In Endings and Beginings

The year 2009 is about to come to an end I thought that I would drop my usual end of the year rants a day early before I get caught up in ...well activities to say that it's the end of the year and I feel perfectly fine.

This year was interesting. On the global-political front the Obama Administration took over from the Bush Administration and we saw some positive developments. Many Americans would disagree with me but there was some necessary steps taken to restore the image of the USA to what it was - a beacon of moral decency in the world. His bowing to Emperor Akhito of Japan and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia were signs of weakness but a symbolic gesture of the US's willingness to work with the world. It beats the shit out of Fag Boy's "You're ether with us or against us." The man also did the right thing by making moves to close Guantanamo Bay, a stain on America's good name. The Obama Administration should even be applauded for trying to reform healthcare, one of the big drains on America.

However, certain things remained depressingly familiar. In Israel, we had Bibi "The Used Car Salesman" Nethanyahu continuing to violate treaties with an ingenious aplomb. The World's Most Powerful Nation watched and even applauded him as he continued to allow illegal settlements to be built in the West Bank and Gaza only after he was told not to do it. As depressing as the situation is for the Palestinians who seem to get screwed at every turn, you have to admire the Israeli's for holding the USA by the balls. Napoleon didn't get it hundred percent when he said,"God is on the side of the big battalions," he should have said,"God is on the side of the guys who own the big battalions."

Of course, this was the year of economic recession and in many ways, it's nice to have Yellow Skin. While the developed economies of the West continue to struggle, the less developed nations, lead by China and to a certain extent India are leading the world recovery.

This brings me down to me. On the professional front this was an interesting year. I had Alcon to thank to keeping me in bread and butter for another year. I'm glad I had a role in helping Singapore's ophthalmologist make people more aware of the conditions that can make them go blind. Unfortunately Alcon Singapore's General Manager, Mr Kuntal Joshi moved onto greener pastures and I won't be working with Alcon again for the coming year. However, I am sure other opportunities will arise and I hope for the opportunity to make my living by doing good again.

Speaking of doing good, I had the experience of taking part in Singapore's largest disputes involving a civil society group - yes, the AWARE Saga. Although I didn't make money from taking part, it felt good to show up charlatans who abuse God's name for their own political purposes. It was also nice to work alongside many of my mother's old friends who have given me a helping hand in the past, ladies like Margie Thomas and Dana Lam are my aunties in every way except blood.

Financially I enjoyed a peak in August when my favourite boys from Chennai paid me and I also worked on my first litigation support job, working with Mr Mark Goh of Mark Goh & Co on the Zim Case. Mark has been generous in his support not only in financial terms but also in sharing ideas on how the world works. I hope our friendship will continue to develop in the Year of the Tiger.

Another highlight was arranging interviews for Mr Arun Jain, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Polaris Software Labs in September at SYBOS in China. Managed to get him interviewed in Hong Kong while staying in Singapore. Feels good to know that I can actually do things around the region - very healthy for the ego.

While the business remained fairly interesting, the most powerful developments for the year were personal. Han Li moved much of herself to Vietnam and the relationship is fading. I am slowly accepting that my contact with Thui, the first person to make me understand that life is more than just about you will kept to the few phone calls that her mother allows me to make as well as the odd birthday card. But at least I will carry the memories of those two happy months in my heart and the girls photos remain on this blog and on my Facebook profile.

With my relationship with Han Li fading, I found the worst and the best relationship of my life. Agnes Khim, also known as my Pretend Girlfriend with No Benefits was an emotional drain. In many ways you had to feel sorry for the woman trying to raise two lovely kids with not much money and trying to collect child support payments from an errant and uncaring husband. Yet what sympathy you felt was quickly evaporated when you had to listen to her brag about the rich men trying to bed her and how she had a metabolic age of 22 when her actual age of 43. I don't know what it was but this self-absorbed woman made me feel empty and lonely, especially for her children who, despite everything around them remain fairly decent and caring. Marcus, her youngest son is an adorable character as is his sister Nicolette.

On the other extreme, is my current relationship with a girl called Joyce and her three-year old boy called Yooga. I don't know what it is that brought her into my life but in the three months that Joyce and I have been together, I think I'm finally understanding that this thing called love is not a silly invention that women use to con men. Every time we are together, time stands still and I feel that my life suddenly has a purpose. I mean I'm physically there but when she's around, I feel that I am actually doing more than existing. It's almost unreal in as much as the characters who have touched her life echo the characters who have touched mine.

For once I have people happy for me that I am involved with someone. I think the usual reaction is for most people to cringe. One of my closest friends and my sister noticed a change in personality for the better. In 35-years I am actually happy with my life for all it's lack of material success and Joyce and Yooga are the reason for it. As turbulent as 2010 may look (Year of the Tiger is traditionally meant to be), I feel ready to face what I need to face with the two of them in my life.

A Christmas Worth Remembering

It was Christmas a few days ago, one of the few that I've spent in Singapore since I've come back. Somehow Christmas in this little tropical island does not seem the same as it is in Europe, where my mother makes a big deal of the occasion. Dad never celebrated it and my Aunt and Grandma treat the day like any other.

On the surface this year was pretty much like the ones I've spent in Singapore. Didn't go into the big tree thing and did not go into a huge present mode with people. I did send the usual greetings via sms and did go to the Christmas eve gathering of a friend but other than that Christmas remained quite un-Christmas like on the most superficial level.

However, it was a touching Christmas in as much as I got to spend it with Joyce and Yooga (her little boy). It was a quiet day spent at home. Joyce needed to sort a few things out and so I played with the little guy for a bit before we went out for dinner at Vivo City (one of the larger shopping malls in town). The Little Man the proceeded to run around the water body of the mall and when he was not content with that he dragged me into the water. Funny how complicated adults can get at times with the things that we want and try to aspire to. It takes a child to show you that doing something as simple as stomping your way through puddles can make you very happy.

After puddle stomping the Little Man ran down to play on a rocking horse ride that one of the shops was offering and then, when the ride was packing up, he decided that he had to help the shop pack up by ridding the horses back to the shop and that was before he decided that he had to strip down to his pampers and run around a playground.

Mummy and I took him back home and managed to put the happy boy back to bed and then spent our evening chatting away, well into the time when the birth of saviour moved into the day that commemorated the first martyr (St Stephen).

It was a good day for me. In so many ways Christmas has been all about the festival and the trappings of the festival. We need to have a large Christmas meal of certain goodies and we need to go through the ritual of giving and buying presents for each other. I am all for this but sometimes it seems that we lose sight of the real purpose of Christmas.

Speaking as a non-Christian, we need to remember that Christmas is celebrated because of the birth of Christ and whether you believe in the essential doctrine of Christianity, namely that Christ rose from the dead to save mankind, you have to accept that the birth of Christ is worth celebrating. Look at the message that Christ preached and you have to accept it as something so good and divine that you should celebrate it by being with the people that you love. Christ was about bringing God's love to all mankind and stopped essentially racist doctrines of "Chosen People."

Christianity at it's heart is the faith for the downtrodden. Christ himself was not exactly high on any social ladder. In the words of a former divinity teacher, "Jesus is the bastard son of a poor carpenter." I mean think about it, Mary was found to be pregnant before she was married and Joseph couldn't afford a better place for him to be born other than a stable. The modern equivalent is being born in the back of a mechanics garage.

Too often, particularly in materialistic societies like Singapore's, we get too caught up with certain ideas of success. By a certain age you need to own this and that to be someone and it's ironic that to a certain Church has become a bit of a business networking session. Seriously, we don't think enough of those who are downtrodden in society and instead of focusing on giving our stuff to those who don't have enough, we try and accumulate more junk than we actually need. We become bitterly unhappy because somehow we are told that if we don't have things, we are lesser people.

