Monday, November 26, 2012

The Mother Of Gag Orders

"Minister says cannot say", was how one Nanyang pupil presented it.

It is still amazing that 51 adults have had their lives ruined, some sent to jail, others with careers hanging in limbo, and yet not a single soul has dared leak the identity of the under aged slut who caused so much pain. The school kids are not guarding anything similar, just the name of the top scorer for this year's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results. It must be real stressful for a youngster to be placed with so great a responsibility. Ironically, the 48,333 Dragon Year born students who took the test aren't acting very dragonish.

The adults, especially those running the lucrative private tuition business, are taking the gag order more seriously.  The last thing they need is to be black balled by the Ministry of Education.  They probably have to whisper the information to enquiring parents on a need to know basis, they can tell you, but they will have to shoot you aftwards.

"We don't want to be seen going against the ministry's direction," was how school staffers explained their fait accompli. After all the teachers did have a surprise 8 percent increment recently, more than sufficient to ensure their compliance. And buy their silence. The odd principal may be busting with pride the hard work yielded results, but he/she knows too well what the Minister giveth, the Minister can taketh away.

So what's so scary about the Education Minister that his very utterance can strike fear into the hearts of the young and the old? Perhaps it is the unspoken atmosphere of oppression that is pervasive in our society.  Try to get too emotional, and you risk someone throwing everything at you, drag out the case, throw everything in the mud... and exposed to (adverse) media publicity.

What is approved for public dissemination is that 63.1 percent of the school leavers qualified for the Express stream, a slight improvement over last year's performance. An express ride to a society of muted adults where it is perfectly normal to be kia-su, kia-si and kia-cheng hu.

20 comments:

  1. Sad but true article

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  2. There is something higher at stake here: international norms, referring to the sex worker you mentioned.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm, never thought of that. So the under aged girl is a foreign talent?

      Delete
  3. The rest of your article is self-contradictory , as regards whether they reveal the top student or not.

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  4. It won't stop students who have their own blogs to share their joy right?
    It won't stop the proud parents to post their children's results on facebook with their friends right?
    Unless they are also stepping in on those private areas...then is not hard to see why we inculcate the 'emotionless' in our young children..start where you get the top score, but must show a great poker face ..

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  5. The gag order could have been given because the top scorer or scorers are foreign students sponsored by S'porean taxpayers. Imagine the political backlash! Since when did the MIWs lessen any stress on us when all along we "needed" spurs in our hides.

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  6. Even the winners of Shengshiong lucky draws consist of mostly foreign names.

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  7. Vote Opposition and fear PAP no more.

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  8. Ministers' get big salary increment.
    Is it also a secret?
    So PSLE high scorers also a secret lah.
    Same, same.

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  9. Isn't it amazing that after 51 and counting, in this age of internet freedom of expression, that the bitch's identity is still not leaked? What did it take to enforce the blanket silence I wonder? In imperial china, the emperor would have to threaten the "nine kinship exterminations" for similar silence. In this red dot, I regularly receive forwarded emails critical of the leegime from old and a few young men email with a BIG disclaimer asking the recipient not to forward the email, so there you have, there won't ever be any electoral accidents in a kia cheng hu nation!

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  10. what's your point?

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  11. An attempt to identify all the anonymous bloggers?
    Co-opting Tatler into the elite establishment?
    So as to discredit Tatler?

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    Replies
    1. Don't be deceived that you are anonymous bloggers/commenters. Someone out there already has a system in place to track down our IPs, else how do they identify some bloggers making racists remarks if you recollect some time ago?

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  12. This is a very clear example of our PAP Ministers trying to overdo everything, changing policies too frequently and then backtracks when it backfires politically.

    Basically each Minister trying to outdo the previous one to prove they are worth the million-dollar salary they are being paid with least regards being paid about how each change will affect the students themselves.

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  13. SingaporeMemoryProject - blogger since Nov 2012? You got to be kidding!

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  14. At the tender age of 12, 37% of these very young are sieved out and told that they are slow and have to go for "normal" or "vocational" education. If people are your greatest asset, why such involuntary selection at such an immature age? Plse is flawed and should be discontinued. Why can't people who are good in language/maths/science be in blue collar jobs such as electrician, mechanics, carpenters ,etc....?

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    Replies
    1. A fascist political party like the Nazis
      are always trying to define the best.
      And to subsidize the best.
      Strangely, the definition of bestest always looks like the people in power.

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    2. "Normal" education for under 37%, really? What's so normal about it?

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    ReplyDelete