and OFF I GO TO GENTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

see you around, folks! =)

my vision is getting grainy, half my head is throbbing from a headache, and my leg's fallen asleep.

in short, i should probably join my legs in slumber.

night!

Oh, WOW.

its exactly a month to christmas! way hey!

=D

i adore christmas.

heck.

my vocabulary's dwindled to a pathetic puddle that's drying up fast.

help!

*choke, gasp*

Mike needs to be famous... and fast.




ok consider him famous already. who else has his american blog known in a place where i am sure he isn't even aware of?

oh wow. i just downloaded the new msn messenger, and it looks awesome =)

a little too cheery but awesome all the same.

i wonder if there's a gothic version.

it is my theory that writing inspires blogging. i tend to blog more when i'm supposed to be studying. nevermind about the quality of the blog, but i just get the sudden urge to plonk myself down on a terribly uncomfortable chair, to lock my eyes on a luminated screen, to absorb lethal amounts of radition, and to start typing on my minimalist keyboard.

in fact, part of the silver paint has come off on a part of my keyboard thanks to my over-zealous typing. and its pretty amazing considering that i only got this in march this year. and what i thought was a state-of-the-art keyboard was merely a piece of plastic coated with a thin layer of pseudo-metallic paint. nice.

*excuse me while i pick up a photo on the floor. i have no idea what it is doing there*

i'm getting quite tired of my blog layout. i intend to give it a makeover... some time, some how. its going to need a new title too. and its going to have a semi-religious twang, but that doesn't mean i'll start mumbling semantic nuances here. no way. and just so i can officially patent it, its going to be called plastic jesus. so now that i've christianed my blog, the title's MINE MINE. and don't you dare steal it.

and no, its not meant to be a mockery.

but i digress. why am i blogging now? because my very very last paper's tomorrow. yes. and i'm getting quite upset by the fact that half the answers in the assessment books are wrong. so if you ask me, there's absolutely no integrity in the manufacturing of those books, no integrity at all, only fantasies of money. maybe i'm being too idealistic... the world has hardly any integrity left anyway, so what's the harm of a few more publishers like those?

- off hiatus eons ago, but never got to the blog -

- soon to be off hiatus. very soon. -

it is my prophesy that i will screw up tomorrow. let's see if it eventuates.

aside from that, i have thought up of a list of things i want to do or buy, after the exams are over.

- redesign my room (read: visit ikea, create chaos)
- paint it. (i'm toying with light lilac, but the base of the wall needs to be white, and the wooden tiles need to be somewhat lighter. if that doesn't work out, then i will go with electric blue with metallic sprinkles and kill myself. i really want to do those uneven surfaces though.)
- arrange my stamp collection for the zillionth time. categorize the stamps AGAIN.
- send mail off to inner mongolia and miri for the exchange of russian, mongolian and sarawak stamps. anyone interested?
- clear out the bloody storeroom. (read: throw out junk by the truckload)
- redesign my website
- redesign my blog (yessir, this blog)
- go for walks around the reservoir
- master fantasy impromptu by chopin so that it sounds like the person in the cd. (and the pianist, being a julliard student, makes this task quite impossible)

and considering that i have approximately a week to accomplish all that... *sheepish laugh*

- buy a poet's hat (those artsy ones that perch on your head like an over-sized pimple)
- buy a cowboy hat
- buy a pair of knee-length boots
- get that gothic beaded choker from metro
- jeans! i require jeans!
- that red, sweater-like top from miss selfridge and that lovely lovely cowgirl-style skirt (oh well ok, those are my fantasies, what i WISH i could get)
- sneakers
- a monopoly set. (yeah yeah, go sue me for being childish)
- more formal clothes.

i can now heave a sigh of relief, for tomorrow is my last paper. (i hardly consider geography paper 1 as a paper)

then, i can beegin hyperventilating, for the number of math formulas i have to memorize.

700-year-old mickey mouse found in Austrian church, Carinthia



according to newspaper reports, it is likely that the drawing is actually one of a weasel, the size of the ears magnified to portray its keen hearing.

if you ask me, mickey mouse has found his great-great-grandfather. =)

and walt disney might lose its world-wide copyright license to the big-eared rodent.

and some business-minded dude at the austrian suggested that they could become business partners with disneyland.

ahh michael...

