The above is a Youtube clip posted and possibly created by a certain Wendy Neo, urging Singaporeans to vote out the People's Action Party in the coming Singapore General Elections.

First and foremost, I DO NOT endorse nor approve this message.

It is my wish to vote in more opposition to have a more balance voice in Parliament but to vote out PAP is a tad too knee-jerk drastic. On the report card, the PAP has not exactly failed us but I want something above a mere C- grade. Hence a total overhaul of the Singapore Gahmen 未免动作太大了一点?

We want evolution. Not revolution.

I want the people of the nation to get rid of the freeloading useless under performing MPs who snuck into Parliament under the cloak of the GRC. In their place, we welcome good capable men and women to step forward, work hard and earn their seat in the Gahmen the rightful way. Then and only then will they appreciate the value of their position and remember the folks who had supported and put them there.

Think about it, do we even know if the new opposition is good enough to take over the entire Gahmen? Yes, we currently have a few good people in the opposing camp like Chiam See Tong, Low Thia Kiang, Sylvia Lim and perhaps Kenneth Jeyaratnam as well but certainly not enough in numbers to take over the Gahmen.

We have to be careful when we bring in alternative candidates. We cannot happy happy just bring in people for the sake of filling up the numbers.

I said time and again (read below),

 

Never Vote The Village Idiot Just To Spite The Arrogant Incumbent.

 

I am staunchly against the unfairness of the GRC concept to the extent to which I felt is downright cheating. Untested candidates sliding in on the coat tails of strong incumbents is cowardly.

I repeat. It's cowardly. Do we want cowards to lead us?

I apply the same yardstick to the opposition too. No one is to enter via the backdoor. Absolutely no one.

Let's bring back the 1-to-1 fights of the good old days. Let's bring back the Single-Seat Wards. Let them undergo the baptism of fire and not hide away like cowards. I believe this is the only way that we can be assured that the victor is one who is worthy to serve the interest of the people before self.

Even if it is an uncontested ward, let's put in a referendum and let people give their blessings to the walkover candidate.

This my friends, is democracy in its true spirit. 

• JayWalk (14 Apr 2006) - Elections By Jaywalk
  
  
• JayWalk (26 Oct 2006) - Dumbass Of The Week V
  
  
• JayWalk (27 Mar 2008) - Lessons From The Elections - Part 4 of 5
  
  
• JayWalk (28 Mar 2008) - Lessons From The Elections - Part 5 of 5

- Voxeros

 

This blog is 6 years old today at Blog-City!

Actually, it should date back to even further but I am just going to count the entries here.

For those who have just arrived here not long ago, here's a history of JayWalk, previously known as Voxeros.

 

• JayWalk (27 Mar 2005) - Me, My Blog & I - The Road Up To Now
  * This is Part 1 of a 3-parter series. Links to Parts 2 & 3 are at the bottom of Part 1. Enjoy.
  

 

Anyway, a word of thanks for walking along with me on this journal path of chronology and especially to those who have been with me since the start of my journals here at Blog-City.

Thank you.

Image Credit: http://images0.cafepress.com

- Voxeros

 

http://www.plurk.com/p/3mu0d6

 

Had a meeting in the morning at China Square and thought since I was already out an in the area, why not check out the Chinatown Heritage Centre then the Red Dot Museum?

It was a short walk two streets away and not difficult to locate as they were prominent signs around.

If you are local, do ask for the relevant discounts. Otherwise, the entrance fee is SGD 10.00 and do not expect them to make the effort to ask. It's a nice place to step in especially when you are in the heart of noisy Chinatown. It was very refreshing to step into the suddenly quietness and not to mention away from the sweltering heat into air-conditioned bliss.

Slightly unfortunately for me, I was right behind a Primary school tour and the serenity was shattered by a hoard of excitable school kids with the teacher trying without much success to restore order among the children.

The place is quite enclosed as it was built within an existing old shop house. Overtaking them would not be an option as I would missed quite a chunk of the exhibits.

Then suddenly, all was quiet as though the whole group of teachers and students vanished into thin air.

I continued to walk on before I realised why.

 

 

Looks like the teachers herded the kids along rather hurriedly. LOL!

Well, let's just say I got the peace and quiet that I want for the rest of the tour. :)

 

CHINATOWN HERITAGE CENTRE
48 Pagoda Street Singapore 059207
Website: http://www.chinatownheritagecentre.sg/
Opening Hours:
9am to 8pm daily (last admission at 7pm)

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http://www.plurk.com/p/3mvkur

 

Next on, I kept walking towards Maxwell Road towards Red Dot Museum when I remembered en route there is the URA Singapore City Gallery and decided to make a pit stop. An excellent decision, if I may proudly add.

