Integrated Resorts- How far do you agree with PM Lee’s decision? Propose a solution to any 2 social repercussions encountered.

Choosing whether to set up the IR must have been a difficult decision for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. IRs are resorts that contain casinos that avid gamblers patronize. Many take it as a place to strike rich excluding those that are already rich. Furthermore, building IRs are a major way to boost Singapore’s economy which has been facing intense competition from other destinations around the region, particularly from nearby Bangkok and Hong Kong, which has since also considered legalization of casinos in the wake of initiatives in Singapore. Even closer to home, Malaysia has long had a legal casino cum theme park on Genting Highlands, which proved popular with Singaporean tourists.

Hence, due to the extreme effects IRs might have, there were fierce debates on whether it should or should not be set up. I for one agree with PM Lee’s decision.

We all know that due to Singapore’s limited land space and resources, we have very few industries. Hence, we heavily rely on tourism and the export market. Presently, tourists that visit Singapore stay no more than 5 days, if we increase their time spent here, our economy will definitely benefit from it. So, what must we do to persuade them to stay? Building more zoos, bird parks, theme parks and shopping malls will not increase their stay because we already have those. However, building an IR, which we do not have presently, will get the job done. We cannot deny that building the IR is a necessary evil if we want our economy to improve. Everything comes at a cost, this applies to the IR as well however, we must find ways to reduce that cost instead of totally rejecting the product.

Building the IR not only attracts more tourists, it also provides lots of jobs for the jobless. In the current economic condition, there are more jobless people than jobs available. Hence, the jobs provided by the IR will come especially in handy at this period of time. This will also contribute to the economy greatly.

As I have said earlier on, everything comes at a price. Hence, the price will be social repercussions. The most obvious one will be gambling addiction due to man’s lust for greed. Following that will be a string of problems like money related crimes, breaking up of family and so on.

I suggest that family with members that are gambling addicts step up to ban their own family members. Heavy counselling should also be used on addicts. People who are already in dire straits should be banned from entering the casinos and so on.

All in all, I think that IRs are not totally a bad thing and we should embrace it with open arms. However, I think that we must learn to reduce the impacts of the consequences so that are society is not harmed by it.

National Service- How can this be amended or improved further to alleviate the problem of dodging?

The problem of dodging in the national service has been getting more and more serious as dodging becomes more rampant among those who are about to be drafted. Therefore, it is essential that this problem be addressed immediately.

There are many reasons why these young men dodge NS. Many of which do not know the true meaning of NS. Many of them only look at NS at face value; they do not go on and find out about the true reason why they need to serve NS. Some of them just have the mindset that NS is a waste of their time. Many of them think that they can put the time to better use. For example, many of them think that they could use their time to further their studies to have a better standard of living in the future. Furthermore there are those that are scared out of their pants by the stories that their seniors tell them. These stories, true or untrue, have left a very bad impression on these people that are about to get drafted, causing them to have the intention of dodging. They all have the premature fear even before they enter NS.

It is essential that these people realize the need for them to not dodge NS. They must realize that we are living in a small red dot. We do not have a population as big as china or the U.S. they must know that if everyone is like that, Singapore would soon crumble under an invasion.

I would suggest having stricter punishment meted out to dodgers. By saying stricter, I mean that the punishment should freak the potential dodgers out so that they would not even think of dodging. These strict punishments should bring about undesirable consequences so as to deter people. However, we should also consider education talks in schools, road shows to raise public awareness and more advertising so as to inform people of the rationale behind national service and why they should not dodge it. This way, people would be warned before hand and they are less likely to dodge.

I think that commitment is the key to prevent dodging. I think that schools should take some time to instill commitment in their students. Students should be taught how to be committed to the country. They should also learn to be committed to serving and defending their country.

We should also consider giving compensation to those whom are about to go to university but is delayed by NS. Giving compensations might also help to deter people from dodging. However, compensation should not be overdone so that it does not become the main reason why people serve National Service.

I think that educating and informing parents is also important. With the right point of view, parents can persuade their children not to dodge and serve NS whole-heartedly. Nowadays, there are many parents that encourage or help their child to dodge NS because they are afraid that their child might suffer under the harsh conditions. Fines should be imposed on families who have children that dodge NS. Heavier fines should be imposed on the rich and influential. This will act as a good deterrent to parents.

All in all, I think that this problem is aggravating and needs to be attended to immediately.