Good health

Learned a new proverb today from Sumedha from Sri Lanka during his theme session presentation, “AROGYA PARAMALABHA”.

It means “the biggest profit which we could earn is good health” or in another words “good health is the most precious gain”.

Indeed!

Safarian night in Singapore

Starry-starry night at Night Safari

Phab looked very happy to meet his long lost friends

Still no animals??

Phab again? Happy all the time, this time because Vivian agreed to take photo with him. Sheow Wei was probably blinded by the flash or perhaps Sisi's cap!

Oh my God! How come Phab is everywhere! Flashy cap Sisi!

Three Pacific Islands ladies, cool as always! and Phab was there again!

Phab is choosing a souvenir for his beloved Locknie

Happy faces all around ... relieved to be alive from the safari

Thank you NUS!!!

Finally ... he made it!

After so many tries, my favorite tennis player, Federer finally managed to beat his archrival on clay court, Nadal, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 at Hamburg Masters. With the win, he also ended Nadal's amazing record winning streak on clay at 81 matches.

What a match! When I watched Federer was beaten 2-6 in the first set, I thought that was it. Have to wait another day for him to actually beat Nadal on clay. But he made a comeback in the second set and what a comeback! Won 6-2 in second set and unbelievable 6-0 in the final set. This time around, Federer answered every shot that Nadal gave him. Superb match from two great sportsmen.

Fitting starts to the upcoming French Open. Bring it on, I say!

Lost the final ... damn it!

So lazy to read the newspaper today simply because I know the headline at the back page will surely be the lost of Manchester United to Chelsea last night in the 126th edition of FA Cup Final. Watched the game in my apartment with my buddies, Mike, Chet, Jun, Ali, Sekope, Phab, Penday and Tika’s Husband since Liquid Kitchen was surprisingly full.

I was so frustrated since I was routing for United to the double this year. Thanks to that Didier “the stupid baby” Drogba’s goal in the 116 minutes, my beloved United lost the final. Not a great game anyway. Both teams play so cautiously and adopted safety-first tactics especially Chelsea with so many passes between their back four at one time. Stupid tactics with efficiency they say. Boring-boring Chelsea! It was a letdown.

By the way, United that night was unrecognizable at all. Ronaldo was mute, Giggs was nowhere to be seen, Scholes’s passes went astray most of the time and did you see Carrick? The only United player that showed passion in the game was Rooney. He even tried to beat them all to find some breakthrough but with to no avail. Fergie got his tactics wrong in this one. He should partnered Rooney with another striker. Too negative, the attacking flair just wasn’t there. Better luck next year, I guess.

United is still the Premiership Champion anyway, I can celebrate that!

P/s: What is the official football club who only knows how to play Champions League?
I give you a clue; start with L and has a huge 21 points difference between Manchester United and them in the Premiership table. Not forgetting boring long ball tactics.

Charter to chatter about

I read an interesting article in The New Paper today on the plan to materialize the proposed ASEAN charter. It was an attention-grabbing reading for me on this mundane Thursday afternoon due to my foot injury. Normally, I would already be at the gym or the basketball court for my daily workout.

What is the ASEAN charter by the way? Officially declared at the ASEAN Summit 2005 in Kuala Lumpur whereby the ASEAN leaders agreed to the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter, this charter will provide ASEAN grouping with a legal standing and signed constitution. If this to be happen soon (probably during the ASEAN Summit in Singapore) it will be a new milestone in ASEAN's development into a mature regional organization. In essence, the ASEAN Charter emphasizes, among others, promotion of democracy, human rights and obligations, transparency and good governance, strengthening democratic institutions and intensifying ASEAN’s competitiveness, to deepen and broaden ASEAN’s internal economic integration and linkages with the world economy.

Actually, I am more interested on how this piece of paper will be translated to people like me and ASEAN communities as a whole. I noted that Singapore Foreign Minister, George Yeo mentioned 5 main points on the benefits of stronger ASEAN which includes framework of peace and cooperation, visa-free movement which result in strong services sector, free trade area for goods, consular assistance and cheaper and easier regional travel for the young.

I have to say that I really like the last point whereby ASEAN should try to make the regional travel cheaper and easier for the young as in Europe. Heck! I have to admit that I have only been to Singapore and Thailand. What a pity! I have another 7 more ASEAN countries to finish the jigsaw.

As the young will be the cornerstone of one’s country, I believe it is the utmost important that for ASEAN communities to grow stronger in the future we should first need to be able to understand each other dynamics such as cultural differences and development needs. Between one country to another, the difference might be huge in term of economics development, political scenarios and social state of affairs. I guess we need to understand this properly in order to build a common ASEAN identity.

