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Attack on Temasek Review: Not SPH

2009-11-06T03:40:00Z

Geoffrey Pereira explains an accusation based on IP address is mistaken; there was no malicious activity SPH's part.

A COUPLE of days ago, a blog that focuses on Singapore politics carried a posting which accused Singapore Press Holdings of trying to cripple its web server.

Temasek Review (TR) posted its article, "SPH IP address caught 'grabbing' Temasek Review server" on Nov 2.

It started by defining a Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack - essentially as when a server is bombarded with requests so as to overload and cripple it.

It then went on to say that its monitoring had shown that during a recent period, there was a flurry of network requests coming from an SPH IP address.

Put this together and it is no less than an accusation that SPH had launched an Internet attack on TR. Many of its own readers, too, saw it as such, though TR tried to deny it in the discussion that followed on the site.

The article ended by fishing out the Computer Misuse Act and warning SPH to not continue its "intrusions" to undermine its site. Or else, it said, it would escalate the matter.

You can read the article in full, here (and if SPH is not being accused of a DOS attack, why associate it with this URL title?):
http://www.temasekreview.com/2009/11/02/sph-and-recent-ddos-attack-on-temasek-review/

Well, the truth is no warning was needed; but perhaps a little more understanding of the Internet by TR.

For, as at least one TR reader pointed out in the discussion the followed on the site, IP addresses by themselves do not prove anything. In fact IP spoofing is a common tactic used in a DOS attack and with information available readily (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address_spoofing) TR should have known that SPH is as easy prey as anyone.

In any case, given the serious allegation made, SPH made checks with its Network Intrusion Protection Services (NIPS) vendor, a reputable multi-national company. We wanted to find out if anyone within the organisation did, indeed, have a go at TR.

Our NIPS vendor found that there was no unusually heavy access to TR during the period of the alleged attack on its site. SPH logs also determined that no one from the company tried to access material from 2008, as claimed by TR.

TR changed the time of the alleged attack (we have print-outs too!! ) some time after the article was first published; but I won't jump up and down the way some bloggers do when an SPH website changes a headline. I'll just put it down to corrections made by TR to improve accuracy.

Nevertheless, data made available to me covered a 3-day period starting before and ending after the alleged attack. It showed that about 25 SPH employees – including yours truly, a regular reader – visited TR; but we did not create the kind of flurry of Net activity that would slow a server down, much less precipitate a DOS.

In fact, from midnight on Nov 1 to about 6 am, (covering a period of the alleged attack) no one from SPH accessed the TR site.

Our NIPS vendor's technical staff member, who checked 7 days worth of data and found no DOS activity originating from SPH concluded: "My opinion of the situation is Temasek Review released the article with very little research into what happened on its server."

It is an expert opinion; but if opinions don't count, here are the facts: Contrary to TRs allegations, neither did anyone in SPH try to "grab" TR material in a way that would load its server; nor did any SPH staffer launch any attack on the server.

A sense of nostalgia

2009-11-05T22:41:00Z

Reme Ahmad walks down memory lane and says goodbye to an old friend.

SOME 20 years ago, there was a shop called Sembawang Music Centre at the now-demolished Sembawang Shopping Centre that I frequented.

I was living in Yishun then, and it was the nearest shopping centre for Yishuners. I cannot use the word "mall" to describe the place because that would sound perhaps too "modern" and "upmarket".

You see, Yishun's Northpoint mall with its supermarket, fast food restaurants and trendy shops had not yet been built, and Sembawang Shopping Centre was just a neighbourhood stopping point with more shops than the Yishun town centre.

At that time, music albums were sold as round vinyl records and the more popular spool-tapes. The Walkman and albums on CDs would come later.

There was no Internet (at least not in the way we know it now), and so one had to buy a full-album produced by Elton John or Abba or Lobo even if there were only a few songs that were actually worth listening to.

Or if one wanted to buy a mix of songs, we had to wait for a "Best of" album or those "Hits" compilations by Warner or EMI.

I later moved to Bishan and then lived in Kuala Lumpur for a dozen years. I forgot about Sembawang Music Centre.

But over the years, that small single music shop in Sembawang grew and grew. It had 26 shops at its zenith.

That itself was perhaps a reflection of how Singapore as a country, also grew and grew. And how Singaporeans also rode the economic crest.

And yes, I did visit several of Sembawang Music Centre's branches over the years whenever I came down to Singapore.

But it was not to buy music albums. They had by then begun selling film VCDs and later DVDs.

By then Mustafa's came along, and also dozens of other shops competing with Sembawang Music Centre selling movies.

And worse, I think, was the Internet that empowered people to download their favourite songs directly — legally or not. There is no need anymore to wait for a “Best of” or a “Hits” complations

There is, really, no need to visit a CD shop anymore for most people.

So it was with some nostalgia that I read about the closure of Sembawang Music Centre, last weekend.

I sighed to myself; "How far we all have gone in life."

So, with some sadness, I went to Plaza Singapura on Tuesday — it was only my second visit to this mall in about 12 years!

I went up to the third floor where Sembawang Music Centre is located; at least until it too closes down in a few weeks time.

What an irony I thought: The shop is closing down because there is not enough business, but it was packed with people because all items are up for sale — for up to 75 per cent discount.

But no, I did not buy a music CD. I bought four movies, all a few years old, on VCDs (DVDs are too pricey for me) for $14.90.

