By Tom Cang in Beijing
Singaporeans tend to look at China’s leaders with ambiguity, much like watching a very powerful distant relative with wariness and caution tinged with a modicum of pride. Every move is analysed, but there is no way to confirm the suspicions.
At the recent Apec meetings in Bali, Chinese president Xi Jinping made the necessary rounds of networking, hobnobbing with Russian president Vladimir Putin, and holding talks with South Korean president Park Geun-hye, Thailand prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Malaysian PM Najib Razak and his host, Indonesian president Susilo. Bambang Yudhoyono
But observers noticed he did not officially meet Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong. They also noted that Xi did not stop over at Singapore while on his way to Indonesia, but he visited Malaysia after.
Chinese PM Li Keqiang will tour Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam after the Asean summits, but also not drop by Singapore.
So, the conclusion is generally: “When two top Chinese leaders visit many Southeast Asian nations but ignore Singapore, when top Chinese leaders meet the leaders of many other countries but not Singapore’s, maybe that is a hint that China is unhappy with Singapore.”
Some even quote “well-placed sources that said Chinese leaders are livid over PM Lee’s jokes about China’s environmental issues at a state dinner in Washington”. Among other things, he said, “Beijing residents joke that to get a free smoke all they have to do is open their windows!” The same “well-placed sources” also said “China has its way of getting its revenge at the right place and the right time”.
Such conjecture seems to reflect a rather narrow view of how China conducts its diplomatic relations.
In the first place, it underestimates the historical and lengthy relationship between China and Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew has maintained goodwill with five generations of Chinese leaders from Chairman Mao onwards, and only Henry Kissinger has the same diplomatic standing with Beijing.
China will not ignore Singapore’s contribution as an arbitrator in cross-Straits relationships, or its many contributions in the transfer of essential technology. Even now, many Singaporeans are the major motivators in industries such as hospitality. Singapore is the only country that trains a significant number of Chinese party cadres and government officials.
Another consideration is Singapore’s role as an ASEAN leader, heading a major regional political think-tank. China is certainly looking towards Singapore for an impartial solution to the disputes in the South China Sea.
Ever since the Deng Xiaoping era, China has regarded Singapore as a model for many socio-economic issues, such as housing, transport and tourism among others.
The current leaders are just as interested in a closer look at how Singapore operates, and it was said that CCTV, China’s national television station, was sent down specifically to document its latest progress.
There is no country in the world, in relation to size and geopolitical importance, that China already regards so highly.
Having said that, Singapore observers should keep one thing in mind. China is a player on the world stage. It engages countries like the United States and Russia on an equal footing. It is forming partnerships like BRIC, for example and is a major financial force lubricating deals in Europe, the Americas and in Africa.
In China’s eye, Singapore is a good friend, but it has a relatively small part in the diplomatic machinery China has to keep constantly oiled.
PM Lee and DPM Teo Chee Hean both visited Beijing recently and were received with the proper attention. Not talking at Apec may simply mean there are no important issues to talk about, this time.
Good friends should have enough mutual understanding not to be second-guessing all the time.
Tom Cang is a veteran journalist who has worked at the People’s Daily, Lianhe Zaobao and China Daily.
Why China President didn't visit Singapore
Reflections of the social media girl
Christel Quek is one of Asia’s brightest young social media talents. Known on Twitter as Ladyxtel, she is fast approaching her 100,000th tweet. She writes for Huffington Post and Harvard Business Review about all things social.
In this interview, the 23 year-old Singaporean, who has just left Samsung after the company restructured its Asia operations, talks to Mumbrella Asia editor Robin Hicks about her first taste of the internet at the age of five, how long she can exist without social media, and what she wants out of her next job.
You won’t be short of job offers after leaving Samsung. What do you want to do? And have you thought of a career outside of marketing?
I have thought about leaving the industry and doing something different. I have five things I want to do before I die, and haven’t done any of them yet. One is to do something about rethinking education, and better preparing students for the knowledge economy.
I believe that there’s more that can be done to encourage creative thinkers for the information economy. We don’t always need the right answers, but we do need to ask the right questions. I also want to do something about improving financial literacy, using technology as an enabler for a commercially viable form of clean energy, and I want to build a product in the digital and technology area. But more importantly, I would like to give back to the community. I’ve volunteered some time occasionally to spend time with students and startups in my spare time because I genuinely enjoy learning from their adventures and understanding their challenges.
