There is no doubt that Singapore is a modern society in the technical and technological sense of the word. However, it seems that the technical functionalism in the Singaporean mindset has not only blocked its further progress in real science but also the non-scientific portion of their collective minds and psyche.

Thus, despite its fibre optics and advanced computer chips, Singapore has not produced any real scientist. It merely has technicians and technical managers. It shows that its education system needs to encourage more independent and critical thinking.

The recent ban on female Muslim schoolgirls from wearing the tudung (head scarf) is a classic case of how the one-dimensional brain works. By so doing, it has caused fear, anxiety and indignation not only among Muslims, but also the Sikh community. The majority of Singaporeans seem to only know their own fear, anxiety and indignation, but not others. In psychology, it is termed the lack of the ability to empathize.

As letter writer Elizabeth Choong argued earlier, if the London metro police force can allow its Sikh and female Muslims personnel to wear turban and tudung as part of their uniform, what is the rationale of the ban on schoolgirls wearing tudung ?

It is time for Singaporeans to stop thinking and reasoning like programmed robots. They should learn to reason like real human beings living in a community of different nations, cultures, religions, languages and traditions. Ultimately, whether we go to hell or heaven, our funeral services in future will still be conducted by imam, monks, priests and rabbis, not computers, fibre optics or mathematics teachers. Understand?