Singapore's Education Bureaucracy at its Best! When Bureaucratic Efficiency Makes Children Less Safe at School

For anyone who has followed my blog, they would have realised that Agnes Wong, also known as my PGFNB, is a professional pain. This 44-year old woman has made it an art form to use her self-inflicted suffering to get her way with things. Having said that of her, she helped me discover the Almighty through her kids - Nicolette a 14-year old sweetie and Marcus a 10-year old little hug bucket. Despite being born from awful parents (they're father is even worse than the mother), the kids have turned out surprisingly normal. Although I never had the chance to develop a parental sort of relationship with them the way I had with Thui and Yooga, I have soft spot for them and it irks me when people go out of their way to make life difficult for them.

Anyway, life has decided to stick one poker at poor Nicolette who until recently was doing quite well at Outram Secondary School, the same school that produced the late President Wee Kim Wee and current Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.

It all started on Wednesday 6 October, 2010. Nicolette and her a friends were asked to look for an 18-year old boy who was supposed to be in their class. The girls sent an sms to the boy who didn't take too kindly to being sms'ed. A few nasty smses were traded between the boy and the girls and finally the boy received an sms telling him,"You should play more polo, those only balls you'll ever have."

By 1pm, the boys mother stormed into the Principle's office claiming that one of the teacher's had sent a vulgar message to the son. The Principle had to investigate. The teachers mobile showed she didn't send this message. The investigation went further in an effort to prove that she didn't instigate the girls into sending the message. The mother insisted on being present at the investigation and the Principle agreed with this. Mother was present when the head of the art department and the teacher in question started talking to the girls. The offending message was discovered and Nicolette confessed that she sent the message (she was one of five).

Tempers started to flare. The mother yelled at her in Mandarin and Nicolette told her that she didn't understand. The Head of Art Department claimed that she calmed things down and then left the room. Upon leaving the room, the mother started calling Nicolette names (slut, bitch etc). The teacher thought she could calm the situation by telling Nicolette to apologise, which she did. The mother told her that the apology was not accepted and she would pay with more than just saying sorry. The mother made a call and a group of unknown people were seen to gather in the school corridor.

The discipline master instructed the girls to go home in groups and instructed the teacher to walk Nicolette home. The teacher not only took her home but took her to the police station to make a report, which she did. After making it, she found that one had been made against her for verbal abuse.

Both Nicolette and the school management agree on this rough outline of events. At this stage, the main point here is that it must have been traumatic. Let's put it this way, most grown adults feel shaken when they are yelled at. It is traumatic when someone tells you that you need to "pay" and you find that there are people hanging around waiting for you to do I don't know what. I don't think I would be wrong to say that the fear most of us would feel in the situation would be multiplied by a 14-year old who's never really been in rough situations.

What I find troubling is the reaction of the school management to this incident. Yes, I agree that they have to investigate. I agree with the fact that they have to give both sides a fair hearing. What I disagree with is what they seem to be doing with the facts and the solution that they are trying to work towards - we're looking for a cover up.

Let's start with the fact that a serious breach security took place. A parent had a chance to scream and even threaten the safety of a 14-year old girl on school grounds. The head of art admits that the situation became tense between the mother and Nicolette. Instead of staying in the room to control the situation, she left and abdicated responsibility to a junior staff. On their own, these incidents are serious.

The fact that the mistakes were made is bad but if people act to remedy it, a lot of problems can be averted. You can even forgive the mistake if appropriate action is taken quickly. You would have expected the school to make a police report. An incident had taken place on their grounds and making a police report would have registered that they were serious about not allowing such incidents to happen.

It also doesn't take a genius to realise that Nicolette and the boy in question will never be able to work in the same environment. One of them has to be transfered out of the place. As I've said earlier, the girl is traumatised by the incident and since the boy is the root of it, she's more likely that he is to suffer from emotional trauma from being around him.

How did the school react? Well, to quote the Vice-Principle,"Moving forward, we need to get Nicolette back into the main stream." The Principle says he will provide assurance for Nicolette by giving the boy a "Stern Warning" to have "Nothing to do with Nicolette," and if he breaches that,"Internal Disciplinary Measures" would be taken.

Erm, let's work this one out. This boy sent his mother down to abuse Nicolette. She knows it. Then this 18-year old also happens to be in the form class next to her and they're even in the same art class. So how is he going to have "Nothing to do with her."

Then what exactly is an internal disciplinary measure? I'm all for schools having their own methods to deal with naughty children. However, this isn't an issue of naughty children. This issue involves a criminal one. Police reports have been made and so you really can't just leave it at "Internal Disciplinary actions."

