10 things you probably didn't know about Indonesia

1. Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands
2. It has a population of 238,452,952 in a survey done in 2004 (60x that of Singapore)
3. There are 365 different languages spoken in Indonesia
4. It covers 2 million square km, an area the size of Australia, but only 20% is land, the rest is
water
5. Less than 20% of the population is Chinese
6. Bali has a 210-day year
7. The world's rarest coffee comes from Indonesia and costs approximately US$300/pound
8. The name "Indonesia" has its roots in the Greek words. "Indos" meaning "Indian" and
"nesos" meaning "Island"
9. The Dutch colonized Indonesia for 350 years since 17th century until 1942
10. That the one writing this entry is orginally from Aceh, where the Tsunami occured

... the one who is waiting for Chup to arrive. We are going HK today!!!

When you say nothing at all.

Would you rather have a friend who tells you lies or a friend who says nothing at all?

Is a nice friend a true friend?
If he confides in you, does it make him a true friend?

In this world, sometimes it is hard to differentiate.

A word of advice, true friends don't come easy. Treasure them...

My answer? I would rather a friend who says nothing at all.

... the one who is waiting for Americal Idol to start

Return to Kebaya

The last house I designed was completed in Nov 2004. Last Friday, I was summoned by the owner, through the contractor, to return for a meeting at 7.00pm. The contractor told me the owner was unhappy about something. Fearing the worst, I went armed with camera to record any defects that may need some serious thinking over. Reaching there at 7.00pm sharp, I was told that the owner will be late. The contractor was also held up and rushing there. So I had the place more or less to myself. I took the chance to go around scrutinising all the joints. I looked for stain marks, for serious leakages and thought about law-suits and legal fees. I tested the sliding doors to see how smooth they glided. After 10 minutes of a thankfully fruitless survey, I began to relax and sat on the main sofa. It was getting dark and I could look around me in complete solitude. Because the living room doors were closed, the air was still and humid. I could count the number of cars passing by and the noise their engines made. I looked out for mosquitoes but there was none bothering me. The bamboo plant at the front porch had dried up. Otherwise, everything appeared the same as it was 16 months ago. An immense sense of satisfaction came over me. It's quite irrational and not at all easy to describe. I suppose it's like what parents feel when they're with their child. Doesn't matter if the child is dumb or bright. It's their child. There are faults with the design, to be sure. But I wasn't looking or thinking about them at all. Sitting in the twilight, I was wallowing in blissful contentment.

A while later, the owners' daughter returned from school. Then the contractor arrived, and then the owners returned. Soon, we were gathered around the dinner table. The owner was going to have some wine. Do we care to join in? Yes. Red wine. With nuts and anchovies. And the daughter came downstairs to practice the piano beside us. We had to shout to be heard above the music. We talked about restaurants and food. Then about an idea the owner had of improving the dining area. And a new screen coming over the TV area. And then the owner talked to me about some dissatisfaction he had over some matters quite unrelated to the house. I was relieved. That was what he called us for. A means to express pent-up feelings. My camera will not be used that night. We drank on and chatted, and I told them I'd like to bring them to see another house soon. And who knows, maybe we'll have the chance to work together again on another project. God knows, I miss designing and getting my boots dirtied on a work site.

Chup

Church search

A couple of weeks ago, I was delighted when Lini suggested she was willing to visit a church near our home to see what it was like. I have not been going to church for a while now, and I do not miss it. I enjoy my Sunday morning tennis games at my condo, and this has been on-going for about 8 years now. As for Lini, she enjoys sleeping late on Sundays. So why change the ritual?

Well, the one thing that would make church-going attractive for me again would be a chance to hear some good exposition of the Word. I say "hear" with a bit of emphasis. I have seen churches adopting management trends that got the whole congregation "speaking" on the basis that this is good for mass edification, and seen members leaving meetings with mass starvation. Then there are those who will say going to church is a duty, not a privilege. You're supposed to go for meetings regardless of whether you feel edified or not. Yup, I know all about all that. And nope, I won't lose sleep over all that nagging.

But duties aside, the thought that somehow, somewhere, there is a place where the bible is opened up and presented with weight, relevance and insight, where the words are respected and honoured, studied and treasured, that remains my dream assembly. Does such a place exist? For me, it once did, but I have not be able to find the same since, and hence my parched condition today. What went wrong with the place I once visited? At the risk of over-simplification, the church shifted its emphasis from word to work. There was a big shake-up; some felt we were only talking and not doing, we were in danger of becoming dead-wood, caught up with semantics, going nowhere with evangelism. So there was a revolution. The young and energetic out-shouted the old and lethargic. Camps were formed, intolerance grew; those resisting the new movement were branded "stumbling blocks" and "rebels". Soon, the church fractured into two. I stayed on with the "old" guards for a while. And then I decided to take a leave of absence. I had my own dreams to chase.