Now that you’ve got a break, why don’t you chill for a while? Are you addicted to social media?
It’s a blessing and a curse. As a person I like to keep up with the pace, because it interests me. It’s my passion. It’s a curse when you get too involved in the noise around you. You have to discern what is useful from what isn’t, and extract the good bits. I don’t have the time to look at everything.
Do you obsess about your klout score?
No, I don’t. Social influence scores, whether they are from Klout, PeerIndex, or Kred are useful as indications, but they are not an absolution. Vanity metrics can’t always translate to real results.
How long can you stay away from the internet?
When I was on holiday with my ex-boyfriend in the Maldives, he challenged me not to go online. I managed it for two days, which is the longest I’ve ever gone without the internet. I can do without Facebook and Instagram, but not without twitter and my personal dashboard.
How old were you when you first used the internet?
I was five. My neighbour helped me set up my first computer, which had a 64k dial up modem. I took to it straight away. Around the year 2000, I started using Netscape. I had created my first website by the age of 11. I experimented with Geocities then Friendster, which I found interesting. But even when I was 14 I couldn’t see how Friendster could make money.
Then I experimented with writing, photography and designing creatives. I did some freelance design work for the National Trades Union Congress and NParks, who discovered my work through my website. I used to draw and paint a lot [Quek has painted her own version of the Mona Lisa], although I haven’t painted for three years. I love street art, and I would like to one day chronicle the different types of street art all around the world.
When I was 19, I was very fortunate to receive a civil service scholarship from the government to pursue my studies at the National University of Singapore, but I broke the scholarship bond in my first year.
Why didn’t you want to work for the government in the end?
Initially, I signed on the dotted line as I wasn’t 100 per cent sure on what I really wanted to do, and it was easy for me to slip into my comfort zone and accept the scholarship, the development program, and a “safe” career in the civil service.
But a year went by and I realised that I would not be able to perform at my best, and give my best back to people that I want to help if I had stayed on. It would also be incredibly unfair to the civil service if I had stayed on and my whole heart wasn’t in it. I have immense respect for civil servants. It’s an extremely tough profession and you have to be constantly under public scrutiny. It was also a difficult decision for me to break away from the path that seemed like a certain route to success, but I knew I had to be brave in my decision to venture into the unknown.
It was then when I also learnt that you have to trust your gut and listen to your intuition a lot more. When I broke my scholarship bond, I then started to work in the midst of my full-time degree at NUS. I have never looked back ever since.
If you could change one thing about the marketing industry to make it more appealing to young people, what would it be?
I guess it’s about always keeping the passion for doing good work alive. Talent and skills development can be thorny issues in the industry sometimes, as employers do fear losing the good talent they’ve trained to rivals. But if you don’t invest in training and development, it hurts the industry in the long run. Someone once told me that people don’t necessarily leave jobs, but they will leave their managers. I think this is really true.
You’ve posted more than 97,000 tweets, although I’m yet to notice many that are original thoughts from you (they tend to be shared links). Is social media thought leadership more about being observant than original?
That’s an interesting observation. I do share more links lately from other thought leaders and articles I find interesting all around the web, including the links to posts I’ve written for different publications, be it Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review, or Medium. Towards the end of the day, I enjoy engaging with folks who comment or re-share the content I’ve tweeted from other people within the space.
I personally need to take more time to compose original thoughts and you can’t control when the inspiration hits , especially with other pressing time commitments – and Twitter is all about sharing content of interest!
If you look at it, thought leadership in social media shouldn’t separate observation from originality – at some point in time both would have to intersect. To me, thought leadership is more about having a point of view that challenges others to think differently about the landscape they are in every day.
The philosopher Alain de Botton tweeted recently: ”Proof that you have given your children the requisite amount of attention: that they have no desire whatever to be famous.” Are you into social media because you were not given enough attention as a child?
We all have different reasons for getting into social, and truthfully speaking, I’m one of the biggest introverts around. In fact, I’m an INFJ (introversion, intuition, feeling, judging) on the Myers Briggs Personality Test. People who really know me can tell you that I enjoy listening more than expressing my views when it’s not necessary – so I’m not really into the attention space.
I’m into social because I want to humanise brands and make traditional institutions less arrogant. That’s really what drives me, because I believe that social has allowed for the democratization of media and power. Fame and attention are always temporary – you never know what will happen tomorrow, when something new and revolutionary will disrupt the industry.
