Overnight queueing for Lim Chee Guan Bak Kwa

Posted on January 15, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘S’poreans queueing overnight for bak kwa’, 15 Jan 2012, article in insing.com, translated from SM Daily

…Singaporeans are even queuing up through the night to get their bak kwa this time round. Well known bak kwa store Lim Chee Guan saw its stock sold out within 75 minutes of its opening at 9am this morning.

…The prices of bak kwa has also risen from $48 per kg yesterday to $50 per kg today.Each person was limited to buying 30kg yesterday, and the limit lowered to 20kg per person today.

Bak kwa prices are expected to rise further as Chinese New Year, the biggest day of the year for the Chinese, inches closer. One of those in the queue, Ms Chen, told reporters that she had taken a taxi from Hougang to New Bridge Road at about 6am to get the bak kwa. Together with five others, the group queued for four hours before they managed to buy their bak kwa.

The group planned to spend $6,000 to buy 120kg of bak kwa for their relatives and friends, and to give out to company employees. They had even arranged for vehicles to help carry the bak kwa back.

Many in the queue also appeared prepared for the long wait as some came with portable chairs while others were seen leisurely reading the papers. Reporters spoke to some folks in the queue, asking why they would spend so much time queuing for bak kwa. They explained that this is because the bak kwa here is delicious, and they get to feel the festive vibe by joining the queue.

The festive vibe is Bak

More than a week to go to CNY and the price of Lim Chee Guan bak kwa has already escalated to $50/kg. Last year, according to KeropokMan’s blog, it hit $52/kg on Jan 30 at LCG Chinatown, and an anecdotal forum complaint in 2011 cited $54/kg at the LCG in Ion Orchard, both prices surpassing the ‘Big Five-O’ which bak kwa lovers  feared in 2008.  There’s even a Bak Kwa Index to monitor ‘sizzling’ prices over the days leading up to CNY. According to a 2007 report, LCG raised its price to $44 from $38 a month earlier, more than 2 weeks before CNY on Feb 18 that year. The 2007 $2 increase per week seems conservative in light of how the same rise occurred A DAY this CNY.

A writer to the ST called the bak kwa companies ‘oligopolistic’, and swore to avoid the fatty snack altogether. Such profiteering was apparent in the early 2000′s, when $48/kg bak kwa was already in existence. But what’s curious about the CNY-bak kwa phenomenon is despite the hike, or BECAUSE of it, the queues have taken on similar characteristics to the HnM line last year; overnight camping and bak kwa lovers treating what appears to me is a sheer waste of time as some kind of ‘occasion’. 6 to 8 hour queues were unheard of when people first began jacking up the prices, and counter-intuitively, the higher the price per kg, the longer the wait. I’d rather spend the time spring cleaning my kitchen fridge, cabinets and all windows in my house.

Even more puzzling is how bak kwa can be taken for granted when it’s readily available throughout the year, when other seasonal goodies like pineapple tarts and love letters fail to take on the allure of scarcity to justify a price increase. A common argument is that prices of pork and oil have increased, but hasn’t everything else? Like flour, eggs, pineapples? The economics of bak kwa price hikes aside, there could be other human factors behind the absurd success of bak kwa, that people are willing to wait for ages and fork out such money for a few slices of dried BBQ meat, which in the Western context, is something you can prepare at home by simply plonking pork jerky over a weekend grill.

Surprisingly, it’s not so much the actual TASTE of Lim Chee Guan’s meat that draws the crowds. In a 2009 blind taste test, Lim Chee Guan was rated similarly to Bee Cheng Hiang, though both were chosen as top picks. BCH, of course, is the Sakae Sushi of bak kwa. I might as well buy a lot of bak kwa from the nearest mall, remove the packaging, trick my guests with a miserable tale of how I queued in the rain for 6 hours in Chinatown, and they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. In fact, even if they COULD tell the difference (which would rank them above the experts), they wouldn’t dispute and embarrass their host in the spirit of CNY. Perhaps the brand name helps too, since naming a bak kwa company after an actual person has a ring of authenticity to it, bringing to mind images of its founder (who happens to be NOT called Lim Chee Guan) sweating over the flames, stoking his moist, sweet hand-cut meats to crispy perfection.

What about  auspiciousness then? According to food guru K.F Seetoh, bak kwa is ‘long yoke’ in Cantonese, which means a ‘robust fortune ahead’, though true only for bak kwa sellers rather than those eating it  (more like robust ‘myocardial infarction risk’ ahead). Steeped in tradition and a ‘die-die-must-have’ staple aside, I’m hazarding a theory that it’s not the taste, or the ‘meaning’ behind bak kwa that drives people to camp overnight for what’s possibly the unhealthiest, most carcingogenic containing CNY goodie of all. Buying bak kwa is a gesture to show how much you’re willing to splurge and sacrifice for your guests, and the more expensive it gets, the longer the wait, the more generous and altruistic it makes you look, no matter how it ends up tasting like marinated cardboard.  Nothing scores more points than a gift of expensive bak kwa to your boss, or a prospective parent-in-law. It also helps that queuing happens to be a Singaporean pasttime, which pretty much explains everything.

About these ads

Filed under: 2000s, 2011, 2012, Chinese New Year, Festivals, Local food, Money, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Halloween Horrors axed for not being family friendly

Posted on September 17, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Night Safari axes Halloween Horrors event after feedback’, 16 Sept 2011 and ‘Staff split over decision to cancel event, 19 Sept 2011, articles by Amanda Tan, ST

The Night Safari has canned a Halloween event – even though 1,000 tickets have been sold – because of feedback that it has no relevance to conservation. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) has pulled the plug just two weeks before Halloween Horrors was to be held on weekends between Sept 30 and Oct 30.

On Thursday, WRS, which manages the Night Safari, said the decision was made ‘because of the negative feedback received from corporations, friends of the zoo, the public and the media about the event, especially over the relevance in relation to conservation’.

