In recent years, Britain has been afflicted with one scandal after another, and these have been widely publicised by media everywhere.
These scandals have far-reaching consequences for its once much-admired public institutions. They reflected the falling standards in education, postal, transport, health care and social welfare services, to name a few key areas.
Education is a clear example. Reduced government subsidies have led to the deliberate lowering of admission standards and easier attainment of degrees in some universities aimed at attracting more students.
To bolster the funding of an ancient university, a don there offered college places to offsprings of substantial donors who would not otherwise be eligible for admission.
Most recently, the A-Level examination marking debacle affecting hundreds of thousands of students shocked the nation.
British hospitals face an acute shortage of doctors and nurses. Numerous patients with life-threatening ailments, perforce, have to wait a long time before being treated. Some subsidised patients have been sent abroad for operations in order to alleviate this problem.
Staff negligence at its hospitals costs thousands of lives annually.
Brain drain of its elites is becoming serious, as many have emigrated elsewhere for a better future. More will follow suit, unless effective solutions are found soon.
Yet, before World War II, the British Empire was one of the mightiest in history, with colonies worldwide. The sun never sets on our Empire, they boasted. But, by the 1960s, it had virtually disappeared except for a few overseas possessions.
Singapore was once a British colony. As colonial subjects, we were taught to believe that everything British, be it education, public institutions, system of government or manufactured products, were second to none. It wasn‘t an empty rhetoric. Some of us will recall that, just forty years ago, not many Singaporeans would buy Japanese cars or goods in preference to their British equivalents, but nowadays the reverse is true.
What has gone wrong with Britain, after the glory days of empire？ In a nutshell, complacency set in and, over time, they lost their earlier pioneering fervour and competitive advantages over others.
On the other hand, their major rivals caught up with them industrially and technologically and eventually left them behind.
The demise of the British Empire followed the same fate of the other powerful empires throughout the ages. Prominent examples include the Greek, Roman, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and Ottoman empires.
In our own time, the sudden liquidation of the Soviet Union in 1991 has ramifications for the rest of the world.
In this new millennium, the United States is now the sole superpower on earth. Its preeminence looks secured for some years to come, provided it continues to maintain its economic, industrial and technological supremacy over its European, Japanese and Chinese competitors.
Be that as it may, history is an unerring arbiter of national destinies, with their inevitable ebbs and flows just like tidal waves. Sooner or later, a stronger superpower will emerge to replace the Americans as the new world leader. This cycle will always repeat itself.
Singapore is too tiny a country to achieve a great power status. However, we are most fortunate that our national leaders are keenly conscious of the lessons of history, and are continually helping its citizenry to enhance their knowledge and skills and to strengthen their competitive edge as theway forward in an ever changing world.
Hopefully, Singaporeans will have a place under the sun for a long time to come.
（The writer is a retired lawyer）
