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Osman Haji Mohammed Ali, 25, and Harun Said, alias Tahir, 21, (third and fourth from left) were charged with having "knowingly caused" the deaths of three persons when a bomb exploded on the landing of the mezzanine floor of MacDonald House on March 10, 1965. Singapore concerned over naming of Indonesian navy ship after executed commandos Singapore has registered its concerns over Indonesia’s naming of a navy ship after two Indonesian marines who took part in the 1965 bombing of MacDonald House on Orchard Road. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman said on Wednesday night that Foreign Minister K Shanmugam spoke to his Indonesian counterpart, Dr Marty Natalegawa, to register these concerns “and the impact this would have on the feelings of Singaporeans, especially the families of the victims”. Indonesia’s Kompas daily had reported this week that the last of the Indonesian Navy’s three new British-made frigates would be named the KRI Usman Harun, after marines Osman Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun Said. “The two Indonesian marines were found guilty of the bombing which killed three people and injured 33 others,” the MFA spokeman said in response to media queries. “Singapore had considered this difficult chapter in the bilateral relationship closed in May 1973 when then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited and scattered flowers on the graves of the two marines,” he added. The duo were members of Indonesia’s special Operations Corps Command, which is today the Marine Corps, and had been ordered to infiltrate Singapore during Indonesia’s Confrontation with Malaysia. Then-president Sukarno had opposed the formation of Malaysia, which Singapore was part of from September 1963 to August 1965, as a puppet state of the British. Both marines were convicted and executed in Singapore in 1968 for the March 10, 1965 bombing of MacDonald House, which stands near where Dhoby Ghaut MRT station is today. Their hanging saw some 400 agitated students in Jakarta ransack the Singapore embassy, attack the consul’s residence and burn the Singapore flag, and bilateral ties remained tense for several years. The marines were welcomed home as heroes, and given a ceremonial funeral at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta. Relations between Singapore and Indonesia were restored when Mr Lee Kuan Yew visited Jakarta in 1973, and sprinkled flowers on the marines’ graves. Former Singapore ambassador to Indonesia Lee Khoon Choy had earlier recounted that the gesture, which the Javanese believe propitiates the souls of the dead, moved the hosts deeply because it demonstrated that Singapore was sensitive to Javanese culture. But in recent years, efforts to commemorate both marines – alongside other declared heroes – have resurfaced, and last year(2013), the Marine Corps proposed to rename Jalan Prapatan in Central Jakarta, where the unit’s headquarters are, as Jalan Usman Harun. The Navy said two other new ships it would take charge of would be named after Indonesian independence heroes Bung Tomo and John Lie. The first, KRI Bung Tomo, will set sail from Britain in June 2014. Bung Tomo led the popular resistance against Allied British and Dutch forces in the Battle of Surabaya in November 1945, while John Lie smuggled agricultural produce to buy and smuggle arms from Malaya for the fledgling Indonesian armed forces from 1945 to 1949. Kompas cited Indonesia’s Navy chief, Admiral Marsetio, as saying that the three ships would be named after these men “in remembering the services they had rendered to the Indonesian nation”. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/singapore-registers-concerns-over-indonesian-navy-ship-20140206

I just thought about something and it is about Hong Kong, a small land similiar to SG When it was coming to 1997, hong kong was supposed to be return to China, after being ruled by Britain for a long time. Ppl have all the usual fears, same as ours. Will HK sink? Go bankrupt? More social problems? No business to do? Companies closed down? Investment go away? Remember china is a commis country, and they even came up with one country, two systems policy, which nobody in the world ever know how it will work out successfully. When it came 1997, lots of HK fellas migrate, flee and whatever, fearing that HK will collapse once china took over. Lots of them sold their assets, housings and jobs. So now we know what happened after china took over. HK is better than before. Much richer, more globalised, better economy..... Alot of HK ppl are going back. So what does it tells us about SG and polling day? Your vote will make a difference.

Let's guess who is the next one to come out to tok about the wage hike & inflation thingie.....

Fuel consumption, a topic that seems close to the heart of many Singaporeans. Are Singaporean drivers too concerned with their car's fuel consumption? There have been many discussions about upgrading wheels and tyres. No doubt there are benefits to be derived from such upgrading, including more stability, better cornering, looks etc. However the question about fuel consumption still arises. Will putting bigger wheels and tyres on my car affect the fuel consumption? By how much? What is your fuel consumption after installing aftermarket wheels? etc.... Personally I feel that no matter where in the world you are, there is always a compromise of something when you take a particular action. If you are going for looks, then you should not be too worried about how much more fuel your car's engine will drink. Larger wheels, bodykits, engine devices such as airmax etc, ultimately increase fuel comsumption to a certain degree because once you fit these accessories, many drivers tend to drive faster and more "garang". Are we blinding and deciving ourselves to the fact and "try" to admit that these accessories can help us save fuel? Granted, the price of petrol in Singapore is not as cheap as say, Australia. However when I was there and mixed with groups of modders, none of them brought up the fact about saving fuel with their mods. If anything, they lamented the fact that they could not get 98 RON in some parts of the land of Oz! The mods that they did were "real" mods, exhausts, for example. In Singapore, however, we are restricted by many strict laws regarding modification to cars, and that is perhaps why we end up modding with stuff like airmax, monster, capsule...but what do these things actually affect? Is an increase of 2hp to 5hp justifiable in making us cough up hundreds of $$$ to buy these stuff? Anything to return the power to the wheels, I suppose... I guess living in SG makes one compromise on a lot of things. We try to have our cake as much as possible and eat it. From housing to cars and many other things, the cost of living can be considered quite high. I don't wish to draw any flak for this posting, it's just something that I've been thinking about for a while. I guess some of the forummers might or might not agree with me, but that's fine. In the meantime...happy modding!!!