I am a polytechnic student volunteering as an event marshall for the South-East Asian (SEA) Games, and I feel that the organising committee has put in a lot of effort prior to the Games.
There have been workshops and briefings to ensure that we know our roles well and that all volunteers work together with a common identity: Team Nila.
Despite the Games being held during the first few weeks of the school holidays, we can see the different polytechnics participating actively and volunteering with one big heart. I hope this passionate spirit will continue.
I am really looking forward to volunteering at the Games.
Friday, 5 June 2015
[Today] Gradual, phased move to bus contracting
We refer to Mr Goh Kian Huat’s letter “Open up all bus routes to competition” (May 27). The ultimate goal of bus contracting is to subject all 12 packages of public bus services to competitive tendering.
The Land Transport Authority is phasing the transition to this end state by tendering out three packages first.
This allows us to refine the management of contracts, tendering and handover processes, and minimise the risk of disruptions for commuters during the transition. Through negotiated contracts, the incumbent operators will continue to operate the nine packages not tendered out in the first phase. More packages will gradually be tendered out thereafter.
As Mr Goh mentioned, regular fare adjustments are required to ensure the financial sustainability of the public transport system.
The Public Transport Council, which must strike a balance between ensuring this financial sustainability and keeping fares affordable, will continue to decide fare adjustments.
We thank Mr Goh for the opportunity to clarify.
The Land Transport Authority is phasing the transition to this end state by tendering out three packages first.
This allows us to refine the management of contracts, tendering and handover processes, and minimise the risk of disruptions for commuters during the transition. Through negotiated contracts, the incumbent operators will continue to operate the nine packages not tendered out in the first phase. More packages will gradually be tendered out thereafter.
As Mr Goh mentioned, regular fare adjustments are required to ensure the financial sustainability of the public transport system.
The Public Transport Council, which must strike a balance between ensuring this financial sustainability and keeping fares affordable, will continue to decide fare adjustments.
We thank Mr Goh for the opportunity to clarify.
[Today] Current workforce policy could prove short-sighted
I read with unease the report “No U-turn on foreign manpower policy: Swee Say” (June 3). An educational system “geared towards producing workers with stellar qualifications” does not automatically translate into a quality, qualified workforce.
There is no doubt a need to grow local expertise.
Given the disparity in paper qualifications, one can hardly suggest that qualifications alone are enough to sustain a wholesome core of local talent for industry needs at the highest level and remain globally competitive at the same time.
The bell curve in the intellect of any society does not change. More populated countries are opening up, and their talent pools are equally bigger. Multinationals might, in time, be tempted to relocate to where manpower is not constantly a major obstacle.
Insular, overly nationalistic policies that hint strongly at protectionism today could lead to unhappy, unfavourable consequences in the long term.
The movement of trade and people is essential for competitiveness and, thus, growth and productivity, which the industry is focussed on while some quarters are calling for better work-life balance. Something has to give way.
There is not enough time in any one day. Asked to volunteer or do more for neighbourhoods, one finds the length of a day away from work diminishes fast.
We can mechanise, improve on timekeeping and develop more efficient ways of working smart, but there is also a limit to the pounding a body can withstand. Wellness and happiness is not quantifiable.
Is it not worth more if humans are less stressed, have proper lives with fewer ailments and enjoy the fruits of one’s success eventually?
It is sometimes better to accept reality and limitations than to push too hard, which could cause any given system to implode eventually. By far, prevention is better than cure.
There is no doubt a need to grow local expertise.
Given the disparity in paper qualifications, one can hardly suggest that qualifications alone are enough to sustain a wholesome core of local talent for industry needs at the highest level and remain globally competitive at the same time.
The bell curve in the intellect of any society does not change. More populated countries are opening up, and their talent pools are equally bigger. Multinationals might, in time, be tempted to relocate to where manpower is not constantly a major obstacle.
Insular, overly nationalistic policies that hint strongly at protectionism today could lead to unhappy, unfavourable consequences in the long term.
The movement of trade and people is essential for competitiveness and, thus, growth and productivity, which the industry is focussed on while some quarters are calling for better work-life balance. Something has to give way.
There is not enough time in any one day. Asked to volunteer or do more for neighbourhoods, one finds the length of a day away from work diminishes fast.
We can mechanise, improve on timekeeping and develop more efficient ways of working smart, but there is also a limit to the pounding a body can withstand. Wellness and happiness is not quantifiable.
Is it not worth more if humans are less stressed, have proper lives with fewer ailments and enjoy the fruits of one’s success eventually?
It is sometimes better to accept reality and limitations than to push too hard, which could cause any given system to implode eventually. By far, prevention is better than cure.
