"Don't quote me."

This is a line I hear almost everyday.

The second most common line is, "Don't take my picture."

Whenever I am out doing street interviews, people would often agree to say something, or anything at all, if and only if they are not named.

Whenever journalists carry out interviews, three particulars regarding the interviewee are extremely essential: name, age and occupation.

This is the way to show that our news report came from a legitimate source, i.e we did not imagine it or made it up.

I often meet people who gladly accepted the interview, and readily provided information they knew. But, at the end of the interview when I asked for their particulars, they would wave me away and move away as quickly as possible.

At times, this was my experience:

Me: Sir, can I have your name please?
Interviewee: Hmm...Tan.
Me: Eh, can I have your full name please? Tan...what?
Interviewee: Just put Mr Tan will do lah. Need to write till so clear meh? You ask so much for what? I am very busy now, that’s it okie?

This is why in most of my news articles, the people interviewed are quoted as Mr Lee, Mrs Tan, Miss Chan, Madam Tay etc etc etc. Sometimes, they are simply quoted as "a neighbour who declined to give her name" or "a resident who requested not to be named".

And the worst scenario takes place when the interviewee hears the “cha-kaa” clicking sound of the camera. Two things may happen then. One, he automatically shuts up and runs away as if he had just seen a ghost. Or two, he turns nasty and demands that his photograph be deleted.

It seemed that many people are afraid to be held responsible for their opinion or what they have said. And they are “scared out of their wits” if their faces (photographs) are associated with their comments.

But why? What is there to be afraid of, if you are giving your honest and harmless personal opinion? (Of course, I do not mean comments that may hurt people or cause unrest such as racist remarks etc.)

You might have seen some television news crew trying to find interviewees on the streets and people simply make detours or bend their heads low as they walk by. Some smile awkwardly and shake their heads to show that they do not want to appear on TV. Others run away long before the TV crew could get near them.

I can understand these reactions. It is almost the same as sitting in a lecture theatre and slumping as low as possible in your seat, hoping the lecturer will not call on you to answer questions. It's like being afraid to say something “stupid” and “silly” in front of everyone, a kind of "cowardly" behaviour which I have experienced before too.

Well, perhaps it is the Singapore context, where everything has to be kept in right order, and mistakes are often unforgivable, that created this “phenomenon” whereby no one wants to risk anything (even if it might be nothing) at all by giving their opinion.

But come to think of it, there is something seriously wrong somewhere, if we are afraid to be associated with what we think or what we have said.

If you have said something with a true heart and clear conscience, be proud of it.

Ah Hao: to hang or not?

On 10th October 2004, 23-year-old Malaysian Took Leng How was found guilty of the murder 8-year-old China girl Huang Na. He was given the death sentence on 26th August 2005.

Last month, his appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal.

Justice Kan Ting Chiu felt there was a reasonable doubt on Took's conviction for murder. He said Took should instead be convicted for voluntarily causing hurt, which carries a maximum jail term of one year of a $1000 fine.

However, Chief Justice Yong Pung How and Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin agreed with trial judge Lai Kew Chai that the Took was not suffering from an abnormality of mind at the time of the offence.

With a majority vote of 2-1, Took’s appeal was dismissed and it seems that Took (better known as Ah Hao) will face his execution after all, unless the President grants him clemency. The outcome of the clemency is expected to be released in six to nine months.

Even that comes as a slim chance. Over the 41 years since Singapore turned independent, only 6 criminals had their death penalty amended to life imprisonment.

Ah Hao’s father, the older Mr Took, started a petition drive in Singapore on the day when the appeal was rejected. Before he left for Penang, about 30 people have signed it.

He left some petitions with helpful Singaporeans, most of whom were strangers, hoping to get as many signatures as possible to ask the President to spare his son’s life.

The Malaysian newspapers reported that Mr Took has since received thousands of signatures in Penang.

Till now, Mr Took still believes that his son is innocent and he claimed, "If he is guilty, why did he not run away and hide when he had the chance the last time? Why did he turn himself in? He told me he did not do it, and I believe him."

