breaking of the MUSIC/}!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

A Tribute

BOOM!!!

CAT 1! CAT 1!

Jump cancelled!

KNN! Scarely I tio ART* then how? CB lah!!

*ART = Airborne Refresher Course. Regular Commandos whose jump currency has expired half a year after their last jump will have to go for this course, should they fail to furnish a valid reason (eg. Medical, Overseas assigment) for not being able to keep their jump status current.

I think today is the wettest day in the year of 2005.
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Yes, Mrs Lim is really leaving TJ. The juniors in the TJC Online Forum were commenting about how much they would miss her when she leaves for the MOE. My heart goes with them. Mrs Lim was indeed one of TJ's most dynamic principals as the college goes beyond its silver jubilee in 2002. In addition, she was also one of TJ's greatest reformist ever in its 28-year history. She overseen the creation of the Temasek Academy, the Student Government, Scholarship Preparatory Programme as well as the ever changing JC education system. Her openess to radical views and new ideas gained the respect of students, teacher and alumni members alike.

I remember first meeting Mrs Lim in 2002 when I was a Sec 4 student in Chung Cheng. She came to my secondary school to speak about life as a TJCian. The way she promoted her JC was very unique. I remembered her use of the expendable ball. No other JC principal nor poly lecturer had used such tools as well as inspirational content to promote their institution. Her method of promoting TJ as well as her philosophy of life was the main reason why I chose TJ as my first choice JC.

The journey had barely started as I entered TJ. I remembered my first encounter with her back in my first three months. We greeted. She was curious about my parentage. Given my high-pitched (and some would say, weird) voice for a guy, many people have mistaken me as a foreigner, either as a Hong Konger or a Korean at first sight. Mrs Lim was one of them, and I was quick to reassure myself that I was a pure-blood Chinese. (I would call myself a half-blood Singaporean or a half-blood Malaysian, for my mother was born in Malaysia and now a Singaporean.) She remarked that I was a unique person and hoped I could make full use out of my JC life.

My botched-up attempt to get elected into the Students' Council caught the attention of Mrs Lim. That was partly due to an earlier Academic Scholarship Interview where the interview was more of an exploration of my inner self rather than my academic and non-academic achievements. She broke a sledgehammer into my life by asking me what I thought was my weakness. I was stumped by that question. It made me peer into my own penseive. It made look at my teenage years at a totally different perspective. Back then, I had a rather rough road in terms of my peer relationships. In retrospect, people have remarked that I was rather oversensitive to what people say about me. Now I find myself at the reverse. Have I been sensitive to others? That was the scant reply I shot back at her. She asked to look further into it. Today, I am glad to say that with the help of my 33/03 mates, I have improved my peer relationship with them as the days went by. It just take one simple question. And it changed the way I carried out my foreign policy.

Mrs Lim was one of the small group of people who realised how hyperactive I was, yet was one of the very few to 'subdue' me. She spent half an hour with me before teaching me how to be cool and be steady. I felt as though I was in some therapy session, where my inner energy was being cooled, with hot air being expelled. She actually forced my voice from that of a flute to that of a tuba! She is the only person who can do this to me. No one in the military has successfully done so.

Almost a year since graduating from my alma mater and I now look at myself. Am I back to my pre-TJ self? The oversensitive one, the weak-willed one, the inconfident one, the hawkish one? I guess she would be utterly disappointed if she knew that I didn't complete BMT. She often mentioned Lance Armstrong's struggles against cancer and his feat in winning the Tour de France, applying to our 5km Road Run. I guess that if she knew that I got into fits, I am very sure she would tell me to push on to the very end, something which my platoon mates do not advocate. If she knew that I didn't get the MOE scholarship, I guess she'd tell me to relook my options and pick up the momentum. I guess her words would be similar to the words she told me after my failure to get elected into the SC. Now, I'm at another crosswords. I now badly need to ready myself for another chance.

I need to rekindle the Passion, Purpose and Drive in myself. These three words were coined by her as part of her restructuring of TJC. The SAF's Core Values are worthless and defeatist if you compare them to the three words of Passion, Purpose and Drive. And right now, I have not found someone as influential and inspiring as her. To my juniors, please cherish her advice close to your heart. Embrace the new TJ principal with a taste of her ideas and you'll never know how much it'd seduce her into fully understanding and executing the caring TJ culture. And to Mrs Lim, all the best in your new posting in MOE HQ. May you be blessed wherever you go. TJCians and ex-TJCians alike are standing by you.

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
23:30

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Honestly speaking, I'm really suffering from writers' block. I have been thinking alot, yet when I attempt to put it on paper (or rather, on this screen), it's the problem of phrasing.

