Police hard at work:
How does one feels when stepping into a toilet like that?
Uniform for workers in Coca-Cola Japan: 
Would you want to drink from this glass?
Friday, 30 November 2007
Thursday, 29 November 2007
我国政府
I received this sms this morning and would like to share it with all bloggers...我国政府顶呱呱，
每年分钱国人花，
国人领钱笑哈哈，
人人当他是老爸，
个个投票支持他，
政府此计可不差，
利用钱财买傻瓜，
还受傻瓜到处夸。
Monday, 26 November 2007
After 40 hours of search....
My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families on the demise of the 5 dragon boat paddlers. I know that no words can console the affected families now, may wounds heal with time....From channelnewsasia.com
SINGAPORE: The bodies of the five Singaporean rowers who died in a dragon boat accident in Cambodia will be brought home by a military plane on Monday evening.
The dead are 20-year-old Chee Wei Cheng, 24-year-old Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong, 31-year-old Stephen Loh Soon Ann, 23-year-old Reuben Kee En Rui and 27-year-old Poh Boon San.
Their bodies were found on Sunday morning, two days after their dragon boat capsized in the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh during the annual Cambodia-ASEAN Traditional Boat Race.
Singapore Ambassador to Cambodia Tan Yee Woan said some family members of the five victims will also be on the plane.
As for the rest of the family members, they will be back on a SilkAir flight on Monday night.
The 17 members of the dragon boat team who were rescued in the accident would fly back on a commercial flight in the afternoon, together with the president of the Dragon Boat Association, Kwek Siew Jin.
At about 7.45am, en route to the airport, they stopped at the accident site to offer prayers. Some family members of the five victims were also there to perform rites
Friday, 23 November 2007
First time since 1965
These students took the opportunity to express their concern, anger and determination during the current ASEAN Leaders' Summit in Singapore. Although they could not make it to the venue of the meeting, Shangrila Hotel, hopefully the message that they had wanted to send and conveyed had been taken into consideration.From Asia-Pacific News
Students defy police, march along Singapore's premier boulevard
Singapore - International students defied police and marched along Singapore's premier boulevard on Monday, calling for 'peace, justice and democracy' in Myanmar.
Two groups of National University of Singapore students, coming from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, donned red T-shirts with the message 'Peace, Justice and Democracy for Burma.'
They held lit candles as they walked from Orchard Road in an unsuccessful bid to reach the Shangri-La Hotel, the venue of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders' Summit.
Police have repeatedly warned protests would not be tolerated under Singapore's laws during the summit.
'When we reached the corner near the Shangri-La, the police confronted us and warned us that we will be in danger of breaking the law if we push on,' said Pia Muzaffar, one of the protesters.
'We hope that this will catch the attention of the leaders and they will hopefully take it into account,' she said. 'We also hope that more people will come out and show solidarity with Burma.'
The students dispersed after the police warning.
Myanmar has become the focus of protests worldwide after a violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in September in Yangon, killing at least 14 people.
Various human rights and democracy groups are calling on ASEAN leaders to expel or suspend Myanmar for the violent suppression of the monks and students.
But ASEAN has refused either option, and told the international community that it was dealing with Myanmar's problems within the 10-member grouping's 'family.'
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
ASEAN leaders are set to sign a landmark charter on Tuesday, upholding democracy and human rights in addition to paving the way for an European Union-style community in 2015.
A group of Singapore activists called on ASEAN on Sunday to remove the section on human rights from the charter, viewed as the group's constitution, and make it a treaty.
Critics have noted that the charter does not have enough 'teeth' to enforce the human rights provisions.
Thursday, 22 November 2007
PSLE's cheating case
The culprit is pretty bold to have change the answers in such a short time span.Cheating is a serious offence in major examinations like that and its even more so for a teacher!
So what could have made the culprit took such a great risk?
And who exactly was the person who called in? Did he/ she saw witness something?
From channelnewsasia:
SINGAPORE: Baffled and shocked - these were the reactions when teachers heard about Mother Tongue (Tamil language) papers that were allegedly tampered with in this year's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).
