Weird Reflections and Random Thoughts by Leong Gen

Accessing Internet:/Blogger/Reflections by LG/blog

(Thursday, August 28, 2008-)
+8:14 AM]*

# ERP3: Singapore's Brain Drain-

The Root Causes and Possible Solutions to Singapore's Brain Drain Problem

As more young Singaporeans migrate to greener pastures overseas, one must wonder why is such a situation even happening. This is termed "brain drain", as the young and bright of the nation migrates and leaves their country of birth. Singapore is experiencing such a situation, as most scholars sent overseas do not return home (back to Singapore) and continue to stay in the country they have choose to study in. Such an occurrence will definitely be detrimental to Singapore in the long run. Why do such things happen, and what can we do in order to reverse or stop such a scenario?

The point brought up by my source is that the youths of Singapore now have a relatively firm grasp of English, which makes them marketable to other countries. This was stated by no less than Minister Mentor Lee himself. However, I have to disagree with him on this point. If there is a strong cultural identity in Singapore, a strong sense of belonging to the country, a feeling that "this is my home", fostered and felt by the youth of Singapore, will they want to leave the country? Life is not all about economics and the concrete materialism; abstract ideals also play an important role.

Another key reason Singaporeans leave Singapore is the stifling political scene in Singapore. My uncle did just that. That is a climate and cloak of fear that prevents citizens from speaking our against the government. A compliant and fearful population once given freedom for extended periods of time will continue yearning for it. This might not be true for some cases, but a caged bird once released for a period of time will be addicted to freedom. Globalization allows opportunities in other countries never before existed, is an important factor in translating the yearn to migrate into reality.

What can we do to stop this outflow of local talent? It seems that the government's course of action is to import foreign talent to Singapore to bulk up the workforce and to replace those locals lost to other nations. I feel that this is a relatively shortsighted and short term solution. Not suffering Aryan complex, xenophobia or anything, but young Singaporeans born and bred here are much better culturally and socially as compared to foreigners. As for foreigners, there would have been no difference to them if they had gone to another country. The infrastructure of China and India (our two biggest markets for foreign talent) is constantly improving and twenty years down the road the Chinese and Indians will stop coming over to Singapore as their living conditions will be near or exceed Singapore standards. Reliance on others is a short term solution. The very concept of defense is also threatened as there will be few people who will serve their reservist.

The only way to stop brain drain is to remove the stifling politically-titled restrictions on the citizens of Singapore. By doing so, citizens can satisfy the abstract and idealistic half of the equation. The other half of the equation (the concrete and practical considerations) can be settled by reducing to amounts of cheap foreign talent. This will allow higher wages to be offered to the citizens of Singapore. Developing nations' salaries will get more as a result of their development and thus we can remain competitive without our citizens losing out. The very concept of brain drain is due to the unhappiness of the people with their government. If this unhappiness and dissatisfaction is removed, the problem of brain drain will be resolved.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article : Brain drain worry hits close to home

THE worry over brain drain has hit close to home for Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

Yesterday, he related this story from within his family: "I have a grandson who has just gone to MIT, he's doing economics... Fortunately for the father, he decided to apply for a Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship, which means he is bonded to come back.

"He has written to his brother, who has just got his baccalaureate results, and says: 'Don't take a scholarship'."

The older brother reasoned that the younger one, with his interest in studying IT, would have no shortage of employers wanting him later: "Any number of people will be searching for you."

The Minister Mentor, who was speaking at the Silver Industry Conference and Exhibition, did not name either grandson, but it is likely that the PSC scholar is Mr Li Hongyi, the third of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's four children.

He was awarded a PSC scholarship to study economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.

The other brother is Haoyi, who recently got his International Baccalaureate results, scoring 43 out of a possible 45.

MM Lee cited their story to illustrate just how real the threat of a brain drain is to Singapore.

"Our problem now is we have an educated population, educated in English, which makes them marketable," he said.

"Way back in the 1960s, we were net gainers because the wealthy countries, mostly whites, excluded Asians. So Malaysians, Chinese and others, Indonesians came here... Now they leave, they go to Australia and New Zealand, Canada, US, and big open countries. Our students are now being harvested from the top colleges in the US... It is a real problem," he said.

Despite the brotherly advice, it appears that MM Lee's younger grandson will be applying for a scholarship.

He told his grandfather over their Sunday lunch that he is planning to apply for an Infocomm Development Authority scholarship and do IT. "He doesn't want to work in any other," said MM Lee.

MM Lee added: "I hope he does apply and he will come back."

URL: http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-

INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=01&year=2008&date=12&docLanguage=

en&documentId=nica_ST_2008_7849681

The code ends here...
________________________________________________________________________________

(Friday, May 30, 2008-)
+3:17 AM]*

# On Democracy and Stability-

This is a commentary on Democracy for my English blog project for Term 2.

