The Nanyang Technological University‘s (NTU) Japanese Appreciation
Club has drawn flak for hosting a Japanese Cultural Festival, which was
touted to be the student club’s biggest event, on 18 Feb – the same date
that saw the horrific Sook Ching massacre unfold, 77 years ago.
The Sook Ching massacre was a systematic purge of perceived hostile
elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese military during
the Japanese occupation of Singapore and Malaya. The operation was
overseen by the Imperial Japanese Army’s Kempeitai secret police.
The devastating genocide, which took place from 18 February to 4
March 1942 at various places in the region, occurred a mere three days
after the British colony surrendered on 15 February 1942 following the
Battle of Singapore.
Thousands
of Singaporeans died in the purge. While Japan officially said
that fewer than 5,000 deaths occurred, Singapore’s founding Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew has said that “verifiable numbers would be about
70,000”.
In 1966, Japan agreed to pay US$50 million in compensation, half of
which was a grant and the rest as a loan. They did not make an official
apology....
The above is posted in theindependent.sg. Shaking my head. What is the root of NTU? Singaporeans must know their history, the good and the bad, to know how far they have come. Do not forget your past.
2/24/2019
Life after 60 - Chan Meng Hui ran 101 marathons passed away at 89.
https://youtu.be/dwTMlQy8Ihc
The above is a clip produced by Channel News Asia on Chan Meng Hui. He did his 100th marathon at 85. He started running in his 50s. He is an inspiration for the seniors not to give up on your physical body. Keep running and keep it healthy and functioning.
The South East Asia Masters is coming to Singapore on 3-5 May. This is the first time it is being held together with Singapore Open Masters. Venue is likely to be Bishan Stadium. Start training and join the fun. It has all the events like a school sports day, track and field events. It is not about winning but about getting down on the track, in the stadium with all the seniors reliving a time when we were young, like school boys and girls again.
If your timing beats the qualifying time for the Asian Masters in December in Kuching, Malaysia, you would be eligible for a fully paid air ticket and 50% subsidy for accommodation to represent Singapore in the Meet.
If you want to peep at the qualifying times, send me an email. It is in Excel and I am unable to post it here. Below are a few samples of the qualifying times.
Men Age/Time in seconds
100m 55/14.08 60/15.02 65/16.05 70/17.02 75/18.58
200m 55/28.76 60/30.25 65/32.28 70/38.27 75/40.25
400m 55/84 60/95 65/104 70/110 75/140
Women Age/Time
100m 55/17.34 60/18.24 65/18.95 70/19.28 75/20.15
200m 55/28.25 60/29.31 65/30.15 70/31.03 75/31.95
400m 55/95 60/102 65/120 70/170 75/179
PS. I will be running in the 100m for age group 65-69 in the SE Asia Meet and will be in the 70-74 age group in the Asian Masters in Dec. I am doing about 15 sec and hoping to go below 15 sec.
The above is a clip produced by Channel News Asia on Chan Meng Hui. He did his 100th marathon at 85. He started running in his 50s. He is an inspiration for the seniors not to give up on your physical body. Keep running and keep it healthy and functioning.
The South East Asia Masters is coming to Singapore on 3-5 May. This is the first time it is being held together with Singapore Open Masters. Venue is likely to be Bishan Stadium. Start training and join the fun. It has all the events like a school sports day, track and field events. It is not about winning but about getting down on the track, in the stadium with all the seniors reliving a time when we were young, like school boys and girls again.
If your timing beats the qualifying time for the Asian Masters in December in Kuching, Malaysia, you would be eligible for a fully paid air ticket and 50% subsidy for accommodation to represent Singapore in the Meet.
If you want to peep at the qualifying times, send me an email. It is in Excel and I am unable to post it here. Below are a few samples of the qualifying times.
Men Age/Time in seconds
100m 55/14.08 60/15.02 65/16.05 70/17.02 75/18.58
200m 55/28.76 60/30.25 65/32.28 70/38.27 75/40.25
400m 55/84 60/95 65/104 70/110 75/140
Women Age/Time
100m 55/17.34 60/18.24 65/18.95 70/19.28 75/20.15
200m 55/28.25 60/29.31 65/30.15 70/31.03 75/31.95
400m 55/95 60/102 65/120 70/170 75/179
PS. I will be running in the 100m for age group 65-69 in the SE Asia Meet and will be in the 70-74 age group in the Asian Masters in Dec. I am doing about 15 sec and hoping to go below 15 sec.
2/23/2019
Bananas are very proud that they cannot speak Mandarin
'If you're Not Chinese in Singapore, You probably don't feel welcome in these places', is an article posted by banana Nicole Chia in Rice, about her experience in a Chinese or Taiwanese restaurant here. She was having dinner with her Australian Chinese friend and very likely both could not read or speak in Mandarin. And the frustrated China Chinese waitress exclaimed,
“啊，气死人!她不可以讲华语。我还以为她是华人 …“ or 'Ah, so frustrating, she could not speak Mandarin. I thought she was Chinese'.