[Today] Dying helps us appreciate life
It is timely and commendable for TODAY to draw attention to the last taboo in our nation (“As population ages, more are confronting the last taboo”; May 30).
The fear of death blinds many of us to many opportunities to find love, joy and peace in the face of suffering. The dying teach us to live more fully by helping us overcome the fear of death and dying.
Many young people have the misconception that they must keep the bad news of a terminal illness from the elderly, fearful that the latter would give up living when they are told they have an incurable disease.
However, many of the elderly are more concerned about burdening their loved ones than about dying.
The real issue is not about telling them their condition but giving them opportunities to ventilate their emotional distress and listening to them.
Talking about such issues during a medical crisis is difficult.
Hence, it is important that families share their feelings about artificial life-sustaining measures and other treatments whenever opportunities, such as the TODAY article, present themselves.
We tend to see death as an enemy. The best way to deal with our enemies is not to hate and fight them but to understand and love them.
We must learn to befriend death, which is not to court death in extreme sports or seek death through suicide or euthanasia, but to recognise that to die is human.
It is not to surrender to death as an inevitable fate, but to recognise that we are not soulless bodies or disembodied spirits. We have both a body and a soul.
Often, it is through suffering and dying that many discover the true meaning of their lives. We can choose not to let materialism blind us to the spiritual dimension of life.
Finally, when we turn dying into a medical problem, we become inhuman. Modern technology can delay death and cause much unnecessary suffering in the guise of prolonging life.
An old man dying from renal failure, who was forced to have kidney dialysis, wrote: Death is not the enemy, doctor; inhumanity is.
We need not obsess about death and dying. But when we learn to number our days, we will gain the wisdom to live a full, healthy life.
The fear of death blinds many of us to many opportunities to find love, joy and peace in the face of suffering. The dying teach us to live more fully by helping us overcome the fear of death and dying.
Many young people have the misconception that they must keep the bad news of a terminal illness from the elderly, fearful that the latter would give up living when they are told they have an incurable disease.
However, many of the elderly are more concerned about burdening their loved ones than about dying.
The real issue is not about telling them their condition but giving them opportunities to ventilate their emotional distress and listening to them.
Talking about such issues during a medical crisis is difficult.
Hence, it is important that families share their feelings about artificial life-sustaining measures and other treatments whenever opportunities, such as the TODAY article, present themselves.
We tend to see death as an enemy. The best way to deal with our enemies is not to hate and fight them but to understand and love them.
We must learn to befriend death, which is not to court death in extreme sports or seek death through suicide or euthanasia, but to recognise that to die is human.
It is not to surrender to death as an inevitable fate, but to recognise that we are not soulless bodies or disembodied spirits. We have both a body and a soul.
Often, it is through suffering and dying that many discover the true meaning of their lives. We can choose not to let materialism blind us to the spiritual dimension of life.
Finally, when we turn dying into a medical problem, we become inhuman. Modern technology can delay death and cause much unnecessary suffering in the guise of prolonging life.
An old man dying from renal failure, who was forced to have kidney dialysis, wrote: Death is not the enemy, doctor; inhumanity is.
We need not obsess about death and dying. But when we learn to number our days, we will gain the wisdom to live a full, healthy life.
[Today] Noise pollution needs to be controlled too
Luckily, I do not have the problems faced by the writer of the letter “Don’t deprive neighbours of peaceful, smoke-free enjoyment” (June 3). However, I believe that many of us face noise pollution problems too.
One need not be living on the second storey to hear the blasts of a high- performance motorcycle or turbo-charged car.
I live on the top floor of my block, and recently, my family has been getting a wake-up call from a motorcyclist who seems to insist on going full throttle even though he is only leaving the car park.
It is especially tough when one has an infant at home. Would the authorities be able to do anything about the noise output of such vehicles in our densely-populated estates?
One need not be living on the second storey to hear the blasts of a high- performance motorcycle or turbo-charged car.
I live on the top floor of my block, and recently, my family has been getting a wake-up call from a motorcyclist who seems to insist on going full throttle even though he is only leaving the car park.
It is especially tough when one has an infant at home. Would the authorities be able to do anything about the noise output of such vehicles in our densely-populated estates?
Thursday, 4 June 2015
[Today] Showcase our roots during SEA Games victory ceremonies
I watched the South-East Asian (SEA) Games’ table tennis victory ceremony and was puzzled that only English and Mandarin were used (“S’pore paddlers win Games’ first two golds”; June 3).
We are proud to be a multiracial society, with four official languages. The organisers should use this excellent occasion to demonstrate this to our neighbours and not let them think that we have forgotten our roots.
