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Chitchat Top 5 Primary Schools In Zikapore Do Not Offer m&d And Keling As Second Language!

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
p1-696x464.jpg


Mainstream media reported last week that “parents hoping to place their six-year-olds in five of the most popular primary schools this year may face a ballot next week.”

The 5 most popular schools mentioned in the article are CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Nanyang Primary, Nan Hua Primary, Red Swastika School and Catholic High School.

What it failed to mention is that none of the top five schools offer Malay or Tamil as a second language and that students who wish to take Malay or Tamil as a second language in any of these schools will not be able to do so.

This is according to MOE’s website, which lists that all five schools only offer Chinese as a second language.

It is curious why this isn’t considered newsworthy by mainstream media, which interestingly interviewed and carried a quote by a parent who successfully registered his daughter at Red Swastika School last week.

The parent, communications professional Ow Yong Weng Leong, said to the Straits Times: “The school offers Higher Chinese from Primary 1, so I hope it will help my daughter in becoming bilingual as she currently speaks English more.”

According to salary.sg, the 15 best primary schools in Singapore (ranked according to MOE statistics of how oversubscribed each school is) in 2016 were:

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)
St. Joseph’s Institution Junior
Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary)
St. Andrew’s Junior School
Nanyang Primary School
Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
Catholic High School
Maris Stella High School
Chij St. Nicholas Girls’ School
Tao Nan School
St. Hilda’s Primary School
Ai Tong School


Of these 15 schools, only 8 offer Malay and Tamil as second languages. Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Catholic High School, Maris Stella High School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Tao Nan School and Ai Tong School only offer Chinese as a second language.

http://www.theindependent.sg/no-spo...or-tamil-in-singapores-top-5-primary-schools/
 

The_Hypocrite

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
uh why must these schools offer m&d and ah neh language? the majority students are cina right? so offer m&d and ah neh language for what? waste of resources...I also hope singkieland change the constitution and remove malay as a national language,,,hardly any singkies besides the m&d speak malay,,,freaking obsolete,,,The national language should be English,,as all races will have to speak it and its an outside language,,just like in ah neh land,,,,English is the language that unify the ah nehs,,if not india would now be a dozen countries and its people will not spread around the globe like parasites
 

grandtour

Alfrescian
Loyal
p1-696x464.jpg


Mainstream media reported last week that “parents hoping to place their six-year-olds in five of the most popular primary schools this year may face a ballot next week.”

The 5 most popular schools mentioned in the article are CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Nanyang Primary, Nan Hua Primary, Red Swastika School and Catholic High School.

What it failed to mention is that none of the top five schools offer Malay or Tamil as a second language and that students who wish to take Malay or Tamil as a second language in any of these schools will not be able to do so.

This is according to MOE’s website, which lists that all five schools only offer Chinese as a second language.

It is curious why this isn’t considered newsworthy by mainstream media, which interestingly interviewed and carried a quote by a parent who successfully registered his daughter at Red Swastika School last week.

The parent, communications professional Ow Yong Weng Leong, said to the Straits Times: “The school offers Higher Chinese from Primary 1, so I hope it will help my daughter in becoming bilingual as she currently speaks English more.”

According to salary.sg, the 15 best primary schools in Singapore (ranked according to MOE statistics of how oversubscribed each school is) in 2016 were:

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)
St. Joseph’s Institution Junior
Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary)
St. Andrew’s Junior School
Nanyang Primary School
Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
Catholic High School
Maris Stella High School
Chij St. Nicholas Girls’ School
Tao Nan School
St. Hilda’s Primary School
Ai Tong School


Of these 15 schools, only 8 offer Malay and Tamil as second languages. Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Catholic High School, Maris Stella High School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Tao Nan School and Ai Tong School only offer Chinese as a second language.

http://www.theindependent.sg/no-spo...or-tamil-in-singapores-top-5-primary-schools/

Whats the population percentage of Indian? 7%. Malay? 15%. U want to spread the teaching and student resources so thin just for the sake of boasting right that every school offer tamil and malay languages?

Moreover, look at the names of the schools. Tao Nan Ai Tong Nanyang and other chinese sounding schools etc are former chinese schools with building money donated by chinese philanthropists, chinese communities, hokkien huay kuan associations etc etc. The rest are religion affiliated schools with building money donated by respective churches and fellow worshippers.

When it comes to leeching the most and contributing the least, no one beats Indians. How many schools are name after an indian or hindu name? Indians sure know how to whine and complain the loudest and gain the most leverage and advantage through their race cards and victim cards. Indians are the highest income group of all races and yet they are also the most self centred and stingiest race when it comes to donation and giving back to the society.
 

borom

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Mark my words, it may offer T_ _ _ _ _g instead in the future (while Chinese dialects are still forbidden in our TV)
 

JHolmesJr

Alfrescian
Loyal
malay and tamil?

who fuck cares…..are we training our kids to be despatch riders and hdb cleaners like moktar?

the cunt john tan will back me on this.
 

whoami

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
malay and tamil?

who fuck cares…..are we training our kids to be despatch riders and hdb cleaners like moktar?

the cunt john tan will back me on this.

