Proud to be a Singaporean

[sammy888]

"Education is to enrich the mind not the pocket." - LaoZi.

Wah you want every parent to have a heart attack har? heheh That is blasphemous to their ears and pocket.

 

[Nikonzen]

Wait until they've paid all that money for education and there are 500 candidates for every position requiring education...oh boy but we are straying OT...

 

[Priscilia]

In most countries these days, people have to compete with foreign scholars. Free tuition to foreign students is unfair, yes, but if you work hard, it's not impossible to beat them. I notice that mindset is very important. If you keep thinking you're inferior to them and that they have unfair advantage, you will end up inferior to them. The reverse isn't always true, but I can guarantee you that if you keep thinking you can't make it just because someone has unfair advantage, you won't.

And most people these days who can't afford a house (or think they can't afford a house), it's because they keep spending money unnecessarily. They have to own a Ferrari (or two), have to go on a trip to Europe for every small achievement, after O level, before JC, after A level, before NS, 1 year in NS, after NS, before uni starts, 1 year in uni...all these costs add up. Plus all these money you're spending, you're not saving or investing. Which means the real amount of money you missed by spending on all these is a lot more than you think.

If you keep whining instead of spending your time and effort trying to improve yourself, then it's not surprising if you start to lag behind.

I disagree with your points.

I realized that many who have no complaints about the government tend to be parents already in their mid 40s to those in their 70s. These people grew up during the time when Singapore was progressing well. I remember back in 2000, we were already considered an advanced country and if I'm not wrong, we were already close to or of First World status. But at that time, no one complained much about the government. There were the usual whiners, of course, but the sentiments then about the future of Singapore were generally positive and no one really said they were worried about the high costs of living. Remember also that during those times, the ruling party was winning the GE easily with an average of 80% or more. The commoners had a lot of confidence in the government then. (Compare it with the 60% or less today!)

If you got married in the 70's (I assume you should be in your 60s now) or say 90s or early 2000 (you should be in your 40s or 50s now), buying an HDB flat was no issue right? It was comfortable. You could even consider a nice 5 room or relatively large Executive flat. For those who earned less, you could consider 3 or 4 room flats and no one complained. After all, HDB flats were meant for the commoners; private properties were for those richer ones. But no one complained much about the disparity in wealth. The commoners who worked hard and saved well, they could upgrade to a bigger flat or even a condo as an achievement.

I had 1 or 2 foreign classmates (other than Malaysians who were more in numbers) at school. We were never discriminating of them. We assimilated well together.

Fast forward to the present day. What are we seeing now? We also have foreigners here. But why are many people now discriminating towards them? It's been said Singaporeans are not xenophobic in general. I agree. So what is happening? The real reason is that many feel the SG government has not taken care of the locals FIRST before they give their care to the foreigners who easily get their citizenship.

Look at the HDB BTO balloting. In case you don't know, not too long ago, there was a long line of Singaporeans waiting to buy BTO flats. It was not uncommon to find a buyer unsuccessfully bidding for 5 or 6 times over a year. Then you ask: Why not buy a resale flat? But do you know that a HDB 4-room, 30 year old flat was going for more than $500,000??! So what do you want these newly-wed couples to do? The government encourages locals to get married and give birth to many babies but did, or rather, do they make the environment conducive to do so? NO!!!

Question for you: Why did the government not build a lot more BTO flats when they knew they wanted to increase the population exponentially? Poor planning? Or lack of foresight as Lee Hsien Loong himself finally admiited? Or did they simply want people to channel their hard-earned CPF money to HDB to pay for their artificially inflated HDB flats?

So what happens then? If you have been asking around or following the news, fewer and fewer people here want to get married. (Unless they belong to the wealthier middle to upper class.) Or they deferred their marriages till they are much older. For those who got married, they do not want any kids or plan to have only one kid due to the many loans and bills to pay and the high cost of living here. It came to a point where Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. (Goggle it if you don't believe this.)

Then we have the ministers coming out to say: "There is a declining birth-rate and it is worrying. Singaporean couples are not giving birth to enough babies. The workforce is important to sustain the economy of Singapore. So we have no choice. We have to import more foreigners here (and even make them Singaporeans) to maintain the population. You have to accept that."

How convenient an explanation!!! Who started this problem in the first place?

