Learning Mandarin as a foreign language

I notice that kids tend to speak Mandarin with an 'ang moh accent'. One of my friends said the 'ang moh accent' had come naturally to her kids.

I think it's probably due (i) having learnt English before and/or more than Mandarin, and (ii) mixing with and learning from schoolmates/friends/family who also speak Mandarin with an 'ang moh accent'. 

To these kids, Mandarin is a foreign language.

This phenomenon takes place in the adult world of (foreign) language-learning too. In my Korean class, we sort of figured that, at the end of the day, it's very possible that only people from our class would understand the weird Korean which we speak. Native Korean speakers are unlikely to be able to decipher what we are saying because of our weird accents and customised sentence structures. 

Through my Korean class, I've also come to appreciate that language is not something one can rote-learn on his own. 

Someone on TV, an child educator, recently commented that it's wishful thinking on the part of parents to send their kids for an hour or two of Mandarin lessons each week, and expect the kids to therefore be able speak and write in Mandarin confidently.

If you ask parents in such shoes, they will claim in defence, guilt, frustration and futility that 2 hours is better than none. Or that since you have no children of your own, you shouldn't be commenting on how they are bringing up theirs.

Emotions aside... Honestly, the solution is in fact very simple. However, because it is very tedious, the solution is unlikely gonna be popular. 

Regardless, here's solution anyway, i.e. for the parents to learn Mandarin TOGETHER with the kids.

Why should the kids be going on this tedious learning journey alone, while their parents wait for them in the cafe at the ground floor of the shopping centre?

Learn it together. Use it together. 

Create a Mandarin-speaking environment for your kids at home.

I think it'll be fun and will draw the family closer as a unit.

Left, Right, Centre!

Political ‘right’, ‘centre’, ‘progressive left’, ‘liberal’, 'English-educated liberal', 'Chinese leftists'... 

So many factions in Singapore these days...

And so confusing... Which political creature are you? What am I?

I thought PE2011 fractured Singaporeans into:

(1) (Right) - The Elite Adherers 
(2) (Centre) - The 'rebellious but not dangerous' Curry-demonstrators
(3) (Left) - The Angry Birds
(4) (Outer Space) - The Ingenuous
(5) (No space) - The Bochup

What are the (age) profiles of people in each group?
If a group has many older folks, chances are that group will shrink in the next 5 years. Need new injections!
From where? Import!!

Presidential Elections 2011: Afterthoughts

Through PE2011, I have learnt the following:


(A) I suck at predictions. 

Apart from getting right (i) the winner and (ii) how he is not gonna get a more than 50% majority vote, I got everything else wrong.

I need to trade in my current crystal ball for a more lucid one...


(B1) Appearing nice is more important than solving significant & fundamental problems.


(B2) Small everyday gestures are superior to complex nation-wide solutions. 

Actually, why should I be surprised?
(Voice in my head reminds me: You are just being stubborn again.)

Again and again, I've learnt B1 and B2 about audiences at work, in school, at play etc.

But I refuse to concede, coz that is just tragic.


(C) Giving Singaporeans more choices = A more divided Singapore

The votes-split is testament to this.
Given our tiny size, we have become a fragmented society.
65% of voters did not vote for the guy who's supposed to unite Singaporeans.

We are a fragmented people, with a fragmented next generation leadership. The second part is more worrying than the first.

I still can't understand why 3 RIs boys cannot get their act together to take down 1 SJI boy.

Yes. There are winners in this PE race.
Tony Tan is a big winner.
Tan Jee Say has also won big in his own right, and he can make use of this exposure to further his political ambitions.

But Singapore has lost. Big time. Singapore is the biggest loser in this race.

I don't know why I keep thinking about the story of 'the Last of the Mohicans', especially the skinning. But it's not the right analogy intuitively, coz the Mohicans (whoever was left) were very united when faced with enemies (in the end), and no one is gonna help us in our case.

Hmmm... Maybe that's why.


(D) Despite being fragmented, Singaporeans, as a voting collective, tried very hard not to spoil their votes.

1.76% of spoilt votes is a very good collective attempt.

Most people are trying to make a decision at their individual level.

Next step is to look beyond that and see the big picture before making that decision.

Some would say that we are making progress...
Let's just hope that we will see the big picture... in time.

Like Father, Like Daughter | Kin Lian & Su Ling

Tan Kin Lian's daughter, Tan Su ling, spoke at her father's rally last night.

Like father, like daughter. Sincere and Passionate.

