I think our SM should refrain from making too many comments. The more he comments, the more he is doing himself disservice, and the more I'm disappointed with him.
We've been seeing him all too often in the papers, especially the past 1 or 2 weeks. Luckily, the OTHER ex-PM has been strategically sent away to Taiwan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong these 2 weeks, so we won't need to endure more of such.
We've had enough of SM and his endorsement of that very young female candidate, who is going to ride on the waves of the GRC system and get 'elected' into my GRC.
Recently, he gave a logic to explain why surveys indicate how people in less-developed countries are happier: “Because they don’t know what life is; they’re quite happy. They wake up, they brush their teeth, then they’ll farm, and then they’ll sleep. But do you want it that way?”
Ok, so he meant that people in less-developed countries "don't know what life is". I seriously question the intelligence of such comments. If his definition of knowing what life is, has something to do with wealth and luxury, then, many Singaporeans here would equally not know what life is, because we do not install gold water taps in our toilets and earn much less than peanuts pay of 600k..
Or perhaps, he thinks that "wake up, brush teeth, farm and sleep" is not knowing life, but "wake up, squeeze into crowded MRTs, pay exorbitant ERPs, fight over jobs, dream over CPF, etc" is, then perhaps he's being way too disconnected with the man-on-the-street. Oh wait a minute, it's not a fair statement, because he probably doesn't know what is squeezing into congested trains, nor feeling any pinch from ERPs, nor compete for jobs.
But still, make fewer comments -- it's better.
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By the way, there's another joke in the papers today.
The DPM actually said that the new candidates introduced by the incumbent party are very "diversified".
I looked at the calendar, and realised it's already 4th April. April Fools day was 3 days ago, right?
How can it be diversified, when the source of most candidates come from the gahmen's army, the gahmen's union, the gahmen's statutory boards? Ok, perhaps it should have been "coming from diverse arms of the gahmen"
人生是黑白的.
11:32 PM <3
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I was doing an evening run around Bedok Reservoir, when I passed by a group of people who had just finished their round.
I overheard 2 of the strangers talking.
A: "Hi, are you a resident here?"
B: "Yes!"
A: "Say Hi to the Minister!"
I turned my head and then spotted GeorgeYeo, the anchor minister of the most hotly contested GRC in 2006. No wonder it's quite an entourage there. I've heard about him doing occasional runs with residents before, but it was my first time seeing them there. Somehow it made me wonder if he was 'lucky' enough to have experienced running with the midges when the reservoir was infested with them 3 months ago. It's lucky for them now that the infestation was brought under control, ahead of the looming elections, possibly held within the next 4-5 weeks.
I was quite attracted to the evening sun though, and couldn't resist a photo using my dumb 'smart' phone. It was taken seconds before the big orange ball disappeared. Too bad the sheer size of it wasn't adequately captured here.
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Anyway, over the past 2 days, I watched with much interest, the 2 political forums that were recorded and televised, 23 years after one of a similar nature was previously held.
In the English version, the parties represented were PAP, SDA, SDP, SPP and WP.
Of which, I think the best speakers came from SDP's Dr Vincent Wijeysingha and WP's Mr Gerald Giam. Both of them articulated very well and brought their points very effectively across. Vincent Wijeysingha, was especially smart and witty--putting every second of his airtime to good use. He even took the chance to publicise SDP's Shadow Budget, which had been grossly downplayed by the mainstream media, and had also went straight to the points he wanted to deliver in a concise and confident manner. I think he did help to put SDP under good light, and candidates like him, with good credentials, would really potentially get my vote.
WP's Gerald Giam, was another speaker that left some impact. Being in the most promising opposition party, this representative clearly didn't disappoint. He had been effective in bringing WP's stance across, having agreed to some stands of the PAP, but also standing his ground and delivering the differences. His point on the need for more checks and balances would resonate with most people too, in my opinion.
