For some reasons, my lab mate got hold of a CD of classical music pieces (and it’s not pirated) where many of the all time favourites like Symphony No. 4, William Tell Overture and Piano Concerto No. 5 were compiled onto a single CD. Yes, this means not having to search through all my CDs and burning a separate piece just for my personal enjoyment. Then again, I am probably too lazy to do so…

I will probably not mind a trip to NUS just to listen to their Symphony Orchestra play/practice a piece or too, but then again, these are not places that you can just walk in as and when you feel like.

By some sheer luck (and knowing lots of people), I came to know of a concert that NUS Symphony Orchestra will be playing in… if you are thinking classical pieces, you are in for a BIG SURPRISE!!!

Tomorrow (19th June 2009, Friday), NUS Symphony Orchestra is actually going to play for Video Games Live! Yes! The series of sold-out concerts that had been happening around the world! Now, I am not sure if NUS *did* play for the other concerts, but I thought it’d be rather interesting to have NUS Symphony Orchestra playing video game pieces! Think – Super Mario, Final Fantasy and Warcraft (?!) Now, I am really not sure which pieces they will be playing, but I was definitely awed by the following video I found on Youtube:

Now, of course we are not looking at a One-Man-Orchestra!!! But I thought it’d be amazing to listen to these video game pieces being played by an entire Orchestra! And I heard that the Choir will be there too (although I am not sure what they will be singing)! So, if you would like to re-live the days of Super Mario Bros (again, I am not sure which pieces they are playing) or to indulge in your kids’ games (now now, I don’t have parents visiting this site, do I?) do go down to the concert tomorrow!

Yes, it’s happening tomorrow, 19th June 2009 @ The Singapore Indoor Stadium. There’s still time to go get your tickets from the Stadium Box Office or at all SISTIC outlets! This is a one day performance and there’s no knowing when they will return again… (and the pieces may not be the same any more). Yes, go book your tickets now and don’t even bother checking them out at www.videogameslive.com/singapore because the tickets may not be there any more!

See ya!

PS: And oh yes, you enjoy discounts if you are a gamer student!

Well, at least the truth is out now and the speculations can stop. It was revealed that the main motive of the take-over of AWARE was that it was perceived to be pro-gay and that senior lawyer Thio Su Mien was alarmed and felt that she had to put everything straight (pun unintended) into perspective.

When the coup happened, everyone was speculating what their motive is. Well, it does seem now that she (they) had been their motives clear and I think everyone can relax and be assured that they are only anti-gay. Phew. Yup, that’s all. It’s just a group of women who are pro-family, pro-women and pro-Singapore who felt that the burden was on them to put things into perspective – that AWARE shouldn’t be… erm, losing sight of their original goal – that is to make sure that women are treated equally.

As a Christian, I see this as a calling. A calling for them to change things for the better. A calling for them to take the burden unto them and carry out what’s right in the name of God; and that because of what they believe in and what they have acted upon as good faith in the name of the Lord, they have received persecution. For this, I quote (from the Bible and also shortcut’d from here) :

John 15:18-21

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you… If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you… because they do not know Him who sent Me.”

And my words of encouragement goes out to them that:

Matthew 5:10-12

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven….”

Then again, Singapore is a secular state. I am not sure if imposing my Christian beliefs unto people is right. Hmm… And I somehow wonder how this will change the perspective of people on Christians. Already, “someone” had been telling me “isn’t this what you all Christians want?” and when we watched a totally unrelated movie, Knowing - where everyone on Earth perished and only “the chosen ones” get to escape apocalypse and start life anew, I was asked “why should you be afraid? they (the aliens/angles/watchacallthem) are one of you anyway? isn’t this the way of the Bible?” Er… . I don’t really think that there is a Christian theme behind this and I did get a little freaked out because of the show.