Ms Isabella Loh, director and newly-installed chief executive of the group, added that it agrees with comments made by President Tony Tan Keng Yam and that ‘WRS parks should have more family- bonding and wholesome activities’. On Sunday, Dr Tan was at the Singapore Zoo celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival when he said: ‘Such family bonding, I believe, is very important for Singapore because we need to create informal occasions where families, children can bond with their parents and grandparents. It is the best way of building a sense of unity and comfort within the family.’

….She said she had visited the event’s Haunted House on Monday and ‘got upset’ after that as she was ‘uncomfortable with the idea because it was too scary’. ‘I explained in an e-mail that that is a lot of money spent on an infrastructure (Haunted House) of devil worship,’ she said.

According to sources, Ms Loh said she had heard that ‘zebra heads were chopped off as a scare tactic’ as part of Halloween Horrors. Employees told her this was definitely not the case.

…On social media platform Facebook, netizens posted stinging comments on WRS’ page, while others had doubts over the reason given for the cancellation. One user, known as Jolyn Chia Yiling, wrote: ‘Maybe you guys would consider giving us a better excuse than we want to concentrate on Deepavali. Halloween in and of itself is also a great bonding activity for the whole family.’

The cancellation at the Night Safari has also come as disappointing news for 17 Singapore Polytechnic students. The third-year integrated events and project management students had conceptualised the theme, developed characters and designed costumes as part of their final-year project. They held their first full-dress rehearsal on Monday.

‘We’re disappointed. The students have done 90 per cent of the work and everyone was hyped up,’ said lecturer Jacqueline Ho, although she added that their grades would not be affected by the cancellation.

WRS chief isn't a FAN of Halloween

For an organisation that prides itself in conservation of endangered species, WRS is BLOODY cruel to Homo sapiens in the form of SP students . Isabella Loh’s knee-jerk reaction to Tony Tan’s comment during the Mooncake Festival among other anti-Halloween public complaints about Qing dynasty zombies in 201o  demonstrates how easily organisations crumble under mounting pressure at the expense of wasted resources, logistics and broken hearts all round. Pulling the plug on some ghoulish fun is like a parent spanking a child for making funny faces, and as much as WRS has good intentions of keeping the Safari wholesome, it just goes to show that WRS is to a sense of humour and fun as a silver bullet is to a werewolf. The WRS chief also appears to be hiding behind the clout of Tony Tan as justification for the ban, when TT DID NOT STATE for the record that he disapproved of the spookfest in the first place. Not only does one flush the SP efforts down the toilet, but gives the impression that it was the President who gave the orders to do so.

Caving in to terrified parents who want to protect their children from being cursed with demonic possession is ignoring the simple fact that people have a choice of participating in Horrors or not, and surely there would have been precautions in place to ensure that the faint-hearted or scaredy-cats were warned well in advance before accidentally landing themselves on the Tram Ride to Eternal Hell. Organisers could have also toned down the event to just a few days over the weekend or raised the age limit, thereby arriving at a compromise between customers and dissenters. Banning this altogether is like driving a wooden stake through a someone’s chest just because he has a pale complexion and speaks with a Transylvanian accent, but more importantly it leaves a bad taste of dried blood in the mouths of 1000 customers who signed up for the event.

Halloween here has been a gleeful excuse for ladies to dress like Catwoman and men to put on make-up once a year, and is more a modified Cosplay event than traditional Jack O Lanterns or trick or treating, meaning it doesn’t necessarily have to be all freaky ghouls, goblins or ‘devil worship’. People can come dressed as Hitler, Batman and Joker, or members of ZZ Top if they want to. Unlike the ethnicity-specific Mooncake festival or the proposed  ‘Horrors’ replacement Deepavali (Festival of FRIGHTS? hur hur), Halloween is a more ‘informal’ event which brings all ages together, not to mention it’s more FUN.  It’s also one of the few ‘festivals’ we have that’s racially and religiously neutral (The others are New Year’s Day, May Day, National Day and of course April Fools’ Day), though it needs some time before Halloween becomes universally accepted as a legitimate family-fun activity rather than a weekend of  drunken pranking and cheesy  fake blood.

Filed under: 2011, Bureaucrats, Customer service, Festivals, Kids, Nightspots, Politicians | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Chen Show Mao disinvited to dinner

Posted on August 21, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Chen Show Mao ‘uninvited’ from communal event”, 21 Aug 2011, article by Benson Ang in tnp.sg and Chen Show Mao’s Facebook page.

CONTROVERSY has broken afresh online after Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition ward of Aljunied were “disinvited” to at least one ghost month dinner events.

Workers’ Party (WP) MP for Aljunied GRC Chen Show Mao explained on his Facebook page yesterday that he had been scheduled to attend such a dinner last week, but the organisers had called to let him know that they could not have him show up as originally hoped.

Grassroots leaders are often invited to such dinners, held as part of the Chinese Hungry Ghost Month celebrations.

In this case, organisers had – according to Mr Chen’s post – been told by the Paya Lebar CCC (Citizens’ Consultative Committee under the People’s Association) that, as a condition for receiving CCC approval to use a planned venue in the HDB estate, they “may no longer” invite the Aljunied opposition MPs.

(Chen Show Mao): …It pains me that they felt so embarrassed to pass me the news.  Regrettably, this is not the first time it has happened since I was elected….Many residents talk to me about the events they are organizing in the neighborhood: some of them wish to invite me to join them, others don’t see the need to.  That is all fine by me … there is really no call to force our residents into a quandary over whom they may invite as guests to their own events.

No you don't have to 'revert'

According to the PA website, under the PA Act (Yes there are actually legal frameworks governing PA’s activities):

4 (1) The Association shall consist of -
(a) the Prime Minister as Chairman;
(b) a Minister to be appointed by the Chairman as Deputy
Chairman;
(c) 8 members to be appointed by the Chairman; and
(d) one member to be appointed by the Chairman in consultation
with each of the organisations mentioned in the First Schedule.

