Rantings, Ramblings & Ruminations of Reuben

Stolen

2011-12-08T20:46:00.001+08:00

I just got this in my email. Saw the first sentence in the preview and thought it was weird.
Now it seems the thief has contacted me, thinking I am a gullible fool who will hurriedly
transfer cash to help this poor sod out of his predicament.

Romanian Consular Office Edinburgh infoconsul.edinburgh@yahoo.co.uk via ISV03.stf.nus.edu.sg

show details 6:06 PM (2 hours ago)

Hope you get this on time, I made a trip to Madrid, Spain and had my bag stolen from me with my passport, cash and credit cards in it. Unfortunately for me, I've made contact with my bank but they are not providing a fast solution. I need you to lend me some money to sort my self out of this predicament, I will pay back as soon as I return.

Western Union transfer is the best option to send money to me. Let me know if you need my details(Full names/location) to make the transfer. You can reach me via email or the hotel's desk phone +34962463149.

I await your response....

Dr Mihai Delcea, Minister Counsellor
Head of Romanian Consular Office in Edinburgh
Tel: 0131 524 9498 Fax: 0131 524 9499
7-9 North St David Street, Edinburgh EH2 1AW

Awake Intentionally

2011-12-01T05:48:00.001+08:00

I set my alarm and woke at 5.30 a.m. this morning to prepare to meet Ying Wei at 6.13. She planned to go to Bedok Reservoir to do her leaf litter sampling. But unfortunately it was already raining. So it got postponed. This is one of the few times where I actually set the alarm to wake up so early. Generally I wake up between 5 to 7 am daily, so no need for alarms. Guess the rain has been a bane for Honours students with projects out in the field. It disrupts nearly everything, from being able to go out in the field, observing or collecting data/samples, or just being a very real danger. The unpredictability of the weather was one of the reasons why I chose a non-field project, as I already experienced the abject helplessness when I did UROPS and couldn't go out because of the rain.

But I didn't anticipate that non-field projects also face another kind of dire problem. If you're growing plants, time will also be an issue. You can't exactly double the growth rate if you're short on time. My project involves a lot of dependence on human factors, as it is part compilation a list of official biological emblems of the world and states of selected countries (Australia, Canada, US so far). To confirm what such emblems they have, the local name, scientific name and date of selection, I emailed representatives of each government of UN-recognized countries in the world. Naturally, there will be data gaps, for especially the date of selection. And of course, for certain countries in turmoil (Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria), I'm not too sure they have people checking the emails, much less respond. But the others, either they can't read English (I have re-emailed those yet to reply in both English and the local official language), the email addresses for many of their contacts are useless, or those handling these accounts are complete dimwits.

A field-project will be able to obtain 100% of their data from the pre-arranged plots or areas barring environmental factors. Meaning, as long as you are willing to spend the time to collect the data, in the end you will achieve completion. You can go every day of the week, as long as needed (with helpers if needed which is also another difficulty), and in the end it will be done. Some people may have already finished their data collection by now. But as for me, even reaching 50% of my intended target is proving to be maddening. I thinking that the remaining gaps will require exponentially more effort to fill, as I need to contact the same people again, look for new contacts that could answer my query authoritatively, think of new avenues to try my hand at getting this data, and each step takes more time and effort just to collect the same thing for other countries. Multiply that by the 193 countries, all biological emblems (plant, animal, fungi), information required (local, scientific name, date/year of selection), and you have many thousands of rows in Excel to fill. That's just the first step. After that, I need to collect more information to analyze the data collected.

