Riot-hit Myanmar: Calls for Peace and Calm, Rumor is the main culprit

Greetings folks, it sure has been a while since my last post on this blog. It's because I have been working on video-interviews for Part-II of my own article "Singaporean? PR? Foreigner? Looking from a different Angle". During this past weekend, the major highlight of my news had been centered around on recent Civil Unrest in Myanmar, although many are labeling it as "Sectarian Violence" and/or "Religious Fights/Wars", I still refuse to be sucked into mainstream media's propaganda-like mind-set. In my previous article (click here to read), I have stated my own opinion, shared by many fellow Myanmar and other races alike who wish and prefer peaceful  love over violent hatred. As a follow-up to the previous article, I would like to further highlight how different kinds of religions had been co-existing and practiced freely in Myanmar. By doing this article, I sincerely hope and wish to achieve the followings:

1. Understanding of the reader (which is, you) regarding the current situation in Myanmar, real reasons behind it and the actual issue of innocent people suffering,

2. Subsequently, and hopefully getting you to think in a constructive and positive ways, rather than following the views of controversy-hungry mainstream medias and those who wish to further fan the flames of violence,

Let me do a little re-cap and catching up of the recent matters. The riots in Meiktila has now been contained more or less under control, even though the main damage had been done. In the wake of the violent clashes and riots, at least 32 human lives were lost and homes, shelters and religious buildings were destroyed, displacing close to 9000 residents. (The direct links to the reports and news of various medias can be found at the end of this post.)

On 24 Mar 2013, both Buddhism and Islamic religious leaders have come out and issued a Interfaith Friendship statement, calling for all the people of Myanmar to "maintain the community harmony with love and kindness".

Yesterday, Myanmar's reformist government (President Thein Sein's administration) has issued an official statement calling for all its citizens and residents alike to put an end to the "terrorist acts and religious extremism". However, according to prominent local medias such as Eleven media, there had been rumors of similar civil, racial and religious tensions spreading rapidly across the towns and cities of Myanmar. Even in the former capital city Yangon, the residents and shop-owners alike are taking precautions by closing up businesses much earlier than normal and choosing not to go out at late night.

Having grown up in Myanmar, and being a Roman-catholic (Christian) by my own will and choice, these recent developments and news shocked me to the core. In Myanmar, I lived and grew up among friends of differing faiths; Buddhists, Christians, Catholics, Hindus and Muslims. Having said that, I never once encountered a direct religion-to-religion clashes.

Let me give you this example, in the former capital city, there are prominent buildings of highlight: Church of Emmanuel, Sule Pagoda and an Islamic Masjid mosque right in the center of the city, within 5-minutes walking distance of each other. It greatly symbolizes the unity of a nation with various cultures and different faiths. It's true, Myanmar is a very much dominantly Buddhist country. Nonetheless, its long-standing religious harmony and peaceful co-existence of different faiths may not be the best in the world, but it is at least an equal to any other country on this earth. Previous episodes of Rohingya situation and this current Meiktila riots are the only prominent/notable blemishes to the otherwise admirably impeccable religious-harmony. And both of those incidents were arguably influenced by and originated from other matters unrelated to religion.

Furthermore, the mindsets of most of the Burmese are soft and kind-hearted. If a traveler becomes thirsty and would like to ask for a glass of water from a nearby house, 9 out of 10 houses will help him, even though he/she is a complete stranger. So, why the recent killings and violence? Like I've said before, the reasons can be put down to; hooliganism of certain people emboldened by recent acquisition of freedom and argument/problem of littlest importance unfortunately coinciding with the peak period of civilian discontent and unhappiness. Rumor is defined as "information, often a mixture of truth and untruth, passed and spread around verbally". And in my humblest opinion, this rumor is the main culprit. Originally-present discontent and unhappiness in the hearts of people did not help to the cause either.

