The Poor, The Aged & The Alien

The Singapore Parliament kicked off the debate on the Budget yesterday. As reported on Channel News Asia, most of the Members of Parliament (MPs) focussed on the schemes announced to help the low income, the elderly and small businesses. A total of 25 Members of Parliament spoke on Tuesday. Here is an extract of the news reported by CNA:

MPs have described Budget 2012 as "A Budget for the Future" while others called it "A Caring Budget". Under it, the government will spend about $5.5 billion over the next five years to help the less well-off in Singapore. Its new initiatives are targeted at the elderly, disabled and lower-income group. So it was no surprise that in nearly every speech delivered on Tuesday, the plight of two groups of Singaporeans - the elderly and the low-income were addressed.

Zainudin Nordin, GPC Chair for Manpower and MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said: "I urge the Government to place some emphasis, using the power of whole of Government, to look at how we can improve the lives of this group...While I am sure that they appreciate the rebates, vouchers and so on that the government offers from time to time, I think there is a need for a closer examination of where each dollar that a low-wage worker earns goes to." Sylvia Lim, MP for Aljunied GRC, said: "In this Budget, the Finance Minister course-corrected to ensure that our poor, elderly and disabled are not stuck in isolated pockets of poverty in our island of prosperity. Let us all agree never to allow the formation of a permanent underclass."

My bible reading for yesterday morning was on Leviticus 19. The outline for the chapter is as follows:
19:1-2 be holy, because I the lord, your god is holy!
19:3 respect your parents, keep the sabbath
19:4 avoid idolatry
19:5-8 correct sacrifice of the fellowship offering
19:9-13 be generous & don't covet
19:14 do not be a stumbling-block
19:15-18 love your neighbor as yourself
19:19-25 unequal yoke
19:26-31 do not worship the occult
19:32-34 love the elderly & alien
19:35-36 use honest scale
19:37 keep my decrees

Coincidental to the discussions in Singapore Parliment, I choosed to focus my study on the following verses: Leviticus 19:9, 10, 32-34 (ESV)

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.

"You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Specifically, the above verses focus on our posture towards three groups of people: 1) the poor, 2) the elderly, & 3) the alien. In the Life Application Bible, it was written that: 

1) The Poor: God provides for those in need. He required that the people leave the edges of their fields unharvested, providing food for travelers and the poor. It is easy to forget about the poor but God desires generosity. In what ways can you leave the "edges of your field" for those in need?

2) The Elderly: People often find it easy to dismiss the opinions of the elderly and avoid taking time to visit them. But the fact that God commanded the Israelites to honor the elderly shows how seriously we should take the responsibility of respecting those older than we. Their wisdom gained from experience can save us from many pitfalls.
3) The Alien: How do you feel when you encounter foreigners, especially those who don't speak your language? Are you impatient? Do you think or act as if they should go back where they came from? Are you tempted to take advantage of them? God says to treat foreigners as you'd treat fellow countrymen, to love them as you love yourself. In reality, we are all foreigners in this world, because it is only our temporary home. View strangers, newcomers, and foreigners as opportunities to demonstrate God's love.

The Two Rails Life

We have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.... "I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life... No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.... And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for." - Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life.

photo: railway track along Upper Bt. Timah Rd, Singapore

Continue to Climb

Whatever the struggle, continue the climb... "I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” (anon).

photo: steps up Mt Faber, S'pore

The Fullness of Life

I have recently acquired a new hobby. As a gift for myself on my birthday (May), I bought a digital SLR camera - Canon 550D at just below S$1,800. To learn how to use the camera, I have signed up for several photography courses. In Jun/July, I will be attending a nature photography course organized by the National Parks and the Nature Photographic Society of Singapore. It will be held over 6 half-Saturday (8 am -12 noon) which involves 2 hours of theory lesson in class and 2 hours practical at the Botanical Gardens.

In May, we celebrated our 18th anniversary! To celebrate, we took a “local” holiday. My wife didn’t want to travel as we are already going abroad in June (Europe) and July (HK). So, we decided to book a room at the Fullerton Hotel, which I found a bargain thru the internet. For $288 a night, inclusive of buffet breakfast, river cruise + F/B voucher of S$88 (which can be used for dinner). They allow late check-out till 3 pm. For an extra S$50, you get to upgrade to a room with the view of the Marina Bay. The upgrade was worth it as the room at the 7th floor comes with a balcony and overlooking the integrated resort and the Singapore flyer. It was also two rooms away from Room 777, which is the very room the late Goh Keng Swee and Hon Sui Sen occupied as Finance Minister during the early days of Singapore independeence.

