The Nanyang Chronicle Vol 15 Issue 01 by Nanyang Chronicle

CHRONICLE The art and craft of arranging dead animal parts... PAGE 09

THE NANYANG

AUGUS T 4 , 20 0 8 | V OL 15 NO 1 | IS SN NO 0 218 -7310 | W W W. N T U. EDU. S G / C HRONIC L E

They weren’t selected for camp, so they held one themselves.

PHOTO | COURTESY

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Early subject registration stirs debate CHEONG KAH SHIN SOME popular psychology courses have been snapped up so quickly, psychology majors had no chance to register for them. One psychology major found out that vacancies in two popular courses—Forensic Psychology and Trauma Psychology—had already been taken even before registration for the main school population began. These places had been taken by the main committee members of

the school of Humanities and Social Sciences majoring in psychology, as well as students from other schools taking a second major. They were allocated a subject registration date before July 2nd, which was when the rest of the psychology majors registered their modules. It is fairly common practice for school committee members to be allowed to register for courses before other students. The reason is main committee members must free up their schedule to plan school events that usually happen during late afternoons.

Early registration would give them a higher chance of confirming their timetable plans so that they can fulfil their respective duties. The club’s honarary general secretary, Benjamin Chan, 24, said: “Early registration is wrongly perceived as a reward for the main committee’s contributions to the school. But if anything, it works the other way round.” However, HSS is not the only main committee with registration benefits. The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Nanyang Business School

School of Smart Patriotic Robots

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main committees exercise early registration too, but no one has complained so far. “Perhaps students don’t have to vie for highly competitive modules like trauma and forensic psychology, that’s why the problem hasn’t erupted,” said Assistant Professor Cha Yeow Siah from the Psychology division. “Students face stiff competition while registering for the forensic psychology and trauma psychology classes,” said Professor Cha, who added that there were only 30 places in each module but with more than 70 students vying for them.” “Due to the competitivity, perhaps that’s why early registration

seems particularly unfair.” The club committee’s vice president, Lim Ming Han, 24, said: “I would have chosen to register along with the rest of the school had I known these subjects were so in demand and early registration would disadvantage the rest of the school population so much.” The fourth-year psychology major said he only knew about the early registration privileges two months after joining the committee. Most of the HSS students who spoke to The Chronicle were unaware that the policy existed prior to the controversy. >> CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

承前启后 Celebration of Youth 继往开来 SPORTS 35 CHINESE ESE 24

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Hall cut-off point up to 15 Lin Junjie chief editor

THIRD-year civil engineering student Chua Zheng Da, 23, will be making a long trek from Yishun to NTU this semester — ever y school day. A lt hough t he for mer ha ll 10 resident gets the maximum n i ne poi nt s for h i s ca mpu s involvement as the treasurer for the Photovideographic Society, his total score of 14 was still one point shy of the minimum point requirement to get a room. He gets five out of the maximum nine points for travelling time from his home to campus, according to the postal code listing under the scheme. “I tried appealing for it,” Chua said, “but the Student Affairs Office told me that there were many other students with 14 points too.” Admission into one of the 16 halls here is based on the Hall Admission Scheme (HAS) that was put in place since last year, replacing the point allocation system that has traditionally ser ved the Universit y in hall allocation. Under the old system, students accumulate points for taking part in campus activities. The new scheme has, among other changes, disallowed the ac c u mu lat ion of p oi nt s for participation in campus activities and capped the maximum possible points attainable for participation at nine. A separate component gives st udent s bet ween t h r ee a nd nine points depending on how far away a student stays from campus. The total points awarded is obtained from summing up both

components, with a maximum of 18 points possible. But a Singaporean and a foreign student can opt to stay together for an extra three points each. The 15 point cut-off this year for both sexes is an increase from last year’s 14 for men and 13 for women. The latest cut-off point

MAKING THE MOVE: Some students meet the cut-off point of 15 and move into hall. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

>> Continued FROM page 1

The debate continues... “I do not know about the policy," said third-year psychology major, Jim Ho. “But it seems unfair whatever the reasons." But the vice-president said: “We saw no need to inform the school population. We thought it was no top secret policy as other schools do the same too.” The policy is not without its supporters. Frederick Neo, another fourth-year psychology student, 24, said the club has to hold its events in the late afternoons during the weekdays so more students can participate in them. “They can’t be made to skip classes to organise events,” he said. “That would penalise them in their studies.” Professor Cha personally does not support the early registration

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means that a student with less than six points in either one component will not qualify for a hall room. According to figures given by the SAO, seven in ten students who have applied for hall will be rejected because they have five participation points or less. In the distance component, students who

policy for main committee members. “Main committee members of school clubs should be rewarded with ECA points for their contributions,” he said. “Academic matters are close-toheart for all students and they should not be mixed up with ECA contributions.” Compounding the problem further are students from other schools who take a second major in HSS. As their schools may have been scheduled for registration before students from HSS, these students can register for the popular modules earlier. Professor Cha said the school was aware of the situation, and is proposing that the administration rotate that priorities when it comes to schools’ registration dates.

US RESTORES THE STATUS OF A group of tiny islands claimed by both South Korea and Japan as territory belonging to South Korea.

“Maybe this year HSS can be first, while next year we can be one of the later schools to register,” he said, “At least there it would be fair to every school this way.” But he said that it is up to the school administration to decide if they want to go to the trouble of re-programming the IT systems to allow such changes to take place. The club's vice-president also has some suggestions to solve the problem. “For competitive modules, perhaps the school can inform club committee members and double majors to register at the same time as the HSS batch," he said. "But the easiest solution is to scrap main committee early registration and perhaps make double majors register twice, the second time competing on a level playing field with the HSS batch.”

ANWAR IBRAHIM TO CONTEST a by-election for a parliamentary seat vacated by his wife in a bid to expedite his return to political office.

live in some 1,100 out of a total of almost 2,400 postal codes listed — almost one in two of the postal codes listed — will also not qualify for a room because they have five points or less in that category. Applicants like Chua, who failed in their hall application, were notified by the SAO on May 20th. Those who were successful were notified on June 9th. The cut-off point each year is determined by demand and supply of rooms, the SAO said. One possible reason for the increase in the cut-off point could be an increase in the number of freshmen who have opted to stay on campus. Under the HAS, freshmen are guaranteed accommodation in double rooms. Although the percentage of freshmen who have opted to stay in hall is stable at about 70 per cent every year according to SAO, the total intake of freshmen has been increasingly steadily over the past ten years. T h i s yea r t he Un ive r sit y enrolled some 6,300 freshmen, which means about 4,400 freshmen are staying in hall. This leaves just about 4,800 rooms for the rest of some 15,000 students here. Deputy director for student accommodation, Ms Angela Shang, suggested t hat u n successf u l applicants, can apply for temporary sharing of rooms with friends or off-campus accommodation while waiting for offers. To address the high points needed for campus involvement in order to get a hall room, an implementation committee led by the SAO plans to announce several changes to the HAS in the first or second week of August. With the classification of nonconstituent clubs (NCCs) into four

tiers based on several factors that determine the size and activity of t hese c lubs, ma nagement committee members of larger and more active clubs would receive more points than smaller and less active ones.

“I tried appealing for it but the SAO told me that there were many other students with 14 points too.” Chua Zheng Da, 23 Former Hall 10 resident

Earlier in January, the president of Outdoor Adventure Club, Syed Munir, told representatives of NCCs that the large number of their management committee members getting nine points have distorted what should have been a pyramidal distribution of points for campus involvement. The final-year student from the School of Biological Sciences now hopes the upcoming changes would be the first step in solving the “distortion problem” and hopefully pull down the cut-off point. St i l l , e v e n w i t h a l l t h e upcoming changes, Munir thinks only an increase in hall rooms can truly solve the problem. “The changed system should be able to better discriminate who needs the rooms more,” he said. “But until we have enough rooms, there will still be some who will lose out.” Additional reporting by

Chen Jing Ting

We’ve spoken, they’ve listened, now what? Page 30

CLUELESS MAJORITY: Most HSS students that The Chronicle spoke to were unaware of the early registration period their school club members have. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

S’PORE’S JOBLESS RATE RISES to 2.3% in June in the second quarter after seasonal adjustments, compared to two percent in the first three months.

FORMER THAI PRIME MINISTER Thaksin Shinawatra’s wife was convicted last Thursday of tax evasion and jailed for three years.

STRICTER POLLUTION CONTROLS were unveiled for the Beijing Olympics that would e xpand traffic rules and close down more factories.

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NTU encourages students to dive into India Estelle Low lifestyle editor

IMPROVE water quality, reduce traffic congestion and pollution, or help women who have taken career breaks to re-enter the workforce: Internships in India have an extra dimension. NTU has arranged new tieups with at least 10 reputable companies in India, including leading technolog y company, ABB Ltd, which follows a “triple bottom line” approach aimed at achieving a balance in the economic, environmental and social impact of the company’s business. Interns there can visit schools to teach the children, or non-governmental organisations and work with physically and mentally disabled employees.

“I was looking for somewhere out of my comfort zone, somewhere I had to adapt to. India was the natural choice for me.” Elton Lee, 23 Final-Year Business Student

Other companies are also highly sought-after, such as Infosys Technologies Ltd where Instep, the global internship programme, received over 7,000 applications for 125 places last year. Other reputable companies such as Tata attract sizeable interest as well. St a f f f r om I nte r nat iona l Relations Office (IRO) and Career and Attachment visited India in May to arrange for these new tie-ups. A presentation on NTU was done, followed by a Q&A

session between NTU staff and the company managers or public relations personnel. “Our (NTU) strategy has been to engage and build partnership with India’s dy namic pr ivate sector. This is where we believe talented NTU graduates will find the most exciting opportunities of their career – either through direct employment or through partnerships – which is why we have recently enhanced our Global Immersion Programme (GIP) in India by partnering some of India’s best-known blue chip companies,” said Amit Jain, assistant director of IRO. And the figures have grown. According to the GIP office, the number of applicants rose by 40 percent from Januar y 2007 to January 2008. Final-year business student Elton Lee, 23, was one of the lucky few who was offered an internship by the Tata Group, one of India’s oldest and largest business conglomerates. Lee joined the Human Resources department in Tata Services from January to June this year. His internship saw him planning and organising the Second Career Internship Programme for Women, a n i n it iat ive to he lp I nd ia n women professionals re-enter the workforce after a career break. Lee described this as a brilliant initiative which creates win-win situations for all. “Companies are also able to reach to scarce talents who are in great demand. Besides, this is a family-oriented programme which is an affirmative step towards a more family-friendly workplace and society.” The GIP in India has both work and study components, as students do three weeks of intensive study at Symbiosis International University to learn more about India before their 22-week internships. Business graduate Teo Kenji, 24, said it was an eye-opening

INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES: Believe it or not, this is the site of a leading Information Technology company, Infosys Technologies. Students of GIP India got a chance to intern here. PHOTO | COURTESY

e x p e r ie nc e u n at t a i n able i n Singapore. “The company [Tata Voltas] gave me a lot of chances after I proved my worth,” he said, after he had generated lots of ideas and proposals, on top of the duties he was given. On top of this, he received free training from Tata Voltas, ranging from mentoring programmes to etiquette courses that taught him the know-hows of fine-dining, dressing and speaking. But while students are involved in meaningful projects and are part of important decision-making processes, working in India is not a bed of roses. E lec t r ica l a nd E lec t ron ic Eng i ne e r i ng g r aduate Te r r y Chang, 25, who worked mainly in Hyderabad, said that the lack of Internet access in the house he stayed in was frustrating. “I

5 companies to look out for I n f o s y s Te c h n o l o g i e s Limited, Bangalore

Reliance Capital, Mumbai

Infosys is an IT and business consultancy with a strong gglobal presence. Great place to build a global network of colleagues, selected from 95 top universities in countries such as US, Spain, Argentina and France. Who should apply: NBS, HSS students.

One of India’s leading and fastest-growing private sector financial services companies. Reliance ranks among the top three private sector financial services and banking groups in terms of net worth. Good for banking and finance students. Who should apply: NBS students.

General Electric (GE) , Bangalore

L ar s en and Toubr o (L&T), Mumbai

Excellent place to put big ideas into action. The John F. Welse Technology Centre in Bangalore is GE’s f irst and largest multidisciplinary R&D centre outside the US. Who should apply: CBE, MAE students.

One of India’s leading and fastest growing private sector financial services companies. They have oppor tunities in disciplines like engineering, finance and marketing. Who should apply: EEE, MAE, SCE, MSE and NBS students.

D e v e l o p m e n t Alternatives (DA), New Delhi

DA’s focus in on alleviating poverty in India and improving the quality of life. Int e r n s j o in h a n d s - o n projects in developing clean water, marketing and organising roadshows for products, which f o r ms DA’s s us t ain abilit y development objectives. Who should apply: EEE, MAE, CEE, NBS (Marketing and Finance)m and SCI (Advertising and Public Relations) students.

had to travel back to my office to use the Internet,” said Chang. “There was no USB port in the computers in office, so I had to go to cyber cafes if I wanted to use my thumbdrive.” Other things readily available in Singapore did not a lways function, such as electricity. There were power cuts almost daily in Hyderabad, and Chang was sometimes caught in the shower with no electricity – or worse. “I had to pump water into the water tank manually before I could use the toilet.” Still, he is thankful for his six-month internship in India as he was directly involved in the building of Hyderabad airport. Students were unanimous in their reason for choosing India – a desire for adventure. Lee, who had been to India on

a youth expedition, said: “I was looking for somewhere out of my comfor t zone, somewhere I had to adapt to. India was the natural choice for me.” Teo, who is now a private yoga instr uctor, wanted to experience yoga in its country of origin and had one word to describe India – “exotic”. His adventures ranged from hopping onto trains without doors or air-con, where “the locals would pull you up into the cabin even if it’s super-packed”, to ‘bribing’ an Indian official to get his permit. “These are things you’ll never experience elsewhere,” he said. “You get to live like an Indian, literally.”

4 secrets to a great gip in india 1. Tr y not to source for your own accommodation if your company is providing for you. “Living in the Shenton Way of Mumbai costs about three times your monthly pay,” said Communication Studies graduate Vanessa Tang, who worked for Tata Consultancy Ser vices. Travelling to your workplace will also take longer than you expect due to heavy traffic.

2. Be proactive and flexible. “Singaporeans are used to being told what to do and given all information before they embark on a project. But here in India, there’s a lot of ambiguity,” said Ms Mahzarine Jehangir, Deputy Manager of Human Resources at Tata Services.

3. Ditch your SMRT etiquette, wherever you are. The trick on the train is to join in the jostle like everyone else, said finalyear Business student Elton Lee. When taking the bus, board from the back and alight at the front. Buy a taxi meter from convenience shops before you take a cab, so you do not get cheated. 4. Pick up some Hindi phrases beforehand. Being able to give basic directions in Hindi will save you time and ensure you get fair charges by auto-rickshaw or taxi drivers. For instance, “Kit-ne, ba-ih? ” which literally means “How much, brother?” will get you better bargains and your colleagues will open up to you quickly.

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trend story feature

Sacrificing their holidays to gain an edge Lim Yan Wen WHILE most of her peers were enjoying their three-month long holiday, Eunice Quek was training as a journalist at The Straits Times. She ended up loving the “the crazy pace and adrenalin rush when we’re out covering stories.” T he 22-y e a r- old E ng l i sh major from NTU is certainly not alone. More undergraduates are proactively approaching companies during the holidays for internships to boost their resumes. Tan Qing Quan is one of them. The 24-year-old from the National University of Singapore is interning at Deloitte & Touche Enterprise Risk Services Pte Ltd, a firm in the risk management industry. “Having a reputable company under the section ‘Working Experience’ in your resume makes it look good,” Tan said. For Quek, she worked at The Straits Times to increase her industr y contacts and f uture employment opportunities. She has written for the News Desk, Life! section and covered a story that required her to wait for Christopher Lee, the Mediacorp actor jailed for drink-driving, to come out of jail. “I didn’t see it as giving up my holidays, more like I’m making full use of it. And I’ll probably drive my mother nuts at home,” Quek

PHOTO | CHEN WEI LI ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JOHN’S RESUME LOOK GOOD?: More students are giving up their free time during the holidays to intern at companies.

said cheekily. Tan, a final-year Industrial and Systems Engineering student, felt that a rewarding internship during vacation can help to bridge the difference between schooling and

New building, new route

working life. “What is taught in school is not enough to prepare you for the real working world,” he said. “When you’re out there, people want to get the job done fast, it does not really

matter how you do it.” The Career and Attachment Office (CAO) in NTU does not track the number of students taking selfinitiated internships because they are not part of the official Industrial Attachments (IA) or Professional Internships (PI) programmes that are arranged for students as part of the curriculum. “We do, however, encourage st udent s to see k mor e work experience on their own through internships so that they can be familiar with working life and it’d be helpful when they proceed to their PI or IA,” said director of the CAO Mr Loh Pui Wah. A third-year student from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Heng Cheng Loo, landed himself a two-month internship with the Economic Development Board. His job scope involved project management. The 23-year-old, who is also pursuing a minor in Business, wanted to get more business-related exposure, and saw this internship as a way for him to decide on his future career choice. “I feel the I A alone is not enough for me to decide on my potential career. I wanted to try something different to make the comparison,” Heng said. “If I had just taken on other odd jobs, it wouldn’t value-add my experience or resume, and the holidays would

be over before I know it,” he added. Meanwhile, if you plan to work abroad in the future, an overseas internship may prepare you for that.

“I didn’t see it as giving up my holidays, more like I’m making full use of it.” Eunice Quek, 22 English major, NTU

After the end of his six-month PI in June, final-year student Teng Kie Zin from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information left for Australia for a month-long internship with Spaeth Communications’ Asia Pacific Office. Spaeth is a media and communications coaching firm. Teng’s work involved cocoordinating with designers, and preparing for training. He chose to go abroad because if he stayed in Singapore, he would be working as well. “I think this just opens up the door for people who want to work overseas.”

Free parking for open-air car parks for at least one more year Pearly Tan

UP AND RUNNING: Shuttle bus C begins operations with two new stops, with one at the new SPMS building. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

Nabila Hanim ST U DEN TS f rom t he School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) who have been attending lessons in the North and South Spines since its inception in 2005 will now be able to commute directly to their new school building by shuttle bus. In an email by the Student Union on July 13th, it explained that shuttle bus route C will be rerouted to pass by Nanyang Link, with two new stops, including one at the SPMS building and the other at Hall 7. Totalling 38,000 square meters, the new SPMS compound houses three interconnected buildings, the Divisions of Chemistry and

Biological Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences and Physics and Applied Physics. The shuttle service will benefit close to 2,000 students and 60 faculty members studying and working in SPMS. SPMS student Tnay Ya Lin, 23, said: “It will be easier for us to get to the SPMS building rather than walking from the South Spine bus stops, which takes about ten minutes.” Others, however, felt that a new route would not improve the shuttle bus frequency, an issue still being tackled by the Student Union and NTU administration. SPMS Chemistry major Ibrizah Bajerai said: “If it takes very long for a shuttle bus to come, I might as well walk to school.”

DRIVERS can expect to continue parking for free at open-air car parks on campus for at least another year. The Office of Facilities Planning and Management, which manages the car parks on campus, said any change to the current car parking system will not be made overnight. There are no plans to begin operating the gantries at open-air car parks. “T he changes will impact not only students but staff as well. Ample time of at least three months notice will be given,” said an administrator at the office, Mr Joachim Pang. The car park gantries were erected in 2006 to address the problem of illegal parking as well as to moderate high demand for parking facilities near academic comple xes, accord ing to t he office. The gantries at covered car parks began operation in July 2008. T he de ma nd for cove r e d car park spaces is higher than those in open-air car parks, and not charging for open-air car parks may alleviate the uneven demand. Mr Pang said: “We hope to facilitate wider distribution of use of covered and open-air car

FREE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AT LEAST: While the gantries at covered car parks have begin operation, the ones for open-air car parks will not, for now. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

parks.” Car park charges remain the same: hourly parking in covered car parks on weekdays costs $1 per hour for the first two hours and $3 for a parking duration of more than two hours from 5am to 5.30pm. There are no charges during weekends and public holidays. Season parking is available to both staff and students for a fee of $90 per month. Some student drivers believe

the charges will free up more pa rk ing lots by deter r ing drivers unwilling to pay to use the facilities. Said student driver Ken Tan, 23, a third-year School of A r t, Design and Media student: “The gantries may make it easier to find parking lots, but I won’t be happy if they start operating because it means incurring more costs for myself.”

