New bid to foster racial harmony
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tis is very artificial
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Haha..seems that you like to score own goals.Originally posted by Atobe:On your own previous public statements and announcement - in this Speaker's Corner - of not approving of the Ruling Party strategy, you have shown yourself to be hypocritically contradicting of your Primary Statement by being more then defensive of this Government.
By your own admission, I have argued both for and Against past government policies, unlike your good self, who is completely blinded by prejudice that you can never see any good in government policies.
Yes, I was against the light sentence given to that musician NS defaulter. I was against the setting up of the casino although I can understand the government's reasons for it. But you can never find in yourself the capacity to look at issues objectively. Unfortunately many Opposition Party MPs suffer from the same dreaded disease.
Your can only resort to vicious insults, personal attacks and an endless, brainless tirade against the government. If the Opposition parties cannot find better talent than the likes of you, the ruling party can relax for a long, long time to come. After all, it does take some brains to win an Election. You may take your inspiration from the Taiwanese Parliament, but it takes more than gutter fighting in Sgforums to get into our Parliament. -
originally by oxford mushroom:
Can we believe that you "have argued both for and Against past government policies", when all your postings have revealed your dishonest stance that have always been in support of the government.
Original posted by Atobe:
On your own previous public statements and announcement - in this Speaker's Corner - of not approving of the Ruling Party strategy, you have shown yourself to be hypocritically contradicting of your Primary Statement by being more then defensive of this Government.
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Haha..seems that you like to score own goals.
By your own admission, I have argued both for and Against past government policies, unlike your good self, who is completely blinded by prejudice that you can never see any good in government policies.
Yes, I was against the light sentence given to that musician NS defaulter. I was against the setting up of the casino although I can understand the government's reasons for it. But you can never find in yourself the capacity to look at issues objectively. Unfortunately many Opposition Party MPs suffer from the same dreaded disease.
Your can only resort to vicious insults, personal attacks and an endless, brainless tirade against the government. If the Opposition parties cannot find better talent than the likes of you, the ruling party can relax for a long, long time to come. After all, it does take some brains to win an Election. You may take your inspiration from the Taiwanese Parliament, but it takes more than gutter fighting in Sgforums to get into our Parliament.
Was the light sentence - towards the musician who defaulted NS - a government policy, or was it a judiciary matter - and nowhere near being even a policy matter ?
Can one be "against the setting up of the casino" and yet will be in a position of being able to "understand the government's reasons for it" ?
Is this not a clear indication of blind and unthinking support of a cleverly disguised loyalist ?
Where is the critical analysis and objectivity, when principles and values are sacrificed in support of a government that is slowly being exposed to be bankrupt of any new ideas to bring Singapore forward, and prepared to sell out on long held values ?
OBJECTIVITY ? Can you even begin to learn to appreciate this word, when you have shown yourself to be void of basic VALUES and PRINCIPLES ?
You have shown yourself to be nothing more than a pseudo-intellect - as well as a fraud in this public forum, with all your evasiveness in avoiding main issues when challenged; but will only respond selectively with merely shallow oblique replies, accompanied by weak personal counter attacks - all which simply reveal your desparate efforts to shore up your exposed personna.
Despite your self-acclaimed PhD qualifications, and boasting of Oxford origin, and social contacts at home and abroad, it is hard to believe your loud qualifications when compared to your peers. They have shown more maturity and modesty, and will have found their time better spent then participating actively in this Speaker's Corner, and certainly not with your kind of low standard of skewered opinions and thinking.
It is even more pathetic that your views of ASIAN POLITICIANS - Singaporeans and Taiwanese - are so low, and as was said before - you have been licking the cream off the pink skins for too long so much so that you have forgotten your own Asian Roots.
It is simply patronising and arrogance on your part to believe that only ASIANS POLITICIANS - Singaporean and Taiwanese - are capable of gutter politics. From Oxford, you need only to look no further at some of the more established democracies in Europe, USA, and even into the bowels of your alma mater at the gutter politics of the First World.
