Besides the usual “learning points” which undoubtedly included an elevated interest in current affairs as well as an ever-growing newspaper cuttings stack, I have seen the world in more ways than one.

It was so much more, so very much more than referring to the rubrics and constructing a post that fulfilled the criteria – in fact come to think of it, I lost my rubrics sheet since term 1 – it was about looking at issues – all of them controversial – and why they caused such disparity in opinion.

What I felt I was able to do was to re-examine both sides of the story. This, I felt, was paramount to a “personal reflection” – no matter how personal, you always feel from the other side – from being an elite to not being one, from being a techno-klutz to a blogger, from being the victim of “formaldehyde poisoning” from tainted products to empathising with the slave-abusers – why did they do it? (In case you haven’t read, I managed to trace it to the disempowerment of the poorest of the poor.)

This was an empowering experience. (FYI, this post shouldn’t be graded in any way, so I don’t see the need for unnecessary flattery nor idiotic rhetoric.) Much of it was dominated by thinking and learning from the 6 events that impact you and me – the common man. One should be able to notice that I refused to select posts not relevant to you or me.

I end on a sombre tone, and I want to thank the teachers who created this “Personal Response” assignment, especially to Ms Kuang. I can never thank you enough.

Because you have made me learn, not by dictating terms and conditions, but by giving me a microphone.

You have given me a voice in the blogosphere, albeit a tiny one.

One that’s changed for the better.

Pub Date: 14/07/2007   Pub: ST              Page: S16
Column: LETTER FROM KYOTO
Day: Saturday
Edition: FIRST
Headline: When closed doors set us free
By: JANICE TAY
Page Heading: REVIEW
Source: SPH
 

CREATIVITY AND LANGUAGE

LETTER FROM KYOTO
BY JANICE TAY
FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
THERE is an old Hawaiian story about how the world began.
Wakea, sometimes called Sky Father, met Papa (Earth Mother) and from that came
all life. The G-rated version of the story calls this meeting a marriage though
you could also think of it as a different kind of Big Bang.
But there is yet another way to interpret the tale. From this point of view,
Wakea is not Sky Father but Chaos, and Papa is Order. This theory sees creation
as a process of change possible only when chaos and order come together.
In a state of total chaos, no distinct experience can emerge because there’s
just random movement.
However, a state of total order is equally sterile because there is no
movement, no change and so, no experience.
In other words, to have an experience, you need motion and resistance to the
motion – which creates a pattern.
We live in a world powered by this process. Even without going into the finer
points of physics or biology, you can see it in the games we play, such as
football.
I don’t know much about soccer, but the point of the game seems to be to get
the ball into the opposing team’s goal as many times as you can.
Rising to meet the movement towards the goal is all manner of resistance – the
other side doing its best to stop you, that offside thing and the rule that you
can move the ball only with your feet, head and torso.
Of course, there’s physically nothing to stop you from picking up the ball and
running with it screaming into goal. But if you used your hands, you wouldn’t
be playing football any more.
By accepting limits, the players experience soccer. And when they work to
overcome those limits, they show us the creativity of soccer.
Years and an ocean away from this old Hawaiian view is an award-winning
Japanese architect with a philosophy that looks very similar.
Mr Kengo Kuma talked about his belief in “creative concessions” when he was
interviewed for the television programme, The Professionals. Interviewer
Kenichiro Mogi, who as a brain scientist and writer probably has more than a
passing interest in creativity, later blogged about what the architect had to
say.
Steel and concrete may have opened up a world of possibilities but Mr Kuma
criticises approaches which rely on these materials because of the very freedom
that they offer: “When you use alternative building materials, such as wood,
there are numerous restrictions to which you are obliged to make
concessions...True creativity arises from these restrictions and concessions.”
He was then asked how he would build if freed of the limits set by materials,
the environment and the bud-
get. And he “answered after some moments of pondering that he would discover a
restriction somehow”.
Still, most of the time you don’t have to go looking for limits because you can
hardly take a step without crashing into one, whether it comes from your
surroundings, character, body or bank balance.
And sometimes it seems that every time I open my mouth to speak in Japanese,
I’m confronted with restrictions.
The way the language is set up, politeness is not simply a matter of refraining
from swearing or telling off-colour jokes; it determines the verbs you use and
how you use them.
If I wanted to tell someone that I was going somewhere and we weren’t close,
I’d use “ikimasu” (I go). On the other hand, if I were talking to a friend or
family member, I’d say “iku”.
But it gets more complicated. If I were in front of a superior, for example, my
teacher, I would use the humbler “mairimasu”. And if I were speaking of my
teacher to a third party, I would opt for “irasshaimasu” to show respect.
That’s just one verb but four ways to say it. And there are more.
Before starting a conversation, you have to do a quick calculation factoring in
age, experience, seniority and length of acquaintance, then decide which level
of politeness to go for.
Pitch it too low and you’ll look rude. Pitch it too high and the other person
will wonder why you’re talking like a total stranger, because politeness is
also a way to distance yourself from people.
Entering a conversation is like going into a traditional Japanese house where
doors are slid back and forth to create rooms of different sizes.
The doors are never static. I step into a conversation and, thinking I know the
shape of the room, begin to talk. But then the other person suddenly switches
to another level of formality, the doors swish across as if moved by an unseen
hand and a wall appears between us.
I can’t answer the questions that come: Why did our relationship change in an
instant? Did I do something wrong? Say something offensive? Do I need a bath?
Unable to understand when and why the doors closed into a wall, I began to
chafe at the confines of Japanese where, in reaching out to another person, you
seemed only to end up locked in a dance of distance.
But after months of watching Japanese shows, something is shifting. With my
ears tuned to the dialogue and my eyes on the subtitles, I can’t help but feel
that something is lost when one is turned into the other.
It doesn’t matter what the characters were saying; just from how they say it,
you can tell what kind of relationship the speakers have: who is considered
superior and how close they are.
They don’t always stick to the same level of formality either. Just a minute
change in verbs and the mood switches in a split second – to embarrassment, to
threat, to tenderness.
Almost none of this survives the translation into English; the space the
characters inhabit becomes nothing more than a room with four fixed walls,
plain and still.
And I realise that playing by the rules of the Japanese language doesn’t have
to mean being fenced in; by playing off them, communication can become a
constant act of creation.
It is precisely because of the restrictions dictating what you cannot say that
the language allows you to say more than I ever thought possible.
Knowing so little, I can move the sliding doors with only a clumsy hand, but I
do it in the hope that I will one day be able to make them dance with another
person. I do it looking forward to the space that, between us, we will make.
To build, you need walls. But a wall is just a door you haven’t opened and, if
you ever want a different experience, if you get tired of football and want to
play Pick Up The Ball And Run With It Screaming Into Goal, all you have to do
is slide the walls into a new form.
And play again.

China’s second cultural revolution is marked by, according to academic sources, include a democratized cyberspace culture without borders, or a distinct loss of “Chinese tradition and identity” through Western influence (for the better or worse). I say, however, a culture is deep-rooted – transcending some new fad or behaviour – but goes into core beliefs and values of the Chinese people. And an evolving culture from a burgeoning capitalist mentality must be overthrown, this time with a greater revolution than the world has ever seen.

