Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
Comments, opinions and an occasional ramble
Is law enforcement necessarily the best method against unlicensed content?
Jan 13th
It was interesting to read this entry and this entry about how Odex, a company that owns a large majority of the licensed animation in Singapore will be cracking down on animation downloaders in Singapore.
Catching people is one way to solve the problem of illegal downloading (and probably the most straightforward), but it is not the only way. As technology improves, making it easier to share unlicensed content, shouldn’t regulation also improve to meet the challenges of technology instead of applying a blanket solution of catching people?
The best case in point would perhaps be iTunes. To date, more than two billion songs in digital formats have been downloaded from iTunes store. Each song cost approximately USD$1, and that means that $2 billion in sales have been registered. This amount of money would have been lost to pirates if there was no innovative reponse to the ease in which music can be easily ripped off CDs, digitised into files and posted online for download.
I hope that similarly, an innovative response will come from the Japanese animation industry with regards to fan-subbed animation. Currently, there are many fan-subbing groups that captures animation that is being aired in Japan, work out a translation, subtitle the captured animation and release it for download via peer to peer networks.
The chief reason why fan subbing groups exist is because global distribution of Japanese animation takes way too long. It takes months, if not years for licensed animation to reach places out of Japan. People always want the latest animation as fast as possible, and since distributors take so long to respond to demand, it is little wonder why fans resort to subbing the latest animation to release to other fans who do not understand Japanese.
Actually, this need not necessarily be a bad thing for the animation companies. While fan-subbing can threaten the bottomline of animation companies, there can be ways to overcome the issue without having to resort to regulation. Since people like fan-subs for various reasons, such as speed and quality of the sub, why not make a business out of it?
All animation companies have to do is just to allow fans to purchase a license for the animation. An animation fan can choose to download one copy any fan-subbed animation, as long as the animation company is paid because the company is the rightful owner and creator of the animation series. The company just have to issue an official letter/email bearing the name of the purchaser of the license and authorising the person to own one copy of fan-subbed animation.
This way, fan-subbing groups can continue to do what they like, which is to bring quality subbed animation to other fans while animation companies don’t lose revenue. The fan subbing groups are not interested in making money (aside from getting enough to maintain their peer to peer servers) and they often encourage those who download their subbed animation to buy the original animation when it is available. I’m pretty sure that the fan subbing groups will support a scheme that allows them to continue subbing, and yet ensure that animation companies get paid money to produce even more animation.
I don’t see any possible disadvantage for animation companies with such a scheme. They don’t need to put in any effort on their part to produce the fan-sub; they just sit there and collect the money. And, the price for each animation series can be lower since there’s no distribution/middleman cost involved in such an arrangement as well. The savings can be passed on directly to consumers. Of course, quality-wise, fan-subbed animation might not be as good as DVD versions. Animation companies can ship seperate DVD boxes for the hardcore fans who care about quality at a later date for these people to collect.
Of course, whether animation companies are willing to give it a shot is another matter altogether.
Back but sick
Jan 12th
I can’t do a long post because I have a terrible cold. It started with a sore throat in the second last day in Bangkok, mild flu on the last day, and now, a flu blown cold.
A quick update on Bangkok: it’s perfectly normal. Save for some policemen standing at the entrance of their underground train station asking to look into big bags, there was nothing that wasn’t too normal. It’s still the same busy Bangkok, with the tuk tuks speeding around, farangs (Thai word for foreigners) in tow their female companions and street stall owners hawking their wares to just about anyone else.
I must say that Dec/Jan is a good time to visit Bangkok. I never remembered roaming the streets of Bangkok without sweating. I don’t think I want to visit Bangkok during the mid year ever again.
Overall, it has been a good trip. I am the kind of traveller who likes to travel on a budget, so this trip was pretty good in terms of the amount of money spent. Airfare and hotel stay came up to about $218 for 4 days 3 nights. I’m pretty pleased to be able to save on airfare and hotel to splurge on CNY shopping.
Alright, I need to rest.
Off to Bangkok
Jan 6th
I’ll be flying into Bangkok this weekend and won’t be back till Wednesday night, so there’ll be no further updates from me until Thursday earliest. I’ll bring back some first hand reports of Bangkok one week after the bombings, although I doubt there would be anything much to report. I would think that life has returned back to normal.
