to the late JBJ: may we continue the good fight When I received a sms of J. B. Jeyaretnam's death from a friend in the early morning... somehow I was not too sad about it.Perhaps I already knew his time is near. In fact when he finally cleared his undeserving bankruptcy and decided to form a political party... I was not too excited about it.Of course I am not meaning what the States Times reported "Yet, the old warhorse refused to believe that he was irrelevant to Singaporeans."And I mean well..... he has already fought the good fight... it is time for a master to hand over the gloves and pass on to his disciples. I guess I made up this impression during the 2006 elections when he missed (because of the arduous task of clearing his bankruptcy) what I thought was his last chance to stand as a candidate. I felt that he really deserved the hero's exit even if he has lost so many battles. I wished that he could spend his twilight years more with his family, his grandchildren and I believed that no Singaporeans can fault him for retiring cause he has tried his extreme best... (compared to some Big Brother who still want to rise up from his grave to look over us)Just like so many old people and him, they should not have work at this ripe old age and it is up to us the younger generation to repay our debts and continue their legacies.But my fear is that are Singaporeans still so dependent and basking our hopes on one lone fighter and with his demise... no one can fill in his shoes?My lament is that it seems that people are forgiving towards the past, towards the dead but when it comes to the present and the living, we are not there to support them... in fact we criticized and stunned them. As a documentary filmmaker, I always find it a bit amusing that people like to dig out old history, pay tributes to dead rebels... as if they start to realize their forefather's mistakes of abandoning and persecuting them during their fight. Are these "rebels" so ahead of their times that it always take another generation to recognize their efforts?Thus my hope is this, Singapore's history is short but it is not short of people like JBJ who have fight for democracy. Yes there were the old-timers who have either died or exiled or retired but yet there are also a growing number of young people who have in one way or the other being inspired by JBJ and his contemporaries to continue the path. And my wish is that we Singaporeans be more tolerant, more supportive and not be dismissive and critical of these young guns as mere "psychopath".I guess it will be a repeat of the same tragic fate that JBJ faced when he had to "leave" the party, when he had to go alone to sell his books if Singaporeans are still so bo-chap and at best KPKB at kopi-tiam about PAP and opposition disunity and at worst expect some people to fight on their behalf and the greatest travesty of all, when some kind souls decided to fight for their interest, they get mocked at.Jeyaretnam definitely deserved a tribute... I believed one day history will be true and kind to him. But it is not much use to give a posthemus award to a dead man. I believed a fitting tribute to JBJ will be what he wish Singaporeans to do "Cast off the slumber into which you have been led into for the last 10 years. Wake up to your rights as a human being, to your proper role as citizens of this country."Just this afternoon I went to the wake, I saw Mr Singapore Rebel writing a passage on the condolences book something to the effect of pledging himself to continue the fight for democracy in Singapore :)... may many more join this pursuit.An afterthought... JBJ maybe a giant but he is still very human. We may not be equal to his accomplishment as a lawyer and former MP but if we decided to take up his call to do the right thing, we can held our heads high and walk like giants too. Let a hundred films unbanned Above: Surprise...even undercover police doing "political films" :PGot an email from Board of Film Censors a few days ago with this standard message: Dear Sir/Madam,This is to inform that the Board of Films Censors (BFC) has completed vetting your video(s) under IR No. A/0804/I006241L .Please proceed to the MDA counter (45 Maxwell Road URA Centre East Wing #07-11/12) with your original NRIC to collect and make payment for your video(s) within 7 working days from the date of this email.The total fee payable is S $10.80.Please log on to MDA Online (www.mda.gov.sg) to find out the rating and decision for your video(s).Thank you.So this afternoon went down to Board of Film Censors to collect my films. Saw the same counter staff whom I met five months back when I sent my films for submission. She immediately recognized me and was very friendly :). In fact a bit of pleasant surprise when she asked me whether I would be submitting any more films in the future. I mentioned that this will not be the last time we met and she told me that very soon BFC will be located at Fusionpolis... sometime in November.Did some payment and signed some documents and before I left, I asked what's the ratings for Martyn See's film 'Nation Builders'. "Confidential" she said and off I go. I guess I should also asked her what's the status with Seelan's film 'One Nation Under Lee' that kanna confiscated by MDA not too long ago :PAnyway here are the ratings for six of my films:Human Rights Torch Relay (M18 ratings)Burmese Says No (NC16 ratings)NUS international students vigil walk (PG ratings) Singaporean started 5 days fasting against ISA on Hindraf 5 (PG ratings) Burmese staged peaceful demonstration in Singapore (PG ratings)Morning May Day Montage (PG ratings) Quite curious about why two of my films above got a M18 and NC16 while the rest PG..... I guess that even before the Film Act will be amended next year... BFC is already working hard to fine tune their process to vet such films. In due time the process will be more transparent..... I hope.Anyway this is an encouraging sign... recently Martyn put up a list of 100 political films... so let's see how many films will get passed by BFC :).For more breaking news: Censors ok political filmsBy Sue-Ann ChiaSIX short films that document political activities in Singapore - from street demonstrations to protest fasting - have been given the nod by the film censor.The films were produced by Mr Ho Choon Hiong who collected them from the Board of Film Censors (BFC) on Friday.The 33-year-old had submitted them to the board five months ago to be vetted.They were the first of such films to be passed since Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong indicated last month that the ban on political films could be relaxed.Given the outright ban on political films now, Mr Ho applauded the Censor's decision, saying: 'It is an encouraging sign'.The Films Act prohibits the making or distribution of 'party political' films, which include advertisements by political parties or other political organisations here, or films 'directed towards any political end in Singapore'.Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times. All well and not so good in one nation under LEE Have been away overseas for over twenty days and on the day of arrival back home... :) I was greeted with what I have been waiting for... that the Film Act and Public Assemblies will be amended and relax. But there are some irony to it.It is of no surprise to me. I guess the authorities have realized a bit late the collateral damage they have incurred for being too restrictive in this digital-age. My opinion is that with these new technologies (video cameras, youtube, blogs, podcasts etc) available, advocates of civil resistance in Singapore now at least have a good fight against the state machinery for withholding information or being too repressive... basically whatever harsh actions they undertake, it will be documented and the whole world will be watching and those face saving bureaucrats wanting to put the little red-dot as a "vibrant hub here and there" will have a lot of explanation and accountability to do :PEither way I am optimistic to the point that time is on our side... for instance if Film Act is not amended, any films banned and subsequently uploaded... more people will yearn to watch it... and if now the Film Act has been relaxed... it opens a floodgate for people to forgo their fears and starts recording alternative news.And at this point... should myself or others be contented. I hope not. Cause it is precisely the actions of a few (like Martyn See and some filmmakers who persistently choose not to be silenced that pressure the authorities to relax the law) and it is also the actions of a few like Dr Chee Soon Juan and some activists who brave themselves to protest that the authorities decided to spare an avenue to "let them off steam".Thank you but it is actually our rights, we only got it partially back and we will continue to push for more. I am happy and yet "ungrateful".Talking about who being the ungrateful one...Ironically while the authorities are now "enlightened to know that they are being too restrictive" and thus offer those little goodies to open up, they seems to be coming hard on those "agitators" - the very people who cause them to be wise up in the first place.It is with dismay that recently there is no letting up of activists being charged in court for "illegal assemblies" and worst of all some Burmese activists have their stay in Singapore revoked.So I guess... after the boy alerted the King that he has no clothes on, instead of bestowing the boy with gifts, the King has the boy whipped for saving him the embarrassment.Martyn... will you ever get a PBM or cultural medallion from the Trinity? We are all individuals!!! Yes SGHR has formally disbanded :)... so goodbye SGHR but hello again human rights.To me it is good riddance cos leaving this "group" is another strategic choice... will explain later.However I am still proud to be an ex-member of SGHR as it is from there that I discovered and learned activism... I have benefited from each of them and discovered my own strength and weaknesses.The shotgun birth of SGHRJust to recap how SGHR started... It never dawned on me that we made a deliberate choice to form SGHR, one situation leads to another... for me it was because of SDP organizing the Burmese candlelight vigil that I got to meet some youthful faces who are concerned about the Burma's saffron revolution and the signing of the ASEAN charter on human rights. I started to know each other and we talked... so pretty much after the candlelight vigil, I felt that their wavelength in approaching human rights are quite similar and we are eager to plan activities together in the near future...But sometimes without much anticipation, planning and meetings... situations propels us to move together... with the coming of the ASEAN summit, we went through sort of baptism of fire, alot of events were happening and we rush to meet up to discuss what to do and before I can tell myself that I am mentally prepared for it.... I got myself together with three others walking down Orchard Road to hand a petition card "Free Burma, Free Singapore" to the ASEAN secretariat and kanna stop by Police. To tell you I was a bit apprehensive to know that I was going to take part in some form of "public illegal assembly" but I am encouraged by these group of young activist and knowing in my heart, that I am doing it for a just cause.... I ploughed myself into this form of "civil disobedience" and I can say that after the above experience in Orchard Road, the rest of the "civil disobedience" activities we planned were quite a bliss for me.... namely the fear of repercussions naturally subside in me.Why SGHR and not other "NGOs"Some people think that SGHR are too "confrontational"... too much like "SDP"... already as we form SGHR, there were members who are known to be "troublemakers". I think the best way to sum up is to relate one incident when a friend ask me to consider other safer NGOs... my reply is this... I dun think in terms of activism there is a one size that fits all, some prefer dialogues with authorities, some wish to only push a certain specific human rights issues like woman's rights, gay's rights etc, some choose to embrace all areas but avoid