Collin Ng's Blog

Note from me : Some years ago, I remember SM Goh who was then the PM, raised the much talked about topic asking Singaporeans, "Are you a quitter or stayer?". Many former Singaporeans called it quit for a myriad of reasons, I fully respect their decision. Is Singapore really that bad for them to uproot and seek greener pasture elsewhere? Our lack of 'so-called' freedom of speech or fearful to speak one's mind, painted by some very 'liberal-minded' western media gave wrong impression that Singaporeans living in this little red dot are largely restricted, sigh. Fortunately, it is not true at all. While many Singaporeans are still battling hard within themselves; to stay or quit?. Perhaps, this article below, which was written by a non-Singaporean may have changed the mindset of some quitters-to-be after reading what she has to say. Her name is Zhong Heng, a first-year 19-year-old student at Nanyang Technological University and her article first appear...

Note from me: The water agreements have always been used by politicians from our neighbouring country during Dr Mahathir tenure ship as the 4th PM to threaten SIN to rev up sentiments when there were disagreement of sorts. Singapore has already moved on, and now, we are the leader in the treatment of re-cycled water. For as long as Dr M lives, we will not see the end of this water saga despite the first agreement expiring in 2011, sad. Taken from the blog of Dr Mahathir (http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2010/11/water-agreements.html) 1. Next year, 2011, one of the agreements to supply up to 86 million gallons of water per day (mgd) from Johore to Singapore at 3 sen per 1,000 gallons will end. 2. I understand Johore is still buying treated water from Singapore for 50 sen per 1,000 gallons. The amount purchased should not exceed 12 per cent of the raw water bought by Singapore. 3. The agreement also stipulates that the price of raw water and treated water can be renegotiated and changed if...

My last visit to Sabah was some 15 years ago, then it was a working trip and climbing Mt Kinabalu was certainly never my agenda. This trip with SANL led by T.S. comprised 10 of us with an equal gender distribution of 5 guys and 5 gals. The highlights of this adventurous trip included scaling the summit of SEA's highest peak, Mt Kinabalu at 4,095.2m, attempting the Via Ferrata at more than 3,000m and roughing out the grade 4 Padas River on a water dinghy. With trepidation, we left on 28 Oct by Jetstar and on arrival at KK airport, our guide, Andrew from Amazing Borneo was already waiting for us at the airport. It was around 1300 hrs and we were first taken to Wisma Merdeka for our lunch. During my last stay in KK 'umpteen' years ago, Wisma Merdeka used to be my regular haunt being located just next to the hotel where I used to put up, the Hyatt. I cannot recognise the shops in the mall now. We had our lunch in this foodcourt styled in typical fashion back home. After lun...

The sorry state of Malaysia's bumi policy continues. Such a rare talent, would have been nurtured properly in his own country but he is going to work in SIN after having earned a rare first class in Cambridge. Read on... Written By Mariam Mokhtar He did his parents proud, his teachers are equally elated, his birthplace is euphoric to claim he is one of them, and his country would have been ecstatic. His name is Tan Zhongshan and he was born in Ipoh. He chose to read law at university because he said, “Being in the legal line gives you a chance to make changes that have a far-reaching effect.” In June, Tan received a first–class honours in Bachelor of Arts (Law) at Queen’s College, Cambridge, one of the world’s topmost universities. Cambridge, England’s second oldest university, usually contends with Oxford for first place in the UK university league tables. Tan excelled as the top student in his final-year law examinations, but he also won the “Slaughter and May” prize, award...

Taken from a source which is written by a Haris Ibrahim Quote Dear Mahathir Malaysianinsider reports that you had "defended the social contract, the so-called unwritten agreement between the Malays and the non-Malays during independence, by affirming that without the agreement, Malaysia would not have been formed". They quoted you : "If there was no social contract, the terms and conditions of allowing citizenship to non-Malays would have not taken place. One million outsiderswere given citizenships at the time." Now, this quote from you got me curious. Let me tell you why. I conferred with my aunt, who confirmed that my maternal great grandfather, Eliathamby, of whom I've written previously in a posting entitled "The land that my forefathers helped build", would have left Ceylon and arrived in what is now West Malaysia, around 1870. He died well before the conclusion of that social contract that you spoke of, so my great grandfather would not have com...