It will take a very long time (or maybe not at all) for ASEAN to achieve full pledge integration as per European Communities but then we need to start somewhere and this is probably a very good start!

Just my lousy two cents!

The one with probable torn ligament

What was supposed to be a friendly game of basketball turned to a mini-nightmare for me on Sunday. During one of the Michael Jordan wannabe move I made, I accidentally twisted my right ankle heavily which resulted in a very-very swollen feet. I feared for the worst. That night, I sleep in so much pain.

On Monday, the always helpful Jake (NUS academic coordinator) took me to Gleneagles Hospital to seek medical treatment. Fortunately for me, based on the x-ray, nothing was broken but the doctor said probably I torn my ligament which will take about 2, 3 weeks for full recovery. I was so frustrated to hear that because the course will end in about 3 weeks and there are so many things I plan to do.

Anyway, every cloud has a silver lining right! It is the same for me on this. I found out (not that I don’t know already) that I have so many great friends who always willing to help me in everyway to help me through this difficulty. Without them, it will be very hard for me to get through the day using the wheel chair. Thank you all!

P/s: FYI, Penday comes to my apartment every night to massage my foot to reduce the pain, which I really appreciate.

Cycling at Pulau Ubin

Saturday, 12 May 2007. For a different experience while we were in Singapore, Teck suggested that we go cycling at Pulau Ubin, a small island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. The name Pulau Ubin means "Granite Island" in Malay language which probably explains why you can see so many abandoned granite quarries there. The island is known as "chioh sua" in Hokkien, which means "stone hill".

Nine of us agreed to go there. Teck, Dennis, Mike, Mr & Mrs Dung, Vivian, Sun Sun, Tika and myself. We assembled at Fraser’s lobby as early as 7.30 am and took two taxis to go to our meeting point with Teck at Tanah Merah MRT station. From there we took bus no. 2 to go to Changi Village Jetty to take a bumboat ride to go to Pulau Ubin. Before we actually boarded the bumboat, Teck took us to eat at the so-called the best Nasi Lemak in Singapore named International Nasi Lemak.The bumboat ride lasted not more than 10 minutes.

Immediately after we arrived at Pulau Ubin, we rented five bicycles, four 2-in-1 and 1 single. So our journey began. We have so much fun cycling around the island with so many 5 minutes break, (since everybody is not that fit) which includes a nice coconut drinking stop somewhere near one small village at the island.

Anyway, I have never thought that leisurely cycling like this will be this tiring. We were so exhausted and it was not even quarter of the island. Ha ha ha. Our adventure on the island was probably around 3 to 4 hours. We were glad we made this trip, managed to see so many greens, a very good change of view from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Singapore.

We arrived back at Fraser around 3 pm. Drained, exhausted and sleepy but with sweet memories to smile about!

Dinner at Settlers Cafe

More than just coffee, that is the cafe's motto to begin with.

Unfortunately, I have forgotten the date when Teck took us to this unique cafe call Settlers at North Canal Rode to have dinner with a twist. Playing board game!

Eight of us went there, Vivian, Chet, Teck, Dennis, Pei-Li, Sun Sun, Mike and me. It was an interesting place. The cafe has a huge collections of board game from UNO to I don't know what. We played two different board games, one before dinner and one after. The first game called Saboteur where players aim to win the game, either as a succesful miner or saboteur. The second game was about building railroads called Ticket to Ride, another good game, at least for someone like me who probably know only monopoly and scrabble. The waiter taught us patiently on how to play both games which really helped us in understanding the whole idea of the game.

The food wasn't that great but the atmosphere created from customers playing all the games supplemented it. That night it was full house at the cafe. End of the day, I have to say that I have no problem going there again.

It was fun!

Comme ci comme ca

Pronunciation : "Kohm See Kohm Sah"

Meaning : not too good, not too bad; like this, like that; so-so or OK laaaa.

Definitely French in origin but has been widely used in English. Probably popularized by American Soldiers coming back from service in France after World War II.

If I remember correctly, first time RTPC participants heard this word was from Mr. Johann Human (the moo cow can lecturer) and like "nomenclature", Phab from Lao PDR was the one who popularized this word and use it the most.

Example on how to use it:

Professor : You back there from Lao, do you understand what is prime commodities?

Phab : Comme ci comme ca (ha ha ha ha ....)

This is Locknie ...

The first face (literally speaking) that all participants of RTPC in Singapore saw on 12 March 2007 and still the first face you see every morning in the class (Am I right??). It is my pleasure to introduce the one and only Associate Professor Locknie Hsu from Faculty of Law, NUS.

