Soto Ayam (Chicken Noodle Soup Malay Style) 5 Star

Sardine Puff ; A delight to eat at $1.50 each 

Best Tasting Soto Ayam ; $ 5.00 per bowl 

Singapore is a culinary paradise, we have so many good cuisine all in one 800 square kilometre of island. 

Today, I decided to try more of the tasty treats along Killiney Road, so I ventured to have breakfast at the Killiney Curry Puff shop along what else, Killiney road. I went there around 10.20 am and was pleasantly surprised that the shop had just opened and the curry puffs were freshly made.

Soto Ayam 

I ordered one for starters and bought home 2 for the young men at home. I also ventured to try the Soto Ayam (chicken) which is basically a noodle chicken broth with fried shallots, fresh bean sprouts, cut spring onions and some deep fried crispy chilli ( I decided to forgo too much of that and removed most of it).

Much to my delight, the Soto Ayam is the best I have tasted in a long while. The chicken stock is rich (read : it will raise your cholesterol levels so be warned !) and very tasty.  The shredded chicken is probably roasted first and then the chicken is cut into strips. The yellow noodles are springy and soft.

All in all, a superb dish for $5.00.

Killiney Curry Puff (Sardine).

This must be good, I reckoned, as the big sign outside advertised Killiney Curry Puff and not Nasi Padang or Nasi Kandar like so many other Malay restaurants. 

One bite into the savoury puff and I knew it was a great snack. The exterior pastry is not flaky with butter like the traditional curry puffs, it is more firm, much like the spongy savoury taste of a prata (made from bread flour).

The sardine inside was compact (ha ha packed like sardines I can almost hear you say) and with some chilli mixed into the paste. No potato and other stuff mixed inside ; that is the reason why it is so satisfying. 

The whole puff took just 30 seconds to wolf down but boy it is worth its $ 1.50. 

Try these dishes if you happen to be around Killiney Road :

Killiney Road Curry Puff

93 Killiney Road (shophouse)

Singapore 239536.

Monaco - a view of the Blue Coast ; Cote Azur

This is a glorious video of the Cote Azur taken along the way to Monte Carlo. The time is about 5.30 pm and it is December 2018 in the winter time.

Downside of living in Singapore - my perspective

As a Singaporean, having lived here all my life, with the occasional long trips (1 month or longer each in 1984, 1986 and 1987) I can safely give the following criticisms about Singapore.

1. Expensive 

-  Costs of living are high, compared to many other parts of Asia. 

New car prices or ownership of a new car in Singapore is the most expensive in the world ($90,000 and upwards for a new car). A person can easily buy a decent sized apartment in a good neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, 2 condominiums in Bangkok Thailand and in many parts of Indonesia, China, Philippines etc. 

-  The price of unleaded petrol is also exhorbitant comparable only to places like Paris and Frankfurt per litre. The price of premium unleaded 98 Octane petrol VPower from Shell costs S$ 2.75 or US$ 2.00 per litre. In the US, petrol or gas as they call it, is priced at U$ 2.00 per gallon (or 4 litres). 

Ouch. 

- Flats (Government owned) and private : while they are of good quality, the price of some resale HDB flats in mature estates can reach close to S$ 1,000,000 and sometimes breaking the $1 M barrier. These are for units closer to the city and can only be purchased by Singaporeans. 

A resale flat means that the original owner must have bought and lived in the flat for 5 years or longer. From an original 99 year leasehold air space, the lease may have run down perhaps 5 to 10 years so there is only 85 - 94 years left on it.  

Fact is, for the new HDB flats while they may costs S$ 250,000 to $400,000 these flats are only for Singaporeans and people enjoy rebates when buying them.  

For condominiums, the price new will range from S$ 600 to $2,500 per square foot depending on location, tenure, access to the MRT and popular schools. Hence condominiums start from prices ranging from S$550,000 onwards. Here foreigners and PRs can purchase these apartments.  

That for many Asians, Americans, and (East) Europeans an exhorbitant price to pay.

