2007, Qn 5, Heroes

What are heroes? Well, they are usually those who sacrifice themselves to save everybody, and at the end of the day, they are either looked up upon or disliked by people who are jealous and envious.

Let me give you an example of my all time favourite cartoon character hero: Batman! Of course, I do have real life heroes whom I admire and who resemble Batman. They are my parents and friends. I used to ask myself why are they usually well-liked and I finally realised a similarity between them, they are the more realistic heroes one can ever meet. I bet you can never imagine a human being able to lift up a truck as easily as Superman. Yes, my heroes are people who make use of their knowledge, experience, time and fortune to help others. They do not just sit there and wait for miracles to happen, they create miracles. Also, when a hero comes along, people will definitely have the strength to carry on because heroes have this amazing ability to cast fears aside for whoever that are facing problems and are afraid to deal with it. Be it people feeling lonely, unhappy or depressed, I believe a hero will appear somehow because I am sure they have this sixth sense and they will know when someone is in need of help.

There was Lim Bo Seng, one of Singapore's great hero who sacrificed himself for the country during the Japanese occupation. He could have gave up his pride and betrayed Singapore to save his own life but he did not, and this made him the man that everyone looks up to.

I'm stuck, I don't know how to continue.

Bridget Tang - Johor to have separate pumps for Singapore drivers

Malaysia will be setting up a dual pump system at petrol stations near the borders to stop foreigners from buying fuel at a subsidised price. This announcement comes less than a month after the Malaysian government raised petrol prices and this new measure will mean that Singaporeans who refuel in Southern Johor will have the pay more. The Malaysian government claims that this implementation will have two benefits, namely foreigners will have to pay for petrol at market price and Malaysians will also know the actual market price of petrol. This steep fuel hike then in turn created public anger as this has caused the prices of goods and services to go up too and meanwhile, Prime Minister Abduallah Badawi was quoted saying that the government would give more rebates to help Malaysians cope with higher fuel costs.

Personal Views:
Although I am not affected much by this rise of fuel cost, I still feel that the Malaysian government might have done the right thing because foreigners would now have to pay for petrol at market price which is, correct I think. There is also a chance that the "kiasu" Singaporeans will head to Johor just to refuel their cars at a cheaper rate and this is not really a good thing to do. A majority of people will definitely be unhappy with the change but I guess the best way to do is just to accept it and carry on with your life because the Malaysian government is also trying their best to help its people lighten their load!

Bridget Tang - Devoting his body to Beijing Olympics

Mr Sun Ding Guo wanted to test himself through hardship and diligence and challenge himself by doing things like rewarding himself a 36th Olympic-themed tattoo after completing a 10 month journey across China pedalling his rickshaw for the Beijing Games. He also gave up his job, his dreams and the chance the get a girlfriend as he single-mindedly promoted the Olympic spirit. He is now a walking billboard depicting symbols of different sports. Not only that, he went to China's Zhejiang province to just to get signatures of people who support the Games.

Personal Views:
I cannot believe this man here has really got the courage to do all these just to promote the Olympic spirit. I am very glad to know that Mr Sun Ding Guo, a chinese is willing to do sacrifice his everything for Beijing Olympics. The chinese people are called "The Dragon Descendants" and I must really agree to that. Well, you can compare him with the dragon, he has the "very daring and not afraid of anything" attitude in him. He is one in a milllon indeed.

Bridget Tang - Unclean water kills 4000 daily worldwide

The World Health Organisation has warned that polluted drinking water will kill around 1.6 million people this year unless governments make an effort to do something. As this is a problem plaguing all countries, Singapore introduced 'Singapore International Water Week' where experts from around the world will come together and discuss about how to solve the problem. Although there are still people who do not have clean water to drink, the situation is improving as countries now are focusing at new technologies like desalination and special filtration systems. Also, World Health Organisation hopes to use Singapore as a model for water-scarce countries.


Personal Views:
Firstly, I feel that the Singapore government has done a good job on providing its citizens clean drinking water. Although Singapore has clean drinking water, it does not mean that other countries have the same thing. Therefore, Singapore government will be providing advice and volunteer help to these countries. Well, I must say I feel very proud with the Singapore because even though she is a tiny country, it is hoped to be a role model for other bigger and stronger countries. Well, water is indeed very precious and I hope people in water-strapped countries will get to have clean water to drink soon!

Bridget Tang - A child prostitude at 14, an Aids activist today

Ms Srey Mom is a Cambodian who was one of the unfortunate girls who was being sold to be a child prostitude. She started working at the age of seven, abandoned at 10 and then she became a child prostitude at 14. She contracted the HIV virus when she was only 16. She is now an activist who is determined to help other Cambodian girls avoid her fate. Therefore, she shared about problems of human trafficking and child prostitution that plagued Cambodia and other South-east Asian countries to Singapore students who attended a Famine Camp. 30,000 sex workers in Cambodia are estimated to be below 16 years of age and a fifth of these workers are infected with HIV. The relief and advocacy agency runs camps annually to educate Singaporeans to act on global issues such as poverty, hunger and HIV or AIDS. As people are getting poorer, parents are known to sell their daughters.

Personal Views:
As a teenager, I truly sympathise with Ms Srey Mom and other girls who were being sold to work as child prostitudes. I feel I am really fortunate to be a Singaporean as I cannot imagine if Singapore has such activities happening. We, Singaporeans at least have the chance to learn about global issues rather than being the victims over at Cambodia.