We can also go on about the very crowded and once often broken down MRT trains. Did the SG government ensure the infrastructure can take the heavy passenger load? NO!!!

So do you now see why Singaporeans are unhappy? How can anyone say we are whiny people? Just so you know, my friends and I work till 8-9pm almost everyday, even though our official knock-off time is 5.30pm. We don’t get paid extra. Are we lazy as some say we are? NOPE!!!

The ministers sometimes say we should take reference to the developing countries where workers work till late without any complaints. Then can I ask them: Why do you call Singapore a first-world country if you have to compare your citizens to those from Third World countries? Why not you peg our salaries to the upper class from European countries? Just as you think it’s “fair” to peg your ministers’ salaries to the top earners in the private sector. So when Singapore makes money, if the common citizens are not the ones enjoying the fruits of their labour, who gets all the money then? (Rhetorical question, by the way.)

Now back to your groundless assertions that people here want to own 1 or 2 Ferraris or must go on expensive overseas holidays and that's why they have difficulty trying to own a "house" (Sorry not a house, but a leasehold tiny HDB FLAT!!!) No offence but that is utter rubbish to me.

I have young graduates at my workplace. You should see how hard they work. Not all come from rich families. They do scrim and lead simply lives. They can’t afford to buy cars. They don’t take expensive overseas trips. But even with the other spouses as graduates, they are still finding their way to lead a comfortable life here. Seriously, they worked hard in our pressure-cooker education system here. Shouldn't they be rewarded for their decades of effort?

Apparently, our government doesn't think so. To them, making more money for the country over caring for the citizens takes priority. So that's why PM Lee is now saying; "Ok slow down, a degree ain't everything." Why do you think he said this? One reason is of course, we can import much cheaper graduates from the neighbouring developing countries. We cut costs this way. But wait.... What about your own local grads? Tell them to suck thumb? Make them work late and give them less pay? Yes, according to the government, this seems to be what they want.

Just so you know again, my cousin who is an engineering graduate from NUS with a Master's degree, had no choice but made to accept a job that pays barely a pathetic $3,000 a year. Mind you, his results are not bad and he has 7 years' of working experience. So what's the problem here? One company blatantly revealed that it would be cheaper to employ someone else (by that, we can easily assume they meant a third world FOREIGNER). So for my cousin, it's either accept the job or get lost. How do you feel?

To think that at one point, I was wondering, why are some Australians so racist? I think many of you have heard of friends or relatives who have been to Australia saying how racist some Australians can be towards Asians. Now note that in Australia, you get to work there only if you meet stringent criteria, such as a shortage of workers which they can't get from their own pool of workforce. Yet, you see how ungrateful some Australians are when we Asians go there to work and boost their economy.

Now, compare to us here in Singapore. It's not that we don't have a pool of our own Singaporeans to take up jobs here. It's the SG government who openly invited the foreigners here in order to make businesses more attractive to set up here. They cut labour costs at the expense of our very own Singaporeans. For the guys, they even have to dutifully serve their 2-2.5 years of NS with countless callups after that. Yet when it comes to finding jobs, they have to compete with foreigners who ask for much lower salaries.

And some people call Singaporeans "whiny"? Maybe they might want to rethink their arguments. If we are whiny, then what do we call the racist Australians? What do you call the protesters in HK or others who smash windows, burn cars, and stop work for several days?

 

[shiosaki]

And some people call Singaporeans "whiny"? Maybe they might want to rethink their arguments. If we are whiny, then what do we call the racist Australians? What do you call the protesters in HK or others who smash windows, burn cars, and stop work for several days?

wa, major whining. you just need to remember this line from the total defence thing:
"No one owes Singapore a living" which can translate to "No one owes Priscilla a living", including the government la hor

i think cannot post anything political agenda here leh, you post this kind of thing can get banned
plus cannot ask questions or type paragraphs in caps. i think you might get banned also

so take note ah, Priscilla

 

[kei1309]

I disagree with your points.

I realized that many who have no complaints about the government tend to be parents already in their mid 40s to those in their 70s. These people grew up during the time when Singapore was progressing well. I remember back in 2000, we were already considered an advanced country and if I'm not wrong, we were already close to or of First World status. But at that time, no one complained much about the government. There were the usual whiners, of course, but the sentiments then about the future of Singapore were generally positive and no one really said they were worried about the high costs of living. Remember also that during those times, the ruling party was winning the GE easily with an average of 80% or more. The commoners had a lot of confidence in the government then. (Compare it with the 60% or less today!)

