“The Best is Yet to Be” by Chee Soon Juan

"最好的尚未到来” 作者：徐顺全.  Zuì hǎo de shàngwèi dàolái” zuòzhě:Xúshùnquán.
 "Te mahi i te mea pai i roto i o mahi" e kii ana a Chee Soon Juan.

“People before profit, rights before riches, wisdom before wealth.”

“人的健康先于利益，人的权利先于金钱，人的智慧先于财富。”   “Rén de jiànkāng xiān yú lìyì, rén de quánlì xiān yú jīnqián, rén de zhìhuì xiān yú cáifù.”   "Nga tangata i mua i te pai, nga tika i mua i te moni, te matauranga i mua i te taonga."

You probably do not know Chee Soon Juan, unless, of course, you come from Singapore. If you care to go into YouTube and search for his videos, you will know that he is the leader of a political party, Singapore Democratic Party, one of the oppositions to the ruling Peoples’ Action Party.

Below is an excerpt of the speech he made on the 24th August 2019 to his alma mater.

你可能不认识徐顺全. 当然，除非你来自新加坡。如果你愿意去 YouTube 搜索他的视频，你就会知道他是一个政党的领导人，新加坡民主党，执政的人民行动党的反对派之一。 以下是他在 2019 年 8 月 24 日的演讲之一。Yǐxià shì tā zài 2019 nián 8 yuè 24 rì de yǎnjiǎng zhī yī.
Nǐ kěnéng bù rènshí Xúshùnquán. dāngrán, chúfēi nǐ láizì xīnjiāpō. Rúguǒ nǐ yuànyì qù YouTube sōusuǒ tā de shìpín, nǐ jiù huì zhīdào tā shì yīgè zhèngdǎng de lǐngdǎo rén, xīnjiāpō mínzhǔdǎng, zhízhèng de rénmín xíngdòng dǎng de fǎnduì pài zhī yī.

Kaore pea koe e mohio ki a Chee Soon Juan mena kaore koe i Singapore. Mena kei te hiahia koe ki te haere ki YouTube me te rapu i ana riipene ataata, ka mohio koe ko ia te kaiarahi o tetahi roopu torangapu, te Singapore Democratic Party, tetahi o nga hoa whakahee o te roopu roopu.

Kei raro nei tetahi o ana korero i te 24 Akuhata 2019.

The kerfuffle over some whispered remarks in Parliament about illiteracy and lousy schools has resurrected concern over our education system. More broadly, this concern is over the direction our society is headed. While we may say that we are shocked that such remarks are passed – by ministers no less – we cannot say, hand on heart, that we are surprised. After all, their ilks are the same people who have engineered a system geared towards elitism.

议会中一些关于文盲和糟糕学校的低声言论引起的混乱重新引发了对我们教育系统的担忧。更广泛地说，这种担忧与我们社会的发展方向有关。虽然我们可能会说我们对这样的言论被通过感到震惊——部长们也不少——但我们不能说，我们感到惊讶。毕竟，他们的同类是设计了一个面向精英主义的系统的人。
Yìhuì zhōng yīxiē guānyú wénmáng hé zāogāo xuéxiào de dī shēng yánlùn yǐnqǐ de hǔnluàn chóngxīn yǐnfāle duì wǒmen jiàoyù xìtǒng de dānyōu. Gèng guǎngfàn de shuō, zhè zhǒng dānyōu yǔ wǒmen shèhuì de fǎ zhǎn fāngxiàng yǒuguān. Suīrán wǒmen kěnéng huì shuō wǒmen duì zhèyàng de yánlùn bèi tōngguò gǎndào zhènjīng——bùzhǎngmen yě bù shǎo——dàn wǒmen bùnéng shuō, wǒmen gǎndào jīngyà. Bìjìng, tāmen de tónglèi shì shèjìle yīgè miànxiàng jīngyīng zhǔyì de xìtǒng de rén.

Na te koretake o etahi korero kohumuhumuhu i te Paremata mo te kore panui me nga kura kino kua ara ake te whakaaro mo a tatou punaha matauranga. Ko te whanui ake, ko tenei awangawanga kei runga i te huarahi e ahu atu ana o taatau hapori. Ahakoa e kii ana matou kua ohorere matou i te paahitanga o enei korero - e nga minita kaore i te iti - kaore e taea e matou te kii, ma te ngakau, e miharo ana. Inaa hoki, ko o ratau iwi he iwi ano nana i miihini te punaha e anga ana ki nga rangatira.

