Pretty lousy example.
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HE IS all of 19 but his friends call him towkay because Mr Lin Xiang Qian does million-dollar deals.
Held up as an example for other young people to follow, Mr Lin intends to get into a top American university and set up shop there while studying. -- AZIZ HUSIN
Last year, he went wheeling and dealing in the United States and Europe, and scored $3.5 million of sales in clean-room equipment.
He did all that while preparing for his A levels. But the former student of Victoria Junior College scored in that too, getting three As in physics, chemistry and maths C, a B in maths F, a merit in his Special Paper for mathematics, and A1 for General Paper.
Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong held him up as an example of how young people with passion can accomplish a lot - on top of their schoolwork.
'There should be no great dilemma between pursuing our passion, and doing something lasting and worthwhile,' Mr Lee told about 510 students at the annual Pre-University Seminar.
In a keynote address that held the 16- and 17-year-olds in rapt attention, he urged them to seek out and realise their own potential.
They were mistaken if they thought they were born too late and had missed out on all the good things in life and were now saddled only with bleak prospects.
'You have choices which your parents never had. Our economy now offers a wide range of jobs. Our society invites and accepts a broad spectrum of ideas,' he said.
'Remember that nobody else can validate your dreams. Ultimately, it is your life and your choices,' he added.
Mr Lin, who is now in national service and did not attend the seminar, needs no such urging.
Each evening, after he gets out of camp in Ang Mo Kio, he heads to his company's office in Changi South Street.
As a vice-president of Esco Micro, a clean-room equipment company run by his parents, he leads a division of 20 engineers who make biological safety cabinets. He said: 'I work until 10.30pm every night... But it's not enough, I have to continue at home.'
It all started while he was a Secondary 1 student in the Gifted Education Programme at Raffles Institution.
Intrigued by glitches plaguing the computer network of Esco Micro, he did some research and stumbled upon the solution. His parents ended the network contract with a sub-contractor and let their son take over.
Then while he was maintaining the firm's website, international inquiries started trickling in, and that's when he went into export sales. He was 15 then.
In junior college, he was skipping classes to do business in Europe and the US, and he credits his former JC principal for being supportive.
'There are so many facets to life, and your studies are just one very, very minute aspect. If you're on your dying bed, I don't think you will look back on your A-level grades.'
Although most of his friends are now trying for a scholarship, Mr Lin has his future all mapped out. He intends to get into a top US university such as Stanford, MIT or Harvard and set up shop there while he's studying.
Some of the engineers in his department will go over to the new office, as the US is his largest market, he said.
His father, Mr Lim Lay Yew, 52, says his son deserves full credit for turning the company into a 'very export-oriented' firm.
'It's a blessing to have a son like Xiang Qian'. -
Hello, not every one has rich parents that would let their son just take over a network contract.
Lin Xiang Qian is a terrible example, the guy's in RI and his parents owns a clean room equipment company and can let him lead a division of 20 engineers who make biological safety cabinets.
When people hear of Lin Xiang Qian the first thing they'd think is oh i'm not so smart to get into RI and i don't have rich parents so i can't possibly be as successful as him. Using Lin Xiang Qian will only DISCOURAGE people.
If you want to bring up examples, use those average guys that achieved things without the help of their parents and without being naturally gifted. Like the CEO of Creative(His name escapes me) who is a polytechnic student and isn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I mean, the guy isn't a straight As student but he still made it big!
Looks like the DPM has a pretty limited social circle. -
The guy who started Creative Technologies is Sim Wong Hoo.
He was not put off with the ignorance and short-sightedness of Singapore Banks (DBS included) in extending loan to his “creative ideas” of a new wave industry; and persevered with his ideas by getting venture capital from the USA, and getting listed onto NASDAQ.
Not too surprising that there is now a not too belated and ritualistic effort from the Government, to make amends for the previous short sightedness in recognizing local abilities.
From someone, who lived in a cloistered and protected environment – from youth to adulthood, it is little wonder that the real world is beyond the understanding of DPM.