最近這幾年,英國丑聞層出不窮,引起各地媒體廣泛報道。這些丑聞對一向為人稱道的英國公共機構(gòu)帶來巨大的沖擊,例如,它們暴露了教育、郵政、交通、醫(yī)藥服務和社會福利等方面日益低落的服務水平。
教育是一個很明顯的例子。因為政府減少津貼,造成一些大學刻意降低入學水平,讓人們更容易獲得學位以便招收更多新生。
一所歷史悠久的大學的學監(jiān),為了籌募基金甚至愿意接受不合格的學生,條件是家長必須捐獻一筆款項。
不久前,“A”水準考試評分風波影響了數(shù)以萬計的學生,也震驚了英國社會。
英國的醫(yī)院面對醫(yī)生和護士嚴重短缺的問題,許多生命垂危的病人不能馬上獲得治療。一些獲得津貼的病人被送到海外動手術,以減輕醫(yī)院的負擔。另外,每年有數(shù)以千計的病人因為醫(yī)院醫(yī)務人員的疏忽而送命。
頂尖人才外流的問題也日趨嚴重,許多人為了追尋更美好的未來選擇移民。除非政府提出有效的對策,移民潮還會持續(xù)下去。
回顧歷史,在二次世界大戰(zhàn)前,大英帝國國力鼎盛,在許多地方擁有殖民地,英國人甚至夸口說大英帝國永遠不會衰退。但是,所謂的大英帝國在60年代已不復存在,它在海外的殖民地也所剩無幾。
新加坡也曾是英國殖民地,殖民地人民相信英國的一切,例如教育、政治制度、公共機構(gòu)或英國制造的產(chǎn)品都是世上的。
一些新加坡人可能還記得,大概在40年前,沒有幾個人愿意舍英國產(chǎn)品而購買日本產(chǎn)品,現(xiàn)在的情況卻剛好相反。
為什么大英帝國會沒落呢？簡單的說,英國人變得自滿,逐漸失去了以前的拓荒精神和競爭優(yōu)勢。另一方面,英國的主要競爭對手很快的在工業(yè)和科技領域迎頭趕上,并最終超越英國。
大英帝國的滅亡,只是和歷一些曾經(jīng)盛極一時的帝國遭遇同樣的下場。比較顯著的例子有希臘、羅馬、中國、葡萄牙、西班牙和土耳其等。
這些可能是比較遙遠的例子,蘇聯(lián)在1991年的突然解體,我們卻應該記憶猶新,因為這對整個世界帶來了一定的影響。
美國現(xiàn)在是世界上惟一的超級強國,只要它在經(jīng)濟、工業(yè)和科技等方面,繼續(xù)歐洲國家、日本和中國,它的超群地位應該還可以保持一段時日。
然而,歷史有它一定的規(guī)律,一個國家的命運有時就像潮水的起落一樣。一個比美國強大的超級強國遲早會出現(xiàn),取代美國成為新霸主。這是一種周而復始、生生不息的循環(huán)。
地小人寡的新加坡不可能成為超級強國,但是,我們的領導人對歷史的教訓卻有深刻的體會。政府因此時常提醒國人不斷提升他們的知識和技能,因為這是在瞬息萬變的世界里繼續(xù)前進的惟一方法。
希望國人能努力不懈,保持新加坡歷久不衰。
These scandals have far-reaching consequences for its once much-admired public institutions. They reflected the falling standards in education, postal, transport, health care and social welfare services, to name a few key areas.
Education is a clear example. Reduced government subsidies have led to the deliberate lowering of admission standards and easier attainment of degrees in some universities aimed at attracting more students.
To bolster the funding of an ancient university, a don there offered college places to offsprings of substantial donors who would not otherwise be eligible for admission.
Most recently, the A-Level examination marking debacle affecting hundreds of thousands of students shocked the nation.
British hospitals face an acute shortage of doctors and nurses. Numerous patients with life-threatening ailments, perforce, have to wait a long time before being treated. Some subsidised patients have been sent abroad for operations in order to alleviate this problem.
Staff negligence at its hospitals costs thousands of lives annually.
Brain drain of its elites is becoming serious, as many have emigrated elsewhere for a better future. More will follow suit, unless effective solutions are found soon.
Yet, before World War II, the British Empire was one of the mightiest in history, with colonies worldwide. The sun never sets on our Empire, they boasted. But, by the 1960s, it had virtually disappeared except for a few overseas possessions.
Singapore was once a British colony. As colonial subjects, we were taught to believe that everything British, be it education, public institutions, system of government or manufactured products, were second to none. It wasn‘t an empty rhetoric. Some of us will recall that, just forty years ago, not many Singaporeans would buy Japanese cars or goods in preference to their British equivalents, but nowadays the reverse is true.
What has gone wrong with Britain, after the glory days of empire？ In a nutshell, complacency set in and, over time, they lost their earlier pioneering fervour and competitive advantages over others.
On the other hand, their major rivals caught up with them industrially and technologically and eventually left them behind.
The demise of the British Empire followed the same fate of the other powerful empires throughout the ages. Prominent examples include the Greek, Roman, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and Ottoman empires.
In our own time, the sudden liquidation of the Soviet Union in 1991 has ramifications for the rest of the world.
