The Tenang candidates. Let’s hope eventual winner Mohd Azahar Ibrahim (right) has been certified medically fit to carry out his duties for the full term. (Pic: NST) So BN has won the Tenang by-elections. Not unexpected. Johor is traditionally a BN state. Voters there probably went with the familiar BN symbol rather than vote for the better […]
FIELDING THE BEST CANDIDATES Read More »
From the French Revolution to People Power in the Philippines, from Tiananmen Square in Beijing to al-Fardous Square in Baghdad, and now Tahrir Square in Cairo. History is repeating itself, this time in the Middle East. Leaders who have lost touch with the people, who have grown accustomed to life in their ivory towers and
THE DOMINOES HAVE STARTED TO FALL…..WHO’S NEXT? Read More »
The statistics are there for all to see, but few choose to see them or pause long enough to consider the long-term socio-economic effects. I am referring to the rapid graying of the world. By 2030, it is predicted that, for the first time in history, the number of people over 50 will be more than
FACING THE CHALLENGES OF A GRAY NEW WORLD Read More »
A toast to my cousins and my three younger brothers – all aged 55+ and enjoying life. We’ve heard it before: 60 is the new 40 and 70 the new 50. Yet, there are many among us senior citizens who view themselves as 60 going on 80, and 70 going on 90. They think old, look old and
TIME TO THINK OUTSIDE THE CASKET Read More »
The above picture of former Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew’s house was published in the Straits Times yesterday. It struck me that the founding father of modern Singapore – a man who can certainly afford to live in a mansion, has chosen to live in a rambling old house that was built in the 1940s.
SHOULD A HOUSE REFLECT STATUS OR VALUES? Read More »
Straits Times – 19 Jan ’11 I was touched reading about Chia Chwee Leong and former Singapore PM Lee Kuan Yew’s 70-year friendship. They were the best of friends while studying at Raffles Institution and Raffles College, but lost contact after World War Two when LKY left for further studies in the UK. Upon his
FRIENDSHIPS THAT LAST A LIFETIME Read More »
If you are curious to find out your life expectancy, try this test. It’s easy and takes only a few minutes. If you don’t like the numbers that you end up with, just treat it as a wake up call to pay more attention to your health. If the clock says you’ll live to a
WHAT’S YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY? Read More »
Remember our coming-of-age years? Those were the good old days. Music played a huge part in my life when I was in high school and Form 6. Remember the EPs and LPs, Top of the Pops and Dick Clark’s American Bandstand? I spent hours listening to chart-toppers, and spent a bomb buying copies of teen
MEMORY LANE REVISITED WITH ALFRED HO Read More »
What makes Chinese students so successful academically? The answer may lie in strict discipline aka traditional Chinese upbringing. But just how strict is strict? Where does one draw the line? In her new book ‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’, Yale professor Amy Chua shares how she raised her two daughters to be academically brilliant
ARE CHINESE MOTHERS MONSTER MOMS? Read More »
Gray divorces are on the rise, and I’m not surprised. We’ve all heard of the 7-year itch – that’s when after seven years of marital bliss, husbands start to have roving eyes and wives start to roll their eyes and beat their hearts in helpless frustration. That was a generation or two ago when most
