National Service

it was during lunch the other day that a colleague of mine started talking about National service. I began counting and realised that it is now the 6th year since I stepped into the workforce after graduation from the university. Including the 4 years in NUS and the 2.5 years of compulsory conscription in Singapore, it was more than 11 years since I started my Basic Military Training in arch 2002.

It is also a coincidence that I recently read a reflection from someone who completed his Military Service in Singapore some 14 years back. He mentioned about 4 lessons he learnt in his NS that is very much applicable to his life now. I begin to think... did y NS experience add anything valuable at all?.....

To me, National Service was a complete waste of time. Quite frankly, from birth all the way to late teenage years, I know that my strength is always not in the physical stuff but rather on things that involve my brain. the IQ things. My PSLE, O levels and A levels results were better than national average, but when it comes to the Fitness stuff, that's where I'm falling behind And NS is all about fitness. at least, for the most of it.

I shall not lament on that issue here but perhaps, just perhaps, if I think hard enough, I can think of something valuable out of NS. So I begin to think....

1. "whatever you choose not to interfere means you endorse it"
I remember vividly one Sunday night after I booked in, I got asked to help out in some staging of a hall for the following day's speech by some big shot. Well, it is a request for help as technically, it was a Sunday evening and it is my off day still. Being a nice guy, I offered my assistance and went for it. It took longer than expected and as a result, we were late for Sunday night's roll call. Much to the anger of my Sgt who brought us there for the staging of the hall. To the rest, he was incapable of ensuring we finished the task on time. As a result, he took his anger out on us and punished us to show his prowess to the rest in the company. Yes, he was and is a bastard.
However, during the change parade (which is already banned in the military by that time), there was a new officer who was there. He just got posted in the unit, probably within the first 2 months and he is actually a friend's friend of mine. He knew me as we were from the same JC batch. he went to OCS but not me. being fresh from officers' school, i'm sure he knows what the regulations are. However, he kept quiet. probably not wanted to offend the sgt who has enjoying the sadistic punishment. The punishment went on for more than an hour and even other platoons' commanders were getting curious as to what happened and why were we punished so hard.
All in all, that officer just stood there and did nothing. he did not intervene and just watched on. From that day on, I know OCS to be a place where they train gutless people only to be commissioned by the President of Singapore to do absolutely nothing in the Army but to draw a salary higher than the rest. That's OCS for me. So the lesson I learnt is never allow something to go pass your eyes unchallenged. if you keep quiet, you are endorsing it.
Almost 12 years on, I am now working in the airport. I have responsibilities and my work does not really require me to be at the front line but rather, be in the office, behind some computer sending emails... however, I take it upon myself to walk the ground as much as I afford the time. it may be just a longer toilet break of something like that. Just so that I can see what is going on the ground for myself. There's only so much those reports can tell you. and when I see something that is out of line, I will address it. Be it a supervisor who is not really doing his job well, or a service staff who was rude to a passenger or something. when passengers have crossed the line, I too, will step in to intervene. Thankfully, when passengers see me, they often back down. Whatever I choose not to intervene, I am endorsing it.

2. "The guy doing the lowly job knows best"
I am one of the lucky ones not be chosen to be an officer of a specialist in the Army. well, I was chosen to be a specialist but I did not complete the course. A long story that I will not spend time here talking about it. I have a friend who was in-charge of cleaning the carpark that our battalion uses. well, only the permanent staff (i.e. the regulars) drive to the camp. the ordinary NSFs like us rely on public transport or some, the family members will ferry them to and fro. So every morning, this friend of mine, together with his other platoon mates will have to sweep up the carpark full of leaves and throw away the bag full of leaves. This happened even if it is drizzling. It was really an insult as you'll see A'level and diploma holders all sweeping the compound. Whoever said "you better study hard if not you'll end up as a road sweeper" is not entirely correct.
So one day, the CO is driving into the car park. The guy ultimately in-charge of the area is the Sergeant major. so he instructed them to sweep it really well. the idea is to show that he is really hard working and that the CO can promote him as soon as possible. politics and lots of boot licking in the Army.
then one day, it rained. And the carpark flooded. The CO opened the car door and his boots were sinking into the water. if the CSM had his way, I'm sure he would have lied down in that pool so that the CO can step on him instead of the water. Ya, just like some eunuch in China. totally all out to lick the boots.
As you can imagine, after the incident, the CSM wasn't too pleased. He scolded the platoon who was suppose to clean the carpark and reprimanded them for not doing a good job, resulting in him losing "face" in front of the CO when his boots were all wet. (yes, the boots of the Army CO cannot be dirtied cos he is wimp who has problem cleaning his own boots)
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, my friend said "encik (uncle in malay), you ask us to sweep all the leaves everyday, so the grass all die due to the lack of natural fertiliser, then when it rains, the rain water wash all the soil and sand into the drains chocking them up. naturally, it will lead to flooding."
everyone then giggled at the supidity of the CSM. well, we all know that if the CSM had brains, he would not have signed on to be a regular right?
lesson to me was very clear, if you want to know more about a job, speak to the one who does it on a daily basis. He knows best. Try looking at things from his angle. I never liked a top-down approach on things. respect the guy even if he hold a lowly position. he knows things that no one knows. Not even the CEO of your organisation.

