Ethics

Euthanasia
‘The right to die should be respected as much as the right to live.’
To what extent do you agree?
1. [Disagree] It allows for more unethical practices which can create more problems and
challenges to society.
Explanation:
- As it is difficult to distinguish euthanasia from murder, it can cause unlawful killing of a
person which is known as involuntary active euthanasia.
- The concept of euthanasia may be blurred with murder.
- Euthanasia as murder, in both there is an intention to kill another human being, but no
one has the right to kill another human being except under the due process of law.
- Moreover, for physician-assisted suicide, it is unethically wrong for doctors to be taking
away someone’s lives when they are supposed to be saving lives.

2. [Disagree] The act of legalising euthanasia is a slippery slope. The legalisation of a grey
area will lead to changing views and legalities with regards to other issues seen as
ethical by some and unethical by others. Without proper moral and ethical standards,
even issues that are widely accepted today may be considered ethical in the future and
legalised.
Example:
- Allowing children to be euthanized → as they need parental consent → they are not old
enough to make decisions
- People with psychiatric conditions → it is difficult to truly know whether they actually
wanted to be consented to euthanasia → psychiatric euthanasia is legal in the
Netherlands
- The Dutch system gives deference to doctors’ expertise; it respects the
relationship between an individual doctor and a patient; and it recognises that
mental illness can be painful and debilitating.

3. [Disagree] Having the right to die can cause people to be discouraged and lose hope in
continuing fighting for their rights to live.
Explanation:
- Euthanasia destroys the problem rather than solving it. By destroying the life of the
patient, it deprives him of hope and any opportunity of regretting or reversing his
decision.
- This will result in more patients requesting for euthanasia even though they are not
terminally ill or in extreme and intolerable pain.
 4. [Disagree] Sanctity (ultimate importance) of life → human life must be respected and
preserved and suicide devalues human life / Accepting that there is a right to die
weakens society’s respect for the sanctity of life and implicitly suggests that some lives
are worth more than others.
Explanation:
- Deeply offensive that one is in a position to choose whether or not to live as it shows that
human life does not matter as much. The value of life is something that we should not be
willing or able to take away as it was gifted upon us by a higher power
- If one values life, naturally it presupposes that one believes that killing oneself is
abhorrent, therefore legalising euthanasia may be seen as controversial
- It cheapens the value of life → it implies that one’s life may not be that important
- Everyone should treasure that birth is sacrosanct (regarded as too important or valuable
to be interfered with) and we should protect the sanctity of life
Example:
- Eugenics movement → the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by
selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits. It aims to reduce
human suffering by “breeding out” disease, disabilities and so-called undesirable
characteristics from the human population (e.g. Down’s syndrome)

5. [Disagree] Accepting the right to die exposes vulnerable people to pressure to end their
lives and is prone to too much abuse
Example:
- Three doctors in Belgium were faced with life-imprisonment sentences over accusations
that they had unlawfully poisoned a 38-year-old woman in 2010
- Tine Nys requested euthanasia under the law in 2009, according to the lawyer for
Sophie Nys (Tine’s sister), who said that Tine had suffered from depression and
heroin addiction and had tried to commit suicide several times.
- She received a lethal injection on 2010, in the company of her parents and 2
sisters
- Sophie later argued that Tine Nyss had not received sufficient advice, and that
doctors had not tried to treat her mental illness.
- A Dutch doctor acted in the interest of a dementia patient and performed euthanasia but
she failed to verify consent
- The 74-year-old patient, who died in 2016, had expressed a wish to be
euthanized but also indicated that she wanted to determine the right time
- Prosecutors argued that the doctor, who has not been named and has since
retired, "acted with the best intentions" but broke Dutch euthanasia law by failing
to ensure the consent of the woman, who may have changed her mind.
- They argued that a more intensive discussion could have taken place before the
decision to end her life
- In this case, the judges ruled that by the time the patient died it would have been
impossible to establish what she wanted, such was the severity of her dementia
that she no longer understood what the word "euthanasia" even meant
 6. [Agree] A person should not need to endure unnecessary suffering, which can be
construed as tortue, assuming that the goal in life is to maximise pleasure and minimise
pain (utilitarians) → pain can be alleviated
Explanation:
- The pleasure that they receive outweighs their suffering. Ultimately, it is up to them to
determine the value of their suffering and pleasures and make a decision that will allow
one to achieve maximised benefits. Everyone should have the right and freedom to
determine what happens to their own body, even if it induces harm → the principle of
bodily autonomy.
Example:
- Ending the lives of terminally ill patients.

7. [Agree] The right to die extends directly from the right to live. People should be free to
determine how and when they die because that is an essential decision that they make
as part of their lives.
Explanation:
- Societies generally permit people to engage in activities that carry the risk of death (so
long as these activities do not harm others) because it recognises that the principle of
human autonomy means that people should be free to pursue their own preferences and
determine how their interests are best served.
Example:
- Extreme sports, alcoholism and smoking
- People are permitted to refuse medical treatment and in almost all countries it is
perfectly legal for a patient to refuse to be hooked up to ventilators and other life-saving
machines.

8. [Agree] If a person has a right to live, he must also have the right to die.
Explanation:
- The right to die is the corollary of the right to live. Just as the right to free speech means
that one has the right to refrain from speech, the right to live means that one has the
right to stop living.
- Most democracies recognise this basic principle and do not permit governments to
compel citizens to engage in speech that those citizens deem unacceptable to them. For
instance, citizens cannot be compelled to express their support for government policies.
Likewise, the right to freedom of movement means that one has the right to avoid
movement.
- Societies that accept the right to life must thus also accept the right to death. This is
because choosing when and how one will die is a necessary part of living. One cannot
truly have lived unless he dies.

9. [Agree] People should be free to do as they wish with their own bodies as long as their
actions do not harm others.
Explanation:
- This is often also known as John Stuart Mill’s harm principle. Most democracies accept
that a government can only intervene in a person’s life if his actions harm others. This is
the only valid justification for government intervention because in most such cases, the
people that are harmed by an individual’s actions do not consent to it. Thus, even
paternalistic countries like Singapore impose stiff restrictions on smoking in public places
(because of the potential for second-hand smoke to harm others) but do not stop
individuals from smoking in the privacy of their own homes.
- Therefore, as long as the exercise of the right to death does not infringe on the rights of
others, governments should not intervene. In most cases, an elderly and terminally ill
patient’s exercise of his right to die does not harm anyone else. Such a patient cannot be
denied his right to die.

Animal rights
Singapore
- A 33-year-old man was fined S$4,000 on Wednesday (March 10) for helping a woman to
permanently abandon her 16 cats near a Punggol public housing block.
- Muhammad Haidhar Zulkifli, who does not own any pets himself, was also
banned from owning any animal for a year.
- The Singaporean told the court that he will not pay the fine, and will serve 10
days’ jail instead.

- After euthanasia of Loki the dog, vets and animal groups debate putting down healthy
pets
- a volunteer at a dog welfare group for Singapore Specials revealed on May 6 that
one of its animals had been put down for apparent aggression.
- In a Facebook post that has since been taken down, the volunteer at Exclusively
Mongrels said Loki was adopted as a puppy and would have turned three soon.
He alleged that Loki's owners did not seek help from the group before putting it
down.
- The Code of Ethics for Veterinarians states that vets must consider euthanising
animals to prevent unnecessary suffering, but must first consider appropriate
treatment options.
- As far as possible, vets must get informed consent for euthanasia in writing, and
may turn down euthanasia that isn't deemed necessary. The code, however,
does not address the issue of putting down healthy animals.

There are 2 main types of animal abuse recognised as criminal offences in SG

1. Animal cruelty
● faces a fine of up to $15,000
● imprisonment for up to 18 months
2. Neglecting/abandoning animals
● faces a fine of up to $10,000
● imprisonment for up to 12 months

- Singapore government views that animals do not have rights

- The laws and punishments implemented to protect animals are for the sake of the
demands of the society → moral responsibility
- Why animals do not have rights in SG:
- People can treat animals as properties → we can buy and sell animals (but we
cannot sell humans)
- Animals can be sterilised (animals are unable to give birth, pass down their
offspring) → some may feel that it is worse than animal abuse

To what extent is animal testing acceptable in scientific research?

Position 1: Animal testing is never acceptable and should never be allowed to take place
even if restrictions can be put in place to minimise the suffering of animals.
Position 2: Animal testing is only acceptable in circumstances when adequate
restrictions can be put in place to minimise the suffering of animals.
1. [Not acceptable] The lives of all creatures, great and small, have value and are worthy of
respect.
Explanation:
- An insane person has a right to be treated with respect, yet he or she may not be able to
act rationally. Nor does a right to be treated with respect rest on being a member of a
certain species.
- Restricting respect for life to a certain species is to perform an injustice similar to racism
or sexism.
- Those who support painful experimentation on animals assume that respect for other
species does not count as much as respect for members of his or her own species.
"Speciesism" is as arbitrarily unjust as racism or sexism.
- The right to be treated with respect rests, rather, on a creature's being a "subject of a
life," with certain experiences, preferences, and interests. Animals, like humans, are
subjects of a life. Justice demands that the interests of animals be respected, which
includes respect for their interest to be spared undeserved pain.
- We have the moral obligation to respect the interests of animals.
- Animals are able to feel pain and it should not be inflicted on them → e.g. before their
deaths, many are forced to inhale toxic fumes, others are immobilised in restraint
devices, and even have holes drilled into their skulls
- Rebuttal: Animal research has been the basis for new vaccines, new cancer therapies,
artificial limbs and organs, new surgical techniques, and the development of hundreds of
useful products and materials. These benefits to humans far outweigh the costs in
suffering that relatively few animals have had to endure. Society has an obligation to
maximize the opportunities to produce such beneficial consequences, even at the cost of
 inflicting some pain on animals. (utilitarian view → animals also have preferences and
interests)
- Rebuttal: Utilitarians would have no regard for the being that is suffering or benefiting
from the particular course of action, so long as the sum of benefit exceeds the sum of
costs. It fails to distinguish between the animals and humans, it can be used to justify
testing on humans. If human experimentation can be performed for the greater good,
then humans testing on comatose patients is justified.

2. [Not acceptable] Some animal testing does not bring about scientific progress that is
beneficial to humans.
Explanation:
- The majority of animal experiments do not contribute to improving human health, and the
value of the role that animal experimentation plays in most medical advances is
questionable
- Much animal experimentation, they say, is performed out of mere curiosity and has little
or no scientific merit.
- Diseases that are artificially induced in animals in a laboratory, whether they be mice or
monkeys, are never identical to those that occur naturally in human beings → animal
species differ from one another biologically in many significant ways
Example:
- According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), scientists have cured
mice of cancer for decades, but it simply didn’t work in humans
- According to PETA, at least 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines have been successful in non-human
primate studies. However, as of 2015, every one has failed to protect humans. In one
case, an AIDS vaccine that was shown to be effective in monkeys failed in human
clinical trials because it did not prevent people from developing AIDS, and some believe
that it made them more susceptible to the disease

3. [Acceptable] As time goes by, there is more regulations and laws to help ensure animal
testing remains ethical
Explanation:
- There are strict regulations that govern the use of animals in research. 3 separate
licences are needed: a personal licence for the researcher; a project licence for the
study; and an establishment licence for the place where the research is done.
- To get a licence, the scientist has to demonstrate that the expected benefits from the
research outweigh the harm that will be caused to the animals involved and that there is
no non-animal method to answering their research questions. They must also show that
their method uses the minimum number of animals necessary to get reliable results.
Example:
- All animal research in the UK is regulated and inspected by the Home Office
- The UK implemented the Animals Act of 1986 to ensure that any research using animals
must be fully assessed in terms of any harm to the animals → involves detailed
examination of the procedures and the number & type of animals used
 - For Singapore, the Animal & Birds (Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes)
Rules state that any research facility that uses animals for scientific purposes must first
obtain a licence from NParks/AVS.
- To be licensed, research facilities must comply with the Guidelines on the Care
and use of Animals for Scientific Purposes set forth by the National Advisory
Committee for Laboratory Animal Research (NACLAR). AVS must also be
allowed to carry out inspection of the research facilities.
- Effectiveness (tests that used to be performed by scientists, but it has been banned
currently): It is illegal in the UK and Europe to use animals to test cosmetics or their
ingredients

4. [Acceptable] (Practical approach: LONG TERM vs SHORT TERM) If science can benefit
mankind in the long term, then it justifies the harm that some of these animals suffer. If
we follow these ethical concerns too tightly, it will only reduce the efficiency of scientific
development, impeding human progress.
Explanation:
- Obligation of science is to obtain knowledge that would benefit mankind as a whole
- Therefore, it is undeniable that certain scientific breakthroughs are due to the
experimentation on animals as they have very similar genes to human
- A science that follows too closely or too strictly to moral guidelines will render it
inefficient and incapable of achieving anything good.
- Considering a Utilitarian approach, one animal's suffering will benefit millions of humans
in the future. Therefore, we should not cloud our judgement towards animal testing with
our empathy towards these animals
Example:
- During the soviet reign, Stalin was particularly interested in the prolongment of human
life. One of his scientists conducted an experiment where the head and upper body of a
puppy were stitched onto the neck of a larger dog, both kept alive by the connection of
their blood-vessels and windpipes. It was this pioneering breakthrough that set in motion
a cascade of events that lead to many successful transfusions and transplantations in
hospitals today, keeping several humans alive.

5. [Acceptable] Ensures that we are safe to use medications and receive organ transplants
Explanation:
- Self-preservation is more crucial than animal protection, due to the fact that our
well-being is of our utmost concern.
- Animal testing is by far the only method to ensure that products are safe for use. We
know our lives are not threatened from medications and organ transplants because we
are aware of the rigorous testing they go through before they are commercialised.
Example:
- For example, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, thalidomide was formed to act as an
effective tranquilizer and pain killer. It was also found to have an inhibitory effect on
morning sickness, and hence, thousands of pregnant women took the drug to relieve
 their symptoms. Consequently, more than 100 000 children in 46 countries were born
with malformations or missing limbs.
- Hence, if we used thalidomide on animals first, there would not be severe birth
defects in thousands of children.

Immoral to be rich
Reference articles:
1. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/06/its-basically-just-immoral-to-be-rich
2. https://thepolitic.org/opinion-wealth-is-not-immoral/
3. https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-
reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax
4. https://www.propublica.org/article/you-may-be-paying-a-higher-tax-rate-than-a-billionaire
5. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/6/8/us-agencies-probe-media-leak-of-wealthie
st-americans-tax-records
6. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57383869

Questions:

1. Why is it immoral to be rich?

Anyone who possesses great wealth but fails to help those in poverty even though he/she
knows he/she can, it means that he/she is guilty for living the life that he/she has.

It is not justifiable to retain vast wealth. This is because that wealth has the potential to help
people who are suffering, and by not helping them you are letting them suffer. It does not make
a difference whether you earned the vast wealth. The point is that you have it.

According to journalist A.Q. Smith, “Because every dollar you have is a dollar you’re not giving
to somebody else, the decision to retain wealth is a decision to deprive others.”

2. Why is it not immoral to be rich?

Such a moral requirement would be virtually impossible to satisfy. No one can be wealthier than
the people around them. There are always people who will be wealthier than the others.

You don’t have the moral obligation to help another one in need, as it is not our duty to help
every single person in the world.

3. What did ProPublica reveal about the taxes that billionaires in America pay?
ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world's richest people, including Jeff
Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett.
The website alleges Amazon's Mr Bezos paid no tax in 2007 and 2011, while Tesla's Mr Musk
paid nothing in 2018.

ProPublica said the richest 25 Americans pay less in tax - an average of 15.8% of adjusted
gross income - than most mainstream US workers.

They have an enormous ability to find deductions, find credits and exploit loopholes in the
system.
So while the value of their wealth grows enormously through their ownership of shares in their
company, that's not recorded as income.
They also take aggressive tax deductions, often because they have borrowed to fund their
lifestyle.
US billionaires buy an asset, build one or inherit a fortune, and then borrow against their wealth.
Because they don't realise any gains or sell any stock, they're not taking any income, which
could be taxed.
They then borrow from a bank at a relatively low interest rate, live off that and can use the
interest expenses as deductions on their income.

4. What was the U.S. government’s response?

President Joe Biden has vowed to increase tax on the richest Americans as part of a mission to
improve equality and raise money for his massive infrastructure investment programme.
He wants to raise the top rate of tax, double the tax on what high earners make from
investments, and change inheritance tax.

Progress

Guiding Essay Questions

Technology
7. We should fear, rather than celebrate, the latest advances in science and technology.
Do you agree?
Disagree
1. Improvement in science and technology can allow us to raise animals for their meat in a
more environmentally friendly way, as well as a more humane way.
- E.g. Painless ways to kill them, makes it slightly more humane.
 2. Alternative meats
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Reduce reliance on real meat
3. They make our lives easier.
E.g. Artificial Intelligence such as Siri on Iphones have voice recognition ability and are
also able to analyse and predict patterns, based on what you do on the phone.
E.g. For Grab’s food delivery services, it uses AI to understand users' preferences and
recommend restaurants that are best suited for them.
E.g. Vi Dimensions, a start-up that uses AI to monitor surveillance cameras, has
developed what it calls the Abnormality Recognition Video Analytic System - which looks
out for abnormal activity on security camera footage and alerts operators should
irregularities be detected. Mr Raymond Looi, co-founder and chief executive of Vi
Dimensions, said: "The decision to do this is driven by the fact that such tasks are better
done by a machine than a human. There is no way to monitor these cameras in real time
and sometimes missing a security event could lead to drastic consequences."

17. ‘Technology is developing too fast for our own good.’ To what extent do you agree?
Too fast: E-commerce (Amazon, Shopee)
Too slow: Alternative meat

Culture
15. ‘Traditional values should never be sacrificed in the name of progress.’ To what
extent do you agree?
Disagree
Meat and masculinity / alternative meat
- Culturally, meat is a symbol of vigor and dominance, with its consumption both placing
human beings at the top of the food chain and filling human bodies with proteins and fats
required to do high energy work
- Vegetarianism and veganism are perceived as feminine practices, so when men engage
in them, they face harsher judgement → this habit is deep-rooted into the cultures of
meat with masculinity, it becomes increasingly difficult to convince people to change their
eating habits to become vegan/vegetarian
- Moreover, with increasing technological progress in creating alternative meats such as
lab-grown or plant-based meat, traditional cultures of meat with masculinity will only
impede the consumption of those alternative meats which have huge benefits: more
environmentally sustainable and less risks of food poisoning

1. Cultural activity of eating meat becomes obsolete

- Rearing cattle is generating tonnes of greenhouse gases
- Progress > more sustainable food
 2. Traditional association of abundance of food with one’s social status should become
obsolete
- Progress > less food wastage
3. Association of masculinity/ dominance with consumption of meat
- In fact, red meat lowers one’s testosterone level
- Results in sexist advertisements
- Progress > gender equality

18. ‘Traditions impede progress in the modern world.’ Is this a fair comment?
Traditions that impede progress:
● Religion impedes scientific progress
- Patriarchal and antiquated views towards birth by the Catholics oppose the stem
cell research though it has been proven to be effective and alleviate the pain that
some people feel
- Religious leaders, obstinately refusing to believe in science will hinder scientific
progress though it may be for the greater good

● Patriarchal values impede societal reform

- Old, patriarchal backwards thinking that homosexuals are deviant or inferior to
others hinders societal progress in promoting a culture of acceptance and
inclusivity
- OR other sexist and racist values - myriad of examples to use with the recent
surge in racism in SG

● Masculinity and plant based products

- The unwillingness to let go of the idea that consumption of meat is a cultural
activity/social construct, results in people being unwilling to turn to alternative
meat products

Traditions that do not impede progress

● Democratic progress
- Traditionally valued idea of privacy promotes democratic ideals, promote political
progress(ensuring a democratic society instead of an Orwellian [being destructive
to the welfare of a free and open society] one)

Food, Capitalism and Masculinity

Food Wastage
1. How bad is the problem of food wastage? (Look at both the United States and
Singapore)
Singapore
In 2019, Singapore generated 744,000 tonnes of food waste.
US
Americans waste nearly one-third of their food. More than 130 billion pounds a year, worth
roughly $160 billion. Food is the single biggest component of our country’s landfills, and the
average American sends more than 200 pounds of food there every year.

2. Who is responsible for food wastage?

Households/consumers
Increasing affluence → buying bigger portions of food than what they can eat
Supermarkets
In Singapore, large amounts of food wastage are caused by buffer stocks whereby
supermarkets tend to stock up more than consumers actually buy, so as to ensure they never
run out of stock. When those stocks are not sold, they are eventually thrown away.
Restaurants
Generate an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food waste every year. Reasons for food waste: the
inflexibility of chain store management, extensive menu choices, over preparation of food,
improper storage of ingredients and failure to use food scraps and trimmings.
Government
Failed to enact proper legislation and rules to reduce food waste/educate the general populace
about the problem of food wastage
For example, under the Obama and Trump administration, the US has pledged to reduce food
waste by 50% by 2030, however this was widely regarded as voluntary and there were no
financial obligations behind it. Thus, the government’s negligence and lack of commitment
towards tackling food waste resulted in almost no change in the amount of food wasted.

3. What is the impact of food wastage?

Environment
Increased greenhouse gases released: The carbon footprint of food produced and not eaten is
estimated at 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases
Economic
- Land areas that could have been better used for production activities are used to dump
food wastes: Produced but uneaten food occupies almost 1.4 billion hectares of land;
representing nearly 30 percent of the world’s agricultural land area
- Large amounts of resources like land and labour are diverted to grow food to meet the
increasing demand.
- When food wastage are sent to landfills, they also take up space which results in lesser
space left for other economic activities in land scarce countries like Singapore, incurring
opportunity costs and lowered productivity in the country as a whole
Social
It can also be considered immoral and further exacerbates the inequality between rich countries
and poorer countries. Each time the rich in a developed country buys and wastes a unit of food,
it deprives the poor in a less developed country of that unit of food, worsening the food shortage
crisis in these countries
Political
The amount of food wastage that a country incurs determines the level of competency in
governance of the country. If a particular government fails to enact proper legislation or laws to
reduce food wastage, then one can conclude that the government has failed in its basic duties
to reduce environmental waste. The government has also failed in its moral obligation to help
poorer nations as the food that is being wasted could have fed millions of people.

4. What are some solutions to food wastage?

Singapore
- Goodwill Foods staff turning off-grade pineapples into jam → the jams are used by
several food and beverage businesses
- TreeDots is seeking out food businesses that are willing to buy unwanted, surplus meat
and seafood. That includes animal parts that are less popular, such as chicken breast.
TreeDots has redistributed food to more than 1,300 businesses at bargain prices. It has
also reached out directly to consumers too, and now has 82 groupbuy communities who
shop with it. TreeDots is also teaming up with The Food Bank Singapore and DBS to
donate supplies to underprivileged families.
For households/consumers
- Eating less meat: For beef, cattle are responsible for roughly two-thirds of the livestock
sector’s greenhouse-gas emissions. Cattle release methane which is a more potent
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Beef produces roughly eight times more
greenhouse-gas emissions than farmed fish or poultry.

Alternative Meats
1. How are alternative meats superior to traditional meat?
Food Safety
Plant-based meat alternatives don’t carry the risk of foodborne disease from bacterial
contamination. Eating meat alternatives reduces the risk of E coli or Salmonella infection →
reducing food poisoning
Environmental Sustainability
Most meat substitutes are made from plants, which tend to be significantly more environmentally
sustainable than beef.
An analysis of the Impossible Burger 2.0 found that its carbon footprint is 89 percent smaller
than a burger made from a cow. It also uses 87 percent less water and 96 percent less land.
Nutrition
Meatless-alternatives contains fiber and natural phytochemicals that have antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory benefits, which is lacking in traditional meat

2. What has made these alternative meats possible?

Genetic engineering/technology

3. What is the role of capitalism in facilitating the production of these alternative meats?
Millennials are increasingly environmentally-conscious (demographic changes) → convinced
investors that future demand for alternative meats will surge → alternative meats can be a
profitable market

4. Why are some companies opposed to alternative meats?

Consumer confidence
Many consumers face a psychological barrier towards eating lab-grown foods and may prefer
the familiar taste of traditional meat products. Companies are afraid that they might lose
customers and earn less profits if they used alternative meats instead. Moreover, alternative
meats are more expensive, thus, companies might prefer the cheaper traditional meat.
Meat companies vs alternative meat → unwanted competition in the food industry
E.g. The CEO of Whole Foods and the CEO of Chipotle both criticized Beyond Meat and
Impossible Meat products, calling them too highly processed.

5. Why are some individuals opposed to eating alternative meats (or to veganism)?
Cultural barriers
The plant-based meat market in Asia may be limited by established perception issues. For
example, mock meat or vegetarian meat was previously primarily eaten by followers of
Buddhism in China. These traditional products serve a specific purpose and “their appeal is
viewed as limited” to certain groups. In order for plant-based meat to reach its full market
potential in Asia, the sector must continue to break free of its association with traditional mock
meats, which are expected to be sold at a low price point and carry historical image baggage.

