A good lesson to learn from Tammy

Categories: Wormie Says

The current furore on the self-filmed sex video of Tammy of NYP is indeed regretable. I will not dwelve on the ethics or the legal aspects. These had probably been extensively debated in coffeeshop, blogs, newspapers, etc. What I would like to touch on involve the 'danger' of modern technology.

With current technology, taking digital stills and video is too convenient. All you need to do is to have a fairly cheap phone and you will get both. Gone are the days when you have to fork out thousands of dollars just to get a decent video camera. With such ease anyone can just use the handphone which is now ubiquitous and just click and viola! he or she had just become a director and producer! With such ease it is little wonder that people nowadays, seem to be trigger happy. The take anything that they can think of and anything that may interest them. Digital technology does not only provide easier capturing of events, it is also 'free' to keep the stills or video. They do not have to be developed to be seen unlike the old film technology. Once taken, the pictures and stills can be seen instantaneously and if you don't like it, just delete it off. All this for free!

Together with the convenience of digital stills and video we also are in the age of sharing. Sharing our experience, our photo collections, journeys in life and much more. Problem is we are not only sharing with people we know, but we share with people we do not even know exist! Of course what I am talking about is the Internet. We have the ubiquitous blogs, forwarding of emails, newsgroups and so on. All this make sharing too simple.

Coupled with the above, is the fact that people of today like to 'show off'. By show off, I mean they like to tell people what they are doing, what their thoughts are and how they feel (like myself!), or being kaypoh if you like. Gone are the days when people will keep their opinion to themselves or write down their feelings in their diaries. Now diaries in the form of blogs are no longer personal. They are there for the whole world to see. This has to do with the anonymity that the Internet provides to a certain extent.

Adding all these there things together, you will see that how it is so easy to abuse the new found technology. You take a photo, upload to your blog and the whole world will know! Because of these, young people especially need to be aware of the pitfalls in the new technology.

If you want to keep a secret, do not tell anyone! Sounds obvious enough.

If you want to keep you personal photos to yourself, do not leave it in the phone. With bluetooth or infrared technology, it is so simple to beam to another phone and had the photos uploaded. Phones can also be easily stolen like what happened in the NYP case.

Try to abstain from taking photos that you may regret at a later date. Example will be your nude photos and videos which you would like your boyfriend to have. This is because, there is always a chance that your boyfriend may ditch you and then show his 'prize catch' to the whole world. Some guys may even show off their 'beautiful bounty' to his friends in a bid to be one upmanship.

The Tammy's case is a perfect example of what 'good' intentions can go wrong. Unfortunately this will not be the last case we will see. Therefore if it something private, then only capture it in your mind. This way, anything private will stay private!

Where Oil Is Mined, Not Pumped

Categories: Do You Know?
Oil sand as the name implies are bitumen-coated sand and is composed of sand, bitumen, mineral rich clays and water. Bitumen, in its raw state, is a black, asphalt-like oil — as thick as molasses. It requires upgrading to make it transportable by pipeline and usable by conventional refineries. The upgraded bitumen product consists of naphtha, light and heavy gas oils that are combined to produce a light, sweet crude oil.

Use of oil sand is however not new. However it was not initially used as a fuel source. It was used by the local Aboriginal people a long time ago who used it to waterproof their canoes.

Oil sand deposits are found all over the world, with the largest deposits located in Venezuela and Alberta, Canada. Together with conventional oil, oil produced from oil sand makes Canada the second largest oil producing country after Saudi Arabia. The world's largest produce is in Alberta, Canada on the banks of the Athabasca River.

Conventional oil is extracted by drilling traditional wells into the ground whereas oil sand deposits are mined using strip mining techniques. Mined oil sand then undergoes an extraction process to separate the bitumen from the sand before undergoing further processing to produce crude oil.

Environmentalist had been up in arms since the extraction of oil sand began. The energy- intensive mining process spews vast volumes of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to gases that scientists say play a big role in global warming. For every barrel of synthetic oil produced in Alberta, more than 80 kg of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere and between 3 and 5 barrels of waste water are dumped into tailing ponds. The companies say they plan to eventually fill all the pits and are planting trees. But they say the waste ponds -- filled with water, sand and petroleum byproducts -- will take years to settle. Yet such re-filling is not without hazards. Officials of the government agency Environment Canada said in a recent interview that in the past five years, they have taken 21 enforcement actions against oil-sands companies for such violations as releasing prohibited contaminants into the air and water.

In Alberta, this form of oil extraction completely destroys the boreal forest, the bogs, the rivers as well as the natural landscape. The boreal forest ecosystem is the contiguous green belt of conifer and deciduous trees that encircles a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, the boreal forest stretches across most of northern Canada and into Alaska. It is important as the "great lung" of North America, and it manages to do what the rain forest of the Amazon does but with only the fraction of the flora and fauna. The mining industry believes that the boreal forest will eventually colonize the reclaimed lands, yet 30 years after the opening of the first open pit mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, no land is considered by the Alberta Government as having been "restored."

