occupation but, at the end of the day now we're talking about, a lot of countries having nuclear weapons and uh they have to do some kind of sanctions to certain countries if they are not uh allowed to have this nuclear weapons and all that why are not why are they not allowed to have nuclear weapons because


if a nuclear weapon is released it's going to uh bring a lot of damage to not only humankind to all, ah, uh life on earth and the earth itself the the total uh landscape of earth can be altered


altogether so all this has to be taken into consideration so if these things are, are bothered by the scientist if the scientist is bothered about such things maybe they would actually reinvent their things in another way maybe they could have done it in a maybe the atomic bomb itself


would have been done in a lighter version or maybe they could have found another alternative instead of the atomic bomb and all that so this is my point uh, uh, to prove that uh the scientists has to actually be concerned about his uh findings and uh his inventions


uh okay , with regards to that uh, uh, as miss Kamala pointed out, uh I do not uh, uh, a good example is our current uh COVID nineteen situation such uh bacteria I mean COVID nineteen was we know that it was spread from uh


uh uh, an animal to human and all that but uh it has been uh recorded that, there are a lot of labs around the world that actually doing research on uh bacteria and germs and all that, uh to aid on uh treatments and et cetera


so they also say that this uh there are certain types of bacteria or germs that actually cannot be uh released to the world because if it's uh released to world it can create a pandemic that is much worse than uh our COVID nineteen


so these kind of situations when they're doing this kind of research and all that they can't just do this research blindly they have to look at the after effects, because this is what uh is currently at this current modern world we term as uh biological warfare


so when uh we are under biological warfare how are we going to prevent ourselves in order to, uh look at that, we have to actually first of all, uh invent these kind of bacteria and germs where possible whatever we can think of we have to invent them and then not only we invent them you also have to find a way to prevent them from multiplying or by uh


uh spreading and all that so how how is this possible we it's only possible by looking at uh, uh the uh, uh the activity of the particular bacteria the the life form of the particular bacteria or germ and uh do a detailed study on its uh behaviour and all that and then they have to come up with the anti vaccine or antibody that actually can uh kill off this bacteria and germ so in order to


do that they have to be concerned about this so why are there a lot of labs creating these germs and bacteria in the first place it's well known because uh there can be a biological warfare anytime, so when that happens we have to be prepared so in order to be prepared they're doing all these tests and research uh and making sure that you know some kind of a


uh, uh antibody or anti vaccine can be found, uh to prevent such thing so this is a good example that when we're doing a study when we're doing a research on a particular finding or discovery, it itself proves that we are bothered indeed bothered the scientist is actually indeed bothered about his uh finding or his creation so he has to do something to you know prevent a large scale uh uh


uh, ah issue to the world and all that another example will be our in our own country we have this uh serious case of dengue so for prevention of dengue the aedes mosquitoes and all that uh NEA has uh, uh


uh it's doing some kind of uh, uh, area release of a particular kind of mosquito to help bring down the aedes mosquito population so these mosquitoes were uh bred in a facility in a in a a closely guarded facility uh so


if the scientists who I mean came up with this idea whoever came up with this idea they had, to do a full research full detailed study on the lifestyle of the aedes mosquito and what helps to uh reduce the number of aedes mosquito all that that's the only way that they could have come up with


this kind of an idea if they didn't do their research if they didn't do their study then they wouldn't have been able to come up with a a solution to do to you know to help uh, uh this situation so this itself is very clear I mean this is not happening in any other part of the world this is happening in singapore in our own country where they have done research of this uh current I mean the dengue situation and this is actually a yearly affair in singapore so


these research have been done uh, uh, through the years and all that so now they have a particular solution it's not going to uh stop dengue from spreading altogether but it's going to at least help little bit doesn't matter it's going to help one percent or hundred percent even one percent of help is going to do something


so these are points that are good enough to show that scientists have to be uh bothered about their inventions or creations


#jia yuan# you want to start already


okay so uh, the view the question is considered a view that spoken language is more important than the written written form as the proposition I will agree with this uh statement so one of the main reason why I feel that


the spoken language is indeed much more important that the written form is in the context of education, education is something that is uh, education is something that is very very important in a globalized economy we need to learn in order for us to be able to do well in the future


let's talk about it before COVID nineteen before COVID nineteen we go to school we don't just use a textbook to learn of course there are some exceptional few who are able to use textbooks to internalise fully understand the concepts that we have however I'm pretty sure that


I believe that all of us will agree that having a teacher a tutor a mentor will be so much more important, in delivering these ideas across, for example concepts like computer science which involves lots of mechanical codes or


thermodynamics where individuals have to learn the change of the system, this kind of concepts are very very difficult to understand, by just retake uh by just reading of the note the textbooks hence I believe that the teacher being over there will be able to help us learn


and teach us better using spoken language because they are able to express the ideas, differently than how a written form will be, the moment something is written into a textbook it is set into stone there is no one who will be able to change than the subject or the content as in a textbook hence having someone like a mentor to help speak


to help uh teach effectively is much more useful, now we bring the context back to COVID nineteen after COVID nineteen we can clearly see that the teaching sector or the teaching uh, system in almost the whole world has to change


more most of us are going on to zooms to attend lectures, and even tuition tuition has been brought online, why is this so if uh, this is because the spoken language is so much more important, being a teacher you can't just expect to send question papers to your students and expect them to do


you have to be there for them, you have to be there to see their emotions their reaction if one person is not able to understand the concept they will usually show it in their face and this helps the teacher to gauge and to identify if the weaker students are able to understand the concepts brought across


therefore even during times like COVID nineteen it technology is much more important and then and this supports the idea that spoken language is more important because technology allows us to be able to use the spoken language, without being present face to face


and in and therefore I personally believe that especially in the context of education be it pandemic or or pre or post pandemic the spoken language it will definitely be much more important than the written form


I agree with you that on the especially on the example where politicians politicians will usually write down their speeches, and practice it a lot of times before delivering it because we all agree that practice makes perfect however it takes a specific few individuals in order to deliver the written speech exceptionally well


we can't just take an average joe and give him the particular speech and allow him to deliver it, it won't be as convincing as effective and memorable as if someone like like president obama with that kind of caliber deliver the speech <ppb) and this brings across


this brings me to my next point which is where in dramas where actors or or theaters like the phantom of the opera the actors over there they have to constantly they they constantly act and I'm pretty sure that all of them has a speed has a


all all them know their speeches before all of them read read their notes and are ready to perform however, it takes a few individuals specific few individuals that have the capability in order to deliver the written form well across in the spoken manner we can't just aspect


an average joe to go to the actor to go to the stage and perform an exceptional phantom of the opera performance like any of us will it takes years and years of practice and this is why the spoken language is far more effective in delivering emotions


when we go to watch a play when we watch a movie when we watch someone act when we watch someone or when we hear a speech we are not just hearing the ideas of the speech itself, we are hearing the emotions we are hearing the talks thoughts we are hearing the convictions of the individuals


and this spoken language itself it encompasses so much more than just a normal idea it encompasses beliefs it encompasses emotions it encompasses culture within with it, anybody can write an excellent, play an excellent uh drama show in a form of words however


if it's just in the written form few of us are able are actually able to, appreciate it, especially in this globalise uh globalise era where things are moving so fast, few few of us actually have time to sit down and read a book


majority of us are turning from reading books to watching plays now, because this is this is uh, this example of how the spoken language is more important than the written form the spoken language allows us, tap onto a aspect of play entertainment that the written form can never give


the fact that it's able to express emotions so much better and also, the spoken the spoken language is a form of an art as well, that's why we see many different actors in the acting scene each of them are able to deliver


the scene differently because they believe differently, for example in a particular scene many different actors may have different beliefs on how these should be acted as whether it should be a bittersweet ending whether it should be a sad ending and even for a typical sad ending should one cry or should one express the moment in a in a moment of silence


these different things are what makes the spoken language so much more efficient because it it is able to give us a variety of, options and for the readers eh and for the viewers to enjoy and infer from the acting as well


and therefore in the context of, in the context of uh, visual arts in the context of uh, delivering delivering speeches I believe that the spoken language is far more important than the written form


uh so now do we have a open debate or something ya, so we can just continue like that is it


yes I agree with you that in in the cases where, law or in the cases in the court where evidence are presented in a signed contract rather than a voice recording the sign contract will triumph because it is something that, it is something that the individuals should have read internalise before signing a thing however I feel that there is just one small uh one context where the written form is more important compared to


compared to the vast majority of the everyday life whereas for example everyday we go out to work, we have to socialise with one another we have to talk to one another and we use spoken language gone are the days where we we gone are the days where we write letters to one another because spoken language is just far more efficient it's just far more efficient than than written form for example


