Copycat Effect?

Ever since the Chinese Garden MRT station suicide case took place, there is a fear in a lot of people.

Fear of a recurrence effect.

The copycat effect.

I was on the way home after work, on the westbound MRT at around 8 plus last night, when an announcement was sounded over the MRT PA system.

It spoke of a "track related incident", and that the train service would be delayed by a few minutes.

The first thought that came to my mind was, morbidly, someone had jumped onto the track again.

I listened hard when the train pulled into the next station, to verify if I had heard the announcement correctly. Was it just some track glitches problem? But no, it was a "track related incident".

And this means something.

Something had happened.

If a train had broken down or there was some problems with the electrical system, SMRT would usually be quite clear in their announcements, but this was suspicious.

I quickly messaged my colleague, who was on crime duty tonight, to find out if she had heard anything about it. Indeed she had, and she was at the scene.

My heart missed a beat, as I asked her what had happened.

A man was hit by a train and died on the MRT tracks at Clementi station.

My heart sank. By the time I reached that station, the body had been moved away.

It is still unclear what exactly happened, but I fear (and certainly hope not) that this is the copycat effect.

Some people said that there was too much media attention on the recent MRT suicide incident—too much emphasis was placed on the amount of donation the deceased's family received when he died. If there was someone out there who was badly in debts, and was on the brink of seeking solace through death, he might well try to follow suit.

I can only say that when different people read news, they react differently, and have varying thoughts.

The reports on the MRT incident reflect that a group of Singaporeans in poverty, who needed help most, may be the ones who do not know how to seek help. It also shows that it may be a good idea to set up a trust fund for donations received from the public. Furthermore, it shows that Singaporeans are truly generous towards the less fortunate.

But will someone in desperation decipher the message as: a life can be in exchange for more than $500,000?

What a chilling thought.

Most people know that it is an extremely silly act to commit suicide, but a person who is in depression will not be rational.

Who's to blame for someone who thinks negatively? No one. But I agree that sometimes, enough is enough.

Both the public and the media should learn from the Chinese Garden MRT station incident. And these are hard lessons to be learned.

PRs that make me scream

Journalists get to meet a lot of PRs (public relations officers, some are also known as Corporate Communications officers etc) in our line of job.

They are the ones we go to when we need more information about certain events, details on press conferences, arrangements for interviews etc.

Be it government agencies or private organizations, we have to work with PRs quite often.

You may think that the PRs are “trained” to have the essential PR skills—polite, friendly, resourceful, efficient and accommodating. But some of the PRs whom I have personally met, as well as tales shared by my colleagues, proved otherwise.

And my experiences with these sub-standard PRs, make me pity the companies which employ them (I wonder how many clients they had caused the company to lose by their hostile attitude). It also makes me doubt whether their existence is really essential. Or do they expect journalists to do their jobs for them? What do they have against journalists anyway? And when these PRs say they will return your calls, they never do.

The following are true accounts, but names have been changed to protect them from embarrassment.

Encounter 1:

A* previously helped to arrange an interview for me and X#. It was a pretty interesting news report, and I am quite glad for his help. A, being rather fastidious, then asked me if I could publish an upcoming event on X. I could not make the decision, and had to consult my editors. In the next few days, A repeatedly called my mobile to ask about it. “Why didn’t you publish it?”, A demanded over the phone, on the day just before the event. And when I say “demanded”, I really mean it. But in fact, we did include a short insert that day. I kept my cool and told A so. It was then that A said, “Oh you did? Your paper is XXX? Okie then.” A obviously had no idea who he was calling up, and was behaving, literally like a mad man. A really ought to check out newspapers first before he put forth his nonsensical behaviour, otherwise it only shows how unprofessional he is.

Encounter 2:

I wanted to do a follow-up report on a recent research, and asked B* if he could make arrangements for an interview with the relevant personnel Y#. B wanted to know what questions I have for Y. This is quite common, so I quickly told B over the phone. One of my questions was, “Why did Y carry out this research?” When B heard that, he snorted as though it was a silly question. “Why do you think he did that? That is his job.” Of course I know that it is Y’s job to do research, but what I wanted to know is, what is the reason to do such a study, i.e. did Y foresee a serious problem in that area? Anyway, B should not make such a reply on Y’s behalf. It only shows how shallow he is. B then said Y would not have the time for the interview, even before he asked Y, as we were on the phone all the while. B then said he would call me back. He never did, of course.

Well, these are just some of the terrible experiences that I have had with poor PRs, who make my job more difficult, than it already is.

However, there are really some good PRs around, who are almost always available round the clock, and they actually try their best to be a good facilitator. You can see it and feel it.

