Sophie's World

Remembering Eddie Toh

2010-03-09T00:31:00.005+08:00

This coming 30th March is the 2nd year since you have gone home....
remembering you always, every day, every second....

"Toh I miss you, your friend Mark"

2008-09-30T00:35:00.001+08:00

This was a drawing done by Mark Malloy, a dear friend of Eddie in his Notre Dame days. Below is a summary of his email to me few months ago, explaining the drawing and photo taken then. Mark, thank you for your email and the potraits. I finally have the courage to post this.

Toh's roommate at Notre Dame from 1987-1990 and his friend forever.

One is the original sketch that I did of Toh many years ago ( we were sitting in our dorm room and he was working on a paper or writing a letter home). The other is a self-portrait photograph that Toh took in 1987. This photo is really great and is well-remembered by his friends from Notre Dame. He gave me the photo as a parting gift when we left college.

While you are getting the originals in the mail, for the blog I have attached the two images below and if you have trouble with the attached files, you (or anyone) may find the images at my website--you can save them to your computer from there :http://www.gis.net/~malloyart/toh.html

To tell you the truth I have not wanted to mail these things to you. As it turns out, mailing them confirms that he is gone and I just do not want that to be true. However, you are the one who should be comforted by them and not me. They have been on our family's mantle since April 1st.

I could not help focusing on the fact that the photo was the work of his hand. He made the print. He mounted it. He signed it: "Liberty, Toh Wei Chee, May 1, 1987"

About the drawing: I drew it in the now-embarrassingly generous time that we had in our room together. He was there in front of me and I could not have known how precious that time would be.

"Toh I miss you, your friend Mark"

Happy Anniversary, Darling....

2008-05-23T00:03:00.009+08:00

'Can't Help Falling In Love' by Elvis Presley was played on air.
You chose to sing this very same song to me on our wedding day.

Happy anniversary, darling

Love Always,
Wifey

Till we meet again...

2008-04-07T14:51:00.018+08:00

Eddie Toh, the author of this blog, died suddenly on Sunday, March 30, 2008, just two days before what would have been his 41st birthday. His funeral took place on Thursday, April 3, 2008 at Singapore's Mandai crematorium. This is an extract of a tribute read to the service by his beloved wife Linda Goh.

The first time I met Eddie was about 15 years ago. I was 18 and he was 27. He had come to check me out after his colleagues told him to take a look at who his secretary was having lunch with. I must say I was quite disappointed to learn that "this" irritating guy was Nina's boss.

He pretended to be disinterested. You know Eddie, always trying to be cool. Women did not affect him - or not that let he let on. It just as well, because I was seeing someone else at the time. In fact, I could have easily forgotten Eddie. But he would not let me. He would continue to make himself a nuisance by wise-cracking whenever our paths crossed. It would not occur to me until much later that he was actually interested in me.

Yes, first impressions can be misleading. Never could I have imagined that such a forgettable encounter would mark the start of an incredible journey with a man who was able to make me feel I was the most special woman in the world.

Today, as I look back, I smile to myself at how silly he was all those times he tried to get to know me better. I remember vividly how he held my hand the first time. I had challenged him to "ponteng" - steal a day - from work, which he told me he had never done before. He accepted the challenge and took me to a movie.

While I was pretending to watch the show, waiting for him to make his move, he was obviously plotting. First, he manoeuvred his hand around his lap until it was next to my thigh. Then he pressed that hand into my hand. And then he drew both our hands to his side.

Naturally, I gave not the slightest hint that I had noticed anything was going on. But inside, it was the most warm and wonderful feeling. It was the start of a beautiful life together - a life I wish with all my heart had gone on so much longer.

Honey, you meant everything to me. You gave me love, you gave me laughter. You tickled me, you taught me. You brought me joy, you made me cry. But when I cried you would end up crying with me. And with each tear that fell, we grew closer. Because that is what true love is: Accepting each other for the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the perfect and the imperfect.

Didi, we had great times and some sad times. But before we knew it, we had become each other's second nature. Every day I would see you working at your computer, typing furiously as you made funny faces at me. Yes, you were always there. Supporting me and guiding me. Cuddling me with your arms - and your eyes. No one ever made me feel so comfortable. No one touched me more. No one ever could. I miss you so much….

Your friends tell me I was the best thing that happened to you. I refuse to believe this. Because let me tell you - and everyone - that you are the best thing that ever happened to me. Didi, you are my soul mate.

As I bid you farewell today, let me say again: Darling, this is not goodbye - not for me. I do not pretend to understand why you are continuing your journey alone. But I know you are in good hands, because I saw you coming close to the Lord in the final months of your life. I know He has guided you home. And when my time comes, I pray that I will have done enough to join you in heaven, so we can make up for all the time we did not share on earth. Knowing you, I know you would have made plans for me too.

As surely as love conquers all, you conquered my heart, Didi. I thank you for the past 15 years. I thank you for all you did for my family, for all you did for our friends. But most of all, my love, I thank you for all you did for me.

You did well, Didi. So rest well. You will always be a part of me and I will always love you.

Till we meet again for ‘mee-pok’ and ‘koay-teow-teng’.

Missing you dearly,

Wifey

Did bloggers really create the Malaysian tsunami?

2008-03-29T17:25:00.000+08:00

This is a well-written commentary by a former journalist in Singapore's TODAY newspaper today. Cherian George looks at the role of the Internet and blogs during the watershed elections in Malaysia this month.

It's a timely reminder that bloggers only play one part in the big scheme of things. Bloggers on both sides of the causeway will never replace mainstream media, despite general unhappiness with the two governments' mouthpieces on certain key issues.

But ultimately, editors and writers -- whether they are in the mainstream media or blogosphere -- must be credible. Both platforms also need to engage each other more frequently to give a more complete picture to people in Singapore and Malaysia.

Did bloggers really create the tsunami?
Cherian George
March 29, 2008

MALAYSIAN Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's admission this week that his government did not pay enough attention to the Internet is one of the sexiest explanations yet for its shock defeats in the recent elections.

Perhaps bloggers will now replace bomohs as the suspects of choice behind bizarre political phenomena like those witnessed on March 8.

Some of the hype around this admittedly magical technology is justified. By dramatically lowering the barriers to entry for wide communication and collaboration, the Internet is quite simply the most powerful platform for innovation — including political innovation — in the history of civilisation.

However, every sober analysis of its impact since the Internet's mid-1990s "big bang" has come to the same conclusion: The technology is not powerful in isolation; the World Wide Web weaves its wonders only in concert with other old-fashioned forces.

Thus, the vibrancy of Internet politics in Malaysia is very much a reflection of an offline environment of lively opposition politics and civil society activism. Mr Jeff Ooi — Malaysia's mr brown — could transition from blogger to victorious parliamentary candidate because the Democratic Action Party was well placed to harness his popularity.

Similarly, aliran.com was able to churn out influential reports because it is backed by the established Penang-based human rights non-governmental organisation, Aliran. Less savoury attributes of Malaysian cyberspace, such as its poison pen practices, are also rooted in the country's offline traditions.

Internet power should also be seen in the context of the wider media environment. While media companies are often wedded to one medium or another, most users are promiscuous by instinct.

They flit between media, each promising its own uses and gratifications — perhaps a newspaper for comprehensive news, television news for its pictures, a blog for personal insight, an activist's website for biting commentary, SMS for the latest gossip or joke, coffeeshop talk to share their own views, rally attendance for a sense of community, and so on.

If people suddenly gravitate towards one medium, it is often because another has failed to meet their expectations. This is certainly the case in Malaysia, where the crippling of the mainstream media by government control is the main reason why Malaysians have flocked online.

Even the editors of the leading independent site Malaysiakini humbly concede that their success isn't because they are so great — they are still resource-poor by news organisation standards — but because their mainstream rivals are found wanting.

Therefore, the government's fundamental mistake was not that it neglected cyberspace, as claimed by the Prime Minister, but that it failed to address offline problems — which were then exposed and exploited by Internet-empowered opponents.

Officials should have learnt from the Reformasi protests of almost a decade ago, when its mainstream media stranglehold resulted in media coverage out of sync with the public mood, with massive losses in newspaper circulation and a windfall for alternative websites such as Malaysiakini and Harakah Daily.

Now, officials are talking of courting independent bloggers or investing in their own. But this will not fix the real problem of inadequate respect for freedom of expression, resulting in a lack of credibility for all media linked to the state. Comparisons with Singapore — Malaysia's fraternal twin — are irresistible.

If even the Malaysian Prime Minister has acknowledged the political impact of the Internet, does that not make Singapore — with its far greater Internet penetration levels — ripe for its own electoral tsunami? Only if one imagines the Internet to be some kind of magical force, which it isn't.

Distilling more thoughtful analyses of the Malaysian elections, 2008 appears to mark a tipping point at which voters decided that poor governance was no longer tolerable. The ruling alliance — and practically everyone else — had expected racial loyalties and a controlled mass media to compensate for its failures and inefficiencies.

But a threshold appears to have been reached, indicating that ideological advantages are finite, while good governance is all. Like Malaysia, Singapore is run by a dominant political party that believes that the media's role is not to set the political, social and economic agenda. That is to be left to the elected leaders of the day. Instead, the media is seen as a partner in nation building.

The People's Action Party has generally not used its ideological control as a substitute for performance, but rather to give policy-makers a buffer against interference by interest groups and dissenting voices, allowing them to frame the agenda and manage public opinion in the short term.

Long-term legitimacy has been built on the tangible success of its policies. The drift from the controlled mainstream to freer alternative media has therefore been much less evident in Singapore than in Malaysia.

Another major difference is that Singapore's alternative media doesn't have the thick soil that their Malaysian counterparts thrive in. The political environment in Singapore is more predictable and sanitised in a way that Malaysia's never was.

This is reflected in the two societies' alternative media: Malaysia's are more organised, mobilised and committed. Malaysia shows that determined activists can amplify their impact with the Internet. But Singapore shows that the Internet cannot electroshock an otherwise quiescent public into action, no matter how well wired it is.

Cherian George is an Assistant Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, NTU, and the author of Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore (Singapore University Press, 2006).

Another good commentary: Hope spreads from tsunami, The Star (March 29, 2008)

A good Act?

2008-03-29T11:05:00.006+08:00

The latest Raffles Conversation in Singapore's The Business Times profiles the co-author of the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley Act to help contain corporate scandals in the US.

Will we see the end of big corporate scandals in the decadent US? Don't bet on it.

Business Times - 29 Mar 2008
In defence of Sarbanes-Oxley
Paul Sarbanes, co-author of the ground-breaking securities law which bears his name, tells WONG WEI KONG why corporate America is far better off with it

FEW political careers can count the removal of the US President and the passing of one of the most important securities legislations in history as highlights, but Paul Sarbanes is a man for times of impeachment and scandals. In three decades in the US Senate, Mr Sarbanes earned a reputation for working quietly behind the scenes on complex issues before announcing his retirement in 2006. The Democrat was Maryland's longest-serving senator, called by some as 'the man who cannot be removed'.

But what thrust the low-profile Mr Sarbanes into the glare of world scrutiny was the ground-breaking securities law he co-authored as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee with House Representative Michael Oxley in 2002 and which bears his name - the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or SOX.

As the retired senator recounted in a recent interview with BT, President George W Bush called SOX 'the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin D Roosevelt' when he signed it into law.

Despite its fierce critics, Mr Sarbanes' assessment of SOX is unequivocal: corporate America is far better off with it.

'The system is in place and working. I think it has made a substantial difference for the better,' he says. Mr Sarbanes was in Singapore at the invitation of The Asian Banker to speak to a gathering of business leaders, where he predictably found himself addressing some of the criticism against SOX.

SOX came into being as a response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals in the US, including Enron and WorldCom. The scandals cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of the affected companies collapsed, and shook public confidence in the nation's securities markets.

The legislation, which does not apply to privately held companies, aimed at creating a strong independent oversight board to oversee the auditors of public companies. It addressed conflicts of interest, ensured auditor independence, required corporate leaders to be personally responsible for the accuracy of their company's financial reports, and established safeguards to protect against conflicts of interests involving investment analysts. The Act also established a new quasi-public agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board or PCAOB, which is charged with overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies.

Debate, however, has continued over the perceived benefits and costs of SOX. Supporters contend that the legislation was necessary and has played a useful role in restoring public confidence in the nation's capital markets. Critics charged that it was too burdensome and costly, especially for smaller firms, with US companies spending a total of US$6 billion last year on SOX compliance. It also made US exchanges less attractive to foreign companies.

Internal controls

To Mr Sarbanes, it all comes down to a simple question. 'Every public company should have an acceptable system of internal financial controls. I think that's part of being a public company. For most people, if someone came up to them and wanted them to invest money in a company and they ask, how good is your system of financial controls? - If the person says we don't have a system of financial controls, we don't believe in having such a thing, we think it's a burden, I doubt people would put their money in such a company. You wouldn't put your money in a company like that.'

Asked if a code of best practices - using a 'comply or explain' approach - would be a better way to good corporate governance than an overarching legislation like SOX, Mr Sarbanes says different markets need different approaches. 'I think it depends very much on the circumstances of particular markets and the culture of those markets. I didn't think 'comply and explain' will work in the US because I think you will have 'all explain and no comply'.' He notes, too, that in markets like Singapore, where 'comply and explain' applies to certain aspects of corporate governance, there are other requirements which are law. 'Generally, worldwide, there has been a movement towards the standards of SOX. Regulators around the world either independently through their own analysis or with reference to SOX have put into place many of the provisions regarding best practices.'

Moves by US regulators to extend the deadline for smaller companies to comply with SOX while deciding how the law should apply to these firms do not undermine the legislation in any way, Mr Sarbanes says. 'When we drew up SOX, we left a lot of discretion with the regulators to fine-tune these requirements. That's how the system was supposed to work. You adapt the protocol to make it less burdensome and yet at the same time provide investor protection, and I think that's all to the good.'

In reply to critics who charge that good corporate ethics are better brought about by education than tough laws, Mr Sarbanes says the two are not contradictory. 'The temptation to depart from high standards can be very great because, often, it seems that you can make a lot of money in a very short time. So you need to have a monitoring system to check people from departing from proper practices and you also need to be constantly emphasising to people the importance of following proper practices out of their own decision and their own choice.'

Mr Sarbanes also disagrees with claims that SOX has made US markets less competitive against other exchanges. 'Let me put that into context with two general observations. For decades, countries around the world have been urged to develop the capitals markets and that's what they've been doing. Secondly, you have significant economic growth elsewhere, with Asia as the prime example. So there is capital available and liquidity to underwrite these capital markets. You have significant financial centres in Singapore and elsewhere so in effect, you're getting a globalisation of the financial services industry. You have a more competitive situation so I don't think it squares with current developments that New York would dominate in the way it used to.'

'Having said that, I think it can still compete effectively and it has been doing that. The figures go up and down but studies have shown that foreign issuers who list on the New York capital market get a premium from investors who are prepared to pay more because they are sure that if these firms meet the listing standards there, it says something about the level of corporate governance of the firm.'

Recalling the days after the Enron scandal, Mr Sarbanes says pushing SOX through in the first place was also not as easy as it later seemed. 'In restrospect, you look at it and think it was easy because it was passed with overwhelming margins in both houses of Congress. But getting there wasn't easy. My first task was to get it past the banking committee and we worked on that for many months and made some adjustments and some compromises. In the end, we had a 17-4 vote within the committee. All the Democrats and the majority of the Republicans voted for it and it was truly a bi-partisan judgement.'

'Four days after that, the Worldcom scandal broke. Once that happened, it gave a tremendous momentum to the legislation and that just help pushed it through because the scandal was a very large and stark reminder of the need to have such legislation.' When it went to Congress, SOX was approved by the House of Representatives by a vote of 423-3 and by the Senate by 99-0.

Asked if more could have been included in SOX - such as checks against excesses in top executive pay - given the strong political and public support at the time, Mr Sarbanes says he did not think so. 'I'm not sure we would have succeeded with putting in a lot more. It's like a train leaving the station. If you put too much weight on the train, it wouldn't be able to make it out of the station. So we had to be very careful.'

'And compensation is a very complex issue. It's not clear that it's an issue one deals with legislation. You need to have a clear understanding of the inner workings of the corporation. I don't think you can get government into setting the salaries and the compensation of executives. But we now require the full disclosure of compensation and the expensing of stock options.'

Turning to the present sub-prime crisis, Mr Sarbanes says it is a very different situation from what SOX dealt with. 'SOX dealt with corporate governance, audit requirements and the requirement that companies honestly report their financials. It didn't deal with bad economic or business decisions. That's part of the economic decision process and some people make good judgements and some people make bad judgements.'

'The current crisis comes from obviously bad economic decisions. A number of people operated on the premise that everything would go up, they were highly leveraged and they were developing more and more exotic mortgage products and now they are paying the consequences for it.'

'Overall, the risk management system has been inadequate. I think the supervision by regulatory authorities has fallen short. A lot of what was going on in the sub-prime mortgage market shouldn't have been allowed. They were giving mortgages to people without documentation of income to show that they are able to pay. They had products which gave you a very low teaser interest rates for a couple of years and then the rates would jump up and the mortgage payments jump up substantially and there is nothing to show that these people with such mortgages would be able to hang on to the monthly payments. The consequences of all of this is to create a crisis of confidence. The part of the total market that the sub-prime loans occupy is relatively small but the spill-over from it led to the seize-up in credit.'

Mr Sarbanes says policy-makers now face a dilemma which he and his colleagues did not have to grapple with in the days after Enron. 'We didn't have the same counter-prevailing conditions. The current situation is more complex.'

'On the one hand, the people who made these bad judgements, many of whom had engaged in speculative activity, should bear the consequences of their actions. Unless punished by market forces, the danger is that others would repeat the process in the future. On the other hand, as much as they should bear the consequences, if that ends up throwing the economy into a down-spin and you have a broad negative economic impact, that creates quite a huge problem in your hands. People totally unconnected with these issues will be impacted.'

'I think the Fed and other economic policy-makers are trying to work their way through these competing considerations ... so we just have to see how it develops.'

For Mr Sarbanes, SOX capped a long and distinguished career. Born to Greek immigrants, he grew up in Maryland's Eastern Shore in the city of Salisbury. Mr Sarbanes attended Princeton University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1954. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship that brought him to Balliol College of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, graduating with a First Class degree in 1957. He then returned to the US and attended Harvard Law School.

After graduating in 1960, he clerked for Federal Judge Morris A Soper before entering private practice with two Baltimore, Maryland law firms. In 1966, Sarbanes ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in Baltimore City and won. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1970 and was re-elected in 1972 and 1974. In 1976, Mr Sarbanes became a US Senator and was re-elected in 1982, 1988, 1994, and 2000.

It was during his service in the House, in August 1974, that Mr Sarbanes was selected by his Democratic colleagues on the House Watergate Committee to introduce the first Article of Impeachment, for obstruction of justice, against President Richard Nixon. President Nixon later resigned before the impeachment proceedings were brought to bear.

Other weighty issues followed for Mr Sarbanes over the years. He helped lead the successful 22-day debate on the Senate floor to ratify the Panama Canal treaty, earning him the enmity of conservative groups. He served on the committee investigating the Iran-contra scandal, where he criticised President Ronald Reagan for allowing a 'junta in the White House'. He also served as ranking Democrat on the Senate Whitewater Committee which investigated President Bill Clinton's real estate dealings in the Whitewater scandal and the suicide of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent W Foster Jr.

'It's interesting that at the beginning of my career in Congress I was involved in the very large issue of impeachment and at the end of my career in the Senate, I had the opportunity to be involved in SOX. There have been other issues in between but those two stand out,' he says.

'In terms of gravity, I think nothing is comparable to impeachment proceedings. After all, you are removing an elected president chosen by the people directly. You are removing the president from office. That was a very big step to take. That was a very momentous issue to be involved in. I was very mindful of that at the time and have remained so.'

'On the other hand, I think SOX will have a lasting impact and a lasting history. I think it would be an impact for the good.'

Still adjusting to life after retirement, Mr Sarbanes, just past his 75th birthday, does 'a little speaking and teaching'. The torch, though, has been passed on. His son, John Sarbanes, won the election for Maryland's Third congressional district in 2006, the district that Mr Sarbanes represented prior to his election as Senator. 'The moment I left Congress, my son entered Congress. That's really very satisfying.'

Wanted: New Malaysian PM, Part 3

2008-03-27T22:03:00.004+08:00

The noose is tightening. Embattled Malaysian PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has lost another tussle in the wake of the disastrous national elections on Mar 8.

He's decided to call a party poll at this end of this year, although one of his strongest supporters had tried to push it to next year to avoid another bloodbath. He also lost the fight with the Malaysian king over the appointment of the chief minister of the oil-rich state of Terengganu.

He's losing grip of his own party, the United Malays National Organisation, his cabinet, and the national ruling coalition Barisan Nasional over a spate of issues.

He has not endeared himself to many Malaysians despite having taken over the country in good shape from former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2003.

As pointed out by the AFP report, Badawi claimed a mandate to rule despite the election losses, but observers say he is on borrowed time as calls for his resignation persist.

The report added that he won a landslide victory in 2004 elections, but was punished in the latest polls over high inflation, rising crime rates and ethnic tensions in the multicultural nation.

Wanted: New Malaysian PM, Part 2

2008-03-25T02:00:00.003+08:00

Which former Malaysian Finance Minister will succeed in toppling embattled Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

In one corner is Anwar Ibrahim, who was the Finance Minister between 1991 and 1998. He was once tipped to be the next premier but his ascent was cut short by former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad.

Anwar has since emerged as the de facto leader of the much-stronger Opposition coalition. The Opposition managed to deny the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional the two-thirds majority it had held since 1969.

And Anwar could still become the new premier. But he must win in an upcoming by-election after April 15 -- he can only run for public office after the expiry of his 5-year ban following his release from jail -- and secure 30 BN defections. Some BN parliamentarians are said to be ready to hop over to the Opposition bandwagon.

The Opposition will end the reign of BN and form the new government should it secure just 30 defections.

In the other corner is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who was Finance Minister during the 1980s. He offered himself for the presidency of the United Malays National Organization (Umno). The president of Umno has traditionally been the Prime Minister of the country. So far, there is resonance to his clarion call although it's still unclear whether he will eventually get a shot at the Umno presidency again.

Of course, one cannot dismiss the ever-so-slick Deputy PM Najib Razak, who has been waiting patiently for his 'heavenly mandate' to run the country like his late father -- the country's second PM, Tun Abdul Razak.

Whatever the scenario, the likelihood of Badawi's political demise is no longer unthinkable since the watershed elections on Mar 8.

The challenges came after BN, which is led by Umno, lost its long-held two-thirds majority in parliament, lost five states to the Opposition, and saw the casualties of many heavyweights. BN and Umno seem to be disarray with the departure of so many disgruntled political bigwigs. Other component parties of BN -- Malaysian Chinese Association, Malaysian Indian Congress and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia -- are also in a soul-searching mode.