That's all for now....

A world that cannot accept imperfection

Yes you read it right. We are now living in a world that cannot accept imperfection or any flaws of any kind. this is the modern day Singapore and it is downright sad. this thought just came to me and I think it is quite true. we live in a world that is pretty much controlled by the gen X, gen Y. The baby boomers are retiring and therefore, if we want to know what kind of world we can expect Singapore to be in the next few years, we need to look at the life experience of a gen X or gen Y. bearing in mind that Singapore's future Prime Minister and the entire cabinet will be a Gen X or a Gen Y in the very near future. Back in the 70s or 80s, when Singapore was just learning how to stand on her own two feet, the expectations were high. There are songs that people of that era may be familiar with such as "there was a time, when people say that Singapore couldn't make it, but we did...". Such songs inspire us and motivate us to be diligent and not slacken off, if not, we will be swallowed up by the countries around us. Those countries have natural resources that they can rely on and Singapore is nothing more than just a little red dot that even needs to buy water from her neighbours. On that note, we were very hard on ourselves. We worked hard in schools, believing in the doctrine that if you do not study hard, you will end up as a road sweeper and it is only through education that one can break the poverty cycle, to have a good paying job, to stay in a good house, to drive a good car, to have the "happy family" lifestyle that all condominiums and credit card commercials talk about. Remember the pursuit of the 5Cs? Such programmes worked well and solved those days' problems. Kids were kept off the streets and everyone wanted to have a good education. we saw a drop in crimes, especially organised ones and the population of Singapore, as a whole, were all working very hard, trying to create a good future for ourselves, for our future and our future's future. I once read somewhere that the worst thing that can ever happen to a nation is that the nation managed to generate many well-educated citizens but there are just not enough jobs for them to fill. Then, the nightmare of all nightmares - highly educated citizens having no jobs upon graduation. they will then turn to crimes to feed the family and then everything goes downhill in a deadly spiral. Speaking of which, some friends who just came back from Europe reported having they valuables stolen from them. Pick-pockets are everywhere, etc. But that's another story for another day. So in Singapore, we are glad that generally, most graduates are able to find decent jobs that pay relatively well. that's good news. the economy has created enough jobs for these fresh grads. sometimes, created too many that we need foreign talents to fill those positions. However, in this, we then take a step back and look at the promises of the 70s vs the reality now. we were given the impression that by studying hard, one can get a good life. Good life in terms of staying in a condo, having cash, many credit cards, career wise, it is a smooth ride, and lastly the good car to compliment it all. the 5Cs in short. However, is that reality? Condos are now priced beyond reach of many graduates. Car is also out of the question. recently asia-one ran an article talking about the top 10 most affordable cars in Singapore. Those unheard of brands also cost close to S$100,000 each. Career wise, is there really a prefect job out there? What is the by-product of all the promises painted back in the 70s and 80s is that we have a generation of very disillusioned young adults. Those that know, then become disgruntled, and often feel cheated over the past 20-30 years. The tell-tale signs are incidences of people flying into rage on the streets. we have seen how the "Hello Kitty" promotion by Macs has shown the ugly side of Singaporeans. at work, we also see people job-hopping as they simply cannot find that perfect job that they were promised of since young. with condos and cars priced out of reach, they are even more resentful and the natural thing to do is to blame the government. this is evident in the election results of the recent General Election. and not forgetting the problem that our Singapore government is trying so hard but has yet to find a solution for... increasing marriage numbers and child birth. we need the young to replace the old and at the very least cushion the impact of a greying population. However, there is simply not enough young to replace ourselves. Why? Simply because we cannot learn how to live with imperfection. We have been brought up to think that everything must be perfect. The perfect car, the perfect system, the perfect job, the perfect WIFE? as we look for a partner in life, we also apply all that we have learnt to use. What to look out for, we begin to analyse. I know of many friends around my age who are still single not because they choose to but because they have yet to find the mr-right or ms-right. Are they choosy? I'm not sure. But one thing I know is they do very thorough analysis before deciding on who to date and even have a dinner. And how can we blame them for that. They were wired up to take such an approach from a very young age. This is the situation we have created for ourselves back in the 70s and 80s. it's like the good saying when you tell 1 lie, you'll need 10 more to cover it up. So if we want to know what Singapore will be like in 2030, look at how we are educating our children now. parents no longer educate, we have out-sourced this role to "professional educators" be it from MOE or private schools. What's going to happen to them. how will they think in the future? What is shaping their minds now? Frankly, I cannot say for sure. If I can, I'll probably be the prime minister myself. However, there is no doubt that we need to look at how we educate our future now, and critically. Simply put, if your maid is teaching your kid how to ride a bicycle and not you, something is wrong. If your school teacher is the one teaching your kids what manners are, it's about time...

