Is Religion A Threat To Singapore?

Bradley Farless19 Comments

I came across the following article today on ReporterNews:

Singapore prime minister: Religion threatens stability

Associated Press

Thursday, August 20, 2009

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s prime minister said in his National Day speech that “aggressive preaching” by religious groups and evangelizing threaten the tiny city-state’s stability.

Lee Hsien Loong, a Buddhist by birth, said his education at the island’s Roman Catholic High School was an example of how different religions can coexist peacefully.

“The most visceral and dangerous fault line (in Singapore) is race and religion,” Lee said.

Singapore’s majority Buddhist Chinese, Malay Muslims and Indian Hindus have largely avoided conflict since race riots between Chinese and Malays left about 40 dead in the 1960s.

“Christians can’t expect this to be a Christian society,” he said last Sunday. “Muslims can’t expect this to be a Muslim society, ditto with the Buddhists, the Hindus and the other groups.”

In the most recent census in 2000, 43 percent of Singaporeans said they were Buddhist, 15 percent Muslim, 15 percent Christian, 8.5 percent Taoist and 4 percent Hindu.

Lee cited the case of a Christian couple jailed earlier this year for distributing religious pamphlets deemed offensive to members of other faiths, and he condemned those who try to convert ailing hospital patients “who don’t want to be converted.”

He said the government must remain secular because Singapore’s authority and laws “don’t come from a sacred book.” Lee’s People’s Action Party has ruled Singapore since independence 50 years ago.

Lee said there has been a global surge in religious fervor, including in the United States and Islamic countries.

“There is a wave of revival, megachurches and televangelism,” Lee said. “Religion and politics are supposed to be separated in America, but in reality they are closely entangled.”

The title of the article is pretty provocative and it’s what originally made me stop to read this article. I can’t disagree with the guy. Race and religion are major contention points everywhere. There is always some religious persecution and tension.

It’s also true that people need to learn to look past those differences and get along with each other. Why can’t we all be friends? ^_^ Religion is important, but it shouldn’t become a stumbling block for a nation.

That being said, I think people should respect the laws in Singapore against forcefully proselytizing, especially when it comes to trying to push people that are on their death beds. Somehow, that doesn’t seem too Christian to me. Well, not modern Christian anyway. It could be a page out of a book about the days during the Grand Inquisition. If it’s not welcome, and certainly if it’s not legal, don’t do it! Give unto Rome what is Rome’s and give unto God what is God’s, right?

I’m not too sure about this global surge in religious fervor he mentioned, because I hadn’t noticed it, but it is true that no matter how much people try to deny it, the US Federal Government is based on and borrows heavily from Christianity. Separation of church and state aside, most of the US’s laws are taken from the Bible. Most of the country’s accepted values and morals are taken from the Bible as well.

Looking For Eggs in Singapore?

Bradley Farless4 Comments

I’ve moved around the world a lot, but in most places I’ve been I was on a military installation, so things were more or less the same.  Well, the same in that one military installation is pretty similar to the others, especially when it comes to the stores.

There were times when I lived off of a military installation, or traveled off of a military installation, but I wasn’t exactly looking for eggs, or groceries.

So, coming to Singapore to live, and live in Singapore itself, rather than on a base somewhere, was a whole new experience for me.  Part of that ‘new experience’ was shopping from local stores.

For the most part, shopping in Singapore is just like shopping in the US.  Some of the brands are different, and sometimes you can tell that the item you’re holding is made by the same people that make it in the US, but is just under a different name. One example I can think of is Axe deodorant.  I can’t remember what it’s called here, but the package design is exactly the same, but with a different name.  Unless it’s a Chinese knock-off anyway.  I didn’t look too closely at it.  Also, there is a different variety of vegetables that are more commonly found in the produce section here.  Some of the fish are different too.

One thing you expect to be the same though, is that you will find the items you’re looking for in the same parts of the store.  You want meat?  Go to the coolers along the wall.  Same for dairy products.  Want veggies?  Look in the bins in the produce section.  So… I remember how surprised I was when I couldn’t find any eggs the first time I wanted to buy some here.  I checked every single cooler in the store.  Not to be found.

Where did they end up being?  On a shelf.  Not being chilled.  I was kinda shocked because that was completely foreign to me.  I was actually under the impression that if eggs weren’t chilled, they would go bad.  In the US there are even egg trays built into the doors of the refrigerators.  Thinking about it now, I suppose that chilling them just slows down the spoiling process, or hatching process, though I don’t know if they would actually hatch.

Anyhow, here’s a photo of eggs on a shelf, from Shop N Save:

How are eggs typically stored at the store and in the house where you are?