Newsflash: June 16-17 to July 7 2007, The Straits Times

“BEIJING – Government officials and the police were accused on Friday of turning a blind eye to a slavery ring in China in which over 1000 people were forced to work in brutal conditions… more than 450 young men and children have already been rescued from a string of brick factories in Henan and Shanxi provinces…”

“The web of exploitation started a year ago… they hatched a plan: to exploit the rich earth of the northern province of Shanxi and the cheap labour of its neighbour, Henan.”

“…the rural labourers… had been lured from train stations in neighbouring provinces and brought here to churn out bricks round the clock without pay, with just steamed buns and cold vegetables as sustenance… constantly watched by six thuggish henchmen and six ferocious dogs…”

“Swift justice is being meted out to those involved in the slave scandal to meet a swelling tide of (online) public anger. Wang Bingbing – who owned the illegal brick kiln, right across the family home – was arrested, and his father Wang Dongji, Communist Party chief of Shanxi’s Caosheng village, has been stripped of his post and his assets frozen.”

“Following that case, massive police raids across Henan and Shanxi have freed more than 560 slaves, including children and the intellectually disabled…”

“unethical… slipshod… profit driven…”

“The local authorities had shielded exploiters with a “protective umbrella”, and worse, the police had obstructed parents’ attempts to rescue trapped child slaves.”

Personal Reflection

The Slave Scandal

The slavery in the northern Shanxi province has driven home the full meaning of the word “dark”. To lower production costs in a growing brick market, the son of the village chief corroborated with the police, and was given freedom to exploit slaves they obtained from nearby provinces.

“They were paid off by the owner. The whole village was his.”

- Chen Chenggong, on the relationship between the local policemen and the owner of the brickyard. He was one of the 34 abducted in the illegal Caosheng village brick kiln.

The workers were brutally tortured, given little sustenance, and above all, were made to produce bricks without rest throughout day. At night, their bed was the bricks they laid down. But worse still, for all their hardship, they weren’t given money – they were slaves (but were promised 800 yuan a month).

How it all started

I can’t put to words the feelings of grief and disgusted-ness churned together. (still trying to find the right word) Over the past few days, you see the workings of the Mr Hyde, the inhumane part of vile, unscrupulous humans who drove themselves to use such torture.

Hailed by throngs of angry protesters as “one of the most shameless and ruthless incidents occurring in modern China” and (in my opinion) humanity at its lowest ebb, one of the rescued teens rightly said, “I hope they are shot”.

Besides using young men, the village chief’s son also ensnared mentally retarded people and children – how dark, how dirty, how downright vicious could a human get to achieve his ends?

Coming to terms with slavery

Sceptics claim that where global equity is concerned, it is merely the light at the end of the tunnel. They say that inequity and the poverty vicious circle has been with us since time in memorial, and from all historical efforts thus far, is impossible. My view complements this, but through this little response, I’d like to see if I could “break my way out” and come to terms with slavery.

What happened, Mr China?

“I just wanted to scare him. When I raised the shovel over him, he unexpectedly rushed towards me. I raised the shovel and it came down on his head. He did not get up.”

- Zhao Yanbing, on prime-time state television

The abuse of power in this circumstance is staggering – imagine policemen walking into the kiln, delivering a “fine” (for illegal land use) of 2000 Yuan, then walking out – without seeing any deprived, starving or otherwise handicapped slaves? And what about the “law enforcement agencies” and “local government officials”? Truth is, the son (Wang Bingbing) of the village chief had bought over the police and built an empire solely on forced labour. These “incestuously cosy” ties between the two central tenets of the Communist’s Party local administration had silenced dissent – even if the villages knew about what happened 10 metres into the huge kiln doors, who would have spoken up against the local party boss?

“We wouldn’t dare to say a word. He’s the head… And there are lots of their relatives in this village.”

- Mr Shen, a villager

“Even Wang’s own sister in law, who lives in the same family house compound next to the brickyard, claimed she ‘does not know anything’.”

Why, Mr China, Why?

Graft [grāft]

-noun

1. the acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, esp. through the abuse of one’s position or influence in politics, business, etc.
2. a particular instance, method, or means of thus acquiring gain or advantage.
3. the gain or advantage acquired.
4. practising graft.

“In Wuxi, a manufacturing boom town in eastern China, water supply for more than two million residences was shut down for days after Lake Tai, is main water source, was hit by a massive algae bloom in late May…

(Officials) steered clearly of explain why they failed to heed the pollution warnings by experts for years… and also did not account for why they failed to clean up the lake.”

Wuxi officials blamed the unusually hot weather and low water levels for algae bloom, and when the Central Government knocked on their doors, trotted out five lowly officials from another county to take the flak.

“In Xiamen (90 minutes by plane from Wuxi), thousands of people marched to the local government office to oppose plants to build a petrochemical plant that would be located near villages, school and residential areas.

Put on the defensive by the unprecedented display of “green People Power”, the Xiamen (local) government suspended the project… a decision that costs the government a massive 80 billion yuan in lost economic activity.”

In any other city in the world, the local administrators would find their heads rolling soon enough, but not so in China.

I identified three main reasons for graft – namely moral decay, government negligence or intentional dereliction of duty and finally, economic growth.

The first reason requires little explanation, but the second deserves mention. All political punishment is decided by the Communist Party’s Central Government, and senior leaders are widely considered to be immune to this. Remember Chen Liangyu? Sure, he could have misused billions of yuan in social security funds to “bankroll illegal investments”, the punishment could “befit the alleged crime” – but he was President Hu Jintao’s direct political rival on economy policies. The Wuxi environmental crisis occurred in Hu’s “power base” (Communist Youth League), so top-ranking officers there can continue with their ties with businesses for more greenery in Lake Tai.

And last, my main point here – economic growth. China’s brick market is flourishing due to immense development, and what better place to make bricks than in the rural areas? Competition is increasingly intense and stiff in all sectors across her board.

Why, Mr China, Why?

Like the algae bloom, employing exploited, cheap forced labour is increasingly common, and cases of abuse, torture and slavery follows suit. The only difference is that it’s on a global scale this time.

Trafficking is growing in places besides China, forced labour is widespread in rapidly developing countries like India and Pakistan. The global slave workforce, including women, children, and the mentally impaired is estimated at 27 million. The Myanmar regime also oversees forced labour.

“If you’re not doing it, your competitor down the road probably is.” Mr Munro (China Labour Bulletin, Hong Kong) speaks the truth. And it follows an exponential pattern, and dominoes are more than just unstoppable. In fact, economic growth and graft grow hand in hand, with miasmatic corruption fuelled by insatiate greed of swinish humans.

The Heart of the problem is…

the disempowerment of the poorest of the poor.

They have no say.

They have nothing to contribute, nor have their parents, in the global economic system.

