Chinese New Year 2013 Saints '78 Reunion

Left to Right (front row): Michael Chong,Gurdeep Singh,Albert Hong, Me, A. Surendran,Dr. Chia Boon Tat, Faisal Alsagoff

                                  Back Row : Chew Ping Nan, Paul Ezekiel, Sunil Sabnani

            Yesterday Friday 22nd February 2013, we arranged a 'lo hei' or Prosperity Lunch at my NUS Society Club premises at Kent Ridge, It was a hale and hearty affair, with 10 of us Saint Andrew's 'Old Boys' of the graduating class ('O' Levels) of 1978 making the effort to meet up, reconnect and build social connections again yesterday. The efforts to reconnect and link up were catalysed by us having our 50th year celebrations last year (2012) and also the school celebrating 150 years in existence. We had  2 days of festivities, one for us 50 year old 'boys' in the school compound, and another, on the next day at the Westin Stamford Ballroom where there were over 1000 old boys, girls and their spouses.   

            Organising our 50th year 'joint birthday party' and being alive was very well coordinated by 2 'brothers', Surendran Apparo and Chew Ping Nan. It was very well attended by over 60 'old boys' and more than 10 teachers.  (Yes, we are getting old, but not yet !). Kudos go to Surendran, Ping Nan, Albert Hong and a few others who had the Saints old boys coming from all over Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and even New Zealand (yes, Peter Khoo is THE man). Please visit my earlier posts put up in September 2012 for writeups on that memorable event.

          Coming back to yesterday's lunch, we had the obligatory 'Yu Sheng' (fish slices) and 'Lo Hei' (toss for prosperity), 8 courses and lots of banter about everything and anything current. It is indeed very heartening that the 'Saints Spirit' is still burning brightly after all these years (35 to be exact !!)

       Up and On !!   

  

Latest book on LKY's Insights of China, US and World

             February 2013 will be the release of this latest book by Singapore's worldwide respected visionary statesman, Mr. Lee Kwan Yew. Turning 89 this year, he has always been a brilliant analyst of world events and never minces his words in other words, 'telling it like it is' on topics ranging from social engineering, baby boomer trends, modern day democracy versus socialism and most importantly, a seer into the Chinese Government's positions. As prime minister of Singapore from 1967 till 1989 (32 years), his achievements in developing Singapore to a world class metropolis are second to none. 

        Some of his taglines are quite like soundbites, I quote this interview he gave Time magazine a few weeks ago. Quite brilliant.

       On dictators : " In a dictatorship, you chop heads, not count them"

    

Unbelievable ! Only in Singapore ; Condo Units selling like Cinema Tickets !

The Marina, one of a number of property developments in Sentosa

       I'm sure everyone of you has visited the cinemas recently. If you book by Internet, all you need is a valid credit card, choose your seat(s) and in 10 minutes, you are booked to watch the Zero Dark Thirty at the nearest or most convenient theatre near your home or office.

       For those of us, who wish to try our luck the old way, by going to the cinema and buying them from the counter, well you first scan the bank of LED screens situated outside the Golden Village ,Shaw, Eng Wah movie theatre. You will see the movies flashed up there, the time and also, if the tickets are finishing quickly, you would see the words "selling fast".

No problem, the ticket is what, $10 to $12. If you miss it, you can always catch another movie around the same time or wait and have dinner and catch the next available movie.

     Now, I ventured to this website by a prestigious developer, who is selling a number of "exclusive" condos by the waterside of Sentosa. What do I see there ?   'SELLING FAST'.

he Marina Collection - Unit Sizes & Pricing

Type	Size	Estimated Pricing	Units
3 Bedrooms	1,873 / 2,099 sqft	Upon Request	42 Units
4 Bedrooms	2,185 / 2,347 / 2,390 / 2,519 / 2,766 sqft	Upon Request	39 Units
4 Bedrooms + Studio	2,788 / 3,272 sqft	Upon Request	12 Units
Penthouse 4 Bedrooms	3,369 sqft	Upon Request	14 Units
Penthouse 5 Bedrooms	3,757 / 3,907 sqft	Upon Request	13 Units
Penthouse 6 Bedrooms	4,693 sqft	Upon Request	4 Units

    Wait a minute, these are selling at $5 to $8 miillion a Condo Unit ! SELLING FAST ???   