Again, this goes against the Christian message of being Child-like in our desires. We forget that simple things are often the things that make us happiest. I take my favourite Catholic litigator as an example of a guy who seems to have understood the message of Christ correctly. The man cycles to work and gives his time to giving free legal advice to the downtrodden. He tells me that although he's not rich he's comfortable but this has come from keeping his desires simple and giving back. He says, you have to call this "God's sense of humour." For every big case he gets, he does lots of work for the downtrodden.

A disparaging liquidator thought the man was indulging himself in a fantasy and not behaving like lawyer in a big firm. But when I look at the Catholic Liquidator's actions, I understand where he's coming from and why he's successful in every sense of the word. By doing God's work and following the Christian message of simplicity and charity, the litigator is not only commercially successful but has time for things like family.

My father also pointed out something similar to me. He says that he spent his life working for other people like my mother, my stepmother, my brother and myself. Not only did my father support a family, he also made it a point of seeing that his brothers were taken care of. Two of his brothers earned a good living off him for many years.

Now, this admittedly not Bill Gates philanthropy, but it's basic living for something other than yourself. And as my old man says, just when things look dry someone comes and gives him a job. The Buddhist call this Karmic action, the Christians call it God's reward.

Funnily enough, my business prospects look surprisingly bright despite the global economic downturn. I don't know why but I think it a lot of the better fortune I've experienced in recent months comes from the moment I decided that Joyce and Yooga were people I would sacrifice and want to care for.

It's been a three short months with Joyce and Yooga but in that time they have become so much part of my life, it's hard to remember what life was like before them. A few friends have noted that I am now more "adult" in my outlook of life. Joyce was worried that she didn't have anything to give me but truth be told, I've just received more from her that either of us realised. The simple Christmas of 2009 is a Christmas worth remembering.

The Joys and Sorrow of Going Ex-Patria

It's the slow season now and not much new business is coming my way, so I thought, what the heck - might as well spend a bit of time trying to rant a bit. I get the feeling that I need to rant more because, well after I've gone the way of the dinosaur, my rantings may be the only left of me and the thoughts that I leave may be the only thing left to irritate people for generations to come.

Anyway, I noticed an article in the papers on how Singapore continues to be a favoured destination for the Expatriate community and I have to say my initial reaction was - Well, why shouldn't it be? If you're a Caucasian, Singapore is a tropical heaven where you get your colonial fetishes indulged by well educated people as opposed to menial workers in other colonies. For the Indian and other Asian professional, Singapore is a bastion of stability and peace - neatness and order when compared to home. Speaking as a Singaporean, there seems to be an official policy to make the place so good for the expat worker that sometimes one wonders why the citizen bothers being a citizen at all.

It's easy to be a rather pissed-off Singaporean when it comes to the topic of expats living here. First the gripe was about the White Man - "Bastards come here and think they can lord it over us...." and now similar gripes are being heard about the new expats from other parts of Asia - "What the F***, these guys are pricing us out of the market..." The expats will always be better paid and live in swankier accommodation. The only thing that we, the locals don't envy them for is when they pick up local women - I remember a Malay friend of mine saying, "I'm happy for the girls who meet Ang Moh guys....they are from POOR families."

But let's leave aside the government's policy on "foreign talent" and the swank lifestyle offered to expats and try and see if we can understand things from the expats point of view. Is expat lifestyle everything that it's cracked up to be. And although my blog may give the impression dislike expats, the truth is I don't dislike anyone in particular. I'm merely unusual in the sense that I don't find expats (Particularly the Caucasian variety) particularly interesting or stimulating for being expats and I'm not afraid to make my views public. Some of my favourite drinking buddies are Caucasian and my favourite business associates are more often than not Indian Nationals or Arabs.

Further more, my mother will remind me that I was once an expat kid. My stepfather, Lee, a high ranking creative director of what was then called Lintas but is now Lowe, had the type of job that moved the family around every two years. It was thanks to him that I ended up living in Spain and then Germany and then the UK. Thanks to his job moving him all over the place, I got to spend time in Milan and Dubai.

My childhood was an exceedingly comfortable one and I hung out with kids who were from equally comfortable backgrounds (I only started becoming a street prostitute once I left the nest so to speak). International schools were fun and the houses we lived in were exceedingly cozy.

But let's look beyond the material benefits of being an expat. Life as an expat can be lonely. It's not for everyone - you somehow have to get used to the idea that you need to move around every so often. Unfortunately, expat contracts are always designed to move you around just when you've settled in (2-5 years). Just when you think you have settled down into the community .....oooppps, it's time to get going.

For some adults, this is necessary. My stepfather was one of them. The man could not settle down and for him the constant moving helped keep his mind sharp..so much so that he was a 60-year old that was more productive than many 20 year-olds in his department. But some people cannot take the uncertainty of never knowing when you get home. Moving around is fun when you are young but once you settle it becomes tougher. Kids need to be moved and the wife who may have sacrificed a career for you needs to be pacified. I've known top-level bankers in Singapore who were from Citigroup who moved to the local banks (though in higher positions) because the upward ladder meant going international at Citi.

For kids, this lifestyle can be particularly tough. You settle into a school and then you leave and you need to make a new set of friends. You tell yourself you'll keep in touch with old ones but in the pre-Facebook era, somehow things fade away. The moving was fun and it always made me a talking point at school because I was one of these weired people from elsewhere who had a life outside Hampshire. But on the flip side, I'm probably the only one who has never had a life before Public School. If you look through my Facebook profile, my earliest friends come from Public School era (11+) for the simple fact that I actually stayed at Public School beyond more than 2-years. By contrast, life at International Schools was all about moving every so often and losing touch with your friends.

Furthermore, you also change systems. When the family was in Spain, I was a British Prep-School. In Hamburg, I was at the International School (which had some of the best chicks) which was supposed to be a mixture of the Anglo-American system (Brit American not South African ;) It's not just the social life that gets screwed but you have to adapt to a different culture. After Public School, my next cultural adjustment was the army but I was over 18 by then and that's a different story from doing it at 10.

The there's the fact that the locals will never really like you. It's not just in Asia where they look at you as an outsider but even in Western Europe. It's easier in Europe in the sense that for the most part people are usually not at that much of an economic disadvantage but you still feel it. So, guess what, you got to work harder to make friends amongst the locals.

So there you have it. Life as an expat is not always what it's cracked up to be.

Say What You Like About Terrorist.......

The Other Half is fed up with living in Singapore. This morning she proclaimed, "I want to move back to China, where there is freedom of speech." To my Western or Western trained readers this might come as something of a surprise. China, despite the rapid economic growth and social advances of the last decade remains a communist dictatorship (the world's largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union) So given this fact, how can anyone describe China as having,"Freedom of Speech?" Leaving aside the fact that I'm talking about my other half, I believe the girl.

Leaving aside the Western expatriates and the Indian Nationals, one will find, more often than not, that Singaporeans are a fairly docile lot when compared to their brethren from Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and China. Things are changing, the AWARE saga was a case in point. However, chances are, if you read about protest these days, you'll find that it usually involves a group labourers from China protesting outside the Ministry of Manpower over unpaid wages. Singaporeans as a group don't do things like protest or set-up noodle stalls. Why is this so?

To be fair to Singaporeans, there's actually not too much need to think, protest or even speak. As a friend of mine often says to me,"Does it concern you? Why bother, the majority is happy and so leave it be?" He's right. Life in Singapore many not always be good but it's fairly comfortable. There's no need to think or to question why things are the way they are. Singapore is Confucius's wet dream, a place where the bureaucrat rules. The path to success is simple. Study hard, get good grades and a government scholarship to one of the world's best universities. Within ten-years you'll be without fail an exceedingly senior civil servant, paid an enviable amount of money to run the life of the nation. Of course, if you can't get a plum scholarship, at least get yourself into university and into a secure job in the civil service or a multinational company.