Fret not. Soon foreigners will take over those jobs. Prcs n india
 

The_Hypocrite

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
And how many students of these schools are of malay and tamil race? no way chinese will take a 2nd language in m&d and ah neh language,,,stupid article written by left wing bleeding heart liberal fuckwits


malay and tamil?

who fuck cares…..are we training our kids to be despatch riders and hdb cleaners like moktar?

the cunt john tan will back me on this.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
And how many students of these schools are of malay and tamil race? no way chinese will take a 2nd language in m&d and ah neh language,,,stupid article written by left wing bleeding heart liberal fuckwits

Ability to learn language need not hinge on race - English is not the native tongue of the Chinese majority yet we all learn to speak it to a varying degree of ability. Its about aptitude and sadly the majority Chinese seem to give the impression that they struggle with Mandarin when it is identified as a unifying language of the Chinese (even Old Man's grandson did).

Surely you've heard about how ang mohs will look at singkies and say "you speak English very well" because they dont necessarily associate Chinese people with the ability to converse in a language that is foreign to them based on race alone.

Arguably Hindi has more relevance than Tamil because it is also a unifying language (regardless of your prejudices against the sub-continent).

Currently kids on the gifted programme (ie Chinese kids) learn Malay as part of their curriculum and MFA joiners must also learn Malay. CCS also tried to speak in Malay at the last GE after winning. So as much as you may see little relevance or utility your political masters seem to know differently.

Ask John Tan - all his kids are in the gifted programme in SAP schools.

https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/language-programmes/

AT Sec School there is also Arabic offered:


Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS)

An Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS) has been introduced in Anderson Secondary School, Bukit Panjang Government High School and Tanjong Katong Secondary School as a niche area. The four-year programme will be offered to pupils who take up Higher Malay (HML), and aims to deepen their understanding and appreciation of Malay language, history and culture.

Third Languages
A total of eight Third Languages are offered. They are the Malay (Special Programme), Chinese (Special Programme), Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. Eligible pupils who are successfully admitted via the DSA-Sec Exercise must also apply for Third Language(s) during the S1 Option Exercise if they wish to take up a Third Language.

Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme)

Malay (Special Programme)[MSP] is offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their MTL at PSLE.

Chinese (Special Programme)[CSP] is offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Chinese/ Chinese as their MTL at PSLE.

The programme will prepare pupils for the MSP/CSP examination at GCE ‘O’ Level.

Pupils offering MSP/CSP will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside school curriculum time either in their own secondary school (if the school offers it) or at the nearest MSP/CSP centre. Please refer to the list of schools offering MSP/CSP and zonal centres (1.1mb .pdf).

Pupils can apply for MSP/CSP online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies at the MSP/CSP centres, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking MSP/CSP are eligible for the following incentives. These measures are put in place to encourage more pupils to offer these official mother tongues as Third Languages in schools.

A pupil who passes MSP/CSP at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a JC/MI will be given a concession of two points in his application to the JC/MI of his choice.

A pupil who offers MSP/CSP in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use the MSP/CSP grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission to the JC/MI.

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic as Third Languages are offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses. Pupils with the interest and inclination may apply to study either subject. To be eligible for Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic, an applicant OR his father OR his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident. Applicants for Bahasa Indonesia must not have offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their MTL at PSLE.

Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic as a Third Language is a four-year course leading to the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination.

Pupils offering Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside school curriculum time at the MOE Language Centre (MOELC) at Bishan. Please refer to the map of the Language Centre at Bishan (120kb .pdf).

Pupils can apply for Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking Bahasa Indonesia are eligible for the following incentives:

A pupil who passes Bahasa Indonesia at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a JC/MI will be given a concession of two points in his application to the JC/MI of his choice.

A pupil who offers Bahasa Indonesia in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use the Bahasa Indonesia grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission to the JC/MI.

Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)]

The Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)] is a four-year programme offered in four schools starting from Secondary Three. These schools are Hwa Chong Institution, Dunman High School, Nanyang Girls’ High School and River Valley High School. All pupils in the BSP(C) will learn about contemporary China, and be able to relate to the West over the four years. BSP(C) pupils are encouraged to offer H1 or H2 China Studies in Chinese (CSC) at the GCE ‘A’ Level, whilst scholars will offer either (a) H2 CSC or (b) H2 Chinese Language and Literature and H1 CSC. In addition, BSP(C) pupils can look forward up to six months of immersion in China and up to two weeks in a Western country. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the BSP(C) will be considered for the Special Assistance Plan Scholarships (SAP) for BSP(C).

Regional Studies Programme (RSP)

The Regional Studies Programme (RSP) is offered in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls’ (Secondary) and Victoria School. Pupils in the RSP will offer MSP or Bahasa Indonesia as a third language and learn about Southeast Asian culture and contemporary society. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the RSP will be considered for the RSP Scholarships.

