1. Letter from
YYAANNGG JJIIEE JJEESSSSIICCAA
I READ with interest the ar-
ticle written by Mr Zafar
Anjum, “It’s Oh So Quiet,
I Must Be in Singapore”
(July 7–8).
The writer states that
Singaporeans seem to be
losing the ability to talk and
gossip. I wish to disagree
with some of the views he
has presented.
Mr Anjum mentions the
ease of living and practice of
self-censorship in Singapore
as reasons why Singapore-
ans don’t talk.
I beg to differ. As sec-
ondary school students, we
are exposed to many issues
through the use of text-
books, film, newspapers and
the Internet.
Such diverse sources of
information help us discuss
issues that may sometimes
include subjects that were
previously considered taboo.
During lessons, we are
encouraged by our teachers
to have a voice and to ques-
tion assumptions.
Our creativity and thirst
for knowledge are fuelled by
themanyopportunitiestotalk
and share our views through
group discussions and pre-
sentations. In fact, our teach-
ers sometimes struggle to
keep us quiet in class!
The writer also said that
“youngstersdon’ttalkbecause
it is considered ‘uncool’.”
Being a “youngster” my-
self, I feel very strongly
about this statement.
Since when has talking
been considered “uncool”
among teenagers?
Anyone who has sat at a
school bus stop will defi-
nitely have heard the noise
from animated conversa-
tions between students. Typ-
ical subjects range from
school work, to current
affairs, to who the hottest
Korean drama actor cur-
rently is.
In his article, Mr Anjum
argues that “digital conver-
sation” over the Internet
should not be considered
“real” conversation.
He has perhaps forgot-
ten that conversations be-
tween users of online chat
rooms and forums is indeed
“real.”
It takes place between
actual people, only through
a different medium.
He says that in a face-to-
face conversation, there is
physical closeness. Do con-
versations conducted over
the telephone still count as
“real” conversations then?
He also claimed that a
face-to-face conversation is
a “responsible” one as a per-
son cannot hide behind the
anonymity of the Internet.
However, it is this very
anonymity that makes digi-
tal conversation so inter-
esting and unique.
Self-censorship in digital
conversation is greatly re-
duced because of the
anonymity the Internet pro-
vides.
People are more forth-
coming online than in face-
to-face conversations. They
are not so worried about
what the rest of the world
might think about their ideas
and opinions.
Singaporeans are any-
thing but quiet in the digital
realm.
Local online forums are
abuzz with activity and gos-
sip among Singaporeans.
This, surely, is a sign that
Singaporeans are not losing
the ability to talk and gossip.
The fact that I am willing
to respond to Mr Anjum’s
piece also shows that Sin-
gaporeans are not such a
silent lot after all. We do
have our own opinions and
views and have the ability
to voice them freely.
The writer is a
Secondary 2 student.
iisay
NOT SO SILENT
IN SINGAPORE
2299weekendTODAY • July 14 - 15, 2007
PHOTOGRAPHER Sha Ying has always
been fascinated by the concept of travel
and how people react to new places.
His series of pictures, simply titled
Travel, documents tourists Mr Ying has
photographed in Singapore.
Work on this series has taken Mr Ying
to many of Singapore’s most popular tourist
destinations.
The photographs on this page were
taken at Merlion Park, one of Singapore’s
leading tourist spots. Hundreds of tourists
go there daily in search of iconic photo-
graphs of Singapore.
Shooting the photographers near the
Merlion enabled Mr Ying to observe tourists
from all corners of the world.
Their reactions and behaviour told him
as much about themselves and their cultures
as it did about their journey to Singapore.
Mr Ying studied photography and tel-
evision at the Beijing Broadcasting Institute
from 1978 to 1982.
HisworkshavebeenselectedbyTheSo-
ciety of Worldwide Ethnic Chinese Photog-
raphers for publications such as Singapore
Today (1997) and Tradition and New (2001).
Heiscurrentlyworkingasasupervisingcam-
eraman with an international TV station.
GLOBAL SHOOT
THE WORLD
IN HIS LENS
A PHOTO ESSAY BY SHA YING
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