With the exception of street hookers like myself, everyone is exceedingly happy with the system. The people are happy because they are comfortable (no one starts a revolution of a full tummy.) The foreigners, particularly the Western Expatriates are happy - leaving aside company perks, they live in a society where the local population reveres them for being, well Western and therefore better (which to be fair, is true to a certain extent - they're allowed to do some thinking - which is in favour of the powers that be). The government likes it because the foreigners keep investing and the population remains docile. Like I've said, when you hear a Singaporean grumble about this and that, there will be a foreigner (ranging from the Bangladeshi construction worker to the well paid American Expatriate) to tell the Singaporean that they're sheltered and don't know how good life is in Singapore. As one US Navy boy said to me,"If Geylang is your worst area, wait till you see an American Inner City."

If you think about it, Singapore is the Celestial Kingdome in just about every way you can think of. If you don't like it, you can just bugger off - and guess what, there are those who bugger off but come back - I should know I was one of them. Why does anyone need to think or even speak out?

The truth is, this happy situation won't last forever. The day of large cohesive structures like governments and multinational corporations coming in and giving prosperity to the obedient masses is long over. Just look at the world's geopolitical situation today. In the old days, there were two big superpowers (USA and USSR) and everyone belonged to one camp or the other. Today, you have a big hyperpower that is bigger, stronger and richer than everyone else (USA) versus terrorist who are for the most part a group of individuals with nothing in common except an ideology. In the good old days, there were pitched battles with two opposing armies. These days, you can bomb a country to oblivion only to have one nut case stroll into your country and cause the same damage in one of your cities.

What's happened on the battle field is taking place in the business world. You have a big corporation that "owns" the market. Suddenly a few loan individuals from the big corporation leave and do their own thing and before you know it, the "big" corporation is facing extinction because the market it thought it owned is either obsolete or it turned out to be bigger than the single corporation. Remember, the computer market was all about IBM and it's hard wear. Today, IBM has sold off the hardware to Lenovo from China and is trying to compete in IT services.

Let's return to the ideology of terrorist versus soldiers. Singapore is a nation of conventional soldiers. We await for "Opps Orders" from our HQ and then we execute as we have been trained to do. We've been drilled into doing things in certain ways and that's how we'll do them. You don't question because, well that's how it's always been.

A terrorist on the other hand is a lone individual linked to a group of other individuals. The only thing uniting the people is an ideology. A terrorist gets an objective from HQ but the execution is up to him or her. He or she has to get creative to get past highly advanced security systems, while the person in question has limited resources. Much to the horror of law enforcement agencies throughout the world, terrorist are amongst the most effective users of the internet for their purposes. Like it or not, the effective terrorist are quite ingenious in their execution of their activities.

Now apply the terrorist analogy to the entrepreneur and you get the situation that you do in the USA and dare I say Communist China. In America the ideal is not to become an established politician or keg in corporate America. Americans have always worshiped the loan individual taking on the big boys and winning. The same thing is happening in China - hence the irony that the most capitalistic nation today is in fact a communist dictatorship. America is actually quite messy and China is worse but individual Americans and Chinese are highly effective thinkers. The Chinese government is quickly understanding that it can no longer control individual Chinese like it once used to. The people have tasted a certain way of life and removing it will cause a revolution. The Communist Party is searching for an ideology that it can share with the people.

Say what you like of terrorist groups but they've proven to be very effective at doing what they do. The Israeli Army crushed the combined might of several Arab armies in the 60s. Today, a more highly trained IDF has problems taking on groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. The organisation structure of these groups allows them to activate resources at the most unusual of times and it's hard to cripple them. Bomb this place and they'll pop up at that place. It takes brains to come up with such a structure and it takes emotional intelligence to get people to gladly do something that will get them killed.

Now apply that to business. Loan individuals and companies can only do so much. But when they unite and form alliances the results are amazing. You can do multinational business without spending a multinational's budget. The Chinese diaspora in South East Asia has prospered precisely because of this system. You help your clansmen and they help you. Wealth is shared and everyone benefits.

An effective businessman needs to think and that's the same for artist and scientist. Brilliant artist and scientist are constantly thinking about their objectives and thinking about how to create.

In Singapore we are very comfortable. There is no need to think, which is why we can only operate in Singapore and we can only go abroad if it's under the umbrella of the government or a multinational. Hong Kong Chinese by contrast can travel and settle overseas and thrive. Why? In Hong Kong, thinking is a necessary part of life. Communist China produces internationally sell able writers in English, a langue China is not known for being proficient in. Singapore has yet to produce a writer Singaporeans find readable.

Does this matter? Well, let's put it this way, more and more of us need to go overseas to seek a living let alone become a winner in life. The rules of the game change when you don't have big brother to think for you and throw resources your way whenever you just call for it. Then look at what happens at home. You lose to either an Indian or Caucasian at the higher end of the market or to China born labourer at the other. Why do we end up losing at home? The answer is simple - the other guy thinks and can see things we are drilled not to see. The other acts, we don't because we've been drilled into understanding that acting without permission is bad for you.

Yes, I get irritated with foreigners coming into Singapore and somehow getting jobs just like that. A lot of them are shit people. But instead of asking for a government - lead solution, let's look at why these guys can beat us on our own ground and let's see if we can work together as lone individuals united by shared ideas and a willingness to cooperate when we need to. My favourite litigator, has done something for the small law firm community in Singapore. He's set up something called Open Law, where Singapore's 600 plus small law firms can share resources and expertise to take larger cases. The idea is based on the analogy of bee-hive where small bees and can gather together and make a bear run. So, 600 plus lawyers can unite accordingly and share cases that were traditionally only available to the big boys. Everyone wins.

Thinking and cooperating individuals are good for society. Sometimes thinking individuals get out-spoken but surely this is worth nurturing if the society is means that society can prosper?

What Exactly is Governance?

Singapore's Law Minister mentioned in a speech to Harvard Alumni that "Good Governance" had helped Singapore weather the economic storm and would provide for an optimistic future for Singapore. That got me thinking - what exactly did the Law Minister mean when he talked about good governance?

Say what you like about the Singapore government but it's exceedingly efficient and for the most part effective at doing it's job. You have to give credit where credit is due. Singapore is not just an economic miracle but a social one too. The streets are clean, the atmosphere is green and you can walk along streets that are mercifully free of beggars. Most of the population lives in decent accommodation and you can do very un-third world like things like drink from the tap. Singapore does not feel like the Isle of Weight with four million people - it feels more like a pleasant suburb of London or New York. Ironically, Singapore seems to be the only place I've lived in where the foreigners are happier than the locals. We, the local population are constantly grumbling about this and that. It's the foreigners who tell us that there's no reason to complain, life is pretty darn good here as compared to elsewhere - and I'm talking about Bangladeshi construction workers, highly paid senior executives from the US and Europe are the ones expressing these sentiments.

Infrastructure is not the only thing the government gets right. By and large, you can do a lot of government transactions online. You cannot just bribe officials and the government acts pretty quickly during crisis. During the SARS period, the government had an emergency plan, which it unfolded when H1N1 came into play. It was also quick to announce a host of measures to ensure the vulnerable were able to bear the worst of the economic crisis. I agree with the basic idea the government has when it comes to helping people - helping them help themselves rather than giving out right cash donations.

Having said all of that, I'm still wondering what exactly the Law Minister meant when he talked about governance. Yes, the government of the day runs exceedingly well, baring that incident of not having a basic window grill to keep number one terrorist in jail. However, one has to ask if he's implying that this government is going to be hanging around for all eternity?

Let's live in the real world here. The government of the day will only last as long as it's ministers and civil servants are somewhat capable. This will not be forever and although the system is seemingly so well designed to get people of a similar calibre into parliament, there is no guarantee that the governments of the future will be as capable as the one we have today. So the question remains, can Singapore deal with an "incompetent," let alone "rogue" government?

