Latest Update: The student involved in the stabbing of a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has been identified as a David Widjaya, according to a report that appeared in the Lianhe Wanbao. (AsiaOne)
From the Straits Times:
AN information engineering professor at the Nanyang Technological University was rushed to hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by a final year student in his office on Monday morning. Moments later, the body of the undergraduate was found at the foot of the seven-storey School of Electrical, Electronic and Engineering building.
NTU students returning from their mid-term one-week break were shocked at the double tragedies which happened at about 10.30am on the sixth floor, where the offices of the lecturers are located. The School of EEE is next to the School of Communications.
Prof Chan Kap Luk is said to be the supervisor of the student in a project.
The body of the student is still lying on the grass verge.
Read the full report here.
Read also: Indonesian student stabs professor, found dead in Singapore by The Jakarta Post.
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Press statement from the Nanyang Technological University:
University Statement :
A final year student, David Hartanto Widjaja, 21, from the electrical and electronic engineering school is believed to have stabbed Associate Professor Chan Kap Luk, 45, this morning, 2 March 2009 and to have subsequently fallen off the linkway between two blocks. The ambulance and the police were called immediately. Mr Widjaja was pronounced dead. Mr Widjaja’s parents and Prof Chan’s family members have been notified. Prof Chan is receiving medical treatment at the National University Hospital and is recovering well.
The university board of trustees, management and the NTU community, much saddened by the tragic loss, express heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr Widjaja.
President NTU, Dr Su Guaning, says, “The university is deeply shocked and saddened by what has happened. The matter will be investigated thoroughly. The university community will rally together at this difficult time and do our utmost to help the student’s family, the professor and his family, and those traumatised by the incident.”
The University’s counselling professionals have been mobilized to help and the school is assisting the police with investigations.
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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