The news has been reporting alot of stuff that has been engaging my mind. Firstly, the botched-up attempt of Warwick University's expansion of Singapore has been a joke to me. They cite 'Lack of Academic Freedom' as well as 'financial restraints' on why the Singapore plan has crashed down. On the first point, I was not surprised. The University of Warwick is one of the top UK universities in the UK. It is one of the most popular non-London universities among Singaporeans and Malaysians. Its is one of the few universities to offer the prestigious and challenging PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) course. Their niche lie mainly in the humanities. Hence, when a university's humanities courses thrive, it is bound to have an unorthodox outlook to society and life in their country. The humanities seek to search for alternative thinking which may seek a counterfactual analysis of today's world. Western Universities should never think of setting up school in an Asian country if 'Academic Freedom' is their main concern. In addition, maintainence costs can be high in these developing countries. Very few Asians can afford to study if they are not given any scholarship.

If I was to go to Warwick, I'd rather go all the way to the UK. I want to open my window of the world. I want to know how it is like from a minority point of view to be in a Western country. I want to see how the conservative Asians will clash with the liberal Westerners. I want to embrace the world. I want to be a global citizen.

Anyway, that's all I have to say about this issue. I have just heard that Mrs Lim is leaving TJ at the end of this yr. I'll talk about it later. Got to catch the Amazing Race Family Edition. Bye!

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
20:30

Sunday, October 16, 2005

The Grim Future

Reading the newspapers seem to be a bad thing for me. It has been painting a very pessimistic outlook of the world. It seem as though Armaggeddon is coming nearer and nearer. Global warming combined with a massive flu pandemic. Who knows what's next... A megaearthquake? A megatsunami? A nuclear holocaust (US vs China)? The drying of the oil wells? Sometimes I feel that the end is near, and it is the end of history. Like what all the religions have predicted, it's just the end.

Recently, a Thai seismologist predicted that Singapore and Penisular Malaysia will be hit by a tsunami. This was because the epicentre of the aftershocks in the Indian Ocean was getting further north (what about Nias?) ever since the big one on Boxing Day. Hence, the waves will be able to slit through the Straits of Malacca and affect the western coast of Malaysia as well as Singapore. He himself predicted the Boxing Day tsunami, and now the Thai government heed his words very seriously, for they had ignored him at the expense of a devastated Phuket and Khao Lak. Well, what he did not think about was the possibility of waves hitting Singapore and Malaysia, for example from the south (where Anak Krakatoa is), if Anak Krakatoa decides to rumbles (the 1883 explosion also triggered a massive tsunami); as well as from the South China Sea if the Pacific Plates goes berserk threatening the Phillipines, Borneo, Indochina and ultimately Singapore and Eastern Malaysia. Right after the Boxing Day Tsunami, the NEA was quick to reassure Singaporeans that we'll not be hit by a tsunami regardless of where the epicentre lies. Well, who is right? Nobody knows.

I have been wondering what would happen if such a horrible tragedy really strikes Singapore. No doubt our advanced warning system will call for a swift evacuation, but the question is how the typical kiasu Singaporean will react. Given that 85% of our land is at least 0-10m above sea level, which is considered very low-lying, you can basically imagine how far the waves can penetrate. (Think of Meulaboh, Khao Lak and Phuket.) All our bomb shelters will be rendered useless. Imagine everyone squeezing themselves atop the high-storey HDB flats and office towers. Will it be sufficient? Do we have enough NEWater to go around? Do we have enough army and home team personnel to go around? Will it be another Katrina, where the people suffered inside the New Orleans Superdome? Will there be a government, in comparison to New Orleans where it simply didn't exist? Will there be a SAF, SPF or SCDF to help evacuate and save the people?

On the other hand, stubborn and kiasu Singaporeans might mimick the actions of the Texans and some Louisiana residents during Katrina and Rita -- flee. Crowding up the highways yet not able to move an inch. Imagine. The government's COE policy suddenly gets negated. Imagine the highways to Johor being congested. Imagine Changi Airport being washed out and rendered useless by the waves. Imagine Changi Air Base being washed out, rendering one quarter of the RSAF useless. The people fleeing Rita were lucky that the storm was not so devastating as it had expected. However, let's say one day if Singapore gets flooded by waters, being a tsunami or by the rising sea levels due to global warming, will there be a Singapore? Will the little red dot continue to exist? (Tuvalu, an island state in the Pacific got assurance that it they were to disappear, New Zealand would take in its residents.)

Honestly, I don't know the answer to this. And we are sitting on shaky ground, as we wait for the H5N1 virus to mutate into the greatest flu pandemic ever. And it is even worse than SARS. Nobody knows how badly Singapore will be hit, let alone the USA.