In this respect, the answer would have to be a depressing no. Singaporeans are dependent on government decisions to get moving. The civil service is a large employer as are the Temasek Linked companies. You get young Singaporeans like my favourite Young Politician who says,"You need the government to PLAN the economy." - He's not wrong. Singapore's government actually gets involved in selecting "economic winners" for the economy. The situation has been a case of so far so good. But what happens if the government were ever to make a mistake?

There is a frightening lack of checks on government power. The Elected President in theory has the ability to say no when it comes to unlocking the reserves but the theory falls short when the Elected President is a consistently unopposed government servant who does as he is told. Furthermore, the government always has the option of going to the people should the President say no (government has a machinery, the point of having the elected President is that he does not).

The less said about the press to act as an independent watch dog on government power, the better. Editors for the most part are political appointees and part of their function is "knowing" what is "acceptable" news about the powers that be.

Once again, this situation is acceptable as long as the government gets at least eighty percent of things right. But then again, is it getting as much of it right as we like to assume. I mean so far things work so why should complain right? I mean does it really affect me if the top terrorist in Singapore waltzes out of jail and the government's main holding company loses money in dubious investments?

Well, perhaps these things don't matter in as much as they have yet to hit the pocket of the average Joe? However, one has to look at the government's response to these events and if you look at them carefully, there are worrying signs of arrogance and complacency? During the Mas Selamat incident, there was actually a feeling that the Home Affairs Minister should have offered his resignation as a sign of accountability from the top. He didn't and funnily enough the tax paying and voting public got scolded for being complacent for expecting the government to do a job it was elected and paid to do. Then when it comes to the performance of our Soverign Wealth Funds, you find the Finance Minister coming up with spectacular accounting ideas on how the funds actually made money even though a primary school kid can calculate the value of the shares when the government bought into the companies and the shares today.

Surely as a member of the public I have every right to expect honest answers from the government that I help elect and pay for? If the government does not think that it has an obligation to be honest to it's voting public, what does that it say about the government - do they have something to hide and if they do have something to hide can it be a sign of competence? If this how the competent and honest government of the day behaves when it comes to accountability, who knows how future governments will behave, particularly they have the current role model.

Then you have the obvious fact that governments cannot control everything. This is the day and age of the internet. Technology has made top-down, we know it all systems obsolete. It was former Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Tony Tan who said it best, "Our choice was liberalise or die." Back in the 60, it was easy to build economic prosperity. All one had to do was to create the conditions for multinationals to set up shop and employ the masses.

But these days, Singapore is fighting in a different market. China will always be able to make things cheaper and India will always do the outsourcing work better. So what is there left for places like Singapore? Even the edge of physical infrastructure is not what it used to be. Cross to Causeway and you may find, contrary to what the Singapore media may tell you, a place that is fairly modern and slick too. I have never felt unsafe in Johor.

Is there a top-down solution to all of this? I think the best top-down approach is to prepare the people to think for themselves. Singaporeans live relatively well because there are decent enough paying jobs from the government and multinationals - all you have to do is to accept a foreigner as your superior. We accept foreigners here because they seem to have the skills we don't have. But then again, why don't we have the skills necessary for the modern economy? It's a question that good governance needs to answer for.

The Problem with Hype

This is probably a very strange posting for a PR consultant, particularly a Singaporean one, to post but I believe that the last few weeks have given us an important lesson in the value of hype. As usual, the source of the post has something to do with a discussion I had with the other half on the value of hiring Wank Stains from the West to work in Asia and then there was also the question of Dubai World asking for a moratorium on it's debts.

Let's put it this way, we live in a world where "Image" counts. Like it or not, doing the business and being good at doing the business is not enough to get ahead these days. One has to project an image of being able to do the business. I remember being told by Monica Alsagoff, CEO of Communications DNA, "It's not about the best person for the job, but the person who sells him or herself best."

It's important to have an image and it is important to create impressions and that's not just something the PR people made up to stay in a job. What's the point in being good if nobody knows you? As a small one-man PR consultancy, it's important for me to constantly toot my own horn and ensure that people know me for all the wonderful things I can do for them. If nobody knows me, I don't get hired and so I end up living on the breadline. It's the same for my clients. I sell the image they want to project that helps bring in the sales and drives their business. Of course, I can't claim all the credit - a lot of it has to go to the chaps in the advertising and marketing agencies too. But you get my point, we need sell images to drive business.

Image and aggressively selling your image is particularly important when you are a small player. Everyone knows the "big" boys and the things they can do. So why should the customer go to the small guy? The answer is because the small boy sells an image of certain advantages that the big boy's don't have. Avis and Pepsi were proud users of the image of, "We're Number 2, so we work much harder for you."

Small countries have taken the importance of branding and image selling to heart. Singapore has spent years shouting to the world that it's a secure little red dot in a sea of insecurity. It's become second nature for us to shout to the world every time we buy a new piece of military hardware or security system - "It's to keep your money safe, Mr Foreign Investor." We also cannot help bragging about how rich and successful we are despite our lack of natural resources. It's not true to say that Singapore is a Little Red Dot - it is a Red Dot with an over-sized megaphone. The world loves Singapore because somehow, they've managed to believe everything we've told them about ourselves. -We're small but secure and rich and filled with people willing to make you rich. We have the best airport and the best airline and the best port and the best food and the best women and the best ding dongs this side of the South China Sea.

Dubai has learn t from us. Prior to the collapse of the global financial system two years ago, Dubai was "The" place to be in the Middle East. Dubai's propaganda machine followed Singapore's into over drive. The rest of the GCC was supposedly old fashioned, boring, dependent on oil, closed to every modern idea known to man and generally not a place you want to put your money let alone live in. Dubai by contrast was fun, free and wide open for business. Before you knew it, Dubai's airline was competing with Singapore's for the title of World's best and the airport was "The" duty free shop of the world. A host spectacular building projects were announced and anyone who was anyone had to be seen in Dubai. The hype machine worked so well that when I worked for Aramco, the poor Saudi's kept getting asked, "Which part of Dubai are you from?" The poor Saudi's could only ask me if, "Geography is taught in Singapore."

Image counts. Small city states like Singapore and Dubai push the image and the investors come and create an economic boom. Small companies do the same as do many people. Richard Branson makes a fortune selling "Image" particularly his own - the moment you see "Virgin," plastered onto anything, you think of this wild, hip, environmentally chap who is so rich that he can flap around in a balloon while you're slogging at the office - and he's not like the "old foggie" billionaire too. So, you buy his coke, cds etc and fly his airline cause you want to get a piece of him.

Branson plays the image of a small boy trying to have fun so well that when British Airways tried to sue him for poaching passengers, he somehow positioned it as him being bullied by the sour grapes at BA and before you knew it, British Airways were the ones paying him and everyone though BA were so mean to little Richard.

Hype works and it's good to have an image. Being known for things gets products and services sold! As Donald Trump, another one man publicist says, "Toot your own horn."

All that is all very true and well. However, hype without substance is actually down right dangerous for the seller and the buyer. I mean it is important to get known for something but you need to REALLY good that something everyone knows you for. Although Richard Branson and Donald Trump are known for their business acumen thanks to the publicity they attract, non of them have ever ran a listed company. Being listed is not necessarily a sign of business talent too but listed companies have a way of enduring in ways that one men shows do not. Part of that reason is because the management of a listed company has to be answer questions from shareholders as well as the media - The underlying business of a listed company MUST BE REAL in order to face the scrutiny of people like analyst. Richard Branson is famously evasive about the profits of the group (Our model lets us think LONG TERM) while Donald Trump makes such a song and dance about spectacular buildings without telling you about the mortgage he took out.

