ITE Student Feedback

Well, I was clearing out my old materials when I came across a collection of feedback essays that I got my students to write during the New Curriculum Track (NCT) programme which I executed at ITE College West at the beginning of last year (i.e. Term 1 of 2011). The NCT programme is a bridging 10-week course to help 'N' Level students who qualify to directly enroll at the ITE assimilate better. I covered several topics related to Effective Communication and formulated some fresh activities for the students. At the end of the 10 weeks, I asked them to share their thoughts and these are some of the responses I received. You can click on the images to see a larger version that is easier to read.

The Most Cock Piece of 'Reporting' Yet

I was at the dialogue session yesterday where dolphin activist Ric O'Barry shared his thoughts with an audience of over 500 at the Grand Copthorne Hotel, in Singapore. He said a great many things and his thoughts on several related issues were sought by members of the audience. He was honest and passionate, and it was no secret that everyone in the ballroom was of the opinion that releasing the dolphins instead of including them as an item of Resorts World Sands Sentosa (RWS) is the way to go.

But Esther Ng of TODAY was at a different event apparently. She saw a crowd gathered because a celebrity "who starred in the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Cove" called Ric O'Barry was appearing. She saw only "teachers, students and young adult professionals and a few Caucasians" and declared that "the public debate was a one-sided affair with nary a soul speaking up in support of the captivity and display of dolphins". She also excitedly titled her atrocious piece 'Dolphin catcher-turned-activist nets audience of 500' - as if the point of the dialogue session was to see how big a crowd Ric O'Barry could attract.

The only way one can forgive this report for ever seeing the light of day is if Esther Ng is a secondary school student attached to TODAY. The 500 people were there to see Ric O'Barry in the context of how we can work together to get RWS to change their stubborn decision to keep wild-caught dolphins in captivity. Also, there were 1,000 people at the Save the Dolphins Concert a few weeks ago - where Ric O'Barry was not present - which makes the crowd-size an irrelevant observation altogether. And in a cosmopolitan country such as Singapore, where 1 in 4 persons is a foreigner, seeing a few - or many - Caucasians has nothing to do with anything at all.

As for the dialogue session being a "public debate", it could only have been a debate had the other party agreed to come - RWS had in fact been invited and had declined to attend and address the issues in person, and there was never an illusion that this would be anything other than a dialogues session. In fact, from the outset, it was framed that all of the people gathered at the session were there to find out how we could work together - and not to discuss, debate or deliberate on the merits of whether the dolphins about to be installed at RWS should be kept in captivity or released.

I have no idea what Esther Ng's agenda is (fast-track her career by pleasing corporate interests?) or how the TODAY editors saw fit to allow such shoddy reporting to be carried in print (incompetent, ignorant, disingenuous?), but her account is such a perverted version of a minute part of the 2-hour session that it is truly laughable.

GE2011 Conspiracy Theories

I noticed that everything the PAP has been doing with regard to the expected General Elections has been - to put it mildly - an utter and complete disaster. From what-looks-like-nepotism, or otherwise called 'leadership renewal', to I-know-someone-who-knows-someone, also known as the Tin Pei Ling Effect, to hahaha-suck-on-it-if-you-are-not-white-on-white, quite popularly regarded as an insult to graduate students and Singaporeans alike, there has been no limit to the indignation heaped onto Singaporeans who love Singapore.

Never underestimate a good conspiracy theory

Never in the history of Singapore since its independence has the PAP had so many spectacular failures. Thus the question of why and how come a multi-million dollar cabinet can trip over its own feet every step of the way becomes quite a curious assignment. Assuming that no established political party can be THAT stupid and assuming also that the Singapore Flyer's orientation has nothing to do with the cosmic elements surrounding the PAP's ability to govern, might I propose some interesting possibilities.

a) Internal Strife: Could there be an internal divide within the PAP where one side comprises loyalists to the age-old philosophies that transformed Singapore from the 50's to the 80's, and the other counts those who favour a more modern and open approach? This might explain an intentional rubbishing and sabotaging of the processes - throwing up ridiculous candidates whilst a few current politicians resign. And perhaps this political divide manifested in Lee Hsien Loong's 'academic discussion' of the hypothetical Two PAP System?

b) Flawed System Finally Fails: Perhaps the system that was all along based on a flawed principle finally ran out of the magic additive that kept it seemingly in perfect condition. When this system was established, everyone feared Lee Kuan Yew and so, from the second top man to the man-in-the-street, it was important not to allow favouritism to affect any choice. It was in fact a case for reverse favouritism - if you were going to choose someone because you liked them, then it was prudent for you to just choose the other guy and CYA.