This is if everything goes well. Otherwise I would be referred endlessly to different people in various positions and institutions, and never get the information I require after a few months of this. Or there would be a single response, but not giving me much information besides the local name, and then stonewalling my emails thereafter. Or the scientific name provided is either incorrectly spelled, an obsolete one, or its position is in dispute. A misspelling is the easiest to resolve, as Google does well that way. An obsolete one can be easily resolved by using databases that have the most recent name and other misapplications or synonymy listed. If not, there will be a goose chase of trying to use floras, revisions, monographs to match the old name to its current one. Finally, if the position is in dispute or name invalid, expert opinion would be sought. Contacting these would also be as tedious as the countries. Using various ways to obtain their most recent contact information, explaining what my question is and hoping that they would have the good graces to lend a helping hand.

Oh well, that's just a rant. So far I've just completed re-emailing the C countries. Hope to finish till Z by this week so I can do something else next week.

7

2011-11-22T09:52:00.001+08:00

Many people consider the number 7 as lucky or 'auspicious'. This is my seventh semester in NUS. The second last one before I graduate. Unless I fail something and have to resit =p

I had my first final paper for Introduction to World Religion on Saturday. There were 8 questions, and we had to select three to answer while comparing at least between two religions covered (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism). I chose:
1. Is divine intervention necessary for the achievement of personal religious salvation?
2. "World religions are either monotheistic or polytheistic."
3. "It is ok to kill as long as it is part of religious duty."
All of the questions were quite general, and therefore there are many ways to answer them.

This is my last Arts module, next sem will be fully in Science. For the last seven semesters, I have had at least an Arts module every sem. Most of them were in fulfillment of a Political Science minor (Introduction to Politics, Introduction to Public Administration, Southeast Asian Politics, International Politics of Southeast Asia, Singapore's Foreign Policy, Politics and the Visual) although I did take others for interest or better understanding of other political science modules (Government and Politics of Singapore, Chinese 1, Public Administration in Asia, Introduction to World Religion).

With two more final papers to last till next Monday, the final examinations this time has been less stressful. 40% reduction in the number of finals does wonders for stress levels, although it can be argued that stress is higher at all times during final year because of Honours Project. There are still on average about 30 countries that have not responded AT ALL to my emails which I have sent to the relevant ministries, agencies, departments, diplomatic missions (embassies, high commissions, permanent missions, consulates), educational institutions and local NGOs. About another 30 only confirms they either have no plant or animal emblems, but not both. Further emails to clarify are unanswered.

Now I'm restarting at the top of my alphabetical list again, and including herbaria, botanic gardens and zoos to email for those that have not replied, and even translating my emails in the local language. Thank God for Google Translate. The Armenian script looks quite elegant: Հիմա եմ վերսկսելու վերեւում իմ այբբենական ցուցակի կրկին, այդ թվում եւ herbaria,Բուսաբանական այգիների եւ կենդանիների տեղը կենդանաբանական այգում է, որ այդնամակը չեն պատասխանում, եւ նույնիսկ իմ էլ թարգմանում են տեղական լեզվով. Փառք Աստծո համար Google թարգմանել. Որ հայերեն սցենարը շատ էլեգանտ տեսք ունի:

Worse is some dimwits give me conflicting information, like saying their country doesn't have any such emblems that I'm looking for, and then another saying they have, and this is ONE of them. This of course casts doubts on whether other countries have such emblems or not when they tell me they don't. Oh well back to emailing...

Update

2011-11-05T07:36:00.002+08:00

Trying out the new template. Let's see how it goes.

My friend shared this on Facebook yesterday. Really like it. From: Kira Treibergs

This is a design Laurel and I made for the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology's fall term t-shirt contest! Here at OIMB we celebrate organismal diversity as it should be, with the spotlight on invertebrates. Message me orLaurel Hiebert if you would be interested in buying a T-shirt.
Thanks for all for your enthusiasm!

— with Laurel Hiebert in Charleston, Oregon.

Gonna meet up with Mei Ying, Joseph, Yi Min and Prashant later as Mei Ying is in Singapore now. Hope it doesn't rain.

I shall be in Penang next weekend for Yong Hu's wedding. After that reading week begins and then it will be two weeks of finals.

