An intriguing article appeared in my Inbox this morning, about the teaching of history in schools. In the article, which was published in The Straits Times, the author lamented how our education system has failed in the teaching of history. As evidence, the author cited a case where 15 year olds at a school band leadership camp named their team 'Hitler' because they admired the dictator's leadership qualities, and another where young Singaporeans have no idea who S. Rajaratnam (a founding father of our country), is.
I wonder if the author realises (maybe she does but she is writing in a state-owned paper after all) that history is dangerous. While history can be a tool for "nation-building" (more correctly known as propaganda), the study of history is actually a training of the mind - to read between the lines of contemporaneous documents, the self-serving statements of persons with legacies to protect, and the words of the man-in-the-street, whose views and recollections are necessarily influenced by her circumstances, both at the time a "historical" event has occurred and how she has fared since then. A historian is not a person with a memory for dry facts and figures, but a person who is trained to look underneath the underneath. She does not only have to aware of the biases and the worldviews of the persons she is interviewing or who had written the records she is studying, she has also, to the extent possible, be self-aware of her own biases and her own worldview. It requires a person to be analytical, to be clear-minded and ruthlessly self-questioning and to ask hard questions. It is my two years studying history at A Levels that taught me the merits of doing intense research, of tracking down that one reference in a thousand page book to an obscure research paper that leads you to another aspect of the issue which you had never considered, of reading widely and finding odd correlations and relationships that you never realise exist, and then to put together the various nuggets of seemingly unrelated or distantly related information to form a coherent picture that may be different from what you had believed to be correct.
Teach students history well (goodness that is a load of unwritten and unspoken assumptions here) - and you are teaching them to ask many probing and possibly uncomfortable questions about our accepted view of the past, the carefully crafted story known to every single Singaporean child who ever studied in our education system about how Singapore came to be - the story of hardworking immigrants who through sheer hard work and with no intention of ever settling down permanently here created this modern city state that we call home. The story of how we are an accidential nation, thrown out of Malaysia as we did not believe in special rights of any one race, who nobody ever thought will survive for long as an independent nation state. The story of how, under the leadership of our wise and capable and incorruptible leaders, we have became what we are today. Still a little red dot, but a little red dot that all of us are proud of.
Do we want to put the tools for tearing down this cherished and almost-sacred worldview in the hands of our young? To allow them to become truly independent, tireless, curious questioners? To allow them the means to pull our almost-mytical leaders off their dais?
During my training to become a museum guide at the Asian Civilisations Museum, I learnt that Shiva is the god of death and destruction and is hence feared. However, he is also admired, because the Hindus understand that without death, there can be no new life, without destruction, there can be no new creation.
- Mood:
tired
I am still wondering though - if country X is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention, and country Y is, then in a war, is country Y bound to treat their prisoners of war from country X as prescribed under the Geneva Convention?
( Watch the videos! )
- Mood: sleepy
This is not a bunch of ladies who lunch and chat politely and quietly about how to do good over tea and scones, it is a bunch of ladies who have learnt how to fight for their rights, to stand their ground, to defend their turf, to bang tables and demand to be heard. It is a bunch of women who understood whether instinctively or through bitter experience that to "SHUT UP & SIT DOWN" will not get you anywhere. And if in the process, they were told off for being "rude" or acting like "hooligans", well, so be it. I did not, and I am sure most of the women in that hall did not, get to their current position in life as independent knowledgeable women, by being meek and subservient.