Simply put, the market did not reward saving lives or anything close to that – nor did any government sponsor it. It simply isn’t worth it.

Their fathers and mothers died, with no power nor voice in the market, and it is highly unlikely that these slaves – with six bulldogs glaring at their every move – ever will.

Besides issues of morality and dereliction of duty, the key – the very key – change that China must implement is how to help, how to benefit, how to actually effect distinguishable change in its rural poor. While the Communist Party should be lauded for eradicating extreme poverty by more than 70% since 1968, there is an ominous danger that awaits the nation. The poor are gradually – but surely – once again feeling the full weight of the word “poor”.

Then why cultural revolution?

Unscrupulous manipulation of the “new poor” is the reason why such unmitigated torture of fellow human beings continues without boundaries, both on a state and national level. It is the reason why those who have obtained some power – however small – have leveraged this wealth and status gradient, with disastrous and (I believe) unimaginably cruel results.

By less ill-treatment of the downtrodden, the Chinese will tackle with key issues like more effectively with problems like algae-infested lakes, huge budget deficits and corruption, through reduced emphasis on political might and accountability.

The state-controlled media (Xinhua being the official state newspaper) and internet (which the fathers of the missing, abused children used to submit an online petition which received national interest) must also play up these events as it did. Breaking free of the Orwellian 1984 concept that “government is always good” is one of the preliminary steps to paradigm shifts in China’s business cultural landscape – both in terms of ethics and human reactions.

The above examples show beyond measure that the people’s political will matches the government’s.

In Conclusion…

The use of lead in painted products, the exposure of ruthless officials silencing environmentalists who were later proven dead right, the abuse of status to draw slave labour – these are all testament to the world that China’s cultural revolution, that of the people’s direct involvement in traditional “affairs of the state”, is just about to begin.

It’s never a problem of too little caring, it’s a problem of getting people to shout out loud. Human awareness has unprecedentedly redefined the role of the media and rewritten the function of the internet countless times.

Mr China, when you stop denying heaping blame (by the US) placed on you for product quality, when you stop limiting the power of your people, and when you do finally realise that your people do have power, you will be quite ready to succeed.

References

• “China slave scandal deepens”, 16 June 2007, TODAY 12- AFP
• “Teenager toiled as slave at illegal kiln”, 16 June 2007, ST 8, China – Sim Chi Yin
• “One ran the kiln, the other supplied the slave workers”, 19 June 2007, ST 6, Asia – Sim Chi Yin
• “Slave trade: Chinese govt cracks the whip”, ST 8, China – Chua Chin Hon
• “Rescued teens recalls brickyard horrors”, 22 June 2007, ST 8, China – Ruzhou (Henan)
• “Slavery probe officials caught loafing”, 23 June 2007, ST 10, China – Beijing, AFP
• “When there’s graft, there’s slavery”, 23 June 2007, ST 11, China – Reuters
• “China slave scandal: Village of fear”, 24 June 2007, Sunday Time, Think 32 – Sim Chi Yin
• “Hard slog for brick workers in China”, 25 June 2007, ST 8, China – Sim Chi Yin
• “Moral decay eats away at the Chinese”, 7 July 2007, ST 34, Asia Focus -= Chua Chin Hon
• “China closes 180 factories for churning out tainted food”, 28 June 07, ST 6 Asia, APF & Reuters
• “How could you let these children die?”, Today, August 25-26 2007, Hot News – Bill Gates
• “Product Safety: No easy way to apportion blame” – Tracy Quek

———————————————————–

Wong Yong Sheng (29) 3C Raffles Institution

TERM 3

502 words (exclusive of the news article, references, footnotes & external quotations)

Newsflash: May 19 2007, The Sunday Times (ST10)

IN A meritocracy, some individuals are bound to do better than others.

But one big worry is that the elites – that is, those who rise to the top of the SIngpaore system – will become a class unto themselves and fail to empathise with the needs and problems of the rest of the society.

This could in turn breed resentment among those who do not make it to these top ranks, as they feel excluded and envious of those who do.

Such worries over a possible yawning gap between elites and non-elites occasionally boil over.

Click for full article:

“I don’t feel superior or inferior in school, by at church, when I meet friends from the neighborhood schools, there’s a distance. Some have commented that I’m ‘too smart’ for them. It’s disappointing, and it affects the friendship.”
- Grace Lum, JC2 Student, Raffles Junior College

“The Singapore Education system is merit-based and afford all students the opportunity to excel, regardless of their family background.”
- Statement from an officer from the Ministry of Education

Personal Reflection

Let me get this straight: I’m considered as an “Elite” in the Singapore Education system (notice the two “E”s). Hailing from Raffles Institution, I also come from a generally good family with a privileged socio-economic background.

In many ways, I’m blessed. And in many ways too, I want to avoid this topic.

But I’d like to tackle this topic in a very different way – that is, detaching this (supposedly) “elite, uncaring” column and considering a view completely independent from me. I do want to understand what the “other side of the fence” has to say.

Planting the Seeds

Academic prowess, manifested in both grades and intelligence aptitude tests, are commonly cited as discriminatory factors. A ST survey indicated, success to 7 in 10 students meant “winning a place in a top school or university”; “scoring As for exams” tailed narrowly behind. Wealth also means something, as Mr Ong (NUS undergraduate) asserted “I come from a working class family… Other students buy books, you always have to borrow from the library…“.

“…your sense of being ‘better’ is constantly reinforced…” – Miss Chia, 21, NUS undergraduate

A survey among 499 secondary students revealed that the most common elitist behaviour is looking down on those who are…

The Ivory Tower and the Golden Tower

To tell the truth, being in the elite was not an easy experience for me. I was from a typical neighbourhood – “typical” and “neighbourhood” – primary school for six years. I was an “elite” from primary 2 and hot-housed in the best class till P6, achieving the top of form more than twice. Ignorance is and was bliss, and it is only now that I realise my surrounding friends were “discussing” about me, the social urchin who “never had a social life”- malicious insults dripping with jealousy.

When I almost topped my school again for PSLE, I entered the hallowed halls of Raffles Institution, with the constant and humbling reminder from my mum: “In RI, they’re all very smart. You get average can already. Just do your best. Focus on your studies. And Make smart friends.” I believe many of my peers got the same advice.

But to different effects.

Some immediately assimilated negative parts of “RI culture” and formed a bad elite – that of being boisterous, rude, “poser” (the cool and hippy process of looking anything but good) and “slack” (the process of disassociating oneself from work or its assessment variants).

Then there was distinctly this “mugger” bunch, who took their parent’s advice and excelled in academic faculties.

After two years, I belonged to the latter, and did relatively well. I was considered “good” in the Special-Express branch.

After three years, I daresay that I am a very normal student, because my results pale in comparison with intellectuals from the Gifted Education branch. It is a humbling experience. The elite exists within an elite. My ascension to the Ivory Tower means nothing now – I still have another long flight of steps to the Golden Tower.

