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Singapore National Education
Part 3
by mr brown
(Feel free to distribute for non-profit and non-commercial purposes but keep my byline, email address and URL intact please. Thanks)
I have also learned lately:
1. That we need to set up a Committee to discuss systematically how we can have Creativity.
2. That our leaders say that we must be creative and independent of spirit, therefore we must do as they say and be creative and independent of spirit.
3. That we are given a _choice_ on upgrading our flats but when we choose not to and convince others it's not desirable, we are selfish. (ST Forum 27 May 1997).
4. That Unselfishness means choosing upgrading like everyone should.
5. That we should be creative and mentally independent, as long as we choose upgrading, or else it would be selfish.
6. That we have Freedom of Choice, even in upgrading, as long as we choose correctly and vote for upgrading.
7. That Johor is an evil place and Singapore is a crime-free haven, that Johor is an evil place and Singapore is a crime-free haven, that Johor is an evil place and Singapore is a crime-free haven, that Johor is an evil place and Singapore is a crime-free haven, that Johor is an evil place and Singapore is a crime-free haven. At least that is what the papers say.
8. That the way to mend ties with an angry neighbour is to keep printing statistics about his higher crime rate.
9. That Engineering and Science Graduates are better than Arts Students, but we want a creative society where the Arts flourishes too.
10. That Creativity is so important to our Economic Survival that we set up a Committee to look into developing the Arts, but we want our students to choose an Engineering or Science degree if they can.
11. That making the University fees relatively higher for Arts Courses will make students choose Engineering and Science Courses because they are better value for money.
12. That losing your queue in the HDB is not penalty enough for the 230 young couples out of 29,000 who changed partners but an additional $5000 fine is necessary.
13. That we can solve the problems of young couples changing their partners in the HDB queue by penalizing _everyone_ in the Fiance/Fiancee scheme with a $5000 deposit.
14. That women will have children earlier given enough monetary incentives in the form of income tax rebates. ("I had my 5th kid by the time I was 28 and look how much I saved!!!")
15. That the Govt wants us to get married but when we rush to the ROM, we are not really ready for marriage (cf ST June 8 1997 Sunday front page)
16. That according to a local MP, 24-year-olds and below should think carefully about getting married, but the ideal age for marriage is 26 and above.
17. That HDB and ROM should consider merging to take advantage of economies of scale and unity of purpose.
18. That Population control and Family Planning can be controlled with housing policies.
19. That the Male Fertility problems can be cured with Guiness Stout (cf Guiness Stout ad in ST 6 June 1997 Pg 52)
20. That plugging a housing loophole can also create a nice little profit.
21. That marriage has nothing to do with love but whether we can find the $5000 to make a home we won't see till more than 4 years later.
22. That we are told to look beyond material gains and materialism, but come Election Day, we are to look at the Rewards of Upgrading that come with voting correctly...
23. That a 20-year-old sci-fi movie trilogy can be rereleased after a little cleanup and still make tons of money.
24. That despite HDB assurances, couples will still get registered to avoid the $5000 deposit and the July 12 deadline because they are not sure when the HDB will change its collective mind again.
25. That the way to increase the availability of cabs to be booked, even though many cabbies are turning off their satellite sets in protest, is to increase the booking charges to a point where less people want to use the booking service.
26. That the way to encourage the use of public transport and discourage the use of private cars is to increase the costs of transportation for ALL transportation.
By Lee Kin Mun (Copyright 1997)
All fan mail and soft toys may be directed at mrbrown@mrbrown.com
Other writings may be found in the Website "BrownTown" at http://www.mrbrown.com
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