Are Singaporeans patrotic beyond following the law?

I've been living in Singapore for 2 years and 6 months now. I came here with expectations of a society that safer, more civil, and more free than the one i left (Kuala Lumpur).

My expectations have not been fulfilled.

You see, Singapore being a trading and commercial hub in Asia, a society largely influenced by Western culture with a good blend in of the east as well has set itself standards which come naturally with a country claiming to be a first world nation. One of them being freedom of expression.

Lets not go there shall we for the moment? Suffice to say you would probably agree with me that Singapore's reputation in that is similar to Malaysia's, only difference being, get on the wrong side of the powers-that be in Malaysia, and you'll end up in a lockup, and probably dead the next day.

In Singapore, its going to be a defamation suit, cause yes, if you go by the law, what you do say is slander and yes, you will get prosecuted.

There have been accusations that the Singapore Law Society and the Judicial system is heavily influenced by the government. A lot of accusations actually, by individuals officially deemed not credible by the ruling party such as the...... well....... opposition.

That being said, one does wonder. There can't be smoke without fire.

I find all my singaporean friends to be politically impotent. They have no critical arguments against the ruling party, nor do they have much opinion at all about government policies or the way the country is run.

I get this aura of fear whenever i talk critically about a government policy, as if one wrong word from me, and everyone around me gets arrested on the spot and charged with sedition. In Malaysia? I do not.

Yes, at home things are horrible compared to Singapore. Singapore is a dream city. Its safe, its civil, you can run a business here without the political bullshit.

But, in Malaysia, the youth are not afraid of speaking up and voicing strong opinions about the government. We do not get listened to, what we say falls on deaf ears , BUT we have opinions. Opinions beyond complaining about lack of parking spaces to the local MP, or complaining about ERP price hikes and then doing nothing about it, its all pathetic.

Noone is questioning their government's popularity with Amnesty International, The International Herald Tribune and The Committe to Protect Journalists.

Noone questions the non-renewal of employment visas for international journalists.

The government may or may not have solid reasons for doing this (i honestly don't know), but i wonder why the youth don't really care, but rather want to get on with their lives and try to make it big in financial terms.

I wish my friends would be a bit more patriotic and really, genuinely voice their opinions about government/economic/social policies, because that shows you're not here to just make a living. You're here because you are Singaporeans, people who have invested their lives here and want the best for their nation's future.

If this carries on, the future of Singapore is going to be decided by individuals without passion for their nation , people without a history of having critical views on policy, a history beneficial to creating new policies that will help keep Singapore competitive in the world market and keep her friends in the western,eastern world.

And FYI, i am getting tired of the line:

"You are here getting educated with Singaporean taxpayer dollars in your MOE grant. so don't complain".

Please, Singapore got me in, cause i'm talented, and my country's gone to the dogs. I came here wanting a better life. It is only reasonable i feel concerned about a country i am considering calling home. And being critical does not mean i am spitting in the face of the taxpayer. Get your facts right.

Cheers from,

The Matrix

Exams and more ......

Apologies for not MIA in this blog and stooping low to posting random stuff from youtube to compensate.

I have been busy. This semester is , though not a killer , it is by far the most challenging of the lot. Juggling between 3 major projects, tons of work and reading and impromptu mechatronics lab self programming sessions in a bid to become better at programming a Motorola 68HC11 microcontroller , and the hours spent in front of the QNX Realtime Operating System workstations trying to figure out how to spawnl( ) a process , use threads and set up communication between 2 simultaneous programs is mega draining.

I'm so thankful for the exam period. The madness can stop and i can finally have time to sleep more, cycle more, run more, and catch up on the lectures i barely fully appreciated. I like what i'm doing, i really do.

I had some really good company for my runs and a bike ride last night.

I FINALLY CRACKED THE 400KM MARK ON TREKKIE =))).

I'm flying home on the 8th of December with my road bike to help mom out with some stuff, and I plan to tackle the Kenny Hills area on trekkie for the whole duration of the semester, catch up with my old friends from high school, and gorge on good old malaysian food, and then burn off all that extra blubber by burning rubber on the road =P.

I'be become fitter btw. Hahas. Came into this semester with a slight tummy and flabby thigs, and now its all tightened up and i'm getting slight hint of wings (the muscled side of the torso). Feeling good.

Oh, and for only the second time this sem, i finally had my lazy 10 hour sleep =P.

On an entirely different note, this sem seems like one prone for breakups. I know its non of my business nor should be a concern of mine (judging from my single status which btw i'm actually enjoying thank you very much).

G mentioned his friend breaking up after like a 7-8 year relationship. Wow. That's pretty major. Another friend is going through a pretty bad period now after falling for someone and then having to endure reality after a very short period of time. I do feel sorry for him/her. Undergoing emotional trauma (wonder if there is such a thing) is certainly not the best way to start off one of the toughest semesters.

And i shall end here.

Cheers from the

Matrix

If Everyone Cared by Nickelback with Lyrics

Nickleback addiction. Cheers and good luck for the finals ppl =)

Dating is Confusing **HD**

what....... =.="

Meet trekkie =)

Trekkie and me on our 250km anniversary....

For those wondering, no, I am not about to set up a facebook profile for my new bike, and then link that profile with mine using the "Yuva is married to Trekkie" update on your fb news feeds....

As you would have guessed, i have officially made the transition from trail riding to road racing. For safety reasons mostly.

I broke my arm in March, and despite me thinking its alright, it is not. I cannot sustain a game of badminton for more than 4 matches, i cannot do chin ups anymore, and it hurts when i jump my old bike over obstacles on the trail.