Below the Towers, on the Wide grassy fields

I have three cousins in my extended family who were from “neighbourhood” schools. From my few and sparse conversations with them (already a telling sign of differentiation), I learn that their parents constantly berate them for being “so stupid, can’t even get into an express school (meaning students offering higher mother tongue)”. Their own words say it best:

“everyday she (referring to his mother) told me don’t do this don’t do that… cannot watch tv, cannot play com… now only 4 hours every week. wtf… even jiawen gets to play 7 hours and she dns’t even hav a com lor… bloody unfair… shi* larr… sian. den she tells me go work, go “at least be like yongsheng (my younger cousin) and work hard, den get good results” and den orders me to start on my assignments. my foot lar… actually the tchrs also dun giv us work to do… nowadays any work i do from textbooks. stupid maths tchr mr tan says we’re sucky in maths… he shld go ask himself why. like my tchrs very good hor…“

- A personal response from a weblog concerning a “neighbourhood” student’s stance on his academic status

(Transcribed: Every day she doesn’t allow me to enjoy myself through computer games or watching the television. I’m only given limited times (4 hours) to do that, while even my disadvantaged peers get to play more than I do. My mother wants me to follow Yong Sheng’s (that is, mine) example and work hard to get better grades. What utter rubbish! Even our teachers have given up on us, when they can’t even teach us well.

Who gets the ladder?

Climbing up the ladder to the ivory tower is, by my own yardsticks, like juggling frogs (idiom). Factors that make or break one’s success include peer influence, freedom and space for potential growth, family backgrounds, and most importantly (I believe), personal drive and desire. These divisive factors – have these or not – play a larger role in success within Singapore’s academic system, rather than oft-cited “natural intelligence” or “larger tuition fees”. These actually let the “neighbourhood” pupils have resources to perform.

Some would rather refer to the above blog entry as the “diary of an un-elite”. What defines today’s elitism (even in our context) is not about having a society where elites exist, because as long as they are more than one human, there’s always potential to discriminate and segregate. Rather, elitism occurs when a mindset change occurs – within minds of the very best, minds that were developed and treated with special care – and these humans endow “haloes of prestige” on each other’s foreheads and congratulate each other heartily over imported French wine.

Towers need bricks, too.

Elites have their own worries to look after. A practical approach to a results-oriented system would simply be to produce best results. Success can reach infinite, and an insatiable, want-to-get-more-want-to-get-more mentality would prove miserable for the elite. The same goes for academic fields, which the Singapore education system overtly defines as success.

That Elite in a Meritocracy

“Because behind this mask lies an idea, Mr Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.”

- V, in blockbuster “V for Vendetta”

Mindsets are possibly the hardest elements to change within an increasingly critical society. Show me what you got, show me the money, and show me the results. Therefore one must inspire action to rectify the implications of the term “elitism” in context to Singapore’s education.

Give the elites maximum opportunities to perform. You don’t clip an eagle’s wings – you let them soar. As Mr Magendiran (Senior Deputy HM, RI) would answer, “Higher expectations are usually placed on the students of these (elite) schools.” Place mental loads on those who can endure the rigorous intellectual testing, so that when those fetters are stripped away, they may fly even higher for Singapore.

The elite is a potent fighting force for Singapore on many global stages – if you need brain surgery, you go to an expert neurosurgeon (Singapore has a number of these). If you want to learn golf well, get Tiger Woods as your coach. Elites are a necessary good.

At the same time, strike a balance for those in “neighbourhood schools” to reduce potential rifts in education. Give the disadvantaged, give the less gifted, give the less intellectually able students their own power and freedom to fly, without generations of perpetuating socio-economic ills. Parents can show they value their children more. The Ministry (of Education) can give teachers liberty to select students with passion to excel and provide them special education or mental and emotional assistance (besides scholarships and bursaries). These success stories can be a signpost for others. You don’t have to be elite to be good.

My ivory tower has plenty more room to spare.

References

• “High anxiety – an elite affliction?”, 19 May 2007, ST 10 – Ken Kewk
• (must read!) On Exams and Education and Education and Elitism – Sensei Michael’s Blog
• “Educational Elitism to Education for All – An analysis of the Nepalese Education System”
• “Say it Loud, I’m Elite and Proud!” (Forum Response)
• “Elitism in Higher Education” – P L Vishweshwer Rao
• The Guardian – “Funding UK Higher Education: From Elitism to Mass Market”
• The Guardian – ‘We must fight elitism in higher education’
• “Widening participation in higher education: from elitism to inclusion” – Diana Warwick
• Equality and Elitism in Chinese Higher Education – An insightful and useful thesis by Li Hong Huan
• “The Failure of Modern Public Education” (refer to section 7) – John Taylor Gatto

———————————————————–

Wong Yong Sheng (29) 3C Raffles Institution

TERM 3

501 words (exclusive of the news article, references, footnotes & external quotations)

UPDATE!!!

As of April 2007, the salaries of civil servants and ministers are going up this month, with

• Cabinet ministers at the starting grade getting the biggest pay rise of up to 33 percent
• PM Lee earning $3.09 million annually
• political appointment-holders earning (in total) a 23% increase in pay, i.e. $56 m
• MPs earning $216, 300 annually (up 10.7%)

Mr Teo Chee Hean delivered his keynote speech in parliament (refer below for link) today, saying:

——————

It’s perfectly ridiculous, in my opinion, to complete an entry and then move on to the next – what do you actually learn from this rushed process?I’ve decided to start this ungraded entry purely for pursuing Singapore ministers’ pay rise.

The Blogosphere

As of now, there’s a steaming Singaporean blogosphere, condemning vehemently the PAP and its Cabinet, sharing anti-establishment sentiments. I spent around 5 hours (yes!) perusing through them with interest. The following sites are generally intentional examples of biased views, a powerful example of how the domino effect creates ripples of similar wavelengths within the web community.For the benefit of anyone who reads this blog:

• singGov official Pay Rise media release – Mr Teo Chee Hean (Minister for Defence & Minister-in-charge of civil service), 9 April 2007
• Intelligent Singaporean – general collection of blogosphere views
• Reach – a government forum (strangely) with an active and logical anti-govt discussion
• Anti Neo-Democracy Theorist – useful insight on the parliamentary discussion
• Diary of a Singaporean Mind – highly anti-govt blog with radical views
• MollyMeek – “Can the PAY hike go beyond dollars and cents?” (well argued & healthy discussion)
• Yawning Bread – debunks (or at least appears to) the proof for need of ministerial pay rise using facts & figures

The News

(section still undergoing change, updates with the news)

1st Article

Pub Date: 10/04/2007 Pub: ST Page: 1
Day: Tuesday
Edition: FIRST
Headline: Ministers and civil servants get pay rise of up to 33%
By: LYDIA LIM
Page Heading: PRIME
Subject: POLITICAL/GENERAL NEWS^GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS^PARLIAMENT
CORPORATE/INDUSTRIAL NEWS^LABOUR/PERSONNEL ISSUES^WAGES
POLITICAL/GENERAL NEWS^GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS^CIVIL SERVICE
Source: SPH

But it will still be lower than in 2000, when his salary ranked 63rd. The total salary revisions for the civil service will increase the Government’s wage bill by $214 million or 4.7 per cent. The wage bill for political appointment holders goes up by $10.5 million or 23 per cent to $56 million.