Until my next post. Ciao.
What constitutes a “clean” government?
Jan 4th
I think by large, the Singapore government is relatively clean and uncorrupt. However, before government leaders start boasting about how clean and uncorrupt they are, they should really leave no room for doubt. This includes being upfront about everything. The revisiting of the issue of HDB subsidies is a good case in point.
The issue of HDB subsidies have captured the attention of Singaporeans when it was exposed in 2004 by a Singaporean who reviewed HDB building contracts. He found that a brand new 5-room flat that HDB sells for $200,000 cost the building contractor only $50,000. Calls have been made every now and then for HDB to release all information regarding HDB subsidies to the public. From what I know, HDB has been dodging the issue. This gives the impression that the information is secret and should not be divulged.
Of course, secrecy and corruption are two different matters. However, keeping things secret does not necessarily mean there is no wrong-doing. Knowing the truth but choosing not to say it can be considered a form of obstruction of justice, which is punishable by law. Of course, I’m not suggesting that the HDB or the government is guilty of some wrong-doing and intentionally hiding it. The point is that maintaining secrecy can be wrong, and sometimes, it can be as bad for reputation as blatant corruption.
After all, if everything has been done in accordance with the law as well as societal definition of morals and integrity, why should the issue be dodged? Why do we want to give the impression that there might be something fishy going on by being so secretive? I don’t think HDB subsidy have any justification in being secret. If we’re talking about Ministry of Defence or Ministry of Home Affairs, perhaps there’s a case for secrecy in the name of national security. However, I don’t think information on HDB subsidy when given out will compromise national security (I could be wrong, though).
Ultimately, I think what constitutes is clean government is not just having low published numbers of corrupt individuals. What I think truly constitutes a clean government should also include the removal of any possible doubt of corruption. This entails candidness in making information public. All public organisations should make all their information public, except for that relating to national security. Perhaps it’s time for Singaporeans to start requesting for public access laws.
There’s no point in one saying, “I’m have been an honest man all my life” when the very same person refuses to reply yes or no to the question, “Have you ever told a lie before for any reason?”
The HDB Pandora Box
Jan 3rd
Mr Leong Sze Hian, a prominent financial advisor recently wrote to the Straits Times to ask the HDB to come clean on the question of HDB subsidy once and for all. The letter, which may also be accessed here, is reproduced below:
I REFER to Mr Viktor Ye Kok Kheong’s letter, ‘Did HDB land pricing use Raffles Place as rule?’ (ST, Jan 1).
The Housing Board said that ‘HDB does not reveal the land and construction costs of specific projects as they vary from location to location… That is why it incurs an overall deficit each year for its home-ownership activity, as reflected in its annual accounts which is available publicly’.
The reason given for not revealing the land and construction costs is somewhat illogical, because the HDB is not being asked to disclose the costs of every project or location. Why not just reveal the breakdown of total costs, and a few examples of some projects and locations, now and in the past?
What the HDB is saying is akin to ‘since we cannot tell you each and every item, we won’t tell you anything at all’.
Every once in a while, the question of the cost and pricing of HDB flats comes up in the media. So, why not put a stop to the on-going speculation that HDB flats are not really subsidised?
In the interest of maintaining Singapore’s reputation of having the highest standards of transparency and corporate governance, the HDB should keep up with the standards of disclosure in the private sector.
To illustrate the point of transparency, no real-estate investment trust or publicly-listed company would be able to give the reason given by the HDB for not breaking down the information on the major cost components in its accounting statements.
How can we tell whether HDB prices are ‘at market price’ without a breakdown of the land and construction costs for comparison purposes?
As to the market price for land taking into account the ‘substantial resources… invested to provide major infrastructure, such as roads, MRT, sewers and utilities, for the new housing development’, thus significantly enhancing the land value beyond the acquisition costs incurred by the Government, aren’t the billions collected every year from road tax, electronic road pricing, property tax, 30 per cent water- conservation tax, etc, supposed to be used to provide such infrastructure?