The Christian fundamentalists were simply outclassed. They were out-organised (what on earth happened to the red-shirts mid-way through the EGM, only the white-shirts remained to keep the crowd under control), out-prepared (one self-declared "Feminist Mentor" whose claim to the title is her being cited on page 73 of a book on outstanding women, and one research paper on the superiority of abstinence over condom use by some academic in Utah of all places does not good preparation make) and out-voted (what happened to the busloads of bible-toting ladies?). Women who spent their lives fighting inequality whether it is for themselves or for women in general, women who never joined AWARE previously but whose lives have been touched by AWARE, women who refused to allowed the name of Christianity to be sullied by the actions of a gang of bullies, women who believed in the importance of a secular state for a diverse community, women whose inate sense of fairness has been offended. All these women turned up, and queued for hours, first to get into the meeting hall, and later to get to the sole microphone to give the Christian fundamentalists a sound dressing-down. The depth of knowledge and experience these women represented - lawyers, academics, NGO activists, event organisers, students, social workers - is breathtaking. Collectively they knew so much about feminism, the fight for equality, comprehensive sexual education, activism, social issues etc etc - listening to them speak at the microphone was like having a crash course in civil society work. I think even the Old Guard were surprised at how many of us turned up - as one of them said, you gals came out from the woodwork, we don't know where you came from. The new Exco, inexperienced, unable to defend their views or (with the exception of Josie Lau who earned respect for keeping her cool under relentless fire) even to maintain their composure, did not have a chance.
We Singaporeans always mock ourselves for being apathetic. On 2 May 2009, we have proved ourselves wrong.
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jubilant
( Christians in Singapore, please read this ... )
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hopeful
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mrsbudak quoting someone said "The Sith Lord has finally come out of the woodwork."The takeover of AWARE is an organised coup by a group of Christian fundamentalists (I am not even going to call them conservatives anymore) who believe that their way is the only right way and everyone else is wrong.
Blogging about religion is always a rather risky business in Singapore, given how sensitive we are about the potential for religious dissent. However, I think it is time that we all buck up - if we can tell members of the Islamic faith to stand up and speak up against Muslim fundamentalists, I really do not see why we can't say the same about the Christians (or for that matter, the Buddhists and the Hindus and the Jews etc etc).
I don't think I am being unreasonable - all I am asking for is respect - respect for the human race in all its diversity. I suspect that my own personal views on many things will be considered conservative in nature, but what draws a bright shining line between me and fundamentalists is that I respect that there are other people, some in circumstances that I cannot even begin to imagine, who thinks differently or choose courses of action that I do not condone for myself. And I accept that, because I am in no position to tell another person with respect to his or her own actions affecting himself or herself, what is right and what is wrong. I accept that the world is imperfect, and to pretend otherwise is simply to live in an ivory tower that does nobody any good.
AWARE is a secular NGO that promote gender equality, furthering women's rights. Is a lesbian not a woman? Is an abused wife not a woman? Is a teenage girl with an unwanted pregnancy not a woman? Is a divorced woman not a woman? Is a single woman not a woman? Is a single mother not a woman? Is it fair to a young girl struggling with her sexuality to keep her ignorant of means of birth control? Can you, as a women rights group, pretend that there are no lesbians, no single mothers in Singapore? Is there only one way to be a good woman, a good human? Is there only one way to lead a good life? Good by whose standards anyway? And who are you to judge?
The AWARE EOGM is taking place on 2 May 2009. I am asking all women of Singapore (men can't vote sorry), please, register as members of AWARE, and turn up to vote on that day. I am not asking that you vote for any one side. I am asking that you come and listen and vote according to your convictions and your beliefs. AWARE is the most prominent woman rights group we have in Singapore with the ability to influence legislation. It needs to representative of us, not of only one interest group. Christians (including Catholics) form less than 15% of our population, which means Christian fundamentalists form a much less significant proportion of that. Why should they speak for us, or act in our name?
Even if you are apathetic and think that this does not concern you, chew on this poem that has been making its rounds around the internet lately:
( Read more... )
Give these fundamentalists an inch, and where will you and your children be in ten years time?
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pensive
Personally, I think that one's religious convictions is just that, personal and no one's business but her own (with an important caveat carved out for persons who think that terrorism and mass murder are accepted means of practising their religion). Christian conservatives have as much right as any other person to run for office in any organisation, including AWARE. Similarly however, I expect Christian conservatives to adhere to the fundamental principles of the organisation they are participating in as much any other person. A Buddhist who joins a church with a view to converting its members to Buddhism is acting in bad faith, to put it mildly. And ditto for persons who seek to join a secular organisation with a view to changing it to one that advances a religious agenda.
