HELP!

I have been staying pretty silent on the Lebanon conflict so far till now. Today, I received an email from my Lebanese room-mate when I was in London. It was such an emotional email that I decided to publish here:

Hi,

I was really touched to receive your email... thank you very much for your concern and understanding...

unfortunately, despite all the prayers and demos, and the horrific pics, it seems nothing is convincing the world at large, and in particular the US to agree on a ceasefire...

depsite the killing of 4 UN officials, nothing was done..

this morning, around 3am lebanon time, a whole building full of civilians was brought fully to ground.. at least 40 bodies were recovered for now, but number expected to double as many innocent families were hiding there.. 23 children were among those.. some of them were children with disabilities...

that was again in Qana.. the famous village were in 1996 the israeli DEFENCE (?!?!) forces bombed a UN centre killing 116 innocent women and children... we did not forget those yet.. now a fresher memory is engraved in our hearts, eyes and minds...

this is not the peace USA and israel claim they want... this is not fair.. not human..

WHY? our souls cost less as arabs or citizens of developing countries...

we, you and me, are the future of this world.. let's try to make it better... keep those pics in mind when you vote next time.. when you pay your taxes....USA sending weapons to israeli thru glascow, and blankets to the lebanese.. how ironic.. we will kill you and make you homeless, but no worries, we will give you some food and water to drink... ENOUGH....

UN can not take a decision coz USA has the right to veto..WHAT DEMOCRACY IS THAT!!!!!

be the voice of those innocent children, tell their stories... I am sick of being called anti-semitic... for God's sake, I AM SEMITIC.. those killed are SEMITIC... ask people around you and friends to read more, to open their eyes, to seek the truth....

my Lebanon is destroyed and Dr. Rice and Mr. Bush understand the israeli position...

my people are killed, and the world is condemning.. what about ACTIONS!?!?

We want peace more than anyone else... we never asked for war... give the lebanese their land and prisoners who some were detained for now for more than 28 years without trial... stop invading their air borders and terrorising them... this is peace we want.. for all!!!!

Please spread these words to your friends, maybe one day, people and their leaders in this silent world will wake up from their ever-lasting coma!!!!!!!

Thank you...

Another helpless lebanese in Dublin

SALAM

The Israeli have committed international massacre and yet no one is taking action. Yes, Hizbollah is a terrorist network and should be flushed out but to the extent of killing civilians is inexcusable. Did the British bomb Northern Ireland to flush out the IRA or the Spanish to destroy the Basque region to eliminate ETA? In addition, we are talking about invading someone's sovereign right!

The Americans really need to wake up to their international role and by acting as a "silencer" in these issues, they are really showing their support for the Israelis. The response so far from the UN have been rather muted as US holds a veto in the votes in the security council. No amount of international condemnation seems to be able to move the Israelis.

To Wael (my lebanese friend), hope that your family is doing well in Beirut and may peace reign in Lebanon soon

PS: Am thinking of putting up a petition on the Lebanese cause. Do leave your comments if any on this issue pls

Pioneers forgotten

2006 is the year that Singapore lost of 2 of her founding fathers of independence: S Rajaretnam and Lim Kim San. Unfortunately not many people knew of what they have done for our nation state till they have passed on. Rajaretnam was Singapore's first diplomat and was the one that crafted Singapore's pledge. Lim Kim San served as a bedrock in Singapore's Cabinet over the early years and held key positions in the government before moving into the private sector.

Why have most people not even heard of these founding fathers such as David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Ong Pang Boon, etc, etc? One of the main reason is due to our education when only Lee Kuan Yew had been glorified in our history textbook. Either through accident or coincidence, our students learn nothing of the post-independence events except for the fight against communism.

These founding fathers including Mr Lee Kuan Yew sacrificed their youth and their career to ensure Singapore reached the stage it is now. Let us show an acknowledgement for these founding fathers and also ensure that their legacy are never lost to history.

This way, sir

Am on course for these past few days and the course have been enjoyable thus far. Learning the finer art of protocol was certainly very interesting and learning from the experts as well.

The food was excellent as we were learning the art of fine dining. Not sure what will be served tomorrow after buffet, chinese and western.

Most of the coursemates were all from MAS and somehow I feel that's a missing link there between myself and the people there. Not sure why as well.