Foreign Language Programmes

Pupils who are ranked among the top 10% of the PSLE cohort and who have a special ability in languages are eligible to apply to study a foreign language (i.e. French/ German/ Japanese/ Spanish) from S1.

Eligible top 10% pupils can apply for French/ German/ Japanese online upon the release of their PSLE results. Pupils opting for Japanese Language are required to have passed Higher Chinese/ Chinese at the PSLE as the standard written form of Japanese uses Kanji (Chinese characters). In the event that the number of applicants exceeds the number of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results. To be eligible for the Foreign Language Programme, the applicant OR his father OR his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident.

If selected, pupils will attend Foreign Language (French/German/Japanese/ Spanish) classes at the MOELC Bishan or MOELC Newton (120kb .pdf). The four hours of instruction are divided into two portions—a 3-hour-15 minutes once-weekly session on campus, followed by 45 minutes of online instruction to be done from home. Foreign languages are taught at:
 
Last edited:

steffychun

Alfrescian
Loyal
p1-696x464.jpg


Mainstream media reported last week that “parents hoping to place their six-year-olds in five of the most popular primary schools this year may face a ballot next week.”

The 5 most popular schools mentioned in the article are CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, Nanyang Primary, Nan Hua Primary, Red Swastika School and Catholic High School.

What it failed to mention is that none of the top five schools offer Malay or Tamil as a second language and that students who wish to take Malay or Tamil as a second language in any of these schools will not be able to do so.

This is according to MOE’s website, which lists that all five schools only offer Chinese as a second language.

It is curious why this isn’t considered newsworthy by mainstream media, which interestingly interviewed and carried a quote by a parent who successfully registered his daughter at Red Swastika School last week.

The parent, communications professional Ow Yong Weng Leong, said to the Straits Times: “The school offers Higher Chinese from Primary 1, so I hope it will help my daughter in becoming bilingual as she currently speaks English more.”

According to salary.sg, the 15 best primary schools in Singapore (ranked according to MOE statistics of how oversubscribed each school is) in 2016 were:

Anglo-Chinese School (Junior)
CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)
St. Joseph’s Institution Junior
Methodist Girls’ School (Primary)
Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary)
St. Andrew’s Junior School
Nanyang Primary School
Anglo-Chinese School (Primary)
Catholic High School
Maris Stella High School
Chij St. Nicholas Girls’ School
Tao Nan School
St. Hilda’s Primary School
Ai Tong School


Of these 15 schools, only 8 offer Malay and Tamil as second languages. Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Catholic High School, Maris Stella High School, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, Tao Nan School and Ai Tong School only offer Chinese as a second language.

http://www.theindependent.sg/no-spo...or-tamil-in-singapores-top-5-primary-schools/

We have Red Swastika School? Producing SS Nazi kids?
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
My big worry is that unlike the West, we tend to work towards a tough language curriculumn forcing the kids to spend a disappropriate amount of time. In The west those who do language tend to focus on the basics and those who are keen for higher levels can elect to do so. Indonesians Chinese kids for instance ace the Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin courses in OZ IB exams and spend more time on substantive electives.

I also prefer as we live in a Sea of Malays, that it makes sense for all kids in Kindegarten and Primary to do conversational Malay.

I am not sure if the Tamil community will agree but the language is best taught at home and let their kids do Malay or even Hindi or even French which is more meaningful. The UN and many French former colonies become opportunities for these kids. Tamil has very little commercial value.


Ability to learn language need not hinge on race - English is not the native tongue of the Chinese majority yet we all learn to speak it to a varying degree of ability. Its about aptitude and sadly the majority Chinese seem to give the impression that they struggle with Mandarin when it is identified as a unifying language of the Chinese (even Old Man's grandson did).

Surely you've heard about how ang mohs will look at singkies and say "you speak English very well" because they dont necessarily associate Chinese people with the ability to converse in a language that is foreign to them based on race alone.

Arguably Hindi has more relevance than Tamil because it is also a unifying language (regardless of your prejudices against the sub-continent).

Currently kids on the gifted programme (ie Chinese kids) learn Malay as part of their curriculum and MFA joiners must also learn Malay. CCS also tried to speak in Malay at the last GE after winning. So as much as you may see little relevance or utility your political masters seem to know differently.

Ask John Tan - all his kids are in the gifted programme in SAP schools.

https://www.moe.gov.sg/education/secondary/language-programmes/

AT Sec School there is also Arabic offered:


Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS)

An Elective Programme in Malay Language for Secondary Schools (EMAS) has been introduced in Anderson Secondary School, Bukit Panjang Government High School and Tanjong Katong Secondary School as a niche area. The four-year programme will be offered to pupils who take up Higher Malay (HML), and aims to deepen their understanding and appreciation of Malay language, history and culture.