The incident, said to involve a teacher making changes to answers in three exam scripts - after they were submitted by the pupils - would be the first time PSLE scripts are known to have been altered.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is not revealing the name of the school yet as it has called in the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and investigations are in progress.
A media report on Monday placed the school as being in the north, after an anonymous call was received.
The report said that answers in a pupil's composition paper had been altered and some answers in the fill-in-the-blanks section were cancelled and replaced with other answers. Similar changes were found in a section of the scripts of two other pupils.
The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said it could not provide details of its operations during the PSLE, but teachers who have invigilated the exam said there is "almost no way" to alter the papers.
"The security is very tight," a primary school Tamil language teacher with 10 years of experience told Today.
"The collection of papers is done very, very quickly and they are sent to the examination centre almost immediately."
"There would be two other exam officers present."
Another primary school teacher said that internal invigilators from a school usually do not oversee the exams of the subjects they teach - at least in his school.
"If a candidate has a question about the paper, the invigilator will call someone over from the collection point. They leave nothing to chance," he said.
"After collecting the papers, you take them to the central collection point which is either a room next door or one level below the exam venue where they would be sealed.
"It's a very short window period - I'd say barely a minute, because if you don't turn up at the collection point promptly, the people there will suspect (that something is amiss)."
The altered answers, which were discovered during the centralised marking of the PSLE papers from 16 to 19 Oct, had reportedly been scribbled in haste, in a different colour and in different handwriting.
The SEAB's chief examiner for Tamil language has since marked the scripts based on the pupils' answers, which were still visible.
The MOE said it "takes a serious view of this matter" and that any MOE staff member "involved in compromising the integrity of the examination system will have to face disciplinary action".
The news comes the week PSLE results are being released. The MOE announced on Monday that pupils may collect their result slips from noon on Thursday.
Monday, 19 November 2007
Solution from our MP - Pay to solve problem
Seriously, I had lost count of the number of surcharges we have to pay....
SINGAPORE: Even as the Land Transport Authority brings out the big stick in its bid to rein in errant cabbies starting today, a Member of Parliament has proposed a peak-hour carrot - a "location surcharge" - to improve taxi services in areas with greater demand.
MP Seng Han Thong has suggested an additional sum for busy places like clubs, pubs, hotels, shopping malls and Raffles Place.
The root cause of soliciting, refusing to pick up passengers and overcharging lay in the pricing mechanism, he said, and errant cabbies resorted to such behaviour because demand for taxis exceeded the supply at certain times and places.
The MP, who is adviser to the six-affiliate Taxi Operators' Association, wrote in the latest edition of NTUC This Week: "Taxi companies need to impose surcharges at taxi stands in the CBD (central business district) and Orchard Road areas during peak hours, and at lobbies of hotels, major tourist attractions and nightspots."
He said: "Only location surcharges can address the problem of balancing the demand and supply of taxi services at specific places and time, while allowing taxis to charge a more affordable rate at other places such as HDB estates and neighbourhood shopping malls."
Singapore's approximately 45,000 taxi drivers have been getting a lot of bad press recently for soliciting, overcharging, meter-less rides, accepting advance bookings but not turning up, and refusing to pick passengers at taxi stands.
Effective today, the LTA will enforce harsher penalties on drivers for refusing to pick up passengers - a S$300 fine, six demerit points and an immediate two-week suspension.
Those guilty of touting will be docked 12 demerit points, fined S$500 and suspended for four weeks, while drivers caught overcharging by more than S$20 will have their licences withdrawn.
A TODAY reader complained recently that a taxi driver had charged him and his friend S$50 for a ride to Changi Airport from Boat Quay, while others said they were stood up by cabbies despite confirmed advance bookings.
But Mr Seng noted that the "silent majority" of taxi drivers were hardworking, making an honest living.
"We know that a very small group of errant taxi drives have given the Singapore taxi service a bad name whereas the silent majority is not as vocal as others in explaining the problems they have to face everyday," he wrote.