Because of this unpleasant experience, this banana turned the whole issue into a racist rant in Rice and Yahoo News happily propagated this with many bananas and non Chinese adding in to confirm that this is racism against the minorities. Is that so?
Read the comments by the Chinese waitress again, she was likely from China and could not or barely able to speak English. And coming from China, there is this expectation that anyone looking Chinese should or could speak Chinese. They are not like the worldly wise bananas that have travelled all over the world, probably came from some small villages with not much exposure to the outside world.
But the silly bananas were offended by her expectation, wrongly or otherwise, and twisted this into a racial discrimination incident. Of course all the bananas would echo the same feeling and some minorities would be encouraged to condemn the Chinese as racist.
This is a little country where Mandarin is an official language. But many bananas could not speak Mandarin and are damn proud of it, and even prouder because they could speak English and the China Chinese could not. And even if they could speak a few words of Chinese, they deliberately speak to the China Chinese in English to ridicule them as someone inferior. 'See, they could not speak English', as if speaking a foreign language and unable to speak your own mother tongue or your own cultural tongue is something to be proud of, especially in the face of angmohs. 'Hey guys, I am Singaporean, not Chinese, and I can't speak Chinese, it is so difficult to learn Chinese, I hate the language.' And the angmohs would laugh with them, nodding their heads but telling themselves how silly these 'Chinese' are, can't even speak their own lingo. No ethnic pride. No identity, chap cheng.
Stupidity has no cure.
Speaking a foreign language is a good acquisition but nothing to croak about. And the reason why the bananas here only speak English is because of the history of colonialism and poverty, when their forefathers had to leave their home towns to seek a living here. If their forebears would still be in China, these new kids would be happily speaking Mandarin and be very proud of being a part of one of the greatest civilisations on earth. Unfortunately without knowing history, with little knowledge, they are acting as if they have arrived and are to be respected and looked up to because they can speak English but unable to speak their mother tongue. And they are very happy to despise the China Chinese for their inability to speak English or proper English.
They did not know what is the meaning of shame and cultural pride, and ethnic identity. A Chinese is a Chinese wherever you are or however you look or whatever you call yourself. You will not look like your angmoh friends and inside they will also call you a Chinese and will wallop you because you are a Chinese and discriminate against you in their countries.
You bananas are so lucky that you still have this little piece of rock where you are a majority. Once you become a minority in this island, you will likely see signs saying Chinese and dogs not allowed, and the Chinese would be referring to you, even if you speak English.
With so many foreigners given citizenship, be prepared for the day when you become a minority here.
“啊，气死人!她不可以讲华语。我还以为她是华人 …“ or 'Ah, so frustrating, she could not speak Mandarin. I thought she was Chinese'.
Because of this unpleasant experience, this banana turned the whole issue into a racist rant in Rice and Yahoo News happily propagated this with many bananas and non Chinese adding in to confirm that this is racism against the minorities. Is that so?
Read the comments by the Chinese waitress again, she was likely from China and could not or barely able to speak English. And coming from China, there is this expectation that anyone looking Chinese should or could speak Chinese. They are not like the worldly wise bananas that have travelled all over the world, probably came from some small villages with not much exposure to the outside world.
But the silly bananas were offended by her expectation, wrongly or otherwise, and twisted this into a racial discrimination incident. Of course all the bananas would echo the same feeling and some minorities would be encouraged to condemn the Chinese as racist.
This is a little country where Mandarin is an official language. But many bananas could not speak Mandarin and are damn proud of it, and even prouder because they could speak English and the China Chinese could not. And even if they could speak a few words of Chinese, they deliberately speak to the China Chinese in English to ridicule them as someone inferior. 'See, they could not speak English', as if speaking a foreign language and unable to speak your own mother tongue or your own cultural tongue is something to be proud of, especially in the face of angmohs. 'Hey guys, I am Singaporean, not Chinese, and I can't speak Chinese, it is so difficult to learn Chinese, I hate the language.' And the angmohs would laugh with them, nodding their heads but telling themselves how silly these 'Chinese' are, can't even speak their own lingo. No ethnic pride. No identity, chap cheng.
Stupidity has no cure.
Speaking a foreign language is a good acquisition but nothing to croak about. And the reason why the bananas here only speak English is because of the history of colonialism and poverty, when their forefathers had to leave their home towns to seek a living here. If their forebears would still be in China, these new kids would be happily speaking Mandarin and be very proud of being a part of one of the greatest civilisations on earth. Unfortunately without knowing history, with little knowledge, they are acting as if they have arrived and are to be respected and looked up to because they can speak English but unable to speak their mother tongue. And they are very happy to despise the China Chinese for their inability to speak English or proper English.
They did not know what is the meaning of shame and cultural pride, and ethnic identity. A Chinese is a Chinese wherever you are or however you look or whatever you call yourself. You will not look like your angmoh friends and inside they will also call you a Chinese and will wallop you because you are a Chinese and discriminate against you in their countries.
You bananas are so lucky that you still have this little piece of rock where you are a majority. Once you become a minority in this island, you will likely see signs saying Chinese and dogs not allowed, and the Chinese would be referring to you, even if you speak English.