Thus far, I have not found anything that the new Exco has published or issued regarding its agenda. Given how its members have in effect, staged a power-grab, I find it rather curious that the new Exco is unable, until now, put forward its plans for AWARE. I want to know where the new Exco stands on a host of issues because these directly impact on the programmes that AWARE has been running, including its views on:
- work-life balance;
- sexual harrassment in the workplace; and
- family planning (including abortion and use of contraceptives).
The new Exo is legitimately elected under the constitution of AWARE, and while the background of the Exco collectively gives rise to questions, I am of the view that we need to give this Exco a chance to explain its agenda (which it has not) before blindly casting our vote to throw them out. I am hoping that such a chance will arise at the EGM on 2 May, but until then, I will reserve my vote as an AWARE member. I need to know more.
- Mood: curious
This has actually been done to death by bloggers, but for my own reference, here is the list of the ten most highly paid presidents and prime ministers in the world. You can read the article from TimesOnline.
1. Lee Hsien Loong - Singapore
Salary in dollars - $2.47 million
Salary in local currency - S$3.76 million
2. Donald Tsang Yum-Kuen - Hong Kong
Salary in dollars - $516,000
Salary in local currency - HK$4 million
3. Barack Obama - United States
Salary in dollars - $400,000
4. Brian Cowen - Ireland
Salary in dollars - $341,000
Salary in local currency - €257,000
5. Nicolas Sarkozy - France
Salary in dollars - $318,000
Salary in local currency - €240,000
6. Angela Merkel - Germany
Salary in dollars - $303,000
Salary in local currency - €228,000
7. Gordon Brown - UK
Salary in dollars - $279,000
Salary in local currency - £194,250
8. Stephen Harper - Canada
Salary in dollars - $246,000
Salary in local currency - C$311,000
9. Taro Aso - Japan
Salary in dollars - $243,000
Salary in local currency - Y24 million
10. Kevin Rudd - Australia
Salary in dollars - $229,000
Salary in local currency - A$330,000
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busy
The Singapore Ministry of Finance has announced that it will adopt the OECD exchange of information standard through our double tax treaties. ( Press Release from MOF Website )
The Exchange of Information Article, Article 27 in the OECD Model Tax Treaty states:
( Exchange of Information under OECD Model Tax Treaty )
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working
Very pragmatic words, no? After all, what is citizenship when you can make a dollar stretch a bit longer. The fact that Singaporeans are finding health care becoming so unaffordable that we have to start looking at other (not very-welcoming) countries for affordable health care is just a fact of life, not something that the government should be concerned about. Or at any rate, the government has done its best by suggesting alternatives in other countries, countries that owe Singaporeans no obligations whatsoever.
But of course, this option "is not for the poor, who are heavily subsidised in Singapore", in fact, according to the Minister, "everyone can afford health care in Singapore whether acute care or long-term care," and the suggestion was "aimed at middle-income families who need to pay for the care themselves." [quotes in bold and italics are the Minister's words according to the newspaper report, quotes in italics are by the reporter who wrote this article].
The implication of the above is that our health care now cost so much that only the rich can afford it, the middle-class can't afford it and the poor can afford it only because they are heavily subsidised. How that gels with the statement that everyone can afford health care in SIngapore whether acute care or long-term care I have no idea. Just in case the Minister is mis-quoted and also to get an idea of the context in which the above issue arisen, I tried to search the Hansard but can't find the relevant parts, will try to look for it again and update when I find it.
Under our current system of taxation, the middle class probably pay the bulk of the taxes - investment income is generally not subject to tax, foreign-sourced income of individuals are not subject to tax, hence, it should not be too far off to suggest that for individuals, the main item of income that is subject to tax will be employment income and trade or business profits, which are the primary sources of income for the middle class. So after paying taxes, you are now told, sorry, our health care is too expensive for the likes of you, go Malaysia (where I have personally not been to more than 10 times in my life) instead for cheaper health care. You mean that after setting aside 30% of my salary as enforced savings, after paying my taxes, after paying you bunch of politicans more in salary than the President of the United States of America himself (who has a far more stressful and more shitty job than the load of you guys), I cannot have affordable health care in the land of my birth, where I had stayed and worked and lived my entire life? Come on guys, you gotta be kidding right?