He said taxi drivers' biggest concern was the rapidly rising operating costs, which had increased to some S$780 a month.
"The pressure on them is immense because they have to work hard to earn the extras in order to settle these increases in operating costs," he said.
The parliamentarian's proposal did not sit too well with bunker trader Lynn Chong, who said: "No, there's enough surcharge. There's already a peak-hour charge. It already costs up to S$7 upfront if you take a cab in the CBD or town area during the peak hour." It will cost even more if one makes a call booking.
Ms Carol Loo, a financial adviser who spends between S$600 and S$800 a month on cabs, agreed, laying the blame on errant drivers who just cruise around waiting for call bookings. A price change will not make a dramatic effect.
She suggested that the taxi companies re-look their business models: "Their practices are lousy in the first place. A price fix won't be fair to people, they should be paying more for better service or quality."
But marketing undergraduate Nur Iskandar Malik welcomed the proposed increase during peak hours: "I wouldn't mind paying."
It would be better than having to wait in vain for a cab. Like many other long-suffering commuters, he will find out tonight if the LTA stick will see the return of the "disappearing" taxis during peak hours.
(channelnewsasia.com)
SINGAPORE: Even as the Land Transport Authority brings out the big stick in its bid to rein in errant cabbies starting today, a Member of Parliament has proposed a peak-hour carrot - a "location surcharge" - to improve taxi services in areas with greater demand.MP Seng Han Thong has suggested an additional sum for busy places like clubs, pubs, hotels, shopping malls and Raffles Place.
The root cause of soliciting, refusing to pick up passengers and overcharging lay in the pricing mechanism, he said, and errant cabbies resorted to such behaviour because demand for taxis exceeded the supply at certain times and places.
The MP, who is adviser to the six-affiliate Taxi Operators' Association, wrote in the latest edition of NTUC This Week: "Taxi companies need to impose surcharges at taxi stands in the CBD (central business district) and Orchard Road areas during peak hours, and at lobbies of hotels, major tourist attractions and nightspots."
He said: "Only location surcharges can address the problem of balancing the demand and supply of taxi services at specific places and time, while allowing taxis to charge a more affordable rate at other places such as HDB estates and neighbourhood shopping malls."
Singapore's approximately 45,000 taxi drivers have been getting a lot of bad press recently for soliciting, overcharging, meter-less rides, accepting advance bookings but not turning up, and refusing to pick passengers at taxi stands.
Effective today, the LTA will enforce harsher penalties on drivers for refusing to pick up passengers - a S$300 fine, six demerit points and an immediate two-week suspension.
Those guilty of touting will be docked 12 demerit points, fined S$500 and suspended for four weeks, while drivers caught overcharging by more than S$20 will have their licences withdrawn.
A TODAY reader complained recently that a taxi driver had charged him and his friend S$50 for a ride to Changi Airport from Boat Quay, while others said they were stood up by cabbies despite confirmed advance bookings.
But Mr Seng noted that the "silent majority" of taxi drivers were hardworking, making an honest living.
"We know that a very small group of errant taxi drives have given the Singapore taxi service a bad name whereas the silent majority is not as vocal as others in explaining the problems they have to face everyday," he wrote.
He said taxi drivers' biggest concern was the rapidly rising operating costs, which had increased to some S$780 a month.
"The pressure on them is immense because they have to work hard to earn the extras in order to settle these increases in operating costs," he said.
The parliamentarian's proposal did not sit too well with bunker trader Lynn Chong, who said: "No, there's enough surcharge. There's already a peak-hour charge. It already costs up to S$7 upfront if you take a cab in the CBD or town area during the peak hour." It will cost even more if one makes a call booking.
Ms Carol Loo, a financial adviser who spends between S$600 and S$800 a month on cabs, agreed, laying the blame on errant drivers who just cruise around waiting for call bookings. A price change will not make a dramatic effect.
