A Joyful Pot of Curry

I had a chat with a friend today and was surprised that he wasn't joining in the curry cooking event. He was turned off by the negativity projected by some people who are supporting the event out of their distaste for the folks who caused this hoopla.See original story here, and the clarification here.  I knew exactly what he meant. I have a theory that if you do not cook with love, the food won't taste good, so I never cook when I'm unhappy or angry.

When I logged on to the Cook and Share a Pot of Curry  event page, I saw a lot of joy. There are those who couldn't wait till the 21st and made their pot already, those who are looking forward to tomorrow's big curry cooking event, and the most memorable was the group of Malay ladies crowded around a big bubbling pot of curry - in the office! 

The truth is, Singaporeans are a happy lot when we have food. We love to immerse ourselves in the joy of eating more than anything else. I did my national service too and made a pot of my favorite chicken curry! Unfortunately the Asian supermarkets here don't carry my favorite A1 brand curry mix so I had to use curry powder. Well we make the best of what we have!

What I love about curry is that it makes an excellent freezer meal. Instead of consuming the pot over three days like I always do, I froze some of it for lunch or dinner in the next week or two. 

A Pot of Curry Unites a Nation

As of today, over 53,000 Singaporeans (see the current number of responses here) have responded to the call of Cook a Pot of Curry, an event that will take place across the island on August 21 2011.  Singaporeans will cook a pot of curry in their homes in protest of a news report that a local Indian family agreed during a mediation session to cook curry, their staple dish, only when their neighbors are not at home. The neighbors, a Chinese immigrant family, had complained of the smell of the dish.

If there is something we Singaporeans love more than our country, it is our local food. I suspect we will defend it to death if necessary. Though not officially coined as a national dish, curry is a dish that Malays, Indians and Chinese enjoy. We all have our own recipes and versions of this beautiful dish and nobody's ever heard of a curry related complaint till now.

Though I'm thousands of miles away I'll be joining in the spirit of curry cooking, mainly because I cook curry from time to time anyway, and also because of what the event means to me. Many Singaporeans are joining this event in spite and retaliation that immigrants are expecting locals to conform to their ways instead of them assimilating into local culture. I think many more positive things can come out of this movement other than simply wanting to "show em".

The Singaporean government has been trying to instill creativity into its people, but no amount of grants, incentives or campaigns work better than events created from the ground by the people for the people. Singaporeans are starting to come out of their shells and learning that they do not need permissions or permits to do everything.

The organizers have found a harmonious way to embrace our cuisine and culture, and bring the people closer.If there were any concerns of divisiveness, we have shown camaraderie and will speak up for our fellow Singaporeans regardless of race.

Food has always united us, and likewise Singaporeans can take the opportunity to invite their foreign friends and coworkers to try our favorite dish and foster relationships. The sooner locals help them to adjust to the local culture, the less conflicts and discomfort will exist (for those who are willing to learn, can't say much for those who insist their home culture is superior).

Lastly I feel that the response by Singaporeans this time really sends a strong message to some newcomers that they really need to humble themselves and take steps to acculturate themselves. I speak from experience, living in another country myself. If you sincerely make the effort to learn the local culture and norms, people will accept you. We move out of our own comfort zone into foreign territories to broaden our views and learn new things. If we never open ourselves to new things, behaviors and culture, what then is the point of leaving our home country?

Singapore Elections Humor: Chibi Aljunied

The Silent Majority of Singapore: Chibi Aljunied: 

Friend of mine posted this. I have to say this is really good rendering, kudos to the guys who took time to bring us some humor. There's a bunch of creative elections drawings there, visit The Silent Majority of Singapore: Chibi Aljunied to see more. 

Tin Pei Ling's Biggest Mistake Was Really....

...the lack of planning in social media management. 


There's been a lot of discontent ever since Ms Tin Pei Ling was fielded as the youngest candidate from PAP; and that famous "Kate Spade photo" circulating on the internet certainly didn't help with her popularity.


I do not dislike Tin Pei Ling although I think she's a weaker candidate compared to some others. I really don't think she is as stupid as most people think she is but I'm just not convinced that she really believes in what she says. In fact, I applaud any young person who is willing to step up and serve the people. If we take a step back and look at it, Ms Tin is not very different from the average Singaporean girl of the same age. Many of us do like to indulge in luxury goods when we can afford it. Just because she is running for elections doesn't mean she has to give up everything she likes.


Ms Tin's personal campaign went downhill even before it started, not that it would matter as long as her team achieves overall victory. Political views aside, I feel that a lot of things went wrong for her simply because of the lack of planning in social media management. 


What do I mean?


The landscape of political campaigning has definitely changed and while PAP had ample experience in traditional campaigning, they were not necessarily prepared to connect with the voters through social media. In my humble opinion, there are four things that Ms Tin and her team could have done better to avoid the fiasco:


Social media management should start before the election campaign.  Using social media is more than just putting up a profile. The PAP should have anticipated that voters would be searching for Ms Tin's information the moment she was introduced as a candidate. Therefore it is important to decide what kind of information to be made available and which is best kept private or deleted. Pictures of branded bags: best kept private. Pictures of candidate carrying a bag of groceries for grandma: display in public folder.


Keep private profiles....private. This is a no brainer, we heard it too many times but failed to heed the good old advice. As a political candidate, there will be people who love you, who hate you, and those who would love to dig dirt out of you before slinging the mud right back at you. Before going out to campaign, wouldn't it make sense to change your privacy settings to limit access to your private information?  


Content matters. It's been said that Kate Middleton's dress wasn't more elaborate because she was considerate of the tough economic times and did not want to appear too extravagant. As a political candidate, everything you put online represents you. While Singaporeans are complaining of the rising cost of living and disagreeing with the high ministerial salary, a picture of a future candidate holding a luxury item couldn't have come at a worse time. Pictures of branded bags: delete. Pictures of candidate eating at hawker center or taking MRT: put in public profile. Pictures of candidate carrying baby: Give me a break. 

Comments made on social media ARE taken seriously. The social media may not be an authoritative source like the mass media, but people do take comments seriously. As it is, eyebrows were raised over Tin Pei Ling's age and competency, and SM Goh Chok Tong had to rub it in with his tongue-in-cheek (or so he thought) comment that "Young Pei Ling has been traumatized" was counter productive. Thanks for confirming that she's young and can't handle setbacks, which brings us to wonder why you were promoting this candidate.