English had been a trend since British times, LKY merely continued it

"I refer to the 6 Sept 2011 Straits Times report of your comments on Singapore’s bilingualism. You said you got Singapore to go for English as first language because that connected us to the world, to modern sciences, to commerce and made Singapore what it is.

The Germans, Swiss, Japanese, Taiwanese, Koreans, Chinese and Hong Kongers do not go for English as their first language. But that did not prevent them from getting connected to the world, to modern sciences and to commerce or prevent them from becoming what they are today. There is no evidence that mastering English as a first language was key to our prosperity.

Many Singaporeans credit you with the foresight for recognising English’s economic value and for promoting its use in Singapore. What is less commonly known is that English’s ascent to its preeminent position today in Singapore began long before you came to power.

"Quite clearly, many people already understood the usefulness of English long before you came along. Given such evidence, we should not go away with the idea that the promotion of English was your wisdom and foresight alone. You merely continued with a trend that began after the Second World War, albeit more ruthlessly perhaps."

Extracted from: Mr Lee on…

http://trulysingapore.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/mr-lee-on/

李光耀不想要的精神

今年，有一位前新加坡国会议员，谢太宝先生，获得了林连玉精神奖。
12月18日，世界上被禁锢最久的政治犯谢太宝先生，正式领奖。

（3）谢太宝先生（新加坡）：70岁，前马来西亚国会议员
推荐单位：森美兰金马士红楼四馆
得奖理由：良心政治犯，坚持理想，坐穿牢底，体现南大精神，与林连玉威武不屈、富贵不淫的精神一致。

以上为得奖感言视频，以下为感言全文：

2011年12月18日，谢太宝于林连玉精神奖颁奖典礼上的发言

主席，各位来宾：

首先，我要感谢林连玉基金，颁给我今年度的林连玉精神奖。

对于母语教育和南洋大学，我是蒙恩受惠的多，反哺回馈的少。和那些长年累月为华教和南大默默奉献的人比起来，我实在是渺小得很。所以，这份精神奖的荣誉，应该是属于所有热爱母语教育和南洋大学的人们。

大学不是象牙塔。大学的价值，不仅仅在于它的良好设备，更重要的是在于它的精神，在于它能感受时代的脉搏和人民的呼唤，为社会培养爱国爱民、献身人类进步和世界和平的人才。

不久前，我读到一篇描写抗日战争时期，关于中国西南联合大学的文章。在那战火纷飞的日子里，西南联大的老师们，住的是用布帘隔开的房子，学生是在茅屋里上 课，到图书馆学习也得排队。就在这种简陋的条件下，西南联大培养了无数抗战勇士和学有专长的人才，包括后来获得诺贝尔物理学奖的杨振宁和李政道。

南洋大学的创办，正如陈六使先生所说的，是结合了‘三百多万华人的胆’，凝聚了‘三百多万华人的志’。这可从千千万万各阶层人民，为南大义捐义卖、 义踏义驶、义演义唱等等活动中得到印证。南大开幕当天，校园人山人海，整条裕廊路车水马龙，连英国驻新加坡总督顾德爵士的车队，也迟了两个多小时才能到达 开幕仪式现场。

南大的服务对象，是整个东南亚社会，不分种族。它致力于各民族文化的交流。陈六使先生不只大笔捐献南大，也捐助马来亚大学和东南亚的其他学府，南大 除了中文系之外，也开设现代语言系和马来文系。然而，就在南大埋头苦干力求发展的时刻，却遭受新加坡李光耀政权一波又一波的打击。曾经在殖民地时代，为新 加坡人民争取公民权的陈六使先生，本身的公民权，也被李光耀政权剥夺了。最终，南洋大学也在1980年被关闭。当时，我还在监牢里。有一天，内政部官员来 问话，要我谈对南大与新大合并的看法。我冷冷地回了一句：‘人民不会忘记，是谁消灭了南大’之后，就再也不说一句话。他看无法追问下去，只好作罢。

林连玉先生说过：他的躯体可以被摧毁，但是他的精神却可以永远存在和绽放异彩。今天，南大虽已不复存在，但是它却永远活在人们的心中。南大精神的种子，已撒遍全东南亚。南大精神是杀不尽、灭不了的！它将永远鼓舞着大家，不畏艰难，奋勇前进。

谢谢。

资料来源：http://www.llgcultural.com/

The spirit that LKY does not want

This year, a former member of the Singapore Parliament, also the longest-serving political prisoner in the world, Dr Chia Thye Poh, received the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award.

