Commentary

In such depressing times one could be expected to lose hope in getting a job after being retrenched. However, 20,000 jobs can be expected to be available when both integrated resorts in Singapore are fully operational. This is a very hopeful start which many people will be expected to look forward to next year. The increase in jobs would be expected to be warmly welcomed by Singaporeans. With that, this essay will discuss the usefulness of the IRs in this current financial crisis.
In this financial crisis, many people have been affected and are unemployed. Financial aid has been offered by the government but what is better than a solid job? The starting pay for this job can be expected to be around $1,800. This will increase with qualifications though. With this, people can possibly get themselves a job and support their family and tide over this crisis. I feel that although many objections were raised when the IR was announced to be built but in this current financial crisis, I feel that it is a very viable idea as it would increase the number of job available. This would in turn reduce the number of unemployed people in Singapore. As such, I feel that the choice to build the IRs was a good one.
That said, people are still concerned whether the casino business is as profitable as said to be and benefits outweigh the implications. It is true that a casino earns more than it loses and will eventually aid our economy, however, social issues may arise due to the casino. Gamblers would no longer need to go overseas to gamble but would this not also make people easily addicted to gambling? I feel that as much as measures are put in place, people will always find means and ways to do what they want to do and these measures may not be sufficient to deter compulsive gamblers. Profits made by the casino would aid in the current financial crisis, but would the implications possibly brought about by these casinos be outweighed? This places a serious doubt as we can only predict what may happen and will only know the truth when the time comes. As such, I feel that the IRs have a greater benefit than the possible implications that may be brought about.
Overall, jobs are difficult to find in this current times and we ought to be thrifty as we will never know what comes tomorrow. The IR will bring us both benefits and implications, and I hope that the benefits would outweigh the implications. With that, I hope that this financial crisis would turn around soon.

ERP Question 3b

“ Excuse me, may I know the way to the Marriott? “ I approached a passerby. This was my first encounter with a person since I was separated from my parents. However, this was not spoken in English, instead it was in Chinese...

It was the June holidays, my father has been posted to Shanghai to work and I went with my mother and sister to visit him. The company rented an apartment for him at the Marriott and it was the place we are putting up. The Marriott is a luxurious hotel at the same time, so it was really worth it to be able to stay there. During our stay, we were brought around by my father to visit tourist attractions. Unfortunately, I was separated from them at one of the attractions.

It all happened while we were passing through a tourist group, I was swept away with the tourist group and when i managed to break free my family was no where in sight. I was frantic and began circling round the area searching for my family to no avail. As i began to despair, i remembered what my mother said, “Should you be lost or separated from us, stay where you are and we will go find you, or you may choose to return to the apartment first.” I waited for 10 minutes but no one came, then i decided to go back myself. However, as it was my first time in Shanghai, I do not know the roads very well and had no clue how to go back to the apartment. Thankfully, I was able to converse in Chinese and was able to ask for directions. I began to walk to the apartment which was about 5 streets away from what i heard from a passerby. Along the way, I met a couple of helpful souls and they guided me to the Marriott.

After what seemed like ages, I managed to find my way back to the apartment. I waited at the lobby for about 30 minutes before I saw my parents enter the lobby looking panicky. I waved to them and there was a huge sign of relief on their faces.

I have never really liked the subject Chinese, but it was my Mother Tongue, Chinese, which saved me during my short visit to China where almost everyone speaks Chinese. I then realised that it is always good to know more then one language as you never know when it may come in handy.

Commentary

Deaf to the World (Summary)

Teenagers these days are preoccupied on the road listening to music or maybe busy smsing to others and are hence oblivious to their surroundings. This is a dangerous trend as their attentions are distracted and are unable to focus either while driving or walking along the streets and accidents are prone to happen. This trend also affects the alertness for jobs involving security as the guards are listening to music to pass the time. However, the trend is still rampant even though dangers are involved.

To Listen or Not To Listen?

Ever knocked into a person yet not scolded for it? Ever saw someone nearly knocked down by a vehicle yet unfazed? Well, here is your chance. It is reported in the news that people do not mind their surroundings even though they are among other people. The bulk of this people are mainly teenagers or the young. I myself am a part of these people and I admit that I do lose all sense of alertness when I listen to music. However, some people feel that others will look out for them and they will be safe. This is worrying as it lowers your own sense of alertness making yourself more prone to accidents. Therefore I feel that we should not listen to music while we are along the roads to ensure the safety of ourselves and others.