The Principle's lack of commitment to solving the problems was compounded by the Vice-Principle and the Head of Department. The Head of Art was quick to defend her position. She kept reminding us that she cooled things down and she was unaware of things when she left the room. Erm, sorry, you had the feeling things were going to happen - you, as the senior person should not be abdicating responsibility to your junior staff.

The Vice-Principle was really stupid. He talked about bringing Nicolette back into the main stream. She would be given full use of the school councilor. All of this, however, would be difficult if Agnes escalated things by reporting the incident to the Ministry of Education and her Member of Parliament. Er, excuse me, a police report has already been made, there by showing external parties were already involved. What did he expect her to do? Sit back and accept the assurance that her daughter would be safe in the place she had been threatened? Common sense would suggest otherwise.

The worst part of this incident was the fact that the teacher who took Nicolette to the police station was taken to task for it. They questioned her about why she was so fond of Nicolette and suggested that this was something inappropriate.

Once again, let's start with the obvious. One of the school's student had been a potentially dangerous situation. What exactly did they expect the teacher to do? Walk her home, pat her on the back and tell her that it would be OK? I don't know but I think common sense would have shown that the teacher would have been neglecting her basic responsibility if she had not accompanied Nicolette to the police station.

Seriously, I don't what's going on here but it seems to me that the bureaucrats want to cover this incident to save their hides. Nobody seems terribly upset by the fact that a 14-year old was threatened on school grounds? It's just a case of shut this up, get things over with and move on. Erm, how exactly do they expect Nicolette to move on if they're not doing anything serious about taking care of her?

Nicolette is not my natural daughter and I never really had the chance to get close to her, I'm usually closer to Marcus. My relationship with her mother sometimes descends into acrimonious terms. However, this shouldn't detract from the fact that this decent teenager has been traumatised and the system which is supposed to help her is busy screwing her royally so that someone's arse will be covered.

I'm not against people keeping their jobs. What I really loath is the fact that in this situation, the people here are so involved in trying to keep their jobs that they're forgetting to do their jobs.

I'm a Total Racist - A Human Racist

Anything Malaysia can do, Singapore can do better, says this smug Singaporean when it comes to talking about cross-straits relations. If Malaysians can get worked up over the term Allah and other Arabic terms by non-Muslims, we in Singapore can get worked up over race. Well, not actually. In Malaysia people get excited. Here in ultra-squeaky happy Singapore, the government tells us what to get excited by and the latest thing to get excited by is race or at least the race you call yourself on your National Identity Card (or NRIC as we call it). Now, you don't necessarily have to follow your father's race, you can actually chose what to call yourself. Someone even pointed out, you could be a double-barreled race.

I used to think that having race on your identity card was silly and lead to racial profiling. But then in the post-911 world, the Americans, the world's most liberal, easy-going folk on the planet decided it was acceptable to profile people as long as they were Semites...ooopps, I mean Arabs. So I guess I have to be trendy and accept that it's perfectly OK to be a total racist.

Let's face it, we're all racist to some degree or another but it is something highly impolite to admit to (Unless you're Israel and kicking the shit out of Arabs). When the South Africans lived under Apartheid we were most upset that anyone had the gall to admit to being racist. Being a racist is like farting, we loath to admit to being it.

I am a racist of the worst sort. If anyone has read this blog, they'd suspect that I had a problem with nearly every colour of the rainbow. I find Caucasians to have big mouths and no balls, Chinese to be inherent gamblers, Jews to be world class manipulators, Indians to be talkative rascals and Malays to be a little too fun loving and so on. My relationship with the love of my life started with her asking me, "Are you a racist?" Ironically, this racist here happens to have relatives of quite a few races. My two stepfathers are Caucasian and my Aunt is married to South African Jew. At the risk of going into sexual bragging, I've also had a sexual experience with a woman of every colour (White, black and yellow)

So how is it that me with all my racial hang-ups could bring myself to go to bed with a woman of different colours? I mean sex is a very personal issue as is ones views on race. I mean there are people who claim they would NEVER sleep with someone of a different race and throughout the years, sexual fetishes do get wrapped up in racial ideals - for example, Black men and Oriental women are supposed to have an image of fulfiling certain fantasies. I've heard of White girls proudly claim that, "Once you go black there's no going back." I've also had an American chap well me with some pride,"It's been a while since I fucked a round-eye."