I intend to compile all biological emblems available on US state government sites and contact them by end Nov. Current progress: 35/50 states, completed to Ohio.

Also, will email the countries that have not responded to my emails by emailing all their diplomatic missions in the world. Now at: San Marino.

1/3 of the world's countries have confirmed their official biological emblems (local name, scientific name, date/year of selection). The rest either have not responded (above statement) or keep redirecting to someone else, or stonewall after initial response.

I hope that my species page on Oecophylla smaragdina (Asian Weaver Ant) is done once and for all. Stupid formatting keeps screwing the layout. The link shall be posted once it is on public domain.

I've been watching many series to the current airing episode in the US over the last few months, namely House, Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, Glee. Completed season one of The Glee Project, and started New Girl yesterday.

2011-08-27T11:52:00.003+08:00

http://mzl.la/pPRD92

http://mzl.la/mZpv6R

2011-08-27T11:52:00.001+08:00

http://mzl.la/pPRD92

Update

2011-08-10T06:50:00.002+08:00

New post after more than three months.

It's very obvious that the novelty of blogging has been lost. I guess if I do continue to blog, it would be more for my own benefit than for anyone's. Today is the official final day of the vacation before school begins. After that, my final academic year as an undergraduate in NUS begins.

Final Year Project has indeed been quite taxing. Listed under Project 11202 (nice number) in the Science Intranet as National, State and City Biological Emblems of the World. Here's the description and objective:

Description:	Many countries, states or even cities have biological emblems symbolizing these entities or representing specific qualities that they want associated with these, national or state flowers, national animals, etc. Each has been chosen based on historical, political or cultural reasons. No comprehensive study has yet been made of these to determine the bases of choices and the impact of conferring this status upon the taxon.
Objectives:	a. To compile the list of all biological emblems of countries, states and cities. b. To describe selected emblems in detail, e.g., national flowers of ASEAN c. To determine if there are correlates for various characteristics by analysis of the data matrix, e.g., conservation improvement, native or non-native species, preference for specific taxa (angiosperms, mammals, birds), etc.

It will change over time, I'm certain. Now the chief problem is the absence of online info for certain entities, and how I will be able to obtain these from official sources. Another would be the date of proclamation. How other to get it besides contacting those who are in the ministries and diplomatic missions I don't know.

I'm still waiting for my training completion letter from Penang Botanic Gardens. It has already been a month since my last day, but no letter has arrived in my letter box in Penang. I'm going to see how long it takes for them to deliver a single letter. I couldn't even get a simple timeline such as how long can I expect to wait before receiving it. There shall be more action taken should I not receive it soon.

Human to a God

2011-04-18T10:57:00.001+08:00

One of the reasons why I like Gaelic Storm.

Just a small request from this human to a god
Let me ask of you a favor, it might seem a little odd
I’m at a loss
I need to cross the ocean wide
And I need to do it soon, like tomorrow afternoon
If that’s okay

Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day

They don’t need to be angel’s wings, I’m sure they’re in demand
Something better than a chicken or a penguin would be grand
I just can’t wait
She’s set the date to marry him and it really should be me
Which explains the urgency
I can’t delay

Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day

I promise I won’t use them for a daredevil career
I won’t buzz the White House or race seagulls at the pier
I won’t get caught
Doing naughty things with pigeons or cropdusting in Des Moines
And I won’t run off to join Cirque de Soleil

Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day

Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day

I wouldn’t ask this of anybody else
I’m sure you sympathize
Cause you’re the one who made those lips
Put the sparkle in her eyes

It’s not your fault I said the things I said
I don’t blame you for making me a fool
But with these wings, I’ll fly straight to her side
This time I’ll follow through
Oh, come on, God, I’d do the same for you

Just a small request from this human to a God
Before she throws that last bouquet

Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day
Loan me some wings for a day

Why is Visual Aspect of Politics Important?

