Today is my last day at the IISS-Asia office and to commemorate the past four months, I put together this ode:

Thank you to everyone in Singapore who are now making it so hard to leave and say goodbye, in particular the IISS-Asia office; thank you to all those who took time out of their busy schedules to come visit; and thank you to SDSC for sending me here and providing me with such a great experience. I hope the next Robert O’Neill scholar has as much, if not more, an amazing adventure as I did.

And last but not least thank you to all those who read this blog, I hope it was as much fun to read as it was to write. This blog received over 3000 hits within 14 weeks and I could not express my gratitude enough. See y’all in Canberra soon!

photo by flickr user E.T.

This list is still making me laugh (h/t: Jian). If you have been to Malaysia before, please enjoy, if you haven’t had the chance, here’s ten reasons to visit:

1. Terrorist decides to blow up KLCC. He drives to KLCC with the intention of planting the bomb there, gets stuck in a 2-hour jam, and blows himself up in frustration. PLAN FAIL.

2. Terrorist decides to bomb Ipoh as a practice session before targeting KL. He drives for the first time on the highway to Ipoh trusting the signboards to get him there, and ends up in Lumut. Terrorist drowns himself in the sea in frustration. PLAN FAIL.

3. Terrorist decides to blow up Puduraya. While walking to his destination, the bag in which he keeps his bombs gets snatched by snatch thieves on a motorcycle. He pulls on his bag’s strap desperately and dies after being dragged 100m on the road. PLAN FAIL.

4. Terrorist decides to blow up Port Klang. He succeeds!! But the next day The Star, NST, Berita Harian and Utusan publish an article on page 10 headlined “Boy playing with fireworks injured in minor explosion.” PLAN FAIL.

5. Terrorist decides to bomb Johor Bahru. He rents a house as headquarters and the night before the dastardly deed, three men with parangs break into his house, robs him and kills him. PLAN FAIL.

6. Terrorist decides to bomb Kedah to paralyze the rice bowl of Malaysia. That night, while secretly setting up the bomb during a heavy thunderstorm (so that no one sees him), Timah Tasoh Dam hits danger level, authorities open the dam gates and he is swept away in the floods. PLAN FAIL.

7. Terrorist decides to blow up Bukit Bintang. Upon arrival at destination, he is accosted by a pimp and spends the night in the arms of a beautiful woman. At dawn, authorities raid the place and arrest him. PLAN FAIL.

8. Terrorist decides to blow up the MACC building as he is a strong advocate of corruption. He enters the building, but before he manages to plant his bomb, he is found dead after a fall from the 14th floor window. PLAN FAIL.

9. Terrorist decides to blow up Serdang Hospital. He enters the hospital lobby, hears a loud crashing sound and looks up to see the ceiling collapsing on him. He dies. PLAN FAIL.

10. Terrorist decides to blow up Genting Highlands. On the way up the mountain, a speeding bus driven by a 18-year-old boy without a driving licence crashes into his car and kills him instantly. PLAN FAIL.

MORAL OF THE STORY: MALAYSIA IS INVINCIBLE TO TERRORIST ATTACKS!!

Editor’s comment: This list was written by Shirley Mohan, if you wish to re-use this material, please contact me and I can pass you on her contact details for information on re-attribution.

Sadly, this is my second-last post for the Singapore Diaries blog. More sadly, this is my second-last week in Singapore. Even more sadly, this has been the slowest news week I have experienced in Singapore. In all seriousness, this is the front page from The Straits Times today:Even The Straits Times is in want of ideas. The most interesting thing about the front page was the story on Malaysian PM Najib establishing ties with the Vatican to appease the country’s “Christians after a series of episodes, including the firebombing of churches” ahead of a general election widely believed to be held next year. Full story here. I am not sure whether PM Najib realises the irony of visiting the capital of Catholicism to appeal to a Christian minority.

So rather pathetically I will now sign off for the week to start investigating for my final ‘Farewell Singapore’ post next Wednesday.

Bersih 2.0 rally (photo by flickr user faud abdullah)

This weekend I was in Kuala Lumpur to have a ‘looksie’ at the Bersih 2.0 or the ‘Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections’ rally. (Great photograph-timeline of the event here). Frankly speaking, I think the backpackers and tourists who were made to walk about two kilometres into the city centre because of police road blockades looked like they wanted to do more harm to Malaysia than the Malaysians involved in the political reform march. Authorities took rather extraordinary security measures to deter the rally by blocking all roads leading into the city, closing several train stations, stringing razor wire at strategic entry points, and deploying lorries mounted with water cannons near Independence Stadium, where the activists sought to gather. My favourite reaction though was the protest of the protest. In hindsight, it was lucky that my local guide and I were travelling by car and unable to access the city. Though, kudos to the 100 people who did manage to enter the city to ‘brave the horde’ and turn up for the iPad 2 sale at Lot 10 in Bukit Bintang.