  

    My US and European friends,acquaintences and colleagues who read this will be astounded at the vibrancy and fluidity at which property is selling in Singapore. Is the developer engaging in Cinema Sales ? Do people have so much cash to spend over in Singapore ?

    Can you believe it ??   

Yu Sheng ; Toss for Luck

One of the traditions peculiar to the Singapore and Malaysian Chinese during Chinese New Year is the eating of the popular 'Yu Sheng' or fish pieces. Normally the fish is Salmon sashimi, or Ikan Parang (a tropical fish), and one can add sliced abalone which is mixed with many types of vegetables such as carrots, white radish, red yam, green yam,pomelo,cucumbers pomelo,groundnuts, pok chu crackers and with the added condiments such as Chinese 5 spice powder, ground cinnamon, plum sauce, extra virgin olive oil and ground white pepper.   

    'Yu Sheng' Picture courtesy of NoobCook.com

Normally eaten on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year, many eating establishments such as top restaurants, seafood joints and 'zhi char' coffeeshops now offer this dish for the 'entire month'  and even 1 week before the the actual Chinese New Year ! The fun for this dish is that the Yu Sheng dish is tossed for luck, and everyone shouts 'Lo Hei' (Prosperity) and 'Huat Ah'  (More Power to you !).

Yu Sheng 

with either Raw Salmon or Boiled Abalone

This year my family had the Yu Sheng on the eve of Chinese New Year. So while tossing, it is encouraged to toss the ingredients higher as it symbolizes 'bu bu gao shen' or translated 'with each step ever higher'. Every member of the family, friends and colleagues are encouraged to participate for our common good fortune and prosperity. So the typical phrases which we wish are ' Nian nian you yu'  (Each year will have wealth), Xue Yue Jing Bu (Improvement on one's studies, if one is a student), 'Wan Shi Ru Yi' (Business will be good) and 'Shen Ti Jian Kang' (Good Health).  

Cinnamon and Black Pepper for Taste 

This dish is only found in the Singapore and Malaysian Chinese Restaurants. So it is really a local creation. For my readers from the Western countries, do get to try some 'Prosperity Dish' every Chinese New Year. But only in Singapore and Malaysia and only for 1 month during the Lunar New Year Period. 


'Huat Arh !! ' 

The First Time

Happy Chinese New Year of the Snake !! 2013

Singapore in 2030

     There are a number of pictures circulating the internet right now, all of which are lampooning the Government's projection of the 2030 population 17 years from now which projects that Sinhapore needs 6.5 to 6.9 million people of which the great additions will be from the foreigner and permanent residents (PR). This is because the projections of 1 elderly person will be supported by only 3.5 younger working persons is much lower than in previous decades.

     The fears of the common citizen are plentiful, overcrowded buses and MRT trains now, jostling for food court tables, cars and goods vehicles aplenty, accidents due to people rushing from point A to point B, see my post below, the prospect of citizens competing for jobs with the added new faces, and the ever upward spiral of costs of goods, cars, and HDB flats make an already stressed population of 5. 3 million sceptical of another up to 1.3 million more. Will we be packed like sardines and moved around from place to place, while the areas for quality living get more and more expensive ? 

      Businesses, small and large will worry about the current control of foreign workers permits jumping threefold in the last few years, costs of COEs for Open category vehicles around the $100,000 mark, the highest ever, and ever squeezing down of profits from the tender projects.

      I worry that this time, the push ahead will be too much for the ordinary citizen to cope pscholgically and will impact their quality of life. Lets look for other solutions from Scandinavian countries and the other countries with aging populations and see what policies have they got to tackle this inevitable issue going forward.