Islanders And Pride

Bradley Farless7 Comments

Recently I was reading an article on Rubber Slippers in Italy that reminded me of some fun times I had in the Army regarding people from island nations.

Ribbing, teasing or joking is not uncommon in the Army.  In some respects, being in the Army was like being in an extension of high school, except with ranks, and not always in a good way.

Still, there were good times (at least from our perspective).

There was a guy that worked in my office, when I first got to my unit at my last duty station, that was from Micronesia.  Well, with “Micro” in the name of his country, and the fact that the islands looked so small on the map, it led to him getting messed with a LOT.  Not to mention his first name is Hitler.  That was a double fail.

The jokes typically leaned towards making fun of how small the islands are.  I can’t remember the joke exactly, but we asked how the recruiters managed to find his village up in the jungle, and whether or not he wore leaves or had clothes.  We asked him if he had ever heard of  telephone before leaving his island.

Ya, we really got going on him.  Usually it would be a group of us in the office and he would be trying to work and we would start talking about Micronesia.  As soon as he heard the name of his island he would turn and look at us and start to get pissed off.

We didn’t hate the guy.  It’s just that when the days were long and we were bored out of our minds, we wanted some entertainment, and this guy always provided it without fail.

Oh, and because the guy’s first name was Hitler, when he would ask one of us to do something or to help him out, we would give the old fashioned German salute and march off, with him yelling and screaming.

Ya, the guy always flipped out.  Typically our taunting would end with him throwing books and manuals at us and all of us running out into the maintenance bays to laugh and talk about how mad he got.

Months later, I would find myself in another unit with a guy from Guam.  He too had that overblown sense of pride, and somehow it drew us to tease him about it.

Some of my favorites:

WalMart in Guam:

Guy 1: So, [Guam Guy], is there a Walmart on Guam?

Me 2 (butting in): Oh come on.  You know there’s no WalMart on Guam!  There isn’t even enough room for a WalMart parking lot there!

Guam guy: [insert long string of expletives and threats of violence here]

Driving Around Guam:

Guam Guy: Ya, man. I miss my car. I used to go on long drives around the island just to chill and listen to music.

Me: 15 minutes isn’t a long drive.

Guam Guy: What you mean man?

Me: You said a long drive. We all know you can’t take a long drive around Guam. I mean, come on.  It takes longer to take a good shit than it does for a person to drive around Guam.

Guam Guy: You know what? Fuck you man.

Showering in Guam:

When we wound up in Kuwait, we were on a camp that (thank God) had showering facilities.

Guam Guy was the fastest man in the camp with taking a shower, or so it seemed.

We would all be sitting on our bunks in the morning, after doing physical training, and he would walk past with his towel, wearing slippers and say he was heading for the shower.  We would stretch and talk for about five minutes or so and then grab our stuff and start walking to the showers.

The showers were located about a quarter of a kilometer away (I think.  I’m not too good with kilometers yet) and would take about three or four minutes to walk to, at a leisurely pace.

So, we would come out of the building we lived in and start walking up the dirt path to the showers and, about halfway down, we would see Guam Guy walking briskly back toward the building.

The first few times it happened I just sort of looked at my watch and thought, ‘WTF?’  But… when he kept doing it we started talking about.

Finally, one day I stopped him as we were heading to the showers and he was heading back.

Me: So, uh, you’re done showering already?

Guam Guy: Ya.

Me: Do you… uhhh… use soap?  It’s ok to use soap you know.

Guam Guy: What the fuck are you talking about man?

Me: Dude, you just left the building like 7 minutes ago.  I know Guam is small and all, and there are only like 3 showers for the whole island, but here you can take your time and use soap.  You can do more than let the water tickle your ass and jump out.

Guam Guy: [Insert long string of expletives and threats of violence here]

Everyone Else: [Insert laughing here]

I don’t know what it is about islanders, compared to people from the mainland US, but they do seem to be more sensitive about ribbing when it comes to their islands.  Is it common I wonder?  Or maybe soldiers are just less sensitive about jokes about where they’re from because after a while, and after so many duty stations, you start to disassociate yourself with your hometown?  That might be even more true of soldiers who are the sons or daughters of military personnel, who have never lived somewhere more than five years or so at a time.

By the way, don’t get the wrong idea.  Messing with each other like this is common in the Army, and I wasn’t free and clear of being a victim of it either.  Everyone has to take their turn being the target I guess.  Plus, we were all close.  If something happened and either of these islanders had a problem, we’d definitely have backed them up.

(At least it’s better than in the Navy, where you have to take your turn in the barrel).

Seoul Food!