 

 

It has a 3D map of Singapore detailing every single building currently standing on the island. Way cool.

I have to resist my utmost urge to want to climb onto the models and pretend to Godzilla and stomp my way through CBD. Haha.

Then I recalled a friend telling me to act like Ultraman and fight monsters but then hor, I think it would be too painful when I land my butt on these wooden model buildings.

Better to just stick to Godzilla lah. :P

 

 

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http://www.plurk.com/p/3mvmir

Last stop, Red Dot Museum but unfortunately the place was closed.

Till the next visit before I blog about it then. Sorry! :(

 

Image Credit: http://lh5.ggpht.com

- Voxeros

 

I stopped by the section dedicated to Singapore's First Chief Minister, David Saul Marshall (12 Mar 1908 ~ 31 Dec 1995) and it was here where I spent the most time during my earlier visit to the National Museum.

Ask any Singaporean kid who were the founding fathers of modern Singapore and don't be surprised if their answers cannot go beyond Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Sadly, kids these days are under the impression that Singapore was built up single-handedly by our current Minister Mentor.

Prominent names like Toh Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, Rajaratnam and even Kandasamy, just to named a few were unjustly cast into the shadows.

Then we also have those that were not from the ruling party PAP. Names like Devan Nair and Lim Chin Siong, just to name a few as well fared worse as they shared even lesser of the Singapore history spotlight.

And then, there was David Marshall, who later moved on to set up the Worker's Party of today.

Granted that challengers from the opposition parties have different philosophies, they nevertheless also approached policies in the interest of Singapore, albeit via a different perspective that is not agreeable to the PAP.

In short, they were patriots too.

(Click To Enlarge)

The above picture shows a pamplet urging constituents to vote for David Marshall.

Take clues from the pamphlet, I am guessing this is either for the 1959 General Elections where he lost in Cairnhill or the 1961 By-Elections where he won in Anson.

Anyway, I studied what they "stood for" as printed in the pamphlet and three words caught my eye.

 

Arrogance of Authority

Strangely how something that was drafted almost 50 years ago resonated in my heart half a century later over these 3 words.

I believe I am not the only one out there feeling this.

You know how sometimes you are able to smell the air to know that there is going to a drastic change in the weather?

Well, I am starting to smell it.

Are you too?

 

Afterthought: The elections are just around the corner and more and more people are getting jaded with the current gahmen and may be seeking alternatives to resolve that.

Granted that PAP has done a great job for the country since day 1. From the days of being an abandoned child to that of a leading beacon in the region. Credit must not be taken away from them for all the work they have done.

Still, the next vote that you cast should not be a token of appreciation for all that has been done. I can think of 3 million reasons too many, that we have already thanked them more than enough.

The next vote is not for the past. It is for the future, based on what we see in the present.

Problem is that I don't like what I am seeing right now.

PAP should still return to power at the end of the day but the people will be introducing more opposition to trim away the unwanted fats and dead weights that has dragged the gahmen down over the years.

It is time to clean up the house.

Trackback:

• JayWalk (02 Feb 2010) - National Museum Of Singapore

 

- Voxeros

 

The year 1963 was an era of a more innocent time where the world "gay" means happy, gleeful and jovial.

Fast forward to the modern day of the year two thousand and ten and it is a whole different meaning which led me to snicker uncontrollably, much to the displeasure of the people within earshot, who too know what I was thinking.

To make matters worse, I had to part them like Moses parted the Red Sea to take a picture of this poster. They were not too amused.

For the uninitiated, here's a quick low-down on Malaysia Day and what's so gay about it.

*snicker* <-- sorry!

We know 1959 and we know 1965. The former was Singapore being granted full internal self-government status by the British Empire. The latter was Singapore's gaining independence as a republic.

So what happened in 1963?

It must be noted that without Malaysia Day, Singapore cannot complete the jigsaw puzzle and account how we jumped from self government in 1959 to independence in 1965. So it is quite baffling why this particular historical event was left out of our lower secondary history books?

16 Sep 1963 was the day that Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah?), Sarawak and Singapore formed the Malaysian Federation or simply put, Malaysia.

We sometimes refer our Malaysian neighbours as 联邦人. 联邦 in English means Federation

So now you know how that came about.

 

Trackback:

• JayWalk (02 Feb 2010) - National Museum Of Singapore
  

- Voxeros

 

 

I remember telling people in the past that there was such a thing as a legal tender note of 25 Singapore dollars.

Nobody believed me.

Well, I found this at the National Museum. So there.

 

Trackback:

• JayWalk (02 Feb 2010) - National Museum Of Singapore
  

- Voxeros

 

I went down to the National Museum again yesterday as I wasn't able to complete the visit during my last trip. Yeah, there were THAT MANY things to see in there and I, for one, am the type who like to take my own sweet time to soak in everything.