If you got married in the 70's (I assume you should be in your 60s now) or say 90s or early 2000 (you should be in your 40s or 50s now), buying an HDB flat was no issue right? It was comfortable. You could even consider a nice 5 room or relatively large Executive flat. For those who earned less, you could consider 3 or 4 room flats and no one complained. After all, HDB flats were meant for the commoners; private properties were for those richer ones. But no one complained much about the disparity in wealth. The commoners who worked hard and saved well, they could upgrade to a bigger flat or even a condo as an achievement.

I had 1 or 2 foreign classmates (other than Malaysians who were more in numbers) at school. We were never discriminating of them. We assimilated well together.

Fast forward to the present day. What are we seeing now? We also have foreigners here. But why are many people now discriminating towards them? It's been said Singaporeans are not xenophobic in general. I agree. So what is happening? The real reason is that many feel the SG government has not taken care of the locals FIRST before they give their care to the foreigners who easily get their citizenship.

Look at the HDB BTO balloting. In case you don't know, not too long ago, there was a long line of Singaporeans waiting to buy BTO flats. It was not uncommon to find a buyer unsuccessfully bidding for 5 or 6 times over a year. Then you ask: Why not buy a resale flat? But do you know that a HDB 4-room, 30 year old flat was going for more than $500,000??! So what do you want these newly-wed couples to do? The government encourages locals to get married and give birth to many babies but did, or rather, do they make the environment conducive to do so? NO!!!

QUESTION FOR YOU: WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT NOT BUILD A LOT MORE BTO FLATS WHEN THEY KNEW THEY WANTED TO INCREASE THE POPULATION EXPONENTIALLY? POOR PLANNING? OR LACK OF FORESIGHT AS LEE HSIEN LOONG HIMSELF FINALLY ADMITTED? OR DID THEY SIMPLY WANT PEOPLE TO CHANNEL THEIR HARD-EARNED CPF MONEY TO HDB TO PAY FOR THEIR ARTIFICIALLY INFLATED HDB FLATS?

So what happens then? If you have been asking around or following the news, fewer and fewer people here want to get married. (Unless they belong to the wealthier middle to upper class.) Or they deferred their marriages till they are much older. For those who got married, they do not want any kids or plan to have only one kid due to the many loans and bills to pay and the high cost of living here. It came to a point where Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. (Goggle it if you don't believe this.)

Then we have the ministers coming out to say: "There is a declining birth-rate and it is worrying. Singaporean couples are not giving birth to enough babies. The workforce is important to sustain the economy of Singapore. So we have no choice. We have to import more foreigners here (and even make them Singaporeans) to maintain the population. You have to accept that."

How convenient an explanation!!! Who started this problem in the first place?

We can also go on about the very crowded and once often broken down MRT trains. Did the SG government ensure the infrastructure can take the heavy passenger load? NO!!!

So do you now see why Singaporeans are unhappy? How can anyone say we are whiny people? Just so you know, my friends and I work till 8-9pm almost everyday, even though our official knock-off time is 5.30pm. We don’t get paid extra. Are we lazy as some say we are? NOPE!!!

The ministers sometimes say we should take reference to the developing countries where workers work till late without any complaints. Then can I ask them: Why do you call Singapore a first-world country if you have to compare your citizens to those from Third World countries? Why not you peg our salaries to the upper class from European countries? Just as you think it’s “fair” to peg your ministers’ salaries to the top earners in the private sector. So when Singapore makes money, if the common citizens are not the ones enjoying the fruits of their labour, who gets all the money then? (Rhetorical question, by the way.)

Now back to your groundless assertions that people here want to own 1 or 2 Ferraris or must go on expensive overseas holidays and that's why they have difficulty trying to own a "house" (Sorry not a house, but a leasehold tiny HDB FLAT!!!) No offence but that is utter rubbish to me.

I have young graduates at my workplace. You should see how hard they work. Not all come from rich families. They do scrim and lead simply lives. They can’t afford to buy cars. They don’t take expensive overseas trips. But even with the other spouses as graduates, they are still finding their way to lead a comfortable life here. Seriously, they worked hard in our pressure-cooker education system here. Shouldn't they be rewarded for their decades of effort?

