The Arts

Arts, unlike other things in life, help to enrich and instill in us humans, a sense of creativity and well-being. It is presented to us in various forms, ranging from theatrical plays, dance concerts, drama serials, and many more. However, being in a country where the Arts are given much priority, we Singaporeans do not cherish the values that we can take away from these presentations.

Creativity is one of the many key aspects of life that is largely lacking in us Singaporeans. It is a rare case to flip the newspaper one day and to spot a section in the papers that praises a Singaporean in a creative discovery or a “creative” creation. Why? Isn’t that a bit apparent to us? How will we make ourselves into such news when we fail to appreciate the Arts as much as we appreciate Usain Bolt Sprinting down the 100m lane on the Beijing Track? The only solution to this is the Arts. Arts in our modern day world, greatly helps to instill a sense of creativity. It helps us to enjoy life and at the same time, help to change our perspective on the way we view things. This is one of the few ways on why the Arts is a main factor that has to be valued in Singapore.
Next, as we move on to the next factor, please focus on this write up and shove your piles of paperwork and files away from your desk table. We Singaporeans have been rated to have the best working qualities amongst the other countries worldwide. We also have to note another fact that we ourselves know that we are too hardworking in most cases that we over stress our biological system into breakdown. What better solution is there to solve this problem, than to involve in the Arts? Musical shows and plays will help to take away that extra inch of stress off our body for the better. However, we Singaporeans, deem using the computer for hours and hours as stress relievers. We get so indulged in work and progress that once again we fail to capture the positive essence of the Arts. Therefore, to summarise the point, the Arts helps to relieve stress from our Singaporeans from our fast-paced lives.

Hence, I reinstate my stand that the Arts play a vital role in Singapore both as a stress reliever and also to inculcate important values such as the development of creativity amongst us Singaporeans.

Role Of Arts In Singapore

The arts encompasses many forms such as visual arts, performing arts, language atrs, culinary arts, physical arts etc. Arts in Singapore is still not as widespread as it should be. However, the government has realized the importance of the arts we cannot argue against the fact that art is being given more and more importance and emphasis in recent times in Singapore. Arts help to play many roles in Singapore.

In terms of education, Arts help in the holistic development of students. Instead of being just bookworms who do nothing but studies in school, arts, in the form of Co-curricular activities and school organized programs help to develop the non-academic side of students. Arts also help to develop creativity in students. In today’s society where innovation is vital to one’s success, learning to be creative is a must and arts help to develop this.

Arts also serve as an avenue for jobs in Singapore. Although this is not very widespread in Singapore, it is fast picking up speed. Many nowadays are not afraid to pursue careers in the field of arts as compared to the past where everyone placed importance on academics as they felt arts would not grant them high future prospects. Moreover, in Singapore schools, there is a wide selection of courses for students who wish to pursue arts.

Traditional arts also help constantly remind Singaporeans of their rich heritage. In our society today, we are increasingly becoming more and more westernized and we tend to forget our past and heritage in the process. Thus, traditional arts serve as a reminder of our rich heritage.

Arts also serve as a form of relaxation and entertainment for people in Singapore. In Singapore’s stressful lifestyle it is necessary to take your foot of the pedal at times to relax and art helps to do this in the form of performances or television programs.

Arts can help serve many purposes in Singapore. However, it still has a long way to go.

Role of arts in Singapore

The arts play a very small role in Singapore, which is the role of providing entertainment. These forms of arts come in the form of digital arts, which is mainly due to lack of time in an average Singaporean’s daily life.
In Singapore, there is too much emphasis on personal achievements, such as one’s influence, power and status, which also determines one’s success. Arts is thus viewed as unimportant, only a form of leisure. As mentioned in the article, arts is considered as a form of leisure only enjoyed by the rich, or if one has time to spare. The fast pace of life leaves little time to spare. Even if one has time to spare, it is often used for other forms of leisure, which one enjoys the most, such as sports.
However, the government has indeed put in much effort to raise the status of arts in Singapore. The Singapore Esplanade, officially opened in 2002, cost S$600 million to build. This huge budget clearly shows the effort that the government has put into trying to promote arts. The Esplanade was built to host arts events, with numerous facilities and artistic exhibitions to promote arts among Singaporeans. Numerous events have also been held to promote arts among the Singaporeans, such as the Singapore Arts Festival which spans over a period of one month annually. Artistes from over 20 countries are invited to this prestigious event. This demonstrates how the arts are rapidly gaining recognition in Singapore.
Also, the government has begun to incorporate arts into schools. Arts performances are largely advertised among the students, and subsidies offered to the students. In junior colleges, science students also have to undertake at least one arts subject to promote appreciation of the arts among the students.
In conclusion, even though the current generation of Singaporeans regard little for arts, the efforts of the government have led to the new generation having a greater appreciation of arts, and thus, arts is likely to have a much more important role to play in the future.

