With the establishment of Asean Chinese news centre in Malaysia by
Xinhua news agency (http://www.newchinesenet.com/), Singapore is
fast losing the status of Chinese centre of Southeast Asia to our neighbour.
In fact, our Chinese education has gone back to pre-school level as announced
by PM Lee during NDR 2012. He had expressed his support of the setting up of Chinese
Institute by the Hokkien Huay Kuan.
What does it mean?
We are going back to pre-school education, teaching and encouraging our
young to learn Chinese in a “private initiative”. We do not have enough
Singaporean Chinese to have the mastery of the language to attract Xinhua to
co-operate with us to set up their regional centre in Southeast Asia.
We hope to use the “private initiative” like the past, before our
independence, to get back the Chinese regional centre status. Now with the strong government support, will
this initiative materialise?
We can’t even do it in primary and secondary schools, in what way we are
so confident to do it in the pre-school level?
The loss of the Chinese centre of Southeast Asia is a painful
experience. To gain back the status, it will also be a painful route. Are we
ready to take it?
While in Malaysia, they have sufficient “Chinese knowledge” manpower to co-operate
with Xinhua. With the approval university status of Southern College by
Malaysian government recently, Malaysia now has the complete Chinese education
from primary to university level.
They must have the critical mass to attract Xinhua’s partnership.
Despite our strong relationship with China, our good location, our
international reputation, we are not able to attract this co-operation. Are
there any long-term consequence? Have we
seen our weaknesses?
Does it mean Zaobao or SPH is not good enough for Xinhua? Even Xinhua
wants to co-operate with us, does Zaobao have enough talents to carry out the
task, besides importing foreign talents?
An Asean news centre should have Asean inputs and this requires local
manpower support. Apparently, we do not
have this capability even though we are financially strong.
So, money is not everything, you must have contents; you must have substance.
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