Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Archive for December, 2008
New tricks possible from an old dog?
Dec 27th
The global economy is reeling, and Singapore is certainly no exception. The question for most Singaporeans now, I believe, is how the Singapore government plans to respond to the crisis. The question for me, though, goes a tiny step further. I wonder what other creative ways can my government come up with to help Singaporeans weather the storm.
It seems to me that in recent years, whenever something negative regarding our wallets strikes, there’s already a standard operating procedure (SOP) in place to execute (or a generic drug to prescribe, whichever analogy you prefer). The first is to send those deemed to be more lowly skilled to retraining so that they can get better jobs. The second is to dole out several hundred dollars per person to help Singaporeans cope with the problem. Of course, you can always count on multiple reassurances by government leaders that Singapore will weather the storm provided that we continue voting for the correct political party to lead the country.
I recognise I am making sweeping statements that may or may not be 100% factually correct but this is how things seem to be, and I think that more often than not, perceptions matter more than truth. I do think that the general perception of the government’s ability to tackle problems creatively is not exactly positive. I am really interested to see what the government will propose to help Singaporeans weather the current storm.
And, what I don’t want to see is the classic give with the right hand and take back with the left. The signs have already appeared. Finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said a couple of months ago he will look at how to prepare the budget to help Singaporeans (it was in response to the ridiculous electricity tariff hike). Recently, the transport minister Raymond Lim said public transport prices aren’t necessarily down even though oil prices have plunged. Maybe Singaporeans will get a handout, and then they will get a round of public transport increases (and maybe electricity tariff increases, if the folks regulating energy pricing decides not to base electricity pricing on oil prices, just like the folks regulating the transport industry 
).
Of course, it is unlikely that any price increase or tax increase will completely wipe out the value handouts. Doing so is just plain stupid. However, what such increases will do is to wipe out the goodwill that was intended to be generated in the first place. If the government really wants to give, give wholeheartedly, not half-heartedly.
First impressions of Boston
Dec 16th
I arrived in the evening a couple of days ago and obviously, the first thing I noticed that it was damn cold! It’s not like I’ve not experienced winter but sub-zero with winds blowing is really, really cold. I’ve brought adequate winter gear so I wasn’t frozen but it’s still very cold.
I went around the Boston over the weekend, mainly using their T, which is the train system. It’s quite a convenient way to get around, but where the T stops are located are not exactly very obvious, especially when it’s underground. The good thing is that fares are not distance based, and you can buy passes for unlimited rides, which makes touring the city rather cost effective.
My first impression of Boston was that it looked strikingly similar to England. Of course, that didn’t come as a complete surprise to me because I knew that Boston is a part of New England where many English settlers came to in the early days of America’s history. Well, I liked my last trip to England and it feels good to see buildings that look similar to those I saw in England.
Boston is pretty international in terms of population. I saw many different nationalities over the weekend. I didn’t feel quite as out of place as I did back when I was in England where I felt I stuck out like a sore thumb among the Caucasians. People here seem generally nice and friendly, and I always like being in a place where language is not an obstacle in communication.
I also made a trip down to Boston’s Chinatown and it seems that most of the Chinese owned shops there are by Cantonese people. Most of the Chinese food sold there are more of Hong Kong styled food. I’ll probably give them a try later, after I come back from my trip to Florida’s Disneyworld.
Away from Singapore
Dec 13th
I’m currently typing this in Detroit airport. I’ll be traveling in USA for a month so I’m not quite sure how updates will be like but I’ll try to update as often as I can.
Honesty is the best policy
Dec 9th
I remember reading PM Lee Hsien Loong saying recently that many people all around the world are clamouring for change (and the biggest example is obviously the election of Barack Obama as the next American president) and that in Singapore, there has to be change too, with the only difference being that the change has to come from within the PAP.
I am not going to quibble about how possible it is to actually change from within because that is flogging a dead horse. I think change from within is a far-fetched idea, if not an outright fantasy, and I don’t think I have to explain why. However, for the sake of discussion, let’s give the PM the benefit of doubt and assume he’s serious about change.
If he’s serious about change, the number one change he should enact is not to go easy on other parties. I do agree completely that it is not the job of the dominant political party to help other political parties win votes. That said, it is also not the job of the dominant political party make the playing less fair for other parties but this is a topic for another day.
The number one change I want is strong public record laws. If public monies are involved in any activity of the government, the law should ensure that the records of these activities are publicly available. If the PAP-led government is indeed upright, non-corrupt and have nothing to hide, I think strong public record laws should be the cornerstone of the PAP’s governance. After all, as the Chinese saying goes, real gold fears no fire. I am not inclined to believe in verbal assurances of an upright government; I want to be able to examine evidence.
Therefore, it disturbs me greatly to read The Online Citizen’s report on how an MP instructed his town council manager not to release more information regarding the town council’s investments. I can accept that investments carry risks and that profit and loss is part and parcel of investing. I’m not bothered by the millions in investment losses. What truly bothers me is the denial of more information regarding the use of public monies by, of all people, a Member of Parliament who’s supposed to represent the interests of his constituents.
I believe that honesty is the best policy and people will forgive honest mistakes. Being less than forthcoming, however, upsets people and will eventually alienate supporters. By then, change will not come from within, like it or not.
Beware overnight coaches to Malaysia
Dec 8th
I came back this morning from Malaysia on an overnight coach from Perak after attending a friend’s wedding there. I came back safely but if you read the news, you will know that a coach traveling towards Singapore from Perak crashed the day before, killing nine people. And, among the dead was a guest, a 26 year-old doctor, at the same wedding I attended.