The environmentalists also argued that the $22 billion invested represents an enormous step in the wrong direction, as this will prolong North America's addiction to oil. This will lead to ever increasing demand for oil instead.

Reference Oil Sand: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Reference Boreal Forest: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Of kopi susu, sari and cheongsum...

Categories: Singapore
The Government is launching a Community Engagement Program and held a no-holds barred dialogues with community leaders, grassroot leaders and students a few days ago. From press reports it was clear that frank and difficult questions were asked and equally frank answers given. I would like to share my thoughts on bridging the racial divide.

As the PM had said, it is impossible for Singapore to become a "kopi susu" society simply because we are different. There is no point in pretending that we are the same. But we must create conditions that reduce and blur these differences. I had mentioned in my previous blog about how a Chinese can go through every day life without coming into any meaningful contact with those from the minority group.

The Government had introduced Racial Harmony Day in schools and visits to various places of worships. This is a good start but for me it is too superficial. Examples given by the Education Minister of how SAP school organises football matches with neighbourhood school in promoting racial integration is also too superficial. This is because once these events are over, the children will drift back to their comfort zone and the social contacts ceased. Anyway, in the mist of the competition, albeit friendly no doubt, the main intention of the event can be easily lost.

What I feel is more important is the role of the media. The majority of Singaporeans watch TV and listen to the radio. Like I said in previous blog, if you watch the national TV, you can easily forget that Singapore is a multiracial country. This is because Chinese channels have purely Chinese programs, with Malay and Tamil channels almost purely Malay and Tamil programs respectively. Channel News Asia fare slightly better because some of the programs do highlight the minority issue, personality and reports.

What I propose is for the national TV to slot in short clips about each ethic groups. This I feel will make each ethnic group aware of the other's practice, cultures and taboos. How many Singaporean know the difference between Hari Raya Haji and Hari Raya Puasa? How many Singaporean know about Thaipusam? By having short clips, say 30 seconds, such occasions will make the society appreciate the other festivities. Knowing Singaporean is an overworked lot, they are unlikely to actively seek out their neighbours once they are at home and therefore, the role of national TV. This may be equivalent to the 'push' technology of Blackberry PDA! You are reminded even if you chose not too!

The recent insanity triggered by the publication of Prophet Mohammad caricature by a Danish newspaper demonstrated the importance of understanding and respect of each other's culture. I feel that if the majority of the Danish people understand more of the Muslim faith, the caricatures may never had been printed and the aftermath insanity could have been prevented.

Maybe the cost of production of such clips is high, but the cost of rupture of the social fabric may be higher.

South Pacific territory of Tokelau ....

Categories: Do You Know?

The tiny South Pacific territory of Tokelau is voting on whether to become one of the world's smallest self-governing states. Tokelau? I did a search and found the followings.

Tokelau consisted of three coral atolls, which together make up just 4.7 sq miles (12 sq km), lying halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. It has no airport, roads or capital, with an annual income of $2m. It has been governed by New Zealand since 1926 after the British transferred administration to it. It has a population of just 1500 people. They have no currency of their own but uses the New Zealand dollars.

And in case you have been wandering which country a web address belongs to when you see .tk, this internet country code belongs to Tokelau of course!

BBC news report
CIA factfiles
Tokelau Council of Ongoing Government
History
Tokelau travel

End all this insanity....

Categories: Wormie Says

Since the publication of Prophet Mohammad caricature a few days ago, we have seen some insanity on both sides. On the one corner, we have over-zealous defendants of freedom of speech and on the other corner, we have and equally over-zealous defendants of Islam. And unfortunately, in this match, the spectators bear the brunt of the fallout.

Defendants of freedom of speech had proven their point when various newspapers in various European countries boldly printed their thinking on the front page. 'Defendants' of Islam have also proven their point with the widespread demonstrations and unfortunate in a violent manner. And who are the people who suffer as a consequence? The spectators - the silent majority - who are not involved in the controversy.

Any winner in this match? None whatsoever. Any loser? YES, everybody involved and sadly the spectators as well.

It is timely that the Organisation of Islamic Countries had categorically expressed their disapproval with the way the over-zealous Islamic defendants are showing their protests. It is equally heartening that heads of Western countries are calling for restrain on their press.

I feel that both sides are in the wrong. One being provocative and the other walking straight into the former's trap. By depicting the Prophet with a bomb on his turban, the West tried to stereotype the Muslims. But by resorting to violence, burning of Embassy and destruction, these very 'Muslims' are reinforcing the very stereotype they are trying to prevent.

Feelings had been deeply hurt but resorting to violence will not help. Since money talks, the most effective method to deal with such controversy will be to boycott their products. Already, we can see the effectiveness of this boycott with Danish companies quoted as having lost about a million a day in trade. This is certainly more effective and fruitful.

Already we had seen much destruction and both sides had made their point. Now should be the time to look back and reflect on each actions and consequence. Now is the time to stop the insanity.

Is Singapore really such a mature society?