Silly me, but as I stepped out of the shop after paying up, I couldn't help wonder about the fragility of life itself.

Goodbye my old friend, Sembawang Music Centre. Thank you for the music and the movies.

Happy (Singapore) Halloween

2009-11-03T11:07:00Z

Nicholas Yong, born on Halloween, gets an extra-special birthday party.

THIS seems terribly tragic but for someone born on Halloween, I actually attended a Halloween gathering for the first time this year.

To be fair, the festival was never a big thing when I was growing up in the 1980s. As far as I can tell, it's only really grown in popularity in recent years.

Luckily my first time turned out to be a highly memorable one, full of vivid sights that will live long in the memory.

I was at the centre of the action at the bridge leading from Riverside Point to the clubs and bars of Clarke Quay, amid hundreds of revellers dressed as everything from devils and ninjas to geisha girls and Scooby Doo.

Singaporeans come out to play for Halloween.
PHOTO: Nicholas Yong

An enterprising stallholder was selling hairbands with glowing horns to those who did not come in costume, but many did not need it.

In a carnival atmosphere reminiscent of Mardi Gras, the night was full of little spontaneous outbursts that livened up the whole atmosphere.

Like the surreal sight of Watchmen's Rorschach calling out to X-Men's Wolverine: "Logan! Come on over for a picture, it’s a superheroes gathering!"

'Wolverine' gets up close with a she-devil. PHOTO: Nicholas Yong

Watchmen's Rorschach isn't scared of H1N1.
PHOTO: Nicholas Yong

Or the Roman who got his toga pulled up by his friend, only to reveal that he was wearing nothing underneath, to moans and cheers from onlookers.

Just below the bridge, partygoers admired one another's costumes and sportingly posed for photos with one another that were guaranteed to find their way onto Facebook the next day. A man dressed as a soft drink even caused a small commotion when numerous individuals ran after him for a picture.

Many came dressed to party, and had clearly put in effort into their costumes.

"Eh, I even did research," said one dressed as a parking attendant, who proudly showed off his big hat and small slingbag with an equally small umbrella hanging from it. He looked so convincing that I almost thought he was going to issue me a summons, even though I hadn't driven there.

Perhaps the anonymity provided by the costumes – a Scream mask here, a ninja hood there – and the haze of alcohol were what ensured a no-holds-barred party.

Nevertheless, even those without masks contributed to the carnival.

A Michael Jackson circa 1985, treated the crowd to an impressive dance display, before slinking away into the night like his very own one-man flash mob.

Standing in a corner, three Brits dressed as old women with mightily impressive fake breasts cackled away in character.

Cackling 'ladies' at Clarke Quay's Halloween celebrations.
PHOTO: Nicholas Yong

Then came my favourite moment of the night: four revellers in iconic costume who sparked a spontaneous cry of "Ghostbusters!", to the tune of the famous song.

Who you gonna call? PHOTO: Nicholas Yong

And of course, the night would not have been complete without the debilitating effects of booze.

My friend, who was in surgical scrubs, arrived at Clarke Quay so sloshed that he actually looked like he was in need of medical attention himself. "I cannot take it, I have to go home already," he moaned after about an hour.

I might have sympathised, but I was too distracted by some Japanese schoolgirls.

Hope all of you had a rocking Halloween.

A simple solution

2009-10-27T06:45:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt has some ideas to help reduce road rage in Singapore.

YOU play "good driver" and observe all the rules. On the expressway, you filter left early to follow the stream of cars exiting on the slip road. Or you do the same on the extreme right of a road to access a ramp, or slip road, to a highway.

During peak periods however, this eats up time, the line of cars in front of you can be quite long, and that's when the nasty Singaporean driver shows up.

There you are, nursing your car slowly forward, when a small gap opens in front of you and suddenly a car swerves forcefully into your path.

He is, of course, the infamous queue-jumper — and not necessarily piloting some fancy set of wheels.

You mutter curses, and stare daggers at the offender, willing him or her to check the rear-view mirror to meet your blazing eyes.

Most times, the other driver does not.

I think many motorists are confronted by such brazen, irresponsible actions every day.

But you don't have to put up with such nonsense; you don't have to feel like you need to bash them up (of course, you shouldn't), or even sound your horn in angry frustration.

I've got a simple solution:

Could some sort of barrier in the form of poles be placed along the dotted lines separating two roads; starting at some distance from the exit or entrance point?

Some may say that this would be unsightly. Perhaps. Others may call it dangerous.

But it would only be dangerous if you were speeding and trying to cut in at the last possible moment.

Still, you would have to agree that something has to be done to curb Singapore’s reckless drivers.

It is also dangerous to other motorists who must be on "super alert" to avoid hitting the intruders.

I have learnt to keep a very sharp vigil for anyone who is inclined to cut in.

I actually keep to the extreme edge of the road to give them less space to muscle in. If I am filtering left, I keep my car hugging the extreme right side of my lane, and vice versa.

Drivers should never allow a yawning gap to open in front of them, to let some time-pinching driver sneak in.

Perhaps, if everyone did that, we wouldn't need to install barriers to ward off the queue-cheaters?

Are our ideas risky investments?

2009-10-16T22:15:00Z

Cassandra Chew asks why few companies offer funding for innovative ideas.

GOOD ideas inspire me. Over the past year, I've particularly enjoyed interviews and meetings with entrepreneurs and innovators.