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NBS advisory board gets overhauled Cheryl Ong news editor TO TRAIN scientists with business acumen and managerial skills. This is one of the plans that the new advisory board of the Nanyang Business School (NBS) have in store for future graduate students as they try to stay relevant in the economy today. The business school held a press conference on July 10th, with NTU President Dr Su Guaning and NBS Dean Dr Jitendra Singh welcoming the latest members to its revamped board of advisors. Mr Philip Yeo, who previously headed the government research institute, A*Star, will replace Mr Choo Chiau Beng as chairman. Mr Choo will stay on as a board member. Several changes were made to the board structure, which n ow c om p r i s e s a b o a r d of advisors, a graduate board and an undergraduate board. According to Dr Jitendra Singh, the former international advisory board, which gave advice to the dean and school’s leadership on strategic goals and directions, was scrapped to reflect the current needs of the business school. The agenda of the new board consists of combining a doctorate degree in science with management skills, akin to an “MBA-PhD”, as Mr Yeo put it. “The key is how can we develop NBS to have a niche in SME (small and medium enterprises) business

Using SPRING as a launchpad to the world

NEW BOARD, NEW FOCUS: NBS Dean Dr Jitendra Singh (far left) highlights his plans for the school with a newly-restructured board. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

management training,” said Mr Yeo. Mr Yeo also chairs SPRING Singapore, a government agency that focuses on the countr y’s economy and provides support for SM Es. Coupled w it h h i s background in A*Star, which attracts talents worldwide and has a strong emphasis on biomedical sciences, the new chairman was clear about his v ision of the future of the business school with SPRING. “I need a good business school

Day out for NBS freshmen Tan Zi Jie THEY didn’t make the cut for the official Nanyang Business School Fresh men Or ientat ion Camp. They even refer to themselves as “rejects”. But that gave them the idea to hold their own orientation event – and it was a success. The one-day orientation event at Sentosa on July 16th saw 45 of the new first-year business and accountancy students playing games and taking luge rides, with more turning up for dinner at Vivocity later that evening.

“Going to a camp is kind of tiring sometimes, especially when all the activities are back-to-back.” Zaiton Seah, 19 NBS Freshman

T hey organised t he event because they had missed out on the official NBS camp. It is one

of the most popular orientation camps in NTU, and while more than half of the cohort applied, out of 620 applicants, only 240 were selected, according to Debbie Lee, co-chairperson of the official camp. The official camp could not take all applicants due to manpower and financial constraints, explained Lee. To help t hem select t he patricipants, they said they looked for “fun-loving, enthusiastic and physically-fit” people, according to Wee Toon Lee, 22, chief group leader of one of the orientation groups in the official NBS camp. Co-chair Lee added: “Looks were definitely not a factor.” L a s t yea r, t he C h r on ic le reported that good looks were suspected to be major criteria for selection for the most exclusive orientation camps in NTU. While most of the unofficial campers agreed that the Sentosa outing was a success, some feel that it is just the beginning for the group. “It was the first event that was the breakthrough for future events,” said Shiang Qin Pei, 19, one of the organisers. The group now frequently has small gatherings every few days, such as night cycling and movie dates.

to train my CEOs and my SMEs,” he said. “We want future (science graduates) to become future CEOs of start-ups.” Dr Singh added he is interested i n de ve lopi ng a prog r a m me of fer ing master’s degrees in business administration with a focus on sustainability as part of the school’s role in solving realworld problems. As Dr Su said in his opening remarks: “The Nanyang Business School’s emphasis is on global leaders.”

THE Singapore economy is made up of thousands of small companies. In fact, such companies, a lso k now n as sma l l a nd medium enterprises (SMEs), make up more than 95 percent of all the companies based here, and contribute to nearly half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, according to statistics provided by SPRING Singapore. SPR I NG, a gover nment board with interests in building up such small companies, can hence play an important role in launching such enterprises onto the global arena, according to Nanyang Business School Dean Dr Jitendra Singh. SPRING recognises that the right know-how, marketing te c h nolog y, f u nd i ng a nd management training will give companies an edge. This is where the Nanyang Business School comes in. SPRING Chairman Mr Philip Yeo recently announced his hopes of NBS being a training g rou nd for t he bosses of

small start-up companies in Singapore. (See main story.) SPRING will subsidise SME bosses’ further education in business administration and support their ventures beyond the small local market. Using technology-based companies as an example, Dr Singh said: “As a virtual enter pr i se, you may be physically small but your virtual presence can be large. The local environment isn’t the only market you can serve.” The government board is also looking at bridging local SMEs with foreign ones to build up a network that Singaporean companies can tap into. Said Dr Singh: “The whole idea is, if capabilities develop in the f irms with links to Singapore, as they participate in the ecosystem of SPRING, inevitably benefits will flow to the Singapore economy.”

TEXT | CHERYL ONG

Some freshmen have even said that they prefer this unique brand of orientation to the official camp. “Going to a camp is kind of tiring sometimes, especially when all the activities are back-to-back. For us, we’re more free-and-easy and it’s not a stay-over event, so we have time to get online and chat and get to know each other before we meet face-to-face” said Zaiton Seah, 19. Wang Yi, 22, who created the freshmen’s Facebook group, said the outing was suggested when some of his peers discussed their chances of being selected for the official camp on the camp’s online message board, and found they had not been chosen.

“Initially I was a little disappointed. But now I think it was a blessing in disguise.” Tracy Goh, 19 NBS Freshman

So they suggested an outing, interested freshmen left their contact details on the message board and soon a mailing list

A FRESH START: NBS freshmen pose for a photo at Sentosa before taking a luge ride during their one-day orientation event. PHOTO | COURTESY

was started. The initial idea of the outing then morphed into the Sentosa event. The Facebook group, named “Self-oriented at NBS 08/09” by consensus, has since become an active forum with more than 60 members. “ I n i t i a l l y I w a s a l i t t le disappointed. But now I think it was a blessing in disguise,” said Tracy Goh, 19, one of the organisers for the Sentosa outing. Lee shared the same sentiments.

She felt that “the objective (of FOC) has been achieved somehow”, as the official camp’s online message board had helped to bring the selforiented group together. Attending the orientation event has certainly had the desired effect of inspiring confidence in the latest batch of business freshmen. Sa id t he Facebook g roup creator, Wang: “I truly believe that an experience like this is going to mark a symbolic start for our university life”

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Something new a’bot storytelling Kong Yen Lin L I K E m o s t d o g s , “ P i c k le s” is energetic, active and loves attention. It showcases a my r iad of emotions, prancing up and down when excited and shaking its head when feeling down. But unlike other dogs, “Pickles” doubles up as a storyteller as well. “Pickles” is the robotic creation of a team of first-year Jurong Junior College students participating in Singa-Bot 2008, a competition where participants use a robot to tell a Singapore story. It will be dancing to “Home For e v e r ”, a n or i g i n a l s on g penned by the group to remind Singaporeans abroad to cherish their roots. And helping to bring these robots to life are a team of student volunteers from the School of Elec t r ica l a nd Elec t ron ic Engineering (EEE) here. The 26 engineering students gave assistance and advice on programming to the finalists. The

two best mentors will be rewarded with a $500 Best Denki voucher each. “I’m u sed to helpi ng a nd volunteering, and here, I can also do something related to my interest in robotics,” said third-year EEE student Lim Kian Lai, 25. Launched in early June this year by the Singapore Discovery Centre, the contest is a collaboration between the centre and NTU. Tying in with National Day, participants are first required to submit entries in the form of a song, poem, short story or any other innovative for mat that celebrates a facet of Singaporean life or history. Out of more than 100 entries, 13 were shortlisted for the finals on August 5th. Using parts like a computer chip and connectors, the teams and their respective mentors then assembled a robot from scratch. B e s i d e s “ P i c k le s”, ot h e r contenders vying for the top prize of $3,000 include a humanoid hip-hop dancer, a soldier that does push-ups and a lion that punches

like Chinese pugilist Wong Fei Hung. The student mentors found it a breeze programming the robots, but guiding the contestants proved challenging. “My team has no prior exposure to robotics so they may be idealistic and not understand technical limitations,” said Liu Wen Yu, 24, a member of the Ureca student club. “It’s also tougher for them as they’re programming hiphop movements, which is hard to look fluid and flexible while maintaining stability,” she added. Associate Professor Er Meng Joo, who served as a consultant and coordinator to the Singapore Discover y Cent re for t he competition, said the event would let students put what they have learnt to practical use. The EEE professor, who will also be judging in the finals, has high hopes for the contestants. “I would be looking forward to the team that can create a Merlion, becau se it’s t he most icon ic representation of Singapore.”

Drumming in synchrony Chua Si Jia May IT WAS music to the ears of many head-nodding and foot-tapping members of the audience grooving to the infectious beat. Organised by NTU’s Cultural Activities Club, Drumzout 2008 was held on June 15th at Toa Payoh HDB Hub. Teams from secondary schools to tertiary institutions were required to perform with percussion instruments from at least two different cultures and genres on stage. Instruments used range from the drum kit to the more unusual Punjabi dhol, an Indian barrel-

shaped drum. Performers donned colourful costumes, making for a visual feast. “W hen you f use toget her different instruments from various cultures, what you get is more than a simple combination of beats. A whole new sound is created,” said the chairman of the organising committee for the event, Larry Lum Kwok Hong, 27. The Institute of Technical Education (I T E) College East e me r ge d c ha mpion , beat i ng runner-up Zhenghua Secondary School and second runner-up Canberra Secondary School. The winning teams received cash prizes of $1,000 for the first

prize, and $100 for the second and third place. Free workshops at the Percussive Arts and Music School were also offered to the top three teams. The audience gained from the experience as well, taking away new-found interest in percussion instruments. “It was really amazing, seeing how the contestants s y nc h ron i sed t he mu sic together, using all the different i nst r u ment s f rom va r ious cultures,” said Bukit Panjang Gove r n me nt H ig h Sc hool student, Wang Jun Jie, 15. “I am even more interested in percussion now.”

A FUSION OF CULTURES AND PERCUSSIONS: Teams synchronised different types of percussion instruments together in their performance at Toa Payoh HDB Hub. PHOTO | AHMAD ISKANDAR

MOVE OVER, ROBOCOP: “Pickles”, a robot that behaves like a playful dog, can also act out stories that remind us to cherish our Singaporean roots, as part of a National Day competition. PHOTO | KONG YEN LIN

NTU’s foreign students emerge tops Amanda Tan GOODBYE Singapore Idol, hello OSALive! The locals are not the only ones making waves in the talent industr y as this recent talent competition proved. Organised by the Overseas Student Association (OSA), the event aimed to foster fellowship among international students and give them a platform to showcase their talents. NTU teams Jamming Steak and Saman Pintu impressed the audience with their vocals and flair on the dance floor, clinching champion and first runner-up in the competition respectively. Held at Republic Polytechnic on May 10th, the event saw a 700-strong crowd, with BrigadierGeneral (NS) Goh Kee Nguan attending as guest-of-honour. Proceeds from the event went to the Children’s Aid Society. Te a m s a n d i n d i v i d u a l performers put up items ranging from Chinese yo-yo acrobatics to magic tricks. Reginald Pr yor Sumalong, 23, who is also chairman of the organising committee for the talent contest, said: “Saman Pintu went far because they were able to adapt a traditional dance to a fresh look that everyone could appreciate,” he said. “Likewise, Jamming Steak also found ways to connect with the audience by leveraging on their emotions, which is quite a clever thing to do.”

Indonesian st udent Henr y Wahyu Rudyono, 21, of Saman P i nt u , sa id h i s tea m joi ned OSALive! out of curiosity, but are actually all seasoned performers, having showcased their talents in events such as the Indonesian Art Festival. For the competition, they performed a Saman Dance, a traditional dance from Aceh, Indonesia. “No pain, no gain.” was an adage the teams were more than familiar with, having to schedule practices and choreograph dance steps when the members were in the middle of their studies. Nevertheless, they hoped that their efforts would inspire more interest and involvement from other students. E g t h e a s i l v a A r t e l i a , 21, Wahy u’s team mate, said: “It would be nice to grow bigger as a club and make more people aware of different cultures.”

SHOWING A FLAIR FOR THE STAGE: International students display their skills on the stage, from serenading the crowd to performing cultural dances. PHOTO | COURTESY

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Special terms to start charging next year PEARLY TAN U N DE RGR A DUAT E s t ude nt s hoping to use their vacation period to take courses will now have to pay at least $500 each. From May next year, charges will apply to courses taken during special terms one and two. (Refer to table below.) Some students, such as Corine Loh, 20, told The Chronicle that they would avoid registering for these special terms to save on having to pay for modules. “I will try not to go for special semester courses anymore since they are so expensive,” said the second-year Business student. “I will try to fulfi l more credits during the regular school terms instead.” A Government announcement in December 2006 stated that fees for Singapore permanent

r e side nt s a nd i nte r nat iona l students will be 10 to 15 percent higher respectively than those for Singaporean citizens. Since its introduction in 1998, the special terms have seen a tripling of the number of student registrations to about 4, 000, according to statistics provided by the Office of Academic Services (OAS). The growing demand called for additional resources to be utilised to conduct the terms, such as more teaching staff. The University is not the first to charge for Special Term modules, as the National Universit y of Si ngapore a nd Si ngapore Management Universit y have been doing so for several years. Students in NUS pay at least $636 for a Special Term module while those in SMU pay a minimum of $900. “Approval was given to charge special term fees from AY2007,

SUBSIDISED STUDENT

NON-SUBSIDISED STUDENT

SINGAPORE CITIZEN

SINGAPORE PERMANENT RESIDENT

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT

3 (or less) AUs

$500

$550

$750

$1,800

4 AUs

$650

$715

$975

$2.350

but the University held back the implementation in view of the increase in Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2007,” said Mr Chan Kwong Lok, Chief Planning Officer of OAS. The number of places in courses will only be increased where practical, according to OAS, so students who want a guaranteed place in electives are advised to consider the less-popular courses as well as place more choices on their waitlist. The fees, however, are not applicable to courses conducted only during special terms, such as Engineering Innovation & Design and Minor in Entrepreneurship courses. A s si s t a nt P r ofe s sor Ve sa Kangaslahti, who is in charge of the Minor in Entrepreneurship programme, feels that the decision was made to ensure a consistent message i n encou r agi ng t he entrepreneurial spirit amongst students. Some students like 22-year-old Yang Yue feel that the charges are reasonable. “I think fees can separate those who really need to take special semester from the others,” said the final-year School of Civil and Environmental Engineering student.

New award to recognise bicultural students KONG YEN LIN EFFECTIVELY bilingual, well-read, and not to mention a heart of gold — these were the winning qualities that landed Communication Studies graduate Lin Hui, 23, the inaugural Annie Tan award. Pledged in July last year by an anonymous donor in memory of h i s late mot he r, M ad a m Annie Tan, the annual mention recognises bilingual and bicultural graduating female students at NTU with an outstanding academic performance. Lin, who is the first recipient of this accolade, was presented with a cash prize of $5,000 and a gold medal at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences’ presentation ceremony on August 1st. But the broadcast journalist, who is cur rent ly work ing at MediaCorp Radio Capital 95.8FM, is modest about her win. “Frankly speaking, I’m also not sure why I was chosen, though deep down I was still hoping that I would,” she said with a laugh. At the age of six, Lin fell in love with the Chinese language

when she joined the speech and drama classes offered by Hokkien Huay Kuan Arts and Cultural Troupe. Lin is also actively involved in community service. She volunteered during her junior college days to tutor primary school students from lower-income families. Lin intends to donate a portion of her award’s winnings to a children’s charity. Tr ips to C h i na w it h t he orchestra and a f ivemonth university exchange programme to Taiwan also gave Lin a bicultural edge. But her trump card was her visits to Manila, where she worked on a fi lm documenting the kidney trade for her Final Year Project. S a id t he he ad of t he judging committee, Professor Schubert Foo, who is also the associate dean of the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences: “Her compassion came across very strongly to us and eventually won our hearts.”

Job security a concern for graduates GERALDINE YEO GLOBAL imbalances. Soaring oil and commodity prices. Declining value of the United States dollar – is it bad time to graduate? For fresh graduate Ms Shi Wei Qian, the unstable global economy may forewarn of uncertain times ahead. “I am rather concerned because I am working in a bank and in the financial industry, and these are the industries that suffer from losses this year.” Ms Shi is among the 7,313 students who graduated this year, the largest graduating cohort the University has seen. Held between July 21st and 26th, the graduation

of students from various faculties was celebrated over 15 different convocation ceremonies. With the year 2008 posing major threats to economic growth around the world, do NTU’s fresh graduates find it difficult to enter the job market? For Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) graduate Mr Chen Yonghong, oppor t unit y came knocking as early as in Februar y this year, some five months before he was due to complete his degree. “It was the fi rst opportunity that came by and I wanted to start off with something that I was familiar with,” said Mr Chen, who

A BRIGHT FUTURE: The economic outlook may be bleak, but it is encouraging graduates to pay more attention to the jobs that want. PHOTO | KUAN JIE WEI

is now an engineer with Chartered Semiconductor. Like Mr Chen, job security is also not an issue for Ms Pauline Chua, 23. Currently under the Graduate’s Programme, Ms Chua has to undergo t wo years of training and a subsequent twoyear bond. However, Ms Chua knows of some fellow graduates who have not been so lucky in their job hunt. “They are worried, and this is understandable especially when they compare themselves to their peers who already have job offers,” she said. This may not necessarily point to the poor performance of the economy or lesser jobs available in the market. For some, it is a matter of finding the “right” job versus finding a job quickly upon graduation—This means taking into consideration factors like job satisfaction and opportunities in job advancement in the future. Mr Chan Cong Zhi, a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) graduate, is look ing towards Multinational Corporations to provide him with job security. “Big companies tend to have better ways of riding the economic storm during bad times, while smaller companies have a higher propensity to lay their workers off,” he said.

DESERVING WINNER: Lin Hui’s love for the Chinese language and her presence in community service convinced the award’s judging committee that she deserved the Annie Tan award. PHOTO | ALEX TEH

NTU is Asia’s king of varsity debate CHITRA KUMAR AFTER a long wait of 17 years, the NTU Debating Squad triumphed at the fourth Asian Universities Debating Championship in May, beating seven-time regional champions, the Philippines’ Ateneo de Manila University. “It was clear that we were the underdogs,” said squad captain Madhav Janakiraman, 20, a four th-year Electrical and Electronics Engineering student. The three-member team, wh ic h t r iu mphed w it h t he narrowest finals in Asian history with a 5-4 score, argued for the motion of granting prisoners who committed heinous crimes a conditional pardon in exchange for national service during times of war. T he N T U debater s went

through rigorous preparations and a daily five-hour debating session before the competition. “The entire NTU contingent had been extremely focused and dedicated in its preparation,” said Anindya Dutta, 20, a third year Electrical and Electronics Engineering student. Hosted by the International Islamic University, Malaysia, this year’s championship saw 87 teams from 49 universities taking part - the largest number of teams in its tournament history - vying for the coveted title. T heir w inning secret, according to Madhav was that t hey were “li ke engineer s, using only logical and sharp analy tical sk ills” and they gave a consistent debating performance throughout the 12 rounds.

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Lifestyle

What sounds so wrong, yet tastes so right Page 12

Crafting the perfect picture The art of photography is more than just pointing, shooting and clicking as Art, Design and Media undergraduate Joel Yuen shows Nur Raihana IT IS hard to imagine a photographer going around without a camera, but that is exactly what Joel Yuen does when he goes out. He puts his camera away when he goes out to take a break and play. But all that photography at work has paid off. His submission, Anatomical Fantasies of Meat Meat, won the annual UOB Painting of the Year award recently. Though the third-year student at the School of Art, Design and Media had a good feeling about his submission — a collection of parts of dead cows, artistically arranged — winning the top prize still caught him by surprise. “When they told me I won, I wanted to do a 360 degree flip and jump around,” he said. Joel, 25, reckoned his winning images stood out because of his original take on the subject. For months he conceptualized his vision, and arranged animal parts that visually complemented each other before photographing the end result. “I almost felt like a sculptor,” he mused.

Unsurprisingly, it is this series of three photographs that Joel considers to be his most memorable. But his success has not come cheap, and since the year he turned professional, he said he has spent around $5,000. His bold concepts mir ror his adventurous nature, which has taken him off the beaten track in search of great photos. “The whole experience of wanting to explore further in, that is sometimes quite rewarding. Sometimes you get surprises you don’t see coming,” he said. Once, in India, he trekked through a remote plantation alone and was almost attacked by a huge dog. But he kept walking and eventually found — and photographed — a girl sitting all alone, leashed to a wall. It paid off, as the photograph snagged him an Honourable Mention in the 2004 International Photography Awards. “That took a lot of trouble in terms of getting to the place. I even had to buy a bag of potato chips for her!” he said. The adrenaline rush from exploring the path less-travelled keeps him going. “Looking back, sometimes I don’t know why I dare do certain things but somehow at that moment it just seemed right.”