Dubai is now discovering that being the best known destination in the GCC as it's downside. All was well when "Hot" money flew in but now that Dubai World can't make a timely payment, questions about the integrity of the system are being raised. By contrast, nobody is pulling out of the "Economic Cities," that the Saudi's are building. The reality on the ground is that Saudi Arabia has a "Real" economy with real consumers. Yes, the Saudi economy is still very much dependent on oil and high oil prices have helped keep the Saudi economy afloat. However, Saudi Arabia's efforts to move away from oil dependence are real too and not just based on property speculation. Saudi Basic Industries Ltd (SABIC) really does make petro-chemicals and does a good job of it. As a matter of face SABIC did buy GE's petro-chemical unit.

The importance of having substance to back up the hype also applies to Singapore. Think of how "secure" Singapore is and what do you think of but Mas Selamat limping out of a secure facility and swimming to Johor and lying out there for a year while the Minister of Home Affairs kept insisting that our intelligence (best in the region) told him he was still in Singapore. So despite all the ads about how great the boys at the Ministry of Home Affairs are, most of us just snigger when you discuss security in Singapore. As a friend of mine said, "When the casino's get built and the crooks move in, do you think the Singapore Police Force can handle it, -they haven't actually fired their pistols outside the range."

The government is probably aware of this, which is why it continues to sell Singapore to Indonesian tourist. Singapore has wonderful medical facilities but if you go to any of our private hospitals, chances are you'll see a lot of Chinese chit-chatting away in Bahasa. A private banker friend of mine had to camp in Jakarta rather than stay in Singapore - the people with real money are simply not here.

By all means, hype yourself up but make sure you can back it up because once it's shown that you can't, it's a big job trying to repair the damage.

Let me end with a confession. Today, one of my most loyal customers is Polaris Software Labs Limited, an Indian IT company listed in Mumbai. My relationship with Polaris started when they gave me a job I was sure would end in failure but somehow the project succeeded. Ever since then, I've been honest with Polaris about what I can deliver and delivered and they've continued to stick with me.

My largest failure was actually Remey Martin, where I told the client I had managed to do allot of stuff. I didn't deliver other than a mention in an article that I wrote for the trade press. The client was not impressed and insisted I return the deposit.

Both these events took place in the same year and that underlined one important lesson to me - under promise and over deliver. Hype may get you noticed and may get people excited about working with you. But when delivery is not imminent, it becomes obvious and sooner or later when you don't deliver people walk away from you. It was a lesson I learned the hard way and so when people come to me, I make it a point to keep their expectations real.

Many Prostrations and the Happiest of Birthdays

I just turned 35 on Friday, 27 November 2009. As those of you who may have been following my rants here and on Facebook will realise, I've been going through something of a "third-life" crisis. It's like I realise that after 35-years, my contribution to life has been less than zero. I mean, I had one nasty excuse of marriage and a failed attempt at fatherhood to a little girl whom I love dearly. In terms of my career, I have gotten....well, no where really. I mean, I managed to help a few communities brand themselves but other than that, I don't even get myself onto the front page of Googling my name - the other two Tang Li's happen to be a Sung Dynasty Painter and a very sexy Go Player from China.

So, what can one do other than wallow in misery when you realise that you're life's achievements are pretty shit? Well, my other half and her little boy decided that I was going to change my frame of mind and actually be happy on my birthday and feel good about myself. Funny thing about Joyce is that she not only tells me I have talent and value, she actually makes me believe it.

Anyway, she couldn't get a babysitter for the little boy and so we ended up going out together. First thing he did when he saw me was to hand me a birthday card that he had made and then he started to laugh. I'm really touched, this was the only birthday card that I had recieved and something in me started to feel really good. We had a plan to do photo taking in Chinatown by a rickshaw but didn't quite pan out that way. It rained and then the Little Man decided that we needed to visit the "Tooth Relic" temple, which for non-Singaporeans is Buddhist Temple in the heart of Singapore's Chinatown.

Little Man decided that we had to see Buddha's and this temple had a lot of them. Been a while since I actually entered a Buddhist temple and said prayers and I suppose it was fitting that the Little Man decided that it was time for me to get in touch with my better nature. Ended up donating money to the temple and he actually got his mother and I paying our respects to the many Buddha's that resided in the temple.

Later on, Mother and I decided to sit out the foul weather in a cafe and then Mummy decided to take photos of me. Little Man sat in a corner playing with play dough but after a while decided that we needed him in the photo taking session. I think Mummy felt I could actually had some inner qualities that might be captured in photography and I'll leave people to judge on my Facebook profile. Personally, I think the better photos came when Little Man entered the picture.

After photo taking, Little Man decided enough was enough and then wanted to go to...the temple and so we had another round of prostrations and offering of joss sticks.

Later that evening we deposited the Little Man back with his grandmother and she decided to buy me a romantic dinner. I'm not sure if the earlier prostrations had anything to do with it but somehow, during the dinner the magic that brought us together became exceedingly overwhelming. She got the guitarist to play Happy Birthday and then I requested he play the most romantic song he had. When the sounds of "My Valentine" started, it felt only right that I picked her up and we danced slowly around the restaurant. Ended up with the house applauding us and the musician coming to thank us for lightening up the house.

We had the most amazing evening evening together and we ended up holding each other till the sun rose. I don't know what it was, but this was really the happiest of birthdays that I could have had. Two days later, we're both talking about the magic that brought us together and I don't know what I did that I could have someone enter my life and make it feel so good and hopeful. When I should have been feeling down, she came in and made me feel so alive and so ready to take on the world. I mean, I've been in love before but I've never been so consumed by something so good before.

The Economy is on the mend so where's the money ?

It's now official but Singapore grew by some 3 percent and in the coming year, the Ministry of Trade an Industry thinks that we can grow by annual rate of about three to five percent a year. The word is out, we are officially out of recession and those of us who were about to lose our jobs can probably breath a sigh of relief. In a few months time, we may actually get that bonus.

I'm not popping the champagne quite yet. A week ago, I heard the phrase, "Budget" cut and lost a retainer client. I'm still trying to find a replacement to ensure that my bills get paid. The girlfriend tells me that things are looking up for her but I have a suspicion that she may be an exception rather than the rule.

Funnily enough, things were not that bad this year. Part of the reason for this was because budgets got set a year ago and although we knew things would be rough in 08, the corporate budget planners felt they could spare the pennies. However, the corporate budgets in 2010 are likely to be different - the budget was set in 2010 when everyone was in an gloomy mood. However, if the Ministry is right, we could be looking at a case where 2011 has some pretty optimistic news.

Leaving aside the economic figures, I think life will probably continue as before. The government will find a way of rising prices if people get more money into their pockets. This is Singapore, the one cheque economy and the writers of that cheque quite like it that way. People who are not beholden to the chque writer have a terrible habit of having indepdent thoughts about doing things differently.

Anyway, it's also looking like a good time to hae Yellow Skin. President Barak Obama happily completed his second deep bow to Emperor Akihito of Japan and he avoided rushing into the usual discussion on human rights with President Hu Jin Tao on his recently concluded Asian Tour. How things change? Back in 1997, the American President of the day had a lot of fun telling the Asians to get their life sorted out. Today, the American President is acting like a good boy - a well trained house nigger to a group of funny people the American public barely recognise. To put it crudely, it's the Nips and Chinks who are helping the Americans sustain a rather decadent lifestyle.

Let's put it this way, the cause of financial meltdown was not surprise. The world was living beyond it's means and eventually the party had to stop somewhere and now we're trying to recover from the hang over. The reason why the Asians haven't been as badly effected is because a lesser portion of them had the chance to afford the party. Asia, for all it's spectacular economic growth in the last two decades remains a very poor place, filled with very poor people. India for example used to occupy the top four positions on the Fobes Billionaire list and at the same time it has 400 million people living on less than a dollar a day. You can't turn the 400 million poor buggers into capitalist mad consumers until they can actually feed themselves.