In Singapore, the role of the arts, generally, is to entertain. It is common for us to have events which promote the arts as it is- no further in depth probing is required. All the audience has to do is to watch and applaud. Such is the role of arts in Singapore. Singaporeans in general only appreciate the aesthetics of art- the intricate details on the costumes, the fluidity of the movements. Events such as the Singapore arts festival, concerts from world famous artistes such as the Beatles and art galleries further emphasize this fact.

However, in recent years, we have seen the government try to increase awareness of the arts in Singapore. This is being done in school, where the population is still young, thus more possible and practical to induce arts appreciation in them. Firstly, we have the Singapore youth festivals. Performing arts groups from schools all over Singapore take part actively in this national event biannually. Thus, this is seen as an effort by Singapore to try to inculcate in youths an artistic side since the performer's friends would be interested to watch the performances too. Also, ccas under the arts category are introduced as early as primary school, thus students have many years to decide if they would like to pursue arts.

Secondly, we have seen an increase in the content of arts in the school syllabus. There's the Nanyang academy of fine arts (NAFA), which is an arts school for youths who are interested in the arts. There, they cultivate their interests and talents for the arts, specializing in skills such as dance or visual arts, or even modern art- photography. Then of course we have the recent introduction of the arts elective or pure arts in the secondary schools and junior colleges. This is done to encourage those who have a passion for arts to develop their interests and bring the arts scene in Singapore to greater heights.

More recently, Singapore has tried to raise the importance of arts in Singapore, as seen in the above examples. Besides the education system and concerts, Singapore has also provided for venues for the arts, one being the esplanade by the bay. The purpose of the esplanade is to host arts events, much like the Sydney opera house in Australia. Thus, the role of the arts in Singapore has risen in recent years due to efforts by the government and arts groups in Singapore.

Does Singapore allow for talent to flourish?

I agree with Paulo that talent need to have some space, recognition and soul to flourish. The question is, does Singapore provide an environment rich with the above-mentioned, or is it a place where talent is gone unnoticed, where talent is seen only in the form of dollar signs, where we are too concerned with whether our ideas are agreeable with the ideas of others? I think we are. Let us begin at home, the root cause of who or what we are. At home, how many parents encourage their children to persue what they are good in? Not as a sport or just for fun, but as a legitimate career. Who among us can say that we are doing exactly what we want to do? We have all been forced to conform to the needs of society, to do well in math and excell in science. Our talents are rarely recognized, and even more rarely built upon, or improved. The talented young Singaporeans need to be embraced by society, not shunned for having a different opinion.

Due to our severe lack of confidence, our need to be sure before doing anything, we have essentially squashed many talents, not letting them be seen, or not letting them be known as a Singaporean talent. We need to be more open, more willing to make mistakes, for luck favours the brave. We need to give talent more space. We do not do this, and so what talent we have in the nation is going unnoticed.

We are also not paying attention to our talents, that is until they are hailed as the greatest something-in-the-world! We do not pay attention to the open mic shows, or the local bands performing at the park. We simply feel they are not good enough for us. We need to pay more attention to them, until we do, we will remain with a lack of talent. As Paulo put it, Singapore has a lack of resources, so we need to make the most of the one resource we have: people.

Talent

From what Supian and Hartung have said, I do agree with their views in saying that talent in Singapore is too narrowly defined and she only produces a small group of people with certain types of talent. This can be clearly seen from the fact that Singapore develops itself greatly only in one specific area- Its economic status. The Singapore government does so, as it feels that the development of the economic status of the country must be its main focus. However, in doing so, it is actually narrowing its scope of producing talented people in a variety of areas of speciality.

One example as to why I feel that Singapore tend to produce only certain types of talent, can be seen in the Beijing Olympics 2008 which is going on now at the moment. From the opening ceremony to the actual games, Singapore has sent in less than a 100 Singaporeans to participate in the games. Of which, how many of them are actual Singaporeans? Meaning, they were born and bred in Singapore rather than brought in to Singapore as a foreign talent. This number is probably less than 10. Is there a specific reason for this? It’s obvious that Singapore wishes to develop in the area of sports. However, till this day it has wasted its time in not showing enough concern in the area of sports that Singapore has to turn to bringing in foreign talent to improve its sports status. This is one of the prices Singapore has to pay for producing only certain types of talent.

Therefore, from my evaluation of the current situation in Singapore, it can be justified that Singapore does focus on producing certain types of talent only. Therefore, if Singapore does continue to move on in such a state, it will bound to suffer in the future where other countries are doing their best to be in the top of the list in every area of specialty.

