Yuhui's Singapore Blogger

Chan Mun Chiong should be charged under Section 377A

2008-05-10T22:52:00.001+08:00

People Like Us released a statement, "Chan Mun Chiong should not have been charged under Section 377A", arguing that the government was being hypocritical by prosecuting Chan under this controversial law. I humbly beg to differ.

As stated by PLU,

The Prime Minister, last October 23rd, said in Parliament that the authorities would not "proactively enforce Section 377A."

However, I disagree with this assumption:

In effect, he was assuring gay citizens that they could consider Section 377A as no threat and not fear discriminatory treatment under the law.

My reading of PM Lee's statement is that the police won't go around knocking down doors and catching homosexuals in acts of sexual intimacy. In other words, I believe that the government will generally respect the sexual privacy of individuals, both homosexual and heterosexual. The exceptions are:

if someone files a complaint, which applies to heterosexuals too, e.g. if a Peeping Tom reports a lewd act (yeah, try wrapping your head around that), and
if someone catches a homosexual in the act.

In other words, PM Lee's statement should be interpreted as "keep it in the bedroom, but you're damned if caught".

Besides, if PLU is correct in its assumption, then that begs the question: Why is the law still in the legal books???

Therefore, I think Chan can be prosecuted under Penal Code 377A lawfully and rightfully. This would be in addition to his other pending charges for engaging in oral sex with his 16-year-old male victim, when he knew that he was HIV-positive.

Aside: I also believe that the above logic applies to the Sedition Act, i.e. the police won't actively monitor your speech or actions for seditious messages, but if someone complains with valid reason, then it's "hello, prison time!"

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PL.sg - web server error

2008-04-16T23:30:00.003+08:00

Hmm, oops.

Sometimes, things just screw up for no reason. Like programming code. Though the programmer writes a few lines, he depends on thousands (millions?) of lines of code in supporting libraries. Inevitably, things will break. And then end users face unexpected errors.

But don't worry, National Library. I've seen Yahoo! break down before. And Facebook had its source code revealed once upon a time. So don't feel so bad. Like the saying goes, "S**t happens."

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In lieu of an official report, we'll blame a couple of complacent guards

2008-04-05T22:39:00.000+08:00

It's interesting how the blame for Mas Selamat's escape has been laid squarely on a few detention centre personnel, even though no findings have been revealed officially. They've been labeled as "complacent" and "negligent" and are at the short end of a very big stick for an unfairly long time.

It's also interesting how the government keeps saying repeatedly that it'll reveal everything (that's not classified) in a comprehensive report into the escape. Then, in the other breath, it points fingers at the guards. Who were -- I repeat in case you didn't hear it the first time -- "complacent" and, therefore, clearly at fault.

In fact, it's more interesting that the longer the government delays releasing its report, the more often it is that unofficial but official-sounding statements keep being mentioned. Very soon, there won't be a need for the report, except for bureaucratic, red-tape reasons, because everyone would already have accepted those statements as "facts".

Finally, it's interesting that judgement has been delivered before findings and due process have been completed. Especially from a legal perspective.

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Ministry of Education relaunches its website

2008-04-05T01:37:00.001+08:00

Recently, the Ministry of Education's website was revamped and I was informed about it by Lucian, the webmaster (whom I know through WebSG). He had actually told me about the beta site, but I held back on my review till after the actual site was relaunched.

Being a guy dedicated to Web standards, it's not surprising to find that the revamped MOE website is clean and polished, both on the front-end and behind the scenes. Due to standards conformance, it loads quickly and smoothly in modern browsers (I tested with Firefox on a Mac). It also includes some Web 2.0 flashiness, like a scroll-slideshow smack centre on the homepage.

What I'm most impressed, from a programming point-of-view, is the "Organisational Structure". All of the contacts make use of VCard, a microformat. Some browsers would be able to detect this and automatically create a contact card for you. This contact card could then be used with, for example, Mac OS X's Address Book. No need for paper name cards!