The bulk of the civil service wage increases will go to teachers, police and other uniformed officers, management executives and others who make up the
64,000-strong civil service. In setting forth the changes for Parliament to consider and debate, Mr Teo said the policy of competitive wages had enabled the Government to induct and retain able men and women.

As a result, Singapore could maintain its “competitive advantage” of a clean, effective and efficient public service. It was what Harvard Business School professor Richard Vietor described in a new book as “the best example of government that works”, he said.

Mr Teo added: “We don’t want pay to be the reason for people to join us. But we also don’t want pay to be the reason for them not to join us, or to leave after joining us.”

The salary revisions will not be in quantum alone. Mr Teo also announced a major restructuring of pay for ministers and top civil servants at grade MR4 and above, which will increase the variable portion of their annual package from 34 per cent now to 47 per cent. With the change, a fifth of ministers’ annual salaries will depend on a GDP bonus of between zero months, if the economy grows by 2 per cent or less, and eight months, if it expands by 10 per cent or more.

Another quarter of their salaries will be linked to performance. The Prime Minister will decide how much performance bonus each minister receives. A fixed car allowance of 2.5 months will be scrapped. The annual allowance of Members of Parliament, last revised seven years ago, will also go up by 23 per cent to $216,300.

Among civil servants, officers in the Home Affairs Uniformed Services, graduates in the management executive scheme and Foreign Service officers are set to receive the biggest pay increases. Yesterday, 11 MPs joined in the debate. Most supported the principle of competitive salaries but several questioned the benchmarking formula and the timing of the increase.

Two MPs suggested having an independent panel decide the benchmarks, with West
Coast GRC MP Ho Geok Choo arguing that the present process could be construe as “self-serving”. The temperature in the House rose a few degrees when Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, who last spoke in the House in 2005, rose to challenge Workers’ Party MP
Low Thia Khiang. Mr Low said that Finland, Denmark and Switzerland ranked higher than Singapore in certain studies on clean government and the standard of living, yet their
leaders earned much less than those here.

Mr Lee replied: “Their governments never produced the kind of transformation
that we have. To make the transformation from what we were in 1959 or 1965, to
what we are requires an extraordinary government with extraordinary government
officers to support it.”

The debate continues today.

Article 2

Pub Date: 29/03/2007 Pub: ST Page: 3
Day: Thursday
Edition: FIRST
Headline: MM to critics: Gauge S’pore by any yardstick of governance
By: LYDIA LIM
Page Heading: PRIME
Picture Caption:
CONTRIBUTION TO SINGAPORE LAUDED: MM Lee speaks to the Australian media after
the ceremony, where his “unparalleled contribution” to Singapore’s development
was highlighted by the ANU Council in a citation.
Source: SPH

As for his one-time warning that Australia risked becoming “white trash” in Asia, he noted it was an issue the media here liked to raise. “There are some words sometimes thrown in the heat of the argument which perhaps at that time was warranted. You have changed,” he said.

The Australia he visited in 1965 was a very different country, he said, noting it had a “White Australia” policy and the Asian Exclusion Act. At yesterday’s ceremony, Mr Lee’s “unparalleled contribution” to Singapore’s development was highlighted by the ANU Council in a citation which set out why it conferred the Doctor of Laws degree on him.

It said under his leadership as prime minister from 1965 to 1990, Singapore “moved from a state of extreme economic vulnerability to its current position as the region’s most vibrant economy, whose people enjoyed standards of education, health and welfare among the highest in the world”.

“Few leaders have had such a singular impact on their country’s history,” it said, adding that Mr Lee was receiving the award on the grounds of his “service to the development of Singapore, his international statesmanship and his friendship with Australia”.

In his speech to 100 faculty members and guests, Mr Lee highlighted, among other things, how Singapore and Australia worked together to enhance conditions for peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.

Later yesterday, Mr Lee met Australian Prime Minister John Howard at Parliament
House. Asian Studies undergraduate Ernest Ng, 24, a Singaporean at the ceremony, was
very proud to see Mr Lee receive the award. “I have benefited from his leadership,” he said. But of a different view were those protesting outside, including law student Simon Henderson, 21. He said he was frustrated the award was given as Mr Lee “suppressed his political opponents and democracy”. But next to him was self-declared fan Rachel Mourad, 21, whose mother is Singaporean. She came to catch a glimpse of Mr Lee, whom she admired for his “wonderful job” in developing Singapore.

“I think people are willing to give up a certain amount of liberty to enjoy these economic benefits,” she said.

(Please watch this section for occasional updates in Singapore’s ministerial pay-rise issues.)

April 5th 2007, Headlines, The Straits Times

Both MM and PM Lee seemed to have gone full-swing in attempting to push for an increase of 1 million SGD or more for Singapore Ministers’ individual salaries, while convincing the somewhat sceptical “average” Singaporean that this is indeed a useful and even crucial move to ensure Singapore’s continued success as a nation in general.

Mr Lee maintains, “We are quarrelling about whether we should pay them (minsters) $46 million or $36 million, or better still, $26 million. So you save $20 million and jeopardise an economy of $210 billion?”, and condemns the discussion of the Ministerial pay-rise as an “absurdity” – that, in view of a better Singapore, it should be implemented unequivocally.

Personal Reflection

Examining various Beliefs & Assumptions

My mind drew Mr Lee’s zealous advocacy quite immediately to represent a largely Asian view. I thought this rather weird, and ran through a few other archived news articles (My mum used to categorise the articles based on different issues in an obese ring file.)

According to some research, I soon found that that salary or income is directly proportional to a high-performance individual’s efficiency at work, which succinctly includes his/her’s ability to innovate, evaluate, access and execute large-scale plans (written by a foreign professor).

Also present in the salary-effort balance equation, should I say, are intrinsic values including, but not limited to intelligence, boldness of vision, creativity and determination. Therefore this salary increase, with its generous monetary price-tag, would motivate these Ministers to work better for the common good of Singapore’s citizens – once again, raising Singapore’s global competency level.

Otherwise, Mr Lee (KY) states that they might resort to corruption or compensation for otherwise inadequate salaries.

Vivian“It has taken a lot of persuasion to get three doctors – Ng Eng Hen, Balakrishnan and Balaji Sadasivan – to leave their lucrative practices to enter politics… even with the benchmarks in place, the decision meant huge pay cuts for two of them.”
- MM Lee

I acknowledge and would like to lend support to his stand. A typical example representing this region’s (SEA) view, which has held steadfast by its many civilisations and peoples, include corrupt government officials in Shang Hai, Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila. Shang Hai holds special mention due to its increasingly harsh anti-corruption measures, including imposing tough penalties (e.g. capital punishment) on these bribable, unscrupulous government officials. Quite obviously, the pestiferous infestation of them (a rather recent example being Chen Liangyu, ousted Shanghai chief accused of corruption) retards economic growth and political progress – and head politicians of these countries would readily acknowledge that insufficient money/power within the official’s grasp makes corruption a very pursuable, lucrative alternative to gaining that of which they lack.

