Labels: asia, human interest

One of the reasons why I visit Yawning Bread is the plethora of posts on a variety of subjects. And of the more fascinating ones recently is a series on the definition of the Malay race. Does it or does it not really exists? In a comment written by a "Michael" and was cleaned up a bit before being posted on Yawning Bread, the answer seems to be a "no".

Do read the full text here. It may seem long, but it sure is one hell of interesting. Of course some may disagree with it, but what do I know, I am not an anthropologist.

Here's a little excerpt that tickled my funny bone:

Yawning Bread, July 2005 - Who is Malay?

Yawning Bread, July 2007 - A more complex history of 'Malay'

Yawning Bread, October 2007 - Southeast Asian royal families and West Asian links

Yawning Bread, October 2007 - Is there really a race called 'Malays'?

Labels: asia, history

Though I don't know if "happy birthday" is inappropriate considering that they have extended your home imprisonment by another year recently. As of today, she has been detained for more 11 years.

     "So Suu Kyi's courage is the courage to sacrifice her own happiness and a comfortable life so that, through her struggle, she might win the right of an entire nation to seek happy and comfortable lives. It is the absolute expression of selflessness. Paradoxically, in sacrificing her own liberty, she strengthens its cry and bolsters its claim for the people she represents." - Gordon Brown, "Courage: Eight Portraits"





And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing....
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can't steal it
No they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on...
Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you've got they can't deny it
Can't sell it, can't buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home... hard to know what it is if you've never had one
Home... I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the hurt is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
All that you scheme...
(U2 - Walk On)

Labels: asia, human interest, politics

I was chatting with a group of friends over late night drinks and food at the KTM train station along Tanjong Pagar when one of them told us about his experience as a doctor involved in the repatriation of the last Vietnamese boat people from Singapore back to Vietnam. This then triggered the sudden need in me to recall the name of the camp in Sembawang where they were housed temporarily pending acceptance by a third country. But no matter how hard I try, I couldn't. The closest guess I had was Wilkins Road Camp, which I think is incorrect.

Anyhow, I came back home and tried to search the web for an answer, but I had no luck there either. What I did find were these two very moving articles about them. One is by Mr Miyagi who recounted his time studying in Australia and his Vietnamese friend from law school. And the other is by an American named Don Hardy who visited the (now closed) refugee camp on the island of Galang (in the Indonesian Riau archipelago) south of Singapore.

My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas} - 'I like Singapore. It's very beautiful. We see it from the boat'

They Gypsy Wagon Expedition - Galang

I was very young when the Vietnamese boat people exodus started. But I do remember everyone in my church putting their hands together to collect old clothes, blankets and other daily necessities for those who made it to Singapore. And I still remember my own unhappiness about the actions of our government in refusing them entry. But at least they had the decency to order the navy to replenish these boats with food, water and fuel before towing them out to sea again.

Despite my disagreement with their policy, I do understand where they were coming from back then. If our government started accepting them, it would only encourage their compatriots and Singapore would soon be flooded by thousands of them. Yes, it was literally an exodus.

I guess we weren't ready to cope, not when we were still in the midst of the "Two Is Enough" policy and especially not with only 682.7km² of land at our disposal. But I do wonder whether that policy should have been tweaked a little given our current declining birth rates and potential population crisis.

When I was in navy school, one of my warrant officers was recalling the first time he had to fire live rounds (20mm) at a real target - a rickety Vietnamese refugee boat filled to the brim with men (some who were possibly armed and dangerous), women and children. They had repeatedly defied orders from the ship's CO not to head to Singapore. So to show that they meant business, my warrant officer (then a mere junior rating) was ordered to fire one shot across their bow, which in naval speak means "piss off, we mean it."

So there he was, given an order that he dread. It was not so much that he was afraid of firing live rounds; it was because he was afraid that he may hit one of them, especially the women and children. I guess when you come across one too many un-seaworthy boats filled with desperate, hungry and thirsty people whom you have to push away, it really gets to you. And I think all those navy guys (officers and men) who had to do this unsavoury job were really affected by it. Only the heartless wouldn't be.

Considering our country's declining reproduction rates and perceived lack of talents, I wonder whether Singapore would still come up with the same policy if the boat people exodus had happened now instead of then. Would we still turn them away? After all, some of them are pretty talented professionals in their own fields and their numbers would be able to make up for the population shortfall that our government is so worried about.

Labels: asia, singapore