a high standard of living, we have lost track of what being a Singaporean is. We have forgotten the Yellow Man in the street, the rickshaw puller, the street hawker, the construction worker. Therefore, I think we need to re-educate ourselves again. If we are prejudiced now against the dark man, how would our children feel towards them. This prejudice could become contagious. It would be good for Singapore as a whole. I hope in the future there would be improvements in the attitudes towards the foreigners but for now the future looks bleak
As Singapore prospers, there is a class divide that is starting to emerge. Income gap is widening. The rich will only get richer despite how much the government helps the poor. The reason is that the government has always adopted a Confucius thinking whereby, people must work in order to prosper. Poor people may not have the resources and capability to work. Living on handouts is not helpful. The amount is not as big as those given out in welfare states. Eventhough, there have been exploitation of welfare benefits by the citizens of welfare states, I still feel it can be implemented here if there were proper controls. Welfare states are even legislating proper controls to curb the abuses of welfare benefits. Maybe Singapore can look into this matter. After all Lee Kuan Yew is not the PM anymore. It was Lee Kuan Yew's idea in the first place to adopt the welfare system. It was due to something he witnessed in his first few years of his reign as PM. He visited a Shipyard and he saw the workers fooling around because eventhough the shipyard was on strike, it was giving out welfare benefits. From that instance, he decided that Singapore will never be a welfare state. I do hope the state would change it's mind on this matter. In a meantime, I really urge that Singaporeans re look at ourselves and have compassionate to the foreign workers.
Living in Singapore : The Changing Aspects of It’s Value System
Living in Singapore is a pretty unique experience. We are a nation that is made up of various ethnicity, races and cultures. We are able to adopt many values, Asia or Western. However, in many countries, the dominant class is the one that has the greatest control and influence. Fortunately, minorities in Singapore have learnt to live with the dominant class (especially the Chinese ) with much happiness. The Singapore government has increasing organised campaigns for nation building and for Singaporeans to form a common identity. How successful has this campaign been? Depending on different perspectives, it can range from successful to unsuccessful. Successful in ways that majority of Singaporeans are willing to defend it when there is a call for it. Singaporeans are less willing to bite the hand that is feeding them because living in Singapore can be a great blessing to most as compared to the crisis happening around the world. We live in peace and harmony. Most Singaporeans have jobs and a roof above their heads. Unemployment rate is not that high as compared to other countries.
The government has been unsuccessful in creating an identity because there are Singaporeans who still trying to find their identity living in Singapore. One reason is that there is a great irony in the Singapore campaign of nation building. Even though there is a great call for nation building, the Singapore government still reminds us that there is a dominant class. For example, the speak Mandarin Campaign.
One thing I find appalling is that the Speak Mandarin Campaign is now showing European Kids speaking the Chinese language. It is giving a message that other cultures can assimilate to the Singaporean culture. What is the Singaporean culture you may ask? If you go by the view that Singapore is multi – cultural then the Singaporean culture is one that is multi-faceted.
However, the campaign actually has a hidden meaning and that it is stating that there is only one culture and that the culture is from the dominant class. It is cultural Imperialism at its best. Some of you may be against what I am writing but do take some time to reflect on the questions posted here. It is true that Singapore is made up of different cultures and the government is aggressively campaigning us to build an identity and live as one nation. Therefore why is there no speak Indian Campaign Day, Speak Foreign Language Campaign Day, Speak Malay Campaign Day ( please remember that the Malays were the dominate class here once but are now taken over by the Chinese. This leads to another question to consider. Why is it that the Malays can never return to being the dominant class even though they are producing more babies than the Chinese do? Just visit hospitals and you will know what I am talking about.). There are some Singaporeans that have claimed that we have a Singaporean identity because we are united as Singaporeans, that we have created the Singaporean fruit and composed some nationalistic songs. Whilst all this is well and good, it still does not answer the question why there are Singaporeans that will emigrate or why our youths who study overseas would like to stay and work in the countries they have studied in.
The answer is that we have not really created anything that we can say identifies our identity. The declared durian was declared as a Singaporean fruit because most Singaporeans like to eat it. However, the durians that we eat are imported from Malaysia or Thailand. The songs created lead to patriotism. It is what being a Singaporean is but it does not bring about what being a Malay, Indian, Eurasian or a foreigner is to a Singaporean. The very fact that we are multi-cultured makes it difficult for us to develop a true identity. We only can create a Singaporean identity that the government deems it to be. A lot of our variety shows are copied from the US. We do not have any games shows that are created by Singaporeans at which we can be proud of. We are so rich that we can even purchase the rights to game shows.