She suggested that the taxi companies re-look their business models: "Their practices are lousy in the first place. A price fix won't be fair to people, they should be paying more for better service or quality."
But marketing undergraduate Nur Iskandar Malik welcomed the proposed increase during peak hours: "I wouldn't mind paying."
It would be better than having to wait in vain for a cab. Like many other long-suffering commuters, he will find out tonight if the LTA stick will see the return of the "disappearing" taxis during peak hours.
(channelnewsasia.com)
Friday, 16 November 2007
Thursday, 15 November 2007
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Got hooked!
I can see for myself and if not feel that I had been pretty quiet recently... I mean updating of my blog :)Went through a series of road show and was coincidentally hooked onto a Korean Drama, hahaha, YES! Coincidentally.
Was playing with the TV remote control while waiting for my evening appointment on that Saturday and I happened to come across a Korean Drama, 'Save the last dance for me', on Channel U. Looking at the timing it was aired, 3-5pm, I guessed this one must be a repeat telecast. Mediacorp always has this tendency to repeat shows. So I sat back to watch the show with the intention to just kill time. Who knows.....ahahah...I could not wait for the next episode! And lucky me, I was at episode 2... hence did not miss much.
Well, I'm sure a lot of Korean Drama fanatics had seen this drama before. It was quite a craze during that time from what I had read online. With that, I went online to search for it and eventually rented it from a rental shop at Hougang Mall. Because its a old production, 2004, hence the rental its quite cheap too at $0.50/ disc (20 disc). I finished the 20 disc in 4 nights! That was how addictive it was....so no time for other things :) Synopsis of the drama can be found here for anyone that might be interested. The discs are now with my friend who wants to watch it a second time :)
The theme song were pretty nice too. For more, click here. Below are some pictures taken from the drama...
Monday, 12 November 2007
Super Import Night 2007
The show started from 8th Nov to 11th Nov, I was there with my agency unit to do a roadshow.
My god! Those cars were so nicely done up! All cars were of course nicely polished. Decorated with lots of different gadgets which I am not very familiar with, very nice rims too and excellent stereo system were installed.
There was a competition going on, hence every participant came in their theme for their cars. Below are a few of my favourite ones...
And now for the privilege of those who missed the show, check this out:
My god! Those cars were so nicely done up! All cars were of course nicely polished. Decorated with lots of different gadgets which I am not very familiar with, very nice rims too and excellent stereo system were installed.
There was a competition going on, hence every participant came in their theme for their cars. Below are a few of my favourite ones...
And now for the privilege of those who missed the show, check this out:
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
An open letter to the Prime Minister....
Dear Mr Prime Minister, This open letter is a plea which, as a concerned Singaporean, I am making with some confidence, since at no time has your government been more sincere and earnest in inviting feedback to make our society an even better place to live in.
My plea concerns the long-standing issue of political openness. It had, in the more than 40 years of PAP rule, been a source of much unease in the relationship between the government and the people. Now and then, the unease would erupt in the open, with the people agitating (usually through permitted channels such as letters to the press, public forums, dialogues with members of parliament, etc) for a long overdue political opening up, and the government firmly, often sternly, reminding them of more important national concerns, such as bread-and-butter matters that affect the lives of everyone.....
The above is a part of Catherine Lim's political commentary, which was offered to and rejected by the local newspapers. Click here to read the complete letter.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Joyous Night
After much preparation, the WP's 50th Anniversary dinner is finally here. Having got all my receptionist and ushers to come at 6.30pm, I only left house at about 6pm. However, it took me only 20 mins to the destination by taxi.
I was glad to see that most of the helpers were there early and the receptionist were all beautifully dressed :) Veron, Julia, Wan Theng and Winnie were all dressed in black. The ushers were smartly dressed too. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for putting in their best effort.
At about 7pm, people start to stroll in. Signed on the guest board, collected their door gifts from the receps and ushers were off to showing them their tables. Oh ya, a counter was set up to sell the Commemorative book as well. Both Waileng and David took turns throughout the dinner to tend to the counter.
