1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,520 Once he was just an ordinary boy, now he is defender of the universe. 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:13,000 Look, there he goes now, off to save the universe yet again. 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,600 As well as your careers. 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:21,480 Faster than a speeding resume, a hero to the man on the street, and getting you back on 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:22,960 your feet. 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:27,400 He is Captain Careers, Adrian Chu. 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,680 How's that for size, man? 8 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:31,680 Oh, I love that. 9 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:32,680 That's the best intro I've had, Captain. 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:33,680 Look at my guns. 11 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:38,680 Okay, everybody, welcome back. 12 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:44,600 Welcome back to the Chris Hansen Conversation for the I Love My Job series. 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,760 And you know, he's going to be a regular guest each season for this particular segment, simply 14 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,800 because he is the authority on the subject. 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,640 I can dare say he's the authority on the subject. 16 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,200 And we like him here because sometimes on my show, at least he can be a little bit more 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:00:59,200 unhinged. 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:05,760 I have with me once again, back again for season four, the CEO, founder and career strategist 19 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:11,480 for Career Agility International, Adrian Chu, Captain Careers. 20 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:12,480 How you doing, Bones? 21 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:15,400 I'm doing fantastically well. 22 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,280 This is a no-holds-butt session, so I'm ready to get cancelled. 23 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:19,280 Really? 24 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,960 I look at the questions that you... 25 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:27,560 This show today, I got to tell all of you, this show today, this episode, is not planned 26 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:28,560 by me. 27 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,680 It is completely planned by Adrian Chu, okay? 28 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:33,240 So don't fucking cancel me. 29 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,040 You want to cancel anyone, cancel this joker. 30 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,720 Disclaimer, there's none. 31 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:42,720 There's no disclaimer. 32 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:43,720 No disclaimer. 33 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:45,920 Okay, everyone, Adrian, you know this. 34 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,720 I've given you a moniker as you heard the intro just now. 35 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,080 You are now called Captain Careers on this show. 36 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:54,320 And now all I need is a catchy tagline. 37 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,040 Yeah, I just call you Bones. 38 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:59,360 I will call you Bones because you are the body snatcher. 39 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,000 I will never fucking forget that story. 40 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:08,320 Still ringing in my ears again, still permeating in my brain that this man used to sell fucking 41 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:09,620 bones. 42 00:02:09,620 --> 00:02:14,440 So for those of you who don't know what we're talking about, tuning into our previous season, 43 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,560 you've got a lowdown on me having 30 skeletons in my closet. 44 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,240 The body snatcher you. 45 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,800 Okay, all right, man. 46 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,240 So you've got a couple of things planned for us. 47 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,560 We've had the season. 48 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,200 Yours is usually going to be the final episode for the series, I Love My Job. 49 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,240 I've got a couple of people already who came in to speak, right? 50 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:40,240 And now it will always culminate each season with the final episode for this series with 51 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,240 you, with Captain Careers. 52 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:43,240 I'm so touched. 53 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,080 Not at all, man, because you are the expert on the subject, man. 54 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:47,080 Not me, man. 55 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:48,080 I'm just a guy that just... 56 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:49,080 A guy. 57 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,720 I'm usually the guy. 58 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:52,720 The guy. 59 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,800 The guy that will get everyone in and everyone else is the expert, everyone else is people 60 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,840 I'm honoring, you know, unless we're talking about fucking UFOs and maybe I can say I'm 61 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:02,880 a little bit more of an authority. 62 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,920 But other than that, man, other than stupid shit like that, yeah, you know, I'm quite 63 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:06,920 dumb. 64 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:07,920 You're the guy. 65 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:08,920 No, I'm the guy, but the dumb one, you know. 66 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:11,280 So I leave it to the experts, experts like you. 67 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,160 And I've got a few things I've prepared for you, though. 68 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,200 You've given me the questions and it's going to pop up on the screen. 69 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:18,200 Okay? 70 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:19,200 Of course, it has to. 71 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:20,800 I'm going to make it a little bit more fun. 72 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:21,800 Yeah. 73 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:23,960 Let people see what exactly we're dealing with. 74 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,160 So I put this in the order you've given me. 75 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:28,680 So do you want me to just flash it in the order? 76 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:29,680 No, that's good for you. 77 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:30,680 Okay, good. 78 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:31,680 Okay. 79 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:32,680 Okay, fuck it, man. 80 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:33,680 Let's go. 81 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:34,680 There you go. 82 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:35,680 The problem with being Singaporean. 83 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:36,680 Oh, fuck. 84 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:39,440 We're going to get screwed for this shit. 85 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:40,440 I think so. 86 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:45,520 So let me ask you a question. 87 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,840 How proud of you that you're Singaporean? 88 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,560 Singaporean per se as a citizen, I'm very proud. 89 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,680 As a citizen, I'm very proud, of course. 90 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:55,680 Me too. 91 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,800 You know, whenever I'm overseas or when I'm in the US or in Europe, first thing I tell 92 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,160 people is I'm Singaporean because I just don't want them to mistake me for anything of any 93 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:05,160 other nationality. 94 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,840 So, round of the bat, I love being Singaporean. 95 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:08,840 I'm a true blue Singaporean. 96 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:09,840 Wait, wait, wait. 97 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:10,840 What? 98 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:11,840 If anyone says to Adrian Chew, are you... 99 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:12,840 I should value my passport. 100 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:13,840 Are you Malaysian? 101 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:14,840 Oh, I love Malaysians. 102 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:15,840 Okay. 103 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:16,840 I actually prefer... 104 00:04:16,840 --> 00:04:17,840 But what happens if you're... 105 00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:18,840 I prefer to hang out in Malaysians more than Singaporeans. 106 00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:19,840 No, no, no, no. 107 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:20,840 Based on what you just said just now, if you were mistaken to be Malaysian, how would you 108 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:21,840 feel? 109 00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:22,840 I think it's fine. 110 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:23,840 I just said we are the better looking version. 111 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:24,840 So... 112 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:25,840 I'm just kidding. 113 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:26,840 I'm just kidding. 114 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:27,840 I'm just kidding. 115 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:28,840 I'm just kidding. 116 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:29,840 I'm just kidding. 117 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:30,840 I'm just kidding. 118 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:31,840 I'm just kidding. 119 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:32,840 I'm just kidding. 120 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:33,840 I'm just kidding. 121 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:34,840 I'm just kidding. 122 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:35,840 I'm just kidding. 123 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:36,840 I'm just kidding. 124 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,840 I'm just kidding. 125 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:40,840 You know, they're both Malaysian. 126 00:04:40,840 --> 00:04:41,840 So... 127 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:42,840 Fuck, fuck. 128 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:45,460 I hope you don't go to GB too often. 129 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:46,460 Lots of... 130 00:04:46,460 --> 00:04:48,720 I've got relatives in Malaysia. 131 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,320 So the thing is, when I'm outdoor... 132 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:52,720 There's a lot of kinship between us and Malaysians. 133 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:53,720 There is. 134 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,240 You can't tell one from the other, except when you ask them whether this is Roti Canai 135 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:57,240 or Roti Prata. 136 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,260 That's where the difference comes in. 137 00:04:58,260 --> 00:05:00,720 Ours is called Singlish. 138 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:02,200 Theirs is called Manglish, right? 139 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:03,440 I have no idea. 140 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:04,440 No. 141 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:05,440 Yeah, yeah. 142 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:06,440 It's man-glish. 143 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,440 is when Singaporeans ask me whether I'm Singaporean. 144 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,440 I say, are you Singaporean? 145 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,440 I say, of course I'm Singaporean, but you speak different. 