-We must be careful so as not to take too large a loan (a maximum of 30% of a Singaporean's gross monthly income can be used to repay the mortgage from the HDB) so that we do not end up being slaves to the flat, or apartment. That would ultimately be a travesty of justice and a poor financial decision made on a couple's part.

- Certain food and drink are expensive ; the price of beer is very high compared to many parts of Asia and  Western Europe. Good International food at the malls can be very pricey. I recall overhearing some Americans complaining about the price of burgers, potato chips and even wine bought from the  supermarket. These import liquors are taxed heavily and the cheapest wine in our supermarket is easily twice that from the same vineyard and sold anywhere in Australia. In Germany a good Riesling costs at most EUR 10 - 15. Here it would be EUR 30 and above.  

2. All year hot and wet weather

Imagine running 6 hours in hot and humid Singapore Ugh ! 

-It gets boring with the heat year round ; I yearn for the lovely spring, autumn and even winter months (I know I am biased only staying for 2 weeks on holiday) but 4 seasons make the weather a conversation starter in many places. In Singapore, its only Hot and Hot and Wet.

Humidity is awful especially if you wore long sleeves or a suit out in this weather.Ugh !

3. Constantly Griping Singaporeans ; Complain Kings and Queens

- I know, we are masters at complaining about everything. Lets start with the traffic (which is not as bad compared to New York, Paris, Shanghai, Bangkok, Mumbai and Jakarta just to name the usual culprits.) is one bug bear. This is especially true when we the motorists pay so much additionaltaxes for the car and there are still jams on the roads for the constant slow lines of traffic caused by the never ending road works (tree-pruning, new upgrading of roads with underpasses or flyovers, new MRT stations). Terribly frustrating at times.  

The additional taxes (see below) 
COE, ARF, and the ERPs are additional taxes on car ownership which us when added up, make our cars easily 3 times the cost of this same car when purchased in USA or Germany.
Its true.  

-  MRT breakdowns get our goat all the time. We complain day and night about the lousy reliability of the trains, the fast pace of life, the queue jumper and the general overcrowding of places of interest 

-  Singaporeans lack the subtle art of being cool ; instead they end up appearing 'kiasu and kiasi' (afraid to lose, lose face and also of death). This is the end product of always being on the treadmill of trying to be ahead of everyone else in getting there. While we are not so blatant as some other (obvious to many) Asians in bad behaviour, we can always show more graciousness and politeness in engaging random people in the street.

  Many foreign people are too polite to tell me so, but this is the general feeling experienced.

- I cite one incident in Hong Kong where I was a bit lost (happens to me from time to time) and wanted to know how to walk towards a certain MTR station ; at the walkway overpass, I approached a middle aged lady with a nice smile on my face and asked her in my basic mandarin how to get to ____ MRT station and whether the route I was taking was correct and the general direction.

Her reaction to me was " Go find it yourself and don't bother me". 

I was aghast at the very unfriendly attitude she had, and hence associated it with all Hong Kong people. This one unfortunate encounter should not tar my impression and cast judgement on the entire community is indeed wrong on my part.


4. Too crowded

-   The place is getting too crowded. Just 15 years ago, we had about 4 million people, now, we have more than 5.5 million, thats 20 odd percent MORE in such a short time. With the new migrants, residents and temporary workers, I feel that this place we call home does emit a certain edginess which can be seen and felt on the roads, this surely reflects the mood of the people about living here.

5. Sense of being Left Behind 

- Again its just my perception than some Singaporeans think that the Government is not doing enough to take care of the potential of the next generation of citizens. Our children have access to the schools based on merit and University education is highly subsidised. However, with the open door to the many foreign students coming here to study and the (perceived) relative ease they (the foreign born) can find a job at the expense of the local kids, then this is something which is to be looked at and policies tweaked so that the local born children do not get left behind.

It would be indeed sad if our children (boys) who have sacrificed 2 years for National Service and end up losing out to people who come in and occupy the prime jobs. To be honest, the small segment of foreign people I meet engaged in some of the jobs in the manufacturing sector are not too impressive to me, and I wonder if a local kid or a senior person is being denied a job. 