(As I am writing this, the rumors are being spread around, both online and down in the streets. Along with it, the fear and worry of the people (who wants None of these problems) are increasingly growing. Being a caring Burmese myself, I am doing my part in trying help my country and for the good of the community that my relatives and friends live in. Fellow Burmese, please do your part, if you have a thinking conscious mind for your country.)

The rumors and violence-favoring mongering have also been spreading on the internet. As to the reasons and motives behind this, only they themselves will know. And these recent developments are pulling back Myanmar back into the shadows of oppressive-military-regime. Democracy and Freedom are not worth giving to people with hooliganism and selfish thoughts. Taking justice into own hands is an act of egotistical nature.

Also, looking at this situation from a Foreigner's perspectives, it is really worrisome for those with intentions of investing in Myanmar. Who would want to invest in a country if there are continuing conflicts throughout the country? I can only shake my head and shudder when I think of all the possible negative national prospects arising from this.

Nonetheless, I besiege the readers reading this (both Burmese and Foreigners alike) to contribute and help by thinking the right issues, fixing them in the right ways and opting for peace, love and harmony in the face of adversity. If you are in a foreign country  (like myself) and agree with my points of view, you can at least help spread this article. Love, peace and harmony tastes, sounds and feel much much better than hatred, violence and chaos. And it is with much hope I hereby end my article.

Feel free to comment and express your views, no matter if you agree with me or not.

P.S. Please take a few minutes of your time to listen to this song: Heal the world cover by Justus, a band of talent musicians. And let's start to heal this world.




References and credits to:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1262281/1/.html
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1262037/1/.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-myanmar-violence-muslims-buddhists-20130325,0,6551048.story
http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/national/2919-shops-shut-in-yangon-following-rumours-of-mosque-attacks
http://kyawkyawoo.wordpress.com/masjids-in-burma-myanmar/

Civil Unrest in Myanmar (Meiktila), Is religious conflict really the reason?

Hi folks, it's way past my bed time, yet here I am writing this as I cannot find peace in myself, let alone find will to sleep. Recent news about a riot-hit town of my country-of-birth, disturbed me greatly. The more I read the news, realization dawned on me that the media is focusing on an issue that is not urgently needed fixing nor very critical. "Flames raged from torched mosques, monasteries during Buddhist-Muslim clashes". Media will always be media, controversies and conflicts sell best. But are we looking at the right issue? Are religious conflicts really the reason behind this civil unrest? In this article, I want to point out a few things viewed from a different angle and by a man with human heart.

If you haven't been reading the news, here is the extract of what has been happening. "On Friday 22 March 2013, Myanmar President Thein Sein declared state of emergency and put up a curfew for riot-hit town of Meiktila. The death toll so far has been estimated at 20 and above, while 2 had been confirmed death. Since the beginning of the unrest, it had escalated from street mob fights to arson. Thousands of properties, religious buildings (of many religions) and homes were burnt down to ashes. Even to this hour and day, the Myanmar state police and government are still trying to get the situation under control."

Riots, arsons and looting broke out in the town of Meiktila, a centrally located town with estimated population of 100,000. This chain of incidents was sparked from a fight broke out as a result of business transaction between a Myanmar Buddhist and the shop owner of a Gold/Jewelry shop who happened to be a Muslim. One tried to sell his property and later found out that he was unfairly treated by the buyer. That angry person and group of people took justice to their hands and damaged a few buildings. And the other side retaliated likewise. From that point onward things had escalated to sever civil unrest.

As mentioned above, one thing about the news that disgust me is the fact that media (both western and asian alike) is putting the highlight as Buddhist-Muslim clashes, leaning towards the meaning and indirectly suggesting religious conflict. Even you readers sometimes seek after these kinds of news, right? I urge that you look beyond these atrocities, I cannot find the right word for it. I urge that you look beyond what the media is trying to sell for their own benefits and profits. Myanmar and her population had been peacefully coexisting since centuries ago; there are buddhists, muslims, christians and lately free-thinkers/atheists. Of course there had been incidents of civil unrests and riots, it is a country made of millions of people having millions of their own opinions, ideas and fundamentals.

