Meritocracy In Singapore --- A Mythical Illusion
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Based on figures provided in 2007/08,about 53 percent of Public Service Commission scholarships go to those who live in private property.However,about 80% of the population live in HDB.Does this mean that those who live in private property are naturally more talented?And that those of us who live in HDB are less talented?
No,it does not!The PAP uses the term Meritocracy to explain why things are the way they are,but it is all an illusion.Let me explain why.
Although it is generally accepted that these scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic performance and individual achievement alone,why are the majority of these people(53%)from the socially-priviledged / rich / elite segments of society?
These students largely hail from the best schools and have benefited from the various schemes that cater to the academically talented,such as the Education Ministry's Gifted Education Programme.Their dominant social status arising from higher household incomes suggests that they possess the cultural capital required to "make it" in life,as nurtured by their parents who are likely to have attained qualifications at the tertiary level.
The same elite minority continue to receive value-added education throughout their schooling years at the expense of vast amounts of public funds.As a result,Singapore's education system,which has always been held up as a model of social mobility for all,is attenuated because one minority elitist group benefits from a distinct advantage over the others.
Many of you have been brainwashed to believe that it is natural that students from wealthier households will naturally have high academic achievements.And that this is so because they are naturally talented.Is this true?No,it is not!
These people control the prices of goods & services,which limits your options.You may have less time to study because you need to take up a job to support the family.You may not be able to afford the kind of extra tuition and development courses that they can.You may have had to give up opportunities due to financial constraints.
On the other hand,these elites are able to provide vast resources to train their offspring.That is the only difference between you and them.These elites in the PAP system,have sold you an illusion that there is Meritocracy and that you have progressed.You,my fellow HDB dweller,are as good as they are.Why shouldn't you be in their place?What makes them better?Nothing.
The only thing that is keeping you down is a system they have created in which you are just a battery to them.You are like a lab rat running on a wheel in a cage,in some level of the system,forever working hard to create wealth for those elites few at the top of the system.They give you back enough to live on,but most of what you deservedly work for is taken back by them in the end.
Over the years,there have been concerns about the attitudes of these students who are among the best and brightest and who are likely to secure positions of pre-eminence in society in the future.They think that it is their natural birth-right to be in a position of power,and they abuse it.
Is this the way you want to live?To just be a pawn in somebody's game?
Is this the way you want your future generations to live?To just be a battery in somebody's machine?
When the time comes,Do The Right Thing.
:)Vote Wisely.
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agree..but is there anyway or any system that can take its place?
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There are some people who keep on defending PAP in this forum, maybe those who keep on defending PAP regime are from the "elite" class.
Just curious.
Otherwise I find it hard for normal singaporean to want to defend PAP, it makes no sense.
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Originally posted by donkhead333:
agree..but is there anyway or any system that can take its place?
There are so many different forms of governance systems in the world.Obviously there will be others to consider and use.
Let's face it,Meritocracy doesn't exist in Singapore anymore.It has been twisted and corrupted to become Elitism and resemble the Caste system used by some ABNN countries.
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Originally posted by PoThePanda01:
There are so many different forms of governance systems in the world.Obviously there will be others to consider and use.
Let's face it,Meritocracy doesn't exist in Singapore anymore.It has been twisted and corrupted to become Elitism and resemble the Caste system used by some ABNN countries.
Show me poor kids/none elites that get scholarships, and than i will show you there is meritocracy.
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Originally posted by PoThePanda01:
There are so many different forms of governance systems in the world.Obviously there will be others to consider and use.
Let's face it,Meritocracy doesn't exist in Singapore anymore.It has been twisted and corrupted to become Elitism and resemble the Caste system used by some ABNN countries.
"modified" meritocracy...i think i heard that somewhere before
and when we start to complain about this to our dear PAP, they will tell us "oh the root word is still meritocracy...therefore blablabla"
resemble the caste system is LOL DUH! look at the people at the helm of singapores authority, i strongly believe that there MUST be someone out there who is more outspoken and confident as you-know-who
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Originally posted by Ah Chia:
Otherwise I find it hard for normal singaporean to want to defend PAP, it makes no sense.
Obviously you've been looking in the wrong places, remember everyone has his own mentality. What makes sense to you may not to another
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everyone in this forum knows that there is little meritocracy in sg le, so there is no need to flog a dead horse
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Originally posted by crimson soldier:
everyone in this forum knows that there is little meritocracy in sg le, so there is no need to flog a dead horse
I would say it is more paper based, definitely, for civil jobs... for private sector, not that bad...