One cannot help but to emotionally connect with what she is saying. I teared while listening to her.

 Here is an excerpt of her speech:

"During the Lehman Brother crisis, he single-handedly stood up to help defend the rights of ordinary citizens who lost their money.


No one stood up to help them.


My father had many friends when he was CEO of NTUC Income. Do you think he had a lot of friends when he stood up for the common people?


NO! He had no friends at that point. He was the lone voice in Hong Lim Park.


He spent several days and nights organising petitions to the relevant authorities, urging them to look into the mis-sellings. In the process, he stepped on many people's toes. 


Many of them his own friends, and even relatives.Some even questioned his motives for getting involved, but he refused to bow down to pressure and criticism because he felt that was the right thing to do."


We are not choosing an idol as our President, who is bigger, smoother, cooler, richer, better than us. Please shed that outdated 'fan - idol' mentality when electing leaders.

We are choosing someone who can empathise with us, the ordinary Singaporeans, and would do something about it. The President represents the People.

Tan Kin Lian is the only candidate who has been consistent in slogan and action, i.e. 'Voice of the People', way before he embarked on the Presidential Elections campaign.

Eh... HDB & PA! It's A Freaking Dumb Idea!

RE: Media Release on Use of Public Sites at Aljunied GRC : The Workers’ Party of Singapore

RE: HDB abusing its power as land owner, says WP

RE: HDB & PA respond to open spaces issue in Aljunied

Who in the Public Service Approved This?
While it is unsurprising that PA is in the picture, plugging failed MPs as GRO advisors and 'community uses approvers', it's simply disappointing that HDB refuses to play referee, and instead chooses to play alongside PA.

If you are familiar with the process, I'm sure more than a few officers in HDB (and even MND) were involved in this.

Did no one at any level raise the point that this approach is simply not right?

Or minimally have the basic decency, as a public service officer serving the people of Singapore, to highlight that this is a politically-sensitive issue, and, as such, that the relevant stakeholders, e.g. MPs of Aljunied GRC, ought to be contacted BEFORE the decision was finalised?

CEO of HDB is an Administrative Service Officer wor!
It's impossible for someone with such high CEP to overlook the sensitivity of this issue.

With glistening wistful eyes, I ask...
What has happened to HDB's mission of 'We promote the building of active and cohesive communities'?
Whatever has happened to the Civil Service's promise of 'Integrity, Service, Excellence'?

Or perhaps all the officers involved had painfully struggled with this difficult problem, but only to be superceded by the new Minister of National Development?

In the end, HDB publicly and clumsily stated this:

"Responding to media queries, the HDB said it adjusts its list of sites managed by a town council from time to time and this is based on legitimate requests from relevant agencies or civic organisations. 

 HDB said in this case, PA requested tenancy for the sites to organise community activities. The request was approved as PA had been using the sites frequently, added HDB."

What HDB is saying is plainly as follows:

(1) It's not us who decided to change the list of sites under Aljunied Town Council.

(2) It's PA.

(3) But PA has 'legitimate requests', that's why we approved it.

(4) In addition, we have one more justification that we have to let you know. It's also because that PA has been using those sites often, so it's ok for them to take over the sites.

What are 'legitimate requests'? Are requests from the incumbent MPs considered 'legitimate' too?

HDB must know that MPs in the GRC often use sites for residents' activities too. Did HDB ensure that Aljunied Town Council to have at least a few good sites ( in terms of size, location etc)?
In other words, how different are the HDB-approved  lists of sites for Aljunied Town Council, before and after GE2011?

Why weren't the key stakeholders of public sites within Aljunied GRC consulted on PA's request? Isn't it obvious that Aljunied Town Council and/or the MPs of Aljunied GRC are key stakeholders?

Come on, either someone made a mistake, or someone looked the other way. Which is it? Who is it?

**Update:

MND and PA released a joint statement on 24 Aug 2011. Same points as the above, but with an added justification, i.e. PA had to ask HDB for sites coz they couldn't get any from Hougang Town Council earlier. They were worried that the same would happen in Aljunied too. 

Eh... If this is one of the justifications submitted by PA to HDB in its application for the sites, it sounds like a major justification over say 'PA has been using those sites frequently', why didn't HDB mention it in its statement earlier? 
Coz everyone knows it's politically sensitive, so it's 'safer' to avoid talking about it.
Or perhaps one cannot be sure that this accusation of Hougang and/or worry about Aljunied is indeed true.

But nonetheless, just give the approval first, right?

