Food blogging as democratic frontier?

Warning: If anti-establishment messages threaten your emotional well-being in general, please do not read this post.

“Food is the most democratic culture in Singapore.”

KF Seetoh of Makan Sutra on BlogTV.sg tonite in response to a remark from Ivan Ng, a popular food blogger. on the culture of ‘political correctness’ amongst Singaporeans.

Ivan was speculating on why negative posts on his food blog tend to attract more comments than the positive ones. And if Ivan is correct on this acount, then it does appear Singaporeans interest in food has its roots in a desire for freedom of expression.

Most food bloggers featured in BlogTV reacted rather strongly against the commercialisation of food blogging.

Well, it’s a tad ironic though, their appearance on CNA has nonetheless contributed to F&B advertising during the commercial break. This is but a predictable outcome when mainstream media begins its capitalistic colonisation of the blogosphere.

More lessons for Singapore politicians

Three separate cases – one direct contact and two relayed stories from friends – speak volume of a lack of media and political savviness amongst some new faces in parliament:

(1) The ‘IT’ issue in Singapore blogosphere recently – the ‘Wee-wee saga’ where MP Wee Siew Kim brushed off the public critique of an insensitive and insensible remark made by his now so-called ‘elite girl’ daughter, Wee Shu Min, with an insincere ‘apology’:

“What she said did come across as insensitive. The language was stronger than what most people could take.

But she wrote in a private blog and I feel that her privacy has been violated. After all, they were the rantings of an 18-year-old among friends.

I think if you cut through the insensitivity of the language, her basic point is reasonable, that is, that a well-educated university graduate who works for a multinational company should not be bemoaning about the Government and get on with the challenges in life.

Nonetheless, I have counseled her to learn from it. Some people cannot take the brutal truth and that sort of language, so she ought to learn from it.”

MP Wee had to issue a second apology upon subsequent (and rather predictable) public uproar.

(2) The IT and political unsavvy Minister of State

“Skype?? What’s that?” attributable to ‘He who shall not be named here’ when visiting Middle East recently. The same presumably Minister-in-making mistook two oil traders – who earlier helped him with some technical problems – for technology experts.

Wasn’t it just three months ago that ruling elites have resolved to make use of new media to reach out to younger and digitally savvy Singaporeans? Looks like there’s lots of room for improvement.

(3) The ‘Oh I see, but there’s nothing I can do about it’ MP

At a day care centre one day ago, a diabetic senior citizen fainted at the reception and was immediately moved to the treatment room in anticipation of a visit from the said MP. Volunteers and trained nurses gathered around the diabetic patient trying to revive his consciousness. She who shall not be named was naturally surprised to chance upon the obviously unconscious man whilst performing the ritual tour of the aged facility. Upon a cursory question on what happened to the man, the totally clueless MP moved on with her regular drill with nary a kind word of concern for the sick man.

On further research, I understand too she who shall not be named has reportedly passed rather inane remarks about the opposition party.

Three incidents – though disparate in their nature – raise nudging doubts of the calibre of possible rising stars in Singapore government. The first is notably a mishandling of media relations which has evolved into a PR disaster that has come to challenge the integrity of the MP. The second raises questions on how ‘up-to-date’ our political leaders are with new technology and points to a digital/generational divide yet to be bridged. The third illustates a classic case where an elite has lost touch with and displayed an apathy towards the trials and tribunes of everyday man and woman.

While it may be rash to prejudge the capabilities of the ruling elites based on these three random instances, they are no less visible proof of a widening gap between haves and have-nots and the troubling emergence of ‘Two Singapores.

Some may argue these are only isolated incidences and that we should be more tolerant towards newbies on board. However, MPs/Ministers are strictly speaking public servants – their function is to serve the public interest. That being the case, it does appear these newer faces in the parliament require further training in political or media savviness to deliver their promise as future leaders of Singapore. Coming back to the recent debate on Minister/MP paychecks, is this indicative also of a need to consider public opinion as part of their performance evaluation? Perhaps its time to have independent opinion polls in Singapore? Just some off the cuff wild thoughts at this point in time.

World’s AIDS Day on the little red dot

My fave red dot commemorates this annual event with a two day conference and a series of media reports on wide ranging social issues regarding this growing epidemic.

