Support the Free Burma movement

Show your support for the establishment of a peaceful resolution to the current crisis in Burma.

Hey Singapore! Why so quiet?

The IMF/World Bank meetings are going on now in Singapore as I write this. Yet, I am perplexed that apart from a few Singaporean citizens commenting about it in the blogosphere, as well as the 400 Frowns project going on now online, why the rest of Singapore is so silent about this event.

It is clear from the various Singaporean voices protesting online against the IMF and its presence here in Singapore, that such dissent exists amongst Singaporeans. Yet I find it very strange that all I can find in the mainstream media of Singapore is bland propaganda about "4 million Singaporean smiles" welcoming the IMF delegates, and thinly-veiled threats by our authorities that they would not hesitate to use "proportionate force" against any foreign or local "troublemakers" who choose to hold out-door demonstrations in Singapore.

Why aren't the mainstream media reporting on the fact that not all Singaporeans welcome the IMF/World Bank with open arms? The evidence is there on the Internet for them to see, yet they either choose not to acknowledge it or have been cajoled by the local powers that be to ignore these dissenting Singaporean voices.

Regardless of whether the local media are practising self-censorship or have been pressured by our government to remain silent on the issue of Singaporeans who do not welcome the IMF, the purpose of such a deliberate silence is clear: They want to give our "honourable foreign guests" the very rosy impression that all of Singapore welcomes them, regardless of how false this impression is. Not for one moment, do they want to risk pissing off our highly-esteemed IMF delegates with the fact that there is a portion of the supposedly 4 million (even this number is questionable) Singaporeans who are not in favour of IMF policies, let alone having their delegates step foot on Singapore soil. For in the feeble reasoning of our government, to admit that such dissension exists amongst the population is to reveal that our country is not united, and so all those who dissent against the prevailing voice in the land are unpatriotic or subversive.

What a load of bollocks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because I don't agree with this current government and its practices, that doesn't mean that I am being unpatriotic. If anything, in my view, a true patriot is one who is not afraid to criticise his/her own government for its own good and for the greater good of the people it is supposed to serve. A government with true integrity and respect for the truth, is not afraid to accept criticism that aims to make sure that such a government acts with true accountability to the people whom it is supposed to serve and acts responsibly in all matters that are relevant to the welfare of its people. But then, I digress.

The main point I am trying to make is this: What has our government got to be afraid of, even if the IMF or the rest of the world finds out that not all Singaporeans agree with our current government? What has our government got to lose by allowing such a revelation? The obvious answer to this is that such a revelation is tantamount to an admission of failure on our government's part to have total control over the minds and hearts of its citizens. And so, in its fearful rationale, to admit such a failure to the world, never mind the IMF, is to show that its rule is not perfect, that there are chinks in its armour, that it is, dare I say it, a weak government.

But I say that there really is nothing to be afraid of or to be ashamed of for any government to admit that it is not perfect, and that not all of the people that it is supposed to serve, agrees with it or supports whatever it does completely. If anything, if this government makes such an admission, I would admire it even more for it, simply for the fact that it has the guts to face up to the truth and is not afraid to reveal it, regardless of whatever costs it thinks it may incur; be it loss of foreign investments or loss of face as a so-called political power amongst its peers in the international community.

As far as I am concerned, once this government starts facing up to and starts admitting some embarrassing truths about itself and this country (that it finds hard to stomach or accept), then only will it begin to walk on the path of true and full accountability, transparency and good governance, not just for its own sake, but most of all for the sake of the good of its citizens.

Er ... excuse me, you sure you're in the right place?

Last Friday, I almost gatecrashed a Sabbath service at a synagogue at Waterloo Street!

You see, I had actually taken a back alley short cut from Bencoolen Street and I was approaching what I thought was the Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul along Waterloo Street for a pre-Christmas penitential service, when a short, bearded, dark complexioned man in a skull-cap stopped me from entering the gate leading to what I thought was the church's compound.

Of course, I was puzzled and immediately taken aback that a person whom I thought was a church warden was preventing me from entering a church! So with much indignation and confusion in my voice, I declared to the man, "But I'm Catholic! Why can't I come in?" To which the man retorted with an obvious tremble of puzzlement and possibly fear in his voice, "What does it matter to me if you are Catholic? You can't come in here without permission!" (or words to that effect!). Still confused and obviously not satisfied by this skull-capped sentry's reason for refusing me entry, I questioned the man again with a slight hint of irritation and frustration in my voice, "But isn't there a penitential service going on here, tonight?" To which the man replied with a somewhat curt and agitated "No!" and began to mumble something that was inaudible to me.