On the other hand, SPP and SDA didn't make a strong impact during the 1-hour forum, hence it was a little unfortunate. Mrs Lina Chiam, who is going to defend one of 2 Opposition seats in the Parliament, was probably a little nervous. Afterall, she's an experienced but 'new' candidate. She'd probably need to quickly brush up on her oratorical skills, ahead of the upcoming party rallies.
You can watch the English version HERE.
In the Chinese version, the parties represented were the PAP, NSP, RP and WP. Again, the best speakers, in my opinion, came from the Opposition camp. Reform Party's Alec Tok was clear and composed and brought the issues in an organised manner effectively. On the same level, WP's Koh Choong Yong was equally effective in making known the stand of the WP. His concluding 2 minutes were well-used and was a very good sum-up of what voters can expect and look forward to.
NSP's Sebastian Tan, though not as good a speaker as the other 2, should be lauded for raising good issues too. Generally speaking, the 3 representatives in the Chinese forum were more on-par compared to the 4 others in the English forum.
Given that such televised forums are a comeback after 23 long years, it really is something to be happy about. My only opinion is, it is seriously too short. In slightly over 45 minutes excluding commercial breaks, the air-time must also be divided by "incumbent" and "oppositions". A total of just 6 minutes allocated for each of the 2 top issues was not sufficient for a meaningful discussion, with many speakers being forced to stop halfway. Too short, too little.
PS: Can anyone tell me why one party gets to send 2 representatives per session?
人生是黑白的.
11:28 PM <3
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It was Stefanie Sun's [是时候] autograph session last Friday. Here are 10 pointers to share:
#1. The first original album that I ever own, was Stefanie Sun's [The moment] compilation. It was only last Friday, some 8 years later, that I finally saw her up close. She was gorgeous!
#2. I've attended autograph sessions of big shot stars like S.H.E, Kit Chan and Fish Leong, it still felt a little surreal when meeting our best homegrown export diva. She maintained 100% eye contact and a perpetual smile with every person, even when she was signing.
#3. Me: 燕姿，要继续加油哦!
Her: 好啊，谢谢!
Me: 你好瘦哦!
Her: 对阿。。。 (露出无奈的表情)
#4. She only officially sang one song at the session. I was hoping for at least 2. I didn't expect it would be [愚人的国度]，but it has to be the most apt song, because it was 愚人节, and that song's MV was released on the same day. But then, I've already heard her sung this song Live during her "The Answer is..." concert 2 years ago.
#5. An April Fool's joke was planned prior to the event by host CruzTeng, but it wasn't realized unfortunately. Read about it HERE.
#6. I felt abit sad that the local music industry is being supported by largely foreigners. This had been most obvious at the event, when I couldn't spot Singaporeans within a certain radius around me. In fact, I'm not exaggerating when I say 60-70% of the fans who went, were non-Singaporeans. Read Point #7.
#7. Host: 有多少人来自香港?
Fans: (Somewhat loud cheers)
Host: 中国内地?
Fans: (Tremendous and thunderous cheers and screams)
Host: 那么。。。新加坡呢?
Fans: (Not very loud. But luckily there was an active and vocal group of YanziUnlimited FC to help)
#8. Even after holding countless autograph sessions, the IMM management was still very bad at queue control. There were NO barricades that formed a queue boundary, so it was ONE big crowd below, squeezing through to get to the side of the stage access. Thumbs down to IMM.
#9. YanziUnlimited fanclub was nice enough to do a fund-raising for disaster relief through Mercy Relief. They set the example by donating more than $2k, and encouraged fans to donate. Everyone would pass by the donation box before heading up stage, so I guess it would be quite a good sum of money raised. Thumbs up to the FC.
#10. It took me just around 1.5 hours to get to Yanzi. Not very long actually, but apparently she sang a small part of [当冬夜渐暖] after I left.
Bonus point #11: I took a video and have uploaded it HERE.
人生是黑白的.
12:29 AM <3
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