The Singapore Renaissance (Part 1)

Singapore has gone through much reform and change under the illustrious leadership of former PM Goh Chok Tong. Under his 14 years of leadership, the country has undergone radical changes being in the social, political or economic landscape. The impact of globalization has impact Singapore very significantly, and I believe this phenomenon will be here to stay. The fact that former PM Goh has been able to stem the country forward in the midst of the global phenomenon of globalisation, recession in 2001, SARS and terrorism, it is indeed no mistake under that the Goh administration has indeed brought Singapore to greater heights despite all troubles.

Taking a different step from his predecessor-now Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), SM Goh was not the authoritative nor tough-looking figure like LKY himself. Despite suffering a political setback when his party (ie, the PAP) did badly in the 1991 election (with less than 65% votes which the opposition considers as a victory for themselves), he was able to learn his lessons from this election, realising that given Singapore's gradually more vocal and affluent society, it is no doubt that he has to do something to engage Singaporeans in the journey forward. However, not much was done for the next ten years to engage Singaporeans in offering their open and frank views/opinions, as then-PM Goh had to give Singaporeans the impression that he was not as authoritative as his predecessor. The Feedback Unit was rather stagnant. Little was done to make Singapore more open, and the Speaker's Corner, set up in 2000 at Hong Lim Park was a dismal failure.

However, things took a change in the year 2001. Though he derided Think Centre and declared that he would not be called "Goh-ba-chev" in his National Day Rally Speech in 2001; he indirectly took back his words after the 2001 elections. The act of taking in as many new MPs, especially women like Ms Irene Ng, the champion of (single) women's rights; as well as others like Inderjit Singh (an ex-TJCian), Vivian Balakrishnan, Tharman Shammugaratnam and so on, and more importantly promoting them quickly, was a vital and important contribution he made to contribute to the reforming of Singapore's political landscape in 2001. He deserves to be accredited for speeding up the renewal process and he indeed was blessed with 75% of the popular vote in the 2001 election. Then-PM Goh was wise enough to capitalise on the people's mandate. With the "Remaking Singapore" campaign, as well as allowing the PAP to "split" during parliament to offer wide alternative views, it was the turning point in engaging Singaporeans in contributing to the society by offering their views. He became more open and patient, with the help of his younger ministers. Though he has not been able to deal with what he called the "bo-chap" attitude of Singaporeans with regards to politics, he has indeed created a strong foundation for the younger generation to take the daring step towards contributing to the country. It is now up to newly-appointed PM Lee Hsien Loong to build up the foundation.

SM Goh was able to help improve the social standards in Singapore to a moderately large extent. Singaporeans' standards of living rose as they embraced globalisation on the technological front. With Medisave/Medifund, and more recently New Singapore Shares and the Economic Restructuring Shares, he has been able to help Singaporeans tide through thick and thin, via the Community Development Council (CDCs) where retraining and job-matching schemes were in place to help unemployed Singaporeans get new jobs. It was indeed a cautious move that he avoided the welfare route, knowing that it would be a greater burden on the people. However, it would've been better if his administration had been able to prevent and control the antics of the public transport companies at that time in 2002 when they raised up the fares. I can tell you, the year 2002 was the year where many Singaporeans had sheer disgust with their Government as unpopular policies kept on coming in at that time. He was lucky that not many Singaporeans have a long-term memory but nevertheless he leaves the country in good shape.

The economy is doing well on the manufacturing side, but what he has not really done well is that of propping up the services sector fully to its maximum output. With all the FTAs that he has signed, he has indeed been able to help Singapore ride along the wave of globalization especially when the rise of the economies of China and India seem to gobble our puny little country up. He made Singapore a 'relevant' country in this changing global landscape, and also a relevant partner in the international diplomatic landscape. The support of the US-led war in Iraq was a bold and daring move, but at least he manage to make Singapore a relevant and responsible country in which he acted well in accordance to our foreign policy that "we are friends with whoever who wants to be friends with us".

The social liberalization of Singapore was also very significant under his leadership. Bartop dancing, bungee jumping and the homosexual debate was brought up, and that deserves some mention. The tough journey during the SARS epidemic is also something that we should not forget that without him, Singapore may not be able to tide over the various challenges we've gone through....

I'll miss the warm and understanding personality of SM Goh... with a new administration we can expect more reforms to take place, but how it'll go through will be a different story....

[to be continued]

P/S: TAR analysis pre-empted this week.... expect something critical for part 2... since the new government wants somethings from youths like me and you and that is...... OPINIONS!!

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More things to talk about

The long National Day Break has given me the chance to discuss as many things as possible, thank goodness. But first of all, the usual TAR analysis......

