awesome post. I really agree with your wanting to bring back the ‘kampung spirit’. I wonder what changed along the way. As a kid, i remember when national dawned near, so many houses would hang the flag. (including mine) Now the only flags that hang are those hung by community centres.
I think too many people think that the country owes them something- hence they want singapore to be given to them the way they feel sngapore should be. But that’s not possible, in a community you’ve got to give & take! & you shd be willing to give & take because you’re aware of building something more important than yourself. I think people should realise that if you want a home you’ve got to earn it, got to build it.
I think along the way we were encouraged to look out for ourselves rather than each other (which is a false dilemma, because it is entirely possible to do both at the same time) and we created this really kiasu I-must-be-the-best-at-everyone-else’s-expense mentality; which might have boosted economic growth for a few decades but is no longer appropriate in this day and age
I was going to comment down below with the same sentiment you posted. But since you posted it here first, I’m going to have to agree here instead of later on the page.
BTW, great post! I felt it put the finger on the problem. Singaporeans probably don’t feel a sense of belonging to Singapore because they feel that they are not making any impact on the society around them.
It’s strange that the very tool – the emphasis on academic excellence and meritocracy (at least on the superficial level) – that helped Singapore to develop its economy in the beginning has led to this – the outflow of brains. Of course, this led to most students being selfish and hoarding their notes because they are afraid that their classmates will use the material from their notes to get better grades than them. BTW, this still does happen in NUS – some exchange students have commented on that and thought it to be a weird culture.
The Singapore education system is excellent, but the culture has got to change somehow. I’m not sure how, though. It’s already pretty ingrained in students here.
Also, the political situation is not helping as well. The members in the Opposition are not allowed to have a louder voice in Parliament. When the typical Singaporean on the street feel that their opinions are not being heard or taken action on, they would feel that they do not matter.
Leaders are important too. Knowing that leaders fought for you & are working for your well-being, sincerely, would make you feel like your safety in the country is really important. And you really feel a sense of belonging to your country. I think thats why we’re quite negative abt the govt’s payroll.
“In contrast, I would gladly allow my beloved Junior College to be razed to the ground” haha & omg this part made me laugh
“We were there to get our A level certificates, nothing more. It was means to an end, nothing more. As an institution, as a cultural beacon, it was dead.”
Really, Visa?
It might have been the case for you and some of your friends, but to the majority of my group of friends(myself included), JC was not just the means to an end(and it gave us awesome memories along the way too).
It might be more fair to say that it’s your opinion instead of “we”. I personally feel that the lack of spirit in the school was what actually brought people together. The fact TPJC had no particularly strong school spirit was what we were all ironically proud of. haha, I’m not sure if you get what I’m saying, and i’m not entirely sure how to put it across either.
Anyways, sorry for just picking on this point even though it’s only a minor part of the main post. I just feel a really strong bond to TPJC cause it’s given me the best times of my life so far, and i’d never trade it for anything in the world; and hearing you say that it was dead as a cultural beacon feels; well, it feels quite unfair.
AND wahlao let it be “razed to the ground”!?!?!
Feels like a stab in the heart, balls! hahahaha
You’re completely right, it is really just my own individual opinion and I can’t speak on behalf of anybody else, and I’ve changed that accordingly. I’m sorry!
I do know what you mean by an ironic pride and I do see how it could bring people together- but I think it bears mentioning that the institution itself plays no role in that, and it is entirely up to people to rally together. By that I mean to say that I think you and your mates would most probably have gotten awesome memories regardless of where you guys might have been.
I’ve always had a strong personal belief that it is up to the individual(s) to decide for themselves whether or not something has meaning- and in my case I guess I couldn’t find any, which could very easily and fairly be perceived as a shortcoming on my part, not the institution’s. At the same time though, it is evident that some communities/institutions/environments overwhelm the individual in either a positive or negative way, ignoring the few outliers who manage to remain unaffected or even go against the grain (as I’m choosing to describe you and buddies, with regards to TPJC!).
Actually, you’ve raised a very important point which is exactly what I’m trying to talk about- that it is possible for people to rally together and create meaning for themselves and each other even when things are falling apart. And while I never put in any effort to bother doing that during my JC life (admittedly because I was more concerned with my life outside of it), I am thoroughly obsessed with making it happen in Singapore in general, and then taking what I learn from that and applying it to the world at large.