Other than our PM as Chairman, the current board of management also includes fellow PAP ministers like  Lim Swee Say as Deputy Chairman, MG Chan Chun Sing and Grace Fu. It’s obvious that the PA is really a Recreation Club spin-off of the PAP, and should really be called PAPPA instead. If this ‘PAP who’s who’ line-up is not reason enough to see why Chen Show Mao of the WP was forced into a ‘No-Show’, a similar snub befell Chiam See Tong back in 1988. Chiam, then SDP leader, was not invited to the Potong Pasir National Day dinner, also organised by the Citizen’s Consultative Commitee of the constituency (I wasn’t invited to Potong Pasir dinner: Chiam, 17 Aug 1988, ST), which pretty much confirms that this PA party-pooper business is exclusive to Opposition MPs.

Is the reluctance of the PA to have Opposition MPs at such functions  a form of preferential treatment, a wily tactic to prevent any sort of  ‘recruitment’ of grassroot leaders into the Opposition camp, or for ‘security’ reasons? DPM Wong Kan Seng was quick to denounce any political link between PA and the PAP in 2006, though any outstanding grassroots work under the PA is a surefire way to get noticed by its predominantly PAP board members. In a heated debate with LKY in 1983,  Anson MP JBJ described being ‘treated like a leper’ by RC members, and cited, in contrast, the entourage of 25 HDB and PA associates accompanying a PAP MP on his walkabout. In the same article, LKY had this to say about the birth of the PA in 1960, of which he was the Chairman (naturally)

…Therefore we came out with this association (the PA) which enabled people not to identify with  a political party but with the government of the day. There is a clear distinction.

In today’s PA, the ‘government of the day’ resides in its Board of Management, which explains the behaviour of its staff, even if they’re under no obligation to support the PAP in any way.  But dig deeper into the history of the PA and you’ll uncover a darker, deep-seated reason behind this aversion to the Opposition. In 1961, 17 PA members were dismissed for allegedly supporting former PAP members (who left to join Barisan Socialis) by distributing anti-government propaganda in CCs, resulting in a strike involving 200 PA members. One of the  PAP ‘defectors’ was none other than Dr Lim Hock Siew, later detained for almost 20 years under the ISA. So you can probably understand why PA members aren’t exactly touchy-feely with Opposition MPs, because you never know when inviting one to dinner would be misinterpreted as an act of aiding ‘subversion’.

Of course if today’s PA members, supposedly a non-political body (despite its PAP bosses) decide to hold demonstrations at CCs to kick out WP MPs from their GRCs, they would probably be let off with nothing more than a warning. On the other hand, if they bootlick PAP MPs by helping put up campaign posters or ferry people to rallies FOC during the general elections, that  would be judged as actions of their own free will. Therein lies the contradiction of a statutory board disclaiming any political links, and unless there is complete severance of PA from the PAP, or when MPs start wearing the same attire to NDP, this organisation will continue to  fail in living up to its motto: Bringing People Together, because from what I understand about the word ‘People’, it means all Singaporeans, whichever political camp you belong to.

Postscript:  Former PAP MP Cynthia Chua responded by criticising Chen Show Mao for ‘politicising’ the case.  According to the rules in using open spaces,  those managed by the PA are leased for its grassroots organisations, but their activities must not be ‘political in nature’. This means MPs are not allowed to attend, but PAP losing candidates in opposition-held wards get to attend such events as government-appointed ‘grassroots advisers’ e.g Cynthia Chua. Which means ousted PAP members, by retaining their ‘adviser’ status, get to mingle more with constituency residents while their very own MPs, the ones who can actually get things done,  are banned. Surely, at the back of the minds of such ‘runner-up’ politicians would be getting re-elected, so how is having these ‘advisors’  grooming grassroots leaders at these events and making their presence felt as if to say ‘I’m still here in the running!’ NOT considered a political activity?  If PA is serious about its non-party-political affiliations, it should not have any PAP backing at all, and ban all past, present or future MPs from all its grassroots events.

Filed under: 1960s, 1980s, 2000s, 2011, Bloggers, Bureaucrats, Festivals, Politicians | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

McDonald’s playing Muslim prayers over dinner

Posted on August 19, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Man complains about Muslim prayers at McDonald’s outlet‘, 19 Aug 2011, article by Faris Mokhtar, sg yahoo news.

A man has generated heated debate online after he posted comments questioning why McDonald’s allowed the Muslim prayers to be played at one of its restaurants. The debate first started after a man known as Alex Chang posted his comments on McDonald’s Facebook wall on Thursday.

He had asked why the fast food giant’s outlets played the Muslim prayers during dinner time at its restaurants. “Can I request to play Buddhism chant on Vesak Day? Please advice,” he asked sarcastically.

…His remarks on the issue drew a few comments explaining that the reason could be Muslims are breaking their fast. In response, Chang said, “Not trying to be disrespectful. But a bit irritating during dinner time. Not respecting other religion(s) at all.”

“By the way, can you tolerate if they play Buddhist chime in the restaurant?” he added.

…Chang issued an apology for his comments, saying that it was not meant to be “racist”. “I would like to apologise for the comment that was posted on the McDonald’s website. It was not meant to be a racist remark which has offended so many people including our Malay friends. Sorry for my ignorance,” he said

‘Alex Chang’ was unwittingly voicing the concerns of non-Muslim diners encountering this oddity but were too afraid to ask, and suffering for it because of a momentary lack of tact. Macs is a certified halal fast food joint and icon of the consumerist Western world. An international conglomerate of its stature broadcasting religious prayers while patrons are tucking into Big Macs just strikes me as rather out of place, nevermind if you’re Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu. It’s like going to a French restaurant and having Waltzing Matilda blasting in your ear, or eating sushi to the mopey sounds of Gregorian monks chanting. Not liking what you hear doesn’t automatically make you a right-wing extremist, and Alex’s careless public rant has become instant, explosive troll-fodder, making LKY’s comment on Muslims’ strict communal eating habits seem as tame as a Grilled Chicken Foldover  in comparison.