There is one whom was woken up by my phone call early in the morning on a recent weekend. I needed her urgent help to contact someone for a news report that morning. I felt rather apologetic as I know how pleasant sleeping in late on weekend can be, and how horrible it is to be woken up by phone calls. But she was not at all annoyed (at least I could not tell from our phone conservation) and what was most amazing is that, within ten minutes, she managed to get the other party to ring me up.

Wow. That’s what I call an effective PR. I sure hope there are more like her around.

* A and B are the black sheep in the PR industry.
# X is either an organization. Y is a person.

Haze

The haze has been pretty bad these days. It does not make a big difference if you are in an air-conditioned place indoors, but once you step outdoors, the smell is awful.

I try as much as possible not to take in deep breaths.

Today has been quite a bad day. The PSI rose to as high as 113 at 4pm. Although this is not the worst so far, but it is one of those really bad days.

Everywhere looks misty these few days, I am beginning to forget how it looks like on a clear day, until I see pictures that remind me of the "good old times".

Here's how it looks like on a good day.

And on a bad day. *cough cough*

See the difference?

Recycling bin or rubbish dump?

I just threw away a few plastic mineral water bottles that have been lying on my desk for sometime.

In they went to the rubbish bin.

It did cross my mind that it seemed a bit wasteful to throw the bottles away as they were still in good condition. But where can I throw them so they could be put to better use? Recycling bins?

Sounds like a good idea. But where? Now that is a problem. It’s much faster and easier to throw the bottles into the bin. And so that was where they ended up.

The way I deal with the recyclables around me, is perhaps familiar to most.

Most of us probably know the 3Rs—Recycle, Reuse and Reduce (don’t ask me which order they are in though) by heart, but how many actually practise it?

There might be a recycling bin just below your block, but would you collect your plastic bottles, soft drink cans, rough paper etc and carry them down to the bin?

Most people treat it more like a rubbish bin than anything else. Just like this recycling bin that I walked past the other day. It remained the same the next day I saw it.


People are simply passive towards recycling, even if the bin is made so convenient for us.

In Germany, people walk quite a distance to recycle their things, and it has become a lifestyle more than anything else. But I do not think this lifestyle is going to work in Singapore, unless incentives are given for recycling.

For instance, if you return a plastic shampoo bottle to the supermart, they rebate you 10 cents on your next purchase. This will probably not drive the actual message home, but it should be an effective method to promote recycling. But I wonder how the manufacturers and businesses will like this?

Most people usually store and keep old newspapers and magazines at home until the garang guni man comes or when it is time for the collection of the green recycling bag. The garang guni man typically hands over a few cents, while there is no money earned from the latter.

If people have this habit of storing newspapers for recycling, why not for plastic water bottles, shampoo bottles, paper etc?

Are you revealing too much information?

I read an interesting article in the Straits Times today on the amount of personal information that people put on the internet.

Whether it is on blogs, websites, Friendster or MSN etc, some people reveal their names, email addresses, mobile number, age, hobbies, name of school or workplace, weekly schedule, habits, photographs, the area where they stay etc. In a nutshell, almost all their personal and private data.

And since the information is put up on the World Wide Web, any friends, or any strangers, will be able to get hold of the data easily.

By making such personal details readily available, it also meant that if there was someone out there who has an ulterior motive, he can almost stalk you effortlessly.

Scary, isn’t it?

Well, but not everyone who read others’ blogs or websites have a secret, hidden agenda, in fact, I think most people don’t. But you never know which ones are the black sheep, and you never know what they are up to.

I recall a rather frightening incident that took place a few years back, when I received a call on my mobile phone from a male pervert.

I could not remember the actual conversation, but it was obvious that he was a pervert, and I shall spare you the details. But one thing I remembered was, he knew my name and he mentioned seeing me in my junior college’s canteen, which meant he knew which JC I had studied in.

I hung up the phone quickly.

At that time, I had graduated from JC, and was already in university.

It is no big deal for my friends to know which JC I came from, but I do not think a friend would make such a perverted call.

Who is he? How did he know my phone number? How did he know which school I studied at? It was quite terrifying for me then as these questions flooded my mind.

I quickly did a mental check, and realized I had put my contacts and schooling information on the ICQ. I reckoned he got the information from there, and I quickly removed those particulars that day.

As his phone number was a private number, it was not reflected on my caller ID. For the rest of the day, I received a few more calls from a private number, but I did not pick them up.

As I told my family about this, my phone rang again, and this time my sister answered the call. It was him again. My sister demanded to know who he is, and why he was doing that. According to my sister, he did not reveal who he is (obviously he won’t), but he apologized and promised not to do it again. My gallant sister saved the day.