The CHC Saga

There has been lots of news and coverage on the above case as the matter has been brought to the court in Singapore. It is probably one of the biggest news in Singapore now as it involves the extremely sensitive topic we have in Singapore, that is - religion. There has already been more than enough coverage on the media on what this case is about and I will not go through the details here. It is in a nutshell, about pastor Kong and a few others who have allegedly misused large amounts of money (millions) to promote the career of pst Kong's wife - Sun Ho's music career. These money belong to the church and was allegedly misused by the accused. There are just a few points I would like to make and that is, in accordance to the hearings, we are now in a time where the prosecution makes their claim. Therefore, these few months will be a time where the prosecution makes all sorts of claims. be it true or false or how the judge is going to pass the verdict, it is still very much unknown. however, this is also the time where media coverage is at it's widest. few months or even weeks after this time, there will be some other cases that draw the attention of the media and the general public and everyone will forget about the CHC saga. So damage is being done now and it is hard to reverse whatever information the public has received until now. I do know some of the accused individually. I have also seen members of the church posting posts/entries wondering "what if Pastor and gang really took the money?" "What if they are really guilty?" And I must say that in times like this, it is only natural to doubt. I dare say a good percentage of CHC church goers do have this thought coming through their minds. what if the pastor they have been listening to all these years turn out to be a crook? Well, ministry workers and especially Christian leaders getting into trouble with the law and facing allegations especially when it come to finances is not uncommon. In the US, there have been many cases, you just need to google and there will be a lot of such cases. I have once seen a video of people accusing Pst Benny Hinn of some financial stuff as well. back in Singapore, it is also not the first time we have "charity" being questioned about their financial status and usage of money. Remember NKF, Ren Ci? And if I am not wrong, a church is considered "charity" in the context of Singapore. The question is that will the CHC case be the last? and from NKF to Ren Ci till today, what have we done to prevent future happenings of such cases? what have the CoC done to "safeguard the monies of the public"? The only ones who are benefiting are the lawyers and media people, perhaps they get to sell more papers. however, how much taxpayer's money is gone wasted because of all the investigation and court hearing? hey, the fact that an email dated many years back can be used as evidence means there is a poor chap who has to go through each individual email, letter by letter to search for evidence. probably some bloke working in CAD had that job. poor thing! As a society as a whole, it is also not useful, not productive. we should do what we can to prevent such possibility of allegations from taking place. it is for the greater good of the society, the people managing the money (religious leaders/charity organization heads, etc) and the public as well. I mean, have we not learnt enough lessons from Renci and NKF? How many more do we need? back to the Chc case, as mentioned earlier, I do know some of them on a closer level than the average joe. If the hypothesis that Pst Kong and company indeed planned all these and is after the money is true, then there will some serious lack of planning on their end. firstly, it is the timing. pst kong is in his 40s and the rest are even younger. Many of the accused have school going kids. they are not even close to their retirement age. As for City Harvest church it is still new and has greater potential to expand further. It will be foolish to try to siphon money out now. if you were to consider that one can only commit such events once, it will be in their interest to commit such deeds maybe 10 - 20 years later. Where there is more money to draw and there will be less risk as their children will all grow up etc. Therefore, my view is that it is unlikely, if they were really good at planning to plot this out and execute this at this time. Secondly, I have been to wedding dinners with some of the accused and have chatted with them. I believe in the integrity in the church's leaders. for my own wedding, I even gave a red packet to the leader who helped out in my wedding (it is a custom in Singapore for that). However, he rejected it. saying