What's there to stop the Govt from importing a hundred more
foreign sports talents within a year,suit them up with a pink IC
and sending them in to participate in every single olympic
event?
It is easy to let our imagination run wild, with a so called
'french foreign legion type sports team' to replace our own flesh
and blood citizens.
There are still people whom money cannot buy. Their national
pride and duty to their citizens are strong, just as most of
us Singaporeans are in equal measure.
There never was any intention to replace our own valuable
citizens. We had been too hardworking and focus largely too much on
academic excellence for too long. Our mindsets are difficult to
change. Thus, the reliance on fields further away to bring in
talent which we lack, not that our youths do not have this
capability, just that our priorities were on another field.
And such talents are not and never were top seeds or even within
the top ranks. Some were even rejects. So if any China
citizen were to comment that our Spore citizens or PRs were China
born, or get too 'uppity' themselves, just a gentle reminder that
they were rejects would put them in their place.
These people were supported, encouraged, and funded by our
citizens' effort. If not for us, they wouldnt even be able to go to
the SEA games, let alone Olympics.
Eugenics are a flawed and dead science. It is nurture, and not
nature, that wins hand down always. Our citizen, since 13 years
old, swimmer Tao Li, whom did us citizens proud, even over and
above the table tennis team, is a prime example of what
nurturing can do.
The purpose and ultimate aim of the Sports Foreign Talent
Programme was to prove to fellow citizens that our system can work,
to produce sportspersons not only to participate in major
tournaments, hopefully to win medals, but also succeed in life once
their career in the sports are over. The million dollar prize is
one tag, and our School of Sports is another.
China rejects/imports were the frontline to convince citizens,
to break their mindsets. The second-line would be our citizen
youths. If we want our own flesh and blood to represent our
nation, then we must do our part and give our fullest
support. But if not, somehow or another, the nation will
continue with the SFT programme till we citizens are ready to work
on mental and physical excellence, beside just academic stellar
performance.
Brains alone does not a nation maketh or have the ability to
forge a national identity of strength.