These self-starters inevitably have an infectious enthusiasm and stubborn optimism, borne probably from the knowledge that they’ve a great solution that no one else has.

In fact, innovators seem to have a solution for everything.

As I write this, researchers in Singapore are finding ways to make buildings more eco-friendly, to recycle all sorts of waste, and to come up with new foods and flavours with better nutrition.

For their part, the authorities are pouring more resources to make these innovations available to the public. This process, in geek speech, is known as tech transfer.

All five Singapore polytechnics have, in one way or another, established their own tech transfer offices, and last year, even formed a network to centralise resources.

The hope, says Mr Walter Lee, head of the Technology Transfer Network (TTN) secretariat, is that Singapore can become a regional tech transfer hub, much like American cities San Diego and Boston.

But the road ahead is long, admits Mr Lee, who reckons it may take Singapore up to 15 years to reach this goal.

What's sorely lacking is funding from venture capitalists and business angels to commercialise these innovations.

It is Mr Lee's hope that the Exploit Technologies Innovation and Enterprise Week this week will draw keen investors game enough to take risks on local innovations.

"Singapore is quite financially endowed, but a lot of money is in real estate, food and beverage and hotels," he says.

"The goal is to get a culture of investing in innovations started, and slowly by word of mouth, more and more people will join in."

A number of networks such as the Angel Investment Initiative, and the Business Angel Network (South East Asia) have come up to help this culture along.

But the reason for the slow uptake, it seems, boils down to the risk of utter and complete loss should the product fail, much like an investment in a start-up.

The one question that is crying out to be asked as Singapore pushes hard towards a knowledge-based economy is this: Are Singaporean ideas risky investments?

What do you think?

My answer to that is, if it inspires you, it’s probably worth a shot. After all, you’ll never know until you try, right?

E-mail you answer to Cassandra Chew or leave a comment below. Read more about this idea in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.

Life can be (more than) a ball

2009-10-14T22:18:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt says people are too concerned about watching football.

WHAT did you do last weekend? What are you planning for this Saturday and Sunday? What about next weekend?

Chances are, quite a number of people were — or will be — tuning in to football matches, even if they may not be top-drawer clashes.

Has the game become a fixture in many people's choice of weekend relaxation?

Have wives and girlfriends become soccer widows as a result?

Are fathers doing things with their children only outside football-on-TV hours?

I ask all this because I detect a growing hard core group of addicted followers.

If not, why would so many folks be super upset when it was announced that there would be a change of EPL broadcast provider, from StarHub to SingTel?

Sure, the issues they raised, from the propect of paying more to subscribe to two content providers to the incompatibility of set-top boxes were legitimate.

But the scale of the furore is such that one might be tempted to think that the fans were in danger of being denied a very basic service or need, like cheap medical care or the right to send their kid to any primary school.

It was not that long ago that Singaporeans had only one game to watch a week on television. And the luck of the programming draw meant that lousy teams were featured as often as the good ones.

Now, there are a lot more live matches to watch — not all interesting, I must say — and many people seem to be making time and space to catch as many as possible.

They ignore the fact that there are other, more worthwhile, things in life to pursue too, be it a hobby or taking the family out more often for a movie or dinner.

Certainly, I have no great desire to watch all the games. What I prefer is the option to pay only for the match I want to watch.

This will be the big game, the critical showdown, and it won’t be Arsenal vs Wigan or Liverpool vs Hull.

But I want to be there for Man U vs Liverpool.

Or Chelsea vs Man City.

If the telco can come up with a pay-for-view option, I will sign up in a jiffy. I don’t need to subscribe for a whole season’s worth of games.

Sure, life can be a ball — but not all of it should be experienced from watching the action on a field.

Being united

2009-10-13T09:34:00Z

Ronald Kow remembers when television united Singaporeans.

LIKE any other football fan hooked on the Uefa Champions League and the Barclays Premier League (BPL), I too am having to take a hard look at whether I should give up my StarHub subscription, switch to Singtel's mio TV or have both.

So the logical thing to do was to look at what SingTel had to offer besides the football.

I have not arrived at a decision. There is no hurry as StarHub will still telecast BPL matches until the end of the season in May 2010. As for the Champions League, the matches are shown at such ungodly hours — and it gets worse in a few more weeks with kickoff times an hour later — that I am not enough of a football fanatic to sacrifice sleep and get annoyed when my favourite team loses.

What I am going to say here has nothing to do with the Champions League or the BPL. Rather, while looking at the various packages on mio TV, I noticed one thing similar with both pay-TV providers: Channels are grouped like racial segregation.

StarHub revised my plan some time ago. I was on the Ultimate Pack, which gave me most of the channels. I was told that the plan would be revised to let me keep the channels it thinks I would want to watch, take away those it thinks I am not likely to watch anyway and give me a few more. The revised plan would cost about the same, after throwing in a discount to match the previous price plan.

In the exact words (more or less) of the StarHub representative: "You get all your current Chinese channels, we add one more Chinese movie channel, and we take away all the Indian and Malay channels." Even the Japanese and French were not spared because I also lost NHK and TV5 Monde Asie.

Checking up on Singtel's mio TV price plans, I could not help noticing that the main packages were named SuperSaver English Pack, SuperSaver Chinese Pack and SuperSaver Indian Pack.

It made me imagine the day the $110 TV licence fee we pay annually to watch "free" channels is revised such that Chinese Singaporeans pay a certain amount for Channel 8 and Channel U, Malay Singaporeans are charged a different amount for Suria and Indian Singaporeans have their rate for Vasantham.

