Jay Chou's Exclamation Point [周杰倫 驚嘆號]... is an absolute disaster

So I make no secret that I had been a fan of Jay Chou. The operative word here is 'had'.

Over the last few years, ever since his ego got the better of him and he decided to deviate from what he does best (his music) to have a go in the movies (in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and of course, Hollywood), hosting his own talk show, or even his shenanigans with an 18-year-old. I was forced to question (more than once, I might add) whether has he lost his plot.

But with every album release in the past, he reminds us of his musical brilliance, and with his increasingly extravagant world tours, he reminds us of his creative genius. His 超時代 World Tour was the best concert I've ever attended. And that's mainly because it was billed as his 10th Anniversary concert and he performed mainly his old hits, which were incidentally his best works.

But I'm not here to talk about all that. I'm here to talk about his latest music creation, Exclamation Point (驚嘆號), being his 11th studio album.

In the past, I've always been one of the few who bothered to pre-order his album the day it was available for pre-order, and several occasions, I've even brought the special editions which comes with lots of useless memorabilia which I will probably never (and still have yet to) use. Yet, there was still this excitement I feel every time a new album is impending from him.

In recent years, I find myself getting increasingly underwhelmed about the media hoohah over his album releases, though I still pre-order, it was largely because I happen to pass by a CD shop and thought, 'oh well, there's no queue, so what the hell.' The change of attitude did not caught me by surprise.

Until now.

For me, his 11th album is the biggest disaster that he has EVER came up with.

Let's count the ways this is a complete disaster, shall we?

~~

1. Album release schedule

The official release date announced, and printed in the album booklet was 11.11.2011, which in itself was a publicity stunt.

Nothing wrong there, being the hype around how special 11 November 2011 is to the whole friggin' world (but it was in fact, just another day on the 365-day calendar).

The release date was advertised as Asia-wide release. However, as 11.11.11 draws closer, it was announced (at least in Singapore) that the album release will be pushed back by a week to 18.11.2011 due to production issues. Which again was fine, a similar thing happened in his 8th Studio release, 我很忙. The album release was delayed as the production of the album memorabilia was delayed.

So why am I taking issue with this?

Well, besides the fact that any delay in album release will force eager fans to turn to the internet to download leaked copies of his album, a problem that has been prevalent ever since he came to fame, but it also seems to punish fans who bothered to pre-order his album. This was especially obvious this time around.

The album was still released on schedule on 11th November 2011 in Taiwan, which is understandable because that was his primary market and home.

Much to my dismay the regular edition of the album (with no memorabilia whatsoever) was released in Singapore a few days after 11th November, before the pre-ordered versions arrived on 18th November. And that was when I found out that there are actually THREE editions:

1. Regular edition w/o memorabilia

2. Regular edition w/ memorabilia, and

3. Premier edition w/ memorabilia & a 'special' USB thumbdrive (a poor excuse to charge fans over S$90 for an album)

This was not what I expected, or from what I bothered to find out, given that they were only taking pre-orders for two editions. In the past, the regular album release has ALWAYS been the same with the pre-ordered edition (with the exception of his 5th album 七里香). This was mistake number 1.

Mistake number 2? Releasing the damn album to the mass market BEFORE the pre-ordered version arrives. Why the hell would they want to punish fans who bother to pay a premium to purchase the album earlier, by delaying the album from reaching the fans' hands? What the hell are the coffers in JVR Music and Sony Music thinking?

If they are working on the assumption that 'oh well, fans will always be there to support and are willing to wait since they pre-ordered,' they are greatly and gravely mistaken. Yet another sign that the regular CD format business is not evolving with the changing times of legal digital downloads. This is especially prevalent in Asia with piracy often eating away a big, unestimated earnings from artistes.

2. Uncreative Music Video Concepts

The album comes with a 'Bonus' DVD containing two 'exclusive' music videos. Why the sarcasm? Because almost all of Jay's albums (since he became a big star) came with 'exclusive and bonus' DVDs.

This shows the lack of understanding the changing market. With the social media boom now, people are sharing media and information at unprecedented speed. This tactic worked in the past because of the limited avenues people can get their first look at exclusive MVs and behind-the-scenes materials. And with Jay's team maintaining his own Facebook page, they are sharing new MVs and media on FB and STILL using such obsolete marketing tactics.

But back to my criticism over his music video concepts.

He had in the past came up with some pretty brilliant MV concepts. Such as having his 楓 MV showing part 1 of a continuing storyline:

and showing part 2 in his good friend, 刘畊宏's song and MV 彩虹天堂:

This was just one of his many creative ideas, both conceptually and just plain mind-blowingly brilliant.

So what went wrong here?