Another feature, though not readily known unless you read the page's source, is that the hierarchical chart is not a graphic, but relies on stylesheets and VCards! Minimal graphics involved, and still usable if you look at it with a text-based web browser (e.g. those used by blind people). Apparently, Lucian designed this himself. In the words of Keanu Reeves, "Whoa!"

But, of course, there are bound to be things that don't please everyone. In my case, I found three things, which were present already in the beta version, that I found wanting.

Some may say that the visual design is too spartan, and I tend to agree. Wise choices of colour and good use of graphics would definitely help in drawing the eye to key areas, especially on the content-rich homepage. The way information is presented now makes me feel like I'm reading a novel.

I also thought that the main menu was not very user-friendly. The way it works now is: you click on an item in the menu bar, and a submenu with an accompanying image would slide out. Click another item and another submenu-plus-image would slide out. Unfortunately, due to the use of the image, the submenu is always positioned to the left, not directly below the clicked menu item, as one would assume.

According to user interface gurus, the distance needed for a person to move his pointing device (e.g. mouse) to perform an action should always be minimised. (The joke is that the shortest distance between the mouse and clickable area is when the mouse is directly over that area.) Forcing the visitor to move the mouse to the left to click on a submenu item, unfortunately, breaks the menu's ease of use.

(There's also a minor "error" with the menu, which I can repeat sporadically. When clicking on a menu item (to expand the submenu) on a freshly loaded page, there'll be a flicker where the full submenu is shown, before its sliding effect takes over.)

Finally, I think that the information architecture may need to be tweaked. Case in point: on the homepage, I can go straight to a page called "Desired Outcomes of Education". According to that page's bread crumb trail, it falls under the "Education" section. However, looking at the main menu, there's no "Education" menu. In addition, I can't find the page in any of the submenus!

This probably sounds like a trivial issue. But in the long-term, it need not be. What happens when the homepage's content is refreshed and the "Desired Outcomes" link is removed? If a person returns to the site looking for it, how will he find it? Well, he could definitely use the search box. But I think it would be faster for a person who is used to the navigation system of the site to find the page by clicking through the menus. (And hopefully it doesn't take more than three clicks for him to get to the page!)

Viewed another way, the way that content is organised in the back end (i.e. which section a particular content belongs in) and how it's presented on the front end (i.e. which menu that same content falls under) seems to be disjointed. The front end was obviously designed with visitors' consideration in mind, whereas taxonomy or cataloguing was of bigger importance in the back end.

As a result, the website comes across looking like it suffers from a split personality. I'm sure there are reasons (technical, design or otherwise) for the differences. But to a lay person, this has the potential to confuse him on how to find some particular content. It doesn't help that the sitemap follows the content structure, not navigation system.

In the end, I think most visitors will just rely on the search box, bypassing the fanciful menu system. Whether that should be considered good or bad, I'll leave it to Lucian and his team.

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Mas Selamat bin Kastari - rumours, beliefs and conspiracy theories

2008-03-02T18:43:00.002+08:00

The escape of Jemaah Islamiah leader, Mas Selamat bin Kastari, from a detention centre has been in the headlines for the past week. Not a day goes by without some new developments about the search or additional security measures or terrorism in general.

But no one has mentioned the elephant in the room: whose heads will roll? Let's see, there are the detention centre's guards who didn't learn the lesson from the Took Leng How case (the murderer of Huang Na who escaped police custody by using the toilet). Then there are the centre's general security personnel who patrol the walls and gates and keep an eagle eye on the CCTV monitors.

Hmm, maybe the head of the detention centre too, for his lax command. And his superior officer for appointing the former. I could continue all the way up the ladder of leadership, but I'll just say that if this had happened in almost any other democratic country, we all know who'd be the first to "accept responsibility".

On the other hand, that little nugget has been adding fire to the conspiracy theory. Mas Selamat was not only allowed to escape, but he's no longer in Singapore too. In spite of what the "experts" say, conspiracy theorists believe that the terrorist is already resting his lame leg in a JI hideout in a jungle somewhere. And the Internal Security Department has a trace on him, so that they know where the JI cells and leaders are.