They had been coexisting peacefully. Why now? One of the possible reasons I can think of is: "Liberation or Freedom from 20-odd-years of Government Oppression". Think of Myanmar as a big family with many sons. Sons were grounded for so long and finally after they are no longer grounded, they will try to find reasons to fight, to let out their anger/frustration they kept inside of them over the years. Now put this scenario into a much bigger scale. It is the responsibility of the father/mother of the family, government of the nation to put a control over this. And the war-hungry, crisis-hungry mongers take this opportunity to turn it into a worse situation whereby they will benefit. I asked these questions while reading the news.

"Why aren't they talking about lack of police enforcement?"

"Why was the fire station of the town unable to quell the fires?"

"What about the families that lost their homes?"

"What about the innocents?",

In my humblest and honest opinion, if there had been a proper and decent law enforcement, this would not have escalated this much. If there had been proper resources such as fire engines and other disaster-prevention aids, this would not have happened. This should be the way to focus and fix problems. If there was injustice, the culprits responsible should be apprehended by law, not take justice into their own hands. Violence begets violence, vengeance burns coldly and when people seek violent vengeance to one another, they are only burning themselves.

If you are reading this, I earnestly request that you view this matter as an incident whereby thousands of families losing their properties, innocents suffering from civil unrest of disastrous nature. When the heat of the moment is passed, no matter their religion, these people will need to be relocated, schools need to be rebuilt and shelters have to be provided. They need help from anyone who is willing to help. Please start helping by looking at the real issues that need fixing, not as the media-hyped Buddhist-Muslim conflict. Even your littlest of prayers (of any religion) and caring thoughts towards the victims won't do no harm in any way, I believe.

Please do share this post if you think in the same as I do.

P.S. I will be posting links/websites that are set up to help these victims, when they are available. Please do come back and check for updates, if you are willing to help another fellow human in their deepest of troubling times.


Credits and Photo courtesies to:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/photos/graphic-locating-riot-hit-myanmar-town-meiktila-photo-110444597.html;
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/

Personality and You, do you think you/re unique? What defines a unique you?

"When you look into the mirror, upon the reflection of yourself, have you ever wondered what others see you underneath the guise of your appearance?"

"Have you ever thought yourself to be unique?"

"What about your friends, your colleagues, what do they see in you?"


Hi folks, questions above crossed my mind a few times before. Some of you have raised these questions to yourself before I am sure. Last night, a friend of mine texted me saying about a personality test website. A curious mind is a worthy companion to one who seeks wisdom and enlightenment. Wo! I know right, big words! I may not be the one who seek after wisdom, but circumstances sparked the kindle of my curiosity. And this article is to help you, the reader understand better about your own personality and those of others and their behaviors.

So, when I looked into the mirror, I saw myself: a mildly-dark skinned guy with black hair. My appearance and image are the ones that other human see. But underneath it, who am I really? What defines me as a person? A few minutes after the questions were raised, there I was scouring through the almighty world wide web finding about personality. I found many amazing and wonderful things about personality, history of its emergence and scientific and/or psychological theories. I am not doing a lecture on them, hell no. I am here to share what I find so that kindred spirits like myself, can quickly grasp the skinny of it. (Note: For those who wishes to explore deeper, the links, references and recommendations are at the bottom of the post.)

Here I go. To me, personality is a combined cluster of my behavior, way of thinking, attitude and last but not least the fuel of mind called emotions. A certain person's personality at a given time (E.g. when he's 30 years old) is a result and end product of events, circumstances and situations he faced/overcame throughout the early years.