Let's look at his first MV in the album, his first single off his new album - 驚嘆號

Let's just leave the music aside (I will review the disastrous music in a separate post), the concept of this MV is... shit.

You know what that concept reminded me of? Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Without saying too much, take a look:

See the resemblance? The trains, the blade and gun fights and so much more.

And what the hell, Jay? You call this an MV? You didn't even star in it? It's just a CG rendition of your image with a nonexistent storyline.

Even the explosion at the end mimicked the explosion of the Shinra company HQ in Final Fantasy VII. FFVII fans will know what I'm talking about.

So MV number 1. Fail.

What about MV number 2 - 迷魂曲 ?

Again, the terrible music aside. Less than a minute into the video, right where the 'bad guy' falls asleep, I already knew what the plot was about and where the idea came from.

It so obviously came from this movie:

Noticed the similarities once again? Shared dreams VIA A PAIR OF HEADPHONES? Really?! Zero creativity. Filming in a posh location such as Vegas doesn't change the fact that very little thought and dare I say, effort, was put into this MV. Go Hollywood means can steal Hollywood ideas issit?

So MV number 2. Fail.

And don't even get me started on his third MV - Mine Mine.

Waddafark Jay? What's with the Auto-tunes throughout the ENTIRE SONG? He is a renowned singer with great musical and singing abilities, can somebody tell me why he must resort to using auto-farking-tunes?

And the cheesy dance moves? Trying to be Justin-blardy-Bieber issit? And the only reason why I am not posting a video of Justin is because I can't stand Justin and his World (2.0) of music. 'd rather spare the pain to anyone who happens reads this as well.

~~

I am unfortunate (or fortunate) enough to catch only three of his MVs thus far. But you get the idea. I am afraid and saddened to think that my idol has lost his plot :( I want the old Jay back!

杰倫, 你去哪了?

Thank you, Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. Since work started, life has been really hectic.

But today, something happened that deeply sadden me, along with much of the world.

Steve Jobs has passed away at 56. He is survived by his wife and kids, and a legacy that will continue to shape our world for time to come. I have never met the great man, but there are so many things I am thankful for.

Thank you, Steve, for your vision and for showing me how to embrace technology. Thank you for providing me with the technology and tools which literally changed my life in so many ways. Thank you for continuously striving for your vision for perfection even though you were in a great deal of pain.

As President Obama said, "there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

I still remember the nights I stayed up watching your keynotes, picking up valuable presentation skills that still serve me well to this day.

I still remember the late nights I stayed up with Chuwen, Johnny and Leo during our last semester in NBS, rushing out our business case study report and presentation on Apple Inc. We selected Apple because of how Jobs' vision and innovation gave us tools and products that shaped our lives. We were so passionate about Apple that we put our heart and soul into the project, and we eventually scored an 'A' for it.

My very first Apple product - the 1st Gen iPod Mini

I still remember my very first Apple product. It was a 4GB silver iPod Mini, it was a GIANT leap from my previous mp3 player, (ironically) the Samsung Yepp MP3 player, which I remember could only hold up to like... 16 songs with its pathetic 32MB built-in memory. So it's easy to imagine the excitement in being able to carry up to 1,000 songs in my pocket.

I eventually upgraded to the iPod, twice, before getting the iPhone 3G. But Steve's innovations didn't stop at changing the way I listen to music. It changed the way I enjoy, love and eventually, write and record music.

I got my first, and current MacBook 3 years ago and I experienced the magic of GarageBand. 3 years on, with the iPad 2 and GarageBand for the iPad, it continues to change the way I play, enjoy and record music. It even changed the way I perform music. Just last week, we used GarageBand on the iPad to perform during our company's D&D.

Thank you for reminding me (again) that my "life is short. So don't waste it on living someone else's dream."

So, just one more thing... Thank you, Steve. God Bless.

"When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is, and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money.

That's a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact. And that is, everything around you that you call 'life' was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

The minute that you understand that you can poke life, and actually that something get pushed in and something will pop out the other side, that you can change and mould it, that's maybe the most important thing. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

- Steve Jobs, 1994

my career. my life.

This has been getting on my nerves for awhile.

I don't go about announcing, if you will, my choice of company to start my career with, and for good reason.

Yes, I studied six years of accounting, first at NP's School of BA, then at NTU's NBS. Along the way, I interned and/or worked at two international banks. Does that mean I will definitely start my career with a bank?

No! Why should I?

There's no written formula saying that once I interned/worked or even once expressed my interest in the banking/finance industry, means that I have to start working in a bank upon graduation, is there?

Granted, I did raise a few eyebrows when I turned down several offers from banks to join one of the Big 4 accounting firms. That is largely among my friends and I don't blame them, and I'd gladly explained my reasons for doing so.