Singaporeans Mindset Is The Reason For Talent Shortage.

I agree with Ravi Veloo that the key to solving the problem of talent shortage in Singapore lies in the changing of people’s mindset. Singaporeans have a very narrow mindset in my opinion. They are not open to what is around them and rarely see things in multiple or broader perspectives. This leads to problems such as talent shortage.

One issue would be the viewing of certain types of talents as superior to others. For instance people believe that being a doctor is superior to being an architect. Thus many parents send their children to learn medicine, leaving very few students in other fields such as architecture. This leads to a shortage in talent in such fields and with a lack of such talents a country will not be able to function well as it does not have enough of a talent range.

Another issue would be that, Singaporeans fail to realize or explore their full potential. Once they pick up a profession, they stick their mindset to just that profession. They only concentrate on it alone and judge themselves only by how well they do in that particular profession. This leads to a limited range of exposed talent among Singaporeans with much talent hidden deep inside many of them.

Moreover they believe that only a particular skill is needed for a certain profession. For instance a software engineer believes that only knowledge in software is necessary for that job. He does not realize that by having other skills he would be able to do his job better and will be more employable.

Singaporeans also see talent as something that a person is born with. Yes this is true in certain cases, but they fail to realize that talent can be nurtures with a bit of effort and an open mind. Thus, we have a limited array of talent in Singapore.

Loh explores several suggestions on how to deal with the outflow of talent from Singapore. Evaluate his suggestions.

Loh’s article explores several suggestions, including halting the use of the term “foreign talent”, changing the policies to focus more on family cohesion, preserve buildings and to listen more to the citizens.

I do agree that the repeated use of the term “foreign talent” does lead to the locals here feel inferior to their foreign counterparts. This term has instilled into employers the mindset that foreigners are, in every ways stronger than the locals. For example, in the local film “I Not Stupid” by Jack Neo, it showed one overseas “talent” who comes to the advertising company to take up a rather senior post. Through the show, it was revealed that this foreigner held a rather low position back in his homeland, and his works were shown to be unappealing to the local context, featuring black-themed packages for a Chinese New Year product. Hence, not all foreigners who work in Singapore are talents, and while the term “foreign talent” does make the foreigners sound better, it serves to degrade the local talents, who feel inferior as compared to them.

In the article, Dr. Leong advises the authorities to focus more on instilling pro-family concepts. I agree with this suggestion. The younger generations nowadays have little patriotism spirit, mostly due to the effects of globalization and the lack of the experiences that the older generation had during the hard times of the past. Focusing on family cohesion could possibly have a much better effect in retaining local talents. The older generations are less likely to opt to live overseas as they are used to the local living conditions. By instilling pro-family values, the younger generations would then choose to follow their elders and remain in Singapore.

Dr. Leong also advised the government to retain old buildings. Even though I agree with his rationale, I feel that it is not a feasible plan. To continue Singapore’s development, it is necessary for us to replace the older buildings with newer ones. Imagine 30 years later and you still see the same old buildings every day. What impression would that give to a tourist? Singapore would probably seem like a very old country, with little development. Buildings have to change along with time. That is why en-bloc policies are necessary, to renew the old buildings. To preserve old buildings to retain local talents is thus not a feasible solution for our country.

As mentioned in the article, what makes a citizen happy is not just economic stability, but also the feeling that one is heard, and not just another puppet in the country. By listening to the citizens’ ideas, the government can gain more ideas, and understand the needs of the people. The government may not necessary know what is best for the people. Even if they do implement policies beneficial for the greater masses, they must provide the rationale for those policies.

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

From my views and opinions, I feel that the Singapore government slants towards using Extrinsic Motivation rather than Intrinsic Motivation towards its denizens.

This is clearly seen in the fact that it follows the Principle of Meritocracy that was created when the government first stabilized in its early stages of gaining Independence. It is no doubt that this Principle’s main aim is to voice out to the masses that Singaporeans are admitted into institutions and workplaces solely based on merit. However, there is also this small portion of this Principle that states that high-end scholarships like, A-Star Scholarships and Public Service Commission (PSC) Scholarships will be awarded to students who attain outstanding results in the Advanced-Level Examinations at the end of their Junior College Career. In my opinion, this is a form of extrinsic motivation that is being used by the Singapore Government. It produces brilliant student who work hard to gain the scholarships. Moreover, as these scholarships serve under a bond-system, these brilliant students will eventually end up working in Singapore, in which case, they are actually working to develop Singapore. Hence, this motivation that the government uses, acts as stone that kills two birds. It is able to produce students of high standards of knowledge and at the same time able to produce skilled laborers who will in turn be able to assist in developing the country further, in this 21st Century.