When assessing one's personality, four things are looked at:
1. The way he/she tends to interact with others: is he/she out-going or stay reserved?,
2. His/her way of executing things: reliance on logic or a believer of instincts and/or intuition,
3. Preference/choice of someone over Feeling and Thinking,
4. Mode of understanding things/situation: Perception or Passing Judgement

I have gone through a few sources for a couple of personality tests. Most of the tests are based on mind-engaging Multiple Choice Questionnaires, and according to the set of answer which the participant chose, the end result will show his/her personality. Here is the link, for those who want to try it out for themselves.

After finding out what personality that I have, I wanted to know more. What are my weaknesses? Which personality type is the most compatible to mine? Is my girlfriend or spouse compatible with me? Questions came in waves after waves. So, as I dug deeper, I found this very interesting piece of work done by a brilliant mind.



Enneagram figure of Personality. It's a diagram made up of a circle and intersecting arrows which shows the correlation between Nine different major stereotypical personalities. As explained in above photo, researches also documented that one can act/behave similar to other personality traits, depending on themselves feeling stressed or secured. So, what are the nine different types and respective traits? Find out below;

After going through the mentioned tests and the enneagram, I now know the basics of why I am behaving in a certain way when I'm stressed and likewise when I'm feeling very comfortable and secured. Moreover, this is helping me in trying to understand the personalities and their basic behaviors of my loved ones, friends and colleagues better. Hopefully, if you find this helpful or informative to you, please share and leave comments below if you have any suggestions.

P.S: Dear reader, which one are you? If you are a girl and have Challenger personality, I think I know your Passion. *wink*

Credits:

http://occupycorporatism.com/neurogeneticists-use-personality-genes-to-further-eugenics-agenda/

http://www.npr.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality

Singaporean? PR? Foreigner? Looking from a different angle Part-I

Hello again. Recently the local news front has been abuzz about severe reduction in foreign workforce (affecting Employment Pass, S-Pass and Work-Permits) and change in immigration policy for Permanent Residency and work pass statuses. And I wondered as to the reason/driving force behind this. This is mainly due to discontent and unhappy citizens and residences alike in terms of job opportunities.  Continuous and increasing displeasure prompted the government to act accordingly.

Over many forums, websites that online netizens frequent, the discontent and complaints have become a common sight.Yet, I so rarely found a comment/posts that was written from foreigner's point of view. At this juncture, it is important that I state my intent over this article. I have no intention of causing racial disharmony, neither do I intend to insult any groups involved in this article.

I did not do scientific nor statistics research in trying to find the reason. All I did was talk to/informal interview with my friends, acquaintances, school-mates and colleagues. Being a migrated foreigner, I have the privilege and am honored to have come to know many different kinds of friends; nationality-wise and identity-status-wise. Over the past few weeks, having talked to True-blue Singaporeans, migrated PRs, S-Pass holders and work-permit holding foreign workers, I came to realize that foreigners in Singapore are not well-represented (in terms of viewpoints and feelings) and not appreciated as much as they deserve to be. 

For some, Singapore is the Land of Opportunities

Many people have been saying: "Oh so many PRs! So many New citizens not born here!", "Damn bloody foreigners spoiling the market! Taking our jobs!", and worst of all, "I am so sick that I avoid going out at times because on MRT I hate seeing so many foreigners to my left and right, I am a foreigner in my OWN country".

To those who said it, I would like to ask a few questions:
"Do you even have any idea how it feels to be an immigrant in a country that you were not born in?",
"For goodness's sake, do you think it's all flowery and smooth to be living in a foreign country?".
Most of the answers would be a No. 

I was born and raised to the age of 16 in a foreign country and subsequently migrated to Singapore in year 2002. Since then, my primary location of residence has been here. It is safe to say that I have lived each half of my life in two different countries. And having lived over past 11 years in Singapore, I can also empathize with some of the Singaporeans too. "This is our country. Our forefathers, grandparents and parents built Singapore to be like this. We should be having more privileges." Of course, I would feel the same way in your place. But is reduction in foreign workforce and immigration truly an answer to solve the problem at hand? Let us go topic by topic.

