TOC news is fast! At least Faster than CNA!

one hour ago!?

I was an indonesian graduate from NTU also. this whole episode is quite saddening, but truth is some of us, Indonesian students still find it hard to cope with the steam-cooked kind of education in SG. Some more, we were told that upon graduation sure we do not have difficulty getting a job to pay our study loan

feel sorry for the student and hopefully Prof. Chan will have a speedy recovery. He was one of the nice Prof. in EEE

Not sure what the student’s motive is. But whatever it is, there is absolutely no reason to resort to violence for resolution.

stabbing incidents seem to be on the rise in singapore. i hope the gahmen takes a stiffer approach in dealing with the perpetrators.

the guy was probably too stressed from his fyp proj (it was his fyp proj right?) and he couldn’t deal with it properly. probably no one else noticed too.

poor prof, i hope he recovers soon. i tink now all the profs are gonna be damn scared of their students already.

To those who cannot cope, don’t bite off more than you can chew!

But in all fairness, people overseas probably THINK the education system here is very good, very well-recognised, and thus, SG is a good stepping stone.

I don’t see it as a foreigner or FT issue. I hope no one tries to jump to this conclusion.

Hope the prof makes a speedy recovery. I hear many horror stories of prof/lecturer/ school teachers but there’s no excuse for such acts. Probably the stabber lost his senses. Also, I do not know the prof and in no way am I suggesting that he provoked the student.

Why are ppl from China so violent???

So many news abt them killing ppl in Singapore??

If fail exam…can always get reason from whoever who fail u…..if biased….u can always get head dept to check.

sad case….hope the prof get well.

http://www.omy.sg got at 12 noon and zaobao at 12.05pm. TOC news is faster than CNA.

opps ..just read the news..indonesian chinese….

anyway, can’t talk?? U end your life & your parents will be heart broken.

suspect not from china, according sti and omy, believed to be an Indonesian Chinese, dont anyhow blame.

@Shawn: true, the govt even have some tie-up with several agencies in Indonesia for admission purpose. however, many of us find it too stiffling to stay in SG and just decided to go back to our home countries.

FT is another BS by SG’s PAP. Hate to be part of the so-called “new tallent pool” once.

Any news about Prof Chan’s condition?

this is not the first time an NTU student jumped off to his death. Except that this is the first time an NTU student stabs a prof.

Anyway, I have also heard stories of how ntu profs tie u to them with offers of PhDs. Of course if you don’t continue PhD with them, they’ll just give u a B grade for fyp.

Hi Cravat:

apparantly, he is in hospital and is in a stable condition now.
Also, may I speak to you to find out from you your experiences as an Indonesian student in Singapore and your impression of Prof Chan? Contact me at terence.lee.jx@gmail.com

Kaypoh:

do you know of any such students who were treated as such by their profs? Do email me if you do!

Its really saddening when such incidents happening, especially so in a top-notch university in Singapore. When stress levels surge, the mind goes out of control. Its not a finger pointing game we should play now, the more serious issue here to tackle with is the control of stress levels in schools. Not just in local institutions, but in work places and communities, stress is eminently more evident amid the financial crisis.

hi Terence,

I’m at work now but will contact you later. as for the case of student got B-grade from not wanting to do prof’s project, I know one friend who also already “balek kampong”, quite resented and very disappointed because of be-my-protege-or-be-sorry kind of situation.

/// 5) Butterfly on March 2nd, 2009 2.14 pm
stabbing incidents seem to be on the rise in singapore. i hope the gahmen takes a stiffer approach in dealing with the perpetrators. ///

Butterfly, the perpetrator in this case is already dead. Who much stiffer you want the gahmen’s approach to be? You want to hang the corpse as well?

/// 5) Butterfly on March 2nd, 2009 2.14 pm
stabbing incidents seem to be on the rise in singapore. i hope the gahmen takes a stiffer approach in dealing with the perpetrators. ///

Singapore is already a very strict, well- disciplined and overly- controlled country. It is already suffocating.

We need Compassion, Compassion, Compassion.

to T: obviously, lah, you can’t do anything in THIS case. i think my 5-yo niece can tell you that. but the gahmen can do much in other cases, eg. the bukit batok assault etc etc.

to Edward:

pls don’t confuse compassion with a suffocating nanny-state authoritarian rule. spare a thought for the victims and WOULD-BE victims. it’s re-education we need for the existing and POTENTIAL offenders. a lot of these pple have a very warped concept of accountability and responsibility. their brains are wired in the way that if someone does ABC to them, and that “makes” them angry and lose self-control for the moment to do XYZ, then it is justified!!!

they need to be firmly and categorically taught that violence is never an acceptable solution. in the same vein, though i disagree with many of pap policies, i do not think the mp deserved to be torched.

by all means, try addressing the larger societal causes that “make” them snap. simultaneously, i maintain we should use a bigger “stick” to send a strong signal.

it is just plain wrong when rape and infringing on modesty carries a harsher penalty than unadulterated violence.

was, My FYP prof already, offering me PHD option. Reject his request. Hope will turn out fine.

Should just scrape the FYP. Not substantial at all.

/// 19) Butterfly on March 2nd, 2009 4.35 pm
to T: obviously, lah, you can’t do anything in THIS case. i think my 5-yo niece can tell you that. ///

Why not? My 3-year nephew says you can do that to create deterrent effect. Take the corpse and hang it in public for all to see. Or use 5 horses to separate the body…

Reminds me of the drug warning on the Immigration Cards. “The minimum penalty for drug trafficking in Singapore is death.” I wonder what the maximum penalty is???

;)

I have never attended a university course in Singapore..
but I must say a university course in Australia is a breeze..

They called it experiential learning..
less lecture.. more time to discuss and do your own work.

but it’s also a way to cut the number of hours lecturers teach and thus less lecturers needed to shuttle between a few classes…

Anyway… I think steam pressure cooker education is good for professions that need that.. like doctors and lawyers and architect as well as civil engineers…
Imagine letting them be educated in a non-pressure cooker environment and when they come to the crunch time.. they collapse and thousands of lives will be lost.

Wa! MP kenna burnt. Prof kenna stabbed. Woman kenna slashed. Singapore no longer safe. Maybe worst than Malaysia because up North, you at least anticipate that violent crime will happen to you sooner or later. But here? we are living with a false sense of security.

The city’s finest should move their butts and reclaim the status quo of a safe, crime free environment as before.

If you ask me, start with restricting the influx of “foreign talents”. Anecdotal evidence suggest that in every country, when the floodgates to foreigners are opened, crime rates shoot through the roof.

Hi cravat, i’m a reporter from today and i am interested in finding out more on this topic of student stress, and also your impressions and thoughts on Prof Chan, please email me at yanqin@mediacorp.com.sg if you’d like to comment further?

Cravat… sure or not. Professor gives you a lower grade if you do not take up his PhD offer??? Is it just coincidential (student may be getting B already anyway) or did the prof really threaten the student? If the threatening is real, care to share the name of the prof so that this can be verified and the prof be “named and shamed”? I graduate from NTU and this is the first time I’m hearing abt this type of threat. Btw, other than the supervisor, there is usually another examiner who gives the marks so it is not all up to the supervisor.

please don’t make any predictions without evidences
u guys are misleading everyone…

#19) Butterfly
“it is just plain wrong when rape …………………………… carries a harsher penalty than unadulterated violence.”
================================

I believe you are more confused with your above statement.

Do not really know why ? Is our educational system is cracking up?
Is it predicated by the lightning strike on the merlion’s head which damaged its brain?
Don’t know
Only sadness abounds
So sorry to our indonesian friends and may the prof recovers speedily.
God bless your soul & may there be wisedom all round

TOC has proven to be a reliable source of news and it is able to inform the masses faster , where ‘news’ is tied to Time. If someone give me ‘news’ that is 1 day old, that is no longer news. That would be news that was or some may call it olds.

Interesting how the 154th-ranked mainstream media is turning to a highly “unreliable” medium, “given to spout anti-government rhetoric”, to get more information.. Ho ho ho.

Nothing personal against you MSM reporters. You are just doing your job. But the irony is that certain ministers and even “reporters” (job title: political correspondent) like to smear the online media , but everyone knows that it is the fastest way to gather information these days..

Good luck squeezing out information about an incident in NTU, of all places. I mean it. I’m curious to find out more too.

Cravat: I believe this FT debacle (not really relevant to to this tragic case) was made much worse by certain minister branding Sinkies who leave as “quitters”. On one hand, you increase competition by bringing in people (and enticing them to “quit their country). On the other, you slime the people here who want to become “FT” in other countries. Ah well.

Are you an FYP student too? All the best dude/dudette. I’m in this boat too.. =(

Who stab Prof. Chan ? Any photo ?
BTW , R.I.P.

I would like to caution that based on some of the comments here, I feel that some people are leading to unwarranted conclusions that were not based on evidence. From the report, there was no mention whatsoever on the reason(s) behind this tragedy. Was the student stressed? Was the FYP too difficult? Was it because of the “stressful” education system here? None of these were mentioned. So let us not leap to conclusions without verification.

As for the topic of “be my protege or get a low grade”, I think that really depends on both the Prof and the student. I just graduated from NTU and my prof DID try to persuade me to stay as a PhD, but I refused and gave my reasons for doing so. We parted on very good terms (I was even invited to his residence for a farewell dinner), and was given a distinction grade for my project. Doubtless, there will be vengeful Profs who feel that they are not getting their returns from the training they provided their students, but the whole grading process is veiled. We do not know if the Prof gave the student a bad grade, or other factors (eg. thesis, which weighs as much, if not more than the Prof’s grade) may be responsible. Again, we should not make conclusions without evidence.