This year's Pink Ribbon Walk and Run on 2 Oct, Saturday was my second in consecutive time. The difference is last year men can only participate in the walk event and for the first time this year, the organisers viewed supports from the men should be encouraged too, thus the run category was opened to the men. The walk and run event was held in the same venue as last year at the former Big Splash along East Coast and the distance, 5km for both run and walk respectively. The flag-off was scheduled at 8am for the competitive run and 8.45am for the walk. In bid to go green, I decided to cycle instead of driving, left my house at 7am which took me less than half hour to reach the venue. I was warmed up enough by the time I reached, parked my mountain bike near the guard post and then proceeded to place my haversack at the left baggage tent. It was still early, some 20 mins before the flag-off. I slowly made by way to the start-line and hoping to catch some familiar faces but no luc...

Clash of the titans of the old guards between the 'supposedly retired for good' Dr M and our dear MM Lee. Credits to the both of them for their contributions to their respective countries as PM. MM Lee was recently interviewed by New York Times to speak on race relations between the two countries which garnered international audience, whereas Dr M's futile rebuttal of sorts could only attract some domestic listeners. Dr M, if he still remains effective (that is), should seek New York Times for a slot to be interviewed too. Below is another nonsensical article of his taken from his blog. Give it to this old fella for his unwavering spirit in trying to match up with MM Lee on the international arena and let outsiders, not Singaporeans or Malaysians form their own judgment. Quote 1. Mr Lee Kwan Yew, the Minister Mentor of Singapore is three years my senior. That means he and I practically grew up in the same period of time. That also means that I have ...

This year was the 26th edition of Medoc Marathon, a proud tradition of the southern French which is second to the Paris Marathon in term of international popularity and participation level in France. Held on 11 Sep, Sunday in this wine growing town called Pauillac, which is about two hours ride from the historical city, Bordeaux where my accommodation is located. Capped at no more than 8,000 runners, all participants practically had to fight hard for a place based on first-come-first-served only. Over in Singapore, this year our Stanchart Marathon boosts of some 60,000 runners in varied categories, an Asia record but in this Medoc event, quality stuff counts much. Almost every runner dressed to the occasion - the theme this year was 'Comic Hero', though many were not in sync with the given theme but really, who bothered much. I'd never witnessed an event like this in Singapore, so much alive and the supports from the ground, simply blew me away. For the record,...

When he was PM and now in his retirement, Dr M has never failed to live up to his notoriety with his 'bashing' of SIN whenever he feels like revving up Malay sentiments in his own country. He is a racist, no doubt about it. Here, allow me to post an article written by a Lu Pin Qiang whom I reckon is a Malaysian. It first appeared in the Sin Chew Jit Poh, a Malaysian newspaper recently. Quote Written by Lu Pin Qiang I believe many people would agree if one said Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was one of the most successful politicians in recent times. I believe, too, that no one would object if one said his methods of governance were worth studying. Speaking at a dinner held recently to mark the Republic's National Day, he said: "If one day, our communities become divisive and hostile towards one another; if they are not united and the bonds of national cohesion are weakened, the country will go downhill." MM Lee attributed Singapore's "...

In Dr M's latest posting on his blog, http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2010/08/is-meritocracy-racist.html, he again pulled in our MM Lee for special mention, which is of course not unusual of him. To strike a salient point, I copied a comment posted by one of his blind followers who himself (or so he claimed here) was a MARA scholar, a beneficial of Dr M's loop-sided NEP. For a scholar like Milsha to have written such a 'great masterpiece' in English language, i.e., greatly spells the sorry state of NEP in the bolehland. Read on for a good laugh... Quote Posted By Milshah (one of Dr M's blind followers who must have worshipped him like GOD) Assalamualaikum Tun and Selamat Berpuasa, Is meritocracy racist? It is racist when it is being used as an excuse for one race to become dominant over all the other races. For example, Singapore supposedly practice meritocracy. But we can see the economy, the military, the government and everything under the Singapo...

Extracted from Channel News Asia report, I am deeply humbled by these two Singaporeans in their resolute to run a full marathon despite one without an arm and the other a leg. Please find their inspiring story below. Quoted SINGAPORE : Running a marathon remains a dream for many, but two disabled Singaporeans will live their dreams in the Beijing marathon this October. Even though MD Shariff Abdullah runs with a prosthetic limb, while Adam Khamis runs without his right arm, they are able to compete against their able—bodied counterparts. This was the result of determination and training. 31—year—old Khamis lost his right arm in a traffic accident seven years ago. "I used to be an outgoing person. I was into bodybuilding, train five to six times in a week, and I used to be into soccer, rock—climbing... So when your life turns 180 degrees, things started to slow down. To get back on my feet — to start running — it took me a few years," said Khamis. Today, he runs because he wa...

