Stocks, shares, funds and bonds. If you immediately shun away from these topics or generally leave these investments to an “expert”, you are no different from the majority of Singaporeans, who will not touch such investment options if given a chance. This is so as stocks often have negative connotations such as incidents of individuals burning his fingers or filing for bankruptcy. This perception is in part enforced by the local press featuring such incidents. In this article, I will attempt to challenge the common beliefs that many young Singaporean may have regarding such investment options.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines leadership as “The dignity, office, or position of a leader, esp. of a political party; ability to lead; the position of a group of people leading or influencing others within a given context; the group itself; the action or influence necessary for the direction or organization of effort in a group undertaking.” If we pay attention to the words and phrases underlined and in bold, it can be noticed that it requires the existence of an ability to execute actions that are able to influence others. This means that there are specific aspects to the concept of leadership, and that is the ability to do certain things (i.e. actions) which results in our ability to influence those around.

One of the more controversial issues that took place recently was the topic of organ selling, and yet the media reports lightly on it. What does “organ selling” mean to you?

The remarkable economic transformation of Singapore within a span of 43 years has made it significantly more prosperous than most of its neighbours. Singapore, realizing its weakness because of its size has initiated the creation of ASEAN- an organization that aims to bring the region of South-east Asia closer together, improving as one, both economically and socio-politically. However, the recent series of economic and political events question the progress of ASEAN towards singularity.

Singapore, then known as Temasek, was just a small island with a Malay fishing village when Sir Stamford Raffles first arrived. He recognized the island potential as a strategic geographical trading post in Southeast Asia and signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein Shah in 1819 to develop Temasek as a British trading post and settlement, thus founding modern Singapore. Since then, Chinese, Malay and Indian immigrants have flocked to Singapore in search of a better life. Some of these foreigners, who worked hard in Singapore, later chose to settle down and became Singaporeans.

Our history has shown that Singapore has always been a country where foreigners gather. Most Singaporeans, if not all, are descendants of migrants, whose effort helped to build Singapore to what she is today. In present Singapore, the influx of foreign talents sparked the on going debate about foreign versus local talents. Singaporeans are complaining that foreigners are taking away jobs in the market and that they are causing cracks in the society.

Speaking at the Tanjong Pagar Day celebrations at the Queenstown Stadium, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said that giving subsidies is not the solution to Singapore’s problems. However, he added that a dynamic economy would be the key to the current economic situation.

MM Lee noted that food and oil prices have been on the rise in recent years. As such, Singaporeans in a non-agricultural economy need to work hard and smart to pay the market prices for food.

In response to the numerous pleas for subsidies, MM Lee insisted that it was crucial that Singaporeans know the actual costs of necessities so as to make the necessary changes. He also said that the government must ensure that everyone gets the best-paid job that he is qualified to do.