It's difficult living in Singapore. There are too many people here. There are too many vehicles on the road. Prices are perpetually on an upward trend while salaries dun seem to be reacting correspondingly. Gripes can be heard everywhere from Holland Rd to Geylang. This year alone, petrol prices jumped 4 times. In the same vein, so am I
Heard on the radio that there's a contest of sorts to find The Happiest Person in Singapore. The general consensus is that Singaporeans are a very sad bunch, we all seem to look at the glass half empty, instead of half full. Personally, I think it's true. Many of us just want an easy life - that's the Singaporean dream. That explains the long queues in 4D shops whenever there's a big prize at stake. Heck, I've even seen a pakcik with a songkok and batik printed shirt in one of the lines, hopefully clinging on to that ticket.
It doesn't help that probably 70% of us don't earn more than $3.5K a month. With ever-escalating prices everywhere, increase in GST, increases in utilities bill, many Singaporeans are, in effect, living hand-to-mouth. Whatever we earn at the end of the month goes towards paying bills with little left over for luxuries. With so many worries on our minds, mostly financial, can we ever be happy?
It all depends on what one expects of their lives. While there are those amongst us who would be happy with a 5-figure savings account, there are many more who wouldn't be happy till they see a 7-figure number in their accounts. It's easier said than done to be happy, when our minds are weighted down by incessant worrying. That said, we all could do with a step back and take a deep breath, just to see how lucky we are that we don't have to dodge stray bullets and 500-pound bombs exploding meters away from us.
A few days ago, my wife was looking through this site and saw a few posts with regards to the few amongst the muslims who tarnish the name of our religion by openly eating non-halal food and chugging down alcohols. I think my friends post about the malay girl who bought fishballs was by far the funniest. I mean, it's common sense when someone highlights to you that it's not permissible for you to eat it, then you should refrain from eating it. Heck, even my vegetarian colleagues would avoid eating at places where there are no vegetarian food, much less eat something with even a hint of animal derivatives in it. And they don't even have a "halal" certification to assuage their fears of the food being permissible. We do yet we ignore.
I admit that I'm far from being a good muslim. However, I stay away from non-halal food, and I definitely stay away from alcohol. Once, I was one of those who hung around coffee shops till the wee hours with my bike gang. There were those amongst us who drank. While it did make me uneasy, I hung around - for friendship. After a while though, I decided that I didn't want to lead that kind of lifestyle - the Mat lifestyle. So, I began to stay away, detaching myself from the group.
I reasoned that even though I do not drink, being around them and keeping quiet about it means I'm condoning them. I knew that I'm in no position to lecture them or advice them. I know that the sense of companionship and belonging to a certain clique may seem worth it to some, but to me, I wouldn't want to be in that position where I am morally in conflict with myself. Thus, rather than be privy to their party, I kept away.
Think of it this way, in any court of law, if you are privy to a robbery or an act of terrorism being planned and you kept quiet about it because those planning it are lifelong friends, you are as equally culpable. Case in point, the guy who did not report to the police when he saw the friend with his rifle in a Geylang hotel. He's charged and subsequently convicted. The same goes for us. Knowing a fellow muslim drinks and us doing nothing about it makes us equally culpable.
Yeah, I know I may have brickbats coming my way with the "lu punya kubur lu jaga, gua punya kubur gua jaga" jibes but me keeping my mouth shut means I'm condoning the actions of some of my friends. Thus, here I say it with the hope that when I go to the grave, I go with a clear conscience
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
That BIG news
Yeap, time to wipe off the dust off this page. Been a month or so since I last rant. It's March and it's been raining like it's December all over again these last few days. While it's cooler, I don't really enjoy the rain. Almost everyone prefers an overcast sky. Not too hot, not too wet, just nice.
Princess just turned 5 months 2 days ago and how she has grown. I know this is the point where some people start thinking, "Oh no, another over-enthusiastic parent". Truth is, no parent can ever stop enthusing about their own kid. I'm no different. I amaze myself at how, between the 2 of us (my wife and I), lucky we are to have a really cute girl. There I go again. Seriously, though, I could almost jump for joy everytime someone passes by Izza's stroller, takes a peek and comments, "She's really beautiful".
Enough about her for now though.
The news now (kinda stale though) is about the disappearance of Mas Selamat Kastari. I know there have been various reports with regards to this, and we have yet to include the various rumours and speculations currently making its rounds in Singapore. The question that keeps being asked is where is he. Kind of a dumb question, but all the major newspapers were carrying that headline a few days ago. I mean, if anyone, besides Mas Selamat himself, could answer that, I'm sure the authorities would have swooped in on him. Why ask where he is when we all know where he went.