And it doesn't help that two other strong forces are against Badawi. Dr Mahathir has backed Tengku Razaleigh's call for a party post-mortem, while two royal families have openly rebuffed Badawi in his choice of Chief Ministers in BN-controlled Perlis and Terengganu.

It will take a real miracle for the besieged Malaysian premier and his son-in-law to cling on to power.

Causeway blues again, Part 3

2008-03-22T15:05:00.007+08:00

Note: Image from Intelligent Transport Systems Center, LTA (28 Mar 2008, 9:50am)

Recent reports, including The Straits Times article below, about the massive traffic jam at the causeway tell only half the story. The gridlock at the causeway, as a result of the search for a missing terrorist in Singapore, has merely highlighted current problems faced at the bridge linking Singapore and Malaysia.

Even without the stepped-up security in the search for Mas Selamat Kastari, many people have had to suffer from the daily crawl at the causeway. Sophie's World has long highlighted the less-than-deal situation at the causeway. See early postings such as Missing MRT link, Causeway blues again, Part 2, and Malaysian bullet train going to Singapore?

Will Singapore and Malaysia work together to resolve the traffic woes at the causeway once they manage to nab the terrorist? Or will they think that things will go back to 'normal'?

March 22, 2008
Tighter immigration checks hit JB businesses
Takings dip by up to 75% as S'poreans avoid massive Causeway jams
By Arlina Arshad

ON A typical weekend, many Singapore cars can be seen at the Mobil petrol station close to the Johor Baru immigration checkpoint or heading for the town's malls.

Yesterday, the petrol station was serving more J-plate vehicles than S-plate ones. The town's restaurant owners, retailers and cabbies have also noticed slacker business over the past few weekends.

Three words explain this: Mas Selamat Kastari.

Petrol station cashier Rozana Mohd Din, 33, is certain that the heightened security following the escape of the 48-year-old Jemaah Islamiah terrorist is responsible for this.

The more thorough checks on travellers and vehicles passing through the Woodlands Checkpoint are keeping Singaporeans away.

Ms Rozana noted that the petrol station usually serves 100 Singapore cars on weekdays and 150 on weekends. She is seeing only half of that number now. 'It's so unfair that businesses here have to suffer because of one man,' she said.

Other JB businesses complained that takings had fallen by 20 to 75per cent. All expect this month to go down as one of the worst sales months in recent times.

When The Straits Times visited JB town centre yesterday, business at the food stalls appeared brisk. But stallholders said the customers were not quite as free spending as Singaporeans.

Hawker Ahmed Abdullah, 45, who sells Indian food, said: 'Singapore customers may come only once a week, but they spend a lot. They come with friends and order whatever they fancy on the menu.

'They can spend RM30 (S$13) in one sitting. Malaysian customers take a long time to decide - and when they do, they spend RM3.'

At City Square, cash registers were not ringing despite the ongoing sale. Boutique assistant Lim Kim Moi, 35, whose boss had chided her for the poor sales, said: 'Now, I am forced to be pushy and get the Malaysian customers to buy.'

Taxi drivers, too, were cooling their heels in a long line of cabs outside the JB checkpoint yesterday.

Cabby Masdan Rudin, 35, said: 'On weekends, I usually take 15 Singaporeans to Senai airport and bus terminals. Now, it's down to 10.'

The worst thing for these businesses is not knowing when the jams will ease and the crowds return.

DVD seller W.Y. Tan, who has suffered a 75 per cent drop in takings, said: 'If it's going to be like this for the next two months, I might have to start selling char kway teow.'

A new beginning for Malaysia

2008-03-17T22:45:00.002+08:00

The dust has yet to fully settle in Malaysia following the shocking election results on March 8.

Many pundits, analysts and investors are still digesting the news and grappling with the most surreal political landscape since the country’s independence in 1957. They are still coming to terms with the reality that the national ruling coalition Barisan Nasional, which has ruled the roost since 1974, scraped through with its smallest parliamentary majority ever.

And there were many collateral damages that were unprecedented since the watershed year of 1969, which saw bloody racial riots. BN or the National Front lost five state legislatures to the Opposition – the coalition of the Democratic Action Party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Parti Islam SeMalaysia. BN also failed to retain the crucial two-thirds mandate needed to amend the constitution.

Political heavyweights – such as Malaysian Indian Congress president S Samy Vellu, Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon and Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin – had to make way to political newbies. And the elections saw the political debut of Jeff Ooi, the first blogger to make it to Parliament in Malaysia and possibly Asia. Former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim has emerged as the kingpin in the opposition camp.

Political pundits correctly described the outcome as ‘revolutionary’, a ‘sea-change’ in Malaysian politics and a ‘political tsunami’. The Malaysian stock market was quick to react too. The stock market barometer tumbled over 10 per cent and triggered a trading halt when trading resumed.

It’s obviously not business as usual in Malaysia.

But is the new political landscape bad for Malaysia? Should foreign investors give Malaysia a wide berth now?

The answer is no, but investors should wait for the dust to settle first.

Many investors are naturally concerned that the new political landscape will result in policy paralysis due to expected political squabbles at both the federal and state levels. This is inevitable as both the establishment and the resurgent Opposition will clash on many key issues and policies.

In particular, as pointed out by academic Yang Razali Kassim in The Straits Times today, Malaysian politics will be in a state of flux. This is based on the writer's valid concern that the Opposition's attempt at undoing the New Economic Policy will be a tricky task. The NEP is the country's affirmative action programme to help the predominant Malay community following the racial riots of 13 May 1969.

"How the NEP is handled - or mishandled - can unravel the peace that we now see," the writer said.

The political drama is still unfolding. According to The Malaysian Insider tonight, de-facto Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told Singapore’s Berita Harian that the Opposition will formalise their alliance in a few days and will then replace the NEP with a landmark Malaysian Economic Agenda, a new initiative aimed at lifting the fortunes of all Malaysians.

There is also growing talk that Anwar may eventually become the new PM, should he succeed in securing the cross-over of over 30 BN lawmakers to the Opposition camp. He must also secure a seat in Parliament via a by-election.

While the political landscape is still evolving in Malaysia, the Opposition clearly has the upper hand in five states. They are Selangor (the richest state in the country) Penang (the Silicon Valley of Malaysia), Perak (resource rich state), Kedah (the rice bowl of the country) and Kelantan (the de facto Islamic state in Malaysia).

Decisions made at the state legislatures will have serious ramifications for both local and foreign corporations in the longer term. This is because the state governments have the final say on major issues such as land matters, apart from religious issues and water resources.

This means that the state governments can decide the fate of many development projects, licenses and even manufacturing outfits in their backyard. But the Opposition must tread gingerly as well. They have to downplay the rhetoric to remove the entire NEP as it is a politically and emotionally charged issue in Malaysia.

Instead, it will be politically wiser for them to call for the removal of certain components of NEP. For instance, the DAP has said that it will resort to an open tender system for all government procurements and contracts following its takeover of the state government in Penang.

If implemented correctly, an open tender system will gradually inject greater meritocracy in the Malaysian business sector. Many Malaysian companies have long thrived on the political patronage system: Many contracts were negotiated in the opaque and so-called closed tender exercise or even awarded to politically well-connected companies that didn’t have the necessary track record.

The election outcome has therefore given Malaysia the rare opportunity to chip away the deep-rooted patronage system. This could be the first step to wipe out widespread corruption, cronyism and nepotism in Malaysia.

Even the embattled PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could not push through the open tender system on a wide scale since he came into power in 2003. The patronage system was too entrenched. Hence, any attempt to resort to more a competitive and market-driven government tender system will be good for the business climate of the country in the long run.

But investors should also note that state governments are highly dependent on funding from the Federal Government, which is led by BN, as they cannot collect taxes.

Will the Federal Government turn off funding to Opposition-controlled states as part of the new power play? The scenario is not unfathomable, as seen in BN’s attempt to deprive the state of Terangganu from the oil revenue of national oil giant Petronas Nasional following the loss of the state to the theocratic PAS in 1999.

But it will be foolhardy to do so in the current climate. Such an attempt will further alienate voters in the next general election. All parties in the political divide will need to work hard and show that they are friendly to businesses and the population. And both sides must not play the race card so frequently.

Malaysia will emerge stronger, but only when the current political sandstorm blows over.

Selamat caught at Causeway? Part 2

2008-03-14T18:01:00.002+08:00

The satire continues. According to a frequent visitor to Sophie's World, a joke is circulating as to why escaped Singapore terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari is likely to be in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The two neighbours of Singapore have clear signs that say "Selamat Datang" to welcome visitors. Selamat Datang is the common Malay phrase for "Welcome" or "Selamat is Coming" in this context.

Of course, there is a clear sign at the causeway that says "Selamat Datang" to all visitors -- legal and illegal -- from Singapore. :-)

Wanted: New Malaysian PM

2008-03-11T12:05:00.007+08:00

Malaysian cartoonist Lat is so funny, always capturing the mood well with his endearing and offbeat touch. These are just some of the old cartoons painted by Lat. They show the former Malaysian boss -- Mahathir Mohamad -- in past elections. Love him or hate him, he was the best Prime Minister Malaysia ever had.

Malaysia obviously needs a new leader following the disastrous showing of the leadership of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He lost the two-thirds majority and four more states -- Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah -- to the Opposition. Barisan Nasional has not had such a political rebuke in the entire history of modern Malaysia.

Unfortunately, Dr Mahathir may not have the energy to make a political comeback.

Revolution in Malaysia

2008-03-09T12:30:00.004+08:00

Sophie's World is still surprised but glad with the totally unprecedented electoral outcome in Malaysia. Sophie's World is digesting the latest news and views, and and will provide a more detailed analysis soon.

But the signs are very clear. It's a revolution.

9 March 2008
Malaysia's BN suffers worst upset in national polls
KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S ruling party faced its biggest electoral debacle on Sunday, as the opposition won five of 13 states, putting a dark cloud on the prime minister's political future.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition managed to win just a simple majority in parliament and will form the government at the federal level.

But it lost a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority it has held for most of its 50-year-long rule, the election body said. That level is needed to change the constitution.

Mr Abdullah dismissed suggestions by a reporter that he would now face pressure from party members to step down.

'I don't know who would pressure me. There is nothing at this time,' he said. 'We suffered a lot of losses tonight,' Mr Abdullah's son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters. 'But we are going to fight on. We are not going to quit. It is not the end of the world and we are going to get through this.'

The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang state, which houses many multinational firms.

The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state.

DAP and PAS also joined the People's Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.

'Tomorrow we will start building a brighter future,' opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, whose wife heads Parti Keadilan, told reporters. 'This is a new dawn for Malaysia.'

The shock defeat in Penang stirred memories of the last time the ruling coalition failed to win a two-thirds majority, in 1969, when deadly race riots erupted between majority ethnic Malays and minority Chinese.

'This is the biggest defeat ever since our party's founding 40 years ago,' Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon said.

'I feel sad and surprised. I urge all National Front members to stay calm and not to take any action that could jeopardise peace and security in the state.'

Police vowed to use tough internal security laws against anyone spreading rumours and banned victory processions, one of which had triggered the 1969 violence.

Results from the elections commission as of 2145 GMT (5.45am Singapore time) showed the National Front with 137 seats in the 222-seat parliament versus 82 for the opposition, with 3 seats still being tallied.

Referendum on Abdullah
'This looks like a revolution,' PAS Vice-President Husam Musa said. 'The people have risen and are united. The message to government is, 'Enough is enough.'' The poll, called before it was due in May 2009, was widely seen as a referendum on Mr Abdullah's rule, and Malaysians took the opportunity to administer a stinging rebuke over price rises, religious disputes and concerns over corruption .

'I think the PM will potentially have to resign,' said Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia specialist at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. 'This is unprecedented. The only other time this happened was in 1969 and that's why everybody is very nervous now because of the uncertainty.'

Works Minister Samy Vellu, chief of the Malaysian Indian Congress, one of the National Front parties, lost the seat he had held for nearly 30 years, because many Indians thought he was out of touch with their concerns.

Two other cabinet ministers, both ethnic Malays, also lost.

Detained ethnic Indian activist and lawyer M. Manoharan delivered another slap in the face of the government, winning a parliamentary seat despite being held under internal security laws for organising a major anti-government protest last year.

Chinese and Indians account for a third of the population of 26 million and many complain the government discriminates in favour of Malays when it comes to education, jobs, business and religious policy.

About 70 per cent of Malaysia's 10.9 million eligible voters had cast ballots, the country's top poll official said.

Opposition rallies drew big crowds, especially Chinese and Indian voters unhappy with Mr Abdullah's Malay-dominated coalition.

First-time voter Michael Lim said he voted for an opposition party.

'They have not taken care of the people,' he said in Kuala Lumpur, referring to the ruling coalition. 'A lot of promises were made, but nothing was fulfilled.'

'This is a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation's history,' said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. 'The people have voted decisively for a new era where the government must be truly inclusive and recognise that all Malaysians, regardless of race and colour, culture and religion, are a nation of one,' Mr Anwar said.

'This clearly shows Malaysians want an alternative. Going forward Malays, Indians and Chinese all have to work together and make a formidable pact.'

A key issue in the elections was the disillusionment among Malaysia's minority ethnic Chinese and Indian population who have long complained about discrimination, particularly an affirmative action system that gives the majority Muslim Malays preference in jobs, business and education.

The programme was designed 37 years ago to help the Malays catch up with the wealthier Chinese. But minorities complain the programme continues despite rising standards of livings for Malays.

The National Front held 90 per cent of the seats in the outgoing federal parliament. Political experts had predicted Mr Abdullah's continued leadership could be in jeopardy if his majority fell back below 80 per cent, or around 178 seats, in the new 222-seat parliament.

The economy grew 6 per cent last year but inflation and a likely US economic slowdown have fueled worries. -- REUTERS, AP

Guardian of Singapore's food supply

2008-03-08T10:59:00.006+08:00

The Raffles Conversation series in Singapore's The Business Times today featured a Singapore government official, who is the 'guardian' of Singapore's food supply as aptly described in its headline.

The article mentioned the well-known fact of Singapore's move to diversify its food sources as a response to rising costs of food in the world.

"In response to the rising costs of food, the agency has been diversifying its food supply sources, such as chickens from Brazil, vegetables from Vietnam and Indonesia, frozen ducks from Taiwan and seafood from Namibia. With the exception of eggs, all the key food items in Singapore have less than 50 per cent of their supply coming from a single country," the article stated.

While it is not explicitly stated, the move is presumably a long-term attempt to reduce dependence on any country as a strategic move to safeguard its national interest. While it is not overtly stated, the move is probably also aimed at cutting dependence on food supply from Malaysia as its traditional source.

Why? Singapore knows the danger of being overly dependent on any country, especially its close neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia, for key supplies. We have seen it in the case of the water squabble with Malaysia and the ban of the sale of sand to Singapore by the two neighbours.

As a result of bilateral skirmishes with its two neighbours, Singapore has had to resort to some innovative measures to assert its independence and sovereignty.

In the case of water, Singapore started developing alternative water sources -- such as NEWater and enlarging its water catchment areas -- following their tiff over the renewal of the water contracts with Malaysia in the late 1990s. We also learnt that Singapore has been stockpiling sand on the island following the ban by Indonesia.

While it is good to reduce its dependence on any country, Singapore cannot cut its dependence on them completely. All countries are dependent on each other.

Today, Singapore is a lot richer than its neighbours. But fortunes can also change overnight.

Guardian of Singapore's food supply

As head of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, Chua Sin Bin has the monumental task of overseeing the Republic's sources of food, upholding food safety standards and safeguarding animal and plant health. CHEN HUIFEN reports

CEOs tend to be an impatient lot. Once they sit down to meet the press, they can't wait for the interview to start and be done with it, so that they can get on with the next engagement.

But not so Chua Sin Bin, 60, CEO of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore, the key agency responsible for making sure that Singaporeans can enjoy their favourite foods with peace of mind and that the well-being of Singapore's plants and animals is being managed properly.

Before getting down to the formal part of our interview, Dr Chua spends a good half an hour sharing snippets of his personal life.

As his corporate communications assistant director prepares a cup of tea for the man, he speaks of his ambivalent attitude to the other hot drink associated with hospitality. 'I like the smell of coffee,' said Dr Chua. 'I always offer to make my wife coffee because I like the aroma, but I don't quite like the taste of it.'

Very soon, one learns that the man is a tea connoisseur and the former chairman of the Technical Committee for Tea, which was charged with setting the Singapore standard for teas, with a view to establish a tea auction centre here. 'But the auction centre never really took off,' he said with a wry laugh. 'So we wasted all our efforts.'

He knows his teas by type and origin, as well as the processes that go into their making. His favourite is Zhejiang's unfermented Longjing tea.

'It's the nicest of all,' said Dr Chua, who is also chief veterinary officer. 'Because it is green tea and hasn't gone to oven to dry. It's dried in the wok, by hand. So you can see the gentle treatment which the tea leaves have been given. The heat is not hot enough to burn your hand, so it is a very tedious process. As for Japanese tea, it tends to have a little bit of a burnt taste. So I always go for Longjing.'

Perhaps his youthful complexion has something to do with his tea drinking habit. Or his eating preferences. He proclaims that he is not adventurous when it comes to food, and will avoid anything with MSG or raw ingredients such as sashimi. 'My wife hardly fries,' he added. 'Most of the foods we eat at home, I think, are blanched.'

Spotlight on AVA

It is hard to pinpoint whether such habits are driven by health reasons or simply an extension of his professional undertaking. After all, food safety is part of his responsibility. And with food scares, import bans and rising food prices headlining the news recently, the spotlight has been cast on AVA to come up with measures and solutions.

In response to the rising costs of food, the agency has been diversifying its food supply sources, such as chickens from Brazil, vegetables from Vietnam and Indonesia, frozen ducks from Taiwan and seafood from Namibia. With the exception of eggs, all the key food items in Singapore have less than 50 per cent of their supply coming from a single country. Even so, Dr Chua concedes that food prices will continue their rising trend, owing to the supply crunch and growing demand from emerging economies in the region.

'When oil prices go up, food prices will go up because it's a knock-on effect,' he explained. 'Agricultural inputs, fertilisers, pesticides - a lot of these are derived from fuel. And you need energy to produce them. The logistics, the cost of transportation also increases, so that will contribute (to rising prices).'

Adding to the pressure is the worldwide hunt for alternative, green energy using food crops such as corn oil and palm oil. 'Perhaps it is also market failure in a way, because when farmers see that corn, palm oil are getting good prices, of course they want to grow corn and palm oil.' As a result, less of the earth's finite arable land is allocated for food crops.

For a longer term solution, science would have to come into play - either by achieving a better yield for crop production, or through a more efficient use of non-food crops such as jatropha for biofuel. Dr Chua is hopeful that the 'world will wake up' one day to its folly of diverting wholesome food crops towards fuel production.

Until then, more and more people could look toward genetically modified (GM) foods as a solution. Genetic modification involves taking DNA from one organism, modifying it and injecting it into a target plant in order to improve productivity or enrich it with a certain quality. GM corn products and soya beans are already available in Singapore.

'We have tested them, done the risk assessment, and the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee has also evaluated,' said Dr Chua. 'And we both agree that these products are safe and therefore they are in the marketplace.'

While food prices in Singapore is something which the AVA can help manage but not control, the authority can however claim credit for the standard of food safety here. Based on 2006 data, the number of food poisoning cases in Singapore is 35.93 per 100,000 population, lower than New Zealand's record of more than 400 cases per 100,000 and way better than the record of more than 2,000 cases in the US. Even taking into account the Prima Deli incident, last year's figure came to 36.67 per 100,000, within AVA's target of under 60 a year.

The consistent performance is achieved through stringent controls at source. For example, the AVA accredits sources, carries out checks and tests on food products at the point of import before making them available to consumers. In managing food poisoning outbreaks, the agency is also noted for its speedy and decisive response, as seen in the shutdown order on Prima Deli last year, after more than 100 people were infected with the salmonella enteritidis bacterium after eating the bakery's cakes.

'People may think we are hard on the industry, but the public is more important,' said Dr Chua. 'To us there's nothing more important than making sure that our public is protected.'

Even in the area of disease outbreak management, Dr Chua ensures that the same fastidious approach is applied. Multiple layers of defence are in place to prevent a bird flu outbreak, including netted cages to cut off contact with local poultry by wild birds. Farms are also discouraged from sharing equipment and allowing casual visitors to their premises. Vaccinations are carried out at the zoos and the bird park and surveillance at slaughterhouses and immigration check points has been stepped up.

'On top of that, we have already mapped out our contingency plan to get rid of bird flu in the event that it actually comes in,' he said. 'Various scenarios have been thought out.'

The AVA also holds regular training exercises and culling operations. 'I don't think we can totally eradicate the disease because of the wildlife reservoir. So what every country needs to do is make sure that they have a good system in which they can move in straight away and stop it from spreading.'The system should be based on comprehensive risk assessment.

'Because we have finite amount of resources, we cannot squander that resource away by going everywhere trying to look for problems. No, we do our risk profiling. Every country, we risk-profile them. Also the sources, we risk-profile.'

As human beings continue to encroach further into the natural habitats of animals, exotic diseases such as bird flu and mad cow disease are unlikely to go away. The good thing that came out of the trend is that relevant agencies in each country have become more vigilant and more collaborative.

While the AVA can do all the forward planning and carry out preventive medicine initiatives, Dr Chua stresses that food safety and disease control should not be the sole responsibility of a single agency. The industry and the public must also play their role in paying attention to their consumption and surroundings, keeping in mind that there are groups of vulnerable people amongst us.

'There's a group of vulnerable population, people who are immunology-compromised, such as transplant patients, people who have diabetes, who have gone through chemotherapy,' he said.

'They are most susceptible to outbreak of diseases and food poisoning.'

Proactive role

Dr Chua himself takes a proactive role, too. As he admits, he may be a terrible cook, but he enjoys accompanying his wife on her marketing rounds to help choose ingredients. At this point, he readily debunks the popular supposition that supplies from wet markets are fresher than those from the supermarkets.

'I think both are the same,' he said. 'What's important is how they handle it without breaking the cold chain - that is critical to keeping the freshness of the food.'

Of course, it helps that he has a rough idea of where the supplies come from, and how they are managed in the logistical process. He also talks to the traders frequently to get their input.

'Take for example, vegetables from China. It's a long distance to come. But the post-harvest handling of vegetables, using uninterrupted cold chain, gives you very good products at the end of it.

'You must remember that vegetables ... when they are harvested, they continue to breath. So if we slow down the metabolism process, then actually you will keep the freshness and quality. And refrigeration is the way.

'If you lower the temperature, they almost go to sleep - hibernate and not metabolise so fast. So the freshness is preserved, and they can travel for a long distance, for a long time and keep so much better in the fridge when you take them home.'

Spoken like a specialist.

Selamat caught at causeway?

2008-03-06T22:46:00.006+08:00

Hooray!!! Talkingcock (which also designed the funny pix above) has published another piece of satire by Sophie's World. :-)

Do take note that the article below is pure satire. Sophie's World hopes that the authorities will soon nab the real fugitive! The authorities have already stepped up security at the causeway, as reported by The Straits Times today.

