THE Kampung Games - long-time observers of Singapore sport will immediately conjure up images of the South-east Asia Games when this is mentioned.

And with good reason. Host countries usually push for the inclusion of "traditional" sports they are strong in, like petanque (throwing small metal balls at a bigger wooden one), arnis (a martial arts event where competitors hit each other with rattan sticks) and shuttle-cock kicking (capteh).

These are not in the Asian, Commonwealth or Olympic Games calendar but so what?

The hosts are usually strong in such indigenous sports and it can only help boost their overall medal tally and vault them up the standings.

Who cares if others says it makes the Games a joke?

The "Kampung Games" moniker came to my mind once again when on Sunday, Malaysia's Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob suggested sending second-stringers to the 25th edition of the SEA Games in Laos in December.

This, after Laos decided to drop mainstream sports like tenpin bowling and squash - gold medal prospects for Malaysia - in favour of shuttle-cock kicking and fin swimming.

A ridiculous move that devalues the SEA Games, Datuk Ismail said, calling the Games a 'circus'.

True to a certain extent, for host countries have long pushed for the inclusion of such nonsensical events that masquerade as sports.

Still, the Games do hold some relevance, and in a sense beyond a sporting one.

First, it is a good training ground even for sports that countries have already reached Asian or world-class levels.

Singapore Sailing president Low Teo Ping, for instance, has no qualms about sending his "B" team to the SEA Games, given that the sport has churned out world and Asian champions in the past few years.

The SEA Games would help them get used to the pressures of a major meet, before they go on to higher-level events.

And for sports like athletics, Singapore is nowhere near the Asian level, so the SEA Games remains the high point for many athletes to aim for in their careers.

National 100m record holder Amanda Choo, for instance, was only seventh in the 2007 SEA Games final but set a new national mark in the competition.

The biennial Games is also a chance for Asean countries to come together and celebrate the spirit of sport and Asean solidarity.

That is why you will notice other Asean countries will close one eye and allow hosts to include a few eyebrow raising sports like fin swimming.

The SEA Games also allows athletes of such lesser-known sports a stage to showcase their skills to the region and increase awareness of what they are all about.

Say what you will, but the sight of swimmers wearing snorkel masks and fins and racing underwater makes for good entertainment, doesn't it?

So a circus it may be, but the Kampung Games is here to stay.

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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!

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AT THE Football Association of Singapore, there is a buzz following the discovering of the new Fandi Ahmad.

Some officials believe Singapore's favourite footballing son's heir is finally found and his name is Khairul Nizam, a 17-year-old now training with the Young Lions.

Heir apparent?
ST Photo: Albert Sim

Some might scoff at this revelation and I don't blame them.

After all and all too often, any youngster that scores a couple of goals in the Lion City Cup, the tournament that Fandi used to announce his arrival, will be dubbed "the new Fandi".

Or any promising striker that has a few good outings in the Prime League or S-League will be elevated into the "new Fandi" status.

The Straits Times has an electronic archive that allows journalists to read old newspaper articles printed by the Singapore Press Holdings.

Type "new Fandi Ahmad" and a string of names can be found.

Some you might have heard, like Indra Sahdan Daud, Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin, Khairul Amri and Noh Alam Shah.

Many more you probably have not, like Norfahazly Kamsan, Said Salim and Fadzuhasny Juraimi. 

The only shocker is that the list of names becomes longer when you type "latest Fandi Ahmad" in the query box.

None has lived up to that hype.

Indra had Fandi's qualities on the deck while Alam Shah had similar aerial powers but neither enjoyed the consistent success Singapore's favourite footballer had.

Norfahazly, Said and Fadzuhasny have faded away, for various reasons.

Yet, FAS officials sincerely believe Nizam is The One, saying that he is the "closest thing there is to Fandi". They hope that with careful grooming and if the teenager keeps his feet planted firmly on the ground, he can make it big in football.

A sparring match between the Young Lions and Raddy Avramovic's senior team on Sunday showed why.

Coming on as a second-half substitute, he had five shots and two headers in 45 minutes, inspiring his team to a battling performance as they went down 2-3 to the Lions.

He "hung" in the air, a Fandi signature move, leaping to beat towering defender Baihakki Khaizan in aerial duels.

He had an arsenal of flicks, what former Malaysia Cup coach Choo Seng Quee called "weapons", to turn on the ball and dribble past markers in one fluid motion.

Even though six out of his seven attempts sailed wide or over the bar, he is not afraid to fail and kept chipping away.

But when the one that was on target, it bulged the net.

Nizam dispossessed left-back Juma'at Jantan on the flank before bearing down on Lionel Lewis and beating Singapore's first-choice goalkeeper with an emphatic finish.

This was against a backline that had the best defensive record when it conceded just twice in the recent AFF Suzuki Cup.

He is not the finished article, that's for sure.