But that mythical fear has eroded dramatically over time and now the younger politicians could be using the system sans the 'magic additive'. This means that meritocracy no longer needs to be in the black-and-white terms of 'scholar', 'stellar grades' or 'demonstrated achievements' but can be justified by the subjective 'experience', 'good work at grassroots level' and even as arbitrarily as 'bilingual and able to connect well with people of different ages'.

While the initial manifestation of the system demanded that only the best be sought out with serious repercussions should someone better be found to have slipped through the cracks, it is now simply a case of 'choose the best from what we see in front of us can already'. Hence the situation of 'every mother son' turning up as a candidate.

c) Give Singapore a Dose of Bad Government: Remember Lee Kuan Yew's chiding of 'whiny Singaporeans' with a "the cure for all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government"? Maybe that's what's happening - a strategic push towards favouring the opposition, getting them into parliament whilst PAP holds on to a reasonable minority. The idea would be to allow the new government to run the show for 5 years (or even less, should the opposition falter too much and give up) before coming in strongly back into control.

Why now? Because the opposition is reasonably strong and credible enough to challenge in the political arena but (possibly) not established enough to form a credible government yet. By giving the reigns over temporarily to a team that has yet to peak, the objective may be to sow enough doubt to ensure a longer period of power subsequently - the lack of confidence in the opposition would prevent the current active generation from voting them in again for a decade or so, at least.

d) Time To Close Shop: It has been a close knit endeavour for the PAP this past half-century and only death seems to separate the core players from relinquishing their involvement in politics. Perhaps seeing as to how the global economy has become so intertwined with the local economy, and having no tangible Singapore Identity to speak of, the backbone of the PAP may have collectively decided to hang up their proverbial white trousers and finally retire because Singapore is a lost cause with no more money to be made.

The closest thing to a Singapore Identity?

Therefore, in order to make a clean escape, they may have allowed the younger politicians to run amok with random ideas with the full knowledge that these 'new faces' having been yes-men and yes-women all heir adult lives would not have the gumption to actually survive in a real democratic political arena. The plan would be to let the PAP lose through these novices, then blame them and leave the country for better pastures. With many of them having children based overseas, it would not be hard at all to resettle and even use the opportunity to go on speaking tours and book-writing.

While there is no way to ascertain whether there is any truth to these theories, the fact that we do not have enough information to dismiss them outright is a cause for concern. The question to ask is whether the government has been demonstrating any tangible benefit to the people (as opposed to just lip service) or has it only been making more money all along - be it from the people and/or from the processes it puts in place.

Ezycash - forget it ever happened

Some time ago I mentioned the EzyCash advertisement that came in my mailbox - purportedly offering a loan deal that would essentially cause the borrower to pay more than they needed to. When I referenced it at the time, I believe I actually sent an email to the good people at Singpost to see their reaction. Of course, them being steeped in bureaucratic history, they ignored my email and pretended it never happened.

Well, last week, I noticed a similar advertisement flyer in my mailbox and was tickled to note that it now reflects the figures for a $8,000 and $10,000 loan, omitting the $6,000 loan that had the anomaly in the original flyer (see comparison below).

EzyCash Advertisement received in August 2010

EzyCash Advertisement received in April 2010

Seeing as how they've left out the figure instead of correcting it in the new version of the flyer, I suspect that the confluence of loan amount and interest may be creating a monthly installment that is higher under the 'special offer'. If that is the case, then I really feel sorry for those who took up the $6,000 loan offer without realising that the monthly installment would be more and hope that they do pursue the matter with Singpost - God knows the corporation is certainly not going to come out to apologise and make restitution.

Holiday Programme at SINDA STEP (Day 6 & 7)

Day 6

We complemented the theoretical aspects of the Holiday Programme with the introduction of a guest speaker, Mr Kavind, who had overcome a host of challenges in his academic and personal life to become a motivational speaker and presenter. Mr Kavind shared how he had been sacked from being a prefect and demoted from the Express stream to the Normal stream during his secondary school days. He described the difficulties in coping with his parents and how he discovered his strengths which finally enabled him to be accepted into Republic Polytechnic.

The candid and frank session was well-received by the students (many stayed back after the workshop to ask the speaker more questions) and it was clear that he was able to connect with them. We followed the speaker presentation with a reflection exercise and posed 3 open-ended questions as follows:

1. What are some of the lessons and values that you have learnt from this talk?
2. The speaker mentioned some obstacles and problems that he faced as a student. Describe some of the similar problems that you have to deal with in your life.
3. After listening to what the speaker has to share, in your opinion, what three personal values will be necessary to help achieve your goals? Please explain why you think these values are important.

The responses were extremely personal and it was observed that almost every student earnestly answered the questions. The students expressed similar difficulties with engaging parents and fighting off disappointment in their lives but were generally inspired and motivated to face their challenges and push through with their ambitions. A sample of 3 responses (click on image to see full size) are appended below:






Day 7

Taking note of the overarching issue of dealing with various pressures (i.e. peer, family, personal) in the course of being a student, we decided to complete the Holiday Programme with a workshop on Peer Pressure. We opened the session by asking the students if they were familiar with the concept of peer pressure and were asked their thoughts on the issue. This was followed by the screening of an interesting advertisement that puts the issue of succumbing to peer pressure in perspective (reproduced below).

