Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid....

One cannot miss the repetitive broadcast of the anti-terrorist video on the video monitors at your local mass rapid transit stations while you are waiting for the next train to arrive.

"Be suspicious of anyone carrying a big bag onto the train..." declared the narration showing a seemingly dubious person wearing a cap entered the train laden with a black sports bag. Then there was the nosy obaasan who could not take her eyes off this "suspicious behavior" of someone with a bag.

Come on folks, are we all supposed to be so neurotic in our daily lives and fill them with a heightened degree of suspicion to report about anything that moves? Not in Singapore where once every tourism brochure put out by the then Singapore Tourist Promotion Board touted that Singapore was a safe country.... or has the situation now changed.

Such "safety" video at the train stations reminded me of the cultural revolution in China when everyone should report on own family's any devilish Western ideology for proper corrective punishment. This has led to a society of fear and the lack of trust-worthiness from within the family nucleus - which leads to everyone just out for him/herself. The threat of fear is no way to create a positive environment in Singapore or anywhere. Yes, we should be vigilant about any potential threats, but to create an environment of fear and suspicion by insinuating any element of stereo-typing through an amateurish video production that was done without proper consideration of psychological after-effects, is purely an irresponsible act forced upon every citizen exposed to such a propaganda.

Two extreme effects seemed to the result in Singapore - those who could not care two hoots about it because it was not believable, and those who really are fearful of the safety factor in Singapore now. I guess the Singapore Government could justify such a precautionary act, especially when a more intelligent terrorist under custody escaped the rank and file guardianships of the million-dollar ministers' men. To date the escapee could not be found, certainly it would have been logical to assume the threat will forever be there as long as he is not caught. Oops, there goes the destination's advantage for promoting itself as a safe place to have fun and games... A job now tougher for the new Singapore Tourism Board I bet.... duh...

Happy Toilet School?

I could not believe my eyes to see this long banner placed outside the fence of a primary school at Jalan Membina in Singapore. It touted the school as the gold medal winner of a Happy Toilet School Education Program.

This was one of the many banners that gave citations to the numerous "accomplishments" of the schools. So many banners that lined up the fence that had made the school impersonal and well-hidden from outside view - except for looking through its main gate.

It seemed like every school would love to show that it had done well and accomplished numerous awards. In Singapore and for this school in particular, relevance appeared to have taken a second place. Quantity rather than quality counted. Putting a banner should have been done with pride, but rarely one would have wanted to claim credit for being a "Happy Toilet School." That was if one had thought through its PR priorities carefully enough so that its organization would not become the toilet hole of jokes in the neighborhood.

And in any case it was rather odd to humanize a toilet with an emotive expression such as being happy. The originator of this campaign or contest was clearly at fault to have coined the term "Happy Toilet." Whatever its reason, the worst was that it came from an educational institution that could have better projected a good use of the English language.... or pardon me, it could have been Singlish.

Car is King in Singapore?

Is there anything wrong with this picture?

This is an exit from a multi-level car park at Jalan Membina near Tiong Bahru Plaza shopping center in Singapore. It caught my attention during my many walks from my father's public housing apartment to the shopping center when none of the exiting cars stopped for pedestrian traffic.

Bad driving behavior of Singapore motorists perhaps? Or is it that just because Singaporean car owners pay a number of huge taxes on cars ownership that they should deserve the right-of-way more so than ordinary folks? Somehow, basic road courtesy does not apply when you cross the path of an eager driver wanting to make use of the public road systems on this little island while exiting his car park. Vehicular grevious hurt or at an extreme, vehicular homicide is likely to happen if you do not watch your way near your neighborhood car park.

Coming back to this picture..... There was not a single stop sign facing the driver when he/she should exit from the one-way ramp onto Jalan Membina. Somehow, some unintelligent worker had installed the stop sign you should see on the right of the picture in an opposite direction where no cars were supposed to enter the ramp. Naturally, as in Singapore there were many painted signed along the pedestrian walkways telling you all walkers to stop and watch out for car traffic. It does seemed like car ownership is king and the have-nots were reduced to be the second-class citizens in Singapore.

They Better Deliver Them Free and More!

I would no doubt call these sticker-price shocks when I saw the prices of Weber stainless BBQ grill and the Black & Decker 1400psi pressure water washer that I came across in a DIY store in Singapore.

The grill was tagged at a whopping $2,459.00 (with free delivery) and the pressure spray washer washer was on sale at $199.00. The same grill would have cost one-tenth the price in U.S.A. while the pressure washer would have priced U.S. 69.00 bucks or less at most Home Depots or the likes around U.S.A.

These must have been luxury goods in Singapore. Else, they should not have priced at these levels one would reasonably assumed. But wait, only liquor, tobacco and the importation of maids are taxed heavily in Singapore; Even the Gucci, Prada, and Calvin Klein are competitive priced against the originating countries - so what is the beef here?

Price gouging or simply an issue of demand versus supply in Singapore for these kinds of lifestyle/convenient products? I would tend to believe that the former is perhaps driving the gross lack of demand in the market place which in turn spirals the price-fixing upwards by the importers and retailers in Singapore. Perhaps only the rich folks living in the landed properties on the island of Singapore would have a need for these two seemingly common items in the U.S.A.

For a $2,459.00 grill, I would have more than deserved the free delivery. Does it comes with a year's supply of Omaha steaks too? The pressure washer was touted at a discount from it's original price of $249.00. Even so, I would expect it to sing me a different song each time I use it to hose down my sparkling Mercedes Benz or BMW in Singapore.