Meat and Masculinity

1. How is meat associated with masculinity?
- Culturally, meat is a symbol of vigor and dominance, with its consumption both placing
human beings at the top of the food chain and filling human bodies with proteins and fats
required to do high energy work
- A study confirms that men who don’t eat meat are seen as significantly less masculine
than those who do. Another states that men and women perform gender identity via
maximizing and minimizing meat consumption respectively
- Vegetarianism and veganism are perceived as feminine practices, so when men engage
in them, they face harsher judgement → this habit is deep-rooted into the cultures of
meat with masculinity, it becomes increasingly difficult to convince people to change their
eating habits to become vegan/vegetarian
- Masculinity is associated with domination over other animals → hunting for animals to
gain meat shows how muscular the man is
 2. How has that association between meat and masculinity been promoted?
- In 2016, Nando’s India put out a highly sexist ad with the following copy — “We don’t
mind if you touch our buns, or breasts, or even our thighs. Whatever you’re into, enjoying
any Nando’s meal with your hands is always recommended.” Here, a cheeky copy about
meat that also alludes to objectifying women is targeted at men.
- In 2018, a particularly Islamophobic scene in the Bollywood film Padmaavat shows
antagonist Alauddin Khalji consumes meat in raw, powerful bites to signify his status as
a barbaric conqueror. Here, the way he consumes meat tells the audience that he is a
hypermasculine ideal — capable of brutality and not someone to mess with.
- In the Burger King’s 2006 “Manthem” campaign for the Texas Double Whopper, a guy
sits in a fancy restaurant and looks at his food. He’s appalled by the tiny portion, and for
some reason, it comes with a pink rosebud on the side. In a feat of utmost masculinity,
he starts singing an altered version of Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman,” boasting that he
can’t settle for “chick food” and needs to eat meat.

3. What is wrong with that association between meat and masculinity?

Health implications
Research has shown that regularly eating red meat and processed meat can raise the risk of
type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, especially colorectal
cancer.

Drones, AI and Smartphones

Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWs)
1. What are lethal autonomous weapons and what makes them different from conventional
lethal weapons that rely on advanced technologies?
- Drones that are not remotely controlled by human handlers
- Use of AI to programme the decisions and targets of the LAWs

2. What are some of the potential uses of lethal autonomous weapons?

Mainly military uses
- Greatly reduces manpower required to operate LAWs
- Risk free as LAWs can be substituted with human soldiers
- Exceed humans in terms of efficiency and mobility (reaction time etc)
- Strictly follow a given code (Not prone to revenge, anger and other human emotions that
jeopardise the chances of victory)
- Technological advances could make LAWs more cost efficient and hence a better choice
than resorting to traditional warfare
 - Renders hacking useless as LAWs work through algorithms, preventing disruptions
possible with traditional drones

3. What are some ethical concerns surrounding the use of lethal autonomous weapons?
- LAWs operate according to the instructions of the programmer; if such technology falls
into the wrong hands, they would be extremely difficult to counter
- Strict alignment to a given code means that LAWs would not hesitate to consider the
moral implications of its actions (innocent civilians may be targeted, resulting in collateral
damage)
- LAWs, like any other AI based technology, can be manipulated, fooled or even turned
against its users if the enemy has sufficient understanding of how they operate

4. Why are countries still developing lethal autonomous weapons despite these ethical
concerns?
- LAWs could potentially reshape warfare drastically due to the numerous uses and ways
it differentiates itself from any other weapon
- Each nation wants to maintain its dominance and hence will develop their respective
technologies and improve their military capacities (Global superpowers have greater
negotiating power and can influence economies to their benefit)

Drones
1. How can drones be used for positive purposes?
Inspection and construction
- visual inspections as part of its maintenance procedures.
- collect visual data on the condition of an asset
- Drone inspections help inspectors avoid having to place themselves in dangerous
situations.
Saves lives in emergency services
- Aid can be delivered much faster
- COVID-19 → Zipline, a drone delivery flight company has been able to distribute
medical equipment and supplies to healthcare workers during the pandemic
- Reduces the risk of costing the first respondent’s life to save the person needing rescue
- Gives accurate, realtime info ⇒ translates to better decisions being made by the First
responders (also gives an aerial perspective of the scene)
- Science and exploration
- We are able to gather data from areas that we couldn't have gone before. For
example explorer Sam Cossman’s science expedition whose volcano mission
success was crucial to drone usage. location-Marum Crater, an active volcano is
Vanuatu
Agriculture
- It is widely used in precision farming
- Precision agriculture (PA), satellite farming or site specific crop management
(SSCM) is a farming management concept based on observing, measuring and
responding to inter and intra-field variability in crops. The goal of precision
agriculture research is to define a decision support system (DSS) for whole farm
management with the goal of optimizing returns on inputs while preserving
resources.
- Can be used for irrigation and even perhaps pollination and dispersal of seeds…
helps the hydroponics industry a lot!
- Animal conservation and planet protection
- Wildlife surveillance, monitoring (keeping an ‘eye’ on the animals)
- Geographic mapping
- Environmental law enforcement (basically a flying cctv camera to make sure that
makes sure people don't litter for example
- Deterring poachers
- example-Ocean Alliance’s use of cutting drones that are helping to study whales
in the Sea of Cortez. The Snotbot’s team of researchers conduct non-invasive,
ground breaking aerial technology for the purpose of whale research and
conservation.

2. How do drones threaten civil aviation?

- Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military
aviation, both private and commercial
- At low altitudes the drones can block the path of commercial aircraft / drones flying near
airports may have mid-air collisions with aircrafts
- Can be used as weapons to kill people on planes if they carry explosives
- Since it could be dangerous if controlled by the wrong people, airports would close their
runway and prevent planes from taking off and landing
- On 19 Dec 2018, the Gatwick airport was closed for 33 hours, with more than
1000 flights cancelled and more than 140 000 passengers affected due to the
fact that 2 drones were initially spotted

3. What are some problems with the use of drones in war?

- They are counter productive as they would infuriate the population, gets rid of the hope
of having potential allies and would incite many more insurgencies
- Its accuracy may not be precise enough to only harm the intended targets.
- Jennifer Gibson at human rights group Reprieve says the organisation has
tracked a high rate of errors. Research conducted by Reprieve in 2014 “found
that in an attempt to kill 41 individuals, the US killed as many as 1147 other
people”.

4. Why are drones being used in war?

 - Precision → drones have targeted killing ability whereby they are able to kill legally by
only killing the bad people and allowing the civilians to survive
- drones provide a more efficient alternative to conventional aerial missions, from the
military’s point of view
- There are so many varieties of drones and each of them can be programmed to serve
different functions.
- E.g. The wide variety in types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) makes them
suitable for both surveillance and combat missions, with low-cost models able to
conduct surveillance operations.

Artificial Intelligence - Uighurs

1. How is artificial intelligence being used against Uighurs in Xinjiang, China?
A camera system that uses AI and facial recognition intended to reveal states of emotion has
been tested on Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
A software engineer claimed to have installed such systems in police stations in the province.
And he outlined his role in installing the cameras in police stations in the province: "We placed
the emotion detection camera 3m from the subject. It is similar to a lie detector but far more
advanced technology."
Uighurs have to download a government phone app, which gathers data including contact lists
and text messages. Most of the data is fed into a computer system called the Integrated Joint
Operations Platform (IJOP) → The system is gathering information about dozens of different
kinds of perfectly legal behaviours including things like whether people were going out the back
door instead of the front door, whether they were putting gas in a car that didn't belong to them.
Facial recognition technology to monitor movement on Uighurs → Chinese government is afraid
that the Uighurs are becoming radicalised → they used these surveillance system to check who
he meets, who he visits, who his friends are (government knows those who are in close contact
with the targeted Uighurs → and will lock them up in concentration camps)

2. What is China’s justification for the use of artificial intelligence?

To prevent terrorism, Islamic radicalism and separatism. IJOP is able to spot terrorists and also
find matches of people with similar characteristics.

Artificial Intelligence - Deep Fake

1. How has deepfake been used for malicious purposes?
- Deep fake geography → AI-generated satellite imagery → Such pictures could mislead
in a variety of ways. They could be used to create hoaxes about wildfires or floods, or to
discredit stories based on real satellite imagery
- Deepfake pornography → computer technology is used to map the faces of celebrities
and private citizens on to explicit sexual materia → easier for perpetrators to abuse and
harass women → estimated 93% of deepfakes currently produced are pornography
 - E.g. The chief of a UK subsidiary of a German energy firm paid nearly $200,000 into a
Hungarian bank account after being phoned by a fraudster who mimicked the German
CEO’s voice. The company’s insurers believe the voice was a deepfake.
- can be used to undermine the reputation of a political candidate by making the candidate
appear to say or do things that never actually occurred
- A Belgium political party circulates a deep fake Trump video in which the U.S.
president apparently calls on the country to follow America’s lead and exit the
Paris climate agreement
- In Malaysia, a video purporting to show the Economic Affairs Minister (Azmin)
having sex has generated a considerable debate over whether the video was
faked or not, which caused reputational damage for the Minister
- Can cause short and long-term social harms. AI-based synthetic media may accelerate
the already declining trust in media. Such erosion can contribute to a culture of factual
relativism, fraying the increasingly strained fabrics of civil society.

2. How has deepfake been used for positive reasons?

- David Beckham malaria announcement → he spoke nine different languages in order to
share a message for the Malaria Must Die campaign → raises awareness and reaches a
wider audience, since it eliminates language barriers
- Healthcare: Hospitals can create deep fake patient → patient data for testing and
experimentation that’s realistic, but doesn’t put real patients at risk → researchers can
use deep fake patients, instead of real patient data → this allows testing of new methods
of diagnosis and monitoring + train other AI to assist with medical decision making.
- Education/art: create virtual museums → allow access to the world’s masterpieces (e.g.
Mona - Lisa) for people that otherwise might not be able to experience them in person
- Significant opportunity for cyber security companies to play in this space when it comes
to fraud prevention by creating a barrier to entry to create and distribute deep fakes
- tech and media giants including Adobe, Microsoft, Intel, Twitter, the New York
Times and the BBC are collaborating on the world's first standards body on digital
content provenance
- there are also moves in the US to regulate deepfakes with legislation, outlawing
egregious uses of the technology in pornography and politics.
- creating software to tackle issues by spotting the fakes based on characteristics
like texture, contrast, and color. But as experts have warned for years regarding
deepfakes of people, any detection tool needs constant updates to keep up with
improvements in deepfake generation

Are women today more empowered than ever before?

*Need to make a comparison with the past
Being granted more rights
They enjoy a greater voice, political representation → they control more seats in the parliament,
more female prime ministers
The demands for empowerment have grown louder → many women are insisting that they are
underpowered
Technology gives them the voice
In the past, media controls the people access to information
In the present, social media → Challenge the traditional dominants of men
E.g. Me Too Movement

There are some societies in the past that women are more empowered than man → patriarchal
societies → however, most women today do not live in those societies

They enjoy a greater representation in important fields (e.g. business, political, science) → they
are able to make a large effect to society
Rebuttal: Not well represented / well represented but women continue to be abused, sexually
violated, continue to be subjected to discrimation in certain countries

'Scientific advancement comes at a price.' Discuss.

*Don’t bring in technology (e.g. Robots)
Scientific advancements have resulted in unforeseen circumstances → advancements that have
led to the greater need for euthanasia → peoeple’s lives are being prolonged due to science,
but at a lower quality of life
- Ageing population → younger generation suffer
- Nuclear bomb
- Rebuttal: there are some advancements that does not have significant consequences →
Genetically modified food → it was done very carefully, safely and regulated → the
scientific advancements did not bring about significant harm
Animal testing → animal rights
Food: lab-grown meat/plant-based meat

'Progress is best driven by greed.' To what extent is this

true in the world today?
*Whether greed leads to progress or creates problems
Designing products to not last long → leads to wastes (environmental problem) → e.g. Amazon
It motivates innovation and creates competition which leads to the emergence of the best
products → e.g. smartphones
Investors who are looking to become rich → multi-million dollar companies → many investors
believe that green energy is the future → e.g. Lab-grown meat
Progress that has occurred without greed (greed is not the main driving factor):
A lot of research was initially funded by the government → it is not the greed of the companies
(e.g. mRNA vaccines)

2019 SAJC Prelims Paper 2

PASSAGE 1

(Paragraph 1) The story of evolution, we have been told, is the story of the survival of the fittest.
The strong eat the weak. The creatures that adapt to the environment pass on their selfish
genes. Those that do not become extinct. In this telling, we humans are like all other animals —
deeply and thoroughly selfish. We spend our time trying to maximise our outcomes —
competing for status, wealth and mating opportunities. Behaviour that seems altruistic (selfless)
is really self-interest in disguise. Charity and fellowship are the cultural drapery atop the iron
logic of nature.

1. What is implied about charity and fellowship when they are referred to as “cultural
drapery” (line 6)? [2]

It is implied that people do charity and fellowship not because they are selfless but is due to
the benefits they are able to receive from it. [B] 1m
[Point A missing. Need to pay close attention to the words quoted. In this case, there are
specific connotations to the word "drapery" that need to be explained. I.e. need to point out
that it suggests that people behave with charity and fellowship only in order to disguise their
self-interest.]

(Paragraph 2) All this is partially true, of course. Yet every day, it seems, a book crosses my
desk, emphasising a different side of the story. These are books about sympathy, empathy,
cooperation and collaboration, written by scientists, evolutionary psychologists, neuroscientists
and others. It seems there has been a shift among those who study this ground, yielding a
more nuanced (a subtle difference), and often gentler picture of our nature. In pursuing our
self-interested goals, we often have an incentive to repay kindness with kindness, so others will
do us favours when we are in need. We have an incentive to establish a reputation for niceness,
so people will want to work with us. We have an incentive to work in teams, even against our
short-term self-interest because cohesive groups thrive.

2. What ‘shift’ is the author referring to in line 11? [2]

Humans are selfish, but humans are also kinder than expected. 1m

[Need to make it explicit that there has been a change from A to B.] [The shift here is a shift in
the consensus among experts within this field.]

(Paragraph 2) All this is partially true, of course. Yet every day, it seems, a book crosses my
desk, emphasising a different side of the story. These are books about sympathy, empathy,
cooperation and collaboration, written by scientists, evolutionary psychologists, neuroscientists
and others. It seems there has been a shift among those who study this ground, yielding a more
nuanced, and often gentler picture of our nature. In pursuing our self-interested goals, we often
have an incentive to repay kindness with kindness, so others will do us favours when we are in
need. We have an incentive to establish a reputation for niceness, so people will want to work
with us. We have an incentive to work in teams, even against our short-term self-interest
because cohesive groups thrive.
 3. In paragraph 2, explain the reasons why the author claims we are nice? Use your own
words as far as possible. [3]

We are motivated to give back to others the kindness that they gave us, so that they will help
us when we require help. [A] We want to be known for being a genuine person, [B] so that
others will want to collaborate with us. [C] We also want to work together as those groups that
show teamwork will excel.[D] 3m

Nicely done!

(Paragraph 3) But beyond incentives, we might even be born to be good. It has been observed
that at an astonishingly early age kids begin to help others, and to share information, in ways
that adult chimps hardly ever do. Somehow, the human mind veered away from that of the other
primates and we are born ready to cooperate with innate mechanisms of empathy and
connection – things like smiles, blushes, laughter and touch. When friends laugh together, their
laughs start out as separate vocalisations, but they merge and become intertwined sounds. It
now seems as though laughter evolved millions of years ago, long before language, as a
mechanism to build cooperation. It is one of the many tools in our inborn toolbox of
collaboration.

4. Suggest how laughter helps to “build cooperation” (line 21)? [1]

Laughter helps to bring out positive vibes which will loosen the tension with people. 1m

(Paragraph 4) Natural selection takes place not only when individuals compete with other
individuals, but also when groups compete with other groups. Both competitions are examples
of the survival of the fittest, but when groups compete, it is the cohesive and internally altruistic
groups that win and pass on their genes. Human beings are “the giraffes of altruism.” Just as
giraffes have long necks to help them survive, humans developed moral minds that help them
and their groups succeed. Humans build moral communities out of shared norms, habits,
emotions and gods, and then will fight and even sometimes die to defend their communities.

5. In Paragraph 4, what is the author’s intention in referring to human beings as giraffes?

Use your own words as far as possible. [2] *MUST SPECIFICALLY MENTION THE
INTENTION: TO DRAW A COMPARISON

Just as giraffes have long necks to find food on trees in order to continue living, human beings
will help one another to excel instead of competing with each other. In order to thrive

[Need to identify the purpose: to give an analogy / draw a comparison] [When explaining the
analogy / comparison, need to explain the goal of the these developments (which is to
'succeed')] 0m
PASSAGE 2

(Paragraph 1) Happiness researcher Sean Achor demonstrated through his extensive research
that if you perform random acts of kindness for two minutes a day for twenty-one days, you can
actually retrain your brain to be more positive. Studies such as his show that when your brain is
more positive you are more likely to be creative, intelligent and productive. These attributes can
spin into what we perceive as ‘quality of life’ attributes – job success, wealth, healthy
relationships, and better health. This adage, that happiness breeds success, is
counterintuitive to what Western society popularly perceives as the opposite, that success lends
itself to happiness.

6. Why is it ‘counterintuitive’ (line 6) to say that happiness breeds success? Use your own
words as far as possible. [2]

It is expected for humans to find joy in accomplishing their goals. 0m

[Something is counterintuitive if it is counter to what we intuitively believe to be true. In this
case, our intuitions suggest that people derive joy from their achievements. The author,
however, suggests that the opposite may also be true--that is, people who are more joyful are
more likely to be high-achievers.]
(Paragraph 5) While it seems inconceivable (unbelievable) that benevolence (kindness) has a
place in today’s cutthroat business environment, even the most successful companies are
recognizing its virtues. Billionaire and entrepreneur Mark Cuban was recently quoted saying
“Nice is way undervalued right now. It’s one of the most valuable assets out there,” when asked
about negotiating tips.

7. Explain the author’s use of the word “even” in line 28. Use your own words as far as
possible. [1]

Those in businesses are expected to compete with one another, however in reality, the most
reputable businesses are showing kindness to other companies. 1m
(Paragraph 6) Instead of buying bland, typical gifts again this year for your friends and family,
and acquaintances, how about saying and doing something more imaginative and creative that
will make a bigger difference to both you and them. Rather than giving your employees a
logo-emblazoned corporate gift that lacks any real value to them, give them the experience of
kindness. Give a positive experience that makes the recipient happy and be beneficial to the
world. In the words of Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you did, they will forget what you
said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

8. In Paragraph 6, what type of gifts make a ‘bigger difference’? Use your own words as far
as possible. [3]

One can give a speech or act in something more insightful and innovative. [A] Giving the other
party acts of altruism allows them to feel elated [C] and it is also advantageous to society. [D]
2m
(Paragraph 7) Every act of kindness creates a ripple effect that spreads with no end in sight.
Let us run with it!

9. How does the phrase “with no end in sight” (line 42) reinforce the author’s overall
argument in this passage? [1]

The phrase emphasises that people’s acts of kindness will always continue on. 0m

10. Using material from paragraphs 2—4 (lines 9—30) in Passage 2, summarise what the
author has to say about kindness, its benefits and how it can be spread.
 Write your summary in no more than 120 words, not counting the opening words which
are printed below. Use your own words as far as possible. [8]

Kindness is . . .

(Paragraph 2) Kindness is a simple concept, yet so very impactful. It can make the world a
better place by ending suffering at the hands of war, hunger, human rights violations, and
injustice. It has the power to drastically improve our own well-being as well as that of our
families, friends, acquaintances, and strangers. The very act of expressing graciousness to one
another can make us more empathetic of other people’s hardships. Within the workforce,
kindness towards one another can inspire employees to be more productive and make
businesses more profitable. And within our communities, kindness contributes to safer and
cleaner schools and neighbourhoods.

(Paragraph 3) Despite the dog-eat-dog world that we live in, unexpected kindness is the most
powerful, least costly and most underrated agent in human change. It is also the easiest thing in
the world to execute. With very little time (even just two minutes a day) and very minimal effort
we can transform a human being’s day, week, or even life. The return on investment is off the
charts! How can something so simple and so easy have such a tremendous impact on others
and ourselves?

(Paragraph 4) To start a movement of kindness, Kindness & Co created Random Act of

Kindness Kits. The kits empower an individual to start their own chain reaction of kindness.
Each kit includes a long list of fun and innovative ways in which the recipient can create their
own acts of kindness. They found that people increasingly value experiences over material
things, Kindness Kits are their way of replacing consumerism in holiday or birthday gift-giving
and replacing it with the truly honourable experience of spreading cheer in people’s lives.
Additionally, businesses and organisations are using Kindness Kits for employee gifts, thank
you’s, and tokens of customer or employee appreciation, to name a few.

11. Both authors offer interesting perspectives on the benefits of kindness. How far do you
agree or disagree with the views expressed in these two passages? Illustrate your
answer with examples drawn from your own experience and that of your society. [10]
Jesse Weinberg mentioned that “The very act of expressing graciousness to one another can
make us more empathetic of other people’s hardships” (line 11). This means that showing
kind gestures to others allows one to understand the challenges that they are facing. In the
context of Singapore, I agree to a large extent as being an overly-pragmatic society in
Singapore, people tend to be concerned about one’s own well-being first instead of others,
resulting in situations where innocent people are being put in unpleasant situations. [I don’t
really see the connection between this and the author’s claim that being gracious can make
us more empathetic of other people’s hardships.] [If you were to agree with the author’s claim,
what you would be suggesting is that indeed, in Singapore, acts of graciousness have made
people more understanding of the hardship of others.] You can introduce your
contextualisation of Singapore after you state, explicitly, what you mean when you say you
agree. However, with acts of kindness, this creates greater awareness about their struggles
which makes them more empathetic towards them. For example, when Covid-19 first broke
out in Singapore in 2020, many healthcare workers faced discrimination. There were many
reports of nurses being ostracised in public due to fears of the “virus spreading”, especially on
public transportation when there were incidents of people staring at the nurses on the MRT
train and also keeping a distance from them. These incidents led to some groups of people
reaching out to offer their support to the healthcare workers. One initiative would be how
Lawyer Stedenie Yuen Thio was spurred to take action after coming across social media
posts about how nurses and other workers fighting the novel coronavirus in Singapore were
being snubbed because they could have come into contact with infected patients. Moreover,
she organised an initiative to deliver free bento lunch boxes to Singapore General Hospital,
which inspired Singapore companies to do so for other hospitals. Such acts of kindness
where many people took to the media to speak up about the hardships that healthcare
workers had suffered allowed the public to be more aware and more appreciative towards
them. Over time, there have been no reports about healthcare workers being discriminated
[actually there have been some reports; you could say that there have been fewer reports]
against on public transport and there are also more communities that organised initiatives to
support the healthcare workers during these hard times.

Evidence was good!

Jesse Weinberg mentioned that “the most successful companies are recognizing its virtues”
(line 28)
Example:
From June 2021, passengers using Grab will have to pay an additional $1 as the
Singapore-based firm says it wants to improve earnings for its drivers. Grab, which typically
takes about 20% of each fare, said it will not collect commissions from this $1 during this
period. To help consumers adjust to the new fare structure, Grab said it would offer $1
vouchers for peak hour rides between June 1 and June 14.

Jesse Weinberg mentioned that “unexpected kindness is the most powerful… agent in human
change” (line 15)

David Brooks mentioned that “we often have an incentive to repay kindness with kindness, so
others will do us favours when we are in need” (line 11)
Example:
 Rescue vessels from Singapore were being deployed to assist in the search for a missing
Indonesia submarine → Singapore is sending MV Swift Rescue → SG’s defence minister
said that Singapore’s military ties with Indonesia are very close, built up over the years of
bilateral exercises and engagement at all levels. It was only natural for Singapore to do
whatever we can to assist in times like that.

