Busy busy...

Well, life has been busy busy for me... finishing up my thesis on the SAF transformation and how inappropriate the whole process seems to be when evaluated against the non-conventional threats of terrorism and climate change...

Only recently, Southeast Asia has been hit by repeated calamities - earthquake in Indonesia and flood in the Philippines... The news reported that a quarter of a million filipinas were severely affected... Isn't this a perfect example of why the government should probably stop spending so much money on conventional military defences and start to concentrate resources on combatting future threats from the environment?

But then again, we must remember that the environment is a victim of human activity too. Or rather, activities by the rich jerks in the developed countries and rich jerks from the less developed ones too.

Speaking of rich jerks in developed countries, i.e. the whites... I was helping a friend to collect a paint of can the other day at a local "very australian" car dealership (Holden of course)... As I was studying and researching on my final essay at home, I was dressed rather 'shabbily' (i.e. in t-shirt, jacket and shorts and sandals). The "bloke" at the counter actually refused to passed me the can of paint because in his mind, I looked rather destitute and downtrodden, a great contrast from my friend who came over in the morning in suit and tie to order the paint... He actually asked me for id to prove that I am indeed Matthew so that he would safely pass me the can of paint which cost 26 bucks! The funny thing was, I actually called to identify myself before driving over and my friend did so from his office too! I was wondering in my head whether a white jerk in Singapore who wears t-shirt, thongs and shorts and walk into a cafe at Dempsey Road area would be refused service... Maybe we should start to discriminate....

Now what's up with our neighbours...

Dance sparks calls for war

JAKARTA - SIMMERING anger in Indonesia over Malaysia's 'theft' of a traditional dance is spurring unlikely calls for war in the latest spat between the two traditionally testy neighbours.

PERCEIVED INSULTS For Mr Bonaventura and others, the pendet dance controversy is only the latest in a string of perceived insults by Indonesia's wealthier and more developed neighbour. Stories of horrific mistreatment of Indonesian migrant workers by their Malaysian bosses have for years raised public anger, as have territorial disputes over islands and the two nations' shared maritime boundaries. ... more

The dispute started in Indonesia in August after word spread Malaysia had screened tourism advertisements featuring the traditional 'pendet' dance of Indonesia's Hindu-majority Bali island.
The ad quickly turned out to have been a botched promotion for a Discovery Channel programme on Malaysia, with no role played whatsoever by Malaysia's government, but that has done little to dampen feelings here.
Protesters vowing to 'crush Malaysia' have burned Malaysian flags and thrown rotten eggs at the country's embassy, while local media have for weeks run a steady stream of reports of Malaysian outrages, most of them recycled.
Many media have also studiously ignored an admission of guilt and apology from Discovery.
Nationalists - as they do in nearly every one of the two countries' frequent disputes - have already opened registration for volunteers willing to go to war with Malaysia, but admit this is largely a symbolic gesture.
'Malaysia has, in so many ways, robbed, stolen from and insulted Indonesia. We're offended as a people. We're angry, we're disappointed, we're upset,' Mustar Bonaventura, the coordinator of a Jakarta recruitment drive by nationalist youth group Bendera told AFP.

'We have 486 volunteers who have signed up and they are ready for any consequences. All that's left for us with Malaysia is war,' he said.
Mr Bonaventura conceded war was very unlikely, but said the group had stockpiled food, medicine and weapons including samurai swords and ninja throwing stars, just in case.
Indonesian politicians have also voiced their displeasure to Malaysia over the controversy, and received apologies in return, but the issue has refused to die down. -- AFP

Source: Straitstimes Online, 5 Sept 2009. Available at http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_425775.html

Question1: Nationalistic demagoguery... Is Southeast Asia ripe for rivalry?

Question2: Anyone who subscribes to the Democratic Peace Thesis wants to explain this situation here? Malaysia just claimed to have a First World Democracy on 2 Sept 2009 (See previous post "Singapore-Malaysia, Brothers?" while Indonesia supposedly democratised after Suharto's demise!

Singapore-Malaysia, Brothers?

Split with S'pore a lesson

KUALA LUMPUR - FORMER information minister Zainuddin Maidin cited the split with Singapore in making his point in a column on Tuesday that it was important to learn lessons from the past.
In the column, published a day after Malaysia's 52nd National Day, he said former prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman had to throw Singapore out of Malaysia because it was a 'thorn in our flesh'.