It’s  not so much about religious tolerance or racism here, but whether the act of putting such audio on air is compatible with Macs’ behemoth corporate image.  According to Macs, some outlets have chosen to tune in to radio stations other than the ‘standard playlist’. Perhaps it’s only fair that hungry Muslims get to hear the soothing sounds of ‘dinner-time’ prayer during this period of voluntary penance, just as Christians get euphoric listening to Xmas songs with the word ‘Jesus’ in them, where there is a prickly thin line drawn between what is ‘religious’ and what’s merely ‘ethnic’. I haven’t heard what’s being played in Macs myself but unless everyone’s favourite fast food joint and obesity’s bedfellow begins selling ketupats and curry instead of burgers and fries during Ramadan, I don’t see how this is worth starting a tudung saga all over again.  Now that ‘Alex ‘ has taken the flame-bait, and thanks to the rest of the Facebookers giving his McNuggets a good sockin’ even after an apology,  the rest of us who aren’t fans of monotonous chanting of any sort will just avoid Macs during the festivities, which is what everyone who doesn’t want a heart attack should be doing anyway.

I’ve written enough about how Facebook tends to make Hiroshimas out of little dynamite sticks, that it stirs pandemic levels of paranoia whether it’s about ministers’ sons deferring NS or foreign workers insulting Singaporeans, and this episode is no exception. In a related incident during CNY 2010,  Mcdonald’s  chose to remove the Doraemon Zodiac pig toy in order to appease their Muslim diners, offending Chinese customers born in the year of the Pig. I don’t remember if they played any CNY music then. Still, I’m PRAYING really hard that that this unnecessary reminder for solidarity doesn’t morph into a ‘Eat at McDonald’s with Prayers’ event after the ‘Cook a pot of Curry‘ fanfare. You have been warned.

Filed under: 2011, Bloggers, Fast food, Festivals, Local food, Racism, Religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

NDP should be NC-16 because of cross-dressing

Posted on August 11, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘One people , one dress code, please’ and ‘Change to a neutral hue’, 11 Aug 2011, ST Forum

(Ronald Seow): …The National Day Parade is a celebration of citizens, united as one people, regardless of race, language or religion – and more so, political differences.

It should be a significant annual event uniting all political leaders to celebrate Singapore’s birthday. I hope future parades will see all MPs dressed in the national colours – a combination of red and white or the official orchid-patterned shirts and dresses.

MPs must make an effort to stand as one united people to serve the people of Singapore. They should take pride in their efforts to lead in nation building, and not show off their political party colours.

(MR ERIC ONG): I couldn’t help but wonder why no MP turned up in red. Instead, they wore white or light blue tops. Surely they should be together as one with fellow citizens in celebration. A red top with a pair of white trousers or skirt would not go amiss in the sea of red we saw in the stands.

We have had 46 years of independence and NDP celebrations, so why bring up minister dress code only now?  The PAP’s all-white get up has become an indispensable prop at parades by tradition, like marching soldiers or the playing of the national anthem. It is an iconic feature and source of countless ‘men in white’ puns throughout the PAP’s reign as the only political party ever to govern this young nation, which explains why it never struck us to have our ministers wearing red or orchid motifs for a change.  It’s like seeing a clown perform without a red nose, Professor Dumbledore without a flowing white beard, or Hawaiian hula dancers without coconuts.

The VIP stand in 1967

It only makes sense for the Workers’ Party MPs to come dressed in their own party colours because PAP wouldn’t budge having dressed white for half a century, nor would they don red because that also happens to be what SPP ‘s Lina Chiam was wearing that day, despite red being the most obvious alternative to white. If anyone had the foresight to picture this awkward situation even happening, they would have chosen non-flag colours for party logos in the first place. Like how Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United fans all wear England jerseys to a World Cup match, despite being loggerheads when dressed in their respective club jerseys.  Some MPs like Penny Low would gladly welcome the idea of being nondescript and disappearing into a sea of red, but for all the wrong reasons. Heck, why bother with the VIP stand at all and just  do away with the formality of physical segregation altogether? Why not make our ministers march with the contingent and perform for us like they used to do way back in 1966 (Day and night of fun and joy in S’pore, 10 Aug 1966, ST), mingle with us, sing NDP songs with us and rummage through Fun Packs with the enthusiasm of a child opening Santa’s present like everyone else?

From ‘Drag wrong, guys’, 11 Aug 2011, ST Forum

(Ivan Lau): ..As a parent of three young children, I question the appropriateness of cross-dressing in the segment on racial harmony and nation building.

Prominent male comedian Gurmit Singh, known to young audiences in his role as a male alien in the television series Cosmo & George that airs on Okto, was sari-clad as an Indian woman.

Talented male actor Chua Enlai, known to children as a male host of many programmes on Okto, was dressed as a young, modern woman.

Was such casting necessary in the context of portraying racial harmony and nation building on national television? Or was it the organising committee’s intention to portray harmony of another kind, namely that of transgender or transsexuality? It that was the intent, then the show should had been more aptly rated NC-16.

Singled ladies

Well you’ve got to admit, men in dresses are cheap sight gags and worthy of a snigger or two if you’re the kind who used to tape America’s Funniest Home Videos and play them at family gatherings,  but I thought in the spirit of family-friendly wholesomeness  it would have been more appropriate to rope in the Dim Sum Dollies for this skit. The trio has disappeared since the ‘Love Your Ride’ jingle-torture and are probably on indefinite hiatus from public service announcement jobs considering the fact that their boa-swishing and harmonised cooing did absolutely nothing to improve comfort or graciousness in trains. We even have to pay more for it now.