Categories: Singapore

I was on a bus this morning when this question struck me. I was watching the TV mobile which was showing the promotional clips on an upcoming local production called "A Light Affair". The thing that caught my attention was when the girl was asked what type of underwear she likes, and she replied "I like nothing". Is Singapore truly so opened?

I find Singapore is a land of contradictions. You enlist 18 year old boys for reservist. Yet they are not allowed to vote in the election. They are given condoms on oversea stint and yet they cannot watch R(A) movies. And now you have Desperate Housewives and A Light Affairs and yet sex education is still a taboo although this is slowly changing.

Outwardly Singapore seemed to have reached a certain level of maturity. This is because Bedroom scenes are in abundance on our TV. And this include local productions. We even have the 'notorious' Crazy Horse performance, bar top dancing and I am sure others which I am not familiar with. All these presumed a certain level of maturiy.

However, there lies the contradictions again. People are 'encouraged' to be courteous. The Police have to 'defend' themselves when they try to stop racing on our roads. Camera had to be installed in lifts so as to 'discourage' people from urinating in lifts. The list goes on and on.

My suspicion that our society is a pseudo-mature one is strengthened when I read an article directed from tomorrow.sg by Sonic. The article highlighted that skateboarding is not allowed in the Esplanade. This may sound strange because here we have people harping on creating a vibrant society and at the same time we have people stopping what would constitute the creation of a vibrant society. Granted that the authorities is concerned for the safety of the people using the Esplanade, would this suggest that our society is not mature enough as to differrentiate between having clean good fun and infringing on others privacy?

So unless some tweaking is done at every level, our so called mature society status is at best a pretentious one.

The Scenic bridge

Categories: Malaysia, Singapore

So will the 'scenic' bridge materialised? Whatever the outcome of the planned meeting between the Foreign ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, a bridge will definitely be build. Question is whether it will be straight or in 'S'-shape.

The bridge is definite because of what the Dr Mahathir had said when he was the Prime Minister. He had said that Malaysia does not need Singapore's agreement if she wants to replace the Causeway in its territorial waters. Therefore he had already put national pride at stake. Therefore there is only one course of action and that is to built the bridge. Only the shape of the bridge is in question.

The disadvantage of building a half-bridge in an 'S'-shape is certainly one of cost. To build a straight bridge is expensive enough but to build an 'S'-shaped one will certainly magnified the cost given the extra length needed. Not only that, when and if a straight bridge is to be build, this 'S'-shaped section would probably have to be removed. This is because the end of the S-shaped bridge is to be linked to the existing Causeway on the Singapore side.

Another problem is the railway and the water pipes that runs parallels to the Causeway. The train certainly can't take the crooked bridge. And if the train can't take the crooked bridge, then the idea behind replacing the Causeway would be irrelevant. In fact if Malaysia decides to stop the train service in JB, then this will only be to her disadvantage as the agreement on the railway in Tanjung Pagar is tied to the use of the railway station.

But whatever disadvantage and impracticality there is overshadowed by national pride. Therefore the bridge must be built!

Singapore, on the other hand, has more room to manouver. They have left the issue open when they said that they will agree to the bridge if 'both sides benefits from the arrangements'. They will not looked stupid if they don't go ahead with building the bridge. But what may the 'benefits' that Singapore is looking for?

My thinking is that of the Tanjung Pagar railway station and the question of the check-point. Tanjung Pagar railway station had proven to be a stigma. Physically it prevented the expansion of the Keppel Harbour. Emotionally it represented the 'colonisation' of Malaysia. Therefore by removing the railway station the benefits are huge.

Another issue may be the use of SAF planes in the Malaysian airspace. Previously SAF planes could fly past Malaysian airspace on their take off. After the fallout between Dr Mahathir and Mr Goh Chok Tong, this privilege was stopped. Since then, all SAF planes that needed to intrude the Malaysian airspace on its take-off needs individual clearance. This has definitely hindered the efficiency of the SAF. This also cause a dent in Singapore's national pride.

Singapore may also be looking in the opening of Malaysia air space to commercial flights. If this happens, SIA will be the main beneficiary. Malaysia has many places of interest especially it natural beauty. With Singapore being the main tourist hub and stop over, this will let Singapore to exploit Malaysia's eco-tourism sector as its own backyard. This will further enhance Changi Airport. Malaysia will also benefit from this arrangement but its benefit will be less.

The renewal of water from Johor has loss its urgency since the introduction of NeWater. Of course this may provide the sweetener that Singapore may be looking for.

Malaysia has more to loose compare to Singapore if there is no agreement. Therefore it may be in Malaysia's interest to provide some 'leeway' to Singapore. The only thing Singapore will loose is the cordial ties it is currently enjoying with Malaysia. Then again, given the cordial relations between Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and Mr Lee Hsian Loong, an agreement may be hammered out. If that happens, Malaysians will be deprived of a 'scenic' bridge, the world's first crooked bridge and a place in the Guiness Book of Records.