A toilet break.......
Yeah, I know. Lame. I can't help it. I really find it hard to fathom how a country that posesses one of the lowest crime rates in the world, one that has an efficient government and a diligent law enofrcement agency could fall for such a dumb trick. "Sir, I need a toilet break". Those were probably the last words anyone in a blue uniform has heard from him since. I experienced this trick almost first hand when I was serving National Service. A soldier went AWOL and returned to the camp reeeaaalllyyyy late. He was charged the next day and was sent to the lockup in the guardhouse while waiting to be charged. He told the Regimental Police (RP) guard that he needed a toilet break and promptly climbed out the unsecured ventilation window, clambered over the back gate and disappeared. He wasn't caught till a few years later when I left NS.
I mean if a dumbass soldier who went AWOL can manage to escape through that method, I would have thought that that avenue of escape would have been denied to such a high profile detainee at such a high security establishment such as the ISD. I really pity whoever it was who let his guard down so as to allow a high profile detainiee such as Mas Selamat Kastari escape. I mean, the RP Sergeant who was on duty during the soldier's escape only managed to escape a heavy punishment because it was not a really big issue in the wider context, one can only imagine the fate that awaits that unlucky soul who let this happen if the commision's inquiry to this event concluded that it was personal negligence that caused it.
One thing I am happy for is that his escape did not coincide with my NS unit's callup. I know for sure we would have been activated to assist in this operations, seeing how my unit was involved as 3rd tier backup during the IMF/World Bank Meeting. Like they did not have enough security then.
To Mas Selamat, thanks for bringing life to our mostly sedate lives and good luck trying to escape the dragnet. May you be caught sooner rather than later so thay the jams in the Woodlands Checkpoint do not last for much longer.
Princess just turned 5 months 2 days ago and how she has grown. I know this is the point where some people start thinking, "Oh no, another over-enthusiastic parent". Truth is, no parent can ever stop enthusing about their own kid. I'm no different. I amaze myself at how, between the 2 of us (my wife and I), lucky we are to have a really cute girl. There I go again. Seriously, though, I could almost jump for joy everytime someone passes by Izza's stroller, takes a peek and comments, "She's really beautiful".
Enough about her for now though.
The news now (kinda stale though) is about the disappearance of Mas Selamat Kastari. I know there have been various reports with regards to this, and we have yet to include the various rumours and speculations currently making its rounds in Singapore. The question that keeps being asked is where is he. Kind of a dumb question, but all the major newspapers were carrying that headline a few days ago. I mean, if anyone, besides Mas Selamat himself, could answer that, I'm sure the authorities would have swooped in on him. Why ask where he is when we all know where he went.
A toilet break.......
Yeah, I know. Lame. I can't help it. I really find it hard to fathom how a country that posesses one of the lowest crime rates in the world, one that has an efficient government and a diligent law enofrcement agency could fall for such a dumb trick. "Sir, I need a toilet break". Those were probably the last words anyone in a blue uniform has heard from him since. I experienced this trick almost first hand when I was serving National Service. A soldier went AWOL and returned to the camp reeeaaalllyyyy late. He was charged the next day and was sent to the lockup in the guardhouse while waiting to be charged. He told the Regimental Police (RP) guard that he needed a toilet break and promptly climbed out the unsecured ventilation window, clambered over the back gate and disappeared. He wasn't caught till a few years later when I left NS.
I mean if a dumbass soldier who went AWOL can manage to escape through that method, I would have thought that that avenue of escape would have been denied to such a high profile detainee at such a high security establishment such as the ISD. I really pity whoever it was who let his guard down so as to allow a high profile detainiee such as Mas Selamat Kastari escape. I mean, the RP Sergeant who was on duty during the soldier's escape only managed to escape a heavy punishment because it was not a really big issue in the wider context, one can only imagine the fate that awaits that unlucky soul who let this happen if the commision's inquiry to this event concluded that it was personal negligence that caused it.
One thing I am happy for is that his escape did not coincide with my NS unit's callup. I know for sure we would have been activated to assist in this operations, seeing how my unit was involved as 3rd tier backup during the IMF/World Bank Meeting. Like they did not have enough security then.
To Mas Selamat, thanks for bringing life to our mostly sedate lives and good luck trying to escape the dragnet. May you be caught sooner rather than later so thay the jams in the Woodlands Checkpoint do not last for much longer.
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