Actually, this issue has been brought up on the public agenda countless times. In 2004, someone wrote into the Straits Times questioning why were brand-new 5 room HDB priced at $200,000 each when a simple calcuation from the building contracts showed that the cost of construction was only $50,000. Given that HDB is under the Ministry of National Development, which is part of the government, and that the government owns all land in Singapore, the land which HDB builds on is technically free of charge. For a more in-depth discussion on the issue, here’s the SG Review link to read up on.
To add my little 2 cents to the conspiracy theory posted at SG Review, pricing new HDB flats as high as possible is profitable for HDB in another way. Most first time buyers will take a concessionary loan from the HDB. Imagine someone takes $150,000 loan form the HDB for the first flat to be paid off over 20 years. At the end of the 20 years, HDB would have earned $42,000 in interest. If only $50,000 loan were to be taken to buy the flat, HDB will only earn $14,000 in interest.
I cannot conclusively say that HDB is indeed profiting heavily for every new flat sold. However, I think any reasonable person, short of more information, will probably come to the conclusion that HDB is profiting pretty heftily for every new HDB flat sold. If HDB is indeed profiting, they are not going to come clean on their accounts for three main reasons.
1. It’s political suicide. As it stands now, the little bits of information that the public can gather is already causing unhappiness. Imagine if the HDB admits that they sold every HDB flat for a hefty profit. Singaporeans will definitely bay for the government’s blood.
2. It’s a housing market nightmare. If the HDB comes clean, they will have to sell flats at nett price due to public pressure. The HDB flat resale market will just go bonkers. The current value of HDB flats are going to come crashing down. Indirectly, this is also a form of political suicide.
3. Who wants to kill the chicken that lays golden eggs?
I’m not sure how the HDB is going to respond to this. Let’s wait and see. I’ve a feeling that they’re going to either ignore or dodge the issue because if there’s an aftermath, it’s one that will not be easy to clean up. I’m suspicious, but until there’s more evidence to prove otherwise, I’m going to adopt an innocent unless proven guilty stand. Let’s hope that HDB will be willing to provide accurate figures once and for all.
New Year observations
Jan 1st
I went out to Marina to watch the fireworks last night. It was generally a nice night, except for the fact that there was so many people out.
What really concerned me was how packed City Link Mall was. I had steamboat dinner at Marina South before I took a train over to City Hall MRT. I decided to walk down City Link Mall towards Marina Square, and the huge human jam at the junction of CityLink which leads to the Esplanade and Marina Square (near the Adidas store).
The human jam was not the problem. The problem was that it was very hot and stuffy. It seems as though the air-conditioning system was not even turned on. Being an underground mall with no natural ventilation, I was quite surprised that it got so hot and stuffy. I mean, the CityLink Mall folks should have anticipated that the underpass would be jam packed with people, and that they should turn on their air-conditioning sytem to the max. I cannot imagine if some people fainted due to the stuffy conditions.
The fireworks display was pretty nice, although I think the reason why we Singaporeans are so enamoured with fireworks is simply because we cannot purchase pyrotechnics off the shelf. So, the authorities have to do it on our behalf at festive occassions. On my way back, I saw a black man (I’m not sure of his nationality; he could be an Indian or Bagladeshi) lying on a busy street near One Raffles Place. I wanted to look for some security personnel, but there were none around, even after walking for 100 metres. Another passer-by had checked and made sure the guy was breathing, so he’s probably just dead drunk, although I wonder how did he ended up alone on the street. Usually, foreign workers go out in groups, so where were his friends?
The other observation was that the streets were gridlocked after 12, especially near the Suntec/One Raffles Place area. The traffic police looked as hapless as the frustrated drivers. I do wonder that with the relative lack of security personnel to manage the huge crowds of people, if something drastic happens, can they cope? It’s probably one of the toughest jobs to manage such huge crowds, but I think more could have been done.
Seasons Greetings
Dec 23rd
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. To bring the festivities onto the web, I’ve decided to let snow fall on my blog for this period! I’m probably going to take a break until the New Year, so happy holidays everyone!
Before I go, here’s my Christmas wish this year.