But anyway, the million of Asians are somehow pulling the world of its worst economic crisis in nearly half a century and the world should be greatful for that. I'm not exactly sure about what we have to be greatful for? Yes, it's nice to see the Yellow and brown people buying up a few choice properties in London and New York but is it necessarily a wonderful thing that we're turning more people into the people who brought us this mess in their first place?

I mean it's always good to have a crisis once in a while. People need to be shaken out of certain complacencies fromt time-to-time. In 1997, Asia need to crash. Corrupt companies got shaken up and although millions got thrown onto the streets, the region quickly learnt to adapt and a generation that had grown used to instant success realised that it actually had to value it. There was some alighnment of social values.

However, it's hard to see it happening in this crisis. Yes, somewhere along the line there are words about the American consumer learning to save. But we've kept banks that behaved badly alive and companies like GM that made products nobody wanted, have yet to go the way of the dinosaur. While we shurg at the American consumer learning how to save - we're celebrating the way Asian consumers are going to become like American ones.

It will be interesting to see how sustainable the "recovery" is in light of such social transformations.

The Happiest Day of My Life

It's been a pretty rotten week but out of the rottenness, there was a silver lining - this weekend. The better half who had been to the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel, had fallen in love with the view from the "Sky Lounge," decided that what I needed was to spend an evening appreciating the magical view of Singapore's city centre from the 22nd floor. She also managed to get a room with a smaller but no less spectacular version of that view two floors bellow.

I have to admit, I was feeling a little down when I reached the hotel but when I saw her and the way she dragged me up to the room and then up to the lounge, something magical happened to me. Suddenly, I stopped feeling week and depressed and I perked up and we the proceeded to spend the most incredible time of our lives. We were able to talk, cry and share our hearts with each other. It's terrible for me to say this but words cannot describe the magic that took place between us but a magic did take place and it was good.

The magic was particularly strong at night when we looked looked down at tracked the places that were milestones in our relationship - places like where we had our first kiss. We kicked off our shoes, held each other together and danced very slowly to our own humming. I don't know why but we admitted that Saturday 14 November, 2009 was the happiest day of our lives.

Woke up next to her today and held her close to me. I think now I understand what it is like to be truly happy and I wonder why this happiness came to me much earlier.

I don't know what else there is. This entry exist to leave a public record of the happiness two people achieved. It was good that it happened. I really don't know why I was so keen on having relationships with women it was impossible to have them. It's like once this one entered my life, the rest..no longer mattered...Why can't love happen more often..?

Medicine

To say that yesterday was a lousy day would have been a major understatement. Not only did I end up in a dilemma with the other half, one of my key retainer clients decided that they would not renew and in fact cut the retainer in December. So, I spent the better part of the day stunned and the only bright spark of the day was being able to speak to Thui.

Anyway, she called and we had a long chat about things. She told me that it got frightening to see the way I had become so comfortable with the "not nice" people that I actually seemed to be one of them. She didn't give me any ultimatums but suggested that it was time I moved up a little in the world and she'd be there to help me up.

Funnily enough, she's serious. She just sent me an email to tell her that she wants me to be a better man. I'm a little taken back. I've never been involved with someone who actually has my interest at heart and wants the best for me. It's a sad admission for me to make but I've grown so used to having "bad" people, particularly women around me that having someone who is actually good is a bit of new experience to me and the best part is, she's not doing it to gain approval of friends and family but because she genuinely cares about me and for me, that's really strange......I mean it makes life as a misogynist quite complicated, I mean how do you think of women as useless and irrelevant when you've got one driving you forward like good medicine.

I remember my Dad did tell me, "It's true about about the woman behind the man." He would know, his current girlfriend, my "HK Stepmother" has been a dynamo for him. The woman keeps him sensible in his spending and ensures he does what he needs to do to bring in the money. My father paid of debts that nobody thought was possible (he refused to file for bankruptcy even though the banks advised him that it was in his interest to do so) and has quite a good life. OK, he's not as well to do as he once was, but he's made a comeback and I think the credit needs to go to her.

I've not made the money my father has. Hell, I'm usually bottom feeding and it's unusual to have someone by your side who cares and even though I actually have had a major income reduction, I think life is going to look a little brighter ;)

I Screwed Up and Screwed Myself

I haven't slept at all for the last 24-hours and I'm currently on one of those nervous energy highs. I think finally hit the point where I really screwed up the one thing in my life in recent months that was actually good for me. I'm trying to analyse all the things that I did wrong and seeing if I could back and rectify things. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally that I really screwed things up so badly that I'm going to have to rebuild myself from scratch. I'll be 35 on the 27th of the month and just when I thought I had the ability to take things off, I screwed up and instead of being ready to take off, I find myself trying to figure out what the hell I just did.

If you've followed this blog, you'll be aware that I am or rather as of now, was dating a woman I didn't think I'd ever get. I won't know where to start but let's just say the lady in question was the most amazing thing to touch my life. I don't know what happened but when we were together, we could shut the whole world out and instead of sleeping, we would actually end up talking the whole night away and still feel energized in each other's company. A few of my friends were against the relationship in as much as they felt it was a distraction. A few of her friends were against the relationship because they didn't like me. But by and large, most people who have seen us have commented on the amazing chemistry that we shared.

I don't think words can describe the relationship. It was just so magical and I think it was noticeable that I was really happy. My sister actually commented that I looked trimmer and was clearly happier with life than I was when she saw me last Christmas, where I wasn't exactly being traumatized. By her own admission, she was feeling happier at work and becoming more settled. Clearly this was something that was good for both of us.

Then I had to screw it up. OK, part of it is physical, for some reason, I've developed a mouth ulcer, which doesn't make me look terribly pretty. The other was probably a case of stupidity or a lack of communication. I don't know why but she decided she had to hang out with Zen and I in Geylang. She actually asked to meet Zen there before but they met at 7pm before the punters arrive. Suddenly she arrived on her own at 10pm and got the shock of her life. I tried to take her out. I knew she was scared and I wanted her to go somewhere else, but she insisted on staying until she couldn't take it and left.

I ran after her, jumped in a cab and waited outside her place. Sent her messages and then ended up walking around Labrador Park, which is near the sea. I really don't know why this had to happen but she's now shutting me out when communication once seemed so natural.

Yes, I know, this could be "Wuss" behavior but I really didn't know what else to do.

I really want to know what I might have done to hurt her but she's not telling me and suddenly, I'm starting to feel that the violence with Gina was mild in comparison. It's like you finally find someone you care about and who makes you want to be better and then your ugly past has to screw it up for you.

I'm not suicidal. I think I had to expect things to happen or if I didn't it says a lot about me and I've written her a note to say good bye and to ask that she ends it face-to-face. I had the happiest month of my life with her and I'm glad it was with her. For once I only wanted to be with one woman in every sense of the word.

What am I looking at now? I'm trying to be philosophical. It was a happy and intense month, one that I will probably never have again. So, I'm trying to tell myself that it was better to have had one month of bliss than nothing at all. Better to have loved and lost theory.

But the truth is, my mind is spinning out of control. I really don't want to go back to being the person that I was, one who was only interested in instant gratification. I want someone I can share my heart with. I mean I used to have the likes of the PGF around because it was just convenient to have someone to bitch about. Truthfully, I don't know if I have the strength to keep up the in and out of struggling to survive and doing things to get buy.

For once I had something good in my life, someone who could make me look forward to coming back to Singapore, not so much because this is where I get my income but for once, I had someone who made Singapore feel like I had a real home and something to look forward to.

What else can I say, I except I really screwed up this time and I hate myself for it.

The Pleasure of Culture

I'm suffering from a bit of jet lag and since I'm up in the early hours of the morning with an active brain, I thought I would rant a little to see if I can shut myself down so that I can return to somewhat "normal" hours.