Third Languages
A total of eight Third Languages are offered. They are the Malay (Special Programme), Chinese (Special Programme), Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. Eligible pupils who are successfully admitted via the DSA-Sec Exercise must also apply for Third Language(s) during the S1 Option Exercise if they wish to take up a Third Language.

Malay (Special Programme) / Chinese (Special Programme)

Malay (Special Programme)[MSP] is offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their MTL at PSLE.

Chinese (Special Programme)[CSP] is offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses as long as they have the interest and inclination and have not offered Higher Chinese/ Chinese as their MTL at PSLE.

The programme will prepare pupils for the MSP/CSP examination at GCE ‘O’ Level.

Pupils offering MSP/CSP will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside school curriculum time either in their own secondary school (if the school offers it) or at the nearest MSP/CSP centre. Please refer to the list of schools offering MSP/CSP and zonal centres (1.1mb .pdf).

Pupils can apply for MSP/CSP online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies at the MSP/CSP centres, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking MSP/CSP are eligible for the following incentives. These measures are put in place to encourage more pupils to offer these official mother tongues as Third Languages in schools.

A pupil who passes MSP/CSP at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a JC/MI will be given a concession of two points in his application to the JC/MI of his choice.

A pupil who offers MSP/CSP in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use the MSP/CSP grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission to the JC/MI.

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic

Bahasa Indonesia and Arabic as Third Languages are offered to all S1 pupils from Express and Normal (Academic) courses. Pupils with the interest and inclination may apply to study either subject. To be eligible for Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic, an applicant OR his father OR his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident. Applicants for Bahasa Indonesia must not have offered Higher Malay/ Malay as their MTL at PSLE.

Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic as a Third Language is a four-year course leading to the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination.

Pupils offering Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic will attend lessons twice a week, two hours per session outside school curriculum time at the MOE Language Centre (MOELC) at Bishan. Please refer to the map of the Language Centre at Bishan (120kb .pdf).

Pupils can apply for Bahasa Indonesia/ Arabic online upon the release of their PSLE results. In the event that the number of applicants exceeds that of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results.

Pupils taking Bahasa Indonesia are eligible for the following incentives:

A pupil who passes Bahasa Indonesia at the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination and who qualifies for admission to a JC/MI will be given a concession of two points in his application to the JC/MI of his choice.

A pupil who offers Bahasa Indonesia in the GCE ‘O’ Level Examination will be allowed to use the Bahasa Indonesia grade in lieu of a Humanities subject grade for admission to the JC/MI.

Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)]

The Bicultural Studies Programme (Chinese) [BSP(C)] is a four-year programme offered in four schools starting from Secondary Three. These schools are Hwa Chong Institution, Dunman High School, Nanyang Girls’ High School and River Valley High School. All pupils in the BSP(C) will learn about contemporary China, and be able to relate to the West over the four years. BSP(C) pupils are encouraged to offer H1 or H2 China Studies in Chinese (CSC) at the GCE ‘A’ Level, whilst scholars will offer either (a) H2 CSC or (b) H2 Chinese Language and Literature and H1 CSC. In addition, BSP(C) pupils can look forward up to six months of immersion in China and up to two weeks in a Western country. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the BSP(C) will be considered for the Special Assistance Plan Scholarships (SAP) for BSP(C).

Regional Studies Programme (RSP)

The Regional Studies Programme (RSP) is offered in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, Raffles Institution, Raffles Girls’ (Secondary) and Victoria School. Pupils in the RSP will offer MSP or Bahasa Indonesia as a third language and learn about Southeast Asian culture and contemporary society. Pupils who are successfully enrolled in the RSP will be considered for the RSP Scholarships.

Foreign Language Programmes

Pupils who are ranked among the top 10% of the PSLE cohort and who have a special ability in languages are eligible to apply to study a foreign language (i.e. French/ German/ Japanese/ Spanish) from S1.

Eligible top 10% pupils can apply for French/ German/ Japanese online upon the release of their PSLE results. Pupils opting for Japanese Language are required to have passed Higher Chinese/ Chinese at the PSLE as the standard written form of Japanese uses Kanji (Chinese characters). In the event that the number of applicants exceeds the number of vacancies, selection will be based on their PSLE results. To be eligible for the Foreign Language Programme, the applicant OR his father OR his mother must be a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident.

If selected, pupils will attend Foreign Language (French/German/Japanese/ Spanish) classes at the MOELC Bishan or MOELC Newton (120kb .pdf). The four hours of instruction are divided into two portions—a 3-hour-15 minutes once-weekly session on campus, followed by 45 minutes of online instruction to be done from home. Foreign languages are taught at:
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
My big worry is that unlike the West, we tend to work towards a tough language curriculumn forcing the kids to spend a disappropriate amount of time. In The west those who do language tend to focus on the basics and those who are keen for higher levels can elect to do so. Indonesians Chinese kids for instance ace the Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin courses in OZ IB exams and spend more time on substantive electives.