FINALE

valjean
now you are here
again beside me
now i can die in peace
for my life is blessed

cosette
but you will live, papa, you're going to live
it's too soon to ever say goodbye

valjean
yes, cosette, forbid me now to die
i'll obey, i will try

on this page
i write my last confession
read it well
when i, at last, am sleeping
it's a story
of those who always loved you
your mother gave her life for you
then gave you to my keeping

fantine
come with me
where chains will never bind you
all your grief
at last, at last, behind you
lord in heaven
look down on him in mercy

valjean
forgive me all my trespasses
and take me to your glory

valjean, fantine, eponine
take my hand
and lead me to salvation
take my love
for love is everlasting
and remember
the trust that once was spoken
to love another person
is to see the face of god

chorus:
do you hear the people sing
lost in the valley of the night
it is the music of a people
who are climbing to the light
for the wretched of the earth
there is a flame that never dies
even the darkest night will end
and the sun will rise

they will live again in freedom
in the garden of the lord
they will walk behind the ploughshare
they will put away the sword
the chain will be broken
and all men will have their reward

will you join in our crusade
who will be strong and stand with me?
somewhere beyond the barricade
is there a world you long to see?
do you hear the people sing?
say, do you hear the distant drums?
it is the future that they bring
when tomorrow comes

will you join in our crusade
who will be strong and stand with me?
somewhere beyond the barricade
is there a world you long to see?
do you hear the people sing?
say, do you hear the distant drums?
it is the future that they bring
when tomorrow comes....
when tomorrow comes

on hiatus - for the last week. thank god.

i'm bored. i know that i probably shouldn't be, but i am. i guess that's what comes out of studying 24/7 for the past week of my life. however, having the burnt-out syndrome isn't exactly what you would cheer for, especially since i've got 3 papers consecutively on monday. plus, i absolutely have to get As for both of them - they are my best.

so right now, in order to incorporate boredom AND studying, i will post up the wonderous formation of a tropical typhoon, so everyone can gain that extra speckle of knowledge. which, i say, is pretty useless. but should anyone be blown away by the typhoon any other jolly day, at least you'll know how that 'monstrous apparition' came about.

and, apparently, the spirit of julius caesar is still lingering...

THE FORMATION OF A TROPICAL TYPHOON (or hurricane, or willy-willy, or that great big swirl of wind)

Tropical cyclones are formed over seas of above 27 degrees celsius in the inter-tropical convergence zone, where the warm moist northeast trades and cooler winds meet and are uplifted. The rapid evaporation of water vapor result in the formation of a low pressure zone. As the air rises, the condensation that occurs releases latent heat, which warms the air up and causes more evaporation, and in turn, lowers the pressure of the region further, and draws in more moist air from the sea. The resultant formation are cumulonimbus clouds which produce torrential rain and thunderstorms.

The cyclone consists of the eye in the center vortex and back vortex where winds spiral rapidly upwards to form cumulonimbus clouds and heavy rain. Centrifugal force prevents the spiralling winds in the vortex from getting into the eye, resulting in an calm area of high temperature and intense low pressure. The vortex can extend from 16 to 32 kilometers in diameter and the dry weather experienced is caused by the descending air. The low pressure of the center of the vortex can be as low as 960 millibars, and the speed of the winds at the tail and the end of the typhoon can go from 120 km/hr to as high as 200km/h. (which, in turn, means that if you get caught in one of those, chances are you're dead)

it appears that my hair's turning rather translucent, for today i spotted a total of 10 hairs, in different shades of brown, red and yellow. but when i try to examine them closely (read: pull them out) they turn out to be black. so naturally, i did this sunlight vs no sunlight test, and the conclusion is that my hairs' turning translucent. wut a discovery!

bad news is that i'll probably have all my hair drop off before i turn 40. but, to look on the brighter side, i'll never have to buy hair dyes.

in terms of studying for the exams, gosh, i really went all out today. i bought this chemistry assessment book yesterday afternoon at about 1:30pm and right now it is about 90% done. and the book is about 1 inch thick. however, i have yet to do my revision for tomorrow's math, which kinda puts me in this very precarious position. i am hoping now that wutever studying i did for math (alot that is) will reflect in the papers.

but, i am glad to announce that i now know more about chemistry than i ever did in my entire existence.

to soak in attention and pleasure is the way of life. to do it any way else, to indulge in behemoth emotion would just be futile.

- on hiatus, unfortunately -

oh boy oh boy oh boy!

i just thought of a new layout idea for my website! holy jumping beans! its going to be terrific!

oh man oh man if only i could start my plan right now ><

@_@

- still on hiatus, but was interrupted -

my 'favorites' list spans two and a half lines.

i need sleep.

slumber is my very best friend.

some cities have a color.

washington is a marble white, prague is bronzed copper, cologne is champagne gold, and paris is slate grey.

but taiwan is made up of a myriad of colors.

taiwan is green, grey, faded ochre, jade, orange, yellow, blue, vermillon, red all at the same time.

which, in the technical sense makes it black.

but in the practical sense makes it rainbow - a melting pot of colors.

