Author: Grievous

Separate Church from State?

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Separating Church from State – i.e. the separation of religion and politics. In Singapore, there is really no such problem with that, especially with Christians, because Christians here actually protect the State from church actively by telling fellow Christians that it is against God – and His Will – and it isn’t Biblical to criticise – much less oppose – the State. (And hell no that I am saying we are to oppose the State!! Anyone considering this an endorsement or exhortation to open rebellion can throw himself off the roof of the highest building in Singapore posthaste!)

The best part is, some are so zealous in protecting State from Church that they even go to the extreme of curbing political dissent by means of censorship on their own forums and imposing their own political views based on their own interpretation of scriptures. Good for them too, because nothing escapes the all seeing ISD in Singapore.

Anyway, here’s an example:

Exerpts:

I’m going to lock this thread because I believe any more posting in this topic would only fuel more complaining and gripings. But before I do that I will have this to say:

There is absolutely no room for political discussion or even ‘hinting’ your opinion on the country’s goverment system in this forum. From what I understand from the Bible, we are told to respect and pray for the government, whether one thinks it is a good or bad government, because God is the one that ordains the country’s leadership, good or bad. The Bible even goes on to talk about subjecting ourselves to the government authority. Romans 13:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-14.

Next, some people might complain about the ‘censorship’ of the forum, or that when the views are not ‘conformed’ to the views of this website, they are locked or shut down.

But what do you expect? This is not some public free-for-all forum and there will be moderations. When one post a topic in the forum in this website, it is assumed he had read the README FIRST post and the FAQs on posting in the forum. The website is run by humans with their own beliefs, and the website inherits the beliefs of its creators (the admins). The admins and moderator can be accomodative, in the spirit of sharing and edification… but this is NOT the Speaker’s Corner at Hong Lim Square. So please don’t complain about censorship lah, the moderators too strict lah, etc. Flow (not asking you to agree with everything the admin or moderator said) with the admins and the spirit of the website, or you could always go to newsgroup soc.culture.singapore.

There’s a definite finality to this. There is no use taking this up further against such ‘anal-retention’ anyhow. But here’s an interesting nugget: ‘We are told to respect and pray for the government, whether one thinks it is a good or bad government, because God is the one that ordains the country’s leadership, good or bad.’

This came from someone who has never experienced any true form of religious persecution such as the mainland Chinese Christians who suffered during the Cultural Revolution, never lived under regime of terror like that of the Nazis or those countries in which simply being a Christian is reason enough for death! Oh, he might argue that’s exactly the point why we must be grateful for what we have but what the heck? We should all stick our heads in the ground and let certain things go by simply because it wasn’t worse?! Wow, that’s just real power man! No wonder Singapore gets that many kicks in the jaw between 1997 – 2002.

Also, if George Washington, Thomas Jefferson et al were all ‘good’ Christians like this joker here, then we would probably not have a United States of America today or there will be no great historical events like Bastille Day had the French all been ‘good’ Christians. In fact, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen should be a ‘good’ Christian too and kowtow to the Manchu Emperor in Beijing and we will not have a Chinese republic at all.

And whoever says dissent and having a personal view of the matter is NOT ‘subjecting ourselves’ to government authority? Was there talk of sedition or encouragement of open rebellion? Perhaps someone can tell me where in Romans 13:1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 that says that they actually forbid any comments and criticisms of the powers-that-be?

Anyway, I have taken up the ‘offer’ and left a post with a link to this load of utter crap on soc.culture.singapore itself. And I don’t recall any part of the README FIRST, or FAQs that say I cannot take the matter out of the forum.

And BTW, where the heck is Hong Lim Square anyway? Don’t be confused with Sim Lim Square. There’s Hong Lim Park or Hong Lim Food Centre, but a Hong Lim Square? Shame on you for even trying to act like a loyal, true-blue Singaporean but yet make such a boo-boo. And yes, I am vindicative. Just making the playing field even whereby I get a place in which only I can talk but you can’t too.

(PS: I am not against separation of politics from religion. Considering some countries in which religious lea-duhs wield too much power, it is definitely a good thing to do so. But what is really oxymoronic is to use religion to enforce the separation, just like what this bozo did above. And separation of Church from State is a double edged sword because now the forked-tongue liberals can even deny people voting on an issue based on their moral views by calling it an ‘interference of Church in State’ simply based on a person’s religious alignment.)

Bway song with what I have written? Just drop it in the comments page. It might get published here, and on a day I am having a bad mood, you might just get more than you ask for.

More Transparency for NKF?

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My friend and I tried sending this to the Stooge Times but they both ended up in the ’round file’ aka recycle bin.