That means that the increase in national security is nothing more than an illusion. It doesn't matter that our law enforcers currently look like fools. The long-term goal is twofold: capture more JI leaders while keeping the nation in check. True or not? Depends on whether you believe in conspiracy theories or subscribe to the Sherlock Holmes belief, i.e. the most logical explanation is often the simplest one.

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Onward to Singapore 2010!

2008-02-21T22:55:00.002+08:00

The big news tonight is that Singapore will be hosting the first Youth Olympics in 2010! All rejoice! The government and grassroots efforts have succeeded! And let's not forget the support of the taxi drivers who pasted the decals on their windows!

Okay, okay, seriously speaking, this is good news for Singapore for a number of reasons. Firstly, it reinforces Singapore's growing reputation as a place to hold international meetings, following the IMF/World Bank meeting (* see note 1 below). Secondly, it emphasises the government's drive to develop a thriving sports culture here, especially with the recent high-profile tender for the Sports Hub. (* see note 2 below) Thirdly, it more-or-less assures of a stable -- if not booming -- economy up to 2010, after the casinos start operations next year.

Which leaves me with just one question:
Where is there space around NUS to build an Olympic Village???

Notes:

All of these international meetings came after the government announced its decision to build a casino here. Conspiracy theorists say that the government had been "held ransom" by the MICE power brokers: build a casino or forget about holding international events. I doubt that's true.
Urban legend says that when former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew watched a soccer match, he asked, "What's so great about watching 22 men chase a ball?" Again, I doubt that anecdote is true.

Remembering Total Defence Day

2008-02-15T23:46:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I was one of the many who had forgotten about this day. It wasn't until I saw the scrolling TV ticker about the public siren alerts that I remembered. Shame on me... and probably 80% of the population.

Okay, 70%. The school kids were forced to remember. And some of them spent their morning at the War Memorial at Stamford Road. They had to bask unsheltered under the hot sun, away from some white tents that had been set up nearby. I guess those were meant for the VIPs. Pity the kids.

The rest of the day passed normally till 12:05pm. Right on the dot, the sirens blared. Within the air-conditioned confines of the office, we could hear the familiar wails. Some of my colleagues wondered why they were on. Was it another test of the public warning system? (BTW when was the last test??? I don't recall hearing one in the last couple of months.)

I guess I was the only one with a ready answer. It was Chinese New Year during World War 2 and after a long and treacherous battle, the invading Japanese army had succeeded in all but conquering Singapore. Which left only one course of action:

"It's the day the British sold us out."

RIP, war veterans.

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Provide feedback on Budget 2008

2008-02-08T21:31:00.000+08:00

I got this in the email recently. The Feedback Unit will be holding an e-Townhall meeting on 19 February to discuss this year's Budget Statement. (Yes, I'm not only a member of the online Feedback group (though I've hardly participated), but also receive their newsletter.) A few things came to mind when reading it:

What's up with the name "e-Townhall"? Feedback Unit, the 1990s called. They want their "e-" prefix back.
Only government correspondences use numbered paragraphs. I've never come across this oddity in other correspondences, official or otherwise.
A chance to actually dialogue with ministers (assuming that they're the ones physically banging on their keyboards and not some lackeys)? But why doesn't Minister Tharman himself participate? For a discussion this important, I'd rather hear from the horse's mouth (no disrespect to the minister or those involved).

Still, it might be a good opportunity to hear what others are saying (complaining?). I admit that I tend to be secluded in my Ivory Tower for too long, so I think it's good to widen my exposure somewhat.

eTownhall Meeting on 19 February 2008

1 The Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam will deliver the Budget 2008 Statement in Parliament on 15 February 2008. Are you already thinking of airing your views on the Budget 2008 initiatives? Do you agree with Government’s spending priorities? Do you think it addresses the primary concerns of Singaporeans?

2 REACH is providing you an opportunity to engage public leaders on Budget 2008. Join Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Dr Amy Khor, Chairman of REACH and Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Vice-Chairman of REACH in our e-Townhall meeting from 7.00 to 9.00pm on Tuesday 19 February 2008 to discuss Budget 2008 and its initiatives.

3 The e-Townhall meeting is a real time web-chat. To participate, simply register your interest with REACH at reach@reach.gov.sg. The closing date for registration is 18 February 2008, Monday. However, we strongly encourage members of the public to register early.