Living in Singapore can be a beautiful experience for most of us but to some it may not be. How we want to live in Singapore depends on how we want our lives to be. Singapore’s culture is still conservative but has become more liberal over the years. This has alarmed some parents. They have attributed the increase of abortions and sex among youngsters to the deterioration of values. However, it is a micro point of view because as Singapore globalizes and other foreigners flock to our shores, different cultural values especially western values will set shore in Singapore. Youths will be exposed to more western values. When they study overseas, they will also face the same experience. Their thinking will change but their values like respecting parents and paying respects to their elders may still stay intact. Having pre-marital sex is a choice and doing it is actually natural. We humans are made to have sex. Some will definitely disagree with what I have written, especially religious leaders like the Catholic priests. However, in my opinion, as long you do not do any harmful things or disrupt social harmony, then you are entitled to do anything you deem is right and make yourself happy.
In an Asian society like Singapore, Asian values are adhered and respected. These values are very important to the old generation and their importance has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, it is certain that most Singaporeans still commonly share the values of marriage. The government also promotes Asian family values by furiously campaigning about it and urging Singaporeans to treasure and respect the sanctity of Asian family and marriage values. Their family and marriage polices are also eschewed towards the preservation of these values. They are afraid that if these values are not adhered to, the fabric of family cohesiveness would be broken and hence lead to broken families due to divorce. More crimes will be committed due to lack of parental guidance and more delinquent youths will be sprung up. It would lead to the break down of society in Singapore. The question is whether their fears are justified? However, the breakdown of Asian values is not the only factor that leads to high divorce rate, crimes and delinquent youths. There are other socio - economic factors to consider like wealth, education and occupation.
In the era of globalization, many opportunities have been created for many people to migrate to other countries to find jobs. Therefore, it is not surprising to find an influx of skilled and unskilled foreign workers of different race, religion, ethnicity, gender and skin color coming to Singapore to find jobs. Singaporeans have the opportunity to meet various kinds of people from around the world and share with them their values and believes. Relationships may be form between them. The reasons for foreigners coming to Singapore are job security, Singapore’s safety record, good education facilities and wide range of entertainment. One good example is the upcoming Integrated Resort Project due to be completed by 2010 if there are no delays. Some maybe surprise that I have stated a wide range of entertainment as one of the attraction. Abide that there was once limited entertainment in Singapore, the government has been trying to promote Singapore as a Top arts and entertainment city. They still have a long way to go comparing with other countries like Italy and France that are way ahead of the game. The income level of Singaporeans has also risen due to globalization and industrialization expansion. There are quite a number of youths going overseas to attain a foreign education. Two common reasons are that there is better accreditation obtained when studying at a prestige overseas University like Cambridge or Harvard. The other reason is that due to the quota system and stringent enrolment system that our local Universities administer, not every youth that is eligible to attend a local university can do so.
The number of Singaporeans adopting western values of living is small but there is no reason for the numbers to increase. In view that there is a group of people who are adopting a western way of living, the government should change their pro family polices to support these group of people. As Singapore globalizes, it is inevitable that people from all walks of live would flock to our shores. There is no stopping of Singaporeans to change the way they live. The government need not worry about the rotting of Asian values in Singapore as by large more Singaporeans still adopt an Asian way of living. The values are still deeply entrenched among the vast majority of Singaporeans. The government also has the reassurance of the “older society “ to up keep these values intact. Therefore, there will be no worries for the government to tweak their family policies to cater to the “minority” of Singaporeans who choose to live an alternative way of live.
Most of the family policies cater to married couples. A married woman is able to take four months of maternity leave. They are also entitled to childcare leave so is the husband. The policies are very attractive. A couple must also register their marriage before applying for a HDB flat. Be it at resale value or a brand new one. A single unmarried person can only buy a flat at resale value and he or she must be 35 years old and above. Some Singaporeans may agree to this polices. They may even praise the government for trying their very best to be pro family and keeping the fabric of family cohesiveness together. Well, there is no doubt that there polices are good but as Singapore process into the future and become more cosmopolitan, there will be an increase of Singaporeans who may view the sanctity of marriage differently. There it is high time that the government re – evaluate their pro family polices. What is the harm of allowing singles to buy new HDB flats? Must they wait until they are 35 years old in order to buy a “second hand flat”. It does not make sense at all if you would consider Singapore as a democratic country. Not every single Singaporean may be earning a salary that will enable them to purchase private property. There is also a consideration that there might be more singles now as the expectations of women are rising. For example, some girlfriends of mine have told me that their future partners must at least earn a salary between S$3,000 to S$4,000 in order to start to family. I do not blame them for cultivating this mindset as the cost of living in Singapore is rising each day . Woman’s earning power is also on the rise and they have the power to choose who they want to live with. Feminists have argued that they are in a better position to take over the household as men are losing the ability to be the head of the household. In the Singaporean context, it might be true as there are quite a number of mamma’s boys nowadays. Women prefer foreign men because they are more independent and advocate equality.