Anyway, I thought I would rant about a subject that seems to be making the Singapore news quite a lot these days - foreigners. Like it or not, we live in age of globalisation and global mobility is the order of the day. In order to move beyond the mail room, one has to accept that one will have to travel at least once in a professional life. We have to accept that some stage or another, we are all going to be "foreigners."

This is especially true if you come from a small state like Singapore. The nation was founded as a trading outpost and it's prosperity has always depended on being open to trade with the rest of the world. Like every prawn in the ocean, Singapore needs to swim with the big fish in order to survive and that means being open to large inflows of people from all over the world. As much as I may sometimes understand and sometimes understand with the rants of my fellow countrymen, isolation does not work. Let's put it this way, the only country that prides itself in being isolated from the world is North Korea.

Singapore has been a role model for many small state-lets across the world and one of our most prominent students is Dubai, the second largest Emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Dubai stands out as a friendly example as an "Arab" success story that didn't depend on oil. Until the recent economic crisis, Dubai had such a glossy image that my Saudi friends at Aramco who were running an event in Singapore, were actually asked, "Which part of Dubai do you come from?" (The only remark I got was, "Geography must be taught really badly in Singapore")

Just as Singapore has thrived on an image of modern efficiency in a region not known for it, Dubai has thrived being a bastion of openness in a region not known for it. No where is this more visible to me than in the airport. Dubai airport (like Singapore's Changi) is an architectural wonder. It's a place of thriving commerce, every brand known to modern capitalism is there and guess what, there are places where non-Muslims can get a drink.

To a lot of people, this is fun. If you ask 10 people where they'd rather visit, Riyadh, Tehran or Dubai, 11 of them would say Dubai and it's easy to see why. As a foreigner in Dubai there are ways of getting a drink and seeing girls that not covered up - in fact Dubai has every convenience of the modern world and more - if you want to go skiing, you don't need to go to Switzerland, Dubai has it's own ski resort with artificial snow.

Like Singapore, Dubai is exceedingly "foreigner" friendly, which is probably why I found my two lay overs in one of the world's most glamorous airports to be - disappointing. My reasons for finding Dubai airport disappointing are pretty much the same reasons why trips across the Causeway are so necessary for sanity.

Call me sentimental, but I do miss the sight of men in thobe and women in their abaya's. Say what you like about Riyadh but you know you are in the Middle East, you know you are in the Arabian heartlands. Dubai or at least Dubai airport feels so "Modern" it actually looks like any where else. My favourite thing about the entire place was the fact that I could hear announcements in Arabic. That was literally only thing telling me that I was actually in the Middle East.

I am enough of a realist to realise that sentimentality for the "Old" way is usually just that. Much as I bitch and moan about Singapore, I live here because there is a lot to be said about being able to walk on clean, safe streets and drinking water from the tap. I think the same can be said about Dubai, when compared to it's regional neighbours.

Yet, there's something missing in these small state-lets, which their larger, regional neighbours have - I think the right term is culture or if you want to get personal, a soul. I like living in Singapore thanks to its modern infrastructure. Yet, I feel exceedingly depressed whenever I come back from Bangkok, which is by comparison, dirty and smelly. Bangkok has a certain charm to it and for all the apparent "ugliness" people get on with life and they adapt. I remember going out for dinner in an Italian restaurant in Bangkok, when the lights went out (power shortage). Instead of walking out or shutting down, the restaurant was quick to provide candle light and dinner went on as normal. You won't get the power outage in Singapore but then again, you don't get pleasant service either.

I've never really lived in Dubai so I can't make a fair comparison for the Middle East and I wonder if you can, but I suspect that I may not be far of the mark.

Modernity or at least the Western version of it is exceedingly comfortable and I can see why people like it, I do. But it's not the be all and end all of everything. Yes, it's important to be "foreigner friendly," but as a foreigner one should also learn to appreciate your host for their culture and what they are.

Take the example of language. In Singapore everyone speaks English or at least a version of it. As a foreigner there's no need to learn the "local" language. That's not true of Thailand. While a lot of Thai's speak some English (particularly in Bangkok), you do need to learn a few sentences of Thai to get by. I believe that this is correct, why should the Thai's be the only ones making the effort to communicate particularly when they are in their own country.

On the international scale, the France became known as the only place in Europe where one had to know French. The French let be known that they could speak English by they refused to. I used to find that inconvenient but now, when I look back at it, the French are right. You have to accept globalisation and certain cultural aspects of it such as being able to speak the "modern" global language of English but why should you be the only one doing all the adaption and adoption. You can't just expect the host to be good without the guests being good too.

Take the issue of Sharia law. I think Muslims in the West have no right to ask Western governments to have a special exception for Islamic laws. If you want to live in the West and earn Western pounds, Kroner or Euros, you have to accept that you live under Western laws. Practice your own religious beliefs in your own private space but leave them out of the public arena.

On the other hand, I also admire Saudi Arabia for applying Sharia to all. I remember feeling quite perturbed by a couple of Americans in Riyadh who told me, "Do Westerners have to follow the same rules." Of course they should bloody well follow the rules. Just as it's annoying to listen to Muslim shopkeepers in the West demand religious customs override local laws, I get very upset when I hear executives of multinationals who expect to be treated differently. When you are welcomed to a country where you are provided with a good life and a chance to prosper, you should be have the decency to follow local customs and enjoy what the local culture has to offer instead of expecting special treatment. Call me strange but I find it disturbing that I can get drinks easily in a country where the laws are primarily Sharia. Why should foreigners expect to get exemptions? If your drinks are so important to your daily life, don't except a posting to a country where it is against the culture and more importantly the law.

As a Singaporean, I think our greatest moment of shame came when we actually reduced Michael Faye's canning by two strokes. We should have increased it by two. We all know that Mr Faye only got the reduction because the President had to give his two cents worth. Contrary to what our leaders may have thought, this move would not have scared off American expats - they will continue to come to Singapore as long as they can make money. Michael Faye's family were happy to accept the comfortable posting in Singapore but suddenly changed colours when they had to face the same laws as everyone else.

It's right that cultures get crossed. Cultural chauvinism can lead to many unpleasant things. Cultural diversity makes life more interesting and colourful. Contrary to what people may think, cultures are dynamic and constantly evolving. Hollywood dominates the global movie scene because of America's cultural diversity and dynamism. However, cross cultural flows need to be managed carefully, and people need to understand each other. Yes, we have to accept foreigners as part of the cultural landscape and we need to give them their own space but do we really need to do it to an extent where our own identity gets lost and we lose our purpose for someone elses?

Who Brings Change?

You have to thank US President Barak Obama for making the word "Change" a fashionable expression. Thanks to his campaign slogan of - "Change, yes we can," everyone is crazy about the benefits of change.

On the whole, I think President Obama has made some important noises about change. Although I don't agree with his prescription, I think he's rght to want to change America's healthcare system, which remains the most expensive in the OECD but continues to leave millions without access to healthcare. His policies in the Middle East have yet to be fully formed but he did make right sounding noises about change.

However, as much as President Obama has talked about change, one has to ask if things are really going to change. A lot of what he's offered to change remains in the rethoric stage and as far as many in the Middle East are concerned, the ground realities have not changed - Israel continues to violate peace treaties by building illegal settlements without so much as a peep from the Ameriacn government, which helps finance these illegal occupations. If there's anything we should be aware of, it is the unchanging fact that new leadership of any organisation will always talk about change and very often keep the status quo. Existing systems are for the most part so comfortable, that the people who spend their lives fighting the system end up being seduced by it. Chinese history is full of examples of hords of barbarians conquering China and then being seduced by the Chinese way of lfie. The same can almost be said of the Western World. Today, the up and comming powers of the world are China and India and how did they do it? They adapted Western technologies and systems.

So, what exactly is real change? I was reminded of three men in the last few days, thanks to the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall (Which is being covered extensivly in Europe), namely former Soviet President Mikhil Gorbachev, Former State President of South Africa, FW De Klerk and the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzahk Rabin..