146 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,440 I'm Peranakan, so I speak different, just like you, you know, 147 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:20,440 you're Eurasian, so we are of the special heritage. 148 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:23,440 Oh yeah, of course, very extraordinary people. 149 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:28,440 But when it comes to work, I must say, being Singaporean, 150 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,440 being Singaporean, sorry, Singapore problem, that's a good word. 151 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:31,440 Singapore problem. 152 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,440 Yes, that is a Foydans slip. 153 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,440 Being Singaporean sometimes poses certain problems. 154 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,440 These are uniquely single problems. 155 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:45,440 Let me tell you, because for me, I've been in head hunting many, many years. 156 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:47,440 The composition goes like this. 157 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:49,440 I call up an individual. 158 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:54,440 I say, hey, you know, Joanne, there's a great opportunity for you. 159 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,440 This company, you know, is really, it's more money to pay, 160 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,440 it's a much better job, the company is more prestigious than your current one. 161 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,440 First question I ask is, where is the office? 162 00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:05,440 Oh, it's in Jurong. 163 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,440 Oh gosh. 164 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:08,440 Too far, the one. 165 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:12,440 No, but this role is quite exciting for you. 166 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:13,440 No, too far away, the one. 167 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:15,440 Where are you staying? 168 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,440 I'm staying in Bukit Merah, or even Bukit Panjang, which is not too far from Jurong. 169 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:21,440 Yeah, it isn't. 170 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:22,440 No, the one, too far away. 171 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,440 Thank you for calling. 172 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:25,440 It's what case study. 173 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:26,440 Right. 174 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:28,440 The other one. 175 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,440 Jonathan, there is a role for you. 176 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:32,440 There's a company, where's the office? 177 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,440 The office is in town. 178 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,440 Which part of town? 179 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:38,440 Shantin Way? 180 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:39,440 Which part of Shantin Way? 181 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,440 Oh, it's in, you know, it's in one of the buildings. 182 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:44,440 Doan. 183 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:45,440 Why? 184 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:46,440 No shutter walkway from an MRT station. 185 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:47,440 Oh, for fuck's sake. 186 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:48,440 You're not kidding, right? 187 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:49,440 I'm not kidding you, okay? 188 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:50,440 So we are a bit spoiled. 189 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,440 So, you know, if you ask me what's the problem with being Singaporean, 190 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,440 I'm not talking about being, not the problem with Singaporeans, 191 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,440 but the problem with being Singaporean, 192 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,440 sometimes we are too pampered, we are too spoiled. 193 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:06,440 And I think it's hurting us as a resource, in terms of our own career. 194 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:11,440 Example, how many Singaporeans do you know would accept an overseas posting? 195 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:13,440 Okay, to London. 196 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:14,440 Wow, expatriate job. 197 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:15,440 Expatriate job. 198 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:16,440 Okay. 199 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:18,440 To Australia, Melbourne, Sydney. 200 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:19,440 Yeah. 201 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:20,440 To KL. 202 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:24,440 You mean, don't tell me that not many people prefer to do that either? 203 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:25,440 Yeah. 204 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:26,440 What? 205 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:27,440 To, okay, how about this? 206 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,440 Even to Bangkok. 207 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:31,440 There are reservations. 208 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,440 Okay, but if you're single, young and single, 209 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,440 it's a fucking opportunity, man, to be an expatriate. 210 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,440 But people still don't, you're talking about the young here. 211 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,440 Are you talking about the young or the across the board? 212 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:46,440 The younger ones and the millennials. 213 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,440 Sometimes, you know, you have a family, but even then, you know, 214 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,440 that's why I think we have not learned how to come out of our comfort zones yet, 215 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:54,440 if you ask me. 216 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:55,440 Okay. 217 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,440 And it's actually a result of being very blessed. 218 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,440 But the thing is, Adrian, the thing is, 219 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:09,440 have you encountered the Singaporeans who have really jumped at this sort of opportunities? 220 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:10,440 Have you? 221 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:11,440 I have, I have. 222 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,440 And these people, I don't know if you better you keep up with them 223 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:17,440 since they landed those respective jobs, yeah, 224 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:20,440 whether it's going to be, I don't mind traveling, 225 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,440 I don't mind getting caught in the rain, 226 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:24,440 I don't mind traveling overseas, no sort, yeah. 227 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,440 Those people, those people, to me, in my opinion, 228 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,440 these people have great aptitude, great attitude, right. 229 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,440 They have a verve for life and they're going to go out there 230 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,440 and grab opportunities as it comes. 231 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,440 These people that you know of, if you caught up with them, 232 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,440 I hope you have, have they done really well in their own lives, 233 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:43,440 in their own careers? 234 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:44,440 They have, they have. 235 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:46,440 Because they go overseas to get some exposure, 236 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:48,440 they go to another country to get exposure, 237 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:49,440 and they come back very experienced. 238 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,440 You see, the question is this, you know, 239 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,440 how many of our Singaporeans are truly global, global? 240 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:59,440 And this is a very sensitive question, okay. 241 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:00,440 Why is it sensitive? 242 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:02,440 Because then people will say, oh, but Adrian, 243 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,440 you're saying the Singaporeans don't have talent, you know. 244 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:05,440 No, we have talent. 245 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:06,440 Yeah. 246 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:12,440 Okay, how many Singaporeans can do what DBS CEO, 247 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:13,440 Piyush Kupta is doing? 248 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:14,440 He's doing a great job. 249 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:15,440 He's doing a fantastic job. 250 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:16,440 Okay. 251 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,440 How about our TikTok CEO? 252 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,440 What's his name, Chu? 253 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:22,440 I don't, I forget. 254 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,440 I wish he got a Christian name or something. 255 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:25,440 I know, right? 256 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:26,440 Yeah, it's so easy to remember. 257 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:28,440 You know that good looking smart dude, right? 258 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:29,440 Yeah, yeah. 259 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,440 How many people are of that caliber, okay? 260 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,440 If you look at his career profile, wow, you know, 261 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:38,440 he's been with the consulting groups, private equity firms, 262 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:39,440 fantastic. 263 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:40,440 How many Singaporeans are there? 264 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:45,440 And the question is, why aren't more Singaporeans in those global, 265 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:47,440 very senior leadership roles, okay? 266 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:48,440 Right. 267 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:53,440 Even the government, when they're looking for CEO of MRT or whatever it is, 268 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:58,440 okay, they do a global search and then it falls back onto some army dude, right? 269 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,440 Because not that Singapore does not have talented people. 270 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:06,440 I think that because we don't have the critical mass, okay, 271 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:07,440 let me explain why. 272 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,440 We only have 2 million Singaporeans. 273 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:10,440 Right. 274 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,440 Okay, aren't you going to correct me? 275 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,440 We have 2 point something million. 276 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,440 No, 2 million Singaporeans per se. 277 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:17,440 Really? 278 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:18,440 Okay, so why? 279 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,440 Okay, what's Singapore's population? 280 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:21,440 5.8 now, I think. 281 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,440 How many non-locals make that up? 282 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:24,440 Maybe about half. 283 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:25,440 Half, yeah. 284 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,440 That's why I said it's about 2.5, 2.6 million Singaporeans, right? 285 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,440 How many Singaporeans are, and I'm talking about non-naturalized, 286 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:33,440 how do you say that? 287 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:34,440 Singaporeans, Singaporeans. 