Datuk Zainuddin's article in the Utusan Malaysia newspaper referred at length to 'the special position of Malays and Islam and other sensitive issues that Mr Lee Kuan Yew disputed then'.

'The main reason Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman decided to kick Singapore out of Malaysia was the speech made by its then Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, in the Malaysian Parliament in May 1965 questioning the Malay government in Malaysia,' he wrote.

He added that similar controversies are resurfacing, alluding to concerns among Umno leaders that Malaysian minorities are questioning the position of Malays and Islam.

Mr Zainuddin was formerly the chief editor of Utusan, a newspaper owned by Umno. He was information minister during the premiership of Tun Abdullah Badawi.

'The special position of Malays and Islam and the other sensitive issues that Lee Kuan Yew disputed then, causing the outbreak of the May 13th incident, have again become the subject of hot debate following incidents involving the dumping of a cow's head by protesters that challenged the Hindus, and the wrapping of a pig in the Umno flag that challenged the Malays,' he wrote.

The May 13 incident he referred to was the race riots of 1969. And last Friday, a group of Malays protested against the relocation of a Hindu temple in Selangor by stomping on the severed head of a cow, an animal sacred to Hindus. It was not clear what incident he was referring to when a pig was wrapped in an Umno flag.

Wrote Mr Zainuddin: 'If 50 years of independence have given a deeper understanding of the poison sowed by Kuan Yew 40 years ago, the recent events mentioned would not have occurred.'

He added that although Singapore is more advanced than Malaysia, the Republic does not enjoy the same freedom: 'Singapore sticks to a Third World democracy despite having a developed world mentality, while Malaysia has a Third World mentality but a developed world democracy.'

Source: Straitstimes Online, 2 Sept 2009. Available at
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_424461.html



Question1 : So by not questioning the privileges of the majority Malays, Malaysia will transform itself into a first world economy with first world democracy?


Question2: Does a messy democracy filled with regular outbreaks of corruption equates pluralism, equality and meritocracy?


Question3: Should Singaporeans genuinely examine our political system? The assumption here is that political reform and liberalisation must be gradual and comes as a result of generational change, bottom-up approach. Can we still afford to be apathetic? What if Singapore's political scene is stable and allows for pluralism at the same time? 


I think political developments will be the path we as a nation has to undertake with vigour. After all, there is not much more a tiny island nation-state can offer to this globalised and western-centric economy.


Any comments? 

The first encounter

My four years of tertiary education in Melbourne in finally coming to an end. It's during this short period of interlude between now and graduation that I intend to begin recounting my experiences here. Yet, an unfortunate incident occurred on the night of 11 Sept 2009.

Now this sounds like 9/11 Melbourne version? Well, sort of.

My garage door was spray painted with the words "Fuck gook". Apparently, my white Australian neighbours in the area believed that I am a Vietnamese and decided to tell the whole world that.

A quick visit to the police station yielded news that similar occurrences had taken place in the neighbourhood! Being curious, I drove around and to my dismay, there were more! "Fuck blacks, fuck indians, fuck jews and Australia Rules!" Houses were specifically targeted by the inhabitants! Those with white tenants/owners were left alone.

As all avid followers of the Asia-Pacific international affairs may well be aware, Melbournians in recent times have fallen foul of India and China's favour over repeated bashings and/or robberies targeting Indian and Chinese students. I was not all that surprised with the vandalism and racism exhibited by my neighbours, but by the relative indifference the local police demonstrated.

"Just clean it up after we photographed it alright?... MOIT?"

"No way you white pieces of trash... It shall remain as a testament to your racism and sentiments of white supremacy..." (Wondered what my landlord will think?)

If I remember clearly, there was this Michael Fay who got his bum all warped because he did something similar? Not racist in nature but VANDALISM!

Anyway, for today's posting, the question I want to ask is:

Are we still living under the colonial shadow? After many years of self-rule and independence, are we Asians (Chinese, Malay, Indian, Javanese, Thais etc etc) still suffering from an ingrained sense of inferiority? This question popped into my head because I sincerely do not believe that anyone of us in Singapore will dare to express our dissatisfaction with "the white minority" living among us via any medium.

Anyway, here's the photographic proof to back my claims...