What ticks me off are the acquaintances or people I barely know, past and present, coming around asking me where I'm working upon graduation. When they found out the answer, they express their 'concern', 'surprise' and even 'shock' at why I chose what I did.

Hallo, your career or mine arh? Why should I be taking career advices from people who barely know me? If anything, I have more working experience then most of you jokers. Even if I do end up regretting my career choices (which I highly doubt I will), that's something for me to deal with.

Initially, I did try to explain, trying to reason with these people. After a frustrating conversation, they'll end with "whatever it is, as long as you like it, I'm glad for you" or something along those lines and an awkward smile or laughter.

Eventually, I've grown tired of these meaningless, unimportant conversations that I am now ignoring them altogether.

Now, I have found the perfect response to these people, in the very friendly PSA brought to you by the friendly folks at College Humor.

take things easy

Stumbled upon a travelblog Fluent In 3 Months today. It is set up by globetrotter, Benny Lewis. Basically, it follows Benny's experiences as he travel from city to city, most of the times for 3 months (hence, the name of the site) as he attempts to pick up the local language.

Pretty cool stuff and he has been doing this for 9 years, and most (if not all) of his travels are done completely alone. Do check out more about the site here.

I don't (and certainly can't) claim to be a globetrotter as much as I like traveling and getting lost and immersed in a foreign culture. But I very much aspire (more like dream) to be one, and I really admire Benny's courage and determination to travel into the deep end. Not knowing anyone, not knowing the local language, culture, etc, yet still being able to step out of his comfort zone at a young age of 21 nine years ago and travel all over the world.

About a week ago, he celebrated his 29th birthday and decided to share 29 life lessons he learnt in his travels.

It is a very good read and there were a few that were basically screaming at me, in particular:

2. Deferring your happiness to the future is a terrible idea

16. Take your time (this I must really learn)

21. Stop thinking so much and act

22. Sing and dance whenever possible!

27. People are not alone in being alone (something I know, but must constantly remind myself)

Of course there are others, but I figured if I continue listing them, I'll end up listing out all 29 lessons.

So do check out his post here as a reminder for yourself to take things easy.

missed opportunities and second chances

I first stumbled upon Wong Fu Productions quite some time back.

They are basically a group of three Asian-Americans based in LA that make shorts for the internet. They started off as just three guys with a camera and shooting film shorts that were meaningful to them. They have since expanded (exponentially, got sponsorship deals some more) and their shorts (and films) now cover a wide range of topics. The principal writer and director is Philip Wang.

The ones that really struck a chord are those emotional, relationship, bittersweet and of course, the abstract arty themed shorts. Some of the shorts are actually really low (or no) budget productions that has since garnered millions of views online.

Among those I really could relate to include the following.

The Places We Should Have Gone | 若能再次与你同游

A short about wanting second chances. Sometimes, we want second chances even though we know we were wrong in the first place and probably do not deserve it. I can very much relate to this.

Strangers, again

A short that breaks down the cycle of a relationship and looks at each stage of the relationship as people begin and end up as strangers. The purpose of this short (and blog post) is to remind us that we all go through (or will go through) failed relationships in our lives, and the failure of one does not mean the end of the world. Again, something that I can relate to.

A Peace of Home

This is their entry for a Cannes International Short Film, not sure if it was awarded anything. But it is a short that I can relate too as I felt this way when I went on exchange in London. I've shared this with a close friend who studied in Melbourne for the last 2.5 years and is now preparing for life back in Singapore. She really related to this as well, so I guess this short goes both ways - missing home, and your home away from home.

~~

There are still hundreds (okay, I didn't really count 'em all) of other shorts that you should check out. And if you liked the above three shorts, be sure to read and/or watch the director's commentary and the making-of videos that come along with the video at http://www.wongfuproductions.com.

NDP 2011 Fun Pack song, when Gaga's 'okay' isn't okay.

So yes, I'm a little late to post on this.

The last few days while I was in Melbourne, a certain parody cover of Gaga's Bad Romance has gotten a lot of flank from the online community and people IRL. Though Mother Monster (Gaga) herself has came out saying that the changed lyrics 'were lovely' during a recent stopover in Singapore, she is really just playing the PR card and trying not to make a big deal out of it. So what's the big deal, you might ask? After all, people do parodies and covers of Gaga's songs all the time.

Maybe this was just one mighty publicity stunt by Gaga and NDP organising committee to raise the profile of Gaga's "Born This Way" album and NDP 2011! Scandalous!

But for the NDP organising committee to change the lyrics without obtaining the rights to modify the song seems pretty low on several levels. It has since been yanked off YouTube, and the event organisers has decided to drop the song from this year's parade entirely.

