Link: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/175137.asp
Source: Today Newspaper
Written By: Rosnah Ahmad
Date Published: 3rd March, 2007
----------------------
Article summary:
Thanks to the internet, there is now the threat of self-radicalised individuals who are not involved with any terrorist groups.
According to minister Mr Wong Kan Seng, Singapore is not safe from this threat and that in fact, a few Singaporeans who been attracted to terrorism-radical ideas through the internet had been investigated. One cased involved an individual who linked up people who were involved in terrorist recruitment and financing. However, through the Muis Asatizah Recognition scheme, the muslim community have gotten a clearer picture of whom to refer to and whom not to refer to in the case of ideology.Talks and dialougue sessions have also been held by organizations and certain individuals to raise awareness on this issue.
My View:
This is a potentially explosive topic and thus I will not move too deep into it. But I have to confess I felt my spine shiver as I read this article. You hear everyday about Singapore is such a safe place, when such things are actually going on. 6000 is not a small figure when it comes to the number of websites. You get a frightening idea of how much these radical ideals have spread into Singapore. You cannot really blame the internet here. It has, like most systems, its pros and cons. On the good side, it magically connects people and truly globalises our world. On the bad side, it connects bad people and globalises terror as well. We can't implement any feasible changes to the Internet. The blame of course should fall on those spreading such ideals, as once these ideals begin to characterize actions, we might just find ourselves in chaos.
I appreciate and admire the attempts of the Muis to curb this flow and interchange of radical and terrorist-related ideals. It does seem the most effective measure. Educate the people, and hope that they follow. I hope and believe that such ideals will never gain a foothold in any community, and they don't deserve to anyway. It is mentioned in this article that the youth have specially been educated on the issue. This is supremely important; the youth is the future, and they are at the age where they learn the most. Thus it is important that they learn what is right. I also admire individuals like Mr Hassan who, by writing books and blogs to raise awareness on the topic,are making significant contributions to making Singapore a safer place for me and you.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Dare To Step Outside The Familiar In Education (SUBMISSION )
Link: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/173754.asp
Source: Today Newspaper
Written By: Lee U-Wen
Date Published: February 24, 2007
-----------------------
Summary of Article:
According to A*Star chairman Philip Yeo, Singapore cannot afford to have its brightest students educated in only a few top schools. He stated the need for diversity, in both the talents of youngsters as well the system of education in Singapore. He encouraged parents to be daring enough to place their children in an unfamiliar system and to not conform to the socio-educational norms. He feels that the wider the education system, the better the development of talent and in the future, the better Singapore will be in terms of responding and competing globally. Mr Yeo has also agreed to talks and further discussions about his topic, as well to passing education-related advice to students.
My View:
Mr Philip Yeo is politically spot-on here. I agree with his implication that our education system will be one-dimensional if the brightest only interact with the brightest. If academically good students can go to non-top schools, they can interact and mingle with other students and this will increase exposure for both parties and make their viewpoints more wholesome. This will lead to Singapore being more competitive globally, yes. The idea sounds very nice. But in my opinion, it is not feasible.
Yes, the education system can easily be enhanced- new schemes / programmes are emerging almost daily - or moulded. But what is too rigid right now is the mindset of most parents. A typical Singaporean parent would dismiss Mr Yeo’s appeal to him/her to be bold and send his/her child to a non-top school as an “easy to say, but difficult to do lah “ case. So do I.
I study in what is considered to be a top school. When I got my PSLE results, I only considered going to top schools. To me, anything else appeared to be a step down. Now this article has made me think, would going to a non-top school made me a better person? Perhaps. Would it have been better for Singapore. Perhaps. Would it have been better for me. I don’t think so. When I apply for a job, this is something that counts. The interviewers ask you, “ Where did obtain your secondary school education?” Stating any low-ranked school and “ Raffles Institution “ will yield different results. You can tell them what Mr Yeo has said, but they won’t care. To them, the major concern is the running of their company. Similarly, the major concern of parents and students is not their country. How many people here care about how Singapore will compete globally in the future when enrolling their children? To say “a few” would be an overestimation.
A good parent will always think about his CHILD’s well-being and future, not that of Singapore, before anything else, whatever Mr Yeo and supporters of his argument might say. And it is only logical that going to a top school will result in a top future for a student.
Source: Today Newspaper
Written By: Lee U-Wen
Date Published: February 24, 2007
-----------------------
Summary of Article:
According to A*Star chairman Philip Yeo, Singapore cannot afford to have its brightest students educated in only a few top schools. He stated the need for diversity, in both the talents of youngsters as well the system of education in Singapore. He encouraged parents to be daring enough to place their children in an unfamiliar system and to not conform to the socio-educational norms. He feels that the wider the education system, the better the development of talent and in the future, the better Singapore will be in terms of responding and competing globally. Mr Yeo has also agreed to talks and further discussions about his topic, as well to passing education-related advice to students.
My View:
Mr Philip Yeo is politically spot-on here. I agree with his implication that our education system will be one-dimensional if the brightest only interact with the brightest. If academically good students can go to non-top schools, they can interact and mingle with other students and this will increase exposure for both parties and make their viewpoints more wholesome. This will lead to Singapore being more competitive globally, yes. The idea sounds very nice. But in my opinion, it is not feasible.
Yes, the education system can easily be enhanced- new schemes / programmes are emerging almost daily - or moulded. But what is too rigid right now is the mindset of most parents. A typical Singaporean parent would dismiss Mr Yeo’s appeal to him/her to be bold and send his/her child to a non-top school as an “easy to say, but difficult to do lah “ case. So do I.
I study in what is considered to be a top school. When I got my PSLE results, I only considered going to top schools. To me, anything else appeared to be a step down. Now this article has made me think, would going to a non-top school made me a better person? Perhaps. Would it have been better for Singapore. Perhaps. Would it have been better for me. I don’t think so. When I apply for a job, this is something that counts. The interviewers ask you, “ Where did obtain your secondary school education?” Stating any low-ranked school and “ Raffles Institution “ will yield different results. You can tell them what Mr Yeo has said, but they won’t care. To them, the major concern is the running of their company. Similarly, the major concern of parents and students is not their country. How many people here care about how Singapore will compete globally in the future when enrolling their children? To say “a few” would be an overestimation.
A good parent will always think about his CHILD’s well-being and future, not that of Singapore, before anything else, whatever Mr Yeo and supporters of his argument might say. And it is only logical that going to a top school will result in a top future for a student.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)