PQ, Political Quotes

Everyone loves a good quote, once in a while. So here's a few to cause some indigestion to your pathetic cynical life.

Let's begin in chronological order...

"The PAP believe in the freedom of the press which means objective reporting and the accurate dissemination of news. But what do we find in the Straits Times? When the SPA (Singapore People's Alliance) or the Liberal Socialists hold a rally and there are 600 people present they say 4,000 but, when thousands attend a PAP rally, they do not give the real figures."

Yong Nyuk Lin, PAP leader
during 1959 general election campaign

What about the recent 5th Singapore Forum on Politics held recently in NUS?

"...as long as Singapore’s leaders do not pay heed to the fundamental needs of the human spirit, they can never be called wise, only clever, and as long as the nation they lead is admired only for its material achievements, it can never be called great, only successful."

Dr. Catherine Lim, local writer


"It would be very sad if we were Singaporeans who have lived all our lives here to build a Singapore and retire in a Singapore we cannot recognize and in a Singapore with no Singaporeans."

Kevin Tan, A/P on S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

I thought the recent PS2249 reading I did on Meritocracy and Elitism in Singapore was pretty good.

"Governance in Singapore is precariously built upon faith in good and wise men, rather than good and wise institution."

Kenneth Paul Tan, A/P NUS Political Science Dept

Ah... Everyone has something to say about the 2008 Budget.

"Sir, I want to live in a country that cares for its people first and foremost, not a country that prioritises GDP growth for its own sake. I want to see a nation where Singaporeans are valued for everything that we are, not just the economic contribution we can make. I want to grow old in a state that places a higher premium on helping citizens, than on ensuring that there is no wastage. I want to be part of a generous society that helps its most vulnerable members, instead of counting the pennies and tightening the purse strings."

Siew Kum Hong, NMP

Lastly, the recent escape of suspected JI terrorist.

"Two, where are the footages of security cameras? There are cameras mounted in all prison facilities precisely to prevent such situations. The Whitley Detention Centre is no exception. If the Elections Department has a CCTV camera and can produce video footages, surely Mr Wong can now produce footage of the moments that led to the detainee's escape."

Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party

Seeing Things

Before I post a mega entry this week, here's a quick post on two new places I discovered in Singapore.

19th February 2008: NUS
Yup, as the name suggests. A museum right at the heart of NUS.

As I was giving my Malaysian Chinese New Zealand friend, Catherine, a tour around NUS, we stumbled upon this 3-storeyed building, sandwiched in between Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music and University Cultural Centre.

And NUS Museum looked like...
... a museum!

Gilt-bronze burial mask given to Yelu brides

Disturbingly Colourful.

23rd February 2008: Mount Sophia
Nope, I didn't go mountain climbing. Mount Sophia is just a hill smacked in the middle of Plaza Singapura carpark and The Cathay.

Take a hike up the long flight of steps and you find an...

... an Old School!

Yup. They seriously couldn't be more literal in naming the building.
Signs and directions were quirky. It was dusk by then so I didn't take many photos.
Of course.
The main attraction was not in Old School. But I was there for Sinema.

The official write out:
Independent cinema is getting a new spin. And space.

Sinema Old School is situated atop Mount Sophia at the newest and ultra-hip creative arts community hotspot, Old School. It is the physical space of Sinema.SG, an the remarkable initiative by a photographer and graphic designer, accidental filmmakers, and self-confessed media addicts, Nicholas Chee and Randy Ang.

A salient collaboration between Old School and Originasian Pictures and with digital high-definition projection technology made possible by the partnership with Panasonic and Apple, Sinema Old School is the first and only high-definition cinema solely devoted to Singaporean films. This truly indie 130-seater cinema space also hopes to be a permanent venue for local bands’ breakout gigs, technology workshops and master-classes, film forums and dialogue sessions.

And taking the active step to support local even further, Sinema Old School’s retail store heralds all things Singaporean, counting in its precious stash; DVDs and soundtrack CDs from local films, limited edition movie merchandise, literary works by Singapore writers and local indie magazine publishers and CDs by Singapore bands and musicians.