(From Umbrella)
Why today's bosses don't love NS
By Tan Bah Bah
Looks like our Total Defence strategists have tonnes of work to do.
Quite a high proportion of employers – two out of five – prefer to hire people without national service commitments, like the yearly call-ups for in-camp training. Respondents to an Institute of Policy Studies survey of 1,251 Singaporeans asked for their views and perceptions of what NS meant to them also were not convinced that NS helped their career prospects.
Forty-six years after NS was introduced in 1967, such wavering attitudes towards something so fundamental to the country’s existence should not have been an issue.
There have been so many cycles of NSmen that, if anything, not only is commitment to NS itself a given, employers’ support for it should also be wholehearted. Logically, ex-NSFmen who have served their part and have become bosses should be more sympathetic to the conscription duties of male Singaporeans. If you are a female employer, you would also be supportive as you have husbands, brothers and male relatives and friends. In other words, NS is supposed to be an essential and unquestioned part of the matrix of life here.
What is happening?
Strangely, blame it on the success of the Singapore Armed Forces. From a rag-tag lot, the SAF has developed into a respected military force, perfectly capable of being more than a “poisonous shrimp”. Success has somehow encouraged a growing belief that technology and efficiency can make up for what we lack in human numbers.
And if we extrapolate the success point onto a wider scale, the government’s pre-occupation with economic growth may have something to do with the changing attitude towards NS. Making money, maximising profits seems to be the only mantra worth chanting and following nowadays. Do we wonder why some of our employers cannot care two hoots about anything else except company growth and if company growth means paying lip service to NS, so be it?
Globalisation is another factor. Today’s more competitive business environment in Singapore has seen an influx of foreigners as employers. We can hardly expect them to pledge their undying loyalty to NS, especially if they are from places where conscription is alien to their culture or the military is not respected. They are more likely to hire their own kind or women who do not have to do NS.
The inexorable rush to become a global city of world-class talents brings its own string of problems and actually puts us in a bind over the part that NS has to play in Singaporeans’ lives. We have a bit of “you can’t have your cake and eat it ” syndrome.
What is it that we want? A flexible principle-sacrificing place where foreigners and first-generation permanent residents get the better jobs at the expense of NS-serving Singaporeans? Or one adhering strictly to the cardinal rule that without something worthwhile defending, NS or Singapore will become irrelevant?
We cannot have a situation where our educated NSmen drive taxis while PRs are human resource managers and we have to depend on foreigners to determine our livelihoods or the shapes and scopes of our jobs.
Is NS a non-negotiable pillar of the existence of Singapore or is it not?
If so, employers – public and private sectors – must get the message and there should be no compromise. No male MPs who do not serve NS, no special deferment for anyone, no white, black or brown horse running through our army camps. Not that many Singaporean families are euphoric about having their sons do NS when they see permanent residents “escaping” the duty and some of these PRs openly boasting about sending their sons back to their countries of origin when they come of NS age.
Now more than ever, Singaporeans will not die and fight for a Lucky Plaza, as Lee Kuan Yew once declared. But they will fight for their jobs and fellow Singaporeans and die for their families.
Tan Bah Bah is a retired journalist. He was a senior leader writer/columnist with The Straits Times and managing editor of a local magazine company.
Why the CJ shouldn't hear the 377A appeal
By Shaun Poon
The two constitutional challenges of the controversial section 377A of the penal code will likely not have their appeals heard by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon.
The Chief Justice should recuse himself as he had previously represented the state as the Attorney-General when Tan Eng Hong’s challenge to the law against gay sex was before the lower courts.
In October 2010, as the then Attorney General, Chief Justice Menon had applied to strike off Mr Tan’s application to challenge the constitutionality of 377A in a lower court. In cases where a potential conflict of interest might occur, judges may remove themselves from hearing.
He would have not have needed to recuse himself from hearing the other constitutional challenge by Kenneth Chee Mun-Leon and Gary Lim Meng Suang, which was scheduled to be heard earlier than Mr Tan’s appeal. However, now the two similar applications are to be heard together by the Court of Appeal, following an application by lawyer M. Ravi, who represents Mr Tan.
“This further reinforces Mr Tan’s critical role in the challenge to overturn this anachronistic legislation which is a sad remnant of colonial law,” said Mr Ravi.