In Singapore, you could learn more from the gutter politics indulged by the Prima Donna of Singapore Politics, whom you have idolised; as he has had the opportunity of being tutored by the politics from the 1950s and has displayed more expertise and capability than any politicians in Singapore. -
Warau...we should set up a forum entry which spells...Atobe vs Oxy...
Great debate so far...but err racial harmony right?...
I dunno lah...depends on oxy loh -
It's FREE FOR ALL NOW!Originally posted by Wakus:Warau...we should set up a forum entry which spells...Atobe vs Oxy...
Great debate so far...but err racial harmony right?...
I dunno lah...depends on oxy loh
oh well ...makes it more fun to read.
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They both are as extreme as each other. In another lifetime, probably brothers.
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wth...
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Okay.
Here is my take; I think racial harmony exists, and the efforts to promote it, actually make us more conscious of the races of our friends.
Why must there be a quota of race for families living in HDB flats?
For goodness' sake, in my condominium, which is near Little India, more than 50% of them are Indian.
Why do we have to celebrate Racial Harmony Day? Do we live in racial harmony ONLY on that day?
Why can't we just live as PEOPLE?
As SINGAPOREANS, not Malays, Chinese, Indians, whatever-race, who live in racial harmony?
Why can't we be Singaporeans who live in harmony?
And here is a vid, from Talking Cock in Parliament, which I thought was in line with my views.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qCFrhokvw_w -
Were you there? I was. And it felt great to be there.Originally posted by missqi:Okay.
Here is my take; I think racial harmony exists, and the efforts to promote it, actually make us more conscious of the races of our friends.
Why must there be a quota of race for families living in HDB flats?
For goodness' sake, in my condominium, which is near Little India, more than 50% of them are Indian.
Why do we have to celebrate Racial Harmony Day? Do we live in racial harmony ONLY on that day?
Why can't we just live as PEOPLE?
As SINGAPOREANS, not Malays, Chinese, Indians, whatever-race, who live in racial harmony?
Why can't we be Singaporeans who live in harmony?
And here is a vid, from Talking Cock in Parliament, which I thought was in line with my views.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qCFrhokvw_w -
So envious.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Were you there? I was. And it felt great to be there.
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There must be a quota. Learn from the experience in the UK where minority groups live in virtual ghettos of a single race.Originally posted by missqi:Why must there be a quota of race for families living in HDB flats?
For goodness' sake, in my condominium, which is near Little India, more than 50% of them are Indian.
Btw, in most condominiums, more than 50% of residents are Chinese. Minority groups put up with that. If you are in the minority for a change, it's a good lesson for you to learn what it's like on the other side. The quota is there to ensure that the entire estate does not end up with Chinese residents only and pushing minority groups to other estates. It forces a certain degree of integration among Singaporeans. The fact that it has to be enforced is sad but necessary. -
Singaporeans are closer but will never be like coffee with milkOriginally posted by missqi:Why can't we just live as SINGAPOREANS, not Malays, Chinese, Indians, whatever-race, who live in racial harmony?
Although the different races here have grown closer over time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong does not think Singapore will ever become a kopi susu nation.
As with the world, there are different races and religions here, so people must not pretend they are not there, he said.
Lee was replying to a grassroots leader who had asked if, in the future, the fault lines of race and religion could be blurred.
It is a goal which Singapore is working towards, 'but one country completely homogenised, served together like kopi susu, I don't think that's going to happen,' he said to laughter during a dialogue, referring to the local term for coffee with milk.
The meeting with about 1,700 community leaders and students was held to discuss Singapore's new Community Engagement Programme.
It seeks to build a network of people from all races and groups so that Singapore will hold together and not fall apart in the event of a terror attack.
Lee, in his reply, felt 'people want to keep different religions, different customs'.
