Even Stars Bleed

Societal Issue: How do we train courtesy?

  REFLECTIONS:  I refer to an article in the July 2006 issue of the Reader’s Digest, “ HOW POLITE ARE WE?” Reader’s Digest conducted a survey in 35 cities around the globe (Singapore being one of them) unfortunately, receiving some unpleasant results. Singapore was ranked in 33^rd place, under the list of the “ Least courteous places” along with Moscow, Russia. I decided to reflect upon this topic as I over-heard this conversation between 4 women dining at a table adjacent to mine in a restaurant. (I did not mean to eavesdrop) They were discussing about Singaporean manners and how bad it was.
   Apparently, what was most striking in Asia was how few people held doors open for others. Many Asians simply don’t include door holding in their notions of courtesy. I remember this having been posted as an article in the Straits Times not too long ago too. Singaporean newscasters were sent to various places around Singapore, conducting their own courtesy tests to find out the rude truth of Singaporean manners. Sad to say, the Reader’s Digest polls were exactly right. Almost no one held the doors open for the newscasters, and of all the people they held the door open for, almost none reciprocated with a word of thanks.
    I was pretty upset and troubled by this and I think that this is one of the major downfalls of our developing country. Basically, it all boils down to our upbringing and our culture. In other countries, being courteous is what they were brought up and told to do. To them, it is sort of a natural thing to do and not a chore or whatsoever, they do it without any ulterior motive. I also wrote this journal based on my own personal experience of being a victim of an irresponsible Singaporean. I was 15 minutes late for my classes one day. Why? I fell down while getting off the bus. Why? A bicycle hit me.
   I cannot see the bicycle coming by the side of the bus (its too low) and dear cyclists… when a bus door opens… guess what! People are about to come out! This fact escaped the rider so as I got off I was blindsided by the bike and tumbled to the floor (hence scratches). Ok accidents happen. I COULD have been more observant or slower or cautious but getting hit as I get off a bus is not one of the main concerns of my day.
   But the most frustrating part is that after I fell… the guy just looked at me for a while (no words at all) AND RODE OFF! GASP! Hey I am not some Japanese “ Ringu” ghost. Should I have chased him down, tackled him off the bike and demanded an apology? No. Because I managed to take control of my anger at that point. The scratches are ok but the RIDING OFF IS NOT!
    Now, I understand that different cultures have different levels of so called “niceness” – in some countries maybe I get a hug and a kiss on the cheek if I get hit? However, hit and run is way below par! Something is seriously wrong here. If you or I had accidentally hurt somebody what would our response be? I hope this person is not representative of us as a nation that would be sad. Here is where each of us can make a difference. Each action counts. Just like we train daily if we want maximum physical performance, character also needs training probably even more often.
   The theme of my journal would be on the Singaporean culture. What do you do when you see someone looking lost?
   You offer directions right?
   When you accidentally elbow someone in the bus, you apologies, right?
   Wrong.
   Instead, you walk away, looking lost yourself.
   Instead, you glare at me as though my belly has caused an abrasion on your polished elbow.     
   These are some few scenes, which really make me feel like migrating to Australia or some nice little westernized place sometimes – maybe New Zealand. A place, which I spent, last years December holidays at. People along the streets, even bikers along the road were so kind! Always ready to help, a biker even stopped for us at the roadside to give us directions while in Singapore, many would have most probably rode off.  People were sincere and nice. And those smiles – they never failed to make my day.
   I thought that because it was pretty obvious my family and I were new to the town, the people felt obliged to make us feel at home.
   But as weeks passed, I observed that people there were not just nice to foreigners, they were nice to everyone – themselves included.
   In Singapore, we are only (if we even are) nice to foreigners. And that is why we will never move ahead in our service standards. If it’s not our innate reflex in us to be nice to ourselves, how can we be expected to be nice to others?
   How are we to play host to thousands of international delegates when we won’t even treat ourselves with respect and graciousness?
   If you are a Singaporean or sound like one, perhaps you won’t get as much attention simply because a blonde-haired guy is sitting next to you is sure to get more attention.
    Be nice to fellow Singaporeans?
    No need lah! We are all family-family already, what is there to be nice for? And like our beloved Singapore girl, we only treat people nicely because we have an ulterior motive, and we expect something back in return. I.e. If we are nice, tourists will come back – rather than a way to encourage the idea that all humans deserve to be treated well. It’s sad, but true.
   Westerners are equally cordial with each other in their Wal-Marts counters- and no, we are not talking about scripted courtesy, but sincere enquiries such as:” You look good today, did you find everything in the store fine?” that you can’t help but respond to.
    My mum says that it is because Singaporeans are selfish and I couldn’t agree more. Given the mad rush, the pace of society, it is hard not to be selfish. We have become so embroiled in our own needs that we have lost our sense of context. We hardly consider the feelings of people around us. That is the price we have paid for becoming one of the fastest countries to jump from a developing state to a developed state. Our society has become one that believes in the concept of “ I do unto you what you do unto me.”
  I feel that when it come to being nice, the best place to start would be at home, being nice to your own family members and friends. A simple “ how is your day?” always makes a huge difference. Be nice to you those around you, even the cleaners who you see faithfully cleaning up the school for you everyday.
   No culture would develop overnight. However, there has to be a starting point somewhere.

