Collin Ng's Blog

The two persons who worked hard for this bbq gathering with my TMIS course mates were Afni and Sai, I am happy playing the supporting cast. Days before completion of our course in Feb this year, it was Afni who initiated the bbq gathering for us all. The original venue was supposed to be at Downtown East but the chalets were fully booked. With Alan's help, we managed to confirm a chalet at Changi on 20 March. All 24 of us chipped in S$30 each except for one party spoiler and the consolidated sum should give us a sumptuous bbq makanan. In our planning, we (Afni, Sai & I) decided that everyone of us should 'win an award' for best in their category which will then be announced on the day of the gathering. Who are the judges then? Ahem, the three of us lor...and we started to crack our heads to identify the category best fit to each individual. What would be the award? Again, budget was a constraint as the food and accommodation took a big chunk from there. We fin...

Article Written By Adam Khoo I have a prediction. My prediction is that in a couple of years, the expatriates (from China, India, US etc...) will rule Singapore. They will increasingly take on more leadership roles of CEOs, directors, heads of organizations, award winners etc... If you observe closely, it is already happening now. Last year's top PSLE (Primary School Leaving Exam) student is a China national. Most of the deans list students and first class honours students in the local universities are foreigners and more and more CEOs, even that of go vernment link corporations are expats. The top players in our national teams are expats. As a Singaporean, I am not complaining. I think that in a meritocratic society like Singapore, it is only fair that the very best get rewarded, no matter their race, religion or nationality. Like Lee Kwan Yew said, I rather have these talented and driven people be on our team contributing to our nation than against us from their home country. Th...

This morning NE run in Pasir Ris was my third run for the year after Jan's Urbanathlon run and Feb's Zoo run. Got up this morning at 5.45am, left the house by 6am and by my reckoning, I should make it before the flag-off at 6.45am but my 'guesstimation' went off-mark somewhat. Looking for parking space proved to be a challenge, given those who were driving came about the same time too and finally found one in a nearby housing estate. By the time I reached the start line, 16km runners were flagged off and quickly, I did some warming up before joining the rest. When I glanced up, I saw I was more than 2 minutes away from gun-time. This run was to start-off & finish at Pasir Ris Park and the entire duration of 16km covering some part of Tampines town and into Temasek Polytechnic compound being the 8km turnaround mark. The challenging part was not the run, never mind the 16km distance but overcoming the overhead bridges. There were 3 or maybe 4 ov...

The court proceeding against Silviu Ionescu, former Romanian envoy to Singapore is still ongoing and while our legal system does not pre-judge a person as guilty until final judgment is made but I can't help sentencing him 'guilty & very guilty a zillion times over'. The behaviour of this Romanian diplomat in the fatal car accident late last year who was supposed to carry the good name of his country in his discharge of his diplomatic duty in Singapore has dealt a big blow to his country international image. Shame on you, Silviu Ionescu...you will live a life of regret forever. More than 50 witnesses have been lined up to give their own account in court, all fired up by this arrogant diplomat's blatant denial that he was the person behind the wheel on that fateful morning who, instead accused the Singapore government for setting him up. In his desperate attempt, he was trying to inject some political sentiments to his advantage but only fools & traitors like G...

Friends, be they old friends or just-got-to-know friends I used to know plenty but only a handful of true friends I do appreciate and treasure much nowadays. Suffice to say, friendship is not measured based on one's wealth or social status. In my opinion, this kind of friendship is best classified as 'drink & feast friends' (酒肉朋友) who will swarm around you like bees when you have plenty cash to flush but nowhere to be seen when you are down on your luck. True friends stand behind distressed friends who need help of sorts and help needs not have to be in the form of financial help, a listening ear from a concerned friend is all that matters most. I know this special old friend of mine has been saddled with personal problems for a long while and I dearly wish to offer my help in whatever way, a listening ear even though I may not be able to help much in resolving her personal issues. I feel sad that I cannot be there for her when she is really feeling down of late and ...