Joel once spent three hours at a train station in Milan zooming in onto fellow commuters and stealthily photographing them. Although he did get caught, he remained unfazed and at the end of the day, he had 150 shots. However, photographing objects that capture the spontaneity of the moment does not give him the same sense of satisfaction as before. These days he prefers contemporary photography, where he gets to create things with a message. “I always want to reconstruct my own reality, the process of putting my hands on something and transforming it,” he said.

When they told me that I won, I wanted to do a 360 degree ﬂip and jump around, Joel Yuen (above), 25 Third-year Art, Design and Media student

But Joel does not create art just to stir up controversy. He said his photographs generate emotional responses because the themes he is drawn to, like ideology and existentialism, tend to be of

PHOTO | TAN ZI JIE

greater concern to people. He said his education had improved his technical and conceptualization skills. Since he draws inspiration from school and his lecturers, he also hopes to give back one day by entering the profession. “I have always loved teaching so this way I can marry my love for teaching as well as a practice of the arts”, he said. Joel will be holding a solo exhibition at the Esplanade in a year’s time. Joel said that he would have to “put in double the effort to keep up the standard” because his artistic value would drop should the work be substandard. With so many things to do in such little time, he sacrifices sleep for work. “I am only youthful during this time so since I still have the energy, I just exploit my body,” he said. Though exhausted, Joel counts the experience as rewarding when he sells works, wins competitions or even when he receives kudos on his pieces. And as flak is inevitable, he also stressed on the importance of believing in one’s own work. “At the end of the day, artists become successful because they don’t become a sell-out and prostitute themselves — doing it for monetary reasons, for the sake of a certain show or to please people.”

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Jackets for

your laptop

Forget about shawls and sweaters. It s a better idea to keep your pricey laptop warm and safe. Peh Kairu and Estelle Low ﬁnd out that your laptop jacket says more about you than the jacket you wear in Lee Kong Chian lecture theatre

FOR THE PREDICTABLE STUDENT:

RED PINSTRIPES www.fabrixcases.com

Shopping is a no-frills activity for you. You want som ething that’s classic and will never go out of style. Yes, fashion trends have come and gone but the little black dress you wore to college prom can never go wrong, can it?

How much?

13”: $54.90 (without handle: $69.90) 15”: $59.90 17”: $64.90

Why get this?

This laptop sleeve may be handmade and locally designed, but what interests you more is its conventional Velcro opening and classic design, which works just like your five-year-old Billabong wallet.

www.mandarinaduck.com

FOR THE PRACTICAL STUDENT:

Where to get it?

• Macshop (Funan IT Mall, #04-11) • iSHOP (Orchard Cineleisure, 8 Grange Road #03-04/5/6) • Design in Singapore (24 Mohammed Sultan Road) • Esplanade Shop (Esplanade Mall, #02-02)

How much?

MANDARINA DUCK Nothing appeals to you more than a multi-purpose bag that can take you anywhere. Plus, The Mandarina Duck’s double handles make this laptop jacket easy to lug around from one LT to another.

How much? 12”: $93 14”: $123 15.4”: $146

Why get this?

The curved zip pocket at the front makes sure that you can easily unzip the pocket without getting the zip stuck. To please you further, there are five inner slots in the outer pocket to store your pens and laptop battery snugly. What’s there not to like about? Comes in four easy-

REGULAR BAG

As expensive as McDonald’s serviettes. But longer lasting, naturally.

to-match colours – orange, army green, black and grey.

Why get this?

This laptop jacket will be your best friend – rain or shine. Plus it’s free and you can use it to carry other things, so you even save money on a bag.

Where to get it? • The Planet Traveller (Marina Square,

#03-113 & Paragon, #04-15)

Where to get it?

From your friendly laptop supplier – free with your laptop.

FOR THE THRIFTY STUDENT:

As they say, the good things in life are free. You arrive earlier than everyone else at welcome teas, career talks and wedding ceremonies just for the complimentary goodie bag. Why scrimp when you can save?

ZEROSHOCK

www.skylet.com

How much? 12.1”: $30 13.3”: $39 14.1”: $45 15.4”: $59 17”: $62

FOR THE ACCIDENT-PRONE STUDENT:

Ever ything you own deser ves maximum protection. Your laptop needs servicing every four months, and your two-month-old mobile phone has obvious scratches on its screen. Your hardly react when you bump your knee against the table or snub your toes - you need the ZeroShock

Why get this?

Zeroshock is shockproof and water-resistant - set to reduce your record number of “Oops!” in a day. The sponge material used in this jacket moulds itself around your grip, so there’s less chance that you will drop it. Comes in black, white and orange. PHOTOS | CHEN WEI LI & COURTESY

Where to get it? • Skylet (Sim Lim Square, 1 Rochor Canal Road #04-54/55/56

& Suntec City Mall, #02-002B)

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know your prof

The bow-tied professor

He is known for his signature bowties and philosophies on life. Marketing professor Hooi Den Huan tells Pearly Tan the reason behind his choice of fashion and what makes him tick why marketing?

I worked for about six years outside i n t he i ndu st r y i n accou nt i ng. When I first joined the university, I taught accounting and auditing. When the Nanyang Business School was set up, I was asked to teach marketing cause I had a background in marketing. WHY TEACH INSTEAD OF WORKING IN THE MARKETING INDUSTRY?

I really enjoy teaching but my goal as a teacher is not just to impart whatever I know. My primary goal is to inspire my students to like the subject. If they are inspired, I feel really, really encouraged. If, at the end of the class, I feel I have not done well enough, I like to ref lect and ponder upon it. My philosophy is that, as a person in societ y,

everybody has to pass on in life and during the time we are here, if we can help to make the world better, that is really satisfying. WHAT HOBBIES DO YOU PURSUE?

I enjoy appreciating the beautiful things in life and I can spend hours at t he beac h enjoy i ng nat u re’s beauty such as the sound of waves and the horizon. It could be manmade. To me, it’s always a marvel. Sometimes I do it with my family, sometimes I do it alone. Doing it in solitude gives me space to dream and imagine. I also love pop music. I will be revealing my age when I say this but it’s fine. BBC has this weekly list of the top of the pops. . I believe a person’s teenage life is very important and it will bring memor ies.

I r ea l l y e njoy old ie s a nd t he evergreens. WHAT AMBITIONS DID YOU HAVE GROWING UP?

I was not a very ambitious person but I did have a dream. It was especially when I studied the book The Great Gatsby, which talked about the American dream. I had a dream that one day I’d be a successful chartered accountant, partner of a big accounting firm, standing up at the 40th storey of an office tower, then you look out and you feel satisfaction. I eventually became a char tered accountant and it was a struggle. So it’s quite accidental that I’m now teaching Marketing. WHAT IS THE FASCINATION WITH QUIRKY BOWTIES YOU WEAR?

Actually I find it very convenient. I started to wear the bow tie about five years back.. It is a “lazyman’s” bow tie, you just hook on to it. I don’t own those that need to be tied. I like to save time and it’s not bothersome for me. It’s not compulsory to wear a tie or bowtie but I believe that teaching in university, in a business school, we have to pay respect to our students. It’s about communicating a message to the students that professors also respect the students. WHAT IS YOUR PHILOSOPHY ON MARKETING?

People sometimes equate marketing to cheating. But I always maintain that cheating is actually not marketing and marketing is not cheating. In teaching Marketing, it’s important not to miss out the details but do not miss out on the bigger picture - whether you can make a meaningful difference. H O W D O YO U F EE L A B O U T BEING POPULAR AMONG YOUR STUDENTS?

It’s certainly encouraging that they have fond, fun memories of the lectures, that they’re stimulating. My goal as a teacher is how much I can inspire them. Once they are inspired and interested, the world is their oyster and they will go and enquire acquire more and more knowledge.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

THE FAMOUS BOW TIE: Prof Hooi Den Huan poses with one of the numerous bowties from his collection. PHOTO | CHEN WEI LI

There are a lot of people with integrity but I hope everyone ca n have it . I nteg r it y i s a core va lue and if ever yone in the world had integrity, it would really be a much happier place.

upcoming events CELEBRATE NATIONAL DAY AT THE ESPLANADE

Join the nation for a three day festival as Singapore celebrates her 43rd year of independance. Count down to Aug 9th with the National Day’s Eve Countdown Party. There will be live music, percussion from homegrown bands and vocal performances by community and school groups. Get in the celebratory mood at the Esplanade waterfront that will come alive on National Day with the parade’s fireworks display. Bring a picnic basket and enjoy the holiday! Date: Aug 8th to Aug 10th Time: From 7pm Venue: Esplanade Waterfront Admission to the festival is free. For

more information, visit

www.esplanade.com

Circle painting workshop

Discover your passion for art and what art can do for you. Join us in this fun and exciting experience of creating circle paintings as part of the CIRCLE PAINTING PROJECT. Learn more about the project at www. circlepainting.org Based on the theme of circle, take part in this delightful and positive art making experience. Admission is free and materials will be provided. Do register at http://golibrary.nlb. gov.sg. Date: Aug 16th Time: 2.00pm to 5.00pm Venue: The Plaza, Level 1 National Library Building 100 Victoria Street S(188064) climate change Photography competition

The theme of this competition is about what climate change means to you. This competition is organized in conjunction with Green Carnival 2008. Entries should display creativity and originality. Submit your photo along with a short caption between 50 - 100 words. Submit your entries via email to greencarnival2008@gmail.com by 20 August 2008. Date: July 31st to Aug 20th Check out the website (ht tp: // www . g r e e n c a r n i v a l . c o m / PhotographyCompetition /Introduction. html) for more information on the rules and judging criteria for the competition.

To have your event listed, e-mail chronicle@ntu.edu.sg. Include event date, location, contact and any pictures.

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food snoop

home sweet hideaways Fine-dining can be stressful when you need to mind your Ps and Qs. Estelle Low and Aw Hui Min show you how to enjoy quality food – table manners aside

Nutty goodness: The Ginger Leek Peanut Butter Fish is a creative fusion of both East and West. PHOTOs | Chen wei li

EDEN SANCTUARY 44 Rochester Park Tel: 6777 1189 Mon to Thurs: 9.30am to 6pm Fri, Sat & eve of holidays: 9.30am to 11pm Sun & public holidays: 9.30am to 10pm www.edensanctuary.com.sg

LITTLE PART 1 CAFE 15 Jasmine Road Tel: 6451 7553 Mon, Wed & Thur: 12pm to 10pm Fri & Sat: 12pm to 12am (Closed on Tuesdays and 3pm to 5.30pm on weekdays) www.littlepart1.com.sg

WHILE most café owners find business in places with high human traffic, Little Part 1 Cafe is surprisingly crowded, for a cafe that is quietly tucked beside Thomson Plaza. Relying on word-of-mouth and food reviews – that’s how customers got the wind of this nondescript cafe. A one and a half decade-long friendship of three bosom friends led to the birth of Little Part 1 Cafe. As how they conceptualised, the café imbues a sense of homeliness with its laidback, unpretentious outlook. Photographs of travel adventures and personal mementos adorn the place, and entering the café seems

ROCHESTER food at an un-Rochester price – that’s how Clement Ng, chef and owner of Eden Sanctuary describes his dishes. Apart from the garden ambience setting, Eden Sanctuary stands out for its style of cooking. Its sauces are home-made, rather than store bought .

like trespassing someone’s home to have your meal. The menu carries a variety of less common dishes, mostly a mix of Swedish German dishes and Japanese fusion that readily whets your appetite. It is amazing how the three partners – two engineers and one interior designer – came up with delectable dishes, after months of trial and error, that are quite unlike elsewhere. For starters, try the Tofu Steak (right; $5.90). It is a mouthful of wholesome goodness of oven-baked tofu cooked with assorted mushrooms and wakame (Japanese seaweed), drenched in tasty gravy. Topped with fresh parsley and Japanese spice, the alluring fragrance of this dish is screaming to be devoured immediately. Another tasty yet healthy side dish is the Mango Udon Roll (bottom right; $6.90). Eating it is a messy experience. The rice roll is drizzled with homemade chilli sauce that is sufficiently spicy without overpowering the main players of the roll – fresh avocado, sweet mango, and organic udon. Not to be missed is their signature Salmon Crepe (bottom left; $11.90) – a dish that sounds so wrong yet tastes so right. Few would expect that smoked salmon goes perfect with mushrooms covered with rich, melted cheese, and wrapped in thick crepe. This dish is good for two, given its huge portion. The Little Chicken Schnitzel ($13.90) is

Ta ke, for instance, h is Cream less Pumpkin Soup ($7.90). Made from pure pumpkin puree and chicken stock, it is light and nutritious, and goes well with a slice of multigrain bread. He also hits the right spot with Mushroom Bacon Bomb ($12.90), a breakfast dish that tastes as explosive as it sounds. A giant Portobello mushroom forms the base of the ‘bomb’, with a half-boiled egg cleverly placed in the centre of the mushroom. Cut into the ‘bomb’ and juices from the mushroom and coagulated egg seep into the bread base. The trick to nailing the ‘bomb’ factor is to place a bit of mushroom, egg and bread onto your spoon, just like eating rice with chicken and gravy. Strips of streaky bacon on top of this ‘bomb’ lends the right amount of saltiness. Another exotic dish is the Asian Pesto Pasta (top right; $15.90), a favourite among Japanese. It was featured in a Singapore Airlines magazine and introduced on the Singapore-Japan flight. The aromatic pesto dressing, made from fresh basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and olive oil releases its f lavours after a bite. like a perfectly choreographed dance of spices. The creative with the Ginger Leek Peanut Butter Fish (top left; $19.90), where small doses of peanut butter are infused into the pan-seared fish, garnished with fragrant lavender buds. This impor ted Escolar

butterfish is moist and flavourful – never mind its slight toughness. Do not leave without trying the trademark Hibiscus Cheesecake ($7.90). Rich in vitamin C and made without sour cream, this guiltfree dessert crumbles in the mouth instantly, leaving behind a zesty aftertaste. Remember to make prior reservations as this cheesecake sells out fast. To keep patrons going back for more, Clement introduces new lunch dishes every week. Specially customised meals are available, at $65 for a six-course meal.

Present this page or your student card to enjoy a 10% discount off food items from Eden Sanctuary.

meatloaf with a twist: Made of mushrooms, seaweed and tofu, it’s sure to be a vegetarian’s delight.

a Swedish dish that serves breaded chicken cutlet with melted Parmesan cheese. Breaded with herbs, the cutlet tastes a tad bland before being drenched with white wine, which you can pour at your own discretion. The real crowd pleaser, however, is their homemade mashed potato. It is light and fluffy, with bits of maize to lend texture and sweetness. Furnished with a collection of novels and free wi-fi service, this cafe is the perfect place to seek respite after a hectic day at work. For a cafe that has so much to offer,

the word “little” in Little Part 1 Cafe seems somewhat like a misnomer.

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food from the globe

Scandelicious Sweden

It s simple and easy when it comes to Swedish food. From scrumptious gourmet fare to sinful desserts, Natasha Ann Zachariah rakes through IKEAs food market to unearth the oft overlooked Scandinavian cuisine IKEA’s catalogue tagline declares: “Home is the most important place in the world”. The Swedish company is taking one step fur ther than just supplying affordable, stylish furniture to get that homely feel. Its cuisine is also steeped in the traditional Swedish foundation of hu sm an skost, wh ic h mea n s everyday or home-cooked food. The cuisine is largely influenced by the cold climate and its vast natural resources from its seas and forest. Expect to f ind fresh berries, seafood, jars of pickled herring mixes and dried foods like crispbreads and biscuits. I K E A’s f i r s t f o o d m a r t i n Singapore opened in 1995 when it moved to its new premises at Alexandra Road. Now with the new Tampines outlet, which also has a food mart, fans of Swedish fare have more reason to celebrate, and every three months, IKEA brings in new products. Food labels at the mart may be in Swedish, but there are translations, as well as serving suggestions, and

even a bit about the history of the food printed nearby on hanging displays. Shoppers can be overwhelmed by the choice of new foods, and different from the different kinds of caviar to the variety of knackerbrod, pickled herrings or even crispbread. Here’s a little known fact about IKEA’s food mart: The next time you drop by, look out for items that are labelled BTI, in a red and yellow box , wh ic h sta nd s for ‘Br eat h Taking Item’ - these are the highly recommended products.

IKEA SWEDISH FOOD MARKET IKEA Alexandra 317 Alexandra Road Tel: 6786 6868 Opening hours 10am - 10pm (Daily) IKEA Tampines 60 Tampines North Drive 2 Tel: 6786 6868 Opening hours 10am - 10pm (Sundays to Thursdays) 10am - 11pm (Fridays, Saturdays and eve of all public holidays)

SMÖRGÅSBORD: Experience a vast selection of delicious, traditional Swedish food. PHOTOS | LIN XINYI

FAVOURITE PICKS FROM IKEA S SWEDISH FOOD MARKET Daim Choclate $4.90 for 250g tablet

Kopparberg Premium Cider Apple $5.90 for 500ml can

Touted as Sweden’s best chocolate, this melt-in-your-mouth candy is every bit as good as it made out to be. The brittle butter-almond centres are cooked over high heat before being covered in milk chocolate, forming a rich, crunchy bar. This all-day dessert can also be chopped and mixed with other desserts like ice-cream, or used as a topping for cakes. It comes in various forms and shapes - for bite-sized servings, try Dragees, small, round pieces of chocolate ($2 for 100g).

T his apple cider comes f rom Sweden’s largest beer and cider brewer y, following an old Swedish recipe t hat dates back to t he 1930s. T hough t he alcohol content is at just 4.5 % , t he ref reshing taste of fer mented apples pack s quite a punch. Ot her f lavours include pear cider. Best dr un k cold and ideal for late night par ties, or just chilling out under t he sun.

Abba Lumpfish Caviar Roe Black $4.90 for 80g jar Fancy dining on caviar, but baulk at the high price that comes with it? Try a budget bite of the high life with IKEA’s range of caviar. While lumpfish roe may not be as superior as sturgeon caviar, it is a relatively cheaper option, and goes well with unsalted crackers. For an appetiser, serve it with lemon wedges or whipped sour cream. The caviar also goes well on buttered crispbread, or cooked in an omelette with dill or chives.

Prinsesstårta $8.90 for 480g

Swedish Meatballs $23.90 for promotional combo; UP: $30.80

Tired of the standard chocolate cake at birthdays? Next time, try the Swedish version of a birthday cake, the Prinsesstårta also known as Princess Cake. IKEA sells the traditional version – a cream cake with raspberry and custard filling, coated with lime-flavoured marzipan. According to Swedish legend, the cake was created by a baker, Jenny Åkerström, in the 1930s, for three Swedish princesses. Don’t wait till the next birthday to eat this – it makes a perfect afternoon snack, with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Singaporeans have been known to travel to IKEA just for this well-known Swedish specialty, consisting of meatballs, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam – so far they have sold over 4 million plates. The appeal of this fuss-free meal is that it teases the taste buds as the sweetness of the jam alternates with the lightly salted meatballs and the creaminess of the sauce. To make Swedish meatballs: one packet of Köttbullar, frozen meat balls [$17.50 for 1kg], two packets of Gräddsas, meatball sauce [$2.30 per packet], one jar of Lingonsylt, lingonberry jam [$4.80 for 400g] and whipped cream.

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travelogue

Charmed in India Transported from a five-star hotel to the dust and dirt of India, Estelle Low threw away her cynicism and got chummy with the people in Mumbai

ESTELLE ENCHANTED: These locally designed, eye-pleasing stationery from a stall along Colaba street are great for souvenirs and keepsakes. PHOTOS | COURTESY

A $500-a night room at the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai is not as glamorous as it sounds. I had expected a Jacuzzi, perhaps, or maybe a tasselled hammock swinging on an ornate balcony where I could suntan... Instead the room was plain and simple, which turned out to be a good thing. It meant I felt free to leave it, and step out of the Oberoi’s air-conditioned comfort and onto the streets of the city. I was on a reporting trip with two other staff from NTU to write about the Global Immersion Programme, so I had spent a few days interviewing students who were working there. Their enthusiasm had countered the horror stories I’d heard at home about tourists who died from drinking the water in India, or were swamped by angry beggars on the streets. The doorman of The Oberoi bade me goodbye and “have a nice day”, but he had no idea what I was in for. I was soon aware of multiple stares in my direction and self-consciously tugged at my skirt, wishing for it to suddenly extend to my ankles. The sheer heat of the city had cut down my wardrobe to short-sleeved shirts and knee-length skirts, which meant I didn’t get the full heat of the day, but left me feeling vulnerable. Even so, liberation beckoned like a glass of iced tea. This was my only chance to buy souvenirs for those friends and family whose stories had terrorised me, as my remaining trip was filled with back-to-back meetings. Heading towards the street, I made a mental shopping list and started to look for shawls for my family back home. But I was

stumped as there were over 10 stalls that sold exactly the same designs and colours of shawls. It turned out to be easier than I thought, though, thanks to one particular shopkeeper. He draped shawls of different shades around me like a pro and sincerely commented that I looked stunning in baby colours, especially yellow (which I secretly agreed with).