A country like Germany has polices that support single mothers and they are very attractive. Actually I would not mind living there and having my children with my partner without having the obligation of being married. I can see knives being thrown at me! Have the polices deteriorated the values of the country? The answer is definitely no. There are many agencies like the media that can ignite the deterioration of values. Girls as young as twelve years old are getting pregnant. You may ask me how I know about Germany? Well, I have friends in Germany that relate their live stories to me.
With the influx of foreigners and the changing mindsets of Singaporeans, the views of marriage have changed over time. With this change of mindset in mind, the Singaporean government cannot be so tight fisted over their pro family values and keep on spreading the message that the cohesiveness of the family will be effected if there are more single parents. It has not affected other developed countries and it sure would not affect us as the “older generation” is still around to ensure that the values of marriage are sustained. The Singapore government must tweak their polices to cater to those that want to live a single life and be single parents. This will also help increase the population of Singapore. Singapore is not like other countries like Philippines where due to strong catholic believes, their ever-strong catholic population do not use contraceptives therefore leading to high birth rates. Singapore’s society is more secular therefore there are many Singaporeans using contraceptives to practice family planning. Singaporeans are more career minded now and they may want to have less children in order to concentrate on their children. The rising cost of living in Singapore is another factor that Singaporeans consider to have children or not. I foresee it will take a very long time for the Singapore Government to change their mindset as the values of Confucianism are deeply entrenched with them. Furthermore Confucianism also advocates pro family values
We should not only stay in Singapore to experience other cultures. We should venture out and visit other countries as well. Even work there to experience a different way of life. Everything is beautiful depending how you perceive what beauty means to you. This same meaning applies to the many people living around the world. The way they perceive their environment is brought upon their upbringing, their life experiences, culture and background. Frankly if we do not visit other countries then we would not know what other beauties there are that the world has to offer other than the country that we live in. We will also have the ability to adopt ways to perceive what other people think of us, how we think of them and learn how to appreciate life and the beautiful things around us.
Naturally there will be fears whether we can assimilate into other cultures. Well, that will be our learning process because when we visit other countries different from others, we cannot expect things to be the same. Some may experience enmity because of the different environment. There will be new friends to be made. Some will experience loneliness or being ostracized from certain groups. However, I believe it takes time to get used to these cultures. Well, the worst case scenario is that you return back to Singapore. At least, you will know whether you can assimilate into other cultures or just get to know what other cultures are all about.
Some of my friends have started their own families in other countries. The most common difficulty that they had experienced is loneliness. They also found it difficult to get used to their new country’s culture. They suffered from great culture shock. However in the end, they did get used to the culture and they have told me it is the best thing that they have experienced. Now they know how to live in two different cultures and their thinking about life has also expanded. A very good blog you can go to is http://www.cmariec.com/blog/?page_id=349. She is a very good friend of mine who is living a very good life in Sweden. Her blog is very interesting. It depicts about her lifestyle and the beautiful culture Sweden has to offer.
Living in Singapore depends on you. If you can learn how to live in Singapore and feel that Singapore is truly your homeland, by all means make it your homeland. After all Singapore has plenty to offer and overall it is a beautiful country. If you can’t adapt, well the other option is to migrate to another country that will benefit you the most. It also depends whether you have the means to do so. For some, it may not be possible to do so. If that is the case then they have to make do whatever they have. Maybe lady luck may shine on them one day so that they can migrate. For those that have not had the opportunity to experience cultures, I greatly encourage them to so. It is once in a lifetime experience. It is great to view what other beauties other countries have to offer. We can also learn how to appreciate and understand other cultures.
The government has been unsuccessful in creating an identity because there are Singaporeans who still trying to find their identity living in Singapore. One reason is that there is a great irony in the Singapore campaign of nation building. Even though there is a great call for nation building, the Singapore government still reminds us that there is a dominant class. For example, the speak Mandarin Campaign.
