myth 41

'131th saddest nation' How can that be, we the 131th saddest country in the world? We are so rich, so smart, so first class, number one this and that, and so happy. Who did that survey? We are going to prove the survery wrong. Come Sept, all 4 million Singaporeans will be smiling. We are going to show to the world that we are a happy country with 4 million happy smiles. I think that should do the trick to dispel the myth that we are a sad country.

remove taxi surcharge?

There is a call for the removal of taxi surcharge. At a time like this, it is quite timely to lower taxi fares to encourage more commuters to use cabs as a means of transport. But would this not remove the benefits of fare hike introduced just a few days earlier to defray the cost of higher petrol prices? Then everything is back to square one with the taxi driver absorbing all the increases in petrol cost. Why the need to remove surcharge at this time when commuters are already getting use to the higher taxi fare? Many commuters obviously are very comfortable with what they are paying and will continue to use cabs. And, oh I remember, our taxi fare is among the cheapest compare to all the great cities. We can afford to charge a bit more. It is still very affordable. In fact the surcharge and kilometre rate should be increase to reflect the value of the taxi service and bring us closer to first world taxi fares. It is a luxury that people who want it should pay for it. Then taxi driving will be an attractive vocation and more quality drivers will join the profession. And with higher income, they would be encouraged to drive more and maintain their taxi in tip top condition. If taxi fare keeps coming down, then the drivers would not find it attractive as a vocation and the quality of service will drop as well. Taking into consideration all the factors, a decent income for the drivers, affordability, quality of service, employment, etc, it is better to keep raising taxi fares to make this a preferred choice of employment. And taxi drivers can also upgrade their skills to provide in cab entertainment and double as tourist guides. Pay for quality services.

Magdalene or Saint John or Mona Lisa

The recent commotion about the Da Vinci Code and the controversy of Magdalene must have taken many by surprise. And all the media networks were a hive of activities trying to churn out more documentaries to satisfy the thirst for more information on the code and Magdalene of course. I chanced upon the documentary aired by Channel News Asia on the same issue and all the amazing paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci on the Last Supper. And there was this famous face of Magdalene or Saint John. Da Vinci Code sold the story that it was the face of Magdalene, Jesus trusted companion and wife. But to the believers, it was a young Saint John, a bit effeminate though. He was the only clean shaven and angelic looking guys among all the bearded men in the Last Supper painting. The documentary went further to describe the picture of Magadalene or Saint John as having a face that was similar to Mary the Virgin. There were some resemblance, but when look carefully, not really that much. What is astonishing is when I came face to face with Mona Lisa. That face, I have seen it somewhere. And when I retrieved my taped copy of the documentary and compared the two faces, I must say there is a 90% resemblance. The eyes, the mouth, the chin and that elusive smile which came through in the Last Supper as an elusive doubt. Magdalene is a replica of Mona Lisa! Go take a look at the two pics, if you can get hold of them and judge yourself.

what is age? or what is old?

Today we are still grappling with the outdated concept of a retirement age. It was 55 for many years until a few years ago. Then it was raised to 60 and then 62. But acceptance of this higher retirement age is still very reluctant among the industries and the young turks in their 40s. These are people in top management postions who think that they will forever be in their 40s, forever young. Last week we were host to an eminent scientist, a Nobel Laureate, in the name of Professor Yang Chen Ning, and all bubbly at the age of 83, that is about 2 dozen years past the 55 or 62 retirement age. Is biological age a good criteria to determine the end of a life time of economic activities? Shall one arbitrally retire and try to live the rest of one's life just keeping oneself alive, away from the economic enterprises of society? It has been proven over and over again that the biological age is no barrier, or a rigid criteria as to the usefulness of a person and how much he can contribute his worth. With our limited human resources, it is so wasteful to write off entire generations of people with a wealth of experience and knowledge just because we cannot change our old ways of thinking that 55 is old. Prof Yang can put many people half his age to shame as he is still fully employed at Tsing Hua University in Beijing as an honorary director of the Centre for Advanced Study. At 50 it is actually middle age and still have 30 useful years to go. With the length of time one is required to pursue an education to be highly skilled or specialised in a profession, to fade away at 55 is just not justifiable. We are still seeing many moribund organisations, ministries, stats boards with their policies tied to this magic number of 55. The CPF board is one of them.

i love smokers

Why are there non-smokers outdoors? By Edwin Yeo July 16, 2006 FOR the last two weeks, I've felt unwanted. Not because I was again rejected when I tried to pick up that hot chick at the bar (I'm used to that), but because of my smoking habit. While my fellow scribe Adam Hashidy might jump up and shout like Fred Flintstone at Singapore's new smoking regulations, it's made me feel like a pariah. I used to enjoy my cup of overpriced coffee at coffee joints, light up a cigarette and imagine that I looked cool. The above is just a fraction of the ranting of Edwin Yeo that non smokers die everyday. I fully agree. Everyone who eats rice also die. Everyone who drinks water also die. I don't have anything against the smokers and their disgusting habits. I have many friends who are smokers. I only hope that they are less generous and don't exhale their precious tobacco mixed smoke for me to inhale, and don't taint my clothings and body with the smelly stale smell of tobacco. And I also hope that after their puff they will swallow the cigarette butts instead of littering them everywhere. If only they can do these, I will love them.