4 For enquiries, please contact REACH at reach@reach.gov.sg or 1800-353 5555.

Please click on the following URL link for more information.
http://app.reach.gov.sg/reach/Events/eTownhallMeetingonBudget2008/tabid/141/Default.aspx

Filipinas lured to Singapore with fake round-trip tickets - where's the outrage?

2008-02-07T02:43:00.000+08:00

From Asian News Gazette, "Fake roundtrip tickets used to lure Filipinas to Singapore" (Nov 14, 2007) by Veronica Uy:

Trafficking syndicates use fake roundtrip tickets and offer them as "free" to lure Filipinas they deploy for sex jobs in Singapore, the Philippine embassy in Singapore said last week.

In a recent statement, Consul General Maria Lumen Isleta said: "Most of the human trafficking victims who run to the embassy for help hold dummy return tickets and ask for our assistance to be repatriated back to the Philippines."

This is old news, but it's the first time I've come across it. It's also been picked up by Bangkok's The Nation, "Trafficking of Filipinas in Singapore at all-time high: report":

Human trafficking of Filipinas in Singapore has increased alarmingly to an all-time high to 212 cases in 2007, an annual report from the Philippine Embassy in Singapore said on Monday.

The report, submitted to Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G Romulo, cited a 70 per cent surge in cases from 125 in 2006.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anoto noted there were 59 recorded cases in 2005.

Last year's figure "is only a small fraction of all the Filipino human trafficking victims in Singapore," the report said.

(I think The Nation article was just published, because Singabloodypore posted it verbatim today.)

There was talk about making Singapore's prostitution laws stricter, especially with the rise in child sex tourism. But I don't remember this issue being raised at any time then or after. And it's bloody disturbing in terms of international relations.

Singapore is supposed to be The Philippines closest friend in Southeast Asia. If that's the case, I wonder how important it is to the Singapore Government. I wouldn't want my friend to allow me to be abused. No one would (right?).

Unfortunately, this illicit practice has also prompted the U.S. State Department to downgrade Singapore. This reminds me of a story, which I cannot verify if it's true or not. It was told by someone who apparently had connections within the local Foreign Affairs Ministry. Back when some State Department officials came to visit Singapore, they were told point-blank that there is no underage sex nor sex trade in Singapore.

"Oh, and don't forget, Singapore is your strongest and most trusted ally in Southeast Asia (so don't mess with us!)."

If the above anecdote is true, then that means the issue has been brushed under the carpet, perhaps to maintain Singapore's squeaky clean image. But now that the Philippines government has brought it out to light, we can't afford to hide our heads in the sand anymore.

It's time for Singapore to help and support its friend and win back its confidence.

Aside: incidentally, I didn't know that Filipinos are required to have round-trip tickets before being allowed to leave the country. Do domestic workers get an exemption?

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Crowded MRT trains... no more?

2008-02-03T01:11:00.000+08:00

Finally, SMRT will be adding extra trains during peak hours! This is Singapore, not Tokyo! We don't want nor need to be pushed into trains, as if we were sardines in a can or sheep in a slaughterhouse. We don't want to jostle in crowded trains, especially after a tiring day at work!

It's been a ridiculous situation for years. I've lost count of how many times I had to pass on boarding some trains because they were jam-packed. It became second nature for me to wait for the next train. So it's about time SMRT became "customer-centric" and acceded to the demands of its commuters.

Yeah, I used inverted commas for "customer-centric". Even Minister Raymond Lim admitted that our so-called public transport operators have been "profit-centric" for far too long. It's not called "public" for nothing, you know.

Hopefully, crowded trains will be a thing of the past. One can hope, right?

SMRT and SBS Transit raise peak period train frequencies
February 1, 2008, 4:48pm

SINGAPORE: Starting 4 February, the journey to and from work for commuters is expected to be quicker.

Both SMRT and SBS Transit announced on Friday that they will be increasing the number of train trips per week.

SMRT, which operates the North-South and East-West lines, will run 83 additional trips during the morning and evening peak periods. It said this will cut average waiting times by as much as 1.5 minutes.