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Originally posted by skythewood:
Show me poor kids/none elites that get scholarships, and than i will show you there is meritocracy.
well..personally i know of one or two people who are rich, but they are outstanding students. then again, they are rich, so they having everything planned out, having expensive tuition class to boost their grades is a yes.
yes, the poor kids sometimes have to struggle to make ends meet, but in so doing neglect their studies and end up flunking, i doubt that a minister who flunks would be accepted and respected in singapore. but not like ANYTHING the damned education system in singapore teach you about running the country and leading people..
this is such a dillemma..
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Originally posted by donkhead333:
well..personally i know of one or two people who are rich, but they are outstanding students. then again, they are rich, so they having everything planned out, having expensive tuition class to boost their grades is a yes.
yes, the poor kids sometimes have to struggle to make ends meet, but in so doing neglect their studies and end up flunking, i doubt that a minister who flunks would be accepted and respected in singapore. but not like ANYTHING the damned education system in singapore teach you about running the country and leading people..
this is such a dillemma..
So the rich kids have to work hard for their grades too... just that life is easier for them because they are rich.
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Originally posted by skythewood:
So the rich kids have to work hard for their graes too... just that life is easier for them because they are rich.
yea..like me flinching whenever i have to pay tuition fees for a single subject, as compared to some people i know who pay like $1.5k a month yet laugh it off...
kinda sad isn't it?
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Originally posted by skythewood:
I would say it is more paper based, definitely, for civil jobs... for private sector, not that bad...
Paper-based?But in the first place,there is no Meritocracy when we are trying to get that paper! :D -
Originally posted by skythewood:
I would say it is more paper based, definitely, for civil jobs... for private sector, not that bad...
I think the scholarship issue is central to the meritocracy talk. too few awarded to the needy students. every sship awarded to the rich is one too many. and of course you have all the wee shu mins
I grew up in the GEP but my family not rich, just getting by. so I can see the issue from both sides. i say about at least 50% of the GEP graduates will be sponsored by gahmen sships when most of them come from filthy rich families..then they will spawn the next generation of elites
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Originally posted by PoThePanda01:
Paper-based?But in the first place,there is no Meritocracy when we are trying to get that paper! :DOk, you win. there is no rich kid without paper and no poor kids with paper.
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some of TS points are valid. However have u ever wondered why THEY are living in the private housing and why YOU are living in the HDB? This is because they ( the previous generation) had worked hard and reaped the bounty. This bounty is now being spent on their offspring to increase their chance to succeed in life.
And isn't this how life is? Whatever you do in life affects your children the most. When you work ur way from rag-to-riches, you are probably already at middle-approaching old age. Can't really enjoy that much.. Your children would spend the first half of their lives in luxury though, and then most probably spend the other half of their lives in luxury too. Why do u begrudge the privileged of what their parents worked hard for? You should instead be working hard so your children can join the ranks of the 'elites'.
Meritocracy is mostly based on the principle of 'fairness'. If you're good, you'll be given a chance to succeed right?
So what is this " fairness " ? what is fair? Who determines it? Where is the line defining "unfair advantage" being drawn at? Is it wrong to capitalize on my father's hard work..? Not everyone can be like Bill Gates, who has already decided to donate his whole fortune to charity after he dies, rather than leaving it behind for his children.
Why cant rich kids get scholarships if they can make the grade? While it is true that the less-fortunate might be more deserving, denying people of scholarships because of their economic status runs counter to the very idea of meritocracy. How is it being fair? In the end, you can never please everyone.
I do not support elitism. But given the nature of humans, i believe that even if the whole system was resetted and given a clean slate, there will still be a few individuals rising up to take the status of 'elites'. So whats the point of doing that? Its being unfair to those of the past generation who already worked hard to ensure the good life of their descendants.
This is the immutable nature of human society. I suggest that instead of ranting against it, join it instead. (:
PS. i do not belong to the group of people that might be termed as 'elite' . Well.. my family was very rich in the past, but unfortunately the family fortune was wiped out in the 97 crisis and we never really recovered. FYI i DO live in a hdb now (:
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While I agree with the premise, the OP is a patronising jerk.
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1. A nation needs intelligent people for its administration.
2. The rich has the resources to tutor their children best, and pass on their experiences or aquaintances to them.3. Such children will have a headstart in life compared to the middle classes or poor in our equal society.
4. PSC grants are but a way to bind such rich kids to serve our nation.
5. Meanwhile, being a socialist democracy, the state provides the best tutors possible to train up our middle class and poor children - U grade teachers even for primary schools, to be on par with the rich.