A real life scenario was then presented to the students and they were asked to share their opinions and thoughts on how to deal with the situation. A short exchange of ideas later, what actually happened to the person recounting the scenario was presented to the students which enabled them to reflect and compare against their own suggestions.

Subsequently, we conducted a case study exercise and broke the class into 6 groups of 5 students each. Issuing issued a sheet of butcher paper (i.e. 'Mahjong Paper') to each group, the students were tasked with identifying the various elements involved in the scenario (each group received a different scenario), discussing the ways in which the situations could be managed (i.e. the positive way and the negative way), considering whether the pressure was borne out of malice or ignorance (i.e. whether it was better to resolve the problem or simply walk away), and relating 2 examples of similar situations experienced in their own lives.

Groups were allowed to present their analysis in any manner they wished to and after their work was prepared, were asked to present to the rest of the class. Being generally shy and reserved, the students had to be encouraged to come forward and share their analysis but eventually, all the groups presented their findings. In all, the students were able to identify the elements of the situation (as well as whether the pressure was implicit or direct) and offer clear positive and negative approaches to each scenario. The personal recounts were also vivid and insightful and demonstrated the fact that the batch of students attending the Holiday Programe routinely face the challenge of overcoming peer pressure (perhaps even more so than other students).

The session was closed by addressing the fact that peer pressure exists in all areas of life and the point is to manage these pressures effectively and tackle the root cause that lead to each instance of pressure. A series of tools that could be employed to manage peer pressure was also shared and explained to the students. The relevance of all the workshops were tied back together (i.e. Time Management, Goal Setting, Ambition and Peer Pressure) and the students were encouraged to give these issues further thought and consideration.

Looking back, it is safe to say that the Holiday Programme has made an impact on the students and they seem to have taken away the intended learning points without having felt burdened at attending a school workshop. Almost all the students have returned to the centre at the start of this semester and our opinion is that they are motivated to try harder in their studies.

Back to Day 1 of the Holiday Programme...

Holiday Programme at SINDA STEP (Day 3 to Day 5)

While we handled different groups of students on the first 2 days, the remainder of the Holiday Programme involved the same group of 30 students comprising of secondary school students from all levels. Building on the successful opening exercise on Day 1 and Day 2, we moved on to work on Time Management on Day 3.

Day 3

Introducing the concept of Time Management and defining its elements, the opening activity involved inviting the students as a class to estimate the time spent on various daily activities in a typical school day. Using a flash-based calculator (right: taken off the internet), the calculation led to the visual representation (via a pie-chart) that there was only precious little 'spare' time in any given school day.

This trigger activity was then followed by an individual exercise to create a pie-chart illustrative of the 24 hours spent on a typical school day for each student. As expected, many students found that there was hardly any time for studies and, interestingly, it was clear that for the majority of the students the problem was spending too much time with friends (primarily due to the inability to turn down invitations by friends to meet).

The students clearly enjoyed the activity and while they were not completely sold on the idea or purpose of the exercise, they nevertheless enjoyed preparing their unique pie-charts and comparing them with their peers and friends.

The next activity was similarly illustrative in nature and involved students each drawing 4 lines on a half-A4 sized paper to create a 3x3 grid (i.e. nine boxes - example at left). The students were asked to leave the centre box blank and fill out the remaining 8 boxes with activities they do in a typical school day that does not involve studying. Most found it quite easy to think of such things - although some did struggle (our observation was that those who were working hard on their studies found the most difficulty).

After the boxes were filled out, the students were then asked to tear away the boxes that did not contribute to their health, family or education. For example, if the activity was 'housework' (i.e. family) or 'playing soccer with friends' (i.e. health) it was not torn, but if it was 'hanging out' or 'shopping' they were torn off. There was a fair amount of uncertainty if an activity listed contributed to the 3 elements or not and students took the effort to clarify with the instructors. At the end of the tearing process, most students had only one or two boxes intact and this was related back to the fact that the amount of time they really had was extremely limited.

Having illustrated the critical nature of time - and its management, and not to mention the students primed to be more receptive, some of the tools that could be used to manage their time or prioritise were shared and students were encouraged to seek further information or approach the instructors for further assistance if they were interested. Finally, they were asked to retain their individual pie-charts as a reminder of how they are spending their time (i.e. to facilitate their continued reflection on the subject of Time Management).

Day 4

We intended to follow-up our workshop on Time Management with one on Goal Setting but decided to give the students a treat and screened an edited version of the animated movie Open Season (right). The movie's plot included embracing change and overcoming challenges and we felt the students would relate to the characters.