Mr Chee and Mr Lim’s appeal, due for hearing on October 14, has to be rescheduled to be heard together with Mr Tan’s case.
How Singapore murders language
By Abhijit Nag
Connectivity took its toll yesterday when a fire at a SingTel building disrupted television, internet and banking services — and threw language out of gear.
“SingTel estimated full restoration of all services to be completed by 8 am tomorrow,” The Straits Times reported today. It was quoting SingTel, which “estimated” — not “expected — full restoration of all services by then. A multibillion-dollar telco like SingTel apparently does not do anything so vague as “expect”; it calculates the possibilities and puts a number on them: it “estimates”. The only problem is, if you go by the book, it’s a foul on the English language. According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, “estimate” means to “roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, extent” of something. So one may “estimate” the damage done by the SingTel fire but can only “expect” all services to be restored by a certain time.
Sorry for sounding schoolmarmish, but it was a chore having to look up the word in the dictionary.
SingTel was not the only offender. DBS tweeted: “DBS is taking proactive measures to minimise service disruptions will extend operating hours of all DBS & POSB branches today by an hour.” It was not just “taking measures” but “taking proactive measures”. To go back to the dictionary, “proactive” means “creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it”. What was the “proactive” measure it took — that it extended operating hours by an hour?
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore also had to throw in an extra word about what it was doing. “IDA is currently investigating the issue,” its spokesman said. No need to say “currently”. If the IDA “is investigating”, it can’t do that at any other time but “currently”. Fire the redundant adverb!
I agree we can live with redundancies like “currently investigating” and a bit of hype like “proactive measures”. The Grammar Nazi may come after me for writing “like” instead of “such as”. But “estimate” instead of “expect”? That’s a bit rich. One has to draw the line somewhere. It’s all the more egregious when a slip-up like that is by a company like SingTel. With all the resources at its disposal, surely it should be able to do better than that. Unless, of course, it is reinventing language.
Granted, language changes all the time. It has to with the rest of society, to keep pace with the changes all around. New words come into use, old words acquire new meanings.
But have we become cavalier about language? It’s natural there’s more concern about climate change, growing economic disparity, the impact of new technology on society, but how do you think and express your feelings? Words deserve a little more care, I think, because they are all we have to share our thoughts.
So it’s good that the government agencies are planning writing workshops to help officials write “simply and with sincerity and empathy”, as The Straits Times reported. Who doesn’t like a friendly word? Officials writing straight from the heart seem inconceivable. But so was the internet once. We will wait to see what comes out of these workshops.
It’s certainly more ambitious than what the late Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee did back in the Seventies, when he gave officials copies of The Complete Plain Words which Sir Ernest Gowers wrote for the British civil service. I love that book, which can be a primer for anybody on how to write simply and clearly. Now, if The Straits Times is correct, the government wants to go one step further and inject empathy in official letters.
It must be part of the grand strategy to win hearts and minds, which the Prime Minister outlined at a seminar where he spoke about how the public service could help increase trust in the government and encourage people to cooperate with it. That could be a plus — in the vote for the PAP in the next election, an upswing in its electoral fortunes after the plunge in 2011. But whatever may be the underlying considerations, if the strategy succeeds, it will be a win-win for the government and the people alike.
As of now, the government has its work cut out, replacing officialese with empathy. An official reverted to type when he told The Straits Times about the writing workshops: “These efforts reflect our ongoing commitment to be people-centric and service-orientated in a manner that citizens and our customers can understand and relate to.” He needs a copy of The Complete Plain Words.
PAP needs more competitive fire
By Augustine Low
There is talk that, for the first time, there is uncertainty about the next Prime Minister of Singapore.
This may not be such a bad thing.
When you know many years ahead that you already have the top job in the bag (like Lee Hsien Loong), you stop having to compete.
And there’s nothing like competition to hone the mind and spirit. The Greeks, who invented the Olympic Games, have the word for it – aretas, which means attaining excellence through competition.
To compete requires that we embrace uncertainty, especially in politics where the human spirit is constantly tested. Competition has always been at the cornerstone of political theory; key advocates include Sun Tzu and Machiavelli.
Go for it
It would be refreshing to see ministers clamour for the top job, and not make bland statements like it doesn’t really matter who gets it, we are here to serve, we stand by the one who is chosen.
Without competitive fire, without aretas, how would Singaporeans know that YOU really want the job and are up for it?
