Opinions

22 November 2018. 1100 AM. Today is THE day. Not quite the Battle of Normandy but a rite of passage nonetheless for many Singaporeans who have been through the Singapore education system. The wait for the PSLE results created a sense of foreboding common among many Singaporeans, young and old. Whether or not you studied 10 hours every single day or not, you all feel the same kind of scared. But what were we really scared of? 

The sense of relief that follows if you find out that you've passed, is palpable. It's written on the faces of your fellow students, your teachers, and your equally suffering parents. 

Not so straightforward if you didn't pass. Some crumble under the weight of expectations. Parents, grandparents, and teachers, while understandably wanting their children to do well, may place unnecessary amounts of pressure on the fragile shoulders of their 12 year-olds. Doing well in Fortnite, Pokemon Go or FIFA 19 are important to these children. Scoring A's for all their subjects? Not quite a relatable expectation.

The sad thing is some may be driven to depression and suicide. You must know that life does not stop at 12. You have a long life ahead of you. It is alright to make mistakes as long as you learn from your mistakes. Parents, it is your responsibility to tell your children that failure, while hard to stomach, is the end of your children's life. 

For the students who passed, now is the time to learn a life lesson - to be empathetic to the plight of others. It is fine to enjoy your success and bask in the adulation of your friends and family. Don't rub your success in the faces of your friends who did not do as well, or who failed. That's just not cool and respectful. The PSLE is but one test at this stage of your life. That friend who didn't do so well at PSLE may be your supervisor or boss next time. There is still a long road ahead where you may totally screw things up. When you do, keep your chin up and forge ahead.

If you see your friends struggling to come to term with their poor results, tell someone. Tell your teachers at least so that someone can check-in or intervene.

Here's wishing you all the best! Remember, your PSLE scores don't define you!

The writer, Faith, wants you to keep the faith.

Looks like the outcome of the next General Elections, whenever it may be, is a foregone conclusion. Nobody will dare bet against the PAP repeating their performance in GE2015, when they won 70% of the votes. Perhaps, they may even improve their vote share to 75%. The fixing of the opposition began in earnest with the legal onslaught against the Workers' Party (WP). Alex Tan and his Straits Times Review came up next. Now, another alternative voice, Terry Xu and his platform, The Online Citizen (TOC), is being silenced. Again. Xu and TOC are stalwarts in the civil activism scene. Despite the brickbats and the political pressure, TOC has never wavered. It has been at the forefront of the growth of civil activism and democracy in Singapore. Now that they are no longer there, what are we left with?

Indeed, as many netizens have articulated, the investigations against Xu and TOC are politically motivated. Whatever the public justifications may be for launching the investigations, there is no denying the fact that at its core, this was a politically motivated move. You have to hand it to the PAP. This was a smart, if not ingenious move. It is a move characteristic of the PAP. It is a move totally in line with the PAP's handbook of fixing the opposition. We have come to expect this, yet, there is nothing that Singaporeans can do about it. After all, PAP has become the hegemonic influence that it is by design, not by accident. Singaporeans may protest and complain but there's nothing that some SG Bonus cannot pay for.

This is the sad state of political affairs in Singapore. It is not that Singaporeans are politically apathetic. Singaporeans have gotten over that stage. It is that Singaporeans are a politically savvy bunch with their hands ties behind their backs. Our options, in terms of the quality of opposition slate, are already very limited. With the PAP's intervention, we are practically left with nothing. How can Singaporeans develop their political and social consciousness when it is demonstrated to us that dissent and having a contrarian point of view to the government is met with the full force of the law? How can we develop our political voices when time and again, instead of engaging and debating and learning to live with opposing views, the platforms where we communicate gets taken away from us.

We are legitimate citizens of Singapore with legitimate concerns on our lives and the future of our country. Why are we not allowed to speak up on matters that are important to us. In many other legitimate democracies in the world, an engaged, active citizenry is valued by the governments. Here in Singapore, the narrative is such that opposition voices = trouble makers. That, to say the least, is unfair to the many people who really care and who have the interest of the country at heart. People like Terry Xu. 