True enough, the students enjoyed the movie and immediately after the screening, we issued worksheets (below: click on worksheet image to see full-size) to facilitate the students in reflecting on the story and relating them to their own experiences. Essentially, the worksheet drew attention to the plans that had gone wrong, how they felt when they went wrong, how they intended to overcome those setbacks and what obstacles they are likely to face in the process.

The instructors went around to supervise the progress of the students and, again, we discovered the students facing difficulty in disappointing their friends (i.e. turning down friends' invitations in favour of focussing on studying). Perhaps this could be due to their overt experiences with rejection (i.e. they do not want to inflict such pain and sorrow unto others), coupled with their inability to prioritise well.
In any case, the purpose of the exercise was to sensitise the students to the virtues of planning ahead and accepting setbacks of executing one's plans, and this was objective was largely achieved. Finally, the students were advised to retain their worksheets as a statement of intent.

Day 5

Having briefly explored Goal Setting, we decided to introduce the elements of good goal setting and facilitate the students to draw up their own goals towards intended outcomes for their academic progress. We opened the workshop with an individual exercise - a word search comprising the five elements of the SMART goals (i.e. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely). This was followed by the introduction and explanation of what the SMART goals are and and the points were illustrated by contrasting ambiguous examples against clear ones.

We followed this with an reverse goal setting activity (left: click on worksheet image to see full-size) and encouraged students to think about their ambitions and what steps they would need to take from their current level to accomplish them. Whilst some students were very specific in what they wished to achieve in life, the majority had only a rough idea and a few even had never thought about this (one student had a callous attitude and felt 'life would take care of itself').

Nevertheless, we guided the students through the exercise and it was encouraging to see several students actively seeking out the necessary information from the instructors in order to achieve their intended goals. We were also pleased to note that all the students managed to either map out an outline towards achieving their ambitions, or (at the very least) seriously considered the necessary qualities to achieve them. Even the aforementioned student who had a 'take it easy' outlook discovered that her interests lay in tattoo art.

The students were asked to keep this copy of their plan for future reference and encouraged to work out a more detailed version and/or build a more detailed breakdown for themselves. Most notably, the purpose of the workshop to ensure each and every student introspected on their goals and ambitions had clearly been achieved - and the students were told it was nothing something that they can ever throw away!

Day 6 & 7 of the Holiday Programme continues here...

Holiday Programme at SINDA STEP (Day 2) - Pictorial Feedback Session

On Day 2 of the Holiday Programme, we handled a group of 17 students comprising of Primary Six and Secondary One students and the responses produced by this group were more detailed and animated in comparison to the older students on Day 1 (especially so for the Primary Six students). Not only were some of the pictorials well-drawn, the feelings expressed were also more fundamental in nature. Below is a sample of 7 responses (click on each image to see in full size) produced by the Primary Six students, together with an analysis of each.

This particular student has been observed in other exercises to be creatively gifted and it was thus not surprising to see a detailed and animated pictorial. She sees herself leading an uninteresting and mundane school life with little motivation but has found herself to be more motivated through her participation in the progamme. She has gained a better grasp of her school work and has also been able to overcome the perception that school is boring, thereby creating an interest in what she is being taught.

Capturing the spirit of the exercise, this student used the analogy of a basketball game and how her 'scoring' has surpassed her target because of the programme.

This student feels empowered (illustrated by the 'wings' on the students) and the bleakness of before has now become a bright and encouraging future.

This student chose to illustrate the realities of his life - the family requires financial assistance and would not be able to afford private tuition (which this student very much needs). He is therefore understandably grateful to have access to a tuition programme that also offers fee subsidies.

Using a play on the spelling of the words, this student uses the letters in the words 'before' and 'after' to illustrate how the programme has facilitated in moving from a typical fail grade to a pass grade.

Another animated illustration, this student describes the confusion and the sense of everything falling apart through the 'before' image. He also represents the general feeling that school days are long and tiresome. In the 'after' image, he illustrates how breaks seem rather long (primarily due to the arrangement of having the break between 7.00pm to 7.10pm and allowing the students to enjoy this break from 6.45pm). Also, as our centre incorporates a lot of fun into the lessons, the students (as in this case) rarely find lessons tiring.

This illustration demonstrates how confident the students have become. Usually, the students who enter the STEP programme are very unsure of themselves and would stick to simple answers and not venture beyond that. However, this student, in expressing his opinion and feelings, has dared to use more complexity (exemplified by the use of an advanced math sum) to describe how his abilities have improved - from struggling with the simplest of concepts to tackling the more challenging ones.