With so many foreigners given citizenship, be prepared for the day when you become a minority here.
2/22/2019
India is a good role model for Singapore's future as a futuristic and modern country
E-Rickshaws to the rescue
Now the fourth-largest automobile market in the world2, the South Asian nation is leading an electric rickshaw revolution that could help reduce congestion and traffic pollution in India — and serve as a model for countries where rickshaws are a landmark feature. According to Rahul Mishra, a principal at consulting firm AT Kearney, as many as 11,000 new e-rickshaws hit the street every month — and sales of these cleaner, quieter and faster vehicles show no signs of slowing down....
The above is reported in Yahoo News. India is the darling of Singapore. Many Singapore ministers, now and before, including Chok Tong and George Yeo, are fascinated by this great country that is going to be the Number One super power in the future. Everything India did is astonishing and mesmerising and worth imitating. Indian talents, even from broken down village universities or armed with fake degrees are in high demand in Singapore over graduates from our world renowned super expensive universities.Many are now in positions to manage and teach our daft but highly educated fools.
The huge influx of Indians into Singapore has turned Singapore into an Emerging India. Not only Little India is looking every inch a part of India, the East Coast area has also become an Indian enclave. The rich Indians have bought into many of the condominiums and forming the majority or a substantive majority in these choiced housing. There are many enclaves of Little India in the East Coast.
Oh, I got carried away with my admiration of the Indians' progress in Singapore. This E Richshaw thing is exactly what Singapore needs for the future with cars already beyond the reach of many Singaporeans. And daft Singaporeans are so slow in reinventing themselves and still peddling 19th century richshaws on the streets using leg power.
Here is India's innovation and contribution to the unthinking Singaporeans. Go and learn from India, rebuild a new E Rickshaw industry and flood the roads with clean energy using rickshaws as our means of transportation. It is cheap and good, cheap low class engineering for the good of Singapore and Singaporeans and for turning Singapore into an Emerging India.
One thing for sure, the cost of living will come down and many PMETs can turn to this profession, and can paste their degrees and qualifications on the rickshaws to impress the foreign 'talents' and maids they are fetching to redeem their egos and low self esteem. I am a graduate from world class universities, so don't look down on me.
2/21/2019
DBS drops bombshell on remisiers
Yesterday Business Times asked DBS if it was planning to close down its stockbroking arm. DBS replied that it would hold a townhall meeting with the remisiers on its restructuring plan.
Last night the DBSVickers remisiers were told that they could not continue with their stockbroking business and the bank would explore ways to redeploy them based on their qualifications and experience as well as age, subject to the bank's policy on hiring older employees, market practices and MOM regulations on retirement age. Their businesses and clients will be taken over by the bank.
Many remisiers were in shock and disbelief with this bombshell coming immediately after the Chinese New Year festivities. Many have spent 20 or more years with the DBSVickers. With many remisiers quite senior in age and having been in the stockbroking business most of their lives, it is unlikely that they could find suitable jobs with the bank with comparable income. The younger remisiers are very concerned as they have young children to feed and their livelihood is likely to be adversely affected, rice bowl broken.
The remisiers are now pondering over their next move over this financial crisis in their lives. With the difficulties in finding another job, the older remisiers can forget about this option and join the statistics as retirees and not add to the list of the unemployed. The situation for the younger remisiers is just as bleak unless the bank could find them alternative employment with equivalent income.
This is looking like a fire that has just started in the industry and the fear is that other banks or broking houses could follow suit and the problem could spiral into something beyond recognition. The coming GE could have another hot issue to blow hot and cold about.
Hard times are here for the stockbroking industry, the remisiers and supporting staff. How would this add to the pool of the unemployed PMETs in Singapore?
Wonder what is the position of MAS and the govt with this announcement?
Last night the DBSVickers remisiers were told that they could not continue with their stockbroking business and the bank would explore ways to redeploy them based on their qualifications and experience as well as age, subject to the bank's policy on hiring older employees, market practices and MOM regulations on retirement age. Their businesses and clients will be taken over by the bank.
Many remisiers were in shock and disbelief with this bombshell coming immediately after the Chinese New Year festivities. Many have spent 20 or more years with the DBSVickers. With many remisiers quite senior in age and having been in the stockbroking business most of their lives, it is unlikely that they could find suitable jobs with the bank with comparable income. The younger remisiers are very concerned as they have young children to feed and their livelihood is likely to be adversely affected, rice bowl broken.
The remisiers are now pondering over their next move over this financial crisis in their lives. With the difficulties in finding another job, the older remisiers can forget about this option and join the statistics as retirees and not add to the list of the unemployed. The situation for the younger remisiers is just as bleak unless the bank could find them alternative employment with equivalent income.
This is looking like a fire that has just started in the industry and the fear is that other banks or broking houses could follow suit and the problem could spiral into something beyond recognition. The coming GE could have another hot issue to blow hot and cold about.
Hard times are here for the stockbroking industry, the remisiers and supporting staff. How would this add to the pool of the unemployed PMETs in Singapore?
Wonder what is the position of MAS and the govt with this announcement?
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