people call for change all the time, often have some preconceived notion of what it should be like, but often not in the position to put in place any changes. and so when the people in charge promise change, we kinda look forward to it, but when it didnt come out the way we expected of it, we sometimes are unsure what to make of it. i am referring to the latest increment of the minimum number of opposition members of parliament. and while i was looking forward to political changes the president suggested, this kinda just fell right through. because make no mistake, i am all in support for opposition representation, i believe it is important for there to be checks and balances in parliament, but i also want these people to be democratically elected into parliament - and not have the best losers, or people who have been rejected by the electorate sit there and just make noise. hell, they dont even have voting powers. i am not saying that the ncmps we have had of late are jokers, but increasing it to 9, what are they thinking? it seems to me i am going to hear a lot more of the same 'best of 2 worlds' argument that i heard the last elections (yes i might not have been old enough to vote, but old enough to remember), that you should vote for the pap candidate because in any case the opposition member can be a ncmp, but once the pap dude is out, he's out, he will never be a ncmp.

i dont think it's about having a minimum number of opp representation. above all, the change we need in our political system is something that allows us to have more access to information. political debates, easy availability of political discussion and information, single member wards, smaller grcs, equal access to facilities and information to all parties in an election and fair reporting by the media. so while i applaud the moves to increase the number of smcs, and the apparent decision to downsize grcs (but not necessarily make that mandatory), i think having more ncmps isnt the way to way, goes against what a democracy is really about, and think any opposition mp would still have more moral authority if he were voted in by the people, and goes into parliament a winner. we dont want a contrived parliament, i want to be in a position such that my vote will go some way in ensuring the loser stays out of the way.

so politics aside, let's talk about my long overdue entry on my HOLIDAY! haha, the change in environment was in some ways an eye-opener. it always feels good to take a look at the lifestyles of people in other country, and see what people have always been talking about. what i didnt like though was how everything was so rushed, how it wasnt a relaxing holiday, as i feel a dream vacation should be. but hey you cant have the best of both worlds, to shop and relax. it was after all 5 days, and we had to do all we could - 3 destinations, 5 days - and had to take advantage of the cheaper stuff they had! didnt manage to buy as many things as i should or could have, but oh well. nothing quite exciting took place, but still it was great in many ways, to be able to visit 3 regions, and check out some tourist destinations. the venetian and sands at macau were cool - gave me an idea of what the irs would turn out to be like, of course it helped that the toilets were REALLY clean and had golden taps haha, and that i won an itsy bitsy amount of money; stuff were considerably cheaper than that of singapore - esp in shenzhen (although we kinda had to be on our guard at all times to ensure the money given to us wasnt fake so that was somewhat of a turnoff); hongkong had really good food - and awfully yummy dimsum and roast goose; going through immigration everyday really sucked. i would say even though the food in hongkong was great, i actually enjoyed shenzhen more - helped that the tourguide was good, and the stuff there were waaaay cheaper, there was a cool exhibition, and the window of the world place was great to photowhore. my only regret- that i didnt buy enough stuff there when they were already so cheap! i was trying to check out the market rate, but really my time there was too short.

other turn-offs: hardselling where those jade, chinese medicine people follow you around and obviously dont really like you but hope you will buy things from them anyway. it's terrible, sometimes i do enjoy time to myself and look at things you are selling though i clearly cannot afford them! i would like it without pressure from you okay. thankfully we got out of the palm reading, chinese medicine examination thing - often much heard about from friends who have visited china - in part due to the agressive nature of my dad that instils fear in even the most aggressive of salespeople. haha. the other turn-off was the swine flu, which already hit hk when we went there, so it was a lil scary as that is one thing you can hardly control - i mean you never know if the person in the lift has swine flu, and the next thing you know the whole hotel gets quarantined.

speaking of swine flu, nav had such a close encounter! freaky, i mean what are the odds! singapore reports its first case, shit, that is one change i really wouldnt want.

junyi! posted at 11:40 pm.

i dont quite understand why there have been so many thunderstorms the past few nights. its like a date the skies have with us every night, when most of us are asleep. and the thing is the lightning and (consequently) thunder come every 2 seconds. so disruptive to my oh all so important sleep. is there a special reason for this, or is the world coming to an end.

speaking of storms, there seems to be another storm of controversy the past couple of weeks over sexuality education. in all honesty i highly doubt people know all about sex from schools to begin with, it should not be that big a deal. yet of course there is this whole idea of the duties of schools and all. like what happens when the parents dont discuss it. that's where the internet comes in i guess. and i think more than just schools, a person's perceptions or the birds and the bees are formed by his environment - of course schools being part of environment, but its really more than that. come to think of it, when i was in school, all the sex education came in the form of biology, and it really was very technical, nothing much about homosexuality - actually nothing at all, anal sex or pre-marital sex. what i remember were things like:
"sex, which hole to put it in, is a matter of trial and error"
"so if you find a cure for aids, you will be very rich. but cannot ah, encourage men to be promiscuous" i think this is where a judgement on promiscuity is made
"boys i dont know what you are doing at the back, but it is very wrong" this was in reference to different groups of boys at different points of time at different classes and definitely heard more than once, and i suppose this is where a judgement on homosexuality is made - that it is very wrong. which is like a far cry from making it neutral, so i think moe doesnt have to worry.