288 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,440 Singapore, indigenous Singaporeans born here, yeah. 289 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,440 You know, we don't have that critical mass, okay? 290 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:46,440 Imagine if just 0.01% of the people are of that super caliber, right? 291 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,440 Maybe we have about 200 of these guys. 292 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:51,440 Okay, okay, wait, I've got to stop you there, because you know why? 293 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,440 Kwong B and I are fucking idealists, but since you're saying that, 294 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,440 I can see your point of view. 295 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,440 We don't have the critical mass, so therefore, the indigenous Singaporean, 296 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,440 you can hardly see one that can shine. 297 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:04,440 Is that what you're saying? 298 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:06,440 No, and it's not just the person who shine. 299 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:11,440 These people have to be put under very specific circumstances to reach that goal. 300 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:12,440 Sure. 301 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:18,440 As opposed to there are 1.2 billion Chinese, 1.2 billion. 302 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,440 So even a 0.01% of 1.2 billion, there's still like a 1 million. 303 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:25,440 Yeah, I know where you're going with this. 304 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:30,440 And of that group, you go in and you give them the training, 305 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,440 and some will fall by the wayside. 306 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:33,440 No, Adrian, I disagree with you. 307 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:38,440 I think it's got to do with attitude, and it's got to do with a pamphlet 308 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,440 and entitled generation. 309 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,440 And attitude is also one subset, but if you have a wide enough group... 310 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:45,440 No, let me give you an analogy. 311 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:46,440 Tell me. 312 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:47,440 Let me give you an analogy. 313 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:52,440 Look, man, how would the SAF plan to defend this country when they first started 314 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,440 and as the years progressed, okay? 315 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:59,440 Because we are so small, we don't have the critical mass in terms of population, right? 316 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,440 So, okay, we came up with a brilliant plan. 317 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:03,440 We go into conscription. 318 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:05,440 We have a conscripted army. 319 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:06,440 We work in technology. 320 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,440 And then, of course, I'm not wanting to say too much because I don't want to really let go 321 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:14,440 too many things, being a former soldier myself alongside with you, 322 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,440 because we're all conscripts. 323 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:23,440 The idea is that every one of us must go in with an attitude, right? 324 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:29,440 If you take a look at a section size of soldiers, a section is quite a small section 325 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,440 compared to most other armies in the world, right? 326 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:32,440 Armed forces in the world. 327 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,440 The infantry section is quite small. 328 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:39,440 But super-powered in terms of armaments and blah, blah, blah. 329 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,440 So that's an open secret. 330 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:44,440 And no one hides that kind of thing, so I can talk about it, right? 331 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:51,440 If we look at the attitudes there, we may be small, 332 00:12:51,440 --> 00:13:00,440 but we all can, with a right attitude, get great at the things we want to do. 333 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,440 It's about an attitude. 334 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:04,440 It's about streamlining things and going, 335 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:09,440 okay, you know what, each of us have really got to be something else, man. 336 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,440 We've got to be really special, right? 337 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,440 There's always going to be one other guy that's going to be better than you, 338 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:16,440 but that's cool. 339 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:22,440 The point is that we all get very, very good at the things we have chosen to do. 340 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:23,440 I absolutely agree with you. 341 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,440 We can get good with training. 342 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,440 We can get good with the right equipment that can level us up and... 343 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:29,440 It's an attitude, man. 344 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:30,440 No, sorry. 345 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,440 You can train someone, man. 346 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,440 I'll give you another analogy. 347 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,440 I don't know whether or not I'm being fucking relevant here. 348 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:42,440 Musicians, like Aliyah and I, on our episode, we talked about this a little bit. 349 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,440 Let me just touch on that. 350 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,440 There are two kinds of music, okay? 351 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,440 One would be the technical guy. 352 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,440 The guy that, you know, mommy and daddy sent me for fucking piano lessons 353 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:57,440 since I was five years old, by the time I was 12, I'm grade eight, you know. 354 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,440 I can sight read, you know, I know how to really play. 355 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:02,440 Those are manufactured talent. 356 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:04,440 Manufactured talent, the technical guys. 357 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:09,440 Then you've got the musical ones, where yes, they are also technical. 358 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:10,440 They can read the notes. 359 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:11,440 They can sight read. 360 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:16,440 They can do all kinds of shit, but they have the feel in what they play, right? 361 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,440 That's a musical guy, right? 362 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,440 I'd rather have a musical guy because you have soul in it, right? 363 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:23,440 It's the attitude. 364 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:24,440 Agreed. 365 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:25,440 It's the attitude. 366 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:26,440 It's not just about being manufactured. 367 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:28,440 So anyone can go for training. 368 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:33,440 You can go to, you can go and sign up for whatever fucking courses you've got, right? 369 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,440 And then come out and say, yeah, I'm certified. 370 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,440 Yeah, but bollocks, the point is that how much did you put into that training 371 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,440 whilst you were undergoing training? 372 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,440 So it's about the attitude, don't you think? 373 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:48,440 And I think attitude also, you cannot deny the talent. 374 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,440 Because you've got no talent, you've got attitude. 375 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,440 We've seen a lot of people on America's Got Talent. 376 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,440 They sing horribly, but they've been practicing this for the past 15 years. 377 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,440 You've got no talent. 378 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:00,440 So I'm talking about talent here, not just attitude. 379 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:01,440 Okay, okay. 380 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,440 Now, since you're on talent, then I will have this to say. 381 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,440 Talent without hard work is being fucking stupid. 382 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:08,440 Agreed. 383 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:09,440 Agreed. 384 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:11,440 So all else being, but I'm talking about the attitude. 385 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:12,440 So it's still the attitude, right? 386 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,440 If you have talent, you still need to put in an attitude, a good attitude, 387 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,440 in order to hone the talent. 388 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:18,440 Exactly. 389 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:20,440 So if you've got a hundred people with a good talent, right? 390 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:25,440 If you've got a hundred people with a good talent, half of them don't have the attitude. 391 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:26,440 Okay? 392 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:27,440 They just fall off the table, right? 393 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:28,440 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 394 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,440 And the other half are not given an opportunity. 395 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,440 Okay, now we're talking about opportunity. 396 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:33,440 Maybe they're born poor. 397 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:34,440 Okay, maybe they're born poor. 398 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:40,440 You see, how many musicians, successful musicians, are napple babies? 399 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:41,440 What babies? 400 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:42,440 Napple babies. 401 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:43,440 No napple babies. 402 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:44,440 What the fuck are napple babies? 403 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:45,440 Napple babies are nappletism babies. 404 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:46,440 Oh, say lah. 405 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:47,440 They're just parents. 406 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:48,440 They're called napple babies. 407 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,440 Okay, these napple babies, they're all born... 408 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:53,440 You can go and look up a lot of people. 409 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,440 They're all very talented, like shucks. 410 00:15:56,440 --> 00:15:58,440 I'll give you an example. 411 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,440 Wilson Phillips, a Chinese, a Chinese Phillips. 412 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:03,440 A Chinese Phillips, yeah. 413 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:04,440 You go check out what dad is. 414 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:05,440 A beach boy. 415 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:06,440 He's a beach boy. 416 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:07,440 Yeah, yeah. 417 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:08,440 And the mamas and the papas. 418 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:09,440 Mamas and the papas, yeah, correct. 419 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:10,440 So, napple baby. 420 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,440 You look at all his... 421 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:14,440 Ben Affleck, okay? 422 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:15,440 What about Ben Affleck? 