talking "taboo" or "OB markers" like freedom of expression, political rights etc as they think it is a long term strategic choice not to irk the authorities too much but to slowly convince them to open up step by step... I guess all roads lead to Rome... but ultimately whoever wants to be in the activism line must answer whether such approach is comfortable to them and he/ she can contribute effectively. For me I am of no use in joining a large organizations or umbrellas and run by some "top" people where wordings, letters, activities, replies etc must be well discussed and thought off so that the organizations will not get into "unnecessary troubles" with authorities over their articles and events etc... I "kind of" understand their predicament cos if anything goes wrong, the leaders will be haul up and the rest of the group (even for those who might not have directly drafted a letter) will be in trouble. Basically I am bad in dialogues :(, going to meetings and have to subject myself to some form of party discipline so that I wont babble wrong things in public and that the organizations will not get implicated as well.And when I join SGHR, I joined because it is a group that can "best" allows me to render my service productively, we are ad-hoc, no leader structure, we are more like like-minded individuals who share the same passion in films etc... and we do things pretty fast and without much "arrowing". For me, I know my strength comes into film-making and I render such service as a labor of love and without much "censorship" too (for SGHR, we are quite open minded in terms of each other opinions)And when SGHR is deemed "confrontational"... it is just at best "civil disobedience" to break against an unjust law that perhaps are new to Singaporeans (they prefer to dialogue)... but have either results bear fruits.... maybe and maybe not... it is too quick to judge that... At least for me the best example can be seen in Martyn See's Singapore Rebel incident.... well when Martyn See was in trouble, some people criticize him and said that he deserves it (the Film Act has been in place since 1990s) and Martyn "knowingly" breaks the law by producing the infamous film.... and incurring the wrath from the authorities.Well my counter argument is this; what other best examples to show an unjust law than to break it... cos only when Martyn See's film got uploaded in youtube and other festivals, then we Singaporeans and the authorities themselves (even MM Lee) can witness the absurdity of such a law in place.Anyway I am not here to champion about SGHR, in fact SGHR despite being small and highly mobilized, we do have our pitfalls like any organizations.... we have differences in opinions on some approaches and we can argue passionately about the differences... especially so when each of the 9 of us are so energetic and "leaders" or "psychopath" in our own ways. Thus even without banding together, each of us can effectively engage in activism in our own individual ways.SGHR a poooodle of SDP :PSome people think we are the opus dei of SDP and people get frightened or dislike of associating too much with SDP. For me, I am non-partisan, not a member of any political party. But for me I embrace alot of Dr Chee's ideals... anyway it is not that he invent the concept of human rights... Human Rights are as old as the trees and both myself and Dr Chee and many others share the same similar vision... vision like freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and naturally when either myself, SGHR, SDP or say Dr Chee have the same vision, more or less we will take part in activities together (Singapore is a little red dot after all)However I can dare say that Dr Chee at least in the Singapore context has been the forefront of pushing such ideals and lately his actions and courage has caused more people to examine his actions much closely.As for all the other political parties.... like I believe for the rest of the NGOs, all paths can lead to Rome, for all critics, supporters, kiasi and kiasu Singaporeans who want to do something but are afraid, pappies spies etc, please go DO something instead of criticizing (not that it is not wrong), please go DO something that you are comfortable with... if to you shopping is more important than human rights, I am fine with that too... whatever it makes you and your conscience happy... please do it. If you are uncomfortable with SDP or SGHR or any psychopath... by all means join an organizations that suits you and you can render your best... in fact if you are a Pappiee grassroot internet brigade team (if ever there is such as one more secretive than the Priory of Sion) go ahead and pappy if you think your actions are patriotic to one nation under Lee :PNow for the rest of the unknown human rights "fanatics" or potentially social disorder personalities... here are the good news:Join us but not SGHRI was a christian for 12 years, even if I no longer holds on to the faith... but so many wonderful examples from the bible itself. So here's one for you... Jesus raise up from his grave and ascend to heaven leaving 11 disciples (motley crew of fisherman... and in Singapore context... if you go to Pasir Panjang Fishmarket... you will see alot of Phu Chu Kang there) to go out and preach to all nations.But then there is Saul who have not seen Jesus or the disciples before and in fact a tormentor of this bizarre new age religion called Christianity until he himself got converted and martyred.So the message is this SGHR disbands for a strategic choice.... we will like to see more Singaporeans joining the cause as a leader and follower at the same time.... to us having SGHR has a liability tag on us... we cannot expand more than 9 people or else we run foul of the societies act and we never like the idea that once in a group, you somehow have to subscribe a certain sense of "loyalty" to this group so much so that other groups will withhold certain information or people will label a groupie tag on us... whatever nice names people can call themselves... it is just some fanciful names like a salesman calling themselves sales