Why is 154th Hiding Heroic Deeds by Ordinary Sporns?

[makapaaa]

Apr 10, 2010

Not enough books on Singapore heroes for kids

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MY TWO primary school children and I love to read books about ordinary people of good character who contribute to society. But there are hardly any age-appropriate books in libraries or bookshops for children to read about ordinary, upstanding Singaporeans.
We read or hear about them only when books or reviews are published - and only in adult versions.
Primary school pupils learn and hear about war heroine Elizabeth Choy, her work and suffering from a handful of pages, and only during their school years. There should also be more coverage and a few more pages on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for school children.
History-wealthy nations like the United States are awash with publications for different age groups. For instance, books and biographies on Martin Luther King, whose civil rights movement changed American history, and Harriet Tubman, a slave who risked her life to help others, are aplenty for all age groups.
The children's section of local bookshops and libraries have so many more heroes and heroines of foreign countries than of Singaporeans.
When children have little or no access to Singapore stories and ordinary folk's lives through books, is it any surprise that they do not identify with the heartland as they are more exposed to people of other countries?
It is good that through social studies in school, children are exposed to Singapore history. It will be a lot better if stories of Singapore heroes and ordinary folk for children are aplenty in the form of books.
Amanda Kwan (Madam)

 

[Shi Jin]

Heroic deeds by ordinary Singaporeans only serve to embarass the self-proclaimed elite who talk alot but do very little.

 

[Watchman]

Heroic deeds by ordinary Singaporeans only serve to embarass the self-proclaimed elite who talk alot but do very little.

Yeah man . It makes them look bad .
Plus heroic deeds reserved for pencil pushers scholars to gain publicity at the right time.

 

[Received_by_Kings]

Hmm, in history books Lt. Adnan and Lim Bo Seng were the national war-time heroes and patriots who died thanks to the Japs.

 

[yellow_people]

Amanda Kwan has provided valuable insight into why our Ah Bengs/Lians grow up sterile and can't help themselves. Has Ms Kwan not heard of the WWW? Its only a mouse click away. Why can't she help herself and her kids and look to the govt like a nanny to provide books to read?

Is this the real reason why local Beng children are losing out to FT kids in school? Grown-ups who are either too lazy or lack the initiative to help themselves. Is that why employers rather employ foreigners?

Apr 10, 2010

Not enough books on Singapore heroes for kids

<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
MY TWO primary school children and I love to read books about ordinary people of good character who contribute to society. But there are hardly any age-appropriate books in libraries or bookshops for children to read about ordinary, upstanding Singaporeans.
We read or hear about them only when books or reviews are published - and only in adult versions.
Primary school pupils learn and hear about war heroine Elizabeth Choy, her work and suffering from a handful of pages, and only during their school years. There should also be more coverage and a few more pages on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for school children.
History-wealthy nations like the United States are awash with publications for different age groups. For instance, books and biographies on Martin Luther King, whose civil rights movement changed American history, and Harriet Tubman, a slave who risked her life to help others, are aplenty for all age groups.
The children's section of local bookshops and libraries have so many more heroes and heroines of foreign countries than of Singaporeans.
When children have little or no access to Singapore stories and ordinary folk's lives through books, is it any surprise that they do not identify with the heartland as they are more exposed to people of other countries?
It is good that through social studies in school, children are exposed to Singapore history. It will be a lot better if stories of Singapore heroes and ordinary folk for children are aplenty in the form of books.
Amanda Kwan (Madam)

 

[yellow_people]

Amanda Kwan has provided valuable insight into why our Ah Bengs/Lians grow up sterile and can't help themselves. Has Ms Kwan not heard of the WWW? Its only a mouse click away. Why can't she help herself and her kids and look to the govt like a nanny to provide books to read?

Is this the real reason why local Beng children are losing out to FT kids in school? Grown-ups who are either too lazy or lack the initiative to help themselves. Is that why employers rather employ foreigners?

