While having a discussion with a forummer here on politics and history it dawned on me the poor grasp of history by Singaporeans. Much of the blame rest with the Govt and the media while rest must surely rest with us.
I recalled an article from Kent Ridge Common presumably by student/s who have access to materials and libraries and who are required by academic rigour to verify materials.
http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=5638
The article is great but there is a clear error and it is significant and it is in bold and underlined. Anyone can tell what is wrong?
Current election dates a deterrent to youth participation
(photo credits:WhyOhGee)
By Zack and minor contributions/editing from Kelvin Teo.
Zack (not his real name) works for an organization that collaborates closely with a Singapore government ministry on a project basis. He is passionate about bringing changes to the land he calls his country and home. He works tirelessly in his own capacity to help bring about changes that he hopes will one day benefit future generations. He does not like to talk about his contributions, but rather lets his feet do the talking.
Dr James Gomez pointed out in a public forum entitled:”Youth in Politics: Southeast Asia and Singapore” a trend that alleges a huge degree of political apathy amongst our youths. Gomez attributed this to our historical past, alluding to the Hock Lee bus riots that saw the participation of politically-active chinese middle schools and Nanyang University students. It isn’t wrong to say that the youth of today are the agents of change for tomorrow, but unfortunately, the conditions in Singapore currently do not have the fertile soil to sow the seeds of youth participation to bear the fruits of change for tomorrow.
I elect to focus the angle of my argument on the unfavorable dates in which the elections are held, which deter our youths’ participation in the events leading up to Polling Day. For the 2001 General Elections, the Nomination Day was on 25 October and the actual Polling Day was on 3 November and for the 2006 General Elections, the Nomination Day was on 27 April and the actual Polling Day was on 6 May.
In terms of schooling calender, the months of April to May and October to November are the most unfavorable. During that period, students will be busy revising for their examinations. During the 2006 General Elections, the final examinations for my university modules lasted until 3-4 days before Polling Day. As much as I wanted to attend an election rally, I ended up being bogged down by the heavy content of my modules. After my last paper, my professor came up to me and asked how was the paper. My cynical reply was that his paper was okay, but the date was problematic – it was agonizing close to the elections. The professor fell silent and gave me a wry smile. I must admit that I was quite cynical of the political development process in Singapore, and I considered myself among those youths who wanted to migrate. However, I had the good fortune of attending the final Workers’ Party rally at Serangoon stadium. It was a jam-packed atmosphere, but my outlook totally changed when Mr Low Thia Khiang led our national pledge. The icing on the cake was the “Ole, Ole, Ole!” chants that revived my childhood memories of the camaraderie amongst Singaporean football supporters at matches involving our national team at our Grand Old Lady (National Stadium). I thought this show of passion will be buried away for good, but I had least expect it to be revived in a rally such as this. The awe-inspiring air made me re-consider my options, convincing me to stay behind and work towards changes in every possible way that I could muster. However, it could have been different had my examinations finished later. I might have gone ahead and be a ‘quitter’ so to speak. I considered myself among the lucky few who could manage to soak in the atmosphere during elections time, but I cannot say the same for my other classmates who had to mug for their final examinations.
Narration of Kelvin’s experience
I had to help tutor a junior friend of mine who happened to live near Potong Pasir. My junior was preparing was for his General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations. I vaguely remembered it was the late October period. His daily routine was to study at the McDonald’s cafe at Potong Pasir, and I would come along and help him when I have the time. Most of his days was spent revising for his coming examinations. I could recall there was one night when Mr Chiam See Tong came in and and had a photo session with with my junior. His contesting candidate, Sitoh Yih Pin arrived moments later and had another photo session with him. So, my junior showed some good measure of fairness to both candidates by savoring the experience of a photo session with both of them. However, is that encounter even considered soaking in the atmosphere of elections? I think not, especially when he is studying the whole day, oblivious to what is happening around him, and then say “cheese!” for a few seconds in front of the camera with Chiam and Sitoh. That is really unfortunate, especially considering the fact that the elections period is a good time for our youths to soak in the atmosphere, but it has to fall during the busy part of their academic schedule.
The next elections
The typical conspiracy theorist will say:”Oh the election dates are deliberately set because the government has learnt well from the past where the Chinese middle school and Nanyang University students were so actively involved in local politics, so the dates have to be fixed at a time when they are busy preparing for their examinations.” Whatever the ostensible reasons for the previous two General Elections dates, the busiest period merely takes up four months (April to May, October to November) in a year. Which means the more favorable periods take up the majority part of the year. The best periods for youth involvement would be during the holidays (June, December) and the months close to the date of school reopening (January, July). However, let’s look ahead in anticipation of the next General Elections. Hopefully, it will fall during a more favorable period when our youths will be able to soak in the atmosphere and participate in the political process without worrying for their studies.