Save for my army training years ago, I cannot remember I ever did a hike in Bukit Timah. This one led by seasoned trekker, SP, had attracted a motley of some 30 of us. I was thinking of parking my car near the Malayan Dairy Farm and from there, I should be able to make my way to the visitor's centre where all of us were to gather. But I should count my lucky star when I decided to change that decision at last hour, took up SP's advice to park at Beauty World mall as waiting time for a free carpark lot could take half an hour or so. I would have gotten lost myself if I decided to drive to Malayan Dairy Farm side, totally two different sides altogether. Requested Hwee who was to take a bus from her home in Woodlands to wait for me near Beauty World, and she will guide me to the visitor's centre. It was my first time to the visitor's centre, could have lost my way if I had gone alone - for sure. The trek was to start at 0830 hrs and we had arrived around that time, S...

Allow me to post this speech by Berita Harian Singapore editor Guntor Sadali, at the Berita Harian Singapore Achiever of the Year Awards ceremony on July 28, 2010 It is a fact known to all that Malays in Singapore are a minority. However this minority is quite different from other minorities in the world. Similarly, to some, Singapore is just a red dot in this vast Asian region. But it is no ordinary red dot. It is a grave mistake to equate size with ability, just as it is wrong to assume that being small and in the minority is to be weak and insignificant. The recent World Cup proved this. While Spain may be the world champion, it was minnow Switzerland that became the only country in the tournament that was able to defeat Spain. Forty-five years have passed since Singapore left Malaysia, yet every now and then we still hear non-complimentary comments from across the Causeway about the Malay community here. The latest came from former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who ...

It's Shape Run 2010 this morning and there were no rooms for guys, for it was an all ladies affair only. Winnie had registered the 10km event and she was lucky this time to have booked early for this spot, being one of the hottest run events for ladies here. Again, due to her tight work schedule, she did not do enough training prior to this event. She only managed to sneak one run on treadmills, covering some 5km this week, sigh. As I had no event this morning, I volunteered to pick her at her place and sent her to the venue. Got up this morning at 5am and left my house at about 5.15am for Winnie's place. I gave her a morning call before setting off, targeted to reach her place before 5.45am. Well, she came out of her house a little over 6am. The flag-off was scheduled at 7am at Nicoll Highway just behind Golden Mile Complex. We reached the basement car park of Golden Mile Complex at about 6.30am and proceeded to move on foot to the start point by following the throngs of femal...

Captured this news article which I find interesting, read on... This Indian man, Selva Kumar married a 10-year old female dog named Selvi to atone for stoning to death two dogs he found engaging in mating when he was teenager. "After that my legs and hands got paralyzed and I lost hearing in one ear", Kumar said. The groom also said that he would take care of it until its death. I wonder, who is the lucky one? The man or the dog?

Initiated by Chao Loy of Apex Club, a lunch gathering for some 400 old folks at Tse Toh Aum Buddhist Temple in Sin Ming was arranged today and as many volunteers were required. Both Winnie and Irene agreed to join me. Winnie had to work this morning, thus at about 0930 hrs I arranged to pick up Irene at her house first and then, drove over to HarbourFront to pick up Winnie before heading to Telok Blangah Crescent, one of the pick-up venues for the old folks. We arrived slightly early at Blk 5 but Nicole, the assigned co-ordinator called to inform that the pick-up venue had been changed to the Community Centre, not too far away from Blk 5. While walking to the CC, we witnessed a brawl at the coffeeshop. A fat man who was bloodied on the face, was seen gesturing & shouting at someone and bystanders were simply watching the fracas. We were walking on the opposite of the road to the direction of the CC. What an ugly morning unfolding before us, couldn't some people just exerc...

Husband Store , A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates: You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads: Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids. 'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.' So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking. 'Wow, ' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going....

I am honoured to play a part in this race when Nazlin from Singapore Cancer Society invited me to be one of their charity athletes during their preparation stage. This was my second participation in their annual event for the cancer cause, the last time was in 2008 with Winnie but I gave 2009 a miss, no particular reasons. Set my alarm at 0615 hrs before retiring to bed after watching the thrashing of Argentina by the mighty Germans, 4 nothing to be exact and it was already near midnight. Around 0200 hrs, I was waken up by an sms from Mark Soh but I couldn't open my eyes fully to read his text. Ignoring the sms, I continued my sleep. At about 0500 hrs I think, a sharp pain on the left leg shook me up from my bed. It was a bad cramp, the pain was unbearable and I had to stay down for it to subside. One minute or so later, the pain finally relented and I continued my sleep. From that moment on, I was actually, half awake and half asleep till the alarm struck exactly at 0615 hrs. Left...