Anyway one more day of enjoyment before going back to work on Friday!

Back from Diving

Open Water Course completed! The weekend in Pulau Aur was fun and enjoyable unfortunately the boat ride there was a bit too long for comfort. Left Singapore at 730pm on Friday, reach Mersing at 1130pm and Aur at 400am. The boat was I would said unique - no seats but beds for people to sleep to get over the sea sickness.

Upon reaching Aur, we had to wade through the low tide before reaching our huts. Pretty basic accomodation but we slept like a log due to the tiring boat ride. Soon we were all awake for breakfast to get ready for our first dive. Spend some time briefing and it's finally time to gear up. Pretty basic and the first 2 dives were all testing all the basic skills. Had to drink some seawater initially but once the skills were completed, it was fairly straight forward.

On our third dive, our instructor felt that we were good enough to follow the advanced group and here we go to Pulau Pinang (NOT PENANG) and manage to see a puffer fish! The kiasu Singaporean in us decided to wake up early on Sunday so as to squeeze 2 dives before we depart at noon.

Aur was definitely a nice place even to come and relax. The coconut trees and the beaches were excellent and the hospitality was impressive. One thing about diving is the eating. Food was the norm betwen every single dive either it's doughnuts, maggi mee, bbq dinner, lunch, etc.

Except for the long boat ride, I am certainly looking forward to another dive trip. Maybe to Tioman!

PS: Will hope to post some pictures once our instructors have given us the pics.

Off to the Sea

Finally decided to sign up for the PADI Open Water Diving Licence since my work place was subsidising a fair amount for a trip up to Pulau Aur (4-5 hour boat ride from Mersing :-( ). So am I off for the weekend to see some fishes, corals, turtles and whatever lurks beneath.

Am looking forward to a 4 day course next week as well where I will learn the finer art of protocol and peeling prawns without using my hands!

Nice break in Penang

Finally decided to take 3 days off work to travel to Penang to visit a good friend who is only back in the region once every 2 years. Went up to KL by coach and I must say it was super luxurious. The ride included dinner, massaging chair and a entertainment system which had tonnes of movies and even had Summerslam! (Must try Transtar if you are visiting KL) Reached KL well ahead of time in 4.5 hours and then it was another 3.5 hours ride up in a comfortable Camry to Penang. Only reached Penang at about 130am.

Penang is always a nice place to visit especially this was my first visit since 2002. It's relaxing place where the pace of live is slower and everything there is well affordable. I always value visiting Penang where it's really a mix of everything a tourist would want to go for. Historic Georgetown is a pleasant place to walk around and if you fancy a bit of beach front holiday, there is always Batu Fringgi. Not forgetting the excellent food as well at super affordable prices.

Did some shopping at Factory Outlets and bought some tau sar piah back as well. Had an excellent seafood dinner at the Tsunami Village Restaurant.

The three days break was also excellent due to the World Cup timing. Was able to watch all the second round matches and even won a small bet! :-)

Back to work again!

Back from Hibernation

Yes, I am officially back to blog. Been missing for some time already due to the busy work schedules and the weekends came and went by so soon. Work-wise should be getting better I hope and I just want this month to enjoy the World Cup. So far the matches have not been exciting but it is really great to soak in the atmosphere. Some good goals though.

Am looking forward to next week when I can finally take a break to visit Mark back in Penang. Will be rough once again for a 10 hour drive but it's worth it. My 2-yearly visit to visit the Ewes!

Finally also completed my wedding dinner tour for this month. Boy, 4 in a month was rough but was great to catch up with friends once again.

Ok, enough of yabbering...more to come soon I hope :-)

Thomson Prata

Finally had a chance to try the much renowned Thomson prata at Sin Ming Road. The stall was formerly from Cluny Road and it had such a huge following previously. In fact the stall was also featured in the show "Our Makan Places - Lost n Found". We ordered the several bryani dishes and the murtabak and I must say the food is excellent. Very decently priced as well! Another new eating place for our food tour.

PS: The prata place is at Blk 24 Sin Ming Road. Incidentally the coffee shop at the other end of the block served excellent teochew porridge for a fraction of typical cost!