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
17:00

Friday, October 14, 2005

Some things worth looking at

One week in Hendon following my holiday has been okay, for my superiors are away on a classified exercise which basically left me stoning and playing games in my office. While they were in their PBH (Planning before hostilities), I myself was in my PBH as well. Blog-hopping and viewing of Friendster profiles of my peers is something I take fancy with. I am in fact intending to set aside a weekend for myself where I'll go into a blogging frenzy, as well as writing Friendster testimonials for my peers as well. I wonder how I should codename this exercise. By the way, my friend just showed me how I could chat using MSN Messenger even though I do not have a Hotmail account. Interesting indeed. Hence, it you wanna want to help immerse me into the MSN-messenging (I know I'm very lagging), please do not hesistate to do so.

Anyway, some websites are a MUST read!! Allow me to list a few...

(1) Lim Kit Siang

Malaysia's Opposition Leader now has a blog, and one of the very few politicans in SEA to have one. It is updated regularly by he himself, with his usual takes on how the government should be run, as well as his perception of the 'Malaysian Malaysia'. Malaysians would know very well that he is the prime critic (apart from Tun Mahathir) of the AP issue, and he has been badgering the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti) Rafidah Aziz over it. The AP debate is worth a soap drama, and while I was in holidaying in Malaysia, I found myself spending an hour in my hotel room (to my mother's dissatisfaction) reading the The Star as well as the New Straits Times. I intend to make a few comments about it. I feel that Taiwanese and Malaysian politics can become reality shows, which I will discuss in a future article. Anyway, do not just read his articles. What is more important are the comments left by the 'rakyat'. I dare say that the comments are more interesting than the blog itself. It has been remarkable that Lim Kit Siang has not been accused of defamation nor sedition (his blog is three months old). If Dr Chee Soon Juan or Mr Steve Chia starts a blog, I think we will all know what the gah-men will do......

(2) USSR -- Union of Singapore Students Republics

Brothers and sisters of our own brethen, this satirical website is dedicated to all elite JC and secondary school students. Run by 'En & Hou', they convey the alternative voice of the JC community through 'strips'. Issues like blogging and romance take the centrestage, and is defintely the website to wind down and let off a laugh. I'm hoping that they do a strip about my alma maters, namely Temasek JC and Chung Cheng High (Main). It is obvious that the audience are mainly elites from the Top 5 JCs, SAP schools and Mission schools, as strips about these schools mainly highlight them. By the way, they've just revamped their website. Who knows what's next...
All Power to the Young Elite Singaporeans!

(3)SingaBloodyPore

A place where alternative views concerning our country are being aired. This is where you get to see what the foreign press say about our country. This is where links to the alternative Singapore arena are being presented. Read it yourself. The links as well. The government knows that no matter how much they can enforce the Sedition Act (or any other Acts), the web is immense.

(4) Balderdash

This blog is owned by a NUS USP student. An ex-Rafflesian, this blog has a balance of intellectual discourse as well as his personal takes on life in university. Given that he is an Arts student, expect his articles to be well-analysed. His takes on anything that is Singaporean is quite worth reading.

That's all for now.... And happy surfing!

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
23:00

Sunday, October 09, 2005

A few thoughts again...

You know what? We all can be our own spies now. Just go on to Google Maps and lo and behold, you can have a detailed satellite view of the entire Earth! This is giving the world's intelligence agencies the biggest fear they can ever have. In the case of Singapore, the map is remarkably clear and sophiscated for a civilian organization which is doing the mapping. However, if you compare Google's satellite map of Singapore to the SAF's copy, the SAF one is defintely clearer and more updated. (In which I hope intelligence organisations are more forward than Google or it's disaster) Nevertheless, I still feel that security is that of a grave concern for terrorists can still capitalise on these maps to plan their attacks in a more precise and lethal manner. No matter how outdated the Google map is, the terrorists will resort to any means to gather resources and information to plan their attacks. The US, UK and Japan, in which all three countries have the most comprehensive maps available online, are baring their secrets openly to the world. Well... we shall see whether Google gets into a lawsuit over it... So friends, if you are not from any SAF/SPF/MINDEF Intelligence or Operations Branches, I would strongly advice you to take a quick peek before the courts (of whatever country) orders these maps to be removed. To those who belong to the group whom I mentioned (which include myself), happly ogling, as we all know that we're always better than the others...

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So the two bloggers are sent to jail. In my opinion, the sentences were remarkably lenient especially for the blogger who get to spend a day in the prison cell. However, the light sentences were justified for it was the first time the sedition act was invoked and secondly, bloggers were being charged; hence there is a need to 'punish one to warn others'. I can only hope that this is the first and last time we see bloggers in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Anyway, I have one thing to comment about: I do not really like the way teachers/schools clam down on their students when they blog about them. The Teachers' Union have even gone to the extremes by threatening to haul errant student bloggers to court! Please! The student may not be charged or made to pay damages, but it is already a severe black mark on the student's disiplinary record! How is the student going to get a scholarship or find a job in the future, when organisations may perceive that the applicant would write negative things about them? The important thing I want to stress here is the student's future must not be compromised just because he writes unpleasant stuff in his own personal space. Instead, why can't the teacher use private diplomacy to deal with the student rather than publicly humilate him?