Politics: The Great Biomed Debate

Source: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/170442.asp

Brief Summary/ Foreword: I may not be an economic expert, but I chose to use this topic and share my views with the little knowledge that I have in this area and the brief research that I did. Even though politics may not interest many, I feel that it is relevant and important for us as students to keep up with Singapore’s current political affairs. This can also serve as a preparation on evaluating views in a debate. The article speaks about Singapore’s race to breach the next big biomedical frontier. The debate between Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr. Philip yeo, centers on whether Singapore should continue pursuing our current areas of research. Dr Lee Wei Ling feels that we should concentrate on other areas of research such as hepatitis B and head injuries instead of competing with other world-class centers that are chasing the same thing. On the other hand, Mr. Philip yeo feels that this is no reason for concern, since the biomedical sector has churned out very healthy and encouraging results and he feels will continue to.

Reflections: What caught my attention was the double helix DNA strand but more than that, this article concerns Singapore’s future and two politicians who strongly feel about their points of view. There is no question that both Dr. lee and Mr.Yeo have Singapore’s best interest at heart.
But their opinions couldn’t be more different- change direction and minimize the damage says one, stay the course and reap the rewards, says the other.
The stakes are high. New research shows that around the world, biotech’s shine could be dulling. A recent Harvard business school article quoted business administration professor Gary Pisano as saying that the biotech business – caught between the differing needs of business and science, had under performed. The industry needed to realign itself to integrate research and focus on long-term efforts, he said.

While both have their strengths in their points of views, Dr Lee has already pointed out that we should not compete with world class powers and concentrate on other sectors. Having done her own research, she says that hepatitis would be good since 5% of Chinese have this, and head injuries would comprise the main cause of disability in children and otherwise healthy adults which could have been economically productive to Singapore.

Mr. Yeo says that our current biomedical sector has account for 5% gross national product (GDP) and accounts for many high-valued jobs.

While Mr. Yeo may have been right that the current biomedical sector has been doing very well, pitted against international standards. However, I feel that he also has to take into account that the fact that people are investing heavily into Singapore’s biomedical industry is not solely based on our multi billion-dollar research drive. Other factors such as the generous help from our government to set up strict intellectual property (IP) laws, Singapore’s efficiency as well as our highly English-speaking environment are many other incentives attracting foreign investors.

I also feel that Dr. Lee is right in not competing with other world-class centers chasing the same research field. While this may seem that we are advocating the fact that Singapore cannot be world-beaters, I feel otherwise. Yes, Singapore can definitely be world-beaters, however, while being daring and optimistic, we definitely have to be realistic and tactical as well. Singapore too must have the appropriate research strategy in this case and concentrate effort and resources on the areas where we have a competitive advantage. After all, with the many limitations that Singapore has, we can be personified as David who has to use brains and faith to defeat the goliaths.

Next, while I belief that both politicians have done equal amounts of homework, I feel that in politics especially when economics is involved we definitely have to look long term. Dr. Lee here has taken a long-term view and predicted that the biomedical sector will flourish taking into account the opportunity costs incurred by people with head injuries, we can see from here the depth of her argument. On the outside, head injury may not be favorable sector to invest, however, if you look at the many problems linked with head problems, we can see the whole cumulative effect.