6. Ultimately, it is our children and parents who must grasp such opportunities offered by our society. Meritocracy is blind to all, only offered to the best, regardless of rich or poor, black or white, and will never deny it to anyone on socialist or altrusic terms.
7. Singapore is an open and equal society, and one social leveller is the army as well as civil society groups for everyone to mix and get aquainted for a duration if not for life.
8. Political leadership is not the only goal in life. If everyone is a politician, Singapore will be a boring state. We need engineers, scientists, lawyers, doctors, as well as people of the arts and non-academic professions - music, films, literary works, sports, etc.
9.Threadstarter is too narrow minded and had failed to see the wider picture of our society and its realities for a democratic state to function.He focussed only on leadership and the presumed elitism attached. Singapore is more than just politics, politics which we have the power of vote to change, but only when we look on the wider societal frame and opportunities given to everyone to excel, as well as the integrity calibre of the leaders or the lack of it as a determination factor.
10. TS best grow up and look further than the length of his nose and open his eyes wide if he intends to serve society. Singaporeans are no longer the uneducated of yesterday.Even a roadsweeper may have an N level cert, something i guess the TS lacks. Education is not about earning big bucks, but a greater understanding of our world and the environment around us, and how we can expand/improve upon it, which is one way we will be elevated financially if we put such improvements to use and is recognised by the free market for it.
11. Do channel such energy of angst, belligerance, self frustrations and anarchy to better use such as sports or charitable works which may benefit mankind, if not our society. -
Originally posted by Ah Chia:
There are some people who keep on defending PAP in this forum, maybe those who keep on defending PAP regime are from the "elite" class.
Just curious.
Otherwise I find it hard for normal singaporean to want to defend PAP, it makes no sense.
That's their job literally.....lol despicable regime. Shameless.
Gary: He said to me at the lift lobby 90% of the exact words - �Mr Tan,if you walk out of here tomorrow,you might get killed.You might meet with a mysterious accident,you might disappear and nobody will know what happened to you! Mr Tan, some things and people in this country you cannot offend! Some people are above all things! You better make sure you know this! Mr Tan,we can arrange for things to happen to you.You understand or not!� -
One meritocracy programs are still widely implemented in the civil service sector where classes of degree are much prefered than your quality of works in reality. How ironical for being meritocracy?
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Originally posted by Ah Chia:
There are some people who keep on defending PAP in this forum, maybe those who keep on defending PAP regime are from the "elite" class.
Just curious.
Otherwise I find it hard for normal singaporean to want to defend PAP, it makes no sense.
Oh! so I am a elite ah?? uncle, do you consider me to be an elite...wow!!! i am classified as elite nia!!! Lai Lai, mister, come come..beautiful gals here..come come..cheap cheap drinks lai lai.../// Am i an elite?
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Originally posted by PoThePanda01:
There are so many different forms of governance systems in the world.Obviously there will be others to consider and use.
Let's face it,Meritocracy doesn't exist in Singapore anymore.It has been twisted and corrupted to become Elitism and resemble the Caste system used by some ABNN countries.
Huh! what??Caste system, Hello, here is singapore hor, not tamil nadu ya... wha lau, still got Caste system,
Yo, dun mind kind enough to pass me my drink and give me some Panadol/01
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Originally posted by Vaum:
One meritocracy programs are still widely implemented in the civil service sector where classes of degree are much prefered than your quality of works in reality. How ironical for being meritocracy?
really? i thought i see cannot make it people with good degree getting owned by good people with normal degree.
but than again, people will look at the degree and asy it is the decideing factor, ignoring the competency of the guy anyway...
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Originally posted by skythewood:
really? i thought i see cannot make it people with good degree getting owned by good people with normal degree.
but than again, people will look at the degree and asy it is the decideing factor, ignoring the competency of the guy anyway...
Degree is the entry, after that, all depend on your performances, I have seen diploma or even ITE peoples controlling over degrees holders as their subordinates.Nevertheless, with a good education, you are able to market yourself better not only in Singapore, but the whole world, without it, you still can do well, but it will take a very less chance and you need to be extremely capable.
good education+good performance, u go to the top
good education+poor performance, u go to the middle
poor education+good performance, u go to the middle or higher
poor education+poor performance, God bless you
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uncle, do you consider me to be an elite...wow!!! i am classified as elite nia!!! Lai Lai, mister, come come..beautiful gals here..come come..cheap cheap drinks lai lai.../// Am i an elite?
Don't insult women lah, guy want to pretend female.
Pui.