S'pore 45th Birthday.

With the impending 45th Birthday of the Nation, there is one burning issue I have been mulling over the past few years. Inevitablly after August 9 large and loud advertisements in our newspapers congratulating our Medals Honour winners are splashed for all to see. These advertisements will go on for days, weeks and even months only filling the advertising coffers of the Straits Times. These advertisements are put by businessmen, business conglomerates, MPs, residents committees and even Town Councils. I feel such unnecessary & "you-scatch-my-back-I-scatch-your-back" wontonly-wasteful spending is distasteful. I feel a more altruistic deed will be to contribute such spending (which I estimate to run into thousands if not millions of dollars) to Charitable Organisations. Maybe our MPs can take the lead in this! I wrote to the Straits Times on this matter last year. For obvious reasons the matter never surface in the Forum Column.

World Cup 2010 - Final Say

Spain is deservedly the World Cup 2010 Champion having defeated the Netherlands 1-0 during extra-time. Spain has exquisitely displayed the free-flowing and beautiful football that is identified with most South American teams. Being a European nation to have slowly transform to such a "samba" Team is I think in no small measure due to the huge import of South American players in the Teams that participated in the Spanish Laliga. Netherlands has on the other hand had morphed from a Team which displayed the "total football" which we remembered during Johan Cyruff's time to a Team which employed "dirty' & "ugly" tactics to win matches. In their Quarter-Final game with Brazil such wanton & dirty tactical foulplay was on dispay for all to see - pushing, pulling, tapping of ankles & knees to dislodge players. The Netherlands coach should have hidden his face in the sand for having nuturing such a Team. Yes, Spain the better Team is the World Champions!