It's kinda fun to get lost inside all on your own. I guess that's part of my Quiet Me Time. For a moment, just step out of the hectic hustle-bustle, and for a while, just fall off the radar, disappearing into the abyss of silent serenity.

During this second visit, I only visited the Singapore History Gallery where I was only done halfway when they had to close at 6pm during my last visit.

I took 2-1/2 hours to complete the remaining portion of the gallery which kinda tell you how much time you need to allocate if you want to complete the National Museum visit.

Mind you, there is more than one gallery in that building. There is also the Singapore Living Galleries in addition to several ad-hoc exhibitions held from time to time.

The National Museum visit has always been an item on my Bucket List and it is embarrassing to admit that I took THAT LONG to check it out when I travel past it almost every other week.

Even more embarrassing is the fact that I ish National Museum virgin. Well, not anymore now!

Being an avid story teller, I always love a good story. So what better than one that is about the very piece of earth that you are standing on?

I have learnt a lot and possibly some of the best hours of my life that I've spent.

Here's one of what I have learnt.

We all know Sir Stamford Raffles founded the city of Singapore back in 1819. However, what people don't know was that it was Major William Farquhar who did most, if not all the work of transforming Singapore. The former was possibly a mere figurehead who perhaps is needed for his signature on papers.

Then we also know that Farquhar was later on fired as he deviated from Raffles' city master plan due to lack of funds. A conflict ensued and the East India Company took the side of Sir Stamford Raffles and subsequently influenced the historians to archive in favour of Raffles.

So here's the thing. We have schools, golf club, hospitals, hotel, beer and even a airline cabin class named after Raffles today. Imagine, if the EIC hadn't kelonged the historians, none of these would have existed.

Farquhar Junior College, anyone?

More little snippets of what caught my eye at the Museum in the next few days. Stay tuned.

 

Related Links:

• JayWalk (03 Feb 2010) - Singapore 25-Dollar Note
• JayWalk (04 Feb 2010) - Singapore Goes Gay For Malaysia Day
• JayWalk (05 Feb 2010) - David Saul Marshall
  

- Voxeros

 

A little update from Adrian as we haven't heard from him for quite sometime. His update also covered the Maximise Your Potential Award ceremony held last year in August.

 

---

 

This time, there will be no race updates.

For the first time since 2002, I didn't take part in the StanChart Marathon because of a back injury, L5-S1 nerve impingement.

So the average finishing time in 2009 was reduced significantly, with one significant plodder out of the way

(Recently, there was an impassioned Straits Times discussion on whether to allow slow runners, plodders, to participate in the Singapore Marathon)

With physiotherapy and chiropractic sessions, I'm recovering well from my degenerative disc condition.

I put on my running shoes again in mid Dec 09 and have started my training for the Adidas Sundown Marathon in May 2010.

For starters, I'm taking slow, steady steps with 5-7km runs @ 10km/hr pace, 5 times a week.

Below are RunForFunds updates since Aug 2009.  2009 is a year of change for RunForFunds and its partners.

Read on and find out more. 

Thanks for your continued concern and support of the RunForFunds movement.

 

Cheers,

 

 

   

• 7 Primary Three
• 6 Primary Four
• 5 Primary Five
• 2 Primary Six

The award ceremony, hosted by teachers Jessie Soh and Theresa Thong, was held on 29^th August.

It was attended by the parents of the students as well as supporters of RunForFunds.

This year's ceremony adopted a different format. Instead of me speaking to the students and their parents (which should be as interesting as watching paint dry), I had 2 guest speakers.  The aim was twofold.

1. To inspire the kids and
2. To educate their parents of potential financial pitfalls that could affect their quality of life.

 

RunForFunds supporter Sheena Ho shared how she overcame financial challenges at home to pursue her tertiary education. 

Message to the students:  Don't give up even when the going gets tough.  

 

RunForFunds SuperFriend (ie. day one supporter) Jason Chen related real-life stories to the students' parents how he tried to help people break free from the abyss of gambling entrapments and how bad debts (with loan sharks) destroy lives.

Message to the students' parents:  Do not seek easy solutions to their financial hardships and land up in deeper ditches.  

 

The personal sharings were well received by the parents and the students who later told me that these were timely reminders as the current economic crisis posed greater challenges to their already strained financial situations.

It helped them realize there is no "easy money" and that a good education is probably the best way of breaking the poverty cycle. 

Below is a pic of the thank-you cards prepared by the students for RunForFunds supporters.
(I am safekeeping them for you... haha !)