Below is a photo I took using the new camera.

Finally, I would like to share the following prayer (twice I received it recently; first from my wife on my birthday, and second from the church elder during the contact group dedication):

“When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

(Ephesians 3: 14-19; NLT).

Do You Remember?

The anniversary is a chance to take a step back and have a look at the year that has gone by and do a close-up analysis of your marriage. It gives you the chance to rekindle some of the flame that used to burn brightly. It gives you a chance to say you’re sorry about things that have gone wrong and it gives you a chance to escape the world and concentrate on one another completely for 24 hours. With modern day society being as hectic as it is, it is so easy to get lost in the everyday drama of work, meetings, children, colleagues and more. Far too many couples get “lost” along the way and the anniversary is the perfect opportunity to get things “back on track” at least once a year – Marrilyn (Travelling Bride).

photo: The Padang, S'pore (Nov 09)

Today is the anniversary of “Will you Be My Wife (BMW)?” proposal. My wife and I share the same belief that each and every anniversary deserves to be celebrated in a memorable way. Some friends are amazed that we actually remember our proposal date. A few, particularly the guys, may even ask why fuss over anniversary? Why do we need to remember dates in the first place? Well, a simple reason is when we celebrate our anniversary each year it is an annual renewal of our commitment to one another.

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In his sermon on The Importance of Remembering the Past, Bruce Goettsche notes as a nation, we have tried to keep our history alive through monuments. We have monuments to various wars. We have museums that contain artifacts that tell the story of the past. We place monuments in cemeteries and study family genealogical records, all in an attempt to keep our "history" alive. Similarly, God didn't just tell the Israelites to remember . . . He gave them aids to help them remember. In the biblical history of Israel, God made a habit of building monuments and establishing symbols that would keep his people informed. For example, He gave the rainbow to Noah; the rite of circumcision to Abraham; the sacrificial system & the required feasts, etc. And Jesus instituted Baptism and Holy Communion, commanding “This Do in Remembrance of Me.”

Goettsche went on to offer three reasons why we need to remember: (1) Because we have selective memory, (2) Because it reminds us of our blessings, and (3) Because it spurs us on and keeps us focused. Whilst his sermon focused on what remembering does for our spiritual lives, I feel that the same reasons apply to celebrating one’s proposal, engagement, or wedding anniversary.

Because we have selective memories: For the first point, he uses the following example to illustrate what he meant. When you are in a conflict with another person, what offenses do you remember most clearly? Your offenses, or the other person's? If you are like most people you remember what others did TO you while you spotlight what you did FOR the other person. We conveniently forget the things we did to provoke a conflict.

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Because it Reminds us Of Our Blessings. Isn't it a wonderful thing to page through a scrapbook or look at wedding pictures? Isn't it a precious thing to look through the photo albums and remember the people who have touched our lives and the events that enriched us? It's hard to look at those things and not be grateful for the blessings we've had.

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Because it Spurs Us On and Keeps us Focused. The whole point of remembering is to spur you on. Remembering your wedding vows helps you focus again on your commitment. Remembering how much it hurt to lose someone helps you cherish those you had taken for granted. Remembering how much a visit meant when you experienced loss will spur you on to make that difficult visit to a friend who is grieving. Remembering how scared you were when you were sick will help you to cherish the days you have.

In summary, when we forget the past we lose the anchor that keeps us from drifting. Just as God establish memorials to remind his people, celebrating our anniversary is establishing our own monuments of remembrance. For me and my wife, Nov 28 will be always be a special day! Because it is the day we committed ourselves and our future to each other… it is the day we agreed to be fellow pilgrims on this earth journey. And celebrating the anniversary reminds us of the circumstances, places and divine hand that brought us together.

So what did we do to celebrate our anniversary this year? We decided to break our normal routine and went on a date the whole day. Our date starts at Raffles City where we went shopping for a camera, tv and some gifts for her friends. Then, we had a relaxing lunch at a Japanese restaurant. After that, we took a stroll along memory lane – The Padang, the place where I went down on my knees to propose to her exactly 19 years ago. We went visited some art exhibitions at the City Hall before finding our way to Funan IT Mall where we had popiah and coffee.

