Waydespectives

Hi All, again apologies for having skipped a post last week. I was doing some last minute work (also writing) and did not have the mental strength to do a blog post. Also tried to do a post during the week, but it has been a very trying and tiring week on the NS front. I have been thinking whether I can truly commit to my one post per week promise to the viewers, since my mental stamina is depleting due to increased responsibilities (and prata flipping) in NS. For now, I will soldier on to continue blogging weekly, but I seek your understanding if I miss a post once in a while. Enough ranting for now though, let's get to today's topic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Side note: While the issue of Hawker Centres has been covered quite widely in media recently, I have not been paying attention much to the "Social Entrepreneurship" part. Partially it's because I do not really understand what...

Well, it's one of those weeks whereby I don't really have much to blog about, considering this week has been quite light on the policy-related news, and nothing much really has happened in my personal life. Had to really dig in deep to find a topic worth discussing, at the risk of sounding like I'm "blogging for the sake of it". I remembered that in my post on the National Day Rally, I mentioned that elections will happen next year, which I will justify in this post. The next General Elections in Singapore is one that will be historic. This will be the last General Election that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will lead the ruling PAP into. While he is highly expected to lead the PAP to a victory, the margin of victory to the PAP will reflect on the confidence Singaporeans have on the next generation of leaders, led by PM Lee's successor. While the GE is due to be held by January 2021, many speculate that the GE will happen in 2020, subject to no globa...

As many who follow my Facebook account would know, I am an avid writer on the topic of education. I have written commentaries on many education related policies and articles, having written in to TODAY once too. I take a keen interest in education as not only have I been brought up in the system, there is also a responsibility for those who have been brought up in this system to improve it to ensure future generations benefit from it too. I actually took a hiatus from writing extensively about education following my enlistment and experience applying for the MOE Teaching Scholarship. However, I noticed now that I have a blog running, it would be good for me to start sharing my views on education to a larger platform.  This blog will not become a full education-only blog. I will continue to blog on diverse issues, personal or current affairs. However, you may expect education to be present as an issue more often than not. This week, I will be blogging on the changes to ...

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the lack of a post last week. This was because I was busy with my Driving Theory lessons (2 theory lessons, 4 practice sessions, and 1 evaluation session) for my Final Theory Test. Thankfully, I passed my Final Theory Evaluation, and can book for my Final Theory Test as long as I pass my Basic Theory Test this Wednesday.  Again, I apologize for the lack of the post as I was too busy with my lessons and the lethargy that followed afterwards. And now, here we go for this week's post! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I blogged on the Pink Dot event that happened in Singapore back in mid-July. Since then, there have been many developments on the Singapore society's acceptance of Section 377A. Of which, there have been 2 petitions, one supporting the repeal of Section 377A and the other advocating for it to be retained. Heads of religious groups, diplomats, activists, and members of the p...

I recently read a news article about MPs proposing to parliament an amendment to the Smoking Act. While the number of no-smoking zones have increased and police officers now have more enforcement, there was a contention over whether smoking should be banned in one's own HDB flat. In other countries where people live in houses, allowing people to smoke in their own houses is a no brainer. However, given the close proximity from one flat unit to another, second hand smoke from a smoker can waft into another's house, causing discomfort and potentially health risks.  For the uninitiated, you can read the news article here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/mps-dangers-of-secondhand-smoke-smoking-in-homes-10701812. Those who know me know that I am against smoking. As someone who already is overweight, I don't need smoking to further impede my health at such a young age. Even now in army, where I am exposed to more smoker friends, I am unwilling and have...

As the title suggests, today's post may be a bit technical and long. I advise all interested in the topic to read up on relevant news articles to get a better understanding while reading my post. You may do so at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-bar-exams-practice-training-extended-lawyers-10666774.  In summary, the committee was formed to tackle several problems faced by law graduates - namely the lack of available training contracts, lack of support during their training periods, and venturing into non-practice legal careers. The committee made many recommendations and submitted its report to the Ministry of Law in March 2018, and was accepted in principle. The contents of the report were made public about less than 2 weeks ago.  Before I provide my views on the report, it is interesting to note that the committee made no concrete recommendations to solve the issue of lack of available Training Contracts (TCs). The small number o...

I decided to leave this week's post up for voting on my Instagram in view of 2 major events this week - the public release of the Report of The Committee For The Professional Training Of Lawyers, and myself watching Crazy Rich Asians. I thank the 54 people who voted, having ended overwhelmingly in favour of Crazy Rich Asians 37 votes to 17. However, having noticed a significantly different profile of those who wished me to write on the Committee Report, I will address my views on it next week. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had the honour of watching Crazy Rich Asians with a close friend (a crazy rich Asian) recently. My first impressions of the movie was that it indeed was a huge phenomenon (at least in Singapore) as the theatre was packed to the maximum despite the movie having been screening for at least a week. The movie was considered a huge stepping stone for Asians into Hollywood, having a majority Asian cast....

I woke up today to saddening news. US Republican Senator John McCain had unfortunately passed away after a battle with aggressive brain cancer. John McCain could be best remembered as Barack Obama's opponent during the latter's first term in the 2008 Presidential Election. Despite some of his questionable decisions, he remains as a role model to many politicians, Democrats or Republicans alike. One of his final speeches was to criticize the party-line voting practiced by both sides of the Senate. He is right in the sense that politicians should vote with their hearts and minds for their constituents, not for their party. He always had his country in his mind, and for that, thank you sir. May you rest in peace. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last week, my blog post came in pretty late (after midnight) as I was watching the National Day Rally 2018 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The speech was indeed a long yet inter...

Before I start, I would like to pay tribute to the late, great Kofi Annan, former United Nations (UN) Chief, who passed away at a ripe old age of 80. Mr Annan lived a life worth remembering, having brought the UN through trying times such as the invasion of Iraq. He was also the founder of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and set the direction for the UN going into the 21st century. He was not the most successful UN Secretary General, but he certainly left the UN in a better place than when he inherited it. Thank you sir. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently, I was invited back to NUSHS for the SDYC Dinner and Dance. For the uninitiated, SDYC stands for Sustainable Development Youth Convention, my school's version of a MUN. For the still uninitiated, MUN stands for Model UN, a simulation of the actual UN when youths come together to represent different countries (or stakeholders) and debate on issues concerni...

A gentle shoutout to all who have voted in my Instagram poll on whether this will be a Personal or Current Affairs post. There has been an overwhelming vote for me to write something personal, so this post (and probably the next) will be about stuff more personal than not. I have also received some good suggestions for my posts. One of them I will adopt for my next week's post. But for this week, since NUS, NTU, and SMU will start school tomorrow, this post is dedicated to my friends starting university. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To My Friends Starting University, Most of you will be starting the next (and probably final) chapter of your studies tomorrow. Some of you have already started (like SUTD and NTU Medicine). Some of you will start next month or in October (those going overseas). I always wonder what it will be like starting university. They say that university is a whole new ball game from back in...