One thing I find appalling is that the Speak Mandarin Campaign is now showing European Kids speaking the Chinese language. It is giving a message that other cultures can assimilate to the Singaporean culture. What is the Singaporean culture you may ask? If you go by the view that Singapore is multi – cultural then the Singaporean culture is one that is multi-faceted.
However, the campaign actually has a hidden meaning and that it is stating that there is only one culture and that the culture is from the dominant class. It is cultural Imperialism at its best. Some of you may be against what I am writing but do take some time to reflect on the questions posted here. It is true that Singapore is made up of different cultures and the government is aggressively campaigning us to build an identity and live as one nation. Therefore why is there no speak Indian Campaign Day, Speak Foreign Language Campaign Day, Speak Malay Campaign Day ( please remember that the Malays were the dominate class here once but are now taken over by the Chinese. This leads to another question to consider. Why is it that the Malays can never return to being the dominant class even though they are producing more babies than the Chinese do? Just visit hospitals and you will know what I am talking about.). There are some Singaporeans that have claimed that we have a Singaporean identity because we are united as Singaporeans, that we have created the Singaporean fruit and composed some nationalistic songs. Whilst all this is well and good, it still does not answer the question why there are Singaporeans that will emigrate or why our youths who study overseas would like to stay and work in the countries they have studied in.
The answer is that we have not really created anything that we can say identifies our identity. The declared durian was declared as a Singaporean fruit because most Singaporeans like to eat it. However, the durians that we eat are imported from Malaysia or Thailand. The songs created lead to patriotism. It is what being a Singaporean is but it does not bring about what being a Malay, Indian, Eurasian or a foreigner is to a Singaporean. The very fact that we are multi-cultured makes it difficult for us to develop a true identity. We only can create a Singaporean identity that the government deems it to be. A lot of our variety shows are copied from the US. We do not have any games shows that are created by Singaporeans at which we can be proud of. We are so rich that we can even purchase the rights to game shows.
Living in Singapore can be a beautiful experience for most of us but to some it may not be. How we want to live in Singapore depends on how we want our lives to be. Singapore’s culture is still conservative but has become more liberal over the years. This has alarmed some parents. They have attributed the increase of abortions and sex among youngsters to the deterioration of values. However, it is a micro point of view because as Singapore globalizes and other foreigners flock to our shores, different cultural values especially western values will set shore in Singapore. Youths will be exposed to more western values. When they study overseas, they will also face the same experience. Their thinking will change but their values like respecting parents and paying respects to their elders may still stay intact. Having pre-marital sex is a choice and doing it is actually natural. We humans are made to have sex. Some will definitely disagree with what I have written, especially religious leaders like the Catholic priests. However, in my opinion, as long you do not do any harmful things or disrupt social harmony, then you are entitled to do anything you deem is right and make yourself happy.
In an Asian society like Singapore, Asian values are adhered and respected. These values are very important to the old generation and their importance has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, it is certain that most Singaporeans still commonly share the values of marriage. The government also promotes Asian family values by furiously campaigning about it and urging Singaporeans to treasure and respect the sanctity of Asian family and marriage values. Their family and marriage polices are also eschewed towards the preservation of these values. They are afraid that if these values are not adhered to, the fabric of family cohesiveness would be broken and hence lead to broken families due to divorce. More crimes will be committed due to lack of parental guidance and more delinquent youths will be sprung up. It would lead to the break down of society in Singapore. The question is whether their fears are justified? However, the breakdown of Asian values is not the only factor that leads to high divorce rate, crimes and delinquent youths. There are other socio - economic factors to consider like wealth, education and occupation.
In the era of globalization, many opportunities have been created for many people to migrate to other countries to find jobs. Therefore, it is not surprising to find an influx of skilled and unskilled foreign workers of different race, religion, ethnicity, gender and skin color coming to Singapore to find jobs. Singaporeans have the opportunity to meet various kinds of people from around the world and share with them their values and believes. Relationships may be form between them. The reasons for foreigners coming to Singapore are job security, Singapore’s safety record, good education facilities and wide range of entertainment. One good example is the upcoming Integrated Resort Project due to be completed by 2010 if there are no delays. Some maybe surprise that I have stated a wide range of entertainment as one of the attraction. Abide that there was once limited entertainment in Singapore, the government has been trying to promote Singapore as a Top arts and entertainment city. They still have a long way to go comparing with other countries like Italy and France that are way ahead of the game. The income level of Singaporeans has also risen due to globalization and industrialization expansion. There are quite a number of youths going overseas to attain a foreign education. Two common reasons are that there is better accreditation obtained when studying at a prestige overseas University like Cambridge or Harvard. The other reason is that due to the quota system and stringent enrolment system that our local Universities administer, not every youth that is eligible to attend a local university can do so.