The information and feedback gathered over the first sessions was thus very illuminating and we were able to additionally identify a handful of students who require a different approach or some targeted attention. It was a casual and fun, yet insightful way to start of the Holiday Programme and the students seemed energised after the first session and we felt, the right tone was set (not too rigid and not too unstructured).

Day 3 to 5 of the Holiday Programme continues here...

Holiday Programme at SINDA STEP (Day 1) - Pictorial Feedback Session

It's been an eventful couple of months since my last post, with our magazine picking up momentum and lots of opportunities to conduct training coming my way. To that end, we conducted a Holiday Programme for our SINDA STEP Centre (Jurong West Secondary School premises) where we tackled several soft skills and typical issues over 7 sessions from 2 June to 16 June.

It was an eye-opening experience for the students (mostly from the Normal Academic and Normal Technical streams) who have largely never experienced alternative training methods - what with their struggles with mainstream classroom teaching. In any case, it was a 2-way experience and I learnt a lot about the students, their aspirations, their perception of life and future, and also the difficulties they faced in our education system.

We were not overly ambitious with the programme, only wishing to facilitate self-reflection in the students who comprised all levels (i.e. from Secondary One to Five). We started with a fairly easy reflective exercise where I adapted the index card creativity lesson I created for a Singapore Polytechnic student workshop to serve as a pictorial representation of their opinion of the STEP programme that they were in. On Day 1, I handled a group of 27 students comprising of Secondary Two to Five students.

The concept of analogies was explained to the students and they were then shown a series of print advertisements and invited to identify the implicit message in each. The fun class exercise was then followed by an introspective question thrown to them - how they felt about the STEP programme, after having been with the centre in for the past 4 months. The students were then asked to communicate this feeling by way of a visual analogy - much like the print advertisements they saw earlier.

As expected, some students took longer to conceptualise a visual representation than others but all of them managed to produce something unique and personally-relevant by the end of the exercise.

For the Secondary Level students, the responses were telling of their appreciation for the STEP programme and many of them saw it as enabling them to move from bad grades to good grades or from confusion to clarity. This was in line with the objectives of the STEP programme itself and validated the work the tutors do. Below is a sample 5 responses (click on each image to see in full size) with an accompanying description/analysis (students' views/intentions were casually clarified by me whilst supervising the students' work).

This student felt that she was not achieving much and not having friends either, instead wasting her time watching TV. However, after enrolling in the programme, she has found herself to be enjoying the learning process and making new friends.

This student felt that, where she had spent more time studying but achieved less, she is now able to be efficient in her studies and spends less time whilst achieving more through the assistance of the programme.

This student views the programme as potentially life-changing, having steered her away from a defeatist mindset towards more ambitious and confident goals.

Similarly, this student (as well as several others) believed that the programme has enabled them to stay clear of negative influences. Understandably, many had been implicitly forced to initially attend the STEP classes (pressure from peers, firm 'advice' from teachers, instruction by parents, etc.), but the common thread has been the perception that it has helped them avoid the more unsavoury aspects of their lives.

Interestingly, this student felt the programme has facilitated his ability to stretch himself and start to 'think outside the box'. This is not so much with regard to the creativity he employs but the outlook on his education. Where the drudgery of school life leads students in the 'Normal' stream to believe they are heading 'nowhere' and/or to a predestined eventuality, the STEP programme creates awareness of the other opportunities available and the fact that there are indeed alternatives if students only choose to pursue them.

It was evident that almost all the responses were individually relevant and anyone familiar with the particular student could identify his or her corresponding pictorial feedback. The personal ownership enabled the depth of understanding into each student's perception of the programme and how it has contributed to his or her life.

Day 2 of the Holiday Programme continues here...

Ezycash - enabling you to pay more than necessary

I have been receiving spam from SingPost for the longest time and mostly, it's almost always about this ezycash thing they offer together with GE. Not content with delivering mail, SingPost has long since jumped onto the bandwagon of ripping people off offering loans (and we all KNOW it's a highly lucrative business from how the Wall Street executives either get paid huge bonuses for doing great work, or get paid huge bonuses so that they will stay and fix the mess they created in the first place).

Whilst it is inevitable that there will always be people willing or naive enough to pay a whopping 1/3 of a loan in interest (e.g. borrow $6,000 and pay back a total of $9,000), my gripe has always been the opportunistic manner in which leading establishments in Singapore feed on this need for materialism among Singaporeans.

In any case, this week I saw yet another pamphlet proclaiming that I could take a 36-month loan and not have to pay the last installment amount. Out of curiosity, I wanted calculate what this 'amazing' difference would be and looked closely at the illustrative figures.

Well, I laughed out when I spotted the Freudian Slip (see below). Perhaps the fact that they are charging exorbitant interest for their unsecured loans led them to unconsciously reflect the fact that borrowers pay way more than they need to?