While organisers say approximately 50,000 demonstrators gathered across Kuala Lumpur’s city centre for the 9 July opposition-backed rally, police offered a more conservative estimate of 10,000. The rally organisers called for reforms following accusations that the Malaysian election commission is biased towards the ruling party, UMNO and its coalition partners, which has been in power since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957. The activists’ demands include an overhaul of voter registration lists, tougher measures to curb fraud and fairer opportunities for opposition politicians to campaign in government-linked media. A general election is not due until 2013 but Prime Minister Najib Razak has not ruled out early polls, after economic growth accelerated to a 10-year high in 2010.

Bersih 2.0 poster (photo courtesy of flickr user TuCk LoOn)

The tear-gassing of the demonstrators, the detention of 1667 people including 16 minors, and the death of a demonstrator has culminated into an official investigation into the claims of police brutality. The massive police crackdown raises the question of why the ruling coalition reacted so strongly. The answer goes back to 2007, when the first Bersih rally drew 40,000 demonstrators, one of the biggest in modern Malaysian history, and engendered the same kind of crackdown by the administration of then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. That rally was widely regarded as the catalyst that drove the Anwar-led opposition coalition to victory in five Malaysian states and broke Barisan’s 50-year-old two-thirds parliamentary majority.

For me, the most interesting element of the rally was the warnings by those opposed to the protests to other Malaysians to not follow foreign examples like the Arab spring. Consequently, foreign NGOs and ‘foreign agents’ have been accused of funding the Bersih 2.0 rally to create chaos in Malaysia. In June, Najib warned Muslims from being divided and influenced by foreign doctrines based on violence and intolerance, and on 1 July, a South Korean intern student was deported from Malaysia while observing Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s , an opposition party, roadshow in Johor and labelled a ‘foreign agent’. The administration also accused foreign media organisations, in particular Al-Jazeera, of sensationalising the event and attempting to portray Malaysia as undemocratic in the eyes of the world.

Truly, truly Asia: Malaysia's tourist campaign

Interestingly, the culture of street demonstrations was demonised by the administration and state-run media as ‘Western culture’ and not a part of Asian and thereby, Malaysian culture. By discouraging participation in the rally due to its roots in ‘Western culture’, the Malaysian government is walking a dangerous line – the West, I think it’s time you demanded back all your forks, automobiles and air-conditioning technology.

After watching the following videos, I wish more Singapore parents were like him (graphic by tumblr 'High Expectations Asian Father')

So the Singaporean elite are huge fans of popular culture. If you are a fan of Lady Gaga please don’t watch this, if you are a fan of Singapore politics, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoExTn7PC2E

(apologies for the external link, but the owner of the video disabled embedding)

If you are a glutton for punishment and like hip-hop:

If you love The Beatles, witness one of their most tragic remakes and the effective use of the word ‘betterer’:

h/t: Jian

RSAF F15 (photo by memegenerator, and flickr user ZirenWang)

As a keen follower of the Miss Universe pageant, I was sorely disappointed when I realised my flat had no cable television. Fortunately for me, yesterday was Singaporean Armed Forces Day, an annual event held on 1 July to honour Singapore’s military force, allowing me my annual fix of pageantry and glamour. The day was marked with a parade at the SAFTI military institute attended by 1,500 SAF regulars, Operationally Ready National Servicemen and full-time National Servicemen. A minute’s silence was observed to remember SAF personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty and the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant-General Neo Kian Hong, led SAF personnel in reciting the SAF pledge to reaffirm their loyalty to the nation and their commitment to the defence of Singapore. This year’s ‘Trooping of Colours‘ ceremony commissioned five new regimental colours to the five operational commands of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), marking a significant milestone in the RSAF’s transformation journey.

But it gets better. In the lead-up to SAF Day, there is a competition to honour the best units across its three services. So congratulations to the RSS Chieftain, the first submarine to win ‘Best Ship’, actually submarines are boats; congratulations to the ’149 Squadron’ for winning ‘Best Fighter Squadron’, a landmark victory as it is the squadron’s first one since being inaugurated as a F-15G squadron in April 2010 (they have previously won five times before); and lastly, congratulations to the army’s 1st Commando Battalion for winning the SAF’s ‘Best Combat Unit’ award for the eighth consecutive time, adding to an unprecedented 25 wins in total for the unit since the Best Unit Competition was introduced in 1969.

