It’s quite sad that Chengdu had been affected by the recent earthquake, which measured 7.8 on the Ritcher scale. As the scale is logarithmic, that’s about 600 megatons of TNT, or 2.4EJ of energy. In layman’s term, it’s one helluva energy to be released. More facts can be found here. and death toll is expected to hit the tens of thousands if aftershocks create more damage.

This calamity happened shortly after Myanmar was hit by a cyclone. However, unlike Myanmar, there’s sufficient resources in China for the rescue missions. Myanmar, till date, has only shown concern with pushing its own propaganda to its people, with little regards to the pleas to allow UN aids to enter Myanmar. Due to the delay in delivery relief to the people, diseases are expected to be rampant, which will probably see a sharp increase in the death toll should the government remain stubborn in its stance. To Myanmar: What use is a country when eventually people go against you? Or are you planning to suppress them regardless?

While it’s only Day 1 of the aftermath, China has responded promptly on its rescue missions. While Taiwan has offered aid, China showed no resistance in accepting help from a country that it is still at loggerheads with. If indeed China accepts help from the Taiwanese counterpart, I guess it says a lot of how China is willing to put aside pride and politics and putting their people first.

It’s sad that the cyclone and earthquake happened back to back, and what saddens me more is how one country is unwilling to set aside its propaganda for the good of its people. The junta in Myanmar is having a wrong sense of priority and I hope the people can wake up eventually. To all the people who suffered in the calamity, I offer my deepest condolences and prayers.

This is an usual post because this is more of a notice looking for people. =) I am looking for graduates who have taken SC448 Bioinformatics in their 3rd/4th year and are now looking for some extra income - there’s a job waiting for you. If you managed to complete the SC448 assignment that was given to you, you’d probably have no problem for the job.

People who have survived the monstrous assignment includes Plaktoz, gnayenelrahc and Ryan, and they are still alive an in one piece. Oh boy, am I making this scary or what? So, yes, if you know that NCBI couldn’t possibly stand for Nasi Briyani, then you probably qualify too.

Drop me a contact or email for more details! =)

A 3 day court hearing will determine how much damage Dr Chee and his sister will have to pay PM Lee and MM Lee for defaming the latter duo. The defamation took place in their party newsletter just before the 6th May polls in 2006 (2 more years to go to next election). The Chees have long been infamous for throwing claims on Lees on how the latter were corrupt - without presenting anything substantial to back their claims.

In fact, Dr Chee had a chance to face-off with MM Lee back in 2004. However, Dr Chee had a no-show for the court hearing. Needless to say, the results were not in his favour. One can’t help but wonder if he’ll pull a second fast one. I’m trying to look at things from the perspective of Dr Chee, but I am having trouble doing so - not because I am taking sides, but I find it hard to fathom his thinking process. If Singapore irks him so much, why won’t he spend the rest of his life peacefully elsewhere - since he probably knows that he’ll get nothing out of going against the system here. I’m not entirely supportive of the things that is being implemented in Singapore, but I can’t see how going against the system can help make lives better for everyone else. For ordinary people like me who are so comfortable with equilibrium, I only have time to care about my next bowl of rice, my next shelter over my head (metaphorically speaking).

Perhaps… just perhaps, he feels that it’s a calling for him; and maybe Dr Chee might gain more supporters if he’s able to show just a slight bit of evidence to support him. Too much allegations will just end up being noise - and it doesn’t help that, inferring from his arguments, the Singapore government is not allowing him access into his much-needed evidence. He’s a smart guy, but brute force isn’t always the way to go.

I’ve got so much things to say, but an entry isn’t sufficient. I wish him all the best.

THE Prime Minister and Minister Mentor are expected to go on the stand in a High Court hearing that starts on Monday.

The three-day hearing is to assess the damages Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Chee Soon Juan, his sister and the SDP will have to pay for defaming Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

The two leaders are likely to be cross-examined by lawyer M. Ravi, who is representing the SDP, as well as Dr Chee and his sister Chee Siok Chin, who are representing themselves.

If that happens, it will mark the first time that any PAP leader has been cross-examined by a political opponent in open court.