Duh…

Well, seems like there are some “personal” repercussions to the “Christian” takeover of AWARE afterall. Persecution? Nay. Endless rants of how “we Christians want to take over the world”? Maybe. So… perhaps I am not so comfortable with them taking over AWARE afterall? I’m not sure. However, when they pray to God and seek guidance from the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah Rohi, and march forth under the name of the Lord, Jehovah Nissi and trusting that the Lord, Jehovah Jireh will provide, I hope that God gave them the wisdom of what’s to come and that the Lord, Jehovah Shalom – God of Peace, is with them.

Make love. Not war. 

Editor: Having said that, I went on to read news of how the new guards are quite literally, taking over the organization, changing locks, having husbands record everything that was going on, firing more old guards and leaving old guards out of the press conference. Their choice of words, to say the least, was quite… unexpected. Yes, it does seem like… an overthrow.

The start of a new dynasty. Not as… Christian-like as I’d have imagined it to be. Then again, thanks to the new AWARE’s expose of what they considered was damning and sinning on the part of the old guards, people will be starting to search for “spider lillies”, “SG butterfly” and perhaps “Alex Au”? Nay, the last one is famous enough. Oh, as for the EOGM, I think the old guards can might as well forget it. If the new guards want, the number of people they can get to support is enough to drown the old guards. And their supporters. Twice over.

SENIOR lawyer Thio Su Mien on Thursday revealed the key role she played in bringing about the change of leadership at the Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware).Appearing at a press conference called at short notice by some of the association’s new leaders, she said she was alarmed to discover that Aware had lost sight of its original purpose and become pro-lesbian and pro-homosexual.

Dr Thio, 71, a born-again Christian who runs her own law firm, is the mother of Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-ann and her nephew, Dr Alan Chin, is married to new Aware president Josie Lau.

She was the first woman dean of the Law Faculty at the then-University of Singapore, from 1969 to 1971.

Introducing herself as a ‘feminist mentor’ to working women, she said she began monitoring Aware’s affairs about a year ago.

Disturbed by what she saw as signs that it was promoting lesbianism and homosexuality, she began urging women she knew to challenge Aware’s attempts to redefine marriage and families.

On Thursday, the new Aware leaders said that they and their families had been threatened and even received death threats, and they have reported them to the police.

Dr Thio said: ‘I feel kind of responsible for these difficulties they are going through, because I was the one who mentored them over the years.’

She said she had been teaching and counselling some of them in different groups for up to 10 years.

She was ‘absolutely outraged’ that a group of women who just wanted to contribute to society are now facing ‘ferocious attacks’. ‘I don’t understand what has become of our people,’ she added.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_367834.html

Article extracted on 24th April 2009

Just barely hours after I gave my views on the recent “take over” of AWARE by new members, the old guards have submitted a request to hold an extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) on a motion of no-confidence on the newly elected ExCo. I am not sure if this is a good move, but I think it does help to speed up the pace of the new ExCo to issue their press release. I had been waiting eons for it. Any longer, my head will have to rest onto the next cubicle.

SINGAPORE : 160 members of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) have submitted a request to call an extraordinary general meeting for the society, where a motion of no confidence in the newly-elected Executive Committee (ExCo) will be considered.

It all started at the AWARE annual general meeting on March 28.

Nine of the 12 Executive Committee positions went to newcomers during that meeting. Over 100 people had turned up to vote and many of these voters had only just joined AWARE.

Some of the newcomers have previously written to the media speaking against homosexuality. AWARE, on the other hand, is known for its liberal stance.

“It (AWARE) stands for choice, it stands for gender equity, it stands for democracy, it stands for diversity, plurality. That’s why our membership has always been open,” said Corinna Lim, a former Executive Committee member and AWARE member since 1992.

When asked for their reasons for seeking leadership, the new ExCo members declined comment.

“We told you that ExCo is going to be meeting sometime this week, after which there will be a press release. So there is no comment,” said Charlotte Wong, VP of AWARE.

Its newly-elected President, Claire Nazar, a longtime member of AWARE, resigned barely two weeks after being voted in.

Some past presidents in the meantime, have been collecting signatures to call for an extraordinary general meeting – prompting some observers to comment that they are behaving like sore losers.