We are not looking for acrimony (although that is sometimes part of competition), but the spirit to fight fair, with honour and mutual respect.
Over the years, I believe the competitive fire of politicians from Singapore’s ruling party has waned considerably.
Over the years, I believe the competitive fire of politicians from Singapore’s ruling party has waned considerably.
The turning point was the introduction of the GRC in 1988.
Where is the fire?
When you can get elected as part of a group, when you can hang on to the coattails of Ministers and stronger colleagues, when you come in on a walkover, when you do not even have to make a speech to capture hearts and minds . . . . you simply do not experience winning through competition, you cannot have aretas.
By all indications, Chan Chun Sing, elevated to full Minister just two years and four months after coming into political office, is among the frontrunners to be the next PM. Mind you, he was parachuted into office on a walkover, elected in GE 2011 as part of the five-member Tanjong Pagar GRC team.
In fact, the PAP has had a walkover in Tanjong Pagar GRC in every contest since the GRC was created. A total of five walkovers over five GEs, making it the surest route to Parliament.
It would be a shame if Chan takes the top job eventually without even having to fight an election in his own constituency.
Heat of battle
There is no substitute for the authentic experience of the heat of battle, of competing to represent constituents in Parliament. How else is the ex-army general going to hone his instincts and skills, and boost his legitimacy for the massive challenges of running a country?
Without competitive fire, would JB Jeyaretnam have taken Anson?
Would Chiam See Tong have swept Potong Pasir and hung on to it gallantly all those years?
Would Low Thia Khiang have evoked the Spirit of Hougang?
No, it was because they were fired up to embrace uncertainty, to defy the odds, to compete with tenacity to win.
The ruling party could do with some intense competition for the leadership and most certainly with competition to win votes.
So some uncertainty in succession planning within the PAP is not necessarily a bad thing.
If you are earmarked too early for the job, it could be cruel rather than kind.
GRCs, while making it tougher for the Opposition, have also weakened the PAP in paving the way for political softies who have not earned their stripes and therefore carry little clout or legitimacy.
There’s simply nothing like the high stakes of intense competition to challenge politicians to become the best they can be.
Augustine Low is a communications strategist.
Chinese shooting star in Bollywood
By P Francis
How else would you describe the journey of a Chinese-born in India, talking and singing in Hindi in talent shows, and even making it to Bollywood?
Meiyang Chang shot to prominence when he dared to take to the stage in Indian Idol 3 on the Sony Entertainment TV Channel and progressed to the top 10 before finishing fifth?
Consequently, Sony Music India signed him to sing on an album Tu To Na Aayi, which had compositions by music directors Leslie Lewis and Amit Trivedi. It was followed by live shows around the world.
Malaysia-born Karam Singh, who lives and works in Melbourne, said: “When I first saw the video clip, I was stunned to see a Chinese man fluently singing a Hindi song. Add to that, at the end, he spoke excellent Hindi to the judges!”
Chang, born on 6 October 1982 in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, is descended from Chinese who arrived in India from China’s Hubei province way back in the 18th century. A qualified dentist, he has followed in the footsteps of his father, K.C. Chang, who settled in the coal mining town in 1977 after moving from Patna. His mother, Gaichen, is a beautician and he is the only child.
[fvplayer src=”http://youtube.com/watch?v=l1KQR-3RGxY”]
His schooling was in Dhanbad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Bangalore. Chang speaks English, Hindi, Kannada and some Gujarati, while his hobbies include sketching and reading novels.
Although some may call him a Chindian, it is incorrect because both his parents are Chinese. Should he marry an Indian, then his children would be Chindians – but that is another story.
Since his stage debut, Chang has gone on to co-host India’s Got Talent with actor-model Gautam Rode. Then he created history by being the first ex-contestant of Indian Idol to return and host its fourth season. Chang has also tried his hand at sports presenting – the second season of the Indian Premier League cricket in South Africa.
When Bollywood came knocking on his door, Chang grabbed the opportunity to act in a crime-comedy movie, Badmaa$h Company (Rogue Company), which had Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Vir Das and himself in the main roles. Produced by Aditya Chopra and released by Yash Raj Films in May, 2010, the film featured Chang as Zing – a carefree college graduate who, with his friends, dreams big and does all the wrong things the right way! It had mixed reviews and did above average at the box office.