I think Singapore should start restricting foreigners coming into Singapore! It’s only been more recent, past 2 years have seen the increase of such fatalities. It’s an outrage and it is true, we’re no longer considered safe! Now walking back home at 2AM doesnt sound so safe anymore compared to fews years back.

this prof probably stress this poor student out.. sad… pity the student, not the prof… People just want a decent degree and yet, this happens..

Indonesian student stabbing a Singaporean professor. What’s next? Bomb explosion in the school campus? I think the authorities need to reconsider their immigration policy of allowing too many foreigners in Singapore.

Just recently we’ve got a China man charged in court for burglary, then a Bangala caught peeping a woman in toilet. All these are signs of social unrest in the presence of too many foreigners in Singapore.

In Singapore, there are about 1 million foreigners compared to 2million+ Singaporeans, significant ratio.

The student can always take a retest or change prof to get his degree, no need to stab the prof and take his own life.

What a waste to grow up till 24 years old and then end it all.

Very sad, never think about how hard it is for his parents.

Yesterday lightning struck the Merlion.

Today, student stabs professor.

Tomorrow?

It is good to have immediate news. But since a crime has been committed let us hear from the police first before jumping to conclusions. Hold your horses!

The professor may be on stress as well. Last year a NTU professor committed suicide as well. Pressure can be transmitted from the very top to the student.

Not all violence here are caused by foreigner. The old man who burned the MP is a local. One eyed dragon is also a local.

And by the way, why label the student as foreign talent? He is just a foreign student coming to singapore to study. Not all foreign students here are foreign talents. We send our students to study in UK and US. Do the american and briton label them as foreign talent?

I know the Prof well enough as i had worked with him when he was in my school (also, he was my senior); he helped to teach some of the subjects and that greatly reduced our teaching load. I would like to say that he is a fair person; he is a very experienced teacher. He gives good advice. He is very approachable and also very helpful. I do not believe that he pressurised the deceased student in his studies. It was very unfortunate that this incident occurred. I wished him speedy recovery.

i cant help but wonder if this is yet another case of unreasonable, childish (select) ntu professors once again flexing their muscle to intimidate students again. i’ve been through quite a scarring experience with that myself and i know how damn ridiculous they can get.

No big deal what. Such things are expected to happen in Singapore.

Singapore isn’t exactly a holiday resort. It is a place where you are on your own, you die your business, one-strike you are out, no second chance, academic qualifications equal success, nobodies get left behind, ship you to johor when no longer economically useful…you get the idea.

Now i know…

You guys are heartless

What would you say if the PROF is an Indonesian and the STUDENT is a Singaporean???

You’d blame the INDONESIAN PROF, wouldnt you???

You guys are really heartless..Singapore is filled with a lot of heartless people…

Rest in Peace, My dear Brother David Hartanto Widjaja… and get well soon prof…

God bless you, all Indonesian Students in Singapore….esp those in NTU

Rgds

Andri Kuya

End of the day… nothing justifies trying to take another person’s life, no matter what the reason is.

On the side topic on profs “flexing their muscles”, threatening students, or similar stories… I been in NTU long enough and have not experience or seen any of this (the ppl I know have also NOT experienced this). People who are affected (if any) should feedback these cases (if they are true) to the uni so that appropriate actions can be taken… no use complaining or spreading rumors now as it does not help.

Hope the prof recovers soon and my condolences to the student’s parents.

I don’t think we’re to judge. But this is a good lesson, that we should always look out for our friends & fellow school mates or colleagues. You’d not know on the surface what troubles people have or what difficulties they are going through. So by just being kind & helpful, you may save someone’s life.

Hey this goes out to Kuya,Jackson, J.S, Gordon Tan & dweller: Stop being racist. It’s not a Singaporean Issue or an indonesian issue, but a human issue, By blaming foreigners or calling singaporeans heartless we can’t really solve the issue!!!! Maybe it’s a message to all of us to open our eyes and pay attention to the state of mind of our friends and those around us!!!! Giving a minute or two from our busy lifestyles to be a friend and listen!!!!

To James Tang: I believe almost all of the so called talent students in prestigious indonesian high school were approached by singapore (via agent and direct presentation from NUS NTU) and offered many things to continue their study to singapore’s university (grant/financial aid, job offers, etc). Even those who were in 10th grade (your O-level?) so they would continue to Singapore’s JC . Guarantee was given to those in intensive class such as in BPK Penabur (David was from this school). So foreign talent? Definitely! Especially him who was once an olympiad contestant. Btw, I was an education consultant and in direct contact with the school’s student counselor, so I know what I am talking about :) Too bad such a talent go wasted in singapore. Should have gone to US like his friends.

Such sad thing never happens before.
It is time for the government and the school to re-look at how to enhance the quality of the education here.
It is not enough to stress only on the results alone. Results alone will bring our children and our next generation to a stage where they will only do what it is said, become listeners, not creative and full of stress.
We have to give some rooms and flexibility to the students so that they enjoy the learning process more and they can go out of the box to find and to try something new which they like and can improve their creativity and other skills.
It is time for a change in Singapore and don’t let the second case happen again.
We should learn the lesson from this incident and start a fresh.

As a current student from NTU, I feel extremely depressed that someone has to die for a Final Year Project, what in the world happened, did the prof threaten him? Did he feel he was going to fail, think Stress must have gotten to the poor kid.

I wonder how his parents must feel, to lose their Child in his attempt for a better education. I wonder what school will be like tomorrow…

Its so sad that the Singapore education is driven by results and contracted thinking that students do not enjoy learning and even get stressed out by it…God Bless you dude…

Well… I am not sure what happened with this guy.. but NTU EEE is not one of the best choice for study.. i am not sure about Singapore..
but my experience is :
1. When we study… nobody really care if u understand or not.. the lecture teaching more than 500 ppl in a lecture teathre..and move as if everybody understand… when it comes to tutorial..not all tutor reall know how to teach…

2. when i was doing my fyp..my supervisor do not care anything… but only want to see result.. and its like..we are left totally by ourselves..blank…

well..i was thanked god.I managed to coped with it.. i got first class honors , schollarship..etc… but It was not a good experience.. and i wont let my children stuy in singapore

Hi everyone!
I am an international student from NTU and i can actually understand the guy. May be you do not realize the whole stressful nature of SG education since you ve been doing this since childhood, but its really stressing and drives to desperation sometimes. Of course its not my right to judge ur goverment, but i hope they will reconsider this whole edu system.

R.I.P, David. Get well soon, Prof!

My heart ached when I read the news, myself being a foreign student doing FYP at the moment. I pray for the parties involved soon to have peace of mind. I also wish the media and public to be slow to speak, thorough in their thinking, and be open-minded and compassionate with judgment. Foreign talents, education quality, racism… all of these conflicts should not be ignited from one single incident, as it can’t represent the whole system.

Now, live on and be decent, and life will smile on you if you learn to smile on whatever god gives. It’s not about what you encounter in life, it’s how you choose to stumble and falls, and stand up!

Good bless Singapore, Indonesia, NTU, Prof and David’s family!

singapore is city that’s full of people with high IQ and low EQ

My view is that the relevant ministry should look at some of the games our students are playing. Some of these games are really violent and infiltrate the inner subconscious of people playing them. After repeated playing, the human mind starts to lose the distinction between reality and fantasy. The same goes for those crappy programmes on Channel 8, sublimal suggestions of moral decadence will translate into immoral behaviour later on in real life. Vivian Balakrishnan should get his officers to pay more attention to the kind of programmes and games students are watching and playing before it is too late, or is it too late already?

howcome everyone comment about singapore educational system. what if turned out that the professor had an affair with the indonesian student’s girlfriend, so he commited suicide, or any other drama that’s not related to education at all. unless if im the only one who is late with any updated news.

true. the student involved was the former president of ntu electronic sports club (in other words..cybergaming eg. counter-strike, dota etc)

What a shitty day (#52),

Foreigners are just as free as citizens to criticise the Singapore Government. Problem here in Singapore is that the Government ignores citizens and foreigners in a similar manner.

don’t draw a conclusion (#55),

There is no conclusion here. Just heartfelt sympathy and speculation. LOL.

some good professor might have higher expectation of the more talented student based on their ability and results without knowing the student already under stress or under depression for whatever reasons. But I believe their ultimate intention or aim is to help their students to get better results.

Think in good times, already stress by having to face with higher costs of living by paying more and more, in bad times, lagi worst and more stress lah.

Come on guys! it’s not just about the incident in NTU!!

do you know about 5K (Kiasu Kanciong, bla bla bla bla)????

im sure you know abt that!

5k Implied that Singaporeans are bcoming VERY INDIVIDUALISTIC!

and its also implied that is becoming HEARTLESS! am i wrong to say that??

And for HAYZE….. it;s not about RACISM! im just simply SAID that if THE PROFESSOR is an indonesian and the Student is Singaporean, im sure that THE RUDE Commentators would write comments differently….

it;s a matter of fact! Sorry for those who feels offended!

i knw what im talkin about!