The committee's prudence in obtaining the rights to perform the song is commendable. To have such a song performed at NDP is understandable as it is a (freaking) popular and catchy song that many would have heard of. But it is the local music community that is suffering from such decisions.

Whatever happened to supporting the local talents? We have a ready pool of talented musicians and bands who'd be more than willing to contribute to the NDP cause, not only would they get to showcase their talents, but what better way to raise their profile then on the national stage?

Granted, we had done a lot to support local talents previously, but they were largely already famous stars in the regional stage. Artistes such as Stefanie Sun, JJ Lin, Kaira Gong, Tanya Chua, Kit Chan, etc had all been featured in past NDPs, some more than once. Even the previous efforts to bring in Singapore Idols were commendable.

But there are so many other talents out there. 2009's "What do you see?" by Electrico was a right step.

And it worth mentioning that it has bought about an equally heart-wrenching rendition of "LeKuaSiMi" by mrbrown and his band, Electrician).

Last year's "Song for Singapore" by Corrinne May was also move in the right direction.

This year's "In A Heartbeat" by Slyvia Ratonel further confirms that the organisers are finally looking at other options than using "Home" by Kit Chan as the feature theme song year after year (I mean, seriously, how many times must that song be used over and over?).

This little songbird first came into the mainstream spotlight at last year's NDP covering Stefanie Sun's "One United People".

So how about going beyond getting musicians performing theme songs? I'm sure there will be artistes in a genre that organisers can find to compose catchy songs for the pre- and post-parade performance segments. All it takes is the right level of publicity. There are so many other talented musicians in the local scene to be bought into the mainstream and worth supporting, Jack and Rai and SIXX just to name a few.

Let's stop shamelessly doing rip-offs and start looking after our local talents. NDP is supposed to be for Singaporeans, not international superstars.

Democracy In Singapore

Had a few requests from my friends over this paper I did about a year ago. I decided to upload it here for easier access.

A side note though, this was written way before the recent GE2011 in May, hence, some of the views here are pretty backdated. I'll attempt to update this paper with my views on GE2011 whenever possible.

Is There Democracy In Singapore?

moving on?

In the midst of attempting to move to Wordpress as it offers more privacy and greater html control. New site here. Please pardon the first (auto) post. Will fix it in due time.

Cheers!

Edit: Realised it rather cumbersome to move over entirely. So for now, shall post the more private stuff on that site and keep it locked there. Moving around frequently can be rather tiring at times.

Singapore Votes 2011: History made and a tale of 3 men

After weeks and months of drama, the People's Action Party (PAP) still have the majority government, winning 81 out of the 87 seats in parliament, 6 seats were awarded to the Workers Party (WP) - the first time so many seats were awarded to the opposition, and the first time an opposition has won a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), both since independence.

Many things have been said, and will be continued to be said over the next few days and weeks, I'd like to get somethings off my mind (so I can get back to my exams - die lah that one).

1. History has been made

I am delighted that the Workers Party led by Mr. Low Thia Khiang made it into Parliament with one GRC and one SMC seats. I don't hate the PAP blindly and think that they have done a pretty decent job, but I firmly believe that change is necessary for progress.

We will have to see what will happen next. When all is said and done, the new parliament will have to take Singapore forward for the next 5 years.

2. PAP's sliding winning margins and increased spoilt votes

In most constituencies, with the exception of Yuhua SMC, Hong Kah North GRC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Ang Mo Kio GRC, amongst others, the PAP has seen it's winning margins slide from the previous elections. The Bukit Panjang SMC, for instance, has seen it's winning margin slide by almost by 11%. The numbers tell the same story.

Initial estimates showed the the PAP has only garnered 60.1% of the valid votes - its lowest EVER, down from 66.6% (2006) and 75% (2001). One can only hope the ruling party will stand up and reflect at the growing anger from the ground, as George Yeo pointed out.

But the final margins may still change as the numbers will only be finalised after the overseas votes have been accounted for.

Another thing that stuck me are the increased % of spoilt votes, and I've identified three general groups of weird voters:

i. Blur cocks who marked a 'tick' for the party of your choice.

ii. Another group of blur cocks who marked an 'x' for the party they disapprove of.

iii. Voters who did not want to vote for the opposition in their constituencies, but want to send a message to the ruling party.

EDIT: Interesting read on how the votes are treated here - first-hand account by a party counting agent. Cool stuff.

Which brings me to my next point.

3. Time to 'repent'

In particular, voters in Joo Chiat SMC and Potong Pasir SMC should truly repent. As the opposition parties lost by a mere 2.02% and 0.72% respectively - thats just 382 votes and 114 votes. Comparatively, the number of spoilt votes in those constituencies are 314 and 242 votes.