In addition, I've to acknowledge that at my age, many bloggers may not be matured nor tactful for their command of English may not be at their prime. Hence, I believe that if the teacher feels offended by the defamatory post, he should educate and counsel the student about the consequences of such defamatory comments. During this period of time, teenagers like myself are searching for a platform to exercise our 'freedom of speech'. Blogging is a two-way relationship between the blogger and the audience. Just like the Fourth Estate, bloggers are influenced significantly not just by events that take place per se, but also by the very audience who want to read what they want to read. The audience hence must also be responsible in providing constructive responses to the blogger, for not only it'll help him improve his blog content, but also the way he constructs his responses to cater to the audience, hence improving the quality of his blog in the long run.

I hope that no TJCians (or ex-TJCians) got into trouble with their teachers because of their blogs. Looking back at my articles that I wrote when I was back in TJ, I myself have been guilty of writing defamatory comments against certain TJ tutors. I ever wonder if TJ tutors are reading my blog right now. If it is that so, I can only say that if I have ever disparage you or the college in one way or another, then I offer my apologies. I can only thank you all for not punishing my friends and I, as well as thank you all for respecting our personal space. And of course, it would be better if you identify yourself. My BMT sergeants and even my Hendon Camp colleagues border to do so even though they do not leave a tag or comment.

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
20:10

Saturday, October 08, 2005

It has been a boring saturday for me.... as the juniors are immersed in the fire of their examinations, and here I am feeling lonely cos' no one's out there to keep me company...

Well, I must tell my faithful readers that the pictures you'll see are just a few snippets of my trip to Malaysia. And unlike you all, don't expect to see the typical bright lights that I frequently see in travel blogs.... Well, let the pictures do the talking (and of course, the typical zelig still will make a few comments)...

Wild lilies along the secluded road...

Cameron Highlands here I come.... These hills define the typical landscape of Perak....

The road to Cameron Highlands via Simpang Pulai, Perak. This road was completed recently last year. In comparison to the old Tapah Road, it is safer, wider and of course, a faster route. This road actually connects Ipoh not just with Cameron Highlands, but also with the Kinta Valley as well as Gua Masang, Kelantan.

The aviary along the road tells you that you're nearing your destination. By the way we were nearing Kg Raja, the northermost settlement of Cameron Highlands. Coincidentally, there were alot of school buses which was rather bizarre, being the examination period in both Malaysia and Singapore.

Cameron Highlands is the only place where the terrain is unspoiled, where tourists appreciate the very freshness and uniqueness of Malaysia's agricultural produce. I guess it's the only place in Malaysia where farms double up as tourist attractions. Here, the greenhouse attempts to balance the need for technological advance versus environmental preservation.

We booked in at Heritage Hotel (4-star) at Tanah Rata. Look! The sunrise is superb! At the meantime, enjoy the cool air (around 21-22C). The view just made me embrace emptiness in my mind. It is of no wonder why people have expressed interest to retire in this place..

I looked rather dazed here. (Yes, I was very, very, sleepy.... the cooler the air, the better my sleep is...)

Next to the hotel are some private apartments as you see above. Meanwhile, more and more apartments are constantly being constructed in Cameron as you see in the background.

Did you know that there is a Japanese Cameron Assosciation? The members of the association are Japanese retirees who spend at least 2-3 months twice a year in Cameron Highlands to be a world's apart from their home country. This is mainly due to the cool tropical climate which is similar to Japan's temperate climate, which allows them to adapt easily.

The Cameron Valley Bharat tea plantation. My most favourite tea comes from here!

My mum and I at the plantation!

Fountain at the Hotel Heritage...

Late morning view from the Hotel....

The sunset just make the clock tick much slower than you can think....

Another pose outside the hotel...

And some pictures of the BOH tea estate. The BOH tea is the most dominant Cameron Highlands Tea not just in Malaysia, but internationally as well. However, my favourite is still the Cameron Bharat Tea. BOH is very good for workaholics who desparately needs caffeine to keep themselves awake, while Cameron Bharat is more for the cleansing and the cooling down of the body, hence providing some form of rejuvenation....

To be continued.... as I start to sip my cup of Cameron Bharat Tea again..... hmph....

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
15:00

Friday, October 07, 2005

I'm back......

All I can say that time flies so damn fast.... and I'm so damn tired....

Well... photos will come later, and so will the commentary...

Stay tuned....

zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
17:00