Another basic extrinsic motivation that is put out by the government that has not been clearly noted is the salary-system where laborers get paid for offering their services in the working world. Others may not think that this is an extrinsic motivation but in actually fact, it actually is. Will any of the laborers be willing to offer their services if they do not get paid for what they do? Obviously not. Therefore, the government specially put a price tag on their jobs. However, this price tag is for the government to pay their laborers instead of otherwise. Hence, in my views, this is another extrinsic motivation that the government has undertaken, not only in Singapore, but in each and every single country globally.

Therefore, from the evidence provided, I can safely say that the Singapore government does slant towards providing more of extrinsic motivation rather than intrinsic motivation. This is evident from the various factors that I have brought up in this write-up.

Will Women Ever Enjoy The Same Rights As Men?

The term women’s rights refer to the freedoms that women are entitled to and that are recognized by the society. The issue of women’s rights has always been a controversial issue especially in the area of gender equality. Women have always been given lesser rights as compared to men and this sparked many uprisings especially after the eighteenth century. Although this issue has lasted for a very long time, I feel that it is not very accurate to say that women will never enjoy the same rights as men.

The situation of women has drastically improved over the last couple of centuries. In the past, women were not allowed to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts etc. However, today women live in a very different world. Almost every female receives basic education, are awarded many rights that women of the past could only dream of and hold many top positions in jobs. Examples would be the wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister, Ho Ching. She is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the government-owned Temasek Holdings which is one of the most powerful firms in Southeast Asia and the Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Although even today women do not completely have all the rights that men enjoy, especially in the more rural countries, we definitely cannot deny the fact that the situation of women has improved very drastically. In my opinion, it has improved as much as it possibly can over such a short period of time. If the improvement of women’s rights continues its ascent at this rate it is very possible that women will soon achieve the bench mark of equal rights as men in the near future. Thus I feel that the notion that women will never achieve equal rights as men is not true.

Discrimination arising from stereotypes.

Discrimination arising from stereotypes definitely exists in Singapore. Many types of stereotype discrimination exist in Singapore- be it the “kiasu auntie” at the market or the “mugger nerd” in school, however, I think Singaporeans generally do not display their distaste for such stereotypes in a negative manner.

Because Singapore is a racially diverse country, I think that Singaporeans are used to the different types of stereotypes created by the general public. However, I am sure that many of us do discriminate some of these stereotypes. After all, who would like to be stuck in a lift with the 'kaypoh' neighbor next door? Discrimination in Singapore may arise from the fact that many of us live around these stereotypes, and are hence sick or irritated by the day in day out interactions with the stereotype.

Take for example the stereotype of the nosey neighbor in her mid 40s who has nothing better to do but gossip. If you were a young, overworked adult in her mid 20s, you would obviously like to start your morning with a quiet, peaceful trip down the elevator rather than having to entertain the neighbor with the latest gossips, or insights of the stock market which may grant her a windfall. However, this discrimination may be unfair as not all neighbors in their mid 40s are of the same gossip queen category. We just assume that all people who fall into that age category are the same. However, are we forgetting that many senior managers who are intuitive and smart, and, possibly normal and not gossip queens are also in their mid 40s? Thus I think that Singaporeans jump to stereotyping, hence discrimination too quickly.

However, discrimination in Singapore is not very openly showcased, though we may harbor such opinions internally. We do not see public slamming of old men as molesters or children as screamy monsters. There may be the common stereotyping of Chinese workers are rude and loudmouthed, but hardly anything is done to show our displeasure. Singaporeans are generally quite tolerable of these stereotypes, and discrimination isn't much of a source of riot in Singapore.

Therefore, although discrimination arising from stereotypes exists in Singapore, it isn't that big of a deal.

Extrinsic VS Intrinsic Motivation

All around the world people have become self centered, only bothering about their self interests and personal issues and not about their society. This situation is hardly any different in the context of Singapore.

The government has seen this and has widely used the method of extrinsic motivation to get things done in Singapore. For instance, in Singapore monetary or material rewards are widely used to motivate people to get certain things done. This can be seen in even areas such as child bearing. The government actually offers baby bonuses in order to “motivate” couples to have more children so that the replacement rate in Singapore’s ageing population will increase.

Extrinsic means is also used to deter people from doing certain things in Singapore. This can be seen in the area of crimes where the government imposes hefty fines and punishments to those who commit crimes in order to reduce crime rates in the country.