Despite the joint statement, no one has explained why HDB/MND did not consult Aljunied Town Council and the attendant elected MPs BEFORE the approval was finalised and announced.


A Freaking Dumb Idea!

As for the people of local politics, I dunno which smart alec amongst you came up with this idea to hoard the key community sites within Aljunied GRC. 

Please be informed that it's just a truly freaking dumb idea. LOL!!

Maybe you really believe that holding events within any GRC really helps your political party to win votes, and as such, as much as possible, you wanna deprive WP of the opportunity of doing so.

Even so, aren't you losing sight of your objective? Shouldn't your first and foremost objective be to increase your own popularity?

Preventing WP from being present or holding events at these sites is neither (1) gonna make WP any less popular with the residents of Aljunied, nor (2) gonna make you any more popular.

In fact, it's gonna make you look exceptionally lousy!
E.g. The above-mentioned media release by WP has been posted and reposted in the local cyberspace by the thousands within a few hours.

Even if you don't believe that this is a really bad idea, what's up with the verbal intimidation of event organisers?!
That's simply... yet another a bad idea.

If these great ideas are from the top, it's so desperate that it's hilarious.

If these great idea are from the zealous middle/bottom, for Singapore's sake, get your zealots back in control!
It's embarrassing!

The Government doesn't owe anyone anything, Yes?

Public consultation is all the rage these days. It's one of the more real outcomes of GE2011. Suddenly, what 'you' think is in vogue, is 'interesting'.

I am gonna tell you a little story that arose amidst this new vogue.

Someone complained on Facebook about his experience as a stakeholder at a public consultation, conducted by a statutory board. He said the Director from the stat board basically put down suggestions raised during the session, and shoved his stat board's proposals down the throats of the stakeholders (mainly average and individual property owners, and not influential stakeholders such as large MNCs).

About a few weeks later, I hear that the Director reported to his stat board that the residents had acted as if 'the government owed them a living'.

It's an absurd situation where the conversation did take place. And that's all there is to it. The net satisfaction level for all takes a huge dip. I wonder how the report and the eventual press release will be drafted.

Nobody is happy. And lots of energy and emotions are wasted in the process.

Why is this so? Is it really true that the average member of public has excessively high expectations? How so? Who is thinking so?

Eh... Take a step back and think about the situation for a moment.

True public consultation is relatively new.
(Let's not pretend that previous efforts were open and 2-way dialogues). 

This means, members of public are not familiar with what to expect, and have their own definitions of its actual/desired objectives, processes, outcomes etc.

What's more significant is that those in senior positions, e.g. directors, are unlikely to have proven that they know how to conduct/manage a true public consultation session.

In fact, these public servants were probably promoted because they have demonstrated what's considered 'good performance in the earlier versions of public consultation'. 

However, if they repeat the same formula in today's context, they are not gonna get the job done. Neither are they gonna please anyone, not even their bosses.

In simple terms, their (public consultation) skills, if any, are outdated.
If they do not realise this and continue to apply the same formula to the new problem, then their attitudes and current-estimated-potentials (CEPs) are outdated too.

Remember: The government shouldn't owe you a living either.

.....................................................

Whether it's a public consultation, a social gathering, or a first-time conversation between two strangers, the key for all to walk away with a positive experience is always... sincerity and intelligence.

Can sincerity be learnt overnight?
Can interpersonal intelligence be acquired overnight or at Harvard?

I'll use a term they are familiar with. 'Paradigm shift', ok?

猫，有什么好抱的?!

离思五首（其四）~ 元稹

曾经沧海难为水， 除却巫山不是云。
取次花丛懒回顾， 半缘修道半缘君。

 =(((

Go Curry Favour Yourself Lah!

BM: Eh... The potential attendance for the SG Curry event has now gone past 50,000 leh. That's like 1% of SG population right?


X: Yah... That's like the attendance of an average Opposition rally.


BM: FWAH... So happening hor? It's like "Yeah! I got something to do this Saturday! It's rebellious but not dangerous!" I don't get this 'cook curry = solidarity' zeal. It's lame. Real solidarity is to stand up for fellow Singaporeans in situations such as (1), (2) etc ... I wonder how many will really cook a pot of curry.


X: A lot of them talk only lah!


BM: Guess what are we having for dinner?


X: Hmmm... I dunno. Not curry flavour one lah!


BM: Bak Kut Teh! With a solid brew of Chinese tea of course. Coolie food that nourished the bodies and souls of our hardcore migrant forefathers.