“We welcome change, it is not about losing at all. Someone from a different group came in, have certain ideas about what AWARE should be doing and hasn’t communicated it, and all we want to know now is what this is about,” said Lim.

“The extraordinary general meeting is an opportunity for the new guard to explain their position and win the members over. We can’t really comment whether they will hold fast to the traditional line of AWARE, but I can’t imagine why not, if they chose to enter AWARE and run for office there,” said political analyst Gillian Koh.

The current committee has not replied to members’ request to hold the meeting.

AWARE has about 500 members. – CNA /ls

Source: ChannelNewsAsia, http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/422301/1/.html

Article extracted on 14th April 2009

So much has been written about the recent “fiasco” (or what ST seemingly made it to be) that I would probably refer you to here and here to get in tune of what’s happening. If you ask me, I think…

Everyone is over reacting.

No doubt a few of them are allegedly/seemingly against the idea of repealling Section 377A; or that some of them believe in Christ (and are hence fundamentalists???), but I somehow feel that, in my personal opinion, everyone is overreacting and seemingly putting relationships where they probably do not exist.

Having held on to, or currently still holding on to “leadership positions ” in a couple of societies, the “fear” (if I can even term it as one) of having other members running for office and garnering a lot of support and hence “taking over the entire committee” is very real. As a matter of fact, I have heard, first hand, from my previous President of one of the societies that a member had joined the society with a lot of friends, got all of them to vote for her and did nothing during her office.

Now, doing absolutely nothing during a Presidential term is probably more fearful than having someone “unfamiliar” take over. Essentially, this wastes not just everyone’s time, but results in wasted opportunities – but I will keep this for another day.

So, what do I have to say about the “new women on the block”? I’d say, well, they fought hard for it (in a sense) and have either mixed around really well during their short term of membership or have really went all out to garner support. In this case, they should show us what they have got and not let whatever that the past teams of AWARE have built be put to waste. Of course, if they want to change the Constitution, impose more rules, and change their direction – that is probably their prerogative now. They can even change from an “all-inclusive” to “ours-exclusive” stance if they wish to. Afterall, an ineffective society will just die by itself. What’s wasted is the effort that’s been put into making people… more aware of it now

And oh, someone mentioned that this is happening now because AWARE supported the repeal of Section 377A and that someone has to be put there to put things right? Nay. Nothing is stopping the current group of members from coming out and starting their own group all over again. Afterall, if they have supporters, it doesn’t matter if they are AWARE or simply A-MARE, does it?

Now, does it seem that this post is full of disclaimers?

All of us heard about the shocking news this morning about a second person involved in an apparent suicide. This had been report in various sites including here and here; and hence I will not spend time repeating what’s been said there.

Having said that, some bloggers found out that both the student and the project officer were from the same lab and this resulted in another wave of speculation that Zhou Zheng was doing the FYP that David was doing and there were a lot of skeletons in the project… and so on and so forth. I’m sure you probably get the picture now.

Now, I’m just going to show a screen capture that may probably just suppress this speculation:

The image is rather long, so you would have to click on it to open it in a new window…

Read the rest of this entry »

A man was apparently arrested outside the Parliament House when he scribbled “Harry Lee, I love you” on the signage stone wall just outside the building. Just as he had finished scribbling the words, Certis Cisco guards ran across the lawn to nab him. Putting up a struggle, the guards had to wrestle him down before he was subdued. MM Lee is also known as Harry by his family and some friends.

I am not sure of his intent, but I am sure many people in Singapore would have loved Harry for the things that he had done – from bringing Singapore in the 60s in it’s old run-down days to modern day advancement that our neighbours can only look in awe and jealousy.

Ok. I am threading on dangerous grounds, but Harry Sir, with all due respect, I love you too! =)

Man arrested for vandalism

By Selina Lum

POLICE on Wednesday arrested a man in his 40s for vandalism, after a signage stone wall outside Parliament House was defaced at lunch hour.