At the mall, we bumped into a couple from church, who are also staying in our condominium. We had tea with them for an hour or so before making our way to Bistro 103 at Pasir Panjang for dinner - I found the casual bistro after googling on web as a follow up to my wife’s request to have BBQ ribs for dinner. The meal was nice and service was fast and good. We ended up chatting with the pleasant proprietor who readily gave us a 10% discount on hearing that it was our anniversary.

We didn't reached home till 9.00 pm. It was a long day but we had a wonderful time enjoying each other company. Below are the photos we took today (using the new camera) plus some old photos from the file.

Source: http://www.travellingbride.co.za/artickes-and-news/ ; Rev. Bruce Goettsche, LaHarpe, IL. 61450 www.unionchurch.com

GUEST Service

I have not been keeping this blog updated in the past few months as it has been a very hectic period for me. I am beginning to see the light in the tunnel, with the semester of teaching coming to an end soon. Below is a blog posting entitled, "Treat Your Customer as Your Guest" by NUS office of quality management which I find very meaningful. It is also appropriate since we have been hosting a number of professors visiting Singapore.

photo: Geoff, US (July 09)

One of the key success factors of great service organisations like Ritz Carlton and Walt Disney is that they treat their customers as guests. Therefore, to deliver great service, we first need to embrace the paradigm of treating our customers as guests. This involves learning and practising the "Guest” philosophy, a set of principles for delivering the extraordinary guest experience.

photo: Tony, US (Oct 2009)

Generosity in hospitality : The word “hospitality” is known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whoever is in need. As a host, one should not only be concerned about meeting or exceeding the guest’s physical and functional needs, but also about satisfying his psychological and emotional needs. In the paper “Customer Experience: The Next Competitive Battleground” by Beyond Philosophy, 69 per cent of all consumers surveyed said that emotions accounted for 50 per cent or more of every customer experience. Therefore, to win your guest’s approval, satisfy his psychological needs; and if you want to win his heart, satisfy his emotional needs.

photo: Gianluca, UK & Dogan, Australia (Oct 09)
Unique individual : Every guest is an individual with unique physical, functional, psychological and emotional needs. Service thus has to be personalised as this would make the guest feel special, instead of like a digit in the stream of customers that come and go.

photo: Simon (UK), Kyung-Hwan (S.Korea) & Charles (HK)

Everyone is welcome : As all customers are your guests, every one of them should feel welcomed and be treated with dignity and respect. There should be no discrimination, prejudice or bias against your guest in terms of age, race, gender, religion or culture. Your guest is a human being; hence, any mistreatment will be felt and such hurt will not go away easily. The damage will be greater if the guest complains about the company to his friends, relatives, colleagues and business partners.
photo: Brent & Cinda (Oct 09)
Service to others : The hallmark of treating your customers as guests is to be of service to them. The host can feel an emotional sense of satisfaction when he sees and senses that his guest leaves the premises happier than when he first arrived.

Total guest experience: The contact that you have with your guest is not simply a short engagement but a summation of all physical and non-physical contacts the guest has with the organisation and its staff. People remember experiences and not just services or products.

photo: HRH The Prince Andrew, UK (Oct 09)
In summary, GUEST Service stands for (1) Generosity in hospitality, (2) Unique individual, (3) Everyone is welcome, (4) Service to others, and (5) Total guest experience.

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Source: Quality Blog, NUS (adapted from the article “Treat Your Customer as Your Guest”, Today’s Manager Jun-Jul 2009).

Failure is Not Fatal

Last week, my students and I visited the newest shopping mall in Singapore at the heart of Orchard Road, namely the ION Orchard. The field trip started with a presentation by the CEO on the competitive advantages of the new shopping mall. After the visit, one student contributed the following on the discussion forum:

"In addition, the CEO mentioned that one of the challenges that she had met in this process is that everything is a risk to her. Even by bringing in new options and having a global flagships is a new thing that they are trying out. I feel that it is an important thing for us to be innovative when it comes to tenant mix as often singaporeans feel that shops in singapore are always the same. Therefore, i agree with her that everything is a risk no matter what we do, we should not always stay in our comfort zone but to step out of it and give it a try, only then could we know if we are successful."