Although extrinsic motivation has allowed us to achieve many targets, there are negative impacts of using such means on Singaporeans. An extrinsically motivated person will work on a task even when they have little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction they will get from some reward. However it focuses people on the reward and not the action. The wide usage of extrinsic motivation would mean that Singaporeans would grow to become robot-like people who would not do anything unless they are given rewards. Stop giving the reward and they will stop the behavior. This may even aggravate to the point where they will demand for larger and larger amounts of incentives to do a certain thing.
Moreover Singaporeans will start losing their morals and we will start seeing less and less people being involved in areas such as social wok where material benefits are minimal.

However I agree with Ismail that intrinsic motivation can subtly in areas such as the collecting of motivation where people still do donate with a little persuasion. This hopefully should be seen more widely in Singapore.

Talent

I think that all 3 talents are not present in singapore, sadly. Even if they are, they are short lived, as seen in the case of president scholars and athletes. The hype (recognition) over their achievements fade faster than they deserve to, hence this may deter one to strive to gain glory for singapore, since recognition may be one of the many reasons why one would want to achieve something.

Newton, Edison and Einstein are all famous names in the science field. The first discovered gravity, the other, light, and the last, the infamous equation, E=MC^2. Then comes the singaporean who created glowing fishes. What was HIS name again? I truely believe less than 1 percent of the population knows about him. Why is this so? Is it because singapore doesn't celebrate his achievements, or is it just because singapore doesn't think it's much of an achievement? I believe it's a combination of both. Firstly, the newspaper column featuring his invention barely made it a front page news. Secondly, it was mentioned probably less than 5 times as it wasn't as big an invention as light was. Thus, this may be one of the deterrences for singaporeans to ever achieve anything great, as their efforts go largely unnoticed.

Then comes the issue of space. Students here are usually under alot of stress and pressure, especially from their parents, to do well. It is common for students to be studying even on weekends- a rare sight in other countries. This would give one the impression that if he or she were to do well in school, it would be even worse if they over achieved and entered the global arena. Also, many scholarships tie the students to the goverment and do not consider the aspirations of these students. For example, many scholars have a contract where they are tied down to the sponsor company, and this prevents them from pursuing their aspirations. Thus, space is not an incentive for achievements.

Lastly, soul is hardly present. Singapore lacks the countryside aura to allow for relaxation time, or for one to nurture their peace of mind. Sure, we have spas and country clubs, but who attends these spas? The affluent and famous, of course. Heaven forbid you should meet your boss at the spa. It would definitely turn a time of peace and quiet into one that would kill your weekend.
As such, all 3 requirements are lacking in singapore, accounting for the lack of obvious talents.

Extrinsic motivation in Singapore

In Singapore, I think extrinsic motivation is largely employed to control its citizens. As stated in JiaHao’s post, Singapore is often referred to by its citizens as a “fine” country, fine here being a sum of money required to be paid as a penalty for an offense. It is evident in daily life, these fines. We have fines for littering, vandalism, illegal parking and even eating on public transport systems. Judging by the clean streets of Singapore, and the odorless transport system, it is evident that these fines do work, and they work well. Besides using money to ensure the law is abided by, Singapore has also used money to motivate its athletes to do well in the international arena. The Multi-Million Dollar Awards Programme provides a cash payout to athletes who win gold medals at the Olympic, Asian, Commonwealth and South East Asian Games. However, there may be implications involved.

Although the fines work, youths do not really reap its benefits. For example public “adult grounds” such as coffeehouses and shopping centers are free of vandalism and litter, but visit any school or youth spot in Singapore and the place would be littered and spotted with paint and graffiti. Even school tables are not spared as students draw on them during lessons with markers. Extrinsic motivation thus does not apply to youths. This asks one to think about the effectiveness of the fine system in Singapore. I think that students litter and vandalize freely in their schools as there are no fine systems in school, and the chances of getting caught are rare. Thus, extrinsic fine systems in Singapore are ineffective, as it only induces fear in a person, instead of actually motivating a person to steer away from undesired behavior.

Extrinsic motivation in the athletic arena may be a good thing, as It would definitely encourage low-wage athletes to strive harder. Lee Jia Wei, a table tennis player, has even managed to play to a 4th place finish at the Athens Olympics in 2004, a commendable effort, obviously. Thus, extrinsic motivation in the sporting arena, where no moral values are involved, reap more benefits.

Does discrimination arising from stereotypes exist in Singapore? Appln. Qn 2

Stereotypes, in our modern day context are just a group of people with unique abilities of some sort. These stereotypes can be related to anything under the sun. Race, religion, colour, language, attitude are a few of the many stereotypes that have been brought up in recent times. When relating this to our country, Singapore, it is apparent that such discriminations arising from stereotypes are not a common sight. However, one cannot immediately jump into a conclusion in stating that there is clearly no discrimination arising from stereotypes in Singapore. Truly speaking, as long as there are differences amongst certain groups of people in a society, there is bound to be such discriminations.