Now for all the giggling girls out there, Indian or otherwise, I am sorry to disappoint you but there is someone very close to his heart. Media agency dna reported in May 2010: Chang who has been quite a hit among young girls is attached. He is in love and he is happy to talk about it. Chang is dating singer Monali Thakur who came to the limelight with Indian Idol and later with the Katrina Kaif song Zara zara touch me from Race. “We met at one function and it wasn’t like instant spark. But gradually, we fell in love with each other. We are very happy together,” Chang said.
That is not all, call him Twinkle Toes if you wish, Chang danced his way to the top in the Indian equivalent of Dancing WithThe Stars – Jhalak Dikhla Jaa Season 4, the reality TV dance show for celebrities. In the process, he eclipsed the consistent TV actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Czech-born model-actress Yana Gupta, who dazzled with her fluid and graceful performances.
Chang, who shared the cash prize of Rs 50 lakhs (more than US$80,000) with Marischa Fernandes, his choreographer and dance partner, told The Times of India after the victory: “My girlfriend singer Monali Thakur wants me to spend the prize money on her. She wants me to buy her jewellery and other stuff. But seriously, I don’t mind. Monali has been my anchor and support. When I was drifting away from singing, she pulled me back on the right track.” He described himself as a Jack of all trades. “I started in showbiz late. I was a dentist. I became a singer at 24 and was noticed on Indian Idol. Now I am a dancer too. When I remember my two left feet at the beginning of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, I still shudder. I can’t believe I made it all the way to the top.”
Chang, unsure of his next step in showbiz, also told the newspaper: “I’m at an age when I want to try everything. Is that good or bad? I don’t know. All I know is that I am here to push my own limits. As far as my acting is concerned, I’m limited by my looks. When I came in, I was told I could be another Danny Denzongpa. I’m still waiting for that to happen.”
His proud mother thanked all those from Dhanbad who voted for him. She told Calcutta’s The Telegraph, who headlined him the ‘prince of dance’: “Meiyang had made a mark nationally as a singer. He acted in a hit Bollywood film and held his own with Shahid Kapur and Anushka Sharma, anchored for Indian Idol 4 and AIIFA awards in Sri Lanka, and now he proved himself in dance. As parents, every achievement is important.”
Now, the next time you see a Chinese man at a music shop in Serangoon Road, do not assume from the packaging that he is not a Made-In-India product who loves his hot curries and yoghurts. Remember, these days, what you see is not always what you get!
P. Francis is an English tutor in Melbourne, who has more than 20 years’ journalism experience with newspapers, books and magazines in Singapore and Australia.
Psychologist takes the pulse of society
Q and A: Dr Nicon Chin has been a psychologist and psychotherapist for 31 years. He has met all kinds of people and given rather unusual solutions to unusual problems. Here Dr Chin talks about his out-of-the box treatments, how children should be treated in an IT world and what ails our society.
Q: How did you become a psychologist and psychotherapist?
A: I was attracted to philosophy and sociology and later to human behaviour . I had good teachers and I followed their problem-solving skills and behaviour management techniques. I did a double major in sociology and psychology. Right after that I took a post -baccalaureate diploma in gerontology.
After returning home, I did research work which improved my counselling skills with students. Subsequently I worked with special-needs children and young adults and ended up with paediatric work and helping families and the elderly.
I was also involved with then pre-retirement and ageing policy work, sheltered workshop, special education, hospice, counselling, integrated education, housing for the disabled, handicapped hostel, befriending, meals on wheels, push for prison education and United Nations work on Peace, Women, Children, Youth, Disabled, Abuse and Abandonment. I was still involved with intelligence and giftedness. These shaped my experience as a psychologist and psychotherapist .
Q:. Tell us about some of the unusual patients you have come across?
A: There was this young man who was said to be mentally retarded and was sent to a special school. I had him reassessed and found that he was in the normal range, but he could not get back into normal school, having left at primary. Together with his new principal, we pushed for him to bypass finishing school. Enrolled into the BEST programme, he eventually became an apprentice for a bakery where he continues to this day as an excellent baker with a scholarship to study baking.
Then there was this farmer’s wife back In the early 80s when many villages were slotted for redevelopment. Though used to working under the sun, she suddenly became afraid of the sun and any hard work, preferring to lie in bed and let the world go by. Behaviour modification was used to make her willing to work again. She was told she would be discharged from the hospital only if she cleaned a toilet which had not been cleaned for a few days. Protesting and cursing after half an hour, she eventually cleaned the toilet and was brought back to her ward. Next day she asked to be discharged, saying that she was well, and the case was closed.