The change is expected to benefit passengers travelling southwards from Yishun, and westwards from Boon Lay during the morning rush hours.

Meanwhile, northbound and eastbound commuters in the evening peak period may similarly expect a quicker, less crowded journey.

SBS Transit, which operates the North East Line (NEL), will add another 10 trips each week.

It said the move will cut average waiting times from four to three minutes during the morning peak period, and from five to four minutes in the evening rush hour.

-- Channel NewsAsia

A bicycle built for... three??

2008-02-03T00:29:00.000+08:00

Mainland Chinese never fail to amaze me. They talk (shout?) loudly when within earshot of the other party. They insist on speaking in Mandarin with an Indian person.

And they cycle... a lot. Here was this mother with her two young children on a single bicycle. The youngest looks no more than a toddler and was seated just behind the handlebar. The older girl sat behind her mother on the rear wheel's cover. And the mother struggled to keep the bicycle standing.

No Singaporean in his or her right mind would cycle in the middle of the day in the city, when traffic is at its craziest. Yet this family seemingly did the impossible. I don't know whether I should congratulate them or call the Traffic Police.

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M1's spotty 3G coverage

2008-01-27T01:37:00.000+08:00

Most times, when people compare mobile phone telcos in Singapore, I can only think of one company: M1. Its price plans are reasonable, its islandwide reception is excellent, and I've never had problems using its roaming service when overseas.

Having said that, there is one sore area that has bugged me for two years: its 3G coverage, or rather, its non-existent 3G coverage in certain parts of the island. My biggest peeve is that I can't get a 3G reception at the Shenton Way / Raffles Place area. As soon as I enter this "dead zone", my 3G Internet connection dies. It just disappears. It doesn't matter if I was surfing just fine along Nicoll Highway. As soon as I cross Fullerton Bridge, 3G reception vanishes. Which doesn't make sense since I'm in town and reception should be optimal there.

This has baffled me for the longest time. Surely the spotty coverage would've been solved in two years, right? Also, M1 provides islandwide wireless surfing through its 3G network, so that means that it should be a reliable provider anywhere. My other theory is that if I can get normal mobile phone coverage, then I should also have 3G reception. (Of course, engineers will tell me that having one service does not necessarily mean having the other due to different technologies involved. But try telling that to a layman.)

Then why is it that I can't get a decent 3G connection? Why do I have to hope and pray that my download goes through every time? This is an especially sore point because M1 has enticed me with free video streaming for one month. But if I can't connect to the network, then this freebie is basically worthless. (Perhaps that's why it's free!)

3G has been around in Singapore for a few years already, and telcos are already promoting the next version, 3.5G. Meanwhile, 3G seems to be languishing. Which is sad because the government and telcos had been hyping it up for the longest time.

I still trust M1 and would continue subscribing to it. I just wish that they'd fix their 3G network as soon as possible. At least before they roll out their 4G network.

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Construction worker tried to look up office lady's skirt

2008-01-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

I had just gotten off the bus and was walking to the pedestrian bridge. In front of me was a woman in normal female office wear: blouse and knee-length black skirt. Next to the bridge was a construction site, with some workers hanging around (break time?).

As the woman approached the stairs up the bridge, I saw some movement among the workers. One of them, with long hair, quickly rushed to another worker, who was sitting on the roadside kerb. I don't know what he said, but from his gestures and tilted head, I could tell that he was looking at the woman.

Maybe he was admiring her beauty. But as she ascended the stairs and I followed behind, I saw him dart under the stairs! The way pedestrian bridge stairs are built is that there are small gaps between each step. The gap isn't tremendously big, but a person standing below would have a vantage upskirt view.

Which is what Long Hair had. He looked up, with a small smile on his face. I glared down at him, seeing just how far he'd take it. He went all the way; he kept looking up as the woman continued climbing the stairs.

At some point, he saw me staring at him. He knew he'd been caught and quickly glanced away. But a second later, he looked up again. And saw me still looking down at him. This time, he wised up and left his position. Anyway, the woman had already reached the bridge, none the wiser about what had just transpired.

