No time!

Have been pretty busy lately. Not much time to update. So for those looking for some fun, try http://www.wimp.com.

Pretty interesting.

Vietnam National Day Weekend

Went to Vung Tau for two days for a short getaway over the past weekend. It was a good break before the tiring week I have ahead (gotta travel 4hrs in total everyday back and forth this week - to visit a company for due diligence).

I'm already feeling pretty tired and worn out now actually...and it's a sunday! I need another two days to recover from my holiday!

Anyway, check out the pics taken in Vung Tau...


We stayed at a new resort (I think it opened around 3 months back). Paint still fresh and everything still properly maintained, which is a plus.


The design is pretty slick too! The only downside was that our neighbors were pretty noisy.


Son Thuy Resort. The red banner is to congratulate Vietnam for 60 years of independence (the Vietnamese won the battle in the north against the French in 1945. Alas, the south was still under control of France/U.S until 1975).


"Oc huong" - a kind of seashell. The meat is very tasty but it's pretty expensive.


The main church in Vung Tau


The mooncake festival is coming around soon (Sept 18 I think?). This is a common sight today - competing stalls set up to sell mooncakes.


Lanterns on sale as well.


Chilling by the pool deck.


The family we chilled with. The little boy is so cute!


Taking a breather


Handling one of the greyhounds next to the racetrack. I won that day...woo hoo!

Short week ahead

Last weekend, I went a driving range in Saigon South. It’s been quite a while since I swung a club, but it felt good knowing that I can still hit the ball – even straighter than before! Think I’ll go back a couple more times to practice before hitting the course.

Yay, half the work week is over! Friday is Vietnam’s National Day and it’s already Tuesday evening. It’s not often these 3-day weekends come along, although I think the public holidays in 2004 and 2005 in Singapore fall on quite a number of Fridays and Mondays.

It’s even rarer here in Vietnam as we have 3 or 4 fewer public holidays. The Vietnamese employees also have fewer days of leave per year (average 12 days). So, they make it up by going home early every day of the year. I did a quick calculation and guess what? If you go home one hour earlier every day for one year, the aggregate hours saved is equivalent to having 11 days off. Ultimately, it evens out fair and square eh?

Plan to go to Vung Tau this weekend to follow up on my interest in greyhound racing and maybe to tan my ass on the beach (I’m getting pretty pale staying in the office all day long). Will update everyone after my trip.

Palazzo's one-year old

This past Saturday, I attended the 1st Anniversary Celebration for Palazzo Club, a casino here in HCMC. The food at the Sheraton was great as usual and the performances complemented the food. After dinner, lost a hundred bucks at the casino :(

Here's a pic taken with Ms. Vietnam 2000, who was the MC for the night.

Crash flood smoke shake

This morning's news read like a Journal of Disaster.

Haze in Indonesia/Malaysia/Singapore continues
Plane crash in Venezuela killing 160

Worst flood in 10 years in China
Major 7.2 earthquake in Japan

Sometimes, when I'm not too caught up with work or during my weekends, I would put myself in the position of the victims or the victims' relatives to understand (in a very small way) how much they have to go thru. Similarly, I would imagine how it would be like to be someone living under the poverty line in Vietnam (earning less than US$20 a month).

To realize how lucky we are is an unspoken cliché, but nevertheless, is worth reiterating once in a while so that we do not forget.

No Contest for Presidency

Incumbent President Nathan looks set to go for another term in office. The Elections committee declared the other three applicants ineligible. Reason was that they lacked the experience, ability and credentials...

Ok, I guess I have to agree with the Elections committee to a certain extent on two of the nominees, but I think Andrew Kuan could have been a possible candidate. I mean, who the hell has experience in being President??? And how did the elections committee judge the ability of the nominees?

All in all, I'm quite skeptical of the certification process that the Elections committee went thru. I respect President Nathan and would not mind at all if he was to continue, but somehow, I was looking forward to a fair challenge. They should have let the public discredit the candidates and not stop short of an open election.