At about 1.30pm, three unifomed Certis Cisco guards were seen wrestling down a man, wearing a red T-shirt and brown trousers, on the lawn outside Parliament House.

Scribbled in black marker on the top right corner of the shoulder-high wall were the words: ‘Hi Harry Lee. I love you.’

Eyewitnesses said they saw guards running across the lawn from Parliament House to nab the man while he scribbled on the wall.

It took three guards to subdue the medium-built man as he refused to be pinned down and tried to wriggle free.

As he was led away, a guard held up a piece of cardboard to cover up the words.

Soon after, other security personnel brought a canvas sheet and draped it over the sign.

The graffiti was cleaned off by 2.40pm.

In response to queries by The Straits Times, a police spokesman said: ‘On 14 Jan 09 at about 2.20pm, Police arrested a Chinese man in his late 40s for vandalism at the vicinity of Parliament House. Police investigations are ongoing.’

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_326123.html

Article extracted on 14th January 2009

The O-level results came out a few days back and the usual top talent spotting took place – just like every other year. It is usually some students from some top schools, although this pattern is beginning to fade as more talent come in from overseas. This year is one of those years. Haw Sue Hern from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, scored 10 A1s, and topped the cohort this year. She’s from Malaysia and was here on a scholarship without bond.

I don’t have anything against people who come to Singapore on scholarships. Neither do I have any problems with the top student not being a Singapore. For that matter, I feel that education should be made to anyone who’s interested in it and there should not be any discrimination on the recipient. What caught my attention was how the local papers seem to be highlighting on her leaving Singapore and pursuing her studies elsewhere.

I would think that it’s completely her prerogative to go to anywhere in the world she wants, although I quietly suspects that not everyone agrees with me (well, I can’t please the world =P). I am not sure how many people know about this, but a lot of students from overseas come to Singapore to get their Ph.D and return to their home country to do great stuffs. As a matter of fact, we are losing a lot of postgraduate students every semester, but the value of the Ph.D probably lies a lot in the quality of work done by them. Whether we are losing *top* Ph.D students is another story, but I’d think that for a foreigner to come here on scholarships, they should have been… erm, well-screened (although I really hate to use this word).

So, at that context, I don’t really think Singapore is really afraid of losing talents – especially so when we are losing Ph.D scholars by the dozens. It just seemed strange that the papers would highlight this, perhaps, unusual path that Sue Hern is taking. Well, one man’s meat *could be* another man’s poison. =) What has been working well here may not necessarily work well for her in the future, especially so if she wants to be a doctor. =)

Having said that, there’s been this issue of “brain-drain”, where apparently, *local talent* are leaving for the seemingly greener side of the grass. This issue was probably brought up many times even in political discussions – on how we can retain local talent. I don’t remember anything coming out of it because I still see many of my Singaporean friends leaving for overseas where they thrive. So, should I say that they are weak and left to vie against overseas competitors. If that statement is true, am I implying that overseas competitors are weaker?

No.

I am not implying anything, but rather, I am just a little uncomfortably about the government calling these people Quitters. What is strange is that when these people come back successful, they are welcomed with open-arms (although I don’t know what happens when they return a “failure”). So, does it mean that if I were to leave Singapore today, I will be deemed a Quitter until I come back to Singapore successful? So, if I come back a failure, am I still deemed a Quitter-cum-Failure?

I hate to think about it.

Top student to say farewell?

Best O-level performer may opt for private institution in Selangor

By Amelia Tan

SINGAPORE’S top O-level student was not here to collect her results and may not even continue her studies in Singapore.

Haw Sue Hern, from CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School, had just returned to her home in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, after a holiday in Beijing when she learnt of her results. Her family had planned their holiday before the announcement last week that the O-level results would be released yesterday.

Sue Hern’s score of 10 A1s made her the top O-level performer out of 36,640 students this year.

‘I am so surprised with the results… I wish I could collect my results personally but my parents had planned the holiday already,’ she said in a phone interview.