Creative Kids

Spent my weekend being a judge for the annual Solor Innovations. Basically it's a contest for school kids to come up with projects that will bring on environmental sustainability. Different groups of students were divided according to the level of studies. My main job was to judge the primary and secondary school section. Some of the projects are indeed very interesting:

1. Vegetarian shark fin - To stamp out on cruelty on sharks
2. Flower pot holder - To prevent the breeding of dengue mosquitoes
3. Fuel Cell to operate lifts and traffic lights

One thing that I am very amazed is how versatile these kids are in doing things like power point and video editing. Over zealous teachers stressing the kids as well.

An exciting weekend overall even though I had next to no rest.

Closure of Smith Street Hawker Centre

For those who are into hawker centres, do take note: Smith Street Hawker Centre in Chinatown is closing for upgrading for nearly a year. Singapore's biggest hawker centre and one of the best in terms of food has definitely seen better days, thus explaining the revamp. We visited today for its swan song and had zi char. The damage: 7 dishes for 7 people = $32. We even had yummy ice kacang. Will definitely missed these food!

PS: For those for cannot forget the food there, most of the stallholders are moving to a temporary market in Outram Road.

My name is Jack Bauer...and This is the longest day of my life

After 24 episodes, the 5th season of 24 draws to a close. I only started watching the show in Season 3 and since then I have been hooked on the show. The real-time format really keeps you on the edge of your seat at the end of every episode. Season 3 has been a ground-breaking season with the killing of several main characters. Currently only Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland) is still around from Season 1.

Season 5 is a more exciting season compared to Season 4, in my opinion. The theme is constant and the villian is played excellently. No more ridiculous terrorist plots but interesting twists and turns in the story to continuingly keep you on your toes. For those who follows the series, it is definitely one of the best.

Now only Alias, Lost and Smallville to catch up on their final episodes of the seasons

Final Fantasy X revisited

Have been rather busy at work thus explaining the lack of update in this humble blog. Been totally exhausted once I reached home and thus the only free time is during the weekend. Other than the time I go to the gym, I usually spent my weekends catching up on readings and my drama serials (read 24, lost, Alias, Smallville).

Decided to replay Final Fantasy X. I started playing the game in 2004 and after nearly 100+ hours of agony, I finally completed it. Decided to replay the game once again as I did not play it properly during my first time. I must say the game is entertaining and really keep my mind off lots of stuff.

Am deciding whether to buy Kingdom Hearts 2 now!

Coldplay in Singapore!

Finally, after missing their concert in 2002 in Detroit, Coldplay is finally performing in a location close to where I can attend. Quite surprise that they are actually performing in Singapore. Was quite excited at first but am quite disappointed that all the sitting tickets have been taken up, the only tickets left are the standing $168. It is really very expensive but considering that they are the best band in the world and they were from my uni, will definitely try to go. Am trying to find kakis to go! Very tempting! Any takers?

Comments Welcome

Finally changed my settings to my blogs to allow anyone to post a comments. Yup, u dun have to be a registered member of blogger to add your comments. Hope to hear more comments from everyone!

Super Tiring Week

Am totally burnt out from the week. First had my monthly meeting to coordinate in the week and found out after the meeting that I had to draft a pre-cab (for those that know what it is, good for you :-)). Super rush job and it was all done in a short 2 hours. Luckily I had my boss to guide me along the way. The good thing is that the week was a short week with a long weekend to come with it.

Had a nice gathering with the usual Gandhi gang on Friday nite at Chomp Chomp. Been really a long time since we all gathered and la kopi. Saturday had the opportunity to watch my first movie in nearly 6 months. Mission Impossible 3 is surprisingly good considering I never really like Tom Cruise and his complicated movie (read: Vanilla Sky, Magnolia, MI2, etc). The main difference in the movie is JJ Abrams, the creater of Lost and Alias being the new director of the franchise. Interestingly the concept of the movie was pretty much based on the Alias serial. First you have a initial scene with rather groundbreaking images. Then he brings u back in time to tell you the background of the scene. Really good stuff! (The idea of planting a bomb in someone's head was actually showcased in the recent Alias episode). Now awaiting Da Vinci Code and X Men 3!

Monday is upon me. Time to catch some rest before another super hectic week!

I am featured in TODAY!