Personally speaking, it is not a surprise that our letters end up unpublished. NKF and charity transparency is stale news and the Singapore People’s Daily aka Stooge Times would not want to beat the dead dog anymore. And of course, there are those who are convinced that T.T. Durai is only a sacrificial lamb and all these about the NKF is nothing but a charade.

Sent mine on July 30th, after some modifications.

I refer to the article “NKF must be ‘pace-setter’ in good governance, transparency” (ST, July 22), and I have a few suggestions to make.

In recent years, there have been some charity-related serials and fund-raising shows. Personally, I have always wondered whether these local and foreign celebrities are paid for their performance. I am very impressed that they are doing so much for charity, sometimes even putting their own lives at risks and getting injured in the process.

In the spirit of setting the pace for transparency and accountability, I propose that the NKF publicise the amount paid out to MediaCorp and/or other related parties. Assuming the maximum of 30% of the funds raised are used in expenses, including paying the fund-raisers, it means that NKF only received $7 million from the recent NKF fund-raising show which raised around 10 million over 2 weekends.

Also, I would also like to revisit the matter of SingTel collecting $0.21 per call. The NKF Charity Show 2004 had a record 3.2 million calls, i.e. $672000, all charged directly to the callers. If these were to be included as expenses, would the full appeal expenses thus exceeded the 30% allowable by law, even though this amount isn’t actually payout by NKF directly?

Furthermore, with the frequency of the charity shows on television, the amount of revenue at $0.21 per call would be quite substantial. As many low income people are donating their hard-earned money, such costs and charges should be made known for their benefit. This should be done so that the public are made aware of all these surcharges, which will go forward to assist them in evaluating if they can more effectively contribute to the beneficiaries via the other means available.

Interestingly, I saw on television the other day that “All proceeds from the telepoll campaign will go directly to the beneficiaries”, something not seen before in other fund-raising shows. However, it would be best if someone can actually tell us if “proceeds” mean gross proceeds or net proceeds.

The figures I have stated above are estimates from the figures I have gathered on the mass media. These figure might be inaccurate and they are not meant to scruntinise any particular organization or individual or to portray them in a bad light. My main intention is simply to allow the public to be better-informed in the future so that Singapore will become a better place for charities, fund-raisers, beneficiaries and donors alike.

Sent July 24th, by my friend Peter Ng.

MP Halimah Yacob’s speech printed on Page H9 of the Straits Times on 21st July 2005 was a wake-up call for me, particularly the following two paragraphs.

How many of us must have felt somewhat uncomfortable with the glitz and gloss associated with the NKF fund-raising efforts, including the television shows?

We must have wondered and asked ourselves many questions but never took the trouble to seriously articulate them.

I am one of those who has been uncomfortable with the fund-raising serials and variety shows for years and I would like to take this opportunity to articulate them now and have some of my questions and doubts clarified.

In recent years, the charity-related serials and fund-raising shows have almost become a regular feature on television and that has bothered me quite a bit. Some of the people I talk to think that the local and foreign celebrities perform for free and have been very impressed that the celebrities are doing so much for charity. Some even think the foreign celebrities flew in on their own expense.

I do not know whether they perform for free or for fees, or who pays for the costs of bringing in foreign celebrities, but I doubt that MediaCorp would absorb the costs, given the frequency of the fund-raising shows. Apart from the time the crew and celebrities would need to sacrifice to prepare for the fund-raising shows, MediaCorp would also need to sacrifice potential advertisement earnings during the times the shows were shown, not to mention the amount of money that would have to be spent producing and advertising for the shows.

In the spirit of seeking transparency and accountability for the good of the public, I hope either NKF or MediaCorp would clarify how much of our donations actually go to NKF and how much go to MediaCorp and/or other related parties. From what I know, the law allows for up to 30% of funds raised to be used for appeal expenses, including paying the fund-raisers. Taking the recent NKF fund-raising show as an example, approximately $10 million was raised over 2 weekends. If 30% was used to pay fund-raising partners like MediaCorp, it means that NKF only received $7 million, and if NMP Steve Chia’s figures were right, only about $700000 actually went to help the patients.

I am aware that MediaCorp is a private limited company and is thus not legally bound to reveal any figures to the public, but because they appealed to our compassion and took money from the public who thought their money would go to NKF and the patients, it becomes a moral and ethical issue that must be worked out.

Interestingly, I just found out that Mr. Ernest Wong, Group CEO of MediaCorp, has just been appointed to the board of directors in NKF. I hope it means that the commercial relationship between NKF and MediaCorp will become clearer to the public and the synergy will lead to greater efficiency.

I am also particularly concerned with SingTel collecting $0.21 for every call that was made. The 2004 NKF Charity Show had a record 3.2 million calls for that show alone. That means that in one show alone, it earned $672000, more than the peanuts that Mr. Durai earns in a year, and slightly less than the $700000-odd that directly benefited the patients. What is more interesting is that this amount was charged directly to the callers, and hence need not be accounted for. If it were to be included as expenses, it would have accounted for almost 7% and for all we know, the appeal expenses may have exceeded the 30% allowable by law.