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(1)Leg 5: St. Petersburg, RUSSIA to Cairo, EGYPT

The race for the first time has entered a Middle Eastern country -- Egypt. Egypt indeed is a very interesting to have the race in, though it was indeed ridiculous when we've huge leads between various teams at times. In addition, this leg being the first of the four non-elimination legs is actually considered early, but some of the things that occured in this race calls for some attention.

Firstly, I don't undestand why Colin/Christie took the Fast Forward when they were already having a huge lead over the teams given an early flight. In my opinion, Fast Forwards are supposed to help teams lagging behind to catch up with the others to avoid being eliminated! Fast Forwards are only short-term gains, as usually leads gain via Fast Forwards tend to be erased either at the airport or perhaps when a certain route marker is only available at a certain time. They now have at least an eight-hour lead over second placed Charla/Mirna, not forgetting that they had at least a two-hour lead over the rest of the teams. The time gaps are damn ridiculous, I'd say. Anyway, I guess their leads will be the reason why they both clash in the next leg. The way Colin/Christie performed their Fast Forward isn't very impressive anyway. They were quibbling over petty things along the way to the temple that even the priest shook his head. Please! You're supposed to be happy that you're no.1 because you took the fast forward!

As usual this leg of the race emphasises that one must not be complacent when securing something. The rest of the teams were indeed complacent over having secured their flights while Charla/Mirna eluded them secretly after getting an earlier plane out of Frankfurt. You can't be complacent yet efficient in TAR though.

Chip/Kim's kindness towards Kami/Karli would defintely be viewed as an ambiguous or ambivalent one though. A way to bury the hatchet? Yes, but how Kami/Karli interpretes it in future legs of the race would be very important. Chip/Kim may be nice but they can't be another Dennis/Erika anyway. Perhaps it's only because they've completed their detour while the twins haven't, so a safe bet of friendship. Nice, but perhaps scheming.

This leg's detour was extremely difficult. The ancient transportation of the stones was quite tough and looking at the way the teams performed it, you know how tough it was. I guess the ancient Egyptians had no problems cos' they had thousands of Hebrew slaves at their disposal, and perhaps they didn't learn a thing or two about technology from the Chinese. The camel task was much easier. I guess Charla/Mirna really enjoyed themselves being the "Lawrence of Arabia". They really know how to enjoy Egypt.

However, the main highlight of this race will be Linda/Karen who've just been made penniless because of coming in last. I'd say such rules in TAR5 is very cruel indeed especially when money decides where the team go especially in transportation. I really pity them and I guess their fate is already sealed. Fancy two Americans begging in Egypt? Out of this world man! That would in fact severely prevent any team being last placed but escape due to the leg being a non-elimination one from catching up with the others.

Next week, it's still Egypt. How they would fare? It'd be a hot one to watch.

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(2) What to do after JC?

Now I really don't know where to go after the A levels.

Canada is much cheaper than the US and UK is considered a traditional and conservative place. I didn't do fantastically well for the SAT (got below 1400) and I'm having second thoughts of spending money on SAT II. Canada doesn't require your CCA records and your personal statement. US/UK requires it. Only the US is nice enough to grant Singaporean guys their deferred entry, unless you get a prestigious PSC scholarship which allows you to study first. Most of us including myself have no money. We can only break the barriers via a scholarship.

All of these questions were in my head when I went for yesterday's US universities open house at VJC. Shocked to realise that I was the lone TJCian visiting the open house. I wonder where TJCians go to. I think just as most TJCians are apathetic about their own functioning of the college, perhaps we just prefer the comfort zone of Singapore. Mr Hasim said that going overseas would broaden one's perspectives. My mother thinks the UK is the best for me despite knowing it's traditional and rarely makes room for interdisciplinary studies (with the exception of Sussex). But Sussex is quite expensive for the UK, but Brighton Beach's nearby. London's out. The US? The West Coast remains my personal preference though the best politics courses tend to be in the East. Canada appears more tolerant to foreigners than the US. Where to go? Argh!!

That's the problem you face when you're a scholar-to-be. (ie being in the SPP) Trudging off to MINDEF's tea session in a fortnight. Another decison to make especially when MOE seem to have convinced me very well much to the disgust to some of my teachers. In fact, one of them together with the Idea Factory thinks that a political career via the PAP suits me the most. Just when this morning's Sunday Times reports of Wong Kan Seng complaining that youths are not willing to participate politically.

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(3) 33/03's antics... the sequel

33/03... this is what inspired me to write this....

33/03 is always known to be a slacky, extroverted and entertaining class, all of these have been sadly erased by the 'Mugging Syndrome'. As Rachel and Wei Liangs' blogs puts it, the class has changed. Selfishness, Fragmentation, Paranoia, and 'fake' emotions (like acting kinky) have sadly destroyed the true liveliness of our class.