As for “let it be razed to the ground”, that’s just me lah. Haha. I wouldn’t never encourage any razing, but I’d have other priorities that I’d be more worried about protecting if there really was a hypothetical firestorm. If it was the ONLY thing burning, then well, yes, I do think I’d help out, by matter of principle. (I do admit I wrote that mostly because I thought it would be kind of entertaining.) Hey, at least we all have our own things to hold us down and together, right?
Thank you so much for speaking your mind! Appreciate it. Keep fighting the good fight! =)
Give us more freedom. Allow the people to make changes. Let us have more say. Allow us to peacefully protest.
What I want?
Removal of ISA
More laws to protect privacy
Minimum wage
Equal opportunities for disabled people
Equal opportunities for older people
Cheaper housing
Most importantly, allow discontent and criticism to flourish. I hate patriotism on principle. I wouldn’t hang a flag outside my door. That’s just me. What I would be proud of is our way of life, our culture, our art. I want to tell people about a quirk of Singaporeans and say – ‘that’s a uniquely Singaporean thing’. And I don’t want to say all the negative things that we joke about – ‘kiasu’ ‘competitive’ ‘materialistic’…
I don’t think we can or should bring back the kampung spirit. That is just too sentimental and unrealistic. We are a big city and we can’t go back to kampungs.
As for “hating patriotism on principle”, I think that really just depends on how you choose to define it. I think of patriotism as something that is independent of the State- kind of like how a football fan remains a fan of his team regardless of who the manager is, or even who the players are.
I meant the same thing with “kampung spirit”; I don’t mean that we should literally live in kampungs, I meant that we ought to look out for each other a little more (which are totally congruent with minimum wage and opportunities for the aged and disabled, don’t you think?)
Haziq – completely agree. The school spirit wasn’t defined by TPJC’s lame values. In fact we always joke about the ‘slack’ culture in TP. I feel quite disgusted when we are forced to cheer for teams and such at orientation camps. I came from TKGS and they were always going on about the school spirit, doing the TKGS cheers at every opportunity – ‘spirit’ shouldn’t come from bureaucracy
The cool thing that still makes me nostalgic about VS is how uninvolved the school administration was. I still remember, as a Sec 1 boy, the intense admiration I had for the Sec 4 “men”- for they were dignified, responsible, accomplished, respectable- and the school spirit I witnessed felt sincere. We didn’t need student leaders to egg us on, we didn’t need to talk about it at all- the desire to be a part of it all was electric, and I think independent of any individual element we might try to pinpoint as responsible.
^seems to imply that I’d suggest that what TPJC needed was “enforced school spirit”. That’s the worst possible thing we could’ve done, and I would liken it to all the campaigns that our government likes to initiate. It always feels artificial and insincere. If I could change anything at TPJC- I would give the student council more power, because they were little more than a puppet organization when I was there.
At the end of the day, the most important thing (in my opinion) is that the individual feels valued by the collective. I felt that in VS, I didn’t feel it in TPJC. I think most Starbucks staff feel that way (they’re authorized to make decisions/concessions if they feel it serves the customer best), and it is a testament to the effectiveness of their organization. I think the same applies to sports teams, which is why a star team almost always outperforms a team of stars.
When asked where I am from, my initial response would always be my secondary school. Hailing from the same alma matar, I am sure you would understand when I say it was there that I most of my maturing.
I agree with your post that Singapore has really gone to the dogs, shredded and ripped. And as always, there will be the ‘denialists’ who insist everything is fine the way it is. I am hopeful for a good show this GE, with the presentation of a voting slip to every single Singapore citizen, that the true voice of Singaporeans will be heard.
I can’t help but wonder, though- surely there is a way to re-create the sort of conditions that allow sincere, genuine spirit to grow and take root? Could there be something about the conditions at VS, for example, that we ought to emulate at a more national scope?
awesome post. I really agree with your wanting to bring back the ‘kampung spirit’. I wonder what changed along the way. As a kid, i remember when national dawned near, so many houses would hang the flag. (including mine) Now the only flags that hang are those hung by community centres.