Apr 10, 2010

Not enough books on Singapore heroes for kids

<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
MY TWO primary school children and I love to read books about ordinary people of good character who contribute to society. But there are hardly any age-appropriate books in libraries or bookshops for children to read about ordinary, upstanding Singaporeans.
We read or hear about them only when books or reviews are published - and only in adult versions.
Primary school pupils learn and hear about war heroine Elizabeth Choy, her work and suffering from a handful of pages, and only during their school years. There should also be more coverage and a few more pages on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for school children.
History-wealthy nations like the United States are awash with publications for different age groups. For instance, books and biographies on Martin Luther King, whose civil rights movement changed American history, and Harriet Tubman, a slave who risked her life to help others, are aplenty for all age groups.
The children's section of local bookshops and libraries have so many more heroes and heroines of foreign countries than of Singaporeans.
When children have little or no access to Singapore stories and ordinary folk's lives through books, is it any surprise that they do not identify with the heartland as they are more exposed to people of other countries?
It is good that through social studies in school, children are exposed to Singapore history. It will be a lot better if stories of Singapore heroes and ordinary folk for children are aplenty in the form of books.
Amanda Kwan (Madam)

 

[Einfield]

Do very little is an understatement.

LYY and Prata man both served the Japanese occupation forces while the rest like Force 136 fight and gave up their lives.

It doesn't matter when others sing praise to him and call him father of Singapore, to me, a traitor is a traitor, period.

Heroic deeds by ordinary Singaporeans only serve to embarass the self-proclaimed elite who talk alot but do very little.

 

[batman1]

What about the "heroic deeds" of ex-Japanese collaborators and translators ???

 

[cooleo]

>> There should also be more coverage and a few more pages on Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew for school children.<<

Like how he worked as a translator for the Japanese?

 

[QXD]

WTF, Elisabeth Choy a "hero"?

She was just an early SPG/groupie/elite that could speak English coherently and just got unlucky enough to be tortured by the Japs and live to brag about it...

Lim Bo Seng, the one true hero...

 

[tonychat]

In the land of sinkie cowards, there isn't much room for heroic deeds. If the children want to know more about cowardly deeds, just get out of their house and look around, tons of such knowledge instantly.

 

[makapaaa]

The FAPee TRAITORS even "demoted" WWII Hero Lim Bo Seng 3 years ago!


http://www.petitiononline.com/sghero/petition.html

___________Say NO to Posthumous Demotion of National Hero Major-General Lim Bo Seng[/SIZE] <! ----------------- >

<CENTER> </CENTER>
<CENTER>[SIZE=-1]View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition [/SIZE]</CENTER>

[SIZE=-1][/SIZE]​

<HR width="20%">

[SIZE=+1]To: Prime Minister of Singapore[/SIZE]
We refer to the theft of the storyboard at the memorial of WWII War Hero Major-General Lim Bo Seng and his subsequent demotion to the rank of Major by the Singapore Government in the replacement storyboard (see letter dated 19 May 07 in the Straits Times below). We find the reason given for the demotion to be unacceptable and insulting as it is worldwide practice (including that in Singapore) to address fallen uniformed officers with their posthumous rank. This is to show respect and gratitude to the sacrifices they made for the people.

Till death, Major-General Lim did not yield to the enemy after being captured and tortured while many took the rewarding way out to collaborate and conspire with the enemy. Major-General Lim was himself sold out to the enemy by traitors (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Bo_Seng). The readiness by Major-General Lim to serve and lay down his life for his people in an age in which ministers and elite civil servants need to be paid tens of millions to prevent corruption should be held as a shining example for the current and future generations of Singaporeans to follow.

We, citizens of Singapore and concerned individuals, reject the frivolous demotion of Major-General Lim Bo Seng to the rank of Major by the Singapore Government. Not only is this an act of gross disrespect towards a national hero, it is also a blatant attempt to rewrite history. We insist that posthumous rank of Major-General be restored in the storyboard at the memorial for Major-General Lim Bo Seng.

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May 19, 2007
Lim Bo Seng a major when he led Force 136

I REFER to the letter, 'WWII hero Lim Bo Seng 'demoted'' (ST, May 15), by Mr Nicholas Joshua Law.
The information on the storyboard erected near the Lim Bo Seng Memorial reads: 'The memorial was built in 1954 in memory of Major Lim Bo Seng who led Force 136, an anti-Japanese resistance movement.'

When war hero Lim Bo Seng led Force 136, he was then a major in rank. It was only posthumously that he was accorded the rank of major-general by the nationalist government in China in 1946.

Seen in this context, the statement is factually accurate.

The storyboard is part of the Civic District Trail, which was officially launched in 1999 to allow participants to learn more about the area's historic landmarks. The information was verified by a working committee comprising historians from the former Singapore History Museum (now known as the National Museum of Singapore), archivists from the National Archives of Singapore and other government officials.

We hope we have addressed Mr Law's concern. We thank him for his feedback and hope to see more members of the public embark on our Civic District Trail.

Walter Lim
Director
Corporate Communications & Industry Promotion
National Heritage Board

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Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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