The number of Singaporeans adopting western values of living is small but there is no reason for the numbers to increase. In view that there is a group of people who are adopting a western way of living, the government should change their pro family polices to support these group of people. As Singapore globalizes, it is inevitable that people from all walks of live would flock to our shores. There is no stopping of Singaporeans to change the way they live. The government need not worry about the rotting of Asian values in Singapore as by large more Singaporeans still adopt an Asian way of living. The values are still deeply entrenched among the vast majority of Singaporeans. The government also has the reassurance of the “older society “ to up keep these values intact. Therefore, there will be no worries for the government to tweak their family policies to cater to the “minority” of Singaporeans who choose to live an alternative way of live.
Most of the family policies cater to married couples. A married woman is able to take four months of maternity leave. They are also entitled to childcare leave so is the husband. The policies are very attractive. A couple must also register their marriage before applying for a HDB flat. Be it at resale value or a brand new one. A single unmarried person can only buy a flat at resale value and he or she must be 35 years old and above. Some Singaporeans may agree to this polices. They may even praise the government for trying their very best to be pro family and keeping the fabric of family cohesiveness together. Well, there is no doubt that there polices are good but as Singapore process into the future and become more cosmopolitan, there will be an increase of Singaporeans who may view the sanctity of marriage differently. There it is high time that the government re – evaluate their pro family polices. What is the harm of allowing singles to buy new HDB flats? Must they wait until they are 35 years old in order to buy a “second hand flat”. It does not make sense at all if you would consider Singapore as a democratic country. Not every single Singaporean may be earning a salary that will enable them to purchase private property. There is also a consideration that there might be more singles now as the expectations of women are rising. For example, some girlfriends of mine have told me that their future partners must at least earn a salary between S$3,000 to S$4,000 in order to start to family. I do not blame them for cultivating this mindset as the cost of living in Singapore is rising each day . Woman’s earning power is also on the rise and they have the power to choose who they want to live with. Feminists have argued that they are in a better position to take over the household as men are losing the ability to be the head of the household. In the Singaporean context, it might be true as there are quite a number of mamma’s boys nowadays. Women prefer foreign men because they are more independent and advocate equality.
A country like Germany has polices that support single mothers and they are very attractive. Actually I would not mind living there and having my children with my partner without having the obligation of being married. I can see knives being thrown at me! Have the polices deteriorated the values of the country? The answer is definitely no. There are many agencies like the media that can ignite the deterioration of values. Girls as young as twelve years old are getting pregnant. You may ask me how I know about Germany? Well, I have friends in Germany that relate their live stories to me.
With the influx of foreigners and the changing mindsets of Singaporeans, the views of marriage have changed over time. With this change of mindset in mind, the Singaporean government cannot be so tight fisted over their pro family values and keep on spreading the message that the cohesiveness of the family will be effected if there are more single parents. It has not affected other developed countries and it sure would not affect us as the “older generation” is still around to ensure that the values of marriage are sustained. The Singapore government must tweak their polices to cater to those that want to live a single life and be single parents. This will also help increase the population of Singapore. Singapore is not like other countries like Philippines where due to strong catholic believes, their ever-strong catholic population do not use contraceptives therefore leading to high birth rates. Singapore’s society is more secular therefore there are many Singaporeans using contraceptives to practice family planning. Singaporeans are more career minded now and they may want to have less children in order to concentrate on their children. The rising cost of living in Singapore is another factor that Singaporeans consider to have children or not. I foresee it will take a very long time for the Singapore Government to change their mindset as the values of Confucianism are deeply entrenched with them. Furthermore Confucianism also advocates pro family values
We should not only stay in Singapore to experience other cultures. We should venture out and visit other countries as well. Even work there to experience a different way of life. Everything is beautiful depending how you perceive what beauty means to you. This same meaning applies to the many people living around the world. The way they perceive their environment is brought upon their upbringing, their life experiences, culture and background. Frankly if we do not visit other countries then we would not know what other beauties there are that the world has to offer other than the country that we live in. We will also have the ability to adopt ways to perceive what other people think of us, how we think of them and learn how to appreciate life and the beautiful things around us.
