Thursday, January 25, 2007
SOCIAL STUDIESBased on the principle of pragmatism, the Singapore government has been doing a fairly good job in making sure that the policies implemented are fair to Singaporeans. In my opinion, the Singapore government has made Singapore a much better place since independence. If not for the practical policies and workable measures that the government had taken, I think that we would probably still be in the midst of slums and an economic crisis. This has enabled Singaporeans to be more confident and respectful of our government.
After much research on the Internet, i have found a recent policy that portrays the principle of pragmatism, in terms of governance. As we all know, Singapore lacks natural resources, and this is a major barrier when it comes to our daily needs. The most common example is our water. Recently, the government has expressed its gratitude towards Malaysia for supplying us with water all these years. Although the water supplied has been of great help to Singapore, the government forsees that Singaporeans also need to build up a source of water for ourselves. In this way, we wiill not have to sign anymore Water Agreements in the future. Then, not only can we be self-sufficient in water, but we will also have a chance to concentrate on better bilateral relations with Malaysia, instead of debating on the sensitive issue of water. The greatest aim of this Water policy is to make sure that our future generations of Singaporeans will never be short of drinking water. Currently, supporting this policy is the NEwater plan that is growing. In case any of you do not realize, a small quantity of NEwater is already being used to supplement Singapore's drinking water. Air con cooling in some industrial buildings also uses NEwater that is being supplied by the Public Utilities Board (PUB). The reason that lies behind these is that, NEwater is also cheaper than normal potable water, because it requires less maintenance and yet can be recycled.
After reading up on this article, i thought that it was really a very good example of the principle of pragmatism. I feel relieved and glad that our government is not only practising the principle of pragmatism, but also the principle of being forward-looking, when setting up this policy. It is a good thing to be more self-reliant, in case any relations with other countries are interrupted. Of course, being self-reliant all the time is definitely not ideal because Singapore is a small country after all. I think that we can also learn from other countries, such as USA, who have already implemented similar ideas on their water resources. In this way, it will not only be an eye-opening experience but also an opportunity to further heighten our relations with other countries.
http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/news_room/publications/singapore_investment03/singapore_investment7/no_water_shortage.html