The Swedish acronym for the day (and probably for only today) is KFUK-KFUM. It looks vaguely obscene in english, but actually stands for YMCA-YWCA in Swedish. what were you thinking?

is bemay a word? its a very nice sounding combination of letters.

hmm....

everytime i see a picture with the phrase 'what is wrong with this picture?' i get a minor heart attack. thanks to that email i received months ago, i am totally paranoid about looking at pictures, trying to find out what exactly is 'wrong', because i'd never know when some horrifying graphic would pop out and scare the daylights out of me.

i've developed a sudden affection for pigs.

=)

they are cute.

too tired to study, too much awake to sleep.

so i guess i'll just blog-surf.

Wake Up
When I woke up this morning and got out the bed
I had some really fresh thoughts going through my head
they were thoughts that came from a wonderful dream
it was the vision of a world working as a team
There were no guns, no what
no tanks, no what, atomic bombs
and to be frank homeboy there were no arms
just people, working hand in hand
there was a feeling of peace all across the land
Between all countries there were good releations
there finally was a meeting to united nations
and everybody had an occupation
'cause we all worked together to fight starvation
Everyone was treated on an equal basis
no matter what colors, religions or races
we weren't afraight to show our faces
it was cool to chill in foreign places
All cities of the world were renovated
and the people all chilled and celebrated
they were all so happy and elated
to live in the world that they created
There were no street people, we live rent free
and every single person had a place to be
a job, a home and the perfect pay
and the world was free of greed and hate
Unemployment was at a record low
and the presidents were chillin at our show
listening to the things that we had to say
and trying to create a new and brighter day
it was a dream
get up
just a dream
wake up
© 1984 RUN-D.M.C.

watched the taipei city pre-election debate today for like half an hour, listening to lee and ma talk for 2 mins and 50 secs each, alternatingly, with perfectly timed speeches. the more i listened to the debate, the more my loyalties remained with ma. lee was totally messed up - both policy-wise and character-wise.

wise guy decided that he was going to build a concert hall next to the CKS intl. airport, so that 'people living around the area wouldn't be affected by the noise of the concert'. oh most definitely - because people wouldn't even ATTEND the concert. the plan is so un-feasible, its almost hilarious. even the most die-hard fans would find it such a bother to drive for an hour from central taipei city to taoyuan, just for the 2 hours of concert. there is absolutely NOTHING to do in taoyuan except to shop around abit in tai mall or patronize a few betel nut stores. and anyways, people wouldn't get such a good deal for their money, thanks to all the planes taking off and landing at the airport. *vroom*

0_o

.:[ - on hiatus -]:.

well well well, i will be having the literature examination tomorrow.

and forever be free of julius caesar after.

i honestly cannot wait. that man has been like a plague for the past two years, his death bringing nothing but 'civil strife' and 'sickness'.

so, why is it the tragedy of julius caesar and not the tragedy of marcus brutus?

i give up. this blog is going to look like a social studies textbook if i continue.

good day, all.

PUBLIC HOUSING IN SINGAPORE

Solving the housing crisis
- five-year plans
- resettlement

Maximizing land use
- high-density apartment blocks

Building self-contained towns
- to prevent traffic congestion at the CBD

Encouraging home ownership
- to inculcate a sense of pride and belonging
- financial security
- motivation to work hard
- peace

Promoting social cohesion
- bringing the different races together
- meeting the needs of the different income groups
- building a sense of belonging in the community

Planning ahead
- meeting the needs of single citizens
- meeting the needs of senior citizens
- renewing older estates

SINGAPORE’S POPULATION GROWTH

Problems of Rapid Population Growth
- Insufficient housing
- Shortage of health care
- Shortage of education services

Policies to Reduce Population Growth
- Encouraging the use of contraceptives
- Legalizing abortion
- Singapore Family Planning
- Incentives and measurements

Reasons for Slow Population Growth
- Parents being reluctant to have many children
- Satisfaction of a career
- Education
- Marrying at a later age
- High cost of living

Problems of Slow Population Growth
- Hindering of Singapore’s development
- Shortage of manpower
- Strain on economically active population due to high taxes
- Less people available to defend the country
- Aging population

Policies to Increase Population Growth
- Promoting larger families by providing incentives and the likes
- Attracting foreign talent