6 years of biology, and this is what i think they taught me. in fact they even made the sex module in sec 2 ilearning - like what the hell is that!

and of course our dear friend msk has been caught, though still detained in msia. and at this point of time i really am not interested whether he was caught in shorts or boxers. or whether you think msia did a good job. or if you think the threat of terrorism is very real. i think we deserve more information. like when was it that he fled singapore, when did they discover he was in skudai, what was he planning. i am surprised though, that no one has asked for a thorough investigation of the coast guard, or whoever were on duty at where he fled. yet. firstly i think they mostly are nsfs from my batch to begin with so it doesnt quite matter if they demand for some sackings. but if i were a person involved, i would be curious to know if he did indeed flee under my watch. that is of course secondary. the point is, with the entire nation actively somewhat involved and scrutinising the actions, fearing for their safety in fact, they need more information. cos we are all suckers for scandals, and we hate just hearing part one of the story. of the fugitive.

i was just reading an article about how a full blown pandemic is going to affect countries all over the world, and then it struck me - how easy it is for terrorists to create turmoil within a country. they after all have a group of people ready to die for the cause. they just need to find something so dangerous, so infectious to ruin a country. first infect the whole flight, then everyone in the airport, then go to an extremely crowded place. overnight your country does not even know what has hit them. and then they come out and say "you are being punished for your sins. repent now. denounce capitalism bla bla bla" kinda like thio su mien's article on how sars is a punishment for singapore legalising abortion. (http://wayangparty.com/?p=8978) hospitals will be overcrowded, doctors are needed, and it could be a disease that will affect generations. scary.

in a way we are lucky thus far, we have what it takes to fight h1n1, though everyone is saying how it is too early to say. i think though the real test comes when it hits the 3rd world, which does not have the capability or resources. will other countries help, or they will just shut their borders to people from this countries. let them rot since i dont quite depend on these countries. i am not saying i want this to happen, but i think if it does, i will be waiting to see how the rest of the world reacts.

the way we are surrounded with storms lately, you cant help but think if this is the end of the world indeed.

junyi! posted at 9:14 pm.

You have to commend josie & 'her sisters' (i would have called them new guard, but given the recent change in leadership, i think it is misleading to call them such) for actively trying to create change when they feel that something that represents them is doing what they feel is wrong. Yet while such bravery is commendable, i think that it should have been done with more transparency, with more dialogue, rather than a blatant hijack of an organisation, eventually resorting to lies, a lack of cooperation with the former leaders. i mean yes you were voted in, but how can you even call it democratic when it was obvious you were holding back your views. and how about the supposed communication breakdown between you and supporters of the old guard in the exco. or the sacking of a former nmp? how much of our views are coloured by the media i dont quite know - but they kinda dug their own grave with their lack of transparency and professionalism. i mean their anti-homosexual views are one thing, but i think most of those who turned up were upset that they have been vague and their actions were brimming with hostility. although fine, the supporters of the old guard were hardly civil or respectful. which was somewhat disappointing, but not surprising. they were angry.

oh well, whatever the case might be, a much needed dramatic episode required to show that singaporeans will stand up for what they believe in when their rights are seen to be compromised, has finally ended, with aware returning to the hands of the old guard, as perceived by most of us. what's next then? i think while the supposed good that has come out of this is that more people are now aware of aware (pardon the pun), it could mean more funding with the wider net of volunteers/supporters that they now have, more manpower, and more attention on it. but that is always a double-edged sword, since they now need to think of more ways to engage the 3000 new members that they have, and not squander this latest media limelight on them. of course, more scrutiny will also mean increased pressure for them to perform, always a good thing for the public, but not necessarily so for those who are working behind the scenes, but at a pace that will never quite satisfy the public.

i am also interested to see how josie and her sisters will move on from here? set up another organisation? or actively involve themselves in aware's projects, to prove they arent quite the power hungry, homophobic hijackers that we have painted them out to be. and are seriously active feminists who fight for women's rights and all.

i guess we are all entitled to our own views, pro or anti homosexuality, or believe whatever our religion preaches, but at the end of the day, we need to agree to disagree, to respect one another's view points, and learn never to impose our views, our religions on one another. if anything, this episode has shown us that. and that there are enough singaporeans who are anything but apathetic.

junyi! posted at 3:18 pm.