International Herald Tribune said:

Few people in Singapore know that one village still survives, hidden in trees 180 meters, or 650 feet, from a highway. "Even if I want to show my children how I was brought up, I can't show them," said Ho Why Hong, 50, a taxi driver, as he searched for Kampong Buangkok. "Everything is torn down."

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "First Seletar, next Buangkok?

Seems like the human soul and Mother Nature really mean nothing to Singapore in the context of money and "development"."

Link

Wild Singapore said:

Is the this first sign of the massive construction of a 'long island' opposite the East Coast?

Recommended by littlefish: "Some of my friends were just talking about future land reclamation projects in Singapore last evening. So I did a search and this article popped up."

Link

Chinagirl08 said:

Sep 2006 I have pregnancy but Kelvin give up his baby even he is Christian. He explained to me he is too busy of the work and money is not enough too, he promised to me we will have a lots baby in the future and he also promised to me he will never have any other women in his life otherwise he will go to hell! So I went to abortion after 3 month on Dec.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "A China girl blogs about her relationship with a Singaporean guy, and how he dumped her. She even reveals all his personal information."

Link

Singapore Fountain Pen said...

Anyway, the MBC was definitely a blast! Spectators started queuing before 7 p.m. Young and old, male and female, Singaporeans and foreigners alike, thousands of people chose to leave the comfort of their homes to participate in the countdown.

That may not have been enough to fill the 30,000 seating-capacity in the world's largest floating stage. But for those who chose to take part in the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration event in the country, they couldn't have been disappointed.

There was a bit of a ruckus between 9:00 - 9:30 p.m. when a number of people crossed over...

Link

FeedMeToTheFish said:

The policy to make me pay extra administrative fee for using my own Medisave is sick. The cruel guy who came up with this policy is sicker than I am. In the first place, I did not ask them to keep my money in Medisave. They just did it. Now that I want my money back for my health, they tell me to follow the law and gratefully accept what they decide I should have. The other option they advised is for me to go fly a kite by giving up my citizenship. Only then will they pay me what's rightfully mine!

Recommended by mr.udders: "Is this true? If it is, it's definitely one helluva sick joke."

Link

Tattooed Banker said:

Let me highlight an issue I handled recently. This lady came in and handed a letter addressed to the branch manager. A complaint letter against an ex-colleague of mine to be exact. I can’t reproduce the letter in full here due to disclosure issues but the gist of it was, The letter was drafted in english by a 3rd party, in the first paragraph, this third party explained that this person is illiterate and cannot read or write english or chinese so he/she is writing the letter on the behalf. With no fees charged. (personally, it struck me as odd that someone would actually mentioned he/she is not being paid a fee to write a letter. I would have thought not but the fact that the statement was included made me think otherwise instead.) Customer had bought into a unit trust for X amount of money, which is about 60% of the what she had with our bank.(At point of investment) Claims she is unemployed, have no other sources of income, no other sources of funds and struggling to survive Thought she invested in a fixed deposit with higher return and principal protection. Claims she was told that she can get back the principal + interest after max of 2 years. Wanted the bank to pay her back her principal + interest if she had placed the money in fixed deposits claiming mis-selling Signed off with a thumbprint (as customer claims to be illiterate)

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "People will really try anything just to get their money back. At all cost. "

Link

Wet Calamari said:

The Doll Affair is a yearly event focusing on ball-jointed dolls, that is already in its second run owing to great response last year. These dolls are almost like works of fine art with their attention to detail and posability, and many artists use these too when developing media such as photos.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Very scary, disturbing and yet mesmerizing! And in Singapore too!"

Link

mrbiao said:

Hey, I would love it (and I’m sure many Singaporeans would agree with me) if I can get free public transport by paying 1.5% extra GST! I wouldn’t even mind paying 2% more!

Since Minister Lim was able to make that statement so confidently, there must be some level of confidence that the Government can implement such a system! The Singapore Government is so clean and transparent, it won’t lie to Singaporeans, will it?

So if SIngaporeans are willing to accept a GST hike of 1.5%, we can get free public transport? That’s an awesome deal. As an undergraduate, I estimate that I spend less than $10k a year. 1.5% comes to just $150… for a year of transportation. Wow. I don’t even mind paying 3% more in GST!

Recommended by at82: "Singaporeans should urge the Government to offer what it’s spokesperson (Minister Lim) had so confidently challenged us to accept - increase GST by 1.5%, and offer free public transport. If it cannot be done, then Minister Lim should be held accountable for making the unqualified statement."

Link

I.Z. Reloaded links to some videos of China prostitutes in Geylang ...

These videos taken from inside a slow moving car show illegal sex workers from China standing on the streets of Geylang Lorong 8,10 and12. Just what we need, more Chinese nationals flooding our country.

Link

Mathia Lee said:

FACT: If you’re female, being MARRIED is your biggest risk factor for getting and STI or unwanted pregnancy.