I wish that people all around the world will stop fighting and killing each other. No one can come to an agreement on who is right and who is wrong, that is why they fight. But, I am sure they can come to an agreement that fighting and killing each other only brings sadness and grief to the families of those who are killed. Let’s all sit down and argue it out. There’s nothing sadder than a child without a father, or a husband without a wife because people rather kill each other than to talk. May there be peace to the world in 2007.
CAP de-mystified
Dec 22nd
The computation of the CAP is something that’s not very difficult, but yet not very easy as well. Some friends of mine took a few semesters to understand how it works. In fact, it is imperative to understand how the CAP works right from the very beginning of your study in NUS. The reason is because the CAP system is very unforgiving to those who did badly at the start of their university life.
The computation of CAP is done like this. First off, you need to know how many modular credits your module is worth. The typical module is worth 4 credits, but there are others that are worth less. The next thing to know is the grade you get for the module. Each grade is worth a certain number of points. See below:
A+/A 5.0
A- 4.5
B+ 4.0
B 3.5
B- 3.0
C+ 2.5
C 2.0
Assuming that you took 5 modules that are worth 4 credits each in this semester with the grades A+ A A- B+ B, the Average Point is computed as follows:
4 * 5.0 = 20
4 * 5.0 = 20
4 * 4.5 = 18
4 * 4.0 = 16
4 * 3.5 = 14
Total points = 20 + 20 + 18 + 16 + 14 = 88
Total credits = 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 20
Average point = 88 / 20 = 4.4
The CAP, as its name implies, is a cumulative of all the average point of all semesters taken to date. This is computed by adding up the total points for all semesters and dividing it by the total credits obtained in all semesters.
The problem with this system is that it punishes those who did badly at the start of their university life. Let’s consider another hypothetical CAP scenario that’s very different from the previous one. Assume that someone obtained the following grades in their first semester: B B- B- C+ C+
4 * 3.5 = 14
4 * 3.0 = 12
4 * 3.0 = 12
4 * 2.5 = 10
4 * 2.5 = 10
Total points = 14 + 12 + 12 +10 + 10 = 58
Total credits = 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 20
Average point = 2.9
Now we have 2 scenarios, one with an initial average point of 4.4 and the other with an initial average point of 2.9. Let’s assume now that in both cases, the next semester’s results are 5 B+ with each module worth 4 credits.
Case 1 (second semester)
First semester total points: 88
Second semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 168 / 40 = 4.2
Notice a drop of 0.2 from the first semester.
Case 2 (second semester)
First semester total points: 58
Second semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 138 / 40 = 3.45
Notice an increase of 0.55 from first semester.
Now, let us continue into the 3rd semester, once again, with results being 5 B+ and each module is worth 4 credits.
Case 1 (third semester)
First semester total points: 88
Second semester total points: 80
Third semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
Third semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 248 / 60 = 4.13
Notice a drop of 0.07 from the second semester.
Case 2 (second semester)
First semester total points: 58
Second semester total points: 80
Third semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
Third semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 218 / 60 = 3.63
Notice an increase of 0.18 from second semester.
To make the illustration even clearer, let us consider one more semester, with the same assumption of 5 B+ and each module is worth 4 credits.
Case 1 (fourth semester)
First semester total points: 88
Second semester total points: 80
Third semester total points: 80
Fourth semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
Third semester credits: 20
Fourth semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 328 / 80 = 4.1
Notice a drop of 0.03 from the third semester.
Case 2 (second semester)
First semester total points: 58
Second semester total points: 80
Third semester total points: 80
Fourth semester total points: 80
First semester credits: 20
Second semester credits: 20
Third semester credits: 20
Fourth semester credits: 20
CAP = Sum of total points for all semesters / sum of total credits = 298 / 80 = 3.73
Notice an increase of 0.1 from third semester.
I think it should be very clear by now that as more semesters pass by, the impact of the results of the later semesters drops correspondingly. If you want to play catch up in the later semesters, you need to score no less than all As to compensate for the “decreasing returns” to your CAP. Alternatively, you can strive for a CAP as close to perfect as possible in your first few semesters and relax a little in the later semesters, letting the “decreasing returns” work in your favour because the impact of any drop in CAP gets lesser and lesser.
I’m not sure if this is the perfect system, but it is the system and to survive, one needs to know the system in order to beat the system.