Sex and race also get twinned up with dominance. A Finnish friend of mine discovered that Black people got very racist to him when he was dating a black girl. Some how black men became heroic when they dated hot blondes but got very upset to the point of being agressive when it came to seeing a blond guy with a black girl. Here in Asia there's something quite similar. My first shock of returning home came when I encountered a group of expats who got very upset with me for going back with a white woman (who was admitedly 12-years older to boot) - these being the same people who thought they were walking viagra ads for having a few Asian girls by their side.

Let's face it, race and sex do get entwinned and views on race and sex depend on your gender. But what can you do about it?

One is to develop understanding. I dated a black girl (girl would be the wrong term, she's 12-years older) once and during the course of the relationship found that skin colour was merely incidental. The relationship started because we liked each other and ended because we basically stopped liking each other. Race is noticable when you don't like someone but not when you do. Hence, I rant and rave about colours but seem to have friends of every colour.

In the Name of Allah:Yahweh and so on.

When you live in a secular republic, you sometimes forget that religious sensitivities are actually very sensitive. Singapore's government has had a habit of clamping down on anything that smacks of religious or racial provocation. Muslim school girls cannot cover their heads when they go to secular schools but if you want to write about gassing the Malay community, you could find yourself in jail. Say what you like about Singapore but I like the fact that this is a place where you can have a Church, Hindu, Taoist,Buddhist temples and a mosque all within walking distance of each other. Say what you like about Singapore being a stuffy place that suppresses things (a lot gets suppressed), it's one of the few places where sacred festivals get merged. You get things like Gongxiraya or Deeparaya whenever Chinese New Year or Depavali (Diwali to North Indians) happen on the same day as Hari Raya (Eid in the Arab World)

So when you grow up in this environment, it's hard to figure out why people get worked up over what sounds like a small issue. During the Danish Cartoon issue, the average Singaporean couldn't see the European point of view that this was a freedom of speech issue or the Muslim view that was a point of respecting religion. To us, both sides were unnecessarily stubborn. We thought the Muslims were getting worked up over a bunch of cartoons for nothing while teh Europeans were just being arrogant in their insistence over the right of the papers to publish anything.

Anyway, it's the story of religious harmony has taken a slightly different tone across the Causeway in Malaysia. Apparently some churches have been attacked because a recent high court ruling has allowed the use of the name of God, "Allah" to be used by non-Muslims. For me I find this a little disturbing.

I've always understood the Malay Muslim community to be peace loving. Generally speaking, Malay Muslims in Singapore are friendlier than their Chinese counterparts. I also find Malay majority Malaysia to be more relaxed and less stressful than Chinese dominated Singapore.

I find it strange to listen to Westerners talk about the violent nature of Islam or how Islam represses people. Anyone who thinks Islam is violent should come over to Malaysia and see how the average Malay conducts his daily life - it's the most simple and peaceful thing you'd see. By contrast, the Chinese get unnecessarily aggressive over 20 cents.

So given the inherent peaceful nature of Malay Muslim culture, why is everyone getting worked up over the term "Allah?" As far I have experienced the argument against using the word "Allah"or any the common sayings in the Arab world like "Salaam" (peace) or "Insh Allah" (God Willing) by non-Muslims amounts to mocking the religion. On the personal front, I just need to be aware of who you speak to. In the Arab world and dealing with Arabs, I use such phrases because they look on it as an acceptance and appreciation of their culture. I don't with my Malay friends.

Let's leave aside my personal interactions and look at the theological premise of non-Muslims using the term, "Allah." Why is it blasphemy to use the term "Allah," in a Christian service for example? I can't think of one that comes to mind.

Islam, does not claim to be a new religion with a New God for people to worship. If you read the arguments of Islamic scholars, Islam is not a NEW RELIGION but a FULFILLMENT of the current covenant with God, which is outlined in the Jewish Torah and Christian Gospel. As far as Islam is concerned, "Allah," is the same as "Yahweh" in the Torah.

Theological conflicts between Christianity and Islam come not so much from differences between religion but between the disagreements of interpretations of the same God. Christians revere Christ as part of God and see the Gospel as a record of Jesus's life. By contrast, Islam reveres Jesus as a Prophet of God (as opposed to being God) and sees the Koran as the Word of God. However, if you look at both books, they both agree of quite a lot.

Everyone agrees that there is the One God - Allah and Yahweh being the same God expressed in different linguistic terms. It is actually correct for Jews and Christians to use the term Allah when speaking in the Arabic world or even in Malay language communications. Jews, Christians and Muslims agree that the God they worship is the same one.

Hence, I wonder what is going on over this argument about the use of the word Allah. It's definitely not a theological dispute. Nor is it about people who care about Islam. To care of Islam, you need some understanding of its theology just as you do about any other religion. I suspect trouble makers must be up to no good.