Swanky yet cosy cinema

The official retail store

Old School Tickets

Does it sound commercially viable?
Well, judging from the 11 people who turned up last Saturday, nope.

How can they survive earning $55 (5bucks per ticket) a weekend?! Considering the comfy seats, great video quality and impressive sound system...

Nonetheless, I swore to tell as many people as I can, so hopefully it won't close down.
It's currently showing Singapore Dreaming now.

So go catch it and do your part of Singapore!
Heh, check out their website at www.sinema.sg .

Political Poem

It's been a tiring day for me, especially after an overwhelmingly tedious yet extremely fulfilling "5th Singapore Forum on Politics". Before I retire in bed, I feel compelled to share a small part of the forum:

Dr. Catherine Lim was expectedly a colourful and imaginative speaker, able to hold her audience captive. She rounded up her speech with a rather funny poem which some of you might have read somewhere before.

(Based on a well-known statement made by Lee Kuan Yew: that even when dead, he would instantly spring up from his coffin should there be a problem out there for him to solve.)

‘The coffin was enormous
To match the godlike status;
For both in life and death
He was a real Colossus.

Someone who with the opposition
Was clearly in cahoots
Whispered, ‘Ah, a new dawn,
No more defamation suits!’

At which the corpse sprang right up
‘Who said that?’ it roared,
‘He’s defaming my good name,
So get our lawyers on board!’

Ringing Loss

On 4th August 2007, I was devastated when I realized that I had lost my wallet in New Zealand. The cancellation and reapplying of credit cards, SIM card, apartment card, school access card, EFTPOS cards etc was an absolute nightmare.

Buying a new wallet, waiting for my driving license and credit card to be shipped over from Singapore and coercing the idiotic StudentSafe insurance company to give me some money clogged up my diurnal "To Do List".

But eventually, my life was set back on track when I finally bought a new Quiksilver wallet from the bargain bin.

I never really slip into depression because I manage to convince myself with one line, "At least I did not lose my mobile phone..."

On 1st February 2008, my ultimate nightmare was finally fulfilled.
Yes, damn it.
I had lost my bloody handphone.

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1st February 2008: Singapore
On a sleepy Friday morning around 8.30AM to almost 10AM, I attended the 13th National Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (NUROP) Congress. Just because I had to report this obtuse event for the Ridge Magazine, arguably NUS most popular magazine.

The problem arose when I left for my Financial Accounting tutorial scheduled at 10AM. As I boarded the A1 bus to go from Science to Business Faculty, I knew I would be late.

It didn't help that the bus was stupidly crowded and I have no idea where Conference Room I (CRI) was located in Business School.

When I finally got a seat on the bus, meticulous Kelvin decided to repack his Deuter bag and conveniently placed his handphone on the empty seat to his right.

As the bus turned towards Business faculty, Kelvin began to panic how late he would be. He also blamed on the uninteresting NUROP congress which he had to return after his tutorial.

Kelvin promptly alighted and manage to navigate his way to CRI. By this time, there was a nagging feeling that he had left his other half behind.

As Kelvin got a seat in the executive conference room, he began flipping through his highly-organized clutter-free Deuter bag. But alas! It was nowhere to be found.

I castigated schizophrenic Kelvin, "Yes Kelvin. You have left your dear on the bus seat."

Calmly, he asks his fellow BIE friend to ring his number up, but unfortunately to no avail.

Never mind, Kelvin rationalizes. He could always have a rewarding Financial Accounting tutorial first before finding his hp.

As you can expect, by the time the highly enriching tutorial had ended, it became evident that someone had took the hp and turned it off.

You should have seen how tragic the whole thing had retrogressed into. It was only hours of self-denial and naivety later that reality finally hit Kelvin. At approximately 6PM, he eventually decided to cut off his number.

And that was the end of the 1 year and 1 month relationship with Sony Ericsson w810i.

The last photo I took with it

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I ran through some of my older blog entries to see if I had by any chance, manage to capture my dearest on photo.

Then I ran into this:

Okay fine... I didn't really lose my earphones but I lost the bag containing the earphones. But you should understand how freaking paranoid I am now, for my Fujitsu Laptop.