Rajaratnam (Belle ,Carrin, YinYee, Xue Jin, Gao Shan, Vonisa

Rajaratnam
Done by: Belle Ho(4), Carrin Tiang(07), Cheong YinYee(10), Chia Xue Jin(12), Gao Shan(14) and Vonisa(23)


Early life :
S.Rajaratnam was born in Sri Lanka . He was the second child of Sabapathy Pillai Sinnathamby and his wife . His father wanted him to be born for auspicious reasons after the death of his older brother . He was then brought back to Malaya and raised in Seremban and Selangor .


Rajaratnam studied in St Paul’s boys’ school , Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur , and later Raffles’ Institution in Singapore . In 1937 , he went to King’s College in London to pursue a degree . Due to World War 2 , he could not continue his education as he could not receive funding from his family . Then , he turned to journalism for a living . He met his wife Piroska Feher , a Hungarian teacher .


He returned to Singapore in 1948 when he joined the Malayan Tribune . In 1954 , he joined The Straits Times as a journalist .

Political career :


In 1954, Rajaratnam cofounded the People's Action Party together with Lee Kuan Yew,Goh Keng Swee and others. He became popular among his supporters for being able to effectively follow the 'mood of the people'. He thought of a multiracial Singapore and envisioned her to be a 'global city'. He organised major political campaigns against Singaporean groups on the far left. During his years in parliament, he served as Minister for Culture (1959), Minister for Foreign Affairs (1965-1980), Minister for Labour (1968-1971), and Second Deputy Prime Minister (1980-1985) and was later appointed as Senior Minister until his retirement in 1988. Rajaratnam is remembered for writing the Singapore National Pledge in 1966.

Later life to death :


He retired from political office in 1988 , then , he served at the Institute of South East Asian Studies as a Distinguished Senior Fellow from November 1 , 1988 to October 31 , 1997 . He was diagnosed with dementia and was unable to move or talk by 2001 . He died on 22 February 2006 of heart failure .

1.What makes a hero? Are heroes only those who have achieved what they want to achieve or did they arise from some 'special' circumstances?

What makes a hero ? To me , a hero should be a good person who really wanted to help others whole-heartedly . He or she always think about others before self . A hero is humble and selfless . A hero should be able to influence others to do good things . A hero is always searching for ways to help people . A hero is affected by the 'environment' around them . If there is a problem , he or she will want to help , even if they must sacrifice themselves , to solve the problem . Therefore , heros only arise from ' special ' circumstances , not what they achieve what they want to achieve . People who achieved what they want to achieve are successful people , not heros .Heros face many challenges . S.Rajaratnam faced many challenges . He faced many challenges like how to run Singapore .

By
Cheong Yin Yee


2.What challenges does a hero face and how does his/ her qualities enable him/ her to overcome challenges? Describe at least one challenge and how the hero overcomes the challenge.



Sir Rajaratnam started off as a writer in.The Straights times where he daringly wrote about the way singapore was being governed and his opinions, that displeasure incurred in the colonial government. He was then called for questioning by the government.He then cofounded PAP together with Lee kuan yew and others. He faced many challenges including the Konfrontasi conflict in the 1960s and the withdrawal of British troops in the early 1970s.



Rajaratnam helped to draw international attention to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978. Sompong Sucharitkul, an aide of Thailand's then foreign minister Thanat Khoman, conveys Rajaratnam's stance on ASEAN membership for Sri Lanka in 1967.It was Rajaratnam who objected to the inclusion of Sri Lanka. He argued the country's domestic situation was unstable and there would be trouble. Not good for a new organisation.



During his term as Minister of Labour, he set down tough labour laws in attempt to restore stability in the Singaporean economy which in turn, attracted multinational corporations to invest in Singapore. This important appointment emphasised the trust that the government had in him in overcoming the challenges Singapore faced.



Once, Rajaratnam disagreed with then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on the policy of giving incentives to women who are college graduates and have more children, as Rajaratnam felt that the policy was unfair. Although their differences in opinion on certain issues, Rajaratnam was loyal to Lee and remained as a member of the "core team" of Lee's government and they dominated Singapore political scene from 1959 to mid-1980s.In 1994, Rajaratnam was diagnosed with dementia and was unable to move or talk by 2001. He was assisted by six maids including his long-time maid of 21 years. Unfortunately, he had to leave us.