Amazon Rainforest
1. What is happening to the Amazon rainforest?
Climate change and deforestation → significant parts of the world’s largest tropical forest have
started to emit more CO2 than they absorb.
In the eastern part of the Amazon, which is around 30% deforested, this region emitted 10 times
more carbon then in the west, which is around 11% deforested → by the Brazil’s National
Institute for Space Research (INPE)
In 2020, deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has surged to its highest level since
2008 → by INPE
Illegal logging and burning / slash-and-burn methods→ purpose: to clear land for cattle ranching
& to obtain timber from trees

2. Who is responsible? Bolsonaro? Brazilian loggers? Criminal gangs? The Brazilian

military? The US? Consumers of products of the Amazon rainforest?
Brazil’s President, Bolsonaro cut funding to the main environmental agency, Ibama, and fired
some of its officials. During his presidency, enforcement measures to protect Amazon (such as
levying fines and destroying logging equipment in protected areas) fell by 20%. Bolsonaro’s
anti-environmental rhetoric emboldened illegal loggers and land grabbers. He also encouraged
agriculture and mining activities. Bolsonaro’s justification for the deforestation when he allowed
the exploitation of the natural resources is due to the economic benefits it brings.
- Populism (Bolsonaro and Trump) → they would prioritise popular opinions and views
which they think would benefit the country, but instead it harms the country instead
Bolsonaro has put the military in charge of conserving the rainforest when they actually see the
Amazon rainforest as a place to be exploited → they use the Amazon rainforest in military terms

‘All countries have an equal responsibility to conserve the

environment.’ Discuss.
- Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is accelerating.
- Scientists have begun warning of the possibility that the rainforest might be destroyed to
the point of no turning back.
[Agree]
The protection of the environment should be a collective effort because no countries can ever
do it alone due to the sheer amount of resources that needs to be invested.
- Brazil lacked the resources to solve the problem of the Amazon rainforest → they have
many problems to deal with (e.g. Covid-19) + they have a budget deficit → the Amazon
rainforest is too vast for Brazil to solve alone
- Countries need to work together in order to reduce the illegal logging and deforestation
of the rainforest

[Agree]
Countries share an equal responsibility to protect the environment as all countries are equally
affected by environmental degradation

[Disagree]
Countries share differing amounts of resources and therefore it is unfair to the poorer nations for
them to contribute as much as the wealthier nations as they may need to divert their resources
into other more crucial aspects of society.
- Different countries have different levels of resources and technological capabilities which
makes it impossible for all countries to play an equal role in conserving the environment

‘The solution to our environmental problem lies with the

people, not with the governments.’ Do you agree?
[Agree]
- The Brazilians are the one who voted for Bolsonaro to be president → they knew that
Bolsonaro is a populist but they simply did not care
- Consumers of products of the Amazon rainforest are also the one to blame

[Agree]
Growing consumer awareness of these practices, people can engage in boycotts and various
forms of consumer activism

[Agree]
People are actually the ones responsible for engaging in cross-border activism and creating
international pressure on governments to change
- Example: Greenpeace, Greta Thunberg, pressuring governments to sign on to
agreements like the Paris Agreement

[Agree]
Ultimately, people are the ones creating demand for the products and services which companies
create through environmentally destructive means
 - Changes in lifestyles
- Opting for plant-based meat / becoming vegetarian
- Forgoing air travel
- Choosing electric cars / choosing public transport

[Disagree]
People by themselves are powerless to prevent companies from engaging in environmentally
destructive acts because they are often unaware of those acts to begin with, and even if they
become aware, there is little they can do to change those companies’ behaviours.

[Disagree]
Environmental destruction often takes place in foreign countries, thus, governments are needed
to negotiate international agreements and create international cooperation

Democracy
Key terms of democracy: everyone should have a right to vote for their leader and the leader
should make decisions and implement policies for the best interests of the people.
- A system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections
- Active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life
- Protection of human rights of all citizens
- A rule of law in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens
Tyranny of the majority: when the will of a majority population group exclusively prevails in a
system of government, it results in the potential for tyranny (cruel and oppressive government or
rule) over minority groups
Rule of law: a legal principle that requires everyone, including the government, to obey the law
Elitism: a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth,
privilege, political power, or skill in a society
Pluralism: the existence of different types of people, who have different beliefs and opinions,
within the same society
One-party system: a system of government where only one political party is permitted
- E.g. North Korea (Kim Jong-un → Workers’ Party of Korea), China (Xi Jinping →
Communist Party of China)

'Political leaders should ignore public opinion.' How far do

you agree with this statement?
[Disagree]
If the political leaders ignore public opinion, this could lead to strikes and unwanted protests
(social unrest), which could turn violent and negatively affect the country as well as the
well-being of the people.
 - There is a common saying that politics is war through other means. The whole point of
politics is to facilitate the resolution of conflicting objectives in a peaceful manner.
- If the views of people are constantly being ignored and suppressed, they might no longer
be able to hold it in and will fight for their rights.
- Example: America mistreating black people → George Floyd incident
- While George Floyd wasn’t the only black person to die at the hands of US police
officers, the images of him being slowly suffocated were quickly seen around the
world. His death sparked protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Minneapolis, in cities across the US
and around the world, in response to Floyd’s death. Protesters sought not only
justice for Floyd, but wide-ranging reforms including the defunding (prevent them
from continuing to receive funds) of police and reallocating money for law
enforcement to mental health and social services.
- Example: Since the military detained Aung San Suu Kyi and seized control on 1
February 2021, mass protests have been taking place across Myanmar.

[Disagree]
By listening to the views of the people, political leaders will be more aware of the people’s needs
and desires, thus shaping their policies to the best interests of society.
- Example: Shinzo Abe’s decision to revoke Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution has
engendered much anger and frustration among the Japanese. Revoking Article 9
enables Japan to participate in conflicts or skirmishes in the rest of the world in the event
that an ally requires help. With the Japanese rallying on the streets against Abe’s
nationalist agendas abroad, it is a clear signal to him that the Japanese people desire
peace and stability.
- Example: In Singapore, the opinions of the public have also guided the governance of
the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), giving rise to a higher standard of living for
Singaporeans. After taking in the various woes of the people, Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong implemented a slew of reforms and new social safety nets during the 2015
National Day Rally that greatly benefited the country’s welfare. Raising the income
ceiling for Executive Condominiums for example, has benefited middle-income
Singaporeans who were at the mercy of rising costs of living. Evidently, by taking into
account the views of the public, PM Lee was better able to come up with policies that
reflected the wishes of the people.

[Disagree]
Public opinion also serves as a check and balance to political leaders, preventing inefficiencies
in governance or corruption from growing rampant.
- In societies that are politically aware, the public often keeps up to date with the
government’s actions and keeps a look out for any signs of inefficiency that could
engender a country’s downfall.
- Example: In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent corruption allegations have
resulted in the worsening of the financial health of the economy, and a rapid fall of the
 Malaysian ringgit. In response, many Malaysians have started peaceful protests against
him, voicing their desire for him to step down from his position as Prime Minister, in what
is known as the Bersih Movement. The prodigious amount of media coverage that the
Bersih Movement has garnered is also attracting international criticism on Prime Minister
Najib’s governance, for what they feel is to the best interest of Malaysia.
- Public opinion can thus be a powerful tool that has the capability to bring change
to a country’s governance. Public leaders should thus not treat public opinion
lightly and turn a blind eye to the demands of the people.
- Example: In China, where air pollution levels are sky high and are deemed to have
reached cancerous levels, online netizens are taking up a more proactive stance in
demanding for change. With public opinion deeply critical of the ruling party’s
governance over China’s environmental problems, Xi Jinping has started China’s
environmental cleanup, which sees China pledging to reduce carbon emission levels to
acceptable levels by 2020.
- Public opinion can therefore serve as a catalyst for change that could bring
benefit to a country, should political leaders choose to heed it.

[Disagree]
However, the government sometimes needs to follow public opinion. As the French political
philosopher Montesquieu has pointed out, the government essentially has ‘signed’ a social
contract with the people and therefore they should rule according to popular will.
- This is especially true when there is a divergence between what the government wants
for the country and what the public wants. When the people elect the government and
give it the mandate to rule the country, people are expecting wise stewardship in return,
and the government needs to respect the wishes of the people.
- Example: The watershed election that happened in 2011 in Singapore illustrates the
point. The People’s Action Party (PAP), Singapore’s ruling party, has always placed
heavy emphasis on economic growth. Thus, the government has put in a series of
policies to introduce more foreign workers in order to achieve higher GDP growth.
- However, some Singaporeans see things differently. A significant portion of the
population does not wish to see so much competition or high economic growth at
the expense of the locals’ standard of living.
- The influx of foreign workers has catalysed many problems in Singapore such as
the crowded transport system.
- Also, the added competition in the workplace is mentally debilitating and
exhausting. Here, we have a clear divergence between the people’s wishes and
the government’s goals. The people want a more enjoyable lifestyle whereas the
government wants to pursue high GDP growth. In such cases, the government
could then respect the public opinion and change its policies.
- Indeed, after the watershed election for the PAP which saw its popularity drop to
the lowest in ten years, the government relaxed its strict prioritising of economic
growth.
 - Therefore, the government should not always ignore public opinion because
when voters select the government, they are expecting the politicians to follow
the popular will. Policy-making should thus be “with the people” and “for the
people”.

[Disagree]
Political leaders need public support to ensure that they can govern effectively.
- Without public support, it might be difficult to implement certain policies
- Example: In the US, vaccination rates remain low because it has become a partisan
issue. So while Joe Biden's policies are indeed scientifically sound, he has had difficulty
getting pro-Republican people vaccinated because many of them now oppose
vaccination for partisan reasons.This demonstrates the importance of listening to public
opinion so that you can get them on your side, so to speak.

[Agree]
Political leaders should ignore public opinion as they are often not very educated about the
politics and it may not always be the right choice, and thus, political leaders must be able to
choose unpopular opinions which will ultimately be beneficial to the country.
- Example: Singapore government has no plans to repeal section 377A
- Prime Minister Mr Lee said that: 'If we force the issue and settle the matter
definitively one way or the other, we will never reach an agreement... Instead of
forging a consensus, we will divide and polarise our society', he explained. Mr
Lee pointed out that many who oppose homosexuality, do so in deeply held
religious convictions, especially Christians and Muslims. Abolition of Section
377A, he pointed out, will not give gay rights activists what they really want -
more space and full acceptance by Singaporeans.
- Singapore is still a conservative society that values the conventional family unit
and Mr Lee said that the Section 377A is needed to ‘strike a balance’
- Example: Lee Kuan Yew’s decision to make English the lingua franca.
- This was extremely unpopular among the Chinese-educated as they were afraid
that they would lose their jobs. They felt that companies were only willing to hire
English-educated workers.
- Today, almost all companies may not be willing to accept employees who cannot
speak English. Thus, even though it was a highly unpopular policy, it was
absolutely necessary. Without this policy, Singapore would have no hope of being
competitive, and Singapore would not have been an attractive destination for
foreign investments.
[Agree]
One of the problems that politicians face when formulating policies is what political thinkers call
“the unenlightened masses”. Often, the masses are not as informed as they may fail to see what
is best for the country.
- This often puts politicians in a constant struggle, as they need to please the people and,
at the same time, implement policies that serve the country’s long-term interest.
 - Given the fact that most of the population is caught up in nine-to-five jobs, it is not a
realistic goal for the entire population to understand policymaking and determine what
the best policy is for the country.
- On the contrary, the politicians that we have selected have gone through rigorous
training and have information that the public do not have access to. Thus, they are in a
better position to decide what the best policy is for the country, even if the public might
disagree. Thus, politicians often have the necessary and relevant knowledge that the
public does not possess.
- Example: In the late 1970s, the Chinese government enacted the famous one-child
policy. The policy made the government notorious domestically back then because it was
seen as an infringement of individual rights. However, because of the policy, families
have been able to better utilise resources to provide education for their children and
even send them to universities. As a result, the productivity of the entire society has
increased and the twenty years of double-digit GDP growth serve as a testament to its
success.
- Therefore, public policy making is a science that requires one to devote a
considerate amount of time and energy. The masses generally do not have the
knowledge and foresight and neither do they have the time to study the country’s
circumstances in detail.

[Agree]
Some argue that political leaders should rather consider expert opinion than public opinion as
they have more experience in the fields while the public may not have.
- Explain what makes the public fundamentally different from the government → can
convince that public opinion cannot be relied upon in public health matters
- The public is easily swayed by misinformation spread through social media
- The general public is not scientifically trained and therefore does not understand most of
the scientific literature that it reads
- Thus, they are easily misled by charlatans (a person falsely claiming to have a special
knowledge or skill) to support existing views. They are often unwilling to consider how
they might be wrong.
- Example: Mask mandates in countries
- The research builds on evidence from hundreds of observational and laboratory
studies, which find that masks protect both the wearer and the people around
them. Masks can block viral particles that hitch rides on droplets and aerosols.
And a study from the US National Institutes of Health, published in February
2021, further suggests that the humidity that builds up inside a mask could help
to bolster the lungs’ defences against pathogens.
- On 6 April 2020, the city of Jena, Germany, became one of the first communities
in the world to require people to wear masks in public.

[Agree]
However, some might argue that political leaders should ignore the views of the public, as it
could result in a tyranny of the majority that marginalises the views of the minority.
- By taking into account public opinion, political leaders are in danger of only heeding the
views of the majority, which can only be a crucible for disaster.
- Example: This is evident in Indonesia, where the government does what is in the best
interest for the majority ethnic Indonesians at the expense of the Chinese. As a result,
the Chinese immigrants in Indonesia are treated as second-class citizens and have the
‘ethnic Chinese’ label on their identity cards, as opposed to just ‘Indonesian’ for other
citizens, in order to be differentiated easily. Hence, the tyranny of the majority is a
problem that may arise when leaders heed public opinion.

Paragraph:
The political leaders should ignore public opinion as they are often not very educated about the
politics and it may not always be the right choice, and thus, political leaders must be able to
choose unpopular opinions which will ultimately benefit the country and the well-being of its
citizens. Oftentimes, the government may choose to implement certain unpopular policies that
might cause the majority of the public to disagree with it. However, the public may not be
knowledgeable about how politics work and act out due to their own self-interests. On the other
hand, the government has sufficient data on all of their citizens’ opinions and thus, they might
have more information to ensure that the policies they implement is for the best interests of their
country, For example, the Singapore government has no plans to repeal Section 377A even
though there is an increasing number of people who are arguing that it should be taken away.
Prime Minister Mr Lee stated that there are many Singaporeans that hold religious convictions,
such as the Christians and Muslims, oppose homosexuality. Abolition of Section 377A does not
give gay rights activists what they really want, which is more space and full acceptance by
Singaporeans. Instead, it might lead to division and polarisation in our society. Therefore, the
government is in the better position to determine what policies are the best for the country’s
interest. Some might argue that this might cause the majority of its citizens to lose trust in the
government since they feel that the government is not listening to their opinions that they think
is best for the country. In the long term, if the views of people are constantly being ignored and
suppressed, they might no longer be able to hold it in and it could result in unwanted social
unrest. However, it could result in a tyranny of the majority that marginalises the views of the
minority. Hence, the government should ignore public opinion in order to ensure that everyone is
included and that the minority’s opinions are still being heard.

Should the rights of minorities be protected at all costs?

1. What does it mean to protect the rights of minorities?
Minority rights are based on the recognition that minorities are in a vulnerable situation in comparison to
other groups in society, namely the majority population, and aim to protect members of a minority group
from discrimination, assimilation, prosecution, hostility or violence, as a consequence of their status. It
should be highlighted that minority rights do not constitute privileges, but act to ensure equal respect for
members of different communities. These rights serve to accommodate vulnerable groups and to bring all
members of society to a minimum level of equality in the exercise of their human and fundamental rights.
2. What are minorities?
Racial or ethnic minorities (African-Americans in USA, Asians in USA)
Gender and sexuality minorities (LGBTQ)
Religious minorities (Uighurs in China, Christians in Sri Lanka, Rohingyas in Myanmar, Buddhists in USA)
People with disabilities
3. “At all costs”
It doesn’t mean that minorities should be elevated above the rest of society, it merely means that they
deserve equal treatment. However, in some cases, protecting their rights can be costly to the rest of the
society.

[Agree] → minority rights should be protect AT ALL COSTS

There are certain basic human rights that should not be violated, if not for any other reason than
moral principle
- For example, the right to live, think freely, move, et cetera, though of course there are
exceptions such as the death penalty for criminals
- Example: many Rohingya Muslims were stranded at sea after they were abandoned by
human traffickers. To delve deeper into the issue, they were stranded not just because of
the human traffickers, but the fact that they were an unrecognised group in Myanmar
where they claimed to have lived for generations.
- With successive Myanmar governments introducing policies to suppress them,
most recently the removal of their right to vote by declaring their temporary
registration certificates invalid, the Rohingyas attempted to enter other countries
in search of better lives. Perhaps, the cost of protecting the Rohingyas’ rights to
live and make a living in Myanmar were seen by the government and some of the
Burmese as a dilution of their racial and religious composition, or a burden to
their still-developing economy.
- However, since they are living within the country’s borders and cannot be proven
to have illegally migrated until only recently, the Myanmar government could be
said to have a moral imperative to protect their rights as humans. Yet, it chose
not to sacrifice votes and nationalism to do so.
- Eventually, many of these Rohingyas were forced to leave and many ended up
found dead in gruesome mass graves that were discovered in Thailand and
Malaysia.
- Thus, when it comes to inalienable human rights, the material costs of defending these
rights should not be seen as greater than the unseen cost to the human conscience of
denying these rights; rather they should be protected as far as possible.

[Agree]
Minorities are still humans and thus, they should have equal human rights as the rest in order to
protect the well-being of everyone. / The rights of minorities should be protected because, in a
liberal democracy, the minority’s rights must be seen as important as the majority’s rights and
should be protected as much, in order to ensure a functioning democratic society. / As
selfishness is innate to human nature, the majority tend to look out for themselves,
compromising the welfare of the majority. Just as the rights of the majority are protected, those
of the minorities should receive similar protection as well.
- Society has a moral obligation to respect their rights and also minorities are often
vulnerable to abuse and should therefore be protected
- Democratic ideals emphasise the importance of equality. Thus, we need to respect that
everyone should ensure fairness for all is to protect the rights of everyone, especially the
minority groups who are often disenfranchised (deprive someone of a right or privilege).
- Hence, minority rights serve to bring all members of society to a balanced enjoyment of
their human rights. In other words, their aim is to ensure that persons belonging to a
national minority enjoy effective equality with those persons belonging to the majority. In
this context, the promotion of equal opportunities at all levels for people belonging to a
national minority is particularly important, since it empowers communities and promotes
the exercise of individual freedoms.
- The concert of “Tranny of the Majority” where the rights of minorities are not respected
and this gives the majority unreasonably large amounts of power to dictate and govern
the lives of everyone in the country.
- Example: In China, citizens expressed a strong desire for greater security measures in
the wake of terrorist attacks by Uighur extremists. Chinese citizens considered the threat
of terrorism by Uighurs in Xinjiang to be completely unacceptable and demanded that
stringent measures are to be taken to prevent further attacks from being conducted.
- However, China has since gone overboard and engaged in persecution (hostility
& ill-treatment) against virtually all Uighurs. This is fundamentally wrong and it is
immoral since the government is basically engaging in genocide.

[Agree]
Minority rights should be protected to ensure that their voices and opinions are being
represented, which can help democratic countries make better decisions when governing the
country.
- Oftentimes, minorities are commonly underrepresented and that their concerns may not
be adequately addressed.
- Thus, most democratic countries make an effort to allow minority groups to be
represented in the parliament as their participation in public affairs is essential in
preserving their identity and combating social exclusion
- Example: Singapore introduced the Group Representation Constituency (GRC) system
in 1988 to ensure that the minority communities will always be represented in
Parliament: at least one of the candidates in the group representing a GRC must belong
to a minority community. Also, the presidential election in 2017 was the first election that
was reserved for candidates from the Malay community.

[Agree]
Minority rights should be protected to ensure that the minorities do not feel oppressed which
could result in tensions and conflict (social unrest), threatening the social fabric of the country.
 - Tensions between the minorities and the majority, divisions and exclusion that remain
unaddressed can easily become a source of instability and conflict
- The protection of national minorities is not only fundamental to enhance social cohesion
in diverse societies, but also essential to achieve democratic security
- E.g. On 28 August 1963, 250 000 people marched the streets of Washington for jobs
and freedom, and to stand up for social and political injustice of African-Americans.

[Disagree] → minority rights should be protected, BUT NOT AT ALL COSTS

Sometimes, protecting minority rights might bring more harm than good as it might result in
detrimental effects to a larger group of people, thus, it is not worth it to impose certain minority
rights. / Protecting minority rights in some circumstances may not be worth the cost and hence
should be forgone for the greater good.
- In the first place, the definition of what constitutes a “right” can be hazy and subjective.
Depending on the political system and government, certain rights may not be agreed on
and hence governments should take a stand on what they consider to be rights
accorded to every citizen and not simply be wavered by every demand from minority
groups.
- Mill’s Harm Principle could be used as a guide as well. If what minorities claim as a right
is detrimental to another person or to the majority, then despite social disorder that may
arise from denial of their rights, the government ought not to protect these minority rights
for the sake of overall benefit to the people as a whole.
- Example: countries like Austria and Singapore have banned smoking in public places, in
what could be seen by the minority who smoke as a denial of their right to make choices.
However, since inhalation of second-hand smoke has been proven to have adverse
health effects on a person, for the sake of greater benefit to non-smokers who make up
the majority, it is justifiable for the government to not incur the health cost to the
population simply for the sake of protecting minority rights.
- Since the social contract compels the government to provide security for the people, it is
only right that they consider the big picture and act in the interests of the majority in such
cases. Hence, the cost of protecting minority rights must be carefully considered, as well
as the context, as some countries may not be able or obliged to bear the costs.

[Disagree]
The protection of minority rights may result in the majority’s rights being neglected
- Quotas in parliament and universities
- Creating quotas for gender and racial minorities can be unfair to others who are
more deserving of places in parliament or in universities
- This is often called affirmative action → the problem with it is that a person with
higher grades is denied a place in a university in order to give that place to
someone from a racial minority
- Example: the New Economic Policy in Malaysia
- Under this policy, Malay Malaysians are allocated at least 55% of the places in
local universities
 - This means that the Chinese Malaysians and Indian Malaysians who may
achieve better scores will be denied places in local universities
- It negatively affects the economic progress of the country.
- Moreover, it might be bad for the Malay Malaysians themselves as they do not
have to work as hard which cause some people to look down on their
qualifications → they suspect that the Malay Malaysians who graduate do not
truly deserve to have graduated → drags down education standards and
cheapens the value of the degree

[Disagree]
The rights of minorities cannot be protected at all costs because sometimes those costs may be
very high, not just to the majority but possibly to other minorities as well. / Indeed, having the
rights of minorities preserved is ideal, however, such an idealistic view may not be achievable,
especially if even those of the majority are violated.
- Example: For LGBTQ communities, children brought up in same-sex households do less
well than children of heterosexual parents. This is because same-sex marriages are less
stable as same-sex couples get divorced at higher rates. Moreover, same-sex parents
cannot give their children the same kind of care and nurturing.
- Thus, protecting the rights of the LGBTQ would result in conflicts with the
protection of the rights of children, thus, those rights should not be protected.

Immigration
Instead of rejecting migrants and refugees, countries
should welcome them with open arms.' Is this an advisable
stand to adopt?
Stand: We should welcome them, but with reasonable restrictions → countries should not
accept all refugees that want to enter the country

[Agree]
Promotes overall economic growth / Countries, specifically developing countries, have pressing
economic issues that need to be tackled. The inflow of migrants and refugees can provide
positive economic effects in these developing countries as they become a part of the labour
force.
- Migrants and refugees may take up low-skilled jobs that the locals may not be willing to
do → most developed countries have a shortage of low-skilled workers
- The level of interest among Singaporeans to take up jobs for technicians and
technologists is low due to perceptions of these jobs being meant for foreign workers
and the lack of recognition and career progression
 - Construction, domestic work & cleaning are some examples of jobs that are typically
considered unclean, dirty or demeaning
- Example: the world’s estimated 266 million migrants comprise only about 3.4% of the
global population, they contribute more than 9% of GDP
- Also, they can be drivers for investment opportunities which boosts economic growth in
the country → Migrants engage in entrepreneurship at much higher rates than natives.
- Example: In the US, while migrants are 15% of the population, they represent
25% of entrepreneurs.
- Migrants are more likely to take risks which is an important skill required
when making investments → by creating new businesses, migrants also
create new jobs for everyone. Small firms, in turn, are the engines of job
growth. In the US, they create about 1.5 million jobs every year.
- Examples of companies started by immigrants in the US → Apple (Steve
Jobs’ father was Syrian), Tesla (Elon Musk was born in South Africa) →
they are some of the largest companies + they are extremely innovative
→ they keep America companies competitive
- Ageing population → working population shrinks → tax revenue decreases
- Government expenditure on healthcare has to be provided to elderly
- SG needs more people to work in order to maintain the tax revenue → so
that they can increase their expenditure for the elderly → if not, the
government might face a budget deficit
- Example: Japan’s parliament accepted the proposal in a contentious and
unprecedented move to let in more immigrant workers
- Prevent brain drain by bringing in more foreign talent → locals complain that
“Singapore can become a nation for others”
- Example: A survey by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) showed that
60% of young Singaporeans believed that foreign talent contributed to
Singapore’s development as much as the locals
- Rebuttal: The large influx of immigrants will put additional strain on the country’s
resources and the government will have to allocate more resources to
accommodate these people, leaving behind less for the locals.

[Disagree]
Failure of immigrants to assimilate will not only dilute the national identity but it can also instill
conflicts and social instability
- “Us against them” mentality → immigrants are treated like outcasts and face
discrimination
- Increased social tensions in host countries → locals may be discontented with the
presence of foreigners
- When immigrants are placed in such vulnerable positions, there is an increased risk of
them getting radicalised, posing a threat to the safety of society
 - Example: the 2013 Little India Racial Riots where about 400 foreign workers were
involved has caused Singaporeans to be displeased with them as the safety and security
of the people were threatened
- Rebuttal: Some argue that Singaporeans were the root cause of the problem as
the foreign workers are seen as separate from the rest of the society. They are
not integrated as they lack interaction with Singaporeans. Other than the fact that
they were ‘drunk’ on that day, the segregation could also have resulted in the
riots.