When our ruling politicos disparage others in such a manner, especially when they think no one else is listening, it reflects a certain poverty of the mind, not to mention spirit. When they think of themselves as “natural aristocrats” possessing “exceptional” qualities while describing those they rule over as the “lumpen masses”, democracy, equality and unity will remain mere words.

When they demand for themselves quite vulgar amounts in pay while refusing to implement a minimum wage law for workers, the country’s future cannot be anything but bleak.

Huang Chih Mei, wife of opposition politician Chee Soon Juan spoke to journalists after her husband was sentenced in a Singapore court February 2, 1999. Huang, who was expecting her first child in three weeks, said she was proud of her husband and stood by him. Chee, leader of the Singapore Democratic Party, was found guilty of giving public speeches without a permit. He was sentenced to pay a S$1,400 ($828) or serve seven days in jail. In a statement issued after the verdict, Chee said he would serve time in prison for exercising his constitutional rights. 

当我们执政的政客如此贬低他人，尤其是他们认为没有人在听的时候，这反映了一定的思想贫乏，更不用说精神了。当他们认为自己是拥有“非凡”品质的“天生贵族”，而将他们所统治的人称为“流氓群众”时，民主、平等和团结将只是空谈。 
Dāng wǒmen zhízhèng de zhèngkè rúcǐ biǎndī tārén, yóuqí shì tāmen rènwéi méiyǒu rén zài tīng de shíhòu, zhè fǎnyìngle yīdìng de sīxiǎng pínfá, gèng bùyòng shuō jīngshénle. Dāng tāmen rènwéi zìjǐ shì yǒngyǒu “fēifán” pǐnzhí de “tiānshēng guìzú”, ér jiāng tāmen suǒ tǒngzhì de rénchēng wèi “liúmáng qúnzhòng” shí, mínzhǔ, píngděng hé tuánjié jiāng zhǐshì kōngtán. 当他们要求自己支付相当粗俗的工资，同时拒绝实施工人最低工资法时，这个国家的未来只能是黯淡的。
Dāng tāmen yāoqiú zìjǐ zhīfù xiāngdāng cūsú de gōngzī, tóngshí jùjué shíshī gōngrén zuìdī gōngzī fǎ shí, zhège guójiā de wèilái zhǐ néng shì àndàn de.

Mena he whakaheinga o o tatou kaiarahi torangapu i etahi atu, penei rawa ka kiia ana kaore he tangata e whakarongo ana, ka tino porearea o maatau hinengaro, kaua e whakahua i te taha wairua. Ki a raatau he “aristocrats maori” e whai “tuuturu” nga ahuatanga ka kii ana raatau kei te whakahaere mo te iwi whanui, te manapori, te taurite me te kotahitanga ka noho noa hei kupu noa kaore he tino tikanga. Ka utua ana e ratau o raatau utu nui engari kaore e whakaae ki te whakatinana i nga ture utu iti mo nga kaimahi, akene kaore he whenua kei te heke mai, ana ka pouri tenei.

These people may be well-schooled, but they are certainly not well-educated. And when such attitudes are put into practice, the result is the concentration of elite schools in elite districts. SCGS (Singapore Chinese Girls School), SJI (St. Joseph Institution), MGS (Methodist Girls School), ACS (Anglo Chinese School), HCJC (Holy Convent Junior College), NJC (National Junior College), RGS (Raffles Girls School) are all nestled in Bukit Timah districts whereas schools like Swiss Cottage and Whitley were herded out into the heartlands. These people then condescendingly placate the people that “every school is a good school”.