I wish I'd taken a photo of Long Hair. I'd submit it to LTA, Stomp and anyone who'd teach him a lesson. Leave our women alone!

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Rejected ST Forum letter: "Unfair of HDB to demand $18k back for its mistake"

2008-01-15T23:02:00.000+08:00

Since the Straits Times chose not to print my letter, I'll publish it here.

I refer to the article, "HDB wants $18k payout back from ex-hawker" (ST, Jan 12).

It states that the Housing Board wants Madam Lee Ah Muey to return $18,000 that it had given to her after she closed her stall. However, she was not entitled to this compensation since she had signed a contract agreeing to it. Four years later, Mdm Lee now has three weeks to cough up the huge amount.

This incident reeks of heavy-handedness and coercion. It is unfair of HDB to demand the money back for three reasons:
It was HDB's mistake in the first place. So why is it forcing its former tenant to pay for its mistake?
The incident happened in 2003. That is longer than necessary for HDB to realise and investigate its mistake, especially for such a large amount of money.
Mdm Lee is a senior citizen living off her savings. It is unlikely that she can return the money in time and will probably be forced into debt by borrowing from others. The article even states that she may be forced to crawl back to HDB to rent a stall. Yet it is not her fault to be in this predicament in the first place.
I realise that the issue is about HDB's accountability of the usage of public funds. However, accountability can go both ways. HDB should admit to its screw-up and write off the payout. It is the only logical and compassionate avenue available to it.

For the sake of its brand and reputation, I advise HDB to take the high road in this issue and not pursue the matter any more. It should also ensure that processes are put in place to ensure that no such mistakes occur again, so as to ensure proper accountability of public funds.

If this incident had happened in a private company, the CEO would most likely have apologised for the mistake, then fired the employee responsible for it. The savings from the employee's salary would more than make up for the wrongful payout!

Background on the issue (from Today, because Straits Times doesn't have the article freely available on its website).

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Singapore Slingers vs Wollongong Hawks - entertaining but uninspiring

2008-01-13T19:36:00.000+08:00

I went to my first Singapore Slingers game this evening. Singapore's only major league basketball team played against the Wollongong Hawks at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Though I am no avid basketball spectator, I thought that the game was played in a scrappy manner and the players on both sides weren't up to standard. But there were some good moments, which showed overall promise for Singapore's basketball dreams.

Firstly, I should add that I was there only because Daphne scored a free ticket for me. And it turns out that bloggers get media-like privileges. I guess we're obligated to blog about the game, so as to increase the Slingers' share of voice in the blogosphere. Though we didn't get to sit in the box seats as we were supposed to (because AIA had booked them for its family day), we still got free entry and free drinks. And we could apparently go down to the court-side to take pictures!

Ok ok, enough gushing about the privileges. Back to the game. As had been pointed out to me at the start of the game, there are only three Singaporeans on the team. The others are foreigners. During the game, only one Singaporean got to play for the last few seconds of the second quarter. I'm not sure of the rational for such player selection, but it did seem like we were rooting for a foreign team.

I thought that, with these foreigners, the Slingers couldn't be that bad, right? Well, how about dribbling across the court, only to let the ball slip from your fingers -- and there's no opponent around you! Or missing (relatively) easy shots. On the other hand, the Slingers seemed to defend well, forcing the Hawks to shoot from outside the three-point line several times.

The only Slinger whom I remember was No. 7, McDonald, who played pretty well during the third quarter. He stole the ball a few times and sunk it twice. The crowd went wild when he scored. Then again, the Slingers had its best show in the third quarter, when things were just whizzing all around the court and the points were racking up.

But if the Slingers played badly, then the Hawks was the punching bag. Even those whom I talked with agreed that it was a lousy team overall. Lost possessions, multiple fouls, and - most importantly - failing to score, even for the free throws! Sure, it had a few bright moments, but as mentioned before, the Slingers' defence pretty much shut it down for most of the game.

Another consolation for the spectators: the cheerleaders. No one can fault a contingent of pretty ladies wearing short shorts that show off their legs. Daphne mentioned that they were probably professional dancers hired to be cheerleaders. Whoever they were, they made for a good break from the game.