Senior Citizens as Assets to Society
- Mentors
- Helping out in welfare organizations
- Advisers for companies
- Providing care for grandchildren
- Back to Work Programs
- Retirement extension
- Growth of industry catered to the senior citizens

Impact of Aging Population
- High demand for health care and social services
- High demand for special facilities
- Strain on working people due to high taxes

Preparing for an Aging Population
- ‘Many helping hands’ approach (community, individual, family)
- Individual Responsibility
- Family Care
- Community Help
- Government Support

JAPAN’S AGING POPULATION

Coping with an aging population
- Reorganizing the pension systems
- Restructuring the health insurance systems
- Overcoming the shortage of caregivers
- Promoting family support
- Encouraging an active lifestyle
- Making it easier for retirees to be employed

HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN SINGAPORE

Issues in Health Care Services

Self-reliance
- Medisave and Medishield schemes

Medical care for the Lower-Income Group
- Class C wards
- Medifund Scheme

Medical care for Senior Citizens
- many helping hands approach (community hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers)
- provision of grants to voluntary welfare organization
- MOH’s disease prevention and health education programs

Healthy Lifestyle
- National Healthy Lifestyle Campaign
- ACES day
- Health exhibitions and advertisements

THE WELFARE STATE OF BRITAIN

Means of Achieving the Welfare State

Nationalization of Utilities and Industries
- Taking over of the management of public utilities by the British government
- Running of these industries to ensure affordable service and population welfare

Provision of Social Welfare
- Payment of welfare benefits to poor citizens to help meet daily expenses

Provision of Health and Medical Care
- National Health Service to provide free medical etc. treatments
- Money for the services to be provided by taxes and worker insurance payments

Problems of the Welfare State

Low Efficiency
- Profit making was not a consideration for workers in government-owned companies
- Companies operated at a loss
- Large amounts of money from the government had to be channeled to prevent bankruptcy
- Inadequate numbers of health workers to provide for the large numbers of patients
- Well-off patients chose the private wards
- Poor people had to wait for a long time for wards under the NHS due to the large demand for non-urgent treatments

Increase in Government Spending
- Doctors freely used medical treatment with no consideration for costs
- Large numbers of patients demanding free medical care

The ‘Why Work’ Attitude
- Indifferent attitude towards works and personal responsibility
- Little or no motivation for the poor to work

Businesses Driven Away
- Heavy taxes resulting in low motivation to invest in the country

EDUCATION IN SWITZERLAND

Vocational Training
- A choice between attending university or attending vocational training schools
- Apprenticeship
- Continued Education at university level

School culture that reflects social values
- Students participate in decision making

Bilingual policy
- German and a minority language
- To promote understanding among different language groups

Social Education
- Cultural education to inculcate a sense of loyalty to country
- Community Service

EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE

Meeting the Needs of a Young Nation

Providing a place for every child
- more schools were built

Building national loyalty
- daily flag-raising
- pledge-taking ceremony

Fostering social cohesion
- textbooks loaned to needy pupils
- common examination
- integrated school system
- bilingualism was made compulsory
- emphasis on the importance of uniformed groups
- extra-curricular activities

Preparing for economic development
- moving away from entrepot trade to manufacturing
- introduction of technical education
- Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Technical College expansion
- Engineering courses were introduced

Improving the Quality of Education

Streaming
- to prevent education wastage
- gifted education program

Teaching moral values
- moral education program introduced
- religious knowledge removed from syllabus
- emphasis on shared values

Encouraging creativity
- schools were given more autonomy
- double-session schools were converted to single-session
- establishment of independent schools
- establishment of autonomous schools

Preparing for the Challenges of the 21st Century

Promoting Critical and Creative Thinking
- Project work

Using Information Technology
- In teaching and learning

Introducing National Education
- Maintenance of social cohesion
- Introduction of Community Involvement Programs

Developing Talents
- Special elective programs in secondary schools and junior colleges

Compulsory Primary Education
- With effect from 2003

** BLOG IN STUDY MODE **

|| listening to: EMF - You're Unbelievable ||

- phew -

i am finally done with an entire book of Social Studies.

i've been thinking... i wanna do another site revamp come november 21st. my website layout is totally crap, plus half the things inside don't even load. i've got simply tons of things to add on to my site, but no time. i'm not too sure as to whether i will change the blog layout tho - am quite happy with this one.

time for some updates, they've gotten quite few and far between lately... or so i feel.