The opposition party and the Chee siblings were found to have defamed PM Lee and MM Lee in articles in their SDP newsletter two years ago.

The case began in the run-up to the 2006 General Election.

About a week before the May 6 polls, PM Lee and MM Lee had sued Dr Chee and the party’s leadership for repeating remarks alleging that they were corrupt and had covered up wrongdoings at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).

The suit stemmed from articles in the SDP newsletter, The New Democrat. It centred on the NKF saga and drew parallels between how the charity and the Government were run.

Six SDP central executive committee members apologised subsequently. But two others, Dr Chee and his sister, did not, and contested the suit.

In June 2006, the High Court ruled that the SDP - which did not file a defence in the case - defamed PM Lee and MM Lee.

Three months later, in September 2006, the Chee siblings were found guilty of defaming the two political leaders.

The Lees are seeking aggravated damages, which are exceptional awards made by the courts where the plaintiffs have been wronged severely.

The last time MM Lee was on the stand in an open court hearing was in 2004, in a separate defamation case involving Dr Chee, who failed to show up for the hearing.

PM Lee was last on the stand in 1997, in a hearing to assess the damages opposition politician Tang Liang Hong had to pay for defaming 11 People’s Action Party leaders.

Over the next three days, Justice Belinda Ang will hear both sides present their case and decide on the damages to award.

The amount may not matter to the Chee siblings as they have already been declared bankrupt.

But if the SDP is unable to pay up, the 28-year-old party faces the prospect of being wound up.

However, before the hearing starts, the Chee siblings intend to ask Justice Ang to disqualify herself from the case because she gave the Lees a summary judgment in 2006 after the Chees had walked out of court.

Another matter is also pending. Lawyers for PM Lee and MM Lee have applied to strike out the affidavits of Dr Chee, his sister and former solicitor-general and opposition politician Francis Seow, on the grounds that they are scandalous, irrelevant and an abuse of process.

If their affidavits are struck out, the Chee siblings will not take the stand and be cross-examined by the Lees’ lawyers.

sueann@sph.com.sg

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 12th May 2008

Read this yesterday night and felt so demoralised that I didn’t want to blog about it until today. I mean… is there such a thing as fairness in this world? Especially where money is concerned? It’s quite amazing that despite NUS and NTU having produced so many generations of graduates, they lost out to SMU in terms of their students’ starting salary.

I mean, S$5,600?! How obscene is that? And the starting pay is? More than S$3,000!

So the SMU students get all the top jobs and the NUS/NTU students fill up the rest. I’m sure for a lot of people who have already graduated and stuck with their S$2,500 a month pay and still slogging away are complaining left, right, center.

But seriously, what’s the real starting pay like?

THE fourth and largest batch of graduates from the Singapore Management University (SMU) are getting higher starting salaries than their seniors from the year before.

They are also landing jobs sooner, with nearly all snagging positions within six months of graduation.

The overall starting salary for the Class of 2007 went up 6.7 per cent to $3,040 from $2,850 for the Class of 2006, the university’s latest employment survey indicates.

The top 20 per cent are getting monthly starting salaries of $5,600.

The top 12 per cent - one in eight graduates or 69 of them from across all degree programmes - are doing even better, drawing starting salaries of between $4,000 and $10,000 a month.

Among the Class of 2006, just 8 per cent - or 26 - made it to this pay bracket.

Of the 69 high-fliers, nine are making between $8,000 and $10,000 a month, mostly from investment banking or management consulting.

Indeed, about half the graduates are in banking, finance, auditing and accounting jobs.

Miss Seetoh Zhi Min, 23, who has a double degree in accountancy and business management, landed a job as an associate at the Boston Consulting Group.

Part of her job involves analysing strategic issues faced by her clients’ companies.

‘I like the exposure to various industries, the type of work the job provides and, more importantly, the learning prospects that come with it,’ said Miss Seetoh, whose name was a fixture on the Dean’s List for three years.

The Class of 2007 distinguished itself one other way in the business of job hunting: More snagged jobs even before graduation.

Eight in 10 landed job offers either before graduation or, at most, within a month of graduation.

Two-thirds got two to more than 10 job offers.

