S'pore moves to flex its muscle

By David Chew

SINGAPORE (JP): A concerted effort is under way in Singapore to change the mind-set of students toward a subject many people are not keen to learn, simply because it opens up few avenues for them to earn big money when they enter the labor market. Their negative attitude toward history means that it has become the least preferred subject in the school curriculum for many students.

In launching this remedial move called the National Education Initiative (NEI) in May, the government aimed to show younger Singaporeans that history can offer valuable lessons on patriotism which go far beyond the megabucks measuring an affluent lifestyle many of them aspire to in Singapore's commerce and technology-driven economy. This is a basic principle which Singaporeans ignore at their own peril.

It is a constant reminder that strictly speaking, Singapore is not a "normal" country like its larger and better-endowed neighbors, but a tiny city state facing severe constraints of land having no natural resources. But Singapore has not only managed to survive against these odds since it became independent from Malaysia 32 years ago; it has actually prospered by capitalizing on its favorable geographical position as the gateway to Southeast Asia to provide efficient services to its neighbors.

Political stability, which took decades to establish, plays a key role in Singapore's prosperity. The government has argued it could easily be lost if Singaporeans fail to respond to the country's problems because of its unique position in one of the world's most dynamic regions. Its message was that once a country becomes politically unstable, it will lose its hard earned prosperity because the opportunity to make big business bucks will disappear as foreign investment flees the country.

Once this rationale for changing their attitude is understood by younger citizens, the government feels that history need not be a boring subject as they wrongly perceive it to be, but can in fact be exciting and interesting to learn -- if the proper approach is taken.

The government is not so much concerned about students not knowing ancient, world or European history, but rather the modern history of Singapore which has a significant impact on their lives, especially important epochs like the Japanese occupation in 1942-1945, the island republic's separation from Malaysia in 1965 and the British military withdrawal in 1971.

The aim, as stated by Deputy Prime Minister Brigadier-General Lee Hsien Loong when he launched the NEI on May 17, was to make young Singaporeans develop a sense of common identity and culture so that they would band together as one people to meet the challenge when confronted with crises.

"Knowing this history is part of being Singaporean. It is the backdrop which makes sense of our present. It shows what external dangers to look out for and where our domestic fault lines lie. It explains what we believe in and why we think and act the way we do. It gives us confidence that even when the odds look daunting, with determination and effort, we will prevail," said Lee.

Seen in the context of his message, history serves to encourage and develop critical thinking among younger citizens so that they will have a proper perspective of things and react calmly when faced with crises. History is not necessarily just learning about the past, but also the future.

Many teachers are changing what critics regard as their "traditional" approach toward teaching history in schools and junior colleges. Instead of getting students to regurgitate dull facts, memorize dates and spell names of historical figures and places correctly, they are now attempting to breathe life into historical characters and tell their story in a way to make it relate to the experiences of their students. Trips to historical sites in Singapore are organized for students, in addition to getting senior citizens who are associated with Singapore's modern history to tell their story.

Although history is part of the study of humanities which is compulsory in the school curriculum, for decades not much attention was paid to the slipshod manner in which it was taught in schools. As such, the regurgitation of "dull" facts, memorization of important dates and correct spelling of certain historical names led to a loss of interest in history among many students. As long as they opted for other arts subjects like geography and literature, they could still satisfy the compulsory requirement for humanities in the curriculum without having to do history.

History soon became embroiled in a vicious circle -- the boring way it was taught made it unpopular with students which in turn led many teachers to neglect teaching it in an interesting manner. Those who continued taking the subject soon forgot what they learned when they stepped out into the working world, as it was hardly relevant to their work, especially if it was technically inclined.

Singapore's position as a modern technopolis with the world's busiest port and airport in the hub of Southeast Asia creates a demand for occupations such as engineers, doctors, scientists, technicians, business administrators, accountants and artisans which the hard sciences and management subjects provide.

The more students pursue these subjects in schools, colleges and universities, the greater their inclination to drop history for the simple reason that it lacks the practical value that the hard sciences command. Why bother to learn about the past that is dead and has no relevance in a technological setting which strives toward the future? Hence, the more technology inclined Singapore becomes, the less enthusiasm for a subject with hardly any practical value like history.

Statistics paint a gloomy picture. Alumni records going back to 1953 showed that of the 90,000 National University of Singapore graduates, only 2,600 took history as one of the subjects in their final year. There are only 479 history teachers in secondary schools and junior colleges out of the 10,419 teachers that the Ministry of Education has trained. The number of students doing history at pre-university levels dropped from 1,178 in 1992 to 607 last year (1996).

Strained ties with Malaysia provided the impetus for Singapore to implement the NEI. Malaysia, Singapore's closest neighbor, took offense at some remarks Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew made about the issue of remerging and the security situation in the south Malaysian state of Johor.

Malaysia was not happy that Lee, who was Singapore's Prime Minister from 1959 to 1990, mentioned meritocracy as the major condition for Singapore to rejoin the Malaysian federation which it left in 1965 because of serious political differences with the federal government. Kuala Lumpur also objected to Lee referring to Johor as a place where people are mugged and robbed when the south Malaysian state provided most of Singapore's essential supplies like food and water.

In noting the different responses among Malaysians and Singaporeans over both incidents, the Singapore government noticed that the Malaysian reaction was much more vocal and reflected the strong support of Malaysians for their government in any dispute with a foreign country. In contrast, Singapore's response was much more subdued.

A poll conducted by a Singapore tabloid, The New Paper, on 50 singaporeans between the ages of 16 and 25 on their understanding of key aspects of Singapore's history last year (1996) revealed shocking results. Only six out of 50 respondents correctly answered that Singapore was part of Malaysia for two years. Fourteen respondents got all their answers wrong regarding five key questions on Singapore's history, while 18 did not know when Singapore became independent and only nine knew why Singapore left Malaysia.

The government concluded that the average young Singaporean lacks an identification with what his country stands for, unlike his American, Japanese, Thai or Indonesian counterparts who are more familiar with important historical landmarks in their respective countries like the Civil War, the Meiji Restoration, the ending of absolute monarchy or the war of independence against the Dutch.

Lee has taken for granted the political stability provided by the present government to concentrate on science subjects which would guarantee him a high earning power to maintain an affluent lifestyle. The government feels this is all right as long as he develops an understanding of Singapore's unique position in a turbulent region. But so far he has not, which is what makes the government worried.

Like their counterparts everywhere, Singapore's present leaders will have to eventually pass the baton of leadership to succeeding generations. If their ranks fail to produce citizens with a proper understanding of how Singapore came to be what it is, then it is a matter of time before Singapore meets its doom. That is how the present leaders feel.

To forestall this growing trend, the NEI has made the study of Singapore's modern history, especially topics like merging or separating from Malaysia, compulsory in schools.

Whether the government can successfully deflect criticism that such a move is also propaganda -- since history is a subject which can be taught to project a particular view -- remains to be seen.