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irate
( Since they are not busy producing babies, they should all go back to work ... no more five day working week! )
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Just in case you are too lazy to click the link below and read, I quote:
"MP Charles Chong noted that Mr Tan didn't 'brag' about how expensive the trip was in the article.
'Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a little bit boastful,' he said. "Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything?'" [emphasis mine].
MP Chong, I will be grateful if you can clarify what you are actually trying to say. Are you by any chance saying that your pay package determines whether you are a "greater" or "lesser" mortal? Or are you saying that a permanent secretary is a "greater" mortal than everyone else lower down the hierarchy? Does it take a genius to realise that a public servant writing in the newspapers about a five-week holiday that cost more than the annual salary of more than three-quarters of the population (most of whom are not entitled to five-weeks of paid leave) is in very very bad taste, even in a boom year?
Remember, at the end of the day, however flawed our system of democracy is, we the peasants, are the ones who vote for you, MP Chong (yes I am in your constituency and I am currently quite inclined to make copies of that newspaper report and spend the Chinese New Year holidays stuffing copies into every single letterbox in Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC with the above quotes underlined and highlighted for ease of reference), and are the suckers who paid for your monthly MP allowance of S$13,900 and Mr. Tan's (evidently) top-ranked salary as taxpayers.
Seriously, what is wrong with our MPs and our elite public servants nowadays? Even if they are not the public-spirited persons they hold themselves out to be (and seriously, I have lived 30 years in this world and am not that naive) for heavens sake, common sense people, common sense!!! We are not even talking about political instinct here!
( A Lesser Mortal )
P.S. Just to make it clear where I stand on this. I don't give a hoot where or how Mr. Permanent Secretary spends his hard-earned salary - he got it through his gainful employment and he is entitled to spend it as he deems fit so long as it is legal. The amount of salary he commands is a separate issue that as far as I am concerned, irrelevant in this context. The bone I had with him is the sheer lack of tact and startling lack of understanding of our society he has demonstrated by publishing an article where he wrote almost boastfully about the cost of such a trip and of his management skills and ability. Subtly, understatement, humility - have these values been cast aside and forgotten?
P.P.S. Even though I did not vote for MR Charles Chong in the last elections, nonetheless I apologise as a constituent of the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC for inflicting him on Singaporeans.
- Mood: infuriated
Spoof of the race between Obama and Clinton - utterly hilarious even though it may be a bit out of date by now.
2008 was a year of many endings.
Many Deaths...
2008 stood out for the sheer number of deaths that impacted me - Arthur C Clarke, Samuel Huntington, J.B. Jeyaretnam, Loh Hwei Yen
Arthur C Clarke
(16 December 1917–19 March 2008)Arthur C Clarke was the favourite author of my childhood - I spent hours in the library reading his books, and when my secondary school cleared out its library in preparation for the move to the new campus, I picked my way through the garbage centre in the school compound, picking up ragged copies of his books, many missing their covers or with pages dangling. These books accompanied me through many years, many of them finally disintegrating with so much use. Arthur C Clarke introduced me to the mysteries and wonders of science and, in particular astronomy, and opened my mind to the sheer possibilities and potential (and limitations) of mankind. He was also probably single-handedly responsible for my dreams of being an astronomer, and even though I have since walked down a vastly different path, I still retain my childhood love and respect of science and most importantly, my appreciation of just how wonderful and amazing the real world can be in itself, without the need for the leavening of the super-natural, in no small part thanks to this man.