I think too many people think that the country owes them something- hence they want singapore to be given to them the way they feel sngapore should be. But that’s not possible, in a community you’ve got to give & take! & you shd be willing to give & take because you’re aware of building something more important than yourself. I think people should realise that if you want a home you’ve got to earn it, got to build it.
I think along the way we were encouraged to look out for ourselves rather than each other (which is a false dilemma, because it is entirely possible to do both at the same time) and we created this really kiasu I-must-be-the-best-at-everyone-else’s-expense mentality; which might have boosted economic growth for a few decades but is no longer appropriate in this day and age
I was going to comment down below with the same sentiment you posted. But since you posted it here first, I’m going to have to agree here instead of later on the page.
BTW, great post! I felt it put the finger on the problem. Singaporeans probably don’t feel a sense of belonging to Singapore because they feel that they are not making any impact on the society around them.
It’s strange that the very tool – the emphasis on academic excellence and meritocracy (at least on the superficial level) – that helped Singapore to develop its economy in the beginning has led to this – the outflow of brains. Of course, this led to most students being selfish and hoarding their notes because they are afraid that their classmates will use the material from their notes to get better grades than them. BTW, this still does happen in NUS – some exchange students have commented on that and thought it to be a weird culture.
The Singapore education system is excellent, but the culture has got to change somehow. I’m not sure how, though. It’s already pretty ingrained in students here.
Also, the political situation is not helping as well. The members in the Opposition are not allowed to have a louder voice in Parliament. When the typical Singaporean on the street feel that their opinions are not being heard or taken action on, they would feel that they do not matter.
Again, great post.
Leaders are important too. Knowing that leaders fought for you & are working for your well-being, sincerely, would make you feel like your safety in the country is really important. And you really feel a sense of belonging to your country. I think thats why we’re quite negative abt the govt’s payroll.
“In contrast, I would gladly allow my beloved Junior College to be razed to the ground” haha & omg this part made me laugh
hehe
it’s true!
thanks for responding so thoroughly, means a lot! =D
“We were there to get our A level certificates, nothing more. It was means to an end, nothing more. As an institution, as a cultural beacon, it was dead.”
Really, Visa?
It might have been the case for you and some of your friends, but to the majority of my group of friends(myself included), JC was not just the means to an end(and it gave us awesome memories along the way too).
It might be more fair to say that it’s your opinion instead of “we”. I personally feel that the lack of spirit in the school was what actually brought people together. The fact TPJC had no particularly strong school spirit was what we were all ironically proud of. haha, I’m not sure if you get what I’m saying, and i’m not entirely sure how to put it across either.
Anyways, sorry for just picking on this point even though it’s only a minor part of the main post. I just feel a really strong bond to TPJC cause it’s given me the best times of my life so far, and i’d never trade it for anything in the world; and hearing you say that it was dead as a cultural beacon feels; well, it feels quite unfair.
AND wahlao let it be “razed to the ground”!?!?!
Feels like a stab in the heart, balls! hahahaha
Hey Haziq!
You’re completely right, it is really just my own individual opinion and I can’t speak on behalf of anybody else, and I’ve changed that accordingly. I’m sorry!
I do know what you mean by an ironic pride and I do see how it could bring people together- but I think it bears mentioning that the institution itself plays no role in that, and it is entirely up to people to rally together. By that I mean to say that I think you and your mates would most probably have gotten awesome memories regardless of where you guys might have been.
I’ve always had a strong personal belief that it is up to the individual(s) to decide for themselves whether or not something has meaning- and in my case I guess I couldn’t find any, which could very easily and fairly be perceived as a shortcoming on my part, not the institution’s. At the same time though, it is evident that some communities/institutions/environments overwhelm the individual in either a positive or negative way, ignoring the few outliers who manage to remain unaffected or even go against the grain (as I’m choosing to describe you and buddies, with regards to TPJC!).
Actually, you’ve raised a very important point which is exactly what I’m trying to talk about- that it is possible for people to rally together and create meaning for themselves and each other even when things are falling apart. And while I never put in any effort to bother doing that during my JC life (admittedly because I was more concerned with my life outside of it), I am thoroughly obsessed with making it happen in Singapore in general, and then taking what I learn from that and applying it to the world at large.