David Hartanto WIdjaja is passed away, and i feel so sad because most of the commentators just give some Rude comments…. think about his relatives that may be happened to read all of your comments…

CAN WE JUST SAY…. “REST IN PEACE, DAVID and GET WELL SOON PROF!”

at least, don’t say anything bad about him…. he cant defend himself anymore…
let us pray for the family of David Hartanto Widjaja…

Excuse me, Mr “What a shitty day”

Unlike you foreigners (nothing against outsiders) in Singapore, we didn’t CHOOSE to study here. It was kind of a by default thing, get it?

And yes, most of us DO know how stressful it is. The difference is that we DIDN’T choose to remain here, while you guys here CHOSE to come here (I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea at first and regret your choice, honestly).

I think the Singapore education system is excellent at one thing, churning out Olympiad candidates and very good results at international academic benchmarks (SAT and Uni of New South Wales stuff comes to mind). So everyone thinks our education is damn good (I think people think so, if they actually know better, good for them!)

For goodness sake, let’s show some sympathy for the poor chap and leave the politicking that’s not related, elsewhere.

Stress is a killer, and for those who think that stress should be a part and parcel of our education system and not something to be complained about, remember that people who take that lightly, are often likely to be victims of it in the end.

Some of our scouted talent hail from places where the education culture and intensity differs from us, and therefore they should be adequately prepared or guided when transitioning into this pressure cooker.

If you have roommates or neighbours in Hall or Residence who are struggling to cope, talk to them. Sometimes, all it takes is an outlet for them to share their woes.

My condolences to the family of David Widjaja and best wishes for a speedy recovery for Prof Chan.

I’ve noticed a couple of posts here about professors wanting FYP students to do PhDs. Here’s a professor’s perspective-

I’ve REFUSED to take on PhD students. They’re really a long term investment. Undergraduates don’t know enough about research to do it productively. They need to be trained over the course of several years in the PhD program before they can do anything remotely useful. In the time it takes to train one up to be useful, you might as well have done the work yourself. For routine tasks like gathering data, or programming, I’d rather hire a temp worker. You have more control over a temp worker than a student.

Academic research is intellectual sweatshop labor, but its INTELLECTUAL sweatshop labor. There’s a BIG barrier to entry. Those introductory research classes you’re required to take as an undergraduate are just INTRODUCTORY.

The only time I’d take on a PhD student is if:
- I find a person who is able to think conceptually- this isn’t someone who is “smart.” This is someone who can abstract from what they observe to develop theory from observation.
-I find a person who cares deeply about the subject matter. The PhD is a REALLY boring and drudge filled time of your life. You’ve got to really like that very narrow problem you’re working on. One of my professors liked to recount how she’d rather clean the bathroom than work on her dissertation.
-Someone who’s willing to starve. You don’t earn much as a PhD student. Frankly, most PhDs don’t earn much either. The tenure and adjunct system means you’re really likely to hanta kaki or have to move from school to school. In the current market, you’re likely to spend four or more years at a subsistence wage to get NO JOB when you come out. Most schools right now have a hiring freeze.
-Someone with a strong self-identity. Reviewers are brutal. When your manuscript gets rejected, they’ll tell you why in no uncertain terms. You have to be able to take nasty comments about your work without feeling that you are a stupid person.

If I took one on, it would be with the expectation that my return on investment (in terms of my time) would only break even after eight or more years. It takes about five years just to get a paper published in a journal IF it gets published at all. It takes about THREE before the PhD student has enough inkling about what to do that he or she can write the darn paper to sufficient quality that you’re not just throwing their work away and redoing the whole thing.

Yeah, it’s really about Permanent Head Damage.

Cecil Chua

P.S. Anyone even remotely thinking about a career in academia, PLEASE read The Academic Marathon: Managing the Academic Career by Shelley Taylor and Joanne Martin FIRST. You have been warned.

There is certainly no way to judge who is wrong and who is right in this case.. The student is clearly disturbed and would have showed signs of it before this incident happened.. But no one cared to notice it.. The prof shud have been more understanding while the student shud have been more tolerant..

I agree with Prof Cecil Chua with regards to pursuing a Ph.D. Unlike what people think, it is nothing like the undergraduate course. I know some students in the NTU Ph.D programme who are perpetually stressed and wish they had chosen a different route.

However, I do wish that we would remain objective here. There is a fine line between making a hypothesis and baseless speculation. And of course, we should not stereotype. As I mentioned in my previous post, we do not possess all the facts here. We have not heard the Prof, or the student’s family’s point of view. Are there problems with the education system? Of course there are! NO system is flawless. But I disagree that stress is the be all and end all issue. There are usually other factors involved. While stress may be an integral part of the education system here (and in many places as well), we all learn to cope with it in a healthy way, and know when to seek help when it reaches dangerous levels.

But until we know more, I would like to sympathize with the Prof, the student and his family, and wish the Prof a speedy recovery, and withhold from making any potentially inflammatory conclusions for now.

Having gone through an North American PhD system, I read Celia Chua’s comments and would like to add in my comments -

PhD is a long marathon, once you get in, you have to find the topic to work on which means pouring through many “cheem” journal papers. Unless you really have a passion and enjoy reading papers instead of doing other interesting stuff, a PhD is not for you. I totally agree that the financial payback DO NOT agree with the amount of hard work put in.

Even if you found the topic, you are usually all alone to find the way out of it. It is a tunnel with no light, you have to find your way out. It is like un-digging yourself out of your grave. By design, a topic has to be difficult enough for you to work on.

I would say average, most student would be productive about 2-3 years into the area. And start seeing new stuff about 4-5 years on. I dont know about NTU route but 8 years seems a bit long. Most professors dont guide the PhD student as they are expected to work alone. Good professors are hard to find and usually are too busy anyway.

If what Celia says is true than the NTU system is really a very tough pressure cooker system to go through, no wonder the students are hard to find. PhD from Europe are a lot less tougher to go through and usually there is a term, 3-4 years depending on the University. Perhaps that system is better as the student get to see end of the tunnel instead of being stuck inside the poorly paid tunnel digging job, forever trying to find his/her exit.

As for the unfortunate incident, perhaps there is many factors attributing to the incident. There is so much bad news nowsadays and a lot of people are affected one way or the other. Perhaps the student was driven by a host of factors. Statistically, there is usually more than one motive to drive a person to such an act.

Poor student. Once you graduate, you realise that a grade is really nothing in the outside world. It’s no use going through all this for a grade. That said, all unis have their share of biased and bigoted profs. So if a student rages against his prof, it takes two to clap.

the student’s name sounds like a chinese of indonesian origin.

The mere thought of a violence-free society is wishful thinking. Law is created by man, not any supreme being, so the very idea is not any more higher than man himself. Anyone can choose to make or break, you cannot prevent a person who’s driven to his limits to be sane enough to restrain himself and ‘abide law’, as it deviates from the natural reaction of a mentally unstable person. If you can correct or restrain the actions of someone in an unstable, emotional state, you might be on your way to a PhD.

I think this has nothing to do with law, or religious limitations, but a problem of the breakdown of inter-personal understanding.

@pinkilitus: the other way around lah, indonesian of chinese origin

@71, ya can oso lah. what i meant was he could be now a citizen or PR and was born in indonesia.

David was a very good guy.. A very good friend of mine… We had met on a online game and became buddies and talked a lot during the time we played together.. He was a very nice guy thinking of others before him and was loved by all his friends that knew him on the game.. He will truly be missed..

Last year, one china colleague jumped off a building and passed away. My department head called an urgent meeting the next day to tell us. All of us got a shock. The colleague was from China and was doing well in his work. But most of the time he looks very quiet and always keep everything to himself. Maybe it’s due to the culture differences between Sg & China that he found it hard to communicate with us? Where do these foreign FT go if they have troubles and really need someone for help?

After all, no matter what, we should not end our life. There is always another way out.

Ron, which server/guild that both of you playing?

I hope that the family of david and the prof will forgive each other. I heard that singapore used to be (or still?) the second best country for its education (after japan), so it must be tough. I’m sure that all that david’s parents only wanted was for the son to have a bright future, that’s why they sent him to singapore to study. they must be very heartbroken to know that everything turned out to be not like they expected it to be. The prof might be very stressed up and traumatized as well, having that guilty feeling for the rest of his life (even though he might have not intended to hurt david’s feeling or made him depressed on purpose).

I hope that my children and I in the future won’t have to deal with this kind of problem.

for those who blame each other, remember KARMA! you don’t know what will happen in the future to you or your children’s lives.

Some comments here makes me feel that many singaporeans like to ASSUME.
They assume the prof stressed him out or the student was someone who kept to himself, etc…

The FACT is, no one here knows any of them. So, don’t assume too much.

YOU can only know the TRUTH when you have ACCESS to INFORMATION.

read this sentence again.

please please please no more self killing…. don’t end your life when you’re down, cause you wouldn’t feel the happiness that’s waiting for your in your future.

yeah. i find it too far too when people are already concluding that the student shouldn’t kept to himself, FYP too difficult, etc. i can still tolerate the stressed out/hurt by the prof though. cause it’s the most reasonable explanation of why a stabber stabs the victim (abused/bullied?). unless if its robbery motivated or psychopathic obsession.

Luckily the victim is not Singaporean.

BTW, I am not a Singaporean..But must be fair to Singapore and Singaporeans.