Privileges and Benefits in terms of Job Opportunities

I simply cannot grasp the idea that "privileges and benefits of Job Opportunities" for a Singaporean is affected by presence of foreigners. Look at any recruit advertisement, many a times one can find "Only Singaporean or PRs may apply" or "Bilingual and Local dialect speakers will be preferred", and only in rare occasion there are things like "Malaysians/Foreigners are welcome to apply". The rules and regulations itself already state the minimum requirement of local employment in order for a certain company to engage foreign labour. Having gone through the job-hunting process as a foreigner myself, how I wish I had the same privilege as the locals do! Let's talk about benefits. An average employer expects a foreigner to demand lesser benefits than a local. A foreigner working in Singapore would think twice about taking sick-leave even when he is sick or feeling unwell. A foreigner usually would keep his head down and get on with his/her work no matter how disgruntled or unfairly treated. Why? It's because job security is a big concern for a foreigner. Job hopping isn't necessarily something that is suitable to a foreigner.

One might say, "What about Permanent Residences? They have the same privileges as we do!". Well, in any area, be it housing application, purchasing of properties and/or assets, PRs have restrictions compared to a Singapore Citizen. During my talk with one certain Singaporean friend of mine, he made me smile with what he said to me. He said, "They spoil the market what... they take lesser salary because Singapore money is big to their money". To me, it simply is a matter of competition. Bear in mind that they are also living the same standard as others, paying the same bill every month.

Most of the time, a foreigner will not be too choosy over their job choices. To eliminate competition is to reduce the value and worthiness of oneself. Yeah sure, let's eliminate competition! Say, Singapore National Football team, let's make AFF Suzuki Cup a four nation competition, and put in Maldives, Taipei, Bhutan as our competitors. Shiok man! Sure win one! I am very sure you don't want that. One just have to improve and better himself all the time and win over the competition. In closing of this topic, I still do not really see anything concrete that foreign labour affect the locals.

Stay tuned for "Singaporean? PR? Foreigner? Looking from a different angle Part-II".

Credits to:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/singapore-were-run-foreigners-happy-003444604.html
http://human-3d.com/3d-picture/republic-of-singapore-map-with-flag-silhouette-000076257287

A true visionary's words, a scroll of prophecy (?) and Singapore's Population White Paper

"You refuse migrants, you'll dissolve into nothingness." Quote by Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. (Photo: Courtesy of TR Emeritus website)

Nothingness, a country full of aging population, all the shopping centers filled with shops selling Ginseng and herbal medicines for old folks?!? Hell no, I wouldn't want the country I live in to turn out like that. Do you? Nope, not in a million years! Singapore currently is a very vibrant and colourful country, full of life and enthusiasm of diverse natures. But the words I read in an article on (TR Emeritus) this morning rudely awoke my mind from my slumber of ignorance. The words of wisdom such as the one quoted above, should never be ignored for they do carry meaningful and an immense purpose. Metaphorically speaking, those words in itself can become a scroll of prophecy, i.e. if nothing is done about it.

If there ever is a human being of whom I regard next to God, they would be General Aung San (Burma/Myanmar's Revolutionary Leader/Nationalist) and Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Both of them have truly extraordinary, brilliant and unquestionable patriotism and nationalism. I respect and regard them as true leaders with visions ranging beyond future generations. Of all the speeches and dialogues Former Minister made or was involved in, I find this one truly eye-opening.

At a wide-ranging dialogue session Mr. Lee was spoke about Singapore's population for the first time after recent endorsement of Population White Paper. For those of you who still do not know what is it, "Population White Paper: A Sustainable Population For Dynamic Singapore" (The full pdf file can be downloaded here.) is a form of report/document that informs the residences and citizens of Singapore about the key considerations outlined and a guide/road-map which will be used for the immigration and population policies of Singapore. 

I am not going into much details. Heck, I am not sure whether I am qualified to be reviewing the white paper and its contents. But I sure do have a thinking brain and am of a mind towards contributing the society that which I live in. 