Selamat Caught at Causeway
Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008
by Sophie's World

Singaporean fugitive Tak Selamat has finally been nabbed when he tried to sneak into the notorious Malaysian city of Johor Baru via the congested causeway over the weekend.

This has ended the massive manhunt for the limping Islamic militant, thanks to the tip-off of Woodlands resident and contractor Ker Mit Seng who was in a pirated taxi with Tak Selamat.

Mr Seng felt something was amiss when he chatted with Tak Selamat during a normal three-hour traffic gridlock on the mile-long causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore.

"He not very interested to talk about cheap prostitutes and pirated DVDs in JB. Damn strange. So I SMS police lor," Mr Seng said.

He also disclosed that Tak Selamat was incensed as he was hauled away by security forces of the two countries, ending the nationwide dragnet in 72 hours.

"Pukimak (fucking) causeway. So fucking jam all the time," Mr Seng cited Tak Selamat as saying.

Security forces of Malaysia and Singapore were ecstatic with their joint efforts in nabbing the alleged militant, who was in heavy disguise as an Arab businessman in a flowing robe.

"This shows our wisdom in keeping the causeway as a strategic bottleneck to prevent fugitives from crossing over to Malaysia so easily," crowed Singapore top security man Chin Tuah Kee.

He said Singaporeans and Malaysians should be grateful that Tak Selamat and friends didn't manage to blow up the causeway and other key facilities in Singapore a few years ago.

The increasingly heavy traffic at the causeway has worked to the advantage of the security forces, who were embarrassed by the escape of a string of well-known fugitives via the causeway in the past.

Well-known figures who had fled Singapore to Malaysia via the causeway included the Malaysian murderer of a China girl in Singapore, a Singapore Chinese gangster called One-Eyed Dragon and a former senior executive of the National Kidney Foundation.

Malaysian chief police Ayam Besar joined in the crowing.

"Ya, betul (correct). The causeway is very good despite the traffic jam lah. It would have been susah (difficult) for us to catch Tak Selamat if he had tried to swim across the Johor Straits," Ayam Besar said.

He added: "He may have escaped a toilet, but the Johor Straits has a lot more shit, and Tak Selamat would have drowned in it. We would not have caught him alive."

Hong Kong sex scandals

2008-03-06T22:24:00.003+08:00

By Uncle Cheng

When I say that in my thirty years in Hong Kong there has never been such a sensational scandal as this one, I think you will know which one I am referring to.

This super-sized sex scandal (Note: AP Photo) has captivated not only Hong Kong but the entire Chinese diaspora worldwide. Society’s prurient gaze has been entranced by the story of the nude bodies of famous celebrities from the entertainment world.

What is extraordinary is that thanks to the internet the most intimate sexual acts (which incidentally must be occurring many times a second somewhere or other) have been almost forced on the public. It feels as if these photographs have somehow invaded our own homes, so pervasive has the internet become.

Is this a kind of watershed or tuning point in history, where in the twinkling of an eye, just about everyone, at all levels of society from my building’s security guard to the taxi driver I took to Central to the typical housewife in Shaukiwan, has been confronted by the most intimate sexual photos of hugely famous people? If this is the internet, do we want it?

The power of the internet to destroy privacy is now self-evident. It behaves like a starved lion let loose on a chicken farm. Of course, as a mere lawyer I am interested by the legal side of things. Especially perplexing is how the Obscene Articles Tribunal (O.A.T.) will react.

What can it do? How effective can its rulings be? The internet may be like an untamed beast but can the O.A.T. tame the print media?

Quite a number of publications have reproduced a few of the hundreds of offending photographs, though always suitably blurred in all the required places to stay within the law. Despite the careful blurring, the question remains ‘Can the published photographs, despite their censoring blurs, be classified as obscene or indecent?’

Of course, newspapers and news magazines can argue that by the nature of their trade they have a public duty to publish news. And if nothing else these photographs are certainly news. That after all is how the media makes its money.

In a free and democratic society the press, as we all know, has important duties to perform. We also know that the dividing line between press censorship and freedom of the press can be difficult to define.

This is why the O.A.T. always has a problematic task to perform. Sadly, though, its performance to date has been erratic and its rationale hard to follow. I have myself represented a well-known publishing company for many years and dealt with cases involving the O.A.T. and from my limited experience I would say that the decisions of the O.A.T. are sometimes bizarre and often unpredictable.

I heard of an O.A.T. case, which was quite obviously a borderline case, where something in one publication was considered by the O.A.T. and yet an almost identical item in another publication was not brought to the attention of the O.A.T. at all. In the event the O.A.T. presiding officer, who was a trained lawyer, managed somehow to convince the other two laymen sitting with him that the photograph in question should be classified as indecent.

However, it is not fair to blame the O.A.T. totally for the present unsatisfactory state of affairs. The prosecution authorities (TELA) have a greater responsibility and heavier burden to bear. It is well-known in the publishing world that prosecutions are often very selective and similar articles or photographs may be classified to be indecent by one tribunal but not necessarily by another.

When such disparities occur it becomes difficult for the tribunals decision to be treated with respect.

The O.A.T. will no doubt be inundated with requests for classification regarding the ongoing sex scandal. Just how the O.A.T. deals with the publications may well decide the O.A.T.’s own future.
There is also the bigger question whether the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance needs to be amended. One thing is certain, however. After what has happened certain aspects of life will never be quite the same again.

I will say no more.

Thai political drama continues

2008-03-02T14:10:00.000+08:00

The Thai political drama has resumed with the sudden return of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra and the lifting of the country's badly-implemented capital controls.

The two developments may seem unrelated but they have the combined effect of showing the continued influence of the man who was embroiled in the controversial deal with Singapore government investment arm Temasek Holdings in 2006.

Despite criticisms against Thaksin over a host of issues, the Thai strongman had run the country better than a bunch of generals.

Although the Thai election has concluded, Thaksin could still play a significant role in the national political theater through his proxies. He's got strong and interesting ideas like owning Manchester City Football Club, where he is the chairman. And he has plenty of money, especially from the Temasek deal, to bankroll any fresh campaign.

While the Thai saga continues, some of the basic questions about the Shin deal may re-surface. Why did Temasek buy Shin in the first place? Although Singapore politicians had said ad nauseam that it was simply a commercial deal, nobody was convinced.

As mentioned earlier, there was one sexy theory that could help explain the whole saga. According to the theory, the payment of S$3 billion by Temasek and partners to Thaksin for his holding company was part of a quid pro quo to abandon Thailand's long-cherished dream to build the Kra Canal.

According to one wit, Thaksin had wanted to build the canal and resolve two issues at one go -- turn Thailand into a major shipping hub, and isolate the Islamic separatist movement in southern Thailand. A canal will literally divide Thailand into two distinct regions.

Will Thaksin stick to the purported deal? Or will the Kra Canal idea resurface? Any such deal would have been conditional on Thaksin remaining in power.

But Thaksin the civilian businessman can now theoretically push for the construction of the canal, which will enable ships to bypass Singapore and sail from South China Sea to Andaman Sea and Indian Ocean.

After all, nobody expected a 'commercial' deal to trigger a military coup that toppled the country's leader.

Note: The pix from the website of Singapore's BT showing Thaksin paying homage to his country outside the airport in Bangkok on Feb 28.

Selamat* Asean?

2008-03-01T00:03:00.006+08:00

The escape of militant suspect Mas Selamat Kastari (The Straits Times pix) from a top security facility in Singapore has been hogging the headlines in the country for the past few days.

The news has raised plenty of eyebrows in Singapore. Many people wonder how the limping leader of the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militant network Jemaah Islamiah's Singapore cell could have walked out of the toilet of a detention centre in security-conscious Singapore.

The mystery is still being solved. In the meantime, it is heartening to read that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are working together to recapture the fugitive who had wanted to blow up the Changi Airport and hijack a Singapore plane.

It is heartening to see the cooperation of the three littoral states of Asean in tracking the fugitive despite many bilateral problems among them.

Sophie's World hopes that the three countries could apply the same urgency to resolve all their outstanding bilateral problems.

* Selamat means save or safety in Malay, obviously a little pun on the name of the fugitive. :-)

Inflationary Asia

2008-02-25T20:43:00.010+08:00

Inflation is creeping up across Asia. The headline figure in Singapore has hit a 25-year high with inflation hitting 6.6%.

The figure seems to be higher than expected but the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the January inflation figure was 'consistent' with the government's official inflation forecast.

As pointed out by the AP report, the Singapore government recently raised its inflation forecast for the year to 4.5-5.5%, faster than the 3.5-4.5% announced in November. The Straits Times today said that inflation in Singapore could hit levels not seen since the oil crisis of the late 1970s.

The Singapore government will no doubt think of more ways to contain inflation. An even stronger Singapore dollar is definitely a certain policy option at this stage.

While Singapore's inflation rate seems higher than expected, the Consumer Price Index across the causeway seems too tame in the current environment. According to Bloomberg, Malaysia's inflation is set to hit a 10-month high of 2.9% this year.

Like Singapore, Malaysia has a very open economy. As a result, the two countries do pay the price for imported inflation.

Sophie's World has always had a nagging feeling that the inflation rate in Malaysia is understated. Prices of some items, especially imported goods, in Malaysia seem to be rising more rapidly than those in Singapore.

In many cases, prices of certain items in Malaysia are higher than or equivalent to those in Singapore. This is just Sophie's World unscientific observation. :-)

Even the threat of higher inflation has become an election issue in Malaysia. Check out the Democratic Action Party's campaign song (youtube video above), which includes a pledge to tame inflation in the country. Is there a need to tame it if it is rising at less than 3%?

While inflationary pressure is rising across Asia, the fast-growing region is not expected to see hyperinflation. Asia is still expected to see healthy, albeit slower, growth despite the increasing likelihood of a recession in the United States due to the sub-prime woes.

Earlier postings:
Rising cost of crime, 1 June 2007
Rising cost of living in Malaysia, 16 Nov 2006
Rising cost of living in Singapore, 16 Nov 2006

Jack of many trades

2008-02-23T11:25:00.009+08:00

BT profiled DBS Group Holdings chairman Koh Boon Hwee in its Raffles Conversation series today. He sounds like a real talented man with so many big job titles and interesting job experience. But I often wonder which business is his ultimate passion.

It would have been interesting if Boon Hwee had also talked about recent changes in DBS and departed CEO Jackson Tai and COO Frank Wong.

Maybe, it's a story for another day.

DBS Group Holdings' chairman Koh Boon Hwee talks to KENNETH JAMES about his multiple roles as private investor, corporate leader and educationist

GOOGLE the subject of this Raffles Conversation and one is rewarded with this unexpected gem: 'I Love Koh Boon Hwee' T-shirts, complete with bright red heart, for sale at Amazon.com.

Told about it, Koh Boon Hwee bursts out laughing. 'You've got to be kidding me!' he says. 'Anyway, who on earth would buy one?'

Well, let's see. As one of corporate Singapore's most prominent figures, Mr Koh no doubt has his detractors, but there are probably a whole lot more admirers of his corporate story.

After all, his track record is impressive. Our wide-ranging conversation takes place in a meeting room across from his office at the top of DBS Building Tower One; he is chairman of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, the country's largest bank. Prior to this appointment, from July 2001 to December 2005, he was chairman of Singapore Airlines, where he successfully shepherded the iconic international carrier through one of the most turbulent periods in aviation history.

From 1986 to 2001 he was chairman of the Singapore Telecom Group (SingTel), overseeing its transformation from statutory board to regional communications powerhouse. All this while, for 10 years from 1991, he headed the Wuthelam Group as its executive chairman.

On the education front he's enjoyed a long association with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where he currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees.

And this doesn't even include what Mr Koh considers his main vocation: investing in, and guiding, a host of companies in Singapore and abroad.

Not bad for someone whose earliest career 'highlights', following his recruitment to US multinational Hewlett-Packard's Singapore office in 1977, were a couple of million dollar ventures that famously bombed.

That's a story Mr Koh has told with relish many times over. But it's clear that the underlying theme, tolerating and even welcoming failure as integral to the entrepreneurial process, remains as relevant to him now as it did decades ago.

'My partners and I have often backed people knowing full well that we might lose the money completely,' he says at one point. 'But we thought that what the person might learn might actually make him a lot more successful in his second venture. And that has often been the case.'

Which is why he considers himself not just an investor but an 'investor-builder'. Drawing a comparison with venture capitalists, he explains: 'In my mind the venture capitalist has a very specific role; most of the time they are investing money that is raised from other people. Because the fund has a life, you have to plan an entry, and then you make your money by planning an exit.

'I think of myself as an investor-builder because, first of all I'm not managing third-party money, I'm usually investing for myself. (And) to me an investor-builder is someone who doesn't have that time frame sitting in front of him. He can take a five-year, a 10-year, a 20-year perspective. And he can grow with that business from startup through expansion to growth to maturity. Does it mean you will never sell the business? The answer is no, obviously. But is it in the forefront of your mind? Probably not.'

Such an approach allows him the luxury of looking beyond immediate bottomline considerations, although he emphasises: 'Let me say that your judgement is more often wrong than correct. And that's the nature of investing, especially in startup businesses.'

Having said that, he willingly shares his modus operandi: 'I've often been asked, what do I look for? I would say that the first thing I look for is the person behind the idea. Why is he interested in it, how committed is he, what will his tenacity be like when he faces adversity? You know, these are all issues related to soft judgement, and that isn't going to be brought home by going to business school.

'And if the person passes muster, then you take a look at the PowerPoint presentations and the spreadsheets, to get an idea of how large the business will be, and how it might stack up against competition.'

Pressed for an example, he initially declines - 'I'm not so sure that the people who are behind those businesses would like it necessarily publicised' - but finally relents.

He relates: 'One of our more successful investments has been in a company in China that manufactures acoustic components for the mobile handphone market. We were drawn to that investment primarily by the man who was behind it. He was young, he was obviously very smart, but more important than that, I think he had the right attitude.

'He was prepared to work, and you had the feeling in talking to him that although he had this business in mind, and he had a plan for executing it, and he had a passion for it, that it wasn't just about making money for himself. He wanted to really make an impact, to be a factor in at least the part of the business that he was in.'

Mr Koh and his partners decided to back the entrepreneur, who 'proceeded to grow the company very well, and it was eventually listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and he still runs it very successfully'.

So has Singapore finally imbibed this entrepreneurial culture, even embracing failure?

'Oh I would definitely think so,' Mr Koh replies instantly. 'I would say that we are a lot more open, a lot less quick now to stigmatise people because of failure. I think lots of people who may not have been successful the first time get a second chance. Is it quite like Silicon Valley yet? The answer is no, but I think Singapore has made vast improvement.'

But he has some pertinent advice for would-be entrepreneurs here: 'You continue to hear complaints about people starting up and not being able to find startup money or venture capital and things like that. I hear that all the time. My own take on that is there is plenty of money for investment. But getting that money does require hard work on the entrepreneur's part. It does require a soundly thought-out strategy.

'And very often that's not the case in Singapore. The weakness I see is not in engineering skills or technology skills or research and development, it is in marketing and sales. A business plan without addressing a market, without an assessment of your competition, without telling people how you intend to distribute and sell the product, is highly incomplete and therefore unlikely to be funded.'

Mr Koh's emphasis on people and the long term - the 'builder' part of being an investor-builder - is an advantage he brings to the boardrooms of the mega-companies he has been involved with.

At SingTel it helped him guide the stat board through what he readily concedes was a 'very painful' privatisation process.

He recalls: 'In three to four years the organisation shed over 4,000 people, which was 30 per cent of its staff at that point in time. But it was essential to prepare the organisation for competition. Do I enjoy downsizing? The answer is obviously no. I've done it so many times in my life. Every time it's ...' He doesn't complete the sentence.

He continues: 'As a manager, the minute you start thinking of people as digits you can grow and downsize, I think you need to get out of the business, because it means that whatever's left of you as a human being is probably gone.'

SIA was challenging for different reasons. He piloted the airline through a series of storms: September 11 in 2001, the Bali bomb attack in 2002, SARS in 2003, record fuel prices in 2005. The carrier stayed profitable every year, and in fact had record profits in 2005. Even so, his speech to SIA staff when he was leaving was a starkly cautious one.

He explains: 'In a service industry you can have an idea, but the idea is just two to three months away from being followed by everybody else. The nature of the business isn't such that you can look for one big thing and knock everybody out. You must do all of the things that you're doing just a little bit better than the competition. The seats have to be a little more comfortable, your cabin crew has to be a little bit more helpful and polite, your aircraft have to be a little bit more punctual, hopefully 100 per cent ... so that all of those little things add up.'

Now, with impeccable timing, he is chairman of a major bank in a time of global financial crisis. He exclaims: 'I can't think of a better time. You learn a lot.' The way Koh Boon Hwee says it, it sounds like a clarion call. You can see the builder taking charge.

The next education challenge for Singapore

EDUCATION has always been a big thing for DBS Group Holdings chairman Koh Boon Hwee, who is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

But while the education system here is, in his words, 'one of the greatest achievements of Singapore', there is a need now to take higher education even higher, he says.

He explains: 'Two things are happening. First of all, the environment in Singapore is changing, and the universities have to adapt to that as well. Let me give you an example. For the first 20 years of NTU and its predecessor organisation NTI (Nanyang Technological Institute), the goal really was to ensure that we produced enough technical and engineering manpower to fund Singapore's demands, and the technology investors who would be coming in. And that's what we did. Starting from almost zero it went up to a student population of 20,000-21,000, the majority of whom were in engineering. And it's one of the reasons companies come to Singapore.

'But the state of Singapore's economic development now is that we are coming to the stage where it isn't just about providing manpower to fund industry, it is about providing manpower to fund research labs. Which basically means the university cannot just continue to produce manpower that can keep the machinery humming and the plant operating. You now have to produce people who are able to say, how can I improve the design of the plant, how do I improve the design of the product, what new ideas can I have for the next drug, or whatever it is? That's a quantum step up in the quality of manpower you need to produce. And that is the challenge that NTU is rising to.'

Mobile students

The other challenge is that, even in education, globalisation has had an impact, he says.

'Students today are very, very mobile, especially those who come from countries where their parents can afford it. Even if they can't afford it, some of the best universities in the world, the Harvards and the Yales, are now saying, 'We don't care whether you're from India, or from China, as long as you've got the brains, we will fund that education'.

'More important, universities now are ranked. Students all over the world see it, faculties see it. If you are a world class faculty (member), are you going to agree to work in the 212th university in the world, when you know that universities are recruiting all over? Well, today some of the best universities hire from all over the world, so the competition for professorial talent, for student talent, is becoming increasingly global.

'The challenge for NTU is to ensure that we accept those realities of the new environment and rise to that challenge. Which is what we're doing. We've just brought in a new provost, Bertil Andersson, (who is) very research oriented. We need to figure out a way to get our academic faculty to do not only teaching but research as well, and therefore you want to have a person who has spent his entire career steeped in this sort of thing.'

Research mindset

Mr Koh, who is also a member of Singapore's high-level Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC), concedes that Singaporeans need to develop what he calls a research mindset.

'We don't have a lot of people who are steeped in R&D processes and protocols. We're not steeped in the idea that if we invest $100 million in R&D, maybe $80 million will be wasted, but somewhere along the line maybe $20 million of it may produce the next breakthrough idea. We're impatient, we have an 'instant-tree mentality', if we want a tree we're gonna plant it right now.

'The development of R&D isn't an instant-tree solution. You can try to shorten the process, which we're trying to do. With the help of the National Research Foundation and A*Star, we have been able to attract some really great scientists. And now we have to be patient.

'We can't say, now we've given you the environment and the funding, please win the Nobel Prize next year! It doesn't work that way. You've got to have the patience to let things develop, accept the idea that there will be some wastage, and you have to take it one step at a time.

Slow off the mark?

2008-02-21T23:00:00.005+08:00

Singapore is not exactly the greatest sporting nation in Asia but it has won the right to host the 2010 Youth Olympic Games tonight.

The news didn't come as a surprise as Singapore looks more exciting than Moscow due to the former's fast-changing landscape. Singapore's new attractions include the Singapore Flyer, the Formula One race later this year, a new downtown by Marina Bay, two big integrated resorts (Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa) by 2010 or 2011.

The hosting of the inaugural junior Olympics will be a big boost to Singapore, which is reinventing itself.

However, it would have been more ideal if the Singapore Sports Hub could have been completed in time for the big sporting event.

Singapore last month said it will award a contract to build and operate the new sports hub at the site of the current National Stadium. The winning consortium will start construction of the waterfront facility in April and complete it by the end of 2011.

Was plan for the sports hub slow off the mark?

Free up Asean skies!

2008-02-19T00:34:00.009+08:00

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) are not about to slash fares anytime soon for the popular Singapore-KL sector despite the recent entry of budget airlines, according to The Straits Times tonight.

Competition has had minimal impact on yields and traffic, ST cited SIA chief executive officer Chew Choon Seng and MAS head Idris Jala as telling reporters on Monday on the sidelines of the inaugural Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit.

The report added that it took six years of lobbying for governments on both sides of the Causeway to clear the runway for a total of four budget flights a day between Singapore and KL, which Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and Malaysia's AirAsia started operating on Feb 1.

Between them, ST said SIA and MAS operate a total of 13 daily flights, offering more than 21,000 round-trip seats a week - four times the capacity of the budget boys.

Well, Sophie's World has a simple solution: Time to free up the KL-Singapore air sector completely, instead of waiting for the Asean Open Skies pact to take effect by the end of this year.

There is still a massive bottleneck for long-suffering travelers between the two countries.

Malaysia's election drama begins!

2008-02-13T20:37:00.005+08:00

As widely expected, Malaysia will hold its national election in March following move in dissolving the parliament today.

According to conventional wisdom, the administration of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who inherited the premiership from popular Mahathir Mohamad in 2003, is eager to secure another electoral mandate before things get worse next year.

Polls are not due until May 16, 2009. Reuters correctly pointed out that analysts had expected him to seek a fresh mandate before the economy begins to slow and inflation picks up steam.

Another plausible reason is the need to prevent former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim from taking part in the elections. Due to his past criminal case, charismatic Anwar is not allowed to run for public office until April.

The reasons all sound plausible. It's almost a foregone conclusion that the ruling National Front coalition will form the government again. It's just a matter of the margin of victory.

Reuters puts it elegantly: Opposition parties complain that the electorate is gerrymandered in favor of mainly rural Malays, that the pro-government media gives them short shrift and campaigning rules favor the incumbents.

But there will always be drama in Malaysia's political theatre.

Missing MRT link, Part 3

2008-02-13T13:45:00.002+08:00

The JB-Singapore MRT link has not been given the green light yet, contrary to an earlier Chinese newspaper report.