“Until all the world religions become one, we will have more than one religion in Singapore,'' he added.
He also did not agree with some community leaders who felt Singapore could be made race-blind by erasing it from the identity cards and job applications.
It will not work, said Lee, citing the French experience and the discrimination Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew faced as a student looking for housing in Britain.
He believes it is better to acknowledge the realities of race, religion and language.
“In Singapore, we deal with realities but we move to make progress, to make this a more integrated and more united society. I think that's a practical approach.''
Pointing to France, he noted that the word “race'' is not seen anywhere and the official government line is that everybody's French.
“You can't say you're a Frenchman from Algeria, Frenchman from Morocco. You're a Frenchman,'' said Lee.
Yet, the reality is far from the ideal.
Frenchmen of different races and religions live in different areas, with the people of African and Arab origins congregating in the ghettos of Paris.
The people who live in the down-and-out places say this is make-believe. We are not all the same. You pretend that we're all the same
France was rocked by three weeks of riots when youths of African and Arab descent torched cars, looted and clashed with the police across the country.
To aggravate matters, Lee said, the French do not have statistics and data to help them identify the problems because it is illegal to collect statistics by race.
He also recounted MM Lee's experience when he was a student in Britain looking for a place to stay.
He would call up and say he was “ Mr Lee''. As some Englishman also share the same surname, the landlords would think he was white.
'When he shows up, they tell him, sorry, no flat, no vacancies, because actually they saw him: He's a Chinese. -
Reality is harsh, but I disagree with Lee's reasoning about the removal of our race from our NRIC.
It is a step forward. France was not too successful because their efforts in celebrating tolerance and respect for diversity stopped at the all-encompassing label of "Frenchman".
We have our programmes, this removal will be an enhancement, instead of otherwise. I still harbour optimism that we will one day feel a stronger connection to being a Singaporean first and foremost.
However, some government policies have made it very hard to do so. -
While I agree that this affirmative action has to stay on, we should adopt a slow and gradual transition, or at least be ready to move away even slightly. That would send an optimistic signal to our population.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:There must be a quota. Learn from the experience in the UK where minority groups live in virtual ghettos of a single race.
Btw, in most condominiums, more than 50% of residents are Chinese. Minority groups put up with that. If you are in the minority for a change, it's a good lesson for you to learn what it's like on the other side. The quota is there to ensure that the entire estate does not end up with Chinese residents only and pushing minority groups to other estates. It forces a certain degree of integration among Singaporeans. The fact that it has to be enforced is sad but necessary.
I do note that in recent times, this racial quota has been occasionally lifted in cases of economic necessity where the residing family needs to urgently sell off their flat to downgrade and free up their liquid assets. We should encourage more flexibility in this aspect. -
The origin of the quota system for HDB Estates has to do more with the fear of the Ruling Party with one particular minority ethnic community being concentrated in any constituency that is beyond their political influence, and has supported those from within their own community in past election of the late 1970s and upto early 1980s.
With the Ruling Party gerrymeandering with political boundaries at each election, what is there to stop them from diluting and disintegrating concentrations of one minority ethnic community, and preventing them from ever becoming a political force to lobby or challenge the authority of the Ruling Party ?
It is more correct to view the HDB quota system as being purposefully designed to defuse the racial element from local politics.
Can race ever be removed from politics ?
The Ruling Party has always had feelings of discomfort with one particular minority Singaporean ethnic group, and has always held extremely patronising and condescending opinions towards this community; which are quite loudly shown at every National Day Rally.
Since Singapore's short and nightmarish experience with Malaysia and its politicians at Federal and State levels, politics in Singapore remains colored by those historical dealings.
Although small steps have been taken to remove barriers in the Civil Service, Police Force and the SAF, members of this minority ethnic group remains out of any gravity pulls for sensitive government and political positions.
Can racial harmony exist when government and political policies remain tainted ?