well, first off, i've got the plane ticket to taiwan booked. They cost me SG440 - ought to have taken up my mother's offer and booked the ticket to san francisco instead. Tina's having term break by mid-december anyway. ho hum. Cousin Wendy (Tina's sister) will be visiting taiwan on january 2nd. wut an absolute bummer.. she comes and i have to go. anyhow, Tina will be visiting Singapore (and Taiwan) come summer next year. awesome. i hope to visit taiwan and the US and return with her =)

let's see now, other than the vacation plans, i will be going to Genting with Serena, JY and Kai on the 29th of this (yes this!) month. It's going to be my first trip to Genting, and 3rd trip overall to Malaysia. Quite unbelievable, how foreign i am to the place, having resided in this little island for the entirety of my life. We will be visiting the amusement park over there, and FINALLY get to take pictures for this little pseudo-collage-cum-pictorial thing we've been wanting to do for so long.

After returning from Genting on the 1st of december, I will have to do some extra-speedy packing for the next day's 8 am flight =/ i keep having this premonition that i will miss the flight. horrors. while in taiwan, i will be visiting the various universities. its nice to know that it is very likely that i will be doing my undergrad studies in taiwan. let's hope everything turns out well and i qualify for the national taiwan university (NTU. yeah it sounds uncannily like the nanyang technological university but no, believe me, its hecka lot better). Will attempt to get a part time job too, while i'm at it... oh, and finally get my taiwanese identification card. that's just SO overdue. =)

Its going to be quite interesting, me going back to taiwan by myself. i mean, i did it the other time while on the Youth Study Tour and took the plane alone one this other occasion... but mmm navigating taiwan by myself... this is a first. oh yeah.

|| listening to: Kid Rock - Cowboy || groovy.

right. a friend from the tour will be going back to taiwan too, and i'll get to meet up with her. =) i wonder if some other people will be going back too? it would be simply awesome if that eventuates.

what else what else? oh yeah, i'm kinda looking forward to 2003. for once, i'm finally going get PAID for teaching... not the piano tho, the guzheng (zither). i wonder if i am up to the task. and i'm going to volunteer at the zoo and/or SPCA!!! whoopeedoo. mmmm can't wait to get out of singapore actually, or, rather, can't wait for the exams to be over. i've got so much planned @_@

but yeah, i am studying for now!!! oh wow. i have not blogged this way for wayyyyy too long. ahhh blogging is relaxing. you just throw everything on your mind on the screen and bingo, you're done. a real stress-reliever i say.

aight i'm going to have a nice long shower and then hit the sheets. getting tired.

nighty night.

JAPAN’S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Reasons for Japan’s Rapid Development

American Aid
- Money and machinery, along with training were provided
- The USA opened its market to Japanese exports
- Helped Japan become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Korean War
- Japan industries supplied billions of dollars of goods to the United Nations forces stationed in South Korea
- Supplied materials to rebuild South Korea

Government Support
- Works closely with private companies to draw up industrial policy
- Changes industrial policy every few years to adjust to local and global needs
- Analysis of information collected from all over the world on new technology, products, markets and competition
- Japanese government spent far less on defense after world war II
- Government invested heavily in education

Initiativeness of Japanese Private Companies
- Willingness to invest in new technology
- Constantly upgrading of machinery and production systems
- Engagement in activities such as Research and Development, product design and market research
- Adapting to changes in world market demands
- Overseas investments (markets and incentives)
- Company rivalry
- Cooperation among Japanese companies (exchange of ideas and planning of strategies

Qualities of the Japanese
- Thrifty people
- Positive work attitude
- Keen on personal improvement

Good Labor-Management Relations
- Companies function like a second home
- Employers are concerned about employee welfare

JAPAN’S INDUSTRIAL SLOWDOWN

Rising importance of service sector

Change in work attitude
- more time off and more pay
- less commitment

Asian currency crisis
- weaker currency result in Japanese products becoming less affordable
- lack of competition thereof

Global competition
- countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea

SINGAPORE’S INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

Labor-Intensive Industries (1960s – Late 1970s)

Open to Multinational Companies
- Welcoming of investment and setting up of companies by MNCs

Incentives to Attract Foreign Investors
- Economic Development Board (EDB) visited 2000 companies overseas
- Cheap labor
- Pioneer Certificates were offered toe industries that manufactured new products not previously made in Singapore, or not produced in sufficient quantities
- Exemption from the standard 40% tax for 5 years or more
- Training subsidies and duty-free imports
- Government stability