Had these jokers voted correctly or carefully, it would might have at least send Lina Chiam (wife of Chiam See Tong - more on him later), into government.

I never understood why voters spoil their votes, or worse, did not bother to vote without a valid reason. Your vote is your voice, and you didn't vote. Does that mean you don't have a voice?

But there could still be a late twist in Potong Pasir, as it lost only by a 0.2% margin. The overseas votes have not been counted yet and it will take a few days before the votes are flown back to be counted in Singapore. Though the number of overseas voters from Potong Pasir and Joo Chiat are unavailable, there could still be hope for Lina Chiam.

4. Mr. George Yeo & Mr. Chiam See Tong - casualties of the GRC system

As much as Singaporeans supported Mr. Low and the WP into government, many were sadden that we lost Mr. Yeo in the process. He is a truly sincere and excellent minister. I think that is a statement few will disagree.

Singaporeans online are calling for Mr. George Yeo to be swapped with the ever 'popular' Ms. Tin Pei Ling (no further mention or assessment of her will be done). I wonder if this is possible. The only way I can see this happening is if the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls for a by-election, not sure what the constituency says on that. But I don't see it happening because PM Lee has stated that the government will respect the choice of the voters.

We can only wait what his next move will be. I am certain that he will continue to serve Singapore in whatever capacity he can.

The same can be said for Mr. Chiam See Tong, who lost his seat in parliament, after 27 years (as old as me leh) in politics. Working from his makeshift office, Mr. Chiam has touched the hearts of many generations of Singaporeans. Every time I see the man, my heart aches. He suffered two strokes and still, his determination to serve remains strong. Though I hope from the bottom of my heart that he and his wife, Lina Chiam will get some well deserved rest, I believe he will continue to serve and help Singaporeans in whatever capacity he can.

Both Mr. Yeo and Mr. Chiam are clearly victims of the GRC system. But this is what happens in a GRC system. I think it is a double-edge sword and there are many arguments for and against the system. I shan't launch into a long winded essay into the merits and cons of the system (though I am very tempted to). But in general, I think until we can find a better solution to get around the issue of race and minority representation, this GRC, First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system is here to stay. Alternative systems such as the Alternative Vote system will be hard and confusing, as we have seen in the UK referendum where UK voted 'no' to the AV.

5. Lighter side amidst all the craziness

a. Mr. Yam Ah Mee

Who? Well he is without a shadow of a doubt, top of the list of elections entertainment today:

Mr. Yam Ah Mee is the Returning Officer who was tasked to announce the election results this GE. Mr. Yam shot to fame overnight, in the space of a few hours, he has garnered over 23,000 fans (at time of post) on his personal Facebook fan page, at a rate way faster than Ms. Nicole Seah. Move over, Nicole! Mr. Yam is the new overnight sensation now! He even has his own brand of medicated oil!

Mr. Yam mesmerized and captured the imaginations of Singaporeans, young and old, with his impression of Lady Gaga's 'Poker face', leading to calls for him to stand for the Singapore Presidential elections in 2012!

Thanks to Mr. Yam, the words, "Pursuant to Section 49, Subsection 7E, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act," will continue to inspire Singaporeans for some time to come.

b. Channel News Asia and Mediacorp's coverage of the GE2011 results sucked balls

The online sphere was abuzz soon after the polls closed at 8PM local time. With TODAY online and The Straits Times leading the charge in updating the progress of the counting of the votes as the nation held its breath collectively.

Meanwhile, in the CNA and Mediacorp studios, the news anchors and analysts were rambling on and on about the buildup to the elections, world news and it even had time to do a segment on developments happening in the online social media scene.

Well, obversely the team doing the segment is clearly sleeping too as they missed out on tons and tons of tweets and FB messages reminding them that they sucked balls and that we have internet too, don't you to tell us something we can find out for ourselves.

Singapore Votes 2011: Polling Day

Decided to cast my vote first thing in the morning when I woke up.

Headed down around 8.45AM armed with the polling card and my NRIC and proceeded to my assigned polling station a stone's throw away.

The entire process was very smooth and efficiently organised.

There was hardly a queue when I went. Upon handing over my polling card and my NRIC, the elections official checked my identity against the records.

The elections official looked suspiciously at me upon looking at my NRIC photo. Namely because the photo on the NRIC was taken 15 years ago when I was in P6. I wanted to asked if she would prefer to see my driver's license instead though I know the driver's license will not be accepted. I decided to keep my mouth shut and let them do their jobs. Thankfully, I wasn't required to sign a separate identity declaration form.

The ballot paper was handed to me folded. I proceeded to the booth and made my choice. It was a clear and simple one. Headed to drop my vote into the ballot box and left.

All done in less than 5 minutes.

