Aviva Open Singapore 2007

Yes, tiny Singapore will even be more crowded by around 2025 as we intend to increase the population by another 50% to about 6.5 million, in order to keep the economy going and maintain a high standard of living. There will be more skyscrapers, not unlike in Hong Kong now.

But the public services and the environment will keep pace with high standards and Singapore already has plans, some already being implemented, to transform the Garden City even more beautiful and to include the water bodies as part of our island landscape for rest and recreation.

There are many places in the world, big and extensive, but few would like to live in for various reasons, some of which concern the standard of public services, the schools, markets; the condition of the roads; an efficient transportation system; the standard of healthcare, hygiene, cleanliness, security; the availability of amenities, etc, etc.

It is not of much use if you live in a big country, in a big house but when you step out of it, you fear that you are not safe, well protected. Gangsters may gun you down, snatch thieves may just zoom by you on their motorcycles to grab your personal belongings. Crime rate is high. Added to this are the social habits of the residents, whether they spit about the place, whether they just throw their rubbish at random, etc, etc.

That may be one reason why X Ball chooses to retire in Australia, intead of remaining in Malaysia!

 

I think now the sand are more urgently required for constructing the new buildings, the IR resorts both at Marina Bay (Sands) and Sentosa (Genting) as well as for the new financial hub.

Indonesia's sudden prohibition has certainly surprised us as not only our construction activities have been slowed down but the livelihood of Indonesian workers is also adversely affected. Our government has released its stockpile of sand and it appears that we are now importing from other neighbouring countries to ease the situation and to stabilise prices.

Meanwhile, Singapore is looking into changing its method of construction with the use of more steel structures instead of relying on cement which requires sand to produce.

Hopefully Indonesia will ease its restrictions and bring the situation back to normal.

 

Have you ever asked your sister why they made such a "big" mistake?

 

We don't know who he/she is, not even the exact location in China as profiled!

On the other hand, we know Yannie quite well from so many of her postings. We have even seen her photographs, the place where she lives, etc and therefore we can relate to her much better. Maybe LDQ can do likewise?

 

Wah Indra! Terima Kasi sa-tinggi tinggi!
Such compliments from a TH fan will inspire us to do even better.

BTW, TH has many fans in Singapore as well. When he went to our schools to demonstrate his skills during his relatively short stay here some years ago, the boys and girls just fell head over heels for him!

Only wished you could come and join us, not only for the Aviva Open, but also a BC "Makan" Get-together on semi-finals night.

 

Unlike many other developing countries that newly attained independence from their colonial masters, Singapore chose not to play on "nationalism" . Some other countries tried to go it their own way by destroying whatever they have inherited from them and tried to emphasize their own culture, their own language.

Fortunately our pioneer leaders were more insightful and retained English as not only the business and education language but as a means also to bond the various races through a common 'neutral' language. Since Singapore is predominantly Chinese, it could have chosen Chinese to the detriment of the other races.

But this stroke of genius by retaining English as the main medium of communication actually helped propelled Singapore into the First World way ahead of others of more or less similar colonial background. Instead of fighting our colonial masters, we cooperated with them and pleased them by retaining English as part of our heritage.

For English is the most spoken word in the world in that many countries speak it to communicate with each other. Those countries without a fluent usage of English will find their development hindered. Thankfully many of our pioneer leaders were educated in the West, in prestigious UK universities in particular.

 

I don't quite agree with your friend.

On the other hand, many more young people in Singapore are bilingual. In other words, they can write and speak, and certainly comprehend and converse in both English and Mandarin for the Chinese. Much better than my generation which seemed to rely mainly on one language, either English or Mandarin.

Of course if you are referring to the standard or level of proficiency, it is a different matter altogether. Quite naturally, if one has to spend a similar amount of time to study two languages instead of one, a very high standard cannot be achieved in both. It also depends on the student's interest and abilities. Very good students have the opportunity to study 'higher' Chinese as Singapore's policy is also catered to the very talented, not only the average. And the curriculum is constantly reviewed to enhance the teaching of Chinese and to make hitherto disinterested students interested.

The learning of dialects is now left mainly to the parents or grandparents who will also transmit traditions, beliefs, practices and unique cultures to the young and not just left to the schools. Interested young people can also learn culture from the internet, where information is abundant. They can also view DVD movies in dialects in private.

A foreigner can easily learn about the cultures of the world, including the Chinese culture, if he is interested and can even go on to pursue a doctorate in the study of it. He will then know much, much more about the Chinese culture than many Chinese do. So you don't need to be a Chinese to know about Chinese culture. Surely one must have come across a non-Chinese who is a professor of Chinese in some well-known and highly regarded universities.

Interestingly, a recent survey has found that almost 250 million Chinese, mainly farmers, in China do not know how to read or write Chinese. Although they can converse verbally they are illiterate in Chinese but this does not prevent them from knowing and learning Chinese culture as they are living and practising it in their homes as taught by their elders and in their interaction with their neighbours and countrymen.

Singapore has long discouraged the use of too many Chinese dialects as it creates divisions and sometimes confusion. The learning of Mandarin is good enough to bring the Chinese community together to understand a common language as the written form is the same for all Chinese dialects.

In fact the environment for learning the two different languages in Singapore has improved over the years with more interesting programmes on TV and the advent of the internet. The Chinese newspapers make it easier by using simplier language to attract more readers. Even the English-speakers are interested to watch Mandarin serials and sing Chinese Karaoke songs and thus are able to learn the language quicker.

China's economic boom has given Mandarin learning more meaning (Unlike Taiwan which uses Hokkien as well, China uses Mandarin only) and our students tend to benefit in this respect. Our bilingual educational policy has now created another advantage for our people, aside from English at the very beginning of our economic development. Our students now better understand and value more what they have been put through!

So rather than the policies making our young people pay a high price and causing disunity, they have prepared our young for the challenges ahead, though not perfectly but at least given them a chance to face the issues and continue to learn from there.

Now the challenge for us is how to make Singaporeans accept more cosmopolitianism to enhance our economical well-being and bring everything possible to a new high. Just like the dynamism and cosmopilitan culture one finds in New York and London.