Bradley Farless7 Comments

Yup. That is in fact spelled right. I’m not talking about traditional black American food.  I’m talking about a restaurant chain in Singapore named Seoul Garden!

On Sunday afternoon we went out for a movie, and then afterwards we decided to have dinner at Seoul Food.  It was a group decision.  My wife and I had often seen the place but had decided not to eat there.  We just didn’t care much for the way it looked, and this picture of the goat in the window deterred me:

Some of you may remember me posting this photo before.  Well, I guess I gave in.  I ate the poor goat.

So anyhow, the place was pretty surprising as far as quality of food goes.  When you first walk in your put at a table that has a griddle and bowl of broth in the middle.

It’s up to you to decide your fate:

Some of the items are raw, like the meats in the second photo, and some are precooked and just need to be heated up, like the items just past the person barely visible in the first photo.  There’s also an array of veggies that you can either turn into a plain salad (no dressing) or dump into the pot or onto the hot plate.

It’s all really good, and it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, so you can sit down, take your time, relax, and chat with your family and friends (and eat more because you’re eating slowly and get more for your money).

The photo above is mainly about that small yellow bowl and what’s in it.  One of the people with us prepared it from the dessert buffet area.  I’m not sure what all of the ingredients are, and either I really misheard what she called it or I just can’t find it on the internet.  She seemed to enjoy it, but I passed on that for ice cream and little pieces of cakes.

The place is a pretty good value for your money and it’s located (the one we went to anyway) on the same floor as the movie theater in Tampines Mall, right in front of you when you come off the escalator.

Last, but not least… a random shot of the table:

If you make it over there, enjoy!  Oh, and from what I saw in the Google search suggestions, there are Seoul Gardens located all over the US as well, including New York City.

Secret Chinese Medicine For Fevers

Bradley Farless8 Comments

Growing up, I would watch Kung Fu movies and there would always be some secret technique, or Eastern magic that would save the day. I was fascinated by it, but as I grew older I realized that there was nothing really magic about what was being done (pressure points). Well, either that or it was just made up for the movies.

Anyhow, just like with anywhere, there are some family secrets that get passed down and passed along. I came across one of these family ‘secrets’ a few days ago when a lady I know was preparing a treatment for her son, who had a high fever at the time.

At first I thought she was about to cook something, because what she pulled out was one raw egg and some glutinous rice flour. When she explained that it was for reducing a fever, I was still under the assumption that it would be consumed. So I asked her, “Will your son eat it?”

She laughed, but went on to explain that it’s used to roll over the fevered body, and that the mix will “pull the heat out” and reduce the fever.

I took some photos of the preparation process, which she thought was really amusing.

This is where she cracked the top off the egg and started pouring it onto the flour she had put on the plate.

At this point, she got a cup with some water and then slowly mixed this all together by hand, until it became a … thing… that looked sort of like dough, and sort of like colorless Play-Doh.

And, this is our end result:

She took this and rolled it out, so it had a shape similar to a rolling pin. She then took it and rolled it across the boy’s chest. She said that as you roll it across the chest it will change from cool to hot, as it absorbs the heat. Then you let it cool and repeat.

So, ya sorry. No strange incense made from snake blood and mountain moss that turned blue under a full moon. Just egg, rice flour and water.

If you’re really adventurous, and try this out, let me know. If you’re even more adventurous, let me know if you were able to successfully turn this into a food product afterwards.

(Just kidding. Don’t eat this. It’ll have sweat from a sick person mixed in! Ya, some people have to be warned.)

Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit

Bradley Farless1 Comment

Ya, ya, that’s a fun song right?  And, much to my wife’s great displeasure, it’s true more often than not.

Well, it’s not often I have decent beans here in Singapore.  I’ve started to become accustomed to eating more Asian dishes.  I still miss Western food though, so when I saw a bag of Hambeen’s 15 Bean soup mix at Cold Storage at Tampines 1, I was quick to grab it up and drop it into my basket.  I hadn’t actually had that soup since 2001, so it’d been about 8 years, but I remembered how good it was and was excited to try it again.

Looks interesting right?  The bowl picture on the bottom right looks a little weird, but this stuff is actually good.  I promise.

Here on the back of the packaging is the recipe.  You can either do the quick cooking, or you can pre-soak the beans.  We wound up mixing the directions a bit and doing it our own way.

The recipe calls for smoked sausage, but we couldn’t find any of that so we substituted this sliced back bacon and it worked out fairly well.  We probably could’ve used twice as much and it would have been a bit better, but it was still good anyway.