than a a single text sent can cause so many different can cause so many different thought processes, sending someone something like, okay full stop, may may seem fine to some but may not seem fine to others this is because


this is because they have been used differently in the spoken language form when you said when you say okay to someone usually the person can tell your emotions with it and the and I feel that this emotion that comes along with the voice is so much more important


because in a in a form of text if we just say the if you just send a single word like okay many, different people will interpret it differently some may think that you're being a passive aggressive person whereas some may think that you're just generally contented with the plan and say okay and therefore I feel that the emotion that comes along with the spoken language is a important concept is a important tool


that we should not forget and we should consider when judging, whether the spoken language is more important than the written form


okay so , after hearing your views I personally believe that, both the spoken language and the written form are essential to everyday life they are good at different aspects of life like in cases where things are much more serious like the law


or maybe the bible something having something written is far more effective and far more important compared to someone saying it, however in terms of efficiency wise, I feel that the spoken language is much more useful


because it is it allows us to get and uh get our lives and live our lives much more efficiently in in in the event it in the example of where we have artists performance like


like uh drama show I think that the spoken language is also another avenue for us to express our art hence I believe that both the spoken language and the written form are essential in our everyday life


must we talk until twenty minutes is over, an example would be uh where let say communication between individuals


usually someone sometimes they will choose to call some them they will choose to text, there was definitely not a in single individual there which there will prefer one there were only use one over the other this we this is because talking and texting is uh both had their different users and will be use differently and therefore it should be important that both coexist in our life


part two debate topic two


okay so for this topic the question is is there any value in preserving minority languages in the world as the proposition I will agree that there's value in preserving minority language in the world, first off before we start off on the debate I think I would like to define what is a minority language


the simplest definition of a minority language is one that is spoken by less than half of some of the country or region, this makes mandarin which is the world's most widely spoken language a minority language in many countries for example Africa mandarin would be a minority language there because less than half of the country speaks it


usually when we talk about minority languages we mean languages that are minority language even in a country that is most widely spoken, so my first point is that the fact are minority preserving minority languages are exceptionally useful in terms of global it


most of the time individuals will believe that minority languages are not well, should not be preserved because it is nothing but sentimental, the sorrow we feel about the death of the language is merely is merely sentimental however in the event where of global aid for example in Africa where


diseases like cholera or ebola are prominent, is exceptionally important that individuals are able to communicate with them and most of the most of the volunteers who go there to communicate rely on a translator


or even worse just body languages in order to communicate with them if we do not speak their tongue, we will not be able to effectively communicate ideas with them, and in those kind of situations, sending a message that seems to be right


however interpreted wrongly, due to the fact that we do not have the language it we do we we do not have knowledge of the language is exceptionally detrimental, we might be telling them we might be telling them to not eat not eat uh


dirt on the ground however they may interpret it as eating whatever that's on the ground being good for them and therefore this is keep this in the in the context of foreign aid where if we want to bring everybody if you want to bring all the countries up


and if you want to level the playing field, it's exceptionally important that these minority languages should not just be preserved, but instead learn so that, individuals from better countries are able to go there and help them by expressing communicating with them in the minority in the minority languages and help bring them up


so that at the end of the day in the future we will be able, to establish a world that has equal opportunities from all regardless of place language or religion, and that is why I believe that there is value in preserving the minority language in the world in the context of a better world


yes I do I do slightly agree with you the with the fact that in if we look at this, uh question if we look at these problem economically it might be not unwise of us, to, actually choose to preserve minority language in the world because the cost simply


as some might argue outweigh the benefit however I think that they're unique and irreplaceable part of our global heritage, for example, I'm I'm pretty sure that all individuals we have something that we would like to


keep, even though it may not be economically valuable for example, the first pen that you ever use when you turn secondary three, the first water bottle that you use since primary school, these items though have no economic value


many individuals still keep it due to sentimental each due to sentimental values attachments, one cannot simply justify that these items are not worth keeping just because economically it is bad


it is up to the individual to decide whether the item itself is worth, keeping, hence bring this problem bring this idea to the global it to a global stick to a global size where many individuals will believe that minority languages


are not worth keeping, because economically it the cost just simply outweighs the benefit however, who, we cannot just determine we cannot just accept the fact that because economically it is bad and we should thus remove minority languages


because they are irreplaceable part of our global heritage, for example, in France in in France, takes different languages, and most of us want to learn french because their economy that is developing


so how can we just simply say because one country is not develop and therefore this language will not be useful anymore, whats develop today may not be developed tomorrow and whats undeveloped today may become develop tomorrow


and furthermore language hold meaning, there are just some things that you can't say with other languages, for example in France you need to say, from the boy and girls protect perspective you need to use different languages to express it you I mean I mean you need to use different words to express it you can't just use a single word and languages hold meaning


it holds significance in their cultures history and where they live, for example the eskimos, have more than fifty different words, for describing snow types, in chinese, they have phrases idioms that are four words or even longer


to describe unique phenomenons, and back to the eskimo example, they have more than fifty different words to describes snow type for example fresh snow on top of old snow, you can't just you learn so much more, about the people and their culture


from a language, language is the identity, whenever we go to a different country we always ask ourselves if we are able to speak that tongue, we can't, because we do not have the same culture that they exhibit, eradicating all minority languages will equate to eradicating all global heritage and culture that our world that our earth has


which is definitely not good, by eradicating all languages, we are creating a homogeneous society where everybody, speaks the same language, this may be good economically, because the cost


to teach the individuals the different languages will be less it will not be incurred, however in the form of individualism, is that really beneficial, will all individuals really want to have no culture, and a homogeneous culture like everyone else


many individuals are proud of their heritage are proud of the culture are proud of the way they are brought up, removing this is removing a huge root, a huge part of their lives, which is something I think cannot be weighed


economically instead, it should be weighed individually, and therefore I believe, that there is value in preserving the minority language in the world


yes I agree with you that, it is much more efficient economically to not preserve minority languages however like how the UN define the how the UN define the human development index the human development index HDI


consists of also the quality of life aspect quality of life is something that can be determined using economic economic waste but also it takes into account the intangible aspect of whether you're enjoying your life you know


for in order if if for example you you mentioned art and you feel that there are other ways to preserve minority minority languages or rather minority culture through art, however back in the olden days where the united states were the raging superpower


China, when it was still good under kings, were not considered very very develop yet, and if let's say, we do not preserve minority language like chinese in american aspect, we will not be able to decipher or understand the many scriptures the emperors or rather the many drawings that individuals in the chinese culture of the past did


which is something that helps us in discovering the history of the world hence preserving the minority languages not it's not just for purely sentimental value, but it helps historians


and yes I agree with you that in the past, the singapore government did come up with a government policy to read out all other chinese dialects and have mandarin to be the main common uh tongue to be use however nowadays if you take a look at it


there are much more initiatives, and much more programs that are being used, in order to convey ideas to elderly, for example in channel eight channel eight shows, often there are some TV shows, that, that provide information


to our seniors or rather to the whole singaporeans in the form of a dialect, this is because we still, appreciate we still recognise the fact that such dialects exist in our society, and such dialects are useful in promoting individualism and something that cannot be measured


just economically, the quality of life expect of our off in humans cannot just be measured economically but what how it must be measured in other ways, if let's say will if let's say, really because due to globalisation


the whole earth, all around the country we all adapt the similar american culture where all of us, are, where all of us just uh, stick to american cuisines stick to american lifestyle of being, less conservative


or having just english to be the common language, it will really really, affect some individuals because they will feel that they are not special they wouldn't feel unique, they'll just feel the same, as the next person beside, and the only way


to distinguish to differentiate us, would be, our academic scores, because academic scores are the one that measures efficiency in in terms of individuals, human capital is something that varies from individuals because we have different skills and therefore different productivity when we go on to the future working world


and these these differentiation should not just be limited to academic achievements but instead be limited to cultures as well and language forming especially minority language forming an important culture


is something that we should preserve especially since we all know that globalisation is something that is threatening our very individualism our culture in this growing world hence I believe that there should be value in preserving minority languages in the world


three debate topic three


K so debate topic three, the book has no place in the modern society discuss, as the proposition I'll be taking on a stand and agreeing that the book has indeed no place in a modern society


books has been hugely important to human civilisations in the past, as an instrument a way, to communicate ideas and information, however, as we can all agree and experience


we are in the fourth industrial revolution, which is brought about by technology, technology is improving, and everything that was once written in books, can now be quickly brought online, adapted into fields


