ge round sixteen: carrots, sticks and chaperon

it is all good for sitoh to have choktong to carry him up in parliament, to be seen and to be heard.. the assumption here is that choktong is guaranteed to be in parliament.. i am not doubting that he will not win his grc.. for choktong to win his grc, his chances are hundred times better than tiger woods winning his tournament.. but before the ball goes into the cup, anything can happen.. there are obs that are not part of the game to contend with.. tiger loses last weekend because his heart was with his father. and choktong is encouraging sitoh and eric to speak their minds.. and probably behave a little like opposition candidates.. but just be careful and don't get carried away when they do it.. check with amy first on what to say and what not to say. and the gamemanship of lose i quit is in play again.. first we got steve chia saying he will quit if he loses.. now eric low also say so.. maybe chiam should also tell his voters that this is his last election and if not elected he will not be standing anymore..

ge round fifteen: lets be gay

after giving up his pmship, choktong is now more relax, and putting on weight as well.. and he is starting to make jokes even in a general election campaign.. that's good for him. his latest is to tell the voters in hougang and potong pasir that eric and sitoh can act as opposition members in parliament if they got voted.. that would give the voters who has nothing to look for in an mp but just want an opposing voice another way of voting for the pap. this reminds me of a gay marriage where one gay will act the part of a woman.. so there is a male and a female.. but would there be a child in the outcome, will there be any fruit? it is a sterile exercise. but what is very telling during the weekend discourse is that no pap candidate, no upgrading.. potong pasir no upgrading after 38 years and will not have any if chiam is reelected.. or maybe tan ku ku.. and hougang can only be beautiful when eric is elected. another comment by charles chong that there would not be many occasions in which pap mps personal convictions differ from the party and if there are then they should resign, is not very good for mps who claimed to have different views of things.. and neither will it make much difference for pap mps to act as opposition mps when the core values are the same.

tudung compulsory for malaysian policewoman

abdullah badawi confirmed that tudung is compulsory, not optional, for non muslim women in the police force.. and this happens only after a few weeks ago when najib said tudung was not compulsory in schools.. why are the malaysians so obsessed with their women covering up? why is songkok acceptable as an official dress in parliament and official functions? the distinction is that one being a part of the national character and national dress.. tudung is not really a part of the malay culture but a middle east import with religious connotations. it is not only that, compare to the malay scarf that the malay ladies used to wear, one is graceful and feminine, the other is ugly and distasteful.. the tudung is a vestige of the medieval past when women were a sex object of the men, a possession, to be covered up for the private entertainment of the male owner..it is actually quite derogatory to subject women to such a backward practice of male dominance and sexual inequality. in our hot tropical climate, the thick and dark piece of sack is very unhealthy.. couple with the perspiration, it smells.. try following a tudung down a escalator in a hot day.. unless the wearer changes it daily and is not the sweaty type, the 'ba ool' is very unpleasant. wrapping one's head in thick cloth is very unpractical.. even the sikhs are slowly giving up their cultural turban for a short clean cut.. the human specie always adapt things for their betterment, to go forward, not backward. the tudung is not only a step backward in hygiene and practicallity, it is to extend and continue the subjugation of the women by men.. the men takes great pride in imposing their will on their weaker womenfolks.. it is very sad that a modern intellectual like badawi would succumb to such a medieval practice.. and it is sadder to see the modern malay women wearing this badge of inequality with pride. could these women think for themselves and stop allowing the men to dictate what is good for the men and bad for the women?

teachers blogging! should they be doing it?

sunday times lifestyle has a page screaming 'teachers are blogging - should they be doing at all?' the immediate impression is that blogging has the same status as smoking and drinking for the underage, or even teen sex.. why is blogging seen as something so negative? some of the words used to describe bloggings are self explanatory - blogging is a minefield, teachers blogging seen as unprofessional, gripings about personal lives, gossips, flaming, a can of worms, bitching, etc and yes, cursing and swearings.. blogging is a bad influence and has a very bad image, like videoing self performing sex on a handphone.. blogging, including posting in forums should be avoided. but there are teachers who use class blogs very effectively as a channel of communication with the class, students and teachers, disseminating information and exchange notes and views.. blogs and forums are just a convenient tool, like the internet and handphone.. it is the users that bring along the bad image of the tools. look at some of the blogs, especially ypap.. should forums be in that form? are our educated, with tertiary education, that bad, that they think that it is cool or the right way of expressing themselves? the cruder, the more vulgar, the more cool and respectable? isn't education suppose to turn animals into respectable men? sip tea, drink wine, go to concert, fine dinner and fine company? or university education is meant to turn adults into the same mould as those uncles and aunties in the kopitiams? screaming vulgarities and spitting and littering everywhere? why are there people who choose to pay hundreds of thousands to be in exclusive clubs? one thing for sure, a member cannot be a misfit in such surroundings.. there will be a bit of decorum and respectability, social grace and good manners. blogs and forums too can be a cool place in all the right notes and colours. i need decent bloggers and forumers to help me develop www.redbeanforum.com into a decent and cool place for a chat.

we need a decent forum

why must an uncontrolled forum ended up in a mess? i have seen many forums and found that everyone eventually became a place for forumers to hurl expletives at each other.. profanity seems to be the end result even with highly educated and knowledgeable people. the only forum where forumers chat without ending in a vulgar and personal combat will be those that are controlled.. the channelnewsasia forum is one of such.. and it has quite a good bunch of forumers there, all implicitly accepting the control and living with it.. and they chose for their posts to be vetted and clear by the moderators. this simply proves that a totally unrestrained forum is not the cup of tea for everyone.. and also, a totally free and unrestrained forum cannot exist.. the natural tendency is that it will either turn bad or need to be controlled to remain decent. i am experimenting here to have a forum without rules and that freedom of speech can exist with people chatting together, and not being abused or attacked wildly by other forumers. can such a thing be a reality? can anarchy exist or that it is an idealistic dream? i need all forumers who cherish their freedom of expression to support me in this quest.. to be able to post in a forum that does not need control or to approve postings. is this such a difficult thing to do? all i am asking is a little self restrain by not attacking another person, and not to use expletives and think it is cool.. and not to avoid it and think that it is decent not to do so.. just be natural and expressive and let others be comfortable while chatting with you. lets be a friendly community, disagree and still be on good terms. can there be a safe haven for freedom of expression? i want redbeanforum to be one such place.