Monday, September 28, 2009

Former AWARE President's career move

Josie Lau has changed jobs and is now working under OUE. Coincidentally or not, the Chief Executive is the husband of the lawyer who had been part of her committee in taking over AWARE for a short time.

There is a contradiction too. He noted her trauma experienced due to the AWARE saga, in conjunction with his mention of her merits as being criteria for her employment. It seems that pity is another reason for her employment with his organization. Why the sudden mention of the saga when it has been resolved?

In her email to the Straits Times, she avoided answering the question of whether DBS's unhappiness over her presidential post in AWARE caused this career move. Does it mean that she has a guilty conscience and that this is true after all? If it is untrue, she should have replied to it right?

Ms Singapore World's shameful past

Her criminal record is much more serious than her inability to speak proper English. There is no way I can see any good in this instance, as compared to the latter case. I have naught to defend her with. She did wrong, period.

She had hoped that her secret would never be revealed, so was it not better to have avoided doing the misdeed altogether? The light will reveal what the darkness tries to hide. This is how the world evolves into. What is there to feel "sad or disappointed" about? The person who reported her secret to the media did the right thing. It is not a matter of "dig(ging) up" a hidden secret, especially when it involves our country's reputation. She has ultimately disgraced herself by committing the crime. The disappointment should rightly be felt by her former employer, and not by her.

I would not want such a person to represent Singapore. It is not a matter of withdrawing my support for our local representative, but it shows how immature she was not to have considered the dire consequences of her actions. 17 years of age is not actually a young age. She was not 7 years old when she did that. She may have had other redeeming qualities that allowed her to win the pageant, according to another pageant winner, but this is a criminal conviction. What other redeeming qualities can remove this permanent blemish on her life and name? This is a betrayal of the morals and values society attempts to teach its youths. What a role model she is for them. As a working employee, she should have had the sense to know that she was doing something terribly wrong with the credit cards she used for her spending sprees. Where was her conscience then? Her age does not excuse her misdeed.

Her parents play a significant part in this affair as well. They failed to bring her up in the full knowledge of what is right and wrong. This is the result of their failure. Perhaps this is a hard lesson they must learn, notwithstanding her need to learn one too. I am glad to know that they do not condone her recent behaviour, as is reported in the current issue of 8 Days. They make her out to be a stubborn child who does not listen to their advice and abuses their trust in her. Yes, she has expressed regret for her misdeed but it may have come too late, now that she has been placed in the spotlight. The irony is that she loves to gain attention from others and hence she joined the competition. Well, now she has gained it but for more than the wrong reasons.

A reader felt that this secret should not affect her role as our local representative in the competition. Is that not rather naive? It is a necessity for the local representative to have no criminal record. She HAS to be removed from her position and allow the first runner-up to replace her. Even though this is a beauty contest, beauty also includes purity of character. She is probably "our best hope" only in terms of external appearance, I feel.

Again responding to Yeoh Wee Teck's commentary on this issue, I can testify that I was squeaky clean at 17 years old. My only flaws were not studying hard enough, and disrespecting and disobeying my parents. Perhaps this does make me justified enough to criticise Ms Singapore World? Haha.

"Our Singapore representatives need not be squeaky clean"?? As a reporter, it is rather impertinent to say that. He is one of the voices of the media, a medium that is a major source of influence on our youths. What underlying message is he giving them? Hardcore criminals can represent the country? She may not be a hardcore criminal who committed violent acts on others, but she still committed a crime. As the secretary-general of her school remarked, the Yellow Ribbon Project is catered towards second chances in the career industry. Her role as a local representative defies that. I completely agree with the secretary-general. The reporter is also ironical in mocking her for her bad verbal skills rather than her criminal misdeed.

A second newspaper article mentioned that good character is part of the criteria for beauty pageant contestants. I'm heartened to note that there are fellow supporters towards my stand. They include former local beauty queens. Indeed, it was not appropriate of her to inform the panel only after her win. It does not matter that she had not expected to win. Her mere participation in the pageant already required her to do so. Now, it seems that she has not told them about this revelation, because the staff of the organization are unaware of her conviction. Is there anything else she is misleading us in?

She opened up in a third article about this incident. Her thoughts have somehow incited a crack in my harsh assessment of her. She actually shows gratitude to the victim who reported her to the police, and has an unwavering faith in hard work and perseverance, that these qualities will bring about the achievement of dreams. I guess she is someone after my own heart, in this aspect.

Now, it seems that she had been playing with the public. She claimed to have informed the organizers of the pageant on different occasions, but it turns out that she had not. Her lies have escalated from a hidden criminal conviction to an attempt in obtaining support from the public by falsely claiming she had admitted it to the organizers. It is no wonder that she did not dare to pick up calls from the media about this false misleading. I am so glad she has agreed to give her crown back.

