• Nov. 17th, 2006 at 6:16 PM

Colleague Shareen and I couldn't help but heave a generous sigh of relief when the 52nd EROPA (Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration) Seminars drew to a close at noon today - simply because it meant the end of our routine of the last two days, of having to wade through heavy morning traffic at 7.45am to get to the International Convention Centre, only have one white paper after the other pounded into our heads till 5pm, and rush back to the office to write up our articles.

The Public Services Department (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam) did a pretty good job of keeping their website up to date, ie. today's event bulletin will appear today as a PDF on the site. For this, and the excellent hospitality they demonstrated, we will refrain from commenting on their layout and graphics :D Well done to the JPA!

Apart from the usual sloppy editing which supplies me with my daily dose of angst- no, in fact just stop reading all articles printed under my byline, please. I can barely tolerate missing prepositions or incorrect tenses, but having the most meaningful sections edited out and the insertion of phrases from Mars, completely eliminates any need for any of my skills, ie. writing, ICT, and for god's sake ENGLISH. This morning I was perfectly happy at being asked to write an article or two on today's seminars, but after glimpsing the wreck that remained of my article from the day before ('miscontrued' is never followed by 'with', and there is no such thing as 'frauds', etc), worst of all accredited to ME, I decided I'd had enough, and refused to produce anything today. I'm sure some people are whispering amongst themselves that I've gotten too big for my boots, but it's the complete opposite: why don't they see what it feels like to receive praise from some academician on the quality of your article, when there are about 10 glaring errors in it not inflicted by you.

But of course I have been much deprived of the luxury of going off on a tangent. The main source of irritation were the Bruneian participants at the seminar - the men were beautifully behaved, aside from the one man who answered his ringing cellphone during a session, and proceeded to broadcast his side of the conversation quite loudly to the entire hall for about 10 minutes. The seminar-etiquette of the Bruneian ladies, on the other hand, was absolutely disgraceful! I often considered asking them which government department had paid their way, but had just as often decided against this thinly-disguised barb, because I suspected there was a poor chance of my being able to restrain myself from adding emphasis by reaching out and boxing their ears. Registration isn't cheap at $250 per head, but these ladies (various ones, at that!) simply talked and giggled the unpleasantly tedious discussions on the future of civil service away, or like how my mother likes to put it, 'cooking porridge': "That's an easy choice to make." and "Really?" and "Just buy it!" and "Okay, I'll see you at Mamih (local eatery) after 5 later!" Convince me our future won't go up in flames along with their unattended stoves.

Ironically, they carried on their conversations throughout the turns of Bruneian speakers, oblivious to the repeated criticisms and denouncements of the complacency typical of Bruneian civil servants. Really.

On the bright side, this has given me an idea for a feature. I think I shall hit the streets tomorrow and ask random people if they know what complacency means - don't say I didn't warn anyone!

One other incident bothers me greatly - one Thai associate professor delivered a paper that examined the causes of failure of Thailand's e-government projects under the Thaksin regime, and she estimated (based on stats for developing countries) that a meagre 15% of Thaksin's e-government projects were successful. During the question-answer session, one Bruneian speaker (no names, but it was actually a speaker) took the floor and asked her why she was so 'pessimistic about Thaksin's e-government initiatives'. I thought I was going to drop dead from all the Stupid flooding the room. That's not called optimism, that's dementia. An individual from one of our ministries told us that Bruneians were discovered to have an extremely low comprehension rate - likely due to the lack of self-motivation to grasp an idea within given time constraints.

Overall, however, it was refreshing to witness foreign ideas and proposals being unveiled here, in Brunei. The stack of white papers is enormous, but I'm toying with the idea of writing short essays on them, just for you. After all, such information should be freely available :)

Tags:

• miscellaneous,
• rant,
• reportage

• Nov. 17th, 2006 at 3:55 PM

Couple of errors, including the glaring omission of a preposition in the headline, but it could have been worse: An interview with Wu Zun of Fahrenheit, published on November 11. It might have been released within the first week of this month, but he took a while to send me the pictures.

Personally I prefer J-Rock and real street fashion.

Tags:

• reportage

• Nov. 15th, 2006 at 7:51 AM

The S.O. captured this two years ago on a clear summer's day in Tonbridge, Kent. Bored of being cooked alive indoors without much resistance, we had wandered out in search of some entertainment and stumbled upon a kite festival at the park.