The element of Reservist committment is also a sacrifice which our men citizens do ever so often. The opportunity cost for them (ie. perhaps a project will be given to another who does not need to go for reservist training and hence disrupt his civilian job) can be very great and promotion and appraisal reviews must bear that in mind.

These in a nutshell is what comes to the top of my head on this rather balmy Saturday afternoon.

My views are purely mine and are not meant in any way supposed to influence thinking about our Singapore.  

Batam Island Grilled Fish : Ikan Bakar Cianjur - near Batam Centre

There are many ferries leaving Singapore on daily basis from Harbourfront Center 

we took Majestic Ferry service which has like 10 departures each day starting from 8am.

Yesterday, we visited Batam Island, a short 1 hour ferry ride due south of Singapore where there is still vibrant manufacturing (mainly of medical and electronic products) industry.The isalnd consists of a large island and a number of smaller ones, and is the neighbour of Bintan island.Batam islands consist a total of approximately 1,700 sq km of land, mostly for agricultural use and there are several industrial parks for manufcaturing. There are approximately 1 million people residing in Batam.

My colleague and I took the 9.50 am ferry together with another 60 odd people making their way there for holiday and business visits. Batam follows Indonesian time, which is 1 hour behind Singapore's time, so we arrived at Batam Center at approximately 10.00 am. 

The 500,000 (S$ 50) rupiah visa is applicable and payable upon arrival at the Immigration centre. We arrived at Batam Centre (there are 2 ferry arrival points, Sekupang and Batam Center) and took a  short taxi ride to visit our first customer.  

Gurami Asam Bakar (Fried Fish), Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken) and Bittergourd with Egg 

Around noon we headed to the Ikan Bakar Cianjur Restaurant, an air conditioned place near Batam Center to try their famous Gorami fish.

We ordered the fried fish with sweet and sour sauce, also the grilled chicken with honey and the bittergourd and egg dish and a serving of rice. Coffee Indonesian style rounded up the meal. 

Grilled Chicken Breast and Thigh 

Dada Bakar and Paha Bakar

Piece de Resistance - Gurami Asam Manis

The fried fish tasted pretty good, but the sweet and sour sauce lathered over it was a disappointment. This dish alone cost 12 dollars or Rupiah 115,000. 

The grilled chicken was in my opinion, only average. We can get better grilled chicken and rice at food courts, they are called Ayam Penyet (goreng fried or bakar grilled). The meat was lean and the taste sweet as is with many Indonesian dishes.

The bittergourd with egg was the satisfying dish, right on the money in my opinion.

The juices we had (lemon and avocado) were alright ; nothing exceptional

Coffee to end the meal tasted rather bitter and they did not strain the ground coffee leaving the coffee at the bottom of the cup, rather odd, I would say.

My review :  

Food :  3.5  / 5     

This is Batam after all. So for lack of better understanding of the locale (I am sure there are many better ones all over the island and I mean coffeeshops serving Nasi Padang and typical Indonesian food).

Service : 3. 5 / 5

Ambience (Cleanliness) : 3.5 / 5

Price : Rupiah 335,000 or S$ 33.00 (US$ 24 for 2 persons with 10% tax included). Expensive by Indonesian standards. 

Total   : 3.5 / 5   Just slightly above average. Not cheap at all by Indonesian standards  

Would I eat there again ? NO.  If I have other recommendations, I would not eat it again. Not outstanding but also no bad experience either. The plentiful customers local and foreign means that there is some reputation to the place. Price is also not cheap which is a departure of my previous experiences visiting Batam (maybe 5 years ago or longer).  

As a parallel, it is like Sombon seafood in Bangkok Thailand ; seafood cuisine catering to tourists who are visiting Thailand for the first time and want something 'local' without getting TOO ripped off. If you catch my drift. 

I will venture to try different places with recommendations from friends who frequent the place.