2011-03-14T21:56:00.003+08:00

Since I haven't been blogging for super long, I thought I may as well post a piece of my work here. Just to fill some space =p Not that I got a very good grade for it though. This is the first 2 paragraphs.

PS3260: Why is the Visual Aspect of Politics Important?

If politics is the “activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live”, then the enabler of such acts would involve the production of ideas, propagation and clashing of such ideas, deciding which idea should dominate, formulating rules that decide human action and social behaviour and the transmission of such rules (Heywood, 2002). Visual ability aids in allowing politics to occur, being so important that it is highlighted literally by the saying “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Being able to see is understood as conferring a great advantage, and delving deeper into the meaning behind this would be that those who are able to comprehend and understand something that others don’t provides them leverage and power over those that don’t. The process of politics itself has a significant visual aspect, from the act of identifying the self as a citizen of a state through flags and maps; to the recognition of a political party symbol on the voting slip. This paper will trace the visual aspects behind the political process, from the conception of ideas to the enforcement of rules supporting a certain norm.

The basis of every political theory is an idea. Many such theories incorporate ideas and characteristics from other pre-existing theories and systems of thought, amalgamating them into a workable unified theory or drawing ideas from what was observed from nature, the physical surrounding or the social environment at the time. This involved acts of physically being able to see and observe the occurrences that took place every day. Karl Marx first developed what was to become Marxism through his experience of the oppressive conditions, poverty and exploitation that he saw around him in the slums of London and the streets of Paris (McGuire, 2002). Edward Burke, questioning the excesses of the French Revolution and drawing pragmatically from his experiences, sharpened and expanded on conservative ideology (Huntington, 1957). The incorporation of the swastika symbol by the Nazi Party to connect Hitler’s struggles to the Aryan heritage implies that symbols represent more than just an idea, but are malleable to become part of a certain new ideology (Mundorf & Chen, 2006). By recognizing the symbol in its new context, the identity of the symbol is transformed to represent something new. This highlights another visual aspect of politics, whereby symbols and existing ideas can be reused and reinvented for contemporary use.

Yawn~

2011-02-16T06:47:00.002+08:00

I was awake again at 6.25am. I find it weird that sleep always ends suddenly at this time or so everyday. Being awake at this time involuntarily, without the help of an alarm, means that I just wake up without any cause. I wouldn't mind about this if I get enough sleep, but when my sleeping time is shortened due to sleeping later, it affects everything. Catching repeat bouts of flu doesn't help either.

At this point for the last few weeks I've been spending disproportionately more time on a 5% horticulture project than my various essays, which constitute 20 to 30% each, and research project which is a whole module on its own. I'm feeling guilty, and this feeling is slowly wearing away as the weeks pass so I don't feel the urgency anymore. I still have at least 40% of data collection to complete, not to mention the report I need to submit in 6 weeks time.

I'm still looking for a supervisor, or more like contemplating which one to approach for a final year project. I wonder how much difference it will make in the future when I look for a job, and if I can do it well. I do know that I don't want to graduate yet, I don't feel equipped at all with what I've learnt so far to dive into the working world just like that. There's only a few months left before the registration begins, and places with the more popular supervisors are being snapped up. What to do, what to do...

ASEAN Community Cartoon

2011-02-11T09:09:00.004+08:00

This is what was developed in 2007 to 'educate' little kids about what ASEAN is. Laugh all you want.

Update!

2011-01-28T17:23:00.003+08:00

Some of the things I'm currently busy with:

http://ke7news.wordpress.com/2011/01/27/formal-hall-dinner-%e2%80%9cgold-into-the-rabbit-hole%e2%80%9d/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135443806520288

And many many many assignments!

AirAsia delayed my freaking flight to 11pm when it was originally to depart at 4.45pm on CNY eve!

So Long, 2010!

