Letter to Heng Swee Keat Part III

The third and final installment of the trilogy! Today, I received the eagerly-anticipated reply from Minister Heng. It reads like this:

Dear Monica

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share your thoughts with us. These are important inputs that we will study carefully.

It is my first week at the Ministry, and I am studying the many observations and suggestions that I have received.

Warm Regards to you and your family,

Heng Swee Keat

I know for some of you, this might seem rather anti-climatic but to be honest, I did expect an answer along these lines. I mean, there really isn't much he can say at this point. It would be irresponsible for him to make any promises for reform before he has studied the system in detail.

The plus point is that he has read it and given the public outcry, I believe he has to acknowledge the need for change. It's just a question of when, how much and in what direction.

I have appealed to the Minister to read the 500+ comments on my FB note, to hear the heartfelt and sincere views of parents, teachers and students. Thank you for speaking up and I encourage you to continue to share your feedback with MOE. We can all be agents of change. Really.

"Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony. One does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative... Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response. Indifference is not a beginning; it is an end." - Elie Wiesel, April 1999 address to President Clinton and the US Congress