party! january to june 2008

8/9/2019 PArty! January to June 2008

1/16


2/16

Table of ContentsEditorial NotePolitics in Singapore UniversitiesGeraldine Mol:StU option poIicy-student influence on school pdicyMyanmar: Of Riots and RevolutionsDaniel SohMyanmar rlats-a step towards democracy?Can the World of the Future be a Woman 's World?Koon Hvng LengMoving towards e g o ~ l a r i o n gender relotiOnsFacts: Members of the ParliamentUmlhiHeonLittle known facts about our potiticol representative'SMarginalia: A Break from the Routine and the MundaneGroce LeePAye serves to chal lenge the stereotypical notion thot PA is aduIiCCA!Co-Editorlionel LohSub -EditorAugustus LoiContributorA/vinLim

I I Table 01 Contents


3/16

Editor's NoteA new semester is that chance to start alresh: reconsideryour slance. improve that CAP. tak.e a new direction.and put past demons to rest. The political p/Ocess rarelytakes a Christmas break.; it moves along - year in, yearout. " connects the present with the post. In politics.abrupt change is called "revolution." Our goal for thePa rty magazine in 2008 is to make that break - even aswe are hopelessly corded 10 our pmt archives. In this is-sue of Party. we explore politics 0> an avenue for changeand as a means by which individuals and whole socie tiesare empowered through political participation tochange the sta tus quota.Covering local and international fronliers . Parly challenges you to think beyond the accepted norms andcontemptate the possibility 01 how politics can be onavenue by which 10 change the existing political statusquo. Tha t politics is 01 paramount imparlance need notreiterated for power and politics permeates our lives.You might have perused a past issue of Party. or youmight not. Whatever the case may be, we urge you toexpect change. Expect strong editorial opinions; expectto be challenged. The NUS Political Association aims toconfront you with the pertinent issues of the political day.These are its first steps.UonellohPublications DirectOr33rdMC

2 / Editor's Note


4/16

Politics in SingaporeUniversities,7"- ....

Many articles were-written to the c h o n ~ e In the S/ Uoption policy. The question then Is whethe' this firststep in wtH,ch students have a soy in the odmlnisfro-tion signifies the growth of students In the polmealorena. ; , growth, slmilor to the child In the back-ground vocalizing his first cry.';In general, student politics in Srngopot'e unlvetsltles ore lor leucommol\mol than thei, ovelseos counterparts. Reporb on 'N 'denl octlvbm In other c


5/16

a S/ U option polIcy lot the AY21)07/ 08 cohort,w h l l ~ old poIky In e f t ~ c l lot cohoris admittedprior to AY21)07/ oa.In to the m s s l v outcry over the perc&lved Injusticeover the c hange In St U option policy. NUS Studenh ' Un IonExecullve m m f t l (NUS} U-EXCO) set up a and fa l um on the IVLE to gather ' ~ e d b a c k rrom Ji'le studenl populolion. Many voiced their slands and opInloM strongly agalnslthe onangement as they I ~ I I It was to I h ~ m andplaced them at a dIstinct dIsadvantage against the new co-hort 01 student,. After several weeks 01 g o l l a l lthe NU SSU EXCO and I h ~ U n l v ~ r s l l y l h ~ outcome was thai:1) AI underg;aduates. r e g a r d l ~ 01 cohort. to eXFrdse St Uoptions aft .. te release oIresulh. This Inc ludes thO se In theirgraduating semester. 2) A one-off exercise where seniots will be able J see thegrades 01 theli' prevIously exerd sed SU opllons un"der the oldpoIcy and re lrael them tot use lor modules you are cUllenllypursuing ot Inlend to pun ue under the new policy.I" Though s o m ~ studenh were slill unhappyth S/ U-Ing 01 previ ously notS/Ued modules cannol be o l l o w most studenh: l ~ ; : ~ : : ! ~ ~ : ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ; : ; ; e ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ r ~ ~ ~ d : t ~ ~ ; ' : : : ce !hot studenh wield over poUcy-making In NUS. That stu-denh can and have made Changes In IChool poIcies. To eldtapakJfe "om this Incident. " Is perhops reosonable toconclude then thGt students In SIngapore unlvenilles do have",a voice . ThIs voke Is operationalised via a c l t v ~ particIpation,and organlzatlonot bodies. In this COM NUSSU EXCO and theabllty 01 this voice to bring abolJl change should not be underestlJ"Cted.