But the whole incident seemed quite suspicious, and I was prepared to lodge a complaint with the police, but he stopped calling and so I let the matter rest.

This is just an instance of how personal details revealed over the internet could possibly be misused and abused.

No doubt the more information we disclose or list on our blogs or websites, the easier it is to connect with friends, long lost friends or even make friends with people who share your interests.

But there are possible dangers lurking in the dark corners.

Make a check today to see if you might be revealing too much.

A "Naked" Sight

I was on my way home when I was attracted by a "naked" sight.

Now, before your thoughts wander off, I mean "naked" trees, and nothing else.

Well, trees come with branches and leaves. At least most do.

And trees without branches and leaves look as though they are "stripped naked".

Bare.
And the whole stretch of the trees along the road were in the same plight.

Did you notice that those on the left were left untouched?

Pardon my ignorance, but I do not have much knowledge in botany, and I am not sure why the branches and leaves of the trees had to be chopped off? Is it because they were growing out of "shape" and had to be "trimmed"? Or is it because in doing so, it will promote better growth?

Is there anyone out there who could shed some light on this?

Hip Hop Dance

Amused.

That was how I felt when I saw the group of Members of Parliament (MPs), who were born after 1965 (P65), doing a hip hop dance on television. I felt the same again when I saw the photographs taken of them being published in the newspapers the next day.

It was reported that the Chingay Parade committee had suggested the dance item for the parade, and the P65 MPs gamely took up the proposal.

As we all know, it is not easy to do a hip hop dance. I mean, how many people you know can do it? And I mean do it well.

A hip hop dance is not the same as mass dance or folk dance. Anybody can show the well-known hip hop hand signal—where you keep your thumb, forefinger and little finger straight, while bending the other two—but beyond that, it is not so easy to do a good demonstration of hip hop dance.

If things don’t go well, you end up looking quite out of place, or even a little gek seh (Hokkien for trying to show off).

I did not watch the entire hip hop dance preview the P65 MPs did, so I shan comment on how well they did it. It would also not be fair to do so at this moment, since the performance is for next year’s Chingay, and the MPs had just had two practice sessions. Furthermore, since they are not professional dancers, it would not do justice to be too harsh on them.

Nonetheless, it puzzles me as to why they chose to put up the hip hop dance.

Some MPs shed some light on why they gladly took up this challenge.

One said that hip hop is popular with the young and learning it allowed them to connect and identify with the younger generation.

Really?

I guess different things appeal to different people, and hip hop does not really click on me. Or perhaps the "younger generation" meant the teens?

I certainly would like to have MPs who understand and share some of the thinking of the new generation. That is why I welcome the P65 MPs when they were voted into parliament. It is good to see new blood and new ideas being injected into parliament.

But performing hip hop dances somehow makes them seem as if they are trying a little too hard to connect with the young. It is like adding "yo yo" to the end of each sentence you make on purpose, in an attempt to sound "hip hop" when you are not.

I would rather the P65 MPs hold more forums, seminars, talks or focus groups with the young adults to find how they feel.

Connecting and identifying with the younger generation through ideas , thinking and discussion, seem to be a more effective method to reach out to them. At least that is how I feel.

On another note, a friend who is also a P65, felt that some of the young MPs have too much of a "fun" image, and they should instead try to be a little more serious, rather than go the other way. What do you think?

The things people do

This is the book cover of a secondary school assessment book.

It reads "Chemistry Manual", manual as in the manual swordsmen go in search for high and low their whole life, just to attain a higher level of martial arts, as often acted out in kungfu drama.

In ancient times, a manual is a matter of life and death to a swordsman. Now, just ask any student, and they will probably tell you that an assessment book or ten year series is just as important to a student’s life.

I thought it is quite interesting to relate an assessment book to a manual, a term commonly used in the past. This book would not have caught my attention had it not been for the word "manual".

Notice the duck prop hanging outside a window above the restaurant?

It is not unusual to see restaurants having models of their food outside to attract customers, like sushi restaurants and dessert shops etc. But this is the first time I see a whole duck being hung outside a restaurant. It looked quite comical amidst its setting.

Somehow this scene reminds me of Hong Kong, I don’t think this is something new in Singapore though. By the way, this restaurant is opposite Shaw Plaza at Balestier.

Xiangrong and I saw this on the back of a van while we were near a U-turn point.

The four words speak for themselves. We cannot help but burst out laughing simultaneously.

I was not driving at that time, but I immediately checked whether Xiangrong had the "turn right" signal on. Yes, he did. Haha!