A few things in that white paper provoked even my layman/typical-ignorant-person's brain.

Low and Declining Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

TFR, so chim ah, what does it mean to me? Simple, Singaporeans and residences are not making enough babies. It's a problem that is very simple to understand, yet super complicated to solve it. Being a youth in these trying and very-competitive times sure is a stressful one. Many of us go to work before the sun is fully up, get back home after the sun is set. 

I sometimes liken ourselves to be clockwork machines, tick tack tick automatic: alarm>wake-up>shower>get on bus>interact with ahem.. iPhones/Android devices>get to work>work>go home>eat then sleep. And it repeats over and over again everyday except Sunday. Well, on Sundays we rival the polar bears' winter hibernation! Where is the interaction between people? You might say; "Oi, I got whatsapp my galfren/wife everyday one hor." Sure, you do send text messages, socialize with people online. Mind you, babies can't be made electronically nor via Facebook or Twitter. 

Stress is another contributing factor. But stress is a fact of life, none can hide from it. In my honest opinion, only thing I can suggest is we can choose not to let Stress become our way of life. (In order not to distract away from the topic at hand. There will be another post regarding how we can conquer Stress and be triumphant.) Like stress there are many other factors such as forever-rising living costs.

How do we solve this problem? I don't know the answer, if I knew I wouldn't be writing this. What do I suggest? Ah, I can suggest one thing, ditch away your obsession with materials, get out more often, interact with warm, living and breathing people. Without this first step, I can see no way out for us from this impending doom.

High Quality Living Environment

When I read that, only one word stood out is "High". I don't know about quality, but I do know that accommodation costs are increasingly getting higher. I do not need to repeat the usual mainstream Singaporean complaints of rising costs. The only way to counter this is to keep on improving on economic developments as a one united country and as individuals. 

As a summary, I so far concluded that with these population and its associated problems, we do need more babies, more foreign investments and of course migration of population (cheaper labour and wider pool of human resource and talents) to a certain degree. Then again, "You refuse migrants, you'll dissolve into Nothingness." I just hope these words do not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Note: I will be touching more on the aspects of migration into Singapore and little-known, unrepresented points of view from a migrant's perspective in my next posts. Stay tuned!

References:

http://www.tremeritus.com/2013/03/21/lky-you-refuse-migrants-youll-dissolve-into-nothingness/

http://blog.omy.sg/ahfon/archives/151

http://population.sg/

Singaporeans Happiest In Asia (?)

Well, well.... my usual post-lunch internet surfing got me to channel news asia website. One particular news piqued my interest. It says: Singaporeans appear to be happiest people in Asia. Right, you are not reading it wrong, it did say what it's supposed to mean! If you had the impression of "We, Singaporeans? happiest? How come?" you are not alone to think so. However, after reading further, there is a catch word "online" at the end of the sentence.

Well, as mentioned in the news, it was published by Eden Strategy Institue . According to it, Eden Strategy Institute base their research on social media platforms. Yes, you got it right, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Game Center, etc,.

So, it got me thinking, "What about those who are not a part of online community or those who accepts online-socializing as a necessity yet only bare minimum involvement?", "What about those Aunties, Uncles, Senior citizens who look at PCs and electronic gadgets as if they are aliens?!" And it further led me to further exploring into the deeper reaches of Happiness.

The news also provoked my curiosity and me ended up in exploring more on this topic. The Straits Times' SINGAPOLITICS featured an article: Happiness, Singapore Style . And the findings according to the article match with my initial understanding in terms of Happiness and its Virtues, Merits and Values.

Throughout my life, I have heard people say; "If I ever won TOTO (Singapore Lottery) first prize, I will be really content and happy." or "If I am earning as much as he does, I will be very happy and content.". And I am sure most of you have said it or have similar thinking. 7 years ago, when I started working, I once said: "Oh, if I am earning 5k plus and working 5-days a week, there is nothing more I could want." At present moment, I am earning close to then-goal of 5k and 5-days a week. And I am still not content, let alone happy. Well, I'm just another human....just like any of you reading this. On the other hand, I am not sad nor depressed either. So, What are the things in present that keep us happy? What things or changes would make us happier?