In this posting, I would like to expand on the student's reflection which remind me of 3 four-letter words, i.e. RISK, FEAR & FAIL! Over this weekend, I came across an interesting quotation by Theodore Roosevelt:

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."

The author of the book Bringing Out the Best in People suggests that we should probably reprimand our group if they are not having a few flops, for if they're not failing now and again, it's a sign they're playing it safe. Jack Lemmon once said, "Failure never hurt anybody. It's the fear of failure that kills you... You've got to go down the alley and take those chances."

Seneca also said, "if thou art a man, admire those who attempt great things, even though they fail." The author warned a fatal mistake made by some is to lash out so harshly at young people for some failure that they scale down their aspirations and not longer strive for high goals.

When asked for the ingredients of good managment, a CEO once replied, "You need the ability to fail. I'm amazed at the number of organizations that set up an environment where they do not permit their people to be wrong. You cannot innovate unless you are willing to accept some mistakes."

In the face of failures, there are two possible responses: (1) Quit - unable to rise from their failure, they scale down their dreams and live out their lives in resignation and cautious mediocrity, or (2) Overcome - when they stumble, they pick themselves up, look around o learn from their mistakes, and then go on to finish the race with distinction.

The best managers expect their people to make mistakes, and instead of replacing staff constantly, they recognize that it is more efficient to teach people to cope with their failures and learn from their mistakes. They create an environment whereby FAILURE is not FATAL!

source: Bringing out the Best In People

Water of Life

"Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." - Revelation 22:17

Half-time: One my annual routine is to take a day off (on my birthday), go somewhere quiet, rest & relax, enjoy nature, and spend time alone to reflect on life - whether I have lived mine wisely. Like in a football match, half time is for the players who have been running relentless to take a short rest. Half time provides a respite for us to evaluate our performance in the first half and regroup for the second half. An opportunity to take fresh instructions from the manager and coach.

H2O = Life. This year, I decided to spend the day visiting the three reservoirs in central Singapore, namely the Lower Pierce Reservoir, the Upper Pierce Reservoir, and Upper Seletar Reservoir. Being a small city-state with limited land area, water remains a vital resource for Singapore. Of the three reservoirs I visited that day, I liked Upper Pierce Reservoir because it is the most remote - hence, it is more serene with fewer people. Also, the view is paranomic, as one could also look back (or down) to see the Lower Pierce Reservoir. Here is a slide show of the photos I took that day.

Have you ever been really thirsty? How long do you think a person can live without drinking water? Not very long. You can live a long time without food, but not without water. In the book of Isaiah (55:1), there is an open invitation to all who are thirsty, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat”.

For me, taking advantage of the half time is a critical aspect of time management. Christians place great importance on setting and spending time with God everyday. Quiet time set aside not only for resting, but also to reflect on how we are (or have been) doing. An opportunte time to hear the coach & receive fresh instructions for the game as well as encouragement from him.

"He gives power to the weak, and tho those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:29&31

The Hope of Christmas

"Christmas means different things to different people. I wonder what Christmas means to the 80 yr-old man in Zimbabwe, living in a hut, who knows nothing of shopping malls or Christmas trees. What does Christmas mean to him?... " - Rev. Edmund Chan

Below is a photo of our church, Covenant Evangelical Free Church, at Bukit Panjang. We have been attending this church since we returned from our sabbatical in June 2008. There are two services on Sunday, 9.00 am & 11.00 am. We usually attend the first service so that we have a longer day after the service.

In today's church bulletin, Rev. Edmund Chan, the Senior Pastor, shared his heartbeat on The Hope of Christmas.

"I wonder what it means to a group of little children in China, with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes, playing care-free in an open playground. What does Christmas mean to them? "

"I wonder what it means to those who have lost their entire life-savings, through little fault of their own, because of misguided investments. What does Christmas means to them? ..."

"I'm sure that Christmas means different things to different people. To merchants, it is perhaps the busiest time of the year... For some employees, it may mean overtime and a Christmas bonus. For some, it means a family vacation. For still others, Christmas means parties and fun. Even so, to many, Christmas is a season of giving."

What is the greatest gift you have ever received? Christmas is primarily about God's giving to us His greatest gift! How do we determine what the greatest gift is?