It probably didn’t matter who performs anyway because the script was a sheer waste of the gender-bending comedic talents of both Singh and En Lai, with both resorting to pitch changes and maniacal shrieking to amuse the crowd. And the problem with dolling up two men going over-the-top just to justify the extra weight of fake boobs and leaving one actual female actress in the cast is that it effectively renders the real woman invisible. As for rating, I thought slapping a NC-16 on cross-dressing was a tad harsh. Children are already familiar with the likes of Liang Po Po and Aunty Lucy on national TV, so a milder PG-13 would surely be enough.

Filed under: 1960s, 2011, Cross dressing, Dress sense, Festivals, Local actors, Politicians, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Penny’s all time NDP Low

Posted on August 10, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘MP checks phone during national anthem’, 10 Aug 2011, article in insing.com

…Member of Parliament (MP) Penny Low was spotted being occupied with her phone during the singing of the national anthem at the National Day Parade (NDP) yesterday.

…A netizen “UptheToon” said, “Shows even the MP don’t really care about Singapore or our songs.”

Other netizens defend the MP, suggesting that she may be checking that her phone is on silent mode. There are also suggestions that Ms Low may have dropped her phone. Kenneth Jeyaretnam, secretary general of the Reform Party, posted his take of the matter on his Facebook page.

He commented on a picture of MP Penny Low looking down at her mobile phone, “HP addiction is an illness. She needs help and treatment not punishment.”

Malu Lah Singapura

According to the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules, 2004 (too many ‘ands’ for a title of a legal statute perhaps?):

Respect for National Anthem

12. When the National Anthem is performed or sung, every person present shall stand up as a mark of respect.

13.—(1) Any person performing or singing the National Anthem shall perform or sing the National Anthem according to the official arrangement in the Third Schedule or any other arrangement permitted under paragraph (2).

…(3) Any person who sings the National Anthem —

(a) shall follow the official lyrics in the Third Schedule; and (b) shall not sing any translation of those lyrics.

…(3) Any person who knowingly performs or sings the National Anthem in contravention of rule 13 (1) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

Technically, this means those of us who have been singing berseru instead of bersatu have been contravening rule 13 (3) part a and should have been fined $1000 for not following the official lyrics of Majulah Singapura. As for rule 12, it doesn’t specify the radius from the source of the anthem within which every person ‘shall stand up as a mark of respect’. It also doesn’t say if it’s illegal to stand but turn your back against the direction of the flag (if there’s one being raised), that you have to sing the anthem while standing, to talk to a friend while it’s being played, to yawn, close your eyes, giggle, chew gum, or in Penny Low’s case, stealing a quick glance at your handphone instead of belting out the empathic chorus of our anthem with hand-on-heart gusto and feeling.

Any MP who does so much as scratch an itch, tap his feet, doze off or fumble a lyric during a very pivotal moment in any NDP would be subject to the same online shaming. Penny Low was an unlucky victim of an untimely camera pan, yet nobody cares about the behaviour of the other spectators during NDP (I’m sure there must be at least ONE person out there SITTING down and clearly infringing the law), whether our army contingents march in sync,  or  of perennial host Gurmit Singh telling Singapore to ‘make some noise’ again and again.   The whole reason why people still watch the NDP is to capture our leaders in gaffes like these, have it catch on like wildfire and tsk-tsk away at work for some fun office bonding, when a more useful topic of discussion would be to question what volunteers dressed up as milk and cookies and dancing has to do with the Singapore story.   It’s Majulah, I thought, not Disney’s Fantasia.

It would have been fine with Ms Low just left it as that; we don’t want to know what you’re doing with your handphone. But instead we get this justification in her  Facebook post:

(Penny Low): I was so caught up in the wonderful NDP 2011 and felt so proud of being a Singaporean, that i wanted to capture that moment of pride, at the very tail end of the anthem, to share on FB with my residents. If in my enthusiasm i offended anyone, please accept my apologies. NDP is a time to unite not divide. Majulah Singapura!

A few things. An MP should never use pride in the nation as an excuse for getting carried away from what’s basic courtesy and decorum. It’s like texting your spouse or girlfriend while you’re having lunch with your boss because you can’t help LOVING her so much. Next, just because the anthem is at its tail end doesn’t mean you can slack off. For a true blue Singaporean, pausing at the climatic drumroll of Majulah Singapura is like choking during the crescendo of an orgasm.  Thirdly, your ‘residents’ don’t care about your Facebook uploads when they can watch the parade live from all camera angles on Channel 5.  Lastly, the crafty line ‘a time to unite not divide’ i.e don’t slam me because it’s National Day is cocky blame-shifting. Here’s what happened, Penny: You are hooked on Facebook and you just had to post something because you just didn’t have the patience to hang on till the end of the National Anthem.  Still think politicians and social media go well together? Kenneth Jeyaretnam is right, Penny Low needs medical attention stat.  Fellow MP Tin Pei Ling may have a good doctor to recommend for such compulsive behaviour.

Filed under: 2011, Bloggers, Festivals, Politicians, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

National flag more than a piece of cloth

Posted on August 6, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘A national flag is more than a piece of cloth’, 5 aug 2011, Voices, Today

(Sanjay Bhatia): I REFER to Mr Chan Hean Boon’s letter “Let’s fly the Singapore flag” (Aug 3). As a foreigner in this country, I am appalled that a Singaporean blatantly blames the influx of foreigners as a reason for the erosion of Singaporeans’ love for their country (“I believe the influx of foreigners over the past few years may have slowly eroded our affection for this country, and Singaporeans no longer have the passion to fly the flag”, 3 Aug, Voices, Today)

Hanging flags outside flats does not reflect a love for the country. A flag is more than just a piece of cloth, to be counted. It is to a nation what a name is to a man. I know of a lot of countries that even have rules on how to hoist the national flag and how to respect the flag. People fight and die for their national flags.