This humble little seagull kite was circling lazily in the air, and on the other end of its string lay a boy on the grass. I stopped beside him, my shadow slicing across his face, but we were both squinting upwards in silence, almost as if waiting for the seagull to mew.

---

These days when I'm sitting in a traffic jam, or driving a long way in the equatorial heat, I make an attempt to mentally blank out everything that is Bruneian around me: plants distinctive of the hot weather, such as the bougainvillea and palms, are the first to go. This is followed by the bored faces of surrounding drivers, the road signs in Malay, and the license plate numbers preceded by 'B'. I try really hard to imagine that I'm sitting, instead, in a jam smack in the middle of a fierce English summer, and that I'm really in the sparse, noiseless town of Telford.

I try to promise myself that outside of this traffic jam and unlively collection of buildings are large cities, with museums, art galleries, whole bookstores like office towers, restaurants with people laughing and eating, not caring if the yellow lights glint off their white hairs and make their faces look chalky. There will be grey pavements to pitter-patter down with my hands in my pockets, iron-wrought gates painted glossy black, and a clear blue sky pouring down between the trees and buildings.

There will be other pedestrians to pass, some with a fat newspaper under one arm, and a sweating bottle of cold carbonated water in the other hand. Some will have succumbed to the heat and are wearing their lightest clothes, but have a spare shirt tied by the sleeves about their waists, in case of a sudden cold draft.

Some will be visible through the giant teeth of a park fence, sprawled inside on the grass with their noses in books, or their eyes shut against the glare. Mothers wheel their toddlers past, and the gravel rattles and jumps.

It doesn't seem like much to yearn for, but I feel more at ease surrounded by people who know they are amongst millions, and are strongly determined to simply exist as themselves. Identity no longer requires a battle to be unique, but merely what you feel most happy with. Great peace is to be had living in anonymity, and randomly, when I'm swallowing the endless distance of a London sidewalk with my strides, I sometimes feel nameless, which is quite calming.

Tags:

• contemplations

• Nov. 14th, 2006 at 6:48 PM

If there's anything Brunei's better at than other countries, it's providing a favourable environment for the formation of rainbows.



My next few days will be absolutely full, because I'll be at the International Convention Centre attending EROPA's 52nd Executive Council Meeting and Seminar. I am bracing myself for a cranial overload, and I will have to somehow glue my hyperactive bottom to my seat from 8am to 5pm. Or even better, produce two clones of myself so we can all attend 3 simultaneous workshops on ICT and e-Governance.

I'd better get cracking.

Tags:

• miscellaneous,
• reportage

• Nov. 14th, 2006 at 5:48 PM

Here's the scoop: I got to interview some Singaporean bloggers, and they were all fantastic people! Adrianna Tan of Popagandhi.com is the first of them to make our Faces page on Nov 11th, and she came with her own pictures ;D

( Large jpeg, grammatical and punctuation errors, and strange headline ahead. )

I used to feel prepared to beg interviewees for forgiveness for all these mistakes I didn't make, but not anymore because it's just hardly sincere that they keep happening. If anyone knows of any good editors who will work for peanut butter, send them our way, please.

• Music:Quruli - World's End Supernova

Tags:

• reportage

• Nov. 11th, 2006 at 11:26 AM

Secretly taken outside a shop selling pirated DVDs. And smokes. And medicines. And, er, Gardenia bread.


It came as a pleasant shock, though not because I'm one of those people who are so partial to organising things that they try to force people into the stereotypes they believe in. Frankly I think it was partly due to hearing too many oddballs proudly claiming that they owe their excellent English to daily doses of the Borneo Bulletin - not a bashing directed at a rival paper as such, but be warned, for example, that this is likely the wrong thing to tell a potential employer.

I was so surprised that I laughed out loud, and was seized by an urge to go up and say 'thank you'. Instead, I ducked behind a parked car and discreetly captured this man in a jpeg, like some pervert.

---

Most people here would assume this man was a blue-collar worker on an unglamorous wage, and with hardly any education. One common excuse I've heard for slagging off such a person within earshot is: "He/She probably can't speak [insert language they were using] anyway." This faulty explanation normally triggers a horrendous itching in my right palm, and I have to resist the urge to remedy this little problem, preferrably by whacking it repeatedly and forcefully against the speaker's cheek. In most situations, this would probably benefit the receiver greatly, because such a vigorous activity might relieve them - nevermind if only temporarily - of their arrogance, and save them from possibly a much worse retaliation inflicted by the subject himself.