executive or sales director and all the bs. Again what is more important is the belief of human rights that you are pursuing and you only wish that one day more and more people will pursue together as well (but never be afraid that you are in the minority.... a movement has to start from zero anyway)And in all humbleness, we all 9 of us are your equals, we hope that without any baggage or linkage to SGHR, we do not want to say our views are "better"... we hope that as each of us continue our own individual activism, we will somehow (very often i think) do things together again on ad-hoc basis and in high mobility fashion but most importantly with new faces.... :)Already I am encouraged that recently myself, Martyn and Seelan thought over who will be the new faces that does video as a form of activism... but looking carefully in youtube there are already new people contributing their works (people whom I have never rub shoulders with) and I guess it is a viral effect... as more people engage in their form of activism, it will influence others to do their own too. Just as I did not join SDP, Dr Chee has by and large play quite a big influence in my involvement with activism.Even if there are "new blood" who for some reasons choose to engage in their own form of activism and not work with us.... we are definitely more delighted and encouraged to know that all of us are individuals and that despite our differences, we all are at least trying.So go on, be crucified :)Lastly some other announcement of alternative news of the Chees Vs the Lees (that has been quite hot while I was in Maldives)... you can ever get to read the actual transcript and hear the audio recordings of what transpired in the court case.namely go to www.theonlinecitizen.com, http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/ singaporerebel Many mainstream people do not understand but do not be disheartened (I am confident that Dr Chee knew he will "lost" this battle and many battles to come but wins the war eventually...)Put it this way a few years back when I was at the Istana... I only saw Dr Chee and Gandhi got arrested but now I see a small expanding group of Singaporeans with no links to SDP seeing eye to eye on one thing: that is to bring human rights and freedom of expression to Singapore and it will be an exponential curve as more Singaporeans get educated and enlightened about their "stolen rights"Here is an email that I send to my friend two years back about why my support for Dr Chee and his "antics"Here's to the crazy ones.The misfits.The rebels.The troublemakers.The round pegs in the square holes.The ones who see things differently.They're not fond of rules.And they have no respect for the status quo.You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.Because they change things.They invent. They imagine. They heal.They explore. They create. They inspire.They push the human race forward.Maybe they have to be crazy.How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see awork of art?Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never beenwritten?Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory onwheels?We make tools for these kinds of people.While some see them as the crazy ones,we see genius.Because the people who are crazy enough to thinkthey can change the world, are the ones who do.-Apple Computer, Inc. 1998 stop the Press and save $250 a year That's what I did. I stopped buying Singapore newspapers say about two years back. Actually I did a slient boycott of not using my money to buy papers (except toliet papers and A4 sized papers) because they are inferior goods. After all it is confirm that Singapore press is ranked 141 out of 167 in 2007's World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders). 142 is Afghanistan. For the same year, Singapore is ranked 157 out of 195 countries in the Freedom of the Press World Ranking (Freedom House). 158 is Iraq.Actually I still profess to read The Straits TImes (free stories section) and Channelnewsasia and Today of course... but from their websites. And they are free after all and they deserved to be free since I think they are only worth that much :P (even more established news agencies like CNN or BBC do not charge a cent for their online news)My dismay with the local papers comes mainly in the covering of political and social news. Here is a good recent example of the accuracies of local papers versus other sources: This simple example highlighted happens on the 27 April where the Burmese flocked to the embassy to vote on the constitution:The contentious part comes in on this area :"although some have made their views known through their t-shirts, which have the word "NO" on them" as quoted from channelnewsasia. To me it seems to downplay the number of people wearing the t-shirts "NO" especially so since I was there to cover the event as well. (I leave the readers to draw their own conclusions)Local News from channelnewsasia:VERSUSAlternative Local News: onlinecitizenForeign News: ReutersMy choice of not buying the state-controlled papers has two objectives:1.) Just like you do not want to pay for lousy products, i think if more Singaporeans choose not to buy the papers, you are going to hurt them where it hurts most; their readership ratings and ultimately their revenue (that includes companies pulling advertisements out due to poor viewership). So they will buck up.2.) More importantly It is good not to be over-reliant on just one source of news and internet has provided a platform for alternative news. It gives readers at least a few versions to the same event and lets the readers be more informed.Here's some suggestions for you to have the best of both worlds (with inflation and high cost, you can saved around $250 a year for not subscribing to a paper, besides you already paid too much taxes to finance institutionalized agencies, why pay more)- for world news go to: cnn, bbc, al-jazeera (to counter the perceived biased western influence), Reuters, AFP, AP FREE OF CHARGE :)- for Singapore political news go to: the online citizen, today, singabloodypore, channelnewsasia (FREE OF CHARGE)- for boliao people who like gossips and local news e.g the Everitt neighbours orgies go to: ST Stomp and Sammyboy (FREE OF CHARGE)- for aunties and uncles who need lianhe wanbao to check the latest 4D results go to: Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club (FREE OF CHARGE)- for people who need to look for jobs and other classified materials, go to:Singapore Classifieds- for good laugh just go to: talkingcock, mrbrown (FREE OF CHARGE)- for blur sotongs :P clueless about other things in Singapore, go to google For not buying the papers..... YOU ALSO SAVE the Trees and protect the environment :)Btw I have a number of friends working in the press... I hope not to hurt their livelihood, my main aim is that their higher ups will buck up their mindset and let the reporters not self-censored themselves. Definitely if the quality of local papers improved, I am sure myself and others will pay for what it is worth.So to all reporters here, wish you a happy belated World Press Freedom Day :)to view our thoughts on World Press Freedom Day in Singapore.to view photos Lights, Camera... Demonstration! Happy May Day... also pleasantly surprised that my blog is exactly one year old :)and also almost exactly one year anniversary that I decided to be a cyber-filmmaker as well (thanks to the "Film Act" and of course the youtube) :PYesterday April 30 was a momentous day for me.Encouraged by Martyn See's film "Speakers Cornered" that got passed by Board of Film Censors (BFC) with a NC-16 rating and as part of the 13 bloggers that submitted a proposal to Minister of Information and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang to ensure internet freedom and to scrap the film act... I have submitted six films to BFC for classification. Glad that three of my friends (Seelan, Kaixiong and Shafie) and a journalist accompanied me to BFC. The process of submitting the films was pretty non-event. A lady staff in BFC was friendly and helpful. She seemed to be pretty cool even while two of my friends were busy photo-taking and filming the whole process.In case you are curious, here's an important note about the nature of these six films out of the many films that I have uploaded on youtube (Why submit only these six videos to BFC?):For the past two years since the IMF protest as documented in the film "Speakers Cornered", We have observed a phenomenon spate of protests and demonstrations in Singapore by ordinary Singaporeans and foreigners, for instance Brown's T-Shirt protest by 30 Singaporeans against the newspaper suspension of columnist Mr Brown, "pink picnic" by the gays community at the botanical gardens, protest against the military junta in Burma by NUS international students and the Burmese in Singapore during the Asean Summit etc etc. Never before since 1969 have we witnessed such frequent demonstrations taking place in Singapore where laws against "illegal assemblies" are harsh. For myself, I could only recall that prior to the above incidences, the only person who dare to constantly conduct such acts of defiance is none other than Dr Chee Soon Juan (secretary general of the Singapore Democratic Party) where he and some SDP members have been jailed a number of times for gathering without a permit. Previously his methods were considered out of sync and insane as the authorities wanted Singaporeans to believe it can lead to violence and democracy such as freedom of assembly is against the "Asian Values" shared by many Singaporeans. I guess in a way Dr Chee's persistence and courage has paid off. More young people in Singapore are inspired to take on the form of civil disobedience to voice their discontent. Yet curiously enough recently the authorities seems to be "softening" their approach in dealing with protestors or are they doing more covertly or perhaps they are quite clueless what to do with them or maybe they have finally throw up the towel.consider this few observations I made:- The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has increasingly use woman police officers to do the dirty work of breaking up the protest and they seem to be pretty courteous even while arresting the protesters (as witnessed in the consumer rights day where 30 Singaporeans protested outside parliament house)... my guess is that SPF always got ridiculed in the eyes of the international community as being heavy handed on peaceful demonstrators that the police decided that women officers have a softer but lethal touch when it comes to arrest (no insult to SPF, but the males officers especially those in plain clothes usually look like Ah Bengs and Ah Sengs)- A few days ago 27 April must be yet another record breaking news.... more than one THOUSAND Burmese protested outside the Burmese Embassy in Singapore and the police did not disperse them.- In fact today at the tak boleh tahan protest by SDP members and supporters at Toa Payoh Central (incidentally in Minister of Home Affairs Mr Wong Kan Seng's consitutency)... there were no incidences of Police arresting or videotaping them!- Lastly on February this year, Mr Wong Kan Seng even talk about maybe allowing demonstration in Speakers Corner. Has the tide changed? :)Like Speakers Cornered these six videos I have submitted are straight documentations of demonstrations and protests that took place over the past one year. I think it is timely that if BFC allows them to be screened, I will like more Singaporeans to be aware of such happenings and I look forward to see a healthy discussions among Singaporeans about the possibility of having peaceful assemblies in tiny red-dot.HAPPY MAY DAY AND SCRAP THE FILM ACTLinks to the six videos:(Morning May day Montage)(NUS international students Vigil Walk)(Burmese staged peaceful demonstration in Singapore) (Singaporean started 5 days fasting against ISA on Hindraf 5) (Human rights torch relay by Falungong in Singapore)(Burmese says NO)Alternative information: Filmmaker submits six videos featuring political protests by Martyn Seepictures by Kai Xiong drag queen or crazy fan? ho hoJust saw sammyboy forum a few hours back and was actually pretty