Endoh’s Dungeon

Singapore received a shocking piece of news over the week, on the sudden demise of opposition pioneer Mr Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam - better known as J.B. Jeyaretnam. If you’re one those who are totally oblivious to the current/political affairs, he passed away at an age of 82 due to a sudden heart failure yesterday at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

It took me quite a while to consider writing this for him, for various reasons. I am not very well acquaintanced to this personality since I was relatively young during his active days. Subsequently, he had been silenced more or less as I grew into adulthood. It wasn’t really easy to catch him in action. Yet, as a Singaporean, the name is unmistakable. If you do not know such a person exist, I wonder which offshore island you have been living in total isolation.

I remembered watching him on TV as a child, during the 1970s to early 1980s. He’s a man with a strong voice, it was not difficult for him to step up and capture your attention whenever he spoke. Such confidence and faith in this man, he pitted himself against the ruling party. But as a child, what did I know? Perhaps, I had seen him somewhere in Singapore but was too young to recall.

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Perhaps yes, perhaps not.

A recent event raked up some flakes when car keys were misplaced and guests were kept waiting for a long time. Not an acceptable finale to one of the most prestigious events in Singapore over the weekend, I must say. At least from my experiences with valets, I have never once had to undergo such treatments. It’s even harder to imagine that I had to pick up my own car keys from the floor when the valets were supposed to be doing their jobs.

The unhappiness and fury is totally understandable, especially when you are a guest at a party supposedly organized for the rich and famous. Well, I am refraining from using the term “high society” at this point. Being rich doesn’t automatically indicates that you belong to that category anyway. I am not going to dwell on the mistakes of the organizer because Rachel, a fellow blogger, had summarized it pretty extensively in her recent post. All of which, her points, I had to agree.

I’m moving on, to touch on the behaviour of these guests instead.

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I have long wanted to write about how more and more Singaporeans are depending more on maids than themselves. While that idea didn’t really materialize, a news article caught my attention. In which, two NGOs are proposing to extend maternity coverage to maids under the Employment Act. I wasn’t quite sure how to react when I first read it. Either we are trying to show the humane side of us, or we are simply courting for trouble.

I am sure all of us have, at some point, heard stories of how maids impregnanted themselves while on the job in Singapore. Let’s not forget, many of them (if not for abortion) will end up as single unmarried mums. Hence, private clinics like those you find in Far East Plaza or neighbourhoods provide the ultimate solution - abortion. For those who chose to keep their babies (the figure is still relatively low), that implied the end of their contracts and face immediate deportation.

How many Singapore employers are willing to go through this process? Let me guess, none. In fact, there are no reasons why employers have to put up with these circumstances which are not related to the maids’ employment in any manner. If such a policy is implemented, we’ll probably find more maids getting pregnant since they have an added avenue to substain their pregnancies. By fully exploiting the perks, that is.

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For automobile enthusiasts like me, we are extremely delighted that the F1 Grand Prix is finally here in Singapore. With limited land, who would have thought we would be playing host to these mean machines? Truth is, they are indeed going to be here. The engines will be roaring and the crowd will be cheering. At the end of it, it will be one of those events that will put Singapore in the limelight once more. Singapore enjoys being noticed. At least for now, The grand Prix will position Singapore in a more positive light following the boo-boo committed by ISD with the escape of terrorist Mas Selamat.

I remembered how motorsports used to be a part of Singapore (video) in the 1960s. While I wasn’t exactly born until 10 years later and by then, the Singapore Grand Prix was already a thing of the past. Having the Grand Prix back in Singapore is like reliving the dreams all over again. Except this time, the drivers are from any other countries but Singapore, unlike in the old days. That alone, is a big disappointment.

Personally, I received the Grand Prix with mixed feelings. Great event it will be, but yet it takes this international event to reinstate what Singaporeans have been forcefully deprived of all these years. For three and a half decades (the last race was in 1973), Singaporeans were “brain-washed” with how dangerous motorsports can be, following fatal accidents. That’s how long it had been.

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