“In the 30 minutes I spent with him, I learned more about India than all the Lonely Planets taught me. “ I could have rolled my eyes and walked away at such blatant flattery, but Mr Good Taste’s instincts seemed to resonate with mine. He also seemed to be more concerned with finding a shawl that would please me than with the wad of cash tucked in my fist. After mild bargaining, I bought three shawls for $50. With hindsight, I could have got a better deal in Little India, but Mr Good Taste won me over with his quiet air of confidence, which I found quite irresistible. Though my wallet was lighter, my bag and camera were feeling heavy. Forget the bottle of mineral water in my bag, which tasted so awful. I needed a real drink. Luckily, I stumbled upon Theobroma, a café that was highly recommended by the NTU interns I had interviewed that morning. All the tables were taken except for one,

SWEET ESCAPE: Famous for its brownies and chocolate cakes, Theobroma is also the perfect hideout from the city bustle.

which I instinctively placed my bag and camera on to ‘chop’ the seat. Then I noticed that no one had even looked up or noticed my presence, as they were engrossed in their own conversations. No one came up to me to ask for my order. Not that I minded this mind-your-ownbusiness vibe. It was a much appreciated nonchalance by the way, considering the number of stares I had accumulated from street-strolling strangers since Day One. So I ordered an iced ginger tea and lemon tart, and began to pen my reflections. I even left

my seat for 10 minutes (yes, with my bag of valuables and camera on the table) to use the toilet. Somehow, I knew that no one would sense my absence either. The moment I stepped back onto the streets to join the evening crowd, I sensed someone tailing me. I quickly assessed him: crumpled and half tucked-in shirt, worn-out slippers, unruly hair, badly shaven, in his thirties. Thinking he might be a beggar, I started rehearsing lines to throw him off. But he got me first by flashing a warm smile, followed by “Hi, are you Japanese?”, uttered in the most ingratiating way I had ever heard. That must be the lousiest pickup line, I thought, my pervert alarms heating up. Still, I shook his hand and soon we were walking down the streets of Colaba, the heart of Mumbai, like old friends who just bumped into each other. He told me he was heading to the beach and asked if he could have my company. Since I had time to kill and didn’t mind a tour guide, I followed him. As we walked, he confided how he had gone against his father’s wishes for him to study medicine and went for a business degree instead. He also shared snippets of his life, from schooling days to religious beliefs, until his earnest self-disclosure started to melt away my defensive walls. I even let him hold my hand as we snaked our way through the impossible traffic. We simply stood at the sides of the streets, watching the people go by during the rush hour at 6pm. Strangely though, I felt safe with him. Weighed down as I was by my overenthusiastic shopping, he could have easily robbed me of my camera or the 3,000 rupees I was left with, or… other possibilities I can’t bear to imagine. Yet in the 30 minutes I spent with him, I learned more about India than all the Lonely Planets taught me. I truly enjoyed his company, whatever his intentions were. Before we parted, he gave me his name card (his name is Patamin) and told me to contact him during my next visit to India. I gave him a smile that hopefully came across as a “Yes, I can’t wait”. Sidenote: The writer did not experience any form of stomach discomfort or diarrhoea during the trip. Nor was she swamped by angry beggars.

Got a travel experience to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at chronicle.life@ntu.edu.sg with your full name and contact details.

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through the looking glass

Goodbye

&Hello

BY PHOTODESK

NTUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s academic year ends and begins in July and August respectively. For the students, these months are especially poignant. As newcomers begin their tertiary education, graduates and postgraduates ready themselves for the exciting world outside. It is a rite of passage which seniors and juniors alike go

through. For the freshmen, they attend orientation camps to discover more about themselves and the school. Through the various games and activities organised, they forge strong friendships and lasting bonds. On the other end of the spectrum, tears of joy are shed as graduating students put on their

convocation gowns. The journey from freshman to graduate may be long and arduous, but it is defintiely bittersweet. It is a touching scene as graduating students confidently emerge from their convocation ceremonies, marking the end of their university days, ready to face the challenges of tomorrow.

lifestyle

BOOKS The Front

PATRICIA CORNWELL $29.95, available at Borders Published by Little, Brown

A SEQUEL to her 2006 book At Risk , Pat r icia Cor nwell br ings back more of Win Garano in her latest novel. On April 4th, 1962, Janie Brolin was killed in Watertown. She was blind, and had spent a year in USA, away from her home in Britian and the case was never solved. Power-hungry district attorney Monique Lamont, who does her best to remove crime from the neighborhood so that she can rise in the pecking order, appoints Massachusetts State Investigator Win Garano to look into the case, as she believes the case to be the fi rst committed by the infamous Boston strangler. However, there isn’t any DNA or even remotely sketchy police records on the case, making Garano’s investigation incredibly difficult. Politics arise because of Lamont’s lust for power and success and Garano becomes her puppet to fulfi l her vision. Whether Garano likes it or not, he is being forced to accept her conclusions even when evidence points the other way, and this puts both their lives in jeopardy. The novel is written in the classic style of Patricia Cornwell, with an interesting and fast-paced plot. However, it is a disappointment as compared to her other books, especially the Scarpetta series. The book is all of 180 pages, and revolves around political rage and the relentless pursuit of an old murder case. There is an obvious lack of character development as seen in the case of DA Lamont. who often appears stoic and stiff. In addition, there is no depth and secondary storylines end abruptly. The story would have fared better with more details on key characters.

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Boys like to think they can have it all, well they don t know they re still so small, All that they see is life, is opportunity. All I Need Is Love by Beth Rowley

Sleeping Arrangements MADELEINE WICKHAM

$45.95, available at Borders Published by Thomas Dunne

C H LOE Ha rd i ng, sic k a nd tired of her job as a weddingdress maker, wishes to get away from it all as soon as possible. Her wealthy friend Gerard has offered her his villa in Spain for her to take a br ea k . Howe ve r, Ph i l ip Mur ray, her par tner of 13 yea r s, is not keen on t he idea, as he is worried about his job as National Southern Bank’s East Roywich branch manager. Hugh Stratton has a perfect job, wife and family life, but something is missing. He hardly knows his two daughters and never talks to his wife. Gerard, an old friend, offers his luxurious villa for time alone with the missus and children. When the time comes for a chance to escape reality, both families arrive at the villa — setting the stage for the occurence of later events. What begins as a simple holiday turns into a nightmare for both Chloe and Hugh because, unknown to their families, they are former lovers. Philip is obsessed with the possibility of losing his job. Hugh on the other hand, is obsessed with Chloe, seeing as how his wife Amanda is hardly paying any attention to him. What both men don’t realise is that Hugh is part of the upper management of P.B.L, the company which is taking over National Southern Bank, leading to further confl icts. This new offering by Madeleine Wickham, better known as Sophie K insella of the bestseller ser ies, Shopaholic, is hardly up to par as the plot leaves one wondering what is the point of the novel. The only sensible takeaway was that everyone learns to be content with what they have and family should not be taken for granted. That is hardly a surprise and one will most likely put the book down feeling dissatisfied. I would say, give this a miss. -RACHAEL BOON

Worrisome Heart

MELODY GARDOT (VOCAL JAZZ)

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Born in 1985, Gardot was disabled at 19 after being hit by a car, but she overcame the odds and became the darling of vocal jazz.

T A L E N T- s p ot t e d b y t h e sa me DJ who d iscovered Norah Jones, it is no wonder Melody G a r dot ’s s u lt r ysmooth vocals scream Norah! H av i ng gone t h r oug h a nea rdeath automobile accident, her music is strikingly soulful and easy on the ears. Some Lessons and Sweet Memory fully ref lects the pain and uncertainty she felt during recuperation. When Gardot starts to sing “some lessons learn the hard way”, it makes one want to close one’s eyes and sway along to her soft crooning. All That I Need is Love, on the other hand, sets a peppy,

upbeat mood and is bound to get you bobbing along to t he cheer y shooba-dooba in no time. This song teac he s u s t h at love, like life, is never easy. This album is defi nitely intimate and memorable. Ga rdot ta kes u s on a jou r ne y t h roug h l i fe’s precious lessons with her enthralling vocals, and her or ig i na l produc t ion i s a genuine delight for all jazz lovers. Set aside your worrisome hea r t and let Melody Gardot draw you into her comfor table and intimate musical space.

-JOANNE YAN

Third

PORTISHEAD (ELECTRONIC)

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Portishead is a British musical group from Bristol and their first album won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 1995.

AFTER a hiatus of eleven years, Portishead is back with Third, a departure from their earlier sound of Sour Times and Glory Box. But that’s not to say their latest offering does not satisfy. Silence sets t he mood w it h it s ja r r i n g ba s s and synthesizers ju x taposed w it h vocalist Beth Gibson’s haunting crooning. The trip-hop maestros (who have expressed distaste at the term “trip-hop”) revel in their element with the tribal-esque Nylon Smile, and industrial metals in We Carry On.

-ELLYNE PHNEAH

MUSIC

A surprise in the album sees Gibson’s ethereal voice with a backing of ukulele on Deep Waters, the calm before the storm that is Machine Gun, a brilliant m a s te r pie c e of synthesizers a nd e le c t r on ic drums. T h reads t ie up t he a lbum with a ret ur n to Por t i shead’s signature sound. Third may be a challenging album to the uninitiated, but with all t hat glor ious gloom and melancholy, you would want to just get lost in it on a rainy afternoon. -KELVIN PANG

Little Dreamer

BETH ROWLEY (SOUL/GOSPEL)

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She recorded a song, Careless Talk, for the soundtrack to the new film, The Edge of Love, featuring Keira Knightley.

PHOTO | INTERNET

BETH Rowley is a true-blue soul ar tist hailing f rom Br istol, who doesn’t try too hard (like a certain Rehab girl who’s always in the news) and is unassuming, just like her songs. None of that pop-soul jazz here, what you get is pure gospel goodness. Nobody’s Fault But Mine is a simple, trasditional blues tune, which is pretty much the standard throughout the album. Most of the tracks are languid and tend to sound slightly similar, as Rowley plays it safe. T hat is, u nt i l you h it

gems like Oh My Life, which has a ba r itone s a x play i ng i n t he bac k g r ou nd a s she croons, and Almost Persuaded, which transports you back to the early 40s of jazz and piano bars. The only let down is the remake of Willie Nelson’s Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground with Duke Special, as she just doesn’t have the chemistry with Special to tie the song together. Despite t hat, Lit tle Dreamer is the perfect album to accompany you to sleep; with sweet dreams.

-RACHAEL BOON

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ENTERTAINMENT The Call Home

The Dark Knight

Drama (PG)

Action /Adventure (PG) Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart 153 minutes

Soundrarajan J 30 minutes

WE need them. Without them, our construction projects will never take off, or even begin to take form. Yet, we don’t know what a typical day is like for the migrant workers who toil at construction sites. The Call Home chronicles the life of a newly arrived migrant worker, Kasi. Kasi arrives in Singapore, bringing wit h him hopes f rom his family to make good here. However, all the wonderful stories which he had heard back home don’t seem to apply to him–in fact everything that was said is exactly the reverse. I n t h i s 30 -m i nute short film, we see how Kasi tries to adapt to life in Singapore. He takes minuscule comfor t in Bollywood film posters and standing wash taps– environmental factors that are familiar to him. A lt houg h he t r ie s to be opt i m i st ic, t he underlying tension in him reaches a boiling point when he calls his

PHOTO | HAN YEW KWANG

wife, who’s back home. In the beginning of the conversation, he tells his wife the common tale– that life is good–heard f r om e v e r y m i g r a nt worker who calls home. But as the credit in the phone card threatens to dry up, he cracks and spills the truth to his wife who does not hear anything but static on the other side. The Call Home is Han Yew Kwang’s graduation film. Unlike his previous films like Pinball (2000), which took on a comical tone of a man’s promise to his wife to learn cycling,

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Action (NC16) Action / Drama 112 minutes

CHINA has mummies! At least according to the third of the Mummy series—as east meets west in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendan Fraser reprises his role as Rick O’Connell with a new wife played by Maria Bello, and his son, Alex (Luke Ford). The movie begins with an elaborate “histor y” lesson on the reign of Emperor Han (Jet Li), whose character is based on Qin Shi Huang and his search for immortality. This leads us to the other Asian powerhouse in this stor y, Michelle Yeoh a s sor cer es s Zi Yuan. She gets around

The Call Home is more serious and makes a silent statement, which results in it becoming an apparent documentary. Han was inspired by the way we subconsciously change to adapt to the different environments we are placed in. This film gave him an opportunity to delve into the life of a construction worker. This is a good film for national education as it shows the “hidden” clogs in t he wheel of nation building, which allows us to appreciate our progress of 43 years better. -Cerelia Lim

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to c u r si ng H a n i nto stone and the audience is propel led to 1946, where the elder O’Connell at tempts to set tle for a less advent u rous lifest yle while young Alex O’Connell goes off and digs up the mummy central to this movie. Fol low e r s of T h e Mummy w i l l enjoy t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of relationships amongst the cast even though the character of Evely n’s (Bello) brother Jonathan (John Hannah) doesn’t seem to have changed much. It is his humorous quips and “side commentaries” are what br i ng about t he best humour in the movie.

However, unwanted comic effects surface in the form of the cringeworthy Mandarin spoken by Yeoh, Russel Wong (who plays Genera l Ming), and Ford, whose characters speak more t han t hey shou ld, especia l ly w it h t hei r limited pronunciation abi l it ie s . T ha n k f u l ly there are English subtitles which take the focus off the bad Mandarin. Taking over the helm of the Mummy movies from Stephen Sommers, director Rob Cohen has delivered an acceptable t h ird Mum my mov ie. After all in an action franchise, fighting scenes are a key highlight and t he much ant icipated face-off bet ween Han and O’Connell proves sufficient. Before the mummy gets send back into the ground, there is enough bloodshed, blossoming romances, and humour to last the whole adventure ride with the O’Connell family. -Monica Goh

THE Dark Knight is said by ma ny c r it ic s a nd fa ns to be e xcel lent , and to be quite honest, it is a fantastic movie on many counts. It has an absorbing storyline, the display of nifty gadgets a nd s t ate - of-t he -a r t facilities, a stellar cast, and most importantly, a vile villain. Order is soon rudely disturbed when the Joker (Heath Ledger) begins te r ror i si ng Got ha m’s people and crooks alike. Always a step ahead of everyone, not even the seasoned criminals truly understand who he is with his garish clown make-up and scarred face. T his time, Batman is not the only hero. A white knight has appeared

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in the form of district attorney Har vey Dent (Aaron Eck har t), who vows to wipe out crime in the city. Good-looking, confident and sincere, even billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), is in favor of Dent replacing him as Gotham’s hero. After ser ving the city as Batman, Wayne has realised the limitations of being a hero when he can never reveal his face to anyone. Eckhart is perfect in his role as Dent. He gives a credible performance as a rising hotshot in politics and perfor ms equally well when he gets disfigured and turns into the vengeful “Twoface”. The transformation from crimefighter to the

menacing killer who’s out for revenge is chilling. However, in contrast to the Joker and Dent, the character of Batman is less engaging. More like a supporting character, he is a reluctant hero who appears to be middle ground between the bad and the good, and hardly a fighter. Even in regard to his love interest, he does not fight for Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) with Dent. W it h a l l e y e s on Ledger’s impression of this classic villain, he does not fail to impress. In his hands, the Joker is a tr ue psychopath, who believes that morals are a mockery and sows seeds of terror just for his enjoyment. Ledger gives us a Joker who is a horrific conductor of evil. Clocking in at 153 minutes, the blockbuster may seem long but it is definitely worth the ride. Among the influx of superhero mov ies, The Dark Knight stands out for its gritty realism in depicting the human condition and corruption.

-Valerie Toh

Birth Of The Seanema Experimental (PG) Sasithorn Ariyavicha (Director) 70 minutes

T H E ASE A N+3 Yout h Festival and Cineodeon 2008 aimed to introduce issues of race, religion, culture and basically, a exploration of diversity through film. Birth of the Seanema, t he f i r st f i l m to be screened at the A+3FF, c lea rly de mon s t r ate s that. Birth of The Seanema is an exper imental blac k-a nd-wh ite f i lm by Thai Director Sasithorn A riyavicha, who received a master degree in Media Studies from The New School for Socia l Resea rc h in New York cit y and produced several i ndependent f i lm s i n New York. Birth of The Seanema mainly consists of a montage of ma ny se e m i ng ly sepa r ate cit y scenes. But when put together, they paint a beautif ul stor y of forgot ten memories of a previous

PHOTO | Sasithorn Ariyavicha

era and dreams of a lost civilisation, which can never be replaced. The ar tisically beautiful shots are held toget her by t he mark of silence throughout the f ilm. Yet, there is music play i ng i n t he background, wh ich ser ves to add melody to t he scene w it hout disr upting the silence of the f ilm. For e xa mple, t he scene of a man who’s i n de ep t houg ht a nd watching the cit y from a h igh r ise bu i ld i ng,

i s ac c om pa n ie d w i t h soothing, calm music. W hat was par ticularly i nterest i ng wa s t hat t he whole mov ie wa s i n later a l i nver sion because in the middle of t he mov ie, t he shot s a r e r epeated i n a reverse order. A ll in a ll, t h is is ver y good a r t i s t i c f i l m wor k . I t was also played at the Bangkok International F i l m Fe s t i v a l ( 2 0 0 5 ) and Hong Kong Inter national Film Festival (2005). -Ellyne

Phneah

show dapper: your essential style guide

INSTIT

SHINING GLORY Reign supreme as the brave fashionista with every season’s favourite metallic sheen – silver. ON RUYI: Silver tube dress, $55, from Bianca; black carmen pants, $79 from COL:LAGE; accessories, model’s own

Photography CHEN WEI LI Text & Styling GERALD TAN Styling Assistant NATASHA ZACHARIAH Models WONG RUYI, AVIEL TAN & GAVIN CHEW Special Thanks JOY LEE & CHARLOTTE LAM STOCKIST Victoria JoMo, 9 Haji Lane; Bianca, 44 Haji Lane, Level 2; COL:LAGE, 61 Haji Lane; Graphite, # 03-98B, Far East Plaza; OPEN UP, #03-108, Far East Plaza; Hurs, #04-124A, Far East Plaza

BACK TO BASICS

ABSTRACT ART

It is true what they say – less is always more. Flaunt your brooding masculinity in an ensemble of sleek silhouettes. Absolutely charming.

Show your love for artis concoctions embellished wit eclectic and arresting detail

ON GAVIN: Black slim-fit jeans, $58.90, from Graphite; black cardigan and bag, stylist’s own

ON RUYI: Hot pink & black printed $169, from OPEN UP; accessories, m own

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

IT’S A TIE

FASHION

TUTION

stry in th rich, ls.

d dress, model’s

Gerald Tan studies how you can welcome the new semester with looks to send your classroom temperatures soaring

Who said ties are only for formal wear? Throw them into your daily wardrobe mix for instant fashion-cred. ON GAVIN: Shirt with red stripes, $38.90, black slimfit jeans, $58.90 and black skinny tie, $19.90, all from Graphite; belt, st ylist ’s own

RED HOT CHILLI PEPPER Sizzle with the colour of passion and love with statement-making pieces. ON RUYI: Red patent T-bar pumps, $59.90, from Bianca; white puffy top, $49.90, from Victoria JoMo; blue shorts with ribbon and black stockings, all stylist’s own

PREPPY HERO

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

ALL CHECKED IN

Girls just want to have fun. Now you can, in floaty dresses decadent with candy-sweet girlishness.

Checkered prints add a rugged touch to any attire. Pair a shirt with casually rolled-up jeans, slide on a pair of loafers and you are ready to go.

ON RUYI: Green floral dress, $39.90 from Hurs; brown belt and accessory, model’s own; rattan bag, stylist’s own

ON AVIEL: Shirt with checkered prints, $38.90 and denim jeans, $58.90, both from Graphite

Save the world by embracing your inner Hiro because geek is the new black. “Yatta!” never sounded (and looked) more chic. ON AVIEL: Black polo with white ribbon, $59.90 and grey bermudas, $49.90, both from Victoria JoMo; skinny belt, stylist’s own

lifestyle

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

tech flash

tech review

iFever is

Heating Up 22 countries, 48 hours, and a million pieces moved in a weekend. It’s official: Apple Inc has outdone itself with the second coming of its worldwide hit, the iPhone. Kenneth Chew looks at what has happened in the fortnight since.