Is democracy the ideal method for stability in a society, and does it create stability at all?

Firstly, the very nature of democracy and stability needs to be established. In this essay, stability will refer to social stability, which is the lack of conflicts and events which hamper progress within a society, and political stability, which is the recognition of the government by members of the society. Economic stability will not be covered as it will require a separate set of economic systems. Democracy is a political system which political power or decisions are decided by the people, either through voting or representatives which come into power through voting. For the sake of simplicity, I will take into consideration only pure democracy. I feel that democracy creates stability, but only if the society is already homogenous to begin with.

A key tenet of democracy is that citizens have the right to vote and choose their representatives (leaders) and policies. Thus, citizens are empowered with the ability to make a change in their lives.

One key assumption of this is that mankind is rational and is innately good, and will not attempt to discriminate against or harm another human being for no morally justifiable reason. This, as history has shown innumerous time, is not always true. The majority has the upper hand in a democracy due to the sheer number of voters. This can lead to furthering the agenda of the majority, leading to discrimination within the society. An example is the implementation of the Jim Crow Laws in USA and the Northern Ireland conflict. The minority being discriminated against will not be happy and due to their lack of numbers, cannot fight for their rights in a pure democracy. This might lead to displays of violence for their course, which undermines the social stability of a country.

One interesting argument to examine is that it is impossible to appease everyone. It is extremely rare that the whole population choose a choice instead of the other ones. So, in nearly every case, there will be dissenters or people who hold different views. These people can be agents of disruption and can cause social instability. The government will then need to pacify the minorities through various means or through force (which will not be pacifying). This, however, is not desirable, as it might form an endless spiral of discrimination, then pacification/force, discrimination, pacification/force.

The only way for pure democracy to achieve long-term, or even only temporary, social stability is for the society to be extremely homogenous, to the point that the number of radicals in that country is few, due to culture and not oppression. In the history of humankind, no country has ever been able to attain that, except for Switzerland to a small extent. America has a different form of democracy, but due to a lack of common ideology between the people, it has not seen social stability.

Democracy is often thought to be the “ideal” method of governance (no thanks to America) in achieving stability. However, the stability achieved by democracy can only come with a homogenous society, united with a common ideology and with few radicals. This is, however, not very practical in the ever shrinking world, where people of different backgrounds are closer to one another than ever before. The implementation of political systems depend much on the society and the conditions already in place. Pure democracy can create stability in society, only if the society is already homogenous.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The author believes in Marxism, and is convinced that democracy is a very flawed political system that is impractical and brings along too much excess baggage economically.

The code ends here...
________________________________________________________________________________

(Thursday, March 6, 2008-)
+5:56 AM]*

# More than just cigarettes-

This is a commentary of the article posted below. This is written for my English Blog project for Term 1. The focus is "Teenage and Social Issues". Many haven't posted...and deadline is less than 9 minutes away...

What is forbidden when we are young, discouraged when we are older, but still legal? Smoking, number one in advertisements telling you to quit and assembly programs.

This article is about teenagers who smoke as an act of defiance and the shopkeepers who sell cigarettes illegally to the teenagers. By saying "I'm 18", teenagers aged from 14 and above gain access to cigarettes from shopkeepers who are not supposed to sell them to minors under 18. It is also illegal for minors to smoke too, but a short walk around your neighbourhood can make you feel as if this law is non-existent.

In my view, this is an extremely worrying "phenomenal" as such an act is blatantly illegal, for both the shopkeeper and the teenagers. Apart from the usual concern that smoking is unhealthy, I feel that there are greater societal problems apart from that.

Shopkeepers who sell cigarettes to minors are breaking the law. Is there something so wrong with our society, that even shopkeepers commit illegal acts just to earn a bit more? For provision shop owners, the profit goes directly to them, but what about the employees in big chains such as Seven-Eleven? Why do they sell cigarettes to a minor, without asking them for identification of any kind?

This could be a consequence of our society have made them have such a "couldn't care less" attitude. "Since I'm paid the same amount, why bother?"

However, the more worrying part is that minors are even smoking. The consequences like health risks and financial troubles are important, but we must also examine the cause. Peer pressure is often cited as the main reason teenagers turn to cigarettes.

Peer pressure as a reason to smoke speaks a lot about our society. Teenagers rather listen to one another than to listen to authoritative figures, like their parents or teachers. They also know that what they are doing is illegal. Such rebellious attitude is acceptable but only to a certain extent. Disregard with the law now spells trouble when they grow up. Either teenagers these days are truly revolutionary (beware ) or that our society has degraded to such an extent that the law can be ignored, even though it might be a small matter (which it is not).

