Lai Wee Kiat said:

It was the day when all the muscle men congregate to duke it out to win the title of Mr Singapore!

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "The Mr Singapore event is held annually. This blog gives a full review, including thousands of photos of the event. Get ready to be awed by the biggest, most muscular men on the island!"

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The Restaurant said:

A new advertising service provided by SingPost, Things Box allows advertisers to promote their products and services in a three-dimensional box. Similar to requesting for product samples on websites, those who subscribe to Things Box will receive a package directly delivered to their home, from time to time.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Free stuff :)"

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Joyce blogs about Trishaw Night Tour, an event organised by OMY and Radio 1003 FM.

Trishaws（三轮车、人力车） used to be the main transport in the past where taxis（霸王车）was a luxury way of transport.

Nowadays, Trishaws are very seldom seen except for the areas in Bugis and Chinatown. Trishaws are now a business mainly for tourists. Maybe the older generations will reminisce about the good old days when they pass by and saw the Trishaws. But for us, the youngsters, we will not care much for them. At most we will be curious for maybe the first time we see the trishaws.

I am quite excited yesterday as I have never been on a Trishaw before. How will the ride be like? How different will it be compared to being on the usual ways of modern transport or even being on a bicycle?

All I can say is that, it was an unforgettable ride.

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A Singapore Taxi Driver's Diary said:

Looking for something to say, I asked, “You are not working today?”

She gave me an “are you making fun of me?” kind of look and said, “You find me a job and I will work.”

I felt stupid. I was quiet for a moment, trying to imagine what other good-natured taxi uncles would do in this case. I then told her that if she was looking for a job she could look in the newspapers, talk to friends, or ask her MPs for help.

We were reaching her stop, which was in a carpark next to an HDB block. She took out her wallet, held it in her hand, and said slowly, “Yeah. But I have this arthritis for many years. I have never been in a working condition.”

That was what caused her heavy steps, I realized.

I tried to cheer her up. “That’s okay. You don’t have to work then. At least you have your husband to support you.”

“My husband passed away,” she said under her breath. Her hands stopped opening her wallet.

I stuttered, “I…I’m sorry.”

She looked at me, her eyes two ice cubes melting under the sun. “You know a month and half ago, in the news, a husband and a son jumped off a building...”

As if struck by lightning, I felt a current bolt from my scalp to my feet. “My god. That’s your…” I froze in shock.

Recommended by at82: "Touching stories by Dr Cai"

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Mr Wang said:

I was chatting with an old friend. She's a headhunter specialising in lawyers. 10 years ago, which was probably around the time I first got to know her, her work was mostly about recruiting Singaporean lawyers for local law firms and corporations. ...

She made one interesting observation. She says that Singaporeans consistently lose out to the Australians, the Brits and the Indians in one important respect. Singaporeans are not as articulate. They don't speak so well. They are more reserved.

So at job interviews, Singaporeans consistently appear to be less capable than they really are. Consequently, the Aussies, the Brits and the Indians often get the job instead. ("In particular, the Indian lawyers," my friend remarked, "are excellent talkers").

My headhunter friend is a little saddened by this. She knows that many of these Singaporean candidates are at least as capable and competent as the foreigners. It's just that culturally, the typical Singaporean candidate does not feel comfortable aggressively tooting his own horn and singing his own praises at a job interview. This misplaced Asian sense of modesty/humility ends up killing his own chances.

Recommended by at82: "You can extrapolate this into a wider context, and see quite clearly how Singaporeans have screwed themselves. The consistent failure of Singaporeans to speak up boldly for themselves has led to adverse consequences, politically, socially and economically."

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Singapore Short Stories said:

I believe that an Alexa ranking of the government ministries here would be beneficial as we would know which websites are most and least visited by Singaporeans (and maybe foreigners as the minority). From such a list, we can get a glimpse of what ministries that matter more directly or play a more direct and important role in the lives of Singaporeans for them to garner such high volume of traffic daily.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Now Singapore can know which government webpages are the most popular ones among Singaporeans!"

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Alvinology said:

Rachel and I are the first couple in Singapore to have our solemnisation ceremony on board an airplane – how cool is that? :)

It happened at 5.50am on 2 February, 2010, on board Jetstar’s plane, 3K 823 at Changi Airport, Terminal 1.

The two witnesses who signed on the certificate were my mom and Rachel’s mom. The wedding solemniser is Justice of Peace, Mr Lim Huan Chiang.

The ceremony was short, it was over in around ten minutes. The plane took off on time after that with no delay.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Something cheery and romantic for the upcoming Valentine's Day cum Chinese New Year."

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QuaChee said:

Ho Yeow Sun, the wife of the Pastor Kong from City Harvest Church came out with a few Chinese albums and I bought her first. There were lots of hype for the album and controversies too. Ntevertheless I think her first album is not too bad - it does fulfill its purpose - ie to inspire :)

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "It's a compilation of singers from Singapore - sometimes we never know how talented we are till someone points it out"

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The Temasek Review said:

Furniture retail mart Courts will be launching a mass recruitment in exercise in Johor Bahru on 18 January 2010 for Malaysians to fill various positions in Singapore according to a tip-off we receive from a reader.

Singaporeans need not apply even if you travel across the Causeway for the interview as they are open to Malaysians only.

One may think that these jobs are those shunned by Singaporeans and Courts has no choice but to turn to Malaysians to fill the vacancies, as is often used by leaders of the ruling party to defend its pro-foreigner policy and regurgitated faithfully by the state media. ...

Is Singapore Courts recruiting Malaysian workers to work in factories on late shifts?

Let us take a look at the positions offered by Courts to the Malaysians:

The vacancies needed to be filled by Courts are: product specialists, cashiers, operation executives, assistant accountants, credit officer and customer account assistants.

