Conventional piracy is robbery committed at sea. However, software piracy refers to obtaining software through illegal means. In Singapore last year, software piracy was at its lowest in recent years at 39%, down from 43% in 2003. Software piracy cost companies millions of dollars annually. Furthermore, as it is extremely difficult and unrealistic to catch every single offender, usually only those who do it on a large scale are prosecuted. This poses a big problem to Singapore’s growing technology industry. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) aims to make Singapore a high value manufacturing hub in Asia to enhance Singapore’s competitiveness in the industrial sector. Not only will software piracy contribute to a loss in revenue of the industry, it will also discourage aspiring computer geniuses from working for the government. One of the biggest problems posed to curbing this problem is teenagers. Downloading software illegally is free and it is very easy to do so. Therefore, teenagers, without much pocket money and influenced by their peers, turn to illegal downloads to get the latest games and music online. Considering the fact that teenagers make up most of the computer users, to the extent that they might even be more computer literate than their parents, they contribute to a major portion of illegal downloads. For example, even if I do not download music illegally from the internet, I lend and borrow music CDs to/from my friends. This makes use of the under-licensing of music CDs, as they can be uploaded to any computer with no limit, and therefore, also contributes to losses made by companies due to software piracy. As the music CDs get passed around in a teenager’s network of friends, music companies can make losses multiple times the price of one CD. As teenagers look upon downloading software as convenience, without having to pay online through lengthy purchase forms nor going down to the store to buy the software, they might not care whether companies make a loss or not. However, much effort has been put in to discourage software piracy. Education revolving around looking at software piracy from others’ viewpoints, advertisements in movies, passing and upholding laws are ways which the government uses to battle software piracy. Furthermore, the rise of reasonable alternatives such as freeware has reduced the rate of software piracy. The software is free and available for download, and so is termed “freeware”. For example, Mozilla Firefox, a free web browser, is steadily replacing its counterpart Internet Explorer by Microsoft. These freeware are dependent on advertisements and donations to support themselves, and therefore remain free. As teenagers develop into adults, it is imperative that they do not participate in software piracy. This leads to a probable downward spiral where everyone is influenced by their parents and companies fold because of software piracy. Therefore we must make sure that this does not happen. What’s the cost of downloading freeware instead of getting caught downloading illegally? Priceless. (496 words)
Primus inter pares - ‘First Among Equals’ - is a Latin term which reflects the original concept of a prime minister as not the most dominant character in the country, but the first minister of the state, second only to the monarch. However, as Singapore uses a parliamentary system where the Prime Minister is the head of the government, it is the most important political position in the country. Traditionally, ministers have been handpicked from “doctors, lawyers, military officers and civil servants”. While they are still well-suited to be members of parliament (MPs), this group of heartlanders are less well-equipped to be ministers, let alone the Prime Minister, as increasing globalisation exposes Singapore to many different societal and cultural values. Having studied in overseas universities, worked in multinational companies, able to accept different cultural and societal values – is that not the ideal Singaporean worker class? A cosmopolitan employee who studied in Oxford, speaks a few languages, appreciates Shakespeare and understands Confucius’ teachings would definitely be prized. Would the future Prime Minister then embody the new breed of the Singaporean worker class, who deals with different nations on a daily basis? With the internationalization of Singapore, it is true that we need a Prime Minister who can hold his own with the leaders of nations all over the world. And yet, if we overly expand our horizon, we might neglect what is directly under our noses. My teachers have always knocked this fact into me: Singapore’s only resource is its people. Therefore we must never be too caught up with the globalization rage, and must appreciate the people around us, and nurture the young. Similarly, the new Prime Minister must have the welfare of the people at heart. However, the author assumes that the new PM would definitely be a PAP candidate and the successor of current PM Lee Hsien Loong. This reflects the disturbing political situation here in Singapore. The PAP has never lost an election since Singapore gained freedom from the British. As a result, Singapore has a one-party system. As we will encounter many different countries, this aspect of our politics might turn off some countries where liberal democracy is practiced, most notably America, a country which is a strong advocate for democracy. On the other hand, Singapore is still a thriving global hub, regardless of our one-party system. Companies from all over the world invest in Singapore, including Americans. Therefore we cannot simply assume also that this problem with our politics would absolutely be detrimental towards our relationships with other countries, and have to acknowledge that the PAP has on the whole done quite a good job so far. As the world progresses, we Singaporeans must also constantly develop ourselves to meet expectations and do our part for our country. If we were to be global citizens and yet remain Singaporeans at heart, then the Prime Minister, as the ‘First Among Equals’, would come to represent us, who are the backbone of our nation. (497 words)