A few major issues seem to emerge from the fanfare of events and media coverage on social treatment of AIDS this year:

1. By and large, stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS prevails.

Straits Times:

… while medications have transformed HIV infection from a death sentence to a chronic illness, no potent cure has yet been found for the stigma surrounding the disease.

Indeed, stories abound of how people with HIV and AIDS are treated as pariahs by friends and family members who find out about their status. Others have faced discrimination from employers, colleagues and even health workers.

At the conference, Ms Ho Lai Peng, a medical social worker spoke of some nursing homes which have persistently refused to take in any AIDS patients, lending evidence to discrimination against this demographic within healthcare sector.

Such attitude toward AIDS/HIV positives is attributed to

2. A general misinformation or ignorance of the public on how AIDS may be transmitted.

Straits Times:

The stigma is hard to eradicate because AIDS is associated with sex and drug use.

quoting a veteran volunteer with Action for Aids, “Many people still take the high moral view that those who get it deserve it; that they must be homosexual, promiscuous, drug addicts or sex workers.”

According to a survey conducted by Alex Au, gay activist and author behind the popular Yawning Bread, even amongst the more political savvy Singaporeans persists the myths that the risk of contracting AIDS/HIV:

(1) may be correlated to having sex with certain demographic (eg Caucasians)

(2) may be reduced if compulsory HIV test before marriage were to be imposed.

Drawing on these two findings, Alex argues for a tendency to externalise causes for AIDS/HIV amongst Singaporeans, as represented by the surveyed sample.

Such ignorance or misconceptions are perpetuated by

3. A conservative attitude towards sex education or what has been termed as sexophobia (see Yawning Bread).

Ms Braema Mathi, former Nominated Member of Parliament and vice-president of AFA, as quoted in Straits Times special report, said, “Singaporeans are trapped by a value system in which we are not encouraged to talk about sex. We tell ourselves we are Asians. But we cannot keep perpetuating this repression.

“The bottom line is you have to be safe, whether throw abstinence, by being faithful or using condoms.”

However, as the same report has pointed out,

Some quarters object to the promotion of condoms because they say it encourages sexual promiscuity and condoms do not provide 100 per cent protection …

As Dr Stuart Koe points out at the conference, in a survey conducted on Men Having Sex with Men (MSM), condom use correlates negatively with the number of HIV cases.

Conservative interpretation of condom use has affected the promotion of safe sex to MSM who have quoted familiarity of sexual partners and greater sexual satisfaction through bareback sex as reasons for not using condoms (results from Dr Koe’s survey).

My take on the findings or conference? It is indeed worrying to note an increasing denial amongst Singaporeans of their own responsibility towards safe sex. And it certainly doesn’t bode well that a ‘conservative majority’ should deter the public education on safe sex practices.

Addendum: To gain better access to MSM, Roy Chan, President of AfA called for repeal of Article 377A which criminalises sexual intercourse between men and has forced these men into closet. As reported on Yahoo News, 4 December 2006.

Further update: Sexophobia does seem to inflict Asians in general, not just in Singapore, if this report on Asian Americans is anything to go by.

The Way Home (2002): A Korean classic

About three weeks ago on Channel U Friday Late Night Korean Movie Special

Caught the 2002 acclaimed Korean movie, The Way Home, a story revolving around the relationship of a 7 year old city boy, Sang Wo, and his deaf and mute 78-year-old poor grandmother residing in the fast disappearing countryside.

The plot is at best a reinvention of a classic ritual: the gradual reform of a city brat touched by the loving kindliness of his old grandmother.

Yet, it is exactly the simplicity of the plot and message that sets this low budget production from the rest of the pack. In fact, I would argue the simplicity has but served to veil the film maker’s critique of city living. Time and again, the difference between city and country living is played up in the movie – how Sang Woo, hailing from Korean capital city is obviously blessed with and used to more material comforts than other kids living in the country neighbourhood. The contrast between the character attributes of a city boy against his countryside compatriots forces the audience to take a step back and reassess the traditional divide between ‘haves’ and have-nots’. At one end is the selfish, wilful and ungracious city boy obviously spoilt by the ills of capitalism. At the other is the generosity of country folk, willing to forgive, forget and share love and joy with the others.

We then question whether the material comforts of city living have served to numb our sensibility not only towards others but also to our inner needs.