X: Ahhh... 맛있다! I also want Bak Kut Teh! Bak Kut Teh nicer.


BM: *starts singing the 雾锁南洋 theme song* 啊... 啊 啊 啊...

=_=

WAH... RAO... EHHHHH?!!
HOW STUPID IS THIS?!!

From the now-infamous Curry event's facebook page:

"Thanks for the invitation, 
but my sons are having swimming lesson. 

What time will the event be held until?"

How like that?! 还有得救吗?!

Singapore Presidential Elections 2011: An Idiot-Proof Guide

You may wish to click on the table to enlarge it, then print it for your less-informed family and friends, so that they minimally know who they are voting for on Sat, 27 Aug 2011.

* Popularity Pulse figures do not add up to 100%
as 2% has been set aside for spoilt votes. =)

Qn#1: Huh?! 3 RI boys cannot take down a single SJI boy? What's becoming of Singapore?!!
Ans: That's because the RI boys couldn't get their act together.


Qn#2: Why is this table so skimpy?
Ans: That's because this is the maximum amount of information most people can handle.


Qn#3: Will pictures of the 4 candidates be printed on the polling cards coz it's confusing that all 4 have the same surnames?
Ans: I dunno.
I asked my cleaning lady yesterday if she knew the names of all 4 candidates. She said no. She only knew them roughly as the following:

• '那个PAP的, 以前是部长的'
• '那个PAP的医生'
• '那个NTUC的'
• '那个反对党的'

O_o
Which part of those descriptions are gonna be printed on the polling card?

**Update** 
With the introduction of the candidate's logo, I will proceed to help my cleaning lady match each logo to her candidate descriptions when she comes by next week.
*****

Qn#4: Can you add 'religion' to the table, please?
Ans: Alright.

See you on Polling Day, Sat, 27 Aug 2011!!

Is 'Moral Collapse' a class-specific disease?

RE: TODAYonline | Hot News | Britain 'must reverse moral collapse'

That's the message that has been spewing out of the upper class in the UK, and even some stupid middle-class Singaporeans who are studying/residing in the UK.

So far, only Cameron is making some sense publicly.

"Moral decline and bad behaviour is not limited to a few of the poorest parts of our society. 

In the highest offices, the plushest boardrooms, the most influential jobs, we need to think about the example we are setting," Mr Cameron said.

But it's not gonna make him a popular politician, and he will be gone soon.

Still No Singaporeans FIRST

RE: Foreign-worker policies to be tightened - Channel NewsAsia

Erm... Just in case you thought PM Lee was announcing something new in his National Day Rally Speech 2011 with regards to foreign-workers polices, do be reminded that the raising of S-pass and Employment Pass (EP) minimum income thresholds was already announced prior to GE2011.

Total number of people in the entire world who can qualify to work in Singapore is many times of Singapore's population. Tweaking the filtering criteria a little is not gonna make much of a difference. It's an ocean bursting at its seams to flood our little ponding spot.

This tweaking will not reduce the number of foreigners working in Singapore significantly. However, the announcement of such tweakings may well pacify a few poorly-informed Singaporeans.

A policy change with real impact is imposing a QUOTA on the different foreigner employment passes and work permits. So far, there has been no suggestions in that direction. I guess there is no real will to reduce foreigner workers/talents significantly.

Only with a real QUOTA (with an attendant COE of sorts to distribute the quota), that firms will think twice before bringing in a foreigner. And in the process, the employer will take a second look at the Singaporean worker/talent.

And what we have been telling the world and our own people is true, why should we worry about not being attractive to the MNC/investors in this world economic climate? This is the best time to impose such restrictions. The world's best will still be headed our way.

Still No Singaporeans FIRST
Most significantly, despite PM Lee's claim that the government has always placed Singaporeans FIRST in their policy-making, the principle of Singaporeans FIRST has not been applied.

What PM Lee was trying allude to is that by making policies which affect Singaporeans, the government is practising 'Singaporeans FIRST'.

Erm... Making policies which affect Singaporeans is but the government's job, Sir.

So what then is this principle of 'Singaporeans FIRST' which has gain much traction with Singaporeans (political parties, netizens, Singaporean on the SBS bus, and even some government-linked entities) recently?

'Singaporeans FIRST' is a proposed employment policy that mandates that for any employment position to be filled, the employer has to fill it with a Singaporean, unless a better-qualified non-Singaporean has applied for it.

Read more about Singaporeans FIRST.