Sinkies have a strong command of english and chinklish because we spend a lot of time on it. My kid's mandarin tuition fees are exorbitant.

I also prefer as we live in a Sea of Malays, that it makes sense for all kids in Kindegarten and Primary to do conversational Malay.

I agree.

I am not sure if the Tamil community will agree but the language is best taught at home and let their kids do Malay or even Hindi or even French which is more meaningful. The UN and many French former colonies become opportunities for these kids. Tamil has very little commercial value.

Tamil has little commercial value because the tamil community in zikapore is shrinking. CECA will bring in the higher caste niggers from the north, not the south. Hence in recent years, hindi has gained a lot of commercial value in zikapore, especially in the banking and IT sectors.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
My big worry is that unlike the West, we tend to work towards a tough language curriculumn forcing the kids to spend a disappropriate amount of time. In The west those who do language tend to focus on the basics and those who are keen for higher levels can elect to do so. Indonesians Chinese kids for instance ace the Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin courses in OZ IB exams and spend more time on substantive electives.

I also prefer as we live in a Sea of Malays, that it makes sense for all kids in Kindegarten and Primary to do conversational Malay.

I am not sure if the Tamil community will agree but the language is best taught at home and let their kids do Malay or even Hindi or even French which is more meaningful. The UN and many French former colonies become opportunities for these kids. Tamil has very little commercial value.

Its unfortunate if the Tamil speaking community are in denial but the reality is as you have stated - there is by comparison little commercial value to be fluent in Tamil in comparison to Hindi - prime example was sending Dhanabalan over and coming back with nothing to show for it. It has been unfortunate that the of the "Indians" in Singapore dominated by the Tamil speakers when in reality they are nowhere near any kind of dominance on the sub-continent (it was last recorded over 450m Hindi speakers in comparison to about 60m Tamil speakers).

The majority of South Indians in the Gulf States for eg have also hailed from Kerala and speak Malayalee rather than Tamil (which they can understand somewhat):

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...uilds-the-new-kerala/articleshow/49201357.cms

In the long run the dominant languages for the young generation to capture in SE Asia would be Mandarin, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia (with the dominant rising middle classes) - any multilinguist will attest to how the engagement with a counterparty pivots extraodinarily when there is a common bond of language.

The additional two languages would be French and Spanish (for a global reach of opportunities) and for the very huat ones, include Russian and Arabic.

And of course nowadays, the language of coding.

If only singkie parents spent less money and resources on piano, pony-riding and ballet and equip their kids with the one ability that English speaking countries do very poorly in.

John Tan should speak with his PA kakis and ensure they get organised in the CCs to better their offspring prospects!
 
Last edited:

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
People in Mauritius take English and French in school and privately have their kids attend mother tongue classes on Saturdays. The Indians, Chinese etc do just that.

Its all about opportunity for their kids. The Tamil leaders here have failed their community fearing that it will lose its status as a National Language. Prior to MOE intervention in the 80s, the better educated Tamil parents use to enrol their kids for Malay language in schools and so did Pernakan parents.


Its unfortunate if the Tamil speaking community are in denial but the reality is as you have stated - there is by comparison little commercial value to be fluent in Tamil in comparison to Hindi - prime example was sending Dhanabalan over and coming back with nothing to show for it. It has been unfortunate that the of the "Indians" in Singapore dominated by the Tamil speakers when in reality they are nowhere near any kind of dominance on the sub-continent (it was last recorded over 450m Hindi speakers in comparison to about 60m Tamil speakers).

The majority of South Indians in the Gulf States for eg have also hailed from Kerala and speak Malayalee rather than Tamil (which they can understand somewhat):

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...uilds-the-new-kerala/articleshow/49201357.cms

In the long run the dominant languages for the young generation to capture in SE Asia would be Mandarin, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia (with the dominant rising middle classes) - any multilinguist will attest to how the engagement with a counterparty pivots extraodinarily when there is a common bond of language.

The additional two languages would be French and Spanish (for a global reach of opportunities) and for the very huat ones, include Russian and Arabic.

And of course nowadays, the language of coding.

If only singkie parents spent less money and resources on piano, pony-riding and ballet and equip their kids with the one ability that English speaking countries do very poorly in.

John Tan should speak with his PA kakis and ensure they get organised in the CCs to better their offspring prospects!
 

JohnTan

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
gatehousethetinkertailor said:
If only singkie parents spent less money and resources on piano, pony-riding and ballet and equip their kids with the one ability that English speaking countries do very poorly in.

John Tan should speak with his PA kakis and ensure they get organised in the CCs to better their offspring prospects!

I actually once gave similar feedback through the grassroots channels, but the brass have no balls to challenge the status quo. If I were in charge, kids would have to take the following subjects of engrish, mandarin, conversational m&d, basic coding and do compulsory science projects to graduate to the next level, a watered down version of the university FYP.

The minorities can go learn their precious mother tongue and take conversational chink.

