Merry Christmas... Humbug

December 26, 1994

Took my SO's suggestion of spending some time alone. She said it's unhealthy for two people to spend more than 24 hours together 8-( Of course, the first thing I thought of was to come back here to finish up the last MTS article for the year 8-) I had a fun and fruitful year in S'pore. In some bizarre way, it sort of made me more appreciative of New York. In New York Xmas has a very special meaning. Instead of the regular anti-social behavior that a typical New Yorker would be proud to exhibit, people are unusually kind and warm during this time of the year. You would hear the occasional greetings, cheers and laughters on the streets. A person can really feel the Xmas spirit and atmosphere in New York, especially when it's cold and snowy. In S'pore, it's a totally different story. And it's just not because of the hot and humid weather. It has one of the most commercialized Xmas celebration that I have ever seen. IMHO, S'pore can be quite superficial, and sometimes downright artificial. I have walked around for 3 days soliciting response to my greeting of "Merry Xmas." I have yet to hear a "Merry Xmas" in return. Maybe I am a bit harsh since Xmas is really not celebrated in S'pore, except if you are walking down the virtual reality of Orchard Road, which most of us would know it really doesn't represent the real S'pore. Money and wealth is still the dominant force here. This can be seen in the newly opened Tiong Bahru plaza. When the construction is still yet to be completed, the place is already open for holiday business. The construction has caused traffic jam and major inconvenience. And worst of all, it has created dangerous situation for the pedestrians and the potential customers.

Anyway, enough of my Xmas spirit. It's hard to summarize this year. But one important thing I noticed is that it doesn't take a genius to criticize S'pore. I have known an American who was a mindless blob of flesh when he first arrived at S'pore. Before he left S'pore, he can criticize S'pore as well as the best of us. When the word "Fay" is mentioned, it's the cue for him to talk for 3 hours non-stop 8-) My theory is that this is the main reason that the opposition party is discouraged in S'pore. Because it's so easy to criticized S'pore, the government doesn't want people to make a profession out of it 8-) Just look at the "The Hammer", the official publication of the Workers' Party. Here are the headlines on the front page:

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. And there is a little tidbit titled "Over Heard (between two graduate)":

Tan : I have decided to become a minister
Lim : Never known you to take your religion so seriously
Tan : You are so blur. I'm talking about the government. Haven't you seen what Goh Chok Tong is proposing to pay himself and his ministers?
Lim : But you've never shown any interest in politics.
Tan : Who cares about politics. Did you not read what the SM told the university students? It's money that I'm after, not anything else. I'm off to see the Wizard of PAPoz.

Actually I agree with the S'pore government that criticism should be discouraged. The last thing I want to see is the newsstand crowded with the typical articles that's in the newsgroup soc.culture.singapore 8-) I can imagine the newspapers and publications filled with thousands of parodies and cartoons about the government if any criticism is allowed. It's just too damn easy and they shouldn't make it any easier. I think people should instead try to understand the underlying reason for this insanity and madness 8-)

One last observation for the year, they have changed all the "No food allowed" signs in all the MRT stations and the MRT trains. It has made one sign producer extremely happy for the holiday season 8-) In addition to the hamburger, the drink and the sandwich on the S$500 fine sign, they have added the chewing gum with 4 different languages on the packaging. IMHO, banning chewing gum in the MRT is like banning eating because someone can choke on it. I guess they are also making the "Fine" T-shirt makers extremely happy since now they can send out the notice for an official update, for a fee natually 8-)

One last comment I have is about the power and danger of internet. After seeing what happened to the articles on Fay, Intel and "Good time" virus fiasco. I am beginning to think people need to be educated before posting to, or even reading from, the net. It's like a license to drive. Net can be abused easily. Take the "Good time" virus for example. It's scary to think that people are gullible enough to spread this message around the world without a shred of proof. It also scary to think people are willing to take all the articles on the net as the absolute truth. When the net is powerful enough to influence companies such as Intel, I can't imaging the consequence if ...

Time for me to go back to the States to find out which teams are going to the Super Bowl next year. Also going back to do some skiing on the Sierra and Northeast mountains. And lastly, going back to see if maybe I can catch a little bit of the Xmas leftover in the States. S'pore doesn't seem to be a good place to spend Xmas. Maybe it's the main reason that S'pore sold off the Xmas island to the Australians 8-) Well, that's all for this year. Happy Holidays to everyone and have a good and jolly '95.

26/12/94

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