Just some introduction about her which I took from NUS website, Ms. Locknie Hsu obtained her Masters in Law degree from Harvard Law School. She practised as a lawyer before joining the Faculty and is a former Vice-President of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. She teaches two trade courses: Trade Dispute Mechanisms and Trade, Law and Development. Her work has taken her to stints at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, Paris, as well as at the Singapore Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. She has served as legal consultant to the Singapore Government, participating in a number of cross-border trade negotiations on its behalf. For full impressive biodata of our dearest academic coordinator, click here. And don't forget to check out her photo there okay!

This gut-wrenching, tough-tackling, flu-fighting lady has been very nice to all of us during our stay in NUS and I believe everybody appreciates her efforts in every way. From checking our welfare when we were sick, so sportingly joining us singing and dancing at the beach in Sentosa, accompanying Phab at Night Safari (luckily for Phab, without Locknie, that big snake at the animal show probably eat him already) and avoiding stomach problem after dinner at Fraser (and yes, also Phab is the one who got sick).

In the class, who can forget, everytime, without fail, she will always help us with her favourite, famous keywords such as ... please refer Article ..., Page ... in your Green Book, workbin and weblink. However lately, Locknie probably will lose her job because Phab already started to take over some task such as deciding the BREAK TIME!!

Faces of RTPC 2007

This is actually the very first time that I write a blog. So a total beginner and I really struggle to come up with this. Anyway, since I am currently in Singapore in a company of many wonderful people in the course, I think it is appropriate to start my blog on my experience during this course.

This is my first post in this blog which I call Remembering Nomenclature. I believe participants of the 1st. WTO Regional Trade Policy Course in partnership with National University of Singapore (NUS) will always remember that magic word. Anyway, so that I will always reminisce all my dear friends from RTPC 2007, let me start this blog with ... presenting the faces of RTPC 2007:

The lady in red is Ms. Nu Zun Sun whose nickname is Sun Sun from China. She has such a big heart and loved by everybody and not forgetting, a good cook as well. The guy holding the cup will always be remembered as the one who made famous the word nomenclature, Mr. Anouphab Sayasensouk from Lao PDR. No one else can say that word better than him and we will always have such a good laugh when he said it. The guy on the far right who always can't stop smiling is Mr. Nara Thol from Cambodia.

This two gentlemen came from neighbouring countries. Mr. Ajay Kumar Srivastava in blue from India while Mr. Khawar Fared Maneka in yellow shirt originated from Pakistan. Ajay is the one who always have something in his mind to ask the lecturers anytime any class. He is special in a sense that he is able to come up with questions even from some lectures that actually bored most of us to death. By the way, Mr. Maneka is really a persuasive man with his famous style ... listen! listen! A very generous man. You want to know how generous he is? Ask Sun Sun! Perhaps the most senior government officials among us.

I can’t help it. I have to use this unique, photogenic photo of Mr. Lal Krishna Sharma Paudel from Nepal. The photo is just so special. See the eyes! He looks like an actor from Bollywood movie that is ready to sing and dance and believe you me he really likes to dance. Give him good music and watch him move. By the way, he loves hindi songs too. Go Mr. Paudel!

This three ladies came from Pacific Island countries which explains why they always together in most of the things they do such as eating and shopping. On the far left, Ms. Etita Puamalie Morikao from Tuvalu, Ms. Jenny Kokosi Barile in the middle originated from Solomon Island and Ms. Cindy Koae Flood in purple dress is from Kiribati. One thing that I will always remember about them was the story about the difficult situation related to global warming and the rise of sea water level from Ms. Etita and Ms. Cindy in their countries. It will remain in my heart and my mind. I can only pray for the best for them as I am powerless to help in anyway.

The two quietest female participants in the course. Ms. Sandar Tun on the right from Myanmar and Ms. Tuyatsetseg Nyamsuren from Mongolia. A story to share, for theme session, I was assigned in the group with Ms. Sandar. Everytime she asked me when are we going to discuss about it, I will always tell her (with serious face) that she will do everything herself while Nara and me will not do anything. I think she was scared and probably upset with me and complained to everybody that I bullied her. (Ha ha ha, relax la Sandar, I was joking!) Well, Tuya you are so quiet thus I don't know what to say about you except good luck in negotiating "FTA" with Tonga! By the way, she speaks 4 languages, Russian, Mandarin, English and Mongolian. Impressive isn't it!

The one pointing the finger is Mr. Cong Huan Nguyen a.k.a Mike who came from Viet Nam. I guess his main hobby is shopping and shopping. Probably the biggest spender of per diem among us, ha ha. Anyway, he is a good friend of mine, my dining and movie partner and really love nasi goreng ayam. Since he studied for a while in Singapore, it was just very easy when going outing with him. Next to him is Mr. Dennis Alenabon Gamaya, a central banker from Philippines. He loves outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling and kayaking. By the way, he is the only lawyer in the class.