423 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,440 His dad is an actor. 424 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:19,440 Is he? 425 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:20,440 Yeah, if I'm not mistaken. 426 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:21,440 Who is it? 427 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:22,440 I didn't know that. 428 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:23,440 Ben Stiller, sorry. 429 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:24,440 Oh, Ben Stiller. 430 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:25,440 Ben Stiller, yes, his dad, yeah. 431 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:26,440 Napple baby. 432 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:27,440 So, okay. 433 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,440 So, if you look at talent pool, okay, half of it drops off because they don't have the 434 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:31,440 attitude. 435 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:32,440 The other half, because they didn't have the opportunity. 436 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:33,440 In the end, you end up with 50. 437 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,440 But imagine out of the 1,000... 438 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,440 Imagine if you had a much bigger talent pool. 439 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,440 That 50 grows up by 100, 200. 440 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:49,440 So, the question is, why aren't Singaporeans leading global companies? 441 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:54,440 And I think the problem with being Singaporean is that there's just not enough of us. 442 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:56,440 It's not that we lack talent. 443 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:58,440 I think it's not enough exposure. 444 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,440 And also, and that follows on with what I say. 445 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:03,440 They do put up their hand, okay, because they're pampered. 446 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:04,440 They put up their hands. 447 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,440 They don't go like, I want this job. 448 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:07,440 I want that job. 449 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,440 They see, okay, I hear you and everything you said about this. 450 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,440 And I take the whole fucking thing and I put it into a bowl. 451 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:17,440 And this is what I see. 452 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:22,440 I see, yes, pampered, entitled. 453 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:23,440 I want this. 454 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:24,440 I want that. 455 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,440 And yet, everyone is sheep. 456 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:36,440 If any single person in that bowl wants to stand out, he cannot be sheep. 457 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:37,440 Exactly. 458 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:45,440 But if he doesn't want to be sheep and he stands out, is he going to be thumbed down? 459 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:46,440 That's a good question. 460 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:57,440 So, truly, is it because of not having critical mass or is it because of not being allowed an opportunity? 461 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,440 And sometimes it's not just that, not being allowed opportunity. 462 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,440 A lot of times, it comes from the school education system as well. 463 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,440 You ask the teacher questions. 464 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:09,440 Shut up. 465 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:10,440 This is a stupid question. 466 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:11,440 Sit down with troublemaker. 467 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,440 We had that in the first school. 468 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:14,440 That was okay. 469 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:15,440 That's our day. 470 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,440 Today, I don't know. 471 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,440 Today is even worse. 472 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:20,440 I'll tell you why. 473 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:21,440 Okay. 474 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,440 I know where you're going to go with this. 475 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:24,440 Mathematics. 476 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:25,440 Not just mathematics. 477 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:26,440 Working. 478 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:27,440 Okay. 479 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,440 Nothing is different. 480 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:31,440 Tuition. 481 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:32,440 Private tuition. 482 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:33,440 Why? 483 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,440 I remember when I was in junior college, no, I was in university. 484 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:39,440 I was supplementing my income with tuition. 485 00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:40,440 With bones. 486 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:41,440 Okay, with bones. 487 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:42,440 I was also giving tuition at the side. 488 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:48,440 So, I was giving tuition to this neighborhood kid just because after three months of just 489 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:52,440 two months of coaching him, he came back to me and his neighborhood school kid. 490 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:57,440 He said, Uncle Adrian, my chair, my teacher asked me to tell you something. 491 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:58,440 I said, what? 492 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:03,440 He asked me to tell you you're not doing your job because my maths grades are no good. 493 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:04,440 I said, what? 494 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:05,440 Seriously? 495 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,440 The teacher is telling the student that the tuition teacher is not doing my job. 496 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,440 I'm not doing my job because... 497 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:15,440 So, everyone is relying on tuition so much that the teachers, some of the teachers just 498 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:16,440 hands off. 499 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:17,440 Yeah. 500 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:18,440 You see? 501 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,440 So, a lot of times, the education system needs to be revamped. 502 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,440 I got to say this and I got to stop you there, man. 503 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:23,440 You know why? 504 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:25,440 Because that was during your university days, right? 505 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:28,440 Now, I think today could be... 506 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,440 I don't know, because you mentioned neighborhood school per se. 507 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:33,440 I don't know why you said neighborhood school. 508 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,440 Neighborhood school. 509 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,440 And then of course, we know who said before, every school is a good school. 510 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:44,440 Well, to me, okay, if you come from Chee Cheong Fun Secondary School and then... 511 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:50,440 I don't know, I can't speak for these guys, but the mission school that my boy is in, 512 00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,440 I got to say, and I hope this is actually across the board today where MOE is concerned. 513 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,440 I think that's what they're striving to do. 514 00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,440 Since we're on this topic, yeah? 515 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:00,440 Okay. 516 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,440 I don't think we're deviating because education is part and parcel of the job market. 517 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:05,440 Yeah, correct. 518 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,440 And the school principal, bless him, really. 519 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:09,440 I really like... 520 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,440 I think this guy is amazing. 521 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:16,440 And when my boy went into secondary one, and this is my old alma mater. 522 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,440 Okay. 523 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:36,440 And he said, if you need to employ tutors, private tutors for your kid, the school has failed. 524 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:37,440 Okay? 525 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:39,440 Now, that helped. 526 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,440 And I know they're striving. 527 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:44,440 They really are really trying. 528 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,440 And the school doesn't also emphasize just on academics. 529 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:56,440 They emphasize on truly holistic growth, character, which is more important, values, imbuing values, right? 530 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:57,440 Which is fantastic. 531 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:58,440 Mission schools are like that anyway. 532 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,440 Whether or not it's MOE sanctioned. 533 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:01,440 Okay. 534 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:03,440 I'm a product of the mission school system as well. 535 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:04,440 Which school again? 536 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:05,440 Sinandria! 537 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:06,440 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 538 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:08,440 Those bunch of guys running after a bloody ball sack. 539 00:21:08,440 --> 00:21:09,440 Yeah, okay. 540 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:10,440 So... 541 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,440 I'm going to get beaten up by this. 542 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:14,440 I think so. 543 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:15,440 Okay, anyway. 544 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:16,440 It's a great school. 545 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,440 I got a lot of friends in Sinandria. 546 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:21,440 Okay, anyway. 547 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:29,440 So, only recently, man, like about three weeks ago, my son approached us and said that I 548 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:30,440 need some help. 549 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,440 And we didn't force it down his throat. 550 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,440 The trouble is a lot of parents force these down the kids' throats. 551 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:38,440 You know, you're going to have... 552 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:39,440 You're going to go to... 553 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:40,440 You're going to look at... 554 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,440 And he's forcing it down their throats. 555 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:47,440 You know, like trying to stuff food down a goose to get foie gras. 556 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:48,440 You know what I'm saying? 557 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:49,440 No, no, I agree. 558 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:50,440 But my boy approached us. 559 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,440 And when he does, we have to take it seriously because he's asking for help. 560 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:55,440 And I think that's positive. 561 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:56,440 That's okay. 562 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:57,440 Rather than him struggling. 563 00:21:57,440 --> 00:21:58,440 I don't think the school has failed. 