The sacrifices Mr Took has made and the faith he still has for a "dying" son, are heart-wrenching demonstrations of the love a father has for his son.

This has made many Singaporeans sympathize with Mr Took’s plight and in turn feel sorry for Ah Hao. Some also hope that he would not have to die, so that one day he would have the chance to reunite with his parents, wife and young son.

The opposition voices then rang out, "What about Huang Na who died such a tragic death at a young age? Her life ended so abruptly when she did nothing wrong. Justice will only be met if her murderer is hanged."

I am not a judge nor a lawyer, and I do not know any of the involved parties in this case. I can only view this matter from the eyes of a plain member of the public.

It does not seem fair to sympathize with a criminal, just because his family feels that he is innocent and does not want to see him head for execution. Neither does it seem right that another person has to die just because someone died in the crime.

Huang Na has died a tragic death, we do not want to see another party lose his life, that is if he is indeed innocent of murder, but only guilty of manslaughter.

It is indisputable that Ah Hao led to the death of Huang Na, but what is of interest in this case is that, whether Ah Hao killed Huang Na remains a debatable issue.

Justice Kan questioned whether the girl's death was caused by Took smothering her mouth and nose, or if she died as a result of a fit. The forensic scientists could not tell for sure, even the judges at the Court of Appeal stood divided on this issue.

The other day, a colleague asked me if I wanted to sign the "Ah Hao petition".

I gave it a thought, and made my decision.

What would your decision be?

Lovers in Paris

There is just something special about the way Korean scriptwriters and directors produce Korean drama series.

Something that never fails to make me feel touched.

In these shows, the male lead roles are usually successful men who command respect at work, and give a sense of security to the girls. They are gentle and faithful lovers who may not always know what a girl wants, but they do not act frivolous like playboys.

The female leads are usually cheerful and jovial, with a little silly and adorable air about them that makes men want to take care of them.

Isn't this the kind of picture you would paint for your ideal girlfriend or boyfriend?

The storylines usually fall into three categories:
(1) a typical Cinderella story where a rich man falls in love with a poor girl, and the rich man is engaged to a wealthy, spoilt girl who performs evil deeds to break them up.
(2) a handsome and suave man who is initially at loggerheads with a sweet and cheerful girl, later falls head over heels in love with her. Just as the fairy tale approaches a “live happily forever” ending, the girl is diagnosed with a terminal illness and dies.
(3) the lead roles are involved in a triangle relationship, and the “twist” is that they have concealed siblings’ relationship known to all but themselves.

I recently had a VCD marathon on "Lovers in Paris", a Korean show starring Park Shin-yang, Lee Dong-gun and Kim Jung-eun. Unsurprisingly, the story falls into all three catergories (minus the terminal illness part).

(This picture was taken from http://tv.sbs.co.kr/parisjapan/. From left: Lee Dong-gun, Kim Jung-eun and Park Shin-yang.)

So cliché, you would say.

Not to mention that for half of the time in the show, the lead roles cry, weep or sob.

Such draggy and teary storylines can best be described as repetitive, uncreative, boring and unrealistic.

Nevertheless, I still love watching Korean shows.

I cry when the characters cry, and laugh when they crack a joke.

Sometimes, we may be so caught up in our mundane life, and things become so robotic and mechanical that we forget what it feels to be touched.

We forget how it is like to laugh when we are happy, to cry when we are sad, to say thank you when you mean it, and to say sorry when you feel apologetic.

Most importantly, we forget how to love, and how to show our love.

If you are in a stable relationship, sometimes you may be so used to having him or her around that things feel stagnant, and you do not bother saying the three special words. You also fail to remember the little things that first attracted you to him or her.

If you have yet to find the special one or if you are skeptical about love, sometimes love may really be just around the corner, if you remember to check.

At least that was what these Korean shows have "enlightened" me.

But this “love” I am talking about is not just limited to that between you and your lover, but also towards your parents, your siblings and your friends.

Are you in the mood for love?

Perhaps you would, after watching "Lovers in Paris".