Instead, the governments of Singapore and Malaysia have set up a working group to look at ways to help improve transport links between the two countries. And one option being considered is to extend Singapore’s MRT network into Johor, according to The Straits Times report today that cited Singapore’s Ministry of Transport. The Transport Ministry has not issued a media statement as at blogging time today. :-)

The news is definitely significant as it shows the intention of the two governments to work together to facilitate the massive cross-border flow of people between Malaysia and Singapore.

But can they really come up with a neat solution? The answers are not so clear due to the lack of information. There are many, many questions and issues.

For a start, the ST report said the proposed MRT link could start at Woodlands in Singapore and end at the Iskandar Development Region in Johor. Where exactly is it in IDR?

The IDR covers a huge area, accounting for more than 10% of the land area of the state of Johor, which itself is some 28 times bigger than Singapore. The state capital of JB, which is the closest link to Singapore, itself is in IDR. So is Senai Airport, which is about 30km away from the Malaysia-Singapore border.

It’s more ideal if the MRT link begins in Woodlands as reported and end in the heart of JB itself, instead of somewhere else within the IDR.

And what’s the working group’s plan to improve traffic flow along the causeway – a 1-km land bridge linking Singapore and Malaysia? As mentioned earlier, this is the main bottleneck and the source of much political angst between the two governments.

But building a new bridge for the MRT without resolving the causeway problem won’t be ideal. It is akin to doing a minor heart surgery without treating the main clogged artery.

The clogged artery must go, eventually. In its place, a new overhead bridge must be built to help resolve many problems in one fell swoop as argued in Cleaning up Straits of Johor good for Singapore too last year.

The working group must work out a holistic plan to improve traffic flow between the two countries. They must take into account all ways to improve road, rail and even sea traffic in the dirty Straits of Johor.

The current causeway chokes the straits and does not even allow boats or sampans to sail from the northwestern coast of Singapore to the southeast side of Johor, without making one big detour.

Another missing link is a high-speed train from KL to Singapore. Will Francis Yeoh build another rail bridge to Singapore? Or will he dig a tunnel under the Straits of Johor?

Sophie’s World hopes that the Singapore-Malaysia working group will triumph over their respective internal politics and come up with a holistic transportation blueprint that will benefit people on both sides of the straits.

Hopefully, such a plan will forge closer ties between the two close neighbours and withstand time.

Missing MRT link, part 2

2008-02-12T12:14:00.000+08:00

Is the Singapore MRT finally going to the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru?

Forum discussions based on a Chinese newspaper article posted on SingaporeSurf on Feb 9 seem to suggest so.

So far, I have not seen any article on the same issue by mainstream English newspapers on both sides of the causeway. Other parties -- the governments of Malaysia and Singapore, and SMRT -- have not made any announcement to clarify whether it is indeed true that the two governments had given the green light for the significant cross-border project. So it's not quite clear what the real situation is, as my understanding of Chinese is almost zero.

As argued earlier, it is a necessary link in Singapore's MRT blurprint. But there are many complications surrounding such a project, as mentioned in an earlier posting -- JB-Singapore MRT?

Same old sight

2008-02-06T23:22:00.000+08:00

More than a quarter of the population in Singapore must have headed to Malaysia during the Chinese New Year.

This is based on the figure of about 1.35 million travellers that passed through the Tuas and Woodlands checkpoints on five days of the festivities last year, according to Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority in a ST report this evening.

And as in previous years, many were caught in a massive crawl at the Singapore-Malaysia border. This is seen in the ST picture showing the gridlock at the causeway, which links Singapore and Johor Baru in Malaysia. The report said vehicles were backed up several kilometres. Horns blared and tempers flared as motorists saw their chances of making it on time for their reunion dinner.

Their need to return for their reunion dinner reflects the close family ties on both sides of the causeway.

A friend had to drive 300km from KL to JB to pick up her husband, who works in Singapore. They then braved another 300km back to KL. This is because he couldn't get ticket for any mode of Singapore-KL transportation -- bus, the slow KTM train or new budget airlines.

*Sigh*

Sorry state of Malaysian affairs

2008-02-06T11:01:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian government has apologised to the Hindus over the premature demolition of a temple, which had contributed to the massive outcry, street demonstrations and government crackdown last year.

"The demolition should not have been carried out a week before Deepavali. The relevant authorities could have postponed it one or two months. This was wrong on their part. We are sorry for that," Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was cited as saying by The Straits Times earlier this week.

He also pledged to ensure the orderly relocation of temples built on private property.

Apart from anger over the destruction of Hindu temples in Malaysia, the Hindu Rights Action Force or Hindraf had organised street protest to make a ridiculous claim of US$4 trillion for the suffering of Indians, whose ancestors were taken to Malaysia by the British as indentured labourers 150 years ago.

Hindraf had also filed a ridicuous petition, claiming 'ethnic cleansing' in Malaysia.

Has Hindraf apologised to the government and Malaysians over the ridiculous monetary claim and petition charging 'ethnic cleansing' following the Malaysian leader's apology this week?

Please ignore this posting if Hindraf has said sorry.

Singapore's glittering Autobahn, Part 2

2008-02-05T12:56:00.000+08:00

Note: Wikiepedia pix shows the current causeway linking southern Singapore and Sentosa island. The other causeway, which connects northern Singapore and Malaysia, has been retarding the flow of water in the dirty Straits of Johor for more than eight decades.

It's great to read about the latest plan to improve traffic access to the tourist island of Sentosa from Singapore's mainland.

According to The Straits Times, the roads leading to Sentosa, VivoCity and HarbourFront will be widened to cater to an anticipated increase in traffic into the area. With one of Singapore's two integrated resorts opening on Sentosa and new condominiums to be built in the area by 2010, traffic is likely to go up by 30 per cent, said the Land Transport Authority yesterday.

The ST article didn't mention it, but earlier news reports had said that Genting International's Resorts World at Sentosa -- the developer of the integrated resort and casino on Sentosa -- had started work on the second bridge to link Sentosa and the mainland.

The second bridge is aimed at easing visitor traffic as over 15 million of them are expected to visit the Resort when it opens in early 2010 or 2011. The report said the 710-metre, 3-lane bridge will run parallel to the existing causeway which connects Sentosa to the mainland. And when completed in September 2009, both will be merged.

The latest roadwork and the new Sentosa bridge will be a great addition to the new transport blueprint unveiled by the government in the past two weeks. Apart from plans to improve the public transportation system, the government will build the North-South Expressway by 2020. Singapore's Autobahn will cost S$8 billion, or at a stggering S$381 million per km.

Many locals and foreigners will enjoy seamless travel from Sentosa to the rest of Singapore, thanks to the government's transportation blueprint.

But they will almost certainly hit a major road bump should they wish to cross over to the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru. The two countries have not been able to work together to jointly build a bridge to replace the old and congested causeway. A new and wider overhead bridge, which will have many benefits, shouldn't cost more than S$1 billion each.

This is a rough estimate based on the two countries' construction bill of over RM2.4 billion (slightly more than S$1 billion based on today's exchange rate) to jointly build the longer Second Link bridge when bilateral ties were a lot warmer in the mid-1990s.

Malaysia's bill came up to more than RM1.2 billion. Singapore's portion was last reported to be about S$600 million.

A new bridge to ease the massive cross-border flow between Malaysia and Singapore makes good sense. ST had earlier estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day. This works out to more than 90 million people each year, which is a staggering number as it is nearly 20 times the population of Singapore. The traffic volume at the causeway is 6 times higher than the projected number of visitors to Sentosa.

It will be ideal if one could travel from Sentosa all the way to Malaysia seamlessly one day via two wide bridges and the glittering S$8-billion Autobahn.

S'pore-KL budget flights take off but...

2008-02-03T16:31:00.000+08:00

The long-protected Singapore-KL air route has finally been opened up, slightly.

Singapore and Malaysia newspapers highlighted the historic entry of budget airlines in the air sector between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on Feb 1. Three new players -- Malaysia's AirAsia, and Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia of Singapore -- will operate a total of four flights a day. Most of the flights will still be dominated by the expensive Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

Sophie's World has long argued for the liberalisation of the route, which was dominated by the national carriers of Malaysia and Singapore for the past three decades. It just didn't make sense to shield the two national carriers from the new kids on the block since budget airlines came into play in 2003.

Passengers and commentators will continue to analyse the situation and applaud the move as another step towards open skies in Asean. Sophie's World fully endorses Asean's Open Sky pact by the end of this year to hasten economic and social integration of the region with over 500 million people -- more than one-third the population of China, which is the world's most populous country.

But an open sky pact alone will not nudge the region's disparate economies towards greater integration as long as many countries remain highly nationalistic.

In the case of closely-knit Malaysia and Singapore, the long-term solution is not more flights alone as many people still won't be able to travel freely. Why? This is because air travel is still relatively expensive due to the litany of taxes imposed, and the subsequent connection cost to the city.

For example, The Straits Times highlighted the family of 21 who collectively spent S$3,200 on the maiden budget flight from Singapore to KL. It's a lot cheaper than the S$8,800 they would have forked out on either Singapore Airlines or Malaysia Airlines for the same round-trip flight. At S$3,200, it works out to S$152 per person for a round-trip fare, including all the taxes.

The family could have chartered an entire van or bus for far less and used it to ferry them around in KL for one week. But bus was not an option for them as they said they had some toddlers who couldn't stomach the bus journey to KL. That's not the point here.

The point is at S$152 per person (some budget tickets were given away for free as part of the maiden flight promotions), it is still a high price to travel 320km from Singapore to KL. Budget airfare, inclusive of taxes and surcharges, is still at least 50 percent higher than what many luxury coaches charge between the two cities. In fact, ST said many people paid under S$200 each for a budget airline seat. This is more than double the return bus fare of S$92 charged by luxury coach Aeroline.

The long-term solution to facilitate the extremely high traffic volume between the two capitals is a high-speed bullet train service. It's an idea that was mooted by several Malaysian businessmen in the 1990s and revived recently by Francis Yeoh.

Even former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had pushed for the idea as a way to further integrate the two countries. As part of the fast train service between KL and Singapore, Dr Mahathir had proposed a rail tunnel under the narrow Straits of Johor, which separates Malaysia and Singapore.

The rail tunnel project was part of the transportation blueprint in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru that involved building a new overhead bridge to replace the old causeway, which connects the two countries.

Although Singapore had officially welcomed the rail tunnel idea, negotiation to build a new overhead bridge was almost stillborn from the beginning. Malaysia finally called off the bridge project two years ago as Singapore had made certain demands -- the right to use Malaysia's airspace and buy sand for its land reclamation -- that Malaysia could not fulfill.

Francis Yeoh appears to be still keen to push ahead with the bullet train project although the rail tunnel and bridge components have been derailed. He could build a new fast rail link to Singapore should Malaysia secure Singapore's blessing, or end the rail track in the city of JB.

The answers are still hazy.

What is clearer is that a fast train service could zip from Singapore to the heart of KL in just 90 minutes -- half the time needed to drive on Malaysia's North-South Expressway. The point-to-point travel will be even faster than air travel due to time needed for airport immigration clearance, baggage clearance and the 57-km road or rail connection between the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the capital.

Of course, demand will hinge on the eventual price of a train ticket. Sophie's World is hopeful that the price ticket for a fast train service, should it materialise, will be competitive compared to full-fledged airlines or even budget airlines.

But planners in Singapore and Malaysia must not ignore the ultimate bottleneck for road and rail travelers between the two countries -- the jointly-owned causeway.

Taking ST Engineering to the next phase

2008-02-02T11:46:00.001+08:00

The latest Raffles Conversation profile in Singapore's The Business Times today.

Taking ST Engineering to the next phase

Tan Pheng Hock, ST Engineering president and chief executive officer, tells WONG WEI KONG that the defence conglomerate has reached a stage where it is ready to shape the market

SINGAPORE Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) used to set the pace for other blue chips by being the first to announce its results every year. A few years ago, it stopped doing so. An increasingly complex business spread across the group meant that it had to take more care - and time - to get its numbers right.

But being first just for the sake of it has never been Tan Pheng Hock's way. 'Fast is good, but it is secondary,' he says in an interview with BT. 'Our first criterion is to have a robust set of numbers that we can sign off and say, 'This is it'.'

'Put it this way, we are a big group now. It is not just about cultural diversity but differences in practices, environmental issues, local regulations, practices and procedures.

'When we were Singapore-centric, that was easy because we have been together for the last 30 to 40 years and we have an established set of processes and procedures. However, when you add on companies, you can't say that anymore. So we also have to address these concerns because being first is not necessarily the most important. More importantly is to make sure you have a robust set of numbers.'

Emphasising the process and not just the outcome is at the core of defence and engineering conglomerate ST Engineering, says Mr Tan, 51, who became its president and chief executive officer in 2002. It defines how the group is run, how it interacts with its customers, and how it bids for contracts and makes acquisitions. It is also something Mr Tan learnt from - you wouldn't expect it - his days as a minute-taker.

'One of the values I learnt in my younger days as an engineer was from writing minutes. I used to be arrowed by my boss to write minutes. All of us hated to write minutes. Writing minutes is not fun.

'I realised that if I take it as just writing minutes, it is really no fun. But if I start observing how issues are being discussed, how people make decisions, how people manage dissenting views, how they arrived at the conclusion, then, there is actually a lot of value in it.

'So I said, 'I better observe how things are being done'. I used to sit in meetings chaired by Philip Yeo, Kua Hong Pak or Ho Ching. You learn from people who are already there - they don't teach you, but you can observe how some people make decisions so fast. These are valuable lessons that people don't teach you, that no courses really teach you, but are invaluable.

'So I also try sometimes to get engineers to sit in meetings and say, 'Look, writing minutes is not important. What's important is what you get out of it. Do you get the essence of the three-hour discussion?' In that way, people don't feel like they are being arrowed but view it as recognition, a development rather than a task. So I'm appreciative of that and now I know why I was given that task.'

Years removed from his minute-writing days and as chief operating officer of the group, Mr Tan was to see ST Engineering and its Bionix Infantry Fighting Vehicle lose out on a US$4-billion US Army contract for light armoured vehicles. It was a major disappointment, but Mr Tan says the outcome did nothing to detract from the value of the process.

'Actually we got lots of value out of it - not in dollar terms. ST Engineering created a name in the US that we never had before. Although we didn't win, you can now see politicians and defence industry leaders acknowledging ST Engineering's capabilities. The US Department of Defense has acknowledged that we have good solutions.

'Having done that, we may not bid for the next vehicle but we may work with local industry players as partners as they now know our capabilities. Not all US defence companies, for example, produce vehicles. But they do system integration - add electronics and weapons - so this is where we can complement them.' And notwithstanding the Bionix disappointment, the US has become the biggest market for ST Engineering, accounting for 33 per cent of the group's revenue.

Doing things right, and not taking short-cuts, is the best way to win over the market, Mr Tan says. 'We want the market to trust us. If there is a thing that cannot be done, we'll explain to you why it cannot be done. We are not always right, but we give you an honest view of what can or cannot be done and we are open to your suggestions. We want people to see us as a trustworthy partner, who will not just take a project because we want it but who will take a project and make sure you understand where the limits are, what the challenges are, and the value we bring to you. We want people to know that ST Engineering is a partner, a trustworthy partner, not just a buyer or seller but a partner that will go in with you and take risks with you. We will be there in the long haul with you.'

This approach has helped ST Engineering build an enviable reputation in the market place. Over the past 40 years, ST Engineering has evolved from a local company to today's integrated and globalised company with a work force of 18,000 worldwide, with over 100 offices in 20 countries, including the US, Panama and China. The group's core capabilities are well recognised in four areas - land systems, electronics, marine and aerospace. Building on its defence heritage - it is the principal supplier to the Singapore Armed Forces - ST Engineering has established significant commercial operations which now account for 70 per cent of revenues.

'In the early days we were what I call metal bashers. You have got to start somewhere, and it was more hand and leg work. The second phase was around the 80s when we looked at upgrading and modification work, a bit more engineering work, a bit more value added. The third phase was in the 90s when we started to develop our own system, our own solutions, and our own intellectual property. That was when people started to see us as a creative, innovative company as we developed our own unique solutions.

'In the next phase for ST Engineering, people will no longer see us as takers in the market, and we will no longer be one that waits for the market to change. I strongly believe that we have now reached a stage where we can be a leader in some areas, where we can shape the market, and where we can position the market.'

When he took over as CEO in February 2002, Mr Tan felt that the group was not bold enough in making acquisitions. 'We didn't do many acquisitions in 2001, 2002. Our strength was in buying assets or companies that were in trouble. But it was also our weakness because we were always waiting for an opportunity to arise. You are waiting and you are not making things happen, so I said you cannot grow just by sitting down. We must have a M&A team and consciously have a strategic plan.

'The staff were reluctant to buy good operating companies because they believe that the seller makes all the money, which meant they win and we lose, instead of seeing the deal as a win-win proposition. The seller has reached a point where he could not grow the company any more while we are able to take the company to the next level. That is a win-win deal. We can make money just like the seller.'

Mr Tan then led ST Engineering on the path of actively pursuing strategic acquisitions overseas to diversify its business geographically and its revenue stream. While it is linked to Temasek, the Singapore investment corporation, it has so far avoided the controversy that have dogged some other Temasek-linked investments overseas.

Mr Tan says he does not have lessons to teach the rest of corporate Singapore, but for ST Engineering, it is again all down to the process. 'I stay below the radar. You don't see me talking about companies that I want to look at specifically. I will tell you our areas of interest in general. But I don't tell you about my targets.

'I don't want people to speculate. I also go below radar because at the end of the day, I like to develop relationships with companies before I even start to do any M&A. I think it is important for us to know the people, the management, the culture, the alignment, the confidence in knowing each other. Typically, we spend 12-18 months to get to know each other before we even consider whether it is really worth buying. And you don't see us going in a big way to publicise it.

'One thing for sure is that we are very sensitive to local issues. Firstly, even before we buy, we want to be sensitive. We always ask whether there are potential regulatory or nationalistic issues. If we sense that potentially there is a problem, we may not even want to do it because it may turn out to be too expensive and too difficult to bridge it. We always use our colleagues in those markets because I think some things are easier with their own people.

'We will tackle the politicians, we will tackle the owners, and if necessary, the workforce. We want to make sure that we hear them and that we are sensitive to them. Address the issue upfront if we can, and if not, we have to give certain assurances.

'Our investment in SAS Components could have created a stir in Europe, but it didn't, because we told them, 'Let's focus on this. Let's not focus on the outside world, and we don't have to publicise it. I know we have to tell the union, but let's manage the process sensitively'.'

Does it trouble him that ST Engineering is in the business of making weapons that can be put to use in quite destructive ways? His answer: 'We save lives, we don't kill lives. ST Engineering is not about just a weapons supplier but more. That's why you use the word defence. It is about how you can save lives, and how you can prevent conflicts for example. In our own way, we prevent tensions. I think that is what Singapore is all about as well.'

Mr Tan points out products from ST Engineering which have helped to save lives, including the Sars test kits and the Bronco supply carriers used in the tsunami rescue operations. 'So I think it is beyond just weapons, it is about coming up with a solution that can prevent catastrophe, looking at solutions to save lives. Many of our solutions are utilised in disaster recoveries.'

An engineer by training, Mr Tan graduated with first class honours in marine engineering from the University of Surrey, UK, after securing a Colombo Plan scholarship. In 1993, he was conferred with Master of Science (Management) from Stanford University, USA. He also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1999.

Mr Tan has spent more than 26 years at ST Engineering, his first and only job. He began his career with the group as an engineer in Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd in 1981. During his 16 years there, he advanced from one senior position to another and last held the appointment of executive vice president for yard and business development.

Prior to his current position, Mr Tan held the positions of ST Engineering's group president (June 2001), president and chief operating officer (July 2000), and COO (February 2000). Before these various positions in the corporate office, he was president of Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (formerly known as Singapore Technologies Automotive Ltd) from September 1998. He was named president, corporate affairs, to assist in the integration of the various sectors of ST Engineering during its formation in 1997.

He says that being very much an insider and his exposure to various positions have given him an intimate knowledge of the operations of the group. But it has also not kept him from making tough calls.

He says: 'I assumed the job (as CEO) on Feb 20, 2002, and I already saw that customers' needs were changing. I was a bit worried about one or two of our businesses and one of them was an ammunition plant, about the things they do. Things were getting smarter but we were doing more conventional requirements. At the same time, those were people who had been with the group for a long time, since 1967, 68 or 69.

'The difficulty was that we needed a changing model. So there was the issue for me, 'Do you do the right things or do you do things right?' Doing the right thing was to restructure, retrench, reshape. Doing things right could be continuing to execute things very well, but where are the customers? In October 2002, I had to retrench 460 people.

'It was difficult because you could say that it was not their fault, because the market shifted but we didn't shift fast enough. But at the same time, we had to do the right thing for the company. It was very difficult because it happened in less than one year after I assumed the CEO post. It was not very popular when you did things like this.

'It was the most difficult decision in my life. No one knew how much I agonised over it, because I didn't show it openly. But deep inside, I could not accept having to ask staff to leave. I hope those affected understood why I had to do it and will forgive me.'

Singapore's glittering Autobahn

2008-01-30T21:12:00.000+08:00

Wikipedia pix of the German Autobahn or freeway for illustration purpose only

Highways in land-scarce Singapore are incredibly expensive. According to Singapore's Transport Ministry today, the new 21-km North-South Expressway will cost S$8 billion when completed by 2020.

This works out to an eye-popping S$381 million per km or S$381,000 per metre!!! And it seems to be more than double the price of the 12-km Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and tunnel that was built at a cost of S$150 million per km, or a total of S$1.8 billion, last year.

Of course, the cost of Singapore's latest Autobahn could include massive compensation for land acquisition for the new highway, tunnels and difficult engineering feat.

Whatever the real scope of the new highway is, the NSE must be one of the most expensive stretches of road in the region.

For example, Malaysia's North-South Expressway -- the 772 km highway stretching from southern Thailand to the border of Singapore -- cost over RM6 billion when completed in the early 1990s.

The price tag for the Malaysian 'mega' project, which caused a political furore then due to a massive cost overrun and charges of corruption, worked out to about RM7.8 million per km. This is equivalent to about S$5 million per km based on the exchange rate then.

This means the NSE in Singapore costs more than 75 times the NSE in Malaysia on a per km basis. Of course, the cost of building materials and labour has gone up substantially since the 1990s. And the landscapes are completely different although the two countries are close neighbours.

But the question remains: Is Singapore's latest Autobahn paved with gold?

Missing MRT link

2008-01-28T20:50:00.001+08:00

Source: The Straits Times

Singapore will one day have the most extensive rail and subway network for any country in the world. The forward-thinking Singapore government has announced plans to spend S$40 billion to double the MRT network by 2020.

According to The Straits Times on Jan 25, Singapore will have 278km of rail link, from 138km today. Its network density will rise from 31km per million residents today to 51km per million - surpassing that of major cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo, and comparable to current densities in cities like New York and London.

Will the Singapore MRT blueprint be completed by then? Unlikely. There's always room for Singapore to create an even more extensive network as the population grows.

