Table of Contents

Editorial Note

Politics in Singapore Universities

Geraldine Mol:
StU option poIicy-student influence on school pdicy

Myanmar: Of Riots and Revolutions

Daniel Soh
Myanmar rlats-a step towards democracy?

Can the World of the Future be a Woman 's World?

Koon Hvng Leng
Moving towards ego~larion gender relotiOns

Facts: Members of the Parliament

UmlhiHeon
Little known facts about our potiticol representative'S

Marginalia: A Break from the Routine and the Mun-

dane
Groce Lee
PAye serves to chal lenge the stereotypical notion thot PA is a
duIiCCA!

Co-Editor
lionel Loh
Sub-Editor
Augustus Loi
Contributor
A/vinLim
I I Table 01 Contents
Editor's Note

A new semester is that chance to start alresh: reconsider

your slance. improve that CAP. tak.e a new direction.
and put past demons to rest. The political p/Ocess rarely
takes a Christmas break.; it moves along - year in, year
out. " connects the present with the post. In politics.
abrupt change is called "revolution." Our goal for the
Party magazine in 2008 is to make that break - even as
we are hopelessly corded 10 our pmt archives. In this is-
sue of Party. we explore politics 0> an avenue for change
and as a means by which individuals and whole societi es
are empowered through political participation to
change the status quota.

Covering local and international fronliers . Parly chal-

lenges you to think beyond the accepted norms and
contemptate the possibility 01 how politics can be on
avenue by which 10 change the existing political status
quo. Tha t politics is 01 paramount imparlance need not
reiterated for power and politics permeates our lives.

You might have perused a past issue of Party. or you

might not. Whatever the case may be, we urge you to
expect change. Expect strong editorial opinions; expect
to be challenged. The NUS Political Association aims to
confront you with the pertinent issues of the political day.
These are its first steps.

Uonelloh
Publications DirectOr
33rdMC

2 / Editor's Note
Politics in Singapore
Universities
,7"- ....
Many articles were-written to the chon~e In the S/ U
option policy. The question then Is whethe' this first
step in wtH,c h students have a soy in the odmlnisfro-
tion signifies the growth of students In the polmeal
orena.;, growth, slmilor to the child In the back-
ground vocalizing his first cry.
';
In general, student politics in Srngopot'e unlvetsltles ore lor leu
commol\mol than thei, ovelseos counterparts. Reporb on 'N'
denl octlvbm In other c<XJnlries such as France, Avstl'alfa, the
United Slates ond the United Kingdom bear testimony 10 this.
Populor PQllt1cal Issues that otten arose Include youth voice,
student tlgft.ts. school funding, tuition lees Increasing and ra-
cism In education. Though student politics In Slngopore uni·
venitles ofte"" do nol neceullole notional and much len
global coverage, we should still recognize Its very exislence

~Sl~; ;:I~~U;~'l~::~ ~:~~~~;:.n make dm.r*~ a b:

An exemplar of how students In the National Univeully''*Sln.
gapol'e (NUS) hpd demonstrat~ their ability to make a dll1er·
ence 10 decisIOns which affect them would be the review 01 I
changes made 10 the Satisfociory/ Unsotlsloctory (S/ U) grad·
Ing ~= po.~~y at NUS. ~' .- .

This hlgnty debated topic is' something that is familiar ond

close to the heor! 01 many current undergraduotes. Concerns
were raised when the Soard 01 Undergraduate studies Imple·

3/ Politics in Singapore Universitie

;r- -.;..... ~ ....
m~nl~d a d,"er~ nl S/ U option polIcy l ot the A Y21)07/ 08 cohort,
whll~ k~~plng th~ old poIky In eft~cl l ot cohoris admitted
prior to AY21)07/ oa.