“Indonesian student stabbing a Singaporean professor. What’s next? Bomb explosion in the school campus? I think the authorities need to reconsider their immigration policy of allowing too many foreigners in Singapore.”

dear jackson…

u must consider, without foreigners will this country survive? foreigners help u to build ur country.
i think u shouldn’t blame foreigners for it. u shouldn’t blame anyone.
no offense..

i hope there’s no more similar case..
i feel sorry

33) JS on March 2nd, 2009 6.14 pm

I think Singapore should start restricting foreigners coming into Singapore! It’s only been more recent, past 2 years have seen the increase of such fatalities.

wow. restricting? great, get a life, JS. Do you think Singapore government is going to do that? do you know that almost 50% of Singapore main income comes from Indonesian people money? get a life!

I agree with Andri Kuya that mostly all Singaporeans are heartless. I am a chinese indonesian student, too. and I damn feel it. Especially when you’re a non-chinese speakers. How could it be more intimidating? Maybe the prof fail David Widjaya because he’s an Indonesian. Why not? There are many possibilites. And we all now that if the professor was indonesian, and the student was singaporean, will you all kaypoh, kiasu and kanciong Singaporeans say all those things above?

REFLECT on yourself.

we’re having tough time here. money wasted, and that’s NO fun at all. You people should learn how to be friendly and loyal. Ups. sorry, I know you all dont own a heart. this maybe a little harsh. but that’s the truth. even you guys admit it. So? What’s next?
well, take it as a positive feedback, reflecting on how you all Singaporeans behave towards us, treat us, and how you’ll get the consequences.

JACKSON

“Indonesian student stabbing a Singaporean professor. What’s next? Bomb explosion in the school campus? I think the authorities need to reconsider their immigration policy of allowing too many foreigners in Singapore.”

come on, Mr. Jackson, I know you are not at all, you are most probably singaporean. Do you all see us, the indonesians that badly? Im proud to be an INdonesian, because I have way better heart than you.
Indonesia is a less develop country, so what do you expect? The country is full of people who have high IQ and low EQ. It’s not like all of us are to take the blame. And mind you, sorry to be racist, but the one who do all the bombing are NOT chinese indonesians.
Im so annoyed reading of your words. You have stepped on my intregrity. I am a chinese indonesian, we know ourselves well. and mostly every one of us, the chinese indonesian in singapore, are well educated; academically, or in religion.

I have so much concern in this David guy. He maybe too depressed of what happened to him. You all singaporeans just dont know how tough it would be like us. We are away from our families, nobody to talk to sometimes, and its not like all singaporeans are friendly. People are different here, environment is different, tough we’ve done the re-adjusting for years, there will still be inconviniences, and on-going homesick.

seriously, I regretted coming to singapore so much. there are a lot I could do in other countries. I never expect Singapore to be this harsh. I went for holidays for hundreds time to Singapore when I was a child, who knows it would be like this?

Anyway, Im going to go off soon for States, so, good luck all indonesian students in Singapore. God bless you always. Remember, He will always be near you, life is such a long journey, a lot of things could happen, but you’ll be safe as long as you’re in His trail and to hold His hands tightly.

HIDUP INDONESIA!!!

It is so fun!!!

Imagine, Singaporean taxes spent on nurturing foreign students in lieu of locals -how many singaporean students have to struggle financially being deprived of the financial aid used to support one violent scholar for 3.5 years???

and then some very same foreigners turn around to bite the hands that feed them and threatened thus – “take it as a positive feedback, reflecting on how you all Singaporeans behave towards us, treat us, and how you’ll get the consequences”

wow, kudos to pap for bringing in this batch of FT-wannabes. btw, does anybody remember the other notorious scholar from malaysia who also wanna kill somebody.

Hey dude, “Theodora C A Tan”. Looks like you need some counselling. Lots of Asian countries are pressure cookers. You would have done a lot better in more relaxed Universities in the West or in your own country.

Singapore has no hinterland, therefore, people have to work hard to get themselves employed. It is not as if we have a choice. 4 million people 25km by 40km land, no farmland, just lots of people to struggle with.

At least, you still get to go back to Indonesia if you want. You can choose a slower life if you want. Us locals got no choice. Compete or fade away. Gahmen has to keep pyschoing everyone that the life here is great. Those who do well, just want to show the material possessions they have – in your face.

Pity that you didnt have a chance to study here before you took the plunge in the U. Otherwise, you wouldnt have chose to study here. Lots of Singaporeans are middle class therefore the middle class squeeze here is especially strong. Just understand why people are behaving they way they are because of the circumstances they are in. Most are mere mortals who dont really have a choice.

You have, be grateful to God. Singaporeans are resigned to our endless rat race from birth to death, most of us that is.

Nathan Keyes, assumptions are nature from Humans.

Assumptions because there are lack of information.

Even in engineering studies, assumption have to be made. And that’s the way many engineering problems and even life problems can be solved.

in short, assumption = guess and both are valid English, invented long before you and me.

Dear Theodora Citra Angkasa Tan

Do you know that, this tragedy may be even worse in the US? i.e. many reports from US that student go for massacre of their own fellow students and profs.

It should be a blessing that S’pore law restrict firearm ownership.

Everything in life, there are good and bad.

Just that you may have encounter the bad ones. So please do not sterotype.

S’pore had also lent large sums of $ to your native country. But how the $ is used in your country is another matter.

Also you said that 50% of our $ come from indonesia? But is it a gift from Indonesians or through some sort of service or goods provided?

Best Regards

why would a genius student react violence toward the prof.? this question personally come in my mind. In my opinion, the student might had encountered problem which was unable to resolve in a simple matter. This problem might be much more complex than they thought as their thought are different from each other. Hence, as the student was unable to accept the fact of the prof. , he then loses his mind, stab the prof. and then commit suicide..

my hypothesis only^^

Dear Fellow Commentators,

Please take a lesson from this incident. It is not the time to blame, to find scapegoat, to attack here and there, to make this and that assumptions.

As I have written in my previous comment, the Singapore Government (in this case Ministry of Education) should really think about a solution on how to improve the QUALITY of education.
Result-focused will not help the education in this country moves forward. There are thousands of young people out there who are not math genius or whose O or A level result is below average, but certainly they might have other hidden or unidentified skills which can be explored and further developed.
Such skills could be entrepreneur-skill, sport-skill, art-skill, music-skill, language-skill, etc., that could help them moves ahead in the society and also enhance the country’s human resources.
Take a look at Germany for example, how many of German universities are in the so-called world top schools’ ranking?. We can count it with our fingers. The top list is always full with American or British universities. But look at how many German products are conquering the world?. How many patents are registered by the Germans every year?.
As a person who has lived in Germany before, I never read in the newspapers about “Top Primary Students” or “Top Secondary Students” or “First Class Degree” etc.
Such results are nice to have but they are not a guarantee that the person can perform well in the industry and in the society. We need to give room to our young generation to explore and to find their own identity.
It is time for a change.

Hi guys:

Normally i dont do blogging or posting comment, but tdy is just that one of those bad days.

Let me introduce myself, I am an Indonesian chinese too. Been in Singapore since my secondary school time, thats like 14 years now already.Always happy go lucky, gone through secondary, competing with the best singaporean talent to go to local U here, speaking singlish, adopting mentality of Rule no 1: Obey all rules or u GG !!!, rule no 2: obey rule no 1. etc etc. u name it , i got it.

Been one of that rarest breed that could stay on in Singapore after 14 years… 98% of my indon friends that studied here has either gone back or stranded in dun know where. Nevertheless, i have to admit that i have to thank Singapore, without her, probably i will have entirely different life…

But i still have to agree that it is no easy to be a foreigner in Singapore. Man, i am like 14 years here and i still cant erase my that so really “indon name” or my indon accent. Been renting a room for 14 over years, without family to go back too when u come back from school or work, Have u ever heard a guy singing very loud song when bathing or just plain screaming?, most probably he is so damn lonely.haha.

Not to say in work, that kind of remarks from colleagues ” hei, see, so many haze, can u tell ur indon people to stop burning tree. see, we singaporean print our papers double sided , we save tree, why cant u do ur part ??”

Dude,,, i have friends working in singaporean company who process this logging… guess where this singapore company get their wood, genius!!!

And enough of that tons of rupiah convert to SGD joke already lah. haha. Thanks, Jack Neo.

Anyway, i am not badmouthing singaporean or watever.

Some of my best years are in Singapore, i know some Singaporean with such unbelievable angel heart and hell, teachers here are the best,

But i am also seeing the trend here of increasing anti foreigner, sadly among the intellectual singaporean too and i guess it is just a matter of time.

Anyway, Everyone should make their own decision, i am not posting to influence anyone, this is just my truth reflection of my experience and I guess my time is up.

Nevertheless my condolescense to all the victims out there.

Maybe malaysian are better, they are cultureally and mentally more adaptive to singapore

We are all in this pressure cooker, Singaporeans or foreigners. At least foreigners who are on scholarship have a choice. It is your choice to accept. Many Singaporeans do not have a choice. For example, I have to resign from my job to go to UK to do my Masters, because the system here does not accept me, nor think I am good enough to get their money. So in wanting to upgrade myself, I have to leave my job, my family and spend my own money in a foreign country. I too at times feel like stabbing the professor who made my life difficult, but I did not. I too felt stressed out, all alone in a cold wintry night. My country did not treasure me, so I have to treasure myself.
For foreigners here on scholarship, Singapore treasures you, and is willing to spend money for your improvement. So why are you complaining about the stress and the loneliness? It is your choice. You made it, and benefited from it. Many Singaporeans would be glad to take your place at the university, and the money that comes with it. But Singapore did not treasure these Singaporeans, Singapore treasures you instead. So do your best.