Apparently, our government doesn't think so. To them, making more money for the country over caring for the citizens takes priority. So that's why PM Lee is now saying; "Ok slow down, a degree ain't everything." Why do you think he said this? One reason is of course, we can import much cheaper graduates from the neighbouring developing countries. We cut costs this way. But wait.... What about your own local grads? Tell them to suck thumb? Make them work late and give them less pay? Yes, according to the government, this seems to be what they want.

Just so you know again, my cousin who is an engineering graduate from NUS with a Master's degree, had no choice but made to accept a job that pays barely a pathetic $3,000 a year. Mind you, his results are not bad and he has 7 years' of working experience. So what's the problem here? One company blatantly revealed that it would be cheaper to employ someone else (by that, we can easily assume they meant a third world FOREIGNER). So for my cousin, it's either accept the job or get lost. How do you feel?

To think that at one point, I was wondering, why are some Australians so racist? I think many of you have heard of friends or relatives who have been to Australia saying how racist some Australians can be towards Asians. Now note that in Australia, you get to work there only if you meet stringent criteria, such as a shortage of workers which they can't get from their own pool of workforce. Yet, you see how ungrateful some Australians are when we Asians go there to work and boost their economy.

Now, compare to us here in Singapore. It's not that we don't have a pool of our own Singaporeans to take up jobs here. It's the SG government who openly invited the foreigners here in order to make businesses more attractive to set up here. They cut labour costs at the expense of our very own Singaporeans. For the guys, they even have to dutifully serve their 2-2.5 years of NS with countless callups after that. Yet when it comes to finding jobs, they have to compete with foreigners who ask for much lower salaries.

And some people call Singaporeans "whiny"? Maybe they might want to rethink their arguments. If we are whiny, then what do we call the racist Australians? What do you call the protesters in HK or others who smash windows, burn cars, and stop work for several days?

TL;DR

just glanced through and saw this:

Just so you know again, my cousin who is an engineering graduate from NUS with a Master's degree, had no choice but made to accept a job that pays barely a pathetic $3,000 a year. Mind you, his results are not bad and he has 7 years' of working experience. So what's the problem here? One company blatantly revealed that it would be cheaper to employ someone else (by that, we can easily assume they meant a third world FOREIGNER). So for my cousin, it's either accept the job or get lost. How do you feel?

having a Masters Degree doesn't guarantee you a job. i've friends who hold Masters in Business Admin, Marketing, Finance and who are struggling to find a job because they're over-qualified.

And get this right: a Master's Degree is supposed to value add a current role, not to help you find a job. And if you're in a job, it'll help line you up for promotion and bigger roles. and jobs are not based on just qualifications: the bosses also look at work performance and benchmarks. if your cousin is up against tough competition who might be better at what they do, but don't even have a Master's Degree, then i'm sorry to say that your cousin has nothing to complain about.

and if you're holding a Master's Degree, it's pretty much useless unless you're in charge of a team or department. being just a normal rank-and-file worker with a Master's Degree does jack for anything.

and $3,000 a year? :bsmilie:

wow i didn't know they paid so little here in Singapore these days.

and there's nothing wrong with hiring a foreigner who's cheaper. you just have to prove your worth to the boss and fight for it.

 

[brapodam]

QUESTION FOR YOU: WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT NOT BUILD A LOT MORE BTO FLATS WHEN THEY KNEW THEY WANTED TO INCREASE THE POPULATION EXPONENTIALLY? POOR PLANNING? OR LACK OF FORESIGHT AS LEE HSIEN LOONG HIMSELF FINALLY ADMITTED? OR DID THEY SIMPLY WANT PEOPLE TO CHANNEL THEIR HARD-EARNED CPF MONEY TO HDB TO PAY FOR THEIR ARTIFICIALLY INFLATED HDB FLATS?

So what happens then? If you have been asking around or following the news, fewer and fewer people here want to get married. (Unless they belong to the wealthier middle to upper class.) Or they deferred their marriages till they are much older. For those who got married, they do not want any kids or plan to have only one kid due to the many loans and bills to pay and the high cost of living here. It came to a point where Singapore has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. (Goggle it if you don't believe this.)