Industrial Peace
- Labor law passed in 1968 to maintain industrial peace

Labor Costs and Working Conditions
- National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) formed as a federation of trade unions
- Its role being to improve the working conditions of workers and to promote good working relationship between the workers and employers
- Provision of training opportunities for skill-upgrading
- Labor law increased working hours and reduced public holidays
- Labor cost was cut down by reducing worker benefits
- National Wage Council made recommendations on wage

Technical Education and Skills Training
- Training institutes were established, often with the help of other developed countries
- Technical education was introduced in schools

Location of Industries
- Careful urban planning to fully utilize limited land space

Transport and Communication
- Transportation network improved
- Singapore became a major telecommunications center

Banking and Financial Services
- Development Bank of Singapore set up
- Foreign banks set up branches in Singapore

Industrial Restructing (Late 1970s – 1980s)

Serious Labor Shortage
- Small labor pool
- Foreigners were allowed to work in Singapore, mostly in unskilled sectors

Competition from Other Countries
- Many developing countries are also industrializing
- Other countries had a large population and hence labor cost is kept even lower
- Singapore’s productivity was lower than Taiwan and Hong Kong

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Higher Wages
- Mechanization, automate, computerize as a result of higher wages

Productivity Campaigns
- Advertisements and commercials

Change of focus in Education and Skills Training
- New industrial training institutes were jointly set up by the government
- Engineering intake was increased

Increased Emphasis on Research and Development
- Establishment of Singapore Science Park
- Tax incentives are given to manufacturing firms involved in Research and Development
- Funds provided to local companies for R&D

New and Better Industrial Facilities
- Wafer fabrication parks in various places
- Upgrading of buildings and infrastructure in older industrial estates
- JTC building of special industrial buildings and facilities

Better Support Services
- Changi Airport
- MRT
- Telecommunication links of Singapore upgraded annually
- Other support services (banking, advertising)

DIPLOMACY AND DETERRENCE

Diplomacy

As a means of Resolving Disagreements
- Differences settled peacefully without violence or force
- Other countries can be called in for help in resolving issues

As a means of International Cooperation
- Providing assistance and transfer of knowledge and skills
- Solve common problems such as smuggling
- International boycott and the likes

Types of Diplomatic Relations

Bilateral Relations (Transfer of technology and skills from Germany)

Regional Relations (ASEAN)
- To promote economic, social and cultural development of the region
- Protect the peace and stability of the region
- Provide opportunities for member countries to discuss and resolve such differences peacefully

International Relations (UN)
- Providing help to countries in need
- Giving a voice to every member country
- Safeguarding peace and stability

Singapore and Deterrence

Citizen Armed Force
- National Service established
- Able-bodied men from the age of 18 are to attend National Service

Total Defence
- Psychological
- Economic
- Social
- Military
- Civil

Singapore’s Defence Industry
- Research and Development
- Continuous upgrading of machinery

Military Cooperation
- Training and interaction with armed forces of participating countries

Bilateral Defense Exercises and Training
- Bilateral exercises conducted with Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, India and the United States
- The RSAF set up a new training facility in Queensland, Australia

Mulilateral Defence Exercises
- Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA)
- Members are Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Britain

CONFLICTS AMONG COUNTRIES

Conflict over Fishing Grounds

Early 1970s
- Decrease of fish stocks around Iceland
- Iceland referred matter to UN Conference on the Law of the Sea
- Suggestions consisted of disallowing fishermen to fish in the breeding grounds and rotating preservation areas
- Most of the suggestions were ignored

1975
- Iceland extended its zone of control of the fishing grounds
- Britain refused to recognize the extended area and continued to fish there
- Frequent collisions between Brtain’s frigates and the Icelandic Coast Guard

1976
- Iceland broke off diplomatic ties with Britain
- Iceland and Britain signed an agreement to resolve their conflict (200 nautical mile zone off-limit to British trawlers)

Conflict over Water Supplies

1940s
- Jordan and Israel started water development programs

1950s
- Israel built the National Water Carrier
- Border clashes between Jordan and Israel due to decreased water supply for Jordan

1967
- Arab-Israeli War
- Israel occupied Golan Heights (gaining control of the Upper Jordan River and a large portion of the Yarmouk River)
- Shortage of water in Jordan became worse
- Jordan’s attempt at building a storage system was also obstructed by Israel

1994
- Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty

Conflict Between Democracy and Communism

Aug 1945
- Japan was defeated
- Korea divided into two parts at 38th parallel

1947
- North Korea become the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

1948
- South Korea became the Republic of Korea

1949
- Soviet and American troops left Korea

1949-50
- Border clashes between North and South Korea

June 1950
- North Korea invaded South Korea
- UN troops assisted South Korean and defeated North Korea