A missing link could be a MRT rail track from Singapore to the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru. It's not a radical idea. In fact, businessmen on both sides of the causeway are toying with the idea.

Such a link will definitely be useful to help ease the massive traffic at the causeway, the land-based bridge that links Singapore and Malaysia.

ST had estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day. This works out to more than 90 million people each year. This is a staggering number as it is nearly 20 times the population of Singapore. The number of people using the causeway is almost one-fifth the 414 million riders who used Singapore's MRT in 2007.

Of course, there is no certainty that Malaysia and Singapore will agree to the proposed JB-Singapore MRT link. There are simply too many complications at the government-to-government level although it is a desirable project. The two governments can't even agree to build a new overhead bridge to replace the aging causeway and resolve a host of other bilateral problems.

And can they agree to a common ticketing system even if they manage to build a MRT link between Singapore and JB? Don't bet on it!

Suharto dies with chequered legacy

2008-01-27T19:08:00.000+08:00

Former Indonesian President Suharto has finally succumbed to his illnesses, according to AP and BBC. According to an AP report, he died at 2.10pm (Singapore and Malaysia time) today. He was 86.

JAKARTA (Indonesia): Former Indonesian president Suharto, an army general who crushed Indonesia's communist movement and pushed aside the country's founding father to usher in 32 years of tough rule that saw up to a million political opponents killed, died Sunday. He was 86.

"He has died,'' Dr Christian Johannes told The Associated Press, adding that he died at 1.10pm (2.10pm Malaysian time).

Dozens of doctors on Suharto's medical team had been rushed to the Pertamina Hospital in the capital, Jakarta, after his blood pressure fell suddenly Saturday night. Suharto had slipped out of consciousness for the first time in more than three weeks of treatment, doctors said.

Suharto, had been in intensive care with lung, heart and kidney failure since he was admitted to the hospital on Jan 4. Over the past week his physicians had spoken of a recovery, but by Sunday that had changed dramatically. - AP

Suharto's downfall was triggered by the turmoil during the Asian financial crisis in 1997/1998. Indonesia fell like a house of cards, and he agreed to a bail-out package by the International Monetary Fund.

The strict IMF-mandated fuel price hikes led to riots and deaths in Jakarta, and culminated in the political end of the Indonesian strongman, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for three decades.

Former IMF managing director Michel Camdessus acknowledged that IMF was the root cause for the fall of Suharto in an interview with New York Times when he resigned in Nov 1999.

"We created the conditions that obliged President Suharto to leave his job," Mr Camdessus said. "That was not our intention."

Whether the change in the political scene in Indonesia was by chance or design, nobody will forget the chaos in the country.

And nobody will forget the famous picture of Mr Camdessus, with his arms crossed in what was seen as an arrogant gesture, overseeing Suharto signing the agreement for an IMF bailout package worth nearly US$50 billion. The picture was widely used to personify Asia's loss of its independence.

Suharto's funeral will probably be well attended as part of international diplomatic and state protocol.

But in reality, he had few friends left during his dying days. Among them were the former PMs of Malaysia and Singapore -- Mahathir Mohamad and Lee Kuan Yew respectively -- and the Sultan of Brunei.

His few friends will always remember the man who ended Konfrontasi, which was a euphemism for the war started by former Indonesian president Sukarno against the creation of an enlarged Malaysia during the 1960s.

But Suharto will not be remembered fondly by the new generation of Indonesians and Asians who despise his regime of corruption, cronyism and nepotism, despite the obvious national economic development during his rule.

No Swimming

2008-01-27T11:01:00.000+08:00

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority has unveiled plans to create a coastal promenade and a park in Woodlands, which is on the northern side of Singapore.

According to The Straits Times, residents and those living in nearby residential estates can look forward to a new waterfront recreational playground, right at their doorsteps.

The newspaper said URA will be building a 1.5-km long promenade and a nine hectare park along a tranquil stretch of coastline in Woodlands to improve accessibility to the area and to open up the scenic waterfront. The report added that the promenade, in the form of boardwalk will be built over the seawall to bring visitors closer to the water's edge.

Although it's not clearly stated in the ST report, Sophie's World assumes that the Woodlands coastline promenade will be along the Johor Straits as it is located on the northern side of Singapore.

The narrow strip of water separating Singapore and Malaysia is one of the filthiest bodies of water in the region. It's partly due to the land-based causeway, which prevents the natural flow of water in the distressed straits, as mentioned in an earlier posting.

Unfortunately, the two governments have not been able to come to terms to build a new overhead bridge to replace the old causeway. An overhead bridge will allow the dirty water to flow more naturally to the open seas.

In the meantime, the Singapore planning authorities must do the following to help ensure public safety and hygiene along the proposed Woodlands promenade:

1. Fence up the Woodlands coastline promenade. This will stop any person or dog from taking a dip in the giant cesspool and contract any skin disease;

2. Put up 'No Swimming' sign-board clearly along the promenade;

3. Ban fishing as fish in the Johor Straits are probably toxic due to the high levels of lead, mercury and e-coli bacteria;

4. Ban water sporting activities such as kayaking as exposure to the toxic straits could be a health hazard; and

5. Ban all flying objects such as kites or toy planes as they could well infringe the Malaysian airspace and start a new bilateral row!

Indonesian with the Midas touch

2008-01-26T09:47:00.001+08:00

Singapore's The Business Times has a profile of a relatively unknown Indonesian tycoon Chairul Tanjung, who is a banker and media owner. What is interesting is that while many bigger Indonesian names collapsed during the Asian financial crisis in 1997/1998, he emerged as a new kid on the block then.

Of course, business in Indonesia is deeply intertwined with politics. And political fortunes can often change suddenly and make a big difference in the land of volcanoes.

Man with the Midas touch

Among business circles in Indonesia, he is hailed as one of the fastest-rising stars, with close links to the new political elite. Yet little is known about the media-elusive tycoon. In his first extensive interview in any media, Chairul Tanjung grants LAUREL TEO a rare glimpse

THERE is no such thing as second-best for Chairul Tanjung. His six-year-old Trans TV station may not boast Indonesia's biggest market share nor the highest ratings, but it claims the heftiest profits.

Likewise, his Bank Mega is not the largest, but its earnings growth is among the handsomest in the financial industry. Last year, Indonesia's No. 12 bank, with assets of US$4 billion, raked in US$63.7 million in pre-tax income for the first nine months, nearly three times as much as in the previous year.

The bank also boasts one of the most sought-after credit cards in town. 'All the top bankers carry a Bank Mega card in their wallets,' he proffers this morsel of information with pride.

It's an open secret that the card offers some of the best discounts for an assortment of top-end fashion and dining outlets, a number of them managed under the lifestyle arm of Mr Chairul's sprawling CT Corporation, previously known as the Para Group of companies.

In just over two and a half decades, he has amassed a wealth estimated at US$450 million to US$565 million, catapulting him into the 18th spot in the 2007 rankings of Indonesia's richest by Forbes Asia magazine, and 15th in Globe Asia's rankings.

No wonder the local media dub him the Golden Boy. Just 45, his knack for making profit is near legendary.

As he folds his lanky 1.83 metre frame into an armchair in his office, he tells BT over a two-hour interview how he learnt to turn dust into gold.

Despite his perpetually tight schedule, he appears relaxed, speaking in his characteristically affable manner as he takes his time delving into details. But for all his languid charm and easy manner, he is methodical in his narration, hardly brooking any interruptions.

'I'll tell you later,' is his firm response, should you jump ahead of his narrative or try to veer off course with premature questions.

He had a humble start. Born on June 18, 1962, he was the second of six sons. A seventh child - a girl - died while still a child.

His journalist father, a Batak from North Sumatra, had migrated to Jakarta early in life and married a Sundanese of West Java origins. While life for the young Chairul was not the harshest, neither was it a bed of roses.

By the time he enrolled in a dentistry course at the University of Indonesia in 1981, his father's meagre salary could stretch no further, and the teenager had to figure out how to pay his own way through school. Thus was launched a career in business. 'Actually, at that time I didn't see it as business at all. It was not to make money, just to survive,' he recounts matter-of-factly.

Out of sheer desperation, the college freshman hit upon an idea. 'One study guide cost 500 rupiah at the photocopy shop. But I knew a friend with a hand printing press that could do it for 150 rupiah. See, networking is very important in business,' he exhorts with a merry chortle.

The pair teamed up to sell copies at 300 rupiah each, double the cost price, but still cheaper than the market rate.

The young Chairul made his first 15,000 rupiah - a paltry sum no more than a couple of dollars, but priceless in terms of a mental boost. 'That was when I realised: it's much harder to make your first dollar than your second million. With the confidence of that first dollar, it's much easier to continue,' he muses.

From manuals, he progressed to hawking T-shirts, stickers, bags and even materials for practicals. By his fourth year, he was the envy of his class. He had purchased his first car - an eight-year-old Honda Civic.

'Oh, at that time, I was very proud of it. I drove all my friends to Pasar Baru - something like your Orchard Road in the old days,' he says with a wry chuckle. 'Most important rule, they must wear sunglasses . Young man, want to look cool,' he quips, showing he is not above poking fun at himself.

Along the way, he found time to run for and win the student government presidency. In 1984, the competitive overachiever also beat hundreds of thousands across the country to pick up a prestigious national award as the top all-round college student.

When he graduated in 1987, Mr Chairul was faced with two choices. 'I could practise dentistry in government service. The salary won't be high, but I'd get a house and a comfortable living. But it won't be enough to support my parents and four younger brothers. They were still studying. So I continued with business.'

In this and many other decisions, it becomes clear that he is guided by a ruthlessly pragmatic maxim: 'What I like or dislike is irrelevant. There's no meaning 'like'. It's about what needs to be done.'

Going solo

He set up a shoe manufacturing business with two friends and was soon churning a tidy profit. But by 1994, he was hungry for new challenges. He sold his shares to his partners to venture solo into finance.

'At that time, I was still a nobody. But that was the happiest time of my life. I was not so busy, had enough money, and still had my privacy,' he recalls almost ruefully.

A chance came up a year later to buy over Bank Karman - a relatively modest outfit. Still only in his mid-30s at that time, he grabbed it and renamed it Bank Mega.

Then came the Asian financial crisis, which finally thrust his business into the big league. While even once indomitable conglomerates began collapsing one by one, Bank Mega not only weathered the storm, but chalked up a record profit in 1998. It multiplied earnings by a staggering 20 times to 240 billion rupiah - a sum that could have bought out Indonesia's No. 1 car-maker Astra at that time, Mr Chairul recounts gleefully.

'But I didn't take a single rupiah of the money. Everything was injected back into the bank to enlarge the capital base. That's how I grew the bank,' he says.

He credits the financial crisis with freeing up Indonesia's business sector. 'Before the crisis, Indonesia's business map was fixed. At the very top, you had a layer of the largest conglomerates. Nobody could touch them. Nobody had any hope of catching up. There was simply no opportunity.'

But the fatal combination of the crisis and Suharto's downfall dissolved the old patronage system between the political elite and their business cronies. As monopolies crumbled and the former business bigwigs retreated to lick their wounds, the field lay open for newcomers. 'It was an extraordinary opportunity for us to grow,' recalls Mr Chairul.

One major sector thrown open was TV broadcast, previously dominated by the Suharto family.

Mr Chairul secured a licence and introduced a new business model. 'When I first built my TV station in 2001, everyone said I was crazy. Because I constructed all the production facilities and put everything in one building,' he says. The convention in the Indonesian TV industry is for stations to buy external programmes and make money from selling ad-time. Mr Chairul insisted, however, on having most of his Trans TV programmes produced in-house, allowing him to control the content and cost structure.

He has the last laugh. Trans TV is now peerless in the earnings chart. Its profit, reveals its proud owner, is more than double that of runner-up RCTI, even though the latter claims the largest audience share.

In 2006, Mr Chairul's media empire expanded with the acquisition of 55 per cent of the loss-making TV 7, previously controlled fully by Jakob Oetama's Gramedia group.

'Five years they managed, five years of losses. Pak Jakob had to pump in 200 to 300 billion rupiah every year,' he says. 'Pak' is a respectful Indonesian term of address for men.

Within a year of the takeover, TV 7 - now renamed Trans 7 - leapt into the black for the first time. 'The profit is big enough, something like a reversal of the losses. Just change the 'minus' to 'plus',' says Mr Chairul with a grin.

On the political front his links are impeccable. He is widely known to be in an ambitious joint venture with Vice-President Jusuf Kalla. Both clans are developing a 12.7-ha integrated mega theme park, resort and shopping haven in Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi and the hometown of Mr Jusuf.

Just on Tuesday, Mr Chairul and his wife joined the VP on a three-day umrah or minor pilgrimage to Mecca. The trip came at the personal invitation of the Saudi King. Earlier in October, Mr Chairul reportedly shuttled to East Java with the President to visit a village under threat from a volcanic eruption.

His stunning success and new political links stand in stark contrast to his modest beginnings, which has led to mutterings in some circles. Another man of clout is now sometimes spotted by his side - Anthony Salim, who heads the powerful Salim Group. Mr Chairul is clearly aware of the gossiping about him, and confronts the issue good naturedly. 'It's OK, no problem,' he says in his easy drawl.

Both the VP and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono got chummy with him long before they became political top brass. As fellow businessmen, he and Mr Jusuf had hobnobbed for years on the commercial circuit, he explains. Dr Yudhoyono became a friend when he sat on the board of advisers for the National Badminton Association while Mr Chairul was heading the sports body several years ago.

No government dealings

'We are just friends. Up until now, I have not done a single business with the government. Not a single contract,' he asserts, in an attempt to register that he was not in the habit of seeking or receiving political kickbacks.

Neither does he harbour any political ambition. Sweeping aside rumours of a Golkar affiliation, he says he is not a member of any political party.

Turning to the Salim rumours, he clarifies that he is a partner with, rather than proxy for, Anthony Salim. The pair are 50-50 co-investors in Grandiflora, a vehicle that controls more than a quarter of the shares in Singapore-listed healthcare company Asiamedic.

Their ties go back to the Asian financial crisis. When the Salims' flagship Bank Central Asia (BCA) ran into trouble a decade ago, it was Mr Chairul's Bank Mega that bailed out BCA with some crucial lending, he says, adding that he also lent funds to a couple of other Salim outfits.

The secret to Mr Chairul's near-perfect track record harks back to the solid grounding from his days in the shoe business, what he calls his industrial training.

He works hard, runs a tight ship in operations, and takes an extremely patient and long-term view in investment. 'In industry, you cannot collect profit immediately, but must always invest it back into your business, upgrade technology,' he says.

The self-confessed workaholic is stumped when asked to list his hobbies. Outside of work, he spends what free time he has with his wife, 11-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.

What about golf? 'Too many holes, too many balls, too many sticks.' His business associate translates this later as 'No time.'

But lest you pigeonhole him as someone who is driven purely by money-making, Mr Chairul reveals an idealistic core that reminds you of the reasons he became a student leader.

It was his faith in his country that kept him here during the financial crisis, a faith that was ultimately rewarded, he says.'For me, I'm always optimistic about this country. That's why I never left.'

Other bank owners panicked and fled to places like Singapore or Hong Kong, leaving bank managers and ground-level staff rudderless. Their panic sparked a mass exodus of customers.

At Bank Mega, however, Mr Chairul as head honcho rallied the troops and got the staff to work doubly hard at drawing customers and collecting deposits. 'Other banks were drained, but our bank kept collecting. And we had no competition at that time,' he recounts.

His nationalistic passion has led him to chair the Indonesia Forum Foundation (YIF), a grouping of the nation's top academics, bureaucrats and business leaders. Last year the YIF produced a Vision 2030 for Indonesia. Among the targets: Indonesia is to become a top five economies by the year 2030, and there will be at least 30 local companies in the Fortune 500 list.

While some critics have panned this as an ambitious pipedream, Mr Chairul prefers to see it as idealistic goal-setting. In fact, by May this year, the YIF is following up with an action plan for the mission.

For he lives by this creed: 'We have to be the best player. Otherwise, there's no need to play.'

Next stop, Singapore

CHAIRUL Tanjung has earmarked Singapore as the regional hub for the expansion of his CT Corporation. Teaming up with the Economic Development Board, he will start by introducing a series of luxury furnishing and accessories brands to Singapore.

The Trans Living group has about 10 brands currently, holding their distribution rights for the whole of Asia, not just Indonesia. It has already set up a showroom in Singapore for Baker furniture, an exclusive top-of-the-line handcrafted collection with clients drawn from the world's jet-setting crowd. Familiar names include Cindy Crawford and Tom Cruise. Other upcoming brands include Armani Casa, Molteni & C, as well as Donald Trump.

Trans Living falls under Trans Corpora, one of the three distinct arms of parent company CT Corporation. A second arm is CT Global Resources, a new venture started just last year to explore palm oil cultivation and agribusiness research.

The final arm, Mega Corpora, groups together all the financial services, such as Bank Mega, Bank Syariah Mega, and insurance and motorcycle-financing units.

Of the three arms, Trans Corpora is the most complex, as it covers a broad range of media, fashion, F&B, travel and property interests grouped into three divisions. Upcoming projects in Indonesia include a fully air-conditioned theme park the size of five football stadiums, as well as a luxury airline. Mr Chairul says fashion and F&B will follow the furnishing business soon in coming to Singapore. The idea is to grow these from Singapore to Hong Kong, China and other major Asian destinations.

Business aside, Mr Chairul is also planning to move his children to Singapore next year for their studies. He and his family are already permanent residents here, says the 45-year-old, who recently purchased a property in the Nassim Road area.

Ever the far-sighted man, he has already started his 11-year-old daughter and five-year-old son on Chinese lessons. Word is that he is eschewing the usual Ivy League route for his elder child, aiming instead to send her to the University of Beijing.

The Lingam defence

2008-01-25T08:32:00.000+08:00

The latest Off the Cuff column in the lifestyle section of Singapore's Business Times is hilarious. I'm sure many Malaysians and Singaporeans can relate to it. Enjoy and forward it! :-)

Looks like I wrote this - did I?

By JAIME EE

MY fellow lawyers, citizens and other distinguished friends who may have been caught in an incriminating video or two - greetings. Welcome to our workshop titled: 'Never Say Die Even When Your Face Is Staring At You From The Video - henceforth known as the Lingam Defence.'

Now, this is a very interesting strategy, inspired not by a famous brand of chilli sauce, but by a well-known lawyer of the same name across the Causeway currently caught in a judge-fixing scandal. Upon watching a video allegedly of him talking on the phone and being asked to confirm his identity, he told the court, 'It looks like me, and the voice sounds like me,' but would not say if it was him, or not him, or even possibly him in the video.

Now, any armchair litigator or court kaypoh would pooh-pooh him for trying to pull a fast one. But, my friends, we who live by the mantra 'open to interpretation' have found this to be a ground-breaking defence that, with some modifications, can be used not just in court but in all manner of situations that require deflection of blame.

The focus of this workshop then, is to show you how to use the Lingam Defence in almost any scenario. For example, in the original case, it could subsequently be argued that if one does not look at oneself in the mirror all the time, it is entirely possible to look at a video and think 'that can't be me', especially if one's mental picture of oneself is 20kg lighter and with a more trendy hairstyle. Alternatively, one could also be struggling with philosophical issues, hence he could be referring to himself in the metaphysical sense as in 'Is that really me in the mirror? Or is that just someone else with the same face?'

Similarly, depending on what situation you find yourself in, the same principles can apply. Say, for example, you are presented with a video of yourself having sex with a florist-cum-personal friend. You could delay a public resignation by arguing, 'It looks like me and uh, sounds like me, wait a minute, oh wow, is that really me? Am I that athletic? I didn't know I could do that . . . no no that definitely can't be me. But you know, if it was me, I think I'm pretty hot. But I'm not saying it's me.'

Or, in another scenario where you are caught feeding monkeys in the nature reserve and are being fined $4,000. 'Sir, it may look like me and sound like I was feeding the monkeys, but have you considered the possibility that I was minding my own business when a monkey which did not like the bread someone else gave him, came and shoved it in my hand just before I was filmed? It sounds like I was saying 'here, monkey, have some bread', I was actually saying, 'Eee, monkey, loathsome breed'. Hence, I feel that you should send this tape to an overseas expert for verification and to prove that it was a human who taped it and not another monkey.'

Or, in the case of a chikungunya-carrying mosquito mistaken for a dengue-causing one: 'It looks like me and sounds like me, the resemblance is so uncanny that when I look in the mirror I try to swat myself.'

And there you have it. The Lingam Defence workshop - it looks and sounds like a workshop, but it may or may not have been one. We might offer more, but I can't confirm or deny it.

Snow Jade Mountain

2008-01-25T00:19:00.000+08:00

Uncle Fatso has been in China for 400 days on a prolonged business trip. He seems to love the place so much that I wonder whether he will ever return to Malaysia for good.

He's totally enchanted with the country, especially Yunnan. In fact, the picture of the wooden pathway leading to Yulong Mountain or Snow Jade Mountain looks rather picturesque and surreal.

I hope he knows what he's doing.

One less piece of red tape

2008-01-23T23:22:00.000+08:00

It's definitely a welcome sign by Malaysia to do away with the need to fill up the white immigration entry form at the causeway and the Second Link as part of a quiet trial run, according to The Straits Times.

While the Malaysian move may help ease the bottleneck on its end, there is another bottleneck at the Singapore immigration.

The two governments must do something more drastic to help ease the heavy traffic at the overused and congested causeway.

ST estimated about 250,000 people enter Malaysia via the causeway every day, and another 30,000 use the Second Link.

This works out to more than 100 million people a year, which is a staggering number as it is over 3 times the combined population of the two countries.

One solution could be a common immigration system, as Malaysia's earlier plan for a passport-free zone in Johor Baru didn't take off.

A common or joint immigration clearance will help ease the flow of people and goods in cars, lorries, buses and trains that use the causeway.

It's extremely unproductive for millions of people to open their car boots for immigration inspection twice, hand over their passports to unfriendly immigration officials twice, bring their luggage up and down from buses or trains twice, and pay toll twice.

But it's a tall order to expect the two governments to work together for the common good of people on both sides of the causeway.

This is because the two governments can't even agree to build a new overhead bridge to replace the causeway and clean up the filthy straits, and resolve a host of other bilateral problems.

In the meantime, many long-suffering travelers just have to think twice about using the causeway!

Elements

2008-01-17T23:03:00.000+08:00

By Uncle Cheng

The local economic boom continues despite the volatility in the stock market, which has been behaving like a see-saw in the children’s playground. Walking about Hong Kong I see evidence of a tremendous increase in new retail businesses.

In Central district the sky-high rents make it impossible for poorer newcomers to obtain retail space. Only the big international companies with their famous brand names can afford to exist.

Occasionally you see a new shop taken up by a struggling small-scale entrepreneur but their window displays are usually no match for the extravagance of windows at places like Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Go inside these high-end boutiques, pass the black-suited security guards with their intercom earpieces, and it is another world — the world of the mainland shopper. In one luxury boutique I spotted one mainland businessmen who was escorting six pretty young girls and paying for all their many purchases.