Just for your information, whilst the monthly installment of $238 for a $6,000 loan may sound reasonable, $238 x 35 months (even without having to pay the last installment) is $8,330 - that's a 38% premium of the loan itself! In other words, you spend the first 10 months servicing the interest of your loan.

Also, for any loan, take note that the last installment will likely be less than the monthly amount (being the balance). If you're lucky, it will be close to the monthly amount but if you're not, it could very well be just a few dollars - enabling the good people managing ezycash to laugh (even more) all the way to the bank!

TESCO Cares About Vegans and the Environment

We occasionally head down to Johor Bahru for shopping and with the OPC scheme having been tweaked recently to include full-day use on Saturdays, we went over last Saturday. Our usual haunt is JUSCO Tebrau City located just after the junction of Tebrau Highway and Pasir Gudang Highway, and recently a TESCO shopping centre was built next to this.

The food court at TESCO has roti canai (whilst JUSCO does not) and is primarily the reason we started to patronise the former.

However, we have come to realise that TESCO does indeed have quite a bit to offer the vegetarian and vegan. First off, it supports environmental consciousness and has put in place some energy saving mechanisms (the first time we have come across this level of sensitivity in Malaysia).

Next, the labelling of the house-brand (i.e. TESCO Value) products is rather comprehensive and informative - a welcome change from the typical hard-to-find-and-more-difficult-to-decipher scant ingredient lists that are normally found on most food packaging.

Notably, my wife even let out a yelp when she noticed the labelling includes a 'suitable for vegans' tag - something we'd be hardpressed to find even in sophisticated Singapore! Needless to say we were/are highly impressed with TESCO and hope one day they'll open an outlet here in Singapore.

Singapore to Kedah and back in 50 hours

Some close friends stay at Jitra, Kedah in Malaysia and they are currently expecting their first child. On a whim, we decided to embark on a blitz trip up to Kedah and surprise them with a short visit. Since there is hardly any concrete information on travelling in Malaysia by road, I've decided to chronicle the data and experience so as to serve as a reference point for some firsthand information.

The plan was hatched on Saturday, 13 February, at about 11.00am, and having had some work to tie up, we decided to leave later that night for an overnight drive in our 3-year-old Kia Picanto 1.1L car. In all, 5 of us travelled together on this trip.

We left home in Clementi at 10.55pm and proceeded to the North-South Highway via the causeway. With the evening being the eve of Chinese New Year (i.e. reunion dinner), crossing the causeway at Woodlands was a breeze and we were on the Highway within 30 minutes of departure.

We travelled mostly at about 125kmh (fluctuating between 110kmh and 140kmh) and made 30-minute stops at the Ayer Keroh rest area and Pedas Linggi vista point (just after Ipoh). Leaving with a full tank from Singapore, we stopped a further 2 times to top up our fuel (ExxonMobil Synergy F-1 - RON97 at RM$2.05 per litre) twice near Ayer Keroh (25L) and again near KL (20L) - the fuel tank capacity is about 30 to 35 litres.

The toll charges amounting to about $103 from Singapore to Kedah meanwhile were as follows:

• S$1.20 (causeway) + RM$2.90 (causeway)
• RM$2.10 (Plaza Tol Kempas)
• RM$37.20 (Plaza Tol Skudai to Plaza Tol Sungai Besi)
• RM$1.30 (KL) + $0.80 (KL)
• RM$43 (Plaza Tol Jalan Duta to Plaza Tol Juru)
• RM$13 (Plaza Tol Sungai Dua to Plaza Tol Jitrah)

For the inexperienced, do note that you will need a 'Touch n Go' card for paying the toll charges (except the toll charges at Woodlands checkpoint which needs to be paid via NETS Cashcard).

The journey on the NS Highway (including stops) was about 9 hours in all and we reached our destination (Plaza Tol Jitra) at about 8.30am on Sunday, February 14, travelling about 820km from home (with me alone driving). It must be noted that due to unfamiliarity, I proceeded to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and exited at Plaza Tol Sungai Besi before rejoining at Plaza Tol Jalan Duta towards Kedah. I should have followed the route towards KLIA (airport) instead which would have bypassed KL altogether and continued towards the north without any exit into KL.

We spent the day and night at our friends' place enjoying their company before leaving for home at about 12.30pm on Monday, February 15, after a late breakfast. We drove through the town to Alor Setar (Kedah's capital) about 10km away to top up our fuel (17L) before entering the NS Highway at Plaza Tol Alor Setar North at about 1.20pm.

Following the road signs for Seremban and JB instead of KL, we inadvertently bypassed KL on the journey back. Although not necessary, we also topped up our fuel near Plaza Tol Juru just to be safe (7.5L) and again somewhere near KL (22L). We stopped about 2 times as well - once at a rest stop near Juru and another at the Ayer Keroh Overhead Bridge Restaurant - for about 45 minutes each. The traffic was also notably heavier on the way back during the day than when driving up during the night - we travelled mostly at about 12okmh (fluctuating between 100kmh and 135kmh).