For the diehards who want to try Indonesian food without disappointment : 

IKAN BAKAR CIANJUR

Jalan Engku Puiri,

Core Batam Centre 8

BATAM

Ask any Taxi, Grab or Uber driver ; they should know it well.

Venice ; The Last Years

10000000_127249281911903_7148471668363355525_n.mp4

Please click on the ^^  above mp4 video to view the video. 

This was the unforgettable trip we made in Dec 2017, the video of the Rialto river coming up and the lovely 16 - 18th century buildings on both sides of the waterway. With global warming going on unabated with each passing year, low lying cities like Venice will be completely submerged in 50 years or less, so predict climatologists. My wife and I visited this wonderful spot in December 2017 and were enchanted by the waterways, the buildings which were built in ornate Baroque style and of course the many boutique shops of all the famous brands like Dior, Chanel, Hermes, Boss, Bottega Venetta, Louis Vuitton and Prada - all with payment options like Alipay, Wechat pay and the traditional forms of payment.

Surreal view of a boutique shop along the narrow streets of Venice.

This phenomena highlights the growing influence of the Chinese tourist dollar, which has been steadily coming in, first as a trickle, now a fast flowing stream. Much to the delight of the tour operators, the sales industry and of course the museums etc.    

St Mark's Basilica Dec 2017 

The Apostle Mark, one of Jesus's 4 apostles who ventured into Egypt and was instrumental in the  setting up of  the Coptic church  in the first century A.D. My late father Geoffrey must have taken inspiration from Mark's gospel in the Bible to Christen me as such.

Mark the soldier and Mark the apostle.

Mark the Tourist ; 5 th December 2017

I am glad he chose such an inspirational and great man, and was not swayed to name me after one of the members of the Beatles (Ringo or Yoko) or Rolling Stones  (Mick or Keith)

Outside our hotel, 6th December 2017 

Wolves 2 Torino 1 - Adama Traore has come of age !

Kudos to Nuno and his compact squad, they have played 6 Europa Qualifying games and won all 6 ; against Crusaders (Ireland), Pyenik (Armenia) and Turin (Italy) all with winning margins.

Its time for the boys to focus on the domestic Premier League, as this is where the bread and butter viewership and reviews will subsequently come from.

FWAW. 

Thunder Road - One of the Best Covers I have Heard ; Kendrik Zane

Thunder Road Bruce Springsteen London 2012

Indigo Blue - Top Peranakan Food Blog 2 of 2

Ayam Buak Keluak (Betel Nut Curry Chicken) Best !

I can safely say I have not eaten a better Ayam Buak Keluak in a long while. Such is the high standard of Indigo Blue. The chicken is cooked in the curry sauce so that the meat is very tender while the Betel Nut (Buak Keluak) is cut open with easy access to the goody black 'meat' of the nut. The gravy is not too thick and the taste of the cinnamon together with the betel nut and spices remind me of the days of visiting Malacca and sampling their best Peranakan cuisine !  

Shiok ! Very very tasty in my humble opinion.  

Babi Nonya

This is the fatty pork done with the lemak (cocunut) flavour, mildly spicy but I would say not too impressive compared to the degustation 3 servings, and the Ayam Buak Keluak.  As Peranakan Chinese people, they have fused the pork dish with something which most indigenous people would associate with either Chicken or Dou Fu.  

We sat at the table at the forefront 

The setting of the place is simple, well lit, blue (hence the name) tones with clean overall look. I commented that they must have very strong supply and exhaust fan ducts (I have experienced in this) such that the detached kitchen when open does not emnate strong lemak and other smells which are so typical of older establishments. 

They have done a major coup this time, the Les Amis Group.