Miss Delaine Cheong, 24, sent out over 10 applications and received five offers.

She is now an investment associate with the Financial Institution Group at Temasek Holdings, where she helps evaluate investment opportunities.

SMU’s Graduate Employment Survey had a response rate of 87per cent - 618 out of the 711 who graduated between May and September last year responded.

The National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University have not released their employment surveys yet.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 12th May 2008

Just like the prophecies foretold from a magical book of sorts, the signs are showing. First, the feedburner count plunged like the stock market from a high of 120+/130+ to just 71. Then the support group that Simply Jean has been so often immersed in has suddenly… "disbanded". Plaktoz - back to camp. Ridz - busy, DK - busy, Miccheng - busy, Alice - sick, Nicole - busy, Ruiping - MIA…

It’s probably just one of those ranting days again. Singapore, except for the recent raise in fuel prices, rice prices, ERP gantries (yes, the gantries, not the ERP fees) and all, had been very quiet recently; especially so when everyone was so disappointed with how the entire Mas Selamat case is being handled, everyone seemed to have lost respect for our DPM Wong. So much so that… everyone seemed to give up talking about them.

Retrospectively, the week crossing May Day had been quite crazy, with an event almost every other day. In fact, there will be 2 events crashing against this Wednesday. Why can’t those social media people start doing something about their dates instead of clashing with each other and forcing people to take sides? The results will always be unexpected.

Ok. Enough ranting. Back to work.

It’s not everyday that I find gems in Youtube, and when I find it, there’s a… burning desire to share it. =P So here are my latest gems that I have found. Hope that you’d like it. =)

Oh, remember to watch the first one first before watching the second.

I had been thinking about the judicial system in Singapore since I read the article below. In dishing out punishments, how often and how flexible is it in recognizing exceptional cases? Do the judges simply stick by the book regardless and just send the alleged to their gallows and doom just because they have committed certain crimes - without looking at the circumstances and context surrounding it?

If the authorities are afraid of people making use of loopholes, then how about the case in the article? If the authorities are not helping him and he doesn’t have a passport and money, did they really expect him to die on the streets? Or should he really just call home and try to get a ticket back to China? Caning him? I think it’s really a little over.

CHINA worker Han Xin Hui, 41, arrived in Singapore in October 2006 in a new suit, new leather shoes, and a suitcase full of work clothes.

But on Tuesday, he left wearing a ragged T-shirt and bermudas, hiding scars from four strokes of the cane he got while in prison here - a permanent reminder of his time in Singapore.

His budget flight to Guangzhou, followed by a train ride to his home in Hebei, brought his 18-month stay here to an end.

He told The Straits Times in Mandarin that he had been conned by labour agents, both in China and Singapore, who had promised him a job, but never delivered.

He said: ‘I’ll never think of Singapore again, I have such a bad impression.’

Some foreign workers from China, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the targets of rogue agents who collect thousands of dollars from the workers in return for jobs in Singapore.

But when they arrive, not only is there no work for them, but local agents also take their cash and even their passports.

While no official data is available on the number of workers who get duped by agents, Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), a welfare organisation which helps foreign workers, said that for the past year, they have seen at least one case every three months.

Mr Han’s is the most recent case that Home helped resolve.

His troubles started when an acquaintance introduced him to an employment agent in Beijing.

The agent said he could earn 7,000 yuan (S$1,360) monthly as a lorry driver in Singapore - if he paid the 28,000-yuan agent’s fee.

Tempted, he gave up his 2,500- yuan-a-month job as a lorry driver and emptied out his savings to move to Singapore, leaving behind his wife and two sons, now aged 20 and 21.

He was told to head to an address in Geylang when he arrived in Singapore and wait for a call from a local agent.

The call came a day after he landed. Mr Han met the man claiming to be his Singapore agent, who immediately demanded another 8,000 yuan. He also took Mr Han’s return air-ticket and passport for safe-keeping.

Mr Han never heard from the man again. His mobile number was also no longer in use.

Calls to the agent back in China also reached a dead end.