2010-12-22T16:57:00.001+08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

2010-12-18T19:01:00.001+08:00

Events

2010-12-17T16:39:00.002+08:00

On 29 Nov I went for a seminar on the Khmer Rouge Tribunal at the Institute for South East Asian Studies (ISEAS) with Gavin which lasted the whole morning. I saw Barry Wain there too, author of the Malaysian Maverick, which was nearly banned in Malaysia as it touches upon the action of Mahathir when he was in power, casting it in a bad light.

The seminar itself was interesting, with many questions raised, like how did it happen, why did Buddhists become so murderous, how come no one stopped them. The atmosphere was quite formal, and we felt underdressed in out polo Ts and long pants. There were many seats with mics, but we chose to sit as far as possible from those. We seemed to be the only students there, with the exception of the few law students who were helping out an NGO in covering the case. I guess there were journalists and writers too as they all sat in a row writing throughout the talk.

Everyone else seemed to know each other and were older haha. From left to right the speakers were Youk Chhang, Director of the Documentation Centre of Cambodia which has preserved information and documents from the Khmer Rouge time and is helping to provide evidence to the tribunal, Pou Sothirak who was MP for Siem Reap and was involved in drafting the current Cambodian Constitution, previous Ambassador to various countries, and lastly Jean-Mark Lavergne, a French judge who arrived in Phnom Penh in 2008 as one of the judges on the tribunal. Representatives from the Cambodian Embassy were there as well.

I have the book published by the DC-Cam titled A History of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979) by Khamboly Dy that I bought this year for US$7. You can read it free here.

Helping out at Raffle's Museum of Biodiversity Research was also very fun. I was a gallery guide for 3 sessions on the first day, each session lasting up to an hour with 10-15 people. You can view my very first time guiding here:http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/838559/

I did get stuck at some questions though...

I also helped out Dr. Court on the last day when he was preparing for World of Spiders. http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/838593/ I was basically cleaning the previous labels off his spider containers that he was putting live spiders into. There were even a few Batik spiders on the web beside him and on a string on the ceiling!

Other than that, I was mostly an extra hand, helping some people and kids answer the treasure hunt questions, bringing 2 groups to behind the scenes and helping out at the merchandise stall. I was also a pseudo-visitor at the Bird Preservation, Egg Shell Preservation, and World of Spiders. Everything was limited in number, so being a volunteer gives you such privileges =p

Oh, and the lunches we were provided with were buffet-style loveliness. Got a free T-shirt too featuring the smallest vertebrate in the world, which is a fish!

Modules for next Sem!

2010-12-10T22:11:00.003+08:00

I just checked if the modules that I want to take next sem clash. Thankfully, they don't!

Although having papers everyday from 25 to 27 April sucks, having 3 final papers shouldn't be that bad. I hope.

Module	Date	Time
	LSM3255	25 Apr 2011	Evening
	LSM3256	26 Apr 2011	Evening
	PS3249	27 Apr 2011	Afternoon
	PS3260	-No Exam-	-TBA-

Because of the awesome change in the requirements for Life Science majors, I can now take all modules that I like in LSM. Which includes all 5 of the required 5 in the Biology/Environmental Biology specialization. Having Wednesdays free with 2 days having a single lecture seems very slack to me. But of course there's weekly practical for horticulture, and bi-weekly tutorials for the 2 arts modules. And likely many assignments, essays too seeing PS3260 has no finals. UROPS will definitely take a lot of time with the report submission and oral presentation.

Module Information
Module Code :	LSM3255
Module Title :	Ecology of Terrestrial Environments
Module Description :	This module will introduce students to principles of terrestrial ecology. Major topics will include diversity and distributions of terrestrial environments, soils and nutrient cycling, animal-plant interactions [pollination, seed dispersal, herbivory], disturbance ecology and succession, energy flow and food webs, population biology, and fragmentation. The course will have a strong quantitative focus. The module will also cover ecological processes in rural (agricultural) and urban terrestrial environments.