What made these men so unique? They were men who fundimentally altered the systems they were brought up in. Gorbachev was no democrat, he was a communist apparatchik at heart. De Klerk was a sicon of the arpatheid system and Rabin was until his seventies a Zionist who fought to for Israel`s right to control various lands. Non of these men set out to change the system they were brought up in but ended up changing their systems fundimentally. Gorbachev ended the Soviet Union, De Klerk ended Arpathied and Rabin introduced the idea of land for peace in the Middle East.

I think what made the changes that these men brought onto their respective systems so profound was the fact that they were part of the system. Non of them wanted to change things radically and that was key to what they did? If you look at Israel, every Prime Minister has failed to make peace gestures the way Rabin did. Nethanyahu and Sharon never had intentions of making peace with the Palestinians, while Barak (who was incidentally a good soldier) failed to imagine the issues the other side would face. Rabin`s partner, Shimon Peres was an intellectual who talked peace but was too much of an intellectual who had no relationship with Israeli people in the same way Rabin could (Rabin was horribly inarticulate and his speeches were dull). Who sounds more believeable on security, a man who spent his life in a classroom or a man who spent his life in the trenches? In South Africa it was something similar, only De Klerk could have persuaded White South Africa that it was time for the system to change.

Needless to say, the changes that these men brought were not always well thought out. The Soviet Union collapsed faster than Gorbachev could manage and so he had to hand over the spotlight to Yeltsin. After Rabin, every Prime Minister has shown no desire to puruse his dreams. Ariel Sharon even went as far as to provoke the seond intifadah.

People who bring change make enemies and its often those who have the most to lose from the system who bring them down. With Gorbachev it was the communist party. De Klerk could not hold back that "black" South Africa wanted a Black Hero (Nelson Mandela). Rabin was not shot by some suicide bomber from the Arab World but by a Jewish Extremist.

It takes courage to bring about change and it often begins with personal changes. Change bringers often suffer and are reviled during their lifetimes. Of the three, De Klerk has probably retained the most respect thanks to the fact that he quietly slipped away from public life. Gorbachev has had to do something similar while Rabin paid with his life.

History is also being in the process of being writen so the way these men are remembered will change according to the times. Gorbachev played a role in the demise of the Soviet Union, yet his most popular successor (Putin) has restored many aspects of the Soviet Union. Israel remains further away from a peace treaty than anytime in history and South Africa is known for signs of ungovernability like corruption, crime and HIV. This can make some nostalgic for old fashioned authoritarianism.

But I believe history may actually be kinder. As popular as some of Putin`s harsher policies may be, few Russians are clamouring for the Soviet Union to come back. White South Africans are happy to vote ANC and think of the Abdullah Peace initiatives of 2002 and 2006 - The idea of Land for Peace exisits.

Change is hard an unpopular but in the end, its often necessary and it takes courage to ensure it happens.

The Things About Western Democracy ......

I�ve made a promise to my other half that I�m going to restrain myself when it comes to the topic of Caucasians in Asia. Since her Caucasian friends get offended by what I say on this blog and have placed her in a difficult position, I will make the effort to keep that promise to her and will refrain from getting personal.

However, I think it`s important to have a voice on one of the most interesting debates going on between the "West" and the "Rest" of the world. One of the key debates has been about political systems, namely on the topic of human rights and democracy. On one hand you have the official stance from the West, which has been to express concern about democracy and human rights and then you have the rest of the world that say`s "Sod off, let us figure it out our own way." This debate has grown increasingly interesting with the rise of China, which technically remains a communist nation.

As an Asian who has grown-up in the West (UK, Germany and to an extent the USA), this debate gets very interesting from a personal perspective. It's not difficult to feel that a lot of Western lectures on the topics of democracy and human rights are humbug. If you look at history, the West (Europe and America) is as guilty of pursuing its own economic self-interest above all else when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world. The British did not colonise India out of love for the Indians but to secure a market for British goods. Likewise, the Americans have been guilty of using the stick when imposing it`s economic rights in Central America.

The Western powers in recent years have been especially guilty of humbug in the Middle East. In recent years we`ve had an American President preach the importance of democracy and freedom in the Middle East, only to isolate and attempt to cripple a democratically elected government in Palestine, mainly because the party in question didn`t see things through the Westerners political point of view. Things like Abu Ghrib and Guantanamo Bay have also hurt the ideal of the West as a Champion of human rights. Former Secratery of State, Madaline Albright says, "When we talked about human rights, the Chinese would storm out in anger - these days they smile politely and talk about Guantanamo Bay and Abu Gharib."

After 8-years of living back in Asia, I'll say it, it's irritating when you hear a Western leader talk about human rights and democracy - you want to say, "Come On, you just want the money." Singapore is an example of this - we`re stable and safe and ally of Western interest and beyond making a few noises when we cane one of their vandals or hang a petty drug dealer, no Western leader will actually entertain the idea of getting Singapore to become more democratic or nice - if anything, I've had Westerners sing the praises of the Singapore system.

Then there`s also the idea that you can`t impose your ideals onto people. People have to decide what`s right for them in their own cultural context. Iraq is a wonderful example of how imposing your values can work when you don`t bother to understand the local system.

Having said all of this about the West, is the message that it`s preaching necessarily wrong? I think the answer is no. Yes the West is guilty of humbug a lot of the time when it goes into the preaching of values and then acts contrary to those values - as any Palestinian or Iranian could tell you (Both the US and UK took part in removing a democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister who didn`t believe in BP`s devine right to drill Iranian Oil)

But that does not mean that democracy or at least accountable government as seen in the West is a bad thing. Look at basic economics. The most developed countries in the world, namely the USA and Europe all have a democratic system of government, rule of laws and checks on power. These systems also safeguard rights of the individual against the state. Say what you like about America but it`s one of the few countries I can think of where you can tell the cops to sod off if they're harrasing you.

Is there a link between democracy and human rights and progress? It`s hard to establish a link when the world`s fastest growing economy is a commnuist dictatorship, but then again, let`s look at stages of development. China can grow fast as long as the current system remains stable. The country can rely on being a cheap manufacturing outpost for multinational companies.

The US and EU have long reached that stage, yet they`ve remained consistently prosperous. Standards of living in Europe are the highest in the world. Why is that so? Part of it is because they started before the rest of us. But more importantly the system has allowed individuals to rise and fall according to their talents. The system puts a check on big monoliths trying to crush people. No matter how bad a US President is, you know he (up til now they`re all guys) needs to face the voters and after 8-years he has to retire. Big US corporations get dragged through anti-trust the moment they look like they're going to screw consumers.

Let`s ignore the fact that a lot of preaching by Western politicians is humbug and look at the product of democracy itself. In the West it has been wonderful at keeping its citizens happy. When adapted to the East, it`s worked pretty OK too. Taiwan or "The Other China" has a messy democratic government but no Taiwanese seems to be clamouring for the Communist System acorss the water. India complains that it`s democratic system makes it tough to develop rapidly but at the same time, India may have produced a more sustainable model based on producing brilliant entreprenurial companies in high end technological sectors.

Democracy and the promotion of individual liberty is not a bad thing, in fact it is a very good thing in itself. Yes, the rest of the world shouldn't accept the Western model wholesale nor should the Rest of the world endure lectures by Western leaders on the values of their system.

However, that shouldn't be an excuse to reject it wholesale. We need to look at things from the West, particularly the things that work and ask ourselves why they work. Democracy is not wildly efficient for effective leaders but it`s startlingly easy at removing bad ones with minimal bloodshed. Power is kept in check. As bad as Bush II was, the American system kept him in check and after 8-years he had to leave office. Had the checks not been there, you might have had to see a coup. The system works at encouraging social mobility and surely that has to be a good thing too. It`s something the rest of us should take note of.