that as a new couple, I needed the money more. Well, back then, I really do need the money. I have seen this same behaviour over and over again. it is always about giving, sharing, caring. putting others first. thirdly, the accusation is that they used the church's money inappropriately. I attended some meetings and they did ask if it was ok to allow them to use the money for investments. I am not an economist, but I do know that there is a constant drop in the value of money over time. That is due to inflation. meaning, a dollar today will not be worth a dollar tomorrow. The very least to allow it to earn some interest so that the impact of inflation will be defrayed. we are not a church made up of rich businessmen unlike some churches in Singapore. Therefore, we will need more time in order to accumulate the money required for any big project, be it a mission trip or a church building project, etc. bit by bit, we saved. if we do not allow investments be made, then we are really loosing money. therefore, a decision was made and consensus given that they can use it. however, I cannot remember when was that meeting held, there has got to be some minutes of the meeting out there. More importantly, not everyone in the church went for that meeting. As you can imagine, it will be hard to determine who is really part of the church and who is not. Someone who attends the church regularly is considered a member?how about a visitor? A very regular visitor? The Church defines an executive member as someone who had the right to vote in those meetings. Therefore, the executive member is the one who has a voice in such meetings, not any member. It is a tough stand to make as we always want to be seen to be inclusive, but for administration purpose, we have to be exclusive on this one... Lastly, I know it is a tough time for all the accused and witnesses during this trial period. the kind of pressure they face from the media and from their family members. this can happen to anyone. in this modern society, it can happen to anyone. Be it guilty or not, it is not for us to judge. in closing, I remember a former colleague of mine once said "Kenneth, if you do the right thing, you will be able to sleep well at night". I am sure they can all sleep very well at night....

A video my coursemates and I did 6 years ago in NUS...

Greetings from Panama

Greetings from Panama. Am here cos the wife is here on a work trip and since I can buy discounted tickets, I've decided to tag along, afterall, the lodging is paid for already. I am also currently serving notice with my currently employer, so might as well clear my leave now. we were in Europe for a few days and indeed it was a wise choice as it helped us to cope with the jet lag better. the time difference between Panama and Singapore is 13 hours. It really doesn't matter if it is ahead or behind cos all i know is when my friends in Singapore are awake, I am asleep. It's good to travel on discounted ticket as the price I paid is some 120 euros to get to Europe and about the same price to get here from Amsterdam. the downside, is that it is on standby basis. If the flight is full, I don't get on. When leaving Singapore, that happened. So I had to go via Frankfurt instead. Well, the wife is sleeping in the room now and I am boiling some porridge for dinner later. It is about 6pm local.  We are in a service apartment.

Panama. Have always read about the Panama canal during Secondary Sch Geography lessons. interesting enough, I am just about 20km from where it is now. Will plan to visit the canal proper when we have the time. On the flight in, we saw many ships lining up to cross the canal. that is from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Suddenly all my geography came back. Hahahha. the Canal was built by the US military. That happened many years back and this canal is so important to Panama. I've got a feeling Panama is the city to spend money for the rich and famous in the latin American region. The place has nothing much really and is not that touristy. However, there are many tall skyscrapers and they are mostly vacant as of now. We will be here for a week and a half before going back. For me, I am entertaining myself with whatever I can find. hahaha.

back home in Singapore, the trial has begun. of cos we hope things will turn out well, but I kind of sense that it is a test of how serious Singaporeans can be towards religion. Should we publically display our support? a part of me say yes, a part says no. Why yes? Because we believe in them. why no? My supporting them, are we sabotaging them as the authorities will deem them as overly influential? Man, this is like the Jesus situation. Not an easy move.