The movie concludes on a note that seals this message: the brat finally learns to appreciate and reciprocate the kindness of his grandmother and neighbourly others. While this is no doubt a replay of a classic ending, the audience is no less touched by this self-discovery, perhaps more so as a result of the no frills approach in the story-telling and strong performance from the cast.

Seung-Ho Yu is perfectly convincing in his virgin reprisal of a silver screen role. As the wilful-turned-filial grandson, Sang Woo, Seung-Ho Yu is both exasperating and endearing. Plucked from total anonymity from the remote South Korean neighbourhood that sets the background of the movie, Eul-Boon Kim is delightful as the sweet and dedicated grandmother.

Some deem The Way Home as a surprise box office hit what with its total lack of commercialism. However, methinks this is totally unsurprising given how the movie has reached out with a universal theme that obviously tugs at the heartstrings of its audience. Ain’t it a given therefore The Way Home has become the first South Korean movie earmarked for a Hollywood remake.

References and further reading:

Interview with director, Lee Jeong Hyang.

More film reviews on Channel 4 and Blog Critics.

Marriageable age?

One month ago over dinner with fellow colleagues.

A (Chinese female) senior executive was expressing her relief over the break up between her son and his ‘senior-by-eight-years’ girlfriend. The mild-mannered, easy-going middle-aged lady was obviously stressed out by the ‘indiscretion’ of her 21 year old son who had twice gone for older women (rather than same age or younger ones).

One night ago on Channel News Asia Yours Truly Asia (see earlier post for other interesting points raised in the programme).

A relationship/marriage expert acknowledged a largely well-known fact in the Chinese circle, that women’s eligibility as life-time partners tend to depreciate with age while men have longer shelf life. Chinese parents are thus generally more worried over the future of their unmarried daughters than sons.

The above scenarios aren’t quite surprising when we consider how a Chinese popular saying goes, “Nan2 ren2 si4 shi2 yi4 zhi1 hua1, nu3 ren2 si4 shi2 lan4 cha2 cha2” which literally translates to: “Men at 40 are considered flowers at full bloom; women at 40 are but rotten tea leaves”.

Likewise the same logic applies for the infamous myth in local universities where the eligibility of female undergraduates are compared to the shelf life of library books. The freshie falls under the highly demanded 24 hour or 2 hour loan only red spot or reserve collection; the sophomore are the open shelves and the senior the rarely required reference collection. Young female graduates are thus encouraged to look for ‘potential partners’ in their first year at university or risk being left on the shelf.

Yet I am surprised how these arcade myths have lasted through the years when age is losing its bearing on romantic relationships portrayed on asian popular culture since late 1990s (see Japan’s hit drama Long Vacation and more recently Hong Kong TVB series Triumph in the Sky).

But again, popular culture could be ahead of its time or at best signify a growing voice amongst the youths vis-a-vis their parents’ generation. Bearing this mind, it appears we have on hand a hypothesis to be tested: Is the fracture between the youths and the older generation exacerbated by popular culture or is popular culture but plainly a reflection of a popular will amongst the youths? Umm… interesting.

Declared a ‘non’-painter

By this I mean both painter the artist and painter the artisan. I’ve never really harboured great hopes for my artistic talents. Now I’m convinced I’m really not a bona fide painter – in both senses of the word. You need only one look at the now patchy walls in my room to verify my statement. Am giving up on brushes haha…

Exit Government’s Cupid…

So … SDU – officially Social Development Unit, unofficially Single Desperate Ugly or Single Desirable Unattached – depending on whichever side you swing to – is ‘calling it quits’ as the government appointed ‘official matchmaker’ after twenty-two years in business.

Or so as the broadsheet papers have reported one day ago in Singapore.

But apparently, the swinging bachelors and bachelorettes appear to be seeking help from private agencies. As the same report would care to elaborate, speed dating and matchmaking are big businesses in Singapore, with singletons chalking up ‘S$29 million on them each year in an effort to find love’.

So the former Government Cupid has now decided it’s high time to take a step back and assume a facilitating role instead. Rather than playing the matchmaker, the government agency will be accrediting private agencies providing such services.

Sounds like good business sense – afterall ain’t it easier to extract revenue from an established sector rather than attempting an ‘uphill climb’ against public disdain of governmental interference in the private affairs of citizens.