Now these are not highly specialized positions which can only be filled by professionals and talents not available in Singapore or menial jobs shunned by Singaporeans.

Any Singaporean equipped with a ITE or “O” level certificate will be more than qualified to take up these jobs. Why is Courts recruiting Malaysians instead of Singaporeans?

Recommended by at82: "For unemployed or retrenched Singaporeans who are still looking for a job, they will stand a better chance giving up their Singapore citizenship to become a Malaysian and apply for a job based in Singapore in Malaysia instead"

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Lucky Tan said:

"I've applied with the govt before. It always comes to nothing." - Mother

"Where do you go to apply" - Christopher Lee

"The fourth floor of HDB inToa Payoh. I don't understand much English. I only know it is the welfare department. Sometimes, they reject my applications. We go to them because we need help. Otherwise, why bother going to them or subject ourselves to humiliation? I wished I didn't have to go there. They can be so rude. " - Mother

"In what way?" - Actress..

"They keep telling you to work. Its okay if I can find a job. But I may not find one that allows me to look after my children. We go to them only because we need help. They shouldn't say 'Look for a job. Don't always expect help' - Mother

"How did you reply" - Actress

"I kept quiet. Just weep. What else?" - Mother.

So the govt helps these poor folks by telling them to look for a job. Having 2 disabled kids is not a sufficient to qualify for help?

Recommended by at82: "Here is a family that obviously needs help and are poor due to no fault of their own. They have 2 kids with disabilities and the father has difficulty finding a job. What does the govt do to them? Humiliate them when they ask for help and threaten to evict them from their rented flat due to arrears. The part about govt help starts at 6 minutes 23 seconds into the video."

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Singapore Short Stories said:

As the year draws to a close in less than a week’s time, let us recall some of the important and sensational events, which occur in Singapore’s Blogosphere in year 2009.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Useful summary of what 2009 has meant to the blogging world. Have you missed any event? Read this post."

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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! said:

Reading what Law Minister K Shanmugam is proposing for our education system, the alarm bells went off in my head. He’s proposing to educate Singapore students about politics, and while he has added a disclaimer that he is not in favour of championing a political system over another, it seems to me that ultimately, the aim is to influence students to think that the liberal democracy practised in Europe and America is not applicable to a city-state such as Singapore.

Recommended by at82: "The Law Minister wants to peddle propaganda to kids just when I thought they can't get any lower.... "

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National Geographic Magazine said:

To lead a society, the MM says in his precise Victorian English, "one must understand human nature. I have always thought that humanity was animal-like. The Confucian theory was man could be improved, but I'm not sure he can be. He can be trained, he can be disciplined."

Recommended by tinkertailor: "Article on Singapore culture, politics, and LKY."

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Seah Chiang Ngee said:

In a two-storey home, I saw various family members watching cable television on five 37-inch LCD sets in their own rooms. One was attached next to the dining table so that none needed to miss any programme while eating. In front of the house were parked two cars.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Malaysian writer comments on Singaporean middle class."

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Temasek Review said:

Ms Jayne Goh made headlines this year with the setting up of the Association of Blogger ostensibly to “educate” bloggers on responsible blogging.

The association drew flak from the online community with many bloggers expressing scepticism about the organisation, questioning its purpose and leadership.

It was boycotted by most major blogs including the Temasek Review.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Ironic that founder of Singapore Bloggers Association wanted to promote responsible blogging, but ended up defaming people and being sued."

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Pat Law said:

Entrenched in the local blogosphere six feet under, I vehemently disagree to the generalization of Singapore blogs as herewith subjectively criticized by the skeptics. Yet, I recognize that in this world we live in, Perception is Truth. There is truth in what the skeptics are saying but I reckon that the fundamental problem we have here is awareness. I’d bet you a round of beer than you won’t imagine the blogs listed below being from Singapore. Or at very least, most of them.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "High traffic blogs from Singapore that many Singaporeans don't know about. (Note: most of them are design related)"

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Yuhui said:

This group was created in response to a comment by well known American blogger, Michael Arrington. In a blog entry, he claimed that Singaporean blogs are (largely) controlled by the government. [...] it is more likely that there are many more Singaporean blogs that are NOT controlled by the government [...].

Recommended by yuhui: "We need to educate people from around the world about the independence of our Singapore blogosphere!"

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Yaevlejunce said:

Remember how LKY said he will send in the army if there ever is a "freak election" and the PAP is voted out of Parliament? In every other country, when the people vote out the ruling party, it is called a mandate. It is only in Singapore that such a vote is called a "freak election". Also, whose Army is it anyway? Is it the Army of the people of Singapore - who have just voted out the PAP? Or is it the Army of the PAP?

I list here ten out of the many other reasons why I am unable to vote for the PAP:

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Author lists 10 reasons why he cannot vote for the PAP. A worthy read."

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Dennis Thompsett said:

I recently received, in a roundabout way, an e-mail containing a speech to graduating students in Singapore, given by Adrian Tan, a lawyer and author. (He wrote the novel, The Teenage Textbook, which was not only a stunning bestseller in Asia, but was also made into a hit movie and a successful play. So he may be the sole reason why Singaporean teenagers are so well behaved and studious today.)

In any case, I now intend to blatantly steal from Mr. Tan's speech.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Canadian newspaper columnist calls on people to follow Adrian Tan's advice and be hated."

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1001 Rules for the Singaporean said:

Getting things straight for the citizens, new immigrants and foreigners living in Singapore.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "An interesting website collecting 1001 rules for the average singaporeans on the streets. The rules are generated based on current affairs and the mindsets of your fellow singaporean. An interesting and funny read."

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