Nizam still struggles with his fitness, which explains why he could only terrorise opponents for one-half. He is still frail and lacks the muscles to batter centre-backs into submission.

However, in that fleeting appearance, he did provide a precious glimpse of his immense potential and a mirror image of Fandi.

But to be Fandi is to carry the hopes of a nation hungry for success in football, above all other sports.

To be Fandi is to be a role model to kids, to inspire children to pick up the game and to drill home the message of hard training and clean living.

To be Fandi is to carry on playing even though his body tells him to stop, as the man previously obliged Kallang even though he had eight operations on both shoulders and ankles - and even a deep gash on his buttocks no thanks to a freak accident after he unwittingly sat on a seat lever in a bus.

Fandi was always early for training working on his fitness and stayed back late to polish his finishing.

A skinny lad in his teens, he built up mass with a crash diet of carbohydrates and meat during his stint with Dutch side FC Groningen.

They have similar qualities on the pitch, similar physiques at the age of 17 and both singled out as special talents, but Nizam still has a long way to go to emulate Fandi.

He needs lots of physical training and nutrition to beef up his willowy frame and even more imperative is loads of work on his stamina.

The boy lasted just 35 minutes of his 45-minute appearance. In the last 10 minutes, he was reduced to the role of a walking pedestrian.

Still, his talent is undeniable.

When I met the man himself in his Jakarta home last month, yours truly could not resist asking the king about his heir apparent.

With a shrug of his shoulder, Fandi's short reply was: "Let's wait and see.''

Fandi is right. For sure, he must have been asked this countless times, the question on his successor.

So many had come and gone, without even making any impact. The tag "the new Fandi" is both a blessing and a curse, with every young player bestowed that label failing to deliver.

Khairul Nizam is a bright new hope, arguably the brightest ever since a young Fandi burst onto the scene as a very special 16-year-old more than 30 years ago.

We can only hope he makes it. Singapore is crying out for a genuine football hero.

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JUST before Christmas, a colleague and I were tasked with doing a broad sweep of the locations that The Straits Times' "Goodness Gracious Me!" project had made its home in.

And I think it's safe to say that three months on, the message is clearly beginning to sink in, and take effect. A sizeable number of diners are now bussing their own trays, a far cry from what we observed when the project first kicked off.

Particularly notable are the results at the Zion Road hawker centre. During my lunch hour there, i was thrilled to see that in a space of 15 minutes, I counted more than 20 people who had returned their own trays.

When approached, most of them cited the convenience of having the tray return stations placed all over the hawker centres. The National Environment Agency, who oversees the running of the hawker centre, has ensured that the eight steel contraptions are placed at strategic locations around the hawker centre, so that diners never have to go out of their way to return their trays.

The five "Kopitiam" outlets have also reported steady progress, even though they did not have the same type of hardware in place. It was far more encouraging then to realise then, that those people who cleared their trays, did so because they wanted to spare a thought for the diners using the table after them.

One such person was Prof Chia Kok Hoong, 48, a Senior Consultant at Tan Tock Seng hospital, who likened returning trays after meals to any other act of consideration - which should come natuarlly. He said: "It’s (returning your tray) like walking your dog and bringing plastic bags to pick up their poo. When you use the toilet you also have to flush after yourself, it’s the same!"

The Kopitiam group have since added another outlet to their list - the staff canteen at the Singapore general Hospital, and they hope to move the "Goodness Gracious Me!" message into all their 80 outlets soon . Plans are also underway to ensure that designs of future outlets will include prominent tray-return stations to encourage more people to return their trays.

Having the hardware in place provide the baby steps to a more gracious culture, but looking at the latest progress report, I'm pretty convinced that it's only a matter of time before returning trays becomes second nature to us.

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AMIDST all the high-profile clashes that took place outside the National Stadium on Dec 21, the day Singapore fell to a plucky Vietnam side at the Suzuki Cup semis, there were scenes of genuine sportsmanship that went unnoticed.

Punches and water bottles may have rained down on some of the 3,000-strong Vietnam contingent that infamous day, but there were bouquets too, offered by Singapore fans who knew better.

Immediately after the final whistle, several Singaporeans waded into the visiting fans in the grandstand area, not to pick a fight, but to shake hands with their rivals who had outsung them in the terraces.

Even as hooliganism reared its ugly head later on, not all Singaporeans joined in the verbal and physical abuse.

One example stood out.

As the Vietnam team bus rolled out of the stadium, their players were seen singing and jumping in their seats, buoyed by their unexpected win over the Lions.

One Singapore driver, blared his horn and wound down his window. But instead of an obscene gesture, he smiled broadly and gave the Vietnamese squad the thumbs up.

He knew his team had been beaten fair and square. No more, no less. And he was generous enough to admit it.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the riotous pack who besmirched the name of local football when they blatantly attacked the Vietnamese supporters.