Naturally there will be fears whether we can assimilate into other cultures. Well, that will be our learning process because when we visit other countries different from others, we cannot expect things to be the same. Some may experience enmity because of the different environment. There will be new friends to be made. Some will experience loneliness or being ostracized from certain groups. However, I believe it takes time to get used to these cultures. Well, the worst case scenario is that you return back to Singapore. At least, you will know whether you can assimilate into other cultures or just get to know what other cultures are all about.
Some of my friends have started their own families in other countries. The most common difficulty that they had experienced is loneliness. They also found it difficult to get used to their new country’s culture. They suffered from great culture shock. However in the end, they did get used to the culture and they have told me it is the best thing that they have experienced. Now they know how to live in two different cultures and their thinking about life has also expanded. A very good blog you can go to is http://www.cmariec.com/blog/?page_id=349. She is a very good friend of mine who is living a very good life in Sweden. Her blog is very interesting. It depicts about her lifestyle and the beautiful culture Sweden has to offer.
Living in Singapore depends on you. If you can learn how to live in Singapore and feel that Singapore is truly your homeland, by all means make it your homeland. After all Singapore has plenty to offer and overall it is a beautiful country. If you can’t adapt, well the other option is to migrate to another country that will benefit you the most. It also depends whether you have the means to do so. For some, it may not be possible to do so. If that is the case then they have to make do whatever they have. Maybe lady luck may shine on them one day so that they can migrate. For those that have not had the opportunity to experience cultures, I greatly encourage them to so. It is once in a lifetime experience. It is great to view what other beauties other countries have to offer. We can also learn how to appreciate and understand other cultures.
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
It has been a tiring three days for me. It all started on Friday. Well I wanted to get out and have some fun as I have been feeling down recently. I needed to get out and just do what I can. Get myself drunk, get knock down by a car, jump into a river & indulge in sex and drugs...anything man!!! I just didn't care what I was going to do.
Alamak… for those who know me...know I am bullshitting outright. However, the part of going out to enjoy is true so here is an account of what happen.
Well on Friday I met up with some great choice friends. We decided to proceed to TCC to have some sumptuous dinner. Well some of you may disagree on this but one man's meat is another man's position. I had Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio. I would recommend it to anybody. Trust me ok? There were some light hearted conversations and it became a bit loud later. It is inevitable when a bunch of crazy friends meet up. Guess we really know how to enjoy ourselves.
Next we adjourned to Highlander at Clark Quay. It is one of my favourite chill out pubs. It plays songs from the 80's. There were a group of Americans there that day and the band was catering to them. What great hospitality. The rest of us were trying to sing to the songs that were being played. I think a karaoke session should be planned and we can make a fool out of ourselves. Sounds fun right?
Well we left before 12am...sheeshhh...it was one of my shortest stay at Clark Quay but then again I had to wake up the next morning for another long outing.
Well here comes Saturday. Oh man had to drag myself out of the bed. Luckily my mother woke me up. I met a good friend of mine at around 10am and headed to down to watch Angels & Demons and Nightmare At The Museum 2. The two shows were pretty awesome shows eventhough the genres for the two shows were different. After the shows, I followed my good friend to HMV. I tell you, I think I am getting old. Can you imagine I was telling her that the direction to HMV was towards Borders. What's up with me, man!! Guess age is catching up with me or is it my mind is not with me. Only the owner only knows which I do not feel like revealing it. Anyway, I would write about the movies it my later entries.
Lunch was at TCC. Yup TCC again!!! I am kind of getting to like TCC. Would it replace my favourite coffee outlet, Coffee Bean? Hmmm....have no answer to that at this very moment but like what they say why have one when you can have both. I am so greedy.
In the evening, I headed down to Vivo City to meet another good friend. Why is it that I have so many good friends but no life partner yet. Have to scrutinize this phenomenon thoroughly. Am I so unattractive? It could be that I am weird hence my blog title but then would it not be good to be with somebody who is weird. A stereotype relationship is just boring. It is like not having any creative in bed when it comes to sex. Yawn!!!! Boring!!!!
Well back to the Saturday outing, I met my friend for dinner because I asked her out to have dinner ( Obviously there is a reason right, if not meet me for what.). She makes a good dinner mate by the way, We have the same taste buds and she can guess what I would order. Usually, a person has to know me very well in order to guess what I would order. She could do this despite that the outing is only our second dinner outing. Cool right??? Coollll Righttttt?????