I would like to remind Mr Chan what the Singapore national flag represents: The Singapore National Flag consists of two equal horizontal sections, red above white. In the top left canton is a white crescent moon beside five white stars within a circle. Each feature has its own distinctive meaning and significance: Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man; white signifies pervading and everlasting purity and virtue; the crescent moon represents a young nation on the ascendant; and the five stars stand for the nation’s ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality. Lastly, as a foreigner, I respect Singapore and applaud the Government for building such a great nation.

I have a number of Singaporean friends and colleagues and have never felt any hatred such as that shining through Mr Chan’s letter. It may do him good to take a step back and understand the meaning of the red colour in the flag that hangs outside his own home.

The state flag as we know it today is about 52 years young (Singapore chooses own flag and anthem, 9 Nov 1959, ST) and this foreigner is spot on with the symbolism, though most Singaporeans are unlikely to be able to rattle off what the five stars stand for.  I used to think these were taken off the Pledge (..to build a democratic society based on justice and equality…so as to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for the nation), which explains why so many others can’t recall the fifth star (peace), or mix this up with ‘prosperity‘. He left out the part on ‘red’ symbolising the blood of all men, that no nation was built without first sacrificing her sons and daughters in the process. Nothing special about red really, most nations have it splayed all over their flags, and probably for the same violent reason. (On a side note, Bhutan has my vote for the coolest state flag ever)

This rather arrogant response is revenge against being accused of diluting the patriotism in this country, and no Singaporean would relish the thought of being educated on the meaning of the flag’s colours by a foreigner (more so if we don’t know the answer ourselves), though the complainant’s lecture on flag symbolism sounds like a 10 year series entrance exam model answer to qualify for citizenship. But is it really the foreigners’ fault? Were we more patriotic before the immigration influx or did we simply grow tired of the same shebang year in year out? Are our immigrants just a convenient scapegoat masking a more deep-seated apathy towards nationbuilding and what it represents?A poll conducted in 1989 revealed that Singaporeans are a hapless lot when it comes to state flag trivia, with some giving pathetic guesses like ‘five races: Chinese, Indian, Malay, Europeans and Caucasians’ to explain why there are 5 stars (Many do not know flag’s significance, 29 July 1989, ST). Back in 1972, state flags were already treated worse than kitchen floor rags (Surely a symbol of loyalty should be something like this? 19 May 1972, ST). So it’s not just about foreigners,  and Chan Hean Boon’s veiled jingoism is perhaps an excuse for the fact that we just don’t care anymore.

Incidentally, having a flag outside your home doesn’t necessarily mean you adore the country. The one flying outside my corridor was set up mysteriously overnight, along with rest of the floors, neatly arranged in a straight line on the block. I figure it’s the complacency of having the government create this festive illusion for us instead of people  getting together, making the effort to tie flags to poles, erecting and saluting them that is the cause of our woeful attitude. We, the citizens of Singapore, are more likely to have Halloween parties than National Day Parade theme parties, simply because Halloween is more fun.

Another reason could be the display of the flag being governed by rather antediluvian state laws which makes it rather tedious for anyone who wants to express their pride for the country in a creative way without running afoul of Paragraph 6 of the ‘National State Arms and Flag and National Anthem rules’, first drafted in 1960 in which it forbade the use of the state flag as a ‘print pattern or for other commercial purpose”. Which means you can’t wear a T shirt with the Singapore flag on it then (maybe you still can’t). 1969 Miss Tourism Rosalind Ong contravened the law by sporting the national flag design, and the restriction was exercised again as recently as 1986, almost landing Miss Singapore Universe  in trouble too (See pic/link below, Not the way to keep flag flying, 5 June 1986, ST).

Pageants aside, any artist wanting to use the state flag as an inspiration and motif would also get his work banned outright, being in flagrant violation of the State Flag laws (Govt’s red flag up over art, 25 Jan 2003, Today). Just last year, another artpiece was slammed for showing utter disrespect to the source of its inspiration during the ‘Paint the Town Red and White‘ exhibition. And who could forget the image of our waterpolo boys in full on skimpy NDP mode burned in our retinas.

No wearing of Singapore flag on the head

In 2007, the regulations were updated to read as follows:

Use of Flag

…9.—(1) No person shall use or apply the Flag or any image thereof —

(a) for any commercial purpose; (b) as a means, or for the purpose, of any advertisement; or (c) as or as part of any furnishing, decoration, covering or receptacle, except in such circumstances as may be approved by the Minister, being circumstances wherein there is no disrespect for the Flag.

…(4) Subject to paragraph (5), no person shall use or apply the Flag or any image thereof as or as part of any costume or attire except in such circumstances as may be approved by the Minister, being circumstances wherein there is no disrespect for the Flag.

…(6) Subject to paragraph (7), no person shall produce or display any flag which bears any graphics or word superimposed on the design of the Flag.

(7) Paragraph (6) shall not apply to the production by or on behalf of, or the display by, any Government department of its flag.

(8) In this rule, ‘‘receptacle’’ includes a paper, plastic and refuse bag.

Meaning, if you don’t want to be $1o00 poorer, it’s better to play it safe and not display it at all, or hire someone to stand guard 24 hours a day by your flag just to make sure it doesn’t get flipped over or have any birdshit on it. You also can’t throw away a crumpled dirty flag into a ‘receptable’ even if it reeks worse than a soiled diaper without asking the Minister for permission. It’s also strange how locals get slammed for being creative, but nothing is done to apprehend Malaysian football fans  for defacing it in what’s obviously in contravention of (6) above, unless of course, the law doesn’t apply to foreigners.