Her father is an engineer and her mother, a teacher in Malaysia.

Sue Hern and her younger sister, a Secondary 3 student at the same school, lived in a hostel here during the school term.

The 16-year-old attended CHIJ St Nicholas on a scholarship which did not have a bond. ‘I was scared to come to Singapore all by myself but I was impressed by how friendly the teachers were. My parents encouraged me too,’ she said.

Her secret to success was consistent hard work, she added. ‘I did my revision regularly and reviewed past test papers.’

She is currently enrolled in an 11-month pre-university course at Taylor’s University College, a private education institution in Subang Jaya, Selangor. The triple-science student has not decided whether to continue with the course or enrol in a junior college in Singapore. She hopes to become a doctor eventually.

Her form teacher, Ms Quek Soo Hiang, said she was surprised when Sue Hern told her after her O-level exams in November that she would be returning to Malaysia to study, and was not going on to a junior college here.

‘I wish that she would stay on in Singapore but it is her choice,’ said Ms Quek.

Finishing close behind Sue Hern was her classmate and fellow Malaysian Cheong Jia Ee, and Anderson Secondary student Low Wan Ting. Both of them scored nine A1s and one A2.

Jia Ee, 16, is planning to study at ACS (Independent), Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) or Raffles Institution.

‘I’ve known Sue Hern since Primary 1 when we were in the same school in Malaysia. I am happy that both of us did so well in the O levels,’ she said.

Wan Ting, 16, though ecstatic with her results, said the only blemish on her record is the A2 she got for German. She will be applying for a place at HCI.

The top Indian student was Jharyathri Thiagarajah from Cedar Girls’ Secondary, who got nine A1s. The top Eurasian students were Rebekah Jiashan Broughton from CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) and Jared Ryan Durnford from Tanjong Katong Secondary. Both got seven A1s and one A2.

Nearly all – 99.9 per cent – of those who sat for last year’s O levels received certificates. Of these, 80.8 per cent or 29,592 had five or more O-level passes, while 94.6 per cent or 34,675 had three or more O-level passes.

Normal (Academic) students also did well. Last year, 4,254 or 32.4 per cent of the Sec 4 Normal (Academic) students sat for one to two O-level subjects and 90.5 per cent of them got at least one O-level pass.

ameltan@sph.com.sg

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_325455.html

Article extracted on 14th January 2009 – 12 more days to Chinese New Year!

The attacker of MP Seng Han Thong, an ex-cabby, had been charged in court today in a district court. He had apparently crept up on Mr Seng and poured thinner on him before setting him ablaze with a starter gun. If convicted, he may be jailed for life.

This drew mixed comments from many people within and out of the blogosphere. Some thought that there would be bias in sentencing him, while others thought that he should be locked up back into the institute (of mental health). However, most agree that this kind of violent action should not have been tolerated.

Update in progress.

A FORMER cabby, Ong Kah Chua, 70, was charged in a district court on Monday with two counts of grievously hurting the MP for Yio Chu Kang and the chairman of the constituency’s temple.

Ong Kah Chua, 70, allegedly poured a bottle of thinner and torched Mr Seng Han Thong, 59, at Yio Chu Kang Community Club at about noon on Sunday.

He is similarly accused of causing grievous hurt to Mr Aw Chui Seng, 69, chairman of Chu Sheng Temple.

Ong’s case was the first to be brought up in court at 8.50am.

Clad in a white T-shirt and dark blue bermudas and wearing slippers, he had complained in Hokkien of pain in the left ankle because of the shackles just before court started.

He asked the policemen around if they could be loosened a bit.

Ong, who is blind in the left eye, was remanded at the Institute of Mental Health for psychiatric examination.

If convicted, he can be jailed for up to life or up to 15 years and liable to fine. Because of his age, he cannot be caned.

He will be back in court on Jan 23

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_325065.html

Article extracted on 12th January 2009

A singapore MP had been set on fire by a 70 year old man during a ceremony to hand out red packets to selected residents. Apparently, the man was unable to quality for the red packet and this incident is thought to be an act of vengeance. The MP, Mr Seng Han Thong, is an MP from the Yio Chu Kang constituency.