Oh never mind. Initially, we attended to go to Hog Breath Cafe but she wanted something outdoor so we changed our eating venue. I have to admit as a man I should be the one leading the lady to the dining venue however the roles were reversed because I intend to get lost at Vivo City. I stay at the east. Seldom go to Vivo City. Good excuse right for getting lost. So as usual I got lost in Vivo and she had to show me where the good eating restaurants were. It was kind off embarrassing. Luckily she did not mind. Serious!!! She did not mind!!! I am telling you the truth!!! Anyway I got to hand it her. She is really good in finding restaurants.
We finally found the eating venue that she wanted to eat. Well, basically, we were pretty hungry so settled with one that had good ambience. The name of the restaurant was called The Mussel Guys. We ordered two kinds of Mussels. The Brazilian Stewed Mussels and the Spicy Mussels. I would recommend the Spicy Mussels. For those who know me, they should know how picky I am when it comes to food. So if I say that the Spicy Mussels are good, they are good. Garpish!!
Next we ordered lamp chops. The standard of the lamb chops were not something to brag about. It was alright but it was not something that would salivate your taste buds.
As the night withered away, we made good conversation. A lot of unpleasant issues were aired out. She helped me to look at other perspectives of the issues that I have been facing. Still pondering about it. Unfortunately we could not seat at the restaurant too long. Well we did ask the manager just to let the two of us seat there until the next morning. His answer was of course a blunt no!! Hey but just imagine if his answer was yes, it would surely make our day. The atmosphere was windy and the ambience was very nice. So sad we had to leave it. Oh well, can return right? Unless the lord decides that the end of the world is at hand.
We headed to a nearby pub to have some beers and then we departed company. Our next eating outlet would be Brotzeit which I heard had good sausages. Will write up that outing after we visit the place.
On Sunday, I had to wake up early for church. I had to attend the 10.30am mass as I had a Choice training session to attend to. I was pretty surprise that I could wake up at 9.00am without my mother blasting my room amplifier to wake me up!!! Anyway, the sermon was bloody short. It was an irony that the topic was on Communication as it was Communication Sunday but the priest had not much to communicate about except for reciting the same old mundane tune about the good and evil aspects of communication and how communication devices could be used to spread the "good news" of Jesus Christ.
I was pretty excited about attending the Choice training session. It was the first time attending such training and I could also be among my fellow Choice mates!! Pretty cool mates who can bring the house down.
Training was an eye opener to me. It made me realise that it was not easy to reach out to people and help them. It has back fired on me sometimes. I recently had one and gosh what an painful experience it was. However, it is personal and I will not elaborate on it. Alot of people try to help other people on their own terms but not on the terms of those that they are helping. I have realised that in my future helping of people, I would not search for a solution but to guide those that I am helping to recognise their problems and ask the Lord to help them find the solution to their problems.
During the training I also read a topic about us recognizing that we were God's children and how this would affect our significant others. I would elaborate this on my next blog entry. After the training, we went to a nearby neighbourhood restaurant to have our dinner. The food was good and I had crabs. Our table consisted of the most hype choice members, therefore our table was the noisiest and messiest table of all!!!!
pictures of us eating!!!
Alamak… for those who know me...know I am bullshitting outright. However, the part of going out to enjoy is true so here is an account of what happen.
Well on Friday I met up with some great choice friends. We decided to proceed to TCC to have some sumptuous dinner. Well some of you may disagree on this but one man's meat is another man's position. I had Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio. I would recommend it to anybody. Trust me ok? There were some light hearted conversations and it became a bit loud later. It is inevitable when a bunch of crazy friends meet up. Guess we really know how to enjoy ourselves.
Next we adjourned to Highlander at Clark Quay. It is one of my favourite chill out pubs. It plays songs from the 80's. There were a group of Americans there that day and the band was catering to them. What great hospitality. The rest of us were trying to sing to the songs that were being played. I think a karaoke session should be planned and we can make a fool out of ourselves. Sounds fun right?
Well we left before 12am...sheeshhh...it was one of my shortest stay at Clark Quay but then again I had to wake up the next morning for another long outing.
Well here comes Saturday. Oh man had to drag myself out of the bed. Luckily my mother woke me up. I met a good friend of mine at around 10am and headed to down to watch Angels & Demons and Nightmare At The Museum 2. The two shows were pretty awesome shows eventhough the genres for the two shows were different. After the shows, I followed my good friend to HMV. I tell you, I think I am getting old. Can you imagine I was telling her that the direction to HMV was towards Borders. What's up with me, man!! Guess age is catching up with me or is it my mind is not with me. Only the owner only knows which I do not feel like revealing it. Anyway, I would write about the movies it my later entries.