Bad spelling is a greater crime

The word ‘disrespect’ is also ambiguous; burning or using it wipe your buttocks after a dump is a clear fine straightaway, but what’s more dodgy are scenarios like wrapping a newborn infant in it, using it as a blanket or posting the flag on your blog with the words ‘I LOVE SINGAPORE’ photoshopped over it. With so many restrictions, it’s really not surprising that our willingness to express our national pride is..(get ready for it)..flagging.

Happy National Day, Singapore.

Filed under: 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s, 2010, 2011, Art, Beauty pageants, Festivals, Foreign workers, Justice system/Lawsuits, Ms Singapore Universe, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

NDP Fun pack song attacked

Posted on July 6, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Bad idea’, 6 July 2011, My Point, ST Forum and ‘Lady Gaga rip-off ripped out’, 6 July 2011, article by Jeremy Chow, ST

(MS CHRISTINE CHAN): ‘A YouTube video of a recent rehearsal for this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) features a pre-show performance by local artists singing about the contents of the fun pack for the NDP crowd to the tune of Lady Gaga’s hit single Bad Romance. While featuring popular music to create a youthful and entertaining buzz is well-meaning, to cheapen a hit song with lyrics about the trivialities of an NDP goodie bag is in bad taste. The banal treatment ruins the experience of the original song and insults the intelligence of spectators and home viewers. The parade not only celebrates the nation’s founding, but it also showcases Singapore as an island that has overcome great odds to be a First World country. To have a well-loved song destroyed by lyrics about goodie bags reflects poorly on us. As the NDP is still in rehearsals, it is not too late to make amends. As a young person and Lady Gaga fan, I hope this number will be excluded.’

…Dick Lee: Why do we need to sing about biscuits, sweets and Newater? It’s not worth celebrating these items in a bag….If I were Lady Gaga, I wouldn’t be very pleased.

Superlatives like ‘epic fail’, ‘lame’, ‘embarrassing’ came fast and furious when this clip went viral, and it’s clear from the video that the audience wasn’t amused, with cheerleaders trying their darnedest to get people excited over a goodie bag  So now they know how flight attendants feel when they’re giving safety demos to passengers. If I were deprived of food, water and a mobile phone for a week I’d probably have something to prance about, but to go Gaga over a goodie bag is like throwing fireworks after finding out what’s inside a pencil case. Incidentally, the fun pack was painstakingly designed to be biodegradable, with a visor, a hand-fan and a Mr Bean shaker. It’s practically your very own samba fiesta in a bag, which explains everything then.

I just can't wait to attack it

Lampooning Lady Gaga is fine as long as you make it witty, at minimum, relevant. But even the hardiest Phua Chu Kang movie fans fed on a stock of clumsy schtick would find this rather unbearable after a few listens.  I mean, this actually makes the YOG’s Oh Yeah Oh Yeah cheer sound, and LOOK, good. The ‘Love Your Ride’ jingle is a work of sterling genius in comparison. There’s no effort to even make a pun out of the original song’s title, which makes this more of an insult, rather than a tribute to the diva herself. Everyone performing that song in the video has my deepest sympathies. It could have been worse, though. Gurmit Singh could have sung this dressed as Phua Chu Kang.

But what really bugs me about this song is that it’s taking its subject matter  (fun pack) way too seriously, that it ceases to be cheesy after the very first line. It seemed like the writer came up with the lyrics while pressed against the wall with a flaming pitchfork, held by a singing purple dinosaur who would only let him off if he churned out something in a couple of minutes. I took the pain of dissecting the lyrics line by line, to give an indication of how much thought was put into this.

Let’s start with the bag/That’s right, grab your bag/It’s the fun pack bag/Attack the fun pack

The bag in ‘fun pack bag’ is redundant. Isn’t the pack itself a bag? Just look at the last words of this stanza. Bag, bag, bag, pack. What the hell. Mother Goose would be squawking with displeasure.

Take out your light stick, it’s two of a kind/It’s interactive, means you can join/Just pretend/Oh oh oh it’s a disco

Means you can join..what?How is a light stick interactive? Can you sms with it? Do people even use the word ‘disco’ anymore?

I want Newater and I want a cold drink/You and me let’s share a bit/I want a biscuit and I want a sweet/You and me, let’s share this treat

This is the fountain of youth right here. Sing this line and you’ll be instantly transported into a crib, Huggies and all. And redundancy again; Newater IS the cold drink isn’t it. Or so I hope.

But what really takes the cake is the bridge. I’m not sure what the intentions of the writer were when he came up with this, but it sounds like something you would want to attach a xxx suffix to.

You know I want you/And you know that I need you/I want a wet, wet tissue.

The fun pack will naturally spawn its own spoofs-within-a-spoofs in the coming days. Enter the Pun Pack, and let the real fun begin. Meanwhile, just in case there are fun pack supporters out there who want to challenge me to come up with something better, here’s my version.

I want that visor/it makes me look cool
Anyone to thinks otherwise/ Is just a damned fool
I want it now/ Now, now, now, if not how?

Chorus: I want my funpack so I can shine a light stick
And wave it like I’m a Star Wars Kid (whoa-oh-oh)
I want this song to end/It’s taking too long
Bring on the Munnaeru Vaalibaa song

Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh-ohhh
Munnaeru Vaalibaa song

Postscript: The Fun Pack song was eventually given the boot out of the NDP parade, citing copyright issues as the reason. There is a God. It will be a while before we hear of Haresh Sharma again. I know everyone’s got to pay the bills, especially playwrights, but this is not the way to sell-out dude, more so if you’ve once been shortlisted by CNN in 2009 as one of 20 Singaporeans described as  ‘unique, fascinating, and contributing to the city and society in their own way’.

Filed under: 2011, Festivals, Local music/bands, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Schools don’t celebrate Mothers’ Day

Posted on May 12, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Mum’s schooling concerns’, 12 May 2011, ST Forum online. Thanks to ‘stupidsolutions’

(Sherley Servos): I AM an Aljunied voter. Since Nomination Day, I spent every single night sleepless, pondering what to do.