Is affordability of cars
one of the major issues?

Directly quoting: "On living in Singapore, Singaporeans were most satisfied with the safety and security, the quality of law enforcement and cleanliness...." 

Cost of living: key contributor
to happiness

"....They were least satisfied with bread and butter issues like the affordability of cars, houses, health care and cost of living." 


Fair enough, safety, security, lawfulness/enforcement and cleanliness, these are the reasons to be proud of for a Singaporean. Affordability of cars, this item greatly contradicts with my thinking. When I first came to Singapore, calendar year 2002, I looked around in awe and amazement at how well the island-wide transportation infrastructure was faring. A bus-guide 2002 and the bus-fare card were the only tools I needed to travel around Singapore without so much a hassle. And I was very new, green and fresh to this urban city at that time. Down the years, the modes of transportation, accessibility and choices have improved leaps and bounds. With proper knowledge and planning, one can go home from a night out by taking night-rider without having to take Taxi. So, I feel that affordability of cars and/or owning a car is not a major issue. Rather, it's a minor irritating bump for the rich and wealthy. (Who needs a luxurious Red Ferrari, when you can have a BIG Red Double-Deck SBS bus? It comes with a bus-captain even!)

However, I am sad to agree that costs of housing, health care and cost of living as a whole, indeed, are the major things keeping us from happiness. For housing, the government does provide grants and subsidies, but majority of people are found to be lacking in terms of help received or benefited from it. Especially the now senior-age generation of people, for them it seems like the place they have been living had been shrinking ever since.

Health Care: a dire concern 

Healthcare! Right, whenever that word pops out, one of the few words that follow afterward is Medisave, CPF, MediShield. A visit to a polyclinic for seasonal and/or minor sickness used to cost S$20.00 in year 2005-2006. 7 years down the road, it's jumped more than double of S$50.00. But respective income does not increase twofolds for some people.




As a Singaporean, it sure is alarming and mind-depressing to know all these costs and in turn it is affecting the happiness. But, take a moment and think about it, not only you and me are facing these situations, all of us in Singapore do face them, some with ease, some with much prolonged difficulty. So, at the end of my research and thinking, I remembered my significant other once told me "Stressed and unhappy about a problem that you can't solve? Just leave it, you can't do anything anyway." Likewise, I am gonna leave it at that.

So, Are Singaporeans happiest in Asia? I do not know the answer to it, yet I for one am smiling because if I cannot do anything to change the happiness, I can at least spread my smiling face to those around me!

Smile!




Credits to:
http://www.wallpaperfo.com/Car/Luxury/cars_luxury_sport_cars_attila_three_1366x908_wallpaper_47675
http://www.edenstrategyinstitute.com/happy
http://www.singapolitics.sg/features/happiness-singapore-style
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/singapore/housing_type_singapore/125/condominiums.php
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-drug-stethoscope-image9168032

One small step

So, here I go. I am just another one of you guys out there, but I somehow view this world and things that had been happening around me, with a different approach. Some call me weird, some label me as unorthodox, but call me what you will, I am who I am. And this blog shall bear the candid view of myself on the world we live in and things that happen in society and around us.

Today, 20 March 2013, a small step is being taken, hopefully it is the start of my pen-career. I am Steve Aurora, a Burmese National born in Myanmar but now residing in Singapore. Having lived in two different countries that are vastly different in terms of living standards, social norms and of course racial diversity, I look at things with two different eyes. A boy who grew up in rural areas of Yangon, and a man who now ply his trade in urban city of Singapore, have quite contrasting ways of looking at and understanding things. I know right, I myself sometimes wonder if I have two personalities inside of me! Anyway anyhow, let's see if I can kick-start my pen-career with this blog.