Module Code :	LSM3256
Module Title :	Tropical Horticulture
Module Description :	This module introduces students to the fundamentals of tropical horticulture, with emphasis on the situation in Singapore, a tropical garden city. Topics include plant growth and development and factors affecting them, pests and diseases and their control, growing media, plant nutrition, tropical urban horticulture of ornamentals, vegetable and fruit crops, and native plants, vertical and roof greening, turf grass management, landscape design, organic methods and impact of horticulture on conservation. Field trips, demonstrations, and projects will enable students to enjoy hands-on experience in cultivating plants.

Module Information
Module Code :	PS3249 / SSA3205
Module Title :	Singapore's Foreign Policy
Module Description :	This module analyses Singapore's outlook towards the world with particular reference to countries in the West and Asia. It examines the following key issues affecting Singapore's foreign policy: problems of a small state, factors influencing the worldview, the key foreign policy principles and precepts, the operationalisation of relations towards different countries; and the key differences in outlook towards the world in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods. The course is mounted for students throughout NUS with interest in Singapore and particularly its foreign policy.

Module Information
Module Code :	PS3260 / GEK3005
Module Title :	Politics and the Visual
Module Description :	This module explores the many forms of relationship between politics and visual culture. From the ancient world to the present, politics, whether formal or popular, has had a visual dimension. Politicians have been concerned to control their appearance; various media (from painting to theatre to television to the internet) have been used to both serve and defeat this goal. The module surveys the relationship between politics and visual culture and allows students to engage with contemporary issues surrounding politics, film, and digital culture.

Stefano Mancuso: The roots of plant intelligence

2010-11-26T15:00:00.001+08:00

Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence. (Use subtitles, it helps =p)

http://ca.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/stefano_mancuso_the_roots_of_plant_intelligence.html

End of Yr3, Sem 1

2010-11-20T19:58:00.003+08:00

Finals:

25 Nov Evolution and Comparative Genomics 9am Open Book

25 Nov International Politics of SEA 5pm

27 Nov Plant Physiology 9am

30 Nov Life Form and Function 5pm Open Book

On 29 Nov, signed up for Public Seminar on Reconciliation in Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge Tribunal

2-4 Dec signed up for Raffle's Museum of Biodiversity Research Open House as a volunteer.

3 Dec there is OCIP Car Wash.

I should be focusing on my UROPS Project wholeheartedly these 3 weeks of vacation that I'm in Singapore. But...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150092191022754&comments

This is the larger of my swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri), I noticed it eating the filamentous algal ball (Aegagropila linnaei) that I bought 2 months ago. I think this is the cause of it producing that floating shapeless clump that the fish is eating, so that it doesn't get eaten itself.

Just a random diversion from studying. Oh yes, NUS Life Science Major has undergone another syllabus change AGAIN. But this time, it's for the better. At least for me. Before, when we entered Year 3, we needed to specialize into one of these: Biomedical Science, Molecular and Cell Biology or Biology(which now has been renamed Environmental Biology). By specializing, it meant that we needed to take 4 modules from the specialization of our choice, AND 2 more outside. Which means that you definitely needed to take some modules which you either have no interest in, or just taking it for the sake of fulfilling the requirements.

An announcement came yesterday that changed this! Now we just need to take 5 modules, with AT LEAST 3 from the specialization of our choice. So now, you can take ALL modules within the specialization if you please!

Well I may seem overly happy with this, because I have been fretting over what to take next sem for the module outside the specialization. But now, I don't have to! It is a weird time to announce it though, in the middle of the academic year when some people have already started to work towards the old requirements. And of course they were cursing the change! But no not me =p

Tale of an Absent Voter II

2010-11-17T07:45:00.008+08:00

So after I returned to my room in NUS, I felt uneasy as there were just too many loopholes to be exploited. If everyone just needs to get the form and submit on their own, can SPR verify whether you qualify as an absent voter just based on the form? Hardly so. There is still the witness part which the High Comm needs to do which I completely forgot about.

