Collin Ng's Blog

Born in the year of the ferocious tiger I am but it does not mean I am immuned from the 'Claws of the Tiger', so says the subject heading. The 'Tiger' I am referring is the financial institutions, the banks that will resort to anything to make sure their borrowers make good their loan payments. Granted, they have to make sure every step taken is as legal as possible but the immense pressure lashed on borrowers who have inevitably fallen on bad time & struggled to meet payment schedule makes no difference to a typical Ah Long's modus operandi. The only distant difference is banks won't throw paint & write graffiti on wall unlike Ah Long. However, their (the banks) soft approach is equally, if not more deadly. This will inevitably drive desperate one to do the unthinkable, sigh! Naive enough to trust a friend of mine, I agreed to stand as his guarantor for a S$40,000 loan taken with a co-operative in 1999. This friend used to work for a catering ...

The still highly regarded former PM of Malaysia, Tun M by some quarters in Malaysia is insinuating something in this latest posting of his, titled 'Sand For Singapore' or rightly put, pointing his arrow at Singapore (sadly...again). During his long tenure as the PM of Malaysia, he was the one who decreed ban on selling sand to Singapore and I strongly believe (coming from a layman's perspective), the decision was based on his personal dislike of Singapore than any valid reasons. I now wonder aloud...how wrong can it be for one country selling sand to another country solely based on commercial transaction, even for the sole purpose of land reclaimation by the 'land-scarce' country? Isn't it free economy supposed to work this way? Will the so called security from that 'selling country' be compromised or threatened as a result of losing some sand from the abundant supply? If jet engines can be sold by this sand selling country to another count...

The article below was written by a Malaysian writer, Azly Rahman who is a Muslim but whose pragmatic views on the current situation in Malaysia have earned my praise and of course & deservingly, a posting on my blog too. Read on... By Azly Rahman Quote There is a Buddhist lesson in how we ought to perceive Malaysia’s emerging style of terrorism. When one is bleeding after being shot by an arrow, the first step is not to look for the culprit that shot the arrow and pondering why was it shot but to pull out the arrow from the victim’s body and to quickly put a stop to the bleeding. This is what Siddharta Gautama would teach as crisis intervention. Malaysians might never know who carried out the series of church bombings, nor what organisations are behind them, and if there is a higher order involved in the long-term planning of terror. Postmodern debates will be a tedious exercise on whether this or that name of a Universal God can be copyrighted or whether a pastor or an archbishop...

I have less than 2 hours to post my final summary of the year before the clock strikes @ 12 midnight to usher into the new year. In my 47 years, soon...48 in less than 2 months from now and 2009 has brought much surprises and along, happiness to me that I cannot recall when was the last time I experienced such euphoria of sorts or did I? Beginning of the year 2009, I set my goal to complete my first full marathon run by year end and to my much delight, I did in better than expected time. Never did I expect, I won the draw to run the marathon in France in September 2010, courtesy of AirFrance and France Tourism Singapore. The run was made even more meaningful when I decided to raise fund for the cancer cause. Increditably, doing good deed does reap benefits when one least expected it. In January, I become the proud owner of a brand new SUV vehicle which is my first ever vehicle owned by me. COE and car prices were at rock bottom, this buy was so timely for me and some six months l...

This is probably the most blatant rebuttal from Dr M to his critics, an outright challenge to the Malaysia government to form a royal commission to check on his 22 years reign as PM. The following article is taken from the blog of the man himself, for those, fans or not who are keen to follow his news. Read on... Quote Written by: Dr M Tilted: FORM ROYAL PROBE ON DR M'S SQUANDERING 1. I welcome Lim Kit Siang's proposal for Najib to set up a royal commission on whether I burned RM100 billion on grandiose projects and corruption during my 22-year reign. 2. Such a commission should not be made up of Government nominees but should have as members impeccable people including foreigners and members of Transparency International. 3. The commission should not confine to one Prime Minister only but to Tun Abdullah Badawi's regime. 4. It should include how RM270 billion of Petronas money paid during Abdullah's five-year term was spent; what projects were financed by this huge...