Quotes from Rajaratnam



“We believe in a democratic society by governments freely and periodically elected by the people... We believe, in the virtue of hard work and that those who work harder in society should be given greater rewards... We believe that the world does not owe us a living and that we have to earn our keep. “

We can see that Rajaratnam is a fair person , he believed in , “ You reap what you sow “ , and he stood up for what he thought and did it through his actions to keep Singapore a fair city .

Rajaratnam did not believe in the need for a strong opposition in Parliament , and he was unapologetic about the domain system in Singapore . He said :

“Given a one-party government, the capacity of such a government to act far more independently than if it were harassed by an opposition and by proxies, is obvious. In the game of competitive interference pawns which can behave like bishops and castles and knights can in certain circumstances be extremely inconvenient and very irritating. “

Once again , we see that Rajaratnam is firm in what he thought is right for Singapore , although some people do not agree with him , which is one of the challenges he faced , he still continued to try to convince people of what he thought .


Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMcvESy3sxE( part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMWsEJ35qL8&feature=related (part2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42Ek8m4iyk (part 3)

Winston Churchill (Group members: Angie See(2) See Xuanlin(17) Sim Waileng(18) Sophie Huang(21) Tan Siying(22)

What makes Winston Churchill a hero?

A hero must be able to stand strong on his own and not be afraid to overcome any troubles he face. He's job is to protect the people or the weak. He must be able to allow the world to be a better place and also contribute to the society. They must be able to bear the pain and not give up easily, one of the heroes is Winston churchill.Chuchills wartime speechmaking is of the highest quality in showing implaccabilty to what the Nazis stood for & what he was against.Winston Churchill was a remarkable man.

Winston was in the army for seven years. After the army Winston decided he wanted to get into politics. He gave speeches in front of thousands of people and said that he would not let his country down. At first they did not believe him because in his early years as a student he got straight F's. He wrote about ten books, one of of his most famous was called The Story of Malakand Field Force. He got very frustrated with society. One example of his frustration was when they would not let him have the political role that he wanted. In other words he was a determined man. He gave about over 50 speeches in four years. Most of his speeches were about Parliament or wars.

Winston Churchill was different from most people in his time. He did a lot of traveling to other countries just to talk to kings, queens and presidents. He had talked to Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Queen Elizibeth II and even King George the 6th. He wrote books about wars and risked his life just to write a book. He also served as Prime Minister. "We shall never surrender," said Sir Winston Churchill during World War II. Imagine thinking that you were going to be killed in a war because the enemy outnumbered you in everything including air power, firepower and even armies. The British had a good chance of loosing. It is a good thing that he said that because he lead them to victory. Winston Churchill had an unbreakable spirit. He once said "I have nothing to offer, but toil blood tears and sweat."

Challenges Of Winston Churchill

Winston has an innate distrust of groups and/or a cynical attitude toward society that may leave him feeling out of step and unable to participate in activities with his peers. Overcoming a sense of aloofness and alienation from others is an important task for Churchill, he tends to inhibit that side of his by being too self-conscious and concerned with the impression he is making.
It is in relationships that are more than superficial or casual - in particular in cases where Winston Churchill has merged emotionally, legally, or financially with another person - that he is most likely to wrestle with these issues he will see these issues arise in close partnerships of any kind, especially when there is a mutual dependency involved. Dealing with in-laws, inheritances, and legal matters involving joint custody, shared assets, and resources is also a part of this.
He is prone to overdo, especially during stressful periods, examples are:

Winston Churchill tends to over-rely on luck or grace, living for tomorrow and gambling. Winston is overconfident and tends to overextend himself and take on more than is humanly possible. Winston is often dogmatic about his philosophy of life or religious beliefs.
Winston Churchill should become more aware of the spiritual side of life and its underlying unity by getting involved in charitable activities and opening up his psychic channels.
Moreover, musical and artistic or imaginative endeavors will be important to him.
Winston Churchill thinks of others before he thinks of himself and is always ready to lend a helping hand. He is deeply concerned with the community which he lives in, loves his family and relatives and has a strong need to maintain close relationships with them.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6llT2ZYg-4E



Sources
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_made_winston_churchill_a_hero
http://famous-relationships.topsynergy.com/Winston_Churchill/Challenges.asp
http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/great/2ryan.htm