Manila's bus-hijack

The tragedy of the bus-hijack in the Philippines has been making headlines for the past few days. There's no need for me to list out the details of what took place, and the so-called blunder the Philippines National Police had made.

In fact, I'm not surprised that the event turned out this way. I do not mean that the Hong Kong tourists on the bus deserve to die. I'm not taken aback by the incapability of the Philippines' police. The security system of the country is not without flaws. At times, I find it ridiculous.

I shall not comment on the actions by the police in this incident, but my experiences in the country would pretty much sum up my sentiments on the issue.

Take the airport for example. All travellers have to go through at least 2 rounds of security checks from the point of entering the airport premises to the boarding gates. Of all the countries I've been to (not that I've been travelling that much), the Philippines' airport the the most troublesome. So much so that I always make it a point to reduce my carry-on baggage and dress light, i.e. slip-on shoes or slippers, no belts, no jackets.

Security guards are probably one of the most employed jobs throughout the country. You see them everywhere. Every shop in a shopping mall would have at least one security guard on duty. But just look at them. They open the doors for customers, greet the customers, thank the customers for shopping. Don't that make them like any other shopkeeper or salesman?

The society has to play a part. Crime rates are high because the people are not educated, corruption is prevalent, the police are not doing their jobs. It is a vicious cycle that the country needs to break itself out of.

I once watched a Filipino news documentary, on the '10 lessons Philippines should learn from Singapore'. In one of the interviews with an urban planner, he pointed out that there should be a central control or system managing the country, or at least the Metro Manila. The Metro Manila is probably less than the size of Singapore, but there are 17 cities in the Metro Manila and they are run individually by their own local governments. Just imagine, if Singapore is divided into 17 areas and each area has its own management systems in security, traffic, economy etc. It would just turn chaotic. Which is exactly what is happening in the Philippines.

Perhaps I should cite an example. Airports should be built on areas where there are rooms for expansion, given the fact that the aviation industry is constantly growing. The Manila's airport is right smacked in the middle of Pasay City with skyscrapers surrounding it. There have been debates of relocating the airport, but the Pasay City government is not receptive of the idea for fear that it would affect its own economy and tourism. See the problems now?

I agree with my boss, it was just too unlucky of the tourists to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Such incidents could have happened elsewhere, anywhere. The matter was just made worse by the mishandling of the event.

Having said all these, it doesn't stop me from travelling to the Philippines. You would still go back to your home country even if such incident happens in your own country, am I right? Haa. My relationship with my Filipino friends is very strong, reaching out to the children is still what motivates me to continue with my voluntary work. I would just take extra caution when travelling alone.

The Philippines should realise that there are a lot more they need to buck up on, and may the 8 victims rest in peace.

December Rains

I have been soaking myself in December Rains since last night. No, I don't mean the rain literally, and December is still far away. I'm referring to the Mandarin musical 'December Rains' awesomely staged up by Toy Factory Productions, featuring the amazing Kit Chan, George Chan and Jeffrey Low.



《雨季》是本地经典的华语音乐剧，1996年首次登场，2010年再次呈献在观众面前。TOY 肥料厂以这部音乐剧庆祝成立二十周年，是献给所有支持TOY 肥料厂及本地创作的朋友们最恰当不过的礼物。

《雨季》的编剧是本地华语音乐流行歌曲教父梁文福，他除了动笔写出扣人心弦的歌词，也和创作歌手叶良俊一起创造《雨季》的幽美旋律。《雨季》的另一大卖点，就是把陈洁仪、田伟鸿和刘俊葳，连同梁文福的作品撮合在一起。



故事，简单地说，是个三角恋。这个爱情故事，充满着无穷的欢乐和持久的痛苦。设在五十至八十年代的故事，总离不开政治的变化，社会的动乱，年轻人的感情逃脱不了家人的干涉及反对。没什么特别，反正牵动人心的是剧里的歌曲。

我爱上了那首《请你告诉他》，歌词带出三角恋的凄美，主角对爱情的期盼与挣扎。果然是梁文福的创作。其实所有的歌词都很有意思，很佩服梁文福的创作天赋。当然也欣赏陈洁仪、田伟鸿和刘俊葳难以抗拒的歌声。

《雨季》从开场主角们对未来，理想和爱情抱着希望，到落幕感叹过去的幼稚，委屈和无奈，是不是在提醒我们，人都会犯错，都得牺牲，要学习走出那场雨季，才能看到雨后的彩虹。

欣赏一部好的作品，不只是体验它完美地呈现在观众面前，也应该了解制作背后的努力。







恭喜TOY 肥料厂及所有演员们《雨季》演出成功，就让我暂时沉浸在这场美丽的雨季里吧。:)

Song for Singapore

National Day is coming, once again the whole country will come together and feel the spirit of patriotism soar. I'm not 100% patriotic (you could tell from my declarations of love for the Philippines and the Filipinos), National Day is nothing but a holiday to stay home and rest, and watch the National Day Parade on TV.

The military parade, the aircraft flypast, the show segments, and of course, the fireworks, are a staple of the NDP. But the theme songs are the ones that connect the people to the parade, to the entire National Day celebration.

The theme songs started with the familiar tunes of "Count On Me Singapore", "Stand Up For Singapore", "One People, One Nation, One Singapore", and a few more. It was then in 1998 when a different theme song was composed for every NDP, featuring our very own talents. I find that most of the Chinese lyrics are much more meaningful, and some songs, forgettable. Ha. Of all the singers, Kit Chan is still the best. :)

Listing out the various theme songs here, and my favourites. If you want to feel patriotic, you can click on all the links. Haha.

1998: Home



家



1999: Together

心连心



2000: Shine On Me, 星月

2001: Where I Belong

属于



2002: We Will Get There

一起走到



2003: One United People, 全心全意

2004: Home



2005: Reach Out For the Skies, 勇敢向前飞

2006: My Island Home, 辛福的图形

2007: There's No Place I'd Rather Be, Will You



2008: Shine For Singapore, 晴空万里

2009: What Do You See, 就在这里

2010: Song For Singapore



Happy 45th birthday, Singapore!

Go go power rangers!

Does that rings a bell? :D

I'm sure children of our age (note that I used the word 'children', because we are still young!) would definitely know the show. It was the most popular and coolest kids' show on TV during our primary school days! Haha..

It was over our usual catch-up session and we were reminiscing our childhood days. Power Rangers came to our minds, and surprisingly, we could name out the colours and the names of the rangers! And their power morphers!

I would sit right in front of the TV every Saturday morning (it was on TV12 then), and watched the rangers fight against the evil witch Rita and the monsters. I can't remember for how many years I was glued to the show, but I could recall that from the inital 5 rangers (red, blue, yellow, black and pink), the green ranger joined the group, and who in turn became the white ranger. There were replacements to the initial cast as well, and then I had no idea what happened next.

Every kid would talk about Power Rangers. My class even had a 'Rangers group'. Ha. Yes, I was part of it. I shall not say which ranger I was.

I think there used to be some ranger toys around in the house, I supposed they were either being passed down to my younger cousins, or they are now somewhere in Bago City. Haha.

Children shows nowadays are overly matured, kids should have some fantasy and imagination! Despite how violent the show was, Power Rangers is still a classic. Just look at their animations! Haha! But hey, that was in the 90s!

Go go Power Rangers! It's morphin' time!