Nationally Speaking

Commentary, Nationally Speaking, Singapore

Tradition Adrift: Orang Laut Heritage in a Modern Nation
Reading Time: 8 minutes

By Gladys Koh (26A01B), Kunchur Bharat (26A01B) and Lerraine Neo (26A01A)

All images, unless otherwise stated, were taken by the writers.

Before Lee Kuan Yew, the Crown colonies, and Raffles, there were the Orang Laut. Literally translated from Malay as ‘people of the sea’, they are a group of seafaring nomads who resided in the waters around Maritime Southeast Asia, such as the Malay Peninsula, the Riau Islands, Java, and Sumatra. And, they are Singapore’s indigenous people. 

Also known as the Orang Pulau, in Singapore’s quest for modernisation, they have faded into obscurity, confined to a few pages in a Social Studies textbook, if any. One organisation, oranglaut.sg, wishes to change that.

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Commentary, Features, Go Where?, Nationally Speaking, Op-Eds, Opinion

Placemaking: Getting to the Middle of Middle Road
Reading Time: 12 minutes

By Chia Kei Yin (24S03C), Low Jing Kai (24S03H) and Shannen Lim En-Qi (24A01A)

In a four-part series about a tour run by Ms Eunice from Indie Singapore Tours, titled “The Hidden Communities of Middle Road”, Raffles Press members bring you on a journey that spans time and space—from the well-known shophouse facades of Bugis Street that belie an unknown history; to the myriad of religious institutions that line Waterloo Street. 

In this piece, we explore what’s changed and what’s stayed in the Middle Road area, and their significance in Singapore’s national history.

What makes a place? The people, the culture, the history, or perhaps a combination of all of the above? This is what we set out to answer on a sunny Saturday afternoon, exploring the Middle Road district.

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Nationally Speaking, Op-Eds, Opinion

Why is no one listening to local music? Also, here are some good Singaporean artistes
Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Syaura Nashwa (24S03R)

Read until the end for artist recommendations!

Do we have culture?

This is a great debate between edgy teenagers and zealous seniors. The older generations would argue that Singapore has its local food and colloquial language. Though, some aren’t sure if hawker food, “shiok”, and love for bubble tea are substantial grounds to grow culture.

Amidst all these different opinions, there is one thing we can agree on. No one listens to Singaporean music.

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Commentary, Nationally Speaking, Op-Eds

Nationally Speaking: Rediscovering our Chinese Dialects
Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Jermaine Lee (24A01A)

Being Hokkien is a part of my identity I recognise in name, but not form. On my birth certificate, it’s written as my dialect group. However, my sense of belonging to it feels merely superficial—I can technically say I am Hokkien, but I often don’t feel like I am. 

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Commentary, Nationally Speaking, Op-Eds

National Examinations: How Standardisation Benefits Us
Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Clara Chai (22A01D)

104 twenty-cent and fifty-cent coins. 1.134 kg. Sound familiar? 

While browsing through countless memes of Helen and Ivan last year, I came across this interesting news article. It touched on the stress that the PSLE brings to young children, as well as how our approach towards the national exams may be causing more harm than good. Yet, it also encouraged readers to maintain a positive attitude towards these exams.

For most students, the grades that they attain from their examinations are very important. To them, their marks impact their academic confidence and future educational pathways. For this reason, the scores they obtain for their national examinations may carry more than double the weight in their hearts. Words like ‘bell curve’ and ‘national performance’ strike fear in many students’ hearts as their grades seemingly hang on sheer unpredictability.

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