In July 2006, he was was punched in the face by a man in his 60s because the MP apparently refused to help him appeal for his taxi licence, which was suspended over an unrelated incident. Investigations are currently underway. More updates will follow.

This post was made sent from the Nokia E66.

Update

Apparently, another man, Mr Aw Chui Seng, rushed to the rescue of the MP and got himself set ablaze too. Mr Seng was initially sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital while Mr Aw was sent to Singapore General Hospital. They are both apparently now in SGH’s Burns Unit.

This event, although unfortunate, may bear a few lessons – not only for the politicians, but for us to learn. Notwithstanding the psychological status of the attacker, this goes to show that in desperate times, desperate measures may be deemed necessary to the ones who are suffering. All senses of reasoning may not longer be in place and the person who is affected may simply just go berserk. This was apparently the case in the previous attack where the taxi driver thought that the MP wasn’t helping him to appeal for his revoked licence. In the end, the man made a public apology and eventually got back his vocational licence. He was however, removed from the company he was working for.

Hence, a lot of PR is really required – not to patronize the public, but really, to be honest and yet tactful. This is indeed a difficult task that even the best amongst out there may sometimes find it challenging.

What’s interesting about this attack (and the MP) is that he is attacked not just once, but twice, by 2 different persons. Is it mere coincidence, or does he really have some traits that sends the wrong signals to the wrong people? This will be highly speculative and I have no wish to be involved in it. Of course, we have so far looked at things from a single perspective – a third party’s.

Looking at what happened and the past incident, I guess the people would also have to understand that their MPs are not gods – they may not be able to do whatever they wish for. That said, why is it that the people are not thinking likewise – or for that matter, why aren’t all the people thinking that way? Some of the people that I have spoken to suggested that it could be because they think that the MPs are also getting (near) million dollar salaries (but in actual fact, they are not; thanks to reader Choong Yong for pointing that out) of the (near) million-dollar salary that they are getting – which seemed to imply a certain amount of authority that they hold and hence their ability to change things. Let us not forget that this is not always the case, especially when stringent red tape is in place. Others that I have spoken too suggested a sense of grudge – especially civil servants who do not seem to understand the plight of the people and indirectly boasted of their economic prowess in this time of difficulty. 

So, how will things change after this incident? Will there be an entire convoy of bodyguards surrounding the MPs every time they do their rounds? I don’t really think so, because as PM Lee has mentioned, the MPs must be accessible. To maintain this delicate thin line between fulfilling their people’s needs and safeguarding their own safety is probably an occupational hazard that they must bare. Perhaps this is why they may get their (near) million-dollar salary when they become ministers?

PS: The author wrote this at 2:00am after shifting her stuff to an entirely new environment. Some statements may not be completely correct while every effort has been taken to ensure the factuality of everything that’s written here.

Attacker set MP ablaze

By Esther Tan and Jermyn Chow

IN A vicious attack, a man said to be mentally unstable poured thinner down the back of Yio Chu Kang MP Seng Han Thong and set him alight at a grassroots event on Sunday morning.

Mr Seng, 59, ran onto the stage at the Yio Chu Kang Community Club, where he was attending a community event, trying desperately to beat out the flames on his back and head.

The chairman of the constitutency’s Chu Sheng Temple, Mr Aw Chui Seng, 69, rushed to his rescue but was also burned.

Others then shoved Mr Seng to the ground and took off their shirts to try to put the flames out.

Both men, now in Singapore General Hospital’s Burns Unit, have burns to about 10 to 15 per cent of their bodies. It is understood they may need skin grafting

Police have arrested a 70-year-old man, identified as Ong Kah Chua, for the attack. He is said to have been in and out of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) over the last few months and was described by neighbours as an ‘eccentric character’ who sometimes ran up and down the corridor outside his flat for no apparent reason.