Furthermore, with the frequency of the charity shows on television, we can safely assume that SingTel has collected at least a few million just by charging $0.21 per call. SingTel and MediaCorp are businesses and have operating costs as well as shareholders to answer to, so I do no think it is wrong to charge. However, as it is a charity effort in which many people with low income are donating their hard-earned money, I believe there is a need for such costs and charges to be made known. It would also be good for these companies to lead the way in giving to the charities as well.

This is not to say that MediaCorp and SingTel are not doing anything. I know for a fact that SingTel does waive its charges for certain fund-raising events and activities, like the President’s Charity Show and the tsunami rescue effort. Incidentally, I just saw on television that “All proceeds from the telepoll campaign will go directly to the beneficiaries”, something we have not seen in other fund-raising shows, and I think this is a good move by MediaCorp. Anyway, since we are in the wondering mode, I wonder what “proceeds” really mean. Does it mean gross proceeds or net proceeds?

At the end of the day, if fund-raising shows means that less of the donations are going directly to the beneficiaries, the giving public should donate via other means like giving through GIRO or sending cheques which would not incur such high expenses. However, if the relevant parties can work together to raise more money while keeping the costs low, I am sure fund-raising shows will still prove to be an effective fund-raising channel.

In closing, I need to state that I am not writing to slander any individual or organization but to raise questions and provoke more questioning so that ultimately, we will all become better-informed and Singapore will become a better place for charities, fund-raisers, beneficiaries and the public alike.

SMS Primer – A Guide to Mangled English (aka modern Sumerian Cuneiforms)

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PROLOGUE

From where I came from, even contractions is an abomination. I cannot imagine what can be made of the even more mangled forms of the language. I wonder how many English teachers out there are looking for ropes of variable lengths to hang themselves to atone for their failures.

Here’s a short guide to Syntax Mangling System.. erm.. sorry.. Short Messaging System (v1.4).

The ‘Ultimate Lazy Bones’ section

  • b – be
  • c – see
  • e/da – the
  • n – and
  • r – are
  • u – you
  • y – why
  • bz – busy
  • cr8 – create
  • ur – your (Also yr… which can be confusing with Year.)
  • nvm – nevermind
  • sry – sorry. (Nope, it’s not a partner for Sly.)
  • cu29 – see you tonight. (Nope. It is not some kind of copper isotope, nor a close relative of C14.)

The ‘I hate vowels’ section

  • hw – how
  • nt – not (Not Windows NT, obviously!!)
  • tt / dat – that
  • abt – about
  • nxt – next
  • pls – please
  • sch / skool – school (a good thing the key ‘k’ is not next to ‘t’ on the keyboard).
  • stn – station
  • tml / tomolo / tmrw – tomorrow
  • upg – upgrade
  • wrk – work. (No, this is not a successor model to the WRX.)
  • ctrl – control
  • shld – should
  • alrdy – already
  • knn / knnb / knnbccb – initials of a Hokkien vulgarity.
  • kns – kenna sai (literally means ‘resembles shit’.)
  • lcly – initials of a Cantonese comment. Usually refers to someone who has an attitude problem.

The ‘It sounds the same’ section

  • cuz / becos / cos – because
  • den – then
  • don / dun / dont – don’t
  • jus / juz – just
  • noe / knw – know
  • oni – only
  • sux – sucks
  • tot / thot – thought
  • wat / wad – what (and no it’s not about dirtwads.)
  • deir – their? (Or is it short for dinosaur’s lair?)
  • lyke – like (What the….)
  • mayb – maybe
  • tink – think (Probably for the oinks who can’t think.)
  • wont -won’t (Punctuation also want to save… * sigh *)

The ‘Mutant’ section

  • rox / rawks – rocks
  • kewl – cool. (Duh!)
  • rulez – rules (When I first saw this, I thought someone fell asleep in his rule.)
  • solli – sorry. (What’s the real problem here? They are both 5 characters long! Will I be seeing Gee-roh one of these days?)
  • farnie – funny. (This one is a real classic. Funny is 5 characters long and actually one character less, dudes!!)
  • realli – really.

The ‘Shortcut’ section

  • cha / char – characters
  • x’fer – transfer
  • keybrd – keyboard

The ‘Existing Shortform’ section

  • dy – day
  • wk – week
  • yr – year (some use this in place of ‘your’.)
  • mth – month (Not Multi-Toilet Hall, obviously.)

EPILOGUE

Friends, Singaporeans, Country-men… in your zeal to shorten whatever you write, at least please make it readable and understandable for the person who is going to read it. It is not just about respecting the recipient of your message, it is also about self-respect. Mangled English gives the impression that the writer is sloppy and lazy. (And personally speaking, I felt there are those who have already enforce that impression by their actions and the way they lived their lives.)