Stranded in Singapore with no work, no money and no passport, Mr Han, who was on a tourist pass, took up random construction jobs. He approached Home for help, but continued to work illegally.

‘I knew I wasn’t supposed to work. But I had no choice.’

After he earned some money, he searched for another agent, hoping to get a proper work permit and a legal job.

Again, he says, he was cheated.

He paid the agent $500, and was told to return two weeks later. But six weeks later, there was still no job.

With help, he managed to go after the agency and had his day in court. He won his case, but still ended up with nothing.

The agency in Lavender had closed down and he was told he would have to spend more money to enforce the judgment.

‘I won the case but I had to pay money? Where’s the logic? I was fighting in court, because I had no money,’ Mr Han said.

Again he continued to work illegally.

In August last year, he was caught for overstaying when police raided the flat he was sharing in Changi with seven other foreign workers.

His sentence: one month in jail and four strokes of the cane.

When he was released in October last year, he applied for a new passport. Around this time, he also approached Home again for help. The volunteer group then raised the money for his flight back to China.

Mr Han was on a 6.25am flight on Monday, but to avoid paying for an early morning taxi, he was at the airport by 11pm the night before.

‘Not everybody here is bad. I’ll get my son to come back and thank people here who have helped me,’ he said. ‘But I’m never coming back here in my life. Never.’

simlinoi@sph.com.sg

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 11th May 2008 dated 2nd May 2008

Are you working too hard? I was reading the article in straitstimes.com and was silently giggling at Mr Lim Boon Heng’s rhetoric question. Is it necessary to work such long, late hours? If you are in the IT industry, there’s so much work to be done, so many deadlines, and when you can’t solve something, you… may not be able to go back because there may be a presentation the next day. If you are in the medical industry, you may have to cover someone after your duty for some other reasons. If you are a financial consultant, I’d think that’s worse.

And why is everyone working so hard? Is it because of raising cost of living? Inflation?  More expensive food? Or just preparing for the worst? After all, once school that I know of has a motto that’s synonymous to "The Worst is Yet to Come". Heh… I’m still giggling at the rhetoric question. =P

Just married but no time for honeymoon

Minister Lim Boon Heng says young people are too caught up with work

By Maria Almenoar

MORE Singaporeans may want to get married but some cannot even find the time to enjoy their honeymoon immediately after.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Boon Heng on Friday night said young Singaporeans are too caught up with their work and urge them and their employers to change this work culture.

Citing a newly-wed couple as an example, he said he asked them where they would be heading for their honeymoon and was told that they had to defer it because of work commitments.

‘So work dictates life, and young people seem to be caught up in working long hours,’ said Mr Lim on Friday night at a Mother’s Day dinner organised by the Jurong Central Grassroots Organisations.

‘Is it necessary to work such long, late hours?’ asked Mr Lim who is also MP for Jurong GRC.

Mr Lim encouraged employers and employees to relook the culture of long working hours and be more family-friendly.

‘We should go for high productivity, not long hours,’ he told 900 guests at Orchid Country Club.

A recent survey released by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports on marriage and families, found that more Singaporeans wanted to get married and those who were married wanted more kids.

While this was encouraging, Mr Lim said the real question was whether enough was being done to encourage couples to have more children.

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 9th May 2008

By now, most people people would have known that this blogger got jailed, but what I couldn’t understand is why he is insisting on fasting. He might feel that he has suffered an injustice, he might have felt that the "jail term" was unnecessary, he might feel that everyone should just believe him that "Yes! Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife are really involved!"; however, he should have known better.

He reminds me of Singapore’s Dr Chee, who has so far shown defiance to the government on a public front. It’s not that I am condemning or disagreeing with what they are doing - but I’m sure they know; I’m sure the people know - that it’s futile to go against a system; and in the midst of it, making live so miserable for themselves.

What’s the point of starving and probably dying in jail? They will just be a name down in history. If that’s what they want, they might just even be a little successful, for a short while - because their actions will not cause any revolution, will not cause any sudden reforms, nor will their actions cause any change in mindset of the general people.

Probably… some people might just have given up about the whole situation.