A teenager quoted in the article stated that he wants to smoke because smoking "made him feel big, like an adult". I feel that society is partly responsible for such a flawed viewpoint. Our society constantly emphasise on being bigger and more mature than the people around us. This view is then warped into "You lose if you look immature". Smoking projects an image of (false) maturity in which teenagers want to emulate. This brings us back to peer pressure, albeit an indirect one.

The current state of teenage smoking in Singapore is depressing, due to negligent shopkeepers and society on teenagers. We have took action on the legislative front; its time to do the same for our society.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

499 words

Revolutionary people don't smoke cigarettes, cigars are preferred. Maybe 7-11 staff members are controlled by tobacco manufacturers? Ahhh!

Labels: eng blog

The code ends here...
________________________________________________________________________________

+5:36 AM]*

# English Blog Project Term 1 Article-

This is the article for my english blog project. As the link most probably do not work (due to a need of signing in), the whole article is reproduced here.

Taken from SPH Newslink: Click Here to access the article

So Simple to Light Up

By Samuel Lim

The Straits Times 16/05/06

Curiosity, peer pressure and the wish to rebel prompt teens to pick up smoking, they tell reporter Samuel Lim - and there are plenty of shops where they can easily get their hands on that first pack

IN SINGAPORE, you have to be 18 and above to buy cigarettes legally.

Samantha Lee, 15, in a denim skirt and pink T-shirt, bought a pack of Marlboro Menthol Lights at a coffee shop in Serangoon.

'I'm 18' was all that Mervyn Lau, 14, needed to say to get a pack of Virginia Slims from 7-Eleven.

But when Natalie Koh, 15, wanted to buy a pack of Marlboro Lights and tried to convince Mr Heng Mui Thiang, a provision shop owner in Ang Mo Kio, that she had left her identity card at home, she was rebuffed.

She was told very firmly: 'Sorry. No IC, no sale.'

Her back-up plan: 'I guess we'll just have to go to the 7-Eleven across the road instead.'

Mr Heng was one of 15 shopkeepers who asked for proof of age - out of 40 outlets licensed to sell cigarettes that The Straits Times visited.

The opposite happened when a photojournalist - armed with a large camera - accompanied members of the INCrowd on the assignment. Two underage buyers managed to purchase only one pack of cigarettes after trying at 10 different stores.

Because cigarettes are so easily obtained, some teens see them as an accessible kind of forbidden fruit.

So what if buying them is illegal, they say, hardly anyone says 'no' to them. They are more afraid of school rules against smokers - they may get expelled if teachers and principals catch them.

Teens who smoke - and buy cigarettes - are unconcerned about the health risks.

'Those who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to develop severe nicotine addiction than those who start later,' said Dr Khoo See Meng, associate consultant of the National University Hospital's division of respiratory medicine.

'Teenage smokers are also more likely to have seen a doctor or health professional for an emotional or psychological complaint.'

Still, they start because they are curious, want to rebel or are under peer pressure.

Shun Tao, 16, who started smoking two years ago, bought her first cigarette from the provision shop at her void deck. One stick soon grew to one pack a day, and she stated sadly: 'I'm addicted.'

Want to be like an adult

LOGAN, now 20, began smoking secretly at 13 although 'I knew it was illegal'. He said smoking 'made me feel big, like an adult'.

Older teens even see smoking as a social activity.

When Patrick Tang, 17, started school in Singapore Polytechnic, he felt left out whenever his friends went for a 'smoke break'.

He picked up smoking recently despite protests from his friends because he was tired of being 'the only one who was left behind with nothing to do'.

This sort of group-think makes the habit appealing to the young.

Mr Tham Lup Hong, head of the Health Sciences Authority's Tobacco Regulation Unit, pointed out that underage smoking is a social problem.

That is why enforcing the law to curb buying will not be enough to prevent teens from smoking.

Public education, community involvement and parental instruction all play an important role in addressing the matter.

This drive, headed by the Health Promotion Board, has yielded some results - almost all teen smokers say they find the habit 'unhealthy'.

But just how far from their minds is 'unhealthy' as they puff away?

'I smoke because it's fun. There's no harm in trying,' said Patrick.

Never mind that young smokers are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease, twice as likely to have stroke and, on average, live seven years less than their non-smoking peers.

Already, smokers who picked up the habit as teens now sing a different tune, as health issuesbecome more pertinent as they age.

Sashi, 20, who has been smoking on and off for seven years, regrets even starting. Now, he says: 'They don't know what they're getting into. It's going to take their life and their money away.'

The code ends here...
________________________________________________________________________________

(Wednesday, March 5, 2008-)
+5:27 AM]*

# Test Post-

Test Post

Please scroll up to view current posts.

Best viewed with IE, Mozzila, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Netscape not tested.

*This post is dedicated to Aaron's blog for loads of HTML source code help while coding for this.*

The code ends here...
________________________________________________________________________________