amused that someone posted as BishanBoy http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=173314.1 and some of the people I knew thought it was me.Remarked to my friends jokingly about it that I didn't know that I got a fan who wants to impersonate me... but some of my friends warned me that recently sammyboy has a "clone war" there where the dark side of the force are sending moles to disrupt and chase people from the forum.So I better make it clear here that this BishanBoy is not me, in fact I will not like to post articles in Sammyboy talking to anonymous people (I have done so a few years back but I have gone past that). Now I wish that whoever wants to exchange information and hold a conversation with me, hope I can meet the person face to face. Anyway Sammyboy is still one of my favorite bed time forum I like to go to... to sniff out alternative information and also get a good laugh from some post... in fact this BishanBoy is making my day :PPerhaps BishanBoy will visit my blog again and thus my recommendation to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1LIrzsgqAIncidentally this movie is my favorite movie... enjoy it. it's your last chance. anyhow :) Dare to Document, Dare to Talk, Dare to Blog etc etc Hi FriendsI am encouraged by the good turn up by you guys for the political film screening :)Yes finally my film 鸡蛋碰石头 or How My Favourite Opposition Party Fought the PAP(and lost their pants, again) has a "world premiere" at a private function recently.Nice to see 50 over people (academics, filmmakers, arts community, politicians from SDP, WP, human rights activists, TOC, bloggers, ex-ISD detainees, trouble-makers etc etc) coming down to watch my film and Martyn See's Speakers Cornered.Will share my thots once I am not so busy as I am pre-occupied with the Singapore International Film Festival as Mr Ho-spitality Co-ordinator :PHowever my activists friends and I are also going to organized another event soon... this April 10 :)As you are aware IPS have a closed door forum with Mr Steven Gan, Mr Jeff Ooi, Mr Nathaniel Tan (Malaysian Bloggers who made an impact on the recent Malaysian Election)However we feel that more people should get a chance to hear it and good news is that Mr Steven Gan and Mr Nathaniel Tan are agreeable to our invite to share their thoughts.Thus You my dear friends are invited to the forum 'Cyber Activism : The Malaysian Experience' on Thursday, 10 April at 7.30pm in Jalan BesarConfirmed speakers are Mr Steven Gan, the co-founder and editor of celebrated news portal Malaysiakini, and Mr Nathaniel Tan, an internet activist with the Malaysian opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat.Local blogger/activist Mr Alex Au will moderate the discussion.For details of the venue, please RSVP and state the name(s) of person(s) who wish to attend to: daretodocument@gmail.com Please note that this event is billed as yet another "private function" :PThe forum is jointly organized and sponsored by Martyn See, Seelan Palay, Isrizal, Ho Choon Hiong and Muhammad Shafi'ie. (Our shining happy faces at the Dare to Document recently as we say screw you Film Act)photo touch up by Alex Au :P within a short span of three months I can't remember much over what I have done during the first half of 2007... mainly work I guess, but wow within the last three months of 2007, alot of meaningful and memorable things happened to me... mainly because I got myself into human rights issues which at least for once, it is something that do not give me a lot of hangups or regrets... I can say I feel good about it as a person..... I feel that I am doing something meaningful, I feel that my time is well spent (beside playing Xbox and with my little niece), I do not really feel lonely without getting into a relationship (though I still wish one day I can get to know a special one :P), basically I just feel spiritual about it (like someone coming out from a church with a halo above his head). Ironically the last time I felt liberated was to abandon Christianity.In fact I think throughout this post, I can only talk about my activism in human rights... and just to add I am glad that my film-making experience can be put to good use too... say within a short span of three months, I think I have contributed, shot and edit at least around 10 videos to youtube (all on human rights and social issuesJust to add, I just did a video coverage about my friend, Seelan Palay who staged a 5 days hunger strike outside the Malaysian High Commission to protest against the ISA detention of the five Hindraf leaders... and gee I spent my 2008 new year countdown outside the Malaysian High Comm... even if there were no parties or pubbing, it will be one of the most memorable experience; just camping on the sidewalk with Seelan and another human rights activist Kai Xiong.But in the midst of all this, I wish for a long break soon, I am quite tired of my own work and really yearn to go America this year and I also wish to embark on my own personal documentary about finding my nanny... and to cut down smoking :PHopefully this 2008, I can fulfill all these...Below are the video links of what I have done so far :)Montage of Seelan's Five Days FastSingaporean fasting outside Malaysia High CommSingaporean started 5 days fasting against ISA on Hindraf 5Singapore Democratic Party letter to Malaysian GovernmentSGHR celebrates Human Rights Day at speakers cornerSG Human Rights petition for Burma to ASEANHuman Rights Day: Singapore Lawyers petition to Law SocietyCharged for speaking in public without a permitBurmese staged peaceful demonstration in SingaporeNUS International Students Vigil WalkFree Burma, Free Singapore Human Rights in Singapore... wtf? I wish to see more freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly in Singapore.That said, I have this ideals for some years back partly due to the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Chee Soon Juan but for the longest of time, I prefer to sit on the fence and not bother myself with it too much cause I am afraid of certain unknown repercussions.But it seem that when you have this