The reason for his winning is upholding of his belief on democracy without any comprise and never losing his faith under 32 years of unjust detention without trial. An exemplary of the spirit of Nanyang University.

  

Above is his speech at the award ceremony in video, and below, his speech in English text.

Speech by Chia Thye Poh at LLG-Spirit Award Ceremony
18 December 2011

Honourable Chairman, Dear Friends:

First, I would like to thank the LLG Cultural Development Centre for giving me the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award this year.

In my life, I benefited a lot from mother-tongue education and Nanyang University, but have given back very little. Compared to those who have tirelessly worked for the mother-tongue education and Nantah, my contribution is indeed nothing. So, the honour of this award should go to all of them.

A university is not an ivory tower. Modern facilities alone do not constitute a good university. What matters is its spirit, its capacity in bringing up graduates that empathize with the people and work for the progress of mankind and world peace.

Not long ago, I came across an article about the National Southwest Associated University of China during the Resistance War against Japanese Invasion. In those difficult years, the lodgings for teaching staff were partitioned only by cloth-curtains, classes were conducted in thatched cottages, and students had to queue up for a seat in the library. Yet, the Southwest Associated University brought up not only courageous fighters against the Japanese aggressors, but also talented professionals including Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao, who later won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

The establishment of Nanyang University was, as described by Mr. Tan Lark Sye, the crystalization of the wish and courage of ‘over 3 million Chinese’ in Southeast Asia. This can be seen from the support and donation given to Nantah from all walks of life including millionaires, labourers, taxi and pedicab drivers, hawkers and artistes, etc. On the inauguration day of the university, tens of thousands of people thronged to the campus. The whole Jurong Road was a long queue of vehicles, and the motorcade of Singapore Governor Sir William Goode was delayed for more than two hours before reaching the inauguration ceremony. The purpose of establishing Nantah was to serve the society of Southeast Asia, irrespective of races. It promoted inter-cultural exchanges. Besides donating huge sum of money to Nantah, Mr. Tan Lark Sye also donated to University of Malaya and other institutes in Southeast Asia. In Nantah, there were Department of Chinese Language, Department of Modern Languages, and also Department of Malay Language. However, while Nantah was working hard to develop itself, it suffered blow after blow of attacks from the Singapore Lee Kuan Yew Administration. Mr. Tan Lark Sye, who had fought for the citizenship of Singaporeans during the colonial era, was himself deprived of citizenship by the Lee Kuan Yew Administration. In 1980, Nantah was closed. At that time, I was still in prison. One day, an official from the Singapore Home Affairs Ministry came to interrogate me. He wanted my opinion on the merger of Nantah with Singapore University. I gave a cold answer: ‘The people will never forget who closed down Nantah.’ After that, I refused to say anything more. He was unable to pursue the matter further, and the interrogation was called off.

Just as Mr. Lim Lian Geok had said, his body might be destroyed, yet his spirit would survive and flourish. Today, Nantah no longer exists, but it will always live in the heart of the people. The Spirit of Nantah has already spread and can never be stamped out. It will always inspire us to overcome all difficulties and march on.

Thank you.

Source: http://www.llgcultural.com/

LKY on the values and virtues of the old schools

Lee Kuan Yew on...

HIS YEARS OF SPEAKING HOKKIEN

'In 1955, I contested the General Election as a candidate for the Tanjong Pagar constituency. My opponent challenged me to a debate in Mandarin. I naturally refused to debate with him in a language I was completely unable to speak. His intention was to show my ignorance of the language to the majority of the people who were dialect and Mandarin-speaking. There were then few English speakers. I started learning Mandarin but discovered that it was spoken by only a small proportion of those who have gone to Chinese schools, but who often switched back to dialect when they leave their Chinese schools. The most understood language for the majority of Chinese back then was Hokkien. So I started to learn Hokkien. For more than 20 years I spoke Hokkien.'

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHINESE-EDUCATED AND ENGLISH-EDUCATED

'I had a high regard for the discipline and seriousness of purpose in life Chinese school students displayed compared to English school students. One of my most unforgettable memories was when the Chinese High School was having a sit-in led by my left wing pro-communist activists in October 1956 to protest the arrests of student leaders and closure of Chinese High School and Chung Cheng High School. The Chinese school students camped inside the school. After watching this drama of the sit-in at Chinese High School, I passed by the University of Singapore's student hostels on Dunearn Road, just around the corner from Chinese High. The contrast was stark. I could see the students - the English-educated students - enjoying themselves. They were laughing and blowing whistles, regarding the clash between the Chinese students and the police as a big joke. I thought to myself that if Singapore students all turned out like those in the university hostel, Singapore would fail. I vowed then to change this state of affairs.