I don't think kids should learn violin, piano or ballet unless they really like those activities and have a gift for it. I rather they spend more time doing sports like gym work, boxing or aerobics. That way, sinkies will be less likely to get sand kicked in their face at the beaches and less likely to be beaten up by foreigners in road rage incidents.
 

gatehousethetinkertailor

Alfrescian
Loyal
And the Mauritians also speak their own version of Creole - Morisyen so straight off the bat they can speak up to three/four languages including those of Chinese descent who are fully integrated into a Mauritian identity rather than CIMO type classification.

It is a loss for the Tamil speaking community really - other minorities within that "Indian" catchment ended up taking Malay, for better or worse, at least they had exposure. Unfortunately they too succumbed to the temptation of "racial" preservation and pushed for their regional dialects to be introduced in school which will deprive these generations of access to the fundamentals of Malay/Bahasa.

Have a glance at Ravi Menon's "An Economic History of Singapore: 1965-2065*" - albeit a fanciful imagining of what happens it does indicate the focus areas that are likely to be pursued - despite all hesitations about India, dismissing them outright means that those with their means will find avenues to park their spending power. Indonesia as the largest population also cannot be ignored.

(* “It is always wise to look ahead but difficult to look further than you can see” - Winston Churchill. Everything about the future said here is pure imagination. It does not represent in any way a forecast or projection by MAS or by me. My intention is merely to paint a plausible scenario for Singapore. I can only be sure that someone reading this in 2065 will view it as totally lacking in imagination or realism or both.)

http://www.mas.gov.sg/News-and-Publ...es/2015/An-Economic-History-of-Singapore.aspx

2011-2025: Demographic slowdown and economic restructuring

The dominant theme in the third phase of Singapore’s economic history was the overcoming of resource constraints through a significant restructuring of the economy. While Singapore had always been short of land and labour, these constraints came to a head in the 2010s.

By 2011, annual growth in the total working age population had declined to less than 3%, and continued to fall steadily over the decade.

Foreign labour, which had driven Singapore’s labour force growth since the late 1970s, was already one-third of the total workforce.
It was neither economically efficient nor socially desirable to allow the foreign workforce to expand much faster than the local workforce.
By 2020, average total labour force growth was down to 1% per annum.
The central thrust of economic strategies in the 2010s and early 2020s was therefore to shift to a productivity-driven growth model. The aim was to increase productivity growth to at least 2% per annum, from the 1.4% averaged during the 2000s.

The growth of lower-skilled foreign labour was curbed through increases in the foreign worker levy and reductions in the foreign worker dependency ratio ceilings.
Financial incentives were given to firms to undertake capital deepening and adopt technology solutions to raise productivity.
Programmes were put in place to help Singaporeans develop and master skills in new growth clusters.
While the manufacturing sector had continually undergone restructuring and moved up the value chain in the preceding five decades, this was the first time the entire economy was undergoing such a transition.

It proved particularly challenging for many traditional domestically-oriented services like retail, hospitality, construction, real estate, and social services, which had come to be heavily dependent on cheap labour over the decades.
While many firms in these sectors successfully upgraded themselves and became more efficient, there was a substantial reduction in the size of these sectors by the early 2020s.
But the decisive turnaround in the quest for productivity came when services industries with a traditionally domestic orientation, like education and healthcare, re-positioned themselves by scaling up, investing in technology and talent, and exporting their services.

The idea of Singapore as a Global School House was not new but it was pursued with renewed vigour and came to full fruition only during this period. Singapore positioned itself as a choice location for quality education for a growing Asian middle class.

By 2025, international students studying in Singapore could be awarded joint degrees from 10 of the top 20 universities in the world.
Singapore was well on its way to become the premier educational hub of Asia.
Similarly, the healthcare sector was opened up.

By 2025, Singapore had become a multi-faceted medical hub hosting the world’s top medical professionals and multi-national healthcare companies.
This led to a vibrant ecosystem that created jobs in areas from research and training to conventions for medical professionals both locally and abroad, in addition to the large and diverse number of good jobs in hospitals.
This third phase of Singapore’s economic history marked the most significant step-down in Singapore’s economic growth, with real GDP growing by 3.6% per annum. However, it also marked the painful but successful economic transition towards productivity-led growth. By 2025, the economy had matured, with productivity growth accounting for virtually all of economic growth.

2026-2040: Regional integration and technological transformation

The fourth phase of Singapore’s economic development saw the fruition of the decades-long quest for regional integration and the rise to prominence of what we refer to today as our offshore economy. This was also the period that saw widespread technological transformation and the emergence of the ideas economy.

By 2040, the global centre of economic gravity had shifted decisively to Asia.

China was by far the largest economy in the world, with per capita incomes approaching that of upper middle income countries.

India emerged as the third largest economy in the world, with the largest middle class and a global network of indigenous multinationals.

But perhaps most significant for Singapore was the emergence of Indonesia as the fastest growing economy in the world, following far-reaching economic reforms in the early 2020s.

