Over lunch. With a colleague. “So you going to vote?” “Yes! I’ll get to vote this time.” “Great! Who you going to vote for?” “I can’t say….” “Oh. Really?” “Yes…really…my vote is secret.” “Oh?” “Yes…my vote is secret….only the Government knows.” Continue reading Elections: My vote is secret
It is an exciting period in Singapore. On May 6th, we go to the polls to choose our next Government. I, like many other Singaporeans, do not have to vote. Because the all powerful People’s Action Party (PAP) is being returned unopposed in my district. This is not uncommon. In almost every election, less than half the electorate actually vote. Funny, huh? I asked the … Continue reading Elections: Of course the PAP!
‘Malaysia: Death of a Democracy’, John Slimming I’m only just getting into this book about the May 1969 racial riots, apparently it’s banned in Malaysia…written, in 1969, by this Englishman …anyways, there are lots of fascinating little passages, here’s one: In 1950, during the Korean war, the demand for natural rubber caused a boom on the world markets; rubber prices soared. They rose to more … Continue reading Chinese/Malay/Indian
Buddy Nuno Santos and I spent two weeks driving around Malaysia last December, taking lots of photographs, including an election in Kelantan. We’ve put together a pictorial entitled An Old Muslim Democracy?, do check it out. Continue reading An Old Muslim Democracy?
In the Straits Times on April 23rd: “It was a moment of intense concentration, then excitement when the bullet hit.” – Staff Sergeant Soh Wee Kiat, who tested the Singapore Army’s new high-powered sniper rifle Would he feel the same excitement if the bullet killed a person, instead of a soda can? Continue reading When you shoot