The price of total freedom of speech

Categories: Wormie says
With the publishing of the Prophet Mohammad caricature a few days ago, now we can see the consequence. Sure it is easy to blame on the militancy of 'Muslims'. But isn't all this started with the West adamant? If they feel so strongly about freedom of speech then let them be answerable to those innocent people who have their properties damaged and bodily-harmed.

Even the law recognised the consequence of a provoked reaction. So why can't the West understand and accept what they have done - that is simply a provocation by publishing the caricature after the Danish government issued a statement of regret. The Danish newspaper may be ignorant but the rest of the newspapers are just plain provocative when they printed on their front page that they have a right to freedom of speech!

If this the what freedom of speech is all about, then I feel sorry for those who preached it. Luckily the British newspaper had more common sense then to print the caricatures. Lets hope they will resist the so-called freedom of speech but be more responsible to the public at large.

This sad episode should be a timely reminder to people in multi-racial society. This is exactly what will happen if someone is irresponsible with their speech.

But at the same time it is also very sad that the very reason why the caricature was protrayed is the very thing that happened - violence. Because of the so-called 'Muslim' extremist, what was protrayed happened. This will reinforce the disrespect and ignorance of the West towards Islam. I hope Muslims leaders will be responsible and urges their followers to be moderate in their displeasure to the caricature. Maybe by proving the West wrong, will then be respect for the religion.

A case of Pot calling the Kettle black!

Categories: Wormie Says

If western countries can ban Martin's Scorsese's depiction of Jesus as a normal man with sexual desires in the Last Temptation of Christ on grounds of blasphemy, then the same western countries should also ban publications of the caricatures depicting Prophet Mohammad. If they don't, then the question is not one of freedom of speech but one of respect and human rights!

For the record: On 1988, October 22, a French catholic fundamentalist group launched molotov cocktails inside the Parisian saint Michel movie theater to protest against the film projection. This terrorist attack injured thirteen people, four of them where severely burned.

Just tell me which religion has no extremist?

All religions are good, its the people that make them bad!

If a religion is not mainstream then they are usually referred to as a sect. However which religion does not start off as a sect since they have to start from somewhere! Even the different denominations of Protestants started of as a sect until they gain widespread belief. The same goes with Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc

Hair in exchange for pain?

Categories: Malaysia

Once again the Malaysian police is in the limelight for the wrong reasons. This follows hot on the heals of strip-search incident. Now it involves the shaving bald of 10 elderly men who were caught playing mahjong during the Chinese New Year. The reason for shaving them bald was based on Section 9a of the Lock Up Rules which stated that a detainee's head can be shaved bald. This incident again created much public uproar and once again showed the inconsistency in the implemetation of rules in Malaysia.

If you remember correctly, Datuk Anuar Ibrahim was never shaved bald even after being detained for many months before his trial. But than again, he 'exchanged' his hair for a black-eye. Maybe these elderly men should be thankful - not only do they get a free hair cut, they are also spared some pain and external injuries!

Malaysia boleh!!

Problem with freedom of speech

Categories: Wormie Says

For a long time the West had been championing the freedom of speech. This is all good and sundry if freedom of speech is used responsibly. The current controversy involving the portraying of Prophet Mohammad in a cartoon caricature is a good example on the dangers of freedom of speech if it is not laced with some responsibility.

In the Islamic faith, the Prophet Mohammad cannot be portrayed as such images could encourage idolatry. Therefore the caricature is forbidden under Islam. And to portray the Prophet with the bomb as a turban is a definite affront to the Muslims.

Granted that when the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten first published the caricature in September last year, they may have been ignorant about such sensitivities. However after the outcry by the Muslim world, other newspapers should be sensitive. Instead, they chose to publish the caricature citing the freedom of speech as its main principle. This is where freedom of speech fails.

When people talk about freedom of speech, they are assuming that the person behind the speech is a responsible one. Being responsible means not having an intention to hurt or injury either physically, mentally or emotionally. Otherwise chaos will happen under the guise of freedom of speech. A good example will be that of Osama bin Laden. He is exercising his freedom of speech when he asked "Muslims" to attack the US. The Hamas which recently won the Palestinian election is also practicing freedom of speech when they say that they will destroy Israel and so is the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regarding Israel. But what are the consequences of such "freedom of speech"? Terrorism. This is the consequence of freedom of speech without responsibility.

In many Asian societies, the populations are rather heterogeneous. Therefore, freedom of speech is always tampered with some restrictions. This is probably difficult for the West to understand because they have a more homogeneous populations. Chances of hurting someone by saying something stupid is less likely compared to the so-called Eastern cultures.

It is interesting to note that the Western newspapers are still adamant and being provocative in publishing the caricatures amid talks of anti-Muslims protests in Denmark and the current terrorist climate around the world. When violence breaks out, it is easy to blame it on the so-called Muslim terrorist when the West had not been sensitive to their concerns. To tackle the so-called Muslim extremist is not by force but by diplomacy. If you push anyone to a corner even the moderates will change sides. The more you push, even the most moderates will switch in time.