It seems that overnight coach drivers have a propensity to be reckless. I was fast asleep on my way to Perak but my friend who was beside me told me the coach driver was going as fast as cars on the North-South highway (that means at least 110km per hour). Of course, anecdotal evidence cannot be generalized but when one combines reckless speeding with poor visibility at night (and now, the rainy season), the recipe for disaster is complete.
I guess taking a day coach would at least eliminate the visibility factors for potential accidents. My friends and I got the news when we were still in Perak and it was mega dampener on our mood. I cannot imagine how my two friends who got married felt. This is perhaps the last time I’m going to sit on an overnight coach to Malaysia.
Hijacking a country
Dec 4th
What the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) did in Bangkok last week was simply appalling, even by my liberal standards of democracy and human rights. I am all for freedom of speech and even civil disobedience, provided the situation warrants it, but to take a country hostage by seizing airports and disrupting the lives of millions of other people needlessly is simply inexcusable.
To me, the PAD is like the bands of Somali pirates that hijack ships, or even the group of terrorists that attacked Mumbai. Of course, the parallels might appear extreme to some. After all, the PAD didn’t seek to kill anyone or create massive chaos. However, by virtue of their actions, the PAD has effectively disrupted the livelihoods of millions of other Thais, and if you are a poor Thai who depends on tourirst dollars to survive, you are basically handed a slow death. The PAD didn’t take away lives directly but I think the torment inflicted on many Thais in terms of earning a livelihood is going to last a while, and I don’t think that is much better than what Mumbai suffered.
Putting aside my rants, this episode demonstrates to me the pitfalls of a democracy that is unable to check itself. For a week, I was actually a little grateful living in a country with draconian laws on assembly. At the very least, Changi Airport isn’t going to get hijacked by a bunch of people seeking to force their wills on others. I still dislike the restrictions placed on demonstrations in Singapore, despite the relaxation on rules this year, but at least for now, I appreciate the necessity of regulating protests and demonstration to avoid such political hijacking.
I think the political liberal in me has taken a small step to the right.
Brands’ Singapore-Malaysia blogger challenge
Dec 3rd
As part of my new year resolution (I know it’s not 2009 yet but I’m trying to keep the momentum), I’m going to make a second post in a single day.
Some of you might know that Brands, most famous for their chicken essence, organised a Singapore-Malaysia blogger challenge today, the first of its kind (or at least, it’s the first I know of). Basically, it’s a competition between a team of 5 Singaporean bloggers and 5 Malaysian bloggers. Representing Singapore were Eastcoastlife, Mr Endoh, Wilfrid Wong, Sheylara and myself. Malaysia was represented by Red Mummy, Sultan Mufazzar, KY, Suanie and Capt’n Hook, who was standing in for Babe in the City – KL.
I got the invitation from Brands because Eastcoastlife recommended me. Prior to this, I’ve not been in contact with her and I was kinda wondering why she recommended me, especially when this blog has been in graveyard status for a while. I kinda put the thing on the back burner due to more pressing deadlines as a student and teacher but eventually, I said yes because I was assured it wasn’t anything too onerous (thankfully, they didn’t bluff me on this count).
So, I had been drinking a bottle of chicken essence every day for the past two weeks as part of the preparation for the challenge, along with trying out the set of puzzles Brands gave to the bloggers who were to take part in the challenge. I realised I suck at certain types of mental challenges, which thankfully my team mates today more than made up for. I was a little disappointed that logic type of questions weren’t featured, though. I guess those questions typically take much more time to solve so the organisers probably decided to go for questions involving memory, concentration and simple arithmetic.
In the end, Team Singapore won the challenge, but not by much. The final score was 47-54. I remarked to Endoh and Eastcoastlife’s husband (who was there with us) that it looked like a great 4D number. Let’s see if the number will be today’s 4D draw’s top prize. It certainly felt good to win the challenge but what was even better was to meet fellow bloggers and get to know more of the actual person behind the blog. I had a really great time chatting with Eastcoastlife, Endoh, Wilfrid and Sheylara. They are extremely easy-going, friendly, and more importantly, funny and humourous folks. I’m certainly glad to have the chance to meet them in person today.
It was also really cool to chat with the Malaysian bloggers too. Socio-political stuff is one of the things I dabble in on this blog so it was an eye-opener to hear from some of the Malaysian bloggers the situation for Malaysian bloggers who choose to dabble in socio-political topics in Malaysia. Of course, these bloggers are not exactly a good representation of Malaysian bloggers by academic standards but after talking to some of them, I get the sense that Singaporean socio-political bloggers have it really good compared to them.
I don’t have pictures because I didn’t bring a camera (it’s half-way round the globe in Massachusetts with my wife). Wilfrid, however, had this ultra professional digital SLR which he was constantly snapping pictures with, so I guess he’ll probably put up more pictures on his site once he gets the chance to sit down and download them from his SLR so check his site for pictures.
It’s now time for me to get back to work and I’ll try and post an entry on my thoughts about the Bangkok crisis in a couple of days. I consider myself to be a liberal in terms of my political views but what’s happening in Bangkok has made me revise my position a little, which I’ll talk about in my next entry.
This blog is not dead and neither am I
Dec 3rd
Don’t worry. My blog is still alive, and I am too. The reason why this blog hasn’t been updated in months is because of work. My blog activity has, for the past year, been pretty much seasonal. When the teaching semester starts in NUS, my blog activity tends to drop to zero as the semester progresses, and towards the end of the semester, my blog activity tends to pick up again.
I have a million things I want to write about but I’ve been putting them off because of various commitments and issues. I recognise this is not a good excuse, so one of my new year resolutions (it’s a little early, I know) is to commit myself to blogging at least once a week, if not more.
So, for those who have been checking my blog from time to time, I apologise for my virtual disappearance and I’m now back to more active blogging. 
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