Then we have the ministers coming out to say: "There is a declining birth-rate and it is worrying. Singaporean couples are not giving birth to enough babies. The workforce is important to sustain the economy of Singapore. So we have no choice. We have to import more foreigners here (and even make them Singaporeans) to maintain the population. You have to accept that."

How convenient an explanation!!! Who started this problem in the first place?

We can also go on about the very crowded and once often broken down MRT trains. Did the SG government ensure the infrastructure can take the heavy passenger load? NO!!!

They screwed up, plain and simple. When they brought in all the foreigners, they didn't make sure our infrastructure could keep up and support the additional people. But they worked on it when they realised what the problem was. Suddenly they flooded the market with new BTOs, started planning and building new MRT lines, started curbing the inflow of foreign workers. These things take time to take effect. They are starting to take effect now. It doesn't help that potatoes keep complaining now that they can't exploit cheap labour for their inefficient businesses and want the govt to continue bringing in foreigners.

Now back to your groundless assertions that people here want to own 1 or 2 Ferraris or must go on expensive overseas holidays and that's why they have difficulty trying to own a "house" (Sorry not a house, but a leasehold tiny HDB FLAT!!!) No offence but that is utter rubbish to me.

I have young graduates at my workplace. You should see how hard they work. Not all come from rich families. They do scrim and lead simply lives. They can’t afford to buy cars. They don’t take expensive overseas trips. But even with the other spouses as graduates, they are still finding their way to lead a comfortable life here. Seriously, they worked hard in our pressure-cooker education system here. Shouldn't they be rewarded for their decades of effort?

I have peers who want to own cars while they are still in NS, and complained so much when the govt decided to implement the curbs on car loans and TDSR. They save only to spend on luxuries, and when they realise they aren't making enough cash from NS, they turn to speculating on assets with heavy leverage like Forex, and then get burned when the leverage works against them. This is not a smart way to use the limited cash you have before you start working, but it is what people are doing, and it severely disadvantages them in their financial position. Nobody tells you these stuff when they complain they don't have enough money, but you can see from their Facebook posts what kind of stupid decisions they make.

Also, you have to work smart, not just work hard. The world is changing and people are getting smarter. If you spend all your time in school trying to memorise content instead of understanding concepts, you'll be spending your time very inefficiently. You can tell whether someone is really trying to learn something or if they are just trying to get through the exams by the questions they ask. Many of the questions I hear people asking indicate to me that they never really thought through what they read, and they are more interested in memorising a "correct answer" so they can vomit it out during the exams. Not a good way to study at the university level.

Just so you know again, my cousin who is an engineering graduate from NUS with a Master's degree, had no choice but made to accept a job that pays barely a pathetic $3,000 a year. Mind you, his results are not bad and he has 7 years' of working experience. So what's the problem here? One company blatantly revealed that it would be cheaper to employ someone else (by that, we can easily assume they meant a third world FOREIGNER). So for my cousin, it's either accept the job or get lost. How do you feel?

To think that at one point, I was wondering, why are some Australians so racist? I think many of you have heard of friends or relatives who have been to Australia saying how racist some Australians can be towards Asians. Now note that in Australia, you get to work there only if you meet stringent criteria, such as a shortage of workers which they can't get from their own pool of workforce. Yet, you see how ungrateful some Australians are when we Asians go there to work and boost their economy.

Now, compare to us here in Singapore. It's not that we don't have a pool of our own Singaporeans to take up jobs here. It's the SG government who openly invited the foreigners here in order to make businesses more attractive to set up here. They cut labour costs at the expense of our very own Singaporeans. For the guys, they even have to dutifully serve their 2-2.5 years of NS with countless callups after that. Yet when it comes to finding jobs, they have to compete with foreigners who ask for much lower salaries.

And some people call Singaporeans "whiny"? Maybe they might want to rethink their arguments. If we are whiny, then what do we call the racist Australians? What do you call the protesters in HK or others who smash windows, burn cars, and stop work for several days?

Here I have to agree with kei that a Masters degree is for you to add value to a current role. You should not take a Masters degree unless your job can benefit from it. Otherwise it makes you overqualified, which means it is harder for you to get a job.

 

[Priscilia]

wa, major whining. you just need to remember this line from the total defence thing:
"No one owes Singapore a living" which can translate to "No one owes Priscilla a living", including the government la hor

That's the problem - You who misinterpret this as "whining". I did not trash any government or take sides. I was merely stating facts about what is happening. It's up to individuals to interpret. I was merely rebutting the previous poster on what he said about whatever Ferraris and going on expensive trips.

If you have what it takes, then take my arguments and show why you disprove it. If you don't, just read.

Whoever said Singapore owes me a living? Now where did that come from? I am only stating how I feel as a Singaporean. I speak up. I don't make noises with empty talk.

 

[Scintillation]

wa, major whining. you just need to remember this line from the total defence thing:
"No one owes Singapore a living" which can translate to "No one owes Priscilla a living", including the government la hor

i think cannot post anything political agenda here leh, you post this kind of thing can get banned
plus cannot ask questions or type paragraphs in caps. i think you might get banned also

so take note ah, Priscilla

Yeap, nobody owes Singapore a living. This is an infallible tenet of our National Education ideals.

I remember during NS, a regular claimed that those who migrated from Singapore especially after NS have betrayed their motherland. I replied him with that quote. I don't see why we can't do the same if there are better prospects offered elsewhere, I mean, I'm totally welcoming of the foreigners who come here seeking for a brighter future or using us as a stepping stone. That's what I'd do if I was presented with a golden ticket too.

 

[Priscilia]

TL;DR

just glanced through and saw this:



having a Masters Degree doesn't guarantee you a job. i've friends who hold Masters in Business Admin, Marketing, Finance and who are struggling to find a job because they're over-qualified.

And get this right: a Master's Degree is supposed to value add a current role, not to help you find a job. And if you're in a job, it'll help line you up for promotion and bigger roles. and jobs are not based on just qualifications: the bosses also look at work performance and benchmarks. if your cousin is up against tough competition who might be better at what they do, but don't even have a Master's Degree, then i'm sorry to say that your cousin has nothing to complain about.

and if you're holding a Master's Degree, it's pretty much useless unless you're in charge of a team or department. being just a normal rank-and-file worker with a Master's Degree does jack for anything.

and $3,000 a year? :bsmilie:

wow i didn't know they paid so little here in Singapore these days.

and there's nothing wrong with hiring a foreigner who's cheaper. you just have to prove your worth to the boss and fight for it.

Nope that's not the point. I didn't say Master's degree is for finding a job. My main point is, the pay is low not because of the Master's degree per se, but because there is a handful of replaceable labour and this cheaper labour is preferred over Singaporeans.

Even if you ignore the Master's degree part, for a person with a Bachelor's degree, 7 years experience, in that field, it's still considered underpaid.

Haven't you heard how at one point, some companies were employing foreigners (cos the manager or big boss is a foreigner himself) more than Singaporeans even though the latter were equally if not better qualified?

There was a big hoohah over several years in the news, and it is only very recently that MOM limits foreign labour.

Put it this way. Another eg for you. It is well-known we Asians work much longer working hours than Australians. We are equally qualified and actually, a lot more qualified than many Australians in their companies. But that doesn't mean their government open the floodgates and admit tons of Asians into their country easily. I'm very sure if they did, Australia's economy will rocket up in no time.

All I am saying is, if you want to improve the economy, of course, by all means, it's a good thing. But for Pete's sake, ensure first your own citizens have sufficient public housing to choose from at AFFORDABLE prices. Ensure your public transportation can cope with the drastic increase in population first. Then we can welcome the foreigners here. Remember, we are generally NOT xenophobic. How could they put the horse before the cart? Of course, the general public won't be happy.

I'm not saying we don't take in any foreigners as well. I'm not saying we severely cut down the number of foreigners coming in to Singapore. After all, we are a small country and we can't behave like the bigger ones. But viewed in totality, such as the housing and transport issues, the fact that the younger generation is feeling the pinch at work now, we know there is an issue.

No point arguing further. PM LHL himself admitted his government didn't have the 20/20 foresight to see these problems. I find that amusing. I thought we gave them the mandate to earn their millions because of their great foresight. It's not true apparently. The problem was they went overboard with their idea to boost the economy far greater than they expected the repercussions that are to happen.

If any of you are still not convinced, then may I urge you all to perhaps support making all our HDB flat prices rise further? Let's make more of them hit $1 million! Maybe that's what we should tell our MPs or government. We need to increase the value of our assets. Then let's see if the new, young graduates "whine" that they cannot afford to even own a flat any more. To which, I will use your lines: "Stop whining! If you are capable enough, go compete with the foreigners coming here. If you are worthy of your labour, you will earn enough to rise through the ranks!" Sounds ridiculous?

 

[MarkersNg]

No point arguing further. PM LHL himself admitted his government didn't have the 20/20 foresight to see these problems. I find that amusing. I thought we gave them the mandate to earn their millions because of their great foresight. It's not true apparently. The problem was they went overboard with their idea to boost the economy far greater than they expected the repercussions that are to happen.

 

[skf]

"Education is to enrich the mind not the pocket." - LaoZi.

If I may

​

Only an entriched mind will guide one to enriched pockets

​

- :dunno: :blah:

:cheergal: :rbounce:

 

[Scintillation]

I was chatting with some of my foreign friends in university, asking them how they got admitted into the local unis here. They told me that they got in through an invitation via an education fair conducted by MoE in their home countries, and said that the Singapore government is very welcoming of them, giving them a scholarship with allowance to study here, something not many other countries would do.

It can't be helped though, although we all pay taxpayers' monies to the system, ultimately it's up to the government to do what they want with the money. That's why I think it is good to look beyond our borders for opportunities, and if they present themselves, just take advantage of them. That's what my friends did, and that's what our forefathers did.

 

[edutilos-]

Isomething not many other countries would do.

Maybe you need to take a look at the following links:

http://www.niied.go.kr/eng/contents.do?contentsNo=78&menuNo=349
https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/
http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/global/australian-education/scholarships
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-10.html

(And also search if you have the time, there's a lot more examples; globalization sadly does lead to a race/competition for "talent")

(sorry for the small font size...)

 

[Scintillation]

Maybe you need to take a look at the following links:

http://www.niied.go.kr/eng/contents.do?contentsNo=78&menuNo=349
https://studyinsweden.se/scholarships/
http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/global/australian-education/scholarships
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/toj/toj0302e-10.html

(And also search if you have the time, there's a lot more examples; globalization sadly does lead to a race/competition for "talent")

(sorry for the small font size...)

How come font size so small siol. ;p Seriously, I'm not coming in to stir. Wouldn't mind applying to foreign unis actually, but since I can get into a local uni, why not? Ahahaha! But yeah, I'd not mind considering studying overseas if I had that chance, can take photos too.


...ok, probably taking photos would take precedence, not a good idea, lol!

 

[edutilos-]

How come font size so small siol. ;p Seriously, I'm not coming in to stir. Wouldn't mind applying to foreign unis actually, but since I can get into a local uni, why not? Ahahaha! But yeah, I'd not mind considering studying overseas if I had that chance, can take photos too.

...ok, probably taking photos would take precedence, not a good idea, lol!

I've been told that it's better to whisper online.

 

[MarkersNg]

I've been told that it's better to whisper online.

bend bend bend! :bsmilie:

 

[Scintillation]

I've been told that it's better to whisper online.

...I'd like to join in by whispering as well...

 

[shiosaki]

That's the problem - You who misinterpret this as "whining". I did not trash any government or take sides. I was merely stating facts about what is happening. It's up to individuals to interpret. I was merely rebutting the previous poster on what he said about whatever Ferraris and going on expensive trips.

If you have what it takes, then take my arguments and show why you disprove it. If you don't, just read.

Whoever said Singapore owes me a living? Now where did that come from? I am only stating how I feel as a Singaporean. I speak up. I don't make noises with empty talk.

i think, theres always two ways to look at facts

one - depend on what others tell you and just blindly regurgitate, without you personally encountering any of the said issues
two - go out there and see, if its really true, and if so, why that is happening. knowing the why is important

i think you fall into category one. i could type a long reply to whatever you said, but i know it wouldn't get to you, because like many others, we are casualties of the education system - taking what is told to us at face value. i find the inquisitive mind something much more alluring and precious in our modern society.

 

[MarkersNg]

The silent whispers?

Or the silent screams?

 

[edutilos-]

i find the inquisitive mind something much more alluring and precious in our modern society.

Just a note: inquisition is more than just asking "why why why" and challenging the system...