If one is to say that Singapore is a great country where every citizen lives united with one another, bearing in mind social cohesiveness and the list of laws governed by an uncorrupted government, the only person that may believe this assumption is a Singaporean himself. A foreigner on the other hand, will not spare a thought in actually believing this. It’s merely a fairytale story to him. It is thereby obvious that it is impossible to create that dream country where everything goes well and there is no more room for improvement. Hence, I agree that discrimination arising from stereotypes do exist in Singapore.

Race/Religion is one of the main factors that led me to such a conclusion. In our multi-racial society, there is still this small group of people who feel that Indians and Malays are a class of their own and in which case, the Chinese have the upper hand in making every decision in this country. These groups of people have been termed as “racists”. They create this stereotype in our innocent minds that Indians and Malays are not true Singaporeans merely because of their skin colour. Basically, they are not “white”. Well, such stereotypes are created for the sake of expressing certain opinions and differences that we Singaporeans have within our society. However, these are the opinions that are best kept a secret rather than flaunting it out to the masses and just sparking off more problems. A clear example to this is the recent case where a Racist blogger who happens to be Chinese, expressed his sensitive views towards the Malay population on his blog. The racist blogger was then brought to court for making such racist remarks. This shows that there is still discrimination arising from stereotypes occurring in Singapore.

Another fundamental factor to prove that this issue still stands in Singapore is the stereotyping of students from top notch schools and institutions of being geniuses and child protégées since young. Students, who are streamed into schools of lower status as compared to these institutions, immediately feel a sense of hatred and anger towards the “geniuses” of the lot, arising from mere inferiority complex. The stereotyping of these individuals as “geniuses” makes the remaining group of students seem unwanted and useless. Thereafter, there comes a point where these students drop out of schools and take the wrong paths in life to turn into criminals rather than leaders of the future. These students feel that there is no use spending so much time in their academic work, as ultimately the “geniuses” will be the ones who attain scholarships, recognition from higher authorities like the Ministry, and a well-to-do life. Moreover, clashes may even occur between these two groups of students over reasons that are pointless. In the end, due to stereotyping, not just one party suffers but the whole lot suffers too.

Hence, from the above examples I have clearly shown that discrimination arising from stereotypes will always happen unless stereotypes are not formed in the first place. This subject is evident in Singapore itself, when touching on issues such as race and the area of academics. Therefore, I reinforce the fact again, that stereotypes will exist as long as there are differences in the views of groups of people. Moreover, as long as these stereotypes exist, discrimination will be apparent.

Does discrimination rising from stereotypes exist in Singapore? - App. Qn 2

I do agree that discrimination rising from stereotypes exist in Singapore as well. Discrimination, in my opinion results from our ability to judge people, be it according to their capabilities, race, gender religion or any other notable differences. Discrimination according to capabilities is regarded as meritocracy, and considered as a legal form of discrimination. However, to accurately gauge a person’s ability in work or studies is not an easy task- there is no clear reflection of how capable a person may be. Hence, we often consider people with a certain type of undesirable traits or behavior as being incapable, resulting in stereotyping of such people.
As mentioned in the second article, those students seated in the back rows are regarded to have attitude problems, and thought to be incapable in schoolwork. This is common in Singapore as well. However, these students would be regarded as talkative, and to get their attention in class, teachers would be more likely to call on them. In contrast, those seated in the front are often regarded as smart, and wise, hardworking students. Thus teachers are less likely to pay much attention to them. In my own experience, however, this might not be the case. I have seen hardworking students seated in the back rows before, and they are attentive and participates actively in class, and also seen those in the front rows, sleeping away without any disturbances. Thus, discrimination arising from stereotypes do exist in Singapore as well.
In Singapore, where there is the situation of an aging population, age is very closely linked to work efficiency. When two people of the same qualifications, but different age, where the older one has more working experience, goes for a job interview, the younger one is more likely to get recruited. Why? This is because people often think that the older workers are not as productive as the younger ones, and will demand higher pay, hence they are discriminated. However, this may not be the case. Older workers are more efficient at the tasks they have been at for years, and may not necessarily demand higher pay than their younger counterparts. Furthermore, the younger workers are more likely to switch jobs once their passion dies down, while the older workers would be more dedicated to their jobs.
The above examples shows how discrimination rising from stereotypes exist in Singapore, even without us consciously knowing.
-Jia Hao

There is no case for "affirmative action" in SIngapore today

Singapore is a multi-racial and multi-religious society. We have come to respect and tolerate each other. We are now seeing each other as fellow Singaporeans instead of members of different races living together in the same space. After 43 years on our own, we ask ourselves have we done enough to prevent racial discrimination?