In Causeway Bay there is also evidence of boom times but there the new businesses are different — cheaper products and fast-food outlets for those in a hurry between their shopping expeditions. As for the shopping malls I suppose it was the huge success of Pacific Place that changed Hong Kong for ever. I recall when Pacific Place first opened its doors, there was much scepticism — ‘the location is not convenient’ was a frequent comment. Of course, the sceptics were not just wrong, they were hugely wrong.

Then came the even bigger shopping extravaganza of the IFC mall. Again I heard people express scepticism about the location. Yet IFC’s first years have been if anything even more successful than Pacific Place was in its early days. The massive, iconic skyscraper above the IFC with its thousands of well-paid workers, has transformed the entire area.

The big question now is if the MTRC can repeat the success of the IFC development with its even bigger venture in West Kowloon called Elements. The International Commerce Centre (ICC) above Elements is going to be even taller than IFC at 118 floors. There will also be new boutique hotels and the entire area is surrounded by luxury apartment blocks. Banks like Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche, are flocking to the ICC, attracted by rents only a quarter of those at the IFC.

What makes the ICC venture especially fascinating is that this is the first time a property developer has tried to attract businesses, like banks, away from their traditional bases on the Island to Kowloon. Massive changes are underway and I suspect that Central is going to be transformed in the process.

I have an interest to declare. Many months ago my entrepreneurial godson Xuan conceived the idea to open a restaurant in Elements. My experience of the catering business is almost zero. About fifteen years ago I did invest a tiny sum in a brasserie-type restaurant called D&D in Wyndham Street. D&D was way ahead of its time, too minimalist for those days.

Anyway I like what the MTRC is doing at Elements and gave Xuan my blessing. If Elements succeeds, I guess his new restaurant will succeed as well -- until the first rent review comes along.

This is Hong Kong after all.

Malaysia, Singapore in New Cockfight Over Water Pact

2008-01-15T01:40:00.000+08:00

The satirical TalkingCock has published another article by Sophie's World. Enjoy!!!

by Sophie's World

In a shocking move, the Malaysian government has issued a statement to demand billions of dollars for the water it sold to Singapore for a song by mistake.

Malaysian gahmen spokesman Mr. Cakap bin Ayam said it now has a sound legal case to pursue the contentious matter, which has remained unresolved since the 1990s.

"We have found a new way to deal with the legalistic Singapore gahmen. It's called the law of mistakes," he said with a straight face.

When prodded, Mr Ayam cited the current case of a poor hawker in Singapore who had to repay Singapore's Housing Done Badly (HDB) S$18,000 for wrongful compensation by the gahmen agency more than four years ago. The HDB issued a notice this week to Madam Lee Ah Yam over a contract that was signed nearly 12 years ago, according to Singapore gahmen-controlled The States Times on 12 January 2008.

The Malaysian spokesman said: "How can suka suka (simply) ask for money back one? She has already spent the money, lah!"

"We shall use the same principle and demand the money for the cheap water we sold to Singapore by mistake since the 1960s. We had wanted to exercise our right to review the price of the water in the mid-1980s but we forgot lah. I admit it was our mistake."

"But tak apa (never mind). They can ask for money back based on their mistake. We also can," Mr Ayam added.

In a swift rebuttal, Singapore gahmen spokesman Ms Ban Vanity dismissed the fresh claim by Malaysia.

"This is utter nonsense. A deal is a deal. How can the Malaysian gahmen act retroactively?" she thundered.

Ms Vanity dismissed the suggestion that Singapore's own HDB had acted retroactively in claiming the money from Madam Lee.

"The circumstances are completely different. Malaysia didn't act within their right to do so after more than 10 years. We acted against Madam Lee in just four years after the mistake was made.

"Therefore, there's a fundamental difference in the two cases. We realised our mistake earlier and acted against the hawker. Malaysia never even realised that they had made a mistake in the water pact," Ms Vanity added.

Furthermore, she pointed out that it's impossible to trace the flow of the water Singapore bought from Malaysia at 3 Malaysian sen per thousand gallons, unlike the Singapore gahmen's payout to Madam Lee.

"We have recycled the Malaysian water so many times, and some became NEWater. How can they claim we are now drinking cheap Malaysian water? I rest my case," Ms Vanity said triumphantly.

Old friends

2008-01-15T01:00:00.000+08:00

It's gratifying to see two of Asia's greatest leaders and former premiers -- Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Dr Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia -- rushing to the deathbed of former Indonesian president Suharto.

All three former statesmen, who are already in their 80s, were the longest-serving leaders of their countries respectively.

Dr Mahathir served 22 years before stepping down in 2003. Kuan Yew served 31 years and quit in 1990. Former Indonesian strongman Suharto ruled for 31 years as well before he was unceremoniously booted out of office following massive street demonstrations in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

It's heart warming to see that both Dr Mahathir and Kuan Yew regard Suharto as a close friend. Dr M reportedly shed tears but didn't say anything publicly in Jakarta, while Kuan Yew defended Suharto's legacy.

In an almost eulogy-like statement, Kuan Yew reportedly said: "In 1965, he acted decisively. He saved Indonesia from further going down that slippery road. From 1967, when he became president, right up to 1997, the economy grew and Indonesia was on the point of taking off."

He added: "And then when confidence was lost after the Thai baht crisis, people wanted to pull their money out, and the whole thing collapsed. It was not his fault. Yes, there was corruption. Yes, he gave favours to his family and his friends. But there was real growth, real progress."

It's unlikely that Suharto will survive as his vital organs have failed. He's not likely to be remembered fondly by the new generation of Indonesians who despise his regime of corruption, cronyism and nepotism despite the obvious national economic development during his rule.

But the grand old men of Malaysia and Singapore will continue to pray for Suharto.

One question remains about the two leaders of Singapore and Malaysia: Will Kuan Yew rush to visit Dr Mahathir or vice versa?

Giant cesspools

2008-01-06T15:19:00.001+08:00

The Straits Times had a comprehensive report yesterday about the Three Gorges Dam project along the mighty Yangtze River in China -- the biggest dam in the world when completed in less than a year.

Despite the obvious potential of a clean source of energy via the hydroelectric dam, the report noted the tremendous cost associated with the project. One major worry, according to the report, is the long-term accumulation of pollutants in the vast 660km-long dam reservoir. The newspaper said sewage, fertiliser run-off and other domestic waste washed down from populated areas will be locked in instead of being flushed out to the sea.

Someone should do a similar study on major bodies of water in Singapore and Malaysia.

One major project is the Bakun Dam in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The project will flood an area three times the size of Singapore when it is completed. The project, which will be the biggest hydroelectric dam in Asia ex-China, is still on track despite massive environmental outcry in the last two decades or so.

The most polluted body of water in the region is undoubtedly the distressed Straits of Johor. Flow of water in the narrow strip of water separating the two countries has been blocked for more than eight decades by the land-based causeway that connects southern Malaysia and Singapore.

Massive amount of pollutants continue to be discharged into the straits by drains and rivers at the Malaysian end. A Malaysian newspaper report had earlier said that the straits has high levels of lead, mercury and e-coli bacteria.

Water in the straits has been stagnant as the causeway does not allow water to flow freely. Water in the cesspool will remain stagnant for a long, long time.

This is because the governments of Singapore and Malaysia have not been able to reach an agreement ever since Malaysia mooted an overhead bridge project in 1996 to replace the causeway. That's 12 years ago!

Singapore has always maintained that there is no need to spend extra money as the causeway is still useful. But there is also suspicion that its reluctance is due to fears of opening up the straits to ships. Small ships and barges could theoretically bypass Singapore, which is the major shipping hub in the region, and sail from the South China Sea to the Straits of Malacca via the Straits of Johor.

Such a concern is not entirely valid. There is little time or cost saving from using the Straits of Johor as the new sea lane as the water is shallow and the straits meandering.

But as noted in an earlier posting, there is tremendous benefit from cleaning up the Straits of Johor for people on both sides of the causeway.

Eric Khoo up close and impersonal

2008-01-05T11:03:00.001+08:00

There's plenty of stuff about his movies but very little about Eric Khoo the man and his family in the latest Raffles Conversation in The Business Times today.

There was a glimpse about his personal life: He did not look to his family to fund his films, how he got interested in films and his colourful description of his children. But it's hazy in this article as to what inspired the cinematic style of one of the richest men in Singapore.

According to a Wikipedia entry, Khoo's films explore a set of hard-hitting themes, including a sense of alienation in contemporary Singapore, nostalgia for a humane past, and the centrality and complexity of human sexuality.

"Influenced by Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, Khoo often features a complex anti-hero as the protagonist of his films: the lonely old man who commits suicide on his birthday in Symphony 92.4, the pork-seller in Carcass who takes comfort in television dramas and regular sex with a prostitute, the outcast necrophilic hawker in Mee Pok Man, the model citizen who breaks down in 12 Storeys - all dysfunctional individuals struggling to cope in a rigid and yet fast-paced society administered by harsh norms."

And why was the rich man so engrossed with marginalised characters in society? There's plenty of interesting characters in the upper crust of society too.

For instance, the Khoo family history is as colourful as Eric's movies. Eric was said to have inherited the lion's share of his family fortune following the death of Khoo Teck Puat, who was the richest man in Singapore, in 2004.

The bulk of the family wealth probably came from the sale of its 12% stake in Standard Chartered Bank to Singapore government investment arm for an undisclosed sum in 2006. The stake was estimated to be worth US$4 billion then. In addition, the family controls Singapore landmarks such as Goodwood Park Hotel.

Will Eric make a movie about the rich in Singapore as well?

Eric Khoo's movie magic
Award-winning filmmaker tells PARVATHI NAYAR why his movies are personal and always about Singapore

'I WOULD love my films to travel and all that, but why not keep it as something about ourselves, keep it local? We are, after all, a nation filled with 'tasty' characters,' says Singapore's celebrated filmmaker Eric Khoo, explaining why all his movies are personal, are centred on Singapore, and are filled with intriguing Singaporean protagonists, including his latest, in Tamil, titled My Magic.

As a director, Khoo is credited with jumpstarting the Singapore film renaissance in the mid-90s with his first feature film, Mee Pok Man (1995). He is also credited, as a producer, with helping keep alive Singapore's nascent film industry, by encouraging new Singapore talent such as Royston Tan.

Khoo's contributions to Singaporean cinema have not gone unnoticed. Born in 1965, Khoo was the first recipient of the Young Artist's Award for Film in 1997. Ten years later, he was awarded the nation's highest arts honour, the Cultural Medallion in 2007.

Talking about it makes him nostalgic. 'When I was told I had got the award, of course I was very happy. As someone who always looks at dates, timelines, and reflects on the past, it brought to mind the time when Haresh Sharma and I won the Young Artist's Award. The Cultural Medallion winners then seemed pretty old to me. I remember wondering whether we would have to wait so long to receive that honour, if we would ever receive it, and if we would still keep at our craft. As passionate as I am about film, you never really know if you can carry on. So the really important thing is that 10 years later, touchwood, we are still at it.'

In Khoo's books, it is first, foremost and finally, 'all about the work'. 'Making a film is like a father-and-son relationship, you do the best you can for your 'child', then it has to go out into the world, where you hope it will inspire people. So you don't make films to win awards, but, of course, it's great when you get them.'

From director to producer

Receiving the Cultural Medallion doesn't bring with it the burden of 'responsibility' - a word many creative people find anathema anyway - still, it is a validation that 'I've been on the right track'.

The cinematic track that Khoo has travelled has been somewhat unusual. He switched from direction to production despite his films doing well - his second feature, 12 Storeys (1997), picked up a clutch of awards, including the FIPRESCI Award, and was invited officially to participate in the 50th Cannes Film Festival.

'I took a backseat after that and turned to film production. Why? Because I was interested in the work of other Singapore filmmakers. I wanted to 'feel' what the younger crop here had, and how I could help them. As a producer, you have an interesting aerial perspective rather than being on the ground level, at the shoot.'

Through his company, Zhao Wei Films, founded in 1995, Khoo was executive producer for well received TV series like Drive (1998) and Seventh Month (2004); he was also the producer for a range of successful films such as Jack Neo's Liang Po Po (1999), One Leg Kicking (2001) and Royston Tan's 15 (2003) and 881 (2007).

Still, 'after an absence, you miss directing', he says. 'I was writing and looking at film projects in those seven years, but didn't want to direct them just yet.'

Khoo emerged from his director hiatus in 2004 with his third feature Be With Me. Friends and colleagues in the cinematic world such as film critic Tony Raynes were supportive. 'It was nice to have people on your side, a little group somewhere that wanted you to make another film,' says Khoo, but admits to feeling 'rusty' and not a little nervous at the time.

He needn't have worried. Be With Me received lots of positive reviews, awards and foreign distribution deals. Impressively, it was selected as the opening film for the Directors' Fortnight Cannes 2005. Khoo may not have been a prolific filmmaker, but all his films have made lasting impressions.

Be With Me weaves together three separate stories that interlock only through a desire shared by the different protagonists - to be with the one each loves. The stories are fictitious, except for that of Theresa Chan.

'The person who nagged me the most to make Be With Me was Theresa Chan, whom I met in the summer of 2003 at a wedding dinner. I could tell that she couldn't hear and see, but she was very animated and I thought, 'What an inspiring lady'. She asked who else was seated at the table and when it came to my turn, she was told I was a filmmaker. She had heard of me; then she looked towards me and said, 'you have to make a film about me'.'

Khoo said to the person who was 'translating' for Ms Chan: 'Tell her I'll make the film if she agrees to act in it. He writes this on her hand, right; within a second, she lifts her glass, points it in my direction and says 'Cheers, we're on'.'

It was an extraordinary moment. Before this incident Khoo had been thinking about silent movies; suddenly, an appropriate subject for such a film had fallen, unsought, into his lap.

Khoo shares with obvious affection Ms Chan's tenacity in pursuing the film. Eventually, 'her life story was so inspiring that I decided to make it, documentary style, and fit it with the two fictional strands I had in mind'.

'The actual inspiration for Be With Me came from a short conversation I had with my 13-year-old nephew from Paris, who told me how much he was in love. I thought it was so cute. I was a bit drunk at the time and it got me going, thinking about first loves - and of a story about love in youth, middle and old age, made as a silent film, to venture back to the style of my short films, which were basically silent.'

Khoo likes to follow the rhythm of the script, but, he laughs: 'I am quite lazy, I don't like writing dialogue. What I enjoy is coming up with the skeleton, and then let someone else flesh it out for me.'

A lot of the 'dialogue' in Be With Me is informed by the Singaporean passion for communicating via SMS, 'which means we can keep in touch easily, but as easily cut someone out of our lives'.

The success of Be With Me prompted an endless round of queries about Khoo's next film, on different occasions over the past few years, such as in South Korea during the release of Be With Me there, or at the retrospective of his films staged by the Seoul Independent Film Festival, or the Jeonju Digital Film Festival for which he made No Day Off, the story of an Indonesian maid.

Khoo decided he would first 'make a food film that revolved around three stories, including that of a food critic'. 'One night, when I was talking about my concept in my kitchen, my eldest son, 13-year-old Zhao Wei, walked in and overheard the conversation. He said, 'You are doing another three-story film like Be With Me. Dad, have you run out of ideas? You have to re-invent yourself.' Then he walked out.'

Khoo heeded the advice; appropriately enough, he went back to another story he had in mind, about the love between a father and son, about magic and fire-eaters.

My Magic, the film that Khoo is now working on, is based on a real person, a fire-eater named Francis Bosco. 'I met him some 10 years ago at a free booze party at Mohamed Sultan Road. I remember this mountain of a man coming through, eating fire; when he passed by us, I could feel the heat.'

Intrigued, Khoo bought him a drink, and kept in touch over the occasional beer. When Khoo brought him to Wagon Wheel - the noisy bar where we are talking - five years ago, 'he scared the patrons by eating glass and making a piece of paper fly; everyone asked me whether he had a toyol or tame ghost with him'.

When we first talked about the film, at the end of November last year, Khoo was getting ready to shoot in early December 'and the script is not yet done', he chuckled. As My Magic's dialogue is in Tamil, he says: 'I won't know what's going on, so I've told Francis and Jathis - who acts as his son - you better get it right.'

Khoo has always trusted the actors with the actual dialogue. 'We do some workshopping, but after that, as long as the actors get the point of what is happening in that scene, you must leave them to say it in their way. It turns out so much better.'

Fast forward to the end of December and he shares: 'It was my fastest shoot to date - we wrapped in eight days and will shoot one more day in January for the magical ending scene. It was a joy working on my first Tamil language film.'

As to why he is in the movies at all, he says: 'I blame it on my mother! Every week, she'd watch two or three movies, and drag me along to them, even though I was just two years old. My childhood was all about genre films such as James Bond, horror and spaghetti Westerns. A pivotal movie in my teens was Taxi Driver - I then realised cinema was more than just monsters or dinosaurs!

'As a little boy, I would draw comics, make up stories. One day, when I was looking around for my mum's old comics, I came across her Super8 camera. The camera still had a cartridge of film, so I just put in batteries and started to film.'

A breakthrough moment came when young Eric read about stop motion photography in a magazine. He decided to enlist the services of his fully articulated action figure GI Joe. 'I'd spend afternoons just tweaking the figure and filming it, to make a stop motion animation film where my GI Joe came alive. I'd show it to the old folks who would say 'How do you do it?' It was like my magic.'

Much later, all grown up, he pursued his story-telling passions through 'shooting commercials, and doing cartoons of a character called Condom Boy for Philip Cheah's Big O magazine. My cinematic career owes a lot to him and the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF); without the Singapore Short Film Competition, I don't think there would be any of us filmmakers. All of us started by making shorts that won awards there. Importantly, foreign film festival programmers would attend and see our stuff. '

Khoo's Barbie Digs Joe became the first Singapore short to travel to festivals abroad, but the short that gained him instant headlines, a ban in Singapore, and a Special Achievement Award at the 1994 SIFF was Pain (1994), about a sado-masochist. The award came with a sponsorship deal for his next film. Rather than a short, he convinced his sponsors to let him make Mee Pok Man. Such incident-chains of cause and effect convince Khoo that 'there's such a thing as God and fate and destiny, things happen for a reason, and one thing does lead to another'.

Though born into a wealthy family - Khoo is the son of the late billionaire Khoo Teck Puat - he did not look to his family to fund his films. 'I could never get money from someone who did not believe in the medium, in my film project. That would be totally wrong,' he says, adding with a grin: 'I did ask my father for some money to make a film once, and he offered me $2,000!'

Khoo has always worked on tight budgets, thanks to short shoots and limited locations. Mee Pok Man was done for under $100,000; though investors were interested after its success, Khoo nevertheless made 12 Storeys in 14 days at a single apartment block for $280,000. Be With Me was about $300,000 and while My Magic is not finished, it is unlikely to exceed those figures.

As for the future, it sure looks busy. Last year, Khoo was appointed a board member of the Media Development Authority and the NYU Tisch School of Arts Asia. Projects beyond My Magic include a new comic called The Table, a series of vignettes - with a twist - based on an old coffee shop marble table, as well as plans to produce films for Royston Tan and Brian Gothong Tan.

'We will always support emerging directors of Singapore, but going forward, Zhao Wei films will also work collaboratively, with filmmakers outside Singapore as well.'

As to his own next film, perhaps horror is a genre he will try his hand at. 'I'm a real horror junkie,' he admits. In a nicely Singaporean blend of old and new, Khoo is both superstitious and a state-of-the-art techie. So, 'I wouldn't do a film with ghosts and spirits - I'm too scared. My biggest superstition is that it's too dangerous to direct a supernatural film, you never know what will go wrong with it.' But equally, 'I embrace technology', says the director who is a known advocate of digital film. 'For me, it's going to be high definition from now on.'

Leisure pursuits

Movies, music, visits to toy shops with his sons, cooking at the weekends - these are some of the ways Khoo unwinds. 'I love cooking,' says the director, who enjoys playing with sauces, stocks, soups, eggs. One Khoo special is a nutritious pasta with tomatoes, bacon, chillies, garlic and anchovies; another favourite is the perfect soft-boiled egg: 'I know how to make that, a lot of people don't,' he says with obvious relish.

Khoo has four sons, and he's very involved in their lives. 'They are gorgeous and I love being a Dad. My sons actually inspire me a lot. They are just like the Beatles - the eldest is like Paul McCartney and he is already making short films on his computer; the second, James is like John Lennon, the rebel; the third one, Christopher, is the dark horse like George Harrison; and Lucas is the joker who can get away with murder, just like Ringo Starr.'

Khoo's love for the movies is a passion he seeks to share with his kids: 'When my kids were small, I'd show them movies that made an impact on me, like Saving Private Ryan, and ask them to watch it for style and cinematic expression. And play Beach Boys music to it, so it was not scary.'

As his three older kids are into magic, they were the perfect sounding board for his newest film about real bonds and fake illusions. Khoo shares with pride how 10-year-old Christopher read the My Magic script, then 'before going to sleep, he came trotting in and said 'I like it. I can't describe why, Papa, but there's really something there.' Thanks to what he said, you know, I slept really well.'

Causeway blues again, Part 2

2008-01-02T20:53:00.000+08:00

As mentioned earlier, policy makers can be real small-minded, failing to take into account the broader interest.

According to The Straits Times tonight, motorists using the Second Link bridge, which connects Singapore and Malaysia on the western side of Singapore, will have to pay more in tolls from next month.

The report cited Singapore's Land Transport Authority as saying that the higher rates are 'pegged to those set by Malaysia'.

At the Second Link, charges will go up by as much as 30 per cent. Tolls for motorcycles, cars and light commercial vehicles will be 70 Singapore cents, S$4.60 and S$10.50 respectively from Feb 1. They were previously 60 Singapore cents, S$3.70 and S$8.30. For big lorries, buses and taxis, Second Link charges will be S$21, S$5.60 and S$3.50 respectively - from S$16.60, S$4.40 and S$2.70. And that's only the toll payable at the Singapore end!

The ST report said "those who opt to use the slightly more congested Causeway will mostly see no change."

Er, slightly more congested? The causeway is way, way more congested than the Second Link. Check out the live webcam provided by one.motoring at the two bridges if you don't believe me, especially in the mornings, evenings, and during weekends.

As argued in an earlier posting, it doesn't quite make sense for Singapore to match the toll imposed by Malaysia simply because the two countries built the second link bridge jointly in the late 1990s.

It also doesn't make sense to increase toll at the under-utilised Second Link as it would merely drive traffic to the already over-utilised and cheaper causeway. Both sides should be lowering toll at the Second Link to encourage more people to use the Second Link, which is not as well located as the causeway for residents of the two countries.

Policy makers of the two countries have obviously failed to take into account the massive cross-border flow of people and goods via the causeway. Both sides have simply acted in their governments' narrow interest without taking into account the hardship imposed on people on both sides of the causeway. The time and productivity wasted as a result of being stuck in the traffic gridlock on the causeway far outweighs the gains to the government in the form of higher toll collection.