and transcribe onto our screens, for example books like harry porter, can be easily, uh books like harry potter there are movie adaptations to it as well, undeniably we have to admit, that things and movies films


has indeed made our life much more convenient and entertaining as well, however this will tell this, shows us that the function of book, will definitely somewhat be replaced, technology provides a faster


and a more convenient way for us to do numerous things compared to books, in new media it has replaced books informative purposes, information ideas and knowledge once written in books


can be and will be eventually all brought online, or make into E books, for example kindle, a series of E book readers with over three point two million E books available in the database, these


database itself allows us to bring, reading online, which something much more convenient, with just a single tap, or swipe in the fingertips, we are able to access so many different books, and it's so much more convenient


light, and cheap as well, and sometimes even this medium of kindle is so much better than paper books, for example things like Apple I books it provides, not just, the information that the book contains but instead interaction between the book and the readers in itself


unlike paper books that only allow for passive reading, when we read paper books, we are only able to, visualize what the information is given to us, we are only limited and constrained to our own thinking however things like Apple books that provide interaction


helps us to further understand, and even learn new things, and see different perspectives that the book information does present, furthermore the internet makes the information once on books much quicker and easier for people to access


for example in the past with no internet, many university students do has do have to use textbooks in order to learn important information, things like computer science where numerous quotes are available online is so much more convenient for us to be able to just google


a single quote and use it instead of, having to refer to a refer to a book, and it is this technology revolution that is making the book much more obsolete and antiquated in today's life, moreover when people want to know something


they can simply just use an online venture like Google to do a search instead of going to the library to find out more information, as these takes up much less of our time, yes I do agree that books has once served as a source of knowledge and information


however, in this fourth industrial revolution that technology is the main driving factor, it has been replaced, hence, I personally believe, that the book has indeed no place in this modern society


yes I do agree with you especially on the fact that, as you brought about as you brought along the research that states that college students do retain more information when reading it than knowing that they can access it, however I believe that these


this observation is brought about because of the fact that our society places a very very huge emphasis on rote learning, where individuals have to read a book, memorise it read a book memorise it instead of internalising the concepts


that the book is trying to bring across, and it is these rote learning, that is the reason why many individuals, or rather people still believe that book, is the textbooks, are the best way to teach because individuals can just memorise word from word from textbook


however, this can only work or this can only hold through for a certain degree of education level, as we go higher up into the education level, many more complex theories cannot just be simply, taught using textbooks


rather it must be taught using visual, visual visual representation, has indeed help college students, understand more concept theories much more, which is something that cannot be just visualised using textbooks but rather


best learnt in a lab, and I do believe that, and I and I do believe that, books like harry porter one word mean so much different things to many individuals, because it is up to our own interpretation


in the past, I'm pretty sure that all of us will agree that reading a book, was a excellent way to unwind and relax, and, the book was treated as a form of escape, for readers from their daily lives, however


we got to agree that with the advancement in technology, there are now much more better ways, for leisure, for us to escape our daily lives, things like movies and dramas, which people opt to watch instead of reading the original book


because, they simply want to bring the book to life, literally, it allows people to actually see what the book was describing, many of us when reading a book, we cannot simply finish the whole book in a single day


this is because if we really want to experience and enjoy the book, we have to spend days, reading and understanding it this will reading a book will, be rewarding for individuals with more free time on their hands however we got to admit that in this globalised world


the pace of life, has constantly been increasing, we have much more time, we had we need to work for longer hours, and our time to relax, has been, steadily decreasing, this questions the relevance of a book, is it really worth escaping from life


using a book as a avenue, why not watch a movie, a movie is something that can bring the book to life and allows individuals to understand and comprehend the ideas the book was describing at a much shorter much shorter time and some might even argue


better, static words and sentences are being replaced by real life moving images, this change is definitely appealing to most individuals, other than that with development of avenues such as video games that are much more simulating and exciting compare to a


book, it engages the person to a larger extent, books, once served as a source of leisure and entertainment, however, in this fourth industrial revolution where technology is the driving factor, many more many more platforms


of entertainment of leisures are being released to the public, we now are able to access much more forms of entertainment, which definitely caused the book to be antiquated, hence I believe that the book has no future, and that it does not have a place in modern society


yes I believe that, colouring books for adults are something that is a avenue that may most may not consider, however, that is just one form of entertainment and leisure, compared to the many vast entertainment avenues that internet has been has brought about


and I would like to move on to another point of mine which is it in the at in the sector of education, in the past we use textbooks to understand and internalise ideas, however, in higher forms of education like university level


these textbook may not stay relevant as new scientific breakthroughs are constantly being, produce, when new information are being produced, it makes no sense, for the writer to have to write a whole new book


just in order to update the information that was once written in the textbook, older editions of the textbook may are definitely irrelevant because the information that contain is much more is not relevant compared to what is being discovered recently


in addition economically, the books are printed on papers, and papers and paper is, something is a resource, something that cannot be easily wasted, in our world


where scarcity is something that we live upon every day, we cannot afford to waste limited resources like paper, just because, some of individuals agree that books should still be present in our daily life, there's no point to throw books into the bin when the internet has simply all the information


even if you delete the information on the computer you can always go back to the website, or let's say you lost your, word on your Microsoft word you'll be able to recover it, and in a form of textbooks, usually people do sell second handed textbooks


or rather even if they don't sell second-handed textbook, the first user will always annotate, notes highlight key information on a textbook, however what if, the book got caught in the rain, all the precious notes taken will simply go down the weight go down the drain


and worse come to worse, if indeed the persons, has bad handling skills, and do not take care of the textbook well, the information on the textbook may be crumpled, or in even worst, maybe smudged since pens are being used


this information loss is something so much more valuable, compared to keeping a book the information loss, is something that will drive future economic growth, however just


just wasting paper is something that will not contribute to the growth of the economy, and like I said scarcity, papers are becoming more and more scarce, as we cut down more and more trees as deforestation constantly, occurs


there have been numerous drives numerous initiative to reduce, reuse and recycle why because we are starting to acknowledge the fact that the world can never be what it was, three hundred years ago, and we are trying to prevent it


from becoming worse three hundred years later, hence, economic resources like paper should not just be simply wasted on books, while I agree with you that books do serve a form of leisure, in do serve of form leisure for other adults


in the form of leisure entertainment, however majority of the book's users, has to be converted to technology


like Google in order for us to further enhance, and develop the world and, so that the world can be much more efficient


consider the view that spoken language is more oh sorry part one debate topic one


oh ya sure if you are so keen


mutual effect that is immortal religious scriptures like the bible and the quran have have only survive the test of time due to the written word obviously this infliction text would not have been still here because of the tendencies of humours to forget information and the inability to replace replicate the idea


of another person in the exact same manner , this is exactly the same for education as well whatever the teacher teaches you might not the students might not be able to remember the content as, how the teachers want to educate them also students can easily whip out their history textbook and it refer to them as to to ace a test


but under pressure of the test setting they are often unable to be taught the advice of their teachers from their mind as such this is one example of how written form is more important to spoken language, furthermore , it is exactly in fact it is exactly because of the potency and the importance of the written word that school disallow students from bringing books and notes into examinations


uh also uh as a computing student I do believe that the note is much more important than a teacher because I refer to the notes more than I refer to the lectures, so that's from the personal experience, uh and another point is even when we, consider particularly rousing speeches like the victory speech by barack obama the only reason why he was able to speak with such conviction composition and content was the fact that a speech was written out


was first typed out and then he was repeated repeatedly rehearsed and reread hundreds of times to perfect his delivery in the form of spoken word in the end the the foundation and the basis of these influential spoken word is the written word as such I don't feel that the written word is more important than spoken language ya


indeed the spoken word is more applicable to the everyday living because it's efficient like you said as convey ideas more quickly and is emotional how this means that the spoken word is always linked to and related to society in one manner and another however the medium that actually formalises these ideas


like to say as well it's if the written word bad actors have to read the script before acting it out, simply it is most confident to refer to for people the return what, leave uh you were talking about entertainment how about we talk about something more


uh important in the society such as the law, so for example the spoken word is often manipulated and misinterpreted making it unreliable especially in time when it does matter where in court individuals are able to easily twists what had been said because it is very difficult to verify the truth in his word


even when his speech has been recorded these recordings are easily tampered with and so do not hold weight this is exactly why the reason the reason why courts do not accept voice recording as pieces of evidence and the written will which was signed by the person in question easily triumph the voice recording of the will


when we consider cases where words are needed to formalise documents such as this contract don't both parties must be present to rectify the contract by means of their signatures, not only is this expulsion exponentially more difficult to replicate the fact that both parties were present at the sign of the agreement gives credibility to a document