We have made improvements in our education system to ensure that cases like university of California regents v Bakke do not take place in Singapore. Local universities make it a point to not outrightly reject candidates on racial grounds. We have made sure that we all take the pledge together, to ensure a sense of equality, we are encouraged to live in flats with different races, we all wear uniforms to school, so uniform that the head-scarf is banned from use in school. All if us have a common English-Medium curriculum. We are all allowed our own prayer. In these ways, we have almost perfected the system. We essentially give every child an equal shot at studies.

This is valid all through the university stage, but it ends when the student becomes an adult and enters the work-force. When one enters the work-force, they are forced to become part of the intricate web of politics that makes up the working environment. In this case, it is impossible to prevent any discrimination from occurring. However, it is all a part of life. Even in advertisements for jobs, there are lines like "non-chinese applicants need not apply," which is a politically correct way of saying the job is only for chinese. The job may have a special requirement, so that is fine. We cannot intend to stop discrimination completely, it is a part of life. At the same time, we cannot make it turn the other way, and make the majority suffer just because they are the majority. As such, there is no case for "affirmative action" in Singapore.

Intrinsic motivation in Singapore

As the song goes, "in Singapore, our hearts are big and wide you'll find." Singaporeans do have a heart, and are quite understanding when it comes to matters of the heart. As Asians, we are regarded as being a bunch of hard-working and unforgiving individuals that come together only for self-preservation. We have shattered that stereotype by donating for just about everything. Anytime a person steps up to us with a donation can in their hand and asks us for donations, they do not ask for donations by saying we can get tax rebates. They tell us the name of the foundation and what the foundation is using the money for. This generally tugs the correct heart strings, forcing us to pull out our wallets and at the very least, drop a few coins in the can.

In a similar situation, one of my friends was walking with a drink when approached by a student collecting donations for a foundation. When he said he didn't want to donate, she said that if he had the money to purchase a drink, he should donate. And sure enough, he did donate. This shows how there is subtle intrinsic motivation in Singapore. The use of extrinsic motivation in Singapore has to a large extent been unsuccessful. The government's attempt to reverse the trend of a decreasing population by offering a baby bonus has not been successful. The reason? The Singaporean society retains some of its morals. Singaporeans are not simpletons, we think things over. When we are offered an incentive, a monetary one at that, we think if we are doing the act for the benefit of society or for their own. By having a child simply for the baby bonus, one is doing it for a selfish aim, and as such, they have not been successful.

As Jia Hao has said, the use of extrinsic motivation is present in terms of petty crimes. But, they are seldom enforced, and are not harsh on the criminal. They simply serve to label the person as a criminal or to show the person that what they have done is not correct. It is through this that the person is forced to ponder over what he has done, and think over his life. When seen in this way, the fines imposed can be viewed as intrinsic motivation to not do something that would not benefit them or the society.

Do the past and present offer any guidance to the future?

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift, that's why its called the present." We have always seen the past as history, and as something to learn from. Only by looking into the past can we see the future, as they say. When we look back into the past, we see many things that we have done wrong that can be corrected if we tried. To ensure that our future is not marred by poor decisions made by people not fully aware of the situation, we need to look at the past for guidance.

One thing that has changed from the past is our interpretation of what a secular state is. In the past, a secular state was seen as a group of "non-believers" looking to make the world a place that has no belief. Now, we have adopted a more rational approach: a nation that respects all religions equally, and does not discriminate based on religion. The adoption of secularism at the state level seems to now be a very pragmatic move that many have made. Why? Thanks to the countless lives lost due to misunderstandings between people of different religions. From the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War to the Maria Hertogh riots. People have seen religion as a way to divide themselves. They would fight for a lost cause if it was for their religion. To avoid such bloodshed, all people should be given the basic right of practicing their religion. The people of the world have seen this as being a good idea to the extent that they have made religious practice a human right.

We have made changes for the better that we are enjoying now, but how can we further improve our ways, and make the future an even brighter one? One way is to make the whole world see secular state as meaning the same thing. Religion should not be given a major role to play in politics. We could find ourselves in a sticky situation if we depend on religion as a campaigning method. What if the candidate elected by a majority of Christians, whose votes he campaigned for in Chuches, was found to be gay? What would the voters do? What would the country do? There would be chaos, with people wanting to overthrow the whole government! To avoid such situations and keep an open mind toward the governing of the state, we should disallow the use of religion as a campaigning chip.