Perhaps the storyline is a reflection of his own experience, but unlike the given family owned business in manufacturing “Biological Safety Cabinet”, he seem to have ‘inherited’ a Cabinet business of his own Father's making, and with all the usual safety net built into it – with all the strongest opposition personalities have been beaten off-shore, a special unheard of name was created for a constituency that had never existed just so to allow him to enter into Politics, the present PM GCT will ensure that Singapore will be in a good economic shape before handing over the ‘seat’, while his career path has been planned and prepared at almost every step of his military and political career; all without anyone daring to challenge, or assess, or question his abilities and on-the-job performance.
The question will always be asked:
“Which mortal will be more qualified to assess the performance of the "Father, the Son and the Holy Goh.st ?” -
Bah! Elistist! elistist! elistist! I can see why Karl Marx formulated his unworkable theories.
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Hello. . . that Lin fellow is NOT representative of the majority of us in RI GEP. these are exceptions far and few in between. And not all of us in here have excellent grades. . . like i constantly fail maths. ..
and anyway, u can't expect DPM to keep talking about Sim Wong Hoo, his name has been used for so many years. . . and singapore education is too screwed up to produce any entrepreneurs.. . the products of our education system are doomed to be salary workers, wean be engineers scientists, lawyers, doctors but we won't turn out to be businessmen.. . too much focused on results. and the system, note i use the word 'system' is too focused on giving a general education rather than helping u develop what u are interested in. and stupid things like cca that are supposed to develop ur character is decided upon largely by the school. and if u decide u dun like that cca, changing is one hell of a big problem. . . how the heck does something u eventuallty detest help develop u as a person?
thats not too say i'm anti-the entire govt. . . i just think the education side is full of crap.. .
my two cents -
Karl Marx is an imbecile, and a murderer. Look at the blood that came from his unworkable theories. In my opinion, worse than Hitler.
XD sorry couldn't remember how to spell his name. Thanks Atobe.
Tell that to the parents laser, we are always told going to RI we're promised a better future. -_-a Was surprised to hear people failing there tho.
For reference, refer here.
http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=45184
http://pub169.ezboard.com/feqluclinfrm21.showMessage?topicID=179.topic
I'm sure there's other entreprenurs that may not be as famous as Sim Wong Hoo but still pretty successful on their own.
But Ellison pretty much sums it all up. It's difficult to make an educational system that can produce entreprenurship(My spelling sucks, sue me!). I'm sure all of us can agree not everyone has an entreprenur inside them, or that it isn't viable. If everyone wants to lead, who are the ones that work and build? The system should be one that produces engineers, scientists, lawyers, doctors..etc. You can't use education to produce a successful businessman correct? No country can claim the same.
Most, if not all entreprenurs is in one way or the other a rebel of the system. They decided the system couldn't give them what they need and break away to find what they need on their own.
You want to blame the government ? Well look at Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Micheal Dell, Larry Ellision. Dropouts, every single one of em. Can we say then, that the American education system is inadequate?Or in a cruder manner, it sucks?
Albert Einstein, Beethoven, Joesph Stalin, Lenin, Adolf Hitler, Moses, Mao Tze Tung, Ghandi, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great. Everyone of them a rebel of the system, of what is socially and academically acceptable.
I think our society is more to blame, the Americans are more accepting of dropouts, so the dropouts are not treated as social outcasts. Perhaps the society is the casualty of short term policies but i can't really blame the government for imposing it. We wouldn't have grow so quickly without it. So, the question comes is whether the society would wake up and realise the mess they've got themselves in or are they just going to sit there, blame the government and not try to encourage changes on their own?
Our wounds are not as serious as those of Japan. But if we do not deal with it. It would fester and become just like that. -
Society is what the Government make of it; how it shape the attitudes and social values.
When certain values that are initiated by the Government becomes deep setted into society, it will be largely the responsibility of the Government.
Bankrupts were looked at with total disdain by Society since the indpendence of Singapore. Failure in any endeavors (or even failing to measure up to the general performance levels of any particular enterprise) is largely looked down upon by the Government.
