Stories about Singapore from March, 2006
Singapore: Honour your pledge
At Diary of A Lucky Singaporean Lucky Tan satirises the pledge of Singaporean politicians by applying its wording of justice, equality and democracy to their actions. He finds the pledge should not be taken for granted.
Singapore: Inreases of failed marriage
Ryang Wong doubts that telling people to work hard on their marriage is sufficient to prevent divorce. Statistics show that half of the marriages in Singapore these days do not last more than 10 years, and he writes that the changing nature of societal pressures means peoples mindset toward marriage...
Singapore: Online Petition
Singapore Election Watch announces an online petition against linking votes to public housing upgrading in Singapore.
Dangdut music and dance in Singapore and all about Home
Singapore is a good place to explore cultures from all over South East Asia. The blogger at licencetospill took some of her friends to a Dangdut club. Dangdut is a form of music from Indonesia. The blogger explains the main difference between a DD song and any other indonesian song...
Singapore: a gay party cancelled
On the cancellation of Feelin’ Good, a party organised by gay and lesbian media and events company Fridae, Mr. Brown quotes and links to conflicting statements from Fridae and the police. Fridae says the Ministry of Sound informed them that the police demanded the cancellation of the event because it...
Singapore: ruling party (dirty) tactics
A few disgruntled S'poreans are reacting vehemently over the ruling party's tactic of scaring voters that if the ruling party loses, housing subsidies will be lost and residential areas will eventually become slums.
Singapore: Staying Skeptical of Scripture
Singapore's Salt * Wet * Fish reposts a 2004 entry from his old LiveJournal that continues to have resonance: a reflection on a passage by Buddhist nun Thich Nhat Hanh on remembering that spiritual texts are meant to provoke insight, and should not always be taken on face value.
Thailand: The Question of Democracy
Does general election ensured a truly democractic government? Is it a neccesity? Or an election could come down to a level of merely a tools to keep certain people in power? And in a such case, what should you do?
The Magic of Food: A Global Edible Review
#1: From the UK, Blog Jam The traditional pickled pig's feet dish is one of our favorites. Of course you may have at least a dozen good excuses why you "think" you don't like them. Just forget for a moment where they come from, send to the back burner of...
Singapore: Playing the Game Counts
Wormie takes issue with those in Singapore complaining it was a waste of money to send a losing team to the Commonwealth Games. “Winning or losing is not everything in sports, it is about participating to the best of one's ability. Along the way in our quest for excellence we...
Singapore: No Longer Anonymous
Mr. Wang Bakes Good Karma, commenting on the rising prominence of local bloggers in the media, thinks the old belief that bloggers are anonymous is no longer true: “So I don't think it's fair at all for the MSM to keep harping on the point that bloggers are anonymous. They're...
Thailand, Singapore: Crashing Investment
Singapore Election Watch reposts a forum comment by someone pointing out that the value of state-owned Temasek Holdings’ controversial investment in Thailand's Shin Corp. — which triggered a political crisis in Bangkok — has plummeted, costing Singaporeans $2.21 billion in three days.
Singapore: Leaving Home
agrain of sand has a dilemma: “How to tell my parents that Singapore isn’t really my home anymore? I mean, yes, they are back there, I grew up there, they took care of me there, but how do you call home a place where you haven’t lived in years, and...
Jamaica: Commonwealth Games
Leon wonders why the 18th Commonwealth Games aren't getting more media attention. “Is it because the mighty U.S is not involved, since the Commonwealth games only include former territories of Britain? (But wait, America is a former territory of Britain!).”
Singapore, Malaysia: Comparing Educational Systems
Rajan Rishyakaran recently got his exam results back. That got him writing about the differences between the Singapore and Malaysian systems of education. Singapore's is highly competitive and meritocratic while Malaysia's has affirmative racial discrimination.
Singapore: Stability not Diversity
A Xeno Boy in SG tells a little fable about how Singapore's threatening diversity was domesticated and coopted. “The city mimicked democracy, mimicked prosperity, mimicked diversity, mimicked lives. It was a wonderful performance. And the City became the City of Laughter.”
Singapore: Blog Credibility
Malaysian blogger Mack Zulkifli comments on a recent survey in Singapore that ranked blogs as lowest in credibility and newspaper reports as highest. But Mack says there is more than meets the eye.
Singapore: Bear Arrested
bobafett81 has pictures of the arrest in Singapore of an animal-rights activist dressed as a bear during Queen Elizabeth's visit to the city-state. The activist had been protesting the ceremonial use of bearskin hats by Buckingham Palace guards. Mr. Wang guesses what charges the bear might expect.
Singapore: Suicide Watch
Singapore Election Watch discusses the disturbing trend of Singapore's suicide rate. In the famously safe country, it's now one of the top three causes of death.
Singapore: Meritocracy
Singapore Entrepreneurs has some thoughts about meritocracy and entrepreneurship, and how many Singaporeans have traded their passions and risk-taking in exchange for social stability.
Malaysia, Singapore: Eye Scare
Jeff Ooi at Screenshots has been following a health scare in Malaysia and Singapore over contact lens solution that is apparently causing blinding fungal infections in people's eyes. The trail starts here.