Just a little surprising that’s all, that it has to take the agency 22 years to realise the futility of its own efforts.

Licensed to blog?

Season 2 of Project Superstar, Channel U’s top rated Mandarin Pop idol series. Guess what’s new? A ‘Licensed Blogger’. Oh, gotta add, she’s a ‘licensed’ but ‘unofficial’ Superstar blogger. Why the need to stress on her ‘unofficial’ status? Well, I reckon as inferred from the TVC on the ‘licensed, unofficial blog’:

(1) an ‘unofficial’ blog is possibly more ‘credible’ in the eyes of fellow bloggers than an ‘official’ blog? How often do we find ourselves questioning the integrity of a blogger when he/she starts commercialising his/her blog?

(2) by ‘unofficial’ it can also be inferred that the blog is not representative of the views of the organisers or should serve as the basis to speculate on the results of Project Superstar?

Point 2 may beg the question as to why the organisers wanna ‘license’ a blogger in the first place whilst not endorsing her views on the contest. The answer is simply this: blog is possibly one of the cheapest and most effective medium to reach the iGeneration in an island nation where one in every three internet surfers aged 18 to 49 year old is creating his/her own content. The move to ‘license’ a blog for a contest/programme which banks its success on audience participation makes good business sense. But for me it also augurs a mainstreaming of an alternative channel and an increasing capitalisation of an originally people’s medium.

Fine dining experience?

Catching up on lost time in Singapore again. Was entranced by the latest East Meet West instalment of the Indochine Restaurant Forbidden Citycaptured on Channel News Asia this evening till the host and restaurant owner cared to elaborate on the twist in the interior decor of its pub/bar. If I caught it correctly, the centre of the pub/bar features a dance floor right on top of a fish pond/tank!

I went: OMG! How could anyone dream of dancing atop the poor fishes! Could someone enlighten me or correct me if that’s not really the case.

How not to deal with + minority in Singapore

Three nights ago on Channel U Shoot 2, talk show host, Quan Yifeng, relayed her encounter with a now deceased HIV + friend. The outspoken host was unafraid to admit that she had indeed freaked out upon learning that this long time friend of hers whom she’s been maintaining close contact with, had died of HIV infection.

And her outrage against the deliberate non-disclosure of her friend’s condition which in her opinion, had put the circle of friends at risk of exposure to a deadly condition, possibly served as the motivation behind her proposal towards the last segment of the programme. The impassioned talk show host argued for the voluntary segregation of the positive minority from the negative majority. She contended that such a segregation will ideally simulate a discrimination free environment for the positive minority and hence provide them a more suitable living environment.

This is indeed a smart way of putting it across an idea – it does sound like an arrangement that will benefit everyone – not just the positive minority but more importantly the negative majority. However, Ms Quan’s earlier confession of a(n acquired) phobia towards the HIV positive certainly sheds a different light on her proposal.

As fellow host/commentator had subsequently countered, such a proposal if put in place, will signify the regression in the civilisation of a society – and may I add – particularly on the parameters of liberty.

Granted the inflicted minority can as Ms Quan argue, exercise the right to elect where they wish to live. However, the entire proposal has indeed, impose a moralistic onus on those diagnosed positive to ‘voluntarily’ step aside for the ‘greater good’. If indeed carried out to the extreme, such a grand schema will possibly evolve into a social tyranny (see John Stuart Mill On Liberty) where the consensus majority will serve to enslave the will of the minority through social sanctions – mark my word, the ills of an illiberal democracy!

Ms Quan, herself, was ironically the victim of an ‘illiberal democracy’, when her proposal was vetoed by the collective voices of her co-hosts.

This then led me to rethink really what motivates her to put forth such a controversial proposal on National TV. Some may argue, as one famed local blogger has commented on BlogTV, that this is possibly a deliberate tactic to cover more (controversial) grounds on a controversial subject. I’ll then like to ask, where the much valued objective journalism should feature on a successful talk show such as Shoot 2. Should the producers reconsider the delivery of such comments particularly if they were to come from a popular figure such as Ms Quan? I think the last thing we – well at least like-minded ones like Ms Quan’s co-hosts – would wish for is a Xenophobic Nation where those who have erred or did not live up to societal expectations have to be cast away from the sights of those who did.