Without Singaporeans FIRST, even if 2,000 more Singaporeans make it to local universities, they will only be disappointed upon graduation.

Do remember that currently, 1/3 of our graduates, who have found jobs, are on contract basis. Meanwhile, fresh graduates foreigners are granted employment passes to compete with local fresh graduates. All things being equal, why shouldn't the Singaporean fresh graduate be given the job over the many many fresh graduate foreigners?

The Imperfect President Scholar(ship)

RE: No perfect score, but still a President's Scholar

President Scholar holds Imperfect Scores
Someone online is of the view that, by selecting someone with a less than perfect score as a President Scholar, Public Service Commission (PSC) is being unfair to those with perfect scores.

I'm thinking that the official response would be that there is NO QUOTA for the President Scholarship. Hence, if Aaron Koh was not awarded the President Scholarship, no other applicants were deemed good enough for it anyway.

President Scholar holds Imperfect Citizenship Status
Someone also asked why the President Scholarship had been given to the PRC girl, Xiao Yifei, who holds dual citizenship, i.e. PRC and Singapore, and has to decide to give up either by age of 21.

In other words, some may argue that if she were to decide to retain her PRC nationality at age of 21 and that her President Scholarship was revoked, the President Scholarship would have been wasted on her. A pure-bred Singaporean applicant could have benefited as a President Scholar instead.

However, the same official response could be applied to this situation, i.e. there is NO QUOTA for President Scholarship. Hence, if Xiao Yifei was not awarded the President Scholarship, no other applicants in the same batch would have been good enough for it anyway.

(Im)perfect Scores are Good for the President Scholar(ship)
Someone else opined that it's a good thing that PSC was in fact considering applicants with a less than perfect score. That PSC had considered this applicant's other achievements such as captain of high jump club.

My take is that a perfect score is not the best proxy for anything, but only the candidate's ability to get a perfect score in school again and again. At A levels, at SATs, at undergrad, at postgrad etc.

Life and work are, unfortunately, not laid out in an examination format. Too many variables. No right answers. Hence, a perfect score does not ensure that one can perform in life/work. Similarly, an imperfect score does not mean that one can perform in life/work.

With regards to the obsession with ECA/leadership records, what has being the captain of the high jump club got to do with being a President Scholar, i.e. future leader of the Singaporeans? How many people are there in a high jump club for the leader to lead? How complex is it to 'lead' in a high jump club, as opposed to say 'forming your own band/DOTA clan' or 'helping your dad with his stall after school' or 'taking care of your grandmother with Alzheimer's'?

The rationale of the selection criteria is that by consistently achieving perfect scores and ECA records, one demonstrates that he is able to (i) persevere and (ii) deliver when required (e.g. during exams). Sounds convincing eh?

But one could observe the same exact behaviour in say the fried kway teow man, who persevere at his stove for decades and is able to deliver the same preciously delicious plate of fried kway teow every time his customer places an order.

If one were to look closely at the fundamentals of the scholarship selection criteria, e.g. exceptional academic achievements, ECA records, community work records etc, one would realise that these are merely crude but easy proxies for its administrators.

What's more worrying is that such criteria emphasize that one has to be the best consistent worker, not one who can deal with sudden changes or a change in paradigm or be different.

Not saying it's not valuable being a consistent worker. It's highly valuable. But if all our leaders are selected as such, then we are in trouble.

Would Bill Gates have been good enough as President Scholar?
I love the Bill Gates example. He is a man of truly exceptional achievements in our time.

Bill Gates was never a grassroots leader, nor captain of  some computing club. He was a nerd who had been obsessed with his passion since he was a kid.

If Bill Gates was Singaporean and had applied for the President Scholarship when he was 18, he would have been rejected based on lack of leadership qualities. Probably encouraged to take up an A*Star, DSTA or Teaching scholarship instead.

But in real life, Bill Gates built (not inherit or take over) an empire based on his passion, and today leads as the world's richest and leader, not in terms of wealth, but in terms of what to do with his wealth so that it will benefit people. And not just Americans, but people of the world.

Bill Gates is a world leader.

What kind of half-a-day scholarship interview session, psychometric test etc can suss out such positive and eventual proclivities?
The process and desired outcomes do not tally.

Isn't it strange that the selection criteria/process remains largely the same after decades? I guess no major change means it has been working well for its designers afterall.

Presidential Elections 2011: More COEs, More Dilution

RE: Four presidential hopefuls given go-ahead to contest

This is the smartest move.
Granting 4 instead of 3 or 2 COEs.
Hence, diluting the non-TT votes to bits.