It is therefore timely when the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that freedom of the press should not be an excuse for insulting religions and that "the freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs and tenets of all religions"

If the West has no respect for any other cultures as amply seen in its colonial history, then freedom of speech is just another tool in its colonial mentality.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year

The man to watch....

Categories: Singapore

With the Singapore election looming, it is time again to make predictions. No, not predictions about who the winning party will be, for in Singapore, unlike other countries where it is hard to predict the winning party, here it is a foregone conclusion. Here, the predictions include how many percentage of popular support the government gets, how well the opposition fare and of
course who the next heavy weight will be.

Singapore's power succession is rather unique. Although it is largely patriarchal, there is an 'inner' circle who also hold important cabinet posts and other 'junior' ministers whose role is mainly to support the 'inner' circle. Those in the 'inner' circle are shortlisted and tried. If they do not make the mark, they may be sidelined for the more important cabinet posts. This is different from other countries where grassroot support plays a main part in the political
hierachy.

In previous elections, it was clear that Mr Teo Chee Hean was one of the main pillars in this inner circle. He was largely tipped to be Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) when Mr Lee Hsien Loong becomes the Prime Minister (PM). However, because of an in-built system of political transition, where the future PM would have to undergo a period of 'training', he was unfortunately not named the DPM. Mr Teo happens to be Mr Lee's comtemporary.

In 2001, the PAP brought in 7 new faces who were later made Ministers. One had since 'ofted out' because of personal reasons. Five had been promoted to full Ministers and one a Senior Minister of State. Out of these the person to look out for, in my opinion is Mr Ng Eng Hen.

Among all the new full ministers, Mr Ng had been given largely important portfolios. He started out as Minister of State, Education and Manpower. Singapore, with limited resources, depends largely on its population as a resource. Therefore Education and Manpower Ministry is very important. Education level had been the basis of hiring and promotions in this meritocratic
society. Manpower management is equally important. The Ministry had been actively bringing in foreign talent that the country needs to improve its R&D and upgrading its other industries. This coupled with the need to upgrade its work force to become the so called 'value-added' work force so as to compete with its neighbour, as the country shifts its industry to a more high tech
one. Fours years on, he had been promoted to full Minister with the Ministry of Manpower and that of Defence.

Compared to the other candidate that was introduced in 2001. Mr Khaw, the present Health Minister had been rotated through various Ministries as Senior Minister of State, the most important portfolio is that of Senior Minister of State for Finance. Given his impressive performance during the SARS crisis and the debacle in NKF, it looked like he will be a Health Minister for awhile as there are many health-related issues that needs to be tackled like that of
Medisave, Medishield and the co-payment of medical fees.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the current Minister for Education has a rather impressive CV. He was given the appointment of Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry after he was elected MP. He is also the current deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the de facto central bank. However he is unlikely to be made the DPM as 'Singapore is not ready for a non-Chinese PM', to quote Mr Lee Kwan Yew in one of his National Day rally before he handed power to Mr Goh Chok Tong, the current Senior Minister.

The current Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports as well as Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, had not held any other important portfolios. He created a stir once in his maiden speech in parliment when he asked 'What makes a Singaporean, Singaporean?' However after that profound questions, he had largely fizzled out of the limelight.

Mr Raymond Lim, had a rather impressive range of portfolios. Among them were Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs (both portfolios he currently holds) and that of Minister of State for Trade & Industry. He too was largely out of the limelight.

Therefore from all the portfolios held, it seemed that Mr Ng is the only one who was rotated through the major Ministry except that of Finance and Trade and Industry. Don't forget that SM Goh only became the Finance Minister when he was also the Prime Minister. However there is another clue to indicate a bigger thing to come. He recently was given much air time by the newspapers and the TV. He fired the first salvo against the Workers Party's manifesto. Judging the PAP's history, more public exposures and opportunity to handle big and 'important' tasks are prelude to bigger things to come.

These are still early days yet. After all, it took about 10 years for Mr Goh and the current PM Mr Lee 6 years to be the DPM. Mr Ng is only 46 years old and this is only his first term as MP and already he had been given very impressive portfolios. Therefore, don't be surprised when Mr Ng is made the DPM eventually.

The Chinese Zodiac

Categories: Do You Know?

The Chinese zodiac

Come Chinese New Year on the 29th January, it will be the year of the Dog according to the Chinese zodiac. How did the Chinese zodiac come about?

There is a probability that the Chinese zodiac is of northern Chinese origin but the exact origins of the twelve animal system remain unknown. One Chinese legend attributes the creation of the animal signs to the semi-mythical Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) in 2637 B.C. However the most common figure mentioned was Buddha and the Jade Emperor with the twelve animals paying homage to the Buddha and a purported race as the commonest themes.

The commonest legend involving the Buddha is about Buddha who invited all the animals to join him for New Year's Day. However only twelve animals went. As a reward he promised to name a year for each one in order of their arrival, these were the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog and boar. This legend is by far the least credible of all explanations because the "twelve earthly branches" which correspond with the zodiac, was already in existence as early as the Zhou era, long before the advent of Buddhism.

