Damn. I am sent to SISPEC. For those who don't know what SISPEC is, it stands for: Suffer In Silence Plus Extra Confinement. Worse still, I am sent to an Infantry course. Infantry is the last place I want to be in. It is boring and exhausting. Everything is by the feet, and I don't see why a person like me with a thin build, should be in Infantry. Not as if my legs are strong.

So I'm gonna be a 3rd Sergeant if I complete it successfully. What a disappointment, when I wanted to go OCS. Now, not only am I not able to go OCS, my application for Pilot vocation is also terminated. It appears to me that MINDEF has no consideration for such personal interests and the fact that I am tall enough and with perfect eyesight, did no help for me in becoming a pilot.

In other words, MINDEF somewhat smashed my dreams and aspirations. Fucked up.
As the song goes, "Oh mama can't you see, army is not the place for me..."

Sadly, MINDEF prefers scholars. People with good grades to enter OCS. Unfortunately, not of all these people possess the right attitude, the physical fitness and most importantly, leadership potential. But MINDEF seems to equate grades with leaders. So be it. I mustn't be the one who can't have the grapes, and claim the grapes are sour. Perhaps one day, grades become the primary factor while loyalty to country is secondary.

Anyway I have not been reading much newspapers. But recently I know our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew urged parents to speak mandarin at home, so that more children will be proficient in mandarin. The MM also mentioned that dialects should be dropped, since it will divert children's attention on mandarin, and dialects only allows communication within the community.
Well actually there are 2 parts to this. I applaud MM's call for mandarin to be spoken at home. At least mandarin won't be dropped entirely. He should have said this long ago though. But I wonder how many parents today can speak fluent mandarin so they become proper mandarin tutors.

As for dialects, I have a different stand from the MM. I'm not very fluent with Hokkien or Cantonese. But picking up a dialect might give support or assist in learning mandarin, or perhaps vice versa. If we want Singapore to have a strong society, built upon strong bonds within families, how then do you expect grandparents to speak to their grandchildren without the use of dialects? Of course not all grandparents can only speak dialects and nothing else. However I believe majority of grandparents or the elderly know only dialects or mandarin. Even today, I feel guilty for not being able to understand my grandmother fully, because she speaks only Hokkien, and I need my mother as a translator. Plus if Singapore is heading towards an ageing population, we will definitely need more caregivers, and more attention will be spent on the elderly. How then do we expect ourselves to communicate with the elderly without dialects? How then do we understand their needs? It will still be a long time before the elderly becomes proficient with at least English. Because that will be the time when your parents turn old.

As you might know, I have not travelled on the public transport for quite a while. So lately, I've been using the MRT like before. And I can't help to notice how, some foreigners, sadly Chinese nationals make up the bulk, seem to lack some travel-etiquette. And definitely some selfish Singaporeans have the same fault. They just seem to be oblivious to signages and yellow lines drawn on the floor. I mean, with all due respect, they have common sense don't they? Did the fact that there are yellow lines with arrows drawn at the doors, ever crossed their minds? And why do most people stand behind the yellow line, while they love to stand right in front of the door? Won't they find themselves, a little unique? Then of course, you can expect what happens when the doors open. They walk right through the crowd that is coming out. I'm of course disappointed that Singaporeans, being educated will display such behaviours. As for the foreigners, I do hope that they learn. If they truly wish to integrate into this society, there are norms and proper etiquette to abide by.
Yes, it takes 2 hands to clap. For foreigners to integrate into our society, the locals must be willing to accept them, and the foreigners themselves must make necessary changes. While I have no qualms over accepting foreigners, I find that they are not making sufficient changes. Maybe in their country, it's perfectly ok to squeeze your way through train crowds, but here in Singapore, can they please open their eyes to notice that things are different here?

G.Y.