You have a QWERTY keyboard and there is no 160 characters limit, so please show the ‘older people of a bygone age’, like myself, some mercy. It is tiring to read and decipher what I am reading as I go by. I am not born a code breaker.

And if possible, please try NoT tO dO tHiS. If your shift and capslock keys are depressed at every alternate character typed, first check your fingers. If there’s nothing wrong with them, then replace your faulty keyboard. Keyboards used to be expensive, but thanks to cheap factories and labour in China, economy of scale has been redefined.

Google Earth

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Impressive.

While they don’t have such clear pictures for every place in the world, I have seen great satellite images of the Eiffel Tower, the Forbidden Palace in Beijing and even the streets of New Orleans (not flooded though).

These photos are probably 1 year and a half old. I have picked out the following for Singapore and the site of what was once World Trade Centre in New York City.

And no, you can’t see the prostitutes in Geylang standing on the roadside.

Download and install the program from here, and see them for yourself


Nicoll Highway Collapse
The Cheng Ho, a year ago
C-130s in Paya Lebar AirBase

Geylang Red Light District
Site of New York WTC		 Click to see full size photo

Bad Management #101

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Some gems of ‘great’ management gathered from friends and personal experiences:

  1. “Why do you need to elaborate so much on this email? You are wasting time. Just attach the entire exchange, write ‘please advise.’ and let those guys go and read find out for themselves what needs to be done.”

    The sad part is most of the time you either don’t hear a reply from the other party, or they will still write back to ask for clarification. So might as well have done it in the beginning, right? And, summarizing the matter makes it easier for the other party to pick it up too. It saves them the time of having to go through the entire exchange to figure out what’s going on. In fact, to just dump it on them is counterproductive and a wasteful duplicaiton of work which is already done. Don’t agree? Then ask yourself why should you try and figure out what I have already understood all over again.

  2. “Just shoot the email to those guys. The idea is to have the email trail to prove that you have taken action. Whether those guys read or take action or not doesn’t matter. If you are taken to task then just take it to the level above them.”

    Sure. Then do it yourself because it’s a vicious cycle. If all you do is forwrd the previous email exchanges with just a ‘please advise.’, ‘fya’ or a blank mail without any meaningful comments, is it a wonder why the other side don’t even bother? Imagine someone taking a whole bunch of files and dump it on your table, and then just walked away without saying something helpful. It’s just plain rude. Also, taking the matter to their immediate superiors may galvanise them into the much desired quick response, but it is more likely that the other party will after that be even more reluctant to act timely on the next request.

  3. “It’s very easy to deal with your clients. All you need to do your job well then they cannot touch you.”

    This came from someone who will find all excuses not to show up before the clients and will only do so after he couldn’t find any unfortunate scapegoat to do so. It’s damned easy to say without leading by example. Oh puh-leaze, wanna bluff the ghost to eat tofu also be more tactful, alright?

  4. “A leader do not need to be hands on. Just tell your guys to do. Your job is not to show them how to do it. Just tell them to do it.”

    Reminds me of a hypothetical armoured unit CO that says this over the air: ‘All units Alpha Battalion, ATTACK! ATTACK!! ATTACK!!’ and when done, said this to the driver of his own tank: ‘Driver, REVERSE!’. Right.

  5. “Do you know a lot of clients complained to me about you and I have to say good things to cover up for you? You should have done these tasks first. Don’t ask me about the nature of the complaints. Just do these for me, geddit? What? Not assigned to you before? You just do this first. Your own tasks can do later.”

    Duh! So, how the poor staff got complained and needs to cover up when he wasn’t even assigned the tasks in the first place? And getting into such a situation like this means ultimately the staff will get complained because he can’t produce what he has promised to his other clients.

  6. “I will escalate it to our regional and global support teams.”

    While escalating matters do sometimes get things solved quickly, escalating without first consulting one’s own team the real situation creates problems on its own. Firstly, it makes your own team looks incompetent. If everything needs to be solved by those guys without any effort on the local team’s part, then the local team is redundant. It is good to have redundancy, but it is bad to be redundant. Get the idea?

    Secondly, if it is not an issue related to the regional and global suppor teams, too many such unnecessary escalations gives a ‘crying wolf’ impression and no one takes you seriously in the future. Get a grip man. It’s not so serious that it needs escalation unless the customer threatens to have you burnt on a stake!! And the team will give you a tinker if the matter really requires escalation.

* SIGH * With a management like this, who still needs enemies?

Feel free to email me with your own experiences. But please, don’t send me self-glorifying bullshit about your long suffering and how important and nice you are for doing something for your stupid boss, alright?

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