In a almost prophetic interview with RICE in December last year, Xu remarked that he was prepared to go to jail for an indefinite period, for what he was doing with TOC. In this endeavour, Xu is not overwhelmed by riches, even though the IBs will vehemently argue otherwise. His is story of a one-man demonstration of grit and tenacity. He ran TOC alone, and mostly from home, when many other partners or co-founders have moved on because TOC could not, in Xu's words, "provide a living". His, is not a sacrifice that Singaporeans should take flippantly.

Unfortunately, as long as the PAP remains in power, the sacrifices by people like Xu will continue to be taken for granted. People like Xu will just be an inconsequential footnote in the history of Singapore. Democracy, will remain an ideal that Singapore and Singaporeans aspire to, but will never achieve.

The writer, Faith, is a millennial convinced that providing an alternative voice for the people is in good faith.

Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor said that a study done by NEA and MTI showed that stall rentals comprised only 12% of the overall costs incurred by hawkers whereas raw materials and manpower made up of 76% of the hawkers' cost. Another study by IPS also showed that hawkers generally priced food according to the competition and the demographic profile of customers there. “Hence, stall rentals do not directly affect food prices,” said Dr Amy Khor.

With that being said, does it not mean that every single component that goes into a hawker stall will directly affect the food prices? Be it rental, manpower costs, raw materials, operating costs such as table cleaning fees, etc.. They WILL all directly affect the profits of a hawker and in turn affect the food prices. Everybody is earning a living. Hawkers work long hours daily to provide us with good food. Why are we bullying them? Do they deserve to make a lesser profit? Why is Dr Amy Khor making such statements, does she not know how profits work? I'm sure many of us want the hawker culture in Singapore to continue to thrive. Hawker centres are where we can find low SES food without breaking the bank. If it gets too expensive, how will our future generations be able to afford these simple meals? Just some food for thought.

Source: Facebook

Milo powder coated chicken strips anyone? While most would think having such new age food is a bit too much, the food item actually sold out at an event in Malaysia called Friedchillies: Ayam Lejen 2.

The event, held at the LRT Ara Damansara Station in Selangor on 10 to 11 November, was sold by Malaysian burger chain, myBurgerLab. And according to the event organiser, the specially coated Milo was sold out by 3pm on the first day itself. They sold the same thing on the following day, and within three hours, 1,500 chicken strips was sold. 

Seems like people really go for weird food combinations nowadays. 

The latest audit reports coming out from SBS Transit indicates that their Q3 earnings had soared even higher on the back of higher number of people taking public transportation. Yet, this does not seem to deter the PTC to approve the hike in public transport fares, as the rail operators still insisted  that rail operations are still unprofitabe despite the higher number of people taking the MRT and LRT.

With even proof that the SBS Transit had posted a strong increase in their net earnings for the third quarter ending 30 September, it seems that it still is not enoiugh for these greedy government to increase fare and make more Singaporeans suffer. The numbers are just staggering, consider this. The profit attributable to shareholders went up by 77.5% to $19.7m, and comes on the back of a 19,1% rise on revenue, which equates to $351.4m. 

With the millions earned, the PTC still agreed that rail operations are still unprofitable, and as a result, mediocre Singaporeans have to pay the price with increased transport fares. If there is any more proof that Government only sees dollars and cents in everything they do, this is it. No compassion for Singaporeans, who are struggling with an alarming possibility of seeing their home country getting too expensive for them to live in. 

Many citizens have been questioning the Government regarding the rising costs to run a hawker stall. Running a hawker stall is not easy, hawkers have to put in the blood, sweat and tears, making use of recipes passed down from their family just so their consumers will enjoy the food. They usually start from wee hours in the morning. Why should NEA profit from their hard work?

Facebook user La Vie Est Belle rants:

"All these over-educated, over-thinking bureaucrats who are driven primarily by profit for themselves while shifting burdens to others, with unreasonable KPIs for others, are not leading anyone to any bright future. When making a good, rich soup or stew, one has to skim away the scum that floats to the top, leaving behind the good substance. Same with our hawker culture.

By the way, the word “hawkerpreneur” is stupidly redundant. Conjured up by people who have no real value to add? Hawkers are people who run small businesses and running a business is necessarily entrepreneurial. Might as well call businessmen businesspreneur.