It's amazing how fast and simple such a monumental task can be. Kudos to the Elections Department and the friendly elections officials.

And now we wait.

Your vote is secret

I love how this video is done!

The PAP and opposition parties have repeatedly assured that 'your vote is secret'.

If you need more proof and analysis, you may read this post on Jeff's Blog.

Vote wisely on 7th May, and please don't spoil your vote! As the video pointed out, 'Your vote is your voice', so if you spoil it, then = to no voice or you don't want to be heard? XD

Singapore Votes 2011: Looking beyond the co-drivers and rojak

3 more days to polling day, but my mind has already been made.

Over the course of the last few days, many issues has been brought into the political sphere with all the rallies that occurs. I would just like to jot down 3 issues that struck me before going to the polls.

The below are my views, if you're unhappy, don't read it.

1. Why so angry, Singaporeans?

I hope this only applies to a small group of people. But from what I read online and on the papers, it seems like this group is growing. Not only are they ungrateful, some are even downright childish.

I can understand the frustration and growing negative sentiments over the shortcomings and over the last 5 years. The main criticisms lie in the following: YOG going over-budget, increasing cost of HDB, Mas Selamat's escape and public transportation. The Prime Minister has even come out to publicly apologise for the government's handling of these issues.

Yet, Singaporeans (both online and offline) are still unmoved and saying things like, "if one only apologises now, it wouldn't be sincere, would it?"

Hello? What more do Singaporeans want? The PM to come to your door to kah tao to you arh? The government had acknowledged that mistakes were made back then. What more do you expect our ministers to do? Everyday do guard duty? That guy was caught again, wasn't he?

On their watch, Singapore has yet to experience a terrorist attack on our shores. And that is not due to luck. It's vigilance and a world-class security system. Isn't that good enough?

On supporting the opposition, again, I have no qualms on that and wanting to have alternative voices in parliament. But we should always do this in a rational and civilized manner. Not by vandalising and defacing PAP banners and yelling vulgarities at ministers doing their jobs. Why so childish people?

Instead of showing open discontent and complaining about shortcomings of the PAP over the last 5 years, why not do something about it? Simply put, if you think you can do a better job, why not step up and be involved instead of whining?

Don't so angry people! Play some Angry Birds on cooling off day:

And on the issue of MM Lee, a lot has been said, so I won't repeat. I would just like to say that many Singaporeans had forgotten (or conveniently dismissed) what MM has done for us. Yes, he is very straight-forward and confrontational, but that's just who he is. I may not like him very much, but I respect him.

I'm happy that I have friends who are doing so, getting involved in the grassroots level and whatever way they can to make a difference.

I am happy with what the government has provided for me over the years and I don't blame them for my shortcomings. I am not alone in the above sentiments, which leads me to my second point.

2. Education

Look at people like Kelvin:

Did he blame the government? No! And why should everyone else?

Reform's Party (RP) candidate Lim Zi Rui, 24, pointed out in his rally address 3 days ago that the Hall situation in NTU was brought about by the government's policies in accepting too many foreigners. This is utter nonsense. His views are not representative of NTU students like myself.

The situation is caused by the University's policies on the Hall Admission Scheme. The government did not mandate the university to accept a certain quota of foreign students, much less the into the Hall of Residences. Besides, using this as an example to highlight the influx of foreign workers is far too myopic and it shows a severe lack of understanding of the macro-economic implications of this policy.

Singapore is a tiny island with no natural resources, what we have is human capital. Who are the ones that build the houses and estates we live in, the schools we go to, the MRT lines? But I digress.

Back on the issue of education. Many Singaporeans are complaining time and again that the university placements in Singapore are far too competitive and that it is hard for Singaporeans to gain admission. What the fuck, seriously? Being competitive not good arh? That's how schools like the NUS Medical School can be ranked top in Asia and how Nanyang Business School (NBS) of NTU can be ranked among the top colleges in the world.

A lot of these sentiments are, in my opinion, brought about by the symptom known as 'sour grapes'. When I did not do well in my 'A' Levels in 2002 for a university admission, did I blame the government? NO! Because I know I was not good enough. I had to work my way around by going to Ngee Ann Polytechnic and gain admission to NBS thru NP. Hard work, not complaining. There are many others like me who had to work their way up.

So stop blaming the government if your child is not good enough for a place among the local universities. There are many choices around.

3. National Service

The National Solidarity Party (NSP) led the calls for a reduced National Service (NS) to 15 months in their party manifesto. However, their manifesto is vastly shortsighted and neglected the other arms of NS - Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). So SAF reduced to 15 months, then the rest still 24 months? How is that viable?

One of the NSP candidates said that, and I quote, "The National Day Parade (NDP) should not be done by NSFs (Full-time national servicemen) and should be outsourced."

