the passing of the season

the passing of Elizabeth Choy

At the age of 96, Singapore's war heroine passed away, succumbing to cancer. There are probably not enough words to give tribute to this woman. Above all she was a symbol of courage and compassion to us all. Not only during the war itself, but throughout her life. So many lives have been touched by the love and passion this woman possessed. If anything her legacy was that human spirit can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. My mum and dad attended her wake.

Singapore causes enormous damage to the reputation of the IMF/World Bank

Singapore paid alot of attention to this IMF/World Bank meeting now in progress. They been harping for a long time now how they want our 4 million citizens to show their best side to the 24,000 (i think) visitors by smiling and being courteous. They been working around the clock to re-do all roads leading from the airport to the city and road leading to the various places the delegates will be visiting. They have renovated the airport terminals and even SUNTEC Convention Centre itself in preparation. In short, the organizers have pulled out all the stops to make it as smooth and well run as possible.
Therein lies the crux of the problem. We dealt so efficiently with all the outward signs, that it would seem that nothing could go wrong logistically. But once again Singapore chose to overlook the human aspect. I guess there is some logic for Singapore's blacklisting of some 27 civil group activists. But this was something that should have been looked into way before the Meeting even started. Now Singapore has had to rescind and allow entry to 22 of the 27. What a slap in the face to Singapore in what was to be one of our finest hours. The fierce criticism from all quarters, including World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and IMF Managing Director Rodrigi rato, has done more damage to Singapore already bad reputation for being authoritatrian and stifling of civil liberties. I seriously doubt anymore such conferences or meetings will be hosted by Singapore after this episode.