In this new millennium, the United States is now the sole superpower on earth. Its preeminence looks secured for some years to come, provided it continues to maintain its economic, industrial and technological supremacy over its European, Japanese and Chinese competitors.
Be that as it may, history is an unerring arbiter of national destinies, with their inevitable ebbs and flows just like tidal waves. Sooner or later, a stronger superpower will emerge to replace the Americans as the new world leader. This cycle will always repeat itself.
Singapore is too tiny a country to achieve a great power status. However, we are most fortunate that our national leaders are keenly conscious of the lessons of history, and are continually helping its citizenry to enhance their knowledge and skills and to strengthen their competitive edge as theway forward in an ever changing world.
Hopefully, Singaporeans will have a place under the sun for a long time to come.
（The writer is a retired lawyer）
最近這幾年,英國丑聞層出不窮,引起各地媒體廣泛報道。這些丑聞對一向為人稱道的英國公共機構(gòu)帶來巨大的沖擊,例如,它們暴露了教育、郵政、交通、醫(yī)藥服務和社會福利等方面日益低落的服務水平。
教育是一個很明顯的例子。因為政府減少津貼,造成一些大學刻意降低入學水平,讓人們更容易獲得學位以便招收更多新生。
一所歷史悠久的大學的學監(jiān),為了籌募基金甚至愿意接受不合格的學生,條件是家長必須捐獻一筆款項。
不久前,“A”水準考試評分風波影響了數(shù)以萬計的學生,也震驚了英國社會。
英國的醫(yī)院面對醫(yī)生和護士嚴重短缺的問題,許多生命垂危的病人不能馬上獲得治療。一些獲得津貼的病人被送到海外動手術,以減輕醫(yī)院的負擔。另外,每年有數(shù)以千計的病人因為醫(yī)院醫(yī)務人員的疏忽而送命。
頂尖人才外流的問題也日趨嚴重,許多人為了追尋更美好的未來選擇移民。除非政府提出有效的對策,移民潮還會持續(xù)下去。
回顧歷史,在二次世界大戰(zhàn)前,大英帝國國力鼎盛,在許多地方擁有殖民地,英國人甚至夸口說大英帝國永遠不會衰退。但是,所謂的大英帝國在60年代已不復存在,它在海外的殖民地也所剩無幾。
新加坡也曾是英國殖民地,殖民地人民相信英國的一切,例如教育、政治制度、公共機構(gòu)或英國制造的產(chǎn)品都是世上的。
一些新加坡人可能還記得,大概在40年前,沒有幾個人愿意舍英國產(chǎn)品而購買日本產(chǎn)品,現(xiàn)在的情況卻剛好相反。
為什么大英帝國會沒落呢？簡單的說,英國人變得自滿,逐漸失去了以前的拓荒精神和競爭優(yōu)勢。另一方面,英國的主要競爭對手很快的在工業(yè)和科技領域迎頭趕上,并最終超越英國。
大英帝國的滅亡,只是和歷一些曾經(jīng)盛極一時的帝國遭遇同樣的下場。比較顯著的例子有希臘、羅馬、中國、葡萄牙、西班牙和土耳其等。
這些可能是比較遙遠的例子,蘇聯(lián)在1991年的突然解體,我們卻應該記憶猶新,因為這對整個世界帶來了一定的影響。
美國現(xiàn)在是世界上惟一的超級強國,只要它在經(jīng)濟、工業(yè)和科技等方面,繼續(xù)歐洲國家、日本和中國,它的超群地位應該還可以保持一段時日。
然而,歷史有它一定的規(guī)律,一個國家的命運有時就像潮水的起落一樣。一個比美國強大的超級強國遲早會出現(xiàn),取代美國成為新霸主。這是一種周而復始、生生不息的循環(huán)。
地小人寡的新加坡不可能成為超級強國,但是,我們的領導人對歷史的教訓卻有深刻的體會。政府因此時常提醒國人不斷提升他們的知識和技能,因為這是在瞬息萬變的世界里繼續(xù)前進的惟一方法。
希望國人能努力不懈,保持新加坡歷久不衰。