speak mandarin campaign, a tentative moment

every year around this time when the speak mandarin campaign is launched, my non chinese friends would feel a little uneasy. there is a little tentativeness in our daily contacts. to the minorities, a speak mandarin campaign always evokes that kind of unfamiliar feelings, that the majority are at it again. singapore is going to be a chinese country. mandarin is emphasised again. and who knows, it may become our national language, replacing english. the sensitivity and apprehension over the speak mandarin campaign is expected. can't say it is understandable after so many years and explanations of why there is a need to conduct this campaign. it is to rebuild the cultural ballast into a people that has lost it. many chinese in singapore have lost that chineseness in them. from a certain perspective it is good, becoming more singaporean and more international. but from another angle, it undercuts all the roots and history of that person, what he is or was. this, among all races, not looking at it from a racist viewpoint, is not a welcome thing as the person no longer knows who he is. he loses his bearing once he has lost his anchor to a fixed point, like a ship floating aimlessly in the ocean. it is ok as long as it is moving and heading towards a destination. but a time will come when it has to come to rest and not able to settle down in a place. the 'who am i' question will pop up sooner or later. the majority of the chinese in the republic are very comfortable in the english language and western culture. and this is seen as undesirable if it goes too far. the govt feels that it is important to arrest this slide and a speak mandarin campaign becomes a tool to serve this purpose. there are also other reasons for it. the economic reason for facilitating communication and commerce are most often quoted. but speaking mandarin will only be a social and commercial interest. singapore will forever be an english speaking nation, a language that is a leveller to all the races. the minorities should have no fear on this regard. they are not expected or force to speak mandarin. why no speak tamil campaign or speak malay campaign? if there is an erosion in the two communities with the same problems facing the chinese community, i think their leaders will raise the issue at the appropriate time to protect the identities and cultural ballasts of the respective comunities.

comcare has $500,000,000

the govt has given comcare an initial fund of $500 million. and this will be increased to $1 billion. now this is not a small sum of money to start with. assuming that there are only 500 families in trouble, comcare could give them $1 mil each and make these 500 families instant millionaires and very happy. or if there are 10,000 families in trouble, each family can receive $50,000 and most of their living expense problems will be solved for the next 10 years if they spend $5,000 a year. we are indeed a very rich nation and the money in comcare sure can help many singaporeans who are facing financial difficulties. if comcare simply close their eyes and give out the money at $50,000 a family, there will now be 10,000 very happy and grateful families in singapore. guaranteed support for a good, benevolent and compassionate govt. the fact that with so much money and nothing heard, no statistics to say how many have benefitted from comcare, it appears that not many people are benefitting from the govt's generosity. it will be good and timely for comcare to quickly hand out the money and show some figures on the good they have done for the people in need.

handcuff! an old mindset?

the thought of being handcuffed by the police or by anyone, is chilling. the deprivation of freedom and losing the ability to fend for oneself. a sense of helplessness. this issue has received some publicity recently after someone forgot to top up his petrol tank at the causeway. a criminal offence, yes. but the offence is non violent in nature. it could be an act of forgetfulness, or an attempt to cheat if one can get away with it to save a few dollars. and the culprit would surrender his identity card to be registered and can be expected to report to the police station or be served a summon to appear in court. would that be enough instead of handcuffing the offender and sending him by police car, escorted by policemen all the way to the police station? why is handcuffing an offender so necessary in a minor infringement of the law? can this practice be changed in view of the circumstances and the nature of the offence? i have seen young men, or boys, selling pirated vcds in makeshift stalls. they did not make any attempt to run when the police came. after taking down their particulars, they too were handcuffed. can the law be less harsh on such petty crime offenders who have no need to be violent or to runaway? they knew that they would be required to pay a fine and that's it. or maybe they did not want to pay the fine and be willing to spend a night in the cell. would there be a rethink on this practice of handcuffing minor offence violations? the law does not hang every criminal and neither does the law sentence everyone to imprisonment.

the nccs' proposal

the nccs' proposal to make all singaporeans pay $300 instead of $100 for entering the casino is pure arrogance and selfish interest. if they want to make their believers pay why must they drag in all the non believers and people of other religions into their scheme? for many years, religious groups and other non govt organisations have been imposing their values and beliefs on innocent singaporeans without the public knowing what hits them. they have been articulating, canvassing, pressurising and influencing public policies and decisions and have got away with them at the expense of the ignorant masses. the public must stand up to such arrogance and abuses of privilege positions to affect their lives and to their detriment. they must not allow any interest group, for whatever preconceived values and ideas and beliefs, to dictate policies to affect them without their consent. it is an infringement of the freedom and rights of the individuals and the citizens. the message must be clear. no interest group, no matter what their guises, can be allowed to dictate things that affect people outside the group.

the opposition is coming to town

a big battle will be fought between the opposition and the pap in this coming general election. it can never be a better time for the opposition to make a dent against the pap. a new leader at the helm, a new team, social unhappiness, questionable policies that affect the people badly, will make a difference to the result this time round. the opposition so far can be seen to be able to put up a credible team to contest a grc. whether there are more decent and respectable candidates in their drawers is still unknown. but sylvia lim and a few of the new faces are credible enough to contest and win a grc. provided they do not try to crash against a solid wall. and no stupid cranks. on the side of pap, one can easily count a handful of weak ministers, the fading stars, that will be easier target to strike. not george yeo in aljunid. george is still quite a respectable leader and has many good years to go. the opposition would have to strategise their battle carefully and hit at the weakest grc to gain that sought after comparative advantage. it will be healthier for the politics of the island if a couple of grcs can be won by the opposition.