Building Blogs of ASEAN Social Bonding
Abroad, my sentimental friend Abdul Razak, a fair-skinned Indonesian, liked to quip that he is an Asean Man. He says: “When I am in Singapore I passed for a Chinese; in Vietnam as a Vietnamese, in Philippines as a Filipino, in Laos as a Laotian; in Thailand as a Thai and in Malaysia as a […]
A Singaporean temple goes ahead in practicing green energy
Spiritual food for the soul is what you get when you visit any Buddhist shrine in Asia … until you step into the Poh Ern Shih (Temple of Thanksgiving) in Singapore. There, you will receive something more, something scientific and enlightening too. At this Chinese-style Mahayan shrine, devotees come and pray to the Buddhist saint, […]
Asian nations watch effect of SNS campaigning
As 40.18 million go to the polls in South Korea’s parliamentary elections today, other Asian democracies are watching to see how the use of social media in campaigning bears on the outcome. What difference will it make given the close fight between the ruling conservative New Frontier Party and the centre-left Democrats United Party . […]
What we learnt from Fukushima
A Japanese nuclear engineering on a speaking tour of several Asian capitals to clear the cloud of controversy over the Fukushima accident was thrown this double-sided question: What is the cost to Japan of using nuclear energy and of not using it? It is a question that could apply equally to many other countries […]
Are sharks endangered by fin soup?
HOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR SHARK AND EAT IT – FIN & ALL A guessing game for guests at a Chinese wedding dinner play, while waiting for the second dish to be served, is : Will it be shark fin soup? The quiz is also about tradition and change. If the answer is yes, it’s a […]
Asia’s economic power-houses eye Arctic el dorado
Asia’s economic power-houses eye Arctic el dorado With global warming bringing nearer the likelihood of opening up sea lanes and spurring exploitation of vast natural resource across the Arctic, an exciting political chess game is unfolding in the ice-melting polar region where China, Japan and South Koreas as well as Singapore are angling to make […]
Park v Chun, Where They Stayed
On 25th anniversary of the death of student Park Jong-chul A cell in a police detention centre where a student died from torture. And a cell in a Buddhist temple where a general did his penance. In stark symbolic contrast, these sites have been associated with key episodes in the struggle against dictatorship and eventual […]
Soft Power is Telling on the Generation Y
North Koreans are in deep mourning, bereaved of their father figure Kim Jong Il. They have grown up knowing only one leader, first Kim Il Sung, the founder of the political dynasty,and then his son Kim Jong Il, who died last week. The leadership mantle has been handed down to Kim Jong Un the […]
Singapore, Former President of Asia Journalist Association 
Trump, Kim, and the Three P’s of Summit Diplomacy: 