Lunch was at TCC. Yup TCC again!!! I am kind of getting to like TCC. Would it replace my favourite coffee outlet, Coffee Bean? Hmmm....have no answer to that at this very moment but like what they say why have one when you can have both. I am so greedy.
In the evening, I headed down to Vivo City to meet another good friend. Why is it that I have so many good friends but no life partner yet. Have to scrutinize this phenomenon thoroughly. Am I so unattractive? It could be that I am weird hence my blog title but then would it not be good to be with somebody who is weird. A stereotype relationship is just boring. It is like not having any creative in bed when it comes to sex. Yawn!!!! Boring!!!!
Well back to the Saturday outing, I met my friend for dinner because I asked her out to have dinner ( Obviously there is a reason right, if not meet me for what.). She makes a good dinner mate by the way, We have the same taste buds and she can guess what I would order. Usually, a person has to know me very well in order to guess what I would order. She could do this despite that the outing is only our second dinner outing. Cool right??? Coollll Righttttt?????
Oh never mind. Initially, we attended to go to Hog Breath Cafe but she wanted something outdoor so we changed our eating venue. I have to admit as a man I should be the one leading the lady to the dining venue however the roles were reversed because I intend to get lost at Vivo City. I stay at the east. Seldom go to Vivo City. Good excuse right for getting lost. So as usual I got lost in Vivo and she had to show me where the good eating restaurants were. It was kind off embarrassing. Luckily she did not mind. Serious!!! She did not mind!!! I am telling you the truth!!! Anyway I got to hand it her. She is really good in finding restaurants.
We finally found the eating venue that she wanted to eat. Well, basically, we were pretty hungry so settled with one that had good ambience. The name of the restaurant was called The Mussel Guys. We ordered two kinds of Mussels. The Brazilian Stewed Mussels and the Spicy Mussels. I would recommend the Spicy Mussels. For those who know me, they should know how picky I am when it comes to food. So if I say that the Spicy Mussels are good, they are good. Garpish!!
Next we ordered lamp chops. The standard of the lamb chops were not something to brag about. It was alright but it was not something that would salivate your taste buds.
As the night withered away, we made good conversation. A lot of unpleasant issues were aired out. She helped me to look at other perspectives of the issues that I have been facing. Still pondering about it. Unfortunately we could not seat at the restaurant too long. Well we did ask the manager just to let the two of us seat there until the next morning. His answer was of course a blunt no!! Hey but just imagine if his answer was yes, it would surely make our day. The atmosphere was windy and the ambience was very nice. So sad we had to leave it. Oh well, can return right? Unless the lord decides that the end of the world is at hand.
We headed to a nearby pub to have some beers and then we departed company. Our next eating outlet would be Brotzeit which I heard had good sausages. Will write up that outing after we visit the place.
On Sunday, I had to wake up early for church. I had to attend the 10.30am mass as I had a Choice training session to attend to. I was pretty surprise that I could wake up at 9.00am without my mother blasting my room amplifier to wake me up!!! Anyway, the sermon was bloody short. It was an irony that the topic was on Communication as it was Communication Sunday but the priest had not much to communicate about except for reciting the same old mundane tune about the good and evil aspects of communication and how communication devices could be used to spread the "good news" of Jesus Christ.
I was pretty excited about attending the Choice training session. It was the first time attending such training and I could also be among my fellow Choice mates!! Pretty cool mates who can bring the house down.
Training was an eye opener to me. It made me realise that it was not easy to reach out to people and help them. It has back fired on me sometimes. I recently had one and gosh what an painful experience it was. However, it is personal and I will not elaborate on it. Alot of people try to help other people on their own terms but not on the terms of those that they are helping. I have realised that in my future helping of people, I would not search for a solution but to guide those that I am helping to recognise their problems and ask the Lord to help them find the solution to their problems.
During the training I also read a topic about us recognizing that we were God's children and how this would affect our significant others. I would elaborate this on my next blog entry. After the training, we went to a nearby neighbourhood restaurant to have our dinner. The food was good and I had crabs. Our table consisted of the most hype choice members, therefore our table was the noisiest and messiest table of all!!!!
pictures of us eating!!!
My friend and me had the honour of being offered a lift back by a well know personality in Singapore. I won't mention the name here so people too BAD!!!! THE SECRET IS ONLY FOR ME TO KNOW AND FOR YOU TO FIND OUT!!!
Well it is getting late. Have to go to bed. Hope you will like what you have read as this is my first time blogging. Ciao!!
Well it is getting late. Have to go to bed. Hope you will like what you have read as this is my first time blogging. Ciao!!
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