Cabinet Ministers including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, and a number of MPs visited Mr Seng and Mr Aw in hospital on Sunday afternoon.

PM Lee said he told Mr Seng, who has a daughter in her 20s, to concentrate on getting well. Mr Lee said MPs from the Ang Mo Kio GRC will work it out among themselves to look after Mr Seng’s ward.

Speaking to the media after visiting Mr Seng, Mr Lee said while MPs should take precautions when they attend public events, they must remain accessible to their residents and be approachable.

‘Because this is an isolated case, the person is an IMH case, we will deal with it but life has to go on and our work has to go on,’ said PM Lee.

This is the second time in 2 1/2 years that Mr Seng has been attacked at a community event. In July 2006, at a meet-the-people session in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, he was punched by a 74-year-old Koo cabby who was upset with Mr Seng as he believed the MP was not helping him to get his revoked taxi licence reinstated.

Mr Koo was initially charged in court but the matter was settled after Mr Seng accepted his public apology.

Sunday’s attack happened at about 11.40am as Mr Seng was handing out bursaries and ‘hongbaos’ from the nearby Chu Sheng Temple to 200 needy people.

Temple employee Ang Lian Ee, 65, said the incident happened after the handouts were distributed and everyone had settled down to lunch in the club’s hall.

The man apparently came from behind, poured a bottle of thinner onto Mr Seng and set him on fire with a lighter.

Eyewitnesses said Ong fled to a neighbouring block but was caught by grassroots leaders and taken back to the community club.

A vegetable stall owner from a nearby temporary market, Mr Ngau Fook Thin, 54, said Mr Seng had a ‘burnt bald patch on his head. Vice-chairman of the People’s Action Party’s Yio Chu Kang branch, Mr George Tan, said Ong had gone to see Mr Seng at several meet-the-people sessions to complain about ‘evil spirits in his house’.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_324807.html

Article extracted on 11th January 2009

Yes, petrol prices have increased for the first time in the last 6 months, after dropping continuously every other week due to weakening prices of crude oil. I never quite get the complex translation of price of crude oil to that of petrol prices, so all I know is that a great jump in crude oil downwards may not necessarily translate to a great jump in petrol prices. Well, I just hope that the converse is true as well.

What I am worried about is weather this translates to The Return of The Fuel Surcharge. I was actually quite glad that the fuel surcharge disappeared eventually. Well, I guess that since they made a promise to get rid of it if diesel prices dropped, they would probably have to keep to their word. However, I also feel that nothing can probably stop them from doing otherwise since Singaporeans are known to be a tame species.

Come to think of it, there hasn’t been much activities in the motoring scene recently, and by that, I mean things related to ERP, road taxes, COE and all. Everything seems to be rather peaceful, short of that sudden $2 which some people liked and others hated. Well, I will write about that soon though. Right now, let’s hope that petrol prices don’t go on a rally upwards

Petrol price up – first rise in six months

PUMP prices have risen for the first time in six months.

Oil companies, led by Shell, started raising petrol and diesel rates by four cents a litre across the board from Tuesday.

Singapore Petroleum Company was the last to do so when it increased rates yesterday.

With the first upward movement after a continuous lowering of prices since last July, 98-, 95- and 92-octane petrol grades are now $1.62, $1.546 and $1.538 a litre, before discounts, respectively.

So-called ultra-premium fuels Shell V-Power and Caltex Platinum are now $1.799 and $1.796 a litre, respectively.

Diesel, used predominantly by taxis, buses and commercial vehicles, is now $1.283 a litre.

Industry experts said production cuts by Opec, and Russia stopping natural gas supplies to Europe had pushed oil prices up in recent weeks.

Mr David Ernsberger, editorial director (Asia) at energy industry tracker Platts, said wholesale prices of refined products – such as petrol and diesel – have ‘risen quite a lot since the start of the year’, but added that ‘it’s hard to say if the rally will persist’.

Source: Straits Times Interactive, http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapore/Story/STIStory_323264.html

Article extracted on 8th January 2008