As for me, I was assigned the task of a 'Reporter' for the dinner. I need to interview 6 honourary members, 4 CEC spouses and 4 youth members. Hence, with my recorder (Wow! Exacty like a reporter) I went around the restaurant which was packed with 67 tables to look for my interviewees. It was fun and encouraging to listen to those answers. My partner for this task was Kenneth who handled the chinese and dialect speaking group for me.
Dinner commences at about 8.15pm with Choong Yong and Glenda as Emcess for the night.
Our list of invited guests includes friends from the media, leaders from other opposition parties and it was really a joy to be able to see Mrs Marshall and son :) A total of 670 came together to join the party in this joyous occasion as we embark onto our 51st year.
Chairman, Miss Sylvia Lim, started the event with a brief speech in both Mandarin and English. It was a thank you speech to all past and present members who had contributed to the growth of the party. After which was followed by Secretary General, Mr. Low Thia Khiang, who emphasizes the objective of the existence of the Workers' Party, its role and to garner people to put their trust into the party for them to win a GRC in the next election. Hmm...at the mention of that, an over-whelming response of 'YES', shook the entire restaurant.
I looked around the place and was heartened to see people from all walks of like, different races and ages. It was a very encouraging sign especially for new members who had just joined the party. Honourary and merit members of the party were remembered and not left out tonight. Mr. Low presented them with nicely framed up certificate which I believed each and everyone of them will treasure. The Workers' Party would not have come so far without them, us, everyone... Allow me to salute to this group of never-give-up veterans.
The dinner ended at close to 10.30pm with Mr. Eric Tan, the Committee Chairman of the 50th Anniversary giving a closing speech to thank all attendees and helpers. A toasting session was done on stage with the CEC members as well. Our table did a round ourselves with 'GRC!' at the end of the toast :) Crazy bunch of people we have....nope they were passionate.
With that, an ordinary dinner that was held in an ordinary restaurant for Singaporeans who came and care for an extraordinary political party which had survived in these 50 years of political challenge, came to an end.
The Workers' Party will continue its survival and overcome all obstacles with the help of all party members and concerned Singaporeans.
"The duty of an Opposition is to act with vigour in guiding and criticising with integrity the conduct of the Government, to make heard the voices of the minority without fear..."
- David Marshall, founder of the Workers' Party.
Picture of the almost filled guest board:
Our table of ushers and receps:
I was glad to see that most of the helpers were there early and the receptionist were all beautifully dressed :) Veron, Julia, Wan Theng and Winnie were all dressed in black. The ushers were smartly dressed too. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for putting in their best effort.
At about 7pm, people start to stroll in. Signed on the guest board, collected their door gifts from the receps and ushers were off to showing them their tables. Oh ya, a counter was set up to sell the Commemorative book as well. Both Waileng and David took turns throughout the dinner to tend to the counter.
As for me, I was assigned the task of a 'Reporter' for the dinner. I need to interview 6 honourary members, 4 CEC spouses and 4 youth members. Hence, with my recorder (Wow! Exacty like a reporter) I went around the restaurant which was packed with 67 tables to look for my interviewees. It was fun and encouraging to listen to those answers. My partner for this task was Kenneth who handled the chinese and dialect speaking group for me.
Dinner commences at about 8.15pm with Choong Yong and Glenda as Emcess for the night.
Our list of invited guests includes friends from the media, leaders from other opposition parties and it was really a joy to be able to see Mrs Marshall and son :) A total of 670 came together to join the party in this joyous occasion as we embark onto our 51st year.
Chairman, Miss Sylvia Lim, started the event with a brief speech in both Mandarin and English. It was a thank you speech to all past and present members who had contributed to the growth of the party. After which was followed by Secretary General, Mr. Low Thia Khiang, who emphasizes the objective of the existence of the Workers' Party, its role and to garner people to put their trust into the party for them to win a GRC in the next election. Hmm...at the mention of that, an over-whelming response of 'YES', shook the entire restaurant.
