Uniquely Singapore #1 – Seat ‘Chope-ing’

2005-09-11 Grievous3 comments

Seat ‘Chope-ing’ is such a pervasive phenomenon in Singapore that you can see it everywhere. From kids rushing into the MRT and putting hands on empty seats to indicate that it has been ‘taken’, and in hawker centres, where you see shameless people putting their tissue packs on the desk to the same effect. In fact, I have even seen an extraordinary pack of tissue with the big black word ‘RESERVED’ on yellow background.

Seat ‘chope-ing’ isn’t really an issue, unless you happen to be one of unfortunate souls who has joined the queue earlier, only to come back and discover that all the empty seats are now taken. But it is becomes a serious matter when this happens in church, and church members actually found an excuse to justify their own ugliness. Look at this lame justification here:

Exerpts:

Thot I would like to share my view on this.

Have you ever seen a family going to the movie theatre to watch a movie together, and then when about to buy tickets found that only singles seats are available all over the place in the hall, and WENT AHEAD and bought those tickets anyway? Even if it means there are all sitting seperately?

I mean what’s the deal with sitting together?! You don’t need to sit together to watch a movie wat!

The reason is because there is no logical explanation. It is call a FAMILY thing. Family sit together. Family do things together, and no one is going to tell them otherwise.

Same in the church where cell groups are closely-knitted spiritual family, and they want to sit together, to worship God together, to be taught the word of God together, to grow together.

As for whether it is fair to the other church members, I think most won’t mind since if they are members, they usually belong to cell group, and they usually reserve seats and sitting together somewhere else. Smile Usually it is the visitors who are more upset or annoyed. For them, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and I want to encourage the visitors to join a cell group if they plan to commit and settle down in CHC.

Tsk tsk. Whatever happened to being the salt and light to the rest of the people, huh?. When such a lame excuse can be given to justify seat ‘chope-ing’ even in church, the problem is really serious.

And here’s the fallacy of the argument. Isn’t the family supposed to be the entire church, and in extension, the entire Body of Christ?

The family does not consist of just your pathetic little cellgroup, or the visitors your cellgroup will bring. Ever imagined the disappointment of the rest of the extended family out there queuing, or how they would feel, when they discovered what the rest of their so-called ‘FAMILY’ has done to them.

And of course, the funniest part is that why family cannot be queuing together? And if family are really doing things together then why can’t family share the consequences of having no seats together?

That’s not even mentioning that the comparison to wanting to sit together in a movie is so lame. I have had gone to movies when the entire group has to be seperated, and that’s not a one-off incident. And how can movies be compared to church service when there’s probably several runs of the same old movie and it’s not always the same speaker will be speaking at the rest of the services?

All in all, it’s just the display of the deceit of one’s own heart in this lame argument. So much for this cell group lea-duh. Well done for proving to the non-believers that Christianity is not very much different from the rest of the other organised religions out there anyway.

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.

Separate Church from State?

2005-09-10 GrievousLeave a comment

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?

2005-09-8 GrievousLeave a comment

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)

2005-09-6 GrievousLeave a comment

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

2005-09-3 GrievousLeave a comment

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

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