My ratings :

Food           : 4.8 / 5   (I could not give a 5, the babi lemak was only so so)

Ambience   : 4. 5 / 5 (50 persons in an 2500 ft2 area with clean lines and bright lighting)

Service       : 3. 8 (the serving staff while helpful were clueless about several dishes)

Price          :  $ 150 approx. for 3 persons, $ 50 per person with more than enough food for 

                     each person

Overall       : 13. 1 / 15 

                     4.4   / 5    ;  Excellent (short of perfect)  

Would I come again ?  :  Yes 

INDIGO BLUE KITCHEN 

1 Scotts Road

#03-09/10/11

Shaw Centre

Singapore 228208

Tel : 6235 3218 

Best Tasting Peranakan (Straits Born Chinese) Food 2019 ; Indigo Blue 1 of 2 Post

Level 3 of Shaw Centre 

This is the Les Amis group's newest offering, the Peranakan style of cooking which is characteristic of Straits born Chinese (called Baba Nonya) people. Some 500 years ago, the first Chinese people came as traders, and settled in Malacca (Malaysia) and Singapore amongst other locations in South East Asia.  Some married the local indigenous people (Mala) and while they were here, adopted many of the customs of the indigenous people such as their style of dressing (Baba Nonya), men wore sarongs (cotton cloth shawls around their lower part of their bodies), the methods of local farming and infused many of the local herbs, spices and vegetables into their methods of cooking.

Hence Peranakan cooking is quite similar (except that pork is allowed) to Malay style cooking. Les Amis is a 2 Michelin starred restaurant along the walking section of Shaw Centre in Shaw House, and I have not had the opportunity to try their (I believe very expensive) fine dining. 

However, as we wandered past Indigo Blue, we figured that the adherence to the finest culinary standards by the Les Amis group should be on display at Indigo Blue, we popped in. My, what a serendipitous dining experience ! I had not eated such tasty Peranakan food in years, the last was possibly 8 years ago in Malacca (Malacca Raya has several, the most famous being Oleh Sayang). 

Degustation (Tasting) Menu of 3 Favourites 

The prawn crackers (gratis) was crunchy (of course) and flavourful, as was the Keropok Berinjau (hard to describe, but some wheat cracker with local flavour). For starters, we had the deguatstion tasting menu of 3 favourites ; 2 of which were 'on point' and 1 miss, the string bean salad was also great tasting (see below). There was some prawn together with boiled egg tossed (fried) with a crunchy prawn paste garnish. Super. ! 

Degustatation Menu of a) Kueh Pai Tee b) Ngoh Hiang and c) Otak Otak 

The Kueh Pai Tee which has cooked radish as a base, you then add the half prawn and garnish with parsley as a topping, add some chilli and sweet sauce and Voila ! you pop it in your mouth. I personally perfer the ones served at My Cosy Corner on 2nd Floor of Coronation Plaza.  The radish is rather chunky and the Pie Tee comes up as rather a filler and no oomph or punch to it.

Ngoh Hiang (foreground and Pie Tee behind - tall tower of crispy pastry topped with prawn and garinsh with parsely 

The Ngoh Hiang (friend pork and prawn wrapped with bean curd dumpling) was just nice, quite moist to the taste and enough of meat fillings to satisfy the hungry palette. 

Otak Otak (at front) ; Ooh La La  !

This Otak is practically the BEST I have tasted in a long while ; the mackeral is cooked in a paste inside a pandan leaf with just the right texture, colour and the taste of the coconut just makes me want to eat it over and over. Best in Singapore !!! 

String Bean Salad ; Excellent Starter ! 

The salad was just nice, light and the string bean salad was crunchy and the garnish of a crunchy (I suspect prawn) topping made the dish a crowd pleaser. Will eat it again 

Nonya Chap Chye 

The Chap Chye I found only average though my wife liked it, bear in mind there is pork lard cooked with the food, so the nice lingering taste is probably due to that. The ingredients as you can see are simple, cabbage (2 types) ,some fungus mushroom ,stir fried and served.

The restaurant was packed (luckily this is only a 50 seater) and with some families booking you know their food is of a pretty high standard 

Wait for the next post on the Ayam Buak Keluak, Batang Fish and Babi Nonya    

Staying the Course till the end of the year

This time last year, 2018, we were in just starting out with some testing from a local Pharma company, and one year on, we are indeed a serious testing company with big intentions. New machines have been bought, and perhaps later on, new staff will be added to the team so that we are ready to take on bigger and better things. 