"Your greatest gift received is dependent on your greatest need realized. Humanity's greatest need is spiritual.... The Bible says that our greatest need is to be re-conciled with God. It teaches us that sin separated us from God. Therefore God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. The Bible also says that when we believe in Jesus, we have God's complete forgiveness for ALL our sins and we have God's free gift of eternal life. This then is the hope of Christmas! "

"And God's fantastic gift is still available today! It must be received. And it must be received personally. And that which is freely given by God must be received personally by faith! Right now, you can receive God's free gift of eternal life through a simple prayer of faith" "Dear God, please forgive me my sins. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. Lord Jesus, please come into my life. I receive you as my personal Lord and Saviour today." - Rev. Edmund Chan

What Christmas Means to Me & My Wife? First, it is about receiving the greatest gift God has given us and to thank Him for everything that He has done. Second, Christmas is a time for us to look back and reflect on what we have done for the year:

"A quick reflection on what we have done in 2008: The first half, we were in the US. We had fun in the cold and with the snow as well as the delight of spring flowers! The second half, we were back in Singapore. Adjustments are an unavoidable part of life; more so when you’ve been away for some time. On our return, we also started attending a new church nearer to our house. Looking back, we have actually done a lot of mileage in 2007-08. During our stay in the US, we practically covered most of the states on the East Coast (Vermont, Boston, Connecticut, New York, Washington DC, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, New Orleans, and Florida), plus Ohio, Pittsburgh and Chicago. We have just returned from Shanghai earlier this month."

After having visited so many places, we still find that the best part of travelling is not seeing new places but meeting people; making new friends as well as catching up with old ones, far and near. These are the memories that have stayed with us.

A former classmate (who travelled even more) added, "my own conclusion - the best place is still in Singapore."

A Scenic Walk: HortPark

"This story begins at the end... it might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time."- Mitch Albom

THE END!

Still smiling at the end of our 2-hour hike!

Last Sunday, our cell group* organized a hiking. The journey begins at HortPark, which is Southeast Asia's first one-stop centre for gardening-related recreational, educational, research and retail activities in a park setting. The meeting time was 4 pm.

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We took time to smell the flowers.

Our hike starts at the Alexandra Arch. At night, the bridge dazzles with colour changing LED lights.

photo: Alexandra Arch, with its curved deck and tilted arch, is designed to span the Alexandra Road like an open leaf.

On the other side is Gillman Village, a former British military camp in the early 20th century is now home to an eclectic mix of restaurants, pubs and art galaries. We then walked on an elevated walkway called The Forest Walk (1.3 km), which meanders some 50 metres through the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill.

photo: the raised walkway with heights ranging from 3 to 18 metres brushes the canopy of trees and offers a bird's eye view of the forest.

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photo: A stunning 360-degree view of S'pore from the hilltop

30 mins later, we reached The Terrace Garden, which is situated at the top of the Telok Blangah Hill Park. It has a series of semi-circular terraces arrayed with purple bougainvilleas.

After taking a short break, we continued our hike towards the Henderson Waves. At 36 metres above Henderson Road, it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It connects the two hills of Telok Blangah Hill and Mount Faber. The bridge has a unique wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel "ribs" that alternately rise over and under its deck.

photo: The curved "ribs" form alcoves that functions as shelters with seats within.

The Henderson Waves joins the Faber Walk, which meanders through Mount Faber Park. At 106 m tall, Mount Faber is also the second highest hill in Singapore.

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We took another break at the cable car station on Mount Faber (Jewel Box). Most of us were impressed by both the spectacular view as well as the decor in the toilets. Personally, I would rate it as the "best" public toilet in Singapore!

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photo: The slopes of this 56-hectare park are covered by dense secondary rain forest, and are home to many interesting plants and fauna.

After that, it was an easy downhill hike along steps and shaded footpaths, again through secondary forest. Thankfully, we were descending. Going the other way would mean climbing an elevation of 70 meters (or the equivalent of a 24-storey building).

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The Marang Trail ends at Marang Rd, which is just behind the Harbourfront MRT Station. We headed straight to VivoCity's Food Republic where I rewarded myself with a "sinful" plate of chicken nasi briyani & "teh halia" (ginger tea).