I went to the SPR site again, and check the procedure listed under Registration of Electors. Here's what is written under number 9.

9. For The Oversea Electors

Registration of absent voters from among the civil servants, full time students and their spouses living abroad is undertaken by officers from the Malaysian High Commissions Office, Embassies or Consulates abroad. To register, you need to:

(a)	Come personally to the Malaysian High Commission, Embassy or Consulate in the country you reside in;
(b)	produce your MyKad to the officer in charge who will fill your registration form for you;
(c)	state your current address in the country in which you reside in, your occupation and the serial number of Form A to the officer so that the information can be written in a sheet of A4 paper and be attached with your registration form;
(d)	check your particulars in the completed form before you sign the form;
(e)	sign the form when you are satisfied that all the particulars are in order; and
(f)	keep the copy of the registration form that is given to you as proof of registration. It can be used as evidence of your registration in the event that your name does not appear in the draft of the Supplementary Roll when it is exhibited in which case you can submit a claim. It was here that I realised that something was wrong, as its implied above that the sending should be done by the High Comm, so I sent a lengthy email to the High Comm again, asking them if they were sure of what they asked us to do. And the aforementioned Pn. Mahdiah replied my email, asking me to either call her or email my number to her. I procrastinated a few days, and called her a few days later. She was overjoyed when I did, because she said she needed to contact me but didn't have my number so was waiting for me. I felt so important! Anyway, she requested that I come to the High Comm again to give her the forms so that she can post them to the SPR HQ in Putrajaya. I obliged, as sem had not started and it wasn't that far. This time I told the guards I wanted to go to the Consulate section, and everything went smoothly. Oh yes, when I left the last time, I told the guard that you CAN register as an absent voter there. Wonder if he had any such cases after me. So went back there I did. I filled up a new form when I met Pn Mahdiah again as my earlier form had too many cancellations. I obtained my constituency info from my sister as our address is listed for the same house. All this can be obtained from the SPR site I'm sure. So after going over my form Pn Mahdiah said I could just leave my form with them and it will be sent to SPR. The carbon copy was to be sent back to the Singapore address later. Before I left, she asked what I was doing, where I was studying. She also commended my BM, saying that it was very good. So far, all my correspondence with the High Comm was in full Malay. I replied that I studied in Malaysia until before university, so my BM should be quite acceptable. She also said that we were very patriotic to register as voters, both times I went. She's a nice lady, amiable and easygoing, so I wouldn't mind directing future applicants to her, though she really hasn't much clue about what to do... I received the carbon copy back 3 weeks later in early September. But then, it just means that my form should have been sent to SPR. My name still had not entered the RANG DAFTAR PEMILIH TAMBAHAN or Additional Voters Register Draft. That is yet another part of this long and twisty tale. Soon to come! (I can't seem to get the font to look right Grrr...)

Why, Indeed?

2010-11-15T08:54:00.002+08:00

In Flanders Fields

2010-11-11T07:42:00.003+08:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

2010-11-09T14:11:00.003+08:00

Tale of an Absent Voter

2010-11-05T07:33:00.001+08:00

There is a dearth of information on how a full-time student overseas is able to register as an absent voter, or more commonly known, a postal voter. I have sought to get knowledge over how to register myself as a poster voter ever since I hit 21 years old end of last year. I looked at the Elections Commission website, which instructed me to go to the High Commission of the country I was studying in to do the necessary steps to register. I was curious over what would happen if say, I was in Malaysia when polling was done, what would be the process of voting by post and how would my vote be confidential. I emailed these queries to the SPR page devoted to these twice, but have never received any answer.

I managed to confuse myself in reading some online blogs that actually said I had to register myself as a normal voter in Malaysia first before I can register as an absent voter, so I tried calling and going to my constituency's service centre to enquire. Unfortunately, they had no answer for me, saying that there is no clear cut process decided and he even had a son who was studying in the same university as me who didn't know what to do!