Other than politics, I feel that debates show how different people have different perspectives and mindsets. It also shows us that opinion is very subjective and different people have their own points of view. There are many things we can take out of this as well such as while we can be ambitious, we must consider our limitations and pit ourselves against challenges that are realistic therefore we will be a thinker rather than a mindless savage, brave but stupid. It also teaches us to look at an issue in more ways than one, where something can be the product of many things and not just one thing. This teaches us to be more analytical and not look at things in a shallow fashion.

Politics/societal issue:  Neighbours from hell

Article: http://www.todayonline.com/articles/94678print.asp

Brief Summary: The article talks about hellish neighbors and their unimaginable horrible habits.

Reflections: The article talks about hellish neighbors. I am not here to talk about them today, but rather the related problem, which is rather prevalent in our society today – Ungracious living.

       The corner coffeshop is my estate just got a makeover. And it was I emphasize “was” a spanking new coffeshop with halogen lighting and sleek glass-fronted stalls. After months of renovations, the place opened early this month. I was so excited by this infusion of class into our estate that I was there on the very first day.
     It was impressive: the unsteady plastic chairs had been replaced with veneer-covered benches while the sticky mosaic floor had been covered with non-slip white tiles. Most of the stalls were new and run by stallholders who look like they had been imported straight from Orchard Road. Even the two stallholders remaining from the coffeeshop days had cleaned up their act considerably.

   It was really sad though that their clients could not be changed as well. Within minutes of opening, the estate layabouts began to stake out their territory. My loony neighbor now sits for hours on end at the only smoking table. The resident drunk has also set up his home with the beer bottles piling up as the day wears on.
    It would have been fine if it were just them, they cannot help it if they are mentally unsound. But what about the other patrons mainly the residents why do they treat this place like a third-world coffeeshop? Within weeks the smart white tiles are turning gray, the life green chair have scuff marks, thanks to irresponsible parents letting their kids jump from seat to seat.
     I really feel no point of bringing the comforts of modern life to people whom unable to appreciate it as all. Graceful living is totally wasted on them. This can be seen everywhere. Why bother upgrading lifts, giving flats new fresh coats of paint when pen graffiti can be seen within days. Can’t people control their hands in the 30seconds that they wait to get to the fifth floor?
   The problem is that a certain level of ungracious living has pervaded our society. We feel that this is public property and hence we are entitled to treat it as we fancy. Why should the government actually bother trying to make the place look nice if the people them selves do not even bother taking pride in where they live in.
    This is a problem that cannot be solved with an immediate solution but rather we need try to create more social awareness, slowly infuse gracious living into our society. Look at Japan walk on the streets and you can’t find a single piece of litter within 10miles. Why? Because Japanese citizens care and they are proud of their country. Singaporeans need to start being bothered.
    Probably we should start taking hard measures. If littering fines don’t work then we will have to do it the hard way by making inconsiderate residents exchange their flats for non-upgraded ones in the middle of nowhere where the only green will be the mould they see on their walls.

Environmental issue: Promising start to first bring Your Own Bag Day

Article: http://www.straitstimes.com/

Reflections: I read with great interest the articles on bring your own bag day campaign. I am sure that the relevant government agencies and participating stores have good intentions but I have my doubts that it will progress beyond being another lip-service campaign. Wasn’t there another campaign by the largest supermarket chain in Singapore to educate the public to use fewer plastic bags? That campaign came and went without much fanfare.
The problem lies as much with the business as it does with the customers. When I go to junction 8’s NTUC to grab a cold drink, I have cashiers giving me a plastic bad even after I say I do not need one. And is there a need to bag my newspaper separately when there is space in the other bags provided?
Big malls spend thousands of dollars to install water saving devices- such as automated flushing systems and motion-sensitive taps- in their toilets. But where is the recycling bin when you need it most, at the food court or wherever small food kiosks are located? It almost seems to me now that this “environmentally friendly” equipments are installed just to help save on their water and electricity bills with no thought whatsoever for saving other aspects of the environment.