I recalled an article from Kent Ridge Common presumably by student/s who have access to materials and libraries and who are required by academic rigour to verify materials.
http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=5638
The article is great but there is a clear error and it is significant and it is in bold and underlined. Anyone can tell what is wrong?
Current election dates a deterrent to youth participation
(photo credits:WhyOhGee)
By Zack and minor contributions/editing from Kelvin Teo.
Zack (not his real name) works for an organization that collaborates closely with a Singapore government ministry on a project basis. He is passionate about bringing changes to the land he calls his country and home. He works tirelessly in his own capacity to help bring about changes that he hopes will one day benefit future generations. He does not like to talk about his contributions, but rather lets his feet do the talking.
Dr James Gomez pointed out in a public forum entitled:”Youth in Politics: Southeast Asia and Singapore” a trend that alleges a huge degree of political apathy amongst our youths. Gomez attributed this to our historical past, alluding to the Hock Lee bus riots that saw the participation of politically-active chinese middle schools and Nanyang University students. It isn’t wrong to say that the youth of today are the agents of change for tomorrow, but unfortunately, the conditions in Singapore currently do not have the fertile soil to sow the seeds of youth participation to bear the fruits of change for tomorrow.
I elect to focus the angle of my argument on the unfavorable dates in which the elections are held, which deter our youths’ participation in the events leading up to Polling Day. For the 2001 General Elections, the Nomination Day was on 25 October and the actual Polling Day was on 3 November and for the 2006 General Elections, the Nomination Day was on 27 April and the actual Polling Day was on 6 May.
In terms of schooling calender, the months of April to May and October to November are the most unfavorable. During that period, students will be busy revising for their examinations. During the 2006 General Elections, the final examinations for my university modules lasted until 3-4 days before Polling Day. As much as I wanted to attend an election rally, I ended up being bogged down by the heavy content of my modules. After my last paper, my professor came up to me and asked how was the paper. My cynical reply was that his paper was okay, but the date was problematic – it was agonizing close to the elections. The professor fell silent and gave me a wry smile. I must admit that I was quite cynical of the political development process in Singapore, and I considered myself among those youths who wanted to migrate. However, I had the good fortune of attending the final Workers’ Party rally at Serangoon stadium. It was a jam-packed atmosphere, but my outlook totally changed when Mr Low Thia Khiang led our national pledge. The icing on the cake was the “Ole, Ole, Ole!” chants that revived my childhood memories of the camaraderie amongst Singaporean football supporters at matches involving our national team at our Grand Old Lady (National Stadium). I thought this show of passion will be buried away for good, but I had least expect it to be revived in a rally such as this. The awe-inspiring air made me re-consider my options, convincing me to stay behind and work towards changes in every possible way that I could muster. However, it could have been different had my examinations finished later. I might have gone ahead and be a ‘quitter’ so to speak. I considered myself among the lucky few who could manage to soak in the atmosphere during elections time, but I cannot say the same for my other classmates who had to mug for their final examinations.
Narration of Kelvin’s experience
I had to help tutor a junior friend of mine who happened to live near Potong Pasir. My junior was preparing was for his General Certificate of Education (GCE) examinations. I vaguely remembered it was the late October period. His daily routine was to study at the McDonald’s cafe at Potong Pasir, and I would come along and help him when I have the time. Most of his days was spent revising for his coming examinations. I could recall there was one night when Mr Chiam See Tong came in and and had a photo session with with my junior. His contesting candidate, Sitoh Yih Pin arrived moments later and had another photo session with him. So, my junior showed some good measure of fairness to both candidates by savoring the experience of a photo session with both of them. However, is that encounter even considered soaking in the atmosphere of elections? I think not, especially when he is studying the whole day, oblivious to what is happening around him, and then say “cheese!” for a few seconds in front of the camera with Chiam and Sitoh. That is really unfortunate, especially considering the fact that the elections period is a good time for our youths to soak in the atmosphere, but it has to fall during the busy part of their academic schedule.
The next elections
The typical conspiracy theorist will say:”Oh the election dates are deliberately set because the government has learnt well from the past where the Chinese middle school and Nanyang University students were so actively involved in local politics, so the dates have to be fixed at a time when they are busy preparing for their examinations.” Whatever the ostensible reasons for the previous two General Elections dates, the busiest period merely takes up four months (April to May, October to November) in a year. Which means the more favorable periods take up the majority part of the year. The best periods for youth involvement would be during the holidays (June, December) and the months close to the date of school reopening (January, July). However, let’s look ahead in anticipation of the next General Elections. Hopefully, it will fall during a more favorable period when our youths will be able to soak in the atmosphere and participate in the political process without worrying for their studies.