In other words, "No score for failed efforts".
It was only around the mid-1990's that a serious attempt was made to change the course of this thinking that already had more then 30 over years of taking deep root into the psyche of the Singaporeans towards failure.
Even after almost ten years - since the effort to change this outdated thinking, as recently as two weeks ago, in the Forum Page of the Straits Times, a lady wrote that Bankrupts should be more harshly penalised, and there should stricter curtailment of their ability to lead a normal life to be able to travel as part of their occupation.
There should be a clear distinction between the types of bankrupts - from one that is made a bankrupt as a result of frivolous and ultimate personal financial irresponsibility, to one that is made a bankrupt as a result of business failures. -
Though you guys may say that Karl Marx's theories were unworkable.
But his management theories is one of the talkabout and reference theories in varsities and was discussed in certain regard of degrees.
So if it's that unworkable....i guess this particular founder can pack bag and leave collage and varsities library. -
Karls marx's theories are based more on idealism where everyone, is expected to be like robots, with no sense of corruptions etc.
However, the fact is that human nature always tend to greed.That is the very reason why his ideas failed. He is not evil in anyway, just that he failed to put in human nature into the context which was communism's ultimate failure.
An utopian society will only work if there are no devils running around the country. -
totally agreedOriginally posted by CenturionMBT:Karls marx's theories are based more on idealism where everyone, is expected to be like robots, with no sense of corruptions etc.
However, the fact is that human nature always tend to greed.That is the very reason why his ideas failed. He is not evil in anyway, just that he failed to put in human nature into the context which was communism's ultimate failure.
An utopian society will only work if there are no devils running around the country.
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But it seems to be too much trouble to try to define such an individual in legal terms when everyone would try to get themselves tagged as the latter.
There should be a clear distinction between the types of bankrupts - from one that is made a bankrupt as a result of frivolous and ultimate personal financial irresponsibility, to one that is made a bankrupt as a result of business failures. -
If one is a Creditor, I can understand the predicament that will be faced if the Debtor take umbrage of the Bankruptcy Act, as seen in the Chapter 11 of the US Law protecting an debtor enterprise from its Creditors.Originally posted by Stevenson101:But it seems to be too much trouble to try to define such an individual in legal terms when everyone would try to get themselves tagged as the latter.
Based on the US experience, such a business enterprise that seek protection from its Creditors under Chapter 11, will have to subject themselves to periodic judicial reviews of its performance.
This protection can afford a business the second chance to revive itself, so as to meet its obligations to its Creditors.
There will be some "bad eggs" - as in any human endeavors - but this cannot provide an excuse to paint everyone with the stroke of a brush that all are suspect to be taking the easy way out of their obligation to their Creditors. -
there is a problem with everyone being like robots however. U need a main controller for all the robots, a.k.a. a Dictator. however, a dictatorship would go against Marxist ideology in the first place since the worker class is supposed to rule themselves.Originally posted by CenturionMBT:Karls marx's theories are based more on idealism where everyone, is expected to be like robots, with no sense of corruptions etc.
However, the fact is that human nature always tend to greed.That is the very reason why his ideas failed. He is not evil in anyway, just that he failed to put in human nature into the context which was communism's ultimate failure.
An utopian society will only work if there are no devils running around the country. -
I went to the hawker centre just now.
Saw this little chap who's probably in JC or whatever at the stall that I was ordering from.
Althought he was helping out in his parent's stall, I saw a textbook with a bookmark sticking out lying around on one of the cabinets inside the tiny little cramped space.
The scene snapped my thoughts back to this thread.
It really isn't fair to emphasis success merely thru examples listed as such above.
Not everybody has parents who are rich and directors of electronic companies.
IF they really wish to motivate the youth to excel, think they really have to adjusted their current mindset of drawing examples out from the 'Elite' Class slightly and open their eyes more to look for more commonly acceptable examples from the middle to low class segment of the society. -
If i see that boy i will slap him becoz he is the reason my mother is nagging me to be like him.... nahbeh.... I bet Centuriandweeb is going to edit this message again...