Oct 1950
- UN troops reached the Yalu River
- China joined in the war

Jan 1951
- Chinese troops pushed UN troops back into South Korea

June 1951
- UN counter-attack pushed the Chinese and North Koreans back behind the 38th parallel

1953
- An agreement to stop the fighting was signed by all parties

Conflict over Border

1947
- India gains independence from Britain

Late 1950s
- China contested India’s presence along several localities along border (Aksai Chin Plateau and the North East Frontier Agency NEFA)

1958
- China announced the building of Aksai Chin Road

1959
- Rising tension between India and China

Mid 1961s
- China occupied more territories which India regarded as its own

1962
- War between India and China

SWITZERLAND

Fair Laws
- Four national languages enjoy equal status
- Cantons and communes are governed independently
- Some laws imposed are distinct to themselves

Direct Democracy
- Decision-making is shared among the population
- Referendum: 50,000 signatures to reject a proposal or propose a new law
- Initiative: 100,000 signatures to demand a change to the Federal Constitution

Compromise and Accommodation

Power-sharing
- Make-up of Federal Council is based on a language/religious group’s proportion in the country
- Population shared within the Federal Assembly (National Council and Council of States)
- Minority groups are given a say in matters that concern them

Favoring the Minority Groups
- Federal government spends more money on Italian and French, than German TV programs
- French-speaking schools are subsidized
- German-speaking population agreed to have more jobs in the civil service given to the indigenous minority language groups

Mutual Respect
- Official languages given equal status
- Official documents are first drafted in German, then translated to two other official languages

External Threat

- Able-bodied men between 20 and 50 are to be on call for National Service
- All undergo a basic training program, followed by eight years of annual training
- Training continues until the age of 50 or 55
- Each man keeps his weapon at home, ready for action
- National Service is significant in uniting the different language and religious groups
- Sophisticated weaponry
- Maintenance of neutrality

Benefits of a Peaceful Existence

Manufacturing Prospers
- Highly-skilled individuals create high-quality products (e.g. Swatch watch)
- High levels of economic/manufacturing creativity
- Extensive Research and Development programs and facilities
- No strikes

Thriving Tourism
- Multi-cultural characteristics as an advantage
- Many amenities
- Geographical advantage
- Peace

Prosperity of Swiss Banks
- Economic/political stability instills confidence
- Maintenance of anonymity for bankers
- Ease of currency exchange

High incomes
- One of the highest in the world in terms of average annual income

International Respect
- Establishment of United Nations Palace of Nations (Geneva)
- Headquarters of the International Red Cross

NORTHERN IRELAND

The Protestant-Catholic Tension

Divided Loyalties
- Many Protestants see themselves as British
- Protestants wish for the country to be part of the United Kingdom
- Catholics see themselves as Irish
- Embrace the idea of reunification with Ireland

The Education System
- Public schools for Protestants
- Taught British history
- Private schools partly funded by the government cater to Catholics
- Taught Irish history and tend to regard British as a foreign country

Employment
- Catholics were given less opportunity
- Catholic males tend to be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed
- Few Catholics holding high positions in public and private sectors

Housing
- Members of the city councils were largely Protestants
- Protestants given priority in terms of housing
- Left many Catholics homeless

Voting
- Each household was given 2 votes
- Companies were given more, depending on their size
- Large companies owned by richer Protestants, hence more votes
- Voting districts were often drawn up to include large numbers of Protestants

Ways of Making Demands

- Civil Rights Movements emerged
- Made peaceful demands for basic rights
- Movement was met with hostility and violence
- The beginning of THE TROUBLES
- British Army’s intervention was welcomed by the Catholic
- Until they started searching their homes
- Catholics lost faith
- Turned to the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
- BLOODY SUNDAY

SRI-LANKA

Citizenship Rights
- Many Tamils working in the tea plantations in Sri-Lanka were stateless
- Denied the basic right of voting
- Certain Tamils to be allowed back to India while others to be granted citizenship
- Agreement with India not carried out in full; many Tamils still stateless

Jobs in Government Service
- Language of Administration was solely Sinhalese
- English-speaking Tamils were given 3 years to learn Sinhala or be dismissed
- Tamils unable to secure jobs or be promoted
- Tamil made an official language
- Still not widely used though

University Admission
- Number of Sinhalese in university was not proportionate to population
- University admission criteria made so that it was harder for Tamils to enter university

Resettlement of Population
- Resettlement of poor Sinhalese peasants
- Tamils unhappy that Buddhist monks and members of the Sri-Lankan Army (largely Sinhalese) also gained access to their land