In the end, TT will win with a majority vote of 40%, coz the other 3 candidates and their respective voters cannot get their acts together as one big picture.

一盘散沙 vs 一道砖墙

Meaningless.
With such a 40%-win, Singapore is the biggest loser.
.........................................................

Over Facebook, a friend seems to be in hope that 2 of the Uncle Tans will drop out of the race by next Wed, 17 Aug 2011, so that it'll become a 2-way fight between TT and Uncle Tan X.

Erm... I don't have so much faith in mankind. But who knows?
Maybe I'll get a lovely surprise on 17 Aug, i.e. Nomination Day and my birthday?
Maybe Uncle TT will drop out instead?

Since you are here...

Do read up on: Unlocking the Value of National Service

Confirmed: Tin Pei Ling made False Declaration in her Election Form

You may have read the news reports on Police's investigation outcome on the comment made by 'Tin Pei Ling' on Tin Pei Ling's Facebook page during the Cooling-Off Day before GE2011.

In essence, Police has investigated and concluded that it was indeed Tin Pei Ling's friend who had accessed Tin Pei Ling's Facebook account and posted that comment. Tin Pei Ling's friend has since been given a warning by Police.

With that, it is now crystal clear that Tin Pei Ling made a FALSE DECLARATION in the Declaration of Election Advertising by Candidate form, where she stated that 'Tin Pei Ling' as the only moderator of her Facebook page. No mention of 'her friend' in the form.

Police has already done its part. It is now up to Elections Department to do its job. A job which Elections Department said it would do only after a police report had been filed.

Elections Department must take action against Tin Pei Ling as all pieces of above-mentioned information are now public knowledge.

Not only did Tin Pei Ling make a false declaration in her election form, she chose to give someone of such pathetic calibre full access to her key campaigning tool during GE2011. Does she take the General Election seriously at all? Or is she daft?

I don't see how anyone, including Elections Department, Prime Minister's Office, and even members of the PAP, can pretend that nothing of the above has happened.

There is a limit to how much apathy and 'acting blur' the public can tolerate with regards to this issue. People are damn JYET about this oredi.

Let's call a (kate) spade a (kate) spade, eh?

Since you are here...
Do read up on: Unlocking the Value of National Service

National Curry Day & Patriotic Thoughts

After reading this article on how a PRC couple told their Indian Singaporean neighbours not to cook curry in their HDB flat because the former could not stand the smell of curry, someone started a Facebook page titled 'National Curry Day'.

This person wrote in the introduction of National Curry Day:

"This is our home and we shouldn't have to change the way we live for anybody or anything.

[Link to the article above]

Whether you have fish head curry, kari ayam, curry devil, curry katsu, dhal or some generic oily liquid that comes with prata, let's celebrate something that brings us all together."

Read the article and ask.
Why should the mediator get 'the Indian family to agree to cook curry only when the Chinese family was not home'?
Just because there had been a complaint? Coz mediators are amoral?

Can you move to South Korea and ask South Koreans not to make kimchi coz you think fermented cabbage is smelly and disgusting?

Can you move to Taiwan and ask Taiwanese not to make/sell smelly tofu?

Can you move anywhere else in the world and tell the locals to change themselves to suit you?
Only if you are trying to colonise the place, right?


I've asked a similar question earlier:

For every single time our leaders ask and remind us Singaporeans not to be negative towards foreigners and/or to welcome them with open arms, 

who's reminding the foreigners of the same?

Remember this 1987 patriotic song called We are Singapore (written by Ang Mohs, no less)?
It's my favourite.

There was a time when people said that Singapore won't make it, but we did
There was a time when troubles seemed too much for us to take, but we did
We built a nation, strong and free, reaching out together
For peace and harmony

This is my country, this is my flag
This is my future, this is my life
This is my family, these are my friends
We are Singapore, Singaporeans

It seems the relationship between our leaders and us is such that 共患难容易，共富贵难, i.e. we could see and support one another through troubled times, but we are unable to share times of wealth and prosperity.

After half a century, we have made it as one of the wealthiest cities in the world. But we don't fly the Singapore flag on National Day as much anymore.

This is not right. Something broke down along the way.

Shin Yeh 欣叶 (Singapore)

Just to make the comparison, we had lunch at Shin Yeh (Singapore) at Liang Court over the weekend.

This establishment was opened in 2008 by the Tunglok Group. Its clean and bright environment, and central location are ideal for family lunches on a lazy weekend.