Safety comes first, many a times we have seen and heard this phrase and for some drilled into us. Yet there are still people out there who do not give two hoots about this phrase. A test of alertness on people who are either smsing or listening to music was conducted by a Sunday Times team; 30 of whom are smsing and the other 30 listening to music. Reporters deliberately “walked into” the people who were smsing to see if they noticed. However, 5 people bumped into the reporters and 6 only dodged just before collision. This is worrying as there are people who actually lose all sense of alertness when smsing. The other 30 people who are listening to music are tested by ringing a bicycle bell to see if they would move out of the way. Of the 30, 12 people did not get out of the way. This is very serious as if was not merely a test but a real scenario, these 12 people might have gotten serious injuries or possibly died have it been a vehicle. These results show us that the level of alertness in us is greatly reduced when we are distracted, making us prone to accidents. Therefore we ought to disallow smsing or listening to music when we are by the road or in crowded places to prevent accidents from happening.

What are the odds of being in an accident? People may feel that unfortunate things like this will most probably not happen to them. It is in the mindset of people that Singapore is a very safe place where they will be looked out for all the time. This attitude is common among Singaporeans as shown in statistics. It is true that the odds of being in an accident is very low, but at the rate of low level of awareness of people while on the streets due to distractions, these odds are going to increase greatly. People listen to music to relax, I do so too, but this relaxation is for places where there will be no danger. Relaxing while on the streets is tantamount to suicide. A Polytechnic Student said that she was nearly knocked down by a bicycle as she was listening to music and could not hear the bicycle; thankfully the bicycle avoided her in time. Had the biker not been able to avoid her, she would most probably be injured and have something broken. Another Polytechnic Student said that it is the driver’s duty to watch out for the person in front of him and hence there is no cause for worry. Such attitudes are the main cause why accidents are happening every other day. Therefore, we ought to disallow use of such distractions on the streets to prevent accidents.

We are fortunate to be living in a country like Singapore where there are always kind people who look out for others. However, we should not take this for granted and believe we will always be safe. Which is why we ought to disallow smsing and listening to music while on the streets to safeguard the interests of everyone who uses the street. As the saying goes, “Better to be safe than sorry”.

New and Improved!!

Commentary: Streaking

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to run down the streets in your boxers? The students in America are probably able to answer this question. Why? The student traditions in America colleges and universities involve streaking. It is regarded as an annual event for them to do so. Students who do this are most probably trying to relieve stress or just for the fun of it. This essay shall discuss if streaking should be banned.

Simplified Commentary

Commentary: Streaking

Have you ever wondered what it felt like to run down the streets in your boxers? The students in America are probably able to answer this question. Why? The student traditions in America colleges and universities involve streaking. It is regarded as an annual event for them to do so. Students who do this are most probably trying to relieve stress or just for the fun of it. This essay shall discuss if streaking should be banned.

Everyone has their own rights and thinking, even so the way they express themselves. The students who streak are probably trying to express themselves through fresh methods although it is already a "tradition". Therefore i feel that streaking should not be banned altogether.

Some students of Xavier College streaked and ran around the campus of Melbourne school causing much ruckus. There was also an injury by one of the participants. Police received complaints from the public regarding the streaking students. It happened during "muck up day" whereby graduating students take part in pranks and activities at the end of the school year. The end result is the canceling of classes that afternoon (Monday), Tuesday and Wednesday. This is a very serious disruption in lessons as classes were canceled due to mischief. This is why streaking should not be allowed due to consequences.

UCLA had about 5000 people streaking on the streets, participating in an event known as the Undie Run, but the latter has since reduced in participants; only about 4000 people turned up for the Undie Run. It is monitored by administrators and the police to prevent damage to properties and injury. The situation is such that there is anticipation of potential damage, which is very serious as people are already expecting injuries or accidents. There might be people monitoring the situation but there are always unforeseen circumstances. That is why streaking should be banned to prevent casualties to people.

Overall, streaking is an activity that does not much harm with proper monitoring and can be allowed as long as the people who does that do not go overboard. However, we can never control other people fully, therefore streaking should be banned until people are able to fully follow instructions without doubts.