All thanks to Mr Miyagi, the number of visits have increased significantly (was not much to start with anyway). I agree with Mr Miyagi's analysis that citizen blogging is alive and kicking and we will see that not only in the election but any significant event that will impact the lives of normal Singaporeans.

Kudos to the Bak chor mee podcast. Was really a good satire of the situation. Seriously we need more satire that allow us to see the lighter side of some touchy issues.

I attached the link to the TODAY newspaper. For future reference I hope. :-)

British Political Jumble

After the tiring Singapore election season (which is the only sign of political mayhem in Singapore), let us examined on what happened to British Politics over the past week.

Firstly, Tony Blair have been facing extreme pressure at home to let everyone know when he is going off to make way for Gordon Brown. Next, his home secretary, Charles Clarke got into big trouble when it was reveal that foreign prisoners were not deported after their sentences but actually set free in Britain. The last straw was when his rebellious deputy prime minister, John Prescott admitted in an affair after being married for 45 years. So what can Tony do to get out of the big hole?

He re-shuffled the cabinet. First on the list, was sacking Charles Clarke. A portly man, Clarke was often seen as too strong to take on the Home Office. He took over from an embattled David Blunkett and had been caught in trouble after trouble. The foreign prisoners scandal was really the last straw that broke the camel's back. So he had to go and who to replace him at the messy Home Office. Up steps utility man, John Reid. Over the past 7 years, he has held 7 different posts. So he is always considered as a reliable back-up for Blair when a crisis occurs. Sad to say, he has actually not proven his worth anywhere except Northern Ireland due to short spells everywhere.

The next logical choice was also to sack John Prescott. Somehow he has become a liability more than helping Tony Blair. Unfortunately, that would be political suicide to sack him due to his union ties, so clever Blair let him stay as DPM but stripped him of all his portfolios of local governments. Thus making him theoretically Minister without Portfolio. He is increasingly looking more like a liability and I would not be surprised if he is quietly put down.

The biggest shock of this re-shuffle was the demotion of Jack Straw from Foreign Secretary to Leader of the House. The late Robin Cook was similarly demoted in 2001 to let Straw take on the role of Foreign Secretary. Jack Straw has been trying to present himself as the voice of Britain but that has been overshadowed by Blair. It would be a pity to lose him as he has worked tirelessly over the Iraq issue. Coming in his an old colleague of Blair, Magaret Beckett. She is tough but would make a good foreign secretary.

Other re-shuffle sees the promotion of Blair's high flyer David Milliband as the Secretary of the Environment. That shows the emphasis on environmental issues for the upcoming few years.

So what does this re-shuffle tell us about the current status of British politics? Blair is still very much in charge and unfortunately for Gordon Brown, most of his lackeys did not do so well for the re-shuffle.

Let me set the record straight

For friends who has suddenly wondered why I have become so anti-government, I have not. Let me set my records straight.

I am a product of the meritocracy system in Singapore. I did well in school and secure a government scholarship. Without that, I would have never been able to study in UK and USA and been able to see the world. With that I am always indebted to the government and the system I have been through.

Unfortunately I am not your typical "scholar". I come from the heartland, living in a 3 room flat and I can feel the suffering on the ground. My dad has not been working since 1999. Structural unemployment has caused him to not only lose his job but his will to find another. How can you expect someone who used to earn $1,500 as a mechanic in the ship to become a cleaner? Things are not as rosy as it seems. My mum has been working in a factory as an operator for the past 5 years. She is a contract staff with zero bonus, zero pay increment and the risk of being fired hangs over her head everyday. With overtime, her pay was about $600 to $800. Before I started working, my family of 4 have been surviving on $600 to $800 a month since 1999. Only when I started work, did I become the main breadwinner and took over most of the responsibility of the household. I also decided to get my family a car to let my parents have some form of luxury.

Not many of my friends know this and very few actually understand how I feel not able to do what most people can do. I am lucky as I have friends who understand my plight and always have been by my side.

I have seen quite a lot over my last 26 years and with today's society, it's hard for people at the top to understand. That's why I am so interested in politics because I do hope to make a difference one day. I hope one day I can be called upon to serve the people. That, I will serve with honour.