Samuel Huntington (18 April 1927–December 24, 2008)
Samuel Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
was a significant part of my A Levels education - History was my joy and passion during those years, and Samuel Huntington brought to mind the happy days spent sitting in class discussing the use and purpose of history, whether it can ever reach the kind of acceptance that economics and other social sciences seems to have achieved etc etc. He opened my eyes to the importance of culture, and lit in me a desire that still exists today to understand more about different countries, different cultures and how these influence how people think, how they make decisions, and ultimately how the world ticks.The ideas of these two men have a significant role in who I am today - a person who strives to be a rationalist, and with an appreciation of culture and the arts. A lawyer who volunteers at the Asian Civilisation Museum, an atheist who is interested in religion, a person who likes to ask "why", a person who strives to understand the world - politically, culturally, scientifically.
Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam (5 January 1926 - 30 September 2008)
Closer to home, the death of JBJ was unexpected. He was my introduction to Singapore opposition politics, which was sparked when my parents return from an opposition rally being conducted at the car park just below our block of flats - I remembered looking up wide-eyed when my dad entered our flat, while in the middle of a conversation with mum, saying - "he will be sued, for sure." "He" is of course JBJ, who was indeed sued by the then Prime Minister (now Minister Mentor) for making allegedly defamatory remarks. I remembered watching him hawk books in Raffles Place, and observing people discreetly pressing money into his hands that far exceed the cost of each book. At first I wondered, why would anyone help a man like that? As I grew older, I understand that it is precisely men like that who we should respect - men who lived for their principles, and not for a multi-million dollar salary. I remembered meeting his son, then President of the Law Society during a seminar by Michael Caplan QC on the Pinochet affair, and wondering, just what does the son think of his father's politics. I may not like his "angry" brand of politics but I respect him as a man of principles and a man who had sacrificed his material comfort in pursuit of these principles. I am not sure that I will ever have that ability to do so.
Loh Hwei Yen (1980 - 27 November 2008)
Hwei Yen - I still do not know how to respond to her death. I don't know her but her death hit way too close to home. One year my junior in law school, married to the brother of one of my hall mates, worked in the same two law firms I have worked in and am currently working in, gunned down in a terrorist attack on a hotel that almost every Singaporean lawyer will stay in if they are in Mumbai for a business trip. Our paths must have crossed numerous times - during school days, at office functions, at weddings and parties. I remembered the shock that went through my office when news of her death came out - almost all of us know her or someone who is connected to her - she is one of us - the illusion that most of us had been under - that we are relatively safe being but a insignificant little red dot with little political or economic clout in the world, and personally as non-combat professionals who are as far from the frontline as it can be - shattered with her death.
( Other Endings ... )
2008 was a year of many endings but every ending is a new beginning ...
- Mood:
thoughtful
Probably the one good thing I can say for Sarah Palin - she has a healthy sense of fun! :-)
I dun think I am subtle in what I think of Sarah Palin. If she does become the Vice-President of the United States of America, I think I better find a hole somewhere to hide for the next 4 years ... I really hope it doesn't happen, but it is America after all...
I don't like Coke Zero - it is sweet without the kick of real Coke.
( Of Ill-Health & the Lousy MAS Response to the Structured Products Debacle ... )
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I do not consider myself a single-issue voter but ultimately, I believe in choice. In other words, while I personally may not care for abortion, or gay people, or marriage or religion, I care about having the freedom to choose. Choose to abort a child or have a child, choose to have a life-long partner of the same or different gender, choose to get married, stay single or in a long-term relationship, choose to believe in the existence of a supreme being or many, or none, as the case may be. We are in a diverse society, where people of different values live together, the least we can do is to respect those differences. In the context of Singapore, the best analogy I can draw is this - my vote may not matter because I am in the minority, but my ability to cast that vote (as opposed to sitting pretty due to a walkover) is important to me.
And it is sick that anybody in any position of authority can say that a rape victim or an incest victim should not have the freedom to abort a child from the crime. I really don't care that a person takes that position - if that person is a victim and decides that to keep the child, good for her. But I care if that person tries to impose that view on everyone else, I'll object. And if I can, I'll make sure that person never reaches a position of authority that allows him or her to impose such views on the rest. And if that person is a she, then, even more so, shame on her. If that is sexist, so be it.
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grumpy
A courageous man has passed away today.
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numb
- Mood: stressed
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