Temasek Polytechnic Library InfoWise January 2007

Are we competitive enough for
the globalised world
By Seow Hwee Ling
As many as 80 students were treated to a mind-boggling talkshow
forum at the Library Podium on 24 November on the topic, "Do
Young Singaporeans Have the Competitive Edge to Compete in a
Globalized World".
Organised by CCD with Radio Station 938Live, the forum was
chaired by five panelists from all walks of life: Michael Palmer,
Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris Punggol GRC, Martin Tan,
Executive Director of Halogen Foundation, Sally Chew, Director
of International Relations and Industry Services (Temasek
Polytechnic) and Nicole and Tabitha Tay, national gymnasts who
won gold medals in the 2005 SEA games. The radio programme
was hosted by 938's host, Mahesha Thenabadu, for the "Campus
on 938Live" series.
Passion and drive take the cake
Young Singaporeans have the competitive edge, they just need
to be gutsy, said Michael. He explained, "Competition is not just
about winning and making it big. It involves failing and picking
yourself up in order to succeed." In his opinion, it all boiled down
to passion and enjoyment of the "career" at hand.
Martin added that younger Singaporeans already had the qualities
to succeed, one of them was good education. However, he was
sorry to say that they lacked drive. He emphasized, they needed
to go out to the world and try things out.
In fact, Martin was no stranger to a world of tryouts – he had
chosen "a road less travelled" to start up a non-profit organization
(Halogen Foundation) in his mid 20's, even though pressure was
humongous as he had just got married and his peers were all
building high-flying corporate careers. He had chosen to fulfill his
passion instead, and had never looked back since.
skills, were limited to a select few, and could not provide the
opportunities that were important to be competitive. Another
student, Sheila, shared her views on how Singaporeans had
always "followed the crowd", to the extent that unique opinions
were suppressed.
However, two students felt otherwise. Samantha said that young
Singaporeans needed to be proactive and seize opportunities for
themselves while Shareen commented that young Singaporeans
should learn to capitalize on their strengths and advantages and
venture out.
Competition – when and how
A burning question that came out of the discussion was: how
young should Singaporeans be exposed to competition then
Zoe, a student, felt that Singaporeans should be exposed to
the unknown much earlier than at tertiary level, preferably in
secondary schools.
Panelist Michael felt that it was not a matter of exposing the
young to competition, but rather, to teach them to be creative.
He elaborated further that schools "can decide where they want
to go. For example, schools can offer robotics and not only formal
curriculum".
Towards the end of the talkshow, catch phrases used by the
panelists still reverberated: "Just do it!" by Martin and "Winners
are not those who never fail but those who never quit" by Nicole
and Tabitha.
Mixed responses
While the panelists wowed the audience with their experiences,
there were mixed responses from the students. Michelle, an
Account and Finance student, felt that young people had long
been imbued into them that scholarly pursuits were important
and this meant that creativity had to be sacrificed.
Another student, Morris, agreed and added that TP's overseas
programmes for students, which boost social and business
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