I looked around the place and was heartened to see people from all walks of like, different races and ages. It was a very encouraging sign especially for new members who had just joined the party. Honourary and merit members of the party were remembered and not left out tonight. Mr. Low presented them with nicely framed up certificate which I believed each and everyone of them will treasure. The Workers' Party would not have come so far without them, us, everyone... Allow me to salute to this group of never-give-up veterans.
The dinner ended at close to 10.30pm with Mr. Eric Tan, the Committee Chairman of the 50th Anniversary giving a closing speech to thank all attendees and helpers. A toasting session was done on stage with the CEC members as well. Our table did a round ourselves with 'GRC!' at the end of the toast :) Crazy bunch of people we have....nope they were passionate.
With that, an ordinary dinner that was held in an ordinary restaurant for Singaporeans who came and care for an extraordinary political party which had survived in these 50 years of political challenge, came to an end.
The Workers' Party will continue its survival and overcome all obstacles with the help of all party members and concerned Singaporeans.
"The duty of an Opposition is to act with vigour in guiding and criticising with integrity the conduct of the Government, to make heard the voices of the minority without fear..."
- David Marshall, founder of the Workers' Party.
Picture of the almost filled guest board:
Our table of ushers and receps:
Saturday, 3 November 2007
Friday, 2 November 2007
Oops...what's that?
I received an email from a Malaysian friend, titled "Teluk Bahang Fisherman found this, newspaper not allowed to publish!"
Interesting title, so I looked on further. To my amazement, I saw this.......what the hell is that????????
Interesting title, so I looked on further. To my amazement, I saw this.......what the hell is that????????
Thursday, 1 November 2007
2 more days to 3rd Nov
Amidst all the preparation for the party's 50th birthday, the media had also did several write up. A few days go, Zao Bao had one. Today channelnewsasia.com has one too. So is 'TODAY', with exactly the same content.Channelnewsasia.com
20 years for Workers' Party to match PAP?
SINGAPORE: As the Workers' Party celebrates this weekend its 50th anniversary, and Secretary-General Low Thia Kiang takes a measure of satisfaction with his party's performance so far, he already has hopes for its 60th anniversary.
He hopes he will no longer be party chief by then.
It is a sign of the confidence he has in the prospects for the party, which was the best performer among the opposition parties at last year's General Election.
Come WP's 70th anniversary, he reckons it will be ready finally to match the quality of the People's Action Party (PAP) and have a good go at forming Singapore's government.
In a broad-ranging interview with Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, Mr Low — who became WP secretary-general in 2001 — gave the PAP a definite "passing" grade. And he said that there is more space in Singapore politics now.
But he noted that the ruling party had the backing of many scholars to help draw up policies, while the WP's resources and ability to mobilise people are limited. So, what the WP can do currently is propose refinements to government policies.
One of Mr Low's main grouses about current policies is that they have not engendered sufficiently, in his view, a sense of belonging in the country.
"For example, in the debate on CPF, some people say: Might as well take out CPF and migrate," he said in describing the sense of insecurity caused by a higher withdrawal age.
"Identification with a country is a feeling; it means that no matter what, I was born here, so I die here. I think Singapore has not reached such a stage of emotional identification.
" At this point, though, his main preoccupation is to make the WP a respected and reliable party.
"Our main aim is to … garner more support from the constituents, and make a breakthrough in the elections, especially in the Group Representation Constituencies. At the same time, we hope that the WP can play an important role in Singapore's democratic process, and as a result, make the democratic process more competitive," he said. "Politics should be about responsible politics. The opposition should be a watchdog, not a mad dog. That's the right path for a political party."
As for succession in the WP, when asked by Zaobao if party chairman Sylvia Lim would take over the reins eventually, he said it was for all the WP members to decide. He did say, however, why he did not invite the PAP to his party's anniversary.
"When we had our 40th anniversary celebration, we did invite them, but they replied to say 'thank you for inviting but we cannot attend'. So, I thought, don't make things difficult for other people. So, we didn't send an invite this year," he said.
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