now it is agreed upon that both sides agreed to the contract in a case of a lawsuit then judges or juries can easily refer to back to the document to understand whether the person has actually out of his side of a contract as such I still I believe that the written form is much more important than spoken language


okay first of all I think that in everyday life I think there are a lot of court a lot of law, happening in the court so I think that should not be uh, should not be pushed aside because that is as as equally important as entertainment or any like everyday


communication wise so that is one point and I think for the other uh, as much as a text sent by one person can cause different, uh different thinking different emotions to another because of the the tone was missing is it is exactly the same where how one person different tone when speaking to another can cause a lot of uh unnecessary problems


so I would say they are similar in that sense uh one, one more point I would like to bring across is that , written word remains to be the best way of presenting cultures and it's also important because of the society's culture the ability of written words to convey meanings


more concisely and the characteristic of people being able to recall it more deeply are reasons for this people are easily able to revisit part of their culture to see in written recorded and, remembered tangibly providing a visual understanding of it instead of you cannot just dig out it's hardly it's much harder to dig up uh lost spoken language from the past


first as exact as earlier established it is often for uh there's a fundamental difference for a person trying to understand these two mediums a person can listen to hundred or sounds believe people all their periodic environments but he can only read one text at the time a word at a time this is significant because it means people are much more likely


to be inundated by what they hear forget it often without another means on recalling the content on what they heard than they are to be inundated by words because they need to focus our brain function to digest and understand the words before their eyes, as such this written words is a better way of remembering all the cultures compared to a spoken language


I do agree with you it is impossible that one triumphs over the other in all aspects of of life as such like you said I think it is better that spoken english in written forms each of each of them, has their own areas where they are better than the other and I think it is it is a good thing


the phone the phone doesn't say any timing eh, it's a it is just like no okay hi


part two debate topic two


okay, I do agree that the foreign aid is extremely crucial, and from the from the foreign aid you need to know how to speak their language to be able to (ppc) effectively render (ppc) help and assistance to the one in need but however we have to consider that it is very costly to preserve them to preserve these minority languages in the world


and the cost may outweigh the benefit, so many speakers of the minority language are in geographically inaccessible places, like for example like Papua new Guinea home to over eight hundred languages but much of the country is dense and inaccessible jungle


and you still have to consider the linguist and the other other vocations that are needed to document the grammar and vocab for them to be taught academically and preserves systematically for posterity, it is also expensive to provide the teaching resources for languages and maintain the use of them such as through TV broadcasting this is from the example of the welsh government spends billions a year on welsh TV broadcasting providing bilingual road sign


and providing well translation for members of the public, also speakers on the minority languages will continue to be burdened by the need to learn another language if you were to say that they have to learn all this minority language


also speakers have to learn another language to communicate with non-speakers especially in the age of globalisation where many languages beside minority ones are proliferating in other communities in a sense so this, the majority language if you allow is though ultimately be the main language the main channel of communication have even for the minorities as such I believe that there is a bad there is


even as there is value but I do believe the value is very small as the cost outweigh hugely outweigh the benefits of preserving them, (ppc)


(ppc)


okay yes indeed that the preserving minority languages as, like you argued is the same as preserving their culture but I do like to point out that, to preserve a culture minority language is not the only way there are other


as good or even better method such as art musical paintings things like that and you don't really need minority languages to revert to to preserve that culture and also even you you think the time about if you


if you think about eskimo I don't think it is the language that you will remember them and but the the ice house that they built that you remember them and so I think in that point in that sense the language isn't the one that really hold the cultures together


that preserved the culture and also next , like, I said economically wise it is, not, wise to preserve minority language and since you argued otherwise that I cannot I should not look from the economic wise but you have to think that the people in power who are able to decide whether to preserve or not about this minority in english other one that will think about the economy so that is


that is one point to think about uh for next you also mentioned that, you also mention about individualism about how, when uh when you where minority language is not preserve then there might not be as much social cohesion in your society


however I would like to debut that because, I do believe that if you do not preserve minority language it is in fact more efficient to bring about social cohesion, so for example, uh


in singapore the of the speak mandarin campaign was an aggressive bid to stand step up the use of chinese dialects, because the government then believe that the use of dialects further divide a pluralistic society by undermining mandarins position as the main language of intra chinese communication


it is also true that in singapore schools around not just in singapore but schools around the world are told to place more emphasis on learning english as the one, common channel of communication such that to who further provide provide social cohesion endeavor and this directly compromises the position of indigenous off on minority languages


as such I think that if you choose not to preserve minority languages it is much more efficient and much more efficient for social cohesion and as such I believe that there is no value or there is little value in preserving these minority languages in the world


carry on there's there's no more time, uh uh I can't check


part three debate topic three


indeed the internet does have a bigger pool of information that is more is more easily available at our own disposal because of technology but exactly how effective is it intrinsic fitting that information to us and making sure that the information is retained in our heads


we would we would probably remember what we read from a book but not about we read on the net from three weeks ago for example in an experiment published in science magazine in twenty eleven college students remembered less information when they knew they could easily assess it later on their computer precisely because of our


easy information is made readily available to us on the net our brains start to disregard this type of information with that mentality , with the with this mentality that I'll still be able to find it online easily later in contrast, because information from books was harder for us to find we tend to remember it in fear of never find it again this is why many textbooks and academic academic books still come in print and is still very important and is continually being revised reprinted over the years


hence the books still has it appeals and its switching it today and, in its future in today's modern society furthermore said uh as you have talked about firm on their entertainment value I do agree that while the new mediums have their merit such as your movie they have not taken away the appeals of books


the appeal of a book is that the reader is able to read the story at his or her own pace every flip of the pages decided by the reader the reader take charge so for the, it is true that the harry potter book can be easily transferred over to a movie but because of what the film has shown you he has he has


prevented you from having any imagination on your own while from reading a book you are free to you are free to imagine whatever imagination you can think of from reading the book, also


it is not possible for a moving film to to to, to be able to play again again and to be able to follow the pace of the reader, also


for a book the same words may mean many different things to a different reader as such their the imagination will differ for all the different users as such this way books provide more satisfaction compared to films hence the books still has it still has its appeal and its future in today's modern society


yes in the because of the technology a technologically advanced society one might definitely argue that there is no time no space to read a book, however the functions of books have expanded since ancient times and have they and they're also adapted along with others to today's modern society not only does book allows you to relax


it allows them to stay relevant it the books have become therapeutic and not in the sense of merely providing inspirational quotes on advice cause the internet can do that too some of the books had become specifically therapeutic in nature and they are gaining proper popularity with the public of society


for example best selling books in Amazon include colouring books for adults secret garden an inky treasure hunt and colouring book, an enchanted forest, both by johannah bashford, secret garden and inky treasure hunt and coloring book has sold one point four million copies colouring is a therapeutic activity that allows people to zone out relax and focus on a simple task the process of filling in black and white drawings with colour can be paralleled with the process of filling up distressed life


stressed up life with good environment things such and only been done on paper books the computer only simplifies the process with the fill function on paint causing the therapeutic effect to be lost in an increasingly fast pace stressful society


such book will only become even more relevant in the future as seen this is one function of the book that can never be replaced by the technology about many others hence the books still has it's appeals it's future in today's modern society


okay do I need to give another point because I still have


okay this is part part this is, part one debate topic one happiness is an expensive pursuit today how far do you agree my name is uh <P2>tan eng beng</P2> I represent the proposition on this subject


and uh I shall continue to explain uh how do I agree to this statement happiness is an expensive pursuit today, so I'll just start off with a very basic uh mashlow, hierarchy of needs basically is split into basic psychological and self-fulfillment needs in a ranking order the most foundation one the most basics uh like


food water all this and uh all the way to self-fulfillment all, the needs are costing money that's a fact of life money today is not just a medium of exchange wealth money is fulfilling our needs and uh


we we can't live without that lah so so how how do we link happiness to to money to to expensive so basically money and the wealth it offers uh everyone the choice


to pursue whatever you want for example food if you have only limited money, low cost you can only afford maybe very very basic food staples rice noodles whatever there is uh most economical in


uh the environment however if uh you you're looking forward to a more expensive stuff like seafood fish luxury stuff , you know beef uh then we talk about increasing cost meaning more expensive


hence uh in order to fulfil needs be it basic or higher higher orders of needs we need to expands and spend money to achieve that, so to me in in today's world really we we need to we need to earn money and we need to you know achieve happiness through you know get getting the money to uh fulfil our needs so