Link to video

Link to video

In the end, the Slingers won, as it deserved to. It led most of the time, usually trailing by a few points. I think it has two strengths: good defence with tight marking, and a few stand-out individuals. Looking at the scoreboard, I couldn't help but notice that there were only two or three players who were scoring. But then, wasn't it the same with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls?

By the way, the organisers need a better announcer/host. The only thing I remember him saying was "Everyone, big D!" (as in "defence").

Incidentally, this was also my first time to the Indoor Stadium. I'm so suah-ku!

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Whither Singapore's Internet grassroots organisations?

2008-01-12T23:32:00.000+08:00

After attending the Singapore PHP User Group meeting, I started thinking, "What has happened to all of the other Internet grassroots groups?" It seemed like such groups, or at least the ones that I knew of, had either died or gone into extended hibernation. Which is a shame because it doesn't bode well for the future of such organisations.

Today, I did a mental checklist of the groups that I'm familiar with.

Bloggers.sg (ok, not strictly a group, though it was organised by the folks at Tomorrow.sg)
Objective: To promote the local blogosphere and educate Singaporeans about it
Conceived as an annual conference, nothing happened after the first one in 2005. There was talk of another in middle or late 2007, but that was just it -- talk.
Web Standards Group (WebSG)
Objective: To encourage web designers/developers to use Web standards in their work for cross platform compatibility
This was apparently the third incarnation of the group when I joined. Unfortunately, the "phoenix" burned up after the third meeting. I attempted to restart things, but was met with a deafening silence.
The Digital Movement
Objective: To build a community of Web 2.0 and social media leaders
This one-year-old group had organised three events in 2007 with apparent success. And then... nothing (unless it organised PopOut! in October). Besides, I'm out of the picture too. I was involved in one meeting, but felt shafted after that for offering dissenting views.
Mac Meetup
Objective: To bring Mac users together to discuss Apple news and provide support
The original group died after Meetup ended its free services. A second group was started and I attended some of its meetings, but it died again because of cost. The original group is supposed to live on through a blog, but I haven't heard of any more offline events.

And there you have it: four grassroots groups that have seemingly died. I don't count Ping.sg because the people who are actively involved are more like friends who organise get-togethers informally. The only one formal event it had was to celebrate the website's first anniversary.

Of course, I realise that some naysayers would say that I jinxed all of these groups, since I participated in them. Hmm, if that's true, then that's bad news for the Singapore PHP User Group...

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Singapore won Asian Idol!

2007-12-17T00:25:00.000+08:00

Well, that was an interesting twist. Hady Mirza, the second Singapore Idol and the country's representative to this regional competition, beat the crowd favourites! Even the judges hadn't mentioned him, when asked for their final comments.

Which just goes to show the wisdom of the crowds. Of course, Singapore was probably also helped by the "two vote" requirement, i.e. each SMS vote needed to include two singers/countries in order to be counted as a valid vote. That eliminated the domination of votes by large countries. I guess the final vote shows that either Singapore was seen as a "safe" choice, or Hady Mirza really can belt it out like the pros. Or someone rigged the votes ("kelong!").

Whatever it is, this will be a double celebration for Singapore. First, our athletes come back with 43 golds at the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games, and now we've won the first Asian Idol. Yay!

Sidenote: No, I wasn't watching the entire show. I only tuned in the last few minutes because I was curious.

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Closing of library@orchard

2007-11-30T23:56:00.000+08:00

You can call a rose by any other name, and it will still smell the same. So it was with the library@orchard. After only eight years, it was closing -- or in its own words -- "moving on". As part of its final day festivities, the National Library Board threw a farewell party for staff, patrons and well-wishers. I attended as a well-wisher.

Dinner was provided, and if there's one thing the government does well, it's providing good food. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, most of it had been wiped out already. If there's one thing Singaporeans do well, it's eating. I consoled myself with a heaping of fried rice and pieces of teriyaki chicken.

While eating, I walked around the library... yes, with food in hand. It felt liberating and a tad criminal to be eating in the library so blatantly. But it was allowed, and I wasn't going to argue with that.