Back to my life, I am now going to join another airline. One that is pretty controversial. I am enjoying my time in my present company but well, there are always room for improvement. Often, it is about looking at what you have and then think about what you can offer and then consider if the company is the best fit. Let's see how things pan out. I believed and therefore my decision. Is it the best move? Only time will tell.

In KLIA

Am currently in KLIA. staying here for 2 days before going to Penang for another 2 days. That's 1 week gone. And so, that is how I spend my time. It may sound fun and I do agree it is, but at the end, after calculation, I actually put it more hours than a regular week in the office in Singapore.

OK, enough of me. This week, church has seen some real drama. With CoC wanting to remove 8 individuals from the church. Well, since the beginning of the investigation, I guess this is the day that we all hoped will never come. What they did, is it right, is it wrong, it is not something I want to comment on the blog but I believe there is good in every situation and God's plans are higher. Let/s see how things develop but I can say this is a tough time for all of the 8 individuals. And if you are from another church reading this, you may wonder what has it got to do with me. The answer is that this case not only involves the 8 individuals. It actually speaks of the atmosphere of religious acceptance in Singapore. And if you are a Christian in Singapore, this concerns you as it can potentially shape how churches are run in this island. So, the decision is a big thing. For the 8, it can mean that they will no longer be allowed to be employed by any charity organization in Singapore. This means a loss in income and literally, a suicide in their career. So what is the next step? migrate to another country? Somewhere that will accept people doing good deeds?

I shall not continue else I'll probably say something that is not politically correct and get myself into trouble with the law.

Talking on career, I will be making a bold move in my career in the next few months. Forever thankful to the blessings of God. I pray it will be fruitful. I shall not reveal too much as yet as nothing has been confirmed. but certainly, some changes are in the pipeline. I'm excited and looking forward to it.

For the past few days, I've been learning about respect. Being respectful to other is something not easy. Really need to be very confident to do so. In fact, is it due to the lack of confidence that resulted in a lot of disrespect and that is why we have racism etc. Racism is funny if taken well but it definitely is a bad thing. There's no doubt about it. Ok, got to go back to my lamb shank that I ordered. Then going for meeting number 4 for today alone. It is a tiring trip like all duty travels. I am but just a piece of sugar cane and the company is squeezing me dry...

In Osaka

Taking some time off during my work trip in Japan now to blog. It's been a while and since I have some time in between flights, I'm back at the hotel using the internet.

Japan is an amazing place. It is my 2nd time here and based on the behaviour of the people here, you will know that this is indeed a very different land. People are very or shuld I say extremely polite and humble. Courtesy is a must. What amazes me is the taxi fares. It is extremely expensive. fares running up to hundreds of Sing Dollars is not unheard of. What I cannot understand is why in some countries in Asia, we have taxi drivers loitering at the airports and once you are out, they swarm you and try to get you to board their cab. However, I also noticed that most advance or civilised countries, do not have the above symptom. I was in Phuket recently and the same occurred. In Cambodia, the same. Especially when you are fair in skin colour and with blond hair, they will swarm around you as if honey to bees. Thinking you will give them a big tip i suppose. Such actions disgust me and I prefer the likes of Japan, Singapore, Hongkong etc where by there is some form of a system to allow fair competition.

This trip to Osaka, I was very involved in the operations and from it I learnt a few valuable lessons too. Was introduced to someone who spoke English very well and was really impressed. A good help especially in a land whereby I do not speak the native language and can hardly communicate with the others. I trusted him with the instructions and deligated a lot of work to him. When the rubber meets the road, I realised that he is someone who cannot deliver. All talk, no action. At the end, it is the quiet Japanese who actually put in the thoughts and process in place to get the job done. It is really great to se them so passionate about their job.

So the lesson learnt is that very often, the person who speaks the least is the hardworking one. The one who talks the most, produces the most smoke. Always check their work...