Insider’s tip: Want a way to inspire nationalism and young men to join your armed forces, forget pageants, take a page out of ROC’s playbook:

Thanks for reading!

So when I first arrived in Singapore, the talk of the town was a photograph taken off everyone’s-favourite-intelligence-service, Facebook, showing a national serviceman making his maid carry his backpack, with a caption, ‘Why we need foreign talents in Singapore!’ Indeed. (Though with the Ministry of Defence’s latest policy of issuing 8,000 tablet devices to sharpen their fighting skills, probably through Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, I guess one shouldn’t be too shocked that maids are being asked to help out too.)

(How I imagine the tablet PCs will be used in military training)

Three months on and the debate once again centres around Singapore’s legion of foreign workers who come from places such as Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, to work as maids. This time though, the question is centred on whether the Ministry of Manpower should authorise a mandatory rest days for maids. (I apologise if this post is full of re-posted commentary, but the material was too good to pass up.) I think this comment from Today Online’s forum sums up opposition sentiment pretty well:

I refer to the article, “Should maids get a day off every week?” (June 22). This suggestion raises more questions than answers.We should not forget that employers’ interests should also be protected. The risk of maids absconding will definitely go up. Their friends outside will be a cause of worry to employers.

I am one of the victims. A recent routine medical check revealed to my dismay that my maid’s “boyfriend” impregnated her, and she was repatriated a few days ago.

Days off for the maid means going out and incurring expenses; what is she left with at the end of the month? What if she cannot afford the luxury of going out? Has anyone thought what a maid might do to make up for “lost” earnings? Would some be tempted by vices when they have days free to do as they please? Would the employer be prosecuted or penalised if the maid is found to be earning extra cash through such other means?

Domestic worker in Singapore (photo by flickr user xcode)

Then I found this one from The Straits Times forum which put the above person to shame:

Singaporeans work very long hours too and while we do not work officially on weekends, many of us catch up with work on weekday evenings and weekends.My maid has more than enough time to rest daily, when the kids are napping or when my older one is in kindergarten. My maid is the one who goes to bed by nine every night and my husband and I are the ones who are still up way beyond nine to tuck in our children and catch up with school work.

Are maids really that overworked? The many maids congregating and chatting away happily at my condominium on weekdays present a different picture.

My previous maid met her boyfriend on her day off and even while we were at work. I have also heard of other maids doing part-time work on their days off.

The slew of social problems that will result from a weekly day off is unthinkable.

And think of those taking care of old and disabled people. It will not be easy for someone else to take over their duties when they take their day off.

I urge the Government to consider carefully the many factors at play and the consequences of legislating a day off for maids.

But never fear, not all Singaporeans believes that granting domestic workers a day off will lead to a social breakdown. From an astute observer on The Straits Times forum:

Many employers do not treat their maids well. Over time, I have made many observations, and the following is only a sample:

1.       When employers go on vacation, they move the maid to their parents’ or in-laws’ homes, so that they continue with the daily household chores there. This smacks of the “making one’s money’s worth” mentality.

2.       Maids are at the beck and call of the employers, even to the extent of fetching a glass of water.

3.       When families dine out, the maids are taken along to look after the children. In some instances, the maids are not given food.

4.       They are not allowed to talk on the phone. However, I must add that maids, when allowed to use the phone, need to exercise discipline.

5.       Instances of maid abuse are sufficiently frequent.

So there is a lot of soul searching needed for employers of maids. Maids, like them, are human, and need to be treated like one. There should be no modern-day slavery.

The debate surrounding whether to give maids a day off seems to stretch beyond the issue of treatment of Singapore’s legion of foreign workers, to touch on Singapore’s policies regarding employment regulations such as maternity/paternity leave, childcare and education support and superannuation. Weak employment regulations combined with high inflation and rising property prices have diminished the wage power of workers. As a consequence, many Singaporeans feel as though if they decide to raise a family, they must continue to stay in the workforce to support their children, and the only way to stay in the workforce is to hire a maid.

Yet this produces a vicious cycle: one of the concerns raised in the May general election was that the influx of foreigners encouraged to work and gain residency in Singapore has suppressed wages and taken jobs away from Singaporeans. However, with Singapore’s declining birth rate – Total Fertility Rate (TFR) fell to 1.16 in 2010, well below the replacement rate of 2.1, despite government initiatives such as the new ‘National Population and Talent Division’ to manage population growth – the government is walking a fine line.

So occasionally in this discipline you get to have some fun and learn life-long skills:

Working holidays are awesome.

This is probably the strangest depiction of Singaporeans, and Asians in general, I have seen in a long time.