564 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,440 I think it's just a question of the kid really needs some help. 565 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,440 And also the parents also, like what you said, forcing food down. 566 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,440 I'll tell you what's the dumbest thing, okay? 567 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,440 I see, and I don't mind being quoted on this, I see parents of primary three kids, 568 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:20,440 paying top dollar for a particular agency to teach their kids how to get into gifted stream. 569 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:21,440 Why do that? 570 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:22,440 If you're gifted, you're gifted. 571 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:23,440 Full stop. 572 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,440 Why you want to try and game the system to get in? 573 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,440 And I can tell you from personal experience, being in the gifted stream, 574 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,440 I'm not a gifted streamer, my son went through it. 575 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:30,440 Nothing special. 576 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,440 See, on this series, I love my job. 577 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:34,440 I had just had Benjamin Lohner a long ago. 578 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,440 And he himself, I asked him, what does it take? 579 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:40,440 I mean, what would someone actually need to have to be able to do it? 580 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:46,440 What does it take to have to be a public speaking trainer, speaker, coach like you? 581 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,440 He was from the local universities, you know, he was bullied when he was younger. 582 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,440 And then he's an introvert and he's teaching public speaking. 583 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:56,440 And he's doing very, very well globally. 584 00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:57,440 He's doing great. 585 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:58,440 Yeah. 586 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,440 And he said, I don't know, I can't tell you because why? 587 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,440 Depends on whether you have the aptitude for it, whether you like it, 588 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:06,440 whether you want to do it, you know? 589 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:07,440 And it's about that, isn't it? 590 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,440 See, at the end of it all, it's not about what the parents want. 591 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,440 And then you're living people, young people today are living their lives 592 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,440 based on the expectations of their folks. 593 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,440 And I'm afraid to say that the next 20 years, 594 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,440 the next 20 years are going to have the same bunch of people at that time 595 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,440 that's going to be just the same as the ones we've got now. 596 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:34,440 Because sadly, those kids that you've met and helped 597 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,440 and you've encountered are now parents 598 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:43,440 and they are doing the same shit that was done to them, to their own kids. 599 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,440 So we're going to see this vicious cycle going on, man. 600 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:46,440 It's true, it's true. 601 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:51,440 And that's why I think that there's nothing you can do about the education system 602 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:52,440 because it is what it is. 603 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,440 That's why as parents, we've got to train our kids differently 604 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:57,440 from everyone else to give them that edge. 605 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:03,440 Like both my kids, my oldest, my boy is going to uni already 606 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,440 and my daughter is doing the old levels. 607 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:10,440 I've been training them up to be career ready since they were young. 608 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,440 I've always wanted to make them have a certain degree of street smarts. 609 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:19,440 How do you train a kid to be career ready, to be street smart from young? 610 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:21,440 I always try to trick them. 611 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,440 So like, what's with my daughter? 612 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,440 I want him to catch my BS. 613 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:27,440 So I BS them a lot. 614 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,440 So like my daughter, when she was four years old, she asked me, 615 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,440 how do we get strawberry milk? I said, you know, take the cow in Australia. 616 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,440 The farmer feed them with strawberries and then the milk comes out strawberry flavoured. 617 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,440 Then she's like, eh, that's rubbish. 618 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:44,440 Yeah, that's what I do. 619 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,440 So I've always trained them to be street smart. 620 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,440 It's called playing them with dad jokes. 621 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,440 Yeah, I know, right? 622 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,440 Let them catch it. Let them catch things like this. 623 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:59,440 And to the point where I talk to them about cases at work. 624 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,440 All names are disguised and everything. 625 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,440 But you know, I say, I got this situation. 626 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,440 My boss is making things up for me. 627 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:06,440 You know, I'm doing this. 628 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,440 So I walk them through the adult journey. 629 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,440 So they understand why they're so... 630 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,440 And I think that's where we cannot sit down. 631 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,440 And that's another problem with being Singaporean is that 632 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,440 sometimes we have this learned helplessness that, 633 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,440 oh no, the government is not doing anything for me. 634 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,440 The government is allowing a lot of foreigners to come in, you know, things like this. 635 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,440 They are so what? What can you do about it? Right? 636 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:28,440 This is what you do about it. 637 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,440 So you can complain that the school system is not that great. 638 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:32,440 What can you do about it? 639 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,440 So what I do is I train them on this. 640 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:39,440 I even tell them to have a certain healthy disrespect for authority. 641 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:41,440 Okay? 642 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,440 Healthy disrespect for authority. 643 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,440 Not everything the teacher says is correct. 644 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:47,440 Yeah, challenge it. 645 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:48,440 Challenge it. 646 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:54,440 But the trouble is that, you see, remember what I think, was it you that I said this to? 647 00:25:54,440 --> 00:26:01,440 These days, whether it's in the digital sphere or whether or not it's personal, 648 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:09,440 one to one, in social, under social circumstances or in a business meeting even, right? 649 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,440 I think I've done this myself before. 650 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,440 I was told to shut the fuck up. 651 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:17,440 I'm sure you get it a lot. 652 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:20,440 No, no, no. I got this once and I really went against it. 653 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:21,440 Oh shit. 654 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,440 And the guy was kicking me under the table. 655 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:25,440 I said, why are you kicking me under the table? 656 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,440 He still telling me to shut the fuck up and not engage with these people. 657 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:33,440 I said, I'm sorry, you can do that if you're chicken shit because I'm not chicken shit. 658 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:34,440 Yeah? 659 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:39,440 And this thing about, if you were, this is what I feel today. 660 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:49,440 If today, anyone of us in that matter were to ask a question at a forum, for example, 661 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:56,440 in a forum or in a town hall meeting or I don't know, any circumstance, yeah? 662 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,440 You just stand up and you challenge with a question. 663 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:04,440 Not because you're being recalcitrant, but because it's a good question. 664 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:12,440 And good questions are usually very hard to get to gather an answer, a real direct answer. 665 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,440 An answer that you're really looking for. 666 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:18,440 But they'll come, they'll give you some cockamamie bullshit, you know? 667 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,440 And then, you know, the skirt, the fucking issue. 668 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:25,440 And then the famous line that people say these days, we'll take that offline with you and never do. 669 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:36,440 And then you're then deemed, maybe indirectly, quietly, unofficially marked as being either... 670 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:37,440 Troublemaker. 671 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:43,440 A troublemaker, recalcitrant, your insolent, your subversive, you know? 672 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,440 I think that's really wrong. 673 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:53,440 And as long as that kind of culture exists in society and in the commercial world, 674 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:56,440 we will never be able to generate leaders. 675 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:02,440 And in school, we're talking about math, so don't get me started, I'm gonna fucking get you started. 676 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,440 I always hated this shit that... 677 00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:08,440 This is more prevalent in primary schools. 678 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:14,440 I can say that because my kids, since secondary 3, primary 6, wasn't long ago. 679 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:22,440 When you're given a mathematical problem to solve, you write down your workings. 680 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,440 They want your workings, you get some points or marks for your workings, right? 681 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:31,440 But if you derive the right answer through your own working, 682 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:36,440 that shows you're in fucking genuity, right? 683 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:43,440 And then they cross you out on the working and say that's not my working, I didn't teach you to do it that way. 684 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,440 What are we doing? Are we going back to the fucking dark ages or what? 685 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,440 You know what I mean? I never agreed with their bollocks, you know? 686 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:53,440 They do that in primary school. Secondary school, they're a bit more lax, but you're right. 