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Look Back at 2011: Animal Welfare
Dec. 31 | ~ By Gangasudhan ~ The animal welfare scene in Singapore has been burgeoning in the last few years, and there is little argument that 2011 especially has been a year of milestones for animal welfare – and advocacy as a whole. Hopping Mad about...
Look Back at 2011: Media
Dec. 31 | ~by: Howard Lee~ It would be too much to claim that 2011 was the year of the media, as much as it would be crazy to claim that it was the year of the Internet elections. The reason is not because it is untrue. We did not have an Arab Spring equivalent...
Former Group Financial Controller of ST Marine arrested by CPIB
Sep. 13 | ~ Breaking News ~ In a statement released yesterday, Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) announced that the former Group Financial Controller for Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd (ST Marine) had been arrested on 8 September 2011....
Curry of Neutrality without the Flavour of Fairness
Aug. 16 | - By Gangasudhan - Upon hearing the news, Rice Man badly needed a curry bath... An innocuous case of mediation recently spawned a backlash of overnight-sensation proportions. In a spicy mix (pun intended) of questionable mediation, intolerant expectations...
Sunny passes away – from political party member to homelessness
Jul. 28 | TOC just got news that Sunny passed away yesterday. Since this story was published, Sunny had found shelter in a Home for the Aged. His family cannot be traced to claim his body. TOC is enquiring how we may claim the body and give him a proper funeral....
Win TIONG BAHRU on DVD!
Feb. 13 | TIONG BAHRU, the short film shot in the famous hawker centre and starring a cast of 150 volunteers from the area, is being released on DVD soon and the producers have graciously offered 10 copies to be given away to TOC readers! Filmed last year by ...
Former ISA detainee seeks damages against Singapore government
Dec. 23 | - By Gangasudhan - SINGAPORE, 23 December 2010: Mr Michael J Fernandez, a former labour unionist who was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) on 11th September 1964 and detained without trial until April 1973, has filed a writ of summons through...
The Satirist Says: New excuse to ‘hit & run’ born
Nov. 27 | 25th November 2010, Singapore – Owners of Chery QQ cars across the country were seen celebrating the ruling by the Court of Appeal in the recent case of hit-and-run, reckless driving, inconsiderate driving dubbed by some reporters (well, it’s...
Defamation action – shield, not sword
Nov. 18 | - By Crystal - The F-word, also known as ‘freedom’ in some circles, becomes rather dangerous when it precedes two other words to form The Phrase of Death – FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Nobody talks about it and even though I am merely typing these...
TIONG BAHRU goes global
Oct. 15 | - By Ho Rui An - The community of Tiong Bahru gathered early last week at their local multiplex to see themselves on the silver screen. TIONG BAHRU, the short film by Irish filmmakers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy as part of the CIVIC LIFE project,...
Photo Exhibition: Table for One by Samantha Tio
Oct. 14 | - By Ho Rui An - Singaporean photographer Samantha Tio, whose works have been collected by the Singapore Art Museum, will be showcasing a new body of photographs entitled Table for One as part of the Singapore International Photography Festival 2010. Table...
STB wants offices to waste electricity for F1 ‘wayang’
Sep. 25 | - By Gangasudhan - Green Drinks Singapore received a tip-off today that at least one office building in the city has been ‘encouraged’ by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to leave their lights on during the 3 days of F1 races in order to...
Sarah Cheng-De Winne – sexiest voice in Singapore
Sep. 24 | - By Gangasudhan - Sarah Cheng-De Winne: singer, songwriter, musician – and even photographer. The up and coming talented artist has recently released her solo album Let’s Pretend (left) and it looks (or sounds) like it is going to be a hit...
Civic Life’s Where The Heart Is: time to vote
Sep. 23 | Earlier this year, we mentioned the Civic Life project which explores the ideas of memory, place, belonging and community through film and writing. A short film, TIONG BAHRU, has been shot with a cast of 150 volunteers from Singapore and directed by...
The Satirist Says: Speak Good English Movement incites violence with guerilla campaign
Sep. 14 | Singapore, 14 September 2010 – In an apparent disregard for those who champion Singlish (local colloquialism that mixes English with the various dialects and languages used by Singaporeans) and the blatant persecution of those who are too busy trying...
Movie Review: shifting sands of Sandcastle
Sep. 7 | - By Ho Rui An - There is a certain fragility to be observed in Boo Junfeng’s debut feature, Sandcastle. For one, the film addresses a silenced and highly sensitive chapter in our national history, presenting its ramifications upon present-day...