There’re 2 mentions on the Merlion being hit by lightning 2 days before the tragic incident (Is it a warning from UP there to Singapore to have a HEART & A BIG HEART? To WISE UP ? Now that we learnt the latest news is, the poor deceased guy actually had his scholarship grant removed recently? How was the news brought to him? Simply by a letter ? Any counsellor around then ? Did anyone check the student’s family financial status ? Or, was it a “you die, your business” style of approach ? )
Imagine then that he came here happily knowing that the hefty study fees are taken care of by the scholarship grant & now that it is suddenly taken away coz of poor results, wow, what a blow it could have done on him. It probably took him a lot of courage & mental blow to resort to such violent acts. No doubt the deceased was an intelligent boy academically. Something else had perhaps caused his grades to suffer…(read on the possibilities later…)
Yes, he had obviously lost his mind, poor guy. May he rest in peace…. At least the professor survived & can live on earth for some time more but the poor boy is gone forever.
Those still living can continue to argue what they like but IF policies need to be changed for the betterment of mankind, we ought to do so,PLEASE. Not everything is about papers, competitions, dollars & cents…. Look into the soft fragile part of humans- their emotional needs, psychological needs…Eg.Are all students on scholarship aware of the consequences if they do not perform well at a later stage?? How effective is the counselling system in its outreach ? Do the counsellors pay consistent visits to the students, interact with them etc. I also noticed that he was made to take up some activity club presidency, peer mentorship etc. when he was doing well initially. Won’t all these extra activities too much for him to undertake apart from his own studies ? Were these reasons enough to make his grades suffer ? How well do institutions take care of their students especially those who are home away from home (any guardianship system avail.here ??).
There’re also voices of anger from fellow Indonesians that Singaporeans’re heartless (too general a statement though of course there’re heartless people everywhere in the world). We’ve to seriously look close into all the human foolishness, problems & prevent such tragic incidents from happening again. Every life is precious indeed.

I am an international student in SG. I love NTU and people in SG. But as a foreigner I see that SG students or Asian students are really stressed always, they don’t know how to relax or just enjoy their studies. Most of them don’t go to clubs or pubs on Saturdays.
Anyway this is only my opinion.

With Singaporean’s attitude towards foreigners, maybe that is the social price that Singapore has to pay by allowing more and more foreigners to work and study here, with more singaporean losing their jobs to them, and scholarship given to foreigners in the face of their own country, Singapore. One can wonder how Singaporean can be kind to them and in return will the foreigners be kind to them.

To all Singaporeans: whether u’re middle class or whatever ‘No-class’.

First of all, let me intro myself. I’m an Indonesian Chinese (GOD-Damn Proud to be one), been living in this country for 10years or so. i dare challenge singaporeans to say they’re proud of themselves being what they are,

Dear Pak CHENEY,

Note and respect your PRIDE of being an Indonesian.

For me, I am born a Singaporean… there is nothing Proud or No proud because where one was born was not a matter of choice. I was born a Singaporean, I live in my country Singapore and I will grow old an die in Singapore…

By the way, despite your Pride, you are welcome to stay in my Country and die in my Country and to be cremated or burried in my country….

ok lah ok lah, I am proud, very proud of being a singapore chinese, now, can?

But not so proud of my gov bring in foreign trash and students who believe singaporeans owe than a living (not saying all, dont twist my words, ok) who deprive the island off the resources. u cant expect ur family member to be happy when u brought in a stranger to eat, sleep and shit at the same house which u painfully build up can u?

woes and loneliness, oh pls….i have to pay for my own uni fees too, not that i studied in a foreign country.

regards
a proud singapore chinese

I’m a Singaporean. I AM PROUD OF BEING A SINGAPOREAN.

There….challenge accepted.

Look if I weren’t Singaporean I probably won’t know who you are.
If I weren’t Singaporean I probably won’t have so many friends overseas and online.
If I weren’t Singaporean I wouldn’t have been able to understand English, Mother tongue and a bit of Malay from my many variety of friends out there.
If I weren’t Singaporean I wouldn’t learn Confucius and ethnic values, and the term racial Harmony ,understand and respect nearly every religion out there.

Sure we’ve a lot of bad things going on these days…..high cost of living, strict rules, political imbalance, highly paid ministers.

But please, to everyone out there. I don’t care what Singaporeans you’ve seen here, there’re always the good lot and the bad lot everywhere. Call me heartless, and sure I’ll admit I’m heartless at times. But who isn’t? You people out there are telling us that we’re heartless because of? We stand and watch while people get beaten? We don’t care for the poor? We laugh at everything else out there?

Such things happens everywhere! It’s just because we’re such a small country when such things happens, it’s easily seen and heard. We’ve got our own share of villians here, but there’re still times where people are considerate, helpful, compassionate and Heroic at times. These are all Singaporeans!

Seeing a bunch of people here being Kiasu (scared Lose) and thinks the entire Singapore is Kiasu is so wrong. Sure most of us are like that. But there’re still people out there who aren’t.

And although I must admit the anti-foreigner sentiments are growing in Singapore….I must say….there’s nothing I can do. I alone, nor many others out there can’t make a change to that. However, rest assured, I welcome any foreigner in my country, and respect any Singapore PR as Singaporeans, not second class citizens. You guys are here and you guys are a part of this country, I just hope you guys meet the people who understands that foreigners are people too.

It is a sad day indeed that a student took his life. Why? The reasons are not clear and it is really irresponsible for anyone to pass any judgment on the student and the professor without knowing the truth. David is no longer with us and let us pray that his soul rest in peace.

I have noted that there has been a bombardment on the education system in Singapore as being extremely difficult but none did any comparison to the education system in ohter countries. Is Singapore system that bad? I wish that all those who are very good at jumping on the bandwagon of condemnation when something go wrong, do their homework first before opening their mouths. It is so easy to criticise but very difficult to offer suggestions that actually work. Nothing is perfect in this world.

Everyday is a learning process. We take lessons from the failures to improve so that the same mistakes are not made.

Every exam that we take in our life is stressful but it is how we cope with pressure. Different people cope with pressures differently. Perhaps, it is time for the schools to look at ways to come out with programmes to reach out to students who have dificulty in coping with school life. Let’s hope and ensure that no other student takes his life.

don’t make judgements too early. we, as outsiders, dont know what really causing the stabbing and suicide. theres no reaction without action. what if the prof was trying to stab the student but failed? instead he pushed david to the ground and he stabbed his own back so he would be assumed as the victim?

don’t look just from one side… don’t look as he’s an indonesian and i know you singaporeans have bad perception of indonesians

what if david weren’t an indonesian? i guess the bad comments here wouldn’t be so cruel and harsh

RIP David and GBU for his family and friends

I really feel sad and sorry to hear about this case. God rest David Hartanto Wdijaja. David had displayed great aptitude in various fields, notably Maths, Science and Engineering. He had indeed academically excelled in exams. Though he was not local, he had established great popularity within the School and became a president in one of the student societies.

It would appear that either David or the prof was wrong, that’s as may be, but I don’t think it is right for me to voice my judgment, and I personally feel that it was a matter between the Prof and David. It seems that they had a very tension relationship. From the media, I understand that David’s academic performance was declining; however, this does not indicate that he was losing his seriousness in studying. It might be due to the awful stress while pursuing his FYP.

I would like to tell about an awfully unforgettable experience when doing my project while studying in Singapore. I am a Malaysian Chinese and I was studying Engineering. I constantly got harsh comments from one of my supervisors. Generally speaking, lecturers are normally friendly and approachable because at the end of the course, they aim high marks from student evaluation. It would appear that my prof was one of the most friendly and approachable person on earth until he became my project supervisor.

I first knew the prof in one of my course and later I chose him to be my supervisor. After more than half a year into the project, I was told to drop my project! To this day, I am still keeping several emails with harsh words from him in my ALUMNI mailbox! During our one-on-one meeting, I constantly received harsh words. I was once being scolded for informing him to attend my FYP presentation, though the university requires project supervisors to attend student presentation “Shall I quit and you become my boss?” he yelled for there was no reason for a supervisor to listen to a student. I was extremely sad then as my supervisor did not like my work and he commented that I would get a C or D; while I thought I would get an A; however, I was determined to complete all the project requirement, continue with my programming task, simulation, thesis writing and finally, presentation. During the presentation, he attended the presentation, together with two external examiners. It turned out that the external examiners were satisfied with my work. I could not believe that I got an A for my project, and nominated as a gold medalist for being the best graduate for the degree!!!!

My advice is “Switch of your ears and the big old melon of yours. Learn to switch off.” when you constantly get harsh critics and comments from your supervisors. Work hard and stay focused with your work. Though you might have sleepless nights because of the harsh words, learn to switch off… switch off… God rest David.

Regards,
A gold medalist from Malaysia

its a case of FS and FT lah, the prof is from china too, which part dont know.

RIP.

Firstly, I think it is unfair to make sweeping statements like Singaporeans being ‘heartless’ and sorts. True that there are some netizens who have made rather dumb and insulting comments but tell me which country is free of such people?

Secondly, what’s more important after this tragic incident is that we learn to cherish and respect one another, regardless of our nationality, race and creed.

Lets not use too much emotions over this issue. Personally, the Singapore’s education system is good and efficient and no matter how much amount of gripes we have over it, it does make us a better person. There’s no system that is perfect. We have to learn to give and take, this is the way our imperfect world is. But lets not be pessimistic. There’s more to life than just living for yourself.

I sincerely share my condolences to the deceased, the injured professor and their loved ones.