687 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,440 No, no, I agree with you. 688 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:58,440 That's why, because they want to encourage your uniformity and thought. 689 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,440 That's why someone once said, someone once said, some British guy once said, 690 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:10,440 if Singapore had an Olympic sports for students, it would be synchronized thinking. 691 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:12,440 Good one. 692 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:14,440 So I think that's bad. 693 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:20,440 So it's systemic, isn't it? I mean, I'm using the term loosely systemic. 694 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,440 Because if we're looking at, as what you said when you started the show, 695 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,440 these are the people I encountered. 696 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:32,440 The problem of being Singaporean, I think the problem actually is a bit deeper than just that. 697 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:37,440 That's why I'm still stuck on this thing. I still say that it's not about critical mass, man. 698 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,440 This is culturally how we've become. 699 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:45,440 And then what happens then, we start to rot a little bit. 700 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,440 We start being more self-centered, we get more selfish. 701 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:59,440 And of course, in the whole descriptive of self-centeredness comes this thing called entitlement. 702 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:02,440 You know, that's part and parcel of being selfish. 703 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:06,440 So I think it's kind of systemic. 704 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,440 As long as we are raised to be she, and we're not raised to question, 705 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:14,440 now MOE actually recognizes, in my opinion, this issue. 706 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:18,440 Because now they're allowing, they're talking more about critical thinking. 707 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:23,440 And it's true, because back in our day, I don't know, were you in the art stream? 708 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:25,440 No, I was in the triple science. I was a nerd. 709 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,440 You were a nerd, but fucking smart, triple science. Shut the fuck up. 710 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:35,440 Anyway, this guy with a diploma in BTC, Bo Tat Sik. 711 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:45,440 In my time, when I had to do history, I love history, by the way, literature and history. 712 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:50,440 Being a normal stream student, which was, I was deemed to be stupid. 713 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:55,440 And that's true. 714 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:00,440 And when we learn history as a rote learning man, we have to memorize and memorize. 715 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:07,440 To this day, I can still quote to you. To this day, man, this is fucking eons ago. 716 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:12,440 But today, history is different. You don't need to memorize stuff, man. 717 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:13,440 Yeah, I agree. 718 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:18,440 It's a lot of critical thinking. 719 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:26,440 They ask you questions, and you've got to tell them what you think about this particular point in history. 720 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:30,440 And lessons learned from it. Inference questions. 721 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:39,440 So I think it's better. I think MOE somehow realizes that, hey, look, man, we need to have critical thinkers here. 722 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:40,440 I was waiting for that big but. 723 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:46,440 With critical thinking, you've got to accept that you cannot make an omelette out of breaking a fucking egg. 724 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:53,440 You're going to have leaders coming out of these, because people who are going to be critical thinkers will question. 725 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:55,440 And they're troublemakers. 726 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:56,440 So are you going to label them? 727 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:57,440 So I don't know. I don't know. I mean. 728 00:31:57,440 --> 00:32:04,440 But the big challenge about having teaching critical thinking is that I still remember during my time in university, 729 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:14,440 they were in fact in junior college, they were trying to use Edward de Bono's lateral thinking as a critical thinking tool. 730 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,440 And he does have some interesting models you can use to solve questions. 731 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:22,440 And when you use another model, sorry, it's not in the critical thinking book, so you cannot. 732 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:27,440 Then why are you teaching lateral thinking if I cannot question this thing? 733 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:29,440 And if I cannot think laterally in another direction. 734 00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:32,440 And then you're stopping me from going there because it's against the modality? 735 00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,440 Correct. So that's why the oxymoron. 736 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:42,440 And I think once again, it's a matter of the teachers may not be trained in, may not fully grasp critical thinking. 737 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,440 But to your point, and I want to complain. 738 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:46,440 Complain? 739 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:47,440 Complain. 740 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:52,440 Yes, and I hope Ministry of Education is listening to this. 741 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:56,440 He's hitting the sensor button. 742 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:58,440 I almost choked on my sliver. 743 00:32:58,440 --> 00:32:59,440 Never mind, just say it. 744 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:01,440 What you said, history, fantastic. 745 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,440 My daughter's doing history. 746 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,440 Exactly what you're saying. 747 00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:08,440 Thinking, the why, the what, how did it happen? 748 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,440 How does this event relate to that event? 749 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:12,440 Brilliant. 750 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,440 Geography on your hand is absolute trash. 751 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,440 The geography textbooks they're using now, absolute trash. 752 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:20,440 Why? 753 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:22,440 It's just pages and pages of facts to memorize. 754 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:23,440 I'm not kidding you. 755 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:24,440 So it's still rote? 756 00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:26,440 Extremely rote. 757 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:30,440 It's just the textbook doesn't have any proper pictures in it. 758 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:35,440 It's more like walls and pages and pages of text. 759 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:39,440 So if any of our listeners out there, if you have your daughter doing the O level or sons, 760 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:46,440 any kids doing your O level, just have a look at it and you'll see the textbook. 761 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:48,440 It's absolute trash. 762 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,440 But physics and science is pretty good. 763 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,440 Oh lovely, bio and everything. 764 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:54,440 I only want my grouse against the joke. 765 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:58,440 I've written to the school and everything. 766 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,440 It's one of the teachers to just say, we use it as a guide. 767 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,440 We have our own notes, but that's the prescribed textbook. 768 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,440 It's beyond their pay grade. 769 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:09,440 So it goes back. 770 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,440 So once again, I think it is what it is. 771 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:18,440 No point complaining about what you can't change. 772 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:26,440 Now that we've talked about how the education system is like today and how it's changed, 773 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:32,440 and we can agree that I think we can, that MOE recognizes it and they're trying to make change. 774 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:33,440 They're trying. 775 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,440 So kudos to that. 776 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:38,440 That doesn't mean I'm blowing sunshine up their behinds. 777 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:39,440 I'm just saying that. 778 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,440 Yeah, credit the credit, it's due. 779 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:47,440 However, that being said, given the circumstance today, 780 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:51,440 and given that we're talking about Singaporeans per se, 781 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:59,440 10, 15 years from now when these school kids, your daughter, my son, goes out, 782 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,440 already been out there working, how do you think our workforce would look like? 783 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:10,440 At that point in time when we asked the question, at that point in time, hypothetically, 784 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:17,440 the problem with being Singaporean, what do you think is going to be like then? 785 00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,440 Should we ask that question again? 786 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:24,440 I really don't know, you know, because right now I'm using this topic. 787 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:31,440 I'm approaching this topic about the problem about being Singaporean from an old curmudgeon, 788 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:39,440 two old guys, two Gen Z, Gen Xs, two old grumpy guys like Gen Xs, 789 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,440 the same way in the Muppet Show. 790 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:44,440 See, the very fact is the Muppet Show shows our age already. 791 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,440 The two old guys and the balcony, right? 792 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:52,440 I don't think the young people today even know who the two old fuckers are. 793 00:35:52,440 --> 00:35:54,440 What do you want the grumpy? 794 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:55,440 That's complaining. 795 00:35:55,440 --> 00:36:00,440 So to a Gen Z listening in, it's like these two old goats. 796 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,440 They probably don't give a shit about what we're saying. 797 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:06,440 Yeah, correct. So I really don't know what they're going to call me. 798 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:07,440 Oh, boomers. 799 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,440 But in 15 years time, I'm sure individually they'll do well. 800 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:16,440 If they embrace technology, if they embrace the changes, 801 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:21,440 and I think it is promising because Singapore is an environment where you can actually break out of, 802 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:26,440 you can break out and be successful in whatever you want to do if you put in the effort, like what you said. 803 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:27,440 It's a hard work. 804 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:28,440 It's a hard work. 805 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,440 Basically, hard work is still the formula, isn't it? 806 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:32,440 It's still the key to a lot of things. 807 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:34,440 Unlike some other countries, where you can do a lot of hard work, 808 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:39,440 but you're not of a particular race or you don't speak a particular language, right? 