PM laments Ugly Singaporean behaviour- Ki Eunyu

PM laments Ugly Singaporean behaviour

Summary: Singaporeans are starting to become 'ugly' and selfish. They do not volunteer and they tend to only think about themselves. The PM says that there is no connection between the neighbours and the selfish people should be ashamed of themselves. Ms Tok also agreed that Singaporeans should learn to respect and understand each other more.

Opinion: I agree that many people are becoming more and more selfish. People are engaged in their own world most of the time. In small country like Singapore, people should work together and not be selfish as we will need to depend on each other for help. Everyone should try to understand one another and be considerate. If everyone does so, the ugly Singaporean title will gone and people will learn to live in harmony.

Yenyuen- PM Laments Ugly Singaporean behaviour

SUMMARY: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong laments that the increasing number of ugly Singaporeans have troubled him

These Singaporeans have been "reserving" public roads outside their houses with flowerpots or dustbins so they can park their cars.

They have quarrelled with their neighbours over the washing of common corridors, placing of furniture and noise, and they have objected to the building of elder-care facilities or studio apartments in their precincts - while suggesting they be sited nearby in another site

These cases may be a minority but it is a bad sight as Singaporeans seem to be getting less patient, less tolerant, less willing to compromise in order to get along

The reasons are the followings:

1. Disappearance of the "kampung spirit" of old.

In  the past, neighbours met regularly at common spaces, whether waiting for a lift that stopped only once every three floors, or watching TV at community centres.

Now, Singaporeans lead more private lives and have less interaction with their neighbours, resulting in lesser consideration

2. Fear of losing out, due to limited resources

However there is so much more to gain from giving

OPINION: I am disappointed to see such Ugly Singaporeans' acts and I  hate to admit that I often do see such ugly singaporeans' acts. For instance, when i was walking down a pavement, i saw an old woman selling tissues paper and yet no one bothers to pay their attention on her and show their sympathy.  It's time to stop such acts and Singaporeans should start to more considerate, selfless and care for the people around them. Singapore is a multi-racial country and it is essential that we stay united so that when there is an emergency, we can depends on one another for help. This starts with being more interactive with one another

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/national-day-rally-2012/story/pm-laments-ugly-singaporean-behaviour-20120827#sthash.zG1l4BI9.dpuf

For community spirit to thrive, the Ugly Singaporean must go - Ryan

http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/community-spirit-thrive-ugly-singaporean-must-go?singlepage=true

Summary:

Ugly Singaporean are more than capable of committing the act of ungraciousness. An incident of ugly Singaporean act of ungracious was enough to be written in BBC. The self-centred attitudeof ugly singaporean is because of the competitive society; work, family and many other reasons. Singapore isn't the only countries that have such type of behavior. A welcome start would be everybody make small but positive contribution to look out for one another and be gracious.

Opinion:

In my opinion, the ugly Singaporean attitude could be change as time goes if measurement to improve it is taken. Holding campaign may not be an effective measurement but its a way to get to some individual who could be change with it. People should start changing away the attitude of ugly Singaporean and revive the kampong spirit of the past to make Singapore an even better place.

 

 

Singapore Asia's happiest country by JunTian

Summary: Singapore is now the happiest country in Asia – just one year after it was named the unhappiest nation in the world in 2012. United Nations-sponsored World Happiness Report 2013 ranked Singapore 30th globally and top in Asia. UN report compared happiness measurements based on factors such as gross domestic product per capita, years of healthy life expectancy, social support, perception of corruption, prevalence of generosity, and freedom to make life choices. It is believed that the following are the main reasons: Singaporeans are increasingly expressing their views about social issues, government showing their concerns for the needs and wants of the people and  Singaporeans being united and getting through the haze period together.

Opinions: I felt very proud and honored that Singapore has been ranked top in Asia for the happiness index as compared to being last the previous year. It shows that Singaporeans and the government are making many improvements in their lives and life in Singapore is becoming better, not only economically, but also socially. I also feel very touched when I read the part about Singaporeans getting through the haze period together. During this gloomy period, several people gathered together to form groups and went around giving out masks to those who did not have one. I feel that this shows that Singaporeans are in no way emotionless and shows the warmer side of Singaporeans. Thus I believe we definitely do not deserve the last position, and top in Asia is a very big improvement for us.



Source: Singapore the happiest nation in asia

Ugly Singaporean By: Sherman Teo

Summary:
Growing instances of ugly Singaporean behaviour have been troubling. These Singaporeans have been "reserving" public roads outside their houses with flowerpots or dustbins so they can park their cars. They have quarrelled with their neighbours over the washing of common corridors, placing of furniture and noise, and they have objected to the building of elder-care facilities or studio apartments in their precincts - while suggesting they be sited nearby in another estate. Such situations seem to be a part of a "rising trend of not-so-good behaviour. We seem to be getting less patient, less tolerant, less willing to compromise in order to get along. This is perhaps due to the disappearance of the "kampung spirit" of old, he said. In the past, neighbours met regularly at common spaces, whether waiting for a lift that stopped only once every three floors, or watching TV at community centres. Now, Singaporeans lead more private lives and interact less with their neighbours. And less interaction results in less consideration, maybe more self-centred behaviour. We should not let this spread, and make us ugly Singaporeans.

Opinion:
I think we will be ashamed of ourselves. It's not just a matter of courtesy, but goes much deeper than that. It reflects how unselfish we are, how much we respect other people. The behaviour of these Singaporeans are unacceptable because we live in a small country which makes us rely on each other for help. Therefore we should form a cohesive society rather than being extremely self centred and doing everything just for their sake. It suggests that we as Singaporean do not think for others and how our actions would affect them negatively or positively.

Singapore Happy Planet Index rank #90 of all the countries analysed by ZhiGang

Summary: Singapore was ranked #90 for the Happy Planet Index of all the countries that did the survey and it is a shocking statistics. The Index had shown that Singapore did well in life-expectancy and well-being but did rather poorly in environmental sustainability which as a result had scored 39.2. However, it had showed improvement in year 2009 where we were ranked #49 out of 143 countries compared to year 2006 where we came in the #131 position.

Opinions: In my opinion, I am shocked by the statistics of the Happy Planet Index because I did not think that Singaporeans would be so unhappy with the government. In a way, it might be because of the complacent Singaporeans who like to complain a lot about the government and it is in a way damaging to the image of the government because Singapore is a developed and yet its people are not appreciative of what the government has done.

Teenagers to learn how to manage finances by JunTian

Source: http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/news/2013/10/teenagers-to-learn-how-to-manage-finances.php

Summary: Teachers will be equipped to teach financial literacy, social workers to be trained too. The move, which is being rolled out as part of the national financial education programme MoneySense, is aimed at addressing various financial issues faced at different points in a person’s life. The aim is to give teenagers skills that they will find useful later in life. A survey found that more than half of the respondents do not have enough insurance to protect their dependants if something were to happen to them, while one in three did not know they were covered by MediShield. Eight out of 10 respondents save monthly, while 86 per cent do not like taking on debt. The level of financial awareness, however, is not very high, said Mr Tharman. “We can do more to help Singaporeans plan ahead, by expanding financial education for all age and income groups all over Singapore,” he said.

Opinion: In my opinion, financial literacy in school is essential for all students. Students should be taught from a young age the importance of saving and not spending extravagantly. In recent years, the number of young adults getting into credit card debts is on the rise and this poses a serious social problem. Therefore, by educating students from a young age about financial literacy, they will become responsible adults with a good sense of money. Increasing their knowledge about financial literacy also means that they can better plan for their future. Thus, introducing financial literacy from a young age is extremely essential.