ketsugi, you mentioned that Ike will not have trouble asking Curtis to reserve a place for him so that he still can join the school after two years.

Now, I would like you to re-consider the legitimacy of this statement.

Firstly, being a musician myself ( in the past ), I know how it is like to study this abstract subject. You have to keep practising and learning new moves / notes / pieces in order to improve. It is something like sports. If you don’t practise, your standard will gradually drop. Especially in Ike’s case, 2 years is a very long time and during this period when he has competely lost touch with his mentor and instrument, it is highly likely that he will be ‘rusty’ in terms of skill and technique. Perhaps his memory would fail him too.

So would the most presitigious music school in the world accept a student whose standard has dropped? And why should they reserve a place for him when there are thousands of other students around the world who are competing for a place in Curtis as well, their standard possibly much better than Ike’s after he graduates from NS in two years?

Yes, you may say that Ike can apply for a place at another music school. But considering his exceptional talent, why waste his talent at a school which might not be able to develop his full potential. Just like in sports, a good footballer would definitely choose to go to a prestigious, or best club, like Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, to name a few, which can offer him first-team places and win competitions. Similarly, the best musician would go to the best school to study the best materials in the best environment.

Furthermore, Ike is merely applying for a deferment, which means he has no intention of abstaining himself from NS. Okay, you may say we cannot be 100% sure, but if the Government is afraid that this issue would evolve into another Mervyn Tan saga, why not increase the bond, just to serve as a reminder for Ike to come back to Singapore after he graduates from Curtis?

One must remember that Ike does not come from a rich family, so it would be hard on his family to pay such a large amount should Ike decide not to return. So he will DEFINITELY come back after his studies.

I don’t see why he should be deprived of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study at the best school in the world. To think that I will be attending NS in 2 years time, it surely casts a doubt over my future. If I work so hard for a prestigious scholarship and then the Government decides not to let me further my studies, I wonder whether I should have worked hard in the first place.

Opportunities are limited in Singapore, and the world is so much bigger out there!

We are not even asking for exemption…. only DEFERMENT.

However, the problem is that the current system does not allow for that. Within the confines of the system, it is impossible to expect Ike to be granted this exception and we should understand why the government makes this decision even if we don’t agree with it.

(Btw I’m a violinist too, and I would love to see a much more culture-friendly environment in Singapore.)

Trust me, I’m not establishmentarian. I would love to see the PAP overthrown and replaced with a more people-oriented government. But I’m also pragmatic enough to see that that is not going to happen anytime soon, and I’m just going to make the best of what’s available.

Narrow-minded folks like you belong to the 15th century patriarchial system – As a parent of a young child myself, I shudder to imagine the likes of you governing the country in which my son will grow up in. If what you have argued is correct, then LKY must have wasted his time making higher education important and accessible to many of us since it is only a “want” not a “need”. Your narrow-mindedness has also made you fail to realise that exceptional talents like Phelps can do as much if not more for his own country than a bunch of soldiers welding guns in the battlefield…

And your comment about “how many world-class violinists do we need” is insensitive and totally misses the mark. It is precisely because we only have this one world-class violinist-in-the-making that we should not stifle him with unbendable rules!

I am sure the government is capable of coming up with a similar bond for Ike See type of students. Just make him legally bonded to come back and serve NS later.

I agree that this should be the case, and hopefully the government should take it into consideration. With any luck such a policy should be implemented within a few years.

My point is that under current law this is not doable, and as Ike See’s case falls under current law, there is no provision for an exception to be made for him without breaking the law. Laws cannot be changed on a whim. Well, they shouldn’t be, anyway. And I honestly don’t believe the government would or should consider making an exception for him at this point; one person’s personal aspirations are NOT worth sacrificing our NS policy for.

Completely agree with Jason.

Yeah, perhaps they could create a bond-type thingy for people like Ike. I’m sure he’ll gladly come back to ’serve’ Singapore if they give him leeway to defer NS and finish his studies first.