[Disagree]
Allowing migrants and refugees will deplete the country’s scarce resources
- Example: Rohingya refugees (ethnic minorities in Myanmar) in Bangladesh
- Not recognised by the Myanmar government → they are not given
citizenship
- Escaping from the genocidal attacks by Myanmar authorities
- They settle in refugee camps in Bangladesh
- Hundreds of Rohingya refugees streaming in everyday, makeshift camps
ran out of space
- Water levels are dropping significantly → groundwater sources are
quickly becoming depleted and freshwater streams have become
contaminated
- Locals have less access to freshwater sources
- Greater strain on limited resources

[Disagree]
Countries have a moral obligation to provide a place of refuge and sanctuary for migrants and
refugees who have faced serious human rights violations in their home countries.
- As one united human race, richer countries do have an innate responsibility to show
compassion towards these people. If these countries do not accept these immigrants,
then no one else will.
- Just as migrants and refugees are as human as citizens of any country, they too have
the same right to be able to live and stay in a country and countries should be expected
to open up to them.
- helps the world’s most vulnerable people in their time of need by providing them with
opportunities to increase their standard of living
- Example: According to the World Bank, migrants who move from lower to higher income
countries typically earn 3 to 6 times more than they did at their home country.

Economic benefits of immigration

Three ways in which immigrants can contribute to a country’s economic
1) Provide labour in low-wage sectors
a) Jobs are typically considered dirty and demeaning, and involve menial labour
 b) Immigrants supply the requisite manpower
c) Examples: cleaning, nursing, domestic work
2) Provide a source of talented labour
a) Attracts businesses by allowing them to tap into a global talent pool and remain
competitive
b) Encourages these businesses to set up offices in the country
c) London is an anti-example. When it tightened restrictions on immigration as a
result of Brexit, highly talented European workers were forced to leave London.
London could no longer attract the best talent. Many companies threatened to
pull their offices out of London and quite a number have already done so.
d) More than 440 financial services firms have shifted jobs to the EU as a result of
Brexit, according to a new report from think tank New Financial, and firms have
moved £900bn to the EU. The think tank said more jobs and assets were likely to
leave Britain in the coming months and years. Source:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/brexit-city-of-london-finance-jobs-eu-uk-new-fi
nancial-report-april-2021-082815984.html
3) Entrepreneurship
a) Immigrants are often more willing to take risks.
b) This is to be expected as immigrants have to take significant risks when choosing
to move to another country in the first place.
c) Many of America’s innovative companies were founded by immigrants.
d) Tesla has revolutionised the electric car industry. Elon Musk was born in South
Africa. Tesla is now worth over US$700 billion.
e) Amazon has revolutionised ecommerce. Jeff Bezos was the son of an immigrant.
His father was Cuban. Amazon is now worth over US$1 trillion.

Effect of immigration house prices

Research on the issue is inconclusive.

Immigration can cause house prices to increase in some markets and decline in others.

Assuming that all else holds equal, immigration drives up house prices because it increases
demand for land and for houses.

● Evidence for this can be found in Australia where researchers found that an immigrant
inflow of 1% of a postcode's population raises housing prices by around 0.9% per year.
● This is based on data from the censuses in 2006, 2011, and 2016.

However, house prices may also fall because it drives down wages (reducing people’s ability to
pay for houses).
House prices may also fall as supply increases to meet demand.

House prices may also fall as places with higher levels of immigration become less desirable.
In Singapore, high levels of immigration have been associated with high house prices. But the
relationship has not always held steady.
● Although property prices in Singapore have skyrocketed over the past several years,
leading to numerous complaints by Singaporeans, this continued to happen in 2020 and
2021 despite the governments’ tightening of immigration controls and the consequent
decline in the immigrant population. (This is most likely the result of other
macroeconomic factors like low interest rates.)
● This does, however, demonstrate that house prices are not driven by immigration and
population growth alone.

House prices in Singapore in general behave differently from other markets because of
Singapore’s acute land scarcity. Most Singaporeans generally have few alternatives (apart from
migrating overseas themselves, an option that is not open to most).

Ultimately, the more pertinent question is whether increases in house prices affect locals
positively or negatively.
● In Singapore, increases in house prices are partially offset by increases in government
subsidies.
● Low-income families in Singapore can receive CPF Housing Grants of up to $80,000
when purchasing new flats.
● An increase in house prices can also benefit locals who currently own those houses
because an increase in house prices means that the value of their assets appreciates.
● However, this is also likely to worsen inequality as those who own more expensive
properties are likely to see a greater increase in the value of their assets. Low-income
families typically own little to no property. Many low-income families rent rather than own.

It is also possible to argue that the positive effect of immigration on wages more than
adequately offsets the increase in house prices.

Effect of immigration on wages

From a basic supply and demand perspective, immigration should reduce wages because it
increases the supply of workers. With more workers available, particularly workers who are
willing to accept lower pay, employers can afford to pay less. Competition for a limited number
of jobs means that locals either accept less pay or lose their jobs. Thus, this basic supply and
demand approach suggests that immigration is bad for workers because it reduces their wages
and causes unemployment.
George J. Borjas, professor of economics and social policy at the Harvard Kennedy School,
points out that “wage trends over the past half-century suggest that a 10 percent increase in the
number of workers with a particular set of skills probably lowers the wage of that group by at
least 3 percent. Even after the economy has fully adjusted, those skill groups that received the
most immigrants will still offer lower pay relative to those that received fewer immigrants.”

However, such a view is based on a static model of labour demand and supply which assumes
that everything else in the economy remains fixed. In reality, there are a few reasons to consider
immigration necessary and beneficial, both for low-skilled workers as well as for everyone else.

● Immigration makes firms more competitive and productive, allowing them to increase
wages and hire more workers in the long run.
● Immigration is necessary because countries which operate in globally integrated markets
have to compete with firms that may tap into these cheap sources of labour anyway.
● In the absence of immigraiton, automation would still reduce the wages of low-skilled
workers.
● Immigration of domestic workers enables high-skilled women to remain in the workforce
by assisting with child care and domestic tasks.

Moral obligation
Focus on the consequences of rejecting these immigrants and refugees.

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution. Rejecting their
request for asylum means that they would be sent back to their home countries where they may
be tortured and killed.

The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as a person:

(who) owing to (a) well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the
country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself
of the protection of that country.

Since the right to life is a universal human right, countries have a moral obligation to accept
refugees who might otherwise lose their lives.

Countries also have a legal obligation to protect refugees given that almost all countries have
signed the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
Strictly speaking, the obligation only comes into effect after an asylum seeker has entered a
signatory country. The obligation here is that of “non-refoulement”. This means that once an
asylum seeker enters a country, he cannot be returned to his home country if that puts him at
risk of persecution.

Many countries, such as Australia and Singapore, fulfil their legal obligation while arguably
shirking their moral one. They do so by ensuring that asylum seekers never enter their countries
in the first place. If asylum seekers do not set foot in their territories, these countries can claim
that they have not violated the principle of non-refoulement by sending these asylum seekers
back.

Western countries have a special obligation to accept refugees because they are responsible for
many of the crises that have forced people to flee from their countries in the first place.
1) Colonisation decimated local power structures and entrenched dysfunctional
authoritarian regimes.
2) Attempts to combat communism during the Cold War meant that Western countries often
supported repressive regimes.
3) Responsibility for contributing to climate change (climate refugees).

Culpability and causation

● Some states arguably have an added moral obligation because of their responsibility for
having caused the situations which refugees are forced to flee from.
● Granting refugees asylum thus serves as a form of “reparation” for past injustice.
● States may have caused these situations through climate inaction, the imposition of
damaging economic policies, support for oppressive regimes or even military
intervention.

Iraq War
● Millions of Iraqis were displaced after the Iraq war because of the United States’ failure
to plan and manage the reconstruction of the country.
● The resulting violence and instability was furthermore caused by misguided policies such
as de-Baathification which led to the indiscriminate dismissal of 85,000 state officials
because of their affiliation with Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. De-baathification
decimated Iraq’s government by removing the very people who were needed for the
rebuilding of the nation. These were Iraq’s engineers, technicians, and experienced
public works administrators.
● De-Baathification was accompanied by the disbanding of the Iraqi army. This decision
left five hundred thousand well-trained and well-armed young men unemployed and
bitter. They were perfect targets for recruitment by ISIS.
● A combination of these errors and the failure to provide for the post-war stability and
reconstruction of Iraq facilitated violent sectarianism that resulted in persecution, ethnic
cleansing, and massive forced displacement.
Authoritarian regimes in the Middle East
● The United States supported authoritarian regimes between 1945 and the end of the
Cold War for three main reasons: to contain communism, to maintain access to oil, and
to protect its close ally in the region, Israel.
● Repressive regimes like the Saudi Royal Family in Saudi Arabia received billions of
dollars in economic and military aid, much of which enabled them to suppress political
dissent and perpetuate their rule.

Latin America
● The United States has historically considered Latin America its own “backyard”.
● During the Cold War, the United States constantly intervened in the domestic affairs of
Latin American states, supporting authoritarian regimes that were opposed to
Communism.
● The U.S. funded and armed these repressive regimes as they battled leftist guerrillas in
decades-long civil wars that displaced hundreds of thousands and crippled the region’s
economy.

2019 TMJC Prelims Paper 2

(Paragraph 1) Cities are experiencing an accelerating pace of urbanisation and growing in
complexity. The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a figure
that is projected to rise to 68% by 2050. With a few exceptions, cities are expected to become
bigger and more numerous. What does the future hold for them — and all of us — in this
scenario? Many are competing to be the most liveable for their people, and to do so in a
sustainable manner. All face major challenges, including competing uses for land space and
rising pollution. Successful ones are finding the value of close interaction and effective
collaboration among the public, private and people sectors. All over, urban planners,
governments and developers are increasingly interested in making cities “liveable”.

1. Why do you think the author switches to “us” in line 4? [1]

The author wants to make the reader feel personal about the fact that the future of cities
depends on everyone.0m

[Q1. Diction questions are language use questions. For all language use questions, you need
to explain both the function and the context. The functional explanation is quite standard and
is usually the same regardless of the passage. The contextual explanation is unique to the
passage and requires you to explain what the author is trying to say.]

[Q1. This is a diction question. Diction questions require you to consider the author's choice of
words. In this particular case, you have to explain why the author chose to use the word "us".
 Since the word "us" is a pronoun, you can think of what the word refers to. In this case, the
word "us" is juxtaposed against the word "them" which refers to the cities themselves. Thus,
the word "us" refers to the people who live in cities as opposed to the cities themselves. So
why add this in? The author is clearly suggesting that it affects "us" as well. In other words,
what happens to cities affects the people living in them as well.]

[Q1. The author is not trying to make people feel personally involved in this case, nor is he
trying to capture their attention. He is making a point about the way city-dwellers are affected
by the design of cities.]

(Paragraph 1) Cities are experiencing an accelerating pace of urbanisation and growing in

complexity. The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a figure
that is projected to rise to 68% by 2050. With a few exceptions, cities are expected to become
bigger and more numerous. What does the future hold for them — and all of us — in this
scenario? Many are competing to be the most liveable for their people, and to do so in a
sustainable manner. All face major challenges, including competing uses for land space and
rising pollution. Successful ones are finding the value of close interaction and effective
collaboration among the public, private and people sectors. All over, urban planners,
governments and developers are increasingly interested in making cities “liveable”.

2. Why has the author written “liveable” in inverted commas in line 9? [1]

The author wants to emphasise that it was just a claim by the urban planners, governments
and developers, they have not successfully achieved their goal in making cities more liveable.

0m

[Q2. Although quotation marks can be used to express doubt, this is not the case here. In fact,
after reading the entire passage, you might have observed that the author does genuinely
believe that many countries have succeeded in making cities excellent places to live in (see
paragraph 8, for instance). Thus, it would be strange for the author to suggest that
governments and developers are not genuinely, and increasingly, interested in making cities
 good places to live in. In fact, the keyword here is "increasingly". It suggests that the idea of a
liveable city is still an aspirational one. Hence, the word "liveable" is an aspirational concept or
catchphrase.]

[Q2. Quotation marks can also be used to mark out technical terms and catchphrases.]

(Paragraph 2) Cities have traditionally responded to growth by expanding the availability of land
for buildings and the transport network, particularly roads, giving less attention to their citizens.
More often than not, cities are designed around transport, and personal vehicles in the form of
cars are prioritised. As the list of megacities grows and as more and more people move into
cities from rural areas, every city should prioritise four issues that have great impact on the
quality of urban life and will sustain our world in the long term: mobility, design, sociodiversity
and engagement.

3. In paragraph 2, how have cities “traditionally responded to growth” (line 10) and what is
the problem associated with that? Use your own words as far as possible. [2]

Cities widen the area that is made accessible for infrastructures. However, this causes cities
to focus less on their people. 2m

Well-explained!
(Paragraph 3) Cars have been in production for a little more than a century, but the space they
have seized and the amount of infrastructural investment they demand is extremely high. Cars
are the cigarettes of the future. They occupy more space than any human. Vast areas of land
are immobilised for parking purposes. In fact, a growing number of cities are rethinking their
allegiance to the automobile because of pollution, climate change and land use concerns. While
there is a need for cities to look into urban mobility, the priority should still be to provide
comfortable, safe, affordable and easy-to-use public transportation to reduce people’s
dependence on cars. Every mode of transportation has to operate optimally and be integrated
into a transit network. As such, armed with new ideas and technologies such as artificial
intelligence, many cities are reshaping transportation systems to favour walking, cycling and
public transit over private cars. Shared mobility, vehicle sharing, call them what you will: the
potential for transport sharing is certainly there.

4. What is the author implying about cars by describing them as “cigarettes” of the future
(lines 17 – 18)? [2]

Just as cigarettes can cause health problems to people through the inhalation of the smoke,
similarly, cars can result in air pollution which can cause one to suffer from respiratory
problems.

2m

[Q4. This is actually a metaphor question. How do we know that this is a metaphor question?
It's easy. The author is using a metaphor when he describes cars as cigarettes. Note that the
author is not describing cars like cigarettes. Obviously, cars are not cigarettes. Cigarettes do
not have four wheels and cannot do a Tokyo drift. But the author describes cars as cigarettes
because he believes that the two share similar characteristics. Therefore, your job is to
explain what those similar characteristics are. In this case, the similarities are that a) both
harm the environment b) both harm the public / society at large and c) both necessitate
government intervention. ]

[Q4. You cannot mix and match for this question. I.e. you cannot say that cigarettes harm the
environment while cars harm the public. That is not a similarity. That's a difference.]
(Paragraph 3) Cars have been in production for a little more than a century, but the space they
have seized and the amount of infrastructural investment they demand is extremely high. Cars
are the cigarettes of the future. They occupy more space than any human. Vast areas of land
are immobilised for parking purposes. In fact, a growing number of cities are rethinking their
allegiance (loyalty or commitment to a superior or to a group or cause) to the automobile because
of pollution, climate change and land use concerns. While there is a need for cities to look into
urban mobility, the priority should still be to provide comfortable, safe, affordable and
easy-to-use public transportation to reduce people’s dependence on cars. Every mode of
transportation has to operate optimally and be integrated into a transit network. As such, armed
with new ideas and technologies such as artificial intelligence, many cities are reshaping
transportation systems to favour walking, cycling and public transit over private cars. Shared
mobility, vehicle sharing, call them what you will: the potential for transport sharing is certainly
there.

5. In paragraph 3, why did cities have an “allegiance” to the automobile (line 19)? Use your
own words as far as possible. [2]

Automobiles take up huge areas of land which means that there are less areas [is less area]
for other infrastructures. There is also the problem that automobiles result in environmental
degradation and extreme weather changes.

0m
 [Q5. Since this is an inference question, the focus is on explaining the allegiance rather than
the meaning of allegiance. Although you should try to paraphrase the term allegiance, no
marks are awarded if you merely paraphrase the term allegiance without explaining why cities
have an allegiance to cars.]

[Q5. There are four points in this phrase "comfortable, safe, affordable and easy-to-use". 1-2
points will get you one mark. 3-4 points will get you two marks.]

[Q5. An "allegiance" is a loyalty or commitment to something. For instance, as a citizen of

Singapore, I may swear an allegiance to defend the country. For the more intensely patriotic
among us, I may swear an allegiance to worship Lee Kuan Yew (kidding). So, in this context,
cities swear an allegiance to the automobile because they believe that the automobile
deserves their loyalty. In this particular case, you have to draw an inference from the author's
explanation. The inference here is that cities used to have an allegiance to cars because they
used to think that cars were more comfortable, safe, affordable and easy-to-use than public
transportation.]

(Paragraph 7) Citizens are at the heart of cities. Cities should be planned for people, not places.
That was the only way it was, in cities of the past. Addressing the challenge of putting people
back into the centre of city management requires some going back to basics, back to building
liveable cities by starting, naturally, with where people are at, and where they want to be.
Engaged citizens also make for successful cities in many other aspects. Co-creation is the only
way forward, as no government is in a position to manage cities alone. There is no other option,
given the complexity of today’s cities and the growing desire and demand everywhere for
greater consultation and representation. The city of Montreal, for example, engaged its citizens
through surveys and a dedicated phone line to inform them of its smart city goals and gather
more ideas. The dedicated phone line led to more than a million data points which revealed the
wishes and problems of its citizens. They predominantly addressed issues pertaining to roads,
parks, garbage pickups and streetlights. Indeed, a more informed citizenry means a desire for
greater consultation and involvement. Making people in cities “visible” will be the challenge to
achieving greater liveability and engagement will continue to play a critical role (if not more) in
establishing a consensus between the government and its people.
 6.
7. Explain the author’s use of the word “naturally” in line 58. [1]

In order to build liveable cities, it was obvious that they had to start from where people are
currently living and the places they wanted to live in. 0m

[Q7. This is another diction question. The author uses the word "naturally" because this is
something obvious and to be expected. To answer this question, all you have to do is
paraphrase the author's argument here. The author is suggesting that cities need to focus on
people's needs since cities were historically built for the sake of their inhabitants. The
contextual explanation here requires you to point out this historical fact.]

(Paragraph 7) Citizens are at the heart of cities. Cities should be planned for people, not places.
That was the only way it was, in cities of the past. Addressing the challenge of putting people
back into the centre of city management requires some going back to basics, back to building
liveable cities by starting, naturally, with where people are at, and where they want to be.
Engaged citizens also make for successful cities in many other aspects. Co-creation is the
only way forward, as no government is in a position to manage cities alone. There is no other
option, given the complexity of today’s cities and the growing desire and demand everywhere for
greater consultation and representation. The city of Montreal, for example, engaged its citizens
through surveys and a dedicated phone line to inform them of its smart city goals and gather
more ideas. The dedicated phone line led to more than a million data points which revealed the
wishes and problems of its citizens. They predominantly addressed issues pertaining to roads,
parks, garbage pickups and streetlights. Indeed, a more informed citizenry means a desire for
greater consultation and involvement. Making people in cities “visible” will be the challenge to
achieving greater liveability and engagement will continue to play a critical role (if not more) in
establishing a consensus between the government and its people.
 8. In paragraph 7, how does the author support his assertion (must say HOW & WHY) that
“engaged citizens also make for successful cities” (line 58 – 59)? Use your own words as
far as possible. [2]

As the authorities are unable to single-handedly take charge of cities, collaboration is required
for progression. [Because of complexity] Also, the cities today are more complicated and the
citizens increasingly yearn for more negotiations and being able to voice out opinions. 0m

[Q8. In essence, the question is asking you to explain the basis for the author's assertion. So
all you have to do is identify the reasons why his statement is true. Why is it true that engaged
citizens are needed to create successful cities? First, you can focus on the idea that cities are
increasingly complex. Second, you can look at what citizens can do to help deal with this
complexity. There are three things they can do. You can refer to the answer key for the three
things. Since the question requires you to explain "how" the author supports his assertion, you
also need to consider how he goes about doing it. In this case, he does it with an example of
Montreal so you need to explicitly state that as well.]

(Paragraph 7) Citizens are at the heart of cities. Cities should be planned for people, not places.
That was the only way it was, in cities of the past. Addressing the challenge of putting people
back into the centre of city management requires some going back to basics, back to building
liveable cities by starting, naturally, with where people are at, and where they want to be.
Engaged citizens also make for successful cities in many other aspects. Co-creation is the only
way forward, as no government is in a position to manage cities alone. There is no other option,
given the complexity of today’s cities and the growing desire and demand everywhere for
greater consultation and representation. The city of Montreal, for example, engaged its citizens
through surveys and a dedicated phone line to inform them of its smart city goals and gather
more ideas. The dedicated phone line led to more than a million data points which revealed the
wishes and problems of its citizens. They predominantly addressed issues pertaining to roads,
parks, garbage pickups and streetlights. Indeed, a more informed citizenry means a desire for
greater consultation and involvement. Making people in cities “visible” will be the challenge to
achieving greater liveability and engagement will continue to play a critical role (if not more) in
establishing a consensus (a general agreement) between the government and its people.

9. Why has the author placed brackets around the comment in line 68? [2]
(Brackets are to convey the author’s opinion)
The author wants to highlight [function is to provide additional information] how interactions
between the government and its citizens will be of greater importance in order for the
government to gain support from its people. 1m

[Q9. The word "more" is actually a comparative. It is used to suggest that something is greater
than something else, not merely that something is great. In this case, the author isn't merely
suggesting that people will play an important role. He is suggesting that the importance of this
role is only going to increase in future.]

[Q9. This is another language use question so you need both the functional (to provide
additional information) and contextual aspects of the explanation. In this particular case, you
need to focus on the author's use of the brackets. To understand why the author chose to use
brackets, you can simply consider what the alternative would be. The alternative, obviously, is
to not use brackets and to simply say "play a more critical role". But that is not what the author
did. In fact, the author also includes the phrase "if not" in the brackets to suggest that this is
his personal opinion.]

(Paragraph 8) So what lies behind successful, liveable cities? History suggests that cities that
have successfully overcome periods of decline have had a key tool in common – a framework
for development. The problems we are experiencing should fuel efforts to start building better,
more liveable cities. A more cohesive and sustainable society arises from city authorities
working with the people and with the private sector to implement shared solutions to common
challenges. With that, there can be assurance that even as the world of the future will be more
congested, complicated and challenging, it would also become more resourceful, responsive
and resilient. But above all, a city is a place, as the writer Richard Sennett puts it, “where
strangers meet; where new ideas are formed in a public space. A common ground.” Streets,
squares, parks, memorials, theatres and museums – these are a city’s “living rooms”. We must
therefore shape its future.

10. Using your own words as far as possible, explain the author’s use of “even as” in line 75.
[2]

As the world becomes more crowded, complex and difficult over time, concurrently, it would
also have more supplies, become more reactive and adaptable in difficult situations.

2m

Great work!

[Q10. This is a question about the use of a particular phrase. For questions like these, you
should always start by explaining the phrase itself. You will normally get one mark just for
doing so. So, even if you don't understand the passage, you can still get marks this way.]

[Q10. When explaining the use of the word "even" or the use of the phrase "even as", you
cannot use the same phrase again. If you do, it's not really an explanation at all.]

[Q10. This is a question about the use of a particular phrase. For questions like these, you
should always start by explaining the phrase itself. You will normally get one mark just for
doing so. So, even if you don't understand the passage, you can still get marks this way.]

(Paragraph 8) So what lies behind successful, liveable cities? History suggests that cities that
have successfully overcome periods of decline have had a key tool in common – a framework
for development. The problems we are experiencing should fuel efforts to start building better,
more liveable cities. A more cohesive and sustainable society arises from city authorities
working with the people and with the private sector to implement shared solutions to common
challenges. With that, there can be assurance that even as the world of the future will be more
congested, complicated and challenging, it would also become more resourceful, responsive
and resilient. But above all, a city is a place, as the writer Richard Sennett puts it, “where
strangers meet; where new ideas are formed in a public space. A common ground.” Streets,
squares, parks, memorials, theatres and museums – these are a city’s “living rooms”. We
must therefore shape its future.

11. Explain why “streets, squares, parks, memorials, theatres and museums” are important
to a city. [2]

These are public places where people who do not know one another interact, new
conversations take place and are also spaces that are shared by everyone. 1m [point B
missing]

[Q11. Need 3 points for 2 marks. Do note that the number of marks awarded for the number of
points provided depends on the difficulty of the question and the complexity of the ideas
involved. It is not always the case that you will get two full marks with only two points.]

[Q11. Need to think about why the author mentions these places right after he explains that a
city is a place where strangers meet, where new ideas are formed, and where people get to
share a common ground. You can also think about what people typically do in these places.]