* cell group is a small group of Christians from the same church gathering together in the home of one of the members. Cell groups in our church are called Covenant Group, or CG, in short. In addition to worshipping collectively in the church building on Sundays, the CGs meet weekly at various homes spread across Singapore. CGs are intended to personalize Christian fellowship and forsters accountability, bonding and discipleship. Our CG meets on Saturday in Jurong West, from 4.00 - 6.00 pm. As Christians, and as part of God's family, we make a commitment to gather together to share our faith and to strengthen one another in the Lord. As you can see, it is not all serious! We know how to enjoy as well! :)

"Let us not give up meeting together, ..., but let us
encourage one another." - Heb 10:25

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Source of information: national parks' brochure on southern ridges

F1: Miracle on Singapore St

"I will need a miracle ... to be able to make progress on this street circuit where it looks difficult to overtake." - Fernando Alonso

The 2008 Singaporean F1 Grand Prix was the first in the F1 history to be staged at night. My wife and I, were given two tickets for the three-day event, but we decided to give them away to relatives who are more enthusiatic about the race. Held in September 08, the race was a new experience for every driver because it involved driving on a street circuit under powerful spotlights. The race also turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season.

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Fernando Alonso, in his Renault, had set the fastest time in the practice runs. But the Spaniard's hopes of pole position were dashed... A car failure during the qualifying runs on Saturday left him a wretched 15th - a starting position no driver had ever won a Grand Prix from in the 799 world championship events leading up to this race. Struggling to conceal his frustration at, Alonso said he will need a miracle to claw his way into the points.

“Our weekend was going really well and we had big hopes for this evening… It’s a really big disappointment because we had a real chance to do something special today, perhaps not pole position but to at least qualify in the top four… I know that starting in the middle of the pack will make for a difficult race and … … I will need a miracle … to be able to make progress on this street circuit where it looks difficult to overtake."

The next day, Alonso, against all odds, won the incident-packed race. A commentator reported that it took a strategic gamble and a stroke of fortune to bring him into play on race day. After the race, Alonso reflecting on the win, said...

Alonso got the miracle he wanted!

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"We were unlucky in qualifying and very lucky in the race. Obviously we started at the back … After qualifying our hopes were gone already (as we started 15 and 16). It was nearly over, but it shows that Formula One is unpredictable on Sunday... I need a couple of days to realize we won a race this year."

Whilst Alonso's win might have looked lucky, note that his good fortune in the race was at least partly caused by his misfortune during qualifying. One reported aptly wrote "Any winner after two hours of a bumpy, barrier-lined track in such heat must be a worthy one."

What is the moral of this story? One, never give up no matter how dissappointed or 'unfortunate' you feel. Two, the race ain't over till you've crossed the finishing line! Three, "luck is preparation meeting opportunity", i.e. we have to be prepared to take advantage of opportunities that come our way. Four, when hope is gone, start praying for a miracle?

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postscript: Two weeks later, Alonso went on to win the next Grand Prix race in Tokyo, also coming from behind. So, who says, miracles can only happen once?

Structured Finance

"Tell us clearly and simply about the risks involved in buying complex investment products".

Structured financial products is a hot topic in Singapore. This is not surprising given that thousands of investors here are reportedly facing potentially major losses after buying structured products linked to now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

By the way, structured products, as explained in an article in today's Straits Times, is "a class of investments involving the use of complex financial derivatives to deliver a steady annual return above traditional fixed deposits."

Relationship managers (financial advisors) at the local banks have been accused of being overly aggressive in pushing these products. And some customers said they (the financial advisors) have down-played the risks and misled them into thinking the structured products were actually issued - not merely marketed - by banking names they trusted.

This reminded me of an incident I encountered somewhile back: I went to a bank to close a dormant savings account, which had several thousand dollars in it. The bank teller serving me persisted in trying to draw my attention to one of the financial products the bank was promoting (my guess is she gets a commission if I buy the financial product or agree to be referred to a relationship manager). The teller, however, was unprepared and porbably stunned by my response. Acting and sounding very pathetic, I said :)

"Excuse me, do you know why I am closing this account? I am broke, and I have mouths to feed. If I have money to invest, do you think I will need to close this account? I am desperate, do you have money to spare?"

