To me, South East Asia is just a geographical term to describe a region lying on the soutern-east part of Asia. Actually, it means a lot more than that. South East Asia is truly rich in its culture. It may also be considered as one of the under-developed part of the World. So, what does History have got to do with Southeast Asia? Well, the history of Southeast Asia is quite complex. I've learned a little about the history of Indonesia and Malaysia. I've learned a lot about the History of Singapore. However, region such as Siam(currently Thailand) and Burma is a new topic to me. I'm absolutely unfamiliar with its history.
Let's start off with the countries in Southeast Asia.
1. Indonesia
2. Singapore
3.Timor Leste
4. Malaysia
5. Brunei
6. Myanmar
7. Thailand
8. Phillipines
9. Vietnam
10. Cambodia
11. Laos
From what I have learned, Southeast Asia was dominated and ruled mainly by Europeans in the past. As an Indonesian, I am fully aware that the Dutch colonised my country for approximately 300 years. My grandparents told me that it was a dark period. But it was nothing comapred to the Invasion of the Japanese. My grandparents told me the Japanese were extremely cruel and thrice as harsh as the Dutch. I couldn't really tell the reliability of these sources. i was young then. What do you expect!!! I have no idea of telling how reliable a source is!
Anyways, Southeast Asia has been a tourism spot for these past few years. It has attracted many tourists mainly from Europe and America. This is due to their rich cultures and ethnicities. This makes Southeast Asia unique.
This year's Total Defence Day was fun for me. Though I'm not a Singaporean, I was give an opportunity to shiwcase my music talent! Well,actually I don't really have much talent. But, that wasn't the point! I enjoyed performing with my bandmates and it was a great experience for me.
I would never be able to thank mr Siah for giving my band that opportunity to give the Total Defence Day a BLAST!
Acrtually, I don't think my country has a Total Defence Day so there I was, celebrating Singapore's Total Defence Day! There was a regular firedrill on the 15th of February.
My class skipped Science thanks to the Fire Drill. I think my classmates were actually glad to skip Science because there was a Chemistry testto be taken on that period! However, that's not the point of my posts today.
Why do we commemorate Total Defence day? Perhaps so that we could reflect on what happened when Singapore fell to the Japanese on the year 1942. Yes, I know we should be moving on instead of reminiscing the dark past. However, commemorating Total Defence Day is important. As I've said in my previous posts, learning from the past makes us a better person. It's the same thing for a country. When Singapore learns from its past mistakes, it will be a better Singapore. It could be in terms of Military, it could be in terms of Social.
Over the past few years, my school has been commemorating Total Defence day. Actually, Total Defence Day makes me think about the past. It may not necessarily be Singapore's past. Total Defence makes me think about all the lives that's been lost in fighting wars. My grandfather fought a war in Indonesia. He was one of the General Officer. It makes me think of how every soldier made their sacrifice to protect their own country. Sometimes, not just to protect their own country. I truly appreciate Total Defence day. Mostly to honour the victims of war.
While this year's Total Defence day was more exciting than last year, I still feel that it's a little dry. I feel that it's a little hackneyed to have all these performances. Sorry It's just my opinion. So maybe the school could organise a little competition? Don't ask me what competition. Think about it yourself! Of course it has to be linked to Total Defence day! So yeah I think I'll look forward to next year's Total Defence day. Til then, I'm off!