that's how I I feel it and of course we are just not talking about basic needs we're also talking about uh you know in today's life modern society we have modes of transports choice of holidays uh quality of our belongings everything again ties to uh dollar and cents


cost more or cost less, so again a matter of choice if you have a very limited uh budget, then your mode of transports choice are very limited probably walking, or or cycling where they don't have much of err operating costs running costs you know just just err spend more time or more more tiring to to carry out however if


you able to afford a more expensive choices are cars or even in other countries where distance are far, you you probably have like flight you know so that there are all these choices but all comes down boils down to the the the thing about costs and level of cost the higher the cost


uh more options open and uh it leads to happiness you can reach your destinations uh faster more convenient uh less tiring, so that's how I I see it in terms of uh mode of transport, on choice of holidays as well of course you you want to travel the whole world anywhere any place then then we're talking about plane flights chartered flights all this is all very expensive pursuits so I would think that


ya is uh happiness is in a way very much tied to that aspects, alright michael how do you think


okay uh michael I I got what you mean I I agree to some extent ya cost is relative and uh happiness, err may not be tied to the most expensive thing we are not saying err there's one dollar and a ten dollar thing uh ten dollar must definitely be happier


uh well of course that's not true so I would say coming back to my point, is uh it gives the value the value I mean the cost itself if if it's know if you can afford a wider range more expensive for example it it it give you more choice so when you open up more choice uh of course a person who prefer plain water than wine


well well okay regardless how rich or poor he can still choose uh water because they prefer water and he is happy by having water and not the more expensive wine, so that's his choice he's he taking up but if he doesn't have a choice then you you see what I mean because


if he has a choice he can he can weigh the difference and uh his preference and uh he he can go for whatever he wants if he doesn't even have a choice then he's so limited and things that may be what he want uh let's say fruit juice or wine alcohol or anything


he could not afford then the happiness isn't there, do you like chicken rice yes you like chicken rice you will be happy with eating chicken rice yes you will be happy eating chicken rice but after you finish this and I tell you you cannot afford the chicken rice will you be happy because it's expensive the chicken rice you will not be so yes it's relative uh chicken rice


you can be as low cost as in hawker could be high cost in a restaurants so yes there's a different quality different range but if you have the choice the afford I mean the the ability to make the choice regardless of the cost


expensive choice of what you can pursuit it uh you can pursue it and that leads to your happiness I would also come from another angle , we talk about faith and religion not targeting I'm not saying any specific religions or faith I say in general we all see uh what money is a root of evil is a sin greed we don't want to be in greed


so , but don't you notice that regardless of religion again everyone most of the faith they they do seek for donations why do you need donations why do you need offerings why do you need contributions from


the the the the the faithful the from the from the people well is of course to to upgrade to you know be it a sculpture or their uh place of worship anything so if they don't have these will they be happy


they will not be they need these things they need the place to worship they need their sculptures they need their, whatever material that that helps them to transmit this this faith so all these doesn't come at no cost it might seems like no cost in a form when it's a donation but


still people has to do constructions right there's raw materials there's labor involved so, yeah


so, I would I would say in terms of , well whether happiness uh can be you know be be expensive pursuit I would definitely think so because yeah there are charges to be make and and uh some are expensive


some are very high cost then how do you achieve that yeah you you need to earn money and and you know unfortunately everybody have choices, I mean be it the even from from the health perspective health always lead to happiness right so you you if if you cannot


if the person cannot afford the treatment or the kind of lifestyle, or you know to to to be healthy to be fit to be treated, if he cannot afford that he will not be happy he needs all all these input and and treatment costs medicine uh consultations with the doctors the best doctors in the world all these are expensive healthcare is one of the highest cost uh we have in the world


so I I would uh again reiterate that the happiness, is err is tied to err expensive pursuit in that aspect


okay michael I uh I hear you, yes uh happiness uh are different


uh the definitions or is is different at different stage of life so you know you talk about balance and spiritually all all these in order to achieve I just say even the basics uh again it boils down to two dollar and cents


so dollar and cents means ya you you you you you you you you still need to fork out certain money to achieve that you know regardless age uh regardless age for the beginning you say coming out from the school going into the working society


is that's provided you can afford uh, to attend school so yeah I mean uh you know good school cost more, and err you come out will you have a better degree you have a better qualifications uh it leads to it is to I would I would argue it is uh uh probably a better future


if not why everyone wants to go for degrees and uh PHDs and all the uh postgraduate uh studies essentially statistics shows that uh yeah the higher education you can achieve of course not free on certain countries they'll subsidise but


well they they still need to you know fork out their their time spend all these uh we're talking about expensiveness not just in terms of money time as well, so all these you you you you they they have to invest early you know expensive stuff and uh and get their education done and uh the that that defines the happiness in the later part of their life be it success in careers or business


and eventually find a partner settle down at least the you know the family et cetera, coming to a balance you in order to be balanced in the mid career you know again you you talk about budget costs and earnings if if a person is uh you know


doesn't have that that that that the balance in in in in in the budget I I think would be pretty stressful, yeah they everyday under debts or, or or you know unable to afford a lot of things will you want to walk to work you you prefer to take public transport or you want to drive


in this this this this you know the, it was on a cost higher costs probably leads you to a more convenience and uh err you know more comfort that's that's money, spiritually as well I would say you you want to donate do you have anything to donate


yeah if if you have able to donate and and you know to the school office then then I I will see it yeah or even let's say you volunteer do do do you have the capability to afford the time the volunteer or you have to work even


no retirement essentially you know how old you are you still need to eat and drink, at least all these are expenses could be expensive stuff and uh yeah I would I would say up to the point where the person is gone


is uh day in day out money is involved and and uh the more you can afford uh easier the life would be and uh, you can you can you can do more and err be happy about it people will also look up


to you and uh admire you and say ya you have contributed to society you have done good to your family and etcetera you know so I I, I see again , happiness and err and this expense or expensive uh they are so related in today's context


right the topic here is err diligence is the key to success


what is your view, I am <P2>tan eng beng</P2> I represent the proposition and I agree with uh this statement diligent is the key to success, so I quote you a very famous example by


the one of the most famous and successful scientist in the world his name is albert einstein err he always say and everyone's quoting him that genius is one percent talent and ninety-nine percent hard work


or effort, or religions so and uh I'm sure he is not the only one but it it because of his being so famous and everyone keep coming back to this term even though he's more than a century old already and uh


ya we we we always believes that you know something that that we we inherited in our DNA how how fluent how smart EQ IQ we are a lot of times we we still need to depend on uh our effort and uh


our what we do to define how successful we are in the world, from studies err to work you know to family as well if you do not dedicate uh effort to it if you do not apply your due


diligence the things will not happen nicely automatically so so genius is one percent talent ninety nine percent hard work yeah it it it it it let's just quote from studies


from from the time we we we go into our school and uh we have I think ample examples that no no students who work really hard put in a lot of effort and time to revise to listen to the teachers and repeat their


tests and uh and we all say uh repeat their works and uh uh put effort into their test all these, they they will ultimately , being rewarded for the effort put in whereas a talent it can only bring you that far


it it you could maybe for the short term being for the initial stretch it might be uh successful in that but the later on for the long goal, if if you don't have the effort to continue the path


it would err eventually leads you to nowhere and uh not not successful so diligence is err in my perspective is , it leads to uh uh success in in that sense


yeah I I hear you and uh I I'll come back to the fact your X factor about luck lead to success, uh I would say luck of my my , may be able to influence the success or failure in of course uh sometimes in the most unexpected ways alright a very successful person a very uh important clever or rich person might be just knocked down by cars accident happens


you know and he's just gone for good, right so indeed the luck may influence err the the path to success uh in unexpected way, but that I feel doesn't uh fundamentally uh defines a


the general direction or the vast majority , let's say if if luck is uh out of the factor so be it a genius like einstein or sports player with the best skills and you know err if he doesn't make the move he if doesn't do the due diligence


to to work on it I, I I strongly feel that it will never lead to success uh what's his name uh usain bolt the the guy who got so much olympic gold in uh track and field running he he might be born with the best legs best for sprinting uh does he not train


he he does train he might be training more than more than uh anyone else or at least I would say by by by default he has to train even at least a little bit, otherwise err how


there's no superman in the world that has that that can just being born and effortlessly achieve what he has achieved, so in sports arena, uh in soccer all the same, david beckham has been uh that successful in his free kicks ya in in the past he he uh he he does train a lot he's not born to to do it you know just just within uh five minutes touching a ball


every every success uh boils down to initial due diligence more or less of course those who are you know having more talent in it may may need to , to to to invest a lesser effort to achieve that those who are not that privilege uh will have to do more in order to uh be successful it's uh more or less


uh but due diligence diligence is still the key to success and uh, I say from from , from singapore perspective I like to err quote some statistics and uh explain it through so in uh october twenty nineteen as uh barely one year ago singapore MOE's uh ministry of educations they have a data that shows at forty four per cent of uh gen four


uh population gen four meaning those born between nineteen seventies to nineteen seventy nine, they have uh these err no degree bachelor degree from university, forty four percent of them nearly half


that is err let's just compare to a one generation before that generation three that's twenty one percent two times, so I think first of all is in order to qualify to get a degree to lead to success people have to study right and study


is is by no means uh something that is natural or you don't do anything he could attend courses you have to attend lecturers and and seminars submit homework do your tests everything what are all these these are due diligence, so everyone have to have to go through these hard work to get a degree and why are they all pursuing degree why are they going through all these hard work studying to get a degree and to be successful because uh in today's context we all talk about qualifications without that


err you know you're not not the eligible to err many options in in the career or or or even business development so so, I think this is uh the the the the the statistics


that shows more gen four, population are having this number one is is because of that nowadays people are getting more and more into uh into you know study hard study hard do due diligence get the degree then lead them to success