Queues were seen around the world days before the official launch, as techies and regular folk alike lined up for the first chance to own the ultimate must-have accessory: the improved version of the original iPhone. Problems From the Get-Go

For its part, Apple tried to meet the demand of the masses, and inventory was largely not an issue on July 11th, the launch date. But D-Day definitely did not arrive without its fair share of kinks. As the crowds of fans thronged the Apple stores from Madrid to Manhattan, Apple’s strict new policy of in-store only activation brought with it a host of problems. Pr e v iou sly, i Phones ca me ‘locked’ for use only in their specific market, or for the specific telco it was meant to be sold for. However, they were easily ‘jailbroken’, or hacked for use with just about any telco operator out there. With the iPhone 3G, however, new owners could no longer activate the handset from the comfort of their homes. Apple’s new policy of in-store activations unfortunately led to massive slowdowns ‒ simple cash-and-carry transactions turned into logistical nightmares, with customers spending hours at each store as employees struggled with the hit-and-miss online activation system. The problem was exacerbated when the endless demand brought Apple’s activation servers to their collective knees. The sputtering servers were up only intermittently, causing snaking lines outside many of Apple’s stores.

was included with the original iPhone, but would now set iPhone 3G owners back another US$29 should they choose to obtain one. The handset is also incompatible with a host of existing chargers and docks already in the market, refusing to charge on these devices even though the 30-pin Dock connector looks physically similar to the older iPhone. A pple’s Mobi le Me, a subscription-based collection of software and online services slated to replace the old .Mac suite, was far from seamless at launch. The much-touted Pushmail feature, which was supposed to instantly push email to and from email servers and a user’s iPhone and desktop failed to work as promised, taking up to 15 minutes to refresh each time. Other difficulties early adopters faced included syncing problems and duplicate messages, forcing the firm to offer a free 30-day extension to current subscribers

to alleviate the situation. Looking Ahead

Things are looking up though, as version 2.0.1 of the firmware is set to be released soon, which should fix the many bugs and issues present in version 2.0. Apple also announced on 25th July that version 2.1 of the iPhone firmware would include refinements to the GPS engine. Rumours abound that with the release of version 2.1, the long-awaited copy-paste features may finally make its way to the iPhone. While Singapore was not in the first wave of 22 countries to receive the iPhone 3G, it is likely that the much-anticipated gadget will hit local shores within the next 2 months, with Singtel leading the pack in offering it. Industr y obser vers believe that Singtel, which has reached an agreement with Apple to be the first telco to sell the iPhone 3G

l o c a l l y, will probably offer the dev ice with a steep discount, or possibly even free, so as to entice users to sign-up for a long-term contract. This would be a nod towards how telcos in countr ies like Australia and Hong Kong have introduced the handset, with Optus and Hutchinson Telecom respectively offering the iPhone 3G at zero-dollar with a 24 month contract and monthly plans that cost $86 or more. Local Apple fans can also look forward to tiered pricing, whereby those who sign up for more comprehensive data and voice plans would be able to get the iPhone for less Would you be another who succumbs to the lure of the iPhone 3G? This writer certainly would.

Facebook’s Scrabble clone Scrabulous has responded to a lawsuit by copyright owner Hasbro by relaunching itself as Wordscraper, tweaking its design and colour scheme to differentiate itself from the original. A Chinese consortium announced that it is launching its own high-definition disc format, called CH-DVD. Identical to the now-defunct HD-DVD, the new format will purportedly incorporate Chinese-derived DRM technology. Intel has introduced the Centrino 2 mobile platform, which, besides having the option of being configured with a discrete graphics option, will feature WiMax, increased clock speeds and better battery life. Firefox 3 has set a new Guinness World Record for the large st numb er of s of t ware downloads in 24 hours, clocking over 8 million unique downloads following its official release last month, further eroding Internet Explorer’s market share. Microblogging site Twitter’s co-founder Evan Williams has confirmed that his company has acquired Summize, a search engine that crawls online reviews and blog discussions to create summarised review of music, movies, and books, MSI has begUn shipping its Wind Netbook. The launch of the 10 inch, US$399 subnotebook featuring the new 1.6Ghz Intel Atom processor and a 3-cell battery, was delayed multiple times due to an industry wide battery shortage. Sony has announced that its 80GB PS3 will be priced at US$399, replacing it’s previous 40GB model at the same price point. Like its predecessor, it will not offer backward compatibility with the PS2 out of the box. Microsoft has also announced a long-anticipated US$50 price cut for its 20GB Xbox 360 to US$299.99, while simultaneously unveiling a 60GB model at the previous price point of US$349.99. Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII, a franchise that once belonged solely to the PS3, will indeed be coming to the Xbox360, and that it will launch on the same day as the PS3 release in North America and Europe. Seagate has announced its new Barracuda range of consumer harddisk drives, with its 1.5TB desktop HDD drive offering power users 50 percent more storage capacity than existing drives on the market today.

…And They Persist While reviews of the iPhone 3G were generally favourable, early adopters faced a myriad problems with their handsets. Online sites such as engadget.com buzzed with stories of interface lag, crashing applications, hard resets and even issues with 3G reception. There were also loud complaints about the exclusion of a dock, which

A d o b e h a s y e s t e r d ay released version 2.0 of its Adobe Lightroom photo management suite after a four-month public beta test. Significant adjustments include better auto masking, disk browsing and file management, and multiple monitor support.

PHOTOS | INTERNET TEMPERATURES RISING: Queues like this were commonplace across many countries in the hours leading up to the official launch of the iPhone 3G. PHOTOS | INTERNET

Polaris, a poker-playing program developed by researchers from the university of Alberta, has decisively won against a group of top-ranked online poker players in tournament held in Las Vegas, racking up wins of nearly US$150,000.

lifestyle

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

tech review

A Worthy Competitor

With its name being Latin for everything , Samsung s new Omnia (i900) handset aims to fulﬁll all the needs of the high-end mobile phone user, as well as to entice the iPhone-hungry crowd. Edwin Ho ﬁnds out if the Omnia really walks the talk. DESIGN OFFERING a 3.2-inch display and only the call and end button on its front façade, it is immediately apparent that Samsung has aimed for simplicity with the Omnia. The Omnia employs an attractive brushed-metal design, and at a thickness of just 12.5mm it is not only palm-friendly, but also slips easily into the pocket. There is only a single proprietary port on the left profi le of the phone, which handles charging, syncing, data transfer and connection of a headset. Fortunately, Samsung also includes a 3.5mm port converter so users can connect their own headphones. Overall, the build quality is solid and the phone feels refi ned in the hand. What is markedly missing is a stylus slot for this touch screen phone, which Samsung has purposely left out so as not to compromise the for m factor. T his would require users to keep the styluspen separate from the device.

FEATURES AND INTERFACE T he S a m s u n g O m n i a i s definitely not short on features. A 3.5G phone with 16GB of onboard memor y and an expendable SDHC microSD slot, the Omnia c ome s pac ke d w it h W i-Fi , HSPDA, GPS, Bluetooth with A2DP support, on top of 3G, EDGE and GPRS connectivity. The onboard software supports a variety of audio and video formats, including MP4, DivX, XviD, H.264 and WMV. For its interface, the Omnia u s e s t he l ate s t v e r s ion of Windows Mobile 6.1. Instead of sticking with the default Windows interface, Samsung has integrated its TouchWiz user interface as well, making touch screen more usable. However, sw itch i ng bet ween t he t wo interfaces may be confusing to some users. Sensitivity of the touch screen is relatively good even without using the stylus except when scrolling up and down. However, Samsung’s TouchWiz interface does not work across all menus, and thus it loses

to the Diamond and the iPhone in this aspect, as both possess arguably more seamless touch input. A notable feature is the presence of haptic feedback: ever y tap delivers a slight vibration, telling the user that

In a market that is increasingly receptive to touchenabled mobiles, the Samsung Omnia deﬁnitely holds its own against other oﬀerings the input has been registered. T he pr e sence of a bu i lt-i n accelerometer also means that every menu screen can be used in both portrait or landscape mode simply by turning the Omnia on its side. T he expendable 16GB of onboard memory together with its multi-function Touch Player makes the Omnia a potent portable multimedia device. Being able to play almost any of the popular video formats you can throw at it without the need for conversion

is defi nitely a strong feature. Other applications such as the inclusion of Office Mobile and the Opera browser make reading of documents and surfing a breeze. The 5-megapixel onboard camera is also one of the greatest draws of the Omnia. Samsung has leveraged on its strengths in consumer electronics to bring an image sensor to the Omnia that comes with f lash, auto focus, anti-shake and smile and face detection. While a Xenon f lash would have been been preferred, the Omnia snapper is still superior to that of its main rivals, the Diamond and the iPhone, both of which do not come with any form of flash for low-light photography. Unfortunately, the display’s legibility suffers under direct sunlight, although it does offer good i mage qua l it y u nde r normal lighting conditions. The resolution, at 240x400, also loses out to the iPhone’s, at 320x480, and the Diamond’s at 480x640, meaning that image quality is not as sharp as its competitors. With so many features, many would question the longevity of the Omnia’s battery life. The handset performed admirably, lasting nearly 3 days of regular usage. The 1440 mAH battery is rated for 5.8 hours of talktime.

SPECIFICATIONS OS Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Dimension 112 x 56 x 12.5mm Camera 5.0 Mega Pixels Auto Focus with Power LED Display 3.2 inch TFT, 256K colours (240 x 400 pixels) Memory 16 Gigabytes internal storage with microSD slot for expansion up to 16 Gigabytes GPS Embedded GPS Radio FM Radio Audio Support MP3,AAC,AAC+,WMA,OGG,AMR Video Support Divx, Xvid, MP4, WMV, H.263, H.264 Battery Talk time – 5.8 hours Standby time – 500 hours

CONCLUSION In a market t hat i s increasingly receptive to touchenabled mobiles, the Samsung Omnia defi nitely holds its own against other offerings like t he H T C Dia mond a nd t he iPhone 3G. With above-average specifications, including its robust 5-megapixel image sensor with LED flash and the whopping amount of Flash memory onboard that is expandable to 32GB, the Omnia certainly can match up to more established PocketPC ( PPC ) m a nu f ac t u r e r s l i ke HTC and O2. While Samsung’s implementation of Windows Mobile 6.1 is a step up in user-friendliness, the user interface (UI) is certainly a n a r ea whe r e t he Omnia loses out to the Diamond’s TouchFLO UI and Apple’s muchlauded iPhone interface. Still, the Omnia comes across as an attractive and feature-packed handset that covers the entire spectr um of connectivity options and outstanding audio and video suppor t for the demanding user.

PHOTOS | INTERNET

SLEEK AND UNCLUTTERED: Taking a page out of the iPhone design book, the Omnia has only 2 buttons and a touchpad on its front facade, aiming for sheer simplicity.

The Samsung Omnia is available from all major Telcos at $598 (at press time) with a 2-year contract.

PHOTO | INTERNET STEPPING UP AGAINST THE REST: Here, we see how the Samsung Omnia (center) compares in physical stature to its closest competitors, the iPhone 3G (left) and the HTC Diamond (right).

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tech review

NTU website gets revamped... Launched on 9th June, the new NTU web portal caught many unwitting students off-guard, as familiar ways to reach commonly used links changed overnight. Tech Editor Lim Yan Liang pits new against old Homepage Layout While the old site is spartan, and makes minimal use of graphics with the exception of a few banners and buttons, text is well-spaced and easy on the eyes. The new site, on the other hand, appears to be a departure from it’s comparatively textcentric predecessor, with a large graphic across the centre of the page. However, this results in the bar on the left side looking like a veritable wall of text, with too many links spaced too closely to each other. Ease of Use The “Quick Links” pulldown box on the top right hand corner was a one-stop shop for all the commonly-used links, and was undeniably the most frequentlyused feature of the NTU portal. In the new site, the pulldown box ha s been replaced by a clickable link called “QuickLinks”. Unfortunately, this means that one more page load is required to reach any of the commonly-used links compared with before. This does not mean that usability on the

whole has been compromised – in fact, it has been improved upon in some ways. (See pull-out box.) Site Focus The old homepage is more u nde r g r adu ate - c e nt r ic , a nd mouse-over pop-ups partially obscure the main events banner. Recent news and happenings are featured in a grey box on the right side of the site. The huge banner that takes centrestage on the new homepage is able to spotlight any upcoming or important event, and a tabbed box makes efficient use of the limited space for recent media reports on the University, news releases, and events. Conclusion Although some may question the need for a site revamp, the homepage is undeniably more aesthetically pleasing compared to the 90’s-styled one that it replaced. However, the overhaul comes across as skin-deep, because some specific pages like the StudentLink site remain unchanged. Overall, the new site does not disappoint

Destination

Old Site

New Site

edveNTUre / email / StudentLink / library

Home, Quick Links Dropbox edveNTUre / email / StudentLink / library (2 steps)

Home QuickLinks edveNTUre / email / StudentLink / library (3 steps)

Students Academic Matters Home Academic Matters (3 steps)

Home, (Services) Academic (1 step)

Course Registration

Home, Quick Links Dropbox StudentLink Course Registration (3 steps)

Home, (Services) Course Registration (1 step)

Hall Matters / Application

Students Home Accomodation Application (3 steps)

(Campus Home & Community) Accomodation NTU New / NIE New / NTU or NIE Seniors (2 steps)

in terms of usability, although a degree of refamiliarisation is necessary because most commonly used links have been rearranged or renamed.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: The new NTU site (top right) is generally more graphics-heavy, and looks more modern compared to the old site (above). The table (top left) shows the number of steps needed to access certain frequently-used links. PHOTOS | INTERNET

... And so does Facebook

Delivering on a promise made some five months ago, the popular social networking site has officially introduced its profile overhaul. Our tech editor Lim Yan Liang takes a look at what the new Facebook offers Facebook has rolled out a cleaner, tabbed look to its core profile pages in order to increase usabilit y and reign in errant applications that create spam or violate users’ privacy. W it h t he ne w i nte r f ac e , Facebook ha s merged stat u s updates, wall posts and news feed items into a single continuous stream, albeit one that can still be separated into “Posts by Self” and “Posts by others”, on top of the standard “All Posts” look. T he r ede sig ned Facebook eliminates much of the clutter that has plagued many users, giving greater priority than before to activity streams, and relegating 3rd-par t y applications to the “Boxes” tab on a new tab bar that separates one’s “Wall” from “Info” and “Photos”. In addition, users would be able to preview 3rd-par t y applications before deciding whether to install them, and an “Application Bookmark” feature also means that users could eventually decide what applications they deem most useful, and add it onto the tab bar itself. According to Ben Ling, the head of Facebook's platform product management, users should have control of their information when and where they want. “Users should share things because they

STYLIN’ PROFILING’: While maintaining the same visual system, Facebook new layout (above) places more emphasis on user content and activities and less on 3rd-party programs compared to the old style (left). PHOTOS | INTERNET

want to share them”, he said, adding that the rationale behind the revamp was to give users more options without radically altering the look of the site. With the exception of a few 3rd-party programs , the roll-out was largely successful, offering users a pretty seamless transition from the previous style. Most of the critical elements of the site, including the v isual system, typography and colour palette remain unchanged. Problems first arose when

Facebook’s developers decided 14 months ago to make the site an open platform, which allowed independent plugin developers to create and distribute their own programs. While user numbers skyrocketed, many of the 24,000 programs created since exploited viral marketing methods to trick unwary users to install them. Facebook's old design ended up rewarding such software makers for their intrusive, attention-grabbing tactics, said Jeremiah Owyang, an analyst with Forrester Research.

While the move has drawn flak from genuine software developers, the Facebook team believes it is necessary to “sandbox” applications, especially for less tech-sav v y users, in order to prevent Facebook from becoming the next Myspace, another social networking site which is notorious for its free-forall approach to page design, which has often resulted in garish-looking pages replete with amateurish neon backgrounds and blinking text. Besides fixing privacy concerns, Facebook founder and CEO Mark

Zuckerberg said in a statement released last week that the various changes, including a new webcam feature that lets users record videos or take photos using the site itself, aim to not only highlight users’ most recent and relevant information, but also to draw attention to new content relevant to the user and his friends. While the new profiles will initially be offered as an optional look, Facebook aims to gradually implement the redesign for all of its 80 million users.

林宥嘉：唱歌不为巩固人气 —— 刊28页

新闻陈嘉庚、李光前纪念展

记载前辈的社会贡献黄思琳●报道

南

洋理工大学的学生坐在李光前讲堂听课时，可能不清楚舒适的学习环境是由先驱李光前和岳父陈嘉庚的汗水换来的。为了让社会人士，尤其是年轻一辈了解这两位先辈对于社会的贡献，国家图书馆联合陈嘉庚基金举行了纪念陈嘉庚与李光前“承前启后，继往开来”的展览。这为期6个月的展览在7月18日由李显龙总理主持开幕仪式。李总理鼓励年轻一代吸取先驱陈嘉庚和李光前“取诸社会，用诸社会”的儒家理想。他说：“他们立身处世，讲求待人以诚和不屈不挠，也就是陈嘉庚所倡议的“诚毅”的精神。这样的精神值得后人追思和学习。” 两位先驱都是白手起家，靠着敏锐的生意眼光，建立起跨

“他们立身处世，讲求待人以诚和不屈不挠，也就是陈嘉庚所倡议的“诚毅”的精神。这样的精神值得后人追思和学习。” 李显龙总理

国的商业王国。来自中国福建省集美村的陈嘉庚，1890年来到新加坡在家族米较当学徒，可惜生意经营不当，最后生意失败。陈嘉庚秉持着不懈的精神靠自己创出一番事业，生意包括了罐装黄梨厂和橡胶业。在商场上成功的陈嘉庚凭着雄厚的经济实力，扶助人群，尤其是教育大众更是不遗余力，帮忙创办了许多名校如华侨中学、道南学校、南洋女校

李显龙总理为纪念展主持了开幕仪式，也参观了展出。摄影|陈姿洁（今南洋女子中学）等。出生贫寒的李光前，则是靠着自己双重语言的优势，因当年中英兼通的人才少之又少，获得陈嘉庚的赏识，被邀加入陈嘉庚的公司。在协助岳父陈嘉庚的当而，李光前也开始建立起属于自己的企业王国，成了橡胶大王，

亚太大专辩论赛

香港大学夺魁

中国上海交通大学与香港大学进行了一场激烈的辩论会。摄影|陈姿洁

还促成了三所银行合并，成立了华侨银行。不忘回馈社会，李光前在1952 年设立李氏基金资助各种公益事业。走进展览，可欣赏上百张旧照片、陈嘉庚自传《南侨的回忆录》的手稿，听亲戚对两大伟人的评述等。当中最有趣的展览区可谓模

拟旧时期的教室，小小的木桌里摆放了受馈于两人学校的各样物品如课本、成绩单等。展览会在国家图书馆10楼举行，每天上午10点到晚上9点开放给公众，公共假日休息，一直展出至12月31日。预知详请可上 www.thelegacy.nl.sg查询。

王婧怡●报道

双方展现出高超的辩论技巧和素质，使比赛的气氛既紧张又轻松，极具观赏性。比赛评判ESPN卫视资深主播何辛老师点评时说：“正方上海交通大学在辩题稍有不利的情况下抓住反方弱点设下圈套，而反方香港大学概念逻辑明确，巧妙的避开陷阱。双方表现都很出色。” 本场比赛的最佳辩手香港大学的刘桢受访时表示：“能够得到参加这次亚太赛的机会，结识那么多国际强队和志同道合的朋友觉得很有收获。” 上海交通大学的魏坤说： “我们希望通过我们的辩论让观众了解辩论，关注社会，笑起来，参与进来，这就是我们对于辩论的理解。” 比赛仲裁饶仁智先生示： “这样一个国际大赛能越搞越好，筹委会和学校肯定花了多时间精力；这次赛事组委的组织能力让人印象非常深刻！”

经

过一场唇枪舌剑，第4届亚太大专华语辩论公开赛的总决赛冠军宝座最终由香港大学夺得。这场极具水平性的的辩论会日前于南大1A讲堂举行。辩题为“依靠人来醒觉（正方）还是国际立法（反方）才能最有效减缓全球暖化现象”。一路过关斩将，正方的中国上海交通大学与反方的香港大学成功跻身。整场比赛打得相当激烈，双方选手均展现出不俗实力，针对全球气候变暖这一最严峻的社会问题进行了角度各异的思考驳斥。在本场比赛中，正方幽默风趣贴近生活的阐述时常赢得在场观众的笑声；而反方沉着稳重、引经据典的议论更是多次博得在场观众的如雷掌声。

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T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

时事动脉泰国法庭上周宣判，前首相达信的妻子 Potjaman Shinawatra 逃税罪名成立，被判入狱3 年。前首相达信和家人及其亲信在2006年泰国叛变后，被控多项逃税和贪污等罪名。