See press statement below for details.

-----------------

PRESS STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE ON APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES OF ELIGIBILITY

1. The President of the Republic of Singapore is the post of highest honour and responsibility. He is vested with the custodial powers to protect the country’s financial reserves against a profligate government and has veto powers over key appointments. As Head of State, the President must be a person of integrity, good character and reputation. He must also have the experience and ability to effectively discharge the functions and duties of the office.
   
   
2. For this reason, the process to certify candidates for election to the office of the President is rigorous. The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore provides for the Presidential Elections Committee to scrutinise aspiring candidates to ensure that they have the necessary credentials to be elected to the office. The Constitution requires the prospective candidate:
   
   
   • to satisfy the Committee that he is a person of integrity, good character and reputation; and
   • when he applies for qualification under Article 19(2)(g)(iv) of the Constitution, to satisfy the Committee that he, having held office for a period of not less than 3 years in such position of seniority and responsibility in such organisation or department in the public or private sector as described in Article 19(2)(g)(iv) of the Constitution, has such experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to enable him to carry out effectively the functions and duties of the office of the President.
     
   
   
   
3. The Presidential Elections Act requires a candidate to apply to the Committee for a Certificate of Eligibility. Extracts of Article 19 of the Constitution and section 8 of the Presidential Elections Act are attached.

APPLICATIONS RECEIVED

At the close of applications on 6 August 2005, the Presidential Elections Committee received 4 applications in total. The applicants were:

• Mr Kuan Yoke Loon, Andrew;


• Mr Ramachandran Govindasamy Naidu;


• Mr S R Nathan; and


• Mr Ooi Boon Ewe.

The Committee met on 12 Aug 05 and deliberated on each application.

CERTIFICATE ISSUED

The Committee issued only one certificate of eligibility on 13 August 2005. Mr S R Nathan is the incumbent President of the Republic of Singapore. He has all the credentials for the office of the President and is well regarded and respected for his public service. The Committee considered Mr Nathan as a man of integrity, good character and reputation. He did not apply for qualification under Article 19(2)(g)(iv). Mr S R Nathan has been issued with the Certificate of Eligibility.

UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS

Mr Ramachandran Govindasamy Naidu and Mr Ooi Boon Ewe did not satisfy the Presidential Elections Committee that they had the prerequisite experience and ability to effectively carry out the functions and duties of the office of the President.

• Ramachandran Govindasamy Naidu. He was employed under the Commonwealth Forces from 1946 to 1987. He retired from service as a Senior Store Keeper.
• Ooi Boon Ewe. He claimed to be the sole proprietor of a realty business. The licence for the business had, however, expired at the time of his application for a Certificate of Eligibility.

Their career history obviously showed that they did not hold any similar or comparable position of seniority and responsibility in any other organisation or department of equivalent size or complexity in the public or private sector as those mentioned in the Constitution. The Committee was further of the opinion that they could not have the experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to effectively discharge the duties and responsibilities of the office of the President.

• As for Mr Andrew Kuan, the former Group Chief Financial Officer of JTC, the Committee assessed the seniority and responsibility of that position as being not comparable to those mentioned in the Constitution and he therefore could not have the experience and ability in administering and managing financial affairs as to effectively discharge the functions and duties of the office of President.

All the three applicants have been formally notified that they have been unsuccessful in their applications for the COE.

Singapore National Day

No parade, no fireworks - but powerful patriotism nonetheless. The consulate organized a get-together at New World Hotel where around 150-200 guests turned up to celebrate our nation's 40th birthday.

First came the Vietnam national anthem, followed by the Singapore national anthem, followed by several speeches and THEN the food.... Local delights included laksa, mee goreng, tau suan and otak.


The event stage.

You can see the Vietnam and Singapore flags, which mark the cooperation b/w the two countries. In the center is a poorly sculpted Merlion made of ice. At the bottom lefthand corner is the birthday cake baked to resemble the Singapore flag.