Starting the Year

First week of the year has come and gone and it feels like before I know it the year will be over. However, it's not been a bad start to the year. On the second day of the year I started out by persuading Agnes that it was time to part company. The straw that broke the camel's back so to speak was her acting as if I was cheating her of major amounts of money when I asked for $19 back. I had enough, the bloody woman couldn't say thank you when I paid off a legal bill of $500 and the last thing I wanted to do was to place more pennies in her hand. Finally told her that I had enough of her ingratitude and that if she spent more time talking about her kids instead of the rich people trying to bed her instead of the usual group of 20-year olds, she might find people more inclined to deal with her.

So, there you have it, I started on a healthy note to removing a major parasite from my life and I think things are starting to clear. I now have a talented half in my life who comes with an intelligent attachment. The Talented Half needs encouragement to exhibit her talents and I am doing what I can to encourage her. My regular readers should actually read hers and even comment on the things that she says. She has what you would call a refreshingly honest style of writing that we don't seem to get in Singapore. I mean our national writer is obsessed with women with bound feet and some sentimental age (though to be fair she seems to have more balls than all the men combined when it comes to political commentary) and ghost stories. So it's nice to read about someone or read someone's thoughts about the going ons in life.

Anyway, the year 2010 is starting out like 2009, just as 2009 started out like 2008. Am in the process of collecting money and trying to negotiate new contracts. I hope this is the year where I start doing things like litigation support and a bit more crisis management. Started out the year by getting interviewed in a tabloid about a publicity stunt organised by SingPost, the national mail carrier. Don't think I'll make too many friends with their corporate communications people, but do think PR people forget that the job is called "PUBLIC RELATIONS" and not "PUBLICITY."

I do agree with the fact that 90 percent of the job seems to be about chasing reporters for stories but I think we forget that getting the story published is only part of the game. The game is called "Public Relations" because our objectives are to build relations and not just publicity for the sake of it. I remember reading someone who described Donald Trump as being well known - but a well known idiot. PR consultants sometimes have this terrible habit of being so focused on the publicity aspect of the job, they forget that there are times when the client should not be in the media shouting things out.

Anyway, this should be an interesting year. By tradition the Year of the Tiger is turbulent. If you look at it this way:

1 - Both World Wars Started in Year of the Tiger.

2 - US Presidents have had lousy luck in the Tiger Year:

a - Nixon resigned in 74

b - Regan had to face inquiries into IranContra in 86

c - Clinton got impeached in 98.

If you look at the patterns, Barak Obama might be consulting a Fung Shui master just as Nancy Regan used to consult astrologers.

For me, the Tiger Year is usually volatile too. I got born in 74, 86 was a lousy year in academic performance and 98 was a year I was in-love with another parasite called Adelene, a Malaysian Chinese girl who stayed in with me in Dean Street for a while. OK, to be fair to Adelene, a few Caucasians found her attractive (as opposed to Agnes whom nobody found interesting) and the girl had a talent for cooking up good French food. It's amazing how much shit one can put up with when one is well feed.

I mean the French have a talent for making politics in the Western World more interesting. The Americans assume leadership, the Brits follow blindly and the French have a panache for throwing a spanner into the works. But you have to hand it to them. French is spoken by very few people in the world but somehow it's accepted as the world's second language and while people assume you speak English, they assume you are educated if you can speak French. But we put up with the French because they have one incredible talent - food and wine. I mean, learning a few basic phrases of the language is no issue if you get to savor the cheeses they make.

Having said that, I think the same is said of the Chinese. I mean I found Taiwan and Taipei in particular to be a dirty, crowded city but so what when you get to deal with people who have enough imagination to come up with 20 varieties of ice tea, each of them tasting spectacular. I'm Westernised in a lot of ways but I still go back to Chinese, particularly Cantonese cuisine as home food. Having said that I do love Italian and Indian food amongst other cuisine ...at one stage I was even munch suji with the African boys down in Little India. The Nigerians could never quite figure me out. No right thinking Chinese would sit with them and enjoy a good meal. In the end I think they figured it was something sexual - they would always say,"You like our food! Get Power like African!" I think they may have a point. There must obviously be enough Chinamen eating Suji and Obusi soup - more and more scam mails seem to come from China as opposed to Africa. Before you know it, I'll be inviting the lot of you to invest in this blog....

Still one should not be too mean to those who scam people. I mean, we have Citizens of Caucasia coming over here because, well there are plenty of idiots willing to give them the time of the day. So what does it say about the rest of us?