yearning... you only need a catalyst to push you forward to join the cause and for better or worse, I am surprised how much enthusiasm and actions that I have partake in the pursuit of human rights in Singapore... with regards to how much to bear for the consequences, gee I really don't know.I just told an academic researcher recently when he noticed a recent trend of young activist taking on the "route" of Dr Chee's method of civil disobedience and he asked me whether we have forgo the fear...I guess I am still afraid, for the longest of time, I can't sleep well because of my coward inactions towards certain injustices and violations of human rights done to certain Singaporeans and people and yet despite my recent active participation to engage, I still can't sleep well due to the lingering fear that Big Brother is going to watch you :(However I am comforted... deep inside you at least you know that between the discomfort of cowardice and courage, the latter one allows me to give a pat on my back knowing that you have fight the good fight even if you fail.It also helps when you know that you are not alone... for a few years back, many people will think Dr Chee's actions are mad and out of touch but it acts like an exponential curve cause recently especially last year and this year, we suddenly witnessed a number of Singaporeans and people having the courage and the "madness" to do what Dr Chee has done... from the Mr Brown's protest, to the Gay picnic at Botanical Garden, the candelight vigil outside Burmese Embassy and recently within a short span of 48 hours from 19 to 20 NOV 2007, we witnessed from the International Students walk to one of the largest demonstration in Singapore since 1965 to protest against the Military Junta.And we are not mad or gone kaput... speaking about myself, I am a sane Singaporean, have a good decent education, loves to play Xbox and with my little niece and I pride myself to know that I am a filmmaker (won SIFF awards and have films represented in film festivals) and gratefully I have just met and knew some Singaporeans who are talented and normal Singaporeans who shared the same line of actions to pursue human rights in Singapore.One thing leads to another... because of the Military Junta's violent crackdown on Burmese monks and people, I was damn piss off and when Dr Chee organized a petition signing and vigil outside the Burmese Embassy in Singapore, I went there to show my support and I was glad to see so many concerned Singaporeans, foreigners and Burmese people going down to show their solidarity as well. From there I got to know some Singaporeans who stayed days and night outside the Burmese Embassy and I got to know them even better as we engage in small talks about the Human Rights in Singapore and from there I know I was not alone :)We decided to form an informal group called the SG Human Rights and I will end here, it is only the beginning and let the actions speak for itself.videos which I have recorded recently :)18 NOVEMBER 2007 SG Human Rights Forum 19 NOVEMBER 2007 International Students Walk 20 NOVEMBER 2007 Burmese Peaceful Demonstration Please use your liberty to promote ours. SO FAR 400 PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED THE PETITION... YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED. THANKS 保母 Amsterdam was a good trip for me. In a way it is sort of a therapy for me. While there I thought of my nanny whom I have lost contact with her for 24 years. My nanny whom we called her "Ah Rua Jie Jie" came from Malaysia. She was hired by my mum to be a domestic servant and most importantly to take care of me and my twin brother when we were very little. However when we were 8 years old, my nanny decided to work in a factory and after one phone call a few months later to ask about our well being... I have not heard from her :(I really missed her and I wondered how is she, is she happily married, have children and is she doing just fine?Thus after my trip from Amsterdam, I am quite resolve to search for her. I hope to do so next year. In the meantime I went through some of my childhood photos and managed to find photos of her :)Just want to share the photos to whoever that visits my blog and just a long shot... do you know her :) Uppsala with Mr Cat Been in London for a few days and then traveled to Uppsala, Sweden to meet up with my friend who is working in a research institute.Quite a nice quiet place... heard it is an university town. Within half a day, my friend showed me all the attractions of Uppsala. Most memorable was the walk down a cemetery where an ex UN secretary general is buried. Gee cannot remember his name but heard he died in a plane clash and then we saw a cute furry fat cat.Another strong impression I have of the place is the serenity and quietness of the town... what a good retreat to just walk around the town and garden and enjoy the scenery :) German Girl Shrine Wow... amazing, I guessed I last visited Pulau Ubin 4 months back and so many pleasant little surprises when I went there.I am particularly amazed at the current state of the German Girl Shrine(you can notice from the link that shows the state of the temple a few years back); a shrine that housed the remains of a German Girl who lived in Pulau Ubin many many years back. People flock to this temple to pray for fortune like buying toto etc and gee I guessed that quite a number of them got their prayers answered. Apparently someone has renovated the temple very recently (the shrine got a flesh coat of paint and newly expanded zinc roof and tiling on the floor) and from what I heard from two villagers living there, that someone has strike lottery and won a few hundred thousands of dollars and naturally he wanted to repay the "German Girl Deity"I am somehow quite attached to the German Girl Shrine. Since I stumbled upon this temple about 8 years back, I have seen it transformed from an abandoned rundown place to now what it is today; there is now a caretaker and there are a constant stream of worshipers flocking to the temple praying for luck.Do not wish to boast :P but it makes me think