I remember in 1963 when television made its debut in Singapore and there was only one channel. All Singaporeans were united in watching programmes in all languages.

Chinese viewers got to enjoy Bollywood movies and sandiwara, while the Malays and Indians joined in the fun to watch the Chinese movies.

Those old enough would remember sitting or standing in front of the TV set from Majulah Singapura in the early evening to Majulah Singapura around midnight when transmission ended. In between, we were all united in enjoying whatever show was on, in any language.

One show even gave all of us a chance to learn each other's languages. That was the programme to promote the national language, Malay. Every word or phrase was translated into English, Chinese and Tamil — the other three official languages.

For instance, if our mother tongue was Chinese, this national language lesson would teach us what a certain word or phrase was in Malay or Tamil.

Then we started getting more channels, including Malaysian TV, and family members at home and fellow constituents at the community centre would quarrel over who got to watch what.

These days, one thing that might unite viewers regardless or race, language or religion is sports, especially football.

But, again, I am seeing a link between the distant past, when we had just one channel and very few homes had a TV set, and the present day in which many homes have a few TV sets each but may not have Champions League and BPL channels.

When very few homes had a TV set, the privileged ones would invite neighbours into their homes to watch some shows. For free, of course.

These days, though, some people might instead think of charging others to watch football and other sports on their pay-TV.

Watch out, Big Brother's watching

2009-10-08T10:46:00Z

Hazlin Hassan on bad S'porean drivers in M'sia and a system meant to stop them.

IN KUALA LUMPUR

A NEW system to be implemented here soon could see more Singaporeans paying fines for traffic offences.

Rightly or wrongly, Singaporeans have the unfortunate image of being notorious drivers while on Malaysian roads.

During the long weekend of the Hari Raya celebrations last month, Malaysians took to the roads, to head back to their kampungs and for mini-breaks.

And so did many Singaporeans.

Whether you were on the highway heading north to Penang, or south towards Malacca, one could not help but notice the many Singapore-registered cars alongside the Malaysian ones.

While the sight of Singaporean cars in the country could only mean that Singaporeans were helping in some way to boost the Malaysian economy, not all Malaysians were happy with their presence.

A few complained angrily in the blogosphere, saying that the Singaporean drivers drove like demons, went over the speed limit, tailgated dangerously, and parked at their whims and fancies. This seems to be a perennial problem, and not just exclusive to the Hari Raya period.

Many Malaysians see Singaporeans as driving badly every time they cross the Causeway.

One public relations executive complained on his Facebook account during Hari Raya: "Whenever Singaporeans enter Malaysia, they drive like mad, don't respect our traffic laws at all, especially on the North South Expressway (NSE). Shame on you!" he added.

A fund manager who drove from Kuala Lumpur to Malacca over the Hari Raya holidays said he saw Singapore-registered cars using the emergency lanes on the NSE to avoid the crawl. In Malacca, he saw them parked illegally, taking up an entire lane, while Singaporeans tucked into local specialty "satay celup" at a nearby restaurant.

One Singaporean who works here even admitted to me that he'd driven his car here last week with an expired road tax.

Some say Singaporeans drive badly here because they are unable to do so at home, due to strict enforcement.

Indeed it is hard to enforce traffic rules here, mainly due to a shortage of resources. Even Malaysians tend to flout traffic laws as they think they can get away with it. Drivers who park illegally, speed and sometimes even run a red light are common here. And that's just the cars. The motorcycles are even worse, with cyclists going the wrong way down a street, making illegal turns, not having working lights at night or even donning a helmet.

In any case, some Malaysians feel it is time to act tougher on errant Singaporean drivers. But it is not easy to enforce fines once they cross the Causeway back into the republic.

A traffic police officer who declined to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said that the Malaysian authorities were unable to post summonses to Singaporean addresses. "We haven't got authorisation to obtain the addresses of Singaporean offenders," he told The Straits Times.

At one time, there was a police unit in the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore, for Singaporeans to pay their summonses. But it only managed to last for one month. Singaporeans demanded photographic evidence of their offences but at the same time, did not want to go through the hassle of requesting and paying for the photos.

Still, Singaporeans who are determined to pay their summonses, can go to any police station in Johor and check their records, he said. And offenders who re-enter the country will be screened and stopped at Customs if they have any outstanding summonses.

But the system is evidently not perfect.

An estimated four out of 10 offenders from Singapore actually bother to pay their fines, he said.

But thanks to a new system, Singaporeans may not have to wait until a return trip to Malaysia, to be slapped with a summons.

"We are now starting to implement a new system, the Automated Enforcement System, that uses CCTV on the highways. So if you violate any laws, you can't escape," said the traffic cop.

With the CCTV, it will be easier to catch errant drivers, whether they are locals or foreigners. The cameras will zoom in on your registration number. And while a decision on the method of issuing summonses hasn't been finalised yet, fines will either be issued on-the-spot or on the way out of the country.

According to reports, the unmanned cameras will be located at at least 800 spots around the country.

The system, which is estimated to cost more than RM300 million (S$123 million) can detect drivers who beat traffic lights, overtake on the left or across double lines, tailgate, drive on the emergency lanes and even overload. At present, police use laser digital cameras which have to be manually operated. The drawback is that they cannot be used when it rains. And if three vehicles are speeding at the same time, the device can only capture one vehicle.

The AES has apparently already been used in the US, Britain and Australia.

But most Singaporeans probably need not worry, as they are generally civic-minded, and use seatbelts, said the officer.

"It's just that when they come here, they tend to drive a bit fast because the NSE is 966 kilometres long. In Singapore, they can't go that far on their highways."

Plenty self-belief, zero media savvy

2009-10-07T13:00:00Z

Melissa Pang describes her impressions of the controversial Ris Low.

THERE were more requests for pictures when Ris Low visited the newsroom yesterday than when Formula One driver Kazuki Nakajima received when he dropped by The Straits Times last month.

That's how "boomz" the former Miss Singapore World has become.

Work came to a temporary standstill as kaypohs emerged from their cubicles to sneak a glimpse of the dethroned beauty queen, who was here Tuesday night for an exclusive Razor TV interview.

Ris Low arrives at the Razor TV newsroom. With her is presenter Cheong Poh Kwan.
--- ALL ST PHOTOS BY TERENCE TAN

In it, the 19-year-old answers questions on every controversy that has dogged her since she first came under the negative glare of publicity.

And Ris still remained every bit as controversial.

The video featured the same shocking candidness (swiping stolen credit cards gave her a "thrill"), incoherence (she celebrated her one-month anniversary with her boyfriend by going on their first date -- HUH?), misuse of words ("sponsorers" and "evidences"), and bipolar versions of stories (first claiming she was single, then changing her tune by the end of the interview).

Ris's poise never wavered, and she kept her posture ramrod straight throughout the interview.

This time, however, instead of laughing and feeling disbelief at her foot-in-mouth comments, I walked away with the impression that Ris is simply naive - almost to a fault. She does not seem to realise the repercussions from her words and actions, and she seems oblivious to the negativity surrounding her - whether from a real lack of concern or awareness, it is hard to tell. At times, she even came across as enjoying her infamy.

If she sought to improve her situation with the interview, it sowed little benefit.

To be fair though, there were some redeeming qualities to the MDIS student.

When asked how she felt about all the criticism levelled against her so far, she said they did not bother her much as she had "very high self-confidence". This self-confidence was mentioned again in reply to what she thought was most beautiful about her. It could have been a scripted inner-beauty type answer, but she said it so fiercely and with so much conviction, no one can doubt the amount of self-belief this girl has. To me, it revealed a sort of strength in character not found in many.

Ris tries to explain what "boomz" really means.

Off-air, Ris came across as sweet and rather pleasant, greeting everyone politely and sincerely, even apologising for making everyone wait despite being early. Her smile never left her face and she carried herself with plenty of confidence. Hints of what the judges might have liked about her showed through.

Furthermore, at the end of the interview, Ris patiently obliged everyone's requests for photos despite a looming 10pm curfew. She showed no sign of annoyance and even gamely agreed to sign "Boomz" on a colleague's Speak Good English Movement T-shirt. Before leaving the studio, she gave a slight bow and thanked everyone for their support.

Everyone wanted a picture with Ris.

Signing "Boomz" on a colleague's Speak Good English T-Shirt.

Said Ris when I asked if she felt victimised by the reports and criticisms: "Victimise me all you want. It has only made me stronger."

The brickbats may yet come flying her way again, but even if sticks and stones may break her bones, words certainly don't seem to hurt this girl.

Straitstimes.com editor Joanne Lee discusses why Ris is still a news story.

National pride is at stake

2009-10-07T07:10:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt says pageants should drop 'Singapore' from their names.

MISS Singapore World. Miss Singapore Universe.

They must be the top two beauty contests in Singapore for anyone aiming to sashay on and land a bigger prize on the global stage.

It is a nice quest to aim for but it's not linked only to the dreams of starry-eyed, pretty girls.

Nor does it concern only the pageant franchise-holder which stands to score bragging rights if its girl wins the grand finale.

The country's good name is also co-opted into this mission — even though the contests are not:
a. national projects,
b. backed by any major homegrown organisation,
c. and have almost zero involvement from members of the public on the selection process.

The plain fact is, if such contests are privately organised, and mostly devoid of publicity and heck-care from the public, should the winner's sash deserve to carry the Singapore name in the title?

After all, the contests are run by franchise-holders which see them as one way to generate money.

There is nothing wrong with this business model, of course, except that its end-result involves the image of Singapore.

They are sending someone abroad to fly our flag. Not just any flag but the Singapore flag.

The winner is called Miss Singapore World or Miss Singapore Universe, not Miss Lion City or Miss Sunny Island.

Who are the judges in these contests? What are the contestants judged on?

How much help does the winner get, in terms of snaring a decent budget for clothes and deportment classes, to put up a good fight abroad?

National pride is at stake.

We know of some countries which do spend quite a bit to back up their finalists.

No wonder then that the perception among many people in Singapore is that the calibre of contestants has dropped because many would-be participants are not sure what they are getting into.

So until the contests receive a big shot in the arm, in terms of financial support or backing by, say, the Singapore Tourism Board, and there is a way perhaps for the public to help choose the winner, a la Singapore Idol, we should take out the Singapore name from the beauty titles.

Read Joanne Lee's blog on why Ris Low's story is still news: Why Ris is still a news story

Read Nicholas Yong's blogs on the on-going saga of former Miss Singapore World, Ris Low:
What does 'boomz' really mean?
To boomz or not to boomz...

Read more about Ris Low: Ris has a boyfriend

Why Ris is still a news story

2009-10-06T14:58:00Z

Joanne Lee discusses why the former Miss Singapore World is still a headline.

NEWS on former beauty pageant winner Ris Low hit the Internet like a storm again today when she appeared in a district court for a probationary hearing on over sixty charges including credit card fraud last year.

And yes, it is "news".

The ex-Miss Singapore World has been fodder for public attention since a much-circulated Razor TV video clip started making the rounds as part of the beauty contest's media hoopla. The reason: Her heavily-accented Singlish, interview answers and coining of the (since widely-used) adjective "boomz".

The video of the 19-year-old "went viral", as they say in the online world, and both the original video and subsequent copies on YouTube literally exploded all over social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and blogs. Her barely-understandable diction and shockingly-frank replies were commented on by hordes who sent it out to their friends, who sent it out to their friends, who sent it out to their friends.

Then, the newspapers found out that she had been charged with credit card fraud and dismissed by her former employer, when she was a medical clinic assistant, and she was forced last week to give up the crown.

Everyone was fascinated at the video clip, aghast at the fraud charges and riveted by the abandoned crown. The term "Ris Low" was even a trending topic on Twitter for hours the day she gave up the crown - a reflection of the Internet buzz on that microblogging website alone.

Now, however, public interest is splintering. While many are still curious, a few are saying: The girl is not news, anymore. Move on.

Critics are accusing the media of picking on Ris by digging out the information on the fraud charges.

Said 'shioshio' on ST.com yesterday: "She made lots of mistakes but local media spare no effort to keep bashing her, which i think is over doing it."

More vehemently on Twitter, 'lucian' said: "@stcom Please leave Ris Low alone, you low-life scum."

Now that she's given up her crown, people are asking who is she and why is she still getting all the newspaper inches and broadcast headlines.

Well, the answer is simple: Remove the gown and crown, and people are still interested in the unfolding details of a teenager who has caught everyone's imagination. It's a riches-to-rags story of someone who was, undoubtedly, looking for fame - but instead found infamy.

Is it news? You bet.

What is news after all? Conventional journalism training defines it as information that is of interest to as wide a public as possible. It boils down to: Not "dog bites man", but "man bites dog". If it's a man who almost represented the country, all the more reason it is news.

Throw in an event organiser's bungled attempt at damage control, a cat fight between the dethroned beauty queen and her possible pageant replacement, someone defending the 60-odd charges with a defence built on bipolar disorder, and Miss Low has been a news item that undeniably meets the definition above.

The social impact of it all, meanwhile, has been a story in itself. And it's a developing one too.

Many a Singaporean I've spoken to recently has told me they've learnt a great deal apart from the details of Miss Low's pre-pageant doings. Namely, how a hitherto unknown teenager went from complete obscurity to word-of-the-day practically overnight because of online video sharing, Facebook updates and Twitter.

"You mean the 'boomz' video was when she wasn't even Miss Singapore World yet? You mean all this was available to the whole world before she was even chosen to represent Singapore? You mean people were watching it even before it was in the newspapers here?"

Yes. Yes. Oh yes!

Not a few went on to express views ranging from "the participants should all get media training" to "the organiser should be responsible if they are putting these kids up to represent the country". As a result of such discussion, people are now talking about standards of spoken English/Singlish, the culture among the youth of "it's all about me" (quote-unquote Miss Low) and even the effects of mental health conditions like bipolar disorder.

That's impact and it is all that due to a news story that started online then spread to the offline world - a trend that usually occurs the other way. The Ris Low story has become a very local case-study of the reach of online social media with implications yet to be absorbed by news makers and their managers.

Is it news? Yes, and in more ways than one. In a word (that I'll never use again), it's boomz.

Read Nicholas Yong's blog entries: To boomz or not to boomz and What does 'boomz' really mean?

Read also:
Ris has to retake exam
Not allowed to shop alone

A square Miele

2009-10-02T22:36:00Z

Yen Feng is let down by the latest edition of an Asian food guide.

A PARADE of penguins and peacocks came to feast on Wednesday at this year's launch of The Miele Guide, an Asia-based restaurant guide.

The fashion, strictly black-tie for men and bejeweled gowns for women, suited the event fine. Regrettably, the food was far less stellar.

Which is sort of a downer, especially when The Miele Guide is trying to establish itself as a credible Asian alternative to restaurant-guide stars like the American Zagats and the French Michelin.

Now in its second edition, the annual handbook is backed by some of Asia's best-known restauranteurs and critics.

Among whom is Mr Aun Koh, director of the guide’s publisher Ate Media and the "hubby"-half of Singapore’s top food blog, Chubby Hubby.

Mr Koh told me at the event's after-party, held at Fullerton Hotel's Post Bar: "Zagats is more of a local guide; and Michelin's focus is on fine dining. With Miele, we're trying for the in-between."

That may explain the "in-between" food I tasted at the launch party, held in the hotel's ritzy Grand Ballroom.

The first course was a shrimp-artichoke veloute from Mr Takashi Kimura of the Saga Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur.

The veloute, a velvety white sauce, was rightfully flavorful but lacked restraint and drowned the artichokes.

Served a la dollop in a martini glass, the dish might have been better served as amuse-bouche, rather than starter.

The seared cod with seafood ragout that followed came from Mr Rahul Akerkar of Mumbai restaurant, Indigo.

Buttery flesh, crispy skin, a sweet-and-sour side.

It was okay. Or as my Uncle Bernie in Paris would say: "It was correct."

Two locally based chefs came next: Mr Diego Martinelli of Fullerton dressed up a grilled pork cheek with kai lan, pumpkin puree and ginger.

Ms Janice Wong of Holland Village's 2am:dessertbar, plated a colorful mix of guava, lemongrass and yuzu.

Altogether, the fare was fine, but uninspired. None of the above chefs made it into the guide's top 20.

Those who did were of expected pedigree.

Celebrated French chef Joel Robuchon took three honours: the first, third and 20th spots with his restaurants in Hong Kong, Macau and Tokyo.

His protégé Andre Chiang of Jaan par Andre at the Swissotel placed fourth.

Joining Mr Chiang from Singapore, Iggy's took home the silver. The fifth and seventh spots went to Les Amis and Gunther’s respectively.

The dinner might have made more of an impression had these chefs put on their aprons instead of tuxes for the evening.

But a meal of sub-20 standard is the least of what critics may question regarding The Miele Guide's judgement.

To compile the guide, Miele, a kitchen appliances giant in Germany, asked a team of 85 journalists in Asia to nominate which restaurants they thought were the best in their respective countries.

Ordinary, everyday customers were then invited to vote online among the 1,054 restaurants shortlisted.

A separate jury of 1,500 industry professionals cast their votes as well.

The guide's ambition to present to its readers a middle ground between specialist and general tasters is well-intentioned: Michelin is often criticized for serving an audience out of touch with the hoi polloi, while Zagats' reviews lack the authority of the industry’s tastemakers.

But there is a point to assembling a team of travelling experts, or having locals critique their city's restaurants.

The Miele Guide claims to be "Asia's first authoritative and independent" guide, but because its 450 shortlisted restaurants span 16 countries in Asia, only about 25 restaurants were personally visited by its writers.

Content for the other 425 restaurants was pulled together from reviews published elsewhere. That explains why none of them were scored.

As for being an authority in Asia, its take on restaurants in Japan – as one of the region's top culinary nations – comes up short.

Only three Japanese restaurants made it to the top 25.

The bias is understandable. When Michelin tried to give their famous stars to Tokyo's chefs last year, many were unimpressed, despite the French guide hiring a team of Japanese restauranteurs to serve as judges.

As a result, many excellent but tiny, two-table-type restaurants tucked away in Tokyo remain undiscovered – at least, by eager guide-toting tourists.

In a world where paperback guides are losing readers to the Internet, and consumers are increasingly wary of having taste dictated to them, one wonders how relevant The Miele Guide will be to today's everyday food enthusiasts.

For now, I think not at all.

Without a more persuasive survey methodology, or dedication to independent detective work, the guide's supporters will likely leave, as the men and women did their dinner tables at its launch, wanting more.

Editor's note: Yen Feng is a graduate of culinary arts at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. He has dined at several top restaurants in New York, Paris and Singapore.

Correction: A previous version of this blog reported Chef Andre's first name as Adrian. Apologies.

The real meaning of Children’s Day

2009-10-01T22:43:00Z

Samuel He is touched by the kids at Haven Children's Home.

AS A child, I never appreciated Children's Day beyond the fact that it meant a day away from school, but an assignment to photograph disadvantaged children on Oct 1 has changed my opinion.

The Haven Children's Home, takes care of about 40 abused, abandoned or neglected children and teenagers.

The children were allowed to continue riding their bicycles at the Haven's compound after lunch. At three o'clock they will have to finish duties like cleaning their sleeping areas, then return to their books, to study for the coming exams. PHOTO: Samuel He

An average day at the centre, which is managed by the Salvation Army, will see the children returning home after school to have lunch and a short break.

At 3 o'clock, they do simple duties like cleaning up their living spaces and then their schedules rotate between play-time and study sessions until its time to go to bed.

But today was different.

A late wake-up call signalled the arrival of Children's Day.

A mini-bus then arrived at 9am and whisked 12 of the primary-school aged children to West Coast Park for a session of roller-blading and cycling.

Kids playing a game of scissors, paper, stone to decide who gets to go first on the bicycles. PHOTO: Samuel He

A boy builds sandcastles at a sand-pit. He stayed away from the rest of the children, who were cycling and roller-blading, during the whole outing at West Coast Park. PHOTO: Samuel He

To top it off, they were treated to a fast food meal.

A resident counts the number of packets of french fries at the Mcdonald's counter at West Coast Park. School Holidays like Children's Day are one of the rare days where the kids are treated to outings and a fast food meal. Most of these occasions are possible because of sponsors. The home superintendent's army buddy paid for this meal for the kids. PHOTO: Samuel He

I was given the opportunity to join them on their excursion, on the condition that my pictures did not show their faces.

Home superindendent Peter Khoo, 44, says that with the exam period nearing, he is supposed to be "drilling them for exams", but "we try to make Children's Day special for them".

During the three short hours I spent with these children, I hardly noticed the presence of pain under all that glee, induced by the tough workout in the park and cheeseburgers in their bellies.

But my conversations with Mr Khoo and some of the 'House Parents' (who fufill parental roles for the children in the Haven), revealed shocking stories about physical abuse and cases where social workers have to "remind parents that they have children here".

Seeing how this day offered these children a reprieve from their troubles made it a lot more meaningful to me.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

A resident, with roller skates in hand, kicks a ball at West Coast Park. He lives in The Haven with two of his siblings because of the risk of abuse. PHOTO: Samuel He

Children returned to their residence at The Haven with Mcdonald's balloons in tow. PHOTO: Samuel He

To boomz or not to boomz...

2009-10-01T08:34:00Z

Nicholas Yong is still fascinated by the on-going Ris Low saga.

THE sounds of 'boomz' this and 'boomz' that were spouted on Singapore Idol the other night confirmed it for me: 'boomz' is here to stay, and you better get used to it.

I raised the point last week, with a blog entry on the word 'boomz', What does 'boomz' really mean?.

I suggested, tongue firmly in cheek, that Ris Low was an artist who created the word in a sudden burst of creative endeavour, then intentionally left its meaning unclear to mystify us all.

I added that the all-purpose word would eventually come to mean all things to all men (though a friend mischievously suggested that 'boomz' might well be the sound of prison gates clanging shut, given Ms Low's recently unearthed history).

Predictably enough, more than a few readers misunderstood the intended irony of the blog post. Some accused me of promoting bad English, while others spoke of Ms Low in terms usually reserved for convicted criminals.

Notwithstanding the fact that she has actually been convicted in a court of law (though this may well have had something to do with her unfortunate bipolar condition), it was all enough to make my head go boomz.

But one reader hit the nail on the head with the following observation:

" 'Boomz' defies a standard definition and can be used by all and sundry for every circumstance. The genius of Ris Low is that she has created a word that can mean anything to anyone. All the great words that enter our cultural lexicon have this unmistakable 'every-man' appeal."

Sure enough, Ms Low validated this point in her now famous Sunday Times interview: "If I cannot find the right word, I'll just go 'boom'! I have no idea where that comes from. It's like a comic book effect."

While it would be a stretch of anyone's imagination to acknowledge her as a genius, it must be said: There aren't that many people who can get everyone quoting them with just one soundbite.

Even though Ms Low is undoubtedly a polarising figure, she has arguably had a lasting impact on popular culture here. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter already bear the mark of her imprints (or should that be 'impreence'?)

So I daresay that, sooner or later, someone is going to use 'boomz' in an advertising campaign. This will then be followed by the obligatory, and no doubt prolonged, agonised soul-searching over the standard of English in our country.

Then, like the ugly step-child we had initially refused to acknowledge, we will grow to love it and embrace it. Before you know it, tourism campaigns will be urging visitors to visit our boomz island and help the economy go boomz.

Then the day will come when we will reach out, and come together to unveil our National Day slogan: Singapore Boomz!

In all seriousness, there is no doubt that standard English is important. But new words are being invented every day, intentionally or otherwise, and who is to say which are valid and which are not?

So let the debate about bad English, standard English and Singlish go on.

At the end of the day, the thankless task of improving the standard of English in this country will fall to our tireless teachers, who can only do so much.

Personally, I can't wait to see how the use of the word evolves. In fact, I'm feeling pretty boomz about it.

Take advantage of the evenings

2009-09-30T07:24:00Z

Loh Keng Fatt suggests night time events for the Youth Olympic Games.

I WENT to the Singapore Grand Prix last Sunday and totally lapped up the turbocharged entertainment value.

I am not really an F1 fanatic so I had at best a passing interest in the action on the tracks as the cars whizzed by in their high-pitch glory.

Actually, my attention was mostly riveted by other stuff happening round me.

A big draw was the timing - at night - which made for a pleasant sporting excursion. The lucky organisers also had a free backdrop of lit skyscrapers and twinkling stars in the sky.

A nice gentle breeze swirled in from Marina Bay whose waters were dotted with luxury yachts.

There was magic in the air and everything coalesced in a stirring mix of sight, sound and lights.

Which makes me think — given our heat and humidity — more outdoor sporting events in Singapore should really be held at night.

That's also when most people are free to come and watch, and the cooler air does not sap the sportsmen too much, guaranteeing better performances.

A few months ago, I caught a couple of football matches at the Asian Youth Games in the afternoon. The heat was stifling even though I was at the covered grandstands in Jalan Besar Stadium.

Next year, the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) will roll round, and the winning sports entertainment formula from the F1 race should be replicated.

Can outdoor events — especially those on weekends — be held at night for athletics, football and so on?

Our stadia already come with floodlights so the infrastructure is there. And our transport system runs late into the night to fetch the crowds home.

The cost of lighting will be higher but so would ticket receipts. And it's always good to get a bigger cheering crowd than have pockets of people scattered in the stands.

The cooler night air also brings lifestyle opportunities.

The grounds outside the stadia can host concerts, parties or food fests — certainly on weekends — after the sports is done for the day or night.

The F1 event came with exclusive parties and gigs. I am sure we can get sports celebs and former sports greats to grace the YOG too.

Singaporeans love the big names. When basketball star Kobe Bryant came recently, a full house thronged the Indoor Stadium to watch him shoot hoops.

People must be made to feel excited about more than what’s at play in the sports arena.

The competition to engage their patronage is fierce — given the plethora of options — but as the F1 formula shows, a lot can be done to rev up interest.

Folks overseas also need more reasons to come here and give the economy a fillip.

Which means the YOG cannot be mostly a standalone sports event.

Make it a grander celebration, make it a feast for the senses and Singapore will surely score a gold in sports entertainment.

Do you think more sporting events should be held at night? Leave your comments below.