KUALA LUMPUR - A MALAYSIAN blogger in jail after writing an article linking a top leader to the gruesome killing of a Mongolian woman has begun a hunger strike, his wife said on Wednesday.

Raja Petra Kamaruddin, founder and editor of the popular Malaysia Today site, has been charged with sedition for implicating Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife in the October 2006 murder.

He refused to post bail set at 5,000 ringgit (S$2,182), opting instead to be locked up until his trial begins on October 6.

‘He is on a hunger strike. It is a protest. He is not guilty and he is being punished,’ his distraught wife, Ms Marina Lee Abdullah said.

‘The last time he did this, his liver was damaged. I don’t think he is going to last that long.’ Raja Petra has also refused visits by family members.

‘I don’t blame him but of course he’s my husband and… if he doesn’t want to meet even me, this means it is bad news,’ she said.

Pictures of the 57-year-old blogger looking defiant while behind bars at the court prison were this week splashed on the front pages of local papers.

‘I am not going to post bail. I don’t have the money,’ he told reporters in the packed courtroom on Tuesday.

If convicted, he faces a three-year jail term or a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit.

Blogger Ahirudin Attan, president of the National Alliance of Bloggers, said the ‘high-handed’ way in which Raja Petra was treated by authorities, threatened freedom of speech on the Internet.

‘Parties mentioned in his article should exercise their right to reply and debate with him over the issues instead of quickly resorting to sedition,’ he added.

Gayathry Venkiteswaran from Malaysia’s Centre for Independent Journalism said: ‘It is a systematic target against an individual who has risked his neck to expose issues of public interest.’

The government’s harshest critic, former premier Mahathir Mohamad - who has recently taken up blogging - has also denounced the charge against Raja Petra.

The high-profile case involving the killing of the 28-year-old Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu, whose body was blown up with explosives, has grabbed headlines across the country since the murder trial began in June last year.

Mr Najib, who is expected to take over from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as the country’s next premier, has denied any involvement in her death.

Two police officers from an elite force, whose duties included guarding the prime minister and Najib, were charged with the killing.

Analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who has links with Najib and top government leaders has been charged with abetting the killing.

Malaysia’s Sedition Act, a carryover from British colonial times, broadly criminalises activities with ’seditious tendencies,’ including those that express anti-government sentiments. — AFP

Article obtained from straitstimes.com on 8th May 2008

I was thinking twice if I should post this here (because readers here are only looking at those socio-political issues?) but I was thinking… aiyah! whatever lah! Haha…

I had actually been contemplating about moving out of Singapore to either the US/UK/Australia or wherever that accepts me into graduate medical school (GMS) to study and eventually to settle down. This seemed to be a rather natural progression because if I had to apply for GMS overseas, that probably means that Singapore didn’t give me an opportunity to pursue something that I wish to do and pursue as a long term goal - and to return to Singapore after graduating from a GMS overseas probably meant that I’d be treated as a 3rd class citizen and 3rd class doctor anyway.

Returning to Singapore as a talent but still a Singapore probably doesn’t make me a foreign talent. I’d probably have to give up my citizenship and then come back as a foreigner that makes me a foreign talent - which according to local believes fetches more benefits.

Of course if I should ever move to another country, the purpose is not to come back as a foreign talent - but rather, I’d figure that they probably need "foreign talents" in their country than Singapore needs me. After all, Singapore probably gave up whatever vacancies to another foreign talent. Of course, I’d rather serve my country any time, and the good thing about being a doctor is that there’s no boundaries where patients are concerned because there should not be discrimination when saving a person’s life.

I digress. It’s about how I will feel after I leave Singapore.

I guess I will miss the country. I will miss seeing Dr Chee get himself into more trouble. I probably can’t miss much of the general elections because it’d probably be a walkover in the ward I am in. I’ll miss the food, my friends and my parents as well. This is a time when I wish that I have a loved one with me who can accompany me on this long journey but alas, I have none.

While the grass is greener on the other side, the road is going to be a little lonely. Walking alone will no doubt be tough, but I guess that’s the price to pay when you are in pursuit of your dreams and your country doesn’t give you that opportunity. Or is it because I just don’t have the material for it? (of course, the last question is rhetorical) =P