Even if people really can't understand the language you were using, your tone of voice will be hard to disguise; remember that even animals are able to interpret someone's mood from their vocal inflections. Worse yet, they could actually be multilingual, and listening. Of late I keep running into the unlikeliest people with a fluent command of more than two languages under their belt, and they range from preadolescents to hawker-stall assistants. Once I was on a plane with the S.O., and wanted to draw his attention to a Caucasian man who was thoughtfully masticating (actually, ingesting, because they totally disappeared) paper pellets methodically ripped and rolled from a copy of the Borneo Bulletin. In broken Japanese, I said: "That man... Paper... Eating!!!" At this, our inflight weirdo whipped around and flashed us the biggest, scariest grin, which sent us cowering into our seats in fear of falling victim to his voracious appetite.

And then there are the assumptions people make of someone's education, based on the nature of their employment. This should clearly be an outdated practice, because at the moment we have a good number of graduates who either can't find work, or have settled in a field far removed from their tertiary qualifications. We also have to consider that admirable segment of the population who are known as the 'underemployed' - people who hold high qualifications from good universities, who have opted for an occupation offering significantly lower salary over a more financially-rewarding career which cashes in on their education, simply because they feel they will be happier. You may have heard little or nothing of these people, mostly because they'd rather do without the criticism, but they do exist here.

In our case, people frequently talk down to us because they think 1) Bruneian reporters are not likely to have had higher education, 2) the very state of youth requires that we be uninformed, non-committal and very naive, and 3) good articles write themselves. There isn't a single day which goes by without someone trying to cram us blindly into an ill-fitting stereotype, and it's extremely tiring convincing ourselves that we aren't offended or disheartened. In truth, most of us are graduates in various fields and are willing to stay after hours to do research and brood over less than perfect articles. We aren't actually that young either; some of my colleagues look like they could be fresh out of secondary school, but are in their late twenties. At lunch and outside of work, we almost compulsively duck into shops to check if they sell our paper, or mentally estimate the number of copies left on any newsstands we pass. Ultimately, beneath the barrage of prying questions, ink-smudged fingers and printed words, we're still people with feelings, and deserve some respect for our occupation, as you would offer to anyone else who needs to earn their keep.

---

In the true spirit of a someone obsessively seeking out validation for our hard work, I stayed a few minutes longer after taking the picture, to verify that the shop assistant was really devouring, rather than skimming through the paper, and guess what? :) The answer stirred glee in my angsty little heart: I realised that there is nothing I relish more than the sight of someone quietly, but firmly breaking a shallow stereotype over his knee.

Tags:

• contemplations

• Nov. 10th, 2006 at 6:47 PM

Yesterday's sunset reminded me of those nodding donkeys rising and dipping against the yellow light in that 19-2000 video by the Gorillaz.


Later that evening:

• Music:Quruli - Suichuu Motor

Tags:

• miscellaneous

• Nov. 10th, 2006 at 1:55 PM

Guess who was up in time for the crack of dawn yesterday?

My colleague Keryn had to cover the viewing event for Mercury's transit across the sun yesterday, and she knew I'd be game for any old excuse to be out at odd hours, so we met at Tungku Beach just before 6am.



I'd completely forgotten how fantastic it was to be out in a silent, open space. When we arrived, there was no sign of the Survey Department and the Astronomy gang, but it was hard to worry when there was a beautiful sunrise to watch.


This is Keryn. I snapped this picture of her hanging out of her car window, while hanging out my own car window. I think it was just after this, that I said, "Hey, wouldn't be funny if you had published the wrong information about today's event in your article (she had written the article on it to notify the public of the date, time and venue)?"


"... And that all these bewildered-looking people here are readers of the Brunei Times?"


It took us a while to panic, but we eventually got around to it. At around 6.20am, we rang up the Astronomy people, and found out that they were all the way on the other side of the beach! Keryn went to scout out their possible location, and I rounded up all the members of the public. Initially there was some confusion regarding whether they had turned up to view the sun or moon (??!!), but soon we were advancing towards the right side of the beach in a fleet.

After following what must have been the worst dirt road in the world, which threatened the bowels of our vehicles with treacherous rocks protruding from the track (or we might as well have been rattling through a graveyard specifically for triangular rocks), we were forced to leave our cars, and continue on foot down the beach.

At this point, the Survey Department spotted us and sent down a Toyota Landcruiser to pick us up, and we headed for the end of the breakwater.