Human rights are Universal

Human rights are universal, and should be under no condition violated. Human rights, as the term suggests governs the way one human should behave towards another. Ever since man has been a civilised creature, he has drawn lines for how far one can be mistreated. Only under tyrants or misguided thoughts have we been known to violate each other. In today's world, we see each other as equals, or we should at least. We treat each other with a level of respect. Even the employer treats the employee with a level of respect. In a similar way, the people of Singapore are given the right to practice their own beliefs as long as they are acceptable to the fact that everyone is not of the same lineage, or religion. This is a good example of how secular states like Singapore see human rights as universal.

The interpretation of human rights as a way to properly treat another human is the only way that we can make human rights universal. Through extreme views taken on human rights, we will not be able to have a more fuller, and functional country. It is necessary that we look at this from a rational point of view. In order for the nation to prosper, we need to prevent some things that some champions of human rights see as a right. One example is freedom of speech. Although it is vital that we express ourselves, our views need not always be socially beneficial. In order to prevent such unnecessary "hooliganism" and promote a "rebel" behaviour, we can censor a small minority of the views put out by people. This will help the whole country to move along as a whole, and prevent us from becoming a backward country due to unnecessary excess of freedom of speech given to those that may abuse it.

Countries should never get involved in the internal affairs of another

Countries should not ever, not under any circumstances, get involved in the internal affairs of another. It is very important that they do this, since it could be the only way to push the whole world in the correct direction. Instead of taking orders from men who have blown-up ideas that their methods are superior to the methods that other countries take in the governing of their nation, we should let the others see which is the best way. By doing so, the country that is seen as not having a proper way of doing things can have a chance to change its ways, and the country that sees its method as superior can truly see if its method is superior.

Countries that poke their noses in the business of others have, generally, made the situation worse. Let us look at the invasion of Iraq by USA. USA wanted to "liberate the people of Iraq" from the rule of Saddam. That seems like a similar reason given by our Japanese peers when they massacred the Asian continent. That aside, are the Iraqis free from the rule of a "tyrant" and now free to roam the country? There are bomb blasts everywhere, with almost none that affect the locals making the news. Is the Iraqi economy blossoming now that the people of Iraq have been freed from the shackles of a tyrant? Who are the ones burning the oil fields? The "tyrant", or the "liberators"?

It is unfortunate but true that some countries need to be ruled the way they are. The morals of the people in the country determine the type of government they need. We cannot judge a group of people by looking on from the outside, we need to let them see that the system we use is better. Only through this will they change willingly, with more effort, and only then will there be results that are for the better of the world.

Hui Min suggests that the governments of other countries should be allowed to stand up against the judiciary system which does not give the people governed by it to speak up. This analogy is invalid! It is similar to asking your neighbour to help you discuss your ED problems with your wife! There are some things that simply need to be sorted out by themselves, and such affairs need to be left alone.

Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Which do you think is predominantly used in Singapore? What do you think

In Singapore, extrinsic motivation is used largely. This is shown by the common joke that Singapore is a “fine” city, the “fine” not only saying that Singapore is a great country to visit, but also to show that almost all crimes results in monetary punishments.
Although extrinsic motivation is predominant in Singapore as compared to intrinsic motivation, I feel that there has been more positive impacts on the Singapore society than negative ones.
The negative impacts on Singaporeans is that people avoid committing petty crimes such as littering and vandalising only when there are members of the law present, or when there are surveillance cameras around as in the case of speeding of vehicles on roads. People do not regard littering as an act morally wrong, but regard it as something common, that everyone does, such that even when the Singapore government began using intrinsic motivations such as using posters and banners to urge people not to litter, there has been little effects. Vandalism too, has taken roots as habits among the younger generations of Singapore. In schools, the tables are often vandalised, not by accidental scratch marks, but by pencil and ink markings of mathematical formulas and various nonsensical messages. This shows the lack of awareness of moral wrongness in Singapore due to over use of extrinsic motivations.
Despite the negative impacts as listed above, Singapore has managed to ensure a certain degree of success in ensuring the cleanliness of its environment and the safety of the roads. For example, up until now, Singapore still enjoys the reputation of being a “green city”, and still a wonderful place to visit and regarded as one of the cleanest cities in the world. The streets of Singapore are also relatively safe and traffic accident rates are kept low as a result of the punishments of speeding such as summons and demerit points system which could eventually results in the suspension of driving licenses.
In Singapore, the people are also still regarded as kind and generous as shown during the many charity shows in the past few years. Each show generated millions of dollars, and such compassion extends even to foreign countries. In the Szechuan earthquake crisis, Singapore donated more than 8.5 million US dollars in private donations only. This shows that Singaporeans are still largely motivated by selfless desires despite the predominance of extrinsic motivations in Singapore.
Hence, the positive impacts of the predominance of extrinsic motivations surpass the negative impacts of the extrinsic motivations in Singapore.