This was why I decided to save the good Chinese language schools as Chinese schools switched into English as the main medium of instruction. The Chinese schools taught students to be bilingual, disciplined, and have self-confidence. The best Chinese schools thus became Special Assistance Programme schools. Over time, the English language schools like Raffles Institution, Victoria School and others have also become effective in teaching Chinese to its students. We have unified the system but in the process, also preserved some of the values and virtues of the old Chinese school system.'

From: Mr Lee Kuan Yew launches fund to boost bilingualism (Nov 29, 2011)

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_739121.html

Detractors would disagree that LKY 'saved' the Chinese schools but not 'destroyed' them.

We have "preserved SOME of the values and virtues of the old Chinese school system", says LKY. Then may I ask, which values and virtues? The 'virtues' of blind loyalty and respect to authority, of sucking up to power, or of conservatism? Where have gone the spirit of those schools, in fighting, amongst other things, for justice and equality? Only people like veteran opposition leader, Mr Low Thia Khiang can proudly say they have carried forward the "Spirit of Nantah" and by extension, the values and virtues of the defunct Chinese schools.

What 'Chinese school spirit' to talk about in LKY's 'SAP school' (or any other school) today? Maybe only to a small extent, but definitely nowhere near deserving, as a whole, of pride in that spirit.

Of course LKY does not like the Chinese school spirit which does not shy away from necessary conflict with authority. But neither does he like, apparently, the "laid-back" attitude of the English school students, those quoted by him, above. Too unpatriotic and unconcerned, I suppose. But look at how apathetic and unpatriotic we are today and tell me just how successful LKY had been? Or more seriously, if apathy were an intentional product, how true he is, to his words?

What LKY did do, is make everyone, regardless of ethnic background, adopt the 'unique Singaporean spirit' of materialism, kiasu-ism, sinkie-ism, daftness, blind obedience, mentality abnormality -- albeit with variations among different "segregated classes" (again thanks to the regime) like the elite schools, neighbourhood schools, etc. -- especially in the 60.1%.

从成汉通事件看语言族群的历史性标记

“很清楚的，以往根据种族、语言或教育背景，在（个别/群体）新加坡华人身上套上的那些帽子，都是过分笼统，甚至于是完全的、直接的偏见。我们不应该允许我们的历史变成不同族群或语言背景的人轮流压迫彼此的无休止的循环。
 
“各方退一步来审视情势，已很是时候。在自身的份上，新加坡的政治家和官方知识份子需要停止把网民看成倾向于被操纵的暴民，停止把他们归类为反行动党、反建制派等等，因为所有这样把人标记为情绪化或非理性的作法，都是非人性化且无益的。” 
 
英文全文：http://newasiarepublic.com/?p=35277 （SMRT事件中的种族主义插曲）
 
"Clearly any past branding of Chinese Singaporean according to race, language or education background is over-generalising if not outright prejudiced. Our history should not be seen as an endless cycle of people from different ethnic or language backgrounds taking turns to oppress one another.

"It is high time for all sides to take a step back. Politicians and public intellectuals in Singapore on their parts need to stop thinking of netizens as a mob that is prone to being manipulated, stop characterising them as anti-PAP, anti-establishment and so on, for any such branding of people as being emotional and irrational is also dehumanising and not helpful."

SDP的圣诞献词

新加坡民主党今年的圣诞献词：

由文森呈献：

“虽然基督教徒不构成我们社群中很大一部份，我们有时不禁被基督教圣诞的讯息所感动。它是一份富有希望的讯息，对社会中每一个人怀着希望。确实，它是一份可以为所有心地善良的人们所分享的音讯，不论是基督徒、佛教徒、道教徒、兴都徒或回教徒。

“这是和亲友们相聚共庆的时刻。向前，我们的国家和人民能够吸取圣诞的基本讯息，将获益良多。那就是正视我们当中男女老少的需要。筹备来年的计划时，让我们也为较不幸的一群花些心思。

“在我们当中，有一群不很少的人，他们活在水深火热中，但却无声与无助，以至无法从困境中脱身。我们要声援的，就是这样的人们。让我们大家共同努力，为社会中每一位人士带来更进步的生活、更顺心的环境。”