Post Mortem of the Singapore Elections

Ok, the dust have settled. Everything is back to normal after 9 hectic days of campaigning around Singapore. The ruling party has been returned to power with 82 out of the 84 seats (status quo) and the 2 opposition seats were strongly defended. So does that mean that the struggle is over? No, far from it. Let me give some thoughts on this elections.

1. PAP is slowly waking up
The incumbent party is finally awaking to the people's needs. This election will send a signal to the ruling party that simply by offering carrots such as upgradings and lifts will not send the electorate running back to them. This has been used for the past 15 years and it has obviously not worked considerig the opposition are still holding on to their seats. The PAP would have to re-strategise by thinking out of the box on how to win the two opposition seats.

2. Re-awakening of the Workers Party
From my previous post, I have no doubt that the Workers Party has come up as the alternative voice of the people over this past 9 days. What I truely hope they can achieve is to do more over the next 5 years by working the ground and speaking of alternatives instead of popping up every 5 years. With 2 seats in Parliament now, hopefully it would provide a more concerted effort on government policies.

3. Political Apathy, my foot?
Before the elections, I would assume that most people would think that Singaporeans were not interested in politics and no one really cared about who are the people in white. I was so wrong just by reading stuff on the internet and attending the rally. No matter what party each person supports, it is truely encouraging to read people being interested in politics and wanting to contribute to society.

4. Political freedom
By just listening to people, it is truely encouraging that we are slowly opening up as a society. No longer will people be yes man, but willing to speak up on the issues even criticising government's policies or people. I am glad this is happening and would one day hope that we can be open as the political society as those in Europe. Unfortunately I would feel we are still quite far from this. Just yesterday, was chatting with an acquaintance about politics and I commented that the sentiments in the grounds are slowly changing. She commented that I should not be making such comments as none of us can make these society. Come on, we live in a open society! If you can't take it, hide under your bed!

5. Finding the right people
I was glad that people such as Ong Ah Heng and Seng Han Thong are returned back to government. I can safely say these are the people who can really connect to the grounds. We need more of these people, who can understand the suffering of the man in the street. Close friends would always ask me when I would be joining politics but unfortunately this is not my call. I have always said that I truely hope one day I could serve the people but I think in Singapore it may not be so easy.

6. Stop Party Politics
Some nasty remarks were made by PAP Chairman, Lim Boon Heng over these past election. By limiting the outreach of NTUC only to your own party's people, you are truely not respecting the electorate. Upgrading and lifts should also be given to everyone as at the end of the day, everyone pays taxes as well. PAP is more than capable of winning an election with playing party politics and mud-slinging. Let's try to have a true and open election based on national issues for the sake of Singaporeans pls. (Incidentally, both Lim Boon Heng and Goh Chok Tong were noticeably absent at the victory press conference last night)

I have said my peace for this elections. Let's have a more compassionate government, one who is willing to understand the feel of the grounds and bring Singapore to the next lap.

Comments anyone??

Rally Fever

This election has been the turning point for the opposition. The opposition have been able to connect to the people significantly and were no longer engaged in "hooligan" politics. Out of curiosity, I attended the last 2 Workers Party rallies.

The first was in my hometown of Ang Mo Kio. Here the Workers Party is fielding their so called "suicide" squad of youngsters. The traffic on that night was ridiculous. By the time I got home at 7pm, the roads ard my neighbourhood were already jam-packed. Following the cheers, I eventually reached the rally site. The topics raised were expected but I must say the quality of argument is good and is no longer arguing for the sake of arguing.

The second rally I attended was at Serangoon Stadium with a bunch of colleagues. My colleagues decided to park 1km away from the stadium and we were already finding difficulty in actually finding a lot. On they way to the stadium, we saw another colleague and he told us that the police has already closed the gates to the stadium. Being curious, we decided to venture on and we were lucky that the police had actually opened another entrance to allow more to attend. I would guess the people there were easily 50,000 to 60,000. The emotional bits were there when one of the candidates said he had to say sorry to his 2 year old son for not being with him during this election period. The rally ended with an oath to Singapore by asking everyone to recite the Singapore pledge.

Overall, the election rallies were interesting and were really an eye-opener. Something that Singapore would only see once every 5 years. I seriously doubt any sports event in Singapore would ever acheived such a crowd.