Singapore’s high-end manufacturing and modern services benefitted significantly from trade and investment links with these Asian giants, in addition to the Unites States and the North Euro Area.

But the real game-changer was the setting up of two supra-national economic zones.

In 2028, Malaysia and Singapore got together to set up the Iskandar-Singapore Economic Zone or ISEZ: one economic system spanning two sovereign countries.

The experiment succeeded beyond expectations, providing global and regional investors an integrated production and services base that was unmatched in Southeast Asia.
In 2030, the most ambitious blueprint of the ASEAN Economic Community process came into being, with the establishment of the ASEAN Free Economic Zone, or AFEZ.

Unlike traditional economic zones like the ISEZ which were contiguous entities, the AFEZ was a network of the major cities across ASEAN connected by extensive road, rail, air, and sea links, not to mention advanced digital communications.
There was free movement of goods, services, capital, and people between these cities, which become vibrant hubs for trade and enterprise.
While the bulk of the economic benefits of the AFEZ rightly accrued to the developing economies of Indo-China, Singapore benefitted from being the nerve centre of this network with extensive backward and forward linkages between the offshore economy and the territorial economy.

The Singapore economy which had hitherto been characterised by the export of goods and services was increasingly being driven by the export of capital and people.

Singapore firms shifted a substantial volume of production offshore and increased ownership of production facilities in the AFEZ.
Increased connectivity enabled large numbers of Singaporeans to work in the AFEZ while maintaining home in Singapore.
The government partnered the private sector to build offshore satellite towns and industrial parks in the AFEZ to cater to the needs of Singapore MNCs and overseas communities.
The gross inflows of income derived from the deployment of Singapore’s capital and people abroad rose by 50% between 2026 and 2040.

For the first time, these inflows exceeded the income repatriated abroad by MNCs operating in Singapore.
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita became the more relevant measure of Singapore’s income and standard of living than just GDP per capita.
The 2020s and 2030s saw the proliferation and convergence of several technological trends that transformed economies and societies globally.

Rapid progress in digital and mobile technologies, coupled with advanced biometrics and global wi-fi access, made payments virtually costless and highly secure, precipitating an explosion in the growth of digital commerce and digital finance.
Advances in cloud computing, big data analytics, smart sensors and learning machines transformed the provision of consumer and business services, including financial, legal, auditing, consultancy, and logistics.
They also spurred a transformation in the provision of social and public services such as telemedicine, online learning, and congestion control, substantially enhancing efficiency and consumer welfare.
Singapore was well-positioned for the pervasive digitisation of the global economy that occurred in the 2020s and 2030s, mainly due to two key initiatives that it embarked on in 2015 in the drive towards productivity-led growth:

The first was the concerted national effort to build and deepen skills at all levels through extensive worker retraining programmes and subsequent introduction of the teaching of digital technology across the education system.
The second was the drive to create a Smart Nation - building critical infrastructure and capabilities in digital and sensor technologies.
By 2040, a thriving ideas economy had taken root in Singapore, with value-added embedded in ideas rather than physical form.

The creation of economic value was associated increasingly with “dematerialised products” such as telecommunications, algorithms, software, design, testing and research.
At the same time, Singapore built on its traditional strengths in the ideas economy, namely marketing, branding, and global supply chain management.
Advances in robotics and 3-D printing helped to spawn new activities in Singapore’s offshore facilities in the AFEZ:

production of space vehicles and supersonic jet engines;
additive manufacturing of components for electric cars and autonomous vehicles.
Technological advances also transformed the structure of the territorial economy.

Cutting-edge biologics to produce drugs for cancer, auto-immune diseases, congenital disorders and dementia emerged as the largest component of manufacturing.
Real-time genome sequencing for disease control started from scratch to become one of the fastest growing segments within the territorial economy.
Infrastructure financing became the largest contributor to modern services, with Singapore-based financial institutions and markets financing projects ranging from the Sino-Indian lunar complex to the pan-ASEAN nuclear fusion reactors.
During this period, regional integration and technological advances helped sustain GNI growth of 2.9% per annum and GDP growth at 2.6% per annum, a remarkable performance given the maturing of the economy. But the period was not free of crisis.

The Global Cyber Crisis of 2034 triggered the deepest recession in Singapore’s history, with the economy contracting by 8.5% that year.
The resurgence of smallpox and resultant pandemic in 2039 plunged the global economy into a recession that lasted two years, not to mention the tragic toll on human lives. It remains till today the darkest period in our nation’s history.
 