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Satyajit Das, author of a book entitled "Traders Guns & Money" recounted a more dramatic & appaling incident that happened in a Singapore bank (extracted from the Business Times):

'One day, I went to a bank in Singapore to change some travellers' cheques. The woman in front of me in the queue had a maturing deposit that she wanted to reinvest. The Singapore dollar rate was a tiny 0.5%. The woman was not happy. The bank employee suggested alternatives. ' 'You could do a special structured deposit that pays 4%,' he suggested helpfully.

My interest was aroused. The deposit would entail the woman investing S$; she would earn 4% at the end of six months; the bank would return Singapore dollars, US dollars, British pound or Australian dollars to the investor. The amounts in each currency were set today and the bank would choose which currency it would pay back to the investor.

'The deposit was not really a deposit, it was a S$ deposit combined with a complex currency option. The bank would pay back the weakest of the four currencies agreed. The amounts in each currency were based on the exchange rate at the time the investor made the deposit. The best case was that the investor received the same as the original deposit in S$ and the worst case was that she received an amount in foreign currency. The foreign currency received, when converted into S$ at the actual interest rate on the day, would be less than the original amount deposited.

'The high return was coming from the premium that the investor received for selling the option, which was an exotic - a 'four colour rainbow' or 'worst of four' option. For the investor, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was dependent upon the Singapore dollar's performance against the other currencies. I didn't like her chances.

'The woman was interested in the product, the juicy high yield was enticing. The salesperson moved in for the kill with a feint worthy of a skilled matador: 'Do you have kids?' The woman nodded, saying she had a son. 'You want him to have an education overseas, I am sure?' Again the woman nodded. 'The product is perfect for you. You can use the money to pay for your son's tuition fees. You don't know whether you will need dollars, pounds, Australian dollars. Your son could go to school in the States, England or Australia. You just don't know. And the extra interest will help.' Again the woman nodded. She was giving off closing signals. It was a done deal.'

Source: Genevieve Chua "Derivatives made readable" Business Times (27 Sep 2008) & Michelle Tay "Sale of Structured Products - Call for More Transparency", Straits Times (4 Oct 2008).

Fried Carrot Cake

"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf where there is hatred."- Proverbs 15:17

photo: homemade CTK

Chai tao kway (CTK), which is also known as fried carrot cake (not to be mistaken with the western carrot cake), is a popular Chinese dish in Singapore. Used to be eaten for breakfast, it is now eaten at all hours of the day. There are two variants of the dish: the "white" version and the "black" version, with the difference being that in the "black" version, sweet soy sauce is added. Personally, I prefer the "black" version, whilst my wife likes the "white" version.

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There are several stalls selling fried carrot cake at the Bt. Timah Hawker Centre, which is 5 mins drive from our house. We used to patronize a stall which had a reputation for good CTK. But alas, after the hawker center was renovated, the standard has not been the same so much so that we no longer patronize this stall.

During our stay in Happy Valley, my wife had a craving for CTK. Teamwork is required to prepare this dish - she is good at preparing the steamed cake and me, I am in-charge of frying it. The few friends who had tasted our version claimed that it was good.

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Here is the recipe:
Ingredients A: 200g rice flour, 550ml water, 200g radish (shredded), 1 teaspoon of salt.

Mix rice four in 200ml water. Stir in shredded radish, salt and remaining water, mix well into make a batter.

Pour the batter into baking tray or microvable container.

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Microwave for 10 minutes (if steaming, 30 minutes) till the cake is cooked. Allow to cool before cutting into pieces.

Ingredients B cooking oil, chopped garlic, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 3 beaten eggs.

Heat frying pan till hot then pour in 4 tablespoons oil. Heat oil till hot. Add steamed carrot cake.

Quickly cut carrot cake into small pieces using frying ladle. Pan-fry till both sides are golden-brown. Push carrot cake aside and leave a hole in middle.
Pour in 3 tablespoon oil. Add chopped garlic and chilli sauce. Stir-fry thoroughly while adding fish sauce.

Slowly drizzle beaten eggs over carrot cake. Continue to pan-fry till both sides are golden-brown. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped spring onion, chopped coriander leaves and pepper. Serve hot.

The secret to a good CTK is to be generous with the ingredients, starting with the raddish (see photo below) when steaming the cake and ending with plenty of garlic, dried shrimp and dried turnip when frying the carrot cake.

photo: Asakusa, Japan (Jan 07).