Thursday, 26 July 2007
@08:48
RACIAL HARMONY
What determines a race? Is it your skin colour? Your religion? The language you speak? As many times as we may have recited the pledge, did we really thought about what it was all about?
'We, the citizens of Singapore,pledge ourselves as one united people,regardless of race, language or religion,to build a democratic societybased on justice and equalityso as to achieve happiness, prosperity andprogress for our nation.'
“Regardless of race, language or religion” Is racial harmony all that important in this society, in our country Singapore?
I could remember my primary school days where we drew numerous pictures of people of different skin colours namely the brown Malays, the black Indians, the yellow Chinese and the white Eurasians, hand in hand. We were brought up with the importance of racial harmony instilled in us. I remembered my secondary school days where we dressed up on Racial Harmony day, wearing ethnic costumes from different ethnic groups. It was a chance to appreciate the various cultures and get to know the different races better. It was a time where the different races bonded as one and it was almost as if we were a person of a different race for that day. I have seen numerous skits on racial harmony; I have been through 17 years of racial harmony days all of which brought one message across to all of us. “It is important that the different races in Singapore worked together and live peacefully.”
However, it seems as though we are now getting less sensitive over this issue as can be seen by the rising racist jokes of people criticizing, even discriminating against other races and so I ponder. Have we taken all these for granted? Were all these jokes purely for entertainment purposes or was it more than that? While these jokes spread around, some of us might be doing it for fun but really, is it causing displeasure to the other races? Is it influencing one to discriminate against the different races too? Is there a limit to one’s tolerance?
We should not let this insensitivity overcome us. One day, misconceptions might arise, riots might occur and till that day, it would have been too late for us to repent on our past mistakes. Hence, we should strengthen the ties amongst all citizens of different races before situations turn nasty.
Singapore being a multi racial nation, it is crucial that racial harmony is emphasized and not taken lightly as it might lead to devastating effects and Singapore would not have been what she is today.
I can not imagine living in a place without racial harmony and I can not be any more glad and appreciative of the peaceful days we have now. There is a reason why Racial Harmony Day exists in Singapore and why it is so strongly emphasized. If all of us could stop a while and contemplate on our actions and perhaps make a change to accept the differences, but not aggravate it, we could enjoy this peace forever. Just like what those drawings were about, a smile across each face.
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
@03:43
Should death penalty be abolished?
As seen, the death penalty is widely used in today's society. Even Singapore is not an exception and other countries include America, China, etc. But is death penalty really the solution to deter crime?
It is blatant that death penalty will somewhat instill a sense of fear in a person that will prevent him from offending serious crimes. In this case, death penalty is definitely an appropriate solution.
However there are many negative sides of the death penalty that shows that it does not solve the problem of raising crime rates. Death penalty is not a consideration before a murderer commits his crime. He will not be affected by the fact that he will have to face death after he kills as his strong determintation and intent stays on. Hence it does not deter one from committing crime.
In addition, one may have commited a serious offence on impulse of anger and it may be an accident that one regrets on later. With the implementation of the death penalty, it voids him of a second chance to repent.
Mistakes are also commonly made in the jury that death penalty kills the innocent and it disallows for them to make ammendments as the dead cannot be brought back to live.
Hence it should be deeply considered the factors of death penalty that can or cannot deter crime.
In my opinion, i believe that such a harsh punishment is not the solution to all as there are more effective methods that can punish one for offences and also sideline crime rates. Yes, everyone should pay for their actions but shoud we too consider giving them a second chance in this world?
Sunday, 18 March 2007
@03:13
I AM THE OWNER.
Named Brenda Toh Yi Ling.
I'll get the basic introdustion done first before i moved on to the more
complex ones(: My birthday was four days ago which was 14th March 1990 which makes me seventeen currently just like everyone else is. I am not a christian, not a catholic, not a buddhist whatsoever because i'm a free thinker so i'm open to all sorts of religions! haha. I was from Rosyth Primary and then Cedar Girls Secondary School. Right now measuring 163cm and about 53kg. It's within the acceptable range. I love all sorts of colours but i love BROWN the most, like the colour of chocolates. I use to play netball in primary school but that doesn't mean i've stopped playing it ever since. I still play netball once a month when i'm needed for compeititions like the one i play for my mother's company. Other than that, i was from tennis in Cedar but not a great player that's why i am in the reserve team. hee(: so basically i am more of a sports person but i enjoy most ball games EXCEPT soccer. I think it's dumb having everyone run around the whole field frantically just for one ball. Then again, there is also the beauty of it so no hard feelings. Soccer fanatics please dont come after me because i love christiano ronaldo just like every other girl do!
Also, i came from Temasek JC and transferred over to Anderson due to the distance and long journeys to school that my parents aren't very pleased about. No elaborations required for this i hope(:
OKAY. As for what kind of person i am. Basically, i am friendly and outgoing and enthusiastic and crazy and nice and wonderful. =x Kidding. That makes me annoying. I have a major handicap for multi-tasking. All my friends would know how much of a single-tasked person i am. When i'm concentrated on one thing, i'll never know what's happening on the other side. Example! During practicals, when i'm busy doing my experiment, my partner's words just goes in and out and i'll nod my head in response but to be frank i dont know what she's saying. heh. And before you really talk to me, make sure i'm listening to you because if i'm distracted, which is the case most of the time, i'm not exactly listening to you and i really don't know what you' re saying. You'll begin to understand upon spending more time with me(: Lastly, i am a hugeeee shopaholic! =D
So i guess that's all for now! seeyou.
