Reply to Miss Ooi: Why opposition MPs can't be advisers to grassroots bodies

So today I read a reply on the ST Forum from the People's Association and it really reeks of stupidity. You can read it here, and I will reproduce it here for archive sake:

Why opposition MPs can't be advisers to grassroots bodies  

WE REFER to Mr Muhammad Yusuf Osman's letter yesterday ('Advisers to
grassroots bodies should be elected MPs'). 

The mission of the People's Association (PA) and its grassroots organisations (GROs) is to bond the community and connect people with the Government. PA and its GROs serve all residents regardless of their political affiliations in fulfilling their role. 

Grassroots advisers are appointed by PA, a statutory board. Besides connecting people to people, grassroots advisers are required to help the Government connect with people and help promote government policies and programmes such as anti-dengue and active ageing. 

Hence, the Government has to appoint grassroots advisers who support its programmes and can play this role well. Opposition MPs cannot be expected to do this and thus cannot become advisers to GROs. 

Ooi Hui Mei (Ms)
Director
Corporate and Marketing Communications
For Chief Executive Director
People's Association

I  really find this reply super bizarre, and in no place did she substantiate anything. So I wrote her an email, and let's wait for her reply. My thoughts are in the email, so have a good read! Oh yeah, email her too if you want!

#####


From: Kie Zin Teng
Date: Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Subject: Reply to your Forum Letter
To: ooi_hui_mei@pa.gov.sg


Dear Ms Ooi,

I read with fascinating interest your reply to Mr Muhammad, in which
you tried to explain why opposition MPs can't be advisers to
grassroots bodies. I am sorry but I do not quite see your explanation
there. You just claimed in a sweeping statement that "opposition MPs
cannot be expected to do this", without explaining why. Can you please
let me know why oppositions MPs cannot do this, instead of a sweeping
statement. And you also need to proof prove that only the PAP members are
capable of doing this.

You might have confused the term Government with party politics. The
government currently consists of PAP members, and there will come a
day where it consists of members from different parties as they form
the government of the day. Therefore it is only right for all parties
to be involved in this process. Oppositions parties are not there to
oppose every action of the government, they are called opposition
because they run against the incumbent. If the policies and activities
mean well, oppositions MPs have and will fully support it, hence it
being in line to promote government policies and programmes. I mean
unless you mean to accuse Worker's Party MP as being against dengue
prevention and active ageing, I struggle to see your point.

Which leads me to wonder why is the People's Association appearing to
favour one political party? Look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,
Scott Teng

J'adore Paris! (Part 2)

I know that I am usually very slow at things, but now that I have some time, I guess its high time I continue on my Paris posts, and then after that get down to writing the Melbourne post that I took with Fabby =D


History

One of the many things I love about Paris is the rich history and the deep heritage that only so many nations in the world can boast about. I mean compare to Singapore, where our history is a brief 6 lines, the thousands of years of history there, is just amazing. Of course the first thought that came to me was that: "It must be VERY difficult to be a student studying the history of their own country". I mean just the name of the Kings alone must be confusing enough.

With a place so steeped in History, there are so many places to go and visit. And honestly, one trip to Paris is definitely not enough to see them all. We picked a few choice places and set out on our journey.

One of the first few places that we went to was the Sacré Coeur Basilica. 

On the steps outside the Sacré-Coeur Basilica

It took us a while to find it, because all we had was a little city map, and we used the general direction, and some road signs to help us find our way. Its not too difficult to get there really, and it is really worth the walk up. Inside the Basilica was just the most amazing interior, with all the glass windows and beautiful and grand design. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed inside (or that my iPhone was just not good enough to capture good enough shots), so there are no photos of the insides. One thought that was constantly buzzing in my head was: "How did they do this so many years ago". These buildings were at least half a millennia old, and they do not have any form of modern technology. 

At the Château de Versailles, this sense of awe continued. 

The Château de Versailles

The garden view

This place was the palace where many of the Kings used to stay, and it was also where the infamous French Revolution March on Versailles took place, and drove the monarchs back to Paris. But that's history lesson which I shall not touch on. Stepping into this building, is no mean feat - you first need to get past the throng of tourists, which comes by the busloads. But if you put aside these annoying tourists (Yes I am talking about the majority of the Chinese tourist), and rent the audio-guide, it will be an unforgettable experience, and an exercise in the art of "Zen".

The interior is just so opulent, and so gorgeous. And the paintings on the ceilings left me breathless. I mean, how do they paint these things? It is literally on the roof, look at the pictures. The pictures are breathtaking, and detailed. With the ancient techniques, they make it look almost life-like.

One of the many grand halls

Painting ON the roof

Look at how they 3-dimensional and real they look

Of course no trip to Paris is complete without a visit to Musée de Louvre. 

The requisite shot

The tunnel leading to the Louvre

As expected, it was swarming with tourists, and to be very honest, I am more annoyed with them than the Parisians. In fact, like I said earlier, the Parisians are far friendlier than I expected. It is the tourists, armed with the digital cameras who go around taking a snap of EVERYTHING that really upsets me. I mean we are there to soak in the atmosphere and understand the paintings and the history. What is the point of going to place, not knowing anything about it, but leaving with 2,000 photos that one will never look through again?

The Mona Lisa was one such painting that EVERYONE was trying to get a million shots of. And frankly, it was underwhelming. However the painting right opposite Mona Lisa, which was such a great work from Paolo Veronese. It was The Wedding at Cana, just about the largest piece of art in the Louvre. But of course no one paid attention.

Of course I had to get a shot of the Mona Lisa 

The interior of the Louvre

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to spend there, one need weeks and months to finish everything, and if you have the time, try to allocate at least one full day there. Don't get the audio-guide though, it is useless.

Well of course along the way we passed by other historical monuments, it is Paris after all.

Cathedral de Notre Dame

The Concorde

The Pantheon

That concludes my 2nd post on Paris. There's really a lot to share ain't it? Well let's hope I find time to blog soon. A bientot.

Quote for thought

"Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived." - Dalai Lama

Sam Tsui - Jars of Hearts

Sam Tsui will never fail to deliver a great cover. Here's him performing one of my current earworm that I couldn't stop listening to while driving down the Melbourne Streets.

Hope you like it as much as I do. 

Still Alive!

It is so easy to lose track of blogging, especially when one is TRAVELING!

Hahaha, yes I was away in Melbourne for 2 weeks. And why didn't I blog much? Well I was out a lot, I was everywhere actually, so that leaves me with little time to type. But anyway, I'll be back shortly with updates. But yes I am STILL alive!

- kiez.