I've been accused of harbouring a "Zenon Grand Design", a spin-off from the "Russian Grand Design" where the Riga Axiom highlights the Soviet Union as an aggressive power which in one way is related to the origins of the Cold War. The class resorts to showing signs of being focussed. It may be a good sign but it's always present before any exam. How it'll translate into miraculous grades will be a completely different story. Alliances are broken as study groups, in my own opinion is a facade. In the real world, Alliances only work when two common personal agendas combine into one. Now everyone is left to fend on their own towards the finish line. Every single A level student now has their own "Grand Designs", their dream of getting their desired scholarships and university courses.

This is why we all get MAD when the exams are coming. The exams Mutually Assures the Destruction of the emotional and bonding of a group of students because every student have their own aims to fulfill and the conflicting strengths and weaknesses (not forgetting the diverse subject combinatons that our class have) would mean that a union would not be easy to tackle. In the end, it's not your ally/friend who does the exam for you unlike an actual military conflict where your ally can assist you against the enemy. To sum up, that's the cruel part of examinations, and only one of the several negative implications of examinations. I shall not dwell on the other negative implications in this case.

Thankfully, this is only a short-term crisis as once the A levels end, the true friendship that everyone has built within the class will reappear instantly. However, it'd be a short while especially when the guys are banished to Tekong and the gals are left to bitch around in the university. That's why friendship is so hard to cherish. You never know when a friend will no longer be a close friend. I can only hope that everyone survives the A levels with the results they really dream and deserve of. And when friendship comes, the conflict is over. Reagan and Gorbachev's friendship in one way help end the Cold War and put the Riga Axiom and the "Grand Designs" to rest, to embrace the twenty-first century. The A levels is only part of a life's journey, and may we have a wonderful life following this major examination!

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That's all for now. Will talk about PM Goh and DPM Lee once I get PM Goh's parting NDP message.... enjoy the long weekend and Happy Birthday Singapore....
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Zenon's crappy rantings

Having read the IP frenzy, I guess you people would've too much serious stuff to read, so I shall be crappy now.

DISCLAIMER: These content may be true but these facts are described for entertainment purposes especially when many year twos are stressed out with the prelims. Any harm caused through any means is unintentional.


Crap 1: I think Mrs Evangeline Ho reads my blog. (and perhaps my other tutors as well) I bumped into her during the IP open house and she said she was so angry with me that she wanted to gas me a hundred times, with the aid of the chemistry department. Looks like she really got even more mad after reading my Hitler article.

Crap 2: After the IP open house, I was shutting down the laptop containing my SPP group's project and guess what I saw on the desktop? A picture! Picture of what? A picture of GP tutors! Who they are? Megan calls them the 'Umbrella Gang', though we do not know the exact name of the gang. Mr Hasim is a member of it. (He does look seductive with the photo. Mr Rajesh is next to him.) Ms Kwan, the owner of the laptop was rather aghast about me discovering the photo and I thought they were enjoying themselves in some five-star restaurant, only to meet a humble response that it was taken at Swensen's. There're a few other members of the 'gang' and I shall not mention them, but Mr Durmortier is the odd one out of the gang.

Crap 3: I cannot imagine a certain group of my classmates getting kinky, especially if they're girls. And they even appointed Justin, my long time friend as the president! Now they're bitchin' about how to overthrow him when they haven't even settled the definition of 'overthrow'. By the way, secretary is spelled 'sex-cretary'. So, you might as well call the CEO the 'sex-ci-yo' (this term is copyright of Zenon). I dare say they still haven't reached the kinky standard set by my sec four class. Too bad they banned me from joining them. I feel so sad. Still can remember the good old kinky days of sec 3/4 CR.

Crap 4: Mr Bala calls me Rambo just because of my red string tied on my hand for religious purposes. Perhaps he thinks I'm shrewd enough to do a one-man show of Rambo (just like the IP open house). Or in reality, it's just a nickname for fun.

Crap 5: Jigar always have ways of describing things. He now calls Zheng Quan my conjugate just because Mrs Goh, the LT4 maths lecturer describes conjugate complex number z* as the 'twin brother' of the complex number z. However, he still haven't settled who is x+yi and who is x-yi. That's why humans are so complicated, just as all numbers fall under the largest set of complex numbers. By the way, Mrs Ivy Lim made it difficult for him to retrieve his 'lost' lecture notes. I shall not elaborate on this issue.

Crap 6: Leslie's blog contains even more crappy rantings out there. He has returned.

Crap 7: During chemistry practical this afternoon I accidentally banged my leg against my stool which hit very hard against the bench behind. For some unknown reason the whole class including Mrs Lokman got stupefied as though a bomb explosion just occurred. By the way, the practical was the November 2003 one, the one which sent our seniors cursing and swearing thanks to the organic solid.