The economy may be really tough at this point, but we are not taking any self defeating news to heart ; the strongest will be the ones who survive and fight day in day out to not only offer the best to their customers, but to continue to engage and grow their business at all times, good and bad.

Challenges abound, personal health is my top priority and may we have an uneventful passage till the end of 2019.

Carpe Diem ! 

Turin 2 Wolves 3 ; we are a top European Club !

Wolves 1 Man Utd 1 20 Aug 2019 - Highlights

Come On Wolves ! FWAW !

Last season's 2 - 1 win over Man Utd at Molineux. OK history. This season will be different. 

Tomorrow morning at 2.00 am, Wolves take on Man Utd in their 101st meeting in all competitions ; 
Wolves have been strong pre-season but need to raise their game against the top 6 team, United.

Nuno has invested wisely in getting new and exciting players like Neto, Cutrone, Vallejo and with player like Gibbs White, Traore and Vinagre all coming along nicely, we have a very high quality team.  

My wish is that they can stand firm, and counter with their best duo Jiminez and Jota in sublime attack ! 

Attack ! Attack ! Attack ! 

Mr Victor Wee Speaks during our 2012 Class Gathering - our 50th collective birthdays !

Happy 54th BIrthday Singapore

As we mark the 54th year of our independence, my wish for Singapore and her citizens to continue the following below, as a proud and hopeful citizen :

a) Racial Harmony 
Keep it up, the founding fathers of the 1st Generation did something which  we must never take for granted and continue to uphold. Our ancestors came from parts of China, India, Europe and traded, and settled with the Orang Laut or Indigenous people from as early as the 19th century. Our far sighted Government made sure that there would be no enclaves in the public HDB housing and with numerous initiatives to ensure each ethnic group had their collective associations helping the less well off and disadvantaged, they also came together to celebrate each other's festivals and celebrations. Well done. 

b)Meritocracy and Education 
Everyone has a chance at making it good, our schools have given scholarships to every child who deserves it, regardless of race,social standing and financial background. Every school a good school is also something which we can proudly say, Singapore, we are up there with the best education systems in the world. Our schools have attained 1st position in PISA ranking for critical thinking and scores in English, Math and Sciences in the Organizarion for Economic Cooperation and Development (36 developed countries with US, UK, Australia and Canada included).  

c)Safety 
I have travelled many parts of Europe, Africa, US, Australia and Asia.  I can say that our personal safety as a visitor or citizen is never in doubt ; the supposed 'free' countries which Freedom House or Human Rights Watch ranks so highly, well, I think these organizations never walked the streets of Singapore and back lanes and compared them with many of the so called developed nations.

Freedom of personal movement in Singapore without fear of harassment or worse would rank very highly in that category.

d)Infrastructure 
Top marks again. Ease of movement using public transport, one Easylink card can get you across the entire island using the MRT, LRT and public buses all of which are air conditioned and with hardly any breakdowns (OK, MRT still needs to up their reliability !).

e)Food 
Best in the world, with competitive prices and Michelin stars abound. Enough said.

f)Quality of Life 
Our HDB Government flats have a ( for the last 20 years or so) pretty high standard of quality compared to many countries the world over. We have sheltered walkways between blocks and each new block has a mid level car park, the point block also has sheltered walkway to the bus stop. 99 year leases with financial incentives such as purchase rebates or 3 generation families to live close together and encourage intra family bonding. 

Community centres offer sports, recreational and gym membership for a nominal sum, swimming pools are open 365 days a year for $1 per entry.

Excellent ideas and implementation.

That said, lets remind ourselves what our pledge says :

"We the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race,language or religion. To build a democratic society. Based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness,prosperity and progress for our nation'. 

Onward Singapore !! 






                        
        

Sometimes you need to let go of good things to improve ; goodbye Helder and Cav

This sounds contradictory but Wolves have loaned out 2 of their excellent strikers Helder Cosra and Ivan Cavaleiro to Fulham and Leeds respectively with the option to sell after one yeat. They both served Wolves tremendously well during their Championship winning days of 2017-18 and then helping Wolves to reach 7th place in 2018-19 season.