Quote The corruption of Mahathir: by George Soros - published by Bangkok Post George Soros is not only one of the best investors in the world but very well informed too. He has spelt out clearly what Malaysians have known all the while. Malaysia with all the riches in raw materials should have a stronger currency but what started one for one equivalent with S'pore 30 yrs ago now has lost out to S'pore currency by 2.3 times. Now Malaysians know why........Soros has explained in very great detail.....Of course one cannot get to read this in the main media in Malaysia . Subject: The corruption of Mahathir: published by Bangkok Post Taxpayers and voters were made to pay for his visionionary expenses enriching selected vendors along the way all paid by taxpayer or rakyat's money. The corruption of Mahathir: SOROS' REPLY TO MAHATHIR - Adapted from Bangkok Post (Not published locally) I have always said Dr Mahathir is a menace to his own people. Now only you can see th...

This article posted by Dr M, former PM of Malaysia did impress me somewhat (still not his fan though) and I decided to post his article on my blog for people to make own judgment of him. Quote 1. I would like to thank everyone for their comments on the above. I appreciate very much the positive comments and I accept the negative ones also. I am not perfect. I make mistakes. But some of the wrongdoings attributed to me are just not true or correct. 2. We see what we want to see. Everyone is like that. So do I. But I try my best to be factual. 3. My greatest mistake is in the choice of people. I seem to be picking the wrong people all the time. They not only did not live up to my expectations but they went all out to do all the wrong things, including abusing me. 4. I accept the blame for making wrong choices. But they were all so good before they were chosen. 5. Anwar was pious and holy almost. Before I admitted him into Umno no one told me of his peculiar inclinations. 6. The other o...

Last year this time, Winnie participated in GE 2008 5km run for the first time and in this year's event, she ran the competitive 10 km. This year is GE 4th consecutive time and for Winnie, her second. Got up this morning at about 0530 hrs, picked up Winnie at about 0600 hrs and we arrived at the start point near Esplanade at about 0630 hrs. Admittedly, I was quite concerned Winnie may not last the gruelling 10 km run as she had not been training quite regularly for a while. The last 10 km run she did was in May, the PAssion Run where I did 15 km and since then, she had intermittent training. Did the usual routine as last year, she had to go to the toilet at Esplanade en-route (there are many mobile toilets near the Padang but she still chose the toilet at Esplanade for obvious reason) before heading to the start point. Flagged-off at 0700 hrs by Her Excellency, the Ambassador from the Philippines, there were some 14,000 female runners as announced by the gregarious MC on the air...

The run to Bukit Timah Summit on last Sunday (27 Sep) was my first attempt and for Chua, his third or fourth I think. Got up at about 6.15am and arrived at Chua's place before 7am, he was already warming up at the carpark. Chua is staying at Bukit Panjang, fairly near to Bukit Timah. We used to have three musketeers, missing was Eddie. From Chua's place, we ran to the forested pipeline heading to Rifle Range. The terrain was quite undulating, tougher than running on a normal tarred road which took us under half an hour to reach the fringe of Rifle Range where Eddie lives. We then made an u-turn to the mid-point, one of the routes up Bukit Timah summit. Chua led the way, I followed behind. Unlike Mt Faber, the steps were uneven and not cemented. We had to watch out for the protuding roots, a mis-step could spell trouble. It was a long run up the improvised steps, as if never ending. I had to stop to catch a breather or two while Chua continued his ascend. We huffed a...