Belatedly, the authorities have confirmed they are conducting a probe into the clashes. Better late than never, I say.

But whilst we weed out and prosecute the troublemakers, do not forget that not every die-hard Lions fan was a sore loser on Dec 21.

Some of us do know how to lose graciously.

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WHEN the Government said last month that it would be providing $2.3 billion in loans to help ease the credit flow to local businesses during the economic downturn, many in the local SME community were sceptical.

Not of the Government’s intention to help but simply because these smaller firms - whose perennial problem has always centred on financing - know how difficult it is to apply for a bank loan.

First, they have to  meet with a banker - some say, the smaller the firm, the younger the banker - who will ask for a business plan, collaterals and other details like financial statements and anticipated cashflows channels.

After a few weeks, they either get the good news that their application has been approved or they hit a deadlock and don’t get the funds they need.

Depending on the end result, the entrepreneur may have to repeat the application cycle again, and again, and again, and that was during the “good old days” where Singapore was seeing annual economic growth of over 7 per cent.

Today, with Singapore’s economy possibly growing even lower than the offical forecast of 2.5 per cent for the year, the issue of banks being adverse to lending remains to be the crux of the problem for some businesses gearing up for an even tougher year ahead.

Yesterday, the Government again stepped up its efforts to help local businesses deal with the impending credit squeeze - this time by lowering interest rates of government-backed loans, and increasing its share of insurance premiums for loans.

In its second annoucement in as many months on helping businesses mitigate cashflow issues, the Government said the latest enhancements are aimed at lowering the cost of credit for businesses as part of an overall package to address the financing needs of local firms.

This comes on the back of the $2.3 billion worth in loans which the Government said that it will pump into the credit system to help local firms tide through this slowdown.

For some of the loans, the Government even said it would bear up to 80 per cent of default risk to encourage financial institutions not to hold back on lending.

One has to wonder why the Government had to go to such an extent - not once but twice in two months - if financial institutions here are indeed still accepting and approving loan applications, and this despite financial institutions constantly rejecting the notion that they have been tightening up on loans.

When news of the Government’s enhancements to existing business financing schemes first broke last month, one of the more prominent leaders in the Singapore SME circle appealed to banks to take a more proactive stance to lending.
“The question is whether the financial institutions are now willing to loosen credit with these new measures. Certainly we hope that the banks will be more willing to consider loan applications and to process loans more quickly,” said Mr Lawrence Leow, president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

And yesterday, after Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran introduced the two new enhancements to the schemes, Mr Leow again made the same appeal.

“The announcement to reduce interest rates will help businesses lower their borrowing costs...but I think the issue now is whether it will stimulate banks into lending money to companies,” said Mr Leow yesterday.

For now, evidence that SMEs are having difficulties in attaining banks loans, with or without Government-backing, remain largely anecdotal.

However, those who spend enough time on the ground with these smaller firms say it is early days yet, as far as the impact of the credit crunch on businesses here is concerned.

“Most will still have existing credit lines and loans which they obtained before the onset of the crisis. And with order books typically consolidated during 2006 and 2007 still in play, it may be too early to determine the depth of the credit crisis which SMEs  face at this point in time,” said a veteran entrepreneur who spoke to me on condition of anonymity.

“Just wait till the first or second quarter in 2009 - that will be the true test of a company’s resilience and a banker’s loyalty to his customer,” he added with a wryly smile.

Read Francis Chan's full story "Business borrowing made cheaper" here.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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THE delight of leaving the Straits of Malacca behind them and arriving in Singapore ahead of the festive period was all too evident when the first four yachts of the Volvo Ocean Race dropped anchor at Sentosa Cove in the early hours this morning.

The teams were welcomed by a crowd of 100 people - consisting mainly of other team members, family members and the media.

There were pats on the back, hugs, kisses and congratulations for the sailors who survived the tricky 1950-nautical mile journey from Kochi to Singapore.

After over nine days of sailing, Telefonica was first to cross the finish line.

Puma, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4, who finished second, third and fourth respectively, finished within two minutes of each other - providing one of the closest finishes in the round-the-world race's 35-year history.

For the sailors, it marked the start of a welcomed break with loved ones.

Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking was looking forward to spending time with his wife, Puma skipper Ken Read was calling out for a cold beer, while teammate Sidney Gavignet really just wanted a shower.

In truth, the watch captain could not have timed his arrival to Singapore any better.

He turned 40 on the night and wife Caroline, 39, and daughters Chade, 10, and Tarajune, five, were on hand to celebrate his birthday.

His birthday wish: to have a good time away from the sea.

He recalled: "The Straits of Malacca was like another world. It's completely crazy there - huge planks of wood in the water, lots of fishermen, supertankers...The race was very intense. Second-place is a good present."

The sailors will be given time off, before they head back to sea on Jan 10 to compete in the in-port race off the waters of East Coast Parkway.

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