Temasek Engineering School, Singapore

Once again… i read with horror the news that UNSW campus in Singapore is going to close down.. !! Shocking !! 

i mean,.. we’ve all heard of pte schools closing down, some fly by nite… foreign students getting left in the lurch…etc…we’re not too surprised. in the first place, these fly by nite pte schools are not endorsed officially by MOE, and they are pretty much a pte commerical enterprise…..  

BUT the UNSW closing down ????And in Singapore some more?  And it was EDB which had a part in the initial set up of UNSW in Singapore!!

… Now this IS surprising. 

UNSW should have done due diligence before deciding to set up campus here…  but can’t blame them…  they need to make money, and it’s a commercial decision. But the EDB should have done its own due diligence to ensure continuity once  UNSW opens here.  The EDB represents Singapore’s interests… but what did they do?…. 

UNSW shut down after only 2 years is terribly damaging for Singapore’s reputation as an education hub. 

i feel that there’s just too many about-turns in the education scene in Singapore..   Just TOO MANY !!! And it’s continuing….. 

I read with horror the story in yesterday (13 May 07) New Paper..

A 17 year old Hwa Chong junior college boy beat up a 53 year old bus driver…. just becos the bus uncle wanted to retain his friend’s eZ link card.

The bus uncle wanted to retain the eZ link card, cos his friend had reported it lost.  Of cos, once you report it lost, the card will be cancelled, and you cannot use it!! So the bus driver was doign the rite thing !!

We’re talking abt an educated, JC boy,….. whom, i presume, would know right from wrong.  But he behaved worse than a hooligan.

So what if you are a JC student?

So what if you are from a top JC some more…

Does it mean you can go around beating up people?

this simply shows that one can get good grades,  but it’s no use if one has no human element, no heart, no compassion, in fact… no civilised behaviour at all.

The day draws near when our National Stadium at Kallang is going to be torn down…

i feel that we are coming nearer and nearer to witnessing the end of a natianal icon, a place that holds so much memories for so many Singaporeans.

 The govt talks about preserving heritage; they designate buildings around the island as heritage sites to be preserved as part of Singapore history… and yet, a national icon like the National Stadium they decide to tear down…  outrageous, insensitive, contradictory.

Doesn’t the govt understand that, with the national stadium comes memories of hundreds of thousands of singaporeans of past National Day events, memories of the glory soccer days in the Malaysia Cup and FAM Semi-Pro League, memories of how we spent our weekends with our fathers and grandfathers?  All these are now to be destroyed.

Our National Stadium represents those days when everyone was so much more proud to be a Singaporean, when passion for the country hit record highs. 

Why kill the memories which thousands of Singaporeans have?  Why destroy a national icon?  Why erase the little remaining passion which many Singaporeans still feel as they recall how they had screamed Singapore’s name at the stadium in the 70’s and 80’s? 

I feel that, if we want to instill in Singaporeans a sense of national identity, and if we want to reactivate that same fervour that came with the now sadly-missed Kallang Roar, then the National Stadium must remain.  It is our only hope of re-igniting the Singapore spirit.

LOOK at that picture above….

It shows passionate Singaporeans streaming into the stadium to watch a soccer match, their tired legs hurrying them along with excitement as kick-off time neared, their hearts beating in antiticipation of a Singapore victory that night… never mind that they have not had their dinner…

Will we ever feel that same kind of butterflies in our stomachs again, once the National Stadium is gone?

For me, the voice of my heart is powerless against the might of govt decisions…

i can only wait and watch all my childhood memories, all my passion for Singapore, going down the drain together with our National Stadium…

Read the sad responses of my fellow Singaporeans….

http://www.can.com.sg/neocan/en/streetwise/unwind/memories_of_national_stadium.html

Latest news….

O level students having a fun time at Temasek Poly workshop last year…

O level exams will start on 22 Oct 2007 (Mon) this year…… according to the latest MOE press release.

This is one week earlier than in previous years.

 Wishing all O level students all ze best……  work hard, go for it !!

At last, Man Utd has wrestled back the EPL title from conceited Chelsea.

i’m more happy that Chelsea lost the title…. to me, that is more significant, more cause for celebration, than ManU winning…

Reason?..  becos Chelsea is the epitome of materialism, poor sportsmanship, and arrogance.  If Chelsea had achieved a hat-trick for the EPL title, it would be an endorsement that money CAN buy success, that money can solve any problem, and that having more money is the number priority in life.

.. which it is not!

Congratulations, Manchester United.  - for winning the EPL 2006/07, and for ensuring that Chelsea does NOT win it.

Sorry for the very very late post abt this year’s orientation. Though we lost in the regatta, everyone who’s involved in this year’s Engineering Orientation agrees that we’re winners. Energix(mentors and committees of orientation) will never forget this orientation which ended with a bang. These are some photos..