That and the fact that if i were to fall on my right arm on the trails, the bone will shatter again, has made me decide to give up the sport until i graduate at least.

Road biking is different. Its more punishing. To be decent, and to ride with groups, an expected speed of 30-35 km/h is expected out of a rider, constantly for 60km plus. The bikes being mostly less than 10kilos, running on super slim tires and really big cranksets (gears) should be pushed at those speeds.

In case you're wondering how safe doing 35-40km/h is, its not. A fall on a road bike results in bad burns (you land on the freaking road at 30km/h plus for god's sake). But it sure beats falling on rocks and having your balls rammed hard everytime you go over an unexpected pit on the trails.

Plus, it allow me to ride more often and with more people in large groups. Mountain biking is impossible during semester, difficult to find kakis and the trails are far.

Oh, i'm on the brink of clocking 300km on trekkie since getting her 3 weeks ago. Been 300km of pain, but its so worth it. I feel healthier, happier, more motivated and focused on my work.

And now, back to my tutorials.

Cheers from the,

Matrix

Ambition

You gotta have ambition to have purpose in life.

This is what i believe in. A person without ambition, or drive, is like a feather drifting in the wind. Ambition need not necessarily translate into big earth shaking ideas or achievements. Simple short term goals would do. Something to give us hope and something for us to look forward to and to work towards.

I get bored easily during the holidays, which is why i hardly bother going home for long periods and instead prefer staying on campus, working on my research, which btw, is on hiatus indefinitely until i can find the time to pick it up again.

Makes me feel bad sometimes to make claims for hours spent in the lab in front of the microscope, testing pump designs that end up failing and being frustrated when something Suky and I designed which we were sure would work, ends up failing. Or gets clogged up with particles rendering 4 hours effort in making it going to waste. Gah.

Am so looking forward to my internship next semester.

Applied to Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. Never been to Japan before. Dad is of opinion its a plastic society, with its Hello Kitties and cute-sy stuff and quirky vending machines which seem to have no purpose other than putting small sundry shops out of business.

If i do get it, I will be part of a team working on a new mazda prototype. I don't expect to have an active role in designing components for it, honestly do not think a major car company is going to let an intern handle stuff like that. According to a senior who's been on this trip, its pretty fun, with free trips to parts of Japan like Tokyo.

Its a good deal though, I don't get paid, but everything is covered from flight tickets to phone bills and apartment rental and food allowance. Whee, i can take my road bike then and need not worry about extra cost in transporting it =)

Got shortlisted by NTU last week and my name's on some list that's been sent to Japan for consideration. *crosses fingers*

I really want this. Singapore is fine, but have absolutely no intention of living here for the rest of my life. Not a really good place to raise a family in my opinion. Australia is the most ideal. I really want to live in Melbourne or Sydney. Perth's fine too.

Guess its something about the liberal state of affairs in Australia. Singapore has an absymal history of social and political freedom. You can't say what you want freely and i think this will be the downfall of this country in the long run. The singapore model works currently, as this nation is still developing and needs a firm guide and LKY has done wonders with his iron fisted rule of law. I respect that. But there has to come a time for him to just let go. Frankly i don't see that happening anytime soon.

Anyway, am going to bed. Been a long day =))

Cheers from the:

Matrix

Punishing Thursday

Just got "initiated" by the NTU road team. And i was unfortunate enough to be caught in a ride with the sickest bunch of riders NTU has to offer barring one psycho who happily did not turn up.

Was amused to see my machine being prod and looked at from all angles as comments about the retro bars and cranks were made. And then they grinned at each other and insructed me to draft The Machine, a sick psycho individual with the ability to keep pedalling away at over 35kmh non stop and never lets up.

Let me clarify a few terms here for the benefits of non cyclists. To go fast easily, road riders draft each other in a pack. The group forms into a line or in a v shape, with the apex or front being taken up by a strong rider. This chap cuts the air in front, shielding the riders behind him from air resistance and allowing them to follow in his slipstream enabling everyone to ride fast.

In the even the lead rider tires down, he drops to the rear and the one directly behind him takes over.

We pushed at over 30km/h for 60km, at least i did. The 3 sickest fellas just pushed on and left me in the care of a willing roadie, and at this point i felt weak and useless. No matter, pushed on we did past the cold lonely backroads at Newtie past Sembawang and into the torturous gradients of Mandai and into Upper Thomson, and I ended up getting lost near Newtie.

Entirely my fault actually for giving up and slacking , totally unaware that my the main 3 riders were still pushing hard and so was my company and then i found myself all alone at 9.30pm on the dual carriageway famous flanked by dense bush and darkness, the lonely backroads of Singapore famous for contributing a lot towards the large collection of Russel Lee stories of the supernatural.

Cycled slowly, just trying to survive and keep going, and then it hit me. A section of road where mist rolled , blurring the yellow street lights, where a sudden cold blast of air hit me from the front, quickly enveloping me. Broke out in cold sweat, and then as if possesed, geared my ultegras all the way up, and started pedalling furiously.

Came across a taxi in front, and simply overtook aqnd flew past him. Heard a loud angry honk, and looked down at my speedo:

53.3km/h

Let up and caem across a lone rider waiting in the darkness, Nearly flipped out thinking supernatural thoughts and heard the familiar call of "YUVA!".

And so we pushed on into NTU, and then these sick idiots made an unexpected turn up the SBS slope, for all intents and purposes, to burn up their remaining energy and mental strength before getting food and drinks.

Died again, got off my bike and walked up, cursing and swearing loudly with every step.

Damn, I am so weak......

Cheers from a not so feeling strong,

Matrix