I I would say there is a second point to it uh just quickly go through that , then we talk about having this degree and from my perspective , in a in a society where it's more homogeneous today uh we say literary you take a rock and you throw into a crowd you'll hit a degree holder is no longer as prestigious as the past right we we we we we already have like yeah gen four we already have half the population getting the degree


so how do we be successful if you're a degree holder and I am everyone are degree holder he need that extra effort you need to put in extra effort, to outperform everyone else to be successful is no longer there to oh by waving a degree means you are one up everyone no you become a commoner you're just on par and yes you need you need effort


more than just being a degree holder to be successful in life that's how my take on that how do you think michael


and I see his err drama skill his acting skill is his effort as well of course from a very twisted angle,


I see your point about street smart is indeed street smart uh sometimes uh you know sometimes luck fact, the it do influence the make or break of a certain situations ya it it with you know make successful case fail or vice versa and uh yeah uh street smart is a game changer in a way


, fundamentally I I feel diligence is is key, uh is the base is the foundations is where things started off without these I think even street smarts doesn't come into assistance if you don't even stepped onto the streets right by go into the


, okay okay sure


it will change lah nothing is uh predictable in in a way I mean uh even if we do R&D in, in in in chemistry all these is all a matter of luck whether you have chosen a a a a logical and higher probable path


nobody can guarantee every experiment you get your desired outcome is is still a roll of the dice you can get what you want, you can get something most of the time in fact you get not what you want and sometimes unexpectedly you got better than what is supposed to be so in fact yeah there are so many factors and uh whether due diligence is the key


or just a fundamental is a is a defining thing that uh leads to success uh basically it's efforts no effort , no no no rewards you so what you what you reap what you sow right ya


money don't drop from the sky maybe a pot will drop from the sky if you are walking at the wrong place, ya so I would I would say they are I I I'm pretty I would say uh, believe in uh this this diligence that is is could you know at least uh on the fundamental in the very beginning basis you'll define


where you lead to you know the first step is always most important is in the wrong direction just to bad I think how many steps you take you're still lost in in the nowhere you you you want to have every step validate and uh you know effort put in


and lead to where a success can be ya


debate topic three part three, the subject of this debate is uh consider the view that efficient government is more important than democracy


my name is uh <P2>tan eng beng</P2> I represent the proposition and uh I would start to uh explained why I feel I agree to this point that the efficient government is more important than democracy


so I say democracy how do I define it I I would say loosely it might mean freedom of choices of common people we can err we can vote we can choose who to be our leader of the country of our state


to represent us right so democracy in my view is uh it it in my definitions loosely broadly freedom of, choice so how I see is yeah I I I see say the most recent uh COVID nineteen pandemic


uh outbreak, it, appears to me very obvious that uh uh freedom of choice uh does not curb the infection it leads to a worse off


more infection more deaths so one very uh prominent example is uh united states of america USA they are trying to go for america first and what I see now is america first in terms of uh infection rate total infected


and death so is that a good thing I do not agree is a good thing okay USA has uh always been the beacon of uh you know free freedom democracy, they they has been always the leader of that and they have given their their citizens all all the freedom of choices


from err freedom of speech, rights to bear arms everything, you know they they have brought kind of uh freedom of choices as compared to many other nations, so even coming to err pandemic err disease outbreak scientists and uh a lot of people have been saying very important to maintain social distancing


and uh wash your hands and most important of all is the mask of course it has been not so consistent in beginning, in order to protect the the the healthcare workers limited supply of masks we and uh that time we don't have that science to say that uh know mask can can prevent these spreading of disease yeah of course uh uh MO


uh WHO uh health organisation all these uh they say don't need to wear mask but eventually they change their stance because uh they have seen uh examples and over a time err the mask do help, to curb the outbreak to curb the infection however USA has always been a very hot topic thanks no thanks for it no thanks to democracy mask has become a very contagious topic


some will argue politically is not good is no need to wear mask no to wear mask choice is up to you, and well infection is it up to everyone I think for common good efficient government maybe I just a very small example in new york


they they all they despite being a a country giving a lot of freedom this state of new york in USA, they went quite opposite they have very strict clampdown means uh very efficient government controlling a situation doesn't offer that much of a freedom to their people and it has drastically bring down the infection rate in that state


other states has went, very bad of shape, today we're talking about florida texas a lot of places where they have err early reopening, yeah I think they are led by unfortunately not the right leader the top guy and uh this this has become quite quite out of control in uh most of uh


USA so the pandemic cases the most recent cases it it gave me the view that the efficient government is more important at least in the health, you know safeguarding life at stake is more important than choice or democracy


choice of democracy might lead to uh bad example, will met may made may lead to a bad uh consequences, we talking about deaths we talking about being infected by uh this disease even though you know sometimes a young young people may may not have a that high mortality rate but overall I I think is is uh very sad to see uh


of nearly hundred and forty one hundred fifty thousand people in USA already died and not just that case I think uh if you look globally in the western countries where, uh we always uh talk about democracy I I think ya when democracy overrides efficient government


at least in this pandemic case uh it leads to very bad result consequences michael how do you think about that


I I hear you uh michael so I I would say you mentioned about being the COVID nineteen being an exception I I err disagree with that I uh would like to, err cite a few more examples on of the past uh history you know we have we have all the history books proven results uh most let's say more


contemporary err germany nazi hitler err, if you are aware they err nazi, it and hitler they are democratically elected, nineteen thirty two thirty three they were selected to lead the government


how successful they are in uh the government probably they are in the very beginning they err they launched the world war two and they nearly conquer and successfully retained europe in europe any countries no one fight for them even UK they


doesn't fall almost fell and err nearly the whole continental mainland europe or were taken, were won by nazi germany but of course you know eventually with the help of so many other countries USA russia everyone fight back and uh


nazi germany fall fallen so, then we look back is democracy really good in that example, I I would say on the long term it doesn't nazi fed you know has has disastrous uh results they have extinct disappear right it it might be short term uh efficient and good


ya but the long term wise they they they they took the wrong path, the wrong path is led by unfortunately uh wrong choice, hope we argue in US today, I'm not sure if they had made a right choice in uh twenty sixteen the election probably the opponent could be worse off than the current incumbent we don't know we we won't know hillary clinton will lead to what kind of future but err


just look at USA compared to the rest of the world you know other countries UK singapore china where it come from it suffer one of the world's infection rates and death rates, I I I won't know if anyone can do worse off than them so these are really contemporary examples going further back


