The romance of languages – literally

LIKE many youngsters, I hated my Chinese (Mandarin) lessons in school, not least for having to memorise strings of antiquated words that had no impact on my daily life.
After all, it wasn’t as if girls would be impressed by my vast knowledge of Confucian sayings.
What did not help was that my parents were language Nazis, [...]

Caring for aged parents: Help encourage proper behaviour

THE Maintenance of Parents Act has stirred up quite a reaction among my peers.
While few of us would dispute that it is the moral obligation of children to care for our parents when they grow old, my contention is this: It appears as though the reasons for instituting and enforcing this Act are distinctly economic.
Public [...]

Living my beliefs while adapting to society

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned in his National Day Rally speech that rising religiosity in Singapore could lead to future problems, such as aggressive proselytisation, and people not mixing with those of other faiths.
He advocated a “live and let live” mantra, tolerance on all sides, and the preservation of common secular spaces.
In a Sunday [...]

New faces can drive youth to take action

Nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) have received their letters of appointment from President S R Nathan. What youth issues do YouthInkers hope to see them champion?
Inspire us to care more
MY PEERS and I face one problem: We are often too self-absorbed to care about the world around us.
As such, I would like the newly [...]

Do we need a civic minder?

Do our youth need to be nannied by a higher authority to become more civic conscious? Or can they do what’s right by themselves? Here’s what YouthInkers have to say
The mice will always play
WE ALL like to believe that we are naturally capable of practising common courtesy. But my suspicion is, no one actually bothers [...]

In loving memory of MJ

King of Pop Michael Jackson died on June 25 at the age of 50. YouthInkers remember the music icon
Think about it – life goes on
“TODAY is the day music died,” a distraught, teary-eyed girl wailed on television.
I sat at home watching this report with some degree of scepticism.
Sure, Michael Jackson’s death was tragic, but no [...]

Should I stay or go?

Stay in Singapore, or fly the coop for a life overseas? YouthInk writers say what goes into their reasoning about taking either route.
Seeing it for ourselves
I RECENTLY bumped into an old friend who had just completed his degree in the United States.
He was due to return here to serve his scholarship with a local statutory [...]

What makes us ready for a Singapore beyond Lee Kuan Yew

Sound values ingrained in system
SINGAPORE’S model of good governance, built on the principles of meritocracy, fairness and efficiency, has propelled it to great success.
Future leaders from my generation will have to ensure that this system continues to work well. Fortunately, we have what it takes due to the education we have received that is better [...]

What I’m willing to do while waiting for a job

I’ll do it for free
I WOULD gladly intern for free, were I convinced that the experience would be worth it in my chosen field of journalism.
With hiring freezes in almost all local news media companies, I found many doors shut in my face. So after evaluating my choices, I felt it might be a [...]

Streakers get the boot: fair or not?

Be creative in punishing them
I MET the punishment meted out to the streakers with incredulity. Why such harshness when no one was hurt, albeit a few pairs of eyes?
Expelling them from their hall is similar to suspension from secondary school, in that they are both usually the last resort and the easiest option available.
The guilty [...]