That's all for today! Soon, the TAR analysis will be back after tommorow's episode, and I'll be writing another article, something emotional which is relevant to Zenon-33/03 relationships. Stay tuned and happy studying.
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The IP frenzy

I took time off my normal revision for the prelims to help out at the Temasek Academy's Open House. The SPP (scholarship prepartory programme) needed someone to do the promotions and I ended up doing a one-man show right there. I had to introduce the SPP to prospective IP students as well as highlight the main collaboration between the college and the Idea Factory. In case you do not know, the Idea Factory is an innovation company which allows organizations to further broaden out their ideas and improve brainstorming techniques. In addition, it is the company responsible for giving the SPP students an opportunity to spend a weekend at Conrad Hotel and ultimately allow us to do projects suggesting improvements of the college life. In case you do know, the recently-completed stage under LT1 as well the Busking festival were all SPP initiatives. I think it was Lynnette's group who did this. She is really passionate about the arts being promoted in the college despite being a bio-chem student. Her passion will really put many pure arts students to shame.

This collaboration is the most important highlight of the SPP and I actually linked the SPP to the Council's Student Government cos' the skills acquired at the Idea Factory actually can be applied via leadership. Where was I? At the rather 'remote' Leadership Centre above the squash courts, which used to be the HC room. In fact, the Idea Factory wanted the Leadership Centre converted into a model 'idea factory' similar to that of their Novena penthouse. Seems interesting indeed. I actually spoke to more parents than students, and the parents seem to be very interested and concerned about the academy in general, as well as the interesting electives and perks (like the SPP) that we offer. I spoke really slowly this time round compared to my normal speed, that Ms Norsheha and Ms Kwan who overheard me felt really overwhelmed. The parents seem rather convinced that the IP route was certainly the better bargain compared to the normal JC route.

Actually, not many people came for the IP open house given the light but cool drizzle at that time. Perhaps we've too few vacancies (100) that we attracted so few people? Mr Bala, the academy director seems satisfied, though. The college has spurgled heavily on renovations this year for their IP programme, whiched included the TRC becoming a research centre, a Bio-IT hub created as well as the LEP having a block of its own. That's isn't all, but for the great mile that the college admin has done, I hope it translates well into a warm and enthusiastic response from the prospective secondary two students. They dumped thousands of door knobs in our letter boxes and our college has a media coverage ten times more than even the other top 5 JCs! I hope the college's admin efforts won't go to waste here. A small minority of TJCians find the colleges' media campaign insinuating, but I feel that such coverage is practical for the benefit of the college and perhaps the community. A few friends of mine have expressed their reservations about the IP in general, citing competitiveness from other colleges, as well as the tough gamble of not taking the O levels as the main reasons.

This however sounds different in the Chung Cheng camp. I got the opportunity to speak to a few students from my alma mater, and they always give me a not-so-confident face. The reason? Mr Yue. If a sec 2 student can detest him then I cannot imagine the sentiment of the sec 3/4 Chung Cheng students since Mr Yue wields his command and demands on them the hardest. One said that Mr Yue was pissed about their interest in TJ and VJ's IP. As usual, the 'brain drain' argument.

Secondary school principals seem to getting paranoid about the 'brain drain' such as the IP that they even go to the extent of creating their own IPs to curb it. Methodist Girls', SJI and most recently, Dunman High (DHS) has joined the bandwagon. DHS sets to compete with Temasek Academy's LEP/Chinese Programme while VJC's VIP (Victoria Integrated Programme) do so via their service-oriented programme, threatening the strong credibility that TJC's Leo Club and the college phillosophy of a caring society. Personally, I think the secondary schools are joining the IP club for all the wrong reasons. Instead, they should be proud of the brain drain since it proves that they were successful in grooming their lower sec students to such a commendable level that JCs are willing to take them in, and these students have a firmer foundation compared to others students entering the IP! Also, it would've a negligible effect on their rankings because of the limited number of vacancies of all the IPs combined in Singapore. Only about 5 per cohort would leave. Their academic ranking and non-academic achievements would ultimately depend on the overall efforts of the students! Most students are not very willing to skip the O levels! The IP can be considered to be a gentle but narrow path ahead. You miss a step and your PSLE is your only credential. No wonder I spoke to more parents than students. Our parents seem to be so enlightened by the IP, and I guess whoever visited the Leadership Centre would be too 'charmed' by me that I dunno what will happen next.

To each his own anyway. While the IP offers more room for all-rounded activities compared to the traditional JC system, the gamble is high, and as usual, elitism will always be there. (The TJ IP students will not wear the green college uniform) Not in the form of the GEP but in the form of the IP. No wonder our media has been making a ruckus over a 'class struggle' in Singapore. If I was a 14-yr old student, I may've joined the crowd but perhaps I didn't think that much seriously and carefully then. Challenging path, but as usual, difficult just like any other ordinary student.

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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
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