Malaysian and Singapore transport officials have obviously not made much headway in easing traffic at the causeway. Malaysian lorries continue to enter Singapore via the causeway although there was a plan to divert them to the Second Link temporarily to facilitate construction work of the immigration complex at the Malaysian end.

Why should we all pay for the two governments' failure to ensure a smooth lane for motorists traveling between the two countries?

Archived posts:
Causeway blues again (1 December 2007)
Causeway blues (20 January 2007)
Cleaning up Johor Straits good for Singapore too (7 September 2007)

Chance for Asia to seize the day

2007-12-29T11:32:00.000+08:00

Below is an excellent article in The Straits Times today that defied conventional wisdom. Sophie's World agrees with the writer especially the point about the Asian financial crisis. The writer said the Asian financial crisis and the sub-prime crisis showed that, again contrary to conventional wisdom, the culprit is the financial system in core countries, namely the US and Europe.

Sophie's World had earlier said about the 1997 Asian financial crisis: "True, the crisis was triggered by the Asian countries' flawed policies in some instances. There was no doubt many Asian countries had to reform their faulty economic and political systems then. But the foreign and mainly Western capital must also share the blame, and be regulated to help avoid sudden and overly destabilising effect on the real economies." Please see earlier posting.

Nobody will forget the famous picture of the International Monetary Fund's Michel Camdessus, with his arms crossed in what was seen as an arrogant gesture, overseeing former Indonesian President Suharto signing the agreement for an IMF bailout package worth nearly US$50 billion. The picture was widely used to personify Asia's loss of its independence following the financial crisis in 1997.

Chance for Asia to seize the day
By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller, For The Straits Times

BECAUSE this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, observers were prepared for yet more studies on what went wrong and how to avoid another crisis.

Only a few expected another financial crisis, even though it was common knowledge that the property sector in the US and some other countries had entered a period of 'irrational exuberance' - to borrow the famous phrase used by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.

But even those who expected a reversal of the property cycle did not predict the emergence of a threat to global financial stability, with the likelihood of recession in the United States raising uncertainty about global growth.

There are four lessons to be drawn from these two crises.

Lesson No.1 is that the world is actually less globalised than conventional wisdom tells us.

The financial crisis that began in Japan in early 1990, with nose- diving share prices and a property market locked in stalemate for 15 years, did not really affect other countries. This was so even though Japan's economy was the second biggest in the world.

Similarly, while the recession in the US in the first half of 1991 was felt by other countries, it did not drag the world into recession.

The Asian financial crisis in 1997 was the trigger, not the main reason, for a similar crisis in Russia and some Latin American countries. The US and Europe remained remarkably unaffected.

As for this year's sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US, we have to wait a bit before making a judgment, but so far its contagious effect also seems to be limited.

The conclusion one may draw is that while the world may look globalised, it is in fact regionalised. An economic slowdown in one country is felt by neighbouring countries, especially if they belong to the same economic grouping, but it has a limited impact on the global economy. The reason being that regional intra-trade as a share of total trade is high and growing, while dependence on other regions and/or countries is less important.

Intra-European trade comes to about two-thirds of all trade for the European countries. Exports to the US account for only 3 per cent of total European GDP.

Business cycles

LESSON No.2 is that while the business cycles of adjacent countries, and of countries inside the same grouping, tend to converge, the global picture is different.

Many observers expect globalisation and growing trade to synchronise business cycles, but the figures tell another story. International trade amounts to only 31 per cent of global GDP. For most countries, domestic consumption and investment are more important as economic pacesetters. The domestic business cycle is more insulated from outside effects than is widely believed.

This may change, as trade grows faster than GDP, but it will be some time before it rivals consumption and investment.

For the 15 years from 1991 to 2005 there were only four years (1993, 1994, 2001 and 2004) when economic growth in the three major economies (US, eurozone and Japan) moved in the same direction.

If the analysis is narrowed to the US and the eurozone, the business cycle moved in synchronisation in six years out of 15 (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2004). Economists may qualify these observations with theories about time-lag etc, but even that does not contradict the conclusion that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the global business cycle is a myth. The global economy is actually controlled by national and regional business cycles.

Lesson No.3 touches on the vulnerability and fragility of financial systems.

The Asian financial crisis and the sub-prime crisis showed that, again contrary to conventional wisdom, the culprit is the financial system in core countries, namely the US and Europe.

They have been irresponsible over due diligence, financial management and corporate governance. Instead, resting on the laurels of their established reputations, they went in blind pursuit of profit and market share without balancing risks against gains.

The Asian financial crisis, as we know now, was due to short- term borrowings (denominated in foreign currencies) to finance long -term investments with income denominated in national currencies. Financial institutions in core countries lending to Asian countries were the guardians of the international financial system.

This role should have compelled them to act as good corporate citizens. Instead they started a race among themselves for short-term profit. When problems arose they jumped out and left the borrower and the international institutions to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, devoting most of their efforts to avoiding losses.

The sub-prime crisis reveals the same behaviour. Financial institutions stepped in to lend without performing the necessary scrutiny. They gambled upon continually rising property prices as collateral for revolving credits, as if the perpetual moving machine had finally been invented - by them!

In both cases, some of the world's most prestigious financial institutions allowed themselves to enter into deals which, by their own rules, were indefensible.

Lack of judgment

NOTE the lack of judgment by all core financial institutions in core countries. It was not the financial systems in developing or newly industrialised countries which started the Asian financial crisis. Rather, it was lending from financial institutions in core countries.

Financial systems in non-core countries have so far - we do not yet know the whole story - weathered the sub-prime crisis far better than their supposedly renowned role models in core countries. To some extent, it may even be that that financial institutions in core countries dragged those in other countries into the mess.

Lesson No.4 is that the prime movers of globalisation are the above financial institutions.

Global capital movements are growing faster than global trade. Over the past 10 years, new financial institutions such as hedge funds and private equity funds have entered the arena and are playing a bigger role.

While the spillover of domestic growth into other countries is limited, the opposite is true for financial operations. Financial institutions are interacting with each other across borders by selling and buying financial instruments. In theory, this distributes risk among many institutions, which in principle should make the system more robust and solid.

But in practice it works the other way, spreading panic as all institutions seek to get out as soon as they smell the risk, knowing that those that get out last will run up the largest losses.

My fifth point is more an observation than a lesson. Most of the world's savings are in Asia. These savings are now being used to rescue or bail out some of the core financial institutions that have had their fingers burnt.

It is not difficult to draw the conclusion that Asian financial institutions, courtesy of the sub- prime crisis, have been given a chance to buy influence in globally established institutions. This will give Asia much stronger control over how its savings are used.

Asia may not have liked seeing financial institutions in the US and Europe earning money while reshuffling wealth originating in Asia, and not being able to do much about it. But now, when these established institutions are on their knees, the chance is there - and it has been taken.

The calamities of the sub-prime mortgage crisis will be temporary. But the impact of the Asian move to gain control over its own savings will be permanent.

The writer is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, and adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School.

Half-Black or Female?

2007-12-27T21:06:00.001+08:00

OK, back to serious news analysis after one week of satire and entertainment news.

By Uncle Cheng

Do you worry about the United States? I do. In recent months I have heard quite a few of my Chinese friends say things like “America is going bankrupt” or “America is finished - China is the future.”

But it is not just the constant drop in the value of the US dollar, and hence our own money, that is worrying.

Many Chinese seem to think the U.S. has lost its magic touch. They see the world going in one direction and America in another. I do not know about you, but I find these feelings very troubling.

This is because, despite its many defects, America remains a very important nation and everyone benefits from a rich, stable America. As the old saying states “When America sneezes, the whole world catches a cold.”

The truth is that America’s reputation in the world has been profoundly damaged by President Bush and his cronies. It seems amazing how quickly America has been able to destroy its accumulated international goodwill but that is what has happened.

About a year ago I explained in a previous column why I favoured Obama. A year later I see Barack Hussein Obama as America’s greatest hope for the future. Why, you may ask, do I support the half-black, quarter-or-so Muslim Obama?

Precisely because he is half black and a bit Muslim. He is the only person who stands a chance of transforming the global image of America. Obama was right to claim: “The day I am inaugurated, the world will look at America differently."

I also think the vast majority of the world’s population outside America will support Obama for President. That’s about 6.5 billion people!

People the world over can identify with Obama because he had a black Kenyan father, a white American mother, an Indonesian stepfather, and a Muslim education in Jakarta followed by an American university. Obama is the only person who as President can act as a bridge to the Islamic world, and a bridge to the many poor people in the world.

A leading Canadian politician expressed it well when he said: “It's clear Barack Obama would be the first globalized American leader, the first leader for whom internationalism would be in his veins."

I see the image of a Muslim terrorist, who is trained to hate America, switching on his TV and seeing an American President who is half black, has an Arabic middle name, and went to a Muslim school. How can the terrorist hate such a man?

On another matter I was greatly amused to read that Obama’s rival, Hillary Clinton, has been accused of being an opportunist and of lacking integrity. I ask you — are not all politicians opportunists and dishonest? Or will Obama prove to be the exception in that regard as well?

But this is not to say I dislike Hillary Clinton. Actually I like her. I am amused to think of Bill Clinton returning to the White House as ‘First Man’. And Hillary would be America’s first female President — also good for America’s image in the world.

Ruffled feathers over Singapore's Asian Idol win

2007-12-18T22:02:00.001+08:00

Yippee, talkingcock published another piece of satire by Sophie's World. It's reproduced here for your reading pleasure:

by Sophie's World

Not just Malaysia, now other Asians across the region are up in arms over the unexpected victory of Singapore Idol Hady Mirza in the first-ever Asian Idol.

"This is unbelievable. Indonesia's Mike should have won. This is the result of how the Singapore Gahmen undermines Indonesia through a systematic cornering of our telecom market," fumed Indonesian government spokesman Cakap Ayam.

Other Asians who watched the contest and voted via a SMS system also cried fowl over the contest that was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, during the weekend.

"The Malaysian Indian girl was fantastic. Singapore and Malaysian governments must be working together to marginalise our Indian community further," said Indian activist Uthu Ayam Kumar, who added that he will organize another street protest to highlight 'ethnic cleansing' in Malaysia.

Central to the region's unhappiness was the SMS voting system, which they felt favoured Singapore.

Indonesia's Mr Ayam said Singapore Gahmen investment arm Temasek Business Group must have rigged the SMS contest through its control of two telcos – Telkomsel and Indosat.

"This shows our decision to force Temasek to sell one of the two Indonesian telcos is correct and necessary," Mr Ayam said, adding that Singapore must have conspired with the United States and staunch ally Israel to undermine predominantly Muslim Indonesia.

"Apa nama itu (What is the name of the) Temasek guy? Don't you think it's too coincidental that he's called Mr Israel? I rest my case," said Mr Ayam with a smirk.

Singapore Gahmen spokesman Ban Vanity was unruffled, when bombarded by intense media questions that were unseen since Temasek effectively triggered the Thai military coup in 2006.

"Their unwarranted questioning of the legitimacy of our Idol's win is tantamount to questioning of Singapore's sovereignty. We cannot allow that," Ms Vanity read from a prepared statement.

"We will defend our position vigourously and refer to the new Asean Charter to resolve the dispute and uphold our victory."

She added: "What's next if we don't defend our sovereignty over the Asian Idol issue?"

"They will claim Singapore's Idol is actually Malaysia's Idol since Singapore was part of Malaysia briefly, or it's Indonesia's Idol since Singapore's founder Sang Nila Utama was a Sumatran prince. How can like that?"

Hady Mirza is Asian Idol!!!

2007-12-17T00:12:00.001+08:00

In an unexpected development, Singapore's Hady Mirza (Pix source: ST) has become the first Asian Idol!!!

Sophie's World is glad that TV viewers voted according to their conscience, instead of voting along nationalistic lines. This is because Singapore's Idol could not have won if voting by TV viewers across Asia were based on nationalism. Singapore has the smallest population among all the participating countries.

This bodes well for Asia's renaissance, despite many problems affecting the Asean region and the continent.

It's also amazing that Singapore's Idol won despite the rather frosty reception towards him at the onset of the competition yesterday.

Asian Idol Rock On!

2007-12-15T11:01:00.000+08:00

TONIGHT'S the night when millions of viewers in Asia will be watching the Asian Idol competition.

According to The Straits Times, Hady Mirza (Pix source: ST), winner of the second season of Singapore Idol, is in the running. The report said he will be pitting his singing skills against a formidable cast of opponents - Indonesia's Mike Mohede, India's Abhijeet Sawant, Malaysia's Jaclyn Victor, the Philippine's Mau Marcelo and Vietnam's Phuong Vy.

Sophie's World hopes everyone will pick the best singer, instead of voting along nationalistic lines. Hopefully, the event will also display the best of Asia and push recent political problems in the region into the background. Asean has no shortage of problems, apart from their inability to deal with the murderers of Burma.

So, let's leave politics aside for a while and enjoy Asian Idol show tonight.

And here's a little satire by Sophie's World that was published by Singapore's premier satirical website talkingcock in October 2006, shortly after Hady won the Singapore Idol. Enjoy!

Proof: No Marginalization Going On
Posted on Sunday, October 08, 2006
Topic: International News
by sophies world

Malays and Chinese are not marginalised in Singapore or Malaysia respectively, contrary to claims from both sides of the causeway.

In Singapore: “This is conclusively proven by the fact that a second Malay has won the Singapore Idol," said Gahmen spokesman Ban Vanity shortly after Hady Mirza emerged as the winner in the hotly contested show watched by more than half of the island's 4 million people.

Ms Vanity pointed out that Hady is the second Malay to have clinched the coveted title, after Taufik Batisah in the previous year.

"The Malays trounced the Chinese for two consecutive years in Singapore Idol. How can Dr M say Malays are marginalized in Singapore? What utter rubbish!" said Ms Vanity at the packed press conference yesterday.

She was referring to Dr M's remarks that Malays are marginalized in predominantly Chinese Singapore.

"We could ask about the status of the Malays in Singapore, why they are not allowed to bear arms in the military or train to handle weapons," Dr M ranted earlier this week.

"Why is it that the Malays in Malaysia are so capable in the military field but the Malays in Singapore cannot hold high posts?"

The Malaysian figure had said it as a reaction to Singapore's MM Lee's comment that the Chinese are systematically marginalized in Malaysia.

But MM Lee was also incorrect about the Chinese in Malaysia, according to analysts who track the Idol phenomenon worldwide.

"A Chinese beat a Malay in last year's Malaysian Idol what!" said Sing Song Woon, referring to Daniel Lee who defeated Norhanita Hamzah for the crown in 2005.

The Idol findings are being regarded by both governments as being conclusive proof of each country’s progressive policies.

“The Idol results are very reliable,” said Singapore spokesperson Ms Vanity. “After all, they are extremely accurate in terms of forecasting talent.”

PS (15 Dec 2007): Singers who didn't quite make it to Asian Idol -- Pay Rise Needed to Maintain Hip Hop Lifestyle: Gahmen and MDA Rap Video Sparks Potential Gangsta War

Hahaha. Lovely satire and doctored pix but they are not done by Sophie's World!!!

Union Bank of Singapore

2007-12-14T21:39:00.000+08:00

Some commentators have been rather critical about the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation or GIC for coming to the rescue of UBS of Switzerland. GIC will inject US$9.8 billion for a 9% stake in the Swiss banking giant to help it cope with the US sub-prime crisis.

The concerns are fair as it is the biggest single deal for GIC -- the guardian of Singapore's foreign reserves.

But critics are missing the big picture.

According to guest writer Hercules Morse, it's a great deal for GIC and Singapore.

"It's a great way to invest the nation's reserves in a first-class global institution, rather than spend it all on pointless projects," Hercules said.

Hercules Morse reckons that it's a great financial deal for GIC as there is very little premium priced into the conversion price compared to UBS' current market price. This means GIC is being paid 9% coupon on notes before conversion as an implied discount.

More importantly, the UBS deal will help promote confidence in Singapore as the new private banking capital of the world.

Sophie's World agrees. Singapore's two government investment arms -- GIC and Temasek Holdings -- are building up a formidable portfolio of banking assets.

Apart from GIC's stake in UBS, Singapore, through Temasek, has interests in major banking assets such as Standard Chartered (13%). ICICI Bank (7%), China Construction Bank (6%), Bank of China (5%), and homegrown DBS Bank (28%).

Temasek acquired the Stanchart stake in March 2006 from the family of the late Singapore-based Malaysian tycoon Khoo Teck Puat.

Since then, Stanchart has stepped up its plan in Singapore. In May this year, Stanchart made Singapore its global private banking HQ. And Stanchart early this year agreed to take up more than half a million square feet of space at the new Marina Bay Financial Centre -- Singapore's new downtown. Incidentally, DBS, which has been rumoured to be a merger partner of Stanchart, agreed to take up 700,000 square feet of space in the same neighbourhood this week.

It doesn't really matter whether DBS and Stanchart will tie the knot.

What's more important is Singapore's efforts to build a world-class financial centre by hosting the big banking players in Singapore, and by taking direct stakes in them like the UBS deal. By doing so, their fates are intertwined and entrenched.

UBS will, one day, be better known as Union Bank of Singapore!

Additional reading: Behind GIC's buy into UBS (15 Dec 2007)

Different trades

2007-12-10T20:46:00.000+08:00

The stock exchanges of Malaysia and Singapore, which used to be one entity, have performed quite well since they split and went public at the turn of 2000.

They are the only two stock exchanges in Asean that have become listed companies although they remain as market regulators. Bursa Malaysia, formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, went public in 2004. The Singapore Exchange or SGX was floated in 2000.

But the two exchanges have not been able to join forces to become a more formidable player despite their close historical links and the natural combined liquidity of the two markets. Their plan to set up a cross-trading platform has effectively been aborted although both sides have not said so.

Their action shows they are more willing to tie up with other partners instead.

For instance, Bursa Malaysia today confirmed a news report that it’s in talk with the United States’s Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on a possible tie-up that may involve equity holding. The Star had earlier reported that CME may buy a 10% stake in Bursa Malaysia at about RM20 per share. This is a huge premium to Bursa Malaysia’s last traded price of about RM15 and values the entire Malaysian exchange at more than RM10 billion.

Earlier, CME had a equal partnership with SGX to list commodity futures products, such as crude palm oil and rubber, on a Singapore-based exchange called Jade. However, in November this year, the CME group abandoned Jade, selling its stake in the venture to SGX. No real reason was given but one cannot discount the possibility that the failure was due to their ability to secure crude palm oil prices from Bursa Malaysia.

SGX has also moved on following the difficulty in setting up a cross-trading platform with Bursa Malaysia since 2005. SGX bought a 5% stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange in March for US$47.5 million, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange bought a 4.99% stake in the SGX in June for US$321 million.

The simple question remains: Why can't the listed stock exchanges of Singapore and Malaysia strike a commercial deal despite their two countries' long list of outstanding bilateral problems?

Divergent flight paths

2007-12-09T12:35:00.000+08:00

Like many things about Malaysia and Singapore, their national airlines have taken quite different paths ever since the two countries split in 1965.

The two airlines used to operate as one entity called Malaysia-Singapore Airlines before they parted ways in 1972. Since then, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has become one of the most profitable airlines in the world, while Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has had a very turbulent flight path despite the recent turnaround.

The Star has a very colourful feature on the MAS story.

But no one should blame Singapore for inheriting the international routes of MSA in the divorce settlement.

This is because Malaysia didn't want the international routes in the first place, preferring to take the 50-seat Fokkers to help link West and East Malaysia. Singapore, with no hinterland, had to go international at all cost with its inherited Boeings.

Many things have changed since then.

MAS has returned to government control following the botched privatisation exercise in the late 1990s. SIA retrenched close to 500 people in one bad year in 2003 despite many good years.

One thing remains unchanged. The stewardesses of the two airlines continue to wear their sarong kebaya, albeit by different designers.

Way back into love

2007-12-07T00:07:00.000+08:00

This is one of the best songs I have ever heard. You must watch the movie too!

Malaysian bullet train going to Singapore?

2007-12-06T22:42:00.000+08:00

Malaysian tycoon Francis Yeoh has made it clear again that he plans to build a bullet train service all the way to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur, according to a report today.

Will he and his YTL Corporation succeed in linking the capitals of Malaysia and Singapore via a fast train that could cut down travel time to less than two hours for many long-suffering travelers between the two countries?

“I am confident (to secure the project) because everybody wants it. The Malaysian government is pragmatic and at the end of the day if the public wants it, why not?,” he reportedly said.

Sure, everybody wants it. But can the two governments agree to such a plan that will greatly benefit the people of the two countries? Can the two governments really cooperate for the benefit of the population of the two countries or will they be driven by their narrow self-interest?

Sophie's World is not sanguine. Apart from problems arising from Malaysia's haphazard railway blueprint, the two governments can't even agree on very basic and long outstanding matters such as the:

1. Renewal of the water agreements between Malaysia and Singapore;
2. Redevelopment of the Malaysian railway land in Singapore;
3. Exchange of land in Singapore for the joint redevelopment of the Malaysian railway land
4. Use of Malaysian airspace by Singapore;
5. Sale of Malaysian sand to Singapore for reclamation;
6. Release of CPF funds of West Malaysians who no longer work in Singapore;
7. Dispute over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih;
8. Diversion of heavy traffic to the Second Link from the causeway;
9. Plan to build an overhead bridge to replace the old causeway; and
10. Cleaning up the filthy Straits of Johor, which separates the two countries.

Like the current talk (just talk) to build a monorail link between the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru and Singapore, it will be more ideal to build a new bridge to replace the causeway to facilitate the bullet train project. Please read earlier posting.

Now, where is the new Asean Charter?

Dancing in the Rain

2007-12-06T00:35:00.000+08:00

Enjoy!

Sad day for Malaysian Indians, Part 2

2007-12-04T21:54:00.000+08:00

How will history judge the current Indian drama in Malaysia?

There's no clear answer yet as the drama is still unfolding. Sophie's World is still saddened by the flurry of wild allegations thrown around. Many people are up in arms over the wild allegations made by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in its ridiculous petition, its ridiculous claim of US$4 trillion from the former colonial master, and its leader not ruling out violence to achieve its aim.

Let's get things right before the water is muddied further.

Sophie's World supports any call to improve the welfare of marginalised or poor people, whether they are Indians, Chinese or Malays.

But Hindraf will not earn the respect of Sophie's World and other rational people should it continue to cry 'ethnic cleansing' by the government, or suggest violence to help raise awareness on the plight of the long-suffering Indian community in Malaysia.

Demolition of Hindu temples is not right although many of them are sited on illegal sites. But the act of demolishing illegal temples does not constitute ethnic cleansing. Let's not resort to hyperbole in such a sensitive issue. Ethnic cleansing refers to genocide in one extreme and the systematic removal of a particular race in a less extreme definition.

Although the Malaysian government has long favoured the majority Bumiputra community, such an act, though unfair, does not constitute a systematic removal or elimination of the Indian race or 'ethnic cleansing'.

Do you see the Chinese community crying 'ethnic cleansing'?