Therefore, to nip this problem in the bud, the PAP undertakes anti-corruption regulations, starting with increasing the pay of the private sector.

Examining the Opposition’s Counter-Arguments

An opposing perception among anti-PAP elements, I believe, is that Singapore has become so successful on various global stages largely due to its situational advantage, blessed with a strategically located port and convenient destination. Anti-establishment beliefs would also hold that Singapore’s success is due to innate talent within her common people, and attribute little acknowledgement to the Government’s role in her outstanding success.

Furthermore, while the (Mr) Lees in the Government demonstrate a great deal of passion and motivation in Singapore’s development, the other Ministers do not seem to demonstrate equal of such qualities.

The “Under-Value” Rebuttal

Snr. Dr Ho, however, categorises the above opposition’s acts under “perception bias”. What he has observed is that within the sceptic’s mindset, team performance and results are commonly undervalued.

For both Mr Lees’ cases, while they demonstrate excellent leadership in Singapore’s governance, has a backlash effect for the PAP but this too frequently outshines the results produced by other Ministers or ministries. These seemingly less passionate Ministers are viewed as less deserving. He exerts that most Singaporeans might not fully appreciate the tremendous amount of effort and brain-power it takes to run Singapore – a government, not a business. Ministers should therefore, he concludes, convey more optimism, enthusiasm and passion about “what they believe in and the things they want to achieve”.

Basic Assumption: true or false?

We should always keep in mind the other side of the controversy, so let’s put ourselves in the various MP’s shoes – that, it would indeed be (as MM Lee claims) a devastating loss to Singapore, already limited in its people resources, to not nurture its top-talents and allow them to hold positions of political importance. It would be plainly erroneous for me to disagree. As Catharine Lim fittingly puts it, “no Singaporean with any practical sense of the real world would want to see a minister denied a salary commensurate with his status and dignity”.

(I created a little diagram on the right to illustrate the ministers’ catch-22.)

Yet, on the other side of the bridge, about raise of monetary benefit – can it ever suffice the loyalty, love and raw passion of a Minister serving his/her country?

In the retail industry, Metro’s success brought its boss (Mr) Jopie Ong had an annual pay-check of 11 million last year, and few would actually bat an eyelid. Yet, it simply cannot be acceptable nor reasonable that, as MM Lee so frequently does, the Minister’s salaries should be compared with the private-sector benchmarks (PM Lee, ST 22 March)!

These high-earning professionals are paid X dollars at such competitive rates to ensure that the industries/companies reap and if need be, squeeze out that same X value out of them; in any countries’ government, however, a much larger percentage of that X value is expected out of the X value that is given to them. As the saying goes, “Much has been given, much more will be expected”.

The salary any Minister expects can roughly reflect how much of what he is doing is reflected in his heart compared to his head – a maintained rationale or social contract within mature, free societies. In fact, to “compare the salary of a top Cabinet Minister to a top lawyer”, blurs the lines between dedication and willingness to serve and the benefits of serving the nation.

Is the Basic Assumption damaging?

Lim once wrote an article dating years back (which my mother had thankfully kept), of a potentially serious problem Singaporeans faced, “The Great Affective Divide”. In it, she laid out her views on the people’s desire to see that “Heart over Mind” (or “Heartware as opposed to Hardware) change in the Government’s stance over its creation and implementation of policies. The hardline, “no-room-for-negotiation” sentiments were expressed even during the 2006 “Casino” or GST 3-5-7% hike debate, where opponents even accused the Government of being “not sensitive to its people’s views” or “seldom considering what they feel” and even denounce the Government (when the decision was given the nod) for already “knowing the result from the very beginning”.

Despite all this impassioned barrage of opposing viewpoints, it remains doubtful that MM Lee would not put his Ministerial salary increase into quick implementation. After all, the PAP, throughout Singapore’s history, is reputed for its “hard-nosed”, pragmatic approach to many situations it tackles, solving them with rapid efficiency, almost-deadly competence. Perhaps the above accusations is a repercussion of this very thing that brought Singapore together.

What Next?

Voices of reason in the blogsophere

(click on link)

OR…

OR…

“Singaporean views” (must read!!!)

What I am suggesting is that this constant “steely efficiency” attitude may twist the knife into the average Singaporean’s delicate view of the balance of material needs and public needs. The sour, acidic taste in the pro-PAP Singaporean’s mouth effectively slants his view to become doubtful of the PAP’s “voice for the people” actions, whether the Government actually cares about his/her well-being.

A pay rise would also widen the “Great Affective Gap” already present in Singapore’s political scene – and this, I reckon, ironically pauperises the government-people relationship of Singapore, Inc. into one that involves purely the harsh metallic jingling in one’s pockets.

References

• ST Headlines, “Put Ministers’ pay in perspective: MM”, 5th April 2007 – Lydia Lim
• “Evaluation coloured by Perception”, 5th April 2007, ST 28 – (Dr) Andy Ho
• “Be mindful of the affective gap”, 5th April 2007, ST 28 – Catherine Lim
• “Ministerial pay ‘lags behind benchmark”, 16th February 2007, ST4 – Sue-Ann Chia
• “The Great Affective Divide”, Catherine Lim, ST 1994
• More information on exact details: Feature Article

———————————————————–

Wong Yong Sheng (29) 3C Raffles Institution

TERM 2

502 words (exclusive of the news article, references, footnotes & external quotations)

SEX: Sexual Education promoting positive Xenophobia.

Xenophobia: An unreasonable fear of strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Liberal: (American Heritage)
1. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
2. Morally unrestrained

————————–

Inspired by The Straits Times, H3, Thursday, March 1 2007

Why kids need sex education? Girl, 9, pregnant

Case of Primary 3 pupil cited by counsellor at youth forum amid concerns about teen pregnancy

By Yap Su-Yin Mar 01, 2007
The Straits Times

THE Primary 3 pupil was just nine years old, but she was already six months pregnant with a 14-year-old schoolmate’s child.

The memory of the distraught parents and child sitting in her NuLife Care and Counselling Services office in Little India three years ago still sticks in counsellor Sheena Jebal’s mind.

The girl could well be the youngest pregnancy case in Singapore, judging by a Straits Times check with local hospitals, youth social workers, teen shelters and pregnancy helplines.

But though her case is extremely rare, it highlights ongoing concerns about youth pregnancy.

Figures on the ground indicate that thousands of teens are experimenting sexually, say youth social workers and counsellors.

Last year, Ms Jebal’s centre alone came across at least 30 cases of teens having sex. The youngest male was about 12 and the youngest female about 13.

A Straits Times check with restructured hospitals here revealed that between 2000 and this year, the youngest female to give birth at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital was 12 years old. The youngest at Singapore General Hospital was 14. The National University Hospital declined comment.

