Insensitive joke about "No Pork" Indian in Singapore

I actually have to think really hard before posting this. On one hand I can see how this might appear really funny, but this also comes across as being really insensitive. I think racial harmony is something that we in Singapore absolutely cannot take for granted; I just hope that this is only an isolated incident, a thoughtless prank aiming for a good laugh, instead of an emerging trend among our population.

Transcripts of PM's rally speech

I know it must be old news. nevertheless, I'm grateful someone took the time to transcribe the entire PM's rally speech last year. A great read, especially for someone like me who just recently got back and needs more than abit of re-education. I'm also pleased that the PM put alot of emphasis on the emergence of digital media and what it meant for public debate.

Thoughts on "NS stint may hinder job prospect for S'poreans"

I read with great interest the ongoing discussions online regarding this post on Straits Times forum titled "NS stint may hinder job prospects for S'poreans". Some discussions can be found here:

AsiaOne Forum
Singapore Media Watch

First of all, I'd say that the 2.5 years spent in NS are some of my most productive and creative years. "Achieving" a higher rank certainly helps as the level of responsibility associated with the rank brings an equal exposure to opportunity for learning about my own weaknesses, learning how to be a follower and a leader, learning how to think under stressful conditions and all those good things. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I might be in the minority. Most of my peers have the worst things to say about the experience in the military, and it's easy to see why.

Just throw in a "lower" rank (a CPL vs a CPT) and a "lower" serving status (NSF/NSmen vs regulars/professional), you'd suddenly find yourself being treated as "expendables" without the ability to think. Granted, in a regimental setting, an order is an order and all good soldier should be taught/trained to execute on what he/she was being told to do. This is how order can be maintained under the chaotic nature of real combat. But under the context of a peace-time armed force and that fact that bulk of the force comes from "civilian" soldiers, there's much more that the SAF can do to ensure that the time the "civilian" solders have sacrificed for the interest of the nation's self-defence is not wasted.

So train us hard, but give us room to exercise our own analytical skills, regardless of rank. Take those 2 years and 3-4 weeks/year of reservist training, but make sure that it will indeed be an enriching experience for all involved. There are many military-style mini-courses overseas that target business executives who want to advance their teamwork or leadership skills; so clearly there is some benefit in this sort of training. Why can't we look forward to our annual reservist training as a time to meet up with old friends and as a time for personal enrichment? I know for a fact that the SAF is working hard to achieve this (as I was a reservists trainer during my NSF days and I'd seen first-hand some of the measures that my unit was implementing to create a fulfilling experience for the reservists), but clearly this is not an easy task at all as it requires a big shift in mentality of everyone involved.

As for the effect of NS on job prospects, I can definitely see the source of hesitation for a firm to recruit a NSmen. Unfortunately, this inherent conflict will never go away so long as our Armed Forces is primarily a civilian-based one. Should we shorten the service duration? Or even go so far to abolish the civilian model and adopt a purely professional SAF (as some of the blogs suggest)? These are questions that require an in-depth analysis, something that I wouldn't dare to offer an opinion without sufficient evidence and data to back up. I have high hopes though that MINDEF will be flexible enough (as shown by their decision to shorten NSF service to 2 years a few years ago) that they will not dismiss these suggestions being discussed and proposed. Nevetheless, I do believe that there's much that SAF can and should do in the meantime; which is to place the "personal enrichment" of individual soldier as one of its topmost priority.

Age Discrimination

After reading through Derek's now famous blog post and hundreds of comments, it got me thinking alot about age discrimination. One of the readers commented:

"I am just over 50. I lost my job arround 50. There is no job available for the last few years searching despite my extensive experience/qualification. Some recruiters even told me I should retire and asked why should I bother to find a job. When I was around 30/40, I was always headhunted for well-paid jobs. But, now there is hardly any call from headhunters...It seems my skill/experience was highly sought in past years whereas it has suddenly become useless in recent years. Why?.."

It is something my dad has been grappling with for the past few years. There is simply no job security once you reach a certain age. It used to be when you hit 50 you'd be in trouble looking for a new job...but it seems that now even at 40 you might have a problem. And this is not an isolated phenomenon in Singapore. Is this really age discrimination or just survival-of-the-fittest? hmm....

Singapore's elitism

Only found out about the Wee Shu Min (think farmer vs scholar) saga today.

This "elitism" in Singapore is something I felt very strongly when I first migrated to Singapore from Hong Kong. I've always been good with exams so I know the system works in my favor. But I was very frustrated with the streaming system which, in my opinion, really affected my younger brother's potential (I shalln't go into the details, suffice to say that I'm not impressed with this arrangement at all). It always baffles me that streaming starts at such an early stage, and the mobility between the "top" and "lower" class is so low. Essentially, if you screw up early (in schools' exams), you don't really have a very high chance to recover later on.

However, I can't place the blame squarely on Singapore's streaming system. It is also this prevailing, overarching assumption in the society that success can only be obtained through better formal education. Compared that to Hong Kong, where there's also some form of streaming (though somewhat less rigid), the pressure is not so much for the kids to perform in schools. There're just so many counter-examples (in HK) of entrepreneurs who don't have a "proper" education yet go on to become admirable figures in the business or political sector. There's this belief that a well-regarded education path need not be the only way to go. This is something that I felt was missing when I first settled down in Singapore. It's always "Do well in your studies, or else..... (insert bad words here)). On the other hand, Hong Kong's education system has a host of its own problems as well and frankly speaking, there's a lot to admire about Singapore education system and I really feel that MOE is now taking some innovative approached toward the right direction (ie. more creativity in classroom etc).

In any case, I'm very aware of my status as an "overseas scholar" and the kinds of assumptions/stereotypes/privileges that're associated with it (especially since I went to a neighborhood school). As I return to Singapore in a month's time, I think that I really have to make an effort to get in tuned with the concerns/perceptions/world-view of the heartlanders. Not to say that I have to totally unlearn my 4 years exposure to John Stewart and the likes, but there's truly a myriad of going-ons in Singapore that I've missed out in the past 4 years, and I fully intend to catch up on lost times when I'm back home (finally).