I'd been to this particular branch less than 10 times in all. But it's my first time there that stands out. That was the time I learned that the library carried comics! And not just the Garfield or Far Side type, but actual DC/Marvel Superman/Batman/X-Men comics! That was mind blowing to me. From young, I had been taught by authorities that comics were detrimental to the learning mind. And now, comics were in the library, the repository of knowledge.

It was getting difficult to walk and eat and manoeuvre around the other guests, so I just hung out at the Cafe Galilee area to watch the goings-on. Entertainment for the night was provided by two bands. I don't remember their names, but they sang the same kind of slow numbers that are suitable for hotel bars. It quite fit the mood of the evening, and also made everyone feel relaxed.

While mingling, I recognised a senior Media Development Authority executive. I nearly wanted to go up to him and sing, "Yes yes, y'all, we don't stop."

Things kicked off at 8pm with a music video produced by a friend. It was apparently inspired by my Firefox commercial, but I thought that it was only remotely inspired. The "kicker" was missing, resulting in just a feel-good montage of images.

By the way, it was interesting to me how this friend, who claimed that she hated the limelight, was thrust into prominence this evening. Not only did she make an appearance in her own video, she was also called upon to do an interview on-the-spot (to fill a gap in the proceedings). Oh yeah, and then she had to pull the rest of us into her limelight too.

There was also a prize presentation. Apparently, members of the public had been quizzed about library@orchard. Third prize: two iPod shuffles. Second prize: PlayStation Portable Slim. First prize: iPod nano. Who says the government ain't hip? I honestly expected something like book vouchers.

On another note, it felt weird and uncomfortable -- to me, anyway -- about how the MCs and Dr Prasad (chief executive of the National Library Board) were raving about the impact of blogging and "citizen bloggers" in chronicling the last days of the library. They went on and on as if blogging was the Second Coming and bloggers were the new "elites". It's not that I didn't enjoy the recognition. Rather, it was that they were rubbing it into the noses of non-bloggers that blogging was the wave of the future and "screw you" if you don't ride it. Like I said, it sounded elitist.

Two things that were cringe-worthy: people laughing hysterically at small jokes/asides by senior civil servants, and senior civil servants needing to be escorted to and from the podium. Oh, and one more thing: the loud, obnoxious music to fill the silent transitions.

I don't know who picked the music, but I'd blame RiTZ Events Asia for all of the technical screw-ups of the evening. During a band's performance, the microphone for the guitar suddenly stopped working. Then, during the music video, the music could barely be heard till about a minute into it. Finally, the video tribute to the bloggers (yes, there really was a video and it was bad!) wouldn't play, forcing the above-mentioned interview with my friend. RiTZ Events Asia, you suck!

Oh yeah, that blogger tribute video. Okay, it was a nice touch. But I generally lose interest in videos that rely on titling for 90% of the film. Video/film is a visual/audio medium. Why force your viewers to read??? Ever heard of "dialogue" or "voice over"? I'd rather read a PowerPoint presentation... actually, no, I wouldn't.

The library management was later invited to leave their messages and handprints. I suppose the display will be on show somewhere till the new libraries open up. I didn't get a chance to read the messages myself, but based on the few that were read out, they were the usual, politically correct, feel-good, warm and fuzzy lines.

The night's festivities ended with the final locking up of the library. There was the familiar "library is closing" tone and everyone was ushered out. Then, as photographers snapped away, the library staff locked the doors. Everyone clapped and cheered. And gave three cheers. I looked on amused. People were cheering over the end of a library? That sounded taboo in a society like Singapore's. As if people were happy to be losing a sanctuary of wisdom and research. It certainly didn't make sense to me.

I didn't stay long after that. Another friend had already left. He had waited nearly an hour for his photo, which had been taken by an official photographer, to be printed. Obviously, the Canon Selphy printers were never meant for mass printing. And points lost to the person who thought it'd be a good idea to use a consumer printer for an event like this. Never underestimate the impatience of middle aged women who want a photo that they will gawk over for three days before chucking it in the middle of an album that will remain as a dust collector.

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