I also saw the flags of the winning teams being raised manually, which looked comical. If the organisers cannot afford to have motorised flag-raising, they should at least design the platform such that the flag raiser is out of view.
In addition, I have been trying to follow the television broadcast of the Games and to record the football matches. The recording on mio TV’s channel 134, however, consistently showed nothing but a fixed screen about impending matches.
In the end, I switched to MediaCorp’s okto channel, which has a more detailed programme, and I could choose what I wanted to record.
We are proud to be a multiracial society, with four official languages. The organisers should use this excellent occasion to demonstrate this to our neighbours and not let them think that we have forgotten our roots.
I also saw the flags of the winning teams being raised manually, which looked comical. If the organisers cannot afford to have motorised flag-raising, they should at least design the platform such that the flag raiser is out of view.
In addition, I have been trying to follow the television broadcast of the Games and to record the football matches. The recording on mio TV’s channel 134, however, consistently showed nothing but a fixed screen about impending matches.
In the end, I switched to MediaCorp’s okto channel, which has a more detailed programme, and I could choose what I wanted to record.
[Today] Ethics, gene research and the start of personhood
I refer to the commentary “Designer babies may soon be possible — but ethical questions abound” (May 29). Gene research will continue to advance, but the discussion would be about the kind of moral boundaries that should guide it.
Genetic research is of concern to everyone because it has to do with the basic metaphysical question: What is human personhood — a purely material being, or a dualistic being with a body and a soul?
Different views of this have different implications for gene research, from the application of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to researching gene editing.
Regarding human personhood, what is the moral status of extracorporeal embryos? Are they potential persons who, with time and the right environment, could become full persons, or are they persons with the potential to mature according to their kind?
If one accepts the dualistic view, then embryos are not potential persons, but persons.
This means that every embryo should be given a chance of implantation and, thus, PGD violates the embryo’s right to life.
It would mean that genetic editing of embryos without a 100 per cent assurance of safety would be considered unethical.
Choosing a better embryo over others or even choosing the sex of a baby would also mean deeming embryos, at that stage, to be products, not persons. This would be a form of discrimination against the unborn person.
If a material view of embryos is accepted, the boundaries would be larger — as embryos would only be potential persons — and stretch towards the point where one thinks the unborn deserves respect to be a person.
It could start from the 14th week of the foetus or towards foetal viability. The issue here is the subjectivity in deciding where research should not proceed: When is it a point where we would hurt a person?
There are other implications of human personhood for PGD and gene editing. The science of DNA has informed us that our genes show the potentiality for certain diseases, but should not determine our personality and thus our future.
A material approach to human personhood is a deterministic approach to human life, and could result in designer babies as a form of product for parents to select.
But is it for the better?
Would it lead to a eugenic approach to human living in society? Would designer babies achieve the outcome of their design?
In conclusion, the discussion of reproductive technology and gene research has to do with, and is affected by, the most basic issue: When are we considered a person — at the embryonic stage, foetal stage or at birth?
Genetic research is of concern to everyone because it has to do with the basic metaphysical question: What is human personhood — a purely material being, or a dualistic being with a body and a soul?
Different views of this have different implications for gene research, from the application of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to researching gene editing.
Regarding human personhood, what is the moral status of extracorporeal embryos? Are they potential persons who, with time and the right environment, could become full persons, or are they persons with the potential to mature according to their kind?
If one accepts the dualistic view, then embryos are not potential persons, but persons.
This means that every embryo should be given a chance of implantation and, thus, PGD violates the embryo’s right to life.
It would mean that genetic editing of embryos without a 100 per cent assurance of safety would be considered unethical.
Choosing a better embryo over others or even choosing the sex of a baby would also mean deeming embryos, at that stage, to be products, not persons. This would be a form of discrimination against the unborn person.
If a material view of embryos is accepted, the boundaries would be larger — as embryos would only be potential persons — and stretch towards the point where one thinks the unborn deserves respect to be a person.
It could start from the 14th week of the foetus or towards foetal viability. The issue here is the subjectivity in deciding where research should not proceed: When is it a point where we would hurt a person?
There are other implications of human personhood for PGD and gene editing. The science of DNA has informed us that our genes show the potentiality for certain diseases, but should not determine our personality and thus our future.
A material approach to human personhood is a deterministic approach to human life, and could result in designer babies as a form of product for parents to select.
But is it for the better?
Would it lead to a eugenic approach to human living in society? Would designer babies achieve the outcome of their design?
In conclusion, the discussion of reproductive technology and gene research has to do with, and is affected by, the most basic issue: When are we considered a person — at the embryonic stage, foetal stage or at birth?
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