Social Studies SEQ 2

CHAPTER 1 Attributes shaping citizenship ● Citizenship by legal status ● Descent ​ , where if one of the parents are Singaporean, their children are automatically offered citizenship. ○ Singapore ​ practises citizenship by descent. ● Country of birth, ​ where citizenship is awarded as long as you are born in a country. ○ Singapore ​ does not practise this method of citizenship ● Marriage ​ , where by marrying a citizen of another country, you can be offered citizenship. ○ Singapore ​ practises this, although you first have to become a PR and pass a few tests. ● Naturalisation, ​ where citizenship is offered to those who have immigrated to a country for a long period of time. ○ Singapore ​ practises this method of citizenship. ● Citizenship shaped by identity ○ Identity ■ A sense of national identity comes from a shared belief of belonging to the same country as other people. ■ Common practices such as singing the National Anthem and taking the National Pledge, as well as celebrating National Day can create a sense of national identity ● Citizenship shaped by participation ● Participation ○ Participation in public affairs or matters of general concern in society also shapes a person’s citizenship. ○ They can contribute as individuals or as organised groups. CHAPTER 2 Challenges in Deciding What is Good for Society ● Differing needs and interests ○ Within a society, there is a challenge in deciding on what is good for society. ○ Different people have different needs and interests and this leads to people disagreeing on what is more important to them and the extent of what they will be willing to give up for the benefit of society ○ A society can probably agree on basic needs such as the need for clothing food shelter and et cetera. ○ However, a diverse society may not be able to agree on common interests and what is important for a happy or fulfilling life. ○ For example, when the divisive decision was made to drill through the Central Catchment Reserve while constructing the Cross-Island Line, there was much debate between the camps for and against it. ■ Nature groups opposed it, stating that the construction would negatively impact the environment. ■ However, working class people, especially those who had to commute from other parts of Singapore to the Central Business District supported the move as it would benefit them. ○ As society only has limited resources, it would be impossible to meet everyone’s needs and interests fully. ○ As such, decisions on how the resources should be used would need to be made. ● Differing priorities ○ Besides differing needs and interests, there could also be disagreement on priorities. ○ Citizens of a country may agree that it is important for the country to provide affordable healthcare, a good education and a clean environment. ○ However, citizens may disagree on what area the government should prioritise. ○ For instance, a survey ran from 1 Dec 2012 to 31 Jan 2013 interviewing at least 4,000 Singaporeans. ■ Although most of them agreed on what areas the government should focus on, their responses as to how the governments should prioritise them differed by income groups. ■ Those whose monthly salaries exceeded $5,000 placed public healthcare as most important. ■ Those whose monthly salaries were below $5,000 placed public housing as the most important. ○ As such, due to society’s diversity, people may rank different areas that they feel the government should focus on differently, leading to a difference in priority. ● Unequal sharing of costs ○ While an infrastructural development may be beneficial for all members of society, some parties may have to give up more in return than others. ○ This cost can come in the form of noise pollution from construction sites, having to give up personal property and et cetera. ○ For instance, the construction of the Thomson Line for Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system, while beneficial for the majority of Singaporeans, forces some to have to bear greater burdens than others. ■ In areas where land is privately owned but there exists a need to construct stations, some people, like the residents of Marin Parade have to give up their land for compensation either willingly or forcibly. ■ Therefore, even though everyone benefits in the end, some people have had to give up their land while others just have to endure construction noises. How the government manages these challenges ● Making trade-offs ○ Due to limited amount of resources available, there is a need to make choices about how to best make use of resources. ○ This ensures benefits are maximised from decisions. ○ One concrete example is the building of the Thomson-East Coast Line. When fully operational, it will help alleviate the transport burdens of the current MRT station. ■ However, because the land was used for the MRT stations, it cannot be used for recreation or industry in the future. ○ Hence, a trade-off was made. ● Making decisions as a representative democracy ○ When there are multiple choices and conflicting demands, a democratic country will vote on the best decision to make. ○ In Singapore, these decisions are made by the organs of the state, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary branch. ■ Legislature discusses national issues and drafts the laws related to them. Made by some weirdo called Conrad Soon, if you’re gonna reprint or whatever please at least do it with attribution :)

■ Judiciary interprets and applies the laws made by the Legislature. ■ Executive branch then executes these policies and run the day-to-day administration of the state Ideas shaping good governance in Singapore ● Having good leadership ○ Leader must be honest and capable ■ Our leaders must be honest and capable so that they can come up with the best policies to ensure that Singapore continues to progress. ■ An example of such a leader is Mr Liu Thai Ker, the former chairman of the National Arts Council. ● Mr Liu’s capability in setting up ventures such as the Singapore Writers’ Festival helped contribute to a more vibrant arts scene, embodying the importance of having the capability to lead so as to improve Singapore. ■ Singapore has an especially pronounced need for capable leaders as its small size and unique position as a city-state without any natural resources means that it has to constantly innovate to stay relevant. ■ As such, having capable leaders who are able to draft effective policies and strategies is essential. ○ Leader must have the moral courage and integrity to do what is right, even when it involves making decisions that are not popular with the people ■ It means that our leaders have to do what is right to ensure Singapore’s continued progress, even if it requires them to make the unpopular decisions. ■ An example of this is the decision to build the Integrated Resorts (IRs) with casinos. ● When this idea was first suggested, there was strong opposition from the people as they were concerned that it would result in an increase in gambling addiction. ● However, the government decided to go ahead with the plan as Singapore was stagnating in the tourism industry while other countries in the region were beginning to catch up and this proved to be the right choice as it has brought economic benefits such as more jobs and increased tourist spending. ■ Thus, we can see that there exists a need for leaders to have this moral courage as it ensures that they will be able to make decisions that, while unpopular in the short-term, have long-term benefits for Singapore, aiding its progress. ○ Good moral character and being incorruptible ■ It means that our leaders have to have good moral character and be incorruptible. ■ This means that our leaders make decisions for the good of the cou