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) went one better in their manifesto, calling for NS to be shortened to 12 months. You think what? Holiday camp arh? Or like Malaysia's National Service friendship camp? From a 2-year programme, to 1-year, to six months to the present 3 months.

I think these parties, with no disrespect, are missing an important point of National Service - nation building. Not to mention that they seemed to have overlooked NS in SPF and SCDF.

Race, Religion and Language are the factors we build our nation upon. NS is an integral part of helping to achieve tolerance and understanding among the difference races, because no matter what background you are from, as long as you are Singaporean (or PR), by the time you are 18, you serve.

I'm not sure on the structure of the SPF and SCDF, but currently, there are training programmes for commanders in the Army. My time (7 years ago - shit quite long arh), it was 3 months of Basic Military Training. Officers-to-be undergo a further 9 months, while Specailists undergo a further 6-8 months of training depending on the appointment you hold (Section Commander, Platoon Sergeant, etc). Those work out to almost a year in training for commanders.

Granted, majority of the force is comprised by the foot soldiers and non-combatants. But we can't have a system that caters to both groups, i.e NS for non-commanders 15 months, and commanders 24 months. If that is the case, no one would want to be commanders. Not the perfect system, but perfectly understandable why things are done this way.

Back to NSP's proposal of outsourcing the National Day Parade (NDP). Outsource to who? A contingent of foreign workers, like so?

The NDP, apart for celebrating the nation's independence, also serves as a show of force. To show citizens on what is done to protect the country, and to tell the terrorists and enemies (I hope we don't have too many of those) not to fuck around with us. Some might call it 'wayang' (fake) but I believe it is necessary.

Like North Korea:

Who dares fuck with N. Korea?!

Okay, I was just kidding, but you get the idea.

~

I think from my thoughts above, one can guess where my vote lies. I'd just like to add that I do not disrespect the opposition in any way (folks like Low Thia Khiang, Slyvia Lim and Chiam See Tong deserves our respect). I believe at the end of the day, most (if not all) of the politicians - ruling or opposition, are Singaporeans at heart and want what's best, in their opinion, for the nation.

Come 7th May 2011, we will have to decide which views and approaches we believe in. Come 7th May, vote wisely.

I'd better get back to revision for exams.

Smear-and-fear politics: PAP & TNP sinking to a new low

So things took a turn for the worse way earlier this time. At least in GE2006, taking cheap shots and smear campaigns did not occur until nomination day ended.

This year, the ruling party, People's Action Party (PAP), seem to have started the smear campaign of the opposition candidates way earlier. I had hope that the PAP candidates will take the lead of SM Goh when he called for 'a clean fight'.

Sadly, that isn't the case. I can tolerate it better if the new candidates started throwing around personal attacks and stuff, but never did I expect a cabinet minster to get involved. Yes, I am talking about non-other than my own MP, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan.

He, for some reason, decided to play the gay card. I was more than disappointed.

I read in the Straits Times today that the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC has not been contested in more than 20 years. Having lived in Bukit Panjang (almost) all my life, I had no qualms about that as the MPs in my constituencies seemed to be doing a decent job. As a matter of fact, we recently had a new carpark and sports field (conveniently timed to open this year) not long ago.

I never had a negative impression of Dr. V, until now. I seriously expected more, especially an experienced MP such as Dr. V to be open and able to engage the opposition on the issues facing Singapore for the next 5 years, instead utilising smear-and-fear campaigns to distract voters from the real issues.

I am pretty liberal when it comes to gays and lesbians rights, and I think that should be the direction Singapore should head towards if it wants to be a global, cosmopolitan and inclusive nation.

CAP 224, Section 377A continues to be a touchy issue, especially among conservative Singaporeans. But I certainly voters do not decide their votes based solely on just this one issue. What we really need is for people to openly discuss such issues instead of sinking to personal attacks.

You thought Dr. V. sank low? Well, it seems like The New Paper (TNP) decided that it can do one up (or rather, down) when it ran this headline:

I completely agree with miyagi when he tweeted, "Calling The New Paper gutter press is being mean to the gutters."

Quite a number of readers wrote in to express their anger and disappointment in running such a headline and the editor has since responded to such criticisms. It is true that TNP is a tabloid-ish paper and having attention grabbing headlines is its business, I think it instead made me NOT want to read the story.

Bending the rules?

Okay, I know this is one of the many Childcare centers (CCC) PAP runs. But are they allowed to openly display their party flags outside the CCC before nomination day?

Apparently, I'm not the only one who spotted this and think it is against the Parliamentary Act. But I think they will probably get away with it.

In other news, mrbrown asked a very interesting question: How many ministers and MPs does it take to open a (temporary) carpark? Well, from the looks of the screen shot, at least 7.