I wonder, has food anything to do with politics where Malaysia current sorry state-of-affair is concerned?, just wonder aloud! The honourable Tourism Minister, YB Dr Ng Yen Yen, who launched the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival recently complained some countries 'hijacked' some of so-called Malaysia local food as their own, which include Bak Kut Teh, Laksa, Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nasi Lemak and Chilli Crab...what craps! As a learned and seasoned politician, she should not have not known Singapore and Malaysia were intertwined historically & culturally (or she chose not to know for obvious reasons) and at the same time, inherited some old political baggage (sigh!) after Singapore gained her independence on 9 August 1965. If she had intended to shore up much needed public support after a big lashing by Indonesia for the boo-boo in featuring Bali penyet dance as Malaysia's own, her undiplomatic comment certainly did not gain her friends in Singapore too. Using ...

If the recent incident in Malaysia involving a Muslim lady caught drinking and sentenced to be whipped though the case is still pending has not caused much hue-and-cry, this one that happened in Sudan is even more absurd. See the story below by Guillaume Lavallee. KHARTOUM (AFP) – Sudanese journalist Lubna Ahmed Hussein who spent a day in jail for refusing to pay a fine for wearing "indecent trousers" vowed on her release on Tuesday to keep up the battle against the law. "We will continue the fight to change this law, the public order police, the public order tribunals," she told AFP at the offices of Ajras Al-Hurriya (Bells of Freedom) newspaper where noisy supporters celebrated her release. Hussein was imprisoned on Monday after she refused to pay the fine imposed earlier the same day by a Khartoum court for wearing trousers deemed indecent. She could have faced one month in jail. "She came out of prison. We paid the 500-pound (200-dollar) fine," explai...

Tun Dr Mahathir, the 4th PM of Malaysia posted this article below, titled 'Sound Bites (Water for Singapore) on his blog, http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/08/sound-bites-water-for-singapor.html and this was in reply to current Malaysia Dy PM, Tan Sri Muhyiddin, who recently publicly mentioned to the press that MM Lee did threaten to go to war with Malaysia if water supply could not be resolved then when he was the MB of Johor. The following text was quoted by Dr M himself: Quote 1. Tan Sri Muhyiddin spoke the truth about my persuading him to supply water to Singapore (read here). But Lee Kuan Yew did not threaten to go to war if we did not supply water. If he had done that, I think I would have stopped any further supply. 2. We were at that time trying to be friendly with Singapore in order to solve several problems. Although raw water would be supplied at 3 cent per 1000 gallons, the understanding was that in future only treated water would be supplied when our treatment pl...

My preparation for this year's Stanchart 42km full marathon in Dec is going according to schedule so far - it's a first in my lifetime to attempt the full marathon which is a pledge made last year. In April this year, I did the 10km Singapore PAssion run with Winnie in Sengkang which was her first 10km of her life and boy, she surprised even herself to clock creditable time. She is now making preparation for Stanchart 21km half marathon and with sheer determination, she can complete the race at own pace - 加油, Winnie! On 24 May, I did the 15km Saucony 100Plus PAssion Run with Chua while Winnie participated in the 10km event. It was a hot morning at East Coast and flagged-off was slightly delayed @ 0800 hrs. I huffed and puffed, finally hit the tape @ 1 hr 28 mins plus and Chua, always a stronger & fitter runner than me finished well ahead of me. It was a good run for me but I did hope the weather would have been more forgiving. The Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Ma...

Thanks to Eddie, Chua and I had the privilege to join some 300 corporate leaders and government officials in this Semakau Run 2009 which is into its 3rd year running. The uniqueness of Semakau Landfill is that it is an island, just 8 kms south of Singapore is created entirely from the sea space filled with trash. It is an initiative of National Environment Agency started way back in 1995 , a first in the world too. Semakau Run 2009 is only a short 5 km route, along the stretch of road in the landfill and its breezy surrounding simply blew you away. We took the ferry at Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal, just a short 20 mins ride away. At about 5.30 pm, the guest-of-honour, Minister Yaacob Ibrahim flagged us off. We did not intend to compete for fast times, instead chose to do a leisure jog around. After the run, there was a sumptous dinner waiting for us before heading back to Singapore. We enjoyed the trip and the run and we certainly look forward to another one next year.