809 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:41,440 Then it's tough, you see? 810 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:47,440 So I'm not going to say which country it is, but you know, 811 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:52,440 sometimes the cards are stacked, the deck is stacked against you in those countries, but Singapore is like this. 812 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:58,440 So I think we'll do well. Singaporeans will do well. 813 00:36:58,440 --> 00:36:59,440 Do you mean that? 814 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:01,440 Yeah, we'll do well. Overall, we will do well. 815 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:02,440 Cross your heart, man. Do you mean that? 816 00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:03,440 Yeah, we will do well. 817 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:04,440 Okay. 818 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:09,440 Not everyone will do well, but we can do well if we put in the effort, 819 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:13,440 but it's a fast-changing environment and we have to learn to stop being so spoiled. 820 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:15,440 I'm very guilty of it. 821 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,440 I'm very guilty of it. 822 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:22,440 I take the public transport and I complain. 823 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,440 I go to the food court now and I complain the serving is so small. 824 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:30,440 But it's a Singaporean pastime. I love being Singaporeans. 825 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,440 Because we complain. You love being Singaporeans because you complain. 826 00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:36,440 I'm getting quite fucking sick of the fact that we are complaining. 827 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:39,440 To be honest with you, man, I mean, I am sick and tired of the... 828 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:40,440 You're complaining right now! 829 00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:45,440 I am! Okay, fine. Granted, I'm complaining about the complainers. 830 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:48,440 I mean, think about this. 831 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:53,440 When we complain, why do Singaporeans complain? 832 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:55,440 The problem again of being Singaporeans. 833 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:56,440 To them lucky. 834 00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:57,440 Huh? 835 00:37:57,440 --> 00:37:58,440 To them lucky. 836 00:37:58,440 --> 00:37:59,440 No. 837 00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:00,440 No? 838 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,440 No. When we complain, it's because we want to be nannied. 839 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:07,440 And then, you know, when we want to be nannied, it means why isn't a government doing something about this? 840 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,440 Why isn't a government doing something about that? 841 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,440 And then, I always say, be careful what you ask for. 842 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:19,440 Because when you do that, yeah, the government will likely, you know, if they want to, they step in. 843 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:21,440 And then, what would they do? 844 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,440 If you want a government to take care of something, we have to regulate. 845 00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:28,440 And when they have to regulate, you're going to lose certain amount of liberties. 846 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:30,440 Let's be honest here. You have to comply. 847 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:32,440 Everyone of us have to comply, right? 848 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,440 And then, what happens? 849 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:39,440 Then you start looking around you and you start seeing the four walls around you getting tighter and tighter and smaller and smaller. 850 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:40,440 And then you complain about it. 851 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:43,440 And then you complain about the fact that you can't breathe. 852 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,440 So, you know, I mean, they don't have to take care of everything. 853 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:53,440 We should be mature enough as a society to be able to handle our own shit. 854 00:38:53,440 --> 00:39:00,440 And, you know, and sometimes some of these things, it's just this big word called tolerance. 855 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:03,440 Tolerate. Live and let live. 856 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,440 You know, enjoy each other for our differences. 857 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:12,440 And the way people go about doing the thing, so this virtue signaling, it's because... 858 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:17,440 Look, it's because you fan the fire, right? 859 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:21,440 And then you fan the fire, there's a lot more smoke signals coming out. 860 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,440 And then you say, oh, bad, bad. These people, bad, bad, bad. 861 00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:27,440 Saying, who, what are you doing about this? 862 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:29,440 Government, come on in. What are you doing about this? 863 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:32,440 I mean, it's not virtue signaling here, man. 864 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:34,440 Sometimes it's about... 865 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:35,440 But sometimes it's not virtue signaling. 866 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:38,440 They just are in a negative phase, which comes to our second question. 867 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:40,440 No, no. They're in a negative phase. They don't want to admit it. 868 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,440 And then they use, they find some value in it. 869 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,440 They find some goodness in it. 870 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:51,440 And what I'm thinking, what I'm not happy about is the right thing to be unhappy about. 871 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:54,440 So therefore I go and copy-carve about it. 872 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,440 And the worst thing is these people, they congregate in the same spaces. 873 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,440 And they become each other's echo chambers. 874 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:03,440 Exactly. And then all the birds come together and start chirping together. 875 00:40:03,440 --> 00:40:06,440 And suddenly becomes a... who can chirp louder? 876 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:07,440 Yeah, correct. 877 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:08,440 So to your point. 878 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:09,440 Yeah. 879 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,440 So, and especially this one, you know, if we look at the second topic, I'm going to jump into it. 880 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:18,440 Yeah. Which is, are foreigners stealing our jobs? 881 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:20,440 Kai, there you go. 882 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,440 Yes. 883 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,440 Which comes to an entitlement thing again. 884 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:27,440 Wow, this one is tight topic, man. 885 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,440 Tight topic. 886 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:30,440 Are foreigners stealing our jobs? 887 00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:31,440 Can I say yes and no? 888 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:32,440 Okay. 889 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:33,440 Okay. 890 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,440 Number one, what jobs? 891 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,440 Retiring jobs? 892 00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:41,440 The cleaning jobs? 893 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:43,440 The clearing rubbish jobs? 894 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:44,440 Are they stealing our jobs? 895 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:45,440 The answer is no. 896 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,440 They're not because Singaporeans don't want to do those jobs. 897 00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:49,440 So when you're complaining about... 898 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:51,440 Some people are complaining about foreigners stealing our jobs. 899 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:55,440 The answer is yes, they are taking the jobs that we don't want. 900 00:40:55,440 --> 00:40:56,440 Okay. So let's settle that first. 901 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:58,440 Are foreigners taking our jobs? Yeah, it's fine. 902 00:40:58,440 --> 00:40:59,440 Okay. 903 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:01,440 Then how about the good jobs? 904 00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:03,440 The good jobs. 905 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:09,440 Look, every job, even the lower paying ones, the menial ones, are good jobs. 906 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,440 Let's not differentiate it that way. 907 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:12,440 Okay. 908 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,440 Let's talk about, when you say good jobs, let's find another definition for that. 909 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:16,440 Please do. 910 00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:19,440 The positions, the executive positions. 911 00:41:19,440 --> 00:41:20,440 That Singaporeans want. 912 00:41:20,440 --> 00:41:21,440 Okay. 913 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:22,440 Okay. 914 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:23,440 Can we boil it down to the PMAT positions? 915 00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:24,440 Okay, the PMAT positions. 916 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:25,440 Okay, fine. 917 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:30,440 The PMAT positions, are they stealing our jobs? 918 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:34,440 Okay. The answer is, once again, why be our? 919 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:36,440 Our suggests that we deserve it. 920 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:37,440 It's our entitlement, it's our job. 921 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,440 So case in point, I know this guy. 922 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:43,440 He was in a company for five years. 923 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:48,440 They told him, you're going to be, you know, I'm going to reward you. 924 00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:52,440 When the boss retires, I'm going to put you as country head. 925 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:57,440 Boss retires, they parachute this guy from the US in. 926 00:41:57,440 --> 00:41:58,440 Okay. 927 00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:00,440 And as country head. 928 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:04,440 And he says, see foreigners stole my job. 929 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:05,440 Okay. 930 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,440 Number one, was it his job? 931 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:10,440 Well, it was a position that not necessarily can be his. 932 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:11,440 Yeah, you're right, correct. 933 00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:13,440 But because someone told him, or maybe he assumed it's going to be my job. 934 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:14,440 So yeah, number one. 935 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:23,440 Number two, you know, it's, so yeah, in a way, yeah, somebody took the job, which he thought that he was meant for him. 936 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:24,440 It was meant for him. 937 00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:26,440 So that's true. 938 00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:28,440 Okay. But it's a sense of entitlement. 939 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:34,440 Once again, it's my job when you've got people coming in elsewhere and it's a global, it's a global phenomenon. 940 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:36,440 It's a global mobility thing. 