As required by law, they were reported to the police as cases of underage sex.

Ministry of Health figures for 2001 to 2005 show an average of around 1,500 teen abortions every year. In 2005, the exact figure was 1,279 and in 2004, the number was 1,341.

Nearly all the teens who aborted their babies in 2005 were between 15 and 19 years old and unmarried. Slightly more than half were Chinese and a third were Malay.

The figures go to the heart of a controversy over the issue of how early children should be exposed to sex education in schools.

Ms Jebal cited the example of the pregnant nine-year-old during a youth forum to counter the complaints of one participant, who felt her sister in Primary 4 was too young to start learning about sex.

Called ‘Yes/No’ Youth In Relationships, it was organised by Republic Polytechnic’s Indian Cultural Group and Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee last Saturday.

Ms Jebal said the nine-year-old had begun to experiment with sex with a schoolmate at home when her parents, both professionals, were at work.

Recounting the tense one-hour discussion she had with the family to The Straits Times, Ms Jebal said: ‘Her parents taught her how to use a sanitary napkin, but didn’t educate her about menstruation or sex.

‘They felt she was too young to know at her age. There is no such thing as being too young to know,’ said Ms Jebal.

Ms Tan Bee Joo of the Singapore Children’s Society cited several areas of concern, including lack of adult supervision over the use of the Internet, where teens can easily access pornographic sites and ‘meet’ strangers online.

‘It creates opportunities for children to chat with strangers, go on blind dates, sell their bodies for money to satisfy material wants,’ she warned.

Also, many parents are not giving their children the right sexual knowledge or instilling proper moral values in them at a young age, she said.

Ms Tan, who is head of the society’s Students Service Hub in Bukit Merah, said: ‘We have many students asking many sexuality-related questions, which many adults would never have thought children at this age know.

‘Children need to be taught to take responsibility for their own actions, but this should be accompanied by providing them with the right information.’

————————–

Introduction

Singapore’s blogsophere recently convulsed about the precocious Primary 3 girl’s malodorous pregnancy.

Many authors lamented on the parent ignorance of their children’s well-being, others blatantly slammed the immorality of liberal teens “nowadays”, some castigated the MOE for “not adequately educating our young about sex”. The majority acknowledged the “open-door” internet, where universal access to”unhealthy” material such as pornography or sleazy chat rooms, would affect vulnerable children/teenagers.

Personal Reflection

Now, whose fault is it really – the parents, the MOE, or the religious teachers (like cell group leaders)? Refining my question, whose job, whose responsibility is it to educate teens (or pre-teens) about sexual education?

“But… it’s the parent’s job!”

While watching the television, imagine your mother suddenly sits beside you, then unanticipatedly says, “Today Mummy is going to teach you about sex.” You’d flee from your demented mum. Despite close parent-child bonds, communication barriers and no-no taboo conversation topics still exist. Some parents find daily, normal teen communication already an up-stream task.

Parents nowadays also perpetuate the vicious circle of lack of correct information about sex. A Google quick check revealed many common sex myths like “penis length will determine the sexual pleasure derived from intercourse”.
Will the blind lead the blind? Will parents teach their children even more inaccurate “facts” about the “birds and the bees”? Or will they elude “SEX” entirely?

“Then it’s definitely the school’s job!”

The MOE launched a sexuality education package a few years ago entitled “Growing Up”, which catered to teens. A fairly large number of students’ parents opted them out (in my school). It is also largely challenging for schools to deliver quality sexual education to a large number of students.

“NO! It has to be the church’s job!” (whatever religion)

Ah… the religious groups and teachers… do they actually play a role in delivering sexual education? From personal experience, the answer is “no”. Ask yourself, have you ever heard your youth pastor or church friends ever mentioning sexually-inclined words like “heavy petting” or “sexual climax”?

No!

The above “reliable” sources of sexual education are, quite evidently, hopelessly useless, ineffective methods of educating teens about SEX!

Need for Sexual Self-Awareness

Instead, I reckon that self-awareness is the mosteffective, tangible and long-lasting method.

Awareness, would begin with education. Parents should ideally educate their curious child’s minds regardless of age, based on their mental sexual maturity (hence confusion) of their children.

On an immensely personal level, my parents occasionally talk to me casually and offhandedly about choosing girlfriends, (not) engaging in pre-marital sex, etc. Following the easy conversation flow, sometimes even jokes evolve from this “taboo-ed” dialogue.

With the help of parents, the school and religious bodies, I think children should be imbued with considerable self-esteem - how their sexuality, choices they make and consequences (like STDs) they face depend entirely on themselves.

Ultimately, the choice whether he/she should have early sex ultimately lies with the children! Sexual responsibility and respect for themselves & others naturally follows with a heightened self-esteem. The 9-year-old should have respected herself and not attempted sex so casually – even if it was for “curiosity”… it doesn’t kill, but mutilates the cat.

When the child is well into his/her teen years, asserting himself/herself by saying “NO” to potentially harmful sexual thoughts/behaviour promotes sexual purity. When the teen is developed (even in precocious teens since parents are acutely aware), he should be taught sexual control and abstinence.

In developing stages of adolescence like what my peers and I go through, it is important that we exercise some form of self-control over ourselves. Unlawful, premarital, under-aged sex are social problems, indications and manifestations of self-control problems in both the teen and society.

As the title reflects, while there is emphasis on Sexual Education and positive Xenophobia to sex, while their parents, the church, their teachers play a crucial regulatory role in ensuring the teen is at least guided through their formative years, the teen’s ultimate decision of personal self-control lies in his/her own hands. Whether we have SEX (literally) and of course, sex (practically), it’s our choice, not theirs.

References:

• Sex Education in Singapore
• News Source
• Sex Education that Works
• Abstinence vs. Comprehensive Sex Education -Collins, C., Alagiri, P. and Summers, T. (2002)
• Teenage Pregnancy Unit – London, 2002
• Evaluation of the APAUSE Sex& Relationships Education Programme – Blekinsop, S., Wade, P., Benton, T., Gnaldi, M. and Schagen, S. (2004).

———————————————————–

Wong Yong Sheng (29) 3C Raffles Institution

501 words (exclusive of the news article, references, footnotes & external quotations)

*Writer’s Note: Apologies for any sexually offensive words here.

• 9 blogs are created every minute, and 2.3 content updates are posted every second [Wired, 2004]
• More than 95 million blogs have been created [The Blog Herald, 2005], (though less than 70 million are updated regularly)
• Half of bloggers are between ages 13-19. [Perseus, The Blogging Iceberg]

– Inspired by Straits Times, H2, March 1, 2007 article –

Introduction

It is only appropriate, almost highly necessary, that I begin my speech (refer to first post) with a prevalent concept in the blogosphere, in which the entire RI Secondary 3 batch is immersed in.

The Diary of a Nobody is a curious comic classic. Published in 1892 by the Grossmiths, it purported to be the diary of a clerk named Mr. Charles Pooter, who lives in the drab London suburb of Holloway. That density of humdrum detail is what fixes Mr. Pooter’s diary in its particular historical moment, and it’s probably also the reason why people are still reading it more than a hundred years later.

