Unnecessary Advertisement

31 October 2014

Reader George Seah Boon Huat wrote ("Missing From Tennis Broadcasts" The Straits Times 31 Oct 2014):

"Last week, Singaporeans saw the world's top eight female tennis players competing in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals presented by SC Global, making Singapore the first Asia-Pacific city to host the event."

Mr Seah complained that live shots of Singapore's landmarks were missing from TV broadcasts of the event, which could have been shown during some of the breaks in between games.

I wonder why Mr Seah or The Straits Times considered it to be necessary to include the names of the sponsors in his letter.

It lacked relevance, and seemed nothing more than an advertisement for the sponsors.

In almost everyone's eyes, the WTA Finals are the WTA Finals.

Unnecessarily Precise Foreign Currency Equivalent

24 October 2014

The Straits Times carried this headline:

The British police had agreed to pay a woman £425,000, according to The Guardian and BBC News.

In its report, The Straits Times presented the Singapore dollar equivalent of £425,000 with far too much precision, using an exchange rate of £1=$2.04164. Given that exchange rates fluctuate by the second, it would have been more than sufficient for its readers to know that £425,000 was equivalent to approximately S$868,000, or even $870,000. Would the slight imprecision matter to anyone in Singapore?

In any case, The Straits Times should have left the conversion to its readers, who would soon be able to do foreign exchange conversion mentally with ease (at least those who bother to find out),

Increasing Food Prices At Expense Of Quality And Quantity?

23 October 2014

I found the headline "Don't Increase Food Prices At Expense Of Quality And Quantity" (TODAY, 23 October 2014) confusing.

Reader Alan Chin Jia Lun had written to TODAY:

"I refer to the report on the rise in food prices …. It is inevitable for hawkers to raise their food prices as costs of ingredients, rental and manpower have gone up in recent years.

However, hawkers should not increase food prices at the expense of compromising on the quality and quantity of their food.

When food prices are increased, the portion of dishes should not be reduced, so that consumers will still feel satisfied. But some hawkers reduce the size of their servings."

Mr Chin and TODAY are mistaken.

No More Weird Buildings

23 October 2014

China's president Xi Jinping recently called for an end to weird architecture, which are exemplified by unconventional buildings.

So too should Singapore authorities, property developers and owners.

Whilst beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, if the majority of people consider a building design to be weird, it is weird. And, there are a number of prominent buildings here that many people would consider to be not just unconventional, but weird.

Unfortunately for the general public, buildings last a long time.

ACRES's Louis Ng Joins PAP

21 October 2014

TODAY reported that Animal Concerns Research & Education Society's founder and executive director Louis Ng has joined People's Action Party, Singapore's current ruling party.

TODAY considered it sufficiently newsworthy and significant to be given the entire page 2 of the tabloid.

 

Is it because the news primarily concerns PAP, ACRES or Mr Ng?

How Do I Know Your Story Is True?

20 October 2014

When a person tells us about something that someone else told him, it has little or no value if he does not identify the third party.

So it is with Mr Chew Kok Liang's letter "Don't Underestimate Female Soldiers" in today's The Straits Times:

"When Singapore confronted the Communist Party of Malaya, it had to deal with female communists.

They were mainly Chinese and physically smaller and weaker than their male counterparts.

But what they lacked in strength, they made up for in dedication and ability.

I knew a Malaysian military intelligence officer who fought the communists. Part of his duties was to turn them to gain intelligence and to aid in search and destroy missions.

In his experience, the women were more deadly.

 

It was possible to crack or turn a male communist, given time and incentives, he said.

 

However, try as he might, he could never turn a female communist. They were prepared to die for the cause 'no matter what', he said.

 

He once led an ambush of a communist patrol and a heavily pregnant communist charged at one of his soldiers with a parang.

 

He knocked her down with a shot but she got up and tried to charge again. He had to shoot her again, this time, to her death.

 

In his opinion, female soldiers are as good as male soldiers. They may even be better as they can be more focused and ruthless.

 

There are many reasons for and against enlisting women, but their fighting capability should not be one of them." 

If Mr Chew cannot remember the Malaysian intelligence officer's name or doesn't want to tell us his name for whatever reason (even though the purported event probably took place half a century ago), he should tell us why we should believe him.

Indonesia — The World's Most Populous Muslim Nation?

20 October 2014

Channel News Asia describes Indonesia as the world's most populous Muslim nation.

This is incorrect.

Although Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, Islam is not the country's national religion. Instead, the Indonesian constitution recognises six official religions — Islam, Protestantism, (Roman) Catholicism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism.

Thai Teen's Perplexing Post-Appeal Actions

2 October 2014

The news report "Thai Teen's Appeal In Lawsuit Against SMRT, LTA Dismissed" (TODAY, 2 Oct 2014) following Nitcharee Peneakchanasak's appeal raises several questions.

Relief
Nitcharee, who lost both legs after falling onto train tracks in Singapore more than three years ago, remained stoic and expressed relief at closing the final chapter of the episode.

Since she was the party that initiated the lawsuit and the subsequent appeal, why did she express relief when the Court of Appeal dismissed her claim that SMRT and LTA were negligent?

Costs
Perhaps, Nitcharee was relieved that SMRT and LTA would not be pursuing costs estimated to be almost $400,000 out of "compassion, sympathy and goodwill".

SMRT and LTA are unnecessarily generous, in my view. It is one thing not to pursue Nitcharee for costs after the High Court judgment and before the appeal; it quite another to do so in spite of her insisting on appealing.

SMRT's and LTA's goodwill appears to be misplaced.

Thai Flag
The news report included a photo of her father, Kittanesh Peneakchanasak, holding what looks like Thailand's flag in public in Singapore.

 

 

Kittanesh's action was inappropriate and unnecessary.