GMSS SS 2021

HUMANITIES (SOCIAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY)HUMANITIES (SOCIAL STUDIES, HISTORY)HUMANITIES (SOCIAL STUDIES, LITERATURE IN ENGLISH)Paper 1 Social Studies 2272/012273/012274/014 Express5 Normal (Academic) Additional materials: Writing Paper1 hour 45 minutes 20 August 2021Setter: Mr Cheong Kim Gin READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRSTWrite your name, index number and class on all the work you hand in.Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper.Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.Section A Answer all questions.Section B Answer both questions.Write all answers on the writing paper provided.At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.Begin your answer to Section B on a new and separate sheet of paper.This document consists of 8 printed pages. [Turn over Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) Preliminary Examination 2021

GMS(S)/Humanities/2272/73/74/P1/Prelim2021/4E/5NA 2 Section A (Source-Based Case Study)Answer all questions.LIVING IN A DIVERSE SOCIETYStudy the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions.You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources you are told to use. In answering the questions you should use your knowledge of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources.1Study Source A.Why was the source published? Explain your answer. [5] 2Study Sources B and C.Do you think the blogger in Source B would agree with the cartoonist in Source C? Explain your answer. [6]3Study Sources D and E.Having read Source D, does Source E show that Singaporeans like Kampung living? [7] 4Study Source F.How useful is this source as evidence about the revival of the Kampung spirit in Singapore? Explain your answer. [7] 5“The weakening of the community spirit is inevitable with the progress and development in a country.”Using the sources in this case study, explain how far you would agree with this statement. [10]

GMS(S)/Humanities/2272/73/74/P1/Prelim2021/4E/5NA 3 Have Singapore’s public housing developments killed the Kampung spirit?BACKGROUND INFORMATIONRead this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions.An important part of Singapore’s treasured heritage is the Kampung (village) spirit, which refers to a sense of community and solidarity. Life in a Kampung was mostly harmonious and it was not uncommon for people to readily offer their neighbours food, help and support. As the nation progressed and these villages made way for housing estates, the Kampung spirit could still be seen to some extent. However, the Kampung spirit and vibrancy of Housing Board towns built during the 1960s and 1970s, such as Ang Mo Kio and Clementi, are found lacking in the newer ones like Sengkang and Punggol built in the 1990s and 2000s. The Singapore government is trying to keep the Kampung spirit alive, but this task is not an easy one. Most recently, the HDB tries to create vertical Kampungs like Kampung Admiralty in Woodlands, with more greenery, multi-generational arrangements, and amenities and other provisions all in the same place.Study the following sources to assess whether the Kampung spirit is really on the wane in Singapore and whether it is possible to revive it?Source A:Taken from a blog post by a junior college student. She loves everything old school and looking back at memories of her childhood. Void deck, to her, is the space that we all remember but too faintly.The idea of void decks - as a communal space for residents to interact as well as hold events, functions and funeral rites - was introduced in the 1970s. It created a space for interactions between ethnicities. There used to be liveliness and vibrancy when we walked into any void deck, regardless of the time. We filled the “void” of the deck, with laughter and life. Alas, as we step into the present age, the Kampung spirit that was once representative of the

GMS(S)/Humanities/2272/73/74/P1/Prelim2021/4E/5NA 4 Singaporean spirit has gradually disappeared, with neighbours not speaking to each other. Instead, we see just polite nodding or a small wave of the hands.Source B:Taken from a blog “5 factors that are killing the HDB’s Kampung spirit”, published in 2019.Is there anything more Singaporean than going to lepak* in void decks? Back in the day, you could see barefoot kids playing soccer, badminton and chess in the afternoons. At the other side, ah mas and ah gongs would be playing ping pong; those are just memories we play back in our heads, today.Three years ago, metal barriers and spikes were installed on walls, ceilings, and floors. This was to discourage ball games, as well as prevent people (mostly, the homeless) from sleeping in HDB void decks. Void decks are also growing smaller as newer estates focus on optimising land use. Space is also taken away for childcare centres and elderly centres.*Lepak is used to describe chilling out, or to relax at a place or home by not doing anything.Source C:A cartoon accompanying an article on the dying Kampung spirit in Singapore published in The Straits Times, 2016.

GMS(S)/Humanities/2272/73/74/P1/Prelim2021/4E/5NA 5 Source D:Taken from a Forum letter in The Straits Times, by a Singaporean, published on 24 Oct 1997.There is no doubt that our nation has to equip itself well for the 21st century. However, there are those among us who still dream of the good old Kampung days of slow-paced living. It was an era of close bonds of love and friendship between all races. More significantly, there was a true sense of family ties, and family picnicking was the best-loved recreational activity during the weekends and the holidays. But who says that, with progress or even greater progress, the picnicking has to stop or that the family’s ties must become weaker or that mass friendship has to take a back seat and be a thing of the past?We need to support our Government, which has been doing all the excellent navigating. I appeal to all mass communication networks to do their bit to help steer us to a greater tomorrow, not only for our national economy but for us as one united people. The networks ought to play a greater role, particularly in bringing back the good old Kampung spirit of good neighbourliness, close family ties and that special feeling that we are really one and not divided.

GMS(S)/Humanities/2272/73/74/P1/Prelim2021/4E/5NA 6 Source E:Taken from a Channel News Asia commentary by Josephine Chia, published on 9 Aug 2019. She is a Singapore writer who has written some books about growing up in Kampung Potong Pasir in the 1950s-1970s.Kampung life was full of hardships and deprivations. I can vouch for it, being born and brought up in Kampung Potong Pasir, just off Upper Serangoon Road. Throughout those years, my family never had a tap in our house or a telephone. However, we took every opportunity to be jolly rather than moan our plight. We were rich in spirit. We always had to share our toilet and bathroom with our neighbours.Nostalgia about the Kampung does not mean that I romanticise about the past. But the precious qualities of resilience and sense of community we shared in the kampung are qualities to emulate to build a strong, united nation.Source F:From Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day message 2018. Kampung Admiralty is the first-of-its-kind development in Singapore, which integrates housing for the elderly with a wide range of social, healthcare, communal, commercial, and retail facilities.Kampung Admiralty, where retiree housing sits amid childcare, healthcare and other social amenit