The other ingredients on this were: juice of 1 lemon, 1 15 oz can of diced or stewed tomato, 2 table spoons of minced garlic, 1 cup of chopped onion, and 1 table spoon of chili powder.  We cut up two red chilis and added that in as well.  It could’ve used a bit more.  I think when I made this the last time I put jalapeno peppers in it, but those aren’t too common here.

What you’re supposed to do is soak the beans overnight, or for at least 8 hours.  Then you dump them in a pot with fresh water:

After that you bring it to a quick bowl and simmer for an hour.  In the meantime you can get everything else ready by doing your chopping and whatnot.

When simmering, this stuff looks like a witches brew.  Oh, and when I was first boiling it there was some white froth on top that I had to skim off.  I honestly have no clue what that was all about but hey, everything turned out ok!

Well, once an hour has passed and you get everything ready you dump it all in the pot and let it simmer for, depending on whether you’re doing the fast or short cooking instructions, 2.5 hours, or 45 minutes.  Then, 1 to 2 minutes before you’re done you empty the spice packet that comes with the beans into the pot.

This is where we sort of varied from the instructions a bit.  We did let it boil and simmer for an hour, and then we dumped everything in, but after that we just turned up the heat about and let it go for another 30 minutes.  Honestly, we should’ve left it going for that extra 30 minutes, because some of the beans were still a bit firmer than they should have been, but it didn’t matter.  The stuff was good, and it helped us with leftovers not tasting overcooked when reheated.

So, this was the finished product.  It cooks down pretty thick, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.  My wife is used to watery soups, because that’s just how it normally is here in Asia, but this felt like home to me.  It goes great over rice and it’s good by itself too.

That little bag made 14 to 16 servings.  Nearly everyone had at least one bowl and then we had leftovers for 4 days!  Ya… a stinky four days!  Ha ha ha!

Kopi Alley (at Downtown East)

Bradley Farless4 Comments

One of the best things about Singapore, to me anyway, has been the food.  Also, as a coffee lover, it didn’t take me long to try the Kopi that you can find at most every hawker center in Singapore.  There are people that hate it, but somehow I got addicted to the stuff and love to have it after dinner whenever possible.  I won’t go into the details of how it’s prepared, because I honestly don’t know them, but it’s well worth trying if you ever get the chance.

There are plenty of places you can go to get Kopi.  Like I said, you can get it from hawker centers, but there are also fancier looking restaurants set up in malls that sell Kopi.  Some of them call it coffee, like the place on the bottom level of White Sands in Pasir Ris (Kayakun Toast I think?), but it’s still the same, and it’s still good.

Here are some photos of Kopi Alley at Downtown East:

I really like the design theme they went with for Kopi Alley, and I was a bit surprised, considering what they sell.  It looks nicer than a lot of so-called fine dining restaurants I’ve been in.  By the way, the total cost for the items in the last 3 photos was only 5.30 SGD.  That’s not too bad at all, and it was overkill.  We went there after dinner and we wound up not finishing that chocolate spread toast, so we could’ve done without it.  It was a bit too sweet too, but… what did I expect, ordering chocolate spread toast?

New Safety Doors on Singapore’s Above-ground MRT Stations (Part 2)

Bradley Farless4 Comments

In the last post I basically just mentioned what the news mentioned.  There are new “half-height” safety doors being installed on all 36 above-ground MRT stations in Singapore.  That article also mentioned that they had started their project with the Pasir Ris MRT station and it said they had already been installed there.

Well, that was only partially true.  One side was done.  The other wasn’t.  I’ve included above a photo I took so you can have a better look at them.  I don’t think they’re doing much to block overall ventilation of the area.  That’s why they’re called half-height screens.  You can see the openings beyond and they’re quite large.  Still, any reduction in ventilation in Singapore is a problem, because it’s so hot.

Maybe they should just fully enclose it and install air conditioners?  I bet no one would complain then!  I certainly wouldn’t!

By the way, in the above photo you can see the often mentioned lines on the floor showing people how to properly wait to board the train.  Even though it’s there in yellow lines, sometimes people stand right in front of the doors and then force their way into the train.  I saw this happen today in fact.  A rather portly woman (or in other words fat) nearly knocked over this poor skinny girl that was alighting from the train.  You should have seen the nasty look she gave the back of that chubby girl’s head.

The Cat’s Out of the Bag!

Bradley Farless2 Comments

I just wanted to say thanks to all you lovely folks who have dropped by my blog via Singapore Community Cats and Cat Welfare Society to check out my “Cats Are Good For Singapore” post. I appreciate the attention, the compliments on the article, and hope all of you enjoy it!

Also, if you’re a reader of my blog and love animals, please do take a moment to check out the Singapore Community Cats blog and the Cat Welfare Society (links are above).