4 / Politics In Singapore Universities


6/16


7/16

, yo P l"hot Is needed Is Old., and orgcriIoIon Acele l . Id fhe Held of political science IcJbe\!td thes of oc oJ'lmoi4tres undergoing revolutions Into 3 main. There Is a ' ~ o I u t i o n a r v party (those protesting), a reP9r1)t (those against the protestl (lnd, attempting 10

med the dlffer, nces In ldeab4 between them, a relormls!party. ooGtc&.r;'ol the revolutionary ,Ituotlon Is largely af-fected c t l C between these three portles. In condl-~ : ~ ~ ~ s t e ~ ~ e : : : 1 ' : : ~ ~ ' ; ~ ~ n ~ ~ H ~ : e ~ ~ ~ : ~ = e ~ ~ r : ~ ~ ~ 1 i t: m a ~ e ~ ~ s ~ e ~ ; e e n : s ~ r : o ; h a ~ : ; : : l I o n 10Two juxto 9 hlSI:! aul studIes wllliurther Inush-ote this.The Chine u t l o n led by Moo Zedong was ( I proceduralmoslerple . gon hom the ' eol(lnl Movement Ins tiNte,which wo a ed In 1924 - 1926 01 on educational Instltu-Han 10 sp d Ih beliefs of communism 10 over 800 cadets.Thes. co wele then spread throughOYI China la further In~ ~ : ~ e ~ O : ~ : : ~ a : v ~ ~ ~ o : ~ ~ s ! ~ : ; : ~ ~ ~ T : ~ : : ~ ~ ~ ; 9 ~ ~Comparatively, the lonten R I I o n ! o e d by aglooan peas.~ ~ ~ ~ : a a ~ ~ e : ~ ~ f ~ : ~ V : ~ ; C ; r : ~ ; : ~ ' : : : Ing ~ o ! o n l a l 6pPfesslon on religious Issues, there was alad o ! coordination within the "'W lon. Therelote. II we. dec

fe , efore the Outch reUnqulstiilild conlrol over IndoMsia.e lormer detlneates the 01 meticulous planningand decorum. whUe the laller's Ii! can be atlfllu!ed to al a c k o l c e n t r a l o r g m ,ethan , a d e6/ Myon : Of ots anct1tevolutions


8/167/ Myanmar: Of Riots and Revolutions


9/16

Can the World of theFuture be a Woman 'sWorld?~ G o n e are the doys where the male status quo wasthe standard to which femoles should aspire.- Decca Altfcenhead..... dat9rnen1 ren.cts a paradlgm shift towards the two genders today . " Is perhaps refie


10/16

applicant's prolessional eHque lte and experHse, ra!tler !tIanon gender relaled altr1butes such as brvIe strength. For In-stance. power steering has opened the doon to lemale busdrivers. and wI!tI Increasing machinery used In the wor1cplace.lemole technlclam and engineers ore common sl-ghts. Ergo.given !tIat ttlere are lesser and lesser Jobs requiring man 's In-nate advantage over women 01 strengttl and stamina, !tieworld 01 thetuture Is a woman 's one.Furthermore, !tie Increase In the standard 01 livIng In many de-veloped countries often translates to a greater lIteracy rateamongst the populaHon. This greater Uteracy olten empowerswomen. sparking off a global phenomenon In which a greaternumber of women are parHc1paHng In the economic sphere.As such, women are Increasingly being recognlled by socIetyas signlftcant conlr1butors toward the totallomlly Income. ThIschallenges !tie hegemonic Ideology 01 men being the solebfeodwlnnen 01 the fomily.As men are often no longer the sole economic provider oIlhe10mlly. !tIelr bargaining cloulln Ihe power dynamics within !tielamny Is curtailed. Hence. Ihe balance of power regardingdomesHc Issues such as divorce Increasingly lavors thewomen. In Singapore. lor example. women arll awarded atleost 30% 01 malr1monlal assets In divorce cases. This is In rec -ognlHon 01 their Increased conltlbuHon towards the lamlly unit.I postulate that In view 01 women's Increased economic con-Ir1bullon to Ihe family Income. this percentage Is highly likelyto Increase.Therefore. wilt1 ellisHng laws protecllng the Interests 01 womenand !till possiblnty 01 the enactment 01 more leglsiaHons toprotect woman 's basic social rights. !tie lvIure can safely so ldto be lemaill .Nevertheless, It remains a gross slmpllflcallon to conclude Ihat

9 / Can the World afthe Future be a Woman's World


11/16

the world of the fUNre will be a waman's one for the reality ofthe modern workplace. as well as the situation In the develop-Ing world loA 10 suggest this. Empll1cally. slotlstlcs do not indlcote a more egoItorian society but rather hlghQght Inequallties often alll'lbuted to gender. Studes have estimated that thepercentage of women in senior management Is but a mere10%. In foci. In Japan. ontv 2% of the Iotal number of worldngwomen holds executive posIHons - many hove been relegated 10 clerical posIHons. Indubitably, women stili have toconlend with a "glass cellingH before they can break Into theupper echelons of any economic organl,atlon. Contrast thiswith the "glan escalalor" that favors men and the commonpopular discourse that women ore oHen unable to balancethe demands of domestic life wlth economic porHclpotlon. Indeed, It would appear that In the mate dominated economy,the corporate ladder was never constructed lor the femalesex to climb.Moreover. It can be OfgUed tho! ftMt prMleges enjoyed bywonwn are exclusive only in the developed world. In the de-vllfoplng WQr\d. which has only been recently touched by the"n toe ' " of the feminist movement. women continue 10 bemarglnolJ:ed and are often reduced 10 ~ s k u l k l n g underg r o u n d ~ . Under the Kalwat tow, female vlcHms of rope arestoned to 90th. Genitol mutilation Is stili the norm In Nigeria.and In some rural Indian provinces. women ole slill bUlnedolive at their husband's Nneral pyres deiplte the respecllvegovemmenb legally IflClndlng thb. In African and Atghanl,stan. one rope OCCUfS every Ihr_ houri, and 80% of womencontinue to be battered on a regular bash. Ergo, the strugglefor female rlghh In developing nallons Is a struggle for life and. . . . . .GO.fUfthennore, gender bioses Ole stili being perpeIuotedthroughout the mab media today. A casual flip through TheStroll', nmet provides one with innumerable example-s of