They do think that we are idiots, don’t they? https://youtu.be/6J0b4nDrQL0

这些人可能在好学校学习过，但他们肯定没有受过良好的教育。而当这种态度付诸实践时，结果是精英学校集中在精英地区，对国家不利。这些好学校的人大多自私，看不起其他学校的人。学校对我们的教育有那么重要吗？
Zhèxiē rén kěnéng zài hào xuéxiào xuéxíguò, dàn tāmen kěndìng méiyǒu shòuguò liánghǎo de jiàoyù. Ér dāng zhè zhǒng tàidù fù zhū shíjiàn shí, jiéguǒ shì jīngyīng xuéxiào jízhōng zài jīngyīng dìqū, duì guójiā bùlì. Zhèxiē hào xuéxiào de rén dàduō zìsī, kànbùqǐ qítā xuéxiào de rén. Xué jiào duì wǒmen de jiàoyù yǒu nàme zhòngyào ma?

Akene he ako nga taangata nei, engari kaore e mohio me pehea te mahi ki nga taangata. Ka whakahawea ratou ki etahi atu o nga kura o raro. Kaore enei iwi e whai whakaaro ki etahi atu, ko ratau noa ake te whakaaro. He pai te whakangungu?

I have said this before and I will say it again: If we continue on this elitist path covered by the fake cloth of meritocracy, we are going to rip our society asunder if it has not already.

This comes when the rest of the world, at least the enlightened parts of it, is moving in the opposite direction. Attending an elite school but imbibing none of the values that speak to decency and compassion may make us powerful leaders. But it also produces unwise ones. Be not proud of how much power and wealth you amass. Rather, be proud of how much you can do for your fellow men and women. That is the key to success in governance and, more importantly, in life.

我之前说过，我会再说一遍：如果我们继续走这种精英主义的教育道路，我们就会撕裂我们的社会。   
Wǒ zhīqián shuōguò, wǒ huì zàishuō yībiàn: Rúguǒ wǒmen jìxù zǒu zhè zhǒng jīngyīng zhǔyì de jiàoyù dàolù, wǒmen jiù huì sī liè wǒmen de shèhuì.  
I korero ahau i mua, ana ka korero ano ahau: mena ka mau tonu taatau ara maatauranga rangatira, ka haehaea e taatau taangai hapori.

当世界的其他部分，至少是其中开悟的部分，正朝着相反的方向发展时，就会出现这种情况。上一所精英学校但不吸收任何体现正派和同情心的价值观不能使我们成为优秀的领导者。但它也会产生不明智的人。不要为你拥有多少权力和财富而自豪。相反，为您能为社区中其他不幸的人做多少而感到自豪。这是治理成功的关键，更重要的是，这是生活成功的关键。
Dāng shìjiè de qítā bùfèn, zhìshǎo shì qízhōng kāi wù de bùfèn, zhèng cháozhe xiāngfǎn de fāngxiàng fāzhǎn shí, jiù huì chūxiàn zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng. Shàng yī suǒ jīngyīng xuéxiào dàn bù xīshōu rènhé tǐxiàn zhèngpài hé tóngqíng xīn de jiàzhíguān bùnéng shǐ wǒmen chéngwéi yōuxiù de lǐngdǎo zhě. Dàn tā yě huì chǎnshēng bù míngzhì de rén. Bùyào wèi nǐ yǒngyǒu duōshǎo quánlì hé cáifù ér zìháo. Xiāngfǎn, wèi nín néng wéi shèqū zhōng qítā bùxìng de rén zuò duōshǎo ér gǎndào zìháo. Zhè shì zhìlǐ chénggōng de guānjiàn, gèng zhòngyào de shì, zhè shì shēnghuó chénggōng de guānjiàn.

Ka tae mai tenei ka huri te toenga o te ao, ko nga waahanga marama o taua ao, ki te anga ke. Ko te haere ki tetahi kura rangatira engari kaore i te uru ki nga uara e korero ana ki te tika me te ngakau mahaki ka kaha te kaiarahi. Engari e whakaputa ana i nga mea kuare. Kaua e whakapehapeha ki te nui o te mana me te rawa e kohia ana e koe. Engari, kia whakamanamana mo te kaha ki te mahi ma o hoa taane me nga waahine. Koira te ki mo te angitu i roto i te kawanatanga, me te mea nui, i roto i te koiora.

For more, click into this speech by Singapore’s Chee Soon Juan who was addressing the students at Anglo Chinese School’s Annual Speech Day. https://www.facebook.com/cheesoonjuan/videos/903882236642474/

Yes, education is an important topic for all parents wanting their children to succeed in their life’s..