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5/24/2009
Shambolical sagas awaiting closures
The two sticky sagas that were the preoccupations of Singaporeans for all the wrong reasons are still alive and awaiting a proper closure. The avoidance of giving each of them a decent burial is unacceptable and shows an arrogance of power or an escapism, that given time they will fade away and forgotten. I am referring to the way the national table tennis coach was given a miss from the Coach of the Year Award that many feel he rightly deserved and the role of educating children on sexuality.
In the Liu Guodong case, a little grace and magnanimity, a little humbleness, would have gone a long way. What happened and dragging the issue for so long is pride, personal pride and pride of an organisation. For such a happy event, the winning of an Olympic silver medal to become a political tussle and the victim, as seen in the eyes of the public, was Liu Guodong, is regrettable. This impression will not go away by keeping quiet and not facing the issue. If from the beginning there was a little graciousness, a little forgiveness, there could have been a happy ending despite the little mishaps along the way. It may be a little late now, but still not impossible to have a good closure. Until then, officialdom appears to have won, but in contempt of public feelings.
Why is there no proper closing of the sexuality education saga? Until today, some sectors of the population, some organisations, still think that they have the right to invade into the role of parenting. And they think that whatever values that are good in their eyes should be taught to other people's children. And yes, they think they are the guardians, the beacons of light for the education of the young in controversial values like pre marital sex and homosexuality. And parents should shut up and leave it to them to do the job, to bring up their children.
And none of them has expressed any remorse in overstepping their roles and violating into an area that is not theirs in the first place. To some parents, this intrusion is unwelcome and offensive. Your lifestyle is your lifestyle, your own choosing. What is good, what makes you happy, is based on your own subjective morals of the good life. Other people have their own versions of the good or normal life and patronising them or chastising them that they are wrong smacks of sheer arrogance.
Parents, working with the MOE, should reclaim this right to educate their children in the values that they believed in. No group is superior and have the superior values to think that they should be the right people to do this job. This message must be made loud and clear.
The MOE should also put in place a system that will not allow individuals or groups to hijack the education programme to push through their private agendas, to implant a new set of values to the young in violation of the official objectives. So far no one seems to have done this and the cane has not been used. Would there be an inquiry on how it could have happened? We need a closure on this.
I do not understand the saga of the table tennis coach and the STTA. Why is this man so pissed off for not being awarded the coach of the year. Surely, such awards are the prerogative of the national sports organization and not something that one can squeeze out or bargain for.
ReplyDeleteSingaporeans who make lots of noise rooting for the man should pause and consider that if the tables were turned and one of ours went to China to be a coach for say, badminton and was denied an award and yet make complaints and threats of legal action, I tell you, he will be booted out of the country in no time. Also all those PRCs will side with their national association, no questions asked. That's how nationalistic they are.
In any case, the silver medal was not earned. We bought it. Those who supposedly won it for Singapore are no more true blue Singaporeans than Pasta is to Char Kway Teow. Let's face up to reality. What is a few silly medals going to do for the ordinary citizens. Yes, it's pride at work alright. But please don't give away our citizenship so easily. These people don't deserve it. They are just opportunists. We were conned by the Americans with their banking scams. Now, it seems we are also conned by the PRCs with their promises.
Frankie Tan Kim Cheng
hi frankie tan, welcome to the blog.
ReplyDeletesingaporeans are so blessed, first world status. let's not be mean or petty with little things like this. you are right to say that the medal is as good as fool's gold. wonder why first world mentality is crazy over such cheap thrill but pay so much for it.
on a personal level, making the coach happy does not cost much. be magnanimous and show to the world that we have progressed, not small minded people. fighting and quibbling with a table tennis coach to such an extent, well, beats me.
There were issues with proper closure but the Mainstream Media did not report the conclusion.
ReplyDeleteLikewise there were issues which will not reach closure forever, yet the Mainstream Media has sort of put a full stop to it.
Stories stopped, the truth went on.
Or, the truth is not out but stories went on & on.