南大校园出现高科技厕所

马来西亚警察部队后勤组人员涉及近1亿令吉（约4300万新元）的供应商欺诈案，警方已设立调查委员会展开调查。警察总长慕沙哈山已下令12名高级警官及警员即刻调职。从8月8日起，公众将可通过互联网收看Razor TV的精彩节目，同时还可以和节目主持人行交流，表达意见、给予评语等。据人力部上周发表的一项调查显示，我国在 2007年6月共有47.8％年龄超过50岁及以上的年长人士拥有工作。这项数据比起前年的46.0％，提升了1.8％。巴西国奥队上周在国家体育场举行的友谊赛中，以3比0打败新加坡挑选队。在3万3650名球迷面前，巴西国奥队展示了娴熟的脚下功夫，而罗纳尔迪尼奥不负众望地打完全场比赛。本地汽油和柴油的零售价两星期内分别四度和三度调低，但分析家警告，油价下调很可能是暂时性的现象。北方国家将为迎接冬天而囤积燃油作为取暖的能源，加上墨西哥湾的坏天气，油价可能因此上扬。

不再“免费”

韩伟定

●报道

中文总编辑

南

越南将把车辆注册费调高到车价的15%，以缓解大城市交通拥挤的情况，抑制庞大的贸易赤字。越南总理阮晋勇已签署政令：少过10个座位的车子，车辆注册费将从目前占车子售价的 5%，调高到10%至15%，视地区而定。美国在2005年破获一家贩卖假学历的文凭工厂后，司法部一直拒绝公开顾客名单，当中包括白宫高档军事顾问、卫生署肿瘤科专家和国家安全局员工。

特别学期

高科技马桶设有4个特别功能按钮。摄影|关洁薇

林芯怡●报道

搬

迁后的南大人文与社会科学学院图书馆在今年3 月新开幕，馆内的厕所还安装了高科技马桶。这些高科技马桶拥有自动冲水、清洗、烘干等功能，在日本十分普遍，却在本地极为少见。之前有报道指出，一些学生通过部落格表示，校园内出现的高科技马桶又酷又有趣，还呼吁其他同学去看看。校内的The Palette餐厅隔壁的厕所也按装了这类马桶。然而，受访的学生却觉得厕所只要宽敞干净就行，安装这种设施有点“浪费”。人文与社会科学学院二年级生吕丽莹说：“我并不是很需要它的功能，其实普通的厕所只要干净，有厕纸就够了。” 有些学生也表示，对于功能的使用并不熟悉又觉得别扭，所以不敢用它。电脑工程系学生周海玲也说: “第一用次那厕所时我不知道怎样抽水，旁边的按钮我又不会用，那时它让我觉得我很白痴。” 图书馆发言人陈灵燕则表示，安装高科技马桶是基于环境洁净与不同使用者的宗教与文化差异为由而决定的。有些使用者在事后必须清洗的情况下，与其使用会

“我并不是很需要它的功能，其实普通的厕所只要干净，有厕纸就够了。” 吕丽莹人文与社会科学学院二年级生

导致厕所潮湿杂乱的水管来清洗，不如选择高科技马桶更方便洁净的功能。另外，安装了高科技马桶的厕所是男女共用的，让学生们觉得有些不自在。对此，图书馆发言人表示，这是由于空间拘束的理而决定的。本报也到该厕所进行观察，发现高科技厕所设备完善，也较注重整洁卫生。

大生从新学年20082009开始将不能“免费”报读5月至7月份的特别学期（Special Term I & Special Term II）科目了。南大生目前所缴付的全年学费并不包括特别学期所需的额外资源。因此从明年5月开始，学生若要报读特别学期的课程，就得缴付介于500元至 700多元的学费。校方表示，报读特别学期的学生人数自1998年实行计划以来增加了3倍，需求超出了学额人数，所需的人力和资源也相继增加。校方再也不能承担这笔庞大的费用，因此决定开始收学费以抵消部分开资。

特别学期的学费表学分

新加坡公民

新加坡外国学生永久居民

3 4

$500 $650

$550 $715

$750 $975

南大开办

中医学副修课程周汶静●报道

随

着中医研究在生物科学的起步，西方药物厂商已渐渐地发觉把中药当成新药物的可能性。因此，这样的趋势不禁让许多不同科系的学生对学习中药产生了兴趣。为了让学生更了解中药，生物科学学院在这个学期推出了中医学副修课程（Minor in Chinese Herbal Medicine）。据了解，比起已经在通识选修单元中推出的中医学，这门课让学生更深入了解中药，也提供更深一层的基础。

征稿高科技厕所设备完善，也较注重整洁卫生。摄影|关洁薇

之前，学生能够“免费”修读特别学期的课程，导致没有报读的学生有点“吃亏”，因为他们是在“资助”那些修特别学期课程的学生。因此，新措施也是要避免这样的情况发生。本地另外两所大学，新加坡国立大学和新加坡管理大学，早已向报读特别学期的学生收取额外学费。而南大的特别学期学费在三所大学中是最低的。另外，只有在特别学期才开设选修单元的主修、副修或特别课程，如创业副修（Minor in Entrepreneurship）、实习计划和Undergraduate Research Opportunity Programme (UROP) / Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) 等，将不受收费影响。学生还是能够“免费”报读。

中医学副修课程分成两个部分，必修的部分包括了让学生了解基本中药科学常识的课程，而自由选修课程则能让学生更了解中药在中医学的角色，或是根据自己的兴趣去了解中医学的不同部门。若要选修这门课，学生必须至少在‘O’水准华文中取得优越的及格成绩并在‘A’水准修读物理学、或是在理工学院修读与物理学有关的课程。如果从没修读任何有关物理学的课程，学生也可在学院里修读一些基本的物理课以符合入学标准。欲知更多详情，可上生物科学学院的网址http://www.sbs. ntu.edu.sg 查询。

《南苑》欢迎南大师生投稿。言论版：时事评论、自由论以600字为限。请把稿件寄到nanyuan@ntu.edu.sg。我们将与您联络。若对本报有任何意见，也可电邮告诉我们！

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

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言论校园大声讲

咖啡厅

STARS系统让学生烦恼多多

只求一切完美? 黄佳敏

能

吃就是福。但这个道理并不是所有人都懂。厌食症至今已夺去多少性命，但仍然有人为了苗条身段而冒生命危险绝食，全世界也有不少模特儿因厌食症送命。这样的情况不禁让人深思：到底“ 美貌和性命哪样重要？而外表美丑的标准，到底是由谁来定的呢？不知从什么时候开始，就有个不成文的规定：非骨瘦如柴者，不能当模特儿。因此，伸展台上的模特儿，个个身上连一寸多余的脂肪都没有，个个有着所谓的“标准身材”。但退去了台上的光鲜亮丽，台下的他们是否过着正常的生活？他们的饮食是否健康？而媒体更用“标准身材” 、“完美比例”等字眼来形容这些模特儿，让人以为自己如

果不像他们一样，自己便是丑陋的。因此，为了达到这样不切实际的标准，一些无知的少女便开始绝食，疯狂的运动，甚至服用各种减肥药物。而这些举动到底对她们的健康造成了怎样的负面影响，她们一概不顾，只求自己也能像那些伸展台上的模特儿一样，瘦得病态。幸好，许多国家已意识到了厌食症这一问题，也采取了实际的行动。现在，一些国家已禁止BMI低于18的模特儿上伸展台，以免对少女们造成不良影响。就算想瘦，出发点也应该是为了健康，而不是为了他人的眼光。每个人的体质都不一样，因此应该为自己设定实际的标准，然后通过健康的方式来达到，而绝对不是靠绝食。为了自己的虚荣感而把自己的身子搞坏了，多不划算！

——看看他们有什么话说吴佩真近年来，大学生在校园网站登记科目已开始普遍。以前从小学到初院一切都由校方安排，但是现在却有机会为自己的课表做决定。校园网站多了这项系统，是否利多于弊？大学科目登记似乎给了许多学生们选者的权利，让他们挑选自己喜欢的上课时间。因此，他门有了额外的

郭进华

开

插图｜王怡方

学前的几个星期，大家都会紧处于一个 “星系”，在眼花缭乱的繁“星”中寻找心仪的“星星”；不少人更放下手上的工作、取消所有邀约约，只为为”“摘星”！若没成功“摘星”，就得呆在“星系”里守株待兔，和其他人展开“星际大战”。手脚不够快，抢不到热门的“红星”，除了向“ 天庭”上诉，也就只能眼睁睁地看着它们如流星飞走。说了那么多“星语” ，相信大家应已知，所谓 “星系”就是南大的“学生自动化科目登记系统” （STARS），而登记科目的种种顾虑都让我烦恼。例如在选科目时，喜爱的科目因上课或考试时间撞期，得忍痛放弃；或学长学姐说某科目不好读，为保住 GPA我就敬而远之。要排出四日制的时间表，也须费一

时间给自己，多了自由。更何况，自己登记科目可以和好朋友在一起上课，一起同做专题作业。因为大家从一年级已组成了所谓的“朋党”，所以希望登记到同样的课程时间是理所当然的。学院已为各科系的学生们编排好各系的登记时间，程序方面看似没问题。不过，这样的系统却给学生们制造了不少麻烦。而且，新加坡人的“怕输”本色于此展露无遗。如果比别人抢慢一步，你就只好接受自己不喜欢的课表，因为你已没得选择。尽管如此，有些学生宁愿继续留在电脑前等

番心思。现有的登记程序也令我不解的地方。首先，学生若要报读特别学期，就得在第二学期同时应付考试和提出申请。校方也许能延后申请期限，让学生安心应考。此外，刚入学的新生，主修科时间表虽已敲定，部分新生还得另寻选修科。他们还未调适就得与学长学姐争夺科目，无形中带来压力。目前欲提早在特别学期入学、服完兵役的男新生，都有选科的权力；为何不把它扩大给新生呢？再者，去年新增的一些功能，也只方便了部分学生。如“对换科目编号”功能对没有科目对换对象的同学起不到作用，他们也只能在系统里苦苦等候。其他大学的科目登记系统已推出“即时匿名对换” 功能，这也许是校方可以参考的。总的来说，能使用“星系” 算是幸福的，至少是和同学们几乎公平竞争，不必以点数来投标科目。还是回去“星系” 里看看有“红星”可抓否吧。

待时机，坚持要拿到科目才甘心。当然，成功‘抢’到手的学生们也会感到特别兴奋，顿时松一口气。在登记科目的半小时前，学生们已在电脑前守候着，准备第一时刻成功登记。我也有为科目登记感到特别激动的时候，不时和朋友在电话里乱嚷。性格急躁的我们，和那些对科目登记感到无所谓的学生，举止显得有点夸张。学生们是否欢迎网上科目登记这项系统呢？虽说便捷，但是我觉得这渠道显得美中不足。由于学生数量多过给予的空额，它不能确保每个学生们都能顺利登记必修科。然而，我相信多数学生们已接受利用网络技术来登记科目。因为这项系统给予他们的好处不少，时间可以任由自己编排，能随意地更改计划。更加上他们可以连续计划三个较喜欢的课表，过程迅速。也许过些时候，经过调整与更新后，科目登记系统会更副有灵活性。

《飞乐时空》大决赛第14届《飞乐时空》全国中文词曲创作大决赛将于8月24日，在Nanyang Auditorium 7点举行。特别嘉宾有创作新人伍家辉和Superband前十强 AMBER。评审包括本地资深海蝶音乐人。票价一律10元。订票请联络Johnson @ 92328142。购买大决赛原创作品专辑请电邮至：musicexpress14@ hotmail.com。

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AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

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旅游

娱乐动脉

京北奥游

集邮箱

”

“鸟巢

文 / 滕思珂

奥

运会一直都是人们瞩目的焦点，北京奥运会的建筑设计师无疑让所有期待主会场别具一格的人眼前一亮，惊叹他的创造与想象。初见“鸟巢”是一个下雨天，烟雨蒙蒙下的鸟巢，隔着好远的距离，仍然给我一种震撼的感觉。从外面看，体育场的空间效新颖激进，但又简洁古朴。我从没有见过一个钢架结构形成整体的体育场。巨型钢架缠绕在一起编织成

麻吉（Machi）旗下乐团“三角Cool”成员 DonP和Suffa为打伤乐团“参劈”成员事件公开道歉，并宣布退出“ 三角Cool”及麻吉娱乐。

古朴而大方，发达而现代，北京将东方的保守含蓄与西方的自由浪漫融合到每一个角落。一个鸟巢的形状，让我不禁怀疑，什么时候钢铁的柔韧性可以这么好。当知道这些钢结构是自己 “立”在地面上，靠各个结构之间互相支撑，我开始佩服建筑师的勇气和创造力。能把数万人安排在一个自己“立”起来的会场里，还是

照片｜曹卓群提供

需要一些胆量的。从外部看，能很好地领略它的风采。鸟巢，是鸟儿成长的地方。中国的“鸟巢”，奥运的“鸟巢”，寄予了中国人民希望这届北京奥运会，可以成为世界了解中国的起点，成为中国文化走向世界的起点。另一座蓝色水晶宫式的建筑：水立方（国家游泳中心），座落在鸟巢西面。“水”是这个建筑的灵魂，“方”来自中国文化的“天圆地方”概念。白天从远处看，无法看清它湛蓝地泡泡膜，整体感觉就是这个摹写水的建筑，很完美地阐释了“水”的优雅与灵动。这座建筑，结合了东方哲学思想和现代科技，是中国现代建筑的典范，相信她也会成为

水立方

奥运建筑的典范。即使你不能买到游泳中心的比赛门票，也一定要在夜晚，在“水立方”彩色气泡闪烁的时候，参观一下这个优美而充满想象力的建筑，它从某种程度上来说，代表了中国古代文化与现代技术的结合，是中国人现代观念的体现。古朴而大方，发达而现代，北京将东方的保守含蓄与西方的自由浪漫融合到每一个角落。 2008年8月8日，一个酝酿了两千年的城市正在等待世人去感受她洗去历史的真实面貌。曾经中华皇权的中心，今日国际化与古典并存的大都市，怀着“同一个世界，同一个梦想”的希望，第29届奥运会即将在这里绽放异彩！

29岁的章子怡与43岁的富豪男友 Vivi Nevo早前宣布订婚后，就如连体婴日夜形影不离。两人迫不及待预支蜜月，前天更被拍到在意大利南部度假胜地波西塔诺（Positano）浪漫度假。期间，章子怡更在众目睽睽下胸压Vivi，当众舌吻。在梁智强最新力作《钱不够用2》中，有一名议员亮相出镜，特别客串演出，他就是现年37 岁，白沙—榜鹅集选区议员柏默（Michael Palmer)。这名白沙—榜鹅集选区议员柏默是在榜鹅东居委会主席邓咏徽邀请下，爽快答应参与《钱不够用2》演出。最近，有消息指周董新专辑的曲目外泄，有网友更在某论坛上踢爆，指周董的新专辑已录制完成，还公布了新专辑的全部13首曲目资料及风格介绍。报道指被爆的新歌包括由方文山填词的《蓝宫调》、《轻舞飞扬》、《奖杯》、《恍惚》及《书生》等。 7月28日，季芹台风天剖腹产下儿子，在另一半王仁甫及婆婆陪同下，迎接儿子Yaya出生。Yaya重3550公克，身长51公分，听说台风天出生的小孩脾气很暴躁，但王仁甫压根不以为意，因为他自己就是台风天出生的。某彩妆品牌日前邀请VIP选出“电眼帅哥”，萧敬腾总被厚厚浏海遮住的眼睛竟赢得 VIP们的青睐，大赞他的腼腆“电眼”足以打败金城武与梁朝伟的超级电眼。广大贵妇VIP 们都认为萧敬腾的眼睛“害羞、诚恳”，让他成为新一代的电眼王。

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

娱乐

易桀齐不相信远距离恋爱

四大天王搞破坏

组团“打垮” 五月天苏打绿

黄慧芬●报道

在

新加坡待过7年、台北5 年、北京4年多，易桀齐已5年没回家乡探亲了。他最牵挂的人是母亲，至于爱情，他感叹：“我不相信远距离的恋爱能谈出什么春天来。” 马来西亚创作歌手易桀齐日前为新专辑《有你真好》来本地宣传时接受访问。专辑记录了易桀齐过往的恋情，谈及目前的感情状态，他坦言已经“ 空窗（单身）”5年。 “对异乡游子来说，感情的稳定性是很重要的。我长期在外漂泊流浪，如果想定下来，其实很难。所以一切随缘，只能靠幻想满足精神上的欲望。” 易桀齐希望未来的对象是星马一带的女生，因为他在新加坡住的时间较久，马来西亚又是出生地，所以已习惯两地的沟通方式。他说：“我在讲一个笑话的时候，她可能会笑得很久，可是外国人可能听不懂，‘频率’不一样。”

照片｜滚石唱片提供

为了音乐，易桀齐成了流浪旅人，几乎每5年就会迁离到另一个城市居住。他说，要融入一个城市的生活，必须花上3至 5年的时间。问易桀齐多久没回家，他表示，已有5年没认真回家坐坐。“我现在可能不太想回到原点，因为这样会让我停下来。”

就如牡羊座的个性，易桀齐很清楚自己不是个能在一个地方住下来的人，必须一直前进。尽管如此，他还是会回到家乡沙捞越祭拜过世的父亲。易桀齐目前在师傅李宗盛在北京设立的工作室录音和写歌，他把居住的下一站锁定位于中国北方的吉林，因为被那里清新的空气吸引。

黄慧芬●报道

林宥原嘉唱歌不为巩固人气

本不敢参加歌唱比赛的林宥嘉不喜欢唱歌被评分。但一次从电视上一名音乐人的口中得知，歌手最适合发片的年龄是19至22岁，因怕梦想过期，所以他决定抓住机会向前冲！他坦言：“我的心里是害怕的，可是怕就冲、怕就冲！” 两年前摘下首届《超级星光大道》的冠军，从一位单纯爱唱歌的无名小卒变成如今超人气歌手的林宥嘉，发片后最关心的是自己的歌会否会在乐坛长存，被世人传唱。林宥嘉与同门师妹刘力扬日前来新宣传专辑，两人在媒体推介会上呈现多首新专辑的歌曲，展现纯熟的歌唱实力。演唱《残酷月光》时，林宥嘉向观众说明对这首歌的热爱。在推介会后进行的媒体访问中，他也提及这首歌：“我很喜欢《残酷月光》的词曲，虽然它不是主打，但我希望它被留传下来。” 同样出自《星光大道》的杨宗纬和萧敬腾也先后发片，三人的专辑难免被拿来做比较。对此，林宥嘉表示，他更在乎现场的表演。“每次唱现场，我可以看看能和这首歌擦出什么新的火花。我唱这些歌，不是为了巩固人气。”

“纵贯线”乐团成员：（左起）罗大佑、张震岳、李宗盛与周华健。照片|滚石唱片提供

流

行乐坛大哥大李宗盛、罗大佑、周华健与张震岳组成“纵贯线” （Super Band）乐团，誓言“干掉”炙手可热的五月天、苏打绿，一举囊括明年金曲最佳乐团及新人奖。这支刚成立就被封为华语乐坛“史上最牛乐队”的组合是滚石老板段钟潭、罗大佑以及李宗盛在饭局上构想出来的，目的只有一个，就是搞high华语乐坛！关于乐队成立后的音乐风格，李宗盛表示，目前还是以轻摇滚为主，但因为团员的创作风格都不一样，未来也会融入民谣、乡村等各种风格的音乐。另外，乐队

未来会推出专辑和举行巡回演唱会。面对市场低靡，盗版与网络下载猖獗的种种问题，李宗盛并不担心。他说：“我们的歌迷因为年纪比较大，多半都不会下载啦！” 既然四人都是当前乐坛“如雷贯耳”的大哥级人物，到底谁会胜任团长的职务呢？对此，四人很有默契地表示“不会有团长的编制”。但遇到纷争又怎么办呢？李宗盛延续一贯的幽默，说：“就互相辱骂、互相鼓励咯！”周华健也诙谐地爆料：“我们都用不带脏字的沟通方式！”（整理报道/宋佳佳）

林宥嘉与刘力扬在台上展现十足默契。摄影|关洁薇化恐惧为动力刘力扬也说，她一开始参加比赛时没有信心。获得2006年中国第三届《超级女声》季军的她未当歌手前，曾在电视台实习。她告诉同事想当歌手，却得不到熟悉娱乐圈生态业内人士的支持。但在朋友的鼓励下，刘力扬

下决定参赛。她说：“我提前一个月就开始准备歌曲，比赛当天从深圳坐火车到广州，还搞错电视台。” 试镜地点原本是广州电视台，刘力扬却到广东电视台，结果到目的地时汗流浃背。有别于当时的窘态，刘力扬在推介会上演唱《我就是这样》时，魅力四射。

