In the wake of NSman Aloysius Pang’s death, historian and well-known government critic Dr Thum Ping Tjin made a scathing remark that may raise a few eyebrows. Inhumane? Well, yes. But let’s not tar everyone under the system with the same brush. There are many caring and even altruistic people around. Trouble is, these folks […]

Aloysius Pang is gone. He died after sustaining serious injuries to his chest and abdomen during a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) training exercise in New Zealand. According to the Chief of Army, Aloysius Pang, who held the rank of Corporal First Class, was crushed when a gun barrel in the SSPH howitzer (Singapore Self-propelled Howitzer) […]

Some 6-7 years ago, many people in Singapore envied me for living in Punggol. There was a lot of publicity about Punggol being a place that will bring the kampung back to urban living. After an initial 10 years of neglect, Punggol was suddenly very happening. An ambitious project was launched to link and dam […]

This is a true story with some of the details changed/invented. I first met F when she was a little girl in P5. She was my neighbour’s daughter, a cocky, wilful and mischievous child who was always making fun of the other kids at the playground. Her mother worked long hours as an assistant at […]

It has been a little more than 2 weeks since our return from Incredible India. The kids are back in school and still recovering from the harsh assault on all their senses. Even I can’t help feeling that I’m still in India when I walk past a playground here in Punggol. So why India? Quite […]

It’s finally 2019 and as a custom, I’m writing another installment of Looking Back in Wonder. There is always something to say when we bid farewell to one year and usher in a new year. Some will say that time flies and I’ve always thought that people say that when they don’t have anything memorable […]

I was one of those who sympathised with Amos Yee when he was taken to task for “insulting Christians” in that first video that brought him worldwide fame. I was also happy for him when he was granted political asylum in the US. It does not mean that I agree with what he said in […]

Images like this are still captured for advertising purposes, but the ones who are driving the advertising industry nowadays are young ladies who document their spending sprees and share their indulgences on social media. Some have even been granted freebies to say good things about luxury goods and services. Apparently, this sort of hype does […]

The Mughals were originally Central Asians who migrated to northern India where they defeated the Delhi Sultanate in 1526. Once settled in India, they adopted Islam and Persian culture. The kingdom grew into a prosperous and powerful empire when Akbar the Great ascended the throne. India was an open society with inter-marriages occurring between the […]