Frustrated, I emailed the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore on 2 July to ask what I needed to do in order to register, if I needed an appointment or was it walk-in, and what other procedures would I need to complete. I nearly gave up hope in receiving a response when on 21 July, I was replied to, renewing my hopes of finally succeeding in registering. I was asked to come between 2.30pm to 3.30pm to fill a Form A, and to bring my IC with a photocopy.

I went there on Aug 5 with Zhuangli to register. We arrived there slightly past 2pm. Now, the main entrance was a gate that was opened in the centre for people to enter. We went through and asked the guard who was at the walkway where was the Consulate section, as instructed in the email. He told us that we needed to go to get an entry pass first. So, we had to go out again and walk all around to the other side near the extreme left to the guardhouse. Now, all this trouble could be avoided if there was a sign there telling people what to do. Because there wasn't, the guard had to repeatedly tell people like us to go out again. What a lousy system.

So after queuing in the hot sun for about 5 mins, we reached the front of the line. I told the guard that I wanted to register as a postal voter. He turned to ask his female colleague and turned back to me, telling me that, "Oh, I think you can only register in Malaysia so you need to go back." I said, no, I had already emailed the High Comm and they told me to come at this time to the Consulate Section. So I exchanged my Mykad for the pass, not realizing that I would need it when I was inside. There's a list of cards that you can use for the exchange shown in the right of the glass in the pic above, like ATM card, Ezlink concession and so on. The guard even asked ME to tell him what happened. Looks like no one has done this in recent years.

This was taken when I was waiting in line. You can see there is an arch behind the main sign of High Comm, that's where the entrance is. If you look close enough you will see the tiny guard by the pillar. So people had to walk one round from the walkway to the other side to get a pass before entering.

This is the main entrance. Got this from Google Maps haha. So after getting the pass, I went in to the right side of the building to the Consulate section.

There were many people there because it was collection time I think for documents that people left earlier for signing or verifying. When I went to the enquiries counter, the lady there asked me to wait for awhile as she called out names of people to collect their document. I waited there about 15mins, and seeing a brief respite in the flow of people, I approach her to tell her I was here to register as a voter. She didn't seem to understand me, and passed me to the lady manning one of the numbered counters. She couldn't help me either, and called another lady to come out from the office. I spoke so far in English. But when this happened, I told them "Saya hendak daftar sebagai pengundi. Saya telah emel lebih awal."

When I said this, the ancient lady who was summoned from the office brightened and said, "Oh you're Reuben?" and gestured for both of us to enter the Bilik Temuduga(Interview Room). I heard the lady at the counter saying in relief, "I thought he was saying poster, poster..."

So this cheery lady, Pn. Mahdiah, brought out 2 forms for us to fill up and submit. She also brought a printout of my email to the High Commission, which made me feel so important haha. She told us that she called Elections Commission of Malaysia in Putrajaya to confirm what needs to be done, indicating that no one has done it before. While filling up, there were certain parts of the form like lokaliti and DM which we didn't know what to write. She told us to just leave it empty. There were also spaces for bangsa and agama.

When I said that our Mykads were at the guardhouse, she then tells us that we can take the forms home fill it up and submit on our own. She also gave me the letterhead of the Elections Commission of Malaysia to contact if I had problems. So at the end, we just left without submitting on that day. It look about half an hour in total, but we haven't registered then.

Instructions on what to do for birth, marriage certs and renunciation of citizenship.

But that's not all there is to registering as a postal voter. There is still more to come.

ELnD Performance

2010-10-31T07:28:00.002+08:00

This is the performance by English Literary and Drama (don't ask me about the name) for KEVII's Internal Cultural Night (ICN) on 22 Oct 2010. Enjoy!

The Line

2010-10-19T22:39:00.004+08:00

This is another reminder why fighting injustice matters.

I really like this.

http://www.viruscomix.com/page474.html

For high-res: http://www.viruscomix.com/thelinehighres.jpg