This is especially so after using one of the automated toilet cubicles, I press the manual flush and seconds later the automated flush goes off again. How can this then be saving water?
I feel that the immediate solution lies in a fundamental change to our lifestyle of convenience. It is the root cause of our problem because the production of good adversely affects our climate. So is the subsequent incineration of used and unwanted items. Recycling has become synonymous with our contribution to global warming. But we seem to ignore the fact that recycling also requires energy and, again causes pollution.
Governments’ symbiotic relationship with businesses makes it impossible to tackle the problem from the demand aspect as is required. For establishments that are guaranteed large amounts of trash daily, there does not seem to be effort to recycle. When I was eating at lau pa sat last week, I see cleaners collecting the metal cans but not the plastic cups that came with the drink.
Even a well-educated society like Singapore still does not understand the perils of our inaction. Ask any Singaporean, and the probably answers to the climate change would be “don’t know”, “cant be bothered” or “recycling”.

For recycling efforts to work effectively, there will be costs, which will have to be borne by consumers, retailers and the government. Consumers should pay refundable deposits for bottles and canned drinks. When it comes from our own pockets, we may start appreciating the problem better and start to do more for our planet.
We are a world-class country with a world-class government. Let’s work together to make our environment world-class, too. We can be envied for our Newater – so why stop at just recycling water?

CATEGORY: SOCIETAL ISSUE /EDUCATIONAL ISSUE

LINK: WWW.TODAYONLINE.COM

Brief Summary Of Article: Tabitha Wang’s conlumn on foreign workers and how they are treated (“The invisible folk”, Jan 19) hits the nail on the head.

Article Review:

           I feel that what Tabitha Wang has raised is becoming a reality in our society. And this indeed is a sad reality of what out society has become. She is absolutely right that social discrimination exists here. Daily I see the construction workers school; they slog under the hot sun and toil in the pouring rain. Our security guards stand in the rain in the wee hours of the morning to direct the traffic for our safety. Maybe the least we could do was to offer them a kind gesture or just a simple greeting instead of walking past them indifferently treating them as “invisible folk”.
          They and their countrymen and the millions of transient workers who have made their way across the world in search of a better life (like our forefathers), constantly come up against people who think only about the differences between “us and them”.
          The problem is that a certain level of snobbery has pervaded our society, as it has with many other First World countries. We feel that our hard-earned success gives us the right to sneer at people who will probably never reach our station in life.
           My mother for one is often guilty of making snide remarks when she sees foreign bangladashi workers ever since she had a bad experience with one when she was young. I hate it when she does that and I constantly try to change her prejudiced outlook.We see a few foreign workers behaving badly and we automatically assume that the entire contingent is made up of sexual miscreants. We see them as unambitious, simple-minded country bumpkins.
          One local newspaper’s report last month about how certain retailers refused to allow their clothes to be featured in a fashion shoot, when told the models would be migrant workers, illustrate the point vividly.
          I am not saying that I have been pleasant to all foreigners. I have had some unpleasant encounters with foreign workers, but I feel that ultimately, Singaporeans are capable of doing the same thing too. I am disturbed when I see a foreign worker looking lost and yet afraid to approach a local on the street for help. Isn’t it amazing how some of us think we have the right to order them around even when we are not responsible for their pay cheques?
           I agree with Ms Wang that Ashok and friends do not expect us to throw open our gates and wash their feet. Simple goodwill gestures would suffice. A smile and a nod for the grass cutter who stops his work because you’re walking by. A day off every week for the domestic worker, who takes care of you, your family and your guests 16 hours a day. A wave to the cleaner who clears the thrash from your HDB flat every morning.
           It’s not too much to ask that we treat others with basic respect. After all, like the John Farnham song, we’re all someone’s daughter, and we’re all someone’s son.

erp-07-assignment-article-2.doc

* sorry i couldnt find the hard copy and the soft copy on the website has probably expired already. I have the soft copy here though.

POLITICS/SOCIETAL ISSUE: SHOULD ORGAN TRADING BE ALLOWED? NO,SAYS POLL.

Article: http://www.straitstimes.com/

Brief Summary: In this recent article, Singaporeans are AGAINST changing the law to allow organs to be bought and sold here. Singaporeans here are not keen to sell their organs but they appear to have no qualms buying them if they need to. Should we legalize organ sale? Is this ban on organ sale prissy and paternalistic?