In r~spons~ to th e masslv~ outcry over the perc&lved Injustice

over the c hange In th~ St U option policy. NUS Studenh' UnIon
Execullve Commftle~ (NUS} U-EXCO) set up a surv~y and fa ·
l um on th e IVLE to gather '~edback rrom Ji'le studenl populo-
lion. Ma ny voiced their slands and opInloM strongly agalnsl
the n ~w onangement as they I~II It was u~ to Ih~m and
placed th em at a dIstinct dIsadvantage against the new co-
hort 01 student,. After several weeks 01 n~gollallpn betw~~n
the NUSSU EXCO and Ih~ Unlv~rslly. lh~ outcome was thai:·

1) AI underg;aduates. regardl~ss 01 c ohort. to eXFrdse St U

options aft... te
release oIresulh. This Inc ludes thO se In their
graduating semester. •

2) A one-off exercise where seniots will be able J · see the

grades 01 theli' prevIously exerd sed SU o pllons un"der the old
poIc y and re lrael th em tot use lor modules you are c Ullenlly
pursuing ot Inlend to pun ue under th e new poli cy .
I" •
Though som~ studenh were slill unhappyth S/ U-Ing 01 previ -
ously not· S/ Ued modules cannol be ollow~ most studenh

:rlo~;:~::!.~~:; ~~~~;:;;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 to

conclude then thGt students In SIngapore unlvenilles do have",
a voice. ThIs voke Is operationalised via acltv~ particIpation,
and organlzatlonot bodies. In this COM NUSSU EXCO and the
abllty 01 this voice to bring abolJl change should not be un-
derestlJ"Cted.

4/ Politics In Singapore Universities

~-
 , yo P l"hot Is needed Is Old., and orgcriIoIon Ace
lel . Id fhe Held of political science ~ IcJbe\!td the
s of oc oJ'lmoi4tres undergoing revolutions Into 3 main
. There Is a '~oIutionarv party (those protesting), a re-
P9r1)t (those against the protestl (lnd, attempting 10
4
med the dlffer, nces In ldeab between th em, a relormls!
party. ooGtc &.r;'ol the revolutionary ,Ituotlon Is largely af-
fected ~d~~ ctlC between these three portles. In condl-

~:~~~s, t gJ'e~~e::: 1'::~~';~~n~~H~:e~~~ :~=e~

~r:~~~1 it: ma~e~~s~e~;een:s~r:o;ha~:;::lIon 10
Two juxto 9 hlSI: ! caul studIes wllliurther Inush-ote this.
The Chine ~utlon led by Moo Zedong was (I procedural
moslerple . gon hom the ' eol(lnl Movement InstiNte,
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:~s::~~~ ;9~~~

Comparatively, the lonten Re~IIon!oed by aglooan peas.

~ ~~~~~:aa~~~e:~~f~:~V:~la~ ;C;r:~;:~':::
Ing ile-:~o!onlal 6pPfesslon on religious Issues, there was a

fe,
lado! coordination within the "'Wlon. Therelote. II we. dec·
before the Outch reUnqulstiilild conlrol over IndoMsia.
e lormer detlneates the lm~ 01 meticulous planning
and decorum. whUe the laller's Ii! can be atlfllu!ed to a
lackolcentralorg~ e,
6/ Myon
.m ,ethan ~ ,ade ·
: Of
.
ots anct1tevolutions
7/ Myanmar: Of Riots and Revolutions
Can the World of the
Future be a Woman's
World?
~Gone are the doys where the male status quo was
the standard to which femoles should aspire. ~
- Decca Altfcenhead

..... dat9rnen1 ren.cts a paradlgm shift towards the two gen-

ders today . "Is perhaps refie<;:live ot ~ ne~ nol only lor
gendef eqUGlty In society but also to recognlle the Important
,oht Ihot women ploy In society today. Nevertheless, I remaln
convinced thot ttl... stili exist many hurdles that need 10 be
ov...come before the future con be con:Wdefed a woman 's
wodd. IV woman', wodd, I do nol refer 10 (I matriarchal socl·
ety but rother a sodety In whk;h women 01. nol n.tcI 10 a
double .tondord that favors their male counterparts.