We sat by the floor to ceiling glass window with a 2nd-floor view of the Singapore River and Clarke Quay.

Going through the menu, we think it's only somewhat similar to that of Shin Yeh in Sinyi District, Taipei.

We decided to order the fatty pork coz we had it in Taipei.

However, if you remember (or refer to the earlier Taipei blog entry), the Singapore version neither looks nor tastes similar to the Taipei version.

The Taipei version was lighter and more succulent. The soya sauce also tasted different.

The Singaporean version tasted very 'local-hokkien', if you know what I mean. Rather heavy-handed. Much like the typical braised fatty pork one gets from local stalls.

Tried to order the clams with ginger, but they had run out of clams. So we ordered something else from the sea. Steamed fish.

This turned out to be disappointing. The fish was overcooked, and the sauce/mushroom thing on top was unmemorable.

I love this. Mustard 芥菜. Crunchy with a slight bitterness. They obviously gave it a very good scrub before serving.

We also ordered this in Taipei, but it tasted so much better. The Singaporean version looks 'holey' and lacks the chewiness.

The only 'dish' the Singaporean Shin Yeh has managed to reproduce well is this muah chee dusted with peanut powder, which is complimentary and a signature of Shin Yeh.

Don't get us wrong. It's a very decent meal. But it's just not the same as the one we had in Taipei.
我想，只有在台北才可以吃到台北的味道。

Where is Blinky?

I think he is trying to hide from  us... A 90% attempt.

Unlocking the Value of National Service

All the rhetoric about locals vs foreigners, rising housing prices, transport prices, unhappiness over P1 registration, how locals girls are too uppity to glance at local men, how local men are unattractive, falling marriage rate, falling birthrate, how NS is a waste of time...

Let's solve it once and for all...
And the solution is to unlock the value of National Service (NS).

Huh? WTF is she talking about??? Has she gone more mad than usual?


Come on! 跟我来!
Let's unlock the value of NS in the following 3 key areas:

Housing - As long as 1 owner has served full-term NS, this ORD-ed Singaporean will enjoy a preferential package of property tax, stamp duties, loan quantum, queue priority (public housing) etc, when buying/selling a property for his own use (not as investment). This policy applies for life, i.e. if he sells his home, then buys another for his own use (not for investment), he will enjoy the benefits again.

Transport - The ORD-ed Singaporean to enjoy preferential public transport rates, separate COE bidding quota/subsidy (limited to non-luxury COE category and for 1 vehicle - his own use only) etc.

Education - The ORD-ed Singaporean and his child(ren) to enjoy priority balloting, highest fee subsidy quantum for all levels of education in Singapore etc.

With the above, the value of the Singapore Male, who has ORDed or is gonna ORD, will shoot through the hardened concrete roof in the eyes of any females, especially of the Singaporean Female.

This scheme translates the value of NS into hundreds of thousands of ... and even... millions of dollars.

Quite clearly, Barbarella and her SPG BFFs will, for the first time in their life, realise how sexy the Singaporean Male in (green) uniform really is, coz he can provide.

好 MAN 啊！

For feminist female Singaporeans, they can opt into this scheme to enjoy its benefits by volunteering for NS.

The objective is, once you have invested in this country, we will make sure you will benefit from it and reinvest more in the process of benefiting.
It's a WIN-WIN.

五月天追夢3DNA

I'm not gonna nurse any hopes about the story line... '3DNA' is way too cheesy...

Regardless, I'm just gonna go watch this in Sep with the expectation of it being a super long Mayday MTV.

I wonder if any of the hokkien songs made it to the big screen... coz the film sounds very PRC.

Regardless, Monkey 还我!!

IPS Forum on The Roles, Responsibilities and Power of the Elected President

Attended the IPS Forum on The Roles, Responsibilities and Power of the Elected President yesterday. You can read about the forum in today's papers. The coverage is not 100% though. 

There were 3 speakers, K Shanmugam (Minister of Law & Foreign Affairs), Tommy Koh (Special Adviser to IPS), and Thio Li-Ann (Faculty of Law, NUS).

It started with presentations by the 3 speakers.

Apart from the content of their presentation, what struck me most were the following:

(A) Average age of the forum attendees was at least 45 years old
Unlike the earlier IPS forum on What Youth Want, this forum was attended by many old(er) people. The average age of the What Youth Want attendees was probably around early 30s.

I'm sure IPS sent out the email invites to a similar bunch of people for both forums.

