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How important is conformity in your society ? (AJC Prelim

2014)
As Singapore approaches its 50
th
year of independence,
many questions arise about what more can be done to keep the
nation progressive. One of these questions is this !an
Singapore reduce its emphasis on conformity that seems to have
p"ayed a ro"e in its rapid economic deve"opment # $y view is that
conformity is sti"" important in a number of areas. %owever, & a"so
think that in some other areas, conformity can be counter'
productive. (ven if conformity has va"ue and continues to be
important for Singapore, there must be enough acceptance for
non'conformist views so that the standards which the society is
e)pected to abide by can be debated over and *na""y agreed
upon, rather than dictated and imposed on the peop"e.
!onformity is important because it is the main reason for
the high "eve" of safety and the "ow "eve" of crime in Singapore.
+he "aws here on rioting, drug tra,cking and weapons
possession are strict and the pena"ties are severe, such as
capita" punishment for the "atter two o-ences. !orruption is a"so
treated with great seriousness because the "ow "eve" of
corruption has been pivota" for Singapore.s reputation as a
business'friend"y p"ace. &n fact, even government o,cia"s such
as high'ranking o,cers the !ivi" /efence 0orce and the !orrupt
1ractices &nvestigations 2ureau have been charged and pub"ic"y
shamed for their acts of corruption. 1etty o-ences are not "et o-
easi"y either as seen by the *nes imposed for "ittering, smoking
in non'smoking 3ones or i""ega" parking among other vio"ations. &t
is important for the pub"ic and the wor"d to know that in
Singapore, no one is above the "aw and so everyone must
conform. +his conformity may seem sti4ing but has attracted
both foreign ta"ent to this country which is safe enough for them
to set up home and raise a fami"y as we"" as foreign investment
to this business and *nancia" hub where procedures to ensure
integrity, transparency and security are observed without fear or
favour.
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21 5 !onformity preserves traditiona" cu"ture and
conventiona" va"ues
21 6 Despite the ene!ts that a certain "e#ree of
conformity coul" rin#$ conformity in Sg "eads to
undesirab"e pressure at various "eve"s
21 7 !onformity sti4es creativity
21 5 !onformity squashes debate that is needed for
improvement 8 progress
21 9 :eso"ution +here is a need for conformity but
there is a"so a need to invo"ve peop"e in deciding what to
conform with.