A frank discourse by a bumiputra of Malaysia. LEE KUAN YEW : AT 85 , THE FIRE STILL BURNS Written By *AHMAD MUSTAPHA *The writer is a nephew of Dr Mahathir. Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew, who was Singapore's founding father, has always been very direct in his comments. This was the man who outsmarted the communists in Singapore (with the innocent help of Malaya then and the willing help of the British) and who later outwitted the British and outpaced Malaysia in all spheres. Singapore practices corrupt-free meritocracy and Malaysia affirmative action. The former attracted all the best brains and the latter chased out all the brains. The Singapore cabinet consists of dedicated and intelligent technocrats whereas Malaysia has one of the most unwieldy cabinets. Not only that, brain wise it was below par not even good for the kampong. With that kind of composition, one that is very brainy, naturally Singapore, with no natural resources could outstrip Malays...

He has conquered Arctic, attempted the Antartic and perhaps the toughest of all, covered 7 gruelling marathons in seven continents in 27 days - created a world record in the process. And he did all these on his wheelchair. Despite being paralysed waist down due to polio at aged two, he is one special breed of human being, a Singaporean we can be proud of, who has persevered, trained much harder than the physically able-bodied ones to win accolade, one after another. A doctor by profession, he has been giving inspirational talks around the world, sharing his insights on turning adversity into opportunity. I am truly inspired by him and so too for many, no doubt about it. He may be down with leukaemia but he is not felled for good. He has now issued another challenge, perhaps his biggest by far to overcome this illness and he will fight on, no question about it. Despite his present condition, he still has another mission and this time around, he hopes to raise at least S$70,000 for...

Dr Mahatir's latest posting on his blog, (http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/07/the-modern-middle-kingdom-ii.html), cynically referring to Singapore as the modern middle kingdom (not again, sigh). It seems he has indicated no intention to relent anytime now, instead have worked hard to fire up sentiments on both sides using water as his attacking tool. Evidently, he enjoys creating difficulty to the present administration under PM Najib while the last Pak Lah administration was already destroyed by him almost 'single-handedly'. The long outstanding matters between the two nations were painstakingly discussed but under his tenure-ship as PM, nothing could progress further due more to his stubbornness and personal pride perhaps. As a retired celebrated politician now, he will stop at nothing to derail any good intention for the two present governments to make progess to satisfy his personal vendatta against our dear MM Lee. Notwithstanding, it is heartening to no...

He will be missed by fans all over the globe, no question about it, for in my opinion and many others too, he was the best pop idol second to none. An immensely talented kid entertainer and was one good looking black, his biggest mistake I feel was to try to look caucasian. All those plastic surgeries he had undergone would have taken a toll on him in his middle age years, perhaps. Well, who are we, as outsiders to jump to conclusion on the cause of his sudden demise and I shall say no more. He is gone, that's a fact and even the real cause is later established, he won't be revived either. Michael, you'll be remembered and may you rest in peace.

Following MM Lee trip to Malaysia, Dr M in his usual fiery style, posted this article on his blog (refer to http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2009/06/the-modern-middle-kingdom.html) giving his die-hard supporters and not quite his supporter, me a short lesson on Middle Kingdom of ancient China then and the new Middle Kingdom of the modern era. In his short article, he was obviously taking a swipe at our shiny red dot, Singapore for as long as his nemesis, our dear MM Lee is still in government. As if he had not gibbered enough, he went on to hit the 5th PM of Malaysia, Pak Lah for acceding too much to Singapore during his tenure. He could have addressed the 5th PM by his name, instead chose to call him the 5th PM. This is certainly uncalled for. Tit-for-tat and with due respect to this 4th PM of Malaysia who by any measure, was a great PM Malaysia could have asked for, notwithstanding I cannot be faulted for returning the same 'swipe' to him by addressing him the 4th PM inste...