There is a common misconception that unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a problem of teenagers. The fact is that in Singapore, teenagers account for only about 5% of the STI cases and about 10% of the abortion cases. About 2/3 of 12,000 – 14,000 abortions here are performed on married women, and 2/3 of the female HIV patients here are faithful wives who contracted the infection from their husbands.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Sunday Times didn't think you should know these things when they published AWARE's letter."

Link

Redsports.sg said:

National Stadium, Sunday, December 21, 2008 - Some Singaporeans showed last night what idiots they were when they criminally attacked Vietnamese supporters who were celebrating outside the stadium after the game, leaving some with bloodied faces.

Singapore lost 0-1 last night in the second leg semi-final of the ASEAN Football Championship against Vietnam and for some ‘fans’, it was apparently too much to bear.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "We may not match other footballing powerhouse nations in terms of skill nor the fanaticism of its fans...but lamentably, we seem to be gaining some ground in football hooliganism...

Singapore Ultras? hmm..."

Link

Rockson said:

Cheebye lah! 173 people for six fucking hour stuck in the Singapore Flyer! These people got no SOP to save people one is it? [...]

Now the whole world is laughing at this Singapore icon, even got England newspaper call Guardian say can make disaster movie. Whole world news talk about the six hour break down, like New Zealand (the country where people fuck sheep), England, and Canada (they are in America but Obama is not their President). And even International Harold Tribune (I don't know what country is Harold).

FUCKING LAU KUI MAN!!!!

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Singapore Flyer FAIL. In other news, Rockson is back!"

Link

The Online Citizen said:

Former Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of the Today newspaper, said that he sometimes “shuddered looking at some of the stories that are displayed” in the Singapore papers. Comparing the local papers to the Financial Times, which he called a “class act” with “crisp” writings, he said of the mainstream press: “There is an attempt to go downstream by the Straits Times.”

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "A critical assessment of local mainstream media by an insider"

Link

Link to cached copy (thanks Ganga)

Damian Koh of CNET Asia reports that TANGS store is opening a virtual store in Second Life.

Remember the virtual world Second Life?

We don't blame you if you don't, but Singapore retailer TANGS apparently hasn't forgotten about it and the company's virtual store will open its digital doors come March 2009. Visitors will be able to browse and purchase items to dress up their avatars using the MetaCard that acts as virtual currency.

It's still not possible to shop in virtual TANGS and have items shipped to your real home, though the retailer did say it is exploring e-commerce options. When that happens, it'd be a great excuse to vegetate before the PC and live a virtual existence. Now, pardon me, while I go revive my alter ego.

Link

lancerlord said:

No parking here for even lawmen?: A Singaporean couple Mr Ong Eng Chowg and his wife, Marilyn, spotted a police car parked at a "No Parking" area. They parked their car and approached the police officers to remove the police car.

Instead the couple got booked for illegal parking because they parked their car behind the police car.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Major FAIL."

Link

groundnotes said:

It’s been an eventful year. But that’s like saying lots of “stuff’ happens in life. The question is how have the years events affected Singaporeans and which ones are likely to have an echoing effect in the realms of politics, culture and economics?

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "A roundup of 2008 as it draws to a close."

Link

Musing said:

Mahathir is at it again, this time trying to get the construction of his aborted pet project — a new causeway bridge — restarted ... His persistence is commendable ... response of Mahathir’s fans (posted as comments on the blog) is also touching. Except that no one seems to have noticed that the congestion seems to have been caused at least partly if not entirely by the incompetence of those responsible for the project.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "Whose fault is it - Singapore for refusing to build a new bridge, or the Malaysian authorities for building a lousy CIQ ? And why does Mahathir care so much for the bridge ?"

Link

Tan Kin Lian said:

FOR TOP PRIORITY ATTENTION

A RM of a bank called me. He is willing to come forward to sign a statement that he has been giving the wrong information about the credit-linked notes to the bank customers, due to his ignorance. He will be contacting other RMs to come forward and make a similar statement.

He told me that his bank had put pressure on him by stating that he would be held personally responsible to compensate the customers, if he admitted to giving the wrong information.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "A call for bank Relationship Managers to stand together as a group and make a statement. If you are willing to make this statement, email kinlian@gmail.com."

Link

Andrew Mouser said:

In summary, Singapore is a shopping destination and nothing much more. There is really no Singapore history beyond the 1800’s. There really isn’t a Singapore culture. No rain forests. No ancient temples. Heck, because of land reclamation, there really isn’t even a natural beach on the whole island.

While it was nice to go someplace where English is one of the official languages, I really don’t think I will make a return trip to Singapore.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "American tourist chronicles his week in Singapore."

Link

Laremy said:

My cousin enlisted for his National Service last Friday and I tagged along out of curiosity - to see how things have changed in six years (not much) - and to do a bit of research - getting into the military groove while preparing for the rewrite of Full Tank!. I took some videos to document part of the process, so enjoy the final, edited piece.

Recommended by Anonymous Coward: "A video of enlistment day at BMT."

Link