10 I Can the World of the Future be a Woman's World


12/16


13/16

Marginalia: A Break fromthe u t i n e and theMundaneThe Political A ~ a t l o n Youth Camp (Marginalia) wal heldlasl vear Irom the 2 10 5th July. Tn. Y!I6on 01 Marginalia was10 creote ( I place to lorm quality "'-ndshlps. Suffice to say,this was a c hieved via Interactlye gOmfl.The uluol run of tM mill games such as Amozing Race wascertainly revtkllized with ( I scenic cabW car nde CDIhe roee ',finol checkpoint was at Senlo$O' Certolnly, lun did not end atdusk fof theft! was a nigtit walk at the Orogon Tral which lettour imaglnatlons"""*tg wid .In addition. our slay at COIla Sanch Resort, 5enloso was onIdyllc expetlence mode ell the more memoroble by tne closecamo lod&r1e or PoIltk::al Association memberThe highlight of the camp was the Dinner


14/16

Facts: Members of theParliament1st female MP In Singaporei Inthepasl. women played on Insignificantlole In the politics 01 SIngapore (lnd II Isonly in recent years thai more womenhave storted running l or polltlcol office. DrKonwal]lt Soln become the IIrsl lemoleNominated Member 01 Porllamen! In 1992cnd was olso nomlnaled ' 'Womon of theY e ( l r SInce then. Or Soln ploys ( I moJOI.. role In robing Important social Issues In the, . Singapore Porlloment. such as Ihe Issue ofviolence ogolnsl women.Prev/ousNUSleclurerDr. Chee Soon Juan WQS actually ( I No-~ ~ ~ ~ g ~ n : : ~ ; ~ r ~ r ~ ~ I ~ , I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; ~ 1 ( : 9 ~ ~ l o ~ : : ~ onths oller Dr Chee Joined the Slngo. l-- - ~ . -~ : ~ : e ~ ~ ~ O N C ~ ~ I : ~ , = ~ ~ e ! S ~ ! ~ p ~ ~ o p ~ ~ ~ -lion of research funds. Dr. Cheedld ( I hun -IIer sblke to protest against the ruling dur -Ing which he drank only water mixed with Igluco$e to equivocate the Issue ot hunger ..$trlke and thus claimed that he had In - \deed accomplish his stand. In 2001. Chee was lued lor dela-

13 / Facts: Members of the Parliament


15/16

mollon bV Ihen Prime Mlnlsler Goh Chok Tong and Senior MlnIsler lee Kuan Yew lor accusing Ihem 01 mlsleadlnglhe Parlia-ment over on alleged $17 bJUlon loan to tormer Indonesianpresldent Suhorto . Or Chee lost the lawsuits and was declareda bankrupt In 2006.Miu Singapore Universe Winner becoming Youngest MP

rf1Eunice Elizabeth Olsen Is a NominatedMember of Parliament (NMp) In Singa-pore. She was educated at SI MargorehIf School. the oldest girls' school In SouthEast Asia. One Interesting lact about herwas thai she was the winner of the Miss

) . Singapore Universe contest In 2000. In2002. Olsen was selected to be the co-! host for the Singopore 's version of thepopular TV game show "Wheel 01 For

tune". shown on ChannelS. by Medlacorp. ln November 2004.she was appointed as a NMPs. becoming the youngesl Member of Parliament allhe age 0127.Olded and largest Opposition party In SingaporeThe wo.k." porty (WP). whl.h wo. , , 'ob-Ished In 1957. Is one of the largest and "oldesl opposition parties In Singapore. " . . .The former chief 01 the Walkers Party. J.6. fII''''-Jeyaretnam became famous lor bleaklngIhe PAP', Ilvea, parilamentalY manop_oIyln 1961 . Jeyolelnamlosthlsporllamen-talY seal and was baned from conIes ingelections after losing 0 bankruplcy appeal. CUrrently. thechairman Is Sytvla Um. who Is also the cUllent Non-Constituency Member olParllamenl (NCMp).

14 / Facts: Members of the Parliament


16/16

party! january to june 2008

Documents