The toll charges meanwhile for the return leg were much more straightforward and amounted to about RM$102:

• RM$12.20 (Plaza Tol Alor Setar North to Plaza Tol Sungai Dua)
• RM$87.70 (Plaza Tol Juru to Plaza Tol Skudai)
• RM$2.10 (Plaza Tol Kempas)

We reached JB at about 10.20pm and bought some food and topped up our fuel (25L) a final time before approaching the CIQ complex (i.e. immigration). After clearing the immigration and customs, there was a bit of a traffic jam entering Singapore in which we were stuck for about an hour. Finally, we reached home at about 12.20am having travelled about 820km (with my bro-in-law driving about 300km of this).

In all, the distance travelled was about 1650km both ways and we used about 116.5L (about 4 full-tanks), giving a fuel consumption of 14km/L (or 7L per 100km) - this is a conservative estimate and actual performance should have been better. The average speed (including stops) on the highway was about 86kmh (1560km/18hrs) and we were on the road for a total of 20.5 hours.

The toll charges were cheaper going up (RM$97.40) as we went through KL city as compared to when we took the detour back (via the KLIA route) and made no exit (RM$102.50) - the difference being about RM$5. However, the fact that we took longer breaks during the return leg and were held back by traffic more frequently yet were able to take the same amount of time to travel back, suggests that it may be the better option as compared to going through KL city.

In all, our blitz round-trip lasted just shy of 50 hours with a total travel cost of about RM$450 or S$186 (not including food expenditure) for 5 adults.

ST's Rachel Chang accuses Singapore government of being polarised

A friend forwarded me the text of an opinion piece that I hear from another friend appears on Page 2 of today's paper - since I no longer subscribe to the paper, I have no idea.

The reporter, Rachel Chang, was apparently tasked to trawl online through forums and blogs that speak ill of the Singapore government to search for news fodder. Well, I must say that the reporter seems to appreciate the dire nature of the Singapore political landscape.

In her article, off the bat she refers to the Singapore government as the proverbial bogeyman and goes on to compliment how “people who oppose the Government have become scary in their own right” – justification that the balancing power of the internet has been able to stand up to this bogeyman of sorts.

Pointing to the recent incident where the boastful Mr Sear Hock Rong, chairman of the Eunos Community Centre's Youth Executive Committee (YEC), had indicated on his website that his clients included Residents' Committees (RCs) in Eunos, she went a step further to actually confirm these very allegations that he had in fact used “his grassroots connections to drum up business for his events management company” - the Eunos constituency office revealed to her that he had indeed taken on “jobs as master of ceremonies at grassroots events”.

Then, using clever comparisons with Malaysia, she contrasts how “the blogosphere in Singapore seems so much more mean, vicious and illogical” and squarely points the finger at the government by declaring this situation “the natural result of a political landscape that has been long dominated by one party”. She also sadly admits that Singaporeans who are “faced with a government-influenced media, have no recourse but to go online”, and with the media not doing its part, she laments how this “distrust of the ruling party and the media often reaches the point of paranoia”.

The reporter then goes on to attack the PAP government outright by pointing to studies done by one American scholar on the American media. Although the almost-extreme opposites of the American and Singapore media climate make the application of American research findings to the Singapore context well-nigh impossible, she nevertheless draws out the fundamental argument of the findings to bring to bear on the PAP leaders.

Defining the situation within the PAP government so succinctly, she states “when people interact with others who share the same views, they tend to become more extreme - in other words, polarised”, and added the stark contrast where “the opposite is also true: people who interact with people who disagree with them often emerge with their views moderated to some degree” – an obvious nod to the fact that more opposition members were necessary within the Singapore government.

And before ending her stinging critique, she candidly admits that “the mainstream media self-censors” and the fact that Singaporeans have “no mainstream channel through which they can criticise the Government freely”. She warns that “the Internet has become an increasingly influential player in politics” and calls on “the online community in Singapore to build up websites that are credible and respected, and pry control of the Web away from the ones who dominate it now”, much like how sites like The Online Citizen (TOC) have been working diligently to break down the barriers put up by the system.

I think it is quite bold of Rachel Chang to condemn the government like this and speak of the truth so openly. It is also commendable that she used a lot of hard data to back up her arguments. I do hope that her career is not unduly affected by her controversial article.

Power of the Net to polarise

There is a need to build up credible and respected websites

By Rachel Chang

THERE is a cliched warning parents like to use with their kids to discourage wrongdoing: 'You better not do xx, or the police will come after you.'

The Singaporean version of this replaces 'police' with 'the Government', an indication of how the Government is larger than life here.

But that is not the only bogey in Singapore. The people who oppose the Government have become scary in their own right.