Last edited:

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
In the early 90s, couple of enterprising business chaps went to Indonesia to look at opportunities such as providing fresh greens to NTUC and our locals. Their biggest regret was not able to speak Bahasa. Around the same time, a young Malay graduate from NUS had 5 good years in starting a rice trading business in Indonesia. He had no relations or contacts there, just the Malay language and had gone there hoping start prawn farming but found rice trading instead. He is now one of the biggest rice traders in the World even outstripping our local Teochew rice traders in terms of revenue. He has an office in Geneva but resides here close to GY. Prior to GE2011, AMP / PAP approached him to stand as their MP. After consulting some people he turned them down. He told me Indonesia is the next frontier for Singaporeans and Singapore and we are right next door. Its a volume game and the have the numbers, the resources and markets. GE which is the oldest listed company in the World has a huge presence in the country across multiple sectors. They for instance control the car manufacturing and wholesale trade vertical across the entire country but keep a low profile.

We ignore Indonesia at our own economic peril.




Have a glance at Ravi Menon's "An Economic History of Singapore: 1965-2065*" - albeit a fanciful imagining of what happens it does indicate the focus areas that are likely to be pursued - despite all hesitations about India, dismissing them outright means that those with their means will find avenues to park their spending power. Indonesia as the largest population also cannot be ignored.
 

scroobal

Alfrescian
Loyal
I thought this deserved a separate post.

I read a few times to see where he was going with this. I wonder if he was flagging policies that stumbled in recent years and sending a signal to the policy wonks. Or was this a hash of his time with MOF in the policy works.
- the global school house had a number of zingers from US and OZ which left a bad taste. And most neighbouring countries have signed up with various Universities so the global school house theme sounds nice and fancy but not specific to Singapore and cost of sending students here is also high due to living cost. Might as well send them to OZ and UK.
- our early success with the regional medical hub initiative is slowly falling apart with Thailand becoming favourite with the Aussies and Kiwis. Again cost.
- setting economic zones, another area shrouded in uncertainty, Baatam, Iskandar, the ones in PRC, the failures are there for all to see.
- the challenges with tech hub etc

Though I agree that we failing to engage with certain countries will cost us as we miss out on opportunities.

Still puzzled why he painted this scenario. Faintly it might be a play for the PS MOF post.


Have a glance at Ravi Menon's "An Economic History of Singapore: 1965-2065*" - albeit a fanciful imagining of what happens it does indicate the focus areas that are likely to be pursued - despite all hesitations about India, dismissing them outright means that those with their means will find avenues to park their spending power. Indonesia as the largest population also cannot be ignored.


The idea of Singapore as a Global School House was not new but it was pursued with renewed vigour and came to full fruition only during this period. Singapore positioned itself as a choice location for quality education for a growing Asian middle class.

By 2025, international students studying in Singapore could be awarded joint degrees from 10 of the top 20 universities in the world.
Singapore was well on its way to become the premier educational hub of Asia.
Similarly, the healthcare sector was opened up.

By 2025, Singapore had become a multi-faceted medical hub hosting the world’s top medical professionals and multi-national healthcare companies.
This led to a vibrant ecosystem that created jobs in areas from research and training to conventions for medical professionals both locally and abroad, in addition to the large and diverse number of good jobs in hospitals.
This third phase of Singapore’s economic history marked the most significant step-down in Singapore’s economic growth, with real GDP growing by 3.6% per annum. However, it also marked the painful but successful economic transition towards productivity-led growth. By 2025, the economy had matured, with productivity growth accounting for virtually all of economic growth.

2026-2040: Regional integration and technological transformation

The fourth phase of Singapore’s economic development saw the fruition of the decades-long quest for regional integration and the rise to prominence of what we refer to today as our offshore economy. This was also the period that saw widespread technological transformation and the emergence of the ideas economy.

By 2040, the global centre of economic gravity had shifted decisively to Asia.

China was by far the largest economy in the world, with per capita incomes approaching that of upper middle income countries.

India emerged as the third largest economy in the world, with the largest middle class and a global network of indigenous multinationals.

But perhaps most significant for Singapore was the emergence of Indonesia as the fastest growing economy in the world, following far-reaching economic reforms in the early 2020s.

Singapore’s high-end manufacturing and modern services benefitted significantly from trade and investment links with these Asian giants, in addition to the Unites States and the North Euro Area.

But the real game-changer was the setting up of two supra-national economic zones.

In 2028, Malaysia and Singapore got together to set up the Iskandar-Singapore Economic Zone or ISEZ: one economic system spanning two sovereign countries.

The experiment succeeded beyond expectations, providing global and regional investors an integrated production and services base that was unmatched in Southeast Asia.
In 2030, the most ambitious blueprint of the ASEAN Economic Community process came into being, with the establishment of the ASEAN Free Economic Zone, or AFEZ.

Unlike traditional economic zones like the ISEZ which were contiguous entities, the AFEZ was a network of the major cities across ASEAN connected by extensive road, rail, air, and sea links, not to mention advanced digital communications.
There was free movement of goods, services, capital, and people between these cities, which become vibrant hubs for trade and enterprise.
While the bulk of the economic benefits of the AFEZ rightly accrued to the developing economies of Indo-China, Singapore benefitted from being the nerve centre of this network with extensive backward and forward linkages between the offshore economy and the territorial economy.
 
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