A reflection on division, difference and (self)censorship.
Category: inequality
On the conveyor belt
A system is only as good as its intent.
The elephant outside the classroom
Chew Wei Shan's facebook post on meritocracy and elitism clearly made a lot of people very uncomfortable, especially those of a certain socio-economic status (SES). She didn't pull any punches in her sharp, self-aware commentary on the divisions in our schools. In the other corner, are these feeble attempts to examine things superficially instead of structurally,… Continue reading The elephant outside the classroom
for what it’s worth
What’s the merit in meritocracy?
What is the merit in meritocracy? Meritocracy is a social system in which people reach positions of power based on their abilities - physical and mental abilities like health and intelligence, social abilities like leadership and people-skills, character traits like confidence, discipline, resilience. And how does one get these abilities? 1. You're born with them.… Continue reading What’s the merit in meritocracy?
second coming
A second skin you wear mantle of hate, thin beneath love and care. A voice you steal to drown out choice, a trill of appeal. A stage you manage actors prepped and caged ready savage? A cross you adorn on backs of the "lost" scored and torn.
When did you last
take a public bus or stand on a train, queue with no fuss, or walk in the rain? wear hand-me-downs, or eat left-over lunch, go for dead-end interview rounds, or drink F&N punch? wait at A&E wondering if you could pay, count days, bills, money till your next payday? swim at East Coast beach because… Continue reading When did you last
Can Singapore afford to pay ministers and top civil servants millions?
Yes! Yes! And absolutely Yes! $$$$$$$$$$$$ From a financial point of view, we can easily afford it. Their multi-million dollar salaries are a drop in the bucket compared to the huge economy of Singapore. We could even afford to pay them millions more. It's not going to break the bank. But herein lies the problem.… Continue reading Can Singapore afford to pay ministers and top civil servants millions?
Pride and Joy
It's not the towers built of steel and glass, Or the everything also simisai world class. It's not the F-15s, racing through the sky, Or the soldiers ready, smartly marching by. It's not a mega-trillion reserves somewhere, Or the elections that are truly (mostly) fair. It's not the food, though good; to die for, Or… Continue reading Pride and Joy
migrant city
They build the airports that deport them The roads on which they die The condos we take refuge in The hospitals in which we lie. They guard our politicians in their palaces Clean the streets we think we own Change the bedpans beneath our mattresses Cry on prepaid mobile phones. We were once them, twice… Continue reading migrant city
