Group OELP Video

Group Blog: Pre-trip Economy Task

No.	Description
1	House cost in Punggol: $400 000 – 500 000
2	Cost of brand new Toyota Vios: $114888
3	Prices from a local supermarket of: -       Cheapest 10 kg packet rice: $15.50 -       Cheapest one litre drinking mineral/distilled water: $0.55 -       Cheapest fresh whole chicken (refrigerated): $6.60 -       Cheapest two litre of cooking oil: $4.50 -       Do we provide plastic bags and how are they used: plastic bags are provided, unlimited and free, to carry groceries home -       Who are the cashiers and what kind of service do they provide: mostly middle-aged ladies who help to pack our groceries into plastic bags
4	School fee: $28
5	Cost of one litre of petrol (95 unleaded): $2.10
6	Cost of one movie ticket on a weekend: $13
7	Average salary of a Singaporean: $4056/month
8	Unit price of water and electricity in Singapore: -       Water: 0-40m^3 = $2.38/m^3, >40m^3 = $3.21m^3 -       Electricity: $0.2139/kWh

Heritage: Icon or I conned

I think that tourism devalues heritage spots and icons. In order to increase the tourism of the heritage sites, shops such as fast food restaurants are opened there to cater to the needs of foreigners who are not accustomed to local dishes. The shops alter the heritage spot or icon's original image, which devalues it. The areas where the shops are built are where parts of the heritage spots or icons previously occupied. These areas are now modernised and it completely defeats the purpose of going to a heritage spot or icon, where tourists are supposed to appreciate the value of heritage that spot or icon holds. Furthermore, it changes the people's perception of the heritage spot or icon, as the interior of the heritage site is now modified and very much different from what it had been before. Thus, the heritage spot or icon is devalued as it no longer has the same value of heritage after the shops have been built.

Preservation and Modernisation

My personal stand on the issue of whether to demolish Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house is that we should demolish it. Through the circle of viewpoint lesson we had, I could understand the point of views of the different stakeholders and why they chose to think that way. I have come to a conclusion that we should demolish Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house, because he had stated that he would like to have his house demolished upon his demise, and we should honour and respect his wish. He had also wished that if the House was unable to be demolished, he wanted it to only be opened to his children, their families, and descendants, not to the public. I think we should respect the wishes of Mr Lee and his family, as this wish was stated in Mr Lee's last will and testament. Although stakeholders such as the National Heritage Board and Tourism Board would want to preserve the House as part of the preserving the country's heritage and for tourist attraction respectively, I think that we should demolish it as a form of respect and honour to Mr Lee. After the house has been demolished, the land can be used for other developments, such as housing and infrastructure, which can help the development of Singapore, which Mr Lee had dedicated his whole life to. In conclusion, we should demolish Mr Lee Kuan Yew's house, as it had been his wish, while aiding in Singapore's development.

Economy: Factory to the World

I think we should not blindly pursue higher economic growth, but value the protection of our environment more. By constructing more factories, it leads to a higher amount of pollution, which not only harms the environment, but also us and our health. For example, the air pollution in places like China can cause lung diseases, causing deaths. As the population decreases, there is no point in pursuing the economic growth, as it would not benefit anyone, with the people's poor health and practically dead population.
Instead of this blind pursuit, we should try to ensure both economic growth and protection of our environment, and not destroy our environment for the sake of the economy.

One Child Policy mindmap

The "C" Word: E and C Week

“Experiencing another’s culture may open doors that were previously closed… but the choice to walk through those doors is entirely up to you.”

During E and C week, we were given the opportunity to go on learning journeys to Kampong Glam, Masjid Sultan Mosque and Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah to learn about the Malay culture, and Little India to learn about the Indian culture. Through this E and C week, the experiences I had taught me a lot more about the other cultures in the multiracial Singapore, and was truly eye-opening for me. Before the learning journeys, I was clueless about the Malay and Indian cultures, much less their religious etiquettes. However, during the trips, I was exposed to their cultures, and can empathise with them more now after gaining a deeper understanding as to why they do things in a certain way, such as why Muslims can only eat Halal food.

Before we embarked on our learning journeys, I did not know much about the Malay and Indian cultures, but after reading through the booklet for the trip, I was intrigued by how many things I had not known about these cultures, and was excited to find out as much as I could about them.

During the learning journeys, our group had chosen to find out about the ‘Fashion’ aspect of the cultures and focus more on it, so we went from store to store to interview shop-owners and customers about their traditional clothing. What was the purpose of having these designs on this blouse? What was the origin of this traditional costume? We asked them every possible question that came into our minds, to ensure we got as much information as possible about it. We did encounter several setbacks along the way, such as when we went into one of the traditional clothing shops in Little India and the lady standing at the entrance of the store told us that if we were not going to buy anything, we could not ask her questions regarding the Indian culture. However, it did deter us from treating the learning journeys with a positive attitude and taking it as seriously as possible while still having fun. I think my positive attitude towards this trip helped to make this experience an enriching and fulfilling one, as it kept our spirits up.

Throughout the E and C week, I had learnt many new things about these two cultures, but the most impactful lesson I had experienced was that there were actually quite a number of Madrasahs in Singapore and that the students there were not all that different from us. Prior to the learning journey to Madrasah Aljunied, I had never known that there were so many Islamic schools in Singapore, as I hardly ever saw them. At the Madrasah, we were told that there were quite a few Madrasahs in Singapore, and the students there listed them down. I also learnt about the subjects the students in the Madrasah took, and I was surprised to find out that we took similar subjects, just that they had additional various religious studies subjects, and they had longer school hours than we do. I felt very fortunate to have visited the Madrasah, as it was a once in a lifetime experience and I had never been to one before. The students there were also very friendly, waving to us whenever we walked past their classrooms. The trip to the Madrasah broadened my knowledge of the Islamic culture as I commonly had misconceptions about it.

I feel the main objective of this programme is for us to gain exposure and better understanding of the cultural diversity in Singapore, and especially the Indian and Malay cultures that we were introduced to during the E and C week, by appreciating their cultural and religious practices. I think that the experiences throughout the week have helped me to achieve it, because we had the chance to speak to people from all walks of life, and learn about their cultures and beliefs. We were also taught a lot during the trip by the guides and were given hands-on experience to learn about the 4 F's of their cultures, Food, Fashion, Folks and Festivals, as we interviewed passers-by and shop-owners, bought traditional delicacies to try for ourselves, and spoke to temple-goers. The trip also cleared up any doubts and misconceptions I had about the two races as we were given the opportunity to ask any questions we may have had.

Although the programme was interesting and fun-filled, I think that it could be improved by allowing us more time at each locations, as we often did not have enough time to ask the people there any questions and explore the area, especially at Kampong Glam. This in turns reduces the amount of knowledge we can gain as we do not have sufficient time to learn about the cultures.

During the trip, I was able to learn much about the Indian and Malay cultures and experience them myself, which “opened doors that were previously closed” to me. The chances that we had to gain a better understanding of the cultures really gave me an opportunity to “walk through those doors”, which I believe everyone should, as this is the only way we can live in racial harmony and appreciate everyone’s cultures and differences.

In conclusion, I think that we should learn to appreciate and accept each other’s differences, and empathise with the different cultures and religions to ensure racial harmony. Being a multiracial country, we have to be able to empathise with one another and have mutual respect, as we are one Singapore.