Application Question

In this article, Jaime Lerner writes about “what lies behind successful, liveable cities” (line 70).
How applicable do you find his observations to yourself and your own society?
“Cities have traditionally responded to growth by expanding the availability of land for
buildings and the transport network… giving less attention to their citizens” (line 10)
- Applicable to Singapore
- Some infrastructure is dictated by the government, against the will of citizens
- E.g. Bukit Ho Swee Fire (1961)
- The government created HDB flats to house the large population in SG
- In the past, many Singaporeans resisted against the idea of moving into HDB
flats as they feel like the kampongs they lived in were less isolating and less
cramped
- People who lost their homes due to the fire had no choice but to opt for flats
instead → it forced people to move to flats
- E.g. Government wanted to get rid of road-side stalls because they were extremely
unhygienic + it was very difficult to regulate road-side stalls and maintain hygiene
- Thus, the government decided to move these road-side stalls into what we see
presently as hawker centres
- Evaluation: even though the government gave less attention to the citizens, it was
forward-looking, and thus, it was beneficial in the long run.

“engaged citizens also make for successful cities” (line 58 – 59)

- Applicable to Singapore
- Singapore is a small country and with a population of 5.7 million, the government is
actively looking into ways for people to live comfortably and inclusively in Singapore
- E.g. The Ministry of National Development (MND) has been organising events for
citizens to voice out their concerns about how they want their communal spaces to be
improved
- Participate in Design (P!D) community engagement schemes
- aims to get people involved in the process of finding solutions instead of
merely complaining about problems, thereby fostering community
empowerment.
- E.g. Tampines North Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (2017)
- Mr Baey (Chairman of Tampines Town Council and Members of Parliament for
Tampines GRC) hopes to engage residents on a deeper level through other
means of communication that uses participatory design approaches and
creative community engagement methods to include the community in the
decision-making process
- The renewal programme brought together close to 4,000 residents and
stakeholders together to plan and design their living environment over a period
of three months from February to April 2017.
- A series of participatory design activities were conducted in efforts to include
residents in the process and to gather insights that reflected needs and
aspiration from the residents who will potentially be the users of the new
facilities.

“many cities are reshaping transportation systems to favour walking, cycling and public transit
over private cars” (line 24)
- Applicable to Singapore
- Being a pragmatic society, the Singapore government aims to ensure that the country
 is able to progress in the future, thus, they would prioritise the current problems that
could result in dire consequences to the country in the long run if there was no
governmental intervention → one of their priorities is climate change (as seen from the
National Day Rally speech in 2019 where most of the new measures that Lee Hsien
Loong mentioned was to mitigate global warming and climate change)
- E.g. Car-Lite Singapore
- aims to reduce Singaporeans’ reliance on cars and promote the use of
sustainable alternatives
- Under the National Cycling Plan, the cycling network will double to about
700km by 2030 - with all HDB towns getting cycling networks.
- According to the latest Household Interview Travel Survey, conducted in 2016,
overall travel demand increased by 5%, compared with the survey done in
2012.

“A city must provide reference points to which people can relate and connect” (line 48)
- Applicable to Singapore
- Being a multiracial and multireligious society, a strong Singaporean identity is required
for people to stay rooted and be proud of their nationality.
- Thus, there is a greater need for the Singapore government to instil a common identity
as it helps people to relate to others around them in spite of differences that would
otherwise generate conflict.
- E.g. Dragon Playground in Toa Payoh
- The iconic playground has been declared a heritage area and it will be
preserved for the years to come
- The shared experiences that Singaporeans have will bring about a common
identity where they can be connected over a shared history
- Thus, bringing about social connectedness
- E.g. Shared spaces: public spaces used to facilitate interactions between people
- HDB has intentionally included these spaces into the design of HDBs even
though it takes up precious land space
- As they recognise the value of these common spaces
- Void decks (Chinese hold funerals & Malays hold weddings), mini parks (in the
HDBs), basketball court, badminton court, etc.

“Fragmenting cities into areas with specialised functions such as suburbs, central business
districts and downtown areas condemns these spaces and their infrastructure to be idle
during long periods of the day or night”
- Not applicable to a certain extent
- E.g. Biopolis (biomedical R&D hub located at One-North, Buona Vista)
- The government is trying to bring these central districts near residential areas
- To ensure inclusivity → reducing the separation of central business districts
and residential areas in SG

Paragraph:
Jaime Lerner mentioned that “A city must provide reference points to which people can relate
and connect” (line 48). This means that places with shared memories enable people to
 interact and bond with one another. [The author is also suggesting that cities must provide
residents with these places.] This is highly applicable in the context of Singapore where being
a multiracial and multireligious society, a strong Singaporean identity is required for people to
stay rooted and be proud of their nationality. Thus, there is a greater need for the Singapore
government to instil a common identity as it helps people to relate to others around them in
spite of differences that would otherwise generate conflict. One example would be the Dragon
Playground in Toa Payoh. The iconic playground has been declared a heritage area and it will
be preserved for the years to come. The shared experiences that Singaporeans have about
the playground will bring about a common identity where they can be connected over a
shared history. Another example would be shared spaces that are used to facilitate
interactions between people. This would include void decks, mini parks, basketball courts and
badminton courts. The Housing Development Board (HDB) has intentionally included these
spaces even though it [they] takes up precious land space as they recognise the value that
these common spaces bring. It allows for [These spaces allow] Singaporeans to forge new
friendships and strengthen existing bonds when they come together to interact or to engage in
activities. Therefore, these places allow for social connectedness and inclusivity, enabling the
‘kampong spirit’ to be maintained, which is vital in ensuring a strong sense of national identity
in the long run. Good job! Addresses the author’s argument well. Strong evidence used. The
importance of communal spaces in allowing Singaporeans to strengthen bonds was also
well-explained.

Can further elaborate on the examples by pointing out that elderly residents often form
close-knit communities at void decks where they play board games and exchange stories.
The void deck as a communal space is so important to residents that when elderly residents
from the ageing Dakota Crescent estate had to be relocated in 2016, many of them suffered
depression and isolation because of the strangeness of the new environment and the loss of
communal spaces. In fact, the new block that the elderly residents were relocated to lacked a
large void deck. A communal area on the second floor was only set up after their Member of
Parliament asked the Housing Development Board for a space where people could gather
and have a meal together. This episode also underlines the need to engage residents to
better understand their needs in the planning stages.

America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan

1. What is Joe Biden’s justification for withdrawing from Afghanistan?
Since 2001, $83 billion has been spent building national security forces that were supposed to
replace the constellation of armed groups that once controlled patches of territory. However, the
US realised that the Afghan National Army (ANA) was too small, underequipped and
undertrained to contain a resurgent Taliban → Mr Biden thinks the costs of staying outweigh
those of leaving.
 2. How has Joe Biden been criticised? What mistakes has he been accused of making?
Abandoning Kabul to its fate will undermine other allies’ confidence in America. And it will lead
to more bloodshed, not less. Civilian casualties are already mounting; the number killed
increased by 29% in the first three months of this year, compared with last, says the UN.
- His administration had not acted sooner, and faster, to evacuate America’s allies from
Afghanistan ahead of the Taliban’s rapid march to Kabul.
- His decision not to begin a mass evacuation of Afghan interpreters, guides and their
relatives earlier this year has left thousands of people in limbo, stranded in a country
now controlled by the Taliban after 20 years of war. Even before Mr. Biden announced
the withdrawal of U.S. troops, his administration rejected frantic calls from lawmakers
and activists to evacuate Afghans, who now find themselves in jeopardy.

3. What is the alternative to Joe Biden’s current plan?

He should at least take steps to reduce the likelihood of total disaster and America should
promise to subsidise Kabul for longer.

4. What are the prospects for women like under Taliban rule?
The Taliban barred women from working outside the home or leaving the house without a male
guardian, and they are not allowed to be educated
- But Taliban officials are trying to reassure women that things will be different this time. In
a news conference in Kabul on Tuesday, a Taliban spokesman said that women would
be allowed to work and study. Another Taliban official said that women should participate
in government → he said that women could participate in society “within the bounds of
Islamic law.”
In Herat, in Western Afghanistan, Taliban gunmen guarded the university’s gates and prevented
female students and instructors from entering the campus on Tuesday, witnesses said.
In the southern city of Kandahar, women’s health-care clinics were shut down, a resident said.
In some districts, girls’ schools have been closed since the Taliban seized control of them in
November.
At Kabul University, in the capital, women students were told they were not allowed to leave
their dorm rooms unless accompanied by a male guardian. Two students said they were
effectively trapped because they had no male relatives in the city

5. Why did the Afghan army fall so rapidly?

The collapse of Afghanistan’s armed forces was precipitated by the U.S. withdrawal from the
country after a two-decade intervention → Reiterating that a lack of air support is one of the
factors leading to Afghan forces' failure
Education
"Examination results should not be a top priority in
education." Do you agree?
What purpose do examinations serve in society?
- To ensure that one can keep up in university → people are placed into courses which they have
the means of doing well in
- Help us determine who is more deserving
- Ensuring the society gets the best talent → need to maintain a meritocratic society to identify the
talented students
- Ensure that only the best will lead the country forward
- Allow the government to allocate resources according to the different needs of the different
schools (if there are students in a particular school who are struggling more, then government
can provide more funds to help these students)

Introduction: In our society today, it is no longer uncommon to see students perpetually worrying
about upcoming tests, or the incessant need to achieve stellar grades for a particular
examination they might be sitting for. The heavy emphasis to perform well academically is
apparent and more often than not, the surmounting pressure drives numerous students of all
ages over the edge. To see how students have been programmed to believe that examination
results are of paramount importance in their education is very saddening indeed, and I fervently
agree with the statement that results should not be a top priority in the process of education.

[Disagree]
Examinations act as a social leveller for students to gain social mobility
- Examinations provide everyone with equal opportunities to excel since everyone is given
the same examination paper, the same questions and the same amount of time to
complete
- It allows those in the lower income groups to work hard and succeed in getting into a
prestigious university which in turns allows them to have more opportunities to get
good-paying jobs in the future → reducing inequality
- Example:
- A high score is seen as a key to success in Chinese society, and for decades,
gaokao scores have long been the deciding factor for admission into any
institution in any tier of China’s highly stratified higher-education system.
Admission to top-tier institutions is critical to students’ long-term prospects.
- “Getting into a good college, such as the country’s equivalents of Oxbridge,
Beijing’s Tsinghua, or Peking University, can lead to jobs with western
corporations or to elite civil service positions,” journalist Lu-Hai Liang wrote in
The Guardian in 2010.
 - Graduates of top institutions have the ability to pursue postgraduate study in
China or abroad, and to obtain high-level employment.
- Rebuttal: The supposed meritocratic virtues of examinations are not what they seem. For
the gaokao, those who have the best chance of scoring well are the rich city-dwellers.
Poorer people in China suffer from huge disadvantages in education. In big cities such
as Beijing, the children of rural migrants are often barred from entry to schools as a
result of the hukou system of household registration that gives greater benefits and
privileges to long-established urban families.

[Disagree]
Examinations are objective and allow the most fairest method of assessing a students ability
and performance
- This is in comparison to other methods such as coursework-based marking, assessing a
student by their performance in school such as teachers assignment
- With the lack of examinations, students can be disadvantaged.
- Example:
- Effects of Covid-19 in the UK
- national examinations such as GCSEs, A levels were cancelled →
teachers & the education systems had to assess students abilities without
tangible standardised grades → students from less privileged schools
may have been under-graded as they used trends of performance of the
past-year batches of students → less-privileged schools contain a higher
number of lower income families → can affect that lower income groups
are disportionately affected
- defeating the purpose of being a social leveller

[Agree]
Examinations are a necessary evil in sieving out the different grades of students. As it is in each
country’s best interests to produce talented individuals to further the country’s economic growth,
examinations are a necessary evil in helping to distinguish the cream of the crop from the
student population. As such, a lot of special attention is given to these major examinations that
decide the future of the students.
- Example:
- The Gaokao, known as the University Entrance Examination in China, is an exam
that determines the future of students in China. It is the golden ticket out of a life
of poverty and helping them ascend the social hierarchy. As such, many students
spend their entire education journey preparing for this test. Special cramming
students, who micromanage students’ time down to the minute, have swept
across China as they often have superb Gaokao results.
- On the days of the examination, public roads are cleared and all major
construction projects near to the schools are halted to ensure the
examinations proceed smoothly.
- Rebuttal: while there is no denying the importance of examinations, we must also
acknowledge that standard education is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Not all talents in
 society can be sieved out through testing the current curriculum’s subjects. Increasingly,
the world is in need of solutions to global warming, poverty and overpopulation. Such
complex issues are handled by adults who scored excellent results for their
examinations, yet it is impossible to ascertain the ability of students to solve these issues
purely based on academic performance in school.

[Agree]
Examinations take the joy away from learning
- The point of education is to impart knowledge of a particular subject to a student. That is
done when the student understands (and in ideal situations appreciates) the concepts
taught.
- However, with overemphasis on academic grades, this has led to students finding
studying as a chore and no longer deriving joy from studying since students now
associate studying with tests and exams that may determine their future.
- Students are deprived of such thorough understanding because of 2 reasons.
1. The pressure of needing to do well for exams results in students blindly
memorising answers which they would regurgitate onto their tests
2. Teachers tend to teach to the test. Teachers would rather spend time on
exam-oriented questions, rather than questions that complete the understanding
of the subject as a whole
- The frightening thing is that children these days are growing up with the mindset that
education determines one’s self-worth. The resulting effect is that legions of youngsters
who face such unreasonable stress take to education with undisguised distaste, and
abhor learning from a young age.
- Example:
- In Finland, there are no mandated standardised tests, apart from one exam at the
end of students’ senior year in high school. There are no rankings, no
comparisons or competition between students.
- Every Finnish child has a good shot at getting the same quality education
no matter whether he or she lives in a rural village or a university town.
- The differences between weakest and strongest students are the smallest
in the world, according to the most recent survey by the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
- 93% of Finns graduate from academic or vocational high schools →
17.5% higher than the US
- 66% go on to higher education → the highest rate in the European Union
(EU)
- Motivated by intrinsic desire rather than external pressure

[Agree]
Examinations are often flawed and biased / Education, as a platform for meritocracy to operate,
should be giving all equal chances. However, focusing on grades does the opposite.
- Wealthier parents can afford to send their children to cram schools and provide their
children with private tuition
 - This is why those from the high-income groups have a better chance of scoring better
results compared to those from the lower-income families
- Without the financial ability, students from poorer, less privileged families are excluded
from receiving greater knowledge apart from that given by schools and are more likely to
do worse in exams
- Heavily reliance on these results will only perpetuate income inequality
- Since students receive different education and perform differently as a result, inequality
exists through exam grades. As such, exam grades should not be the priority but rather
providing all students with the same knowledge, skills and opportunities should be to
ensure no student is held back by other factors apart from their own abilities.
- Example:
- For the gaokao, those who have the best chance of scoring well are the rich
city-dwellers. Poorer people in China suffer from huge disadvantages in
education. In big cities such as Beijing, the children of rural migrants are often
barred from entry to schools as a result of the hukou system of household
registration that gives greater benefits and privileges to long-established urban
families.
- Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) scores are
highly correlated with income. A student with an annual family income below
$20,000 can expect to score 137 points lower on average (also out of 800) on the
reading section of the SAT than a student with a family income above $200,000.

[Agree]
While examinations are a key factor in determining one’s learning capabilities, it can also be
detrimental to the well-being of the students. / Creates a very results-driven society which can
be detrimental to one's mental wellbeing.
- Exams can be seen as the end-all which puts excessive pressure on young people.
- This can be observed in many asian countries → Singapore, India, South Korea and
China. (Countries where youth suicide rates are very high)
- Can lead young people to develop a fixed mindset & low self esteem → their worth is
placed on the performances in exams.
- The high stakes of examinations often caused parents to put immense pressure on their
children → when overly prioritised, it causes stress on the student
- 66% of students across all Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries said they were worried about poor grades at
school, but among Singapore students, it was 86%.
- The constant pressure from not only their parents but also their peers has worsened
their mental health → contrasting labels such as “gifted students” and “incompetent
students” are detrimental to the morale of the students
- Average students who are not “naturally gifted” have to put in extra effort in order to
achieve better grades → caused huge amounts of stress → which worsens their mental
and physical health → some may even have suicidal thoughts
- Example:
 - In 2016, an 11-year-old boy committed suicide after he failed his mid-year
examination results
- He fell 17 floors from his bedroom window on the day he was to show his parents
his results
- Governments also acknowledge that examinations can cause excessive burden on the
physical and mental health of students
- Example:
- In 2021, China’s government has announced a ban on written exams for six and
seven-year-olds
- China's Ministry of Education has also banned homework for first graders
this year, and limited homework for junior high school students to 1.5
hours a night, according to an AFP report.
- In Singapore, MOE announced in 2018 that there would be the removal of all
weighted assessments and exams for Primary 1 and 2 students, as well as the
removal of mid-year examinations for Primary 3, 5 and Secondary 3 students.

[Agree]
There are many other ways to gain entry to higher education, examination results are not the
only way.
- Many governments, especially in Asian countries, have seen that education has put
immense stress on the students which is detrimental to their mental health → they are
revising on the entry requirements needed for students to gain entry to higher education
- Many of them emphasise on the talents of various students have in the sporting and arts
scene and they can use it as an advantage to get into their desired school
- Example:
- Direct School Admissions (DSA), Aptitude-Based Admissions (ABA)
- In 2014, the Ministry of Education in China published a series of guidelines aimed
at system-wide reforms of the higher education admissions process.
- One of the reforms include the freedom for universities to consider
admissions criteria and award ‘bonus points’ which are beyond an
applicant’s gaokao grades. Such criteria include: awards and honors,
evidence of good citizenship, morality and ethics, athletics

‘The arts and the humanities are luxuries modern

education cannot afford - it needs to focus on the
sciences and mathematics to prepare young people
for the future.' Discuss.
Introduction:
The stance that we are too poor for the arts and the humanities might have made sense back
then, but in this day and age, with the ever-amassing set of global problems ahead of us, it is
perhaps now that we need the arts, and the humanities, the most. The sciences and
mathematics grow more important in the face of the environmental challenges that will no doubt
plague us for years, but the arts and humanities provide us with a new perspective, so that we
can think, process, connect with and ultimately solve the problems that the future will thrust
upon us.

[Agree]
Can produce a productive workforce that can drive economic growth in a country
- Technologies in today’s age are developing at a greater speed and government are
focusing more on educating their citizens on science and mathematics in order to
develop more new and advanced technologies that can help spur growth in the country
- The knowledge of math and science is necessary for understanding and advancing
technology
- Technology has led this world to become extremely interconnected. The internet, cell
phones and airplanes are all technological advances that people use everyday and
would not be possible without students of math and science inventing them

[Agree]
Education should prepare students for their future careers (pragmatic)
- Both individuals and parents make an investment as they have to pay for their education
→ especially true for college education as the cost of college tuition fees are expensive
- The education that students have must allow them to eventually pay off their students
loans → need well-paying jobs
- In terms of government subsidies → as it is from taxpayers’ money, it needs to justify
how these education can help these graduate contribute more to society → governments
have the obligation to fund education that allows students to become more productive in
society

[Disagree]
A liberal arts degree allows for people to be more creative which is a key link to
entrepreneurship behaviour
- Liberal arts provides a more well-rounded education which is what we need is our
society, instead of having people being trained to be “robots” in STEM education
- Example:
- Steve jobs studied calligraphy → he learnt about typefaces and it was used in the
Mac which contributed to his success with Apple
- Jack Ma learnt English → helped him to lay the foundation of Alibaba’s success

[Disagree]
This takes the joy away from learning → some students may be more interested in the arts
subjects
 - Focusing on only the science and math subjects may caused them to take studying as a
chore → might cause them to produce worse exam grades since that is not where their
interests lies
- They might end up dropping out of college or they might produce mediocre grades
- Students that enjoy in what they learning tend to excel in learning
- Satisfaction of students does matter as well as they should be free to choose what kinds
of subjects they prefer to study
- Importance of individual satisfaction and quality of life in an education system
- For many people, their goal in life is not to earn a lot of money but to lead life well and
enjoy life → it is unjustified to put people in misery for something that they are not willing
to do
- Example:
- According to The Annapolis Group, graduates of residential liberal arts colleges
such as Southwestern give their college experience higher marks than do
graduates of private or public universities → they are also more satisfied
compared to those from private or public universities

[Disagree]
Learning the arts and humanities allows people to develop soft skills that are essential for
today’s advanced society where the knowledge of science and mathematics is not the only thing
that matters
- As the speed and intensity of technological change is increasing, the future problems of
the world will become more complex, and students need to be well prepared to solve
complex problems from multiple fronts.
- Wicked problems (e.g. climate change, misinformation) cannot be solved by one field
just by themselves → require interdisciplinary thinking & solutions that cut across
multiple disciplines → which is largely developed through the liberal arts
- This highlights the importance of the arts and humanities as it allows students to develop
capabilities in areas such as critical thinking which is a crucial skill needed in the 21st
century
- According to Palgrave Communications, benefits of studying the humanities would
include developing analytical skills, effective communication skills and being able to have
an open mind.
- Example:
- Merger of Faculty of Science (FoS) and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
(FASS) to form College of the Humanities and Sciences (CHS) in NUS
- The university said the college's proposed curricula structure will allow for
“greater flexibility and the cross-pollination of disciplines” across the humanities,
social sciences, science and mathematics.
- one-third of the CHS education will be devoted to a Common Curriculum → the
modules will include integrated humanities, Asian studies and scientific inquiry

[Disagree]
These students are entrusted with the future of the country → important for them to be
well-informed and have critical thinking skills → so that they can make the right decisions that
will be beneficial to the society
- With fake news and misinformation becoming more prevalent, there is a need for people
to be well-educated in order to reducing the spread of fake news + Democratic societies
also require people to make the correct decision on which politician is the most suitable
for the country
- Example:
- In America, the democratic party is largely supported by college students (60%)
- When the Republicans voted for Donald Trump → they thought that it would allow them
to gain an advantage
- However, when Trump announced that there will be a cut in corporate taxes →
voting against their interests
- Republicans generally have a lower income → reduced government funds due
to the cut in corporate taxes → resulted in reduced welfare spending → they
received even less income
- The Republicans were fooled by Trump’s words → most of them did not attend
college

'The main function of formal education should be to

enable people to gain employment.' Discuss with
reference to your society.
[Agree]
The well-structured education system in Singapore provides people with essential knowledge
and skills for people to be employed → WHY (the ultimate goal of education) → produce useful
citizens
- As part of the society, every citizen has the right to contribute to it → formal education
does so by teaching knowledge and skills that are necessary to play essential roles in
society
- Being educated increases students’ knowledge and intellectual abilities → they are
equipped with necessary information which is required for their future careers
- Exposes students to a multifaceted curriculum which gives rise to a myriad of possible
choices for the future jobs
- Example:
- Primary, secondary, JC: Students are being exposed to both arts and science
subjects which allows them to explore their interests and strengths
 - Polytechnic, university: students learn new information and skills based on their
course of interest, which ultimately allows them to be gain more employment
opportunities after they graduate

[Agree]
The main reason people should be educated is so that they can get a good job
- Education system was designed with jobs in mind → the idea of there being specialised
streams for specialised vocations
- When people land good jobs they secure a good livelihood for themselves while the
economy gets a productive member of the workforce which helps boost the economic
growth of the country
- There needs to be a return in investment (from the parents & government): government
needs to be accountable to the taxpayers + parents need to ensure that their children
can support them

[Disagree]
Formal education enables people to stay relevant in society which will boost their employability
- Lifelong learning enables adults and the elderly to continue developing their skills and
knowledge which increases their job opportunities
- Example:
- Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) is one of two Continuing Education and Training
campuses (CET) by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) → serves as a gateway for
in-demand skills training and professional upgrading programmes
Formal education should equip people with the skills to learn and the joy to learn → so that they
can continue to learn → lifelong learning [disagree]

[Disagree]
The formal education should be use to develop critical and analytical thinking in order for them
to make informed decisions in the future
- It is very important to have these skills due to the increasing threat of misinformation in
the world today
- MOE recognizes that in the 21st century, while knowledge and skills will continue to be
highly valued in our knowledge-based economy and will continue to gear Singapore
strategically into the global community, the increasing prominence of an anchored set of
values are being acknowledged
- The education system is capable of shaping and molding a desired set of moral values in
our students to ensure that they become better leaders of the future
- In an increasingly volatile global community, it is important for Singapore to remain
morally anchored with a distinguished set of values.
- The school curriculum is targeted on increasing students’ knowledge and global
mindedness so that they are able to develop into mature citizens, capable of making a
difference to the world
- Example:
 - Character & Citizenship Education (CCE): Teaches students the skills,
knowledge and dispositions that enable them to manage self and relationships
effectively while making responsible decisions
- They are integral to the holistic development of our students, leading to
positive life outcomes
- Values-In-Action (VIA) & Service Learning: aims to nurture socially responsible
citizens who contribute meaningfully to the community, through the learning and
application of values, knowledge and skills.