There was a five-year-old boy with scales on both legs who underwent several skin treatments without much improvement. I recommended hypnotherapy. Taught to relax, he went into a trance and recalled a past-life experience. He saw himself as a big (young) man with a girlfriend. One day her family caught them together. They were pushed into a pig enclosure with strong bamboo poles and later tossed into the sea.
To make sure they drowned, their captors bundled them into fishing nets weighed down with rocks. As the boy related his story, the scales on his skin became visibly clearer by more than 50 per cent and by the end of the session his parents were amazed that the skin condition was about 75 per cent better. The boy said his parents were among those who had gone after him in his earlier life.
Then there was this female transgender who wanted to be a male and a male transgender who wanted to be a female. They met by chance in between my sessions after their sex change and fell in love. They have been married for eight years now.
Q:. Can you give us a profile of your patients? Age, Gender, Marital status?
A: I have seen patients 10 months to 102 years old. I have seen students, parents, high flyers, political figures and royalty. Locals, foreigners, mixed gender, transgender, single, divorced, I have seen them all.
Q:. You do have some out-of-the-box treatments. Can you elaborate?
A. Starting in the 1980s with conventional counselling, some days the sessions are long drawn with many follow-ups. Hypnotherapy came in the 1990s and cases range from problem solving to unconscious statements to recreational discovery, to past lives, back to the womb. In 2000 systemic family constellation was used a great deal whereby patients were shown that energy is present and, understanding the energy, one can liberate oneself from perceptions, real or imagined.
There was a young lady who could not swallow anything. Speaking about her problem, she started to hyperventilate. Calmed down and put into hypnosis, she saw the juiciest steak before her eyes. She could feel the texture and smell the roast. As she salivated, she was swallowing her saliva and eventually sipping from a cup. Then she progressed to having oat meal and porridge instead of being tube-fed.
It’s important to hear what clients are telling you though sometimes you will see people insisting on having their own way instead of trusting the therapist.
Sometimes out-of-the box treatments are based on gut feel. There was a child who was a terror at school. He would go to the principal’s office, sit on her chair and not listen to others. His mother was referred to me. She was looking at the floor while talking to the therapist. Just like that, the therapist asked her if she had a couple of abortions. Surprised, she said yes. It was shown to the mother that the aborted babies did not have the same energy as her current child. She started to cry.
Q:. You have been in the business for 31 years. What do you think ails Singapore society?
A. I have been working since 31 years ago. It’s gratifying when you see clients who had come to you as children or teenagers and are now all grown up and call you “Uncle”. I have had clients whom I saw in 1982 coming back after 30 years. Some clients saw me through their own development from students to young adults, through their careers, marriage and family life. Singaporeans are well-informed, thanks to the Internet, but they should remember not everything suits everyone. Singaporeans need to be more patient and tolerant instead of insisting on instant results..
Q6. What do you think can be done to make the country a more sane, relaxed and confident society?
A. A Singaporean acts like a Singaporean just like doctors act like doctors, lawyers act like lawyers. We need to let people learn from their mistakes just as our forefathers did. If laws work, there is no need to change them. Instead we are seeing change upon change, causing confusion. More and more graduates are returning from overseas with great ideas, but they do not ask whether these are applicable to our multicultural Asian society. Singapore needs to be mindful that once we had the kampong spirit when neighbours looked out for one another. Now in the communal high-rise buildings, neighbours hardly know one another. Be tolerant of other races and values. We need to bring back that community spirit.
Once we had hawkers selling their traditional snacks, now they are lost due to the insistence on proper kitchens. Singapore used to be a hub for ornamental fish breeding, but the fish breeders had to give up because of the lack of space and no support from our government. The fish farms were relocated but the original sites are still not developed. The animal welfare groups have placed far too much emphasis on welfare at the expense of those who truly loved their animals.
Some of the people employed by the various agencies simply do not have the right spirit – they just want to implement more laws to punish those who fail. I feel that, though there are specialistst, they are not involved as much as they should be while those with little or no experience are heading projects representing Singapore on the world stage. On Ask the Prime Minister, the PM hoped more people would voice their innermost thoughts and come forward to assist. As Singapore moves forward, some of the experts are still around and remain untapped as a source of information and experience. Let’s use them. We truly need to relax and be confident and do away with the “two- minute expert” attitude.
