Recently, I read an article where Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew stated that he wanted Singaporeans to speak more Mandarin, especially at home. He opined it is easier for the younger generation to speak English as it is the medium of instruction for most subjects in school. Therefore, parents should speak with their children using Mandarin when they are at home. Now, I shall look at this from the perspective of a foreigner who has been living in Singapore for some period of time.

While surfing the internet, I chanced upon an article “Poly Students want fairer transport fares” at http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/11/poly-students-want-fairer-transport-fares/. There is also an online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/polybus/ created by someone from my alma mater, Temasek Polytechnic Business School.

The creation of the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament [NCMP] scheme was introduced in 1984 and it was touted as a measure to “ensure the representation in Parliament of a minimum number of Members from a political party or parties not forming the government.” There was also an increasing pressure and appetite from the younger, better-educated electorate for an opposition to the PAP, which led PM Goh Chok Tong to rationalise that the NCMP scheme would 1) sharpen the debating skills of PAP MPs, 2) prove to young voters that there is no need for an effective opposition for a democracy to flourish, and 3) dispel suspicion of any cover-up by the government of its policies.

Industrialization is the process by which social and economic changes take place, transforming a pre-industrial society into an industrialized one. It is part of a wider modernization process in which economic and social changes are closely related to technological innovation; particularly in the form of development of large-scale energy and metals production.

Most people are concerned with, and watch closely, a quadrennial international sports event – the Olympics Games. Singapore will be hosting a mini version of the Olympics Games - the inaugural Youth Olympics Games (YOG) from 14th to 26th August in 2010.