The Satirist Says: Ris ‘da boomz’ Low to be questioned
Sep. 4 | Singapore, 1 September 2010 – It is widely expected that Ris Low – God’s gift to the local comedy scene, will be called up soon by the Police to clarify her definition of the word ‘boomz’. An outside source who spoke to TOC on the condition...
How about a Yellow Noose Project?
Sep. 4 | - By Gangasudhan - We have heard so much about the Yellow Ribbon Project – how it has roped in a multitude of supporters and businesses to help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. While it is a laudable initiative with many grateful beneficiaries,...
The return of Singapore Migration Film Festival
Aug. 19 | Following the success of the first Migration Film Festival in December 2007, Migrant Voices, a local community arts charity, is partnering The Substation to present the 2nd Singapore Migration Film Festival on Saturday, 11 September 2010. The films...
W!LD RICE’s Boeing Boeing: A Jolly Ride
Aug. 17 | - By Ho Rui An - Boeing Boeing deserves a place in the canon for being such a crowd pleaser. It’s a very difficult thing to make hard-nosed Singaporeans laugh, but W!LD RICE makes it all seem so effortless. The play is an apt choice for commemorating...
Civic Life project announces short-film competition
Jul. 24 | The UK-based directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor of the community project, TIONG BAHRU, a short film starring over 150 volunteers from Singapore, talk about the process of putting the project together and share their experience of filming in...
How a weekly Plant-Based Food Day might work
Jul. 13 | By Dr George Jacobs This is a follow-up article to Is Singapore ready for a plant-based food day? There are many possible ways to encourage people to go plant-based at least once a week. Here, divided into categories, are some ideas off the top of my...
Is Singapore ready for a plant-based food day?
Jul. 10 | By Dr George Jacobs Around the world, there are all sorts of ‘Days’. There is a Smokeout Day, when people are urged to breathe easier, even a Dog Swimming Day, when people are encouraged to take their dogs swimming, and many, many more. The purpose...
Civic Life: The stars of Tiong Bahru
Jul. 1 | It’s a wrap! After months of dialogue and consultation, and three days of intense filming, production for Civic Life: Tiong Bahru has finally concluded. The short film marks the first time that acclaimed London-based filmmakers Christine Molloy...
World Cup 2010: What will England’s excuse be this time?
Jun. 23 | By Ganga England play Slovenia tonight in their final group stage game at World Cup 2010 and they desperately need to win in order to have any chance to qualifying to the next stage (see table below). With the USA team playing Algeria in the other...
Singapore coping with oil spill
May. 30 | Singapore: Almost a week after 2,500 tonnes of crude oil leaked into the sea about 13 kilometres off Changi East – the result of a collision between the 57,017-tonne tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 (below) and the 15,272-ton bulk carrier MV Waily early...
Costa Rica – a nation without an army
May. 27 | Ask any Singaporean if they thought that every country on Earth has a military force, and the overwhelming answer would be yes. Everyone has been taught in school that a military is essential in the protection of its borders, its citizens and the exertion...
Travails of a community cat lover: the Bishan case
May. 26 | He was an orange-and-white domestic short haired (DSH) kitten, probably no more than a couple of months old. He was hiding timidly underneath a neighbourhood park bench overlooking a long canal, along a route I usually take when I walk home every...
Workers cheer NWC recommendations?
May. 26 | I refer to the report “Workers, HR experts expect wage increases of 3-5%” (Channel NewsAsia, May 25). It states that “After weathering one of the worst global recessions, workers have cheered the National Wages Council‘s (NWC)...
Vulvas and vaginas are pink
May. 24 | I didn’t know I had a vulva until I went to sex school. Don’t get me wrong. Of course, I do have a vulva (pronounced as ‘vuhl-vah’) and a vagina (pronounced ‘vha-gine-a’). I just didn’t know what they were called. I couldn’t even pronounce...
Drink savvy; drink safe
May. 18 | Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) has recently embarked on a first-of-its-kind campaign that aims to put the fun back into drinking whilst keeping a firm eye on safety and responsibility. Instead of leaving the advising to the authorities, APB – the...
Sex is not the same as sitting for the ’10-year series’
May. 17 | I tell my clients that sex is not the same as sitting for the ‘10-year series‘. For those who don’t know, the 10-year series is a colloquial term unique to Singapore where students refer to official compilation books of examination papers...
Death Penalty for drug offences decline but hundreds still executed
May. 17 | A comprehensive study released today by the International Harm Reduction Association finds that hundreds of people are executed for drug offences each year around the world, a figure that very likely exceeds one thousand when taking into account...