Another version has it that Buddha invited the animals on the day he was to leave the earth and only 12 animals showed up and he named the years after them. Further variation involved the Buddha who decided to hold a competition for the animals' places in the zodiac sequence.

There are a few variations involving the Jade Emperor. One described how the Jade Emperor was bored and wanted to see the animals that inhabited the earth. He asked his advisors to bring him twelve animals. Twelve was considered to be a good sampling. So the advisor sent out invitations to the Rat (who was to bring the Cat, but jealousy got in the way of the Rat), the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Ram, the Monkey, the Rooster and the Dog. When the Emperor found out that there were only eleven animals, He sent his servant down to Earth to retrieve the twelfth animal. The servant saw a man carrying a Pig and so delivered it to the Emperor. The order of the animals were given by the Emperor.

A variation involving the Jade Emperor, which is also the most popular, is as follows. The Jade Emperor held a race to determine the fastest animals. The Emperor had decided the first 12 animals to cross the chosen river would represent the 12 earthy branches that make up the cyclical order of years on the lunar calendar. The ox agreed to let a cat and a rat -- both poor swimmers -- ride on its back during the race acros the river. The rat pushed the cat into the water and sat next to the ox's ear throughout the course of the race. Right before the ox was about to make its land, the rat jumped ashore and won the race, leaving his carrier, the ox, to place second. The cat did not place in the first 12, and it is unclear what became of it.

Whether the legends are true is anybody's guess. However what is clear is that the Chinese zodiac had been used for many thousand of years. There is even an industry evolving the Chinese zodiac and Chinese astrology. Variations of Chinese zodiacs had been seen in countries of the Far East of Korea, Japan and also the Indo-China states of Vietnam and Thailand.

State government gone bonkus.....?

Categories: Malaysia

The Kelantan state government is planning to build an artificial island about 3 miles off the coast of Tumpat. The island is to take on the shape of the famous Kelantan wau bulan and is estimated to cost RM3 billion. [NST]

What is the state government trying to do? Kelantan already had enough problems - unemployment, annual floods and poor infrastructure. Why the need for such grandiose ideas? Imagine what RM3 billion can do for the state. This should be enough money to build infrastructure and convert an agriculture-base economy to a small industry-based one. Other useful spending will be improving the drainage system so that the annual flood during monsoon season can be alleviated.

Tourism is an important source of income. So it is only understandable that some money needs to be poured into this sector. But to spend RM3 billion on one project which does not guarantee a profit, is another matter all together. Kelantan already have nice beaches - Pantai Irama, Pantai Bisikan and Pantai Seri Tujuh. Why not just spruce up these beaches, build what you need to build and I am sure the tourist will come. AND it will not cost more than RM1 billion. The returns will be much better given the lower investment needed.

If RM3 billion were to be spent, who will pay for the expenditure. Given Kelantan's financial situation, even with exorbitant taxes, it would take decades if not centuries to pay for the project.

So, to the people of Kelantan, you now know what type of state government you have, and I am sure you will know what to do in the next election.

Time to change

Categories: Malaysia

It is indeed heartening to know that there are groups out there who have urged the Government to review Article 121 (1A) of the Federal Constitution, which had since 1988 prohibited the civil court from having jurisdiction over Syariah court matters. What is more significant is that some of them are Muslims themselves. Previously only non-Muslims and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism are making the call. This shows that Article 121(1A) indeed needs to be refined and less ambiguous. Even the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had said that the Cabinet felt that while the Syariah court had jurisdiction over cases where the status of a Muslim convert was in question, the right avenue for the issue to be resolved was through the civil court. The issue comes to fore following the High Court ruling on Dec 28, 2005 that the civil court has no jurisdiction over the Syariah court and hence unable to try the dispute regarding the conversion of the late Mount Everest climber Sjn M. Moorthy to a Muslim. [Star Online, Jan 8, 2006]

Following the ruling, non-Muslims felt vulnerable as there seemed to be no avenue to dispute any conversion where documentation are not available or conversion had been kept from relatives. It is understandable because in the eyes of the non-Muslims, conversion had not taken place and therefore the dispute should be tried in a civil court and not a Syariah court. And if the case were to be tried in a Syariah court, wouldn't this mean that conversion had taken place and therefore there judgement is irrelevant. Catch 22 situation.

In the eyes of the non-Muslim this ruling had further enhanced their perception that the government had not been entirely fair when implementing the freedom of religion policy. Whatever avenue there was previously had now been closed when it comes to religion.

A more direct effect would be that on the family. Technically, if the husband had converted and the wife had not converted, then they would have commited khalwat or even zina. The wife and children would not be entitled to his property. His marriage would have been resolved.

Therefore it is most welcome for Malaysians - both Muslims and non-Muslims - to come out and urge the government to reveal Article 121 (1A).

Why so difficult to learn Mandarin?

Categories: Wormie Says

Why do Singapore children having so much trouble learning Mandarin? This is despite the encouragement and support given by the Government. Where has it gone wrong?

