Wednesday, September 16, 2009
room for more
went for the ministerial forum last night at NTU Nanyang Auditorium. kinda rushed from work and cabbed all the way there. took like 50 mins. its a torturous journey man. jams everywhere and even on expressways. felt like i was making a pilgrimage to something great (or so i tried to convince myself prior the event). paid a hefty 30 for cab and rushed to the entrance only to find that i gotta deposit my bag some 20m away at tanchintuan theatre. trotted in my heels back and forth and finally slumped down in my seat beside shawn. and before i could even catch my breath, the man himself walked down the auditorium stairs to take his seat. its rather amazing to see him in person finally. have always pictured as the much respected prime minister of Singapore who has great visions and gives inspiring national day rally speeches. so seeing him in person seemed almost unreal. but then again, just like any of us, he's just human. but he's a human with great aspirations and great achievements.
so he gave his speech on the short term and long term outlook of Singapore economically, socially, and politically. he also addressed policy issues that concerns us undergraduates and more importantly focused on the topic of foreign talents in Singapore. then he closed his speech with a positive statement of Singapore's development as a nation in terms of picking up of the economy and the prosperity with the synergy of talents comprising of locals and international citizens. during the q&a session, a moderator was beside him as he answered all types of questions from the floor. many of these questions came from international students who expressed concerns over problems they face be it in school, life, finances during their residence here. overall, it was a balanced view from the PM as he answered those questions but i felt that the moderator came across as a little full of herself and she should not, in a way, 'steal the limelight' when she makes like a 5-10sec of remarks after every question. she also snubbed one of the students for asking more than 2 questions by saying "yes you have already asked 2 questions..-fake laugh- although im a social scientist,i can still count". thought that was really unprofessional on her part. there were a few more instances which she proved herself to be ignorant and insensitive to the students' concerns but i guess she's not worth me ranting over.
so after the talk was reception and we got to meet guests from other varsities as well as PM Lee himself. he talked to us briefly about issues that international students face in our school and what have we done to counter them. after the whole reception, i was really zonked out, but we still had to find our way out of the campus. in our formal suits and heels we literally trekked for like 20 mins before finally reaching a decent main road with a bus stop. no cabs in sight. no civilization in sight. took a bus down to jurong point before sharing cab with Steffi and Suan home. the girls were really nice. they knew i covered the 3o alone on my way there, and so they insisted that i skip my share for the trip home. so sweet of them (:
guess PM Lee is right. Singapore's heaviest constraint resource of today is not physical land, but people. Singapore needs to retain foreign talents to tap on them. it is rather hard though, as they face many problems which the government may not be able to see. on the ground level, subtle discrimination and stereotypes of the locals is rampant and that can be rather unwelcoming. as much as we know how foreign talents can help boost the economy, it is inevitable that this competition may let locals feel threatened. however, i think it is important for locals to adopt a different mindset to this issue. they should be more confident of their own capabilities instead of fearing what the foreigners can do. reflect on self before others. if you really are lacking in aspects that foreigners can do better, then upgrade your skills or find other niches for yourself. if locals are to shun foreign citizens the way they do now, it may not be long before singapore falls back to square 1. fortunately, from my observation, the ones who show their displeasure openly about foreigners are the older people, whereas the young and dynamic youths of today are more open to accepting people of a different culture or race or country. also, initiatives in schools and varsities are making it easier for students to integrate with foreign students be it in team projects or through events. i remain positive that Singapore will continue to thrive in the future to come.
haha nuff talk about politics. gonna head down to equinox later for a Canon event. woots. then union tonight. (:
