The Straits Times Blogs - Most Commented

Where was the noise, Lions fans?

2008-12-21T23:14:00Z

Terrence Voon says local fans lacked passion at last night's AFF semi-final.

AS THE Lions sank to an unlikely semi-final defeat in the AFF Suzuki Cup against Vietnam last night, it wasn't just the strikers who disappointed.

The famous Kallang Roar, which has reduced many a visiting player to a quivering bundle of nerves, had inexplicably gone missing.

Yes, a staggering 48,000 fans had made the trip to the National Stadium, but their sheer number only made the silence more galling.

Where was the stamping of feet, the incessant catcalls, the non-stop cheers?

Where was the noise, Lions fans?

"It was as if they were watching a movie," said one official after the game. "We're glad that so many fans came, but the level of noise still can't match the Malaysia Cup days."

Indeed, the likes of Fandi Ahmad and Quah Kim Song would have found the atmosphere last night slightly alien.

Older fans will remember that Kallang was a fortress, not just on the pitch, but in the terraces. Players drew an extra yard, and extra ounce from strength, from the sheer passion emanating from the stands.

No air horns and inflatable clappers were required in those halcyon days, when enough sound was generated to shake the very foundations of the stadium.

Ironically, it all started so well last night, as the pre-match national anthem was belted out with so much gusto that goosebumps appeared on many a journalist's arm in the press room.

But as the match went on, it was as if someone had pressed the mute button.

The cheering became sporadic, reaching audible heights only Singapore came close to scoring.

Even the Kallang Wave made only a few half-hearted rounds, before it finally died a natural death.

In the end, it was the 3,000 Vietnamese fans who nearly stole the show, with their non-stop songs and chants overpowering the vast majority of home fans.

Of course, not everyone took that lying down. There were pockets of Singapore die-hards scattered around the stadium, giving their lungs a good go, but they were chasing a lost cause.

It would be unfair to expect Singapore fans to match their English counterparts, whose wide repertoire of football songs and hymns are put on rewind for nearly all of the 90 minutes.

But a little more passion wouldn't have hurt, especially when the chips are down and our boys on the pitch desperately needed a little more inspiration.

Surely we're not a bunch supporters who only sing when we're winning?

Life on Myanmar's biofuels plantations

2008-12-10T07:42:00Z

Jessica Cheam shares her insight on Myanmar's sunrise biofuels industry.

AS A clean energy reporter, I often write about new developments in technologies such as solar and biofuels, but seldom get the chance to get up close and personal with the actual process.

But just a couple of months back, I was given the opportunity to get my hands dirty, literally, when I was invited to visit a jatropha plantation in - Myanmar.

It couldn't have been a more unlikely destination, and it almost didn't happen because of cyclone Nargis. But fortunately, the damage done to the plantation was reparable and I finally made it to Myanmar where for the first time, where I could touch the plant, seeds, fruits, that I often wrote about. And spoke to the people who made it happen.

So let me give you the context of my visit: Biofuels is an industry that is both full of promise and controversy.

Singapore has a number of biofuels refineries itself, and the EDB has singled the sector as one of the key renewable energy areas important to Singapore's economy.

But on one hand, while biofuels is a key player in the world's future energy mix - one that is renewable and can make our transport fuels cleaner, its development can also lead to deforestation as it competes with food crops for arable land if not managed sustainably.

Amidst this raging debate on the sustainability of biofuels, a second generation of feedstock has emerged - one that uses non-food crops. The jatropha plant, algae, wood mass from plant waste have been singled out as some promising "fuels of the future" as they don't compete with food and can grow in hardy conditions or exist abundantly in other locations.

In Asia, many countries have particularly caught on the jatropha "fever", with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar planting its seed extensively in the hope of riding on the wave of this sunrise industry.

But these feedstocks are also not without its risks. Most are relatively under-researched, and no one knows if full-scale commercial applications of using such feedstocks to make biofuel will be successful yet.

So it is with all these considerations that I went with my eyes wide open to visit the 100,000 acre estate at Maw Tin, in south Myanmar, to get a better understanding of how the industry and this particular feedstock works.

And my experience did not disappoint.

I was happy to learn that biofuels can be cultivated sustainably and responsibly if planned for, right at the beginning.

The plantation was eco-friendly and completely self-sufficient. It had the hallmarks of Singaporean planning and efficiency, if I might say so. And not surprisingly, it had a Singapore connection.

The plantation is the work of Singapore-listed firm Yoma Strategic Holdings, which has a unit, Plantation Resources, which manages and sells produce from this estate in partnership with a local Myanmese firm called Myanmar Agri-Tech.

The plantation has a 650-strong community, mostly local farmers, who go about planting the seeds, harvesting them, sorting the seeds out, and then re-planting them again. When I spoke to Myanmese farm worker Thin Thin Khing, she tells me of her days in the fields.

Six days a week, working from 6.30am to 11am, then 1 to 4pm. Days off for the 29-year-old are spent relaxing with her co-workers in Pathein city, less than half an hour away. She's worked on the farm for more than a year now.

Before this, she says, she had never worked before, and was mainly doing housework for her family. Now, she earns about US$45 (54,000 kyat - the local currency pronounced like "chut") a month - above the national average of US$30.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided on the farm, prepared by cooks who live on the plantation. Their food is also produced on the estate, where beans, rice, vegetables and even domestic animals such as goats and pigs are reared for consumption.

Power for the plantation comes from burning biomass (rice husks) and water is pumped from underground, making the entire plantation almost carbon neutral, save for the diesel used to power vehicles. I even spotted the kids of the farmers riding a baby elephant, which they had tamed from the wild, now used to do menial physical work on the plantation.

I visited the workers' quarters and the kampong-like huts where children and parents of the plantation workers - three generations of a family - were living together in a cosy village setting. It was all very "harmonious" living - nature, wild life, and humans, all on this plantation.

I was impressed to see the degree of planning involved in the plantation, especially how the way it was run sharply contrasted the reports from NGOs that have surfaced on how the Myanmar government's jatropha drive has backfired on itself.

Organisations such as the Ethnic Community Development Forum allege that Myanmar's junta have used forced labour or confiscated land in some locations. And has directed the entire nation of farmers to plant jatropha wherever they can, without fully understanding the climatic conditions needed to cultivate the plant successfully.

Chief executive of Myanmar Agri-Tech, Mr Frankie Tan, who oversees all of Yoma's plantations, notes that the junta’s drive has got “good intentions” but lacks a clear roadmap. Farmers are told to plant the seeds, but there is no system to collect them, and also – no refinery to convert the seeds into refined biodiesel.

This is where Yoma's chief executive Serge Pun, a Myanmar-born tycoon who made his fortune in real estate developments across Asia, wants to play a part.

He told me that he hoped Yoma's farm would be a model example for the rest of the country to follow.

When sourcing land for the plantation, Mr Pun gave strict instructions not to use arable land meant for food. The whole estate was also designed to be self-sufficient, it has an office on site and workers’ quarters for the farmers and their families. It's important for the firm to “do things right and sustainably” if it wanted to be a long-term player in the jatropha market, he said.

And now, Yoma is expanding by implementing a contract farming strategy which will make it the biggest jatropha seed collector in Myanmar. This will possibly salvage the current situation in Myanmar where farmers are stuck with jatropha seeds, but no buyers.

And there's more in the pipeline. Yoma is planning to build a biodiesel refinery in partnership with a major Korean biofuels supplier, Enertech. It will be three miles from Maw Tin, along the Yangon River, and will facilitate both domestic use and export of the biofuel - something that might save Myanmar from spending millions of its foreign reserves on fuel imports ( a top reason why Myanmar's government have embraced jatropha in such a big way). Mr Pun, who has been doing business in Myanmar for 18 years, is bullish about jatropha’s prospects, despite its critics - which is why Yoma has pumped in US$6 million into their jatropha operations in the country so far.

And from what I saw, I'm convinced biofuels can be a sustainable business if done right. The challenge is putting the regulations and/or private sector initiatives in place such that this can be ensured.

When this is achieved, a true win-win situation will benefit all parties involved - and the environment. We'll have a world with fuels that are cleaner, companies that can make a profit supplying it, and a nation of farmers who might find that a seed could be their ticket out of poverty.

Small but not that sellable

2008-12-11T13:10:00Z

Stephanie Gwee on why notebooks that have shrunk will see shrinking sales.

IT DOESN'T take a rocket scientist to predict that the American IT market has come to a full stop, after the recession reared its ugly head globally. Already, research firm IDC has forecasted that infocomm technology spending in the US will fall from 4.2 per cent per annum to 0.9 per cent in 2009.

In Asia-Pacific, IT will slowdown from 9.5 per cent to 5.8 per cent or US$196 billion (S$296 billion) in 2009.
Most of the growth will be in emerging markets like China and Vietnam where businesses would need IT to cut costs and reach customers more effectively, said IDC’s analyst Mr Claus Mortensen, who focuses on emerging technologies research.

Another major forecast from IDC is that netbooks or the ultra-mobile PCs – those small notebook computers with screens of 10-inches and less – will have its last gasp this festive season.

For gift buyers, it is the newest thing to give loved ones, children and friends instead of the tried and tested presents like iPods and digital cameras, said IDC’s senior manager of Asia/Pacific Personal Systems Research.

However, netbooks are likely to lose popularity even though they are affordable at $800 or less each.

As consumers’ wallets shrink, they’re likely to give netbooks a miss, preferring to squeeze out a few more hundred dollars to get full-featured notebook computers.

Netbooks’ disadvantage is that they’re small and good for email but not for intensive computing tasks like spreadsheets and gaming.

Stephanie Gwee is an intern with Digital Life

First to hit Level 80? Sshhhh...

2008-12-24T16:00:00Z

Chua Hian Hou weighs the pros and cons of admitting you're a gamer.

APPARENTLY, sharing your devotion to games like World of Warcraft (WoW) and EverQuest with a headhunter isn’t necessarily the best way to score a new job.

Earlier this month, a technology reporter recounted a conversation between himself and a recruiter friend on gaming message board F13, in which the latter said a client had told him to avoid candidates who play WoW.

This conversation has since spawned dozens of follow-up articles from sites like the BoingBoing to the Times of London.

Many of the biggest fans of these games are, unsurprisingly, indignant over the alleged discrimination.

What may be surprising, however, is the number of gamers who have acknowledged that there is basis for such employer behaviour, going by their own gaming experiences.

For many of us who grew up playing games like WoW, EverQuest and their ilk, the heart of the issue – that hardcore gamers who play all night and then surf gaming sites in the office often don’t make the model employees – really isn’t a huge surprise.

This doesn’t apply to everybody, of course.

I’m sure there are some truly casual online gamers who play 20 minutes a day from the time they click “sign-up” to when they hit the “quit” button - although I’ve yet to meet such a player in 15 years of online gaming.

And yes, there were periods when I was playing far too much myself – making me a less-than-ideal candidate for operating heavy machinery or calculating complex mathematical formulas.

Do I regret this?

Well, I certainly could had used the time I spent collecting magic swords and gold improving my Mandarin or exercising.

But it wasn’t all wasted time, and studies have shown that online games like these can teach skills from leadership to project management.

Well, I don’t know about leadership and project management, but my computer skills definitely went up several notches trying to learn how to play MUDs (multi-user dungeons, the text-based predecessor of online games like WoW).

More recently, I learned something of the psychology of stock market trading, via playing the virtual economy in games like EverQuest 2, to the point that my character was, for several months last year, the fifth richest character on his server. Hopefully, this learning will translate to real life gains in the stock market IRL (in real life).

But the most important lesson I learned while dragon-slaying is self-control.

I’ve gone to the addiction abyss and hurled myself in - and managed to climb back out again.

That day - over a decade ago today – was when I finally realised how addicted I was and quit for good.

"For good" didn't last very long, however, and I eventually picked up gaming again.

But online games had lost the strangle-hold they had over me.

And I suspect the lessons I’ve learned from that episode will stand me in good stead when confronted by other lures life throws at me.

Read the full report on employers attitude towards gamers by Chua Hian Hou, Level 72 Templar, in The Straits Times today.

A nightmare of a rescue

2008-12-26T09:11:00Z

Carolyn Quek re-lives the traumatic rescue of those trapped on the Flyer.

FOR those at the Singapore Flyer looking on from the ground, the sight of passengers being winched down from the capsules certainly was surreal, like a scene from a disaster movie.

But for those trapped inside the cabins, it was their worst nightmare come true.

One passenger, a 42-year-old Singaporean I spoke to via mobile phone, described the mood inside his cabin in one word: Fear.

Trapped at least 12 storeys above the ground, he said he may have been the army in his time, but there was no way he was going to abseil down.

Then there was the husband of a 75-year-old elderly woman who was so worried he could not eat his dinner. Also 75, he was dead set against his wife being lowered to safety that way.

"I rather her stay inside there until they get the wheel moving again," he said.

In all, 11 brave souls went through the three-minute ordeal that night - and the public got to share the moment with the last six who were rappelled down from a location more visible than the first five.

Each time one was brought to safety, the crowd of worried family members, members of the public and journalists errupted in cheers and applause.

Many of us were horrified enough to imagine being trapped inside the Singapore Flyer for more than six hours, but to be rescued in that manner must have been even more traumatic.

Fingers crossed; such an event won't happen again. But hopefully if it comes to that in future, more considerate measures will then be in place to rescues those who do not - and can not - be brought to safety in that way.

Microsoft, please release Windows 7

2008-12-29T08:06:00Z

Sherwin Loh makes the case for an early release of the operating system.

I GAVE my younger sister my old laptop for Christmas. Despite about my re-gifting nature aside, she was happy that it had Wi-Fi and a DVD burner and was pre-loaded with a bunch of software like Microsoft Office and anti-virus programs.

But the thing that made her the happiest was that it was running on Windows XP.

After almost two years of using Windows Vista on her desktop, she still can't get used to the resource-draining and system-resource-heavy Vista operating system. Like many around the world, she prefers its predecessor, Windows XP.

If it's not due to user preference and demand, why else would Microsoft recently extend the shelf life of XP to May next year, from its original Jan 2009 deadline, itself a date that has been extended several times, since Vista's debut in 2007?

But if you look at the May 2009 deadline for XP, it seems a perfect time for the company to launch its latest Windows 7 OS.

Short of admitting Vista's faults outright at the Professional Developer's Conference (PDC) in October, Microsoft explained that the upcoming Windows 7 takes a back-to-basic approach to its operating system.

Most of the upgrades to Windows 7, or rather changes, unveiled at PDC, made an impression to the audience, myself included, and the only bad news was that Windows 7 was only coming out in late 2009.

Those few more months won't be enough to convince users that Vista is worth the effort and unless it is prepared to extend the kill-date for Windows XP again, why can't Microsoft bite the bullet and release Windows 7 already?

It's not as though there is a tight veil of secrecy surrounding Windows 7, which offers touch screen interface, more network connectivity features and is less system hungry. Steven Sinofsky, senior vice-president of Windows and Windows Live presented his copy of Windows 7 at PDC, running on a netbook. The product cannot be secret any more when several hundreds of us attending PDC saw the software at work.

Copies of Windows 7 beta are expected to be made available at CES 2009 (Consumers Electronics Show) next month (Jan) and if you know how to, beta kits for Windows 7 are already being traded on Bit Torrent file-sharing sites.

And the best news Microsoft is really happy about is that early reviews for Windows 7 are glowing compared to Vista. I have been using it since October and even though it was an earlier release, I found it simpler, faster and more intuitive.

If not for the fact that I was told the copy I was using is a beta unit, nothing about it (from any annoying limitations or pop-ups) identify it as lacking in any features.

Given that 2009 is the year analysts are predicting the rise of the smaller netbook, there is no doubt that Windows 7 will be a boon for Microsoft. So the earlier it releases the new program, the better for Microsoft and its users.

Because let's be honest – do we really want to continue using Windows XP, a software that was made in the last millennium and released way back in 2001?

I don't think so.

LIVE: Abhisit wins Thai PM vote

2008-12-15T05:02:00Z

Nirmal Ghosh blogs on the ground outside Parliament House.

In Bangkok

11 am: Minutes after Abhisit Vejjajiva won the vote & became 27th Prime Minister of Thailand the few hundred red shirts outside the gates flew into a frustrated rage, crashing yellow street barriers against the gates of parliament and hurling debris at police inside the fence.

MPs began exiting in cars thru a side gate at 11.30pm and cars were pelted with chunks of concrete as police struggled 2 clear a path.

11.50 am: It's lucky there are not more red shirts here. They are looking into cars to see who is in it and non-Puea Thai MPs are being mobbed, cars kicked and thumped, a big chunk of concrete crashed thru the rear window of 1 vehicle as it sped away.

1.00 pm: Puea Thai MPs are being given free passage. They have windows down and waving. Nasty attacks on non-puea thai -road littered with broken glass in the melee.

1.12 pm: A lot of the red shirts are women. Many of them are screaming and weeping hysterically. Police have reinforced and now form phalanx around the side gate to shield departing MPs.

1.38 pm: Red shirts now calling upon each other to gather at Sanam Luang. This is an outpouring of rage. Many motorcycle drivers using their Horns to make a racket.

Men throwing pictures of Abhisit on the road and stamping on them.

Still just short of around 500-odd though. We will have to wait and see what transpires at Sanam Luang.

1.40pm: The red shirts outside Parliament were giving free rides on motorcycles and taxis to anyone who wanted to go to Sanam Luang. But it is a hot day out there, and our gutsy intern Lee Xin En reports that the red shirts are sitting in the shade of the trees that fringe the sprawling ground.

The key may be this evening. What we have seen is a momentary burst of frustration and anger, and whether this is properly channeled and controlled - or dies down for a while - will spell out what is in store in coming days.

What the red shirt leaders say will be crucial; many know that it is not in the interest of the reds to run amok.

For Nirmal's full story, read tomorrow's edition of The Straits Times.

Realism? In a melodrama? Get real!

2009-01-06T07:11:00Z

Andy Chen discusses whether Little Nyonya's ending was true to life.

ROUGHLY one in three Singaporeans tuned in to the finale of the MediaCorp Channel 8 drama serial, Little Nyonya.

But not too many were happy with the ending.

Jeanette Aw's title character, Yueniang, did not enjoy a happily-ever-after ending with her prince charming, Chen Xi, played by Qi Yu Wu.

Instead, the Little Nyonya of Japanese and Chinese Peranakan descent abandons the love of her life, leaving him to think she died in a fire. Then she goes off to marry a British lawyer, probably in hopes of starting a United Colours of Benetton/United Nations DNA strand in her family gene pool.

Maybe she just preferred fusion food?
Source: Mediacorp

Apparently, the powers-that-be at Channel 8 thought it was a good ending. "Realistic" is how they described it. And they aren't necessarily wrong either.

In life, you don't always get what you want, and when you do a good deed like help your step-cousin escape from an arranged marriage, you could well end up raped, abused, impregnated, tortured and left for dead by a monster of a husband. That kind of things MUST happen all the time back in the old days. And THAT must surely be realistic.

I don't know what kind of life experiences the scriptwriters and drama producers have had (and I don't want to be presumptuous, in case some of them have had relatives who have been raped, abused, impregnated, tortured, forced to eat bugs, worms and rats, and then left for dead).

But realism flew the coop the moment an ageing matriarch played by Lin Meijiao could throw a 20-something Yueniang taller than herself into the sea from a ship as effortlessly munching an ang ku kueh. I mean, come on, even Pierre Png has to exert more energy coping his Chinese lines.

Even more "realistically", Yueniang survives, as does her young daughter who is also tossed into the ocean like last season's sarong kebaya.

The quest for realism must also be the reason Yueniang, always looking fetching in her thin, sheer Peranakan blouses, could remain a virgin for years, despite running around with a bunch of uneducated thugs. Must be something in the Peranakan food she feeds them that dampens their libido.

I could go on, but you get the point (even if the drama producers didn't).

This. Is. A. Melodrama.

It is why housewives and closet aunties tune in to watch this instead of following developments in the Gaza Strip on CNN. Give 'em either a romantic walk into the sunset or have EVERYONE go up in flames.

As the Chinese idiom goes: Tong gui yu jin. Romance or doom!

None of that half-assed "realistic" rubbish.

How do YOU think Little Nonya should have ended? Leave your comments here and take our poll!

Find the football hooligans

2008-12-26T09:12:00Z

Terrence Voon wants more done to find last Sunday's troublemakers.

IN THE aftermath of the fan violence following the Singapore-Vietnam Suzuki Cup semi-final match last Sunday, one sore point remains.

The hooligans who so brutally attacked the Vietnamese fans outside the National Stadium have escaped punishment for their actions.

As reports suggest, several Vietnamese fans were left with blood on their faces and other injuries. Their assailants, on the other hand, were free to go home after using rival fans as a post-match punching bag.

Despite a significant security presence in and around the stadium, no arrests were made. It is also believed that no police reports were lodged by the victims.

All this may mislead one to think crime does not necessarily lead to punishment - at least not during football games.

Granted, it is no easy task tracking down the guilty parties, especially if the victims don't speak out. The video clips of the clashes on YouTube, while damning, are just too blurry.

But instead of just looking at how to prevent similar incidents in the future, the authorities need to make a meaningful effort to find the attackers. The law should get tough on football violence, not least to serve as a deterrence.

Send the right message out, and potential hooligans will think twice about throwing a punch after a football match the next time.

See what readers have said on the matter at Terrence's previous entry here.

The great euthanasia debate

2008-12-12T22:00:00Z

Sandra Davie talks about the life and death issue.

THE Advance Medical Directive Act was passed in 1996 but so far only about 10,000 Singaporeans have signed the document to indicate that they do not want to be subjected to extraordinary life-sustaining treatment when they are dying.

The government is looking into how it can encourage more to consider the end-of-life issues and sign an AMD if they want the option.

I suspect the muted response so far to the AMD is a reflection of the reluctance on the part of Singaporeans to contemplate their own death.

When I asked my friends if I could ask their elderly, ailing parents about euthanasia, they shooed me away, saying that it was bad luck to talk about death.

My own elderly relatives avoided me when they found out that I was working on a special report on euthanasia.

But it is a debate that we have to have sooner rather than later.

The reality is that Singapore faces a fast ageing population. By 2030, one in five will have reached the age of 60.

The majority will at some point face a terminal illness and the modern medicine can confirm the diagnosis and help one manage the symptoms, but not provide the cure.

I admit, euthanasia is a highly charged emotive issue. It is an issue that most certainly divides a room

But after talking to several people, both from the pro and anti euthanasia camps, there is no right and wrong in this issue.

We may feel that it goes against some fundamental belief on the sanctity of human life, but when faced with someone racked with with continuous severe pain and suffering, knowing that there is no cure in sight, our views may change.

Most Singaporeans I polled on the issue are fence-sitters. They say they are against legalising euthanasia for now, but at the same time would like to have such an option available when they are faced with a long-drawn out painful illness.

The instinctive response to disallow euthanasia is due to the fear of uncharted territory. Many are fearful of allowing euthanasia or physician assisted suicide because of the abuses it can lead to.

I agree the right to die debate is a maze with many twists and turns that lead to an ethical no man's land.

How does one ensure that patients opting for euthanasia are truly informed, that their outlook is hopeless and that others aren't deciding their life has lost its value?

What of someone whose death isn’t imminent but wants to die anyway?

If we are going to debate this issue then we must accommodate divergent, deeply held personal beliefs.

Whatever the answer, it requires a full and informed debate.

It is after all, a matter of life and death.

Read more from Sandra Davie in this week's edition of the Straits Times Saturday Special report.

What is that again, Mr Hu?

2008-12-31T04:19:00Z

Peh Shing Huei on three words set to become China's 2009 catchphrase.

In Beijing

IT IS not easy being a government translator in China. At almost all official press conferences and events, a Chinese-English translator would be around, required instantly to bridge the gap between the Chinese officials and the foreign journalists.

Most of the time, they do a fairly decent job. But a recent phrase from Chinese president Hu Jintao had translators, foreign media and even academics, flummoxed.

During a commemorative event to celebrate 30 years of China's reform and opening up policy on Dec 18, Mr Hu took a rare break from official speak and used a colloquial phrase.

His words "bu zhe teng" - or do not "zhe teng" - drew audible gasps and laughter from audience in the Great Hall of the People. "Zhe teng" is a phrase popular among the people in northern China, but rarely, if ever, used by central government officials in a formal setting.

What does it mean in English? Here's the tricky part. It is one of those Chinese phrases that seem almost impossible to be neatly translated into English.

Some foreign English media translated it as "don't flip flop", "don't get sidetracked", "don't sway back and forth" and "no major changes".

Perhaps finding the task too cumbersome, the official Xinhua news agency left the phrase out of its English dispatches altogether.

The wordy "don't do something over and over again, and to little effect" seem to capture it best. Essentially, the phrase "zhe teng" has negative connotations and is usually used to refer to someone who keeps trying new things, but in a messy and disorientated way and with no useful final product to show.

So when Mr Hu said "bu zhe teng", he meant to say that China, and in particular the Chinese Communist Party, should be focused on its current system of governance - socialism with Chinese characteristics - and not waste time searching aimlessly for a new model.

During a press conference on Dec 30, when the phrase was brought up again, a State Council official translator simply gave up and said "bu zhe teng" in Chinese - but with a slight English twang.

I guess it's all just too much for the poor translators.

Do you have a better translation? Leave them in your comments here!

Lessons I learnt from layoffs

2008-12-09T13:08:00Z

Gabriel Chen tells the human story behind all the recent job cuts.

FORMER United States president Harry Truman once said: “It’s a recession when your neighbour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose yours.”

Well, I haven’t lost my job yet, but when I look at how my friends who’ve lost theirs are dealing with their emptiness, I would like to tell them not to give up.

First, it’s easy to get depressed. Their income, their self-worth, their sense of disposition all shattered.

Of course, there are ways to mitigate the uncontrollable, like making sure there is going to be enough money if income is lost or learning to plan so that your family can cope during these trying times.

But think rationally. There’ll be sadness and maybe a huge myraid of emotions tossed into the depressing unemployment picture, but the prospect of change can be eye-opening too.

I’ve changed during the financial crisis.

I used to think writing about job cuts was like flashing out a series of numbers, no responsibility on my part.

But I was very wrong.

In fact, job cuts concern real lives, emotions, people – things you can’t fudge and trivialise.

I learned it the hard way. I remembered a story I wrote sometime ago about how one bank was trimming jobs here.

I said this lady – and I mentioned her full name – was axed from this certain bank. She wrote in to complain, saying that she wasn’t asked to go, but rather, she “had in fact resigned to embark on a change for personal reasons”.

So there, I was careless, flippant and bit too cocky, and I should have been more careful.

I made a bad mistake, learned about layoffs in a hard way, and for me, that was a lesson in itself. I had to change or face the prospect of my writer’s reputation going down the drain.

One of my friends, an ex-banker, pulled in a seven-figure sum last year, dealing with complicated investment products.

Today, he is earning zilch. He spends his time doing “nothing” and doesn’t see the point in finding a job at the moment.

Mark, not his real name, explains: “There’re 200 applicants for one opening, and it’s very competitive, especially when what you were doing in the past was very specific. The industry will change with time, so I’ll wait as well.”

Mark is quite right, you know, because the financial industry will evolve.

I talked to several bankers selling those toxic structured products that made its way to the retail market.

Banker John Tan, not his real name, 30, told me that he sold Lehman Minibonds last year.

That helped him earn about $7,000 a month, including commissions. Today, he is stuck with just his basic monthly pay of $3,000 and has been switched to do work like data trending and documentation.

“It’s different from what I did but I’ve no choice,” he tells me with a sigh. “I can quit, but where can I go? Every industry is down.”

Personal banker Alvin Lee, 27, is also trying to adjust his lifestyle during these “worrisome times”. He too is making an effort to change his lifstyle, whether he fancies it or not.

He was hitting about $1 million to $3 million worth of sales of structured products every quarter a year ago. This means that every quarter, he reaped about $15,000 to $30,000 in commissions alone.

He splashed a big portion of that on clothes and steaks at Lawry’s Restaurant.

“Today, anything goes,” he said. He works at a foreign bank, selling investment products, but his overall remuneration package has fallen by about 25 per cent.

“I’m trying to save,” he says wistfully.

Then there is Sharon, 28, a relationship manager who has since switched to selling general insurance and currencies to customers of her bank.

This is a far cry from the boom times during the middle of last year where equity-linked notes, a kind of structured product, comprised 80 per cent of her monthly sales.

I spoke to Mark yesterday. “My family is more worried than I am about myself. They belong to the old school and are not used to me doing nothing,” he concedes.

Mark now sees his family about 15 hours a day, compared with eight hours a day during those long arduous days he put in at his workplace last year. That, in itself, is an adjustment for him.

So what now, you say. Indeed, now is the time, that time of change. You might still have a job, but be prepared for a lot of changes down the road. This is a time where you have to step away from your comfort zone.

Downsizing and pink slips may be household names now, and sure, it may not be easy to deal with job losses, but don’t despair as there’s nothing to fear but fear itself.

The future is a construct that is shaped in the present, and that is why to be responsible in the present is the only way of taking serious responsibility for the future.

Keep saving, be prudent, and don’t fear the unknown.

The world will continue, and whether we know it or not, we are deciding its course every day.

Sometimes, in the midst of change, one’s character is stretched, and it can be quite painful.

Don’t be afraid to help others, if you can.

Remember, all it takes is an inspiring word of encouragement from one friend to another to make someone’s day.

India's attitude must change

2008-12-14T22:00:00Z

Rupali Karekar asks why it's taken so long for India to act against terror.

INDIAN lawmakers have announced an overhaul of its security apparatus after the Mumbai terror attacks which left more than 171 people dead.

The country's Home Minister P Chidambaram said in parliament yesterday: "Given the nature of the threat, we can't go back to business as usual."

He said hard decisions would be taken "to prepare the country and people to face the challenge of terrorism."

The lawmaker now has a new to-do list – typed on a swanky laptop, in the latest version of MS Word, and printed out on glossy A4 sheet.

It basically talks of the numerous steps to be taken by the Indian government in the near future to have a solid security machinery in place.

According to the list, there will be a national investigation agency on the lines of America's FBI, the security forces will be provided with modern gadgets, a Coastal Command to secure India's 7,500 km shoreline will be in force soon, technology will be upgraded and security personnel will get proper counter-insurgency training.

All these are steps in the right direction and are highly appreciated.

When they are implemented, the country will get a well-equipped, well-prepared anti-terror machinery which will go a long way in strengthening the internal security of the country, and hopefully eliminating the constant fear imbibed on the pyche of the Indian populace over the years.

But, one more thing needed at this hour is a change in attitude.

This year alone, India experienced seven blasts in metropolitan cities and small towns throughout the country killing thousands. New Delhi, the country's capital, was struck twice in Sept, while blasts also scarred people in the city of Bangalore in the south, Guwahati in north-east, Jaipur and Ahmedabad in the west and Rampur in the north.

This itself suggests that the attackers came from every direction.

Most of the dead were people from the working or middle-class background.

During the Mumbai terror attacks, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, initially said that such "small incidents" do occur in big cities. The state's chief minister included a Bollywood producer/director in his entourage while visiting the Taj Mahal hotel, one of the carnage sites. Both have since resigned from their post - but not before they came under scathing criticism for such callousness.

The current promises made by Mr P Chidambaram should have been announced the day the first bomb blasts ripped through the country in 1993, killing innocent people. Since 2001, blasts have become an annual occurance. In August, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had revealed that 800 terror cells "with external patronage" were uncovered in the country, indicating that home-grown militancy was on the rise.

Yet, despite warning by various intelligence agencies, numerous tips and solid proof of possibilities of more such attacks, the administration dragged its feet on the much-needed refurbishment of India's security apparatus.

The average policeman was found to wield nothing more than a baton, or a rusty age-old rifle to fight a well-trained militant with sophisticated weaponry.

It took an attack on western tourists, the elite class and the business community of India for the administration to finally wake up to threat facing the country.

Had the first life lost back in 1993 been valued as much as the lives of the rich and powerful who died in the Mumbai carnage, India may have been able to prevent the previous (and probably) latest series of terror attacks on its soil.

Providing impenetrable security in a huge country like India with a population of more than 1.1 billion, is a difficult task. But, if the United States can do it, why can't India? There have been no terror attacks on American soil since the 9/11 carnage.

True, the US is far richer and stronger than India, but they also value every American life as being equally important.

It is time India starts doing the same.

Converging agendas hold up traffic

2009-01-04T08:03:00Z

Lynn Lee on recent rallies in Jakarta that weren't just about Israel and Gaza.

In Jakarta

HUNDREDS of Indonesians - mostly university students and members of Islamic religious groups - have been staging protests against Israel's aggression towards Gaza for the past week.

On Friday, it was the turn of thousands from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), an up-and-coming Islamic political party that pundits will be watching closely in the April legislative election.

The party, which has cleverly branded itself as a moderate Islamic party championing anti-corruption and good governance, took slightly over 7 per cent or 8.3 million votes in the 2004 polls. Some analysts have predicted that they could double this result this time round.

While the plight of Palestinians was the focus on Friday, the gathering smacked of a show of strength by the party in their stronghold, which consists of Jakarta and its surrounding cities.

Aptly, the protest began brewing in an area considered to be the heart of downtown Jakarta, amidst hotels, upmarket malls and offices.

Traffic crawled to a snail's pace for close to 2 hours at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

According to the Jakarta Post online, the protest was organised by a PKS branch from Bekasi, a satellite city east of Jakarta. A spokesman named Chaider (he uses a one word name) had said on Thursday that the organisers were "urging everyone to join in a long march to pressure the US government to take firm action to halt the Israeli air raids against Hamas in the Gaza strip."

Usually bustling with honking cars and motorbikes at lunchtime, the streets around the traffic circle had been eerily quiet in the morning.

But by 1pm, they were clogged up by supporters - dressed in party T-shirts and holding the white, yellow and black party flag - and policemen sent there to maintain the peace. The police later estimated that "tens of thousands" of protesters showed up.

A few young men perched on the back of a blue pick-up truck, using a loudhailer to rally sympathy for the more than 400 people who have been killed in Gaza so far. As their voices bounced off the walls of the buildings, women in headscarfs clutched the hands of young children and shuffled along the hot tarmac enmasse.

Around them, the atmosphere seemed festive, as if families were enjoying a day out with their children before the start of the school term next week.

Some sat on groundsheets under blue skies, chatting and tucking into their lunches of nasi rames (rice with different dishes) and gado-gado. Street vendors were all around, hawking bottled water and Wall's ice-cream, prepaid mobile phone cards, and PKS paraphernalia like badges.

Yet others were taking the opportunity to promote the party's candidate for president, in the July presidential elections.
They wore black T-shirts that said "HNW for President", referring to former party chairman and current leader of Indonesia's constitutional assembly Hidayat Nur Wahid

But as the afternoon unfolded, weary faces - of Indonesians wanting to get on with their lives - began to appear in the crowd.

One mall closed off its exits and entrances temporarily, with shoppers either stuck in the malls or on the sidewalk. Taxi drivers circled the small streets in the area, unwilling to leave the area and get caught up in the gridlock. And hundreds of commuters in Trans-Jakarta buses - buses that ply the main arteries of the city and have their own bus lanes to beat the city's horrible traffic congestion - were left stuck onboard, watching as the bus lane filled up with around 10 buses.

Things cleared up after 3pm when the supporters finally left the area for the United States embassy, a 30-minute walk away. They ended up staging a demonstration outside.

For them, Friday afternoon turned out to be time well-spent for their multiple agendas to be played out.

A coordinator from the party, Tubagus Arif, said in a statement to media later that the aim of the protest was to show solidarity with the Palestinians facing "Israeli atrocities".

But for those in Jakarta unknowingly caught up in the crush of people and the traffic snarl, Friday afternoon turned out to be not so pleasant after all.

Spending time, not money, with kids

2008-12-12T08:47:00Z

Seow Kai Lun looks at the repercussions of compensating time with money.

THE ignorance of teens and their money confounded me as I spoke to many for my recent article.

Yes, I know that they come from a sheltered generation, not really knowing what the current economic situation is, and what being ‘without’ is like.

But in this day and age of readily-available, can there really be teens ignorant of the current financial situation?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

The ease with which a teen digs into his wallet to hand money over to a cashier amazed me.

As a teen, for example, I never got a mobile phone till much later when all my peers had one and my parents finally conceded there might be a need for one. Since then, while studying in university and living in the hall without a fixed phone line, I managed to live within my humble mobile subscription plan.

Yet countless of teens that I spoke to testified to constant struggles to keep within the $50 plans they're on - despite blithely admitting to hogging the fixed line at home too.

When probed further about the extent of their expenditure, however, I realised that many of them did not getmuch face time with their parents - only a meagre few enjoying the luxury eating dinner together with their parents.

Compensating for parental absence appears to be the key reason why teens seem not to worry about where money comes from nor spending it.

A financial expert I spoke to admitted to resorting to precisely this brand of monetary compensation for the lack of time that he spends with his child.

It's no wonder then that, to the young, to buy or not to buy is no longer the question. Love is, instead, equated with allowances and purchases.

Perhaps for parents, the question needs to be: To spend time or to spend money?

It's an important balance to achieve, not just from the parents' work-life perspective, but also to prevent the next generation from growing up spending beyond their means - as individuals and as an economy.