AU G US T 4 , 20 0 8

T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

乐评音乐Jukebox

娱乐休闲厅伍家辉专访

专辑：《搜寻蔡旻佑》歌手：蔡旻佑推荐：《我回来了》 “Stay with Me”

超

伍家辉的歌像

无奶油蛋糕照片｜Funkie Monkies Music 提供

邓熙玮●报道

因

为不爱奶油甜食，伍家辉形容自己的音乐犹如淡淡的无奶油蛋糕。一口咬下时没什么感觉，唯有细细品尝后，才发现味道久久不能散去。他认为创作是种心情记录。只有把一天里最值得纪念的情绪收录起来，才能变成动人的旋律。他说：“自己过去的创作都是100% 忠于自己。因为不符合潮流，而且整个流行音乐走向也不能接受这些歌，所以不能卖。” 现在，对创作颇有心得的他，则是90%忠于自己，10% 迎合别人。伍家辉的创作力惊人，出道至今已创作超过300 首歌。他表示自己的灵感大都来自生

活，也强调平时不会主动听别人的歌。伍家辉说：“我觉得听音乐是个人娱乐和享受，而且我很容易受到别人影响。不过为了 keep myself updated，我会去听一些自己不会或不常写的歌，比方说 R&B和 Rap。 ” 由于家辉写的歌实在太多了，让版权公司的歌库人员归类到头痛不已。但对伍家辉来说，每创作都是自己的孩子，印象最深刻的就属黎明的《有情郎》。因为这首歌音域高，不适合黎明，但歌却最终成了主打。到目前为止，伍家辉觉得自己的创作都不是最好的。他认为太完美的话会失去继续创作的动力。尽管如此，他却也曾为创作被退搞而非常失落。因此现

在如果被退搞，公司都不会跟他说。不过他也渐渐学会了释怀，认为退搞并不是自己的创作不好，也许是歌曲不适合歌手的形象。就像是收录在专辑里的《肚子饿了》，原本是为张栋梁所写，但因为曲风太顽皮，不适合他“王子”的形象而被退稿。至于家辉会不会害怕有一天成为老师们的对手，他说：“很爽啊！” 他认为能够与老师们竞争是件好事，是种荣幸，因为有竞争就有进步。家辉希望努力的同时，也能学习如何做回自己，用自己的作品去激励其他人，让多点人喜欢音乐创作。如果有一天也当上老师，家辉希望能秉持着不作做的性格，继续以平民化的风格带给大家更多好音乐。

张栋梁与Faye甜蜜对唱情歌宋慧纯●报道中文副编辑

马

张栋梁与Faye对唱“How Do I Live”。照片|华纳音乐提供

来西亚歌手张栋梁明知FIR乐团的Faye 名花有主，还在演唱会上牵起她的手唱情歌。张栋梁“From Now On”新加坡演唱会于 5月31日在新达城第6展览厅举行，吸引了近 3000名观众前来共襄盛举。张栋梁竟然在众目睽睽之下，公然牵起特别来宾Faye的手，甜蜜地合唱情歌“How Do I Live”。可惜，张栋梁唱到一半就离场更衣，让 Faye独自唱完合唱曲，成了演唱会的遗憾。除了张栋梁擅长的抒情歌曲，他的开场舞蹈也让大家看到了他努力已久的练舞成果，展示出不一样的张栋梁。虽然《新歌试唱》、《游戏》等舞曲的舞步显得僵硬，但还是看得出张栋梁习舞的诚意。他深情诠释经典歌曲如《寂寞边界》，《北极星的眼泪》还有《当你孤单你会想起谁》，依旧让歌迷听得如痴如醉，展现了他 “微笑王子”的深情与亲和力。

过一年半没发片的蔡旻佑终于在7月份发行全新创作专辑“搜寻蔡旻佑”。这次，作曲部分依旧由他一手包办，也参与了制作。专辑主要以摇滚流行曲风为主。主打歌《我回来了》的美式庞克摇滚编曲，富有狂野的感觉。《我回来了》与知名乐团音乐人Skot Suyama合写编曲。蔡旻佑也在歌曲开始前加入序语，亲自填词，发泄累积快两年的音乐能量。在《没有人要的孩子》里，仿佛听见蔡旻佑对成长的感慨。比起第一张专辑，他在抒情歌曲诠释方面更为成熟，感觉截然不同。专辑虽走摇滚路线，第二波主打“Stay with Me”依旧让歌迷听到深情的蔡旻佑，是继《我可以》和《我想要说》后，爱情进化三部曲的第三首歌。歌里加入小提琴独奏，唱歌时放轻声音，营造一种悲伤的气氛，以纪念一段未能完成的恋情。能在同一张专辑里，听出态度和感情，真是十分难得。（文／邓熙玮）专辑：《我爱上的》歌手：丁当推荐：《我爱上的》《猜不透》

倔

强的女生、充满个人风味的嗓音，丁当第二张专辑《我爱上的》，再度展现她以往宽厚扎实的歌唱实力。《我爱上的》在丁当具有穿透力的诠释下，唱出了女生恋爱过程中的心情。她以柔中带刚的唱式，穿梭于温柔和充满爆发力的情感之间，衬托了波折重重的音乐爱情故事。由简单和深刻的钢琴弦乐，《猜不透》一曲表现了丁当绵绵深刻的旋律线。感情的无奈，由哭腔式唱法，体现得淋漓尽致。韩式抒情番石榴曲风，非常适合丁当的声线。熟悉的歌声外，新专辑也尝试了不同的曲风。除了抒情、舞曲、摇滚，专辑还增添了“假嘻哈”——一种偏重于电子音乐的曲风。新尝试，加上独特嗓音，让丁当的歌唱潜能得到充分的发展空间，绝对值得一听。（文／陈沛敏）专辑：《虽然我愿意》歌手：伍家辉推荐：《虽然我愿意》《远距离》

电

影《881》红了歌曲《一人一半》，也红了创作新人伍家辉。当时就对他的首张个人专辑有些期待。细听了伍家辉的专辑，果然让我对他的创作刮目相看。专辑中收录了10首歌曲。整张专辑的创作几乎由伍家辉包办，当然找来了著名音乐人黄韵仁和小寒等跨刀。听得出专辑诚意满满。《虽然我愿意》一曲，伤心感人，道出了放开情人时的万分不愿意。细腻的歌词让整首歌曲富有画面感；伍家辉的细致声线赋予歌曲更多的感情和感动。特别喜欢《远距离》一曲，也觉得是整张专辑最动听的歌曲。作为专辑的最后一首歌，真的为专辑划上美丽的句点。专辑整体而言，算是中规中矩，较为保守。希望伍家辉在下一张专辑中能够跳出“一把吉他、一把又细又柔的歌声”的固定形象。可是，能够通过《虽》这张专辑让我们认识了伍家辉，也是一大收获。（文／韩伟定）

Opinion

“On a personal level, I dream of the day when there will be democracy in Burma.” Page 32

EDITORIAL We’ve spoken, they’ve listened, now what? R i si ng en rol ment a nd the nationwide construction crunch has taken a toll on the accommodation facilities here. Hall rooms are at a premium with a cut-off just three points shy of the maximum 18. Plans for four new halls have been shelved as public sector construction projects are deferred. We can imagine how difficult it must be for the people in charge of ensuring each student who needs a room can get one: the Student Affairs Office. They have made various proposals so far to tackle the high demand for hall rooms, including the highly unpopular triple-sharing which would see a portion of double rooms converted into triple rooms. The proposal met with strong objections from both the student body and student leaders. But now that most of the s t ude nt s h ave s poke n out loudly and clearly about their disapproval with the proposal, no one seems to care about those who could not stay in hall. To be fair, the hall presidents have made what they call an a lte r n at i v e pr op o s a l— of fcampus accommodation—which has already been proposed but rejected by the SAO for its high costs and inconvenience. This is a non-solution. Unless the same hall presidents and their committees are saying they

would be willing to take up offcampus accommodation should they fail to meet the cut-off, and at the same time not make use of the discretionary places offered by senior hall fellows or the committee recommendation list to secure a hall room, such proposal reeks of insincerity. T he S AO h a s pr opos e d ot her ways to add r ess t he de ma nd w it hout r e sor t i ng to triple-sharing, including the conversion of half of the single rooms at hall 1 and 2 to double rooms. But even that has been met with disquiet by hall presidents. We have heard the objections surrounding this but we remain unconvinced that a few individuals who refuse to share their room with anyone should deprive those who don’t even have one. We are facing nothing short of an accommodation crisis and a choice has to be made. Something has to go. If we’re not willing to go for triple-sharing, why not consider converting single rooms—as long as the size is feasible—into double rooms? If all 16 hall presidents care about the needs of students as a whole instead of just the needs of their residents—what student leaders are meant to do in the first place—they should have offered to convert more of their single rooms to double rooms when this proposal was made.

CH R O N ICL E THE NANYANG

chief editor Lin Junjie Managing editor Lin Xinyi sub-editors Philip Lim Valerie Toh Ser Yi Zeinab Yusuf News editors Cheryl Ong Teo Wan Gek Lifestyle editors Estelle Low Natasha Ann Zachariah Reviews editor Rachael Boon

sports editors Fabian Ng Tan Jinhe layout editors Gerald Tan Imran Jalal Sharon Hiu photo editors Chen Wei Li Kuan Jie Wei Tan Zi Jie graphics editor Janell Hoong WEB editor Alan Tan Yu Shyang

tech editor Lim Yan Liang

business managers Lee Yi Ling Eileen Teo Xin Wen Jean Toh Zong Rong

Chinese editors Han Weiding Song Huichun

production support Ng Heng Ghee

opinion editors Huynh Kim Phong Vo Van Hung

Teacher advisors Andrew Duffy Javed Nazir Xu Xiaoge

A students’ newspaper published by the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI) Nanyang Technological University 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718 Tel: 6790 6446 Unsigned editorials represent the majority view of the editorial board of The Chronicle and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of Nanyang Technological University, its employees, the students or the Council of the University. Signed opinion columns, letters and editorial cartoons represent the opinion of the writer or artist and are not necessarily those of The Chronicle. Printed by KHL Printing Co. Pte Ltd, 57 Loyang Drive, Singapore 508968

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU News Hotline: 6790 6446 Letters: chronicle@ntu.edu.sg Opinions: chronicle.opinions@ ntu.edu.sg Please include your full name, contact number, faculty and year of study.

frankly, my dear

A column by The Chronicle editors on issues close to their hearts

The toilet, my friend Estelle Low lifestyle editor

have an affinity with the toilet. I call it “the toilet” because it does not matter which one. Once the door of the cubicle slams shut, it is my space. In a way, it is my friend. Besides purging the obvious, the toilet allows me to purge my pent-up fury. Simply put, it is my source of catharsis when my best friend is not around. The toilet is, to me, what yoga is to the soul. For instance, my home toilet is my cool-down zone after a heated quarrel with my folks. It becomes my pr ivate zone for hold ing intimate conversations over the phone, and my inspirational zone for coming up with story ideas. No guesses on how I was inspired to write this column. My not-so-secret affair with toilets started in primary school, where toilets were my pickup line for forming friendships. Back then, getting someone to go to the toilet with me was a sign that I was worthy enough to hang around with. Up to junior college, toilets were my form of social validation. Visiting the toilet with girlfriends, you see, was a social norm as my class consisted of 21 girls (and 3 guys). When I entered university, I found myself without a toilet buddy. I realised that this masstoilet-visit culture is not shared by everyone else, and I will feel incredibly needy and dependent if I were to ask my university friends to accompany me to the toilet. But since I hail from a relatively small course, I rely on fate to catch up with friends as chances of meeting them in the toilet are high (given my frequency of visits). The toilet is where insecurities are allowed to flow freely. After a heavy meal, it is where I can loosen the buckles of my capri pants without fear of being judged. The girl next to me is too busy fixing her hair to care. And I do not have to worry about the one in the cubicle as she is sobbing over the phone. Having said that, let me define what a toilet means to me. For starters, it should have a proper flushing system, so I will not clog up the drainage after blowing my clogged nose. It should also be free of ammonia, as I do not want to inhale the remnants of urine while I heave and breathe in

GRAPHIC | YU LU

between sobs. After all, a place is only as good as its toilet standards. This explains why Jurong Point is such a joy to visit. The toilets are always brightly lit and well ventilated. There are also half-length mirrors in every cubicle to pander to my narcissistic instincts. I particularly favour the third floor toilet as it has twice the number of mirrors and cubicles, beating all others to be the best toilet to visit during peak hours.

The toilet is, to me, what yoga is to the soul It i s a m a z i n g how mo s t Singaporeans have this strange tolerance for cubicle hoggers. We tap our feet in annoyance when the person in front of us holds up the queue by being unable to decide between ordering chicken rice and duck rice. But we cannot lash out at the person who has been in a cubicle for twenty minutes as who knows, he or she may be suffering from serious constipation. I have, on a few occasions, been on the brink of rudely rapping on the door after an excruciating wait. But I always manage to catch

myself in time and think about how I would feel to be the person inside. After all, the last thing I want are disturbing knocks to intrude my realm of privacy. Most importantly, a toilet is not a toilet without toilet paper. Imagine my horror when I felt the sudden need to expel my bowels while shopping in Vivocity recently. I dashed into the first vacant cubicle and it was too late when I realised that the toilet paper had been wiped out by the previous user. I had to text-message my friend (fortunately for her company) to hand me some toilet paper as it was too embarrassing to voice it out loud. The toilet is also the way to the quickest retreat. A friend in the sales sector told me how she made sweet escapes to the ladies while at work. Trips to the toilet are for catching up on lost sleep, avoiding her boss’s nasty demands and alas, resting her feet after selling handbags and shoes for six hours. We cannot be penalised for visiting the toilet to relieve our t ired sou ls and soles, r ight? Whatever one does not know, does not hurt. Now excuse me while I go to the ladies.

opinion

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

Not flawless, yet still flying Airbus A380 Gerald Tan

was on a National Education tour of the country during the holidays, and as the bus sped along the expressways and the city came into sight, I suddenly felt myself swelling with pride. Perhaps, being on a tour bus really brought out the patriot in me. I suppose I cou ld see t he country from an entirely different perspective as compared with the times when I was travelling as a passenger on an SBS bus. Chances are, I would be more likely to lament about my poor existence and how that uncle two seats away from me, with his eau de body odour, was stinking the bus up. But I digress. Sometimes, all it takes are lit t le moment s li ke t hese to make me truly proud of being a Singaporean. There is just no need to wait for the National Day parade and the fireworks display, I always say. I am not sure about you, but whenever I am on my way back from my travels, I always wish for our streets to be messier, our roads more chaotic and our buildings dirtier, thinking that it would add some much-needed character to our cityscape. Howe ver, t hat t houg ht disappears the moment I set foot on the clean and lush carpeting of Changi Airport. If “ster ile” is what makes Singapore so special, then so be it. We may not have the bustle of New York’s Time Square, but at least we have got the hustle as evinced by ravenous Singaporeans making their way down to Geylang late at night to satisfy their appetites of sorts after a long day at work. Speaking of appetite, I am glad I never have to travel far for my

GRAPHIC | JANELL HOONG

daily fix of good food. Having grown up on a small island, I am also thankful for the fact that most places in Singapore remain relatively accessible. Besides, where else in the world

would distances be conveniently measured according to the number of MRT stations between places? I also feel that I have reaped the benefits of a bilingual education although it is not flawless.

I get double the satisfaction for being able to read both the English and Chinese subtitles whenever someone dies again in some melodramatic Korean serial.

Moreover, with our unique colloquial for m of language, Singlish, we have effectively mastered the art of saying a lot with less. Where got like that one? And despite grumbling about having to commit two years of my life to National Service in exchange for my citizenship, I am indeed thankful for what the experience in Camp Sunshine— pardon my little affectionate term for that place—has taught me. Without that, I would never have known that I looked hot in camouflage green. Before det r ac tor s sta r t dismissing this as another feelgood article, I have to admit that Singapore has her own fair share of idiosyncrasies. In fact, we are full of them. Compla i n i ng i s ou r a l l-t i me f avou r ite nat iona l pa s t i me . Slippers, however inappropriate, remain our choice of national footwear. However, like what our tourism slogan suggests, at the end of the day, these are the little things that make us, well, uniquely Singapore. As a nation, we walk too fast and have too little sex, but we were the first to fly the Airbus A380 with Givenchy bedsheets after all. We may not have enough Louis Vuitton stores to go around, but Gucci, Chanel, Prada—you name them; at least we got them. Like what the crescent moon on our national f lag suggests, Singapore is still a young nation. Despite our very brief history of nation-building, we have since progressed into a country where we make up for our shortcomings with peace, security and Orchard Road. Honestly, if that does not make you feel proud, I do not know what else will.

letter

Triple-sharing scheme may save the day after all

WE ALL know that the university i s ta k i ng i n mor e a nd mor e students ever y year. With the limited accommodation available, many senior students must move out of halls, me included. Now I have a question for those who reject the proposal of triple-room sharing: Why don’t you give it a chance? Some may say that it will not be com for t able to have three people in a room. I can u nder sta nd t hei r feeli ngs. However, since the university is becoming increasingly crowded and accommodation capacity is confined, something must be done about it. Of course, if the halls had more rooms, our comfort would be guaranteed. But the fact is we do not have that luxury now. Perhaps

it is better to accept the situation and learn to share what we have with others. Since the triple-sharing scheme floundered, many international students, who have no home in Singapore and nobody to turn to when they are in need except for the university, have had to face a difficult situation. When prices are increasing, w he n t he i r bud ge t s for a l l e x pen se s f rom food , book s , printing to transportation have to be balanced, at the end of the day, they have to add another item to their expenditure—room rental. Some of them will be able to cope, simply by asking for help from their families back home. However, students without such support will need to reduce their

expenses in every possible way and at the same time, increase their income by finding part-time jobs. To m a k e m at t e r s wor s e , it is much more diff icult for international students to find jobs, compared with their local counterparts. Say ing no to this scheme affects Singaporean students as well. Many of them, like those who live in the East or in the North, have to keep putting up with the long hours on trains or buses as they spend precious time traveling back and forth. The triple-sharing scheme may indeed relieve tensions in our extra-curricular activities (ECAs) system, where students compete with each other for the highest

scores possible in order to secure a room. Currently many students join these activ ities not for t heir interests but for EC A points, which effectively defeats the purpose of ECAs. While some students get the room they want, many others do not – it is a “some win, many lose” situation. Wit h t he t r iple-sha r i ng scheme, more places w i l l be available for students and the cutoff points for hall accommodation may decrease, thus reducing the tensions in the current system. If students joined ECAs out of genuine interest and commitment, they would still secure a place in halls. Is this “majority wins” situation not better than the former?

I know that many students feel comfortable with what they have now and find it hard to see things changed. I used to feel the same way. However, I believe that once we are willing to get out of that comfort zone and be exposed to the world, it will be all the better for us. In conclusion, I urge all of us to reconsider the proposal. As long as there is a room to stay, it is great—single, double or triple rooms will not matter. After all, it is always better to have one rather than having no room at all.

Nguyen Thi Gia Hoang Sociology Year 2

opinion

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canteen talk

The campus heats up with orientation events for freshmen. We find out what NTU newcomers think about these activities.

The camp was organised and interesting. My seniors were really helpful. I really feel at home.

”

Burma election 2010: democratic dictatorship?

Saumya Mohan, CSC, Year 1, 19

“

It is a great way to start the academic year. My homesickness quickly fades away. The guide book is particularly useful. Pritha Saraf, NIE, Year 1, 18

It is quite good. I hope it could be longer, from six to seven days. I also look for more detailed information about various schools.

”

Vincent Leong Mang Yew, CEE, Year 1, 22

“

I enjoy it thoroughly. The camp is both informative and fun, and the interaction great. The food could be better, though. Josiah Shen Yong En, MSE, Year 1, 21

The camp is fantastic. If I am up to it, I will definitely go for the camp next year. The seniors really make us proud of the school.