I would say like say china has err has been since known history till now is has always been filled with dynasties other countries as well india anywhere golden ages, a lot of civilisation have a golden ages


but, are they rule by democracy probably only rome and a few other examples they they have a certain short spans of success but most of the time is rule by a king or emperor queen whatsoever monarchy is just a king a person called the shot


no elected government one king one person decide who to lead the government et cetera and they have led to uh all the good time all the all the, golden periods right prosperity good health long life peaceful and uh are they attributed to democracy


not really coming back to rome democracy how long does it last julius caesar, after a certain period of time rome still fall right, it it uh it it it cannot be there forever and I mean of course it might be taken over by other form of uh government over time is not really a democracy thing but democracy doesn't guarantee that is a longevity it'll always be there is always successful


and uh let's look at maybe coming back to reality today outside the example of china versus india, again this is uh uh statistics offered by IMF report was made in august twenty nineteen


barely a year ago, china versus india in terms of economics so on per capital nominal G GDP, ya, in nineteen eighty seven so recent a ago, they were on par india and china per capital almost the same output nineteen eighty seven


three decades later in twenty nineteen now, china is four point six times richer than india in nominal GDP method, or two point three times richer in PPP purchasing power priority method


in short china is richer than india, then look at the government china, has always been known to be the uh autocratic single party communist party india, so many elections so many presidents so many premiers


democracy, china is winning india in, terms of uh geographically they're all asians in terms of time same time zone we're talking about in nineteen eighty seven to eighteen nineteen twenty nineteen and uh I would say this is one example where you can see know is a efficient government that's important efficient central government


central or what uh diversify uh but as long as it's efficient it can lead to growth can lead to happiness can lead to success so democracy, I I would see it as as is it's an option


may not suit the every time zone every situation


good thank you


part one debate topic one


okay uh, good okay good uh what a what a impressive introduction , so to me I think happiness yes from your perspective is measurables and uh based on maslow hierarchy of needs but


I personally think that it is it is it can it be even not measurable because why uh is comes from inside of you so you can never achieve hundred per cent happiness even take for example like


you you own a car you want to travel you buy a car but once you have a car you want a bigger car you are not happy so it's the matter is boils down to the matters of what, who is beside you or who is the one that to to does the thing or did the thing together with you to make the to achieve the happiness and that is all boils down to uh your the mentality if you if your mind is is


your your objective is very clear like you you want you want to achieve happiness in the simplest manner, so you just tell yourself no matter what you do as long as it give you that kind of satisfaction, I don't think it'll cost you uh uh even a lot of money to to to reach that so you have to do a lot of I think is you have to do a lot of uh self talking and uh uh I mean self


err brain brainwashing the tell yourself not all things need to be uh uh use use money to to be able to to to to to to purchase or to get it you can actually do other means to get it I'm sure


there are many ways to achieve your success right not everybody come from a rich family you know even the poor can be success success can be a doctor can be a lawyer one one day it doesn't have to be uh all the rich will get to become a a a lawyer or a doctor


so it's all boils down to I think the approach and towards what you want and then your very fundamental and basic, uh ways to to to get there right so


this is how I I look at it so it may not be expensive maybe expensive this word I will say is err, very ranged from people to people you know if you if you can own a car that that probably like say for example uh a BM but a BM may may be expensive a luxury to a commoner people but to the rich is like a toyota to to them so there's no measures


no there's no measurement at definite measurement on on that so it's same goes to happiness people have their own level of uh this uh discovery


yeah


okay


okay uh


okay do I still have time , so I I will still think yes err you have a point but I I still think that it's not an expensive thing what I would like to say is mainly on


happiness is I would say I will categorised into err different stages of life say for example when you are , in the schooling times schooling days or schooling age we will always deem it under the category call uh happiness will probably falls under discovery you know when know you are the discovery stage right happiness is felt as excitement then


when you are in the mid twenties right happiness change it it may falls under the the the, uh the category called pursuit right pursuit means you feel successful and then no you happiness is create experience when you feel successful and you are capable because probably you are just out of school and then you think you are there


wanting to go into the working society so that is under the pursuit happiness , right then of course as you move into the thirties we we'll can we can look we're we can call happiness under balance right because you know err you're balance with your happiness your happiness come from having a balanced family health


and energy level of your maybe your your your bodies because you are in the thirties okay then maybe I would say when you're in the forties right happiness will now become more like


concerned or more to swayed towards uh spiritually raising a family and community the impact how you how you can impact to the world then of course last but not least the the the last part of your happiness when you're in the fifties or your final stage of your life right err


err this will be more like you you're you you feel happy when you are healthy lucky and you'll like to stay calm instead uh so it's a different stage of uh I will deem it is not value is not measurable is more like happiness follows


at which stage of your life so I still think that uh happiness is not an expensive uh pursuit uh for today


ya okay I I just think that well uh yes you're in a way happiness is money money is happiness but you have to think of if you if you cannot err


if you are able you have your own self uh values which your happiness your in-built self self happiness can make the other person, err feel happy or have the energy to make more money so that is also another way of using happiness at no cost to help someone


uh to generate more money so so so I I think of this I mean I I look at this way is you have to be, uh be, positive at all times right so once you are positive you have a positive mindset you know that different stages yes need money but if you are if you do your staging that the five staging right


which I mention just now you do a five staging thoroughly right , and then stay positive happiness will come along the way, it it it is is whether it doesn't matter err how much how much monetary level you put in but I think it's more of the energy level that you channel from uh from from one stages to your to your from the early stages to your end of the life stages so that matters


to me so this is not value, I will say this not monetary monetary value but more on uh the err the the energy strength that level of energy where you pass on from early childhood or study days to your end of your err life


stages every stages is important yeah


okay done, part two debate topic two


chop okay I hear you err but again why I say is not err diligence is not a key to success because not everybody is uh is fortunate to born


uh as genius like albert einstein or, born as uh as as uh as as intelligent as bill gates so, I believe sometimes success or diligent it can be eh sorry I mean success can be uh achieved


by through luck luck is what I said is is sometime plays a part right uh you may be smart you maybe you may be have a wonderful plan procedure to, to to achieve uh the path to success or you're you're diligent you're smart enough to find your ways but if you lack of the luck or some we call it the X factor right


just as you may you may you may you may met up with some obstacle along the way or you may not even successful at to a certain thing that you want to pursue so


the I mean in in life there's we always say uh up and down right so it's not uh life can can never be so smoothing and , and uh always on the high side or always on the happiness side right so you must be able to accept rejection failures and


maybe rejection obstacles this and that so , so because of this obstacle rejection that's where you can see err even you're how smart, you are one day or what or how smart you are


but one day you may be it may be uh it may be as success in one area but you may be failure in many areas as well, so it's not saying that you are diligent in in this area I'm a successful in all areas no so my philosophy is


uh, uh with a little bit of due diligence is good yes it's good to have it, but you must be able to use find another alternative to keep yourself uh sustained and and afloat if situation caused upon you to react


so uh when when you really call upon in my situation call upon you to react and I'm sure there are many people out there err who are not, as smart as einstein but he have other ways to


to achieve what he want he can be a nobel prize winner as well right so I'm sure there are many people who are nobel prize winner but excel in academic is one one way he may not be as excellent in academy but he may be excellent in certain ways that uh


uh people doesn't have it, so which is why I insist that uh, diligent is a must but it's not a key to success again the person has to be flexible


and have a positive mindset again right react accordingly plan accordingly as as things comes along, right #eng beng# what do you think


okay well I still I still what I would like to quote you on the err the example like david beckham diligent on his free kick, right right so yes he landed himself in a few very famous uh club manchester united real madrid right but there are people who are


again very skillful in free kicks but they're they're just not handsome like him , right so how to, enter into, famous club or big clubs like real madrid he has to sell himself


either by , I would like to quote another example you know I mean although neymar is neymar junior is not, uh at all links to real madrid but he got this guys know how to fake and drama on the soccer pitch this is one way to catch attention right so you agree he's the most favorite famous actor on on on the pitch soccer pitch so


so he is good that he can actually catches attention and then maybe some of the big clubs love such a such kind of player he they he doesn't really care whether neymar can dribble or not dribble or shoot shoot from at any angle but they just love his err dramatic uh action on on on the on the on the soccer field that he


correct so so you see both are both are talent players correct diligent yes but, err neymar may use more more make ways and means to get himself into another bigger club but beckham is based really based on his uh uh skills to to land get himself into the club that he want so again it boils down to uh uh your what you


mention just now that uh yes people go through the proper channel of study you know go through uh PSLE O levels JCs and, university right would I also go through that you know but whether the person err