During the selection process for a new local representative, the second runner-up who was to eventually represent our country, did not pick up her phone when she was called. She may have been busy then but if it was a deliberate attempt to ignore the media, then I must say that she was smart enough to do so.

According to Ris Low, she is not interested in Claire Lee's decision to withdraw from the representation process. However, what she said after that pipes my interest in a negative way. She hopes for us to forget her fiasco after 2 years as she enjoys life. Firstly, even if 2 years have passed, seeing her will provoke ugly feelings within us. What she did is no small matter. Secondly, how can she even think of enjoying life with such a betrayal of conscience that she has done? Also, she still has the cheek to want to compete in local competitions? She will find it difficult to attain that desire. Since she so wants to be the centre of attraction, doesn't she realise she already is, in the way she is handling this whole issue? Apparently, this desire is so strong that she has done so many negative things to get to that. She does not bother about the nature of being in the limelight, but just that she is basking in it.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Ikea showroom horribly abused

I was wondering how Ikea could allow people to misuse its furniture products, and even condone their proud attitudes in the mist of their abuse, when this was reported in the newspapers. People treat the showroom as their homes or offices; doing work, eating, sleeping and even relieving themselves. The anti-climax is that they don't buy anything in the end.

Ikea explains that this is its family-friendly policy. I blatantly disagree with it. It is more concerned with the customers' welfare and places utmost trust in its customers' responsible nature towards its products. Its hope that the customers will purchase its products never fails to waver. This ever-optimistic perception should change with this latest report.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The impact of tragic history over time

It has been 8 years since the 911 Twin Towers tragedy in America. When that day came, I remembered that incident, and I'm not an American. However, when I read in the newspapers that the American students merely treat it as a part of their country's history and seem to be apathetic towards something so close to their doors, I was speechless.

Singapore went through a harrowing time during the Japanese Occupation, and that was about 65 years ago. I still remember that. 65 years is much longer than 8 years. What is it with those students?

They find the lesson on this tragedy boring, tedious and dreary, and treat it as a time for relaxation. When asked to write on the tragedy, they give apathetic statements that show their distant feelings. What more is there to say?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Laughter has become punishment instead of relaxation

A student was forced to laugh continuously for an hour. His offence was to point out the truth of his teacher's infidelity. He had witnessed his teacher's quarrel over it.

Despite the hazardous impact of the punishment on the boy's body, the teacher did not seem to be remorseful when he was confronted. He claimed that the punishment did not actually last for an hour. He did not say anything about its adverse effect on the boy.

The teacher was obviously trying to conceal his mistake. He had let his embarrassment at being exposed for his adultery overwhelm him to the extent that he disregarded the student's welfare. He caused the student to be in that situation when he insisted that the student continue to laugh, even though the student could not. How dreadful!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

A teacher's moral downfall

A US teacher has not been able to get another teaching job ever since she was dismissed from her previous one. Her claim that it was due to her indecent photos shows that she is blaming the school for using this poor reason as a justification for its actions. What is there to blame? She seems to think that the photos are nothing immoral. As she was a teacher, they were going against the moral values she should be advocating to the youths out there. A teacher's identity is not separate from her personal life, contrary to what she may think. She is a figure of authority in society. Her students will still recognise her outside their classes.

She attributes her present pornographic job to the school's decision. If she had not taken on the hostess job while she was a teacher, it would not have landed her in this present situation. She caused herself all this pain. If she had needed another job then, she could have taken on a better one. Money shouldn't cause one to compromise on one's values, and in this case, employment. It is ironic how she told a news outlet that "(she was) an educated woman but (had) never thought it would come to (that)". She did not use her level of education well enough then. She had failed to consider the repercussions of her initial choice beforehand. She should have known better than to choose that particular job while still being in the teaching industry.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Apathy in Singaporeans

Mrs X's case did ingnite some arrogant thoughts in me, that I wouldn't be like the people around her who did nothing to help. However, M Lukshumayeh's letter exactly expressed what the truth of matter is. Would I really spring into action if I were there? The answer is that I wouldn't and this is my justification.

I could have helped two tourists who were confused as to where to order their drinks at, when we were at Vivocity's Food Republic. I did not. I let my shyness overwhelm their need for help. They would have appreciated my help just as I did when I was in London. I could have been a Singaporean that was out of the ordinary, and I felt ashamed to note that another tourist helped them instead.

At the same time, Robert's comments were unjustified. He claimed Mrs X did not approach people for help. She screamed. That would have attracted at least looks from them. It was unfortunate that they did not act after looking. It was not her fault in any way. She tried to attract attention from others.