Note: I apologize for not posting pics of the event. They were blur because I brought a camera that people didn't know how to use properly (neither do I actually… haha !). My fault.

(JW: I managed to take some photos of the event. --> Click Here.)

 

New Principal @ GMSP 

Miss Mabel Wee retired as principal of GMSP earlier this year.  

Taking over the helm of the school administration is Ms Rina Yap (Mrs Liang). 

In my interactions with Rina, I find her to be a principal "with a caring heart" who is committed to evoke positive changes in the lives of her students.  

She is extremely supportive of the RunForFunds movement and in the coming months, we'll be discussing how RunForFunds can better assist underprivileged students.

An example is the some MYP students were enrolled in a school enrichment program.

It is an experiential learning session: Sand castle building.  

The students were taught that it takes hard work to build a castle and that a firm foundation is critical.  

Rina invited me to speak to the students after that session and my impression was that they learnt an experiential lesson that was hard to forget.  

In my discussions with Rina, I expressed my desire to provide continued support for MYP kids who have graduated from GMSP.  

For those who moved on to GMSS (Secondary, which is just opposite the primary school), we will work out a way to extend the MYP.  

For your info, GMSS also changed its school principal in 2009.  

As for those who have gone to other schools, we'll have to figure out how to provide support in a meaningful and sustainable way.      

 

D'Joy Children's Centre  

D'Joy continues to serve the children and parents in the Jalan Besar area.  

In its 2009 annual report, RunForFunds was mentioned.  

RunForFunds provided study aids and equipment + defraying costs for medical bills of a student @ D'Joy.  

Bovis Lend Lease, led by Jerry O' Sullivan (BLL, my previous company, has several RunForFunds supporters) also provided cyclical maintenance on a pro-bono basis with RunForFunds sponsoring part of the bill.  

D'Joy also has a change in management in 2009.  

Janet Leong is now the principal of D'Joy.  

I will be liaising with Janet on ways to extend the partnership that RunForFunds has with D'Joy.  

This year, I also plan to engage BLL early in the year to see if they are prepared to chip in as well.  

Work at D'Joy is a labour of love as it changes the lives of children from challenging family backgrounds.  

Dinah and I were invited to the graduation ceremony of the kindergarten kids. 

They put up a heartwarming performance for parents and teachers.  

Hopefully, the lessons that they've learnt @ D'Joy will serve as firm foundations as they grow up.  

Attached are some pics.

Looking ahead  

In 2010, RunForFunds will be looking to leverage the success at GMSP and extending it to GMSS through partnerships with both principals in one committee.  

We will also assess the feasibility of RunForFunds supporters mentoring some of these kids.  

As for D'Joy, it will continue to be an area of focus for RunForFunds.  We will plug gaps where the government can't, hopefully with corporate sponsorships.  

So if your company wants to give back to society, please let me know.    

Have a blessed year ahead.  

 

Cheers,

aL

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• JayWalk (25 Apr 2005) - CasiNo? CasiYes?
  

A trip down memory lane. 25 Apr 2005 to be exact when I pointed out the Gahmen's lame attempt to play down the word "casino" and replaced it with "integrated resort".

Fast forward to almost 5 years later. Oh guess what is the word at the top of the entrance?

FAIL.

 

Image Credit: http://sheylara.com/

- Voxeros

 

• Reuters via The Temasek Review (22 Jan 2010) - McDonald’s Says Sorry

I am glad the people at McDoDo finally woke up their bladdy ideas and realised just how stupid they were.

I guess they were afraid of offending the Hindus as well, when they omitted the sacred cow from their cow senses. No?

Kudos for taking up the big ad of apology (click image on right to enlarge) in the $traits Times dated 22 Jan 2010. Please feel free the dock the wages of the PR department to pay for the big ad.

Still, I wasn't 100% satisfied with the apology as they made it sound the unforeseen problem came out of the blue and they responded promptly to resolve it. Hence, a well-deserved pat on their own backs for "being closely connected with the local market". 

Yeah right. Bruff who? Let's face it, the problem was there like an elephant in the room the moment the idea to omit the piggy plush was mooted. It was there from day 00, so don't give me the crap that nobody saw it then.

We have celebrated countless number of Years of the Zodiac Pig in Singapore and it is only in 2010 (about 7,000 years since the beginning of the Chinese civilisation) when some Einstein woke up to the epiphany one day that a piggy plush toy (technically, it was a robot cat in a piggy suit) may offend our Muslim brothers and sisters?

Seriously, if the ad line had been "We're sorry. We were stupid.", I would have gone straight out of the house to the nearest McDonalds and order a full Big Mac meal with upsize, just to show my appreciation.

Yeah. Even if they are my least favourite burger joint.

- Voxeros