Three tough guys of Pacific Islands. On far left, is Mr. Sekope Daini Tamanitoakula from Fiji. A big fan of rugby and Australian Football. He is also a very good guitar player and have successfully entertained us for countless times. My dedicated 10.30 am tea buddy and probably Sun Sun’s good friend. Also served as the buffer between Himalia and Elara, (if u know what I mean). The big guy in the middle is Mr. Aloisio Alipate Tavo, best known as Ali coming from Tonga. The very first name that I remember since it was very easy to memorize. This loyal customer of Detention Class is the biggest dude in the class and probably the funniest (and not forgetting Phab). Can you forget interesting questions from Ali such as is WTO logo copyrighted or can Tonga negotiates FTA with Mongolia? It was really funny, creative questions and unimaginable in the first place. The one on the far right is Mr. Timothy Williams Sisi from Vanuatu. If not in class, you can always find him in the gym at Frasers working out. Very dedicated in his gym work, the strong man of RTPC 2007.

Most of the time, he is always quiet but when he do speaks in class, the questions from him sometimes very constructive which surpise many of us. It is my pleasure to know Mr. Alex Katalon Kerangpuna from Papua New Guinea, who is the one in light blue. On the left is prospective Harvard grads. A casual coffee chat with him can lead to discussion on universal issues which I really appreciate. This 31 year old gentleman is Mr. Sounman Michael Hong from South Korea. If you have a chance, look at his handwritten notes, it was so neat, I thought it came from HP printer!

On the left, is the mummy to be, Ms. Pei-Li Chin from Chinese Taipei. She is also known as Tiffany. She announced the good news here during class and we were treated with a nice cake that day. In the middle of the photo is Ms. Tika Wihanasari from Indonesia, an ASEAN neighbour of Malaysia. Since she speaks the same mother tongue language like mine, so it is nice talking to her, at least I won't forget my own language in these three months. By the way, along with Sun Sun, she always treats us with nice home cooked dinner. The guy on the right need no introduction. One of the WTO expert in the group, he should actually teach us not learning it with us. Probably got one of the best photo in the booklet that NUS provided us where he adorned the military typed dress, I thought he is in the army or something. Anyway, he came from Thailand and his name is Mr. Chet Suksang or sometimes I heard people called him Jackie. His interest ... ermm, should I tell people? Never mind Chet, it is our secret. Ha ha! By the way, if he shows photos of his officemates, I think all the guys would want to work there and the first one will be Ali!

I present to you the Wise Man from Bhutan, Mr. Penday Dorji (The one in white okay). An ardent basketball player, he is the Michael Jordan of the group. Every afternoon around 6 pm, you can catch him playing one-on-one with Paudel at the Fraser's court. By the way, next to him is someone he met in Sentosa, what is his name Penday?

All smiles from the two largest contributor to Mustafa. Everytime we met after class or during weekend, somehow they always just came back from Mustafa. Amazing! The one with the largest smile is Mr. Sumedha Arachchige Ponnamperuma from Sri Lanka. He was also the Honorable Minister of Himalia. The speckie guy came from Bangladesh, never miss to wish me Selamat Pagi (Good Morning in Malay language) everyday at Fraser's cafe. Probably the quietest male in the class. His name is Mr. Rahman Khan Hamidur.

Since this is my neighbour from day 1 in the class, I have to give special preferential treatment for this lady from Macao, Ms. Ming Yan Kong or known to everybody as Vivian hence this nice single photo. She is very hardworking and committed in any exercise given in class, (negotiation, theme session and so on) so I could imagine she must be the same in her work. I admire her for that. There is no way for you to tell her to take it easy. I tried and failed everytime, ha ha ha! Always writes and writes (I don't know what she writes though).

Our host countries participants, Mr. Teck Yong Lim and Ms. Sheow Wei Yeo from Singapore. Teck is from the Trade Ministry while Sheow Wei is from Foreign Affairs. During the negotiations simulation, Teck was the tough tackling Honorable Minister of Elara who is ready to open all sectors for his country especially NAMA. Even ready to be in Developed group! Anyway, between him and me, we did have great discussion on the whole things of WTO, RTPC, things like that and I really appreciate the intelligent discussion. Another great discussion partner in the group, Sheow Wei has been very nice to me and I believe, everybody. The only child in the family probably awaiting her posting destination after this course and I wish her good luck on that. Don't forget to tell me where you will be posted so that I can disturb you, if I have the chance to go wherever that will be.

By the way, the one in RED is me!