A feather in the CAP
Dec 21st
I had coffee with a couple of the writers of the SingaporeAngle team a couple of days ago, and one of the topics that came up was student obsession with CAP. For the uninitiated, CAP stands for cumulative average point, which is the NUS version of the GPA (grade point average) that is widely used in the United States. The only difference is that CAP is measured on a scale of 5, while GPA is measured on a scale of 4.
The usual suspect for such a phenonmen of obsession with CAP is the grade obssessed culture of Singaporeans. From pre-school until university, parents are forever comparing grades, and perhaps such constant comparisons have subconsciously programmed into the younger generation of Singaporeans that grades are everything.
That aside, I volunteered a more practical reason for the obsession with CAP. My opinion is that the obsession is because of the civil service. The civil service employs alot of graduates, and it’s the single largest employer in Singapore. Given the abundance of job opportunities that the civil service offers, it is only natural that many undergraduates are obsessed about getting a good CAP score because the starting salary is dependent on the class of degree that one obtains. Below are are two links illustrating my point.
http://www.spf.gov.sg/career/enforce/enforce_salary.htm
http://www.scdf.gov.sg/Job_Seekers/SO/salary.html
The other civil service organisations did not break down their salary scale so explicitly, choosing instead to state the range of salaries for degree holders without specifying how the graduate’s exact starting pay will be determined. The pay structure of the various agencies in the Civil Service can’t be too different, so I’m quite sure the determinants of starting pay in other government agencies probably isn’t too different from the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defense Force.
I suspect that many students are CAP obsessed simply for the reason of being pragmatic. It doesn’t hurt to try for a good CAP score. The private sector generally doesn’t bother about the class of degree. As long as you have a degree, that’s fine. There isn’t such a marked discrimination on pay based on the class of degree obtained. For the undergraduate, having a good CAP, and correspondingly, a good class of degree will open up doors to both the private and public sector. Even if the graduate does not join the private sector, he/she will get a good pay with a good degree in the public sector.
Unless the civil service changes such that there isn’t such a marked discrimination on starting salaries based on the class of degree, student obsession with CAP is probably unavoidable.
Illegal wireless access: Guilty of abetment?
Dec 20th
Dr Huang had this very interesting entry on the recent case of a 17-year old who tapped on his neighbour’s wireless network and was charged in court for the act.
In Dr Huang’s view, the 17 year-old, Gary, was extremely resourceful. He is also of the view that since Gary did not forcefully enter the wireless network, nor attained access by means of fraud, it’s not exactly his fault.
I’m no lawyer, but I think that the moment you appropriate something that does not legally belong to you, or that you have not legally gained permission to appropriate something that does not legally belong to you, it is a crime. The means of obtaining the thing does not matter at all. The crux of the issue is that something that does not legally belong to Gary has been appropriated without permission.
Perhaps the neighbour was extreme in reporting a 17 year-old kid to the police, but that’s another issue altogether. I sympthatise with the boy, and if I know the neighbour, I would probably have lectured that person for adopting such a merciless stand towards a teenager who has yet to see the world. However, I wouldn’t say that the neighbour did something wrong.
Besides this, another thing that concerned me was Dr Huang’s analogy to the incident, which went:
“A man keeps the front door of his house open, and through this door daily flies out wads and wads of dollar notes for no conceivable reason. The man makes no attempt to close the door and his neighbours had been walking past to pick up the notes from day One.
On the 2,345th day, Gary walks by and picks up a two-dollar note. Some nosy guy then stops him and calls the police. Gary gets to see the judge and then gets the slammer?
The person who let the dollar notes out for the previous 2344 day is not guilty of abetting this ‘hideous’ crime?”
Since Dr Huang supports this analogy, I can extrapolate his belief and assume that that he probably supports a similar analogy of Australian muslim cleric Sheik Taj Al-Din Al-Hilali when Al-Hilali was quoted a couple of weeks ago implying that it would be the fault of an unveiled woman if she were raped, because the lack of covering would tempt men:
“If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street or in the garden or in the park or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it, whose fault is it-the cats’ or the uncovered meat?”
So, a woman who dresses skimpily and gets raped by a man should equally be punished by the law for “abetting” the man through temptation?
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