This is Keryn, scoffing the celebratory doughnuts they handed out to us for making it to their viewing party - just makes you wish all government servants were this warm!


These people are as cool as cowboys, because they're used to rough work. The Survey Department told us they'd come down to set up camp on the beach at 11pm the previous night, and they had ended up retreating to this near-inaccessible spot because it was the best viewing point.


An officer taking snapshots of Mercury's progress across the sun.


Like brushed steel fridges and titanium car interiors, this is a real man's telescope!


Keryn checks out Mercury's progress.


Viewing equipment set up for the public.


L: The rest of our new friends arrive. This young man said he was going to make a video of the event for YouTube: I'm looking forward to seeing it! Someone said: "What am I supposed to be looking at? There's just like this orange stuff in the telescope." :P





We left before the party was over, because I had to attend a business forum in Gadong. The afternoon's downpour washed away the carcasses of juicy insects which were plastered all over my windshield, bonnet and fender. However, I'm still feeling extremely inspired by having witnessed the Bruneian sunrise again - I may start going to Shahbandar Recreational Park again for a quick run in the mornings!

[Reminder: Bruneian bloggers, I am collecting your URLs for future projects. Leave me yours here!]

• Music:Yuno Ito - Losin' (Simplicity Mix)

Tags:

• reportage

• Nov. 8th, 2006 at 1:54 PM

Attended a press conference at a ministry.


Took a break from work at the office and played at being grown-up.


Cracked down on the bums strutting in to use our internet. (Kidding, this is graphics man Bokhari, braving the office airconditioning to get the job done.)


Joined friends for some sushi-time.

---

Press from four different papers, backstage and dejected after being turned away at the airport.


Gorgeous red pick-up outside the airport; stenciled on the side is 'Bomba Penerbangan Awam Brunei' (have no idea what this officially translates to, but it involves civil aviation and firemen).


Firemen dousing down a lorry which spontaneously burst into flames just 5 minutes away from our base.


Homemade red glutinous rice wine!



[Reminder: Bruneian bloggers, I am collecting your URLs for future projects. Leave me yours here!]

• Music:RIP SLYME - Matahou Nichi Made

Tags:

• miscellaneous,
• reportage

• Nov. 7th, 2006 at 2:47 PM

I'm looking for you!

I'm reorganising all my links, beginning with blogs owned by Bruneians, or Bruneian-based blogs. If you'd like to direct me to yours, or notice that I've missed any (and at the moment I barely have time to think about food cravings), please submit it in the comments. We are looking to arrange more fun collaborations with Bruneian bloggers in future, so if I have your URL, there's a good chance of you being invited to participate :). Links will be accessible via the link 'Bruneian blogs' on my sidebar.

South Wind from Brunei
Ash's Special Space
Rano Adidas
Eleventh Hours
Anak Brunei
Our Local Style
Turquoise and Roses
Emma Good Egg
BorgKingKong
Parking Idiots of Brunei
Ikan Masin
Bandar360
Brunei Resources
The Swanker
Life in Lumut, Brunei
Amie Heidi
ShitSoil
Jade Simian
Spiritual Garden
The World Through My Eyes
Brunei Geek
Life. Whose? Mine!
Scarred Soul
SiRTaMBaK
Orange Cat From Scratch
Wordpressing
Brunei Log
Lizzie in a Box
Sza's blog
Sza's photoblog
Absolute Nothingness
the-dot-in-neo
Syafiq
Khai
Ecstatic 208
Danurasana
Vixennova
Diamondatrix
Bibiran
All That Jazz
Crystal Frog
Najat
Penguins with a Headache
The Rejects
And I was Saying
Mizigoneloco's Photoblog
What's in your Tummy? (foodblog)

I will have to list these in a more attractive manner when I have the time. :) Thanks, everyone!

[Edit: Malay-language blogs are extremely welcome!]

Tags:

• links,
• maintenance

• Nov. 5th, 2006 at 7:43 PM

Along the A40 towards Paddington, there is this very old, blockish drill tower (used by firefighters for training purposes) which looks like a relic of the 70s. From the motorway it looks like a simple concrete cuboid with sharp corners, with chunks cut out all the way up the sides like a cheap flute; quite an unremarkable bit of architecture. Still, when I'm in London, it's something which strongly reminds me of home.

This is actually what it reminds me of:


This is the old drill tower which stands at the fire station in middle of Bandar Seri Begawan, and has been for as far back as I can remember - in all probability it was born quite some time before I was. My mother was still working full-time when I w