For those who are now in the middle-aged, they will remember that they were (and hopefully still) effectively trilingual if not quad-lingual(?). We spoke Teochew, Hokkien and English at home. Some could even speak Mandarin and Malay. No doubt, some will say that Teochew and Hokkien are not language but just dialets! Yes, they may be dialect, but you still have to learn them!

For those whose roots were across the causeway, remember the time when the teaching medium was changed into Malay? So now you have to learn English and Malay in national school and if you were 'unfortunate' enough, you have to learn Mandarin as well if you are in national-type (vernicular) school. Somehow they manage to learn 3 languages, with some of them scoring in all of them. Some of the Chinese Malaysian can even surpass their Malay counterparts in the National (Malay) Language exams.

What is it that makes learning a language so difficult in Singapore and smoother in Malaysia? Why is it that the outcome of learning a language so different? My feeling is that it is due to the environment and perception.

Previously, for the Chinese family, the whole family speaks in dialect generally. If you are Teochew, you speak Teochew. If you are Cantonese, you speak Cantonese. If you are Peranakan, you speaks English and Malay. Plain and simple. You therefore learn the respective languages and dialects without any agony. It is just 'routine'. This is similar to the present day situation. Why is it that English being a 'foreign' language, is so easily learned without any hassle. Even the grandparents who had never learned any English before, can speak some English.

Now comes the second language. In olden times, this would probably mean English for non-English speaking family. In Malaysia, it would be the national language - Malay. People just learn them because it is essential. You need English in order to succeed, to get a government job, to go to University, etc. In Malaysia, because its the national language and again you need it for university requirements and for daily social dealings. In order words you have no choice!

But some would argue that learning second language in Singapore, here I am talking about Mandarin is also forced upon us. True, you have no choice but the difference is that through the years, the pressure in learning Mandarin has dropped. Previously, second language may be the determining factor to a good secondary school. Now it does not matter. Therefore it can be seen that the requirements for Mandarin is getting lesser.

Another factor may be perception that speaking Mandarin is not in. If you don't speak Mandarin, society forgives you. If you don't speak English, you are either an Ah Beng or Ah Lian. Some how English is considered to have a higher standing, the 'elite' language. So people will gladly forgo the learning of Mandarin ('low' class language) for the learning of English ('high' class language). My Malay friends are telling me now that the same trend is happening with regards to Malay language. Nowadays, Malays are taking tuition to learn Malay. This is especially sad if you consider that dialects for Malays are in general Malay while for the Chinese dialects is significantly different from Mandarin.

However what is more important why learning Mandarin is so difficult is the lack of a Mandarin environment. By environment, I mean the environment to learn Mandarin. If you look at the children with difficulty in learning Mandarin, you will realise that they generally come from English-speaking family. The Mandarin-speaking family generally is not affected. Why? Because, Mandarin takes second place. For the English-speaking family, they can get by with English in their daily life at home. Whereas in Mandarin-speaking family, the medium of communication is - Mandarin!

There is even differences in the type of TV shows watched. TCS 8 (Mandarin) for the Mandarin-speaking family and TCS 5 (English) for the English-speaking family. Therefore in English-speaking family, the exposure to Mandarin is compromised. In this state, how are they going to learn Mandarin. To learn a language, you need to listen and speak it. If you are deprived of either, then learning any language is difficult.

Sometimes the parents indirectly 'discourage' their children to learn Mandarin unknowingly. They may have set the 'difficulty' level artificially for Mandarin when at home they express the difficulty in learning Mandarin. Small children who looked up to their parents will rapidly 'latched' on to the 'difficulty level' and therefore reinforce their fear in learning Mandarin. I am sure learning English is equally difficult if not more difficult than learning Mandarin. Ask any kids from a Mandarin-speaking family. But you never hear parents say that learning English is difficult! Language learning is only difficult if it is in-grained and reinforced to be so!

I have known of Filippino nurses who can speak Arabic. They learn the language while they are working in Arab countries. They do not speak or understand a single word before working there. But all of them said that they learn because everybody speaks Arabic (of course!)

Therefore before anyone says learning Mandarin is difficult, maybe create yourself a learning environment first. Maybe after that you may change your mind.

What a joke ...

Categories: Malaysia

What a joke? The Penang State Local Government, Traffic Management, Information and Community Relations Committee chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said that the state government's hands are tied and it cannot enforce rules to resolve public transportation woes on the island. [The Star Online Jan 3, 2006]. “The state will co-ordinate and come up with proposals, other than that, our hands are tied.” He said this following the recent queries and grumbles regarding the poor state of public transport in Penang.

The public transport in Penang had certainly deteriorated to a very sorry state. Previously when it was under the leadership of the then Chief Minister Lim Chong Eu, the public transport was superb. There were definite bus routes that ply the main roads in the City and the outskirts. Most of the tourist attractions were also served. Then there were four bus company - the City Council bus, the Lim Seng Seng bus, the Penang Yellow Bus and the Hin Company bus - each generally serving a specific part of Penang island. Granted there were still large housing estates that had no bus service, but generally if you walk to the main road, there will be public transport available. The buses were not allow to deviate from a set route with a fairly constant time interval (albeit a long one at times). Even if you do not own a car and wanted to travel to the Botanical Gardens or the Penang Hill, there was always a bus assigned to these tourist spots.