As for “let it be razed to the ground”, that’s just me lah. Haha. I wouldn’t never encourage any razing, but I’d have other priorities that I’d be more worried about protecting if there really was a hypothetical firestorm. If it was the ONLY thing burning, then well, yes, I do think I’d help out, by matter of principle. (I do admit I wrote that mostly because I thought it would be kind of entertaining.) Hey, at least we all have our own things to hold us down and together, right?
Thank you so much for speaking your mind! Appreciate it. Keep fighting the good fight! =)
Give us more freedom. Allow the people to make changes. Let us have more say. Allow us to peacefully protest.
What I want?
Removal of ISA
More laws to protect privacy
Minimum wage
Equal opportunities for disabled people
Equal opportunities for older people
Cheaper housing
Most importantly, allow discontent and criticism to flourish. I hate patriotism on principle. I wouldn’t hang a flag outside my door. That’s just me. What I would be proud of is our way of life, our culture, our art. I want to tell people about a quirk of Singaporeans and say – ‘that’s a uniquely Singaporean thing’. And I don’t want to say all the negative things that we joke about – ‘kiasu’ ‘competitive’ ‘materialistic’…
I don’t think we can or should bring back the kampung spirit. That is just too sentimental and unrealistic. We are a big city and we can’t go back to kampungs.
Good points! Will be referencing them, for sure.
As for “hating patriotism on principle”, I think that really just depends on how you choose to define it. I think of patriotism as something that is independent of the State- kind of like how a football fan remains a fan of his team regardless of who the manager is, or even who the players are.
I meant the same thing with “kampung spirit”; I don’t mean that we should literally live in kampungs, I meant that we ought to look out for each other a little more (which are totally congruent with minimum wage and opportunities for the aged and disabled, don’t you think?)
Thanks for sharing!
Haziq – completely agree. The school spirit wasn’t defined by TPJC’s lame values. In fact we always joke about the ‘slack’ culture in TP. I feel quite disgusted when we are forced to cheer for teams and such at orientation camps. I came from TKGS and they were always going on about the school spirit, doing the TKGS cheers at every opportunity – ‘spirit’ shouldn’t come from bureaucracy
The cool thing that still makes me nostalgic about VS is how uninvolved the school administration was. I still remember, as a Sec 1 boy, the intense admiration I had for the Sec 4 “men”- for they were dignified, responsible, accomplished, respectable- and the school spirit I witnessed felt sincere. We didn’t need student leaders to egg us on, we didn’t need to talk about it at all- the desire to be a part of it all was electric, and I think independent of any individual element we might try to pinpoint as responsible.
(also agree that despite the lack of ‘school spirit’ enforced by TPJC, I feel like it was the best times of my life so far too)
^seems to imply that I’d suggest that what TPJC needed was “enforced school spirit”. That’s the worst possible thing we could’ve done, and I would liken it to all the campaigns that our government likes to initiate. It always feels artificial and insincere. If I could change anything at TPJC- I would give the student council more power, because they were little more than a puppet organization when I was there.
At the end of the day, the most important thing (in my opinion) is that the individual feels valued by the collective. I felt that in VS, I didn’t feel it in TPJC. I think most Starbucks staff feel that way (they’re authorized to make decisions/concessions if they feel it serves the customer best), and it is a testament to the effectiveness of their organization. I think the same applies to sports teams, which is why a star team almost always outperforms a team of stars.
Viva La Victoria!
When asked where I am from, my initial response would always be my secondary school. Hailing from the same alma matar, I am sure you would understand when I say it was there that I most of my maturing.
I agree with your post that Singapore has really gone to the dogs, shredded and ripped. And as always, there will be the ‘denialists’ who insist everything is fine the way it is. I am hopeful for a good show this GE, with the presentation of a voting slip to every single Singapore citizen, that the true voice of Singaporeans will be heard.
Remember – your vote IS secret.
I can’t help but wonder, though- surely there is a way to re-create the sort of conditions that allow sincere, genuine spirit to grow and take root? Could there be something about the conditions at VS, for example, that we ought to emulate at a more national scope?
Nil Sine Labore!