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YES, he can.
Go to school dressed as US President Barack Obama, that is.
Mikhil Anand, 8, drew a lot of attention with his snazzy suit and close-cropped hair. And boy, is he ambitious. The Primary 2 pupils of Qifa Primary School said that he wants to rule America.
The school, along with nine others, celebrated The New Paper's Be Yourself Day (BYD) last Wednesday, in conjunction with Children's Day.
The New Paper began organising BYD eight years ago, as part of the The President's Challenge, an annual fund-raiser, supporting numerous local charities.
Over the years, more than 100 schools have raised more than $1 million with BYD.
And this year was no different for the pupils of these primary schools, where expressing their dreams and ambitions has become a regular theme.
Other than president-wannabe Mikhil, there was future policewoman Sakura Yamakawa, dentist- in-the-making Husain Rosman and Michael Leong, who came as Jackie Chan, at Qifa Primary.
At Yew Tee Primary School, pupils dressed up as cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants and Harry Potter's Hermione Granger.
Reynard Ho, 11, who is in Primary 5, and Haneyz Natasha, 7, who is in Primary 2, paid homage to anime characters Allen Walker of D.Gray-man and Misa Amane of Death Note fame.
And it looked like the classics live on at Boon Lay Garden Primary School.
Thriller
Dibesh M, 9, of Primary 3, was a 'thriller' when he came as the late 'King of Pop' while S N Keerthana, 9, brought her favourite Tamil poet, Avvaiyar, back to life with her white garb, talcum-powdered hair and walking stick.
Meanwhile, some pupils at Tao Nan Primary and Punggol Primary were gongfu fighting.
Ong Chee Choon, 9, a Primary 3 pupil at Tao Nan, came dressed as anime character Naruto, having spent close to $90on the costume.
Heng Jiuxiao, 11, a Primary 5 pupil at Punggol Primary, also came dressed as a fictional character, Aang, from the cartoon series Avatar.
While most schools took to the theme of who the children wanted to be, Bukit Panjang Primary School allowed their pupils to come in pyjamas.
And in the true spirit of Children's Day, Yumin Primary School themed their BYD celebrations 'Children of the World'.
Said Klara Han, 7, a Primary 1 pupil: 'I am Korean, so I took the chance to wear something that shows my identity.'
Da Qiao Primary stood out in style when it decided to focus on accessories instead and had the entire school come in funky hats and wacky eyewear.
Nurul Asyikin Mohd Nasir and Samuel Wee, newsroom interns
Opera ambition surprises actor dad, Edmund
WITH Edmund Chen and Xiang Yun as parents, you would expect Yixin, 9, to want to go into acting.
Well, the Primary 3 pupil at Tao Nan Primary did have the stage in mind when she chose her costume for Be Yourself Day.
But it is something more exotic than the acting career of her parents.
Yixin's ambition is to be an opera singer.
Apparently, she developed a love of opera at a young age. 'I started liking opera when my mother let me listen to it,' said the shy girl, who shares her parents' good looks.
And Yixin has become a big fan of opera music.
To reflect her ambition, Yixin dolled herself up in a lovely flowing dress and wore a masquerade mask provided by her teacher.
And it seems being an opera singer isn't the first unusual ambition Yixin has had.
When The New Paper spoke to him, Edmund seemed rather surprised.
'She told me previously that she wanted to be a perfumist!
'She has always had unusual ambitions. Most kids want to be lawyers or doctors but not her. This is the first time I've heard about opera though.'
Samuel Wee, newsroom intern
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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