Many critics Pfedlcl thai with htchnologk:aI adYancfl......

would be a decrease In manual1aboT. Thb Is-perceived to be
favOfobie l or women. Thomas Edsell noled thol Jobs which re-
quire "mon's strong arms and sturdy backs hove disappeared
from the Industrial landscape~. Such (I phenomenon can
largety be oltrfbuted 10 technological advancfl In the Indus·
trial _nc. With the invention of buMdoleOl, crones ond dync·
mItet tor the demoilHon of bondingl, the demoi'Kt lor predoml·
ncn~ ~e monUCli klborers to enhtf the worldorc:e Is drast!·
ca8Y reduced. Tectinoioglcol advancement has also down·
played the 1m ance of one's physkalstrength in oc:qulring
a job, clewing e oyers to make thH decision-based on on

8 I Can the World of the Future be Q Woman's WOfid

applicant's prolessional eHquelte and experHse, ra!tler !tIan
on gender relaled altr1butes such as brvIe strength. For In-
stance. power steering has opened the doon to lemale bus
drivers. 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, !tie
world 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 rate
amongst the populaHon. This greater Uteracy olten empowers
women. sparking off a global phenomenon In which a greater
number of women are parHc1paHng In the economic sph ere.
As such, women are Increasingly being recognlled by socIety
as signlftcant conlr1butors toward the totallomlly Income. ThIs
challenges !tie hegemonic Ideology 01 men being the sole
bfeodwlnnen 01 the fomily.

As men are often no longer the sole economic provider oIlhe

10mlly. !tIelr bargaining cloulln Ihe power dynamics within !tie
lamny Is curtailed. Hence. Ihe balance of power regarding
domesHc Issues such as divorce Increasingly lavors the
women. In Singapore. lor example. women arll awarded at
leost 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 likely
to Increase.

Therefore. wilt1 ellisHng laws protecllng the Interests 01 women

and !till possiblnty 01 the enactment 01 more leglsiaHons to
protect woman 's basic social rights. !tie lvIure can safely sold
to be lemaill.

Nevertheless, It remains a gross slmpllflcallon to conclude Ihat

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

the world of the fUNre will be a waman's one for the reality of
the modern workplace. as well as the situation In the develop-
Ing world loA 10 suggest this. Empll1cally. slotlstlcs do not indl-
cote a more egoItorian society but rather hlghQght Inequall·
ties often alll'lbuted to gender. Studes have estimated that the
percentage of women in senior management Is but a mere
10%. In foci. In Japan. ontv 2% of the Iotal number of worldng
women holds executive posIHons - many hove been rele-
gated 10 clerical posIHons. Indubitably, women stili have to
conlend with a "glass cellingH before they can break Into the
upper echelons of any economic organl,atlon. Contrast this
with the "glan escalalor" that favors men and the common
popular discourse that women ore oHen unable to balance
the demands of domestic life wlth economic porHclpotlon. In-
deed, It would appear that In the mate dominated economy,
the corporate ladder was never constructed lor the female
sex to climb.

Moreover. It can be OfgUed tho! ftMt prMleges enjoyed by

wonwn are exclusive only in the developed world. In the de-
vllfoplng WQr\d. which has only been recently touched by the
"ntoe'" of the feminist movement. women continue 10 be
marglnolJ:ed and are often reduced 10 ~skulklng under-
ground~. Under the Kalwat tow, female vlcHms of rope are
stoned to 90th. Genitol mutilation Is stili the norm In Nigeria.
and In some rural Indian provinces. women ole slill bUlned
olive at their husband's Nneral pyres deiplte the respecllve
govemmenb legally IflClndlng thb. In African and Atghanl,
stan. one rope OCCUfS every Ihr_ houri, and 80% of women
continue to be battered on a regular bash. Ergo, the struggle
for female rlghh In developing nallons Is a struggle for life and
......GO.

fUfthennore, gender bioses Ole stili being perpeIuoted

throughout the mab media today. A casual flip through The
Stroll', nmet provides one with innumerable example-s of

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

 Marginalia: A Break from
the R~ utine and the
Mundane
The Political A~atlon Youth Camp (Marginalia) wal held
lasl vear Irom the 2¥ 10 5th July. Tn. Y!I6on 01 Marginalia was
10 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 was

certainly revtkllized with (I scenic cabW c ar nde CDIhe roee ',
finol checkpoint was at Senlo$O' Certolnly, lun did not end at
dusk fof theft! was a nigtit walk at the Orogon Tral which lett
our imaglnatlons"""*tg wid.