”

Leow Xian Yin Candy, CS, Year 1, 18

TEXT | HUYNH KIM PHONG, PHOTOS | TAN ZI JIE

GRAPHIC | LONG FAN

Nearly one year has passed by since the saffron revolution. In retrospect, Maung Ye Yint Aung, a Singaporean of Burmese origin, offers his insights into the current situation of Myanmar.

urma, the Golden Land of Pagodas, has been plagued with political turmoil and turbulence since the death of Burma’s national hero and Father of the Burmese Army, Bogyoke (General) Aung San. It is ironic how the Burmese Army, once beloved by the Burmese people as the liberators of Burma from Japanese occupation in World War II, has now turned into a ruthless government that rules its people with an iron fist. I am delighted that after twenty years, Burma is holding a general election again in 2010. That said, Burmese politics is never conventional. It is often shrouded in controversy, and I soon learn that Aung San Suu Kyi, who was denied victory in 1990, is barred from the upcoming general election due to her marriage to a foreigner. Furthermore, the proposed constitution would reserve a quarter of seats in the national parliament for army appointees, assign key ministries to military top brass and permit army chiefs to declare a state of emergency when they deem fit. Democracy with such conditions loses its meaning, and is a clear indication that the military junta is not ready for change. Last September, the world witnessed a saffron revolution, when Burma’s Buddhist monks, who are highly respected in the country, took to the streets, and inspired a mass-demonstration to demand democracy. The Buddhist monks’ def iance against the militar y junta was a clear indication that the economic grievance – a huge, abrupt rise in fuel prices – was

too much for the people to bear. Having donned the saffron robes twice in my life, I understand the psyche of the Burmese monks, and sympathize with their struggle against the military junta. During the December of 2006, I spent twelve days in a monastery on the outskirts of Yangon, Burma’s former capital. The experience was not only spiritually enlightening, but it also brought me closer to my Burmese roots and left a lasting impression on me. It made me understand how the Burmese people were able to withstand the brutality of the military junta and carry on with their lives. The people’s faith in Buddhism and it being the bedrock of Burmese culture enable the Burmese people to find strength in their religion, and find light in the darkness of dictatorship.

It is the desire of every Burmese for Burma to regain her former glory I was deeply moved by Channel NewsAsia’s broadcast of a special on the demonstrations led by the Burmese Monks titled “The March of the Saffron Robes”, when a Burmese monk being interviewed, said: “As monks, we have given up all earthly desires, and therefore, it is easier for us to sacrifice our lives so that the people may live better lives.” That said, if change were to come to Burma through external influence, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India and above all China, would be the key influences. At present, China remains Burma’s closest ally. China has supplied the Burmese military with most of its equipment over the years, acting as Burma’s main trading partner and helping to keep the issue of democracy in Burma off the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.

As far as China is concerned, Burma needs to get its act together at least till the 2008 Beijing Olympics is over to avoid a backlash that might lead to a boycott of the games. Singapore, the current chair of ASEAN, welcomed the change in Burma’s political scene and the general elections scheduled for 2010. Singapore has come under scrutiny many times for having investments in Burma, although it often rebukes the junta’s harsh stance on pro-democracy supporters and encourages democracy in Burma. From a military perspective, it makes better sense to have a friendly relationship with the Bur mese gover nment, as t he Burmese Army has been rated as second best in Southeast Asia after Vietnam. Burma’s infantry is recognized as being one of the toughest, and most combat seasoned due to its constant struggle against Burma’s ethnic-minority insurgents. Furthermore, by maintaining its status quo and having diplomatic ties with Burma, Singapore could at least engage Burma and inf luence the junta for democratic reforms rather than leaving Burma in isolation which would be worse. On a personal level, I dream of the day when there will be democracy in Burma. I believe it is the desire of every Burmese for Burma to regain her former glory, and for the sufferings of her people to end. It is this dream that motivates the demonstrations even if the consequences may be dire. Sadly, the 2010 election does not seem to carry the winds of change. I only hope that for the people of Burma, they will have democracy within my generation. As Aung San Suu Kyi put it, “it is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it”.

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sports talk

Time for Spain to take its turn in the sun? Rikesh Primalani

EL MATADOR: Rafael Nadal’s Wimbledon win was the culmination of a series of successes by Spanish athletes. PHOTO | INTERNET

IT IS a wonderful time to be Spanish. With an impressive list of recent achievements, Spain has firmly established its credentials as a premier sporting nation. The highlight has to be the performance of La Selección, the national football team. Casting aside their tag of being perennia l underach iever s, they won the 2008 European Championships in style. Their first major title in 44 years propelled them to the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in their history. The victor y was largely due to the emergence of a new crop of young and talented footballers such as Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, who are now plying their trade in England. Howe v e r, mo s t of t h e players in that squad are still playing in Spain. Despite E ng l i sh c lubs ga i n i ng i n prominence, the lure of Real Madrid and Barcelona are still irresistable to some. Cr istiano Ronaldo, probably the world’s highest profile footballer currently, is embroiled in a transfer saga due to his public declaration of his desire to play for Real Madrid. Barely a week after Spain’s success at t he Eu ro 20 08 tou r na ment, Rafael Nada l won the Wimbledon tennis tournament. More importantly, he did it in style, beating his rival and current world number one, Roger Federer, in a final that went down as the longest Wimbledon final in history. This was the first victory by a Spaniard at Wimbledon for 42 years, mirroring the achievement of the football team. Earlier this year, Nadal won the French Open as well, and it is now a matter of time before he claims Federer’s world number one spot. F e r n a n d o A lon s o h a s taken the Formula 1 world by storm since impressing for the Renault team in 2003, becoming the sport’s youngest champion in 2005. Despite a turbulent 2007 season with McLaren, still ma naged to ma i nta i n h i s record of scoring more than 100 points per season since 2005, a feat only achieved by t he legenda r y M ichael

Schumacher. With 49 podium finishes and 2 world championships to h i s na me , A lon s o h a s firmly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in Formula 1. Sergia Garcia has also been prominent in the golfing scene, spending almost his entire career in the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings. Despite consistent victories on the PGA tour, a Major victory still eludes him. In c ycling, A lber to Cantador has won the Giro d’Italia this year to add with h i s 20 07 Tou r de Fr a nc e crown.

It remains to be seen if Spain has indeed transformed itself into a genuine sporting power, or if all their recent successes are just a flash in the pan. T he Spanish volleyball te a m a l s o won t he 20 0 7 Men’s European Volleyball Championship. With the impressive list of achievements, it begs the question of whether success can be sustained. A common trait among these Spanish sportsmen is the fact that they are still relatively young. A lon so a nd Nad a l a r e in their early twenties and certainly have the abilities to dominate their respective sports in the near future. T he Spa n i sh footba l l team too boasts promising youngsters coming through it s ra n k s. Hence, on ly complacency can derail these athletes. Shou ld t hey lose t hei r hunger for success, they may well follow in the footsteps of their predecessors and wind up with nothing to show for all their talent. With the Olympics fast approaching, it remains to be seen if Spain has indeed t r a n sfor me d it se l f i nto a geunine sporting power, or if all their recent successes are just a flash in the pan.

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T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e

epl talk

Torres

Gamst

Name: Morten Gamst Pedersen Alias: The Player Nationality: Norwegian D.O.B.: 8 September 1981 Club: Blackburn Rovers On Pitch: Norwegian left winger integral to his team’s cause. Off Pitch: This Nordic marauder rules the flank for his club, and pillages the hearts of fair maidens in his spare time. Pedersen fronts a Norwegian boy band, The Players, with four other fellow footballers. In a recent newspaper survey, he was voted more famous than the King of Norway. Understandable, given his reputation as the Norwegian David Beckham. Also named by new Chelsea recruit Jose Bosingwa as the biggest threat he will face this season. In 5 words: Quit playing with my heart. Lust Factor (out of 5 footballs):

Name: Fernando José Torres Sanz Alias: El Niño (The Kid) Nationality: Spanish D.O.B.: 20 March 1984 Club: Liverpool F.C. On Pitch: Unstoppable scoring machine blessed with explosive pace and impeccable technique. Off Pitch: With those smooth, silky locks and tall, well-toned body, he has a legion of female fans eating out of his hands. Certainly responsible for Spain having the most female fans in the recently concluded Euro 2008. In 5 words: Just gotta stop and stare. Lust Factor:

Beauties

& Beasts

Fabregas Name: Francesc Fàbregas Soler Alias: Cesc Bomb Nationality: Spanish D.O.B.: 4 May 1987 Club: Arsenal F.C. On Pitch: Midfield dynamo who gets the Gunners firing Off Pitch: Star of Nike and Pepsi’s summer campaign, emphasising his marketability. Could stand to lose some baby fat, though time is on his side. Shares an uncanny resemblance to the villain Sylar in the popular US television series Heroes. In 5 words: Lets talk about Cesc, baby. Lust Factor:

With the English Premier League season kicking off in two weeks time, Lien Xiu Wen shows that there are three good reasons for girls to watch the beautiful game. To that, Clement Chen finds three excuses for anyone, boys and girls alike, to avoid football

Rooney

Name: Wayne Mark Rooney Alias: The boy Shrek Nationality: English D.O.B.: 24 October 1985 Club: Manchester United On Pitch: Boy wonder who has matured into an indispensible figure for club and country. Off Pitch: Once an aspiring boxer, Rooney was recently voted the ugliest player in the world, despite stiff competition from Frank Ribery and teammate Carlos Tevez. Sporting a bald and unshaven look, he seems to be on a mission to promote the Shrek look. Still managed to pocket a cool £2.5 million from selling exclusive rights for photos of his wedding, so eat your heart out. In 5 words: Floored with a straight knockout. Rust Factor (out of 5 red cards):

Kuyt Name: Dirk Kuijt Alias: The Ogre Nationality: Dutch D.O.B.: 22 July 1980 Club: Liverpool F.C. On Pitch: Underrated forward whose playing style is reminiscent of the Energizer Bunny. Off Pitch: Living proof that being blonde and blue-eyed does not a pretty boy make. His hardworking style does not mask his likeness to Count Dracula’s hunchback assistant, Igor. It is no wonder why the cameras choose to focus on his more attractive teammates instead. Though unpopular with fans, has certainly won the trust of his managers In 5 words: Got me begging for mercy. Rust Factor:

Crouch Name: Peter James Crouch Alias: Robo-Crouch Nationality: English D.O.B.: 30 January 1981 Club: Portsmouth F.C. On Pitch: Capable of acrobatic volleys and deft touches, recently left Liverpool to seek greener pastures. Off Pitch: At a lanky 2.01m but weighing just 75kg, Crouch has been ridiculed for his looks, sadly despite being a rather good footballer. Enjoyed a brief spell of notoriety after his interpretation of the “robot” dance. In 5 words: Peter, don’t call my name. Rust Factor:

they said that? “If I saw a big fish, I’d be scared, They’re not human. They don’t walk around. They’re different.”  Welsh swimmer David Davies comes up with an astute observation while explaining his reluctance to swim in open water.

“He has the upper half of a hod carrier and the bottom half of a ballerina.” Loyalty is good, but Hull chairman Paul Duffen takes it to the extreme with his description of 39-year-old Dean Windass.

“It looked like the green slime out of the Ghostbusters film.”  British sailor Ben Ainslie knows who to call, after mysterious slime covered the sailing course in Beijing.

GRAPHIC | JANELL HOONG

“Great players are always hounded by great clubs. It’s normal. I’ve always been hounded.”  Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (above) on the speculation over his future.

“According to FIFA statistics, Amr Zaki is rated number one in the world.” Wigan boss Steve Bruce seems impressed with his new Egyptian striker.

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T H E NA N YA NG C H RON IC L E

IOC Chief: Young ones, today belongs to you

MURAL MURAL ON THE WALL: Dr Rogge (3rd from right) unveiling the wall mural in NIE to loud applause. PHOTO | TAN ZI JIE

FABIAN NG SPORTS EDITOR

AN ART glass mural depicting 15 iconic images of local sporting heroes was unveiled at the National Institute of Education (NIE) by Dr Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on April 5. T he 2.5m by 2.5m mura l, crafted by local artist Dr Elsie Yu, serves as a reminder of Singapore’s sporting history even as the next

generation gets ready to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2010. One of the featured athletes, C. Kunalan, now an NIE Assistant Professor, downplayed his fame as he said, “The attention should not be on me, instead it should be on the future.” Dr Rogge was in Singapore to sign the Host City contract between the IOC and the Singapore Government. He also endeared himself to the 200-plus students present at the

NIE to welcome him. “May I make a proposal,” said the 65-year-old, to the surprise of the crowd around the speaker’s rostrum. “May all the adults move aside and the young ones come closer. “Today belongs to you, not old people like me.” T his delighted the youths from Admiralty, Canberra and Woodgrove Secondary School as they cheered and surged forward to the IOC President. “It was really great of him to do

that,” said Bryan Tay, a 14-year-old Canberra student. “It made us feel important too.” The IOC President also called upon local youths to be involved in the upcoming YOG in any capacity, saying that they did not have to be athletes to be part of the Games. This view was echoed by Dr Teo-Koh Sock Miang, an Associate Professor at NIE, who highlighted t he relevance of t he YOG to students in particular. “The YOG is about more than winning, it is about education and participation,” said the Singapore Olympic Academy principal. “Dr Rogge has already demonstrated this with his act of embracing the youths.” The IOC delegation also went on a tour of the Hall of Residence 3, with the university hostels being the designated back-up Games Village should the original one at the National University of Singapore not be completed on time. It was there that Ukranian pole-vau lter and 1988 Seou l Olympics gold-medallist Sergey Bubka, who was a member of the delegation, shared a few secrets to his success. “Never give up and always work hard for your passion,” said the 45-year-old. “If you can beat yourself, then you can beat

anybody. And it certainly helps if you have fun doing it.” This was echoed by Kunalan. The t wo-time Olympian said,

May I make a proposal. May all the adults move aside and the young ones come closer. Today belongs to you, not old people like me. Dr Jacques Rogge, 65, President of the International Olympics Committee

“Sports gives you the opportunity to test your limits, but more importantly you learn life skills and build ties that last your whole life.” With the Olympics starting next week, the wall mural is a timely reminder of what our athletes have to look up to, and to make their own marks in history.

NTU student now the nation’s best foil fencer KUEK JINHUA SIZE does matter. T hat was what Eddie Sng revealed about fencing. “A small frame is not good,” he said. Standing at 1.72m, the 22year-old national foil fencer is just 3cm shy of the general consensual height in the international fencing scene. However, he is not deterred. The second-year Accountancy student and vice-president of the NTU Fencing Club is no stranger to major sporting events.

Readers interested in fencing are welcomed to join the training sessions. The NTU Fencing Club meets every Monday and Thursday at the Sports and Recreation Centre Activity Room 4 (6.45pm to 10pm). Equipment will be provided. FENCING CAMP Sign up for this 3-day camp (22/8 to 24/8) and get to know more about fencing and fellow fencers in NTU. BASIC EPÉE FENCING COURSE This course will be held over 5 sessions on 25/8, 29/8, 1/9, 4/9 and 6/9. Participants can learn the basic handwork and footwork employed in epée fencing. For more information, please e-mail to ntu_fencing_club@yahoo.com.sg.

He was part of the bronzewinning foil fencing team in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Thailand last December, and a six-time par ticipant in the local National Individual Championships, scoring gold for the second consecutive year this June. The championship double was Sng’s crowning achievement. “Defeating the same opponent with a more convincing score this year gave me satisfaction. It proved that I can be number one in foil fencing,” he said. Just this July, his team did the country proud in the Fencing Singapore Inter national (FSI) competition, coming in third in the foil team category. Organised by Fencing Singapore, the annual competition was held at the NTU Sports and Recreation Centre and featured top athletes from countries such as Korea, Qatar and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Sng crashed out of the round of top 16 in the individual foil event after losing to a Korean athlete. “The Koreans are professionals who have had their training since young. T heir level is a class apart from that of us [Singapore fencers],” he said. Despite his individual defeat, Sng felt glad for the juniors in the team. “We wanted to bring them

up and give them experience,” he said. His care for the less-experienced fencers showed in the training at the club. Novice fencer Wang Chen Chung, 21, fi nds Eddie friendly and approachable. “He is serious in training and is very willing to help us,” said the second-year Business student.

Defeating the same opponent with a more convincing score this year gave me satisfaction. It proved that I can be number one in foil fencing. Eddie Sng, 22, Winner of National Individual Championships 2008

Second-year Communication Studies student Sharlene Lim, 20, agreed. “Eddie is a personable trainer and he makes learning fun,” she said. Club president He Yueyu, 22, describes Sng as a responsible

colleague with innovative ideas, such as his proposal to organise a Fencing Camp, which will be held this August. E v e n s o , Sn g f i n d s t h e management of the club tough. “Almost all the members are novices. We have to start from the basics and focus on the technical aspects,” he said. Sng began fencing as a cocurricular activity at Saint Joseph’s Institution (SJI) in secondary one. He was selected to join the national junior squad based on his stellar performance in the National Under-17 and Under-20 competitions. Balancing training and academia has been a challenge. He recalled t he diff icu lt per iod before the SEA Games: “I had to prepare for the examinations and train at the same time. I was

practically living in the reading room then.” He looks to Daniel Chia, his senior and coach at SJI, as his role model. Currently the vicepresident of Fencing Singapore, Chia dedicated much of his time to coaching the school team without extra pay or benefits. “Daniel was good in fencing and better yet in studies,” said Sng. “He’s an anti-thesis to the idea that a sportsman cannot have good grades.” When asked about his future plans, Sng said he would like to win the Championships one more time, and improve on his SEA Games standing. “ I a l s o hop e t h at fencing can become more popular and receive more emphasis from schools in future,” he said.

ON GUARD!: Eddie Sng stands at the top of the foil fencing rankings. PHOTO | ZOE LIM

Sports

Embrace the future of the youth together with the IOC Chief on Page 35

PM Cup returns to NTU again Tan Jinhe sports editor

‘UNITY is strength’ is not a cliché when it comes to dragon boating. N T U Dr agon Boat proved this tr ue when they emerged champions in the Prime Minister’s Cup Challenge at the annual Singapore Dragon Boat Festival (SDBF), held on June 28 and 29 at Bedok Reservoir. “I feel that the team is very bonded this time round. With just a bit of strength from everyone, we could really pull away from our opponents. It was what determined our win,” said Luo Jing Xian, 23, captain of the men’s team that clinched the trophy. The NTU men’s team took the lead after the 800m mark and never looked back, eventually clocking 4min 26.25s in the 1000metre race and triumphing over defending champions, National University of Singapore (NUS), by a boat’s length. The teams from Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) and Singapore Management University (SMU) came in third and fourth respectively. Aside from their victory in the Prime Minister’s Cup Challenge, members of the winning team also achieved commendable results in the Tertiary Men’s (3min 29.00s) and Tertiary Mixed (3min 39.49s) categories, where they came in first for both. The limits of their endurance were put to a stern test as the rowers took part in multiple races that spanned 800m each. Luo at t r ibuted h is tea m’s strong willpower to the memory

of last year’s defeat, in which NTU lost first place to NUS on a 0.1s difference in timing. Said the third-year Psychology student: “Part of the team who lost last year are still around this year. We had to keep reminding ourselves we do not want such a thing to happen again. This gave us the greatest motivation to work hard.” Since the race’s introduction in 1999, the Prime Minister’s Cup Challenge has always been a close contest between NTU and NUS, with each university claiming the top spot alternately for the past five years.

“I feel that the team is very bonded this time round. With just a bit of strength from everyone, we could really pull away from our opponents. It was what determined our win.” Luo Jing Xian, 23, Captain of the NTU men’s team

Even with new teams SIM and SMU entering the competition in recent years, the veterans were unrelenting in their pursuit for the champion’s title and still

CHAMPIONS!: NTU Dragon Boat brings home new additions to their trophy cabinet after a satisfying conclusion at the SDBF.

dominated the challenge. Despite the intensity of the fight for bragging rights, Luo felt that the rivalry was healthy competition and applauded his opponents for their determined effort. “Commentators like to use words such as ‘nemesis’ to hype the competition. Of course, there is never an easy win. All competitors are strong, be it NUS, RP, Ngee Ann or Mountbatten. They are all strong teams,” he said. This event will also be Luo’s last as captain, as he will pass on the leadership role to Derick Tan, 23, his successor as the helmsman of the men’s team.

H av i ng t a ke n up d r a gon boating since his days in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Tan is ready to share his wealth of experience, such as in advising his juniors on the technicalities of the rowing stroke, and believes it will help the team improve. He feels confident about leading the team to a second victory and is not worried that NUS, spurred by the recent loss, will make a comeback the next time they meet. “Going into the competition as a nobody and coming out as champion is easy because all you have to do is to train that one year, but maintaining the top position

is tough,” said the second-year Computer Engineering student. “In order to win subsequently, we need to know how much we want the title. I believe we have not won it consecutively yet and we definitely want to bring the title back to NTU again,” Tan is also on the lookout for eager newcomers to fill the gaps in the team left by graduating members. Sharing his view, Jane Zhang, 20, vice-captain of the women’s team, urged the freshmen to sign up for the Dragon Boat Experience, where the ex-track and f ield athlete first found her passion for dragon boating. “Dragon boat is a must-try and you can really forge friendship and strong bonds here. If you feel you lack the stamina, the training can come later,” said the second-year Literature student. “You never know it may be the sport for you until you experience it.” The Dragon Boat Experience will be held on August 16 at Kallang. It is a yearly recruiment drive where participants are taught the basic skills of dragon boating and get to know other enthusiasts of the sport. Interested parties may find out more about this event during the CCA week.

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT: The NTU men’s team raised their paddles in joyous victory as they crossed the finishing line. PHOTOS | COURTESY