I considered many things: the nation’s desire for an opposition voice, the People’s Action Party’s good work in my GRC, estate maintenance, the possibility of losing a brilliant foreign minister, as well as my wish for a less stressful educational climate. I decided to let my interests determine my vote.

I almost backed the Workers’ Party after looking at its manifesto on education. However, I voted for the PAP when Mr George Yeo pledged to reform the party.

In the aftermath of this election, I hope the ruling party will examine the paper-chase obsession in schools.

For instance, my son did not know that Sunday was Mother’s Day as his primary school had never taken the time to impart that non-academic fact. In the United States, where we lived for two years, the children would draw cards for their mothers and make videos for their fathers on their special days.

It’s Aljunied citizens like these who would make Low Thia Khiang and his WP team wish they had remained in Hougang instead.  First, in spite of ‘sleepless nights’ and poring over the WP manifesto, she reversed her decision based on nothing more than a PAP minister’s pledge, which we now know won’t come to pass.  So now the WP’s got their work cut out for them, having to deal with people with the analytical depth of puff pastry, bringing incongruous American ideals to the table and advocating that schools cut some slack before Mothers’ Day weekend every year so that kids can design cards for their  mothers, instead of learning stuff. Perhaps it’s awkward for mothers themselves to drop hints about Mother’s Day to their own children, which is where Daddy, assuming he  himself remembers, comes in. Otherwise, there’s always advertisements on TV or hearsay from friends i.e the outside world, where kids are supposed to pick up ‘non-academic’ facts of life anyway, not from a Powerpoint slide titled ‘How to Show Mummy you Love Her’ during moral education class.

The element of sincerity and surprise is lost when mothers expect gifts to be crafted out of a classroom instead of  the priceless experience of  discovering that her kid had sacrificed the daily Barney just to fashion a surprise in secret. Any kid who has an aversion to anything Arts and crafts will resent Mothers’ day all his life if he’s being forced by teachers to handle so much as crayon or crispy coloured paper, when he would rather sing a song, or simply give Mummy a hug. Mummy could get the fanciest, intricately gold-dusted card one day, but summoned to the Principal’s office the next if her kid, artistic as he may be,  is essentially a troublemaker who fails to understand that love is more than just designated showering of affection on 1 out of 365 days a year,  but not being a let-down and a disgrace to the family for the other 364 days.  In fact, to even suggest that our children need teachers to tell them what Mother’s Day is, is an insult to motherhood in general. Seems like Mothers’ Day was never a priority in schools since the early eighties (See below, 18 May 1981, ST), but we haven’t all turned into ungrateful louts who dump their mothers in nursing homes, have we? And the fact that most mothers don’t complain  about schools not celebrating Mothers’ Day is testimony to how great and unconditional this love is, as it’s always meant to be.

Filed under: 1980s, 2011, Campaigns/Elections, Festivals, Parenting, Teachers | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Places of worship not for political parties

Posted on April 19, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Parties should avoid places of worship’, 19 April 2011, Voices, Today

(M Lukshumayeh): Watching the News 5 Tonight on Sunday, it seems that the Singapore Democratic Alliance led by the party’s secretary-general included in their walkabout a Hindu temple and a Chinese temple, where they were seen distributing the party’s leaflets.

While it is understandable that political parties wish to reach out to people in every nook and cranny, it may be better to refrain from going into places of worship to disseminate their political ideologies.

Singapore has always taken the position that politics and religion should not be mixed and it is, therefore, hoped that this transgression is not repeated by all political parties. Let worshippers at places of worship undertake their prayers without unnecessary distraction.

Eat, Pray, Vote

Conveniently omitted from the complainant’s letter is how a similar ‘transgression’ took place around the same time involving none other than SM Goh, who visited the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar temple, and even had warpaint on for the Hindu Holi festival. Dropping by religious buildings, of course, nothing new to our SM, who started bridging the religion-politics divide even way back in 1982 during his walkabouts as Defence and Second Health Minister (Walkabout way to meet people, 11 Oct 1982, ST)

On the election warpath

So perhaps the Opposition were a little less subtle in their mode of winning the hearts of a minority race, that distributing pamphlets was seen by the writer as ‘disseminating political ideologies’ while doing a simple ‘walkabout’ and becoming a pilgrim for a day isn’t. Of course if there were such a distinct line between the two oldest institutions of human endeavour, then we shouldn’t even allow staunch Christians in parliament (e.g. Lim Boon Heng),  or even Muslims for that matter, whose opinions on vices like sex and gambling would have been pesky deterrents to economic growth i.e casinos. Nothing speaks tolerance and multi-racial harmony like a Chinese politician reaching the Hindu community by the only way possible short of dipping nude in the Ganges or doing a cameo on a Vasantham drama serial, being touchy-feely with a holy man in their temples and making sure the media is around to capture it. Or how about an Indian politician decorating a Christmas tree in a church (see Tharman in Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, also PAP by the way, below).

Deck the polls

So all’s fair in votes and war, and such antics, ruling party of Opposition alike, are mere ploys to score brownie points with an increasingly skeptical public, if not with monetary goodies and lift upgrading,  then something which touches them on a fundamentally deeper level. How’s this different from the emotional impact of seeing your MP break sweat planting a tree in your neighbourhood, dressing up in ethnic attire doing an ethnic dance, kissing your baby in his arms, or reading a fairy tale in sign language to deaf orphans? It would take a prudent voter and ultimately, the intelligent citizen that we would hope all Singaporeans to become, to see through such pantomime and make decisions with their heads rather than hearts, by assessing the groundwork and track record of their candidates than be moved a few images of them dunking their heads in baptism rituals with flower garlands around their necks.

Filed under: 1980s, 2010, 2011, Campaigns/Elections, Festivals, Politicians, Religion | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 170 other followers