In addition. our slay at COIla Sanch Resort, 5enloso was on

member
Idyllc expetlence mode ell the more memoroble by tne close
camolod&r1e or PoIltk::al Association

The highlight of the camp was the Dinner <rd Dance held at
Bora Bora Beach Restaurant. There was great lood, fantastic
pelformonces by Orlenlatlon Group and It" now of alcohol!
Need I soy more?

Morginolio. Youth Camp '07 proved to be (I wonderful experi·

ence. Everyone got a respite from the demonds of evefYday
life and opportunity to relax and enfoy the company of
new found Mends. Many thanks 10 the seniors who look time
ot! 10 loin In the run. the ever sportlna..lunlors ond the camp
comrnltN4t ~ tor their eflort. May ffie Political Associa-
tion Youth Camp 2008 01$0 be 0 success In Its own right]

12 / Marginalia: A Break from the Ro ne and the Mundane

Facts: Members of the
Parliament

1st female MP In Singapore

Inthepasl. women played on Insignificant

i
~ lole In the politics 01 SIngapore (lnd II Is
only in recent years thai more women
have storted running l or polltlcol office. Dr
Konwal]lt Soln become the IIrsl lemole
Nominated Member 01 Porllamen! In 1992
cnd was olso nomlnaled ''Womon of the
Ye(lr ~. SInce then. Or Soln ploys (I moJOI
.. role In robing Important social Issues In the
,. Singapore Porlloment. such as Ihe Issue of
violence ogolnsl women.
Prev/ousNUSleclurer

Dr. Chee Soon Juan WQS actually (I No-

~~~~g~n::~;~r~r ~~I~,I~~~~~;~ 1(:9~~lo~::~ ~

months oller Dr Chee Joined the Slngo.

~:~:e~~~ONC~~I:~, =~~e!S~!~p~~op~~~ ~; - ~ .
lion of research funds. Dr. Cheedld (I

gluco$e to equivocate the Issue ot hunger

$trlke and thus claimed that he had In-
hun-
ger sblke to protest against the ruling dur -
Ing which he drank only water mixed with
..
II
l--

\
-~.

I
-

deed accomplish his stand. In 2001. Chee was lued lor dela-

13 / Facts: Members of the Parliament

mollon bV Ihen Prime Mlnlsler Goh Chok Tong and Senior Mln-
Isler lee Kuan Yew lor accusing Ihem 01 mlsleadlnglhe Parlia-
ment over on alleged $17 bJUlon loan to tormer Indonesian
presldent Suhorto. Or Chee lost the lawsuits and was declared
a bankrupt In 2006.

Irf1
f
Miu Singapore Universe Winner becoming Youngest MP

Eunice Elizabeth Olsen Is a Nominated

Member of Parliament (NMp) In Singa-
pore. She was educated at SI Margoreh
School. the oldest girls ' school In South
East Asia. One Interesting lact about her
was thai she was the winner of the Miss
. Singapore Universe contest In 2000. In
) ~ 2002. Olsen was selected to be the co-
! host for the Singopore 's version of the
popular TV game show " Wheel 01 For·
tune". shown on Ch annelS. by Medlacorp. l n November 2004.
she was appointed as a NMPs. becoming the youngesl Mem-
ber of Parliament allhe age 0127.

Olded and largest Opposition party In Singapore

The wo.k." porty (WP). whl.h wo. ,,'ob- ~

"...~,
IIshed In 1957. Is one of the largest and "
oldesl opposition parties In Singapore.
The former chief 01 the Walkers Party. J.6.
Jeyaretnam became famous l or bleaklng
fII''''-
Ihe PAP', I l·vea, parilamentalY manop_
oIyln 1961 . Jeyolelnamlosthlsporllamen-
talY seal and was baned from conIes ling
elections after losing 0 bankruplcy appeal. CUrrently. the
chairman Is Sytvla Um. who Is also the cUllent Non-
Constituency Member olParllamenl (NCMp).

14 / Facts: Members of the Parliament