[Disagree]
Education could be used to reduce inequity and help people out of the poverty cycle → it
stimulates social mobility
- In some countries, particularly the US, unequal resource allocation between the “rich”
and “poor” school districts is a major factor contributing to unequal educational,
employment and income outcomes. This is less of a problem in Singapore, given the
MOE’s worthy efforts to equalise the allocation of resources -- including the “best”
teachers and administrators -- between “neighbourhood” and “elite” schools
- Education helps to facilitate social mobility as in most democracies, employment is
granted to those that are the most capable and qualified for the job. Hence, one can lift
their socioeconomic status by educating themselves such that they can increase their
chances of being employed into a high paying job
- The movement from one social strata increases one’s standard of living → contribute to
greater societal welfare

Consider the claim that young people in Singapore

today are better educated, but no wiser.
[Agree] → educated but not wise
Over emphasis on grades → society values intelligences
- Difficult to evaluate character
- Academics play a large role in university admissions
- Examples:
- Students in RI uniform flush S$50 note down toilet, call it 'our toilet paper'
- They filmed themselves and posted the clips on Instagram stories
- Raffles Institution said that the three students involved have been
counselled and the school will be taking strict disciplinary action against
them.
- A 19-year-old teenager allegedly jumped into a rhino enclosure at the Singapore
Zoo and posted a TikTok video of a backflip
 - When the video surfaced in December 2020, Wildlife Reserves Singapore
(WRS) - which manages the zoo as well as the Night Safari, River Safari
and Jurong Bird Park - called the incident a "reckless and mindless" act.
- He was charged with criminal trespass in July 2021.

[Disagree] → intelligent and wise

Social media broadens their horizons
Many young people are shifting away from academics and putting their focus on more
meaningful things
- Spearheading the idea of work-life balance
- Younger generations notice that their parents had to sacrifice happiness in order to earn
more money

2019 TJC Prelims Paper 2

1. Explain the author’s use of the word ‘trumping’ in line 7. [2]

(Paragraph 1) Convenience is the most underestimated and least understood force in the world
today. As a driver of human decisions, it may not offer the illicit thrill of Freud’s unconscious
sexual desires or the mathematical elegance of the economist’s incentives. Convenience is
boring. But boring is not the same thing as trivial. In the developed nations of the 21st century,
convenience – that is, more efficient and easier ways of doing personal tasks – has emerged as
perhaps the most powerful force shaping our individual lives and our economies. Convenience
seems to make our decisions for us, trumping what we like to imagine are our true preferences.
Easy is better, easiest is best.

Convenience helps us to make choices that dominate our actual ones.

2. What does the author mean by ‘to resist convenience … is often taken for eccentricity, if not
fanaticism’ (lines 12–13)? Use your own words as far as possible. [2]

(Paragraph 2) Convenience has the ability to make other options unthinkable. Once you have
used a washing machine, laundering clothes by hand seems irrational, even if it might be
cheaper. After you have experienced streaming television, waiting to see a show at a prescribed
hour seems silly, even a little undignified. To resist convenience – not to own a cellphone, not
to use Google – is often taken for eccentricity, if not fanaticism.

The author means that one is considered weird, if not being overly passionate, for being able
to refrain from convenience.

3. What does the phrase ‘natural bedfellows’ (line 17) suggest about convenience and
monopoly? [2]

(Paragraph 3) Our taste for convenience begets more convenience through a combination of
the economies of scale and the power of habit. The simpler it is to use Amazon, the more
powerful Amazon becomes, and thus the easier it becomes to use Amazon. Convenience and
monopoly seem to be natural bedfellows. Given the growth of convenience – as an ideal, as a
value, as a way of life – it is worth asking what our fixation with it is doing to us and to our
country. I do not want to suggest that convenience is a force for evil. Making things easier is not
wicked. On the contrary, it often opens up possibilities that once seemed too onerous to
contemplate, and it typically makes life less arduous, especially for those most vulnerable to
life’s drudgeries.

Convenience will always bring about monopoly and thus, they have a positive relationship.
- “Natural” → to be expected / it is inevitable
- “Bedfellows” → closely related/linked
4. Why does the author claim that it is not ‘wicked’ (line 20) to make things easier? Use your
own words as far as possible. [3]

(Paragraph 3) Our taste for convenience begets more convenience through a combination of
the economies of scale and the power of habit. The simpler it is to use Amazon, the more
powerful Amazon becomes, and thus the easier it becomes to use Amazon. Convenience and
monopoly seem to be natural bedfellows. Given the growth of convenience – as an ideal, as a
value, as a way of life – it is worth asking what our fixation with it is doing to us and to our
country. I do not want to suggest that convenience is a force for evil. Making things easier is not
wicked. On the contrary, it often opens up possibilities that once seemed too onerous to
contemplate, and it typically makes life less arduous, especially for those most vulnerable to
life’s drudgeries.

Convenience allows choices to be made that used to be too difficult to make, it makes life less
challenging, especially for the poorest people.
- “Arduous” = “onerous” → difficult, tiring, challenging

5. In what way can technology ‘conveniencise individuality’ (line 53)? Use your own words as far
as possible. [1]

(Paragraph 8) Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that the second wave of convenience
technologies would co-opt this ideal. It would ‘conveniencise’ individuality. If the first
convenience revolution promised to make life and work easier for you, the second promised to
make it easier to be you. The new technologies were catalysts of selfhood, conferring efficiency
on self-expression. So alluring is this vision that it has come to dominate our existence. Most of
the powerful and important technologies created over the past few decades deliver convenience
in the service of personalisation and individuality. Convenience is now one-click, one-stop
shopping, the seamless experience of ‘plug and play’. The ideal is personal preference with no
effort. As task after task becomes easier, the growing expectation of convenience exerts a
pressure on everything else to be easy or get left behind. We are spoiled by immediacy and
become annoyed by tasks that remain at the old level of effort and time. When you can skip the
line and buy concert tickets on your phone, waiting in line to vote in an election is irritating.

The new technologies brought about the rapid growth of wanting to voice out thoughts and
opinions.
- “conveniencise individuality” → individuality is becoming more convenient
- Explanations need to be specific
1. Self-expressions
2. Discovery of personal identity

6. Explain the paradox in lines 65 to 66. [2]

(Paragraph 9) The paradoxical truth is that today’s technologies of individualisation are

technologies of mass individualisation. Customisation can be surprisingly homogenising.
Everyone, or nearly everyone, is on Facebook: It is the most convenient way to keep track of
friends and family, who in theory should represent what is unique about you and your life. Yet,
Facebook seems to make us all the same. Its format and conventions strip us of all but the most
superficial expressions of individuality, such as which particular photo of a beach or mountain
range we select as our background image. I do not want to deny that making things easier can
serve us in important ways, giving us many choices where we used to have only a few or none.
But being a person is only partly about having and exercising choices. It is also about how we
face up to situations that are thrust upon us, about overcoming worthy challenges and finishing
difficult tasks – the struggles that help make us who we are. What happens to human
experience when so many obstacles and impediments and requirements and preparations have
been removed?

The technologies today are supposed to help people identify their unique characteristics that
distinguishes them from others, however, it makes everyone become similar.
- Paradox: contradiction with an additional layer of meaning (e.g. all animals are equal,
but some are more equal than others → additional meaning: communism promises to
treat everyone equally but in reality, not everyone is treated equally)
- Explain the contradiction between Statement A and Statement B + what is the reason
for the contradiction
7. Why does the author compare convenience to a ‘cult’ (line 78)? [2]

(Paragraph 10) Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive
feature of human experience. Convenience is all destination and no journey. Climbing a
mountain is different from taking the tram to the top, even if you end up at the same place. We
are becoming people who care mainly or only about outcomes. We are at risk of making most of
our life experiences a series of trolley rides. An unwelcome consequence of living in a world
where everything is ‘easy’ is that the only skill that matters is the ability to multitask. At the
extreme, we do not actually do anything; we only arrange what will be done, which is a flimsy
basis for a life. We need to consciously embrace the inconvenient. Today, individuality has come
to reside in making at least some inconvenient choices. Struggle is not always a problem.
Sometimes, struggle is a solution. It can be the solution to the question of who you are.

Similar to a cult where people follow the traditions irrationally, convenience is something that
has become ingrained in us that we will always do it without fail.

8. Explain what the author means by ‘convenience is all destination and no journey’ (line 79). [2]

(Paragraph 10) Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive
feature of human experience. Convenience is all destination and no journey. Climbing a
mountain is different from taking the tram to the top, even if you end up at the same place. We
are becoming people who care mainly or only about outcomes. We are at risk of making most of
our life experiences a series of trolley rides. An unwelcome consequence of living in a world
where everything is ‘easy’ is that the only skill that matters is the ability to multitask. At the
extreme, we do not actually do anything; we only arrange what will be done, which is a flimsy
basis for a life. We need to consciously embrace the inconvenient. Today, individuality has come
to reside in making at least some inconvenient choices. Struggle is not always a problem.
Sometimes, struggle is a solution. It can be the solution to the question of who you are

Convenience only focuses on the outcomes and not the experiences that one must take in
order to reach the end point.

9. Suggest one way the final paragraph is an effective conclusion to the author’s argument. [1]

(Paragraph 11) So let us reflect on the tyranny of convenience, try more often to resist its
stupefying power, and see what happens. We must never forget the joy of doing something slow
and something difficult, the satisfaction of not doing what is easiest. The constellation of
inconvenient choices may be all that stands between us and a life of total, efficient conformity.

It is effective as it provides us with the negative consequences of having too many

conveniences to ensure that we should not always take the easy way out.
11. In this article, Tim Wu makes a number of observations about the value and problems of
convenience in our lives today. How far would you agree with his observations, relating your
arguments to your own experiences and that of your society? [10]

“Convenience and monopoly seem to be natural bedfellows”

- Grab has allowed an alternative mode of transport → it is easier and more efficient to
call for grab via the app rather than hail for a taxi.
- Grab has introduced more than 10 on-demand ride-hailing services → basically, one
can swipe into its mobile-based application to hire vehicles
- Within a span of seven years, Grab has seen an exponential growth across eight
countries in the SEA region.
- Also, GrabFood has allowed for food to arrive at one’s doorstep → more convenient
than having to go out to order a takeaway from a nearby food stall
- In less than a year, GrabFood has become the fastest-growing food delivery service in
Singapore → from May 2018 to March 2019, GrabFood orders grew 25%
month-on-month on average. As a result, GrabFood’s F&B merchant-partners saw
monthly revenues increase by up to 4 times.
- It has some monopolistic power but is not really a monopoly → there are alternatives
such as Gojek, Food Panda, Deliveroo, etc → It is not actually true that these
companies have monopolised these markets.
- initially the prices were kept low and a lot of discounts were given to encourage
customers to use Grab → even after there were no discounts later on, people were
willing to spend premium prices because it was easier → the power of habit

Strawberry generation → With the rise of technology, life has been made easier and the
hardships faced by their parents are now strangers to them.
- The convenience they faced their whole lives has shielded them from the struggles of
life, making it especially hard for them to recover when presented with challenges. In
addition, with convenience their entire lives, they have been able to get whatever they
want and hence developed a sense of entitlement.
- E.g. In 2011, an NS man was photographed with his helper carrying his backpack →
made people too soft & too reliant on others

Tuition as an example of how convenience has made us care more about the destination and
not the journey. → students just want to be spoon-fed, and this would undermines their ability
to think critically
- Education is a journey of learning and developing critical thinking skills. Because of
how kiasu Singaporean parents have become and the competitive nature of the
Singaporean education system, parents overly stress out over their children’s grades.
- With the proliferation of tuition centres in Singapore, parents employ their children in
various centres for various subjects so that their children can obtain the coveted A.
 - Instead of teaching children the creative thinking skills necessary for the future,
practice and repetitiveness is drilled into students who purely do paper after paper and
lose out on the process of learning and critical thinking.
- Especially during COVID-19, there was a rise in online tuition as a mechanism to help
students get better grades. For instance, at SLC School of Language and
Communication, the centre which specialises in English and Chinese tuition wasted no
time in offering auxiliary “top-up classes” for students who might require additional
support on specific areas such as oral or comprehension over teleconferencing app
Zoom. As a result, student enrolment over the past 18 months had grown by 50%.

“The new technologies were … conferring efficiency on self expression.”

- E.g. Voice control systems such as Nuance allow users to dictate messages to be
typed on computers and phones, while also converting displayed text on phones into
intelligible speech.
- The former function is particularly of benefit to people with learning disabilities
such as dyslexia as it lets them express their ideas in papers without the
frustration of written assignments. Systems that read text messages aloud are
a great help in the lives of visually impaired individuals.
- Additionally, similar technology can be used within apps on phones to allow
visually impaired people the chance to use the technology. Apps such as
Instagram can have on screen text and commands read aloud to enable users
to use the service without being dependent on sight.
- E.g. Apple has been creating accessible technology for deaf and visually impaired
people. The iPhone and iPad’s AssistiveTouch technology lets people with motor
control problems use the device in a different way. It means that, instead of having to
pinch the screen to zoom, adjust volume using the side buttons or use multiple fingers
in apps, an on screen guide allows users to perform these functions just through
tapping.

“Convenience and monopoly seem to be natural bedfellows” (line 16)

- Disagree
- The growth of multiple companies that make use of convenience in order to increase
their profits has increased over the years
- Private transport has been seen as a great alternative to public transport, services that
provide private transport include taxis, Grab and Gojek.
- Grab is currently the most profitable company → even though it has some
monopolistic power, it is not a monopoly as there are other alternatives such as Gojek.
- Shopee is the top e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia → it makes use of online
shopping (where shopping at home is more convenient than having to shop outside)
→ Shopee continues to record strong momentum as the company observed a 40%
increase in the time users spent in-app per week last year
 - However, there is an increase in the number of shopping apps and platforms such as
Lazada and Shein that have been rising in popularity.
- Even though convenience has allowed for companies to gain huge amounts of profits,
it has also led to the rise in the number of industries, thus, convenience might not
result in monopoly when consumers tap onto the alternatives
- Reasons for monopoly: High barriers to entry (before we earn a single cent, we need
to spend a lot of money) & Economies of scale (the increased level of production can
lower their cost of production)
- Why has Grab has not achieved a sole monopoly? → SG is so densely populated that
more than one company can operate at the same time → this is possible as the
market is big enough for more than one platform. Also, CCCS has curbed grab’s
monopolistic power
- Singapore-based Sea Ltd, which owns e-commerce platform Shopee had a net loss of
US$422.1 million in 2021

Convenience has made tasks become easier, causing many to be “spoiled by immediacy and
become annoyed by tasks that remain at the old level of effort and time” to the point that we
want “everything else to be easy or get left behind”.
- Disagree
- In certain situations, people still choose to do things the old fashion way →
- E.g. Dating: some people in Singapore chose not to use dating apps as they
are afraid that the convenience of dating apps fosters a lack of commitment →
it attracts people who are less likely to be committed to a relationship
- E.g. Shopping: According to Statista, 79% of Singaporeans prefer to buy their
food and groceries in a physical store → being able to choose one’s fresh
produce is the best way to get one’s money’s worth
- E.g. Politics → during the pandemic, the 2020 General Election was still
required Singaporeans to vote in person → convenience would make it easy
for the government to manipulate the votes in their favour

Convenience can “create the possibility of leisure”

- Disagree
- Parksinson’s Law: “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.
- Workaholic nature of Singaporeans
- During the Covid-19 circuit breaker, many more people have been working from home.
Despite the time savings, some Singaporens have found this arrangement a bane
rather than a boon.
- Many felt that they were working longer hours even though they did not need to
travel.
- Overworking and isolation can cause increased stress, which could fuel
physical problems such as musculoskeletal and metabolic issues, as well as
mental health problems such as loneliness and depression.
- Why? Competitive nature of SG society + the presence of a culture that
celebrates workaholic attitudes
 - Working from home enables Singaporeans to have more free time to be
engaged in leisure activities. Ironically, they are spending longer hours at their
desks and facing a bigger workload than before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
- Agree
- Convenience in the form of ride-hailing and food-delivery platforms has indeed freed
up more time for us to do other things. Through the use of platforms like Grab and Lyft,
we are able to travel between places in a shorter period of time. The reduction in travel
time can be translated into more time to relax or be productive.
- The same can be said for the use of Grabfood and Foodpanda that reduces travelling
time to and fro restaurants.
- However, such time is often instead used for productive work instead of leisure.
Because of Singapore’s highly competitive nature, we often try to cram our time full of
productive work. Be it at the workplace, in school or at home, we try to occupy
ourselves with work. By reducing certain travelling time, instead of being able to relax
more, Singaporeans work more.
- Personally, whenever I use food delivery apps, I use the extra time to finish up some
schoolwork or read some notes. School and the workplace are stressful, because
Singaporeans place the pressure on themselves to be perfect in whatever they do.
Accompanied with the desire to show off success to others, Singaporeans push
themselves to work hard and study hard, using every bit of time to be productive.

“Convenience is all destination and no journey”

- Agree
- The biggest area of impact in convenience is education. Education is a journey of
learning and developing critical thinking skills. Because of how kiasu Singaporean
parents have become and the competitive nature of the Singaporean education
system, parents overly stress out over their children’s grades.
- With the proliferation of tuition centres in Singapore, parents employ their children in
various centres for various subjects so that their children can obtain the coveted A.
- Instead of teaching children the creative thinking skills necessary for the future,
practice and repetitiveness is drilled into students who purely do paper after paper and
lose out on the process of learning and critical thinking.
- Students want to be spoon-fed with answers as they choose not to go through the
thinking process
- Especially during COVID-19, there was a rise in online tuition as a mechanism to help
students get better grades.
- E.g. at SLC School of Language and Communication, the centre which
specialises in English and Chinese tuition wasted no time in offering auxiliary
“top-up classes” for students who might require additional support on specific
areas such as oral or comprehension over teleconferencing app Zoom. As a
result, student enrolment over the past 18 months had grown by 50 per cent.
- However, it is also true that tuition is necessary to provide the aid that slower or
weaker students require to keep up with the pace of the education system. Some
students simply need more time or attention than their peers, which can cause them to
fall behind in lessons. They require step-by-step explanation and hand-holding through
the process which helps them through the learning process.
- At the same time, by slowing down and breaking down content into bite-size pieces,
 the development of critical thinking skills can still occur. Students can still challenge
themselves by asking critical questions at each step of the process and find out more
information on their own.
- Moreover, in an individualistic society like SG where we consider each individual to be
responsible for their own academic success, many parents still send their children for
tuition because ultimately, it produces results where the students are able to perform
better academically.

Business
‘Going green makes good business sense’
Comment.
Going green: to pursue knowledge and practices that can lead to more environmentally friendly and
ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles, which can help protect the environment and sustain its
natural resources for current and future generations
Good business sense: to choose activities that result in your company making enough money to sustain
itself in bad economic times and increase profits in good economic times

[Agree]
As climate change and global warming have become a serious threat globally today, more
people are advocating and supporting businesses that conduct good environmental practices in
order to ensure that these natural threats are not exacerbated.
- A sustainable business strategy aims to positively address the global environmental
issues in the world today, and as consumerism increases, there is a greater need for
protection of our Earth’s limited resources
- Even though it may seem more costly to conduct green businesses, studies have shown
that these businesses that are more environmentally friendly actually generate more
profits.
- A 2019 study by NielsenIQ found that 73% of global consumers are willing to change
their consumption habits to lessen their negative impact on the environment, and
sustainable product sales have grown by nearly 20% since 2014 → more people are
environmentally conscious
- Example:
- consumer goods producer Unilever committed to only using palm oil from
certified sustainable sources in 2008
- Palm oil may be cheap, but the production of palm oil has contributed to
high amounts of greenhouse gases emitted
- The organization cooperated with its competitors — as well as
governments and NGOs — to lead an industry-wide adoption of
 sustainable palm oil. As a result, Unilever continues to be a thriving
organization, and the world has reaped the environmental benefits of
sustainable palm oil harvesting practices.
- By 2018, 56% of their agricultural raw materials were sustainability
sourced
- 75% of their Sustainable Living brands (e.g. Dove) grew 69% faster than
the rest of the businesses
- Unilever has pledged to drop fossil fuels from cleaning products by 2030
to reduce carbon emissions→ Reason for doing so: people increasing
want and are willing to buy more sustainable products, thus, they are
more successful
- Patagonia: outdoor clothing and gear retailer
- Their environmental & social activism is well known and is a core principle
of their philosophy
- Supports many activist causes, funding and supporting programs, books
and documentaries such as the Jumbo Wild film
- For 20 years, they’ve used exclusively organic cotton
- In 2015, Patagonia’s profits tripled, and the compounded annual growth
rate was around 14%

[Agree]
The switch to cleaner, more sustainable forms of product manufacturing can increase the
demand for the company’s goods → The younger generation are more involved in protests for
environmental-friendliness
- Evident from their large numbers at green protests around the world and Greta Thunberg
being the face of the green movement at events such as UN councils
- In 2015, Nielsen surveyed 30,000 consumers from around the world, and 66% of those
consumers agreed they would pay more for products from sustainable sources.
- Green businesses demonstrate that sustainability is part of their mission and company
culture, which can help to attract potential consumers

[Agree]
Going green helps to boost the companies’ reputation
- This attracts customers when they know that the companies are doing something that is
morally right and that they are putting in the extra effort to reduce the risks of
environmental degradation
- Increase brand loyalties
- Consumers today are generally well-informed and young people today are generally
concerned about environmentalism
- doing improper practices can damage an organization’s reputation → they are likely to
be subjected to consumer boycotts
- Companies can therefore protect their brand and mitigate risks
- They can use their green credentials to attract consumers
 - Example:
- In 2009, Marks & Spencer launched “Plan A” – a massive effort to completely restructure
its operations and become the world’s most sustainable retailer
- M&S earned an extra £50 million in revenue after embracing new environmental
guidelines
- Their CEO mentioned that sustainability would “spark customer loyalty”
- Over the years, they have made more ambitious environmental plans to tackle
the problems of climate change, this includes cutting its carbon footprint by
one-third by 2025, as part of its commitment to be fully net zero by 2040
- Starbucks: they are encouraging people to bring their own mugs and they are one of the
first companies to discourage the use of straws
- It was supposed to be good for business as it was able to provide a good image
in the eyes of consumers

[Agree]
Many companies go green in order to pre-empt regulation → Regulatory penalties are extremely
high
- Example:
- Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) were pulled from shelves due to the company’s alleged
links to the forest fires that caused a massive haze in 2015 for 4 years
- the Consumers Association of Singapore that urged major retailers such as NTUC
FairPrice and Sheng Siong to yank products from suppliers with links to firms that could
be partly responsible for causing the 2015 haze

[Agree]
Going green has a positive impact on the morale of employees
- When companies show that they care about the environment and conduct cleaner
practises, workers feel as though the company cares about their health and well-being
and are more inclined to continue working at the company.
- This decreases turnover rate since employees would choose to stay employed in a
company that cares for them
- Example:
- In 2006, the Bank of America introduced a new incentive program that offered
employees a discount for installing solar panels in their home, and also offered up to a
$3,000 reimbursement incentive when employees buy a proven eco-friendly vehicle.
- By demonstrating a commitment to a healthy world environment, companies such as
Bank of America, prove they care about their employees' world as well, which is
beneficial for employee morale.

[Disagree]
Many businesses are mainly profit-motivated, and thus, this will hinder them from going green /
The nature of some business hinder them from going green
 - Companies would naturally want to increase their revenue in order to ensure that their
business can continue on
- Also, the price of products is one of the main reasons for the decision of consumers to
purchase that particular product
- Demand is typically high to only those people with high disposable income→ the
average consumer does not have the luxury to think about whether this or that product
will actually save the environment
- Thus, many companies would aim for low production costs, and usually these production
processes would results in release of excessively high amounts of greenhouse gases
and pose great harm to the environment
- Example:
- Certain industries like natural gas and oil drilling and processing will damage the
environment, yet are a necessity to provide for a portion of the world’s energy needs.
- Many oil companies are unwilling to switch to renewable sources of energy as it would
require them to purchase new equipment and new technologies → the manufacturing
process for renewable energies and non-renewable ones are very different

Should profit be the only business of business?

Introduction: While rather crude and cruel, the phrase "money makes the world go round" is
often used when we ponder why businesses often seem so profit-driven and ruthless in the
pursuit of more and more business growth. Although, pragmatically, the core purpose of
businesses is to make money so that they can be responsible for the employees under their
care, it should not be their only purpose. In a multifaceted society with multitudes of possibilities,
it would be a shame if businesses failed to use their social potential and connections as a
springboard to build more intellectual, cohesive societies or to shape individuals to be the best
that they can be.

[Agree]
There is no doubt that the profit-driven motivations of businesses are highly important in society
because they keep countries working, societies functioning, and people moving.
- More often than not, money is one of the greatest daily concerns of people around the
world
- In a world built on material desires and goals, it is undeniable that businesses will and
must focus on increasing their profits.
- Example:
- The Singapore 1000 (S1000) companies generated a combined profit of S$182.8 billion
in 2018 compared to S$165.4 billion in 2017, an increase of 10.5%. In turn, real wages
in Singapore rose by 3% in the same year, and the median gross monthly income grew
by 3.5 per cent a year from 2013 to 2018. The growth in individual income levels can be
attributed to the growth in businesses in Singapore
- profits of businesses directly impact their employees
 - Not only was the rise in wages beneficial for the lower-income earners in helping them
secure their basic needs, it also allowed them to devote more of their income to
entertainment and recreation to boost their quality of life and happiness levels.