Q: What is your advice to parents on bringing up children?
A. Trust yourselves as you bring up your children and avoid the “Jones” complex. Exposed to technology, our children are better informed. Parents need to level with them. Explain to them, encourage children to speak up. Encourage them to speak the truth. When there’s a problem, make it clear you love them but are not happy with their behaviour. Encourage them to be mindful of others. Just because others do not see their point of view does not necessarily mean that others are wrong but just that they have different perspectives. Encourage children to help the needy and do volunteer work. Be open to new possibilities. The word impossible is I M Possible!
Consultation yes, referendum no
By Shaun Poon
The government will continue to consult with the people and encourage active citizenry, but referendums will not be used to choose policies, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry S Iswaran.
Mr Iswaran was replying to a question raised at the a seminar last Friday on Switzerland and Singapore held by the Institute of Policy Studies and Avenir Suisse. He added that a “deep and extensive consultation” was “an important government process to uphold”. A participant noted a recent Swiss initiative and asked the Minister if a people-run system would be on the cards for consideration in Singapore in the future.
Last month, Switzerland cast votes on a popular initiative to end compulsory military service. In Switzerland the electorate can vote to amend the constitution through a popular initiative if it gathers a minimum of 100,000 signatories.
See also: Of Swiss watches and Singapore’s ITE pathways.
Can IPS pull it off online?
By Abhijit Nag
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong wants the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) to “carve out a credible place for itself online” to “engage online media practitioners”, reported the Straits Times. Is that like asking concert pianists to perform for an audience full of headbangers?
The IPS is a respected think tank known for its serious research, thoughtful studies and working with the government. The online media is a quick-on-the-draw, hyperactive bunch which loves memes, sticky posts and viral content. The readers, when they post comments, tend to shoot from the hip. If the mainstream media is a well-regulated community with law and order, the digital alternative is the Wild West.
The IPS has its online outpost, too, maintaining a lonely vigil on the bloggers and commenters sniping away in cyberspace.
Among its reports, which you can download, is one called “Corrosive Speech: What Can Be Done”. The report on anti-foreigner and racist speech in Singapore is worth reading, not least because it quotes Kumaran Pillai, managing editor of The Independent Singapore. It looks at how the same news gets different treatment in the mainstream and the alternative media – and points out the differences even between alternative websites.
However, the eight-page PDF report takes some time to read. And time is tight, at least in the online world. Netizens don’t read; they scan, say the experts.
“In the digital age, short writing is king,” proclaims media pundit Roy Peter Clark in his latest book, How To Write Short.
Think-tankers like the IPS folks, no doubt, can write both long and short. Tan Tarn How, who produced the “Corrosive Speech” report with Carol Soon, for example, is a former journalist who also happens to be a playwright. Write is what they do.
So should they be more active in social media, as Mr Goh suggested?
The think tanks are not exactly follower-less online. Their reports are picked up by the mainstream as well as the alternative media.
But the IPS can do more to keep the government informed and avoid being “blindsided”, according to Mr Goh. “I urge IPS to continue innovating in the social media space, to expand its reach and promote informed discussion on issues of common, national interest, and to distil ideas so that they can be readily accessible to policymakers and interested members of the public,” he said.
In other words, he wants the think tank to be the eyes and ears of the government as well as of the public.
To inform and educate, one thought, was the job of the media, but there are influential think tanks, too, producing reports and active in the social media. Think of Brookings Institute, Heritage Foundation, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, Pew Research Center. See the University of Pennsylvania’s 2012 Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme report. “Think tanks have become more active players in domestic and foreign policy,” it says while also noting the challenge posed by the internet.
The internet presents a challenge also in Mr Goh’s considered view. He is not prepared to ignore either the ranters or the more thoughtful commentators online, so he is calling in support from a think tank.
It shows how important social media has become to the government. The ministers and MPs are already on Facebook – and now reinforcements are sought from a think tank.
It’s interesting that IPS is also launching Social Lab, a polling and research unit. That means more feedback for the government. Reports say the lab will track a representative group of Singaporeans over many years. Such a long-term study will help the government make better policy, said Mr Goh.
Ah yes, you have to keep an ear to the ground. So get into social media, commission the pollsters. What next? Government with an eye on approval ratings? That’s more like the USA and the UK.