- Nunberg, Commentary on “Fresh Air”

Personal Reflection

Virtual Reality of Peeping Toms

Peeping Tom originates from 11^th century England when Lady Godiva rode on horseback, naked, throughout town to persuade the authorities to withdraw an exploitive tax on impoverished plebeians. “Tom” was caught for supposedly peeping at her, then tortured brutally, for his crime – voyeurism.

I would like to draw an analogy (without the sexual implications, please).

The internet actively promotes virtual voyeurism – or syndicate, informal “investigation” of a person’s personal activity through virtual means. Humans are driven by innate curiosity – and seemingly menial web-based recorded activities of a person are spicy “tidbits”. Virtual glimpses of these “tidbits” are enshrouded with a veil of secrecy, indirectly (and weirdly!) implying its reality.

Such passive reverse psychology transforms “boring” posts to vibrant, real and digestible ones; promoting excitement in the reader-driven blogosphere. Hence, the blogsophere’s dynamic magnets are often controversial, exciting or even “retarded” content (videos, posts, etc.)

China’s Classic Example

In China an intimate blog written by a 25-year-old who also wrote a magazine sex column attracted 10 million daily visitors to the Sina.com server. Her blog initiated a “raging debate” on the internet, and the Chinese censors banned her forthcoming book (Yardley, 2003). Although she defended her right to write about her sex life, the blogger said that she never realized her blog would be read so widely or that it would create such controversy. (Note: it started off as a personal diary!) She quit her job at the magazine and has shut down her blog.
(Source)

Singapore’s Examples

Closer to home, a certain Minister-for-Parliment’s teenage daughter once posted a highly offensive and controversial blog article that castigated perceived “elitism” of “RI boys”. Another young-adult blogger was jailed because of his radical criticism of racial minorities in Singapore.

In both cases of blog voyeurism, it was merely a private weblog, the latter being password protected even!

As Frazer (2000) so fittingly laments, such is “…a kind of ‘privacy’ which seems to draw its meaning only from being publicized…”.

The Exhibitionist – Me, Me, Myself!

Blackshaw concludes that blogs are “reality TV of the web”. I add – blogs are intimate, personal, microscopic lens of one’s multi-faceted life, actions and opinions. The fervid desire for others’ minute experiences somehow breath meaning to life, (Miller; Shepherd), as well as fulfil the need for creative bonding.

[100% Uncensored] Humourous Criticism of Exhibitionist Blogs
Most of the best sites out there are under-read, under-rated or undiscovered. Use your ‘poor standing’ as motivation to KICK SOME ASS. Show those fuckers what they are missing out on. Post unique, original stuff and people will notice you. Until then, let spite be your best friend, your muse, your raison d’etre. Walk around with a big ol’ chip on your shoulder ’cause you’re doing a bang-up job, even if nobody has noticed. Be proud to be a hip, underground weblog, read only by a few in the know. I would not trade a handful of readers I respect and like for 10,000 hits a day from people just following the herd.
- Ten Tips for Building a Bionic Weblog, 2002

Many people consciously exhibit their personal lives. I, for one, do so; therefore this topic relates very closely to me. To prove my point – I reveal my personal blog – an open blog without passwords, just daily life as a stressed student, personalised opinions/thoughts about the RP, etc. It also serves as a communication tool with my friends who visit my blog, sometimes to just to rave and rant!

The Voyeur – Everyone else!

Why should one premeditatedly (Miller, Shepherd) exhibit their lives, for premeditated voyeurism?
Why should a seemingly personal diary that I keep be publicly exposed to a potential audience of 3.7 billion people?

The demand to see, or voyeurism, entails the supply to see, or exhibitionism.

Supply requires demand first, therefore blogs are under public eyes.

Mannequins are not placed outside shops for no one to admire, just as advertisements are not placed on newspapers for no one to respond.

I empathise strongly with Blood’s experience (in blogging) – in his treatise he mentioned” I began to carefully considered my own opinions and ideas, and I began to feel that my perspective was unique and important.”

In comparison, when I started personal blogging, I intended to create publicised privacy, meaning my public writing was not intended to be read by everyone – but a personal journey towards self-realisation and personal understanding, to loudly talk to myself or close friends about my feelings, opinions and ideas.

The Common Craving for a Voice

I again recognise my own perspective, with help of my personal blog. Like many teens nowadays, I prefer not disclosing my blog posts to my parents, but very close friends. Elbow believes instead that a “myself” constitutes a sufficient audience, however, this common sense of “identity” to uncensored-ly express my opinions and thoughts gives me a sense of freedom – a voice not heard by parents and teachers.

“Peeping Toms” and voyeurs of any sort may attempt to remove the barrier of privacy and even spread it about the web (like the MP’s daughter). That calls for an obligatory sense of mutual respect.

Chicks chirp loudly to clamour attention, as their mother delivers food into their mouths. Similarly, bloggers would always publicise their private voices, in hopeless anticipation for that worm, that bout of readers to be allured to their rant, their sound.

However, my unorthodox ultimate intention of blogging remains constant – that, albeit the 95 million voices in the cosmos, the millions of voices in the web’s choir, I at least represent a tiny voice – that, in life’s eternal rush, I assure myself that I am still me.

References

• USA TODAY: Teens wear their hearts on their blogs
• Into the Blogosphere, Blogging as a Social Action: A general analysis of the Weblog
• Blog Statistics &
• Demographics
• Into the Blogosphere, The Dicursive construction of Weblogs
• More about Weblogs
• Deconstructing “You’ve Got Blog”
• Final Version of the Definition of Weblog
• Perseus Blog
• Survey
• What We’re Doing when We Blog
• I have seen the future, and it blogs

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Wong Yong Sheng (29) 3C Raffles Institution

494 words (exclusive of references, footnotes & external quotations)

Change isn’t exactly a bad thing, nor is it hard. In fact, in this context, it’s painless, creative and in fact inspires a fresh look, a neoteric appearance.

I decided that the navigation bar should be at the side, and adjusted it accordingly. The posts should be placed further at the top of the page so you don’t have to scroll half a screen just to read the first post, as in the previous theme.

Hope you like it, and please, I implore, I beseege you, TAG!

(Auspicium Melioris Aevi)

Response Categories

• Politics/Societal
• Environmental
• Educational
• Teenager-al

Instead, I hope that this blog will serve as something more than an assignment, perhaps a pulpit for reflections, a mindtrip. Just as the title suggests.

reflectology (n.) -
an introspective way of life

The criterion of each posts is conformed to the facets of interpretation, application, perspectives, empathy and self-application. And the word limit per response is at a cap of 500 words,  a restraining bolt perhaps, but it keeps rein on my flow of thoughts, a blessing-in-disguise, then again.

I hope to reflect more deeply into the current affiars, controversies, problems, sequels that abound in today’s slightly demented, and yes, excessively capricious “terrene macrocosm”.

To a Breathtaking Vista!