Uproar over Li's "stupid"remark
Straits times/ o7 april 06/ Life

I read in an article today that a taiwanese politician,Li Ao, thinks Singaporeans are "stupid".According to him,taiwanese are "scoundrels but still lovable", hongkongers are "craftier",but Singaporeans are "stupid".Why does he say this? He feels that our ancestors were poorly educated people who came here from taiwan to make a living.With the strict laws that our government use to govern us, we are only able to reach a certain standard,or line,without crossing it.We cannot break out of the box that our government uses to protect us and restrict us.Therefore, Singapore "hasn't produced much outstanding people".

When I read this,my first emotions were shock and indignance. On what basis does he say Singaporeans are "stupid"? I would define stupid as slow to learn or understand,obtuse. Does poor education mean that a person's brain would be of a lower quality?Education makes us wiser and more knowledgable,but that doesn't mean the person would be any more quick-witted ,creative,or any of the many meanings that intelligence comprises of. Besides, even if our ancestors were really "stupid", its illogical to imagine that generation after generation would continue to inherit only lousy genes and stay as "stupid". A person's intelligence depends very strongly on the environment the person was brought up in and his daily routines,ecetera,as proven scientifically.
Thus, i feel very strongly that "stupid" is not the word to describe us.Call us "uncreative", "boring" ,but not,in any case, "stupid".