The Malaysian government may have no choice but to invoke the Internal Security Act to maintain law and order, and quell the careless propaganda by the Indian group. The Indian group will then cry 'ethnic cleansing' all over again. And the whole world will then condemn Malaysia for the 'persecution' of the minority community.

Here's Sophie's World's take to the long-suffering Indian brethren: The end does not justify the means. Resort to noble means or civil disobedience, instead of resorting to unfair means or violence, to achieve the noble end.

Gandhi would have wanted that too.

Causeway blues again

2007-12-01T19:36:00.000+08:00

Source: Singapore's The Business Times (20 Jan 2007) The illustration shows the current toll rates for lorries and heavy vehicles, not cars and motorcycles.

Sometimes, you have to wonder whether policy makers look at the big picture at all.

Take the case of the toll rate at the Second Link connecting southern Malaysia and Singapore.

According to a report on Thursday, the Malaysian government will jack up the toll rates by 27% on vehicles using the Second Link Expressway from Jan 1. The other bridge connecting the two countries is the overused causeway, which links Woodlands in Singapore and the southern Malaysian city of Johor Baru.

The report said passenger cars using the Second Link route will have to pay RM10.80 (S$4.60) next year, compared with RM8.40 now, The Sun newspaper quoted Works Minister S. Samy Vellu as saying.

Rates will also go up at two other Johor toll booths. At the Perling toll, passenger cars will have to pay RM2.30 compared with RM1.80 now. And at the Lima Kedai booth, the toll will be increased to RM3.90 from RM3.10.

The report said the rise in the toll rates is part of contractual obligations the Malaysian government signed with companies that built and manage the highways.

So far, the argument sounds logical. But the whole argument falls apart when it is seen in the wider context of essential infrastructure between Malaysia and Singapore.

Here are some bigger questions and issues concerning the two major arteries:

1. Shouldn't the Malaysian government be lowering toll rates at the Second Link to encourage more motorists to switch from the perennially congested causeway to the Second Link? Toll rates are substantially lower at the causeway, which is owned jointly by the two countries. Even more motorists will avoid the Second Link and flock to the causeway following the jump in the toll rates at the Second Link.

2. So far, it's not clear whether the Singapore government will follow suit in jacking its toll rate as well on motorists using the Second Link, which was built jointly by the two countries. The Singapore government had a policy of matching the Malaysian toll rate when the Second Link bridge was opened in 1998 although the rationale was debatable.

3. Shouldn't Malaysia and Singapore sit down and discuss ways to promote greater usage of the Second Link and ease the congestion on the causeway? Shouldn't the two governments help facilitate the massive cross-border flow of people instead of imposing any further burden on them?

4. Shouldn't the two governments think of fresh ways to ease the flow of people and goods between the two countries, as they couldn't even agree on a simple overhead bridge to replace the aging causeway and clean up the dirty Straits of Johor?

5. Shouldn't the two governments refer to the recently minted Asean Charter, which waxes lyrical about cooperation and dispute resolution in the Asean spirit, to help resolve their bridge problems?

While the two governments remain at odds with each other over a host of bilateral issues, people on both sides of the causeway will continue to bear the brunt of the causeway bottleneck.

Olympics

2007-12-01T01:24:00.000+08:00

By Uncle Cheng

Next year’s Olympics in Beijing is being heralded as an unprecedented national event of international importance. This, after all, will be the first time the Olympics will have been hosted on Chinese soil.

Apart from Toyko (in 1964) and Seoul (1988), and provided you do not consider Australia (Melbourne 1956, Sydney 2000) a part of Asia, no other Asian country has ever been given an opportunity to stage the games since they were first held over two thousand years ago.

While China’s economic resurgence marches onwards and upwards, it is perhaps understandable that Chinese nationalism treats the Olympics as especially significant. The government in Beijing has been progressively asserting China’s interests internationally.

It has actively cultivated strong economic and political ties in all corners of the world but especially in Africa and Australia, places where China’s understandable self-interest lies in their wealth of natural resources. Raising its international profile can only benefit China’s economic strength.

Against this background there are two aspects to the recent controversy concerning Martin Lee’s recent remarks about the Olympics games. To my mind it is not necessary to come to a definitive view whether Mr Lee was urging foreign countries to boycott the Olympics. As any lawyer might say, he is entitled to the benefit of the doubt.

However, one aspect that worries me is an obvious one. China considers the Olympics to be a matter of “face” and particularly the nation’s international “face”. Directly or indirectly linking the games to China’s record on human rights is fundamentally wrong, and indeed against the spirit of the Olympic ideal that demands the games remain apolitical.

But it is the second aspect that I find more important and crucial if the world is to appreciate the Chinese psyche. Initial strong memories of the 2008 games will necessarily fade in subsequent years but the suggestion that foreign forces and countries can somehow meddle in China’s national affairs is a justifiably sore point for the Chinese.

As any admirer of Chinese history must know, the present government’s approach to foreign influences is no different from that of its predecessors. Since the time of the first emperor 2,300 years ago until today China has always labelled those who seek foreign assistance as traitors. This intolerance of foreign influence is a hallmark of Chinese civilization that has enabled China to remain a unified state with an unbroken civilization for thousands of years.

I do not deny that China has been ruled by foreigners. The Yuan Dynasty of the thirteenth century may have been short-lived but it was essentially foreign. The more recent Ching Dynasty was also foreign but quickly lost its “foreignness” and became utterly sinonised.

To my mind, this is the key to understanding the attitude of the present Chinese government. It really does not matter whether the system in Beijing is feudal, national, communist or democratic. That is not the point. What matters is a full appreciation of

China

’s ancient and often uneasy relationship with anybody whose interests and loyalties lie outside

China

.

The classic example of this Chinese political psychology is Beijing’s strained relationship with the

Vatican

and its Erastian religion which would require

China

’s Catholics to maintain loyalty to a foreign government.

Singapore 'wins' in Pedra Branca claim

2007-11-30T23:40:00.000+08:00

It's not exactly official but Singapore has trounced Malaysia in the competing claim for Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih, according to an online poll by Sophie's World.

When the three-week poll closed tonight, a total of 334 readers had cast their votes. This is quite a decent number but it is still not big enough as a scientific poll. The three options were:

Who will win Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih?
1. Singapore because it has been squatting on the little rock for more than 150 years;
2. Malaysia because the islet is nearer to the country; or
3. Two countries should re-merge and have joint ownership of Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih

Those who voted for Singapore outnumbered Malaysia 169 to 141. Votes for Singapore represented exactly half of the total number of votes. Support for Malaysia was 42%, while the remaining 24 votes or 7 per cent picked the third option of joint ownership of the little island.

The court hearing ended on Nov 23 and the judges are still deliberating on the decision. The International Court of Justice's judgement is expected within the next two months.

The issue has naturally divided readers on both sides of the causeway, due probably to nationalism and differing interpretations of history.

Sophie's World is still betting on an official victory for Malaysia despite the odds against the country.

Haphazard Malaysian railway blueprint

2007-11-28T23:01:00.000+08:00

Malaysia's railway blueprint is as haphazard as the country's current political climate.

The Straits Times today reported that the government is set to revive part of Malaysia's massive railway project with the award of a RM12.5 billion contract to a joint venture led by businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bhukary.

The report said MMC Corporation, the corporate flagship of Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar's vast business empire, will team up with Lin Yun Ling's construction house Gamuda to build an electrified, double-track rail system stretching from the central city of Ipoh in Perak to Padang Besar on the Malaysia-Thai border.

The news is not unexpected although the project to build the entire track was shelved by the current administration following the retirement of former PM Mahathir Mohamad in 2003. The lobbying to revive the project has been intense.

The cost also appears to have ballooned. The plan to build the entire track along the peninsular was estimated to be RM14.5 billion back in 2003. But the price tag is now reported to be RM12.5 billion for a segment of the Malaysian peninsular.

Another point that's not been made clear by the government is the other major leg of the Malaysian railway blueprint -- between the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru and/or Singapore.

A report this week by Singapore's The Business Times cited JP Morgan as saying that Francis Yeoh's YTL bullet train project between KL and JB is set to take off. The price tag also appears to have gone up -- RM11 billion from the reported figure of RM8 billion earlier.

Will the two railway projects be able to coordinate their operations and make fast train service seamless from southern Malaysia to the tip of the Thai border? Will travelers be able to hop on the train one day in Singapore and travel all the way via Malaysia and Thailand to reach Kunming in China as part of the Asean dream?

Sophie's World doesn't have high hopes, after so many false starts amidst all the problems within Asean.

Maybe, Malaysia must continue to rely on the good old, snail-pace Keretapi Tanah Melayu.

Sad day for Malaysian Indians

2007-11-26T22:46:00.001+08:00

I read news about the massive protest by Malaysian Indians (Pix source: The Straits Times. You can see more pix at Screenshots) in Kuala Lumpur with a tinge of sadness.

I feel sad that many Indians feel marginalised over the years in their country of birth due to socio-political reasons, one of which is the Bumiputra policy that has been favouring the Malays since the 1970s.

Their unhappiness over a litany of issues, including the recent demolition of a temple in the state of Selangor, erupted over the weekend.

Reports said Malaysian riot police fought running battles with more than 5,000 Hindu protesters gathered at various places for the banned rally in the Malaysian capital yesterday.

ST reported that many held posters of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and waved identity cards and Malaysian flags to show they were also Malaysians, as they demanded equal rights.

The report said the gathering was organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force, ostensibly in support of a suit it filed against Britain in August claiming US$4 trillion for the suffering of Indians, whose ancestors were taken to Malaysia by the British as indentured labourers 150 years ago.

Another report cited the organisers as claiming that more than 100,000 members of the ethnic Indian community had signed a petition, addressed to the Queen, asking for help to end racial discrimination under Malaysian law.

Apart from feeling sorry for their plight, I feel sad that some Malaysian Indians made such a ridiculous appeal and claim against the former colonial master.

Yes, the British brought Indians and Chinese to Malaya then. But Malaya, like many other former colonies, has since gained independence. The country has had 50 years -- read half a century -- of rapid economic development, albeit several dark chapters of its history.

The answer is not to make the ridiculous appeal to the Queen or the huge monetary claim, which is equivalent to nearly one-third the value of the US economy today!

Instead, the Indian community should work within the system to improve it instead of blaming the former colonial master. At the same time, the Malaysian government, which is led by Umno and other members of the National Front coalition, must not ignore the grievances of the Indian community or any other marginalised communities anymore.

All parties must work together to help improve the system, and show that Malaysians can run the country well, long after the departure of the British.

Postscript: I have just read the petition by the Hindu Rights Action Force and am totally disgusted with the complete misrepresentation of the situation in Malaysia. The petition even resorted to describing Indians as being "persecuted by government backed Islamic extremist violent armed terrorist" and even suggested "ethnic cleansing" in Malaysia. The petition is even more ridiculous than what I have imagined earlier! Gandhi would not have condoned such an act!!!

Singapore 'pips' Malaysia in Pedra Branca claim

2007-11-25T15:36:00.000+08:00

Sentiment in blogosphere towards the court tussle for Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih seems to have turned in favour of Singapore instead of Malaysia when the hearing ended yesterday, at least according to the online poll of Sophie's World.

Some 275 people have taken part in the poll so far. With just five days to go before the poll closes, votes for Singapore have outnumbered Malaysia 132 to 121. Another 22 voters picked the third option of joint ownership of the little island in the South China Sea.

As stated earlier, the sample size is just not big enough to make a conclusive statement. At best, it's just an indication of the mood of a group of people.

Sophie's World noted the swing of votes happened when the photograph saga happened last week. Votes for Malaysia were ahead of those for Singapore until the Singapore legal team questioned the veracity of the photograph evidence submitted by the Malaysian legal team.

Since then, some readers, including readers from Malaysia, have lambasted Malaysia for using the photograph, which exaggerated the closeness of the island to Malaysia. Many bloggers on both sides of the causeway also ridiculed Malaysia for using the photograph from an unverified and little-known blog although the photograph is not the crux of whole court battle. The photo is merely an image of the island, regardless of its distance to the Malaysian shores. The photograph should not be used as the basis of the court judgment, which will be made next year.

What's more important is the argument whether Malaysia or Singapore had effective ownership of the island. Was Singapore merely a lighthouse operator on an island owned by Malaysia? Did Singapore or Malaysia act in good faith in the whole issue? Or was either side being legalistic in the bid to win at any cost?

Sophie's World is still rooting for Malaysia despite the odds.

Can everyone fly KL-Singapore? Part 2

2007-11-24T10:03:00.000+08:00

IT's finally confirmed that Malaysia and Singapore will open up the long-protected Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route to limited service by budget airlines.

According to The Straits Times, from Feb 1, at least one low-cost carrier from each side will be allowed to operate two daily flights - a total of four extra services a day.

The report said all restrictions on the lucrative sector will be lifted on Dec 1, 2008, to allow airlines on both sides of the Causeway to fly as often as they want between the two points. ST added that the liberalisation of one of Asia's most restricted air routes is in line with an Asean initiative to free up air links between capital cities of the 10-member bloc by December next year.

It's definitely a step in the right direction but will it make much of a difference to many long-suffering travelers of Singapore and Malaysia? For air travelers, they will see lower fare but will the cost saving be significant to the bulk of the passengers?

Budget airlines -- AirAsia of Malaysia and Tiger Airways of Singapore -- will put pressure on the national carriers but the bulk of the air rights are still lodged with the national carriers until the end of next year.

The provision for budget airlines of 16 daily flights a day represents 8 per cent of the current total number of flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore a week. According to the news report, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines operate about 85 per cent of the over 200 flights a week, charging about S$400 for a return flight that lasts 45 minutes each way.

As pointed out by Sophie's World earlier, what's more important is the fall in the average airfare for the sector, not the headline-grabbing lowest fare for a few early birds.

Wake up, Asean!!! Part 2

2007-11-21T20:41:00.000+08:00

Pix of the deadly crackdown of the pro-democracy demonstration in September.
Pix source: http://myamarnews.blogspot.com/

Asean, which kowtowed to the murderers of Myanmar this week, still has many grand plans although it is beset by many unsolved regional disputes and problems.

One of the grand plans is the idea of a common stock exchange for easier cross-border trading in big-cap stocks, AFP cited an official at the Thai bourse as saying today.

The report said Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam would jointly set up an exchange for regional trading in late 2008. Under the plan, large-cap shares in each participating country could be exchanged on the new trading board.

Asean, please wake up! Can an Asean-wide stock exchange realistically take off next year when the two historically linked stock exchanges of Malaysia and Singapore can't even set up a joint trading platform after talking for more than three years?

And the two bourses -- Bursa Malaysia and Singapore Exchange -- are the only two publicly-listed stock exchanges within Asean. Their status would have made it easier for them to undertake commercial decisions such as setting up a joint trading platform. But the proposed cross-trading mechanism remains a pipe dream.

Asean members must resolve the long list of outstanding bilateral issues first, before the bloc could truly undertake real regional joint efforts or have greater moral authority to preach to Myanmar's dumb generals.

Wake up, Asean!!!

2007-11-21T00:29:00.001+08:00

Alamak! All the Asean leaders formed a human chain with PM Thein Sein of Myanmar, which is ruled by murderers and dumb generals.

They formed the traditional Asean human chain following the signing of the Asean charter in Singapore this evening (AFP pix on ST).

Sophie's World is speechless and disgusted. Read Choo Zheng Xi's far more eloquent piece in The Online Citizen.

Wake up, Asean!!! It should not be business as usual anymore. Myanmar didn't just disperse protesters with tear gas. It killed unarmed protesters and monks!!!

And yes, the so-called historic Asean charter is generally full of motherhood statements as expected, and procedural matters that should have been in place after 40 years.

Pictures don't tell a thousand words!

2007-11-20T18:24:00.001+08:00

Photo submitted by Malaysia (Pix source: The Straits Times, which said the Malaysian photograph, taken with a telephoto lens, magnifies the height of the hill by seven times)

Singapore's The Straits Times said this photo was taken with a camera that approximates what the human eye sees.

It’s truly fascinating that the current trial over who should own Pedra Branca (according to Singapore) or Pulau Batu Putih (according to Malaysia) has, at times, focused on form rather than substance.

In the rebuttal to Malaysia, Singapore chastised Malaysia over its photo evidence of the little outcrop, saying that Malaysia had misrepresented the distance of the island to Malaysia. Singapore seems to be technically correct as seen in the two photos in The Straits Times.

It’s odd that the Malaysian government had resorted to using a picture from an little-known blog to back up its photo evidence. Singapore has correctly questioned the veracity of the blog and the picture.

The truth of the matter is simply that the little island – whatever you call it, Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Putih – is 25 nautical miles or about 40km from Singapore. The Singapore press would never fail to mention the distance between Pedra Branca and the Republic.

But Singapore press would generally leave out the mention of the distance between Pulau Batu Putih and Malaysia, which is actually 7.7 nautical miles or about 12.3 km.

Sophie’s World had earlier mentioned the distance as one of the factors in favour of Malaysia, but Singapore is banking on the legal notion of adverse possession to claim ownership of the islet.

Regardless of the photo evidence submitted, the indisputable point is that the little rock is a lot nearer to Malaysia.

I guess a picture doesn’t quite tell a thousand words!!!

Temasek not guilty

2007-11-19T23:07:00.000+08:00

As expected, Singapore government investment arm Temasek Holdings has been found guilty of unfairly dominating and manipulating Indonesia's telco market.

Temasek issued a terse but strong statement to say it is not guilty of the charges and will appeal the sentence.

Simon Israel, Temasek’s executive director, stated: “We are not guilty. The decision makes no sense. It ignores the facts. The charge against Temasek is groundless – Temasek has no shares in Indosat and Telkomsel, and we play no role in their business decisions and operations.

Telkomsel is controlled by the Indonesian Government which also has a golden share in Indosat. The telecommunications industry in Indonesia is regulated. It is inconceivable that the Indonesian government and the telecommunications regulator would allow the prices to be fixed or cause a loss to the consumer. Temasek will fight this decision.”

Sophie's World agrees that the Indonesian ruling doesn't quite make sense as the Indonesian government has a bigger say than Temasek in the two Indonesian telcos. The ruling will no doubt dent Indonesia's image among foreign investors. Will leave it to Indonesian experts to talk about this.

Temasek is technically correct though to say it doesn't own shares in the two telcos. The shares are held through two Temasek subsidiaries. Temasek owns 56 per cent of Singapore Telecommunications which in turn owns 35 per cent of Telkomsel, Indonesia's largest mobile phone carrier. Temasek owns all of Singapore Technologies Telemedia which, along with Qatar Telecom, owns a 41.9 per cent stake in Indosat, the second-largest telecommunications company in the country.

Although Temasek is probably sound on the technical and legal fronts, the ruling has wider implications on Temasek as a sovereign wealth fund. This is not the first time that Temasek has had missteps in the region.

Last year, Temasek caused an uproar in Thailand when it acquired Shin Corporation from the family of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra. The Thai court ruled against a unit of Temasek-controlled Shin following the takeover by Temasek.

Thailand is still involved in the protracted review of its foreign ownership rules to ascertain whether Temasek did indeed breach the rule in the deal, which subsequently triggered a military coup that ousted Thaksin.

It seems that some quarters are determined to whack Temasek at all cost as it is seen as the vehicle of the Singapore government.

There is definitely no shortage of volcanic problems within the Asean family.

Asean a happy family?

2007-11-17T11:09:00.000+08:00

The ten Asean members will sign a charter in Singapore to mark yet another commitment to build a stronger community with over 500 million people.

According to news reports, the charter marks the first time that the 40-year-old bloc, which has often been described as a family by its member nations, will codify its basic principles and organisational rules.

The Straits Times said the 31-page Charter includes provisions for leaders to meet twice a year, new rules for settling disputes peacefully, more flexible decision-making processes, and steps to beef up the organisational structure of the grouping so that it is able to monitor and implement what members have agreed to do together.

Sophie's World has not seen the implementation details but is curious about the provision to resolve disputes. Will it be a motherhood statement about the need to resolve disputes peacefully without resorting to violence? Or will the charter spell out something concrete like all neighbourly disputes be referred to an international court or arbitrator if affected parties are unable to come to terms after 10 years of bilateral negotiations?

The provision is definitely an important point because there is no shortage of disputes within the so-called Asean family. Some of the family tiffs include:

1. Asean members' inability to rehabilitate the dumb generals and killers of Myanmar;
2. Malaysia and Singapore are crossing swords at the ICJ over a rock known as Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Putih in the South China Sea;
3. Singapore and Malaysia still can't resolve their bilateral problems after nearly two decades;
4. Malaysia and Indonesia are still banning sale of sand to Singapore;
5. Indonesia and Singapore couldn't seal a treaty to extradite any Indonesian criminal in Singapore;
6. Singapore and Indonesia could not seal a defence cooperation agreement;
7. Nearly all Asean members are pissed off with Indonesia's annual haze;
8. Thailand is still seething over Singapore government investment arm Temasek Holdings' controversial deal with former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra's Shin Corp;
9. Indonesia and Malaysia have not fully embraced each other after another round of Konfrontasi;
10. Malaysia and Singapore can't even agree on a new overhead bridge to replace the old causeway to help improve the massive cross-border flow of goods and people, although Asean dreams about a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour and freer flow of capital by 2015.

The Singapore charter is definitely a step in the right direction to set up a proper framework for the interaction of its ten family members.

But individual members of the Asean family must look at wider interests, not just their narrow self-interest.

Sophie's Note: Wikipedia entry showing satellite image of the 2006 Southeast Asian haze over Borneo.

Malaysia 'pips' Singapore in Pedra Branca claim

2007-11-16T00:30:00.001+08:00

Malaysia has pipped Singapore in Sophie's World's online poll on the likely winner of the tussle for Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Putih.

Sophie's World started an online poll a week ago, asking readers whether they think Singapore or Malaysia will emerge triumphant in the current court tussle for the tiny rock in the South China Sea.

Many readers had been rooting for Singapore, until today.

Readers supporting Malaysia outstripped Singapore 34 to 32 as of today. Another 7 readers voted for the third option -- the two countries should re-merge and have joint ownership of the disputed island.

It's still early days as we still have 15 days to go before the online poll closes. Do take part in the online poll but be objective! :-)

Whatever the outcome of the poll, it's not likely to be conclusive as the sample size is way too small. A poll needs at least 3,000 voters to be reasonably credible. News reports have been rather divisive on this issue as well.

Nevertheless, Sophie's World is still betting on a victory for Malaysia despite the earlier odds against the country.

The little rock is nearer to Malaysia. It sounds reasonable for Malaysia to say that it didn't make any claim on the island earlier because it has always regarded it as part of Malaysia although Singapore has been squatting on the rock for 150 years.

Singapura was also once part of the Malay sultanate. The old Singapore was given away to the British by the Johor sultanate for a song. Hence, one can argue that the Johor Sultan transferred ownership of Singapore but not Pulau Batu Putih to the British.

And as correctly pointed out by another blogger, Singapore was once part of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965.