How times have changed. Now the four bus companies had be dissolved. The Penang public transport is made up of private bus companies running the mini-buses. The buses were designated numbers indicating the route to be taken. However now the bus routes seemed very limited. Most of the tourist spots seemed to have been left high and dry. This model had been used for the last few years However recently complaints had been plentiful and includes that of dirty buses (the buses of previous years were clean except for the City Council buses which were still clean compared to today's standard), buses not following assigned routes, not stopping at assigned bus stops and the long waiting time.

Recently there was a glimse as why the bus service is so poor in Penang. Apparently, these mini-buses paid the bus companies for providing the 'public service' and any extras will be pocketed. Therefore there is no such things as company policy or company guidelines or timetables. Each bus driver is essentially his own boss. This meant that assigned routes are just 'guidelines'. As each bus driver had to eke out a living, the temptation to deviate from non-profitable routes is ever present. No wonder there are so many complaints about the bus service.

Now a clearer picture had emerged. The office bearer who is supposed to be in-charge of public transport in Penang said that the problem lies with the Federal government agency and there is nothing that the Penang state government can do! What is it that the state government under Dr Lim can do that the current state government under Dr Koh cannot? Has the constitution changed so much that the state government is rendered useless? If the current state government does not have the power to change things in the state, why have a state government at all? Might as well cut down expenditure and save the national Budget! Sure you cannot control private bus company, but certainly you can come out with other solutions - maybe re-introduce the City Council bus, or create a new company that is under the jurisdiction of the State. Office bearers are paid to solve problems and not to give excuse! This is reminescence of the former Chief Minister of Melaka, Rahim Tambi Chik who said that he was not responsible for a dam that had dried up because he was not in-charge of the dam! A bunch of clowns...

By the way, if you happen to visit Penang and needed to take the bus, don't try to look for the bus-stop sign as most bus stops have no such sign. Just look for a group of people who are all looking anxiously in the same direction. That will be where the bus stop is!

Malaysia to launch biodiesel this year

Categories: Do You Know?

Malaysia’s pioneer biodiesel – the B5 fuel – will be supplied free for the whole of this year to ministries and government agencies that volunteer to try it out. [The StarOnline Jan 2, 2006] But what is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources for use in diesel engines. It can either be 100% biodiesel or it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. Malaysia's B5 is made up of 5% palm oil-derived diesel and 95% petroleum-derived diesel. Biodiesel had been used in several countries including the US, Canada and Germany.

Biodiesel is better for the environment because it is made from renewable resources, biodegradable and has lower emissions compared to petroleum diesel. It is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar.

Biodiesel is made from renewable fats and oils, such as vegetable oils or even used restaurant fryer oil, through a simple refining process. The is even a kit in the market for you to make your own biodiesel!


Biodiesel is compatible with current diesel engines. No modification to the diesel engine is therefore needed. It is also safer than petroleum diesel as it has a very high flash point of 300°F (temperature at which it will ignite when exposed to a spark or flame) compared to petroleum diesel at 125°F.

As opposed to petroleum diesel, biodiesel will clean your injectors and fuel lines. If you have an old diesel vehicle, there's a chance that your first tank or two of biodiesel could free up all the accumulated crud and clog your fuel filter. However it reduces engine wear by as much as one half, primarily because it provides excellent lubricity.

Vehicle hoses need to be checked after the first 6 months of operation on biodiesel as it can eat through certain types of rubber. Blends of 20% or less tend to have little effect on even non-compatible hoses. This is no longer an issue with new cars.

Biodiesel in 20% blend and with a catalytic converter had shown to reduce particulate matter by 31%, carbon monoxide by 21% and total hydrocarbons by 47%. It will also reduce sulfur emissions and aromatics.

The one disadvantage with biodiesel is the increased emission of NOx. NOx contributes to smog. It is felt that a slight increase (up to 15%) in NOx is greatly offset by the reduction in all other emissions and the major reduction in greenhouse gasses.

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The sixty-one second minute ...

Categories: Do You Know?
Get ready for a 61 seconds minute. Yes that's right. One minute with sixty-one seconds.

Scientists are delaying the start of 2006 by the first "leap second" in seven years, a timing tweak meant to make up for changes in the Earth's rotation.
A leap second is added to keep uniform timekeeping within 0.9 second of the Earth's rotational time, which can speed up or slow down because of many factors, including ocean tides. The first leap second was added on June 30, 1972, according to NIST, an arm of the U.S. Commerce Department.

Deciding when to introduce a leap second is the responsibility of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, a standards-setting body. Under an international pact, the preference for leap seconds is Dec 31 or June 30.

Now I wonder how the New Year countdown will be like.

....9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, minus one.... Happy New Year!?

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