The profile of the attendees is somewhat representative of the level and type of interest in the topic held by Singaporeans as a a whole.

(B) Lack of understanding of what the Elected President can/cannot do under the Constitution
Compounded by (A), it is safe to extrapolate that if one votes for the President in hope that he will be able to be an opposition voice, one is going to be disappointed.

This disappointment will in turn create and/or add to the rising unhappiness.

This situation is created by 2 parties unable to communicate fully on this issue. Avoiding efforts to communicate, while holding onto desire to feel angry with each other.

(C) In his official capacity, the President is NOT allowed to affect the direction of progress publicly.
What the Presidency is designed to do, is clearly outlined.

E.g. the President can block attempts by the government of the day to draw down past reserves it did not accumulate.
However, this does not mean that the President can voice his opinion on how the reserves are managed.

In other words, there are clear and few 'green-light areas/things' which the President 'can do'. Then there are the 'negative areas' which are not spelled out clearly. These areas range from the grey to the pitch black vortexes.

To me, it is not clear what will happen to a President if he attempts to muck around in the 'negative areas'.

Regardless, what's clear is that if the President feels strongly about an issue with the 'negative areas', he can do so by speaking to the Prime Minister in confidence.

(It seems it is also inappropriate for the President to highlight publicly that he had spoken to the PM about XYZ issue, without revealing the discussion details.)

Alternatively, he can raise issues publicly, but only in his personal capacity, AFTER he steps down from his role as President. E.g. If he has certain 'star power', he can use it to raise public awareness on issues.

Can a former President or Presidential candidate run as a Member of Parliament after his attempt at the Presidency?

The Singapore Flag Flyer

RE: TODAYonline | Voices | Patriotism: It's more than a flag

We also noticed that very few households are flying the Singapore flag during this period. Blocks with many neatly arranged flags are clearly works of their respective town councils.

I'm not gonna go deep into WHY there are fewer flags. There are too many possible causes. (E.g. Fewer Singaporeans staying in HDB flats coz flats are rented to foreigners, increase in general unhappiness, sale of flags not as actively promoted, flag-flying has become unfashionable etc.)

What I wish to point out is that while one may be unhappy with the government, ruling party, foreigners, screeching stray cats etc, one should still be proud of being a Singaporean. Coz the 'Stand Up for Singapore' Singaporeans are an endangered species which is likely to become extinct in just a few decades.

You can still choose to fly that flag to exhibit your SG pride. Do it. Why not? You still love this country!

Or go buy from the Hong Kong casual wear retailer, Giordano, that "I Y SG" T-shirt and wear it everywhere.

Or you can hang a cyber SG flag on your Facebook profile pic.

Or hang a life-size flag in a MRT train like this guy did.

The Singaporean Salt

RE: 100% home-grown Singaporean artist, Inch Chua, decides to leave Singapore | The Online Citizen

None of our biggest music stars made it because fellow Singaporeans had supported them in the first place.

Stephanie Sun made it because of the support given to her by the TAIWANESE market. Singaporeans lapped her music up as 'good' afterwards.

Inch Chua reminds me of Tanya Chua. Tanya Chua started out singing in English only within the local scene, but eventually had to change to singing in Mandarin, which shot her to Asian fame.

Critical mass aside, we Singaporeans are too insecure to be able to realise and appreciate what's sublime. Always waiting for other 'more progressive' cultures to point it out to us.

When will we ever grow up? This is absolutely frustrating. It's not like we hadn't been educated. There is a limit which we can blame our 'parents' for 'spoiling' us. 你 "爸爸" 不要你了啦! Why is there such a resistance to see?

Time is running out. Soon, there will not be 'Singaporean' as we know it. I'm not refering to 'Singapore', but 'Singaporean'.

We are like a ponding spot that's not big enough to be a pond.
Not big enough to hold back the world's waters rushing through.

You are certainly not the fishermen who have facilitated the channeling of the world's waters into this ponding spot. The fishermen benefit immensely from this rush. They are resourceful beings with access to fishing 'rights' and the attendant equipment, skimming off whatever they can find in the new waters, then selling them for handsome profits.

You are the organism hanging on the rocks lying at the bottom of this currently turbulent spot. You are the plankton that gets pushed around and/or consumed amidst the rising tide. Confused and in fear.

One day when the world's waters find another route, we will be left high and dry. Nothing but a has-been dent in the world map. The fishermen will leave. And there will not even a Wikipedia entry on what being Singaporean means.