that how one or two persons' efforts can really create something great to happen (a bit like the chaos theory or the butterfly effect)... just recounting...When I saw this temple 8 years back... it was really in bad shape. There are holes on the roof and termites etc and apparently there was this old caretaker who passed away. I also got to know that the temple was standing on state land without a permit and it might be demolished. My friend (Michael Kam) and I did a documentary about our search for this German Girl's identity and then I brought a reporter from Straits Times and she did quite a big write up on the newspaper. In the midst of it, Both me and my friend went to appeal to Land Transport Authority and even Singapore Tourism Board to ask whether the temple can be preserve...Gradually over a span of four years perhaps from the publicity generated from the Straits Times article and also by word of mouth, more people came to know about this temple and even more newspaper articles came up and the authorities eventually issued a license (TOL)to someone who will take care of the temple (btw there are two caretakers, one of them holds the license and effectively is the owner and the other one who comes almost everyday to clean up the temple... anyway I don't really like the former cause I think he got some ulterior motive... will talk about this perhaps next time). Soon enough some worshipers got lucky and they repayed the deity by renovating the temple etc. In fact the Straits Times article even inspired a playwright to staged a play entitled "Moving Gods" and perhaps that the German Girl Deity bestowed her little blessing on me, I was fortunate to get the playwright's permission to do a tele-movie adaption of "Moving Gods" and screened at Arts Central channel. Though I must say that while filming, my production crew and myself encountered some spooky unexplained incidents there... to be continued :) Room 3, Bed 3132 Everyone who knew Toh Hai Leong; he is now staying in a nursing home for the dementia at Pasir Ris Walk.Quite glad and relief that he finally has a place who can really take care of his physical needs. For Chew and myself, we can perhaps now focus on our other commitments without feeling something at the back of our neck.For myself, I hope not to sound too pragmatic, but "charity and help" in a way has a limit and lines have to be drawn. We definitely know for sure we can't be a caregiver permanently... if Hai Leong does not have the will to take care of himself, and his immediate family cannot be there for him, only an institution has the means and resources to do it.Much as we dislike the idea of him being send to a dementia home and even other nursing home (all the patients we seen are really old), what other better options aside from IMH :(However we will not forget him, he might be there for a long haul and he needs company. Thus we will visit him, bring him out etc for the emotional support and as friends, we can perhaps only do that much. So for those who knew Hai Leong, you can now visit him anytime between 10am to 8pm.Lastly, despite I know it is their "job"; a salute to those nurses and doctors and social workers who are there for him.a video of Toh Hai Leong's first day in the nursing home After F and the Festival Something trivial. Toh Hai Leong needs no introduction among the Singapore film community. In brief, Hai Leong is a very unique and eccentric character; he used to be a film critic, security guard, "karang guni" man, "kopitiam" cleaner, SAF and SPH librarian, and now he is suffering from diabetes . Recently there was a documentary "F" directed by Chew Tze Chuan about Hai Leong battling his illnesses.Because he is such a strange but yet strangely attractive individual, I like to hang out with him (recently I explained to someone why I prefer to spend time with him VS say some of my old school mates is that Hai Leong's conversation is never dry. He is witty, amusing and bizarre. My mind constantly gets whacked left right centre) For the past three years ever since he "directed" and acted in what I should say my most favorite Singapore movie "Zombie Dog"I have recorded close to 20hrs of tapes of him at various moments of his life. Since I have no idea if and when I will do a documentary on him, I am contented just to share some of my own video collections... starting with his recent discharge from the hospital.Toh Hai Leong discharged from the hospital May Day Message This is my first post. I am a filmmaker who like to do personal documentaries. For the longest of time, I believed that internet can be a new medium or another extension in the area of documentary filmmaking; some years back (2001) before blogging was the in-thing in Singapore, I went to Germany Hannover for a film fest and I tied up with an internet website company to put up a website that can allows people to participate in the documentary process... (I did a documentary about a temple in Pulau Ubin that worshipped a german girl and intend to investigate whether it was a myth. However it was an experiment that did not reap much success. With regards to blogging... i procrastinated for quite a while cause I do not want the unnecessary attention and label as some lame exhibitionist.However I got inspired by some filmmaker's blog; namely Martyn See's blog who can effectively used his blog to reach out to a wide group of audiences (aside from the film festival circuit) and also gives an in-depth knowledge of the filmmaker's documentary and journey. Lastly I concluded that maybe the website which Martyn See created helped saves his arse a bit from the authorities :PAfter attending this year Singapore International Film Festival, I am kind of fire up to do something useful besides playing xbox and playing with my little niece :) Since I talked about documentaries (this blog will not be entirely about filmmaking, there are more important trivial issues to talk about - very soon) ; I will like to share with you two short videos I have shot. It is about the May Day Walk by Dr Chee and Chee Siok Chin.shot on 29 April 2007shot on 1 May 2007enjoy :)