A world cup for the red-green giants (only)
May. 17 | Even before soccer’s biggest show – the FIFA World Cup – has even started, the public is already divided. The facebook group lobbying for the boycott of Singtel-Starhub world cup packages has gathered storm over the past week and, surely,...
Pink Dot 2010 – this Saturday, 15 May
May. 10 | Following its strong showing last year when 2,500 people turned up at Speakers’ Corner at Hong Lim Park, Pink Dot Sg has planned another event this year at the same location on 15th May 2010. Singaporeans are thus invited to come together in a show...
One year on, AWARE ‘reinvigorated’ since saga, says president
May. 2 | - By Wong Chun Han - A year ago today, one of the most tumultuous episodes in the history of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) came to a spectacular close. The Economist billed it as a clash between liberals and the Christian right....
Civic Life: Operation Tiong Bahru
May. 2 | - By Ho Rui An - In March, Work-Life: The Making of Community, organised by the Theatre Training and Research Programme (TTRP), the British Council, and the National Museum of Singapore asked the question of what makes community and if art can bring...
Politics is Theatre
May. 2 | By Ho Rui An The programme booklet of W!LD RICE‘s revival of Animal Farm features a quote which appears strikingly appropriate for the occasion. The words are attributed to none other than the sage lips of our Minister Mentor himself: “One...
Director Ivan Heng of W!ld Rice on his Animal Farm
Apr. 24 | The highly anticipated revival of W!LD RICE’s Animal Farm opened this week. The play, based on the classic tale by George Orwell, opened to rave reviews back in 2002 and this revival has played to full houses and standing ovations at the 38th Hong...
Homeless in Singapore due to technicality
Apr. 13 | Zia is a 42-year old divorcee with five children. Four of the younger ones are in school whilst her eldest son is due to complete his National Service this year. As a Patient Service Assistant at a health care centre, she earns a gross income of $1500...
The Satirist Says: Vice-Raids to encourage IR patronage
Apr. 12 | In an unusual show of disdain for the ‘veterans’ at Geylang and Joo Chiat, a multi-agency task force swooped down on Thursday to evict the area of 108 persons involved in “illegal gambling activities, secret society involvement, peddling...
Hair Zoom Studio raising funds for Changi Village cat sterilisation
Apr. 7 | A handful of volunteers want to stop the population boom in the Changi Village area (near Blks 9-13 Loyang Avenue) due to a surge in cats being abandoned and dumped there recently. The caregivers who live there are appealing for help as their funds...
Duo to longboard 108km around Singapore
Apr. 2 | Two Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduates, Nurul Dini and Jon Jon, will attempt to cover an estimated 108km around Singapore on their longboards (an adaptation of the skateboard) on Saturday, 3rd April 2010. The colossal effort has been...
MARUAH Pillar Talk – Human Rights in Singapore History: Questions, Assertions or Parenthesis?
Mar. 23 | MARUAH is launching the first of its quarterly Pillar Talk Series on Human Rights titled “Human Rights in Singapore History: Questions, Assertions or Parenthesis?“. The talk will feature Professor Loh Kah Seng who is a Singapore Historian,...
Undercover investigation on illegal tiger parts trade
Mar. 19 | TOC APPEAL We have 19 photos from you, our readers, so far – please continue to support The Anti-Mandatory Death Penalty Photo Project by simply taking a photo of yourself that says you do not support the Mandatory Death Penalty, and send it to...
Time for someone new to drive Singapore
Mar. 14 | BREAKING: The Court of Appeal has heard Yong Vui Kong’s appeal. After hearing submissions from Mr M Ravi, representing Yong, and the response from Attorney-General Walter Woon for the prosecution, the Court has reserved judgement for a later date. By...
Alex Au on what HDB flats should mean
Mar. 14 | “The policy direction should be not to build costly flats with bells and whistles and then dishing out subsidies so people can buy them. Instead, it should be to build them at an affordable cost, so that no subsidies are necessary.” Alex Au,...
Transport Minister admits he’s ‘very slow’
Mar. 12 | “I’d be very slow in stipulating (to operators) how best to run the concession policy.” Transport Minister Raymond Lim, in parliament
Getting into bed with Jack Neo
Mar. 12 | By Lee Song Kwang, with additional reporting by Ravi Philemon Mr George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs, wrote in his personal blog recently that he was concerned for Jack Neo’s wife (Rallying around Jack Neo and his family). Was not Mr Yeo concerned...