[Disagree]
Businesses may use unethical methods to boost sales ultimately generate more profits
- For instance, thousands of food and beverage brands market their products as
"all-natural” even though they are not so → “greenwashing”
- Under the facade that their products are environmentally- and health-friendly, such
brands attempt to attract more consumers who perceive their products as superior to the
rest.
- Example:
- Fiji Water’s advertisements often include greenery & waterfalls coupled with gentle
narration promoting its naturalness in an attempt to get people to purchase their
products
- It attempts to hide its true environmental footprint, which includes miles of transportation
from Fiji + the production of non-biodegradable plastic bottles → behind the claims that it
is “bottled at the source, untouched by man”
- One-sided story appeals to consumers’ moral conscience → in reality, their product is
inextricably tied to pollution

“Corporate social responsibility is bad for business

and companies should not be expected to take it
up.” To what extent would you agree?
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) - refers to a code of conduct and action beyond what is required by
laws, regulations, and trade rules, which are adopted by corporations to assess and take responsibility for
the company's effects on environmental, and social well-being. These could include a company's choice
to operate in ecologically-friendly ways, to running social and ethical education programmes for their
employees, or even various charitable endeavours or community involvement.
- Explain why some believe that CSR is thought to be bad for business, and provide reasons why
these people therefore conclude that companies should not be expected to take it up
- Explain the degree to which businesses and companies should be responsible to society needs
to be established and explained.

[Agree]
The main focus of business is to maximise profit, and that the need to be socially-responsible
may incur costs that might lower profits
 - reduced profits may negatively impact on a company's potential to develop new products
or expand its business, and in severe cases, may even affect the long-term sustainability
of the business
- The need to retain sufficient profit is crucial to a company’s survival
- Example:
- Ben & Jerry's practises social responsibility by only procuring Fairtrade ingredients
- Fairtrade: worldwide movement that seeks to ensure that small-scale farmers in
developing nations can get a fair deal in the ultra-competitive global marketplace
- In sourcing for Fairtrade Certified ingredients, Ben & Jerry's paid a premium of almost
US$2 million.
- it is undeniable that these companies incur greater costs due to such practices
- Beyond using ethical resources, being socially responsible also entails constant
checking of one's processes to guard against any slip ups, and while this in itself is
already a tall order, today's globalised supply chains and operations means that such a
task is virtually impossible.

[Agree]
Having to take on CSR may also distract them from what they should actually be focused on, as
it imposes other goals other than the commercial success on the business
- the industry today is complex and challenging enough as it is, even with the companies
fully focused on their primary business
- Many giant companies who have fallen shows how difficult it is to sustain one’s core
business, let alone juggle various requirements
- CSR has resulted in decision-making processes becoming unnecessarily complex
- Example:
- Unilever (a transnational consumer goods company) → its Chief Executive Officer
(CEO), Paul Polman, has been severely criticised for being caught up with addressing
social issues such as eliminating poverty or bringing about greater gender equality →
made him become distracted from the core business challenges

[Disagree]
Beyond building a loyal consumer base, and earning goodwill for one's brand-name, engaging
in CSR may also motivate employees when they know that they are working for a company that
is ethical.
- Various studies have concluded that employees today, beyond seeking a decent salary,
also look at a company's involvement in social responsibility
- The employees responded that active involvement in social responsibility as part of their
company's CSR programme gives them greater satisfaction and helps build loyalty to
their employer.
- By engaging in CSR, rather than being bad for business, may actually help a company
to progress instead

[Disagree]
Consumer sentiment, especially in developed nations, today points towards a preference for
socially-responsible companies
- Consumers have indicated that they are likely to switch brands that support a good
cause, given similar price and quality, and that they are more likely to trust and be loyal
to socially responsible businesses.
- CSR might actually be beneficial in increasing sales and building brand loyalty.
- the added advantage of appearing sincere and genuine
- Example:
- The Body Shop, which embarked on social responsibility even before it became a
corporate buzzword, has enjoyed the loyal support of its customer base for many
decades, and continue to do so

[Disagree]
CSR is beneficial in the long term for the society and future generations as being socially
responsible ensures the sustainability of the environment
- Often, the manufacturing process of a business entity, be it extraction of raw materials or
the processing of such materials, result in damage to the environment.
- Example:
- IKEA have adopted the mantra of being an environmentally-conscious business,
sourcing a large percentage of its wood from sustainable foresters, as well as using solar
energy to power many of its stores worldwide
- being socially responsible is one of the main selling points that brings in revenue for
IKEA

Entrepreneurship
What is entrepreneurship? Name a few different interpretations of entrepreneurship. Why does
the definition of entrepreneurship matter?
1. The popular view: that entrepreneurs are people who run their own companies, the
self-employed or small-business people.
2. Joseph Schumpeter’s view that entrepreneurs are innovators: people who come up with
ideas and embody those ideas in high-growth companies.
3. Internal entrepreneurship: innovation within a company → a person within a large
corporation who takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished
product through assertive risk-taking and innovation
- These big companies present a threat to the small business companies → some
of them actually stole the ideas from smaller businesses → and they can get
away with it due to their monopolistic presence
- Reducing innovation and entrepreneurship outside big companies
- Schumpeterians distinguish between “replicative” entrepreneurs (who set up small
businesses much like other small businesses) and “innovative” entrepreneurs (who
upset and disorganised the existing way of doing things). They also distinguish between
 “small businesses” and “high-growth businesses'' (most small businesses stay small).
Both sorts have an important role in a successful economy. But they are nevertheless
very different sorts of organisations.
- Successful entrepreneurs inevitably destroy their smaller rivals as they take their
companies to scale. Walmart became the world’s largest retailer by replacing thousands
of Mom-and-Pop shops. Amazon became a bookselling giant by driving thousands of
booksellers out of business. By sponsoring new ways of doing things entrepreneurs
create new organisations that employ thousands of people including people who might
otherwise have been self-employed. In other words, they simultaneously boost the
economy’s overall productivity and reduce its level of self-employment.
- Entrepreneurs tend to be highly educated: 45% of American self-made entrepreneurs
have advanced degrees

Why is entrepreneurship important? What happens to societies which lack entrepreneurship? Is

entrepreneurship really the key to success on an individual and societal level?
- Important to the economy: it has the ability to spur economic growth → improving
standards of living and providing more job employment opportunities → propels society
forward
- Increased employment and higher earnings contribute to better national income in the
form of higher tax revenue and higher government spending
- Creates competition → better goods and services, cheaper prices, more innovation and
creativity
- Pursuing one’s dreams, while at the same time making a living out of it → we now have
the ability to pursue alternative forms of work → although they might not earn a lot of
money, they are able to enjoy their work more → higher quality of life (lesser stress
levels)

How can societies encourage entrepreneurship? How have some societies tried to encourage
entrepreneurship?
- A lower corporate tax rate allows for a greater supply of entrepreneurs → But keeping
the capital gains rate low to help startups is incredibly inefficient
- Entrepreneur-friendly tax reform would encourage startup investment by shifting the tax
code away from its current bias for debt over equity, and could preserve or expand key
tax credits like the exemption for long-term investment in small businesses.
- A more activist government encourages more entrepreneurship → In the US,
entrepreneurs are actually more likely to receive public benefits, after accounting for
income, as Harvard Business School’s Gareth Olds has documented → expanding
benefit programs helps spur new business creation.
- A 2010 study by RAND found that American men were more likely to start a business
just after turning 65 and qualifying for Medicare than just before. → the government can
make entrepreneurship more appealing by making it less risky.
- Singapore
 - The Startup SG Founder scheme was launched by Enterprise Singapore (a
government agency formed to support the development of Singapore SMEs) in
2017. It aims to nurture Singapore's start-up scene by providing mentorship and
grants to first-time entrepreneurs.
- In 2020, the government had announced an additional S$150m to enhance the
scheme → to create more job opportunities in light of the Covid-19 pandemic
- America
- The US encourages female entrepreneurship. The targeted government policies
have made it easier for women to start up their own businesses. For example,
the US Government launched the Women's Entrepreneurship in the Americas
policy in 2012 to encourage more women to set up their own businesses. This
leverages public-private partnership to help women overcome barriers to
entrepreneurship such as access to training, networks and finance.
- The US also ranked first for the quality of human resources flowing to
entrepreneurship. Whereas in many countries, the brightest students choose safe
employment, the best and brightest in the US are more likely to choose an
entrepreneurial career.

What are some factors which contribute towards entrepreneurship but lie beyond society’s
control?
- International competition
- Cultural attitudes

Entrepreneurship is all about race, class and gender. Is that true?

YES
- Race
- According to the Small Business Administration, as of 2013, Black-owned firms
represent 7% of all U.S. businesses.
- Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs also have lower education levels and fewer
years of managerial experience than Asian and White entrepreneurs do → result
in lower success at starting new businesses, greater propensity to enter business
lines with low entry barriers (thus higher failure rates), and lower business
survival rates
- They tend to come from poorer households → they are unable to borrow their
capital from their families and friends
- Banks are unwilling to invest in black-owned businesses → racist → they
believed their black-owned businesses are less likely to succeed
- Minority-owned businesses are disproportionately located in urban areas and
disproportionately serve ethnic retail markets.
- Minority entrepreneurs made up just 8.5% of the people pitching their businesses
to angel investors in the first half of 2013, according to a report by the University
of New Hampshire’s Center for Venture Research. This lack of access to capital
trickles down to bank loans and lines of credit. Due to lack of locally based
 financial institutions, good credit, and financial literacy, minority entrepreneurs are
locked out of debt and equity capital → most business need starting capital
(money) to run and operate their business until they start their profits
- Class
- Entrepreneurs are more likely to fund a start-up using personal savings
- Entrepreneurship often involves taking on risks → only those who have the
financial capability can keep their businesses going
- Perpetuate inequality
- Gender
- The percentage of female entrepreneurs is far below the level of males, although
it has increased over the past several years.
- This asymmetry in the entrepreneurial mindset by gender is important because
both contribute differently in societal development, as well as different sectors
and services. Also, this asymmetrical behavior in business is also attributed to
gender-held stereotypes, where it generally still holds a male-like vision of
business, meaning it is sometimes skewed toward favoring masculine models of
behavior (e.g. high profit, high ambition and growth goals)
- Men are better business leaders, men are more likely to take risks, men are
encouraged to start businesses but not as much for women

'There is no better time like the present to be an

entrepreneur.' To what extent would you agree?
[Agree]
The benefits that entrepreneurship provides spurred governments to initiate more policies to
encourage more people to start their business
- The governments recognise that entrepreneurship can bring about massive economic
impacts to their country: it has the ability to spur economic growth → improving
standards of living and providing more job employment opportunities → propels society
forward
- With governments being more aware of the importance of entrepreneurship, more
support is being given now than ever before, making now the best time for entrepreneurs
to start up their businesses. Lower tax, higher unemployment benefits for new
entrepreneurs provide optimal environment for people to take risk and try starting
businesses
- Example:
- The US Government launched the Women's Entrepreneurship in the Americas
policy in 2012 to encourage more women to set up their own businesses. This
leverages public-private partnership to help women overcome barriers to
entrepreneurship such as access to training, networks and finance.
 - In 2020, the government had announced an additional S$150m to enhance the
StartUp SG Founder scheme → to create more job opportunities in light of the
Covid-19 pandemic

[Agree]
The increased globalisation of the world has resulted in increasingly complex needs and wants
of society that need to be addressed through entrepreneurship. With greater
interconnectedness, consumers of the world expect greater convenience to have more time to
take part in leisure activities. This has resulted in a rise in ride-hailing services and food delivery
applications which promise choice and convenience to consumers.

[Disagree]
Big companies are becoming increasingly monopolistic
- The presence of internal entrepreneurship where large corporations take direct
responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive
risk-taking and innovation
- This reduces competition between other smaller-owned business as they are unable to
out-compete them
- Internal entrepreneurship in big firms has resulted in them having a monopoly over
entrepreneurship and new ideas, making it increasingly challenging for start-ups to be
creative and survive in this increasingly competitive society.
- With establishment of many dominant firms in most markets, entrepreneurs may struggle
to compete with these incumbents, leading some to believe that the present is not the
best time for entrepreneurship. With massive companies that are well established like
Google, Amazon, startups may feel threatened by their presence and hence
discouraged from entering the market.
- Example:
- Amazon copied products and rigged search results to promote its own brands
- Amazon.com Inc has been repeatedly accused of selling its knock-off production
on its website and of exploiting its vast trove of internal data to promote its own
merchandise at the expense of other sellers. However, the company has denied
the accusations.
- The documents reveal how Amazon’s private-brands team in India secretly
exploited internal data from Amazon.in to copy products sold by other
companies, and then offered them on its platform.
- Everyday Sling by Peak Design vs. Everyday Sling by Amazon Basics →
Amazon appears to have copied its popular bag, the $99.95 Everyday Sling, with
its own $32.99 AmazonBasics Camera Bag.

The pervading discriminatory and stereotypical views on certain groups can hinder many
start-up businesses → continued racism and sexist views
- Almost all entrepreneurs require sufficient capital in order to successfully start and
operate their businesses until they are able to starting earning profits
 - However, many minority groups are often unable to engage in entrepreneurship due to
the difficulties in getting enough investment or sufficient financial resources
- According to the Small Business Administration, as of 2013, Black-owned firms
represent 7% of all U.S. businesses.
- They tend to come from poorer households → they are unable to borrow their capital
from their families and friends
- Banks are unwilling to invest in black-owned businesses → racist → they believed their
black-owned businesses are less likely to succeed

[Disagree]
Lack of safety nets → People are less willing to take risks now as they are burdened financially.
- A survey of 1,200 Millennials conducted in 2016 by the Economic Innovation Group
found that more Millennials believed they could have a successful career by staying at
one company and attempting to climb the ladder than by founding a new one.
- An ordinary entrepreneur is likely to have to use personal savings to fund his business
(something underemployed Millennials simply could not build as they entered the
workforce during or in the immediate wake of the Great Recession). Funding from
friends and family is the next most common source, but this personal network could not
help much during the most recent economic downturn. Most students also have student
debt to pay.

AQ Question
One author argues that smart cities have a positive impact on many aspects of people’s lives,
while the other authors warn of the threats that smart cities pose.

How far do you agree with the opinions expressed in these two passages? Support your answer
with examples drawn from your own experience and that of your society.
Passage 1
“Smart cities today track the location, speed and number of people on public transport to
alleviate crowding and wait-times” (line 9)
- I agree in the context of Singapore → Singaporeans depend mostly on buses and the
MRT for their daily commutes
- Singaporeans are demanding better service, fewer breakdowns and ways to cope with
the overcrowding during peak periods
- Example:
- There are apps that help to track the buses, aside from bus timings, the apps are also
able to track how crowded the bus is and if they bus would be early or late
- MRT stations have mrt timings shown and there are systems to estimate how
busy the stations are. The system is part of a digitisation programme the rail
operator has been developing as part of its efforts to prevent disruptions and
respond quickly if they occur.
- At the Committee of Supply Debate, Second Minister for Transport said that Big Data
 and analytics will be used to improve train reliability
- Predictive maintenance involves gathering targeted data for analysis to help
anticipate and mitigate potential breakdowns and disruptions before they occur
- Bus and train fleets will largely improve the efficiency and reliability of transport
services, and reduce downtime or unforeseen breakdowns.
- Data feeds on areas and timings of regular traffic congestion can allow for the
planning of more efficient bus routes as well as managing peak-period
congestion at bus stops with more frequent services for popular routes

“Residents of smart cities thus enjoy safer … lives” (line 14)

- I agree with Paul S. Weisz’s view in the context of Singapore → we have been
internationally recognised as being one of the most safest country based on our low
crime rates and also having one of the least number of road accidents yearly (Based
on our analysis of official data issued by the Singapore Traffic Police and statistics
compiled by the World Health Organization, we found that Singapore had the 6th least
number of road accident-caused fatalities per capita out of the 178 countries assessed
for the year of 2019)
- Example:
- Smart lamp posts with sensors and cameras that can collect a wide range of
data, which can be used to direct driverless cars, catch speeding e-scooters
and analyse faces
- With this information, government agencies can increase their
situational awareness, detect potential problems and respond quickly to
incidents
- Police cameras have helped solve more than 4,900 cases here as of last
December. The number of police cameras deployed island-wide will increase
more than two-fold to at least 200,000 by 2030, up from about 90000 now.
- Surveys have shown that people feel safer with the prominent
placement of police cameras in their neighbourhoods.
- The SCDF will make greater use of sensors and automation to help
with manpower management, operation response and decision-making.
The new Punggol Fire Station, which is still under construction, will be
the first of the force's next-generation smart fire stations with these
features. → could possibly save more time and hence more lives.

“Data gathered in smart cities is wielded to improve the design of entire cities, such that they
get more efficient over time” (line 15)
- Example:
- URA’s planners will have to be more data-informed in the way we plan, to respond
quickly to changes and identify optimal land and infrastructure options, so as to meet
the needs of our communities and businesses of today and tomorrow.
- At URA, AI aids urban planners in identifying and anticipating changes in activity
patterns and user behaviour.
- Using AI-enabled spatial and data analytics helps us to develop rich insights into
utilisation patterns of public spaces and amenities. This is especially important in
land-scarce Singapore, where data-informed planning is needed to judiciously
optimise our limited land.
 - Developed in-house, OneTool enables planners to map, model and more accurately
project future demand for facilities at the block, ward and town level
- AI tools thus support URA’s work in optimising land use, improving citizens’
accessibility to services and amenities, and managing utilisation of infrastructure. In
the long term, this helps us to plan in a more anticipatory and agile manner to meet
ever-evolving needs.

Smart cities “improve the … quality of life of all citizens” (line 18)
- I agree with his view in the context of Singapore
- Examples of smart nation projects:
- Beeline: an open, cloud-based smart mobility platform offering data-driven bus
services for commuters. With Beeline, commuters can activate direct, private express
bus routes catering to their personal travel needs, especially during peak periods.
Commuters book seats on the bus routes in advance, via a mobile app
- myResponder: developed by the SCDF and GovTech, it’s main purpose is to
crowdsource for lifesavers. Whenever SCDF is notified of a medical emergency, it
sends out a message to community first responders (CFRs) registered on the app
within 400m of the patient. Currently there are more than 41,000 registered CFRs on
the app

Smart cities “improve the health and quality of life of all citizens” (line 18)
- Through gathering data, smart cities today help citizens by providing information that
is vital to the management of disease transmission and criminal behaviour
- This is true for SIngapore where citizens have useful information that helps them in
multiple tasks in their daily lives. With 5.17 million Sinagporeans having at least one
smartphone and growing, more and more citizens are able to access the multiple
benefits that smart cities offer through the gathering of data.
- Example:
- During the current pandemic, there have been various clusters all around Singapore.
With almost immediate updates, Sinagporeans can be informed of where these new
clusters are located and they are able to avoid these places to protect them from the
virus.
- The use of Tracetogether also helps the government keep track of who has been in
close contact but those infected. With the information collected, respective
government agencies can then contact people who were in close contact with infected
patients, alerting them early to prevent further spreading of the virus while also giving
them sufficient time to receive appropriate treatment before it is too late.

Passage 2
Wood and Smith argues that smart cities engage in surveillance that is “pervasive” and
“captures each move we make” (line 6)
- Through multiple surveillance devices installed at almost every corner of our little red
dot, the Singapore government can be said to be watching our every move.
- Singapore 11th most-surveilled city in the world
- According to findings recently revealed by tech research firm Comparitech, there are
roughly 86,000 cameras in Singapore
- More than 200,000 police cameras to be installed island-wide by 2030
 - Example:
- Many have worried about their personal data being used without their consent or
knowledge and the incident where TraceTogether data was used without the citizens
knowledge for criminal investigation proved that this worry was not for nothing. Before
the incident, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that the TraceTogether data would not
be used by the government. This incident broke the trust that many citizens had in the
government as they used the data despite telling Singaporeans that they would not
- Rebuttal: While indeed this was a breach of privacy using citizens’ personal
data without consent, the government did not use it for malicious intent but
rather with the people’s safety in mind. The TraceTogether data can be used to
accurately pinpoint criminals’ location, assisting the police in catching them and
ensuring the safety and protection of Singaporeans.
- Undeniably, the extensive surveillance system installed in Singapore reduces
the privacy that Singaporeans have, yet this small intrusion of privacy can bring
about greater benefits for them and make it better rather than harmful for
citizens.

“there is little regulation, control or clarity around how all the data collected about us is used”
(line 15)
- I agree with Dan Wood’s and David Smith’s view in the context of Singapore → where
the government is accustomed to being able to act with little public scrutiny → they
often do not feel the need to justify many of the intrusive policies they enacted as they
assumed that Singaporeans do not care much about their privacy
- Example:
- Singapore government reveals that the data collected from its Covid contact
tracing programme can be accessed by the police → for the purpose of
criminal investigations
- However, this eroded the public’s trust on the government as Singaporeans felt
that this has caused infringement on privacy
- The TraceTogether App and token’s main purpose was to allow easier tracking
for those who are in close contact with positive cases. However, when the
government announced that it could be used for other purposes, which is to
track one’s location to assist criminal investigations, Singaporeans were not
happy with the idea that more data, more personal information could be
collected by the government.
- The government should have known that the Criminal Procedure Code (CDC)
enables the police to have the legal power to access all information →
however, the government has initially given a promise that TraceTogether was
used only for contact tracing
- At first, there was little clarity on how the data collected will be used, however,
things have changed since then. The government has made it more clear on
how the data will be used and they introduced a new law where any requests
for data must be approved by CID and can only be collected by senior officers

Does censorship still have a place in this digital age?

Topic: technology (media), censorship, governance
Assumption: there is censorship already in place
POC: Whether censorship still have a place in this digital age or not
- Misinformation
- Foreign interference

‘In an age of technology, it is easier than ever before to commit crime.’ Do you agree?
Topic: technology
Assumption: Crimes have already occurred
POC: Whether in this age of technology, it will be easier to commit crimes
- Not easy to commit crimes due to increased surveillance
- Not easy due to greater security where the government enhances laws and rules to
ensure people’s safety
- Easy to commit crimes as advanced technology allows for easier manipulation
- Technology facilitates crimes by allowing one to transfer money anonymously →
cryptocurrency

To what extent is youth activism necessary for a better tomorrow?

Topic: youth activism, governance, social media
Assumption: Youth activism is already taking place
POC: Whether youth activism is necessary for a better tomorrow or not
- Necessary as youths are able to recognise problems that may affect the future of the
society and are motivated to enact changes
- Necessary as these youths are the future leaders and thus, allowing them to advocate
for certain causes gives them a voice so that they will be more participative in political
issues in the future
- Unnecessary as they lack life experiences and may not understand how the world works
and thus, their narrow worldview may bring about unintended consequences
- Youths tend to be more idealistic and more enthusiastic → in order to see that kind of
activists in the future, we need these kinds of activists in the present

Revision Sem 2 Case Studies and

Arguments
Democracy
● Public Opinion
In Malaysia, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), helmed by the Barisian Nasional
has held power since the country’s independence → policies in education, business, healthcare
and even jurisdiction have been largely biased to middle- to upper- class Malay Muslims, who
make up just over half of the population but alienates the large minority of Chinese and Indians
Malay businesses are granted loans with more guarantee than Chinese businesses, while Tamil
and Hindi Indians are granted meagre religious facilities

Few Chinese and Indians are able to climb the corporate ladder in the civil service as well, due
to racial pride and a desire to keep a hold on power by satisfying the Malay majority, the
Malaysian government was not willing to incur the financial, political and social costs of treating
the various races equally.

Many local non-Malay talents go abroad where there are greater opportunities for them, leading
to a “brain drain” in Malaysia → special privileges accorded to Malays have led to accusations
that they lack drive, which would not bode well for a country that is competing with rapidly
advancing neighbours

● Harvard Admissions Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is the act of giving preference to people because they belong to a certain
race, religion, caste or sex. Despite a rising number of Asian-americans in American high
schools, the number of Asians enrolled into Harvard has not increased proportionally. Harvard is
under fire for discrimination towards white students and legacy students. Legacy students are
students who have relatives that attended the university. This is harmful to attaining equality in
terms of education opportunities. Yet, at the same time, affirmative action might be necessary to
differentiate between students of extremely similar caliber competing for the limited spots.

● Malaysia’s New Economic Policy

Malaysia’s New Economic Policy (NEP) was announced in 1970 as part of a package of
measures introduced after the political crisis of May 1969. It sought to ‘eradicate poverty’ and
‘restructure society to eliminate the identification of race with economic function’ in order to
create the conditions for national unity. Since then, not only poverty in Malaysia has gone down
tremendously, but also experienced rapid economic growth and structural transformation.

However, the NEP was later distorted in its implementation. Although poverty was reduced
considerably, there are still serious pockets of dire poverty in many parts of rural Malaysia,
especially in Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Terengganu.

Also, a surprising number of Malays, as well as Chinese and Indians, argue that racial
preferences should be abolished altogether. In line with western critics of affirmative action, they
contend that the NEP has fostered a culture of dependency, and so undermined its supposed
purpose of Malay advancement. Non-Malays who are forced to study abroad for lack of
university places at home actually get a better education, and feel more of an obligation to make
the most of their opportunities → lack of competitiveness
There have also been considerable financial abuses in the process of restructuring. This has led
to so much cronyism, corruption, money politics and the callous wastage of public funds as
indicated by several Auditor-General reports and the press.
The dreadful Covid-19 virus has exposed this poverty as well as economic and financial
mismanagement even more today.