Consequences

Armed Conflict
- Tamily United Liberation Front (TULF) fpr independent state of Tamil Eelam
- Refused, the militant group of Liberation Tigers of Tamily Eelam (LTTE) was established
- Anti-Tamil riots encouraged by largely-Sinhalese Sri-Lankan Army

Unemployment
- Many breadwinners were killed
- Businesses and establishments were vandalized
- and burnt

Loss of Investments from Other Countries
- Loss of investment confidence

Fall in Number of Tourists
- Lack of safety
- Leading to less government income to develop amenities for the people

Foreign Intervention
- Indian dialogue failed as both sides cannot come to an agreement
- Peacekeeping troupe was withdrawn as clashes occurred between them and the Tamil Tigers

SINGAPORE

British Reluctance to Grant Independence

Communist Threat
- Communism is influential among Singapore Chinese
- Demonstrations, strikes were common

Defense of British Interests
- British Naval Base in Singapore
- Protection of British trade

Economy
- Singapore’s ability to survive was doubted
- Lack of natural resources

Reasons for Merger and Points of Discussion

Communist Threat
- Malaysia was anti-communist and did not want a communist neighbor
- Tunku Abdul Rahman was afraid of the communists using Singapore as a base for communist activities
- PAP showed internal weakness by losing elections to the Barisan Sosialis

Common Market
- Free trade without tax
- Provision of employment
- Singapore to increase contribution to Kuala Lumpur from 39% to 40%
- Malaysia saw Singapore as a competitor and was reluctant

Pioneer Certificates
- To be provided to new industries
- Tax-free 5 to 10 years

Borneo Loan
- Malaysia wants Singapore to give M$50 million as an outright gift
- M$150 million as loan to be repaid in 15 years.
- First M$100 million tax-free
- 50% of the labor used in Sabah and Sarawak to come from Singapore

Constitutional Matters
- 24 seats given to Singapore
- Reduction to 15 seats due to autonomy in labor and education

Citizenship
- Singaporeans to maintain Singapore citizenship while becoming Malaysian nationals
- Both sides could not participate in local voting

Malay Rights
- Both sides agreed that Malay privileges in Malaya would not be extended to Malays in Singapore
- Malays in Singapore given free education up to university level

External Pressures

The Philippines
- Saw Sabah as part of its territory
- Broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia

Indonesia
- Saw merger as an attempt by the British to maintain its power in South East Asia
- Rejected UN survey of people in Sabah and Sarawak
- The Confrontation




Trouble in Malaysia

The 1963 Singapore General Election
- Singapore Alliance (SA) told PAP not to contest in regions where it was contesting
- Wanted to have a hand in governing Singapore
- PAP disagreed
- SA did not win a single seat
- SUMNO lost 3 predominantly Malay constituencies to PAP

1964 Federal Election
- PAP called for a non-communal approach in Malaysian politics
- PAP criticized the MCA as a poor representative of urban Chinese in Malaysia
- Criticism made SA more united
- PAP won only one seat by Devan Nair in the Bungsar Constituency near Kuala Lumpur

Communal Problems
- UMNO leaders played on communal politics
- Insisted that PAP’s relocation program was anti-Malay
- In actual fact out of the 2500 affected, only 200 were Malays
- The only building not pulled down was the Fatimah Mosque
- UMNO organized meeting before PAP’s meeting on July 19th 1964

Utusan Melayu
- Jawi script familiar only to the Malays
- Anti-PAP campaign held in print

Race Riots
- Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebration
- Fight broke out between a Chinese policemen and a group of Malays
- July 21st 1964
- Curfew was implemented
- Riots occurred again in September

Malaysian Solidarity Convention
- Alliance Party announced re-organization of SA branches in Singapore
- PAP formed Malaysian Solidarity Convention
- Approach was for a ‘Malaysian Malay’
- Seen as direct attack on Malay rights and privileges and the communal politics of UMNO

Few Pioneer Certificates
- Out of the 69 applicants, only 2 were approved
- One was rejected due to the numerous restrictions

No Common Market
- Singapore goods were more heavily taxed
- Foreign investors were given attractive financial packages

Proposed Increase in Singapore’s Contribution
- A rise from the current 40% to 60%

Closing of the Bank of China
- On the grounds that the funds were allegedly given to the communists fighting in the jungles
- Bank of China an important part in promoting trade with China

Communism no longer a Threat
- Many communists leaders were detained under ‘Operation Cold Store’ in February 1963

I will be posting up my study notes as and when i do them =)