And Cheney, I am proud to be a Singaporean, while acknowledging the shortcomings of my country.

ref: 82) FOREIGNER on March 3rd, 2009 8.29 pm

Hey FOREIGNER, while I do admit that some foreigners do contribute to Singapore’s economy, there are also some that destroys it. In fact, actually Singapore could have refused foreigners’ entry here, if not for our large economy ie if our economy had been smaller, the demand for foreigners wouldn’t be so huge.

———————————————————————————————————-

ref: 83) Theodora Citra Angkasa Tan on March 3rd, 2009 9.05 pm

Hello.

I’m not trying to say that all Indonesians are bad. In fact, I blame my own govt more than Indonesians because they’re the main reason why many foreigners, including Indonesians, come to Singapore to seek proper education. I don’t mind if a small handful comes, but the numbers just keeps coming in and is way out of proportion compared to Singapore population.

ref: 101) Sherry on March 4th, 2009 1.56 pm

“what if david weren’t an indonesian? i guess the bad comments here wouldn’t be so cruel and harsh”

hello sherry,

sorry but the bad comments will always be there because the current situation in Singapore is such that there are too many foreigners here in Singapore, thereby creating this general sentiment. Perhaps you hadn’t been exposed to the ‘real world’ yet…

ref: 99) randomnessinmind on March 4th, 2009 11.26 am

“And although I must admit the anti-foreigner sentiments are growing in Singapore….I must say….there’s nothing I can do. I alone, nor many others out there can’t make a change to that.”

there can be a change, just that most people didn’t cherish it during elections.

“sorry but the bad comments will always be there because the current situation in Singapore is such that there are too many foreigners here in Singapore, thereby creating this general sentiment. Perhaps you hadn’t been exposed to the ‘real world’ yet…”

well, if you must know, the chinese descendants in indonesia are also treated badly. i’m very used to discrimination towards me because i’m a chinese indonesian. yes, the bad comments and responds are always be there… reality bites dude

Thanks MalaysianChinese for your sharing. Yes, there are some lecturers who are not exactly smart but tried to behave and work like one, throwing their weight around.
I know what he is talking about coz I’ve some ex-classmates who after getting their master deg., became trainers, gave their students grades stingily & made life difficult for them; at times, they couldn’t even explain to the students where things have gone wrong with their assignments & simply tried to avoid answering the questions (students’ feedback/ sought my assist.). Sometimes students’ grades suffer coz they don’t have good lecturers (ya, hard luck really if you encounter one). When I was studying together with some of these trainers previously, they did not really do well in their studies but ultimately, they had their master certs with average results & finally ended up as trainers coz of their charisma, abilities to talk well, hence winning interviewers over. When I was studying myself, I preferred MOST of my Western lecturers compared to SOME locals who belong to the category of what Chinese said, “OK to be smart but don’t try to be smart when you are not.” I find MOST (not ALL) of the Ang Moh lecturers very knowledgeable, resourceful and compassionate; I learnt a lot from them & get better grades too compared to SOME of the stingy locals (don’t think they themselves are really smart, honestly). When I was very ill, undergoing a major operation, the Western lecturer then dropped the assignment deadline & asked me to take my time to finish my work. He was really kind indeed. So, I did my assignment without stress (knowing there was no deadline)in the hospital.
I heard stories from students about unsympathetic lecturers who did not recognize medical leave etc.
Of course there’re SOME local lecturers who are very knowledgeable & kind too & one will be fortunate if you encounter such ones (I did encounter 2 out of 5 locals in my cohort).
Anyway, it’s really a blessing to have good lecturers & a curse to have a lousy one indeed if you truly want to study well & make the grade.
One could tell that the deceased was a filial boy as he daren’t reveal the truth of his failure to his mum. In a way, sensible & so how could a sensible boy ended up in this tragic state ???? Was it the result of a poor supportive environment despite all the claims that “we’ve done this & that for the students’ welfare”?? Are we doing enough ?? Definitely no. You read, “….we have so many students but not many counsellors…we can’t visit all students…..” So, don’t be greedy & accept so many undergrads if you don’t have enough manpower. The end result is disastrous.
A friend of mine has a child studying in States & according to her, the varsity arranged a couple who are lecturing at the varsity to be her child’s guardians;
likewise for the other undergrads. Yes, this should be the way….we should emulate their approach. Yes, EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS, I repeat.
God Bless

Firstly, I think it is unfair to make sweeping statements like Singaporeans being ‘heartless’ and sorts. True that there are some netizens who have made rather dumb and insulting comments but tell me which country is free of such people?

Secondly, what’s more important after this tragic incident is that we learn to cherish and respect one another, regardless of our nationality, race and creed.

Lets not use too much emotions over this issue. Personally, the Singapore’s education system is good and efficient and no matter how much amount of gripes we have over it, it does make us a better person. There’s no system that is perfect. We have to learn to give and take, this is the way our imperfect world is. But lets not be pessimistic. There’s more to life than just living for yourself.

I sincerely share my condolences to the deceased, the injured professor and their loved ones.

And Cheney, I am proud to be a Singaporean, while acknowledging the shortcomings of my country.

87) Poor Undergrad on March 3rd, 2009 9.43 pm

S’pore had also lent large sums of $ to your native country. But how the $ is used in your country is another matter.

Also you said that 50% of our $ come from indonesia? But is it a gift from Indonesians or through some sort of service or goods provided?

to tell you the plain truth, Indonesian government sucks, they have NEVER been any right. and us, the chinese indonesians are not tempted to fix the government, because we know it will be hopeless. We are such a small number of people compared to the native indonesians, with all “still-going-on” race and religion discriminations between chinese indonesians, chrisitanity and islam, we dont really care about it, and allow nature to take its course. And as I am speaking as a chinese indonesian who brought up in a chinese indonesians traditional environment, we, never consider ourselves to be in the same country as the natives. so, the $$$ singapore lent to indonesia, is to indonesia, not for chinese indonesians. and mind you, they will just corrupt it all the way, and never improve any services, so, we, dont get the profit of it.

Yes, it is considered a gift, but as you mentioned earlier on, to restrict foreigners coming to singapore? From you tone, I take that as you want to banish all the foreigners especially Indonesians from Singapore. so, what will happen if Singapore government dont allow Indonesians to study here? How will the Indonesians react? Nobody will go to your Singapore, and you know yourself of what will happen next to singapore.

Im not saying that what all I got from Singapore is just the pain and unhappy memories, I do have happy memories. I admit some Singaporeans are nice, especially some of my schoolmates, but teachers? NO.
and mind you, I found out my schoolmates, they be friend with me because my family got the money, that I could take them for treats and all. Some people are like that, but some, no, they are actually quite nice. But, what my point here, is, that MOSTLY you all Singaporeans share the same chromosomes; which means, same basic characteristics. My teachers; almost all are very discriminative of me, because they learnt Im an Indonesian. Though they dont show it, but I could feel it, they way they look at me, and talk to me.
Even my favorite teacher, my art teacher, dont give a damn with me, i mean, she is still playing fair, though, that she compliments my really nice works, then just ignoring it, but, when I talk to her, she reacts differently as what she usually do with other students. Im asking you, WHY?
WHY are you all developing anti-foreigners feelings here? What have we done to you? I dont get the fresh reasons for that.

Hi everyone,

I know the issue is an emotional one and with more than 8,000 views for this article alone, opinions would differ.

Please lets keep it civil and not get into this singapore/indonesia bashing. If this goes on, this thread may be closed for further posting.

Thanks.

most indonesian here on studies are rich in the first place. What the f do they need the scholarship for.

I’m front NTU ADM, most of the time the indonesians are slacking off, delaying the deadline and learning curve of the class.

Obviously from the look of their face ,they dont care much. In the end of day , they will go off to the states.

So y shouldn’t singaporean be hostile towards this bunch of rich playboys .

I remember a NS friend who jumped off a block fo flat when he failed his NUS exam twice during his first year.

The pressure of our society to excel sometimes drive people to do silly thing.

I dont think it is wrong to admit foreign scholars but perhaps more can be done to help them adapt to the Singaporean culture.

I have seen many foreign students here stay in at home during weekend playing computer games or watching TV. the whole day This is not only unhealthy physically but psychologically.

Their life is wrapped round their stiudies and nothing else and when they fail their exam, their whole world came crushing down.

I hope that all varsities will try to help these poor lonely foreign students adapt to our cutlure.

Having work abroad for a while, nothing is worse than feeling all alone without anyone to support you when the chips are down. The feeling can be depressive and devastating.

it was majin from the game we used to play called Destiny Online, i heard that david had problems with grades because of the game and lost his scholarship

May all of you live in peace and harmony.
May all be well, happy and sound.
May there be loving kindness towards all beings.
May there be compassion always.
May there be joy and great healing for the world.

GUYS, DROP THE COMMENT ON PROUD OR NOT PROUD OR EVEN SHAMEFUL TO BE WHATEVER CITIZEN. NOW THE LATEST UPDATE OF THE STORY IS THAT THE FAMILY AND RELATIVES FOUND MANY THINGS TO BE SUSPICIOUS. THE WRIST WHICH WAS SAID TO BE CUT BY DAVID IN AN ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SUICIDE TURNED OUT TO BE JUST FINE, NO SCAR WHATEVER, AND THERE WERE LOTS OF PLASTER/BAND AID MARK ON HIS NECK WHICH THE PARENTS FOUND STRANGE. AND MANY MORE. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INDONESIAN OR UNDERSTAND MALAY, GO TO http://www.detik.com

@Steve Lim
it is SG who implement this “meritocratic system” so that many relatively rich students got the scholarship. so, better be careful with your use of the f word.

and what statistic you have to show that they are comrpised by rich playboys? ratio of no. of girlfriend/semester? percentage of he sleeping with his GD in hostel? get real man, you put a shame to the NTU ADM.

