Blog prompt 8

What are the qualities you look for in a potential MP/ Minister?

       An MP and a minister are both required to lead the nation, but not everyone can lead. A leader must fulfil certain qualities. As for me, there are some qualities I look for in a potential MP or minister. They are integrity, determination, method of thinking, ability to communicate, trust, level of education, passion and age.

          An MP or minister must have integrity. He or she must not be corrupted or the entire government would be affected and this indirectly affects the nation as a whole. A minister, at some point in time, has to handle money or funds. This sum of money usually is quite a huge sum. He or she must overcome the temptation of misusing the funds for personal gain.

          If one were an MP, he or she must have determination. To help govern a country is no easy task. During crisis like the economic downturn, measures must be taken to help the country overcome the problem. However, each action a government takes would bring about its own side effects. For example, PAP is fielding a new candidate who is of the young age of 27. This was an effort to win the support of the younger generation. However, some people, especially the opposition party, have many doubts and concerns that the candidate is too young and incapable of carrying out her tasks well as she is inexperience.

          An MP’s way of thinking is very important. Thus, the ability to think logically and rationally during difficult times is crucial. Failure to think logically would result in illogical decisions being made, and as such, would eventually bring the country down. As Atticus in ‘To kill a mocking bird’ said, “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”. In order to understand the people, a minister has to see things from their point of view. Then only would he be able to come up with suggestions or make decisions which are beneficial to the population.

          A minister also must have good communication skills. He or she must be effectively bilingual and be able to communicate in some dialects. This is so that he can reach out to the greater majority of the population, including the elderly and those who may not be able to speak English. Also, good communication skills are required in order to better bring forth an idea in parliament.

          No country would want an illiterate MP or minister. Although an MP is not required to have a Masters or a PhD, he or she should at least be educated and obtain decent grades. A country must be led by people who are intellectually capable. Singapore has no natural resources. Its people are its resources. It is important for Singapore to be led by people who are intellectually capable because it is her people who will eventually bring the country to greater heights. Imagine a country led by people who are illiterates. What would happen to the country in the long run? Singapore needs people who are able to make sound decisions and this is only possible if a minister is educated to a certain extent.

          A minister has to be passionate in what he or she does. Passion helps to keep one focused on the task ahead and motivated even when the going gets tough. Having a passion in what he or she does helps one perform better in the job. Passion also helps one to look beyond the job scope. With passion, the job is sustained and more will benefit in the long run.

          Age is the final factor I will look at. A young MP would, hopefully, inject more life and vibrancy to the ward that he or she is in charge of.  In addition, a young MP would be more in touch with the mindset of the younger generation and moving trends. This would hopefully lead to more updated and innovative ideas being contributed. With a young MP at the helm, the younger generation, hopefully, would be lured into politics, thereby, bringing in new blood to the party, and at the same time, generate new ideas to help the nation to prosper.

Blog prompt 7

        There was a thunderous boom. Pieces of the roof were flung into the air. Following that was a series of gunshots, like applause. The blast shook the building, like the tremor of an earthquake. It was mighty scary. The grenade missed me by few meters. It hit the other end of the roof.  The roof screeched in pain. I looked up and saw what was left of the roof. It was similar to paper after a printer jam, crumpled up with an obvious dent in the centre. The deafening explosion nearly burst my eardrums. I looked to the side. There were limbs, a hand, an arm and a leg to be precise. Now, what used look like a magnificent powerful military was reduced to run down looking buildings with dented roofs and smoke emitted from them. The ground had a makeover, it was now red. Bodies piled up along streets. Occasionally, a limb or two can be found on the roads. Tanks were blazing, the grasses were withering and dirt rained from the sky. There was no one in sight. Silence returned for a brief period. The sky darkened and a cold breeze blew by.

Blog Prompt 6

Tell us whether or not you tend to pay attention to events in other parts of the world and why?

Why should we care about what happens in places far away from where we live in general?

                    Yes I tend to. Event happening in other parts of the world may affect us directly or indirectly. It can affect us in many ways – financially, economically, health and safety. We can also learn from these events such as what we should do when we encounter a similar situation. With this past knowledge, we can draw from it and come up with an even more efficient and effective solution than what the victims in the past have done. Take for example the recent earthquake in Japan. This natural disaster registered 8.9 on the Richter scale. From it, we can learn how to rebuild whatever has been destroyed and how to build better infrastructure to withstand natural disasters on a similar scale. In addition, I learnt that San Francisco is likely to be hit by an earthquake. Thus we know that San Francisco may not be a safe place to be in in the near future. From the Japan earthquake, the San Francisco authorities can start making preparations to brace itself for the predicted natural disaster that it cannot avoid. When this happens, we can then minimise the death toll. Knowing about these events helps us to make informed decisions. While others are fleeing Japan, we wouldn’t want to be visiting it due to the possible radiation emitted from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. We would also not want to visit the neighbouring countries if we can avoid it. Since we are aware of the natural disaster that has ravaged Japan, we can do our part and donate money as well as other essentials to assist our Japanese counterparts.  We would also exercise more caution when it comes to consuming food imported from Japan.