It was then that I took a better look at the building in front of me that I thought was a church and noticed that there were symbols of the Star of David engraved in the high walls of the building! Only then did it dawn on me that I was in fact standing in front of a synagogue, and there was a Sabbath service going on in there and Gentiles like myself were prohibited from entering the compound for fear of defiling the local Jewish congregation's place of worship! Being somewhat familiar with Jewish customs, the skull cap the bearded sentry was wearing should have immediately tipped me off to this fact the first time I saw the man, but for some reason, my normally acute powers of observation failed me that Friday night! Then, in the gradual lightening of my mental fog, I glanced across the street, and sure enough, there stood the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in all its Gothic glory!

By now turning an brighter shade of pink, I turned back to my somewhat formidable interceptor and apologisedly profusely to him, "Oh, I'm very sorry! I thought that this was a church! I'm terribly sorry!" To which, the steadfast gatekeeper brusquely replied, "Well, yes, of course! You should be! This is a very sensitive thing, you know!" (or words to such effect). This honourable and admirable Jewish sentryman probably presumed that I already knew that I was approaching a synagogue and that I had wanted to enter it regardless of whether I was prohibited from doing so or not! It probably didn't occur to him at the time, that when this Gentile -- namely, yours truly -- insisted on entering the compound that I didn't realize that I was trying to enter a synagogue -- and during the first few hours of the Sabbath even, of all days! Goodness, gracious! I can imagine how startled and indignant he must been to see this clueless Gentile trying to enter his synagogue! Oh, when I finally realized the magnitude of my embarrassing mistake, I felt like jumping down the nearest manhole in shame!

But, since I had not much time then to go searching for a suitably stinking open sewer in the vicinity that night, I just decided to put this face-losing episode behind me quickly and immediately dash across the street to the church to perform a more conventional act of penitence for my sins!

Radio Eklektro at the top of the dial!

Just set up my own internet radio station, Radio Eklektro at www.pirateradionetwork.com ! Go check it out! First, download the free Destiny Media Player plug-in -- to listen to any station on pirateradionetwork.com -- and then look for Radio Eklektro under Music and then Alternative and click on the station name and -- voila! -- you'll be listening to some of the best punk/new wave/indie/etc music on the planet!

Also, I welcome any feedback you can give me on the station, e.g. are you able to receive it in the first place? I'm also taking requests! Just email me your suggestions and requests -- there's an email link at the station page -- and I'll see what I can do!

Radio Eklektro! It's eklektric as fuck! Tell yer Ma 'n' Pa all about it, boys 'n' girls!

Petition against harassment of Martyn See

Join the cause. Add your name and voice to petition against police harassment of Martyn See, a Singapore filmmaker at: PetitionOnline.com.

Alternatively, you can cut and paste the following letter, add your own name at the bottom and forward it to Amnesty Malaysia:

Dr LEE Boon Yang
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts
c/o High Commission of the Republic of Singapore.
209, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur.
(Date)

Dear Minister,

CONCERN ABOUT HARASSMENT OF MARTYN SEE

I am writing to express concern about harassment of Martyn See, the threat of his prosecution under the Films Act, and restrictions on freedom of expression, including artistic freedom.

I call for an end to the misuse of restrictive laws, including the Films Act, which can serve to punish perceived government opponents and to deter Singaporeans from expressing dissenting political opinions and participating in public life.

I would like to state that freedom of expression is a fundamental right protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yours sincerely,

(Your Name/Location)

More information on this appeal can be found at Amnesty International in Asia & The Pacific

Great Wall

Like a "gwai loh" outside the kingdom
is how I feel
everytime my "tng nang" friends
talk amongst themselves
in their mother tongue
as we sit and dine
at the same table.
But we do not share a meal
for words have built
the Great Wall.

Performance

The turmoil inside,
Now nakedly displayed.
Through mechanical motion,
Raw emotion is flayed
With frantic hands;
His soul is laid
Bare,
There on the stage.

No flashing lights in the hall,
For fear he should fall
In a spasmodic heap.
How far would he leap
For his art?
But always something
Holds him apart.

Obeying dark demands
On body and soul,
How often he would
Lose control.

Look in his eyes,
See the desperation take hold.
His crystalline voice,
Shards of his soul.
He would cross the line
Between life and art,
But always something
Keeps him apart.

Though it shall wait,
Yet it shall come -
A blue Monday,
Late in May.

In memory of Ian Curtis, lead singer of seminal post-punk band, Joy Division. An epileptic and manic depressive, Curtis hanged himself on the eve of his band's first concert tour of the U.S. In my opinion, the dark and moody songs he wrote and performed with Joy Division rank up there with the best of late-20th century poetry. Today, the surviving members of Joy Division soldier on under the name of New Order.

The Presidential (Non-) Election

Here are some comments on the last presidential election (or rather, non-election) in this fair, balmy (barmy?) isle from yawning bread at the yahoo group, Singapore Review:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sg_Review/message/1861

As far as I'm concerned, the essay says it all rather well. Let me know what you think of it.