@Theodora Citra Angkasa
i can understand your frustration and bitterness toward the natives. it will not be easy to undo the damage of 32 years of skewed policy and discrimination. may take another 10 years for Indonesian Chinese to instill the sense of belonging at the same level as those lived during Soekarno era. as for me, i’m willing to take part to undo the damage by joining politics. i don’t want the future generations to live in such a divided environment, traces of which you can feel even in NTU where most natives mingle among themselves, similar to most indonesian chinese. this case presents an opportunity to make indonesian student community to be more united

update on this case: Indonesian Parliament has demanded this case to be investigated by INTERPOL, due to many irregularities and NTU banning the deceased’s closest friends to be interviewd by media. David was one of our brightests, and the truth surrounding his death deserves to be disclosed.

sorry, lots of typo in prev. post.
comrpised by >> comprised of
GD>> GF,

update from detik.com:
David’s Dad: NTU mention his grade to cast him under bad light

this is typical SG approach to virtually ANYTHING. leadership, moral, achievement in life etc are measured using academic yardstick. MSM can play this trick to the most local population who lack the critical thinking and ability to measure anything other than the usual “academic meter”

time for SG press to get real with life.

i think those pple who condemn the student should correct their minds!
bcoz the mishap did not occur to them, of course they don’t feel the pain.
only students who are exploited by professors can empathize with david widjaja.

this, i can fully understand too as those who do not empathize david widjaja may be undergrads of EEE in ntu. it’s really not easy to condemn the prof. as they really have too much control and power over the students’ grades.

i feel sorry for david widjaja coz it’s a loss of young talent.
many of us can’t deny that many uni prof just throw the assignments to students, dint do much to help the students…in the end steal the students’ efforts n hard work n claim as their own!!!

if in the end, the students get good grades, it’s okay.
but most of the time, if the student is unlucky to get prof who jealous young talents, most likely they get lousy grades…which is not worth it at all!!!

that is why i don’t go university coz i believe that all these IT ideas are INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES!!!! instead of paying so much uni fees, learn nothing, get hurt by horrible prof who practically do nothing n earn big bucks, i rather use the money as capital to start up my own company / firm.
at least i get started with something more worthy.

NB: i’m not saying that all prof as sucks, of course some are good.
but i think the government should not give uni too much autonomy.
government should regulate more to ensure that the singapore uni provide quality education!
it is evident that every organization that are closely regulated by singapore’s government are high-quality.

another shocking news, do u know that every year there are local undergraduates commited suicide bcoz of unfair injustice by the prof. / or they are being unreasonably picked by the prof.? it’s just that the tragedies did not occur in uni campus…this is the shocking numbers!!
imagine that young talents we have lost every year??!!!
it’s a loss to the country too!!! especially for singapore where human resources are our only resources.

plus, i strongly feel that the university should look into this matter seriously.
do not be afraid to re-evaluate the qualities of our uni prof and system.
instead, we should take it as a precious opportunity to refine uni organization.
it may be painful at the moment, but the result is definitely worth it in the long run.

if we keep on overlooking these incidents, or cover up for the prof n staff, it may lure students to the uni in the short term, sooner or later, the bad reputation will still spread. itz only a matter of time…an “orstrich” attitude. it not only will scare students from coming to singapore to pursue their further study, it also tarnishes our country’s “high-quality education” reputation!

dear clearmind.uprightsoul

correct me if i am wrong but i don’t think you should make baseless assumptions that professors exploit their students and in this case, have also indirectly link the cause and put the blame to the professor, who is himself also a victim.

we don’t know the full details yet. lets wait for the investigation to be complete, before we start pointing fingers.

as for myself, i have met professors who have been so inspiring that they have dedicated their lives to the highest standards of academia.

and cravat, if you want transparency in the investigations, details such as his grades will ultimately surface no matter what. lets be fair to all sides shall we

I am one of those unfortunate ECE student from NUS who constantly received bad and shocking remarks from my previous Prof. See message number 102.

I absolutely agree with clearmind.uprightsoul that some good students are exploited by Prof to achieve their research goal. I was blamed by my Prof for being creative and pursue my research without following his demands that were outraging (for instance, using his simulation program that had unknown bugs!). He alleged that my grade could never be better than C or D when I chose my own simulator which is as good!

He alleged that I was a snobbish person who never like to listen and follow his instructions. This was untrue because as an engineering student, I had my own opinion. I knew that if I had chosen to use his simulator that had unknown bugs, I would not be able to complete and graduate on time! He alleged that I always think I’m smart. Speaking of which, I agree as I’m straight As student! I won gold medal during the graduation!

Mind you that many Profs appear very friendly and approachable merely to earn high marks during student evaluation. Far be it from anyone to believe the Prof was such a cunt!

During that time, I did not make any complaint to the University as I afraid that might affect my results!

Now that I have already left Singapore. I enjoy working with the western people who knows how to respect each other. To this day, I have never received any poor remarks from anyone like the Prof!

I’m trying to enrol into a local uni, but given the current situation, I think I’ll have a hard time getting a degree here in Singapore.

It seems to me that Singapore time is coming. The stars are darkening for Singapore. By percentage of population, Singapore is the most paranoid and Schizophrenic country in the world. Why? because they, at the core, have nothing. Nothing than malicious ways of benefiting from other countries resources.

Now that the southeast asia countries are developing, Singapore is overwhelmed by worries. Your time surely has come. Achtung!!!

clearmind.uprightsoul (#121),

NTU banning Widjaja’s closest friends from media interview? Is that even within NTU jurisdiction? A student is a not a university staff. A better description of a student-university relations would be that between a consumer and merchant.

True that Singapore is facing setbacks in 2009. But Singapore can continue to develop and has the ability to do so. Back in 1965, no countries were willing to lend a single hand to us, except Israel and Taiwan. We are currently undergoing a slump but as descendants of these hardowrking pioneers, we have to buck and realise that complacency can kill us.

While other South East Asian countries are developing, to also note that they too are marred by crisis within their own countries. Political and social instability in these countries are more acute and have handicapped these nations to greater progression.

I believe Singaporeans can wake up from this call and I believe we can work towards greater development. Even in Australia, which has become increasingly more wary of Singapore, have recognised that Singapore is “set to be centre of new world order in 2050.” Read this article here:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24467275-5016345,00.html

Yet, Singaporeans must not be over-confident or arrogant. We need to keep earning and keep adapting. This, and many other incidents of 2009 should serve as a good reminder for us citizens. If there is a wrong to right, then take it into your hands and not wait for others. And if our forefathers can do it, surely we can too.

And with this episode, we need to learn to live closer and better with our ASEAN neighbours. As a metropolitan, we cannot avoid being a city made up of different races, nationalities and creed. It is diversity that makes us beautiful too.

131) Xiong on March 5th, 2009 7.34 pm

Yet, Singaporeans must not be over-confident or arrogant. We need to keep earning and keep adapting. This, and many other incidents of 2009 should serve as a good reminder for us citizens. If there is a wrong to right, then take it into your hands and not wait for others. And if our forefathers can do it, surely we can too.

And with this episode, we need to learn to live closer and better with our ASEAN neighbours. As a metropolitan, we cannot avoid being a city made up of different races, nationalities and creed. It is diversity that makes us beautiful too.

______________________________________________________________

like, finally, a kind of good comment appear here, eventually. well, hope, mr. oklah, and mr.steve lim, and whoever outside there who are anti-foreigners can read this and take the possitive feedback.
we all want the best for our nations.

Just a comment, scholarship is meant for those outstanding students, whether they are rich or poor. If scholarship is meant for poor people, it should be called bursary rather than scholarship.

schol⋅ar⋅ship   /ˈskɒlərˌʃɪp/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [skol-er-ship] Show IPA
–noun 1. learning; knowledge acquired by study; the academic attainments of a scholar.
2. a sum of money or other aid granted to a student, because of merit, need, etc., to pursue his or her studies.
3. the position or status of such a student.
4. a foundation to provide financial assistance to students.

Lastly I do not understand how this issue relates to the two countries, Singapore and Indonesia. Let’s not judge anything until the truth is revealed by the authority.

128) Xiong on March 5th, 2009 7.34 pm

I hope more Singaporeans have the mindset like yours. Appreciate your open-mindedness. Frankly speaking, the Political and social instability in southeast asia countries are almost story of the past decade. Take a trip to one of those countries, you will find out their fast paced development and revolution.

Regards,
time

Time: I am well traveled in the region and have witnessed for myself how most SEA nations are still facing social and political instability. True there have been economic development, but at most case, erratic and slow and most of these monies going into the pockets of the few rich elites.

Malaysia and Thailand have their very serious political problems. The Philippines is still gripping with insurgency issues. Myanmar still have issues with the world with its junta background. Vietnam has been facing recession for some time. I just came back fron Vietnam and my friend there tells me there there’s a serious unemployment rate for the past 2 years. Indonesia still has to cope with rampant corruption within its ranks. And Singapore, we too have lots of problems ourselves. It may not be fair for me to point fingers when my country has her fair share of problems but I’m trying to be as unbiased as possible here, its still pretty bleak for ASEAN.