Most universities in Malaysia reserve 70% or more of their places for bumiputras. Chinese and
Indian students flock instead to private and foreign ones. Those who leave often stay away. A
World Bank study in 2011 found that about 1m Malaysians had by that stage left the country,
which has a total population of 29m. Most were ethnic Chinese, and many were highly
educated. Some 60% of skilled emigrants cited “social injustice” as an important reason for
leaving Malaysia. This exodus makes it a less attractive place to invest in → brain drain

Despite constant calls to do away with racial preferences in policy-making, the Ministry of
Education recently announced that the 90:10 quota favouring bumiputera students in the
pre-university matriculation programme would be maintained. The dissatisfaction is
compounded by the fact that the alternative to this pre-university path – the Malaysian Higher
School Certificate (STPM) – takes longer time to complete and is perceived to be more difficult.
Over the years, this has led to a widespread belief that non-bumiputras have to work much
harder to compete with the bumiputras for the same access to a place in university. On the other
hand, supporters of affirmative action insist that these practices are necessary to advance a
more racially equitable society → favoured people from a certain race, indicating that the policy
is fundamentally racist

● Gender Quotas
Electoral gender quotas fail to empower women
Among EU countries, women account for only 27% of MPs and 12% of prime ministers. To
address the scarcity of women in politics, ten EU countries have adopted gender quotas in
recent years that regulate the composition of electoral lists. Furthermore, in 13 other EU
countries, gender quotas have been adopted voluntarily by some of the main political parties.

Supporters argue that politics is not a level playing field and, by increasing the share of female
candidates in the ballot, quotas can improve the overall presence of women in political
institutions → however, quotas violate the principle of merit and may lead to a decrease in the
quality of politicians
Quotas also do not solve the root cause of the problem when women are ‘forced’ to enter
politics. Our findings suggest that electoral quotas may not be a one-size-fits-all solution. More
research is needed to get a better understanding of the underlying causes for the
underrepresentation of women in politics and the policies that might be most effective to correct
it.
The most influential evidence comes from Sweden, where the voluntary introduction of
candidate gender quotas by the Social Democrat party led to an increase in the presence of
women in leadership positions (O’Brien and Rickne 2016) and in the qualifications of politicians.

● Racial Quotas
California rejecting racial preferences
Californians have been fighting about whether their state government should be race neutral,
treating all individuals equally under the law regardless of the colour of their skin, or race
conscious, granting preferential treatment to certain groups while discriminating against others
to remedy past discrimination or increase diversity.

In the early 1990s, Ward Connerly, began to study how racial preferences worked in the UC
system. After reviewing admissions statistics, he was convinced that white and Asian applicants
were being discriminated against in an effort to admit more Black and Latino applicants.

California voters defeated Proposition 16, to remove the provision in the state constitution that
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or gender in public employment and education.

Immigration
● Integrating Refugees
It is debatable whether refugees entering Germany are successfully integrated into society or
not. Refugees, while able to gain jobs and a stable source of income, fear the letterbox due to
the lack of awareness of the bodies governing policies. Often, such immigrants fear demands
and appointments from government bodies that they have never heard of. Germany is also
facing issues on deporting asylum seekers, and those granted the Duldung status face massive
difficulties moving throughout the country and finding a job. Despite the benefits to Germany’s
economy, Germans feel that their borders should not accept any more immigrants.

2015 refugee crisis in Germany

In 2015 alone, around 890,000 people entered Germany. This unprecedented arrival of asylum
seekers and migrants uncovered divergent views on how to handle the crisis and on its potential
impact on German society. For some people, the seemingly unstoppable influx represented a
threat and a cause for major concern. At the same time, the Alternative für Deutschland
(“Alternative for Germany”, AfD), a relatively new, right-wing populist party, sustained a rising
anti-immigration and anti-refugee rhetoric, tapping into people’s anxieties. In the federal election
of 2017, the AfD achieved a remarkable electoral success becoming the third largest party in
the German parliament.
One of the reasons for the far-right movement in Germany was due to the fact that Angela
Merkel accepted more than 500,000 refugees into Germany in 2015 → this shows how
accepting too many refugees is unsustainable when they ignore the wishes of the people →
far-right movement will become more and more popular, and eventually they will threaten to
overtake the government

● Climate Refugees
The Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted by the UN in 2018,
clearly states that one of the factors causing large-scale movements of people is “the adverse
impacts of climate change and environmental degradation,” which includes natural disasters,
desertification, land degradation, drought and rising sea levels. For migrants who are forced to
leave their countries of origin due to environmental degradation, the compact clearly states that
governments should work to protect climate refugees in the countries of their arrival by devising
planned relocation and visa options if adaptation and return is not possible in their countries of
origin.

Climate change is contributing to so-called slow onset events such as desertification, sea-level
rise, ocean acidification, air pollution, rain pattern shifts and loss of biodiversity. This
deterioration will exacerbate many humanitarian crises and may lead to more people being on
the move.

The Ecosystem Threat Register (ETR) released in September 2018 by the Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP), an Australian international think tank, points out that at least 1.2
billion people could be displaced by threats of climate change by 2050

However, it is hard to say that the international community and governments are doing enough
to deal with climate refugees, given the seriousness of the problem. One of the reasons for this
is the lack of a clear definition of climate refugees, and the absence of international
organizations and institutions to address and clarify the issue. Climate refugees are not covered
by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which protects people who have a
well founded fear of persecution on racial, religious or other grounds, nor are they eligible for
protection under the Convention. Official data on climate refugees is virtually non-existent – this
is why they are called the “forgotten victims of climate change.”

Massive human migration from resource scarcity, increased frequency of extreme weather
events, droughts and distress to agriculture are some of the reasons for climate refugees.
However, developed countries are ill-prepared for this as they are unable to recognise the size
of the public and thus, they do not invest a lot in ensuring that they are able to solve these
problems.

E.g. Residents of small Pacific islands such as Kiribati and Tuvalu must abandon their homes
because coastal erosion is pushing people inland, creating conflicts over the scarce remaining
dry land.
Education
● America - Examinations
● America - Private Schools
● America - No Child Left Behind
● China - Examinations
● China - Private Education
● China - Competitiveness
● COVID-19 - School Closures
● COVID-19 - Teacher-Assessed Grades in the UK
A-Level and GCSE results show that pandemic has widened inequality → e.g. for students
receiving free school meals, the proportion gaining top GCSE grades doubled between 2019
and 2021, while those not on free school meals rose less quickly

According to analysis shared with the Observer, more than 4.6 million GCSEs in England –
about 97% of the total – will be assigned solely by the algorithm drawn up by the exam regulator
Ofqual. Teacher rankings will be taken into consideration, but not teacher-assessed grades
submitted by schools and colleges

Teachers face an “almost impossible task” in fairly awarding A-level and GCSE grades in place
of exams during the pandemic, according to researchers who found that students in England
from highly educated backgrounds benefited from more generously assessed grades. The study
by University College London and the London School of Economics found that pupils whose
parents had degrees were the beneficiaries of last year’s government U-turn that replaced
grades determined by an algorithm in favour of grades decided by teacher assessments. The
survey of students found that even after adjusting for previous results and social background,
those from graduate households were 15% more likely to get a better grade from their teachers
than from the process using an algorithm created by Ofqual, the exam regulator for England.

Gavin Williamson (Former Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom) is facing a
mounting backlash over the contentious A-level grading system, as official data showed private
schools increased the proportion of students being awarded top results by more than double
that of state schools. It comes as thousands of students across the country received their
grades that were moderated by an algorithm in the absence of exams that were cancelled due
to the pandemic. The system took into account pupils’ previous scores, teachers’ predicted
grades and the historic exam performance of institutions.

● Examinations - Stress
Due to increasing stress levels, students are turning to drugs to calm their nerves and minimise
sleepiness during daytime hours to maximise studying time → Modafinil: a prescription-only
medication for narcolepsy that the NHS’s website describes as “a central nervous system
stimulant” that prevents “excessive sleepiness during daytime hours” → the drug keeps them
super awake and this allows them to get more work done due to the overwhelming amount of
work that they are given

Students are also turning towards suicides due to failure to keep up with sky-high parental
expectations. The nature of major national examinations that dictate one’s future also puts
immense pressure on both students and their parents. Parents are incentivised to spend
massive amounts of money on sending their children to tuition to receive additional help to
attain good grades which are necessary for moving up the social ladder.

Business
● Google Antitrust
EU hits Google With Record $2.7 billion antitrust fine
The European Commission has fined Google a record $2.7 billion for the way it promotes its
own shopping service over those of its rivals → They used their monopolistic power to their own
advantage

A group of state attorneys alleges that Google charges up to four times the fees of other online
advertising exchanges while its ad-buying tools win more than 80% of the auctions hosted on its
dominant exchange.

State attorneys general are going after Google with an antitrust lawsuit, alleging the company
abused its power over app developers through its Play Store on Android
Google has used anti competitive tactics to extract a 30% commission from consumers, who
purchase subscriptions and digital content on their Android phones. App developers, they say,
have no choice but to use Google’s software for distribution, in part because Google has
“targeted potentially competing app stores.” Meanwhile, consumers have no options because
Android is the only operating system available on many handsets.

● Sustainable Fashion
The pandemic has shone a light on the social damage inflicted by fast fashion, with the scandal
around Boohoo’s supplier illegally underpaying garment workers in Leicester → an undercover
reporter from the Sunday Times exposed working conditions in factories making clothes for
Boohoo, claiming workers were paid as little as £3.50 an hour and wearing little in the way of
protective equipment.

Evidence also shows the fashion industry is responsible for devastating environmental impact.
Every year, it uses staggering amounts of water for production and is responsible for around
10% of global carbon emissions. At the same time, wastewater from many textile factories
releases toxic substances into rivers, while fibre production causes water pollution, soil
degradation and deforestation.
Fashion is extremely harmful to the environment due to the process and the materials used to
make clothes. Although various companies are advertising the use of cleaner, sustainable
methods to attract the younger environment-caring crowd, the process hardly changes the
effects of fashion on the environment.
Fashion companies with alleged mistreatment of workers did not face significant consequences
due to the lucrative nature of the businesses which discourages shareholders and investors
from speaking up about human rights. By using cheap labour, it is possible for clothes to remain
at a low price.

● Entrepreneurship - COVID-19
The characteristics of the pandemic recession made starting a business an attractive
proposition (a suggested scheme or plan of action) → the shift to working from home made
setting up shops faster and it is able to cut down on certain costs such as rental.
The pandemic also made connecting with suppliers, investors and sales contacts simpler.
Priyanka Jian, the founder of Evvy said that it was easier to get people to agree to talk to you for
a 15-minute zoom call. Also, people were able to connect with others easily through online
platforms regardless of geographical boundaries.

Misc Case Studies

● Amazon Rainforest
During the first 6 months of Bolsonaro’s term as president, enforcement measures to protect the
Amazon — such as levying fines and destroying logging equipment in protected areas — fell by
20%, according to a New York Times analysis of public records → “Deforestation in the Brazilian
Amazon is not the result of a lack of money, but a consequence of the government’s deliberate
failure of care
Moreover, in 2019, Trump backed Bolsonaro as the president rejected foreign aid for fighting
wildfires that were raging across the Amazon, Politico reported.

A study by Nature Climate Change showed that the Amazon rainforest released about 20%
more CO2 into the atmosphere → Amazon regions emit more carbon than they absorb
● Why Farmers Starve
● America’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Singapore
Kindness
● CSR - Grab and GoJek
GrabProtect:
- Both the driver and passengers must wear masks at all time
Before the shift, the drivers must complete hygiene and health declaration
Cashless payment is recommended
Passengers no longer allowed to ride in front seat
Drivers are advised to disinfect their hands and vehicles frequently

Grab launches career portal and training programmes to support drivers

- drivers will be able to get career coaching and training certification for the jobs they wish
to pursue, in addition to job placement and networking opportunities.
- new driver training programme featuring two courses - Customer Service and Quality as
well as Vehicle Safety and Maintenance.
- grab drivers will not have to pay for the courses, as SkillsFuture Singapore will cover up
to 90% course fees under the Enhanced Training Support Package for P2P Drivers, and
grab subsidising the remaining amount
- the courses will be available to all taxi and private-hire drivers in Singapore

● CSR - Singapore
32 companies have decided to return the Government’s Job Support Scheme (JSS) payments
while others are donating to charity. One company which has decided to give up its JSS payout
is German pharmaceutical group Boehringer Ingelheim. It will instead donate $500,000 to five
causes that its employees voted for → Migrant Workers' Assistance Fund, Sayang Sayang
Fund, Invictus Fund, Singapore Red Cross and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(SPCA)

MOM decided to take action against 66 firms over Covid-19 breaches → most common violation
of safe management measures at workplaces is failing to ensure that employees who are able
to work from home do so → First-time offenders can be fined up to $1,000 and repeat offenders
up to $2,000

● Acts of Kindness
Since the outbreak, the shortage of masks worldwide has left many vulnerable. Students Sheryl
Goh, 18 and Vaishnavi Devan, 19, have been offering free masks on online marketplace
Carousell and social media platform Reddit over the past three days. They forked out $200 to
buy the masks from lifestyle retail stores like Kimoj and Green Party. The response to their
gesture has been overwhelming, she adds. They have so far sent around 20 packages to
people in Singapore, Poland, Germany and the United States. They have about 50 masks left.

Even as the industry is being battered by the pandemic, some food and beverage outlets have
banded together to deliver free meals and coffee to several hospitals, including the National
Centre for Infectious Diseases and National University Hospital.
Since the beginning of March, Labyrinth, located at the Esplanade, has contributed $20 per
dinner customer, $40 for every full bottle of wine sold, and $80 per bottle of corkage charged at
their restaurant, to the fund.

The GoodHood.SG app was developed by entrepreneur Nigel Teo to “bring back the kampung
spirit”. Users are provided help with the delivery of groceries and meals when one is under
home quarantine. Also, the app has a "share a mask" function which allows users to request for
or donate their extra surgical masks. The app has been downloaded more than 200 times since
it was made available on the App and Google Play Stores on March 22.

● Charity Scandals
Shi Ming Yi (Founder and Former Chief Executive of Ren Ci Hospital) has been found guilty of
fraud, falsifying documents, misappropriating funds and giving false information to the
Commissioner of Charities. His former personal assistant, Raymond Yeung, has also been
found guilty of conspiring to falsify a Ren Ci payment voucher and giving false information to the
Commissioner of Charities.
Ren Ci's books had recorded a payment of $50,000 to Mandala Buddist & Cultural Centre in
May 2004, but this had not been reflected in Mandala's accounts. It was later found that the
money was meant for Yeung’s personal use.
- The donations are supposed to go to the Ren Ci Hospital patients, but it went to Ming Yi
instead → corrupt, dishonest
- He is not only stealing money from rich people and also from those who need it most →
ruins the trust of the public

National Kidney Foundation (NKF) scandal

The NKF was the largest charity organisation in Singapore. It provided dialysis treatments for
people who cannot afford it, and they were popular among Singaporeans who donated millions
of dollars to them every year. At one point of time, an article by the Singapore Press
Holdings(SPH) claimed that a contractor had “lost it” when he was asked to install “a
glass-panelled shower, a pricey German toilet bowl and a (S$1,000) gold-plated tap” in Durai’s
office. After a thorough cross-examination, it was revealed that Durai collected a monthly salary
of $25,000 and collected a 10-month bonus in 2002 and a 12-month bonus in both 2003 and
2004, for a total of $1.8 million over three years. He had access to a fleet of eight chauffeured
cars and the NKF paid the taxes and maintenance costs of his personal Mercedes-Benz. In
2003, only ten cents out of every dollar raised were used for dialysis costs.

● Foreign Aid
Singapore to contribute $28 million to International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help low-income
countries tackle Covid-19 pandemic → Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the money
will come from its official foreign reserves

Singapore sends two planeloads of oxygen cylinders to India to aid its Covid-19 response →
strong bilateral relations → to show the close collaboration and partnership across multiple
agencies on both sides

Urbanisation
● Citizen Engagement
Public participation in urban planning
To plan spaces in a manner that is actually inclusive for all users of the city, the focus needs to
shift from infrastructure to the needs of citizens
Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) Tangible Interactive Modelling: worked with MIT to create an
interactive urban planning tool, whereby planners can move around LEGO blocks that represent
different amenities and structures → allowing members of the public to use this tool, different
desirable city designs can be analysed
Participate in Design (P!D) community engagement schemes: aims to get people involved in the
process of finding solutions instead of merely complaining about problems, thereby fostering
community empowerment → by conversing with residents and holding community design
workshops for in-depth discussions on urban design

● Cross-Island Line
 ● Public Transport Fares
Public transport fares did not rise in 2020 to help commuters amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under normal circumstances, fares could have increased by up to 4.4 per cent based on the
current fare review exercise formula, the Public Transport Council (PTC) said in its annual fare
revision announcement

(2021) Public transport fares to rise by 3 to 4 cents for adults and by 1 cent for seniors,
students, people with disabilities and low-wage workers → some are disappointed at the timing
as a lot of adults have either lost their jobs or received pay cuts during the Covid-19 pandemic

🍛
● Socio-diversity
“Cook and Share a Pot of Curry” campaign
A Chinese family from China, could not tolerate the smell that wafted over from their
Singaporean Indian neighbours whenever they cooked curry. Out of consideration to the
Chinese family’s aversion to the curry smell, the Indian family would shut their doors and
windows whenever they cooked curry. However, the Chinese family deemed this measure
insufficient, and entreated their neighbours to refrain from cooking the dish altogether.
The public were angered by the perceived intolerance that the Chinese family had displayed
towards the cultural practices of another ethnic group → unacceptable behaviour that was
contrary to SG’s multiracial society
On 11 August 2011, freelance writer Florence Leow, together with some friends, announced the
“Cook and Share a Pot of Curry” event via social media platform Facebook. The event
encouraged Singaporeans to cook curry at home on 21 August 2011 and invited foreigners to
share in the repast as a way “to celebrate curries as part of our way of life and to share this
celebration with those who are new to our shores” → More than 60,000 residents in Singapore
indicated their support and participation in the event.
Government’s response → the Ministry of Law, issued a press release on 11 August 2011
stating that the newspaper article had inaccurately reported the mediator’s involvement in the
dispute settlement + Minister for Law K. Shanmugam held a press conference on 16 August
2011 to clarify the true course of events regarding the incident. He explained that the dispute
had occurred six to seven years prior to the publication of the Today news report on 8 August
2011 and that the terms of settlement resulting from the mediation had been entirely volitional
between the two parties involved.

● Public Transport Breakdowns

Massive breakdown in the North-South and East-West MRT → It was caused by electrical
power trips at multiple locations in the network. Investigations narrowed the root cause to salt
deposits on one of the third-rail insulators near a tunnel leak between the Tanjong Pagar and
Raffles Place stations → SMRT fined $5.4million

● Urban Inequality
Disparity across neighbourhoods
According to the 2015 Singapore General Household Survey, more than 4 in 10 households
(44.4%) in Bukit Timah earn at least S$20,000 a month, the highest income bracket in the
statistical classification. This proportion is eight times as many compared to households in
Woodlands (5.4%) or Yishun (also 5.4%).
There has been a distinct clustering of brand name schools → Rafflesian schools in Bishan, the
Anglo-Chinese Schools in Dover Road, and schools of the Hwa Chong family in Bukit Timah →
resale prices of houses near elite educational schools are higher than the average
Disparity within neighbourhoods
In a study published by the Institute of Policy Studies in December 2017, residential estates with
a more diverse range of dwelling types – which include Marine Parade and Bukit Merah - are
correlated with more petty crime.
Neighbourhoods with more diverse dwelling types (e.g. high-end private housing, as well as
HDB flats of various room sizes) were reported to have more crimes than places that are either
equally rich or poor.

Social stratification: Lack of social mixing → lack of empathy and support for those
disadvantaged families → reluctance to support policies that are aimed to improve the
lower-class families
- Lowered ability for people to relate to others
Singaporeans who live in public housing have fewer than one friend who lives in private
housing. People who study in elite schools also tend to be less close to those in non-elite
schools.
The IPS study found that even though the vast majority of Singaporeans reside in public
housing, private-home dwellers had more ties with others who live in private homes than with
those who lived in public flats.
In the Jalan Kukoh neighbourhood in Bukit Merah, ground-up initiatives such as ReadAble and
Catch Plus (Children and Teen Community Hub Plus) — which are targeted at students from
low-income families — are often run by volunteers from more privileged backgrounds.

Convenience
● Remote Work
Since circuit breaker measures were implemented in Singapore on Apr 7, many more people

😱
have been working from home. Some of them find themselves working more than 50 hours a
week , which exceeds the 48 hour cap of the Ministry of Manpower’s Employment Act.
Mental health has declined since the Covid-19 pandemic began, with 76% of the respondents
here feeling sad or depressed, and 65% feeling lonely. (The Straits Times)

● Online Voting
Singapore has not allowed online voting for a General Election (GE) because it is difficult to
prevent voter impersonation and ensure voting secrecy → Even if a person were to vote by
logging in with SingPass, the national passcode system for government e-services, there is no
way of guaranteeing that the vote is cast by the person logging in, or by another person
assisting him.

● Online Dating 😏😏😉😔

While apps allow people to get out and meet more people, they feel like free-for-all buffets when
one actually prefer a-la-carte dining (basically to sift out the good ones)
According to the online article The Psychology Of Using Dating Apps by Megan McClintock,
dating apps are designed to offer a gamified experience, with cute badges to mark usage or
membership status, frequent alerts reminding you to engage, etc
For women, this virtual ecosystem has a significant impact on their wellbeing → One US study
by Pew Research in 2020 found female users experiencing different levels of harassment.
Around 6 in 10 said they continued to be contacted after they explicitly mentioned not being
interested

Gender, religion, noise and food

● Pink Dot
Pink Dot calls for ‘acceptance and equality’ for the LGBTQ community → Since 2009, Pink Dot
has been an annual event held at Hong Lim Park, despite Singapore's stance on homosexuality
→ Pink Dot plays an important role in helping to cultivate an inclusive and supportive community

There is growing divergence in views on moral issues based on individuals’ age, religious
affiliations and backgrounds → might lead to a fragmented and polarised society.
Religious groups (Mulims and Christians) still believe that liberalising laws on homosexuality is
not good for society → in 2018, 84.6% of Muslims (aged 55 and above) felt homosexual sex
was always or almost always wrong
LGBT advocates have also tried to silence religious conservatives who take a strong stance
against homosexuality (e.g. there are calls to ban church pastor Lawrence Khong from
performing a magic show in IKEA in 2015)

● Wear White
A campaign urging the public to wear white to promote traditional family values will be held and
led by Christian pastor Lawrence Khong, to coincide with the annual Pink Dot rally championing
the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community → hopes to show that the
church’s stance on heterosexual marriage and the “natural family” is in keeping with the social
norms of “Singapore’s conservative majority”.

● Tangs Hijab Incident

A part time sales promoter was asked to remove her hijab (head scarf) while working at a
pop-up booth in Tangs at Tang Plaza. Two female Tangs managers told her that she could not
work in the store with a hijab on, as the company did not allow front-line staff to wear any
headgear. The managers then explained to her that removing her hijab was "for the sake of
professionalism".
Tangs then made an immediate change in policy that allows all front-line staff to wear their
religious headgear.
- Singapore is becoming more tolerant of different religious practices
- The public sided with the woman who was not allowed to wear the hijab

● Noise
1 in 6 youths in Singapore at risk of noise induced hearing loss; everyday sounds and their
noise levels
There is increasing concern that noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is prevalent in users,
especially children and teenagers.
A recent study by a group of biomedical engineering students from Temasek Polytechnic,
published in the Singapore Medical Journal this year, revealed that at least one in six youths
here are at risk of NIHL caused by high volumes from their portable music players. A total of
1,928 Temasek Polytechnic students participated in the survey. Out of the group, 16.4 percent
listened to PMPs at more than 85dB for eight hours daily. Gender-wise, male students tended to
listen to music at louder volumes than female students

● Food Waste
Food waste is one of the biggest waste streams in Singapore and the amount of food waste
generated has grown by around 20% over the last 10 years. In 2019, Singapore generated
around 744 million kg of food waste. That is equivalent to 2 bowls of rice per person per day, or
around 51,000 double decker buses
Increasing amounts of food waste puts pressure on our resources. We will need to build more
waste disposal facilities, such as waste-to-energy plants and landfills for incineration of ash.
This is not sustainable for land-scarce Singapore.
This also increases our carbon footprint, contributing to global warming and climate change.
Initiatives
- Love Your Food @ Schools project at 10 schools to encourage students and staff to
reduce the amount of food waste they generate and to garner the participation of
students, staff and canteen stall holders to segregate their food waste for treatment
using on-site food waste digesters.
- Zero Waste SG → focuses on engaging the public and corporates on the 3Rs (Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle)