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Originally posted by Euniceosy:
Have been thinking about the disappearance of dialects in Singapore...
Due to the success of Speak Chinese campaign and the learning of English, majority of younger generation now do not know their dialect language. This also leads them to be detached from their dialect roots in which i find is a negative impact. (reason being: cannot connect with their grandparents especially those who do not learn any eng/chi; lost in culture e.g. used-to-be-popular Hakka/Teochew/Hokkien/Cantonese,etc. dishes or the meaning behind heritage and individual dialect's rituals and practices; many more other losses due to dying of dialect language in Singapore)
Therfore, what do you think about Singaporeans learning their dialect language again?
The younger Singaporean have lost more than just the dialects, how many of them know their culture?
Is Speak Mandarin Campaign a success? NO, how many Singaporean can speak proper Mandarin without few words of english, malay ....?
going back to speak dialect will not solve the problem. Learn proper Mandarin and English.
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Originally posted by deathmaster:
the government only declare war. look, in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon war, most of the civilian know that they will soon be engaged in some sort of war, before the war actually begins. people do notice things that happens around them.i get what u mean in ur first point. but it doesn't hurt to actually learn about how to do urban warfare in the singapore landscape. singapore is not inpregnable. in the long run, in a war of attrition, we would eventually be push back into singapore, due to resource/manpower shortages etc. we should be brushing up on urban defence back at home instead of urban warfare abroad.
and how do you intend to use ur mortar/ tank/ wadever? almost every inch of singapore is covered with these HDB flat, where soldiers lurks. and, how many flats can u level? there are so many out there. even piles of rubble may prove hazardous to you, where they will still serve as effective hiding places.
actually, it is kind of logical. in many of the modern urban wars, it is quite hard to take down a city full of hostile forces, not least one as urbanized as singapore.
the government only declare war. look, in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon war, most of the civilian know that they will soon be engaged in some sort of war, before the war actually begins. people do notice things that happens around them.From the invasion of Poland by the Nazis, the attack on Pearl Harbour, operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union, to the invasion of South Korea, the war for Falkland, .....and the invasion of Kuwait, which one do the people or the government knew they were about to be invaded??
You singaporean? have served NS?
singapore is not inpregnable. in the long run, in a war of attrition, we would eventually be push back into singapore, due to resource/manpower shortages etc. we should be brushing up on urban defence back at home instead of urban warfare abroad.
There is no "in the long run" if Singapore were to go to war. If we win the jungle war, the town war and whatever wars outside Singapore, we will not need to fight an urban warfare, the type that is only fought in Singapore, with the towering HDB.
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
Bold words Short Ninja. Bold words.
Erection worth killing for
I'm a victim of grave abuses from psychotic people in power with access to telepathic person(s) in Singapore . All abuses are to convince people I'm mentally ill to cover their grave evil. Telepathy is not a far off fiction. It's a fact
are you singaporean? who would you vote? CSJ, Low TK, Sylvia, Chiam,....or Ah Bian?
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Originally posted by deathmaster:
i sort of agree with angel here, that it is quite pointless for SAF to defend singapore.
On morale: how do you expect soldiers on a $400/mnth pay to risk their lives for the ministers earning $4million dollar pay( $333, 333/ month, 833 times of a nsf's pay)risking their life for people who will sit in comfort in some underground bunker while the war rage on around them.
Warfare: though the SAF emphasize on forward defence strategy, which involves attacking Malaysia (it's the only country saf is capable to launch troops into anyway), making jungle warfare relevant.
but shouldn't be urban warfare the focus of our NS training? street fighting in HDBs, multi-storey carparks, office towers. that's what war would be like if we r fighting in singapore, or at least in JB. all the so called strategic locations are already by now fully exploited for civilian usage, incorporated into the urban landscape. Cities and towns are built on these locations, and these places are unlikely to be the jungles which we expected.
look at singapore, would any enemy go hid themselves in jungles and woods which are of no strategic importance here in singapore, when there's plenty of concrete jungles around them? it is much safer to hid behind the concrete walls of 12 stories HDB buildings, which offers real protection from bullets, than behind 1 story-tall trees in hot, mosquito-infested jungle.
if there's any strategic locations to seize in singapore, it would be the prime urban and financial centers of the country, not the relatively worthless plots of ulu forests.
and u think during wartime, who is so dumb as to stay in singapore. most singaporeans, rich or poor, are at the very least able to afford a plane ticket to Australia, Thailand. (on the assumption that these people value their lives over money). none of the womenfolks will stay behind, nor would their men allow them to stay behind to risk death. Tell me, wouldn't you send off your wives, daughters, and mothers off to a safer country before you set off for army, during a war? (under the Geneva convention, it is illegal to attack civilian aircrafts, so it is safe for them to exit the country)
hahahahaha.....
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Originally posted by NowWhatDoIDo?:
You think NS is the issue? You're been living a really sheltered life.Let me copy something from another forum here.
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The problem with the PAP is they are just way too greedy. They want to make every cent they can from everything they can.
They take on 2 hats as a business and a government and utilize these two hats to ensure they squeeze every last penny from us.
If, like a business, they are going to charge us top dollar for everything including basic needs like housing, utilities, food, transportation, etc. If they are going to bring in foreigners to compete with us in what they claim is "an open market" (why the 3/4 rule at the causeway if we're an open market?); Then we're not citizens, we're customers. Remove National Service, all taxes and compulsory CPF.
If, like a government, they are going to tax us, make us serve the nation and put a portion of our salary with them every month; Then take care of us like citizens and give us some welfare. Look after us in our old age, give us affordable housing (real affordability, not your bull shit "market rate" crap that's design to steal from us), keep your thumb on utilites and transport operators, put proper guidelines in place to ensure we have priority in our own job market.
So PAP. Which are we? Citizens who voted you in to take care of us, or customers you conned to squeeze dry?
What are you? A government put in place to look after your citizens, or a business out to make every last red cent you can?
Is Singapore a country with living, breathing people, or a company with faceless, nameless digits?
we are talking about NS policy here, not about PAP. pathetic....
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Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:
Just give some data so that people can compare our SAF with other militaries.
We can see from the comparison, that for so small a state, Singapore invests a huge amount on its military.
Wonder where does all the money go.
because we are small, with no land, we need to spend money for our soldiers to be trained overseas.because we are small, with fewer people, we need to call up reservists and pay them their civilian pay, even if they are only coporal or private soldiers.
because we are small, with no land to depend, we need to be equipped to stop any hostility from landing in Singapore.
you know how much it is to achieve the above?
did CSJ serve NS?
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Originally posted by dadeadman1337:
The army is no good if the morale is low. The way i see it is in NS you may have lifelong friendships or blood enemies, unlike what they say in the SS textbooks
Morale has to do with how much the soldiers know about what they are fighting for.In Bands of Brothers, the E company soldiers finally had that strong feeling that they were fighting for a good course when they discovered the concentration camp.
We will need to handle morale issue if we are sending our men to fight in Somalia. But if some countries are trying to swallow up the little red dot, then I believe we are not likely to have much problem with morale problem, unless, or except those who have long tried to migrate out of Singapore.
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Originally posted by eagle:
I heard that these guys damn bloody fit...
Think I can never reach their standards..... 1/2 of their standard I will be very happy le...
I knew one of them, they can swim in the water the whole day. I am happy is i have 20% of their fitness. just don't know how long they can keep that fit.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
Can they match those 15yo guerillas who got plenty
of war and crisis experiences, you can train people for years, but
without practical realisation, you may be training cuckoo without
testing the effectiveness and efficiency.those guerillas paid for war and crisis experiences with the lives of their comrades. why do you think the 15 yo have to become guerillas, I am sure they want to stay at home and play counter strike on their computer?
when there is a practical realisation, do you think your cuckoo can react better than the trained red berets?
We are training our 18+ so that our 15yo don't have to become guerillas.
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Originally posted by Poh Ah Pak:
list of countries by military expenditures, Singapore ranked 24, highest in southeast asia.
After you asked Shotgun how many standing troops he thought SAF would need, you posted a few statistics ranking Singapore. What are you trying to say?While Singapore ranked 24 in military expenditures, I wonder why a small country like Netherlands rank 18, is it at war with somebody? and its neighbor Belgium, an equally small country, rank 34, why?
Australia, Canada are all isolated continents but their military spendings are all very high, are they at war? or military spending should be proportionate to the size of the country? in that case, Singapore, being a small red dot, should spend nothing, and Indonesia, with 3 thousands islands, should be among the top in military spending?
What is SDP trying to say, by quoting all the other countries? what are the points?
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Originally posted by parn:
That law is was passed in fairness to the oil companies in Singapore. They're considered foreign investors you know....so of course Government have to also take care of them.Those companies paid more taxes to the Government than you can possibly earn in your lifetime. So you get the drift?
The fact that checks wasn't enforced on all vehicles already tells the people the reason why that law was passed. Just that the people were not smart enough yet...even until now.
The law was not passed in fairness to the oil companies in Singapore, it was to protect the tax on petrol collected by the government! Many oil companies, such as exxon mobil supply petrol to JB from Singapore refineries.
The fact that checks are not enforced on all vehicles today because manpower are deployed to check on terrorists, and smuggled cigarettes!
With high oil prices now, government's tax collection has already increased. Besides, if the malaysian government is subsidizing their petrol sales, why not let them subsidize the singaporean cars as well. The government won't rescind the law because they dont want cars from the whole singapore jamming the causeway just to buy petrol, that would worsen the traffic already jamming the place.
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Originally posted by maurizio13:
Now he can haunt his tormentor every night, something that all his gurkha bodyguards can't prevent.
Mr Jeyaretnam fought a good fight, stood his cause, did what he could...he will be remembered as one of the pioneers in Singapore history, a true Singaporean politician, a great oppositioin. His only regret is probably that he had few credible successors. Can't imagine they even expect him to work from the grave...babies who never grow, fruits that never ripe, ...dead wood that can't be used for any damn thing....anyway, You have done your part, JB, rest in peace.
My condolence to his family.
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Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:
When I wrote that I'm a victim of the corrupt government of Singapore. Some people accused me of trying to make the opposition look bad. I've been defamed crazy by the ruler of Singapore through the NUH in 2002. I've refused medication and go on to complete my 7 semester degree locally in Indonesia. I know now for sure that Singapore is run by a tyrant. A deceitful liar and a man of no moral values. A cheater and a murderer, a corrupt man, a womanizer, a sadist and a torturer. A man whose life is an insult to God.
I suspect that those people who accused me of trying to give the opposition a bad name are the ones who are actually posing as anti-PAP voices when in fact they are trying to give the opposition a bad name.
One forumer even went to confront me in eternal hope. Mocking me whether I had felt better by posting in that forum. So what's the connection between posting a religious testimony and having myself feeling better? That forumer tried to get to my nerve by calling me living in delusion.
Here's the quote
Hope all you want and feel better. But I tell you that it is better to face reality and live in reality. Only then can you find true happiness. Chrtistians must live up to the standards set for them. "Love your neighbour"... hahaha... it benefits people like me. If you cannot do it, don't live in a delusion.
Next time you see someone as an anti PAP regime think twice! He may be a faker.
Your note here is very interesting, " I've been defamed crazy by the ruler of Singapore through the NUH in 2002. I've refused medication and go on to complete my 7 semester degree locally in Indonesia. "
What did the doctor say in NUH, never mind the ruler of Singapore?
Why are you given medication?
I suppose you did your degree in Indonesia, why NUH doctors say you need to take medicine to complete degree in Singapore meh?
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Originally posted by eagle:
There are just too many factors to talk about these.
True, some FWs and FTs are definitely needed and required. But all 100% of them??? Question would then be... how many of these 1 million can we not do without?
Anyway, there are still good and friendly FWs around, and these are definitely very welcomed, as least to me. Eg yesterday at Boon Keng KFC, there was this PRC lady serving us at the counter. Somehow, I can see her enthusiasm in serving, and her quick smile and everything you can expect of from a service staff. This is someone indeed better than quite a number of local service staff.
I will say that we need FWs, but the FTs need to be carefully qualified. Maids, construction workers, those doing jobs such as rubbish collectors, cleaners..and now even the copi ah soh are those I have no problem with.
But those in the office, the none expats (meaning they are not senior enough even in their own organisation to be given housing), or foreigners here on local term, are the ones I really have problem with. Some Australians are here on local term, live in HDB. Some PRC here on tourist visa, got job on local term and squeezed in some HDB to reduce costs, some local companies, recruited philippino architect as cheap assistant, but 4 to 5 into one small condo ....all these people, regardless of whether they come from....are called FT and not much of a talent to me.
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Originally posted by angel7030:
One thing for sure, when i was studying and doing a project on the GDP of singapore, i found that in the 70s, 80s and 90s the GDP are all double digits except for oil crisis, financial crisis and 85' crisis, and at that time we dun much foreigner here, except our tradition Malaysians helping us out, we dun even have FTs to churn us up, but today, which is my generation, we see a drop in GDP to single digits even with high tech industry and a full force of over a million foreigners (not malaysians), so what are we looking at, do foreigners and FT really help us???
There is a saying goes, if your stomach cannot take so much food, take it light, you will be strong and healthy, but if you eat and eat, you become unhealthy with a fat belly stomach and other problems.
I would say that our govt are over aggressive in their pursue of economy excellent, and the backlash side effect are begining to show as economy become bearish.
While I agree with you that the govt may be a little too agressive in their pursue of excellence, there are some points you need to note.
1. GDP was growing at double digits in the beginning, but the bases were low. From 1896 billion US in 1970 to 11,730 billion US in 1980, the increase of 9834 billion was 6 fold! but from 36,843 billion US in 1990 to 92,720 billion US in 2000, the increase was a hefty 55,886 billion, but in terms of percentage, but it was 2.5 times.
2. Last time Singaporeans have many children, and their parents worked as hawkers, cashiers, teachers...that time O level already can become government officers, U grad really big thing. Now our generation, dont want to have many children, even with incentives, running hawkers stall is very time consuming, I understand every years there are over 2000 A levels with 3 to 4 As. Our generation, or rather your generation, are more highly qualified, more choices of higher levels jobs.....times have changed.
As long as the foreign workers are here to do what we don't want or can't do, I have no complain, even malaysia is getting in over 2 millions foreign workers otherwise their rubber and palm oil plantations would be left to the monkey.
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Originally posted by redDUST:
short answer, nothing. singapore will not sink if 1m leaves. in fact, it takes the weight off the island. what a reprieve!
i won't want to go into lengths explaining myself, but just mentioning the below to explain me saying so:
there are as many variables as fixed factors that will mold the nation to sustain itself. you are assuming everything is transfixed in the present infrastructure that will cause singapore to fall thru' the cracks.
if you earns $3.5k/mth now and next month, your pay is halved. would you die?
if you earns $3.5k/mth now and next month, your pay is halved. would you die?
depends on whether you have taken any loan, how many people you have to support, how long is this "halved" going to last, what is the chance of you earning $3.5K/mth again?
if 1 million foreign workers disappear from Singapore today, will Singaporeans fill in the gap and provide the services? these 1 millions aren't tourists here having fund leh. hehehe....
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Originally posted by wheelcamp:
So it is not right to state "There has always been one identity, Singaporean, in four different versions, the Chinese, the Malays, the Indians and the Others." Identity is more than just looks. Include accent, cultural level, mindset etc. Many similarities developed and unique and part of Singapore identity.If I understand what you are saying, then NO, there will never be a uniquely Singaporean identity. There never was (so there is no back to square 1) and there will never be.
simply because we are a multi racial multi religious society. culturally we are different and we respect and accept such difference. In our early history we had Chinese (mostly accestor worshippers) married local Malay and then became Peranakan (don't know why then they did not have to be converted to Muslim). There is still some interracial marriages, but I can't see how a new race could be evolved in the future called Singaporean.
We will only have Singaporean who would identify themselves as Singaporean. The day they migrate to Australia, they become Australian, what Singapore identity can you find in them?
When we talk about developing Singaporean identity, we are talking about those identified by place of birth alone.
If you were born in Singapore, what Singaporean identity comes with you?
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Originally posted by Sardaukar-Prime:
Given the sensitivity of the situation up north,if there were to be a repeat of the May 13 riots of 1969, would you support Singapore taking punitive military action to stabilise the situation in Malaysia?
It's very much in Singapore's national interest that our northern neighbour remain stable,but we must also bear in mind that both Indonesia and Malaysia have a history or persecuting their Chinese populations as well as being somewhat hostile to Singapore.
It would be in our interest to ensure the protection of a part of a population that wields heavy economic influence on our neighbous,namely the Chinese communities, as well as a form of deterrence,to remind our neighbours of their military dispositions relative to us.
Actions taken could be in the form of blockades or overflights of politically sensitive or vital military infrastructure,up to and including use of distance stand-off munitions such as cruise missiles,to hit vital or non-vital targets, as well as landing troops in Johore state for short intervals before withdrawal,as a show of strength.
However,it could miscalculate and result in Malaysia and/or Indonesia being united against a common threat due to stirring up nationalism and so should be considered carefully.
Despite this we should consider the use of low levels of military force to deter or harass either party involved.
Reference Operation Malindo Darsasa:
www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5002364045
www.library.ohiou.edu/indopubs/1996/08/21/0046.html
www.mindef.gov.sg/safti/pointer/back/journals/2000/Vol26_3/2.htm
Reference Anti-Chinese/Apartheid discrimination:
Chinese Indonesians in Post-Reformasi Indonesia
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080911/tap-malaysia-politics-race-0193655.html
First we put SAF on full alert, in case mad dog like Mathatir seige the opportunity to reclaim Petra Blanca.
At the same time we make sure that there is no similar crisis here as a result of what is up there.
Secondly, we get ready to receive some Chinese and may be even Indian from Malaysia. Like that may be we will not need too many chinese from PRC.
Thirdly, we increase our import of vege and chickens from other sources such as China and Thailand.
Finally, we can call up the other ASEAN countries to sit down and tell Malaysia that we are concerned. This is their internal affairs and we are in no position to launch punitive attack. We only need to talk, and let all their business from Pelapas, Klang come to PSA, let the investors from IDR come to our IR, let their top students come here as to become citizens.
We also need to provide some entertainment for there will be no more copied DVD, and no more cheap smuggled cigarettes, many locals here cannot tahan the high costs.
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