941 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:37,440 Okay. 942 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,440 Okay. So anyone can come in and see anyone's job. 943 00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:44,440 Okay. So the point I'm trying to make is this thing that people still for us, still my, our job. 944 00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:45,440 Okay. 945 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:47,440 As a certain entitlement to it. 946 00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:48,440 What do you think? 947 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:58,440 Well, I think that this derogatory phrase that stemmed out the UK called bloody foreigners. 948 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:06,440 Because you know, in the UK, you hear that for decades, you know, people in England always go, bloody foreigners. 949 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,440 Neil Humphrey has a book on that. 950 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:09,440 It's a detective story. 951 00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:10,440 It's a really good book. 952 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:17,440 And it's a phenomenon that is across the globe, not just in Singapore. 953 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:25,440 And you, I hear as well that the Australians, the Australians are also quite unhappy with, with, with. 954 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:26,440 Bloody foreigners. 955 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:28,440 With Asians coming in, taking in the jobs, you know. 956 00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:39,440 But then again, as you, as we talked about earlier, the young executive given opportunity to work as an expatriate overseas and you refuse to take it. 957 00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:48,440 The American guy in the example you just cited comes over, takes over your position or your promotion. 958 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:54,440 Is the expatriate in the US that took the opportunity to become an expatriate? 959 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:55,440 So that's one. 960 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:56,440 Okay. 961 00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:01,440 Two. 962 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:04,440 Also on, okay, let me just get my thoughts together. 963 00:44:04,440 --> 00:44:21,440 If you have, if you are good enough for the role, really good enough and yet so kind of raw, you can still grow better into that new role if he was first given an opportunity to get into it. 964 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:27,440 But there are companies, mostly MNCs, who won't let that happen. 965 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:29,440 They don't promote internally. 966 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:37,440 They bring in from either home office elsewhere or someone else recommended by the home office and bring them over. 967 00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:38,440 Agreed. 968 00:44:38,440 --> 00:44:39,440 Yeah. 969 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:45,440 And so on, on, well, if that's the case, then I say they're sad, you know. 970 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:46,440 And it does happen. 971 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:47,440 Yeah, a lot. 972 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:48,440 A lot. 973 00:44:48,440 --> 00:44:49,440 Yeah, a lot. 974 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:51,440 So there's two, two sides to the coin here. 975 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:53,440 One is you don't want to be an expatriate. 976 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:54,440 Hello. 977 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,440 You could have taken over that guy's job. 978 00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:57,440 There, who knows, right? 979 00:44:57,440 --> 00:44:58,440 Possible. 980 00:44:58,440 --> 00:44:59,440 Yeah. 981 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,440 But then again, there's also the other one that's a little bit more prevalent. 982 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:06,440 The very fact that companies today don't do a lot of internal promotions. 983 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:09,440 They will always have a new head coming in and the whole fucking thing changes. 984 00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:12,440 So let me, let me tell you a true story, which got me so upset. 985 00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:16,440 I almost banged the table and walked out of this client space. 986 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:26,440 So I was in a previous company and I was, because we, my previous company helped individuals who got retrenched to land new jobs. 987 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:29,440 So I went to talk to an HR VP, you know, okay. 988 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:34,440 This individual who was not Singaporean, but only in Singapore for one year. 989 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:35,440 Only in Singapore for one year. 990 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:36,440 Right. 991 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,440 The rest of the time she was out in her home country. 992 00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:40,440 Right. 993 00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:41,440 Okay. 994 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:47,440 And I was here to tell them about our program where we can refer candidates to you. 995 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:50,440 Good candidates who may have gotten retrenched, okay. 996 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:55,440 Who were really talented because the downsizing is not always about your, about performance. 997 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:57,440 The whole division goes, everyone goes. 998 00:45:57,440 --> 00:45:59,440 Good performance, bad performance, everyone goes, right. 999 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:03,440 So I told her, I said, look, we would like to refer candidates to you. 1000 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:05,440 Would you be okay with that? 1001 00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:10,440 She looked me in the, sweared in her face and said, oh, we don't like to hire retrenched people because they're no good. 1002 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:11,440 Oh, and I said- 1003 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:13,440 So even that is serotype. 1004 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:14,440 Yeah. 1005 00:46:14,440 --> 00:46:16,440 And then I said, no, I want to correct you about that. 1006 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:17,440 So I corrected her about their perception. 1007 00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:19,440 I said, no, they're not a lot of good performance. 1008 00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:22,440 And I was in the back of my mind, I was thinking, who has reached for your turn to be retrenched? 1009 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:25,440 By the way, she was retrenched two years later. 1010 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:26,440 Karma is a bitch. 1011 00:46:26,440 --> 00:46:28,440 I wanted to call up and go, hi, hi. 1012 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:32,440 But, and then what she did, what she said next was shocking to me. 1013 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:45,440 She said, oh, by the way, you know, even if there are openings here, we don't, we don't hire, we will bring someone in from our other countries to feel the back, the back feel. 1014 00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:47,440 And I was so upset with that. 1015 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:48,440 Okay. 1016 00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:55,440 I was upset with that, that, and, and this is an individual who's only been in Singapore for a year. 1017 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:56,440 Okay. 1018 00:46:56,440 --> 00:46:58,440 And she's really having the calm mentality. 1019 00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:01,440 I know we bring people in from our other, and this is a multinational company, huge one. 1020 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,440 I was so upset with it that I said, okay, I think I've heard enough. 1021 00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:11,440 I got up and I walked off with my, with my sales executive and, and my sales executive asked me, Adrian, do you think it was rude to walk out? 1022 00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:13,440 I said, no, I was pissed off. 1023 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:14,440 Sorry. 1024 00:47:13,440 --> 00:47:15,440 As a Singaporean, as a pro Singaporean. 1025 00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:17,440 Was this woman, was this HR person, was she Singaporean? 1026 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:18,440 No, she's not. 1027 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:19,440 She's not. 1028 00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:23,440 So, so to your point about companies hiring people. 1029 00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:25,440 So anyway, so two points came out of that. 1030 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:31,440 I actually, this was when Teo Selak was the mayoral minister. 1031 00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:35,440 I bumped into him at an event about one month down the road and I shared his story with him. 1032 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:37,440 First thing he told me was that, did you record it? 1033 00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:41,440 If you have it in recording, I'll get rid of her. 1034 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:43,440 He said, we'll take action against her. 1035 00:47:43,440 --> 00:47:44,440 Okay. 1036 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:45,440 But I said, I didn't record it. 1037 00:47:45,440 --> 00:47:50,440 Then he said, you can't, you can't record a conversation without the alibate knowing. 1038 00:47:50,440 --> 00:47:51,440 Yeah, I know. 1039 00:47:51,440 --> 00:47:57,440 The leaders, you know, he knew it, he could see it and he, they sent, I sensed their frustration as well. 1040 00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:05,440 And that's why the MOM has a policy about if you be, if a company misbehaves, they go on a blacklist. 1041 00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:10,440 So whatever they do, if they're trying to apply for more employment passes, they will get stonewalled. 1042 00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:18,440 But you see, this is where there's a problem for business owners, local Singapore, small medium enterprise, SMEs. 1043 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:20,440 Yeah. 1044 00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:30,440 I think when we talk about whether foreigners are stealing our jobs, it is not about, I don't think people are upset about the menial work 1045 00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:34,440 because we all know that Singaporeans don't want to do those kind of work. 1046 00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:36,440 It's not about these guys. 1047 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:41,440 We, the local businesses, need these guys. 1048 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:42,440 Yeah. 1049 00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:51,440 And because of quotas and staff, right, these businesses get impacted in terms of costs because they have to hire Singaporeans as well. 1050 00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:52,440 Yeah. 1051 00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:56,440 That is an issue for these people. 1052 00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:05,440 But the gripe I feel, speaking as a citizen, yeah, it's not about these people. 1053 00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:08,440 It's about the PMET positions. 1054 00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:12,440 And people are upset about that. 1055 00:49:12,440 --> 00:49:19,440 What's the point of going to universities and coming out with your degrees and studying so hard? 1056 00:49:19,440 --> 00:49:25,440 Of course, it doesn't give you a passport to success in life, in your careers. 1057 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:27,440 It's not about that. 1058 00:49:27,440 --> 00:49:32,440 The fact is that you think there would be greater opportunity. 1059 00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:42,440 And then I also believe, I also feel that there is this stupid thing that runs somehow unconsciously in a lot of Singaporeans' DNA. 1060 00:49:42,440 --> 00:49:44,440 Pinkerton syndrome. 1061 00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:45,440 Yes. 1062 00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:47,440 That's what I call the colonial mentality. 1063 00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:48,440 Yeah. 1064 00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:57,440 Even for our people, unconsciously, in my mind, the way I've, in my experience, I see the moment they have a white guy sitting there, they cannot speak properly. 1065 00:49:57,440 --> 00:49:59,440 They all try to put on an accent. 1066 00:49:59,440 --> 00:50:03,440 This is the end of Chapter 1. Catch Chapter 2 next week. 1067 00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:30,440 Mmm.