Reflections: When the subject of organ sale came up some time back, I was aghast that such a suggestion could even be made. However now, I’m not so sure. Having seen patients who have died because of lack of a donor organ, having seen how black markets have emerged to meet this need, I now think there may be a strong case to be made to legalize the sale of human organs.

      Firstly, lets look at some conflicting viewpoints. 1) It degrades the value of human life, to treat the body as you would any other object. 2) It exploits the poor, who will be the only sellers. 3) Morally wrong.
Ethically, it is indeed very hard to accept organs as a commodity that can be bought and sold, as the possibilities of abuse and profiteering are tremendous. While ethical boundaries do change with time and public sentiments, I feel that the society needs to discuss this issue openly. Back to my point, firstly, I only support the sale only of kidneys.
People can continue to lead healthy lives with one kidney, and the risk of death from donating a kidney is less than one in 1000. While selling a heart is definitely out, a liver transplant carries a 1 to 3 percent risk of death, definitely too high a risk.

      About 3,000 people in Singapore have kidney failure and at least a third of them would be living better lives at a much cheaper cost – a transplant. Basically, dialysis dose not stop the ravages to the body from a non-functioning kidney. So people on dialysis actually live shorter lives. Right now, patients are needlessly dying while precious organs that could save them rot away in the ground or are burnt to ashes.

      Is it an acceptable option to obtain kidneys for transplant through commercial deals with people who need the money?An editorial in the British Medical Journal in 2002 once suggested a monopsony, with the state as the sole purchaser. The state allocates the kidneys to patients on a need basis, not just to the rich who can afford to pay.
Does this degrade human life? Perhaps. But so does prostitution. Yet there is no outcry against prostitution, which goes on in many developed countries.

      The sale of a woman’s body in prostitution is to gratify. The sale of a kidney is to save a life. A prostitute risks getting sexually transmitted diseases, including the deadly Aids.

      Are the poor being exploited if organ sale is allowed?Perhaps. But life is not fair. The poor, by definition, are getting a rawer deal. If a poor person feels that the money he gets from the sale of a kidney could make a difference in his life, and that of his family, who are we to deny him that chance?We should not encourage him to sell his kidney. But the final decision is his to make. Professor Alastair Campbell once said that no matter how hard we try, we cannot expect a perfectly ethical market to exist.

      It is all a matter of weighing the risks against the benefits. And putting in as many safeguards as we can to protect sellers from being exploited. A final argument: Organ trading has already existed. Over the past years, many people have gone abroad for these transplants. Many people are doing it, but this does not make it right.

      But if it cannot be stopped, then it may be better to legalize it, to protect both buyer and seller. It would be the lesser of two evils.

(click to enlarge)

YAY WEEK 5 IS OVER WOOHOOO MAMA MIA. I SPENT 120 BUCKS THIS WEEK ON 3 12-INCH SPAWN FIGURINES 3 CHEERS!!! I got offered a wings of redemption spawn on e-bay for 77bucks. I declined. SO SAD here it is i bet u will fall in love with them too. How sexy. Time to save money like some balls. Oh man papa’s gonna come getcha soon.

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Im feeling much better now THank god. Ah.. feels good to regain the ability to taste. Lotsa Work to catchup- workaholic mode so funn

IM Getting sicker by the days. This really sucks. FRom a sorethroat to a block nose to a block ear to a back ache to a fever. WTF. I juz slept for 3 hours today. SIan la. stupid illness wasting so much of my time. I cant even train properly. Z.

Today i woke up with this terribly burning sensation in my throat. My throat must have been naughty again and playing with matches. Anyway…. I decided to go training today and dropped out after 12 rounds . BAH ! suks la.. I was also damn surprised when yi zhang asked my why i was not coming regularly for training. i was like wtFFFF ???? im sure la… i came for every single training during the hols then he come tell me i not coming regularly. ANyway. IM feeling REAL stressed now . Next week is like some mad crazy helluva week. For some reason, all teachers must pick thier quiz/ TA dates to be on Week 5. Even my chinese teacher has TO pick week 5 to write Yet ANOTHER boring essay. BOOO.
BTW: BIO ROCKS MY SOCKS!! XD
I HOPE my poor throat will learn its lesson and stop being so naughty. I will continue to pour lots of chrysancthemum tea and strepsil juice down that naughty throat. RAJAJAJAJAJA.