How come the carpark downstairs near my block never had such a grand opening ceremony arh? Our new carpark is permanent one leh. Is it because they are confused whether we are under Bukit Panjang SMC or the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and dunno who to send down?

Singapore votes, but who really cares?

So, Singaporeans goes to the polls on 7th May 2011. But who actually care?

Thinking back to the last GE in 2006 (where I was first eligible to vote), no one around the world seemed to care. I remember vaguely that the BBC World Service (FM88.9 in Singapore) and BBC News on cable barely reported it. When they did, the correspondents all expected the People's Action Party (PAP) to have no trouble forming the government. And they were right, the PAP led a almost clean sweep, capturing all but 2 of the seats in parliament. That was the year when I first really became interested in politics.

It wasn't until last year when I took a political science module in LSE when I realise that Singapore isn't really an unknown overseas, at least in the political science arena. I was surprised at the extreme (both ends) perceptions foreigners have on the Singapore political system. One common view is that Singapore isn't democratic, while the other group will argue that it still have elements of democracy. Many heated discussions and theories were thrown around in class, but at the end of the day, who really cares?

We, as Singaporeans, should care. Sadly, I can't say this is the case for a lot of my peers. Even those who care, only seem to be interested when the elections are near for the wrong reasons. Their interest can be easily attributed to 2 broad reasons:

1. Many of my peers are first time voters, and are simply upset with the PAP government. But when quizzed on the why they are so full of angst, almost none could explain why.

2. There are also those who support the ruling party, and their reasons for doing so are even more disappointing: Because the government is giving us money (the Grow-and-share package is aptly timed to be disbursed on 1 May 2011).

There are also many other similar reasons.

My point is, many young Singaporeans do not fully understand (or bother about) the state of the country before taking a side. Some of my peers do not even know what constituency they belong to and whether they are required to vote! Such voters should not even be allowed to vote because they do not even know the implications and reasons for casting their vote.

Many youths, in my opinion, are getting involved in the discussion only because everyone else seems to be talking about it. Singaporeans like to complain, it seems to be an unspoken element of the Singaporean culture. But many do not stop and think why they are criticizing the politicians or why they are taking sides with the opposition parties. How many actually bother to read the party manifestos, think and analyse what the parties are actually saying?

Politicians should not be excused either. Instead of focusing on explaining how they intend to carry our their vision of Singapore over the next 5 years, it has quickly disintegrated into a series of claims and counter-claims, accusations and more accusations. As much as I love to see all this modern day, political bitch-slapping between grown adults, it really distracts voters and the critical issues facing Singapore today.

Personally, I think it is up to Singaporeans to decide for themselves what is the best approach to take Singapore forward and what is the best team to take us forward. Politicians should (ideally, at least) give us the space to think (and stop treating us as idiots) instead of participating in the mud-slinging that is happening today.

It is not just the ruling party that is guilty of this, the opposition candidates are also participating in this zero-sum game. What's sad is that the moment one party says something, the other party will have to come out to defend or rebuke for fear of being hammered (pardon the pun) by the other.

For all the heated debate and discussions we now have against the ruling party, I honestly think all these anger will ultimately not translate into votes against the PAP. As mrbrown pointed out, "What Singaporeans say and complain about the government and ruling party doesn't necessarily translate into votes against them," he said. "It's always nice to have an opposition, but not in my backyard."

In their attempt to connect with the youth, both the ruling party (with much criticism) and the opposition parties (with pretty good reception) introduced relatively young candidates for this coming GE.

Can young Singaporeans take responsibility for their votes? Let's hope so.

Edit: Good to see posts such as this, from one of my peers. Shows that there are at least some Singaporeans rational enough to put things in perspective and think things through before putting pen to paper.

2011 NTU Open House

So the open house is finally over. At the end of it, I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment of 6 months of hard work. Though 6 months is not the longest project I've worked on, but the memories I take away from this project will stay with me for some time to come.

Events management and planning is nothing new to me, having spent the majority of my poly life running events for the School of Business and Accountancy and representing the school itself. But every event is different. And at the end of every event, there always is a sense of 'wanting more', wondering what else could have been done to make it better, hence, fueling the urge to participate in even more events.

Sadly, as the end of my undergraduate life draws to a close, I won't be able to participate in the 2012 NTU Open House. That said, I am glad that I took the opportunity to chair the NTUSU committee, and the process of putting together the next team is under way. So I'll be watching future OHs from the sidelines, knowing that I was once part of something special.

There are so many people I'd like to thank but I'm afraid of doing so for fear of forgetting somebody. So I shall thank them through a card via post. But everyone on the committee deserved thanks and I decided to thank them in the form of a very simple video that was mixed over two nights.