Virulently anti-People's Action Party personages on the Internet have claimed victims of their own, including members of the PAP's youth wing, Young PAP.

In recent weeks, one of my assignments has been to cover the public spats such members have had with netizens.

Mr Sear Hock Rong is one.

The chairman of the Eunos Community Centre's Youth Club had boasted on his website that his clients included Eunos residents' committees. Netizens seized on the link, accusing him of using his grassroots connections to drum up business for his events management company.

A check with the Eunos constituency office revealed that his business dealings with it amounted to no more than a few jobs as master of ceremonies at grassroots events.

The vitriol one might face on the Internet is just politics, one might say. By advertising their political affiliations, Young PAP members were asking for their views to be challenged.

But are the actions of some overzealous netizens - doctoring pictures of Mr Sear to look like an animal and a eunuch - challenging his politics?

And what about when netizens attack someone who is in no way an affiliate of the ruling party?

One such victim is Ms Gayle Goh, a former Anglo-Chinese Junior College student who ran a well-written political blog until 2007. Her pieces contained sharply critical observations of Singapore society and politics.

She stopped writing, in large part because of the harassment and abuse she was subjected to by some netizens.

The World Wide Web can be a scary place. It is a no-holds-barred arena, and its denizens have little care for decorum and personal space - or facts, for that matter.

Part of this is the result of the boldness that anonymity bestows. Like driving carefully on Singapore roads but speeding on Malaysian highways, Singaporeans seem to relish lawlessness when they find themselves outside their accustomed boundaries.

The few, such as Ms Goh, who have dared to identify themselves on the Net, have been scarred into retreat. When announcing the closure of her blog, she said that she still had much to say, but she would perhaps now say it anonymously.

A newsroom colleague who hails from Malaysia observed the other day that the blogosphere in Singapore seems so much more mean, vicious and illogical than in Malaysia.

Some say the online vitriol is the natural result of a political landscape that has been long dominated by one party. Dissenters, faced with a government-influenced media, have no recourse but to go online, they say.

Whether or not that is true, it does not justify the malice often displayed on the Net. The distrust of the ruling party and the media often reaches the point of paranoia on political websites and forums.

To be sure, the level of discourse online may have much to do with the nature of the medium itself.

Mr Cass Sunstein, an American legal scholar who now heads the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, has written about the phenomenon of 'cyber polarisation'.

Quite simply, when people interact with others who share the same views, they tend to become more extreme - in other words, polarised. Racists, for example, become more racist if they are surrounded by other racists.

The opposite is also true: people who interact with people who disagree with them often emerge with their views moderated to some degree.

The Internet - in making it easy to find people who share your views, and to interact with them with greater frequency - brings polarisation to a new level, Mr Sunstein theorises.

For example, in a 2006 study of political websites, he found that four-fifths linked only to websites that shared the same political slant. It is becoming possible to interact only with people who share, reaffirm and enlarge your ideas, rather than challenge them.

And the same is happening online in Singapore. The political forums and blogs, embittered and united in their detest of the ruling party, egg one another on to mow down minnows like Mr Sear and Ms Goh. It's the cyber equivalent of a witch-hunt, and they are the virtual scapegoats.

Does it matter? The Internet is what it is, some might say; enter at your own risk. Cyberpolarisation happens in all countries; why should Singapore be different?

But I cannot help wondering if the political landscape has contributed to the situation.

Dissent in Singapore through channels such as political parties and the media is seen as weak. Some Singaporeans believe that they can only find fearless discussion of policy issues online. They believe the mainstream media self-censors.

The other extreme, a lack of self-censorship, prevails in cyberspace. In some forums, ugly impulses like a blanket racism towards all foreigners have become de rigueur.

So long as a segment of Singaporeans feel there is no mainstream channel through which they can criticise the Government freely, more will gravitate towards the Net. And once there, they may forever be beyond the reach of the ruling party.

The Internet has become an increasingly influential player in politics everywhere. With a 'mini election fever' in the air as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted recently, it is time to ponder its power.

The urgent task for the online community in Singapore is to build up websites that are credible and respected, and pry control of the Web away from the ones who dominate it now - the ones who hide behind nicknames and prefer personal attacks to policy discussion.

The same ones who will probably shoot me nasty, unsigned e-mail messages after reading this column.

source (login required):
http://www.straitstimes.com/PrimeNews/Story/STIStory_486041.html

One Country's Misfortune is Another's Political Mileage

There are some quarters in Singapore that would be looking at the unfortunate religious tension in Malaysia as an 'opportunity' instead of the sad social dilemma that it is. Rest assured that the references will be made to highlight how 'good' things are here by comparison.

Now, if only such comparisons can extend to issues like welfare...

...of Road Accidents and the New Year

I would imagine our multi-million dollar government to approach the current issues somewhat like this...