I am sad to see their departures as they are both incredibly talented individuals but the manager Nuno has a game plan and we the fans must be patient of this game plan of Nuno's. Running a football club with ambitious owners and with a Profit and Loss objective means that many times, good players need to be sold, if they don't fit into the squad style of play or sometimes to fulfill financial regulations of the Football Association. 

Rather than moan about the loss of a good player, we as fans need to accept that for a team, a club to grow, there will be buying and selling to strengthen the squad to reach even greater heights. 





Well done Helder and Cav! All the best for the future, you are only 22 years of age and your best years are ahead of you !  All the best for both of you at Leeds and at Fulham respectively. 

Being Resolute and Resilient

One of the values I think I try to embody is to be resolute and resilient in challenging times. The world is facing the most uncertain of times and everyday we are bombarded with stories which appall us and while news organizations earn revenue from bad news or even shocking news, I think some good news is always very welcome especially as we are facing headwinds from the very downbeat economic outlook ; Take a look at the world today ; we have the uncertainity of a No Deal Brexit for the UK, the US China Trade Wars, the HK crisis and the Japan S Korea trade spat all do not bode well for an open society like ours. 

I will say this - Push On ; for every crisis this is opportunity knocking at our doorstep ! 

Are we a country of yes men ?

I am aghast that our top marathoner, Soh Rui Yong has been omitted from this year's 2019 SEA games held in November in Manila Philippines. He has been very consistent in his training and spent alot of time and his family's money in training slogging the kms and doing the races all through the 2 years since he won his second SEA Games marathon in Thailand in 2017.

There has been talk of his non compliance with the running association rules such as his cutting holes in his running vest at a regional competition, his public feud with another runner, Ashley Siew at the last SEA games where there was a controversy about the former slowing down for the other competitors (Soh included) as they had taken a wrong turn. Also there was some warning given to Soh about his promotion of sponsors while he is still an amateur. (Correct me if I am wrong). For the record he proudly donned the Singapore colours and won 2 SEA Games Gold medals in 2015 and 2017. He also raced in many overseas meets such as Japan and numerous US meets.

The road to sporting success is long, arduous and full of sacrifices. There was surely tears and sweat and forgoing his social life, the many kms spent overseas in US and Africa to train, waking up at ungodly hours such as 2 am to clock in the 180 - 250 km per week in freezing cold weather. 

The man is probably a maverick, but hey, he is a 2 time SEA Games winner. He has recorded the fastest time ever by a Singaporean (I believe in the Seoul marathon). He runs to the beat of his own drum and sets extremely high standards for himself, his club and his country. 

SNOC will have their reasons, opaquely given in the newspapers as "SA has on several occasions breached the athletics code of conduct". Fair point, but did he cheat, use performance enhancing substances or commit grave fatal errors to cause embarrassment to the athletics community ? The answer is "No" or not that the public knows about.  We are proud of his achievements and what he stands for, a proud Singaporean donning the colours of his country. To omit him from his pet event when he is the fastest competitor by far based on recent records is frankly, childish. 

If Bruce Lee quietly followed his Wing Chun master and toed the line, he would be just one of many instructors of Wing Chun. If Jimi Hendrix used riffs from any of the past masters of the electric guitar and never implement his won style of playing (including teeth, behind the back) he would never brought electric guitar rock music to those great heights. Hendrix was his own genius, an out of this world performer. 

Great artistes and competitors are great because they have learnt the rules, they have mastered the rules and yes they rewrite the rules.  

I think this move is only reinforcing many of our citizens views that to represent the country in sport of in the public sector, we must comply and be 'yes' men. The only way is the way as directed from the top and nothing else. That will only lead to incremental improvement at the very best and a decline in overall standards the more likely outcome. 

Its sad to see this turn of events for a country which is supposedly First World.  Its time the administrators and the officials take some calculated risks for the betterment of the sport, else it will alsways be the "Two Steps Forward, One Step Backward and March on the Spot"

What a Pity.