I I would not say I won't say all will be the same where people will really follow through and get a degree but there are I'm sure there are people uh who are not that smart but yet, also try their ways to get out uh and pass with


sub at least a a cert out of their the their primary levels secondary levels JCs or or university right but that doesn't mean this this group of people uh they're unsuccessful uh


in the chinese we call it <NEN> uh <NEN> can be uh part of, a way to success I doesn't need me to be <NEN> correct so this <NEN> thing can even maybe uh


yes it may not be a a a a a degree or a bachelor or whatever or master degree holder or professor, he just probably a past degree maybe but if he know how to make he just a neymar you he know how to act and and drama at the right time yeah probably he'll he can be working in a very big MMC company now so so this is how I see err


ya diligent is probably a stepping stone but, you you as at like I said as every stage comes along right you have to act accordingly right change accordingly be flexible and change accordingly to to make yourself more prominent, yep yeah


no we should we should actually we should actually change the topic not the key is a fundamental to, the basic step to success not key key is the main point you cannot key all the way it cannot be keying all the way uh it yes uh so I I think diligence is the base to start off at to be a successful person but not a key uh because it changed it may change it it will change along the way


yeah right


yes yes


okay uh but I'm not going to I mean what thanks for the introduction on that


as I as I look at this way pandemic case COVID pandemic case is err is exceptional I would say is exceptional but, again we are now talking about we are now facing the the zillenium or the millennium group right where


the young generation younger generation they want freedom they want alternative voices, right so uh that again boils down to, how do we define happiness and how do we define diligent again you have to find other ways to make yourself happy and then to allow the young generation younger generation people to to to to choose their own


government you know to to have their own say then that maybe it's will it'll make the world peace because because uh with that uh the younger generation will probably feel that they are importance their their comments and their


uh will be heard will be heard so once their one once they would they would the the the view will be heard and then uh whether whether it's a logical view or comment but they just want to be heard so uh


that probably okay some I would say some may be good you know you can actually adopt and and and use it and and but if you think that is not good then you can actually filter it off, so why I say uh uh uh in this new generation or in this uh


new generation years or what we we can't just depend on, a government to say, left we go left you know right we go right, alright people tends to have more options and choice and then people are more like I say people are more educated they are more uh them their their approach not that conservative


they're more liberal so that's why you need to allow them to talk and speak up, if it if you think that uh by imposing a force, right uh like you know whatever the ruling party for example in in in in in singapore the recent recent general election so do you do you think by by by saying that uh I want a strong mandate


uh you will get a strong mandate right so people still want to have some option optional alternative voice in parliament to to to voice out, right we may not be able to to topple the government no but at least we are given there we are there to give the option alternative voice and solution to to allow the other group of people uh who who wish to have a chance to to speak up


right so if you if you look at the trend towards the uh our recent election you know, people may think that this uh pandemic thing our PAP may may may may clean sweep the number of the total number of seats in parliament but the answer is not because


people I mean like I said yes despite the fact that hundred billion has been given out to to support those who are uh COVID affected people or or singaporeans but, if you look at the the the numbers of votes and percentage is actually in fact is dropping so what does it what does it tells right there's there's unhappiness among among the group of people there who wanted to


to actually uh voice out so so we should actually not stopping we can't stop them we should not stop them right we should be actually moving in in a society towards where freedom of speech is important and everybody is equal you know


uh yeah why why must we only have one one one one one party saying yes ya so which is why I I feel that , this err democracy is always important than err efficient government


yeah what do you think I mean yeah


well kind of err agree on that different, time zone different area yes uh efficient government


plays a part but like I say we have to the the the earth is revolving every day so, there are bound to have changes along the way and uh ideas revolving


and uh , so so with a lot of ideas evolving people tends to have their own views people like to speak speak up so nobody wants to, remain silent forever so why are we


restricting people from speaking up if you have nothing to hide, and your conscience is clear and then err, just like now uh just like currently now you and me


alright uh there's no barrier against between uh uh uh between us we are openly sitting down to debate right if that is a efficient government let's stop eh we cannot say we cannot talk about democracy and government then we shouldn't be talking


and you shouldn't be talking this topic now right, we are here we are talking this we are discussing this topic means, they allow me to speak up and is this freedom of speech right ya so you see so now even the facilitator now also have this they're paying us to talk


right so they are not stopping us from you and me from speaking up right although we we are deemed as uh what one proposition and one the other will be opposition ultimately, we are here to talk you're here to discuss so uh


again my my philosophy is uh speech is uh ambiguous uh uh in infinite alright you can say anything you want right, uh of of course you must uh be responsible to what you said so


we should not be uh afraid of speaking up right we shouldn't be feeling fearful and, as long as uh you know what you're what you're saying you know what you're doing right then speak up so uh there's always a saying don't say everything you know but not everything you say so this is why I encourage people to speak up


and uh provide the alternative voice, and solution uh, improvements sometime need, alternate solution so to to to


uh to uh I means and like I said the earth is revolving every day nonstop and things get changes err , like I say uh living expenses goes higher and higher right so


if you don't speak up we don't you don't speak up you don't ask government will not give it not give us give more money , alright okay


okay anything anything


debate topic one, anything can be considered art but not all art is of equal value what is your view


okay so to start off, I'll say that I've to agree to a large extent to this statement, okay so basically I would like to address like what are the values that differs, so basically from my point of view that actually splits into sentimental


painting art value and the other will be a, more, treasured one which is a serious art collectors, so what basically means on a sentimental painting is that generally people this kind of art are generally looked down by serious collectors


so basically they claim that, sentimental art are historical and self indulgent , so basically it, , mess mess with their mind and, become irrational to the real art that they deem is valuable


so, from that from then on historical art is also like a, means of shift of attention and from the harsh reality so it's often not, being you know, favoured by the serious art collectors itself


so from from this point of stand you can really tell that, not all art is of equal value so, okay let's give a analogy so let's say if, da vinci


who have been painted like a mona lisa and versus me who have painted it, the da vinci's art is of obviously the more favourable one since he's like a you know a legend a figure that everyone respected him


so, from there from my point so my from my point is that, in art always comes with a story so the story is actually, being perceived by many others, where it valuable stance


point of view comes with a story itself and whether the one the artist that painted it, adds value to it, ya this is why the arts actually the first, in value lah from my point of stand, (ppc) okay


okay actually I have to correct your point there because sentimental, art are often treasured because they actually add values to it, as compared to normal artist that , doesn't really have a story that back back it up


ya that's what my point of stand is so this is why the value actually differs from the market if you actually perceive it that way


okay okay so , okay so from my point of stand is that they are not equal okay this is what I meant they are not equal so let's say, oh okay so you agree with it lah, yes correct


okay so <P2>jian siang</P2> thank you so much for your prior stand so but I would like to ask, like let's say if you actually put two profession together like you actually you mention being like a science and dance or any other form of a art people that you were categorised in let's say if you put two profession in it and they actually


maybe one of it sees the beauty of art in a different perspective, what would you actually, I mean tell people, since you say like you know they are both equally art but they are both very different profession how would you actually define that


correct (ppc) (ppc)


(ppc) (ppc)


(ppc)


okay so thank you for answering that and I just have to clarify so by saying that you actually find the commonality, between the two profession like let's say , what we all human have is empathy so that's what you meant is it like let's say both actually come into understanding like oh art differs and we can actually do that to


trigger our emotions or make it better is that what you mean, (ppc) okay (ppc) (ppc) (ppc)


okay so okay I understand that this might be a little more, of immature topic so but let's say this kind of appreciation is actually being nurtured since young so how can actually parents goes about doing it cause since young maybe people are not taught to appreciate this kind of profession especially in the art area


so like okay so like let's say if how would you actually go about nurturing like maybe a, , primary school kids to actually appreciate it cause what they see are cause what they are more proficient in are virtual learning so they can't actually have something intangible like let's say that like what you have mentioned the quality of appreciation okay they just want to see results and let's say


oh this art piece is nice I definitely love it mummy can you buy for me okay but let's say if the profession that you mentioned like maybe a art therapist or , whatever that's intangible that doesn't it's not virtually, shown to them how would you actually go about doing it


yes


I see okay just one last thing okay so basically I okay so I mentioned like, basically not all arts are of equal value so let's say if I would okay so imagine this is a analogy let's say if imagine we are in this auction house


and there's painting A and painting B, so basically, painting A cost ten thousand dollars and painting B cost ten dollars, okay so both are, from a different artist but same profession as an artist how would you explain to me


why one value differs from another since your point of stand is that all art are equal in value, (ppc) oh I see


okay so just to summarise your your point is that , that ten thousand dollars artist, might have a better experience a better story behind the one with, on paint B itself that may have a lack of experience and a lack of artwork is that what you meant


(mmhmm)


(mmhmm) I see


part two debate topic two


okay so from this statement can fantasy books and films offer anything more than an escape from reality, okay so I have to, I mean, for myself I have to agree that it offers more than just an escape to reality so basically


we have all kind of genre from the films and books like we have the, horror one we have the dramatic one, and all sort of a genre or even comedies, but all these actually sum sum up to one thing, which which actually forces the audience or the reader


to immerse themself in the situation where they feel motivated, or you know having, to examine their motivation like let's say if you watch a, horror movie, your heartbeat get pumped pumped up and all so it actually forces you in a scenario on


what, would you do if you are in the, actor's shoes, okay so basically it actually, okay differs from being escape in a reality instead it forces you to be in the reality itself