Lifestyle ran an experiment on the level of indifference in Singaporeans and true enough, only one Singaporean tried to stop a couple from further aggression in their quarrel. The majority stood and gawked at the scenario. I think I would be like the person who called the security officers to intervene when he/she saw it, afraid of my personal safety and preferring to remain anonymous in looking for help.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Local perceptions towards beauty pageants

Our country seems to place little emphasis on international beauty pageants, other than selecting and sending the local winners to them. Ms Singapore Universe 2007 revealed that she had no wardrobe sponsors provided for her as she prepared to leave for Mexico. This probably affected her full focus on the competition per se, as she had to look for her own and even pay for some of her own accessories. On the contrary, other Asian countries like Japan and India employ professionals to prepare their local winners for the international platforms.

To be objective, it is understandable why little emphasis is placed on them. They place more importance on external beauty and the only exceptions are personality, confidence and eloquence, which are hidden beneath the surface. It is no wonder that the public, including I, sees them as frivolous.

Venezuela is famous for preparing its girls to become future beauty queens. There is a beauty boot camp where the selected girls are taught how to speak properly and do well in interviews, amongst other areas. Singapore definitely needs this faculty with regards to the latest beauty queen in the news. The camp gets back 20% of the winners' earnings in exchange for being in charge of their expenses. It sounds like a fair deal. Maybe Singapore should consider it?

However, girls from Venezuela are so obsessed with doing well in international pageants that they resort to plastic surgery to increase their chances. They become more beautiful, yes, but their beauty has as a result become more artificial and not completely natural, which had already been "artificialized" through makeup and undergarments. Their beauty has become fake and unreal, as surgery has tainted their natural physicality in the name of making right the distortions on their body.

At the same time, the founder of a grooming and modelling school claims that his/her school is preparing the students for life. What will last through life is a person's character and not external skills, which the school is honing. An irony!

Miss Singapore World's journey of public criticism

When I heard about the controversy surrounding her language skills, I was harshly critical on her like most people. After having read the feature on her, I am more sympathetic and less subjective.

She is pretty and sweet-looking, with the help of expertly applied makeup, and this is most apparent at the moment she was crowned. Her smile lighted up her face and complemented her makeup. Her pronunciation leaves much to be desired when one views the videos on her interviews, but to be fair, I doubt I can accurately answer the question on South African influence too.

She is a first-year student in the fields of hospitality, travel and tourism. With that level of English, she definitely won't get anywhere far, but according to her, she is aware of her low standards and is trying to improve on them. Her methods are realistic as she prepares to represent our country. I suggest though that she can also watch more documentaries and listen to the narrators. Perhaps this pageant was a first step to her realization, albeit a hard one.

Ms Carter gave a good refute to all the criticism surrounding this issue. Vocal trainers can volunteer their services for free, or generous members of the public can sponsor her for such training. After all, she is representing our country. Instead of merely criticising her and expecting her to find her own resources, they can help and support her in this area. This may increase her placing in the competition. You just never know. Singapore has never done very well in international competitions, except for our Miss Universe representatives in the top 15: Kathie Lee in 1983 and Marion Teo in 1987. If we do this, she and our future representatives may prove us wrong.

Ms Carter also gave a very good suggestion of speaking in Mandarin, if Ris felt more comfortable conversing in it. English may be our first language but some people are more conversant in our second language. That does not make them any less Singaporean or a disgrace to our country.

According to the organizer now, the Youtube video showcasing her bad spoken English was based on a one-off incident, and that should not have made our judgement of her permanent, as it had. The organizer felt that the owner of the video was being malicious towards her reputation. Ironically, she had spoken perfect English during the pageant. Why did the newspaper put quotation marks outside this phrase then? Was it trying to show blatant disagreement with this viewpoint? The pageant organizer had no reason to lie for her.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Social manners

Ms Esther Lim was wondering whether it is polite to clear our trays after we eat. I think it's a innately compulsory act when we eat at fast food restaurants. It is not so pertinent in food courts where the cleaners do so for us. At the same time, it would relieve their load if we do it ourselves. Take Ion's Food Opera for instance. Customers merely take it for granted that they will clear the trays, but due to the immense publicity of the shopping mall and its food tenants, resulting in a surge in the number of customers, the cleaners have problems coping with this task.

I remember observing the American culture when I ate at a fast food restaurant in the US. The customers take the initiative to clear their trays and if someone does not, he will get disapproving vibes from the others. Of course, my parents and I realised that we have to follow suit. This observation stayed with me when I returned to Singapore, and is still part of my value system till today. I try to clear my trays when I eat at fast food restaurants and thank the cleaners at food courts who clear my trays. It may be part of their job but it does not hurt to show them appreciation for it. :)

Mr Soh Teow Kwee was lamenting the rudeness of a lady who had blown her nose in front of him, as they were sharing a table in a food centre. He had asked her to stop blowing her nose when people around her were eating. I feel that she did not do anything very wrong by doing that. He was just being too picky. By writing to the authorities about this triviality, and posing those questions in his letter, he seems to be an uppity elitist where social behaviour is concerned. Of course, the lady was wrong as well. She should have apologised and not been so rude to him. She even challenged him and blew her nose more intensely.