10 years ago just before the 1997 recession, they called ASEAN a ‘goldmine’, 10 years on, nothing has changed. If you compare ASEAN and the EU, you will know what’s lacking, ‘Unity’. And within most individual countries, rich elites that care for their rice bowl more than anything else.

Sorry if I have digressed. I just felt and hope that this incident will not spark off a poor relationship between the Indonesian students and the Singaporeans.

CORRECTIONS to the 3rd Pointer:

-i’m thoroughly appalled by the torrents of comments suggesting the restriction of foreigners into the country. are u guys Really that ….? First, u should be thankful to those foreigners who came here, to pick up the slack for ur Stressful > cmon guys, as u noe mostly all of us worked hard for our money worked hard for our money and pls do not stereotype us into becoming lavish or extravagant being. (Directed @steve lim #113, ‘Rich Playboys’)

I would like to warn that too much time with computer games is extreamly unhealthy. I think this is the real reason behind this sad story and many others.

Freeway, thanks for your important highlight of the clue that a game called Destiny Online?? has caused the deceased’s grades to suffer ?? I believe so coz in the past, I ever heard parents complaining that computer games have harmed their kids by keeping them late into the nights, making them addicted to the games, disobeyed their parents’ advice to sleep early & causing their grades to suffer. They sleep very late & wake up very late too; they literally live in the virtual world & no more in the actual social world.
Now, IF games can make humans lose control and destroy or terminate their lives, it is time for the higher authority- schools, institutions, social agencies, policy makers & all to WAKE UP & do something for the future generation of kids regardless of where these kids come from (just say we’re doing something good for mankind) by eg. set up banners, advertisements, commercials, flyers etc.to warn families, kids, practically the whole world about the DANGER of computer games. Wonder if there is anybody who has done research on this topic yet ?? Something must be done before more are trapped & destroyed by these devilish games; imagine human beings are already controlled by machines & destroyed by them even without them realizing; how scary & we humans just simply know how to point fingers at each other while the devilish games (inventors??those sinful millionaires,game makers, another sinful group) go unpunished. If one invents games for relaxation, it is fine but if it becomes harmful to the human race, capturing their young souls sort of, then better think twice & stop your invention, those are BLOOD $$$.
God Bless

sorry for interupting..

but ain’t you people that there was some contradiction about the news?!

you all shall to see this link

http://www.kaskus.us/showthread.php?t=1495128

i thought that it was bluffing..

then i checked out they were right

especially when the news said that he died using black tshirt.. indeed he died wearing white tshirt..

and news stated that the professor was injured badly..however.. he could recover in two days..

it’s out of logic i think

I heard from a friend that this professor who survived the stab is a China national ?
Anyone knows how he speaks, I mean his tone, voice audible enough ? Is his communication with students effective ? How good is his English ?
Coz I ever went to restaurant & spoke to some waiters & waitresses who are pretty or handsome looking & polite foreigners & when I asked them for something, they did not really understand even simple English with a few sentences. They simply gestured, nodding their heads politely & so I gave up making whatever requests then. Believed they are not well trained by whoever employed them.
Now, if you are a lecturer who speaks in a manner that students cannot understand you well, wow, one can imagine the frustration as it affects your studies. So, how do institutions employ & assess their staff ? How many complaints must students file in before the lecturer is dismissed? But by then, how many students have already suffered under his/her teachings (grades suffer too). Will the institution let them retake the module or be trained again under a different lecturer. Are all these choices in place ?? Truly, many things have gone wrong in this world; we human beings have created too many problems & messed up a lot of things & that’s why, the world is already seen to be literally collapsing soon. Thorough investigation should proceed with the objectives of bringing the guilty to punishment if any & improvement to policies if any which I believed, yes, certainly, many things need to be improved upon…many factors have led to the poor boy’s death indeed. The complicated sins of humans contributed to it….continue to say what you like….
God bless

Latest news, there has been correction on the news by Singapore side. It is said now that David did not commit suicide. Haven’t got time to check further.

Yan, from where do you get that “correction news”, can you share it with all of us please?
Thanks

Why don’t we take a step back and see how this news evolved.
First of all, I am not pro to any side. I’m just interested in how this news can grow into some social bashing. For me, this thing can happen to anyone. It just happened that this case involved a foreign student and a local professor. Yet people starts to generalize the groups (nationality, race, scholars, professors and other sensitive stuffs)

It was a closed scene where there were no eye witness.
Yet the media said that the student stabbed the professor and then killed himself. Did the statement come from the prof’s mouth himself. Or was it just simply assumption made based on the end scene. I am aware of the use of the word “allegedly”/”believed” by the media but people tend to ignore that and be prejudice.

It was like watching the movie just seconds before the end where there is one guy lying on the ground lifeless and another guy bloodily injured. No one knows the scenes leading to this. Yet, people are guessing and making their own scenarios and it happens that the media is strong enough to convey the message. I’m not saying that the news is not right. But up to this point, I think that this is just simply an assumption.

Some news even just quoted from personal blogs, forums. Those are all based on opinions, not fact.

Aside from the evidence (autopsy result, knife, police report etc) which are not disclosed to public yet, the only person to break the deadlock is the prof himself. I understand that he is still recovering physically and mentally. however, with full respect, I sincerely think that he should step up and explain to make everything clear, whenever he is fully recovered. For his responsibilty as human-being, not representing any group, and not biased for the advantage of any group.

Once again, I don’t know what happened in the room between the student and the prof, I’m just voicing my doubt on the trueness of the news. It might be true but it might also be false.

Of coz singapore media would do a correction on the news. After so much buzz in the forums pointing out the flaw n baseless assumption in their reporting. they’d definitely try to ‘Correct’ the news. this only proves that they are inaccurate and subjected to biasness. as if facts aren’t facts, they need to CORRECT these facts.

as i’ve said up above, that they will only publish what they want to hear. at this point i cant help it but Be very skeptical of ST reports. It’s somehow analogous to aLiar telling u that he won’t lie again. there he just made another lie..

From http://www.detik.com. That site is really fast. If they report a war, the war most probably is still happening in front of your door :)

Btw, I haven’t got time to check other sources yet so don’t want to comment too much. But in detik, speaker from the foreign ministry Teuku Faizasyah said the Singapore government had attempted to make correction.

it proves whether what u heard r not always the right one!

you who have studied sociology know conspiracy theory, in other meaning that another event is related to others since they both from EEE department…check this out:

http://www.gabrielsai.com/blog/2009/…hs-in-ntu.html

and don’t forget to watch this film:
http://www.mysoju.com/a-million-star…-from-the-sky/

The film told about the student who took suicide but later revealed that the professors who killed her. In sociology, don’t take common sense la but you have to investigate the facts. In other words, if media said he was suicide but without knowing facts then wo should not beleive it.

yea… my teacher told me not to believe everything the newspaper wrote.. we can still read it.. but not 100% believe it.. because there might be hidden truth behind all of them… if you believe everything they said, u are brainwashed by the govt..

I feel very strongly about the FYP systems in the university in Singapore. I’m currently doing my FYP in NUS Engineering and I absolutely loathe the PostDoctoral which my Professor has placed me under.

My FYP professor happens to be the head of department and he is simply too busy to meet his FYP students. In fact, since FYP started last Sem (5mths ago), I haven’t even met him, not even once! He actually told my friend who is also a FYP student under him, that is too busy and that we should not bother him. He leaves everything to the PostDoctral and told my friend to inform us that the PostDoctral takes full control. What he doesnt know is that this PostDoctral fellow has been ordering us around like slaves, making us come down EVERY SINGLE DAY of the week (9am to 6pm) to do the experiment which he commands. He never explains what the experiments are for and when we try to pursue, he brushes us off and asks us to just go do it. He even made ridiculous demands for us to stay OVERNIGHT in the labs in school and also come down on weekends.

As FYP students, we feel very helpless cause there is no channel to seek help or complaints. We do not dare to approach our FYP prof to let him know of what has been done to us because we fear he might take it the wrong way. Afterall, you never know how are things between him and the PostDoctoral. What if he chooses to believe the PostDoctral who lies through his teeth that we’re slackers or lazy students who don’t do our work and don’t come down at all? Furthermore, since the FYP Prof is never around, he is probably going to leave the grading to the PostDoctral (thinking he knows best) and god knows what kind of grades we get after we try bringing up his “abusive” issues.

I therefore take the NTU incident with a pinch of salt. It takes a lot for someone to drive a knife through another being and it takes a lot to jump down a building. You can say the student has bad stress management or whatsoever but let’s not forget that students DO get very sucky profs for FYP. Given the 1 year setting of the project, under such long term stress, it is totally possible to drive someone up the walls.

Furthermore, I have come to know some profs are entirely different in class and in FYP setting. Some of them are very relaxing and easy going during classes but when it comes to FYP, they totally change because most of the Profs make use of FYP to publish papers. And these papers are essentially their ticket to further employment or pay raise or promotion etc. A certain number of papers needed to be published in a certain time frame while the profs are being employed by the university. It is also common for profs to make use of FYP students as free labour to do mandune or time consuming experiments which they themselves do not want to do or do not have the time.

At the end of the day, all that time spent and all the hardship a student endures through FYP, just for that few modular credits and possibly a better class of honours, may just consume you.

welcome to the world of slavery. it is no wonder that singaporeans are not keen & schoalrships are awarded to foreigners who are willing to endure the nonsense.
go overseas for a post-grad education for exposure.