Independent Post 6

Does fat equal bad?

                Most people in the world feel that being fat is bad. Not many think otherwise. Obesity is always associated with inability to fit into clothing, heart problems, diabetes and immobility. Few think otherwise. What are the disadvantages to being fat? That is an easy question to answer. Obesity rates in the States are high. Even some health experts who comment on how to lose weight efficiently are slightly round themselves. Of course I am not saying that all people in the States are fat, nor am I saying fat people are only found in the States. But coming to think of it, are there only downsides to being fat?

                Being fat would mean an increase in weight, and this weight can be used in situations like an attack. I am not suggesting that people who are heavy engage in fights but in the case of a provocation, one can use one’s massive body weight against the provoker. There are other advantages these people have too! For example: In a tug-of-war game, the strong can afford to pull the weak, but the heavy can pull the light. Take me for example. Due to my tiny size and light weight (Fortunately not underweight), I can be easily be pushed out of the class by anyone bigger than me. Fats can also serve as a protection from the cold. The fats can act as an extra layer of protection from the chill.

                I ask my relatives, usually during New Year, “What’s your new year’s resolution?” A significant amount of relatives of mine states losing weight as one resolution. This New Year resolution, however, is usually unachievable. Somehow, as the year passes, I notice them putting on a little, and few maintain at the same weight. Only one or two lose a little weight. I ask my mum, “What weight do you intend to achieve?” She says “50kg”.

                However, if you are skinny, there are also its disadvantages. You cannot fit into most clothes, like me. You also tend to feel colder than other bigger sized people. You are also more likely to fall ill.

                The better is to be of a healthy size. Not too fat, not too skinny, just right.

Blog Prompt 5

                                Can the machine ever replace the teacher?

No, it cannot. As technology advances, new discoveries are made and machines such as robots become more and more sophisticated, able to express feelings etc. These robots have access to the internet and very accurate and advanced information. They can be described as encyclopaedias, able to provide information in a second. However, the robot or machine can never replace the teacher.

A teacher can never be replaced by the machine, at least not any time soon. Things like morals are in the grey area. For example, is it morally right to have an abortion? Some people may say that there is nothing wrong with it, as the foetus cannot feel a thing. Others simply do not agree. They feel that it is not right to end a life. Some classify it as murder. Different individuals have different viewpoints on issues like this. A machine runs on a program, programmed by a programmer. Therefore, viewpoints that the machine is programmed to support are similar to that of the programmer.

Another reason why a teacher can never be replaced is because a teacher’s role is not solely to mark essays produced by a student, nor is it solely to give advice to students. I feel that a good teacher is one that can maintain a human relationship with a student, and not a I teach you learn kind of relationship. There must be some form of understanding. A teacher must also be able to cater to every individual’s needs, teaching lessons in ways which benefits every individual. Of course this is not possible for a human teacher, but it would be even more impossible with the current technology for machines to be capable of doing so either.

Lastly, it is way too expensive to replace every teacher with machines. It would cost way too much, and would also worsen global warming.

Blog Prompt 4

                                        Where is the Love?

                The issues discussed in the song are terrorism and discrimination. These issues are present even now. Terrorism can be fought if we are united. However, unity is not possible with discrimination. I feel that discrimination is one cause for terrorism, and terrorism is a cause for discrimination. These two issues are interlinked. When one dislikes another race, one would not want to associate oneself with that particular race. The society then would be pretty much divided. Discrimination can also be caused by terrorism. Terrorists groups like Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which is a Southeast Asian Militant Islamic organization, may result in people thinking that all Islamic people are dangerous. This is the kind of stereotype which would cause discrimination amongst the people or a population. The song talks about us being led away from unity, and that there is space for discrimination. It hints that our efforts to fight terrorism would lead to nowhere as there is no unity amongst us in the first place.

Independent Post 5

                                 Which is the cleanest country in the world?
        Which is the cleanest country in the world? I came across this when I was searching STOMP for some inspiration to blog on. Well, in the STOMP post, it says that "The top scorers for year 2010 were Iceland , Switzerland and Costa Rica with EPI scores of 93.5, 89.1 and 86.4 respectively. Singapore qualified at 28th place with a score of 69.6." I agree with this. Well if Singapore is a clean place to live in, why do we need advertisements on keeping the country clean, and the penalty which comes along when a litterbug is caught throwing his litter on the ground.

        I feel that Singaporeans should put in more effort to keep the country clean and litter-free. Let me quote you one incident: The usual PLEASE DON'T LITTER advertisement was playing on the television between the Okto shows. My brother was doing his homework and the table was full of eraser dust. As the advertisement "pleads" Singaporeans not to throw litter on the ground, my brother conveniently threw a cluster of eraser dust out of the window. So much for the effectiveness of the advertisement. I wonder how much impact the advertisement actually had on Singaporeans. Does it really stop Singaporeans from littering? Is it playing a crucial role in keeping Singapore clean? Is the fine an effective deterrent?

STOMP Link:

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/558770/guess_which_is__the_cleanest_country_in_the_world.html