But back to the present. Last week, my very understanding group of tennis kakis agreed to change our tennis sessions from Sunday to Saturday, just so I can be free to go to church on Sunday mornings. I didn't insist but they did it for my good, and for that I'm grateful. So yesterday, I trooped out to visit that church I'd been eyeing. This happens to be a Brethren church, precisely the denomination I think I will like because they are known to have produced some of the greatest bible teachers in the 19th cent. There was about 300 members during the 9am session. It was a cosy place, and I felt comfortable there. There was the young and the old, the plain and the trendy, mixing well together. The maids were also seated together with the families they serve. But as I sat on, I realised that I wasn't going to find much sharing of the bible that morning. There was a mime show put up by some who will be going on a mission trip to Philippines. And a video presentation of the same trip. Then announcements of on-coming events. "World Prayer Day" and a video presentation on this, then something about self seeking group to counter Da Vinci Code, and so on. Mind you, these are all before the main message of the day. I waited for the main message, which had the uninspiring title of "CG Day" on the programme sheet. I was wondering what "CG" stood for and tried anticipating it. Alas, when the message came, I learnt that it stood for "Care Group Day". Really now. Then the pastor showed a video clip of a man out-running a cheetah to rescue a deer, and said that's what care group is all about, and read testimonials of those who find care groups wonderful. 15 minutes into this, I got up and left. I realise that as I get older, I get more impatient. I am reminded about that story in the gospels where Jesus went into the house of Martha and Mary, and Martha "was distracted with much serving" while Mary just sat and listened. Many churches are like Martha, "worried and troubled over many things." But the choosing of "that good part", where can I find it today? Can I find a place where pastors actually spend time gleaned from looking for video clips of cheetahs to conscientious study of the bible? I'm being cheeky here, I know, but where is today's G.H.Pember, whose "Earth's Earliest Ages" published in 1876 is still in circulation today? Or G.H.Lang? Or C.H.Mackintosh? These were scholars not only of the bible, but of the classics, and could refute Darwin with the highest conviction. A flock fed on a diet of their teachings would be so trained on what constitutes good writing that they won't last beyond 1 page of Da Vinci Code, much less be persuaded to spend an afternoon listening to speakers on how to counter it!

And now, my Sunday mornings are free. To be fair, I'll probably visit the Brethren church a few more times. Then, if I do not find what I need, I'll consider doing my own study. (And it'll include the text of other religions and cultures.)

Chup

Caribbean BBQ

Our friends, Steven and Zi, had a house-warming BBQ at their condo called Caribbean by the Bay last Sunday. We'd actually been there a couple of times before but the BBQ was new. Zi had also passed her Board of Architects examinations recently, which means she's a Qualified Person now, able to submit plans to building authorities in her own capacity. As usual, I walked around taking photos of the place while the girlfriends chatted. They won't know it, but I have a lot of memories of the place. You see, this was the site of my Final Year Thesis project back in 1990. At the time, this was still a derelict dock. There was a pump house next to King's Dock, and the slipway where the BBQ pavilions cantilevers over today was formerly known as "Dock No.2".

In 2002, I had a chance to give a talk in Gdansk, Poland. The topic I spoke on was waterfront sites in Singapore and one of these was this Keppel Harbour area. Carribean was under construction then, and I had to infer what it will be like from the sales brochure. In any case, this was what I said about the place in the symposium:

"Singapore’s history is relatively short, having been founded in 1819, almost insignificant when compared to Gdansk’s 1,000 year history. This port at Keppel was Singapore’s oldest. (Slide -) In the case of Keppel, there was only one owner (PSA) instead of the multiple owners as in the case of Tanjung Rhu. When its port operations were relocated, the land was sold for residential developement. It is currently being built as The Caribbean, a 969-unit residential development spread over 22 blocks that range from 4-storeys to 10-storeys in height.

The entire site is dug to cater for basement carpark, so that the ground level can be put to better use, and the views from ground up are not marred by massive multi-storey carparking structures that are then linked back to each individual residential block. This is also a question of class; multi-storey carparks are often associated by the market with the cheaper public housing estates, and more sophisticated homes have private lift lobbies that bring them directly up from their carpark spaces to their front doors. In fact this is a trait common to all 3 developments surveyed here; their parking garages are all below ground level, even as this means expensive waterproofing construction against the high water table level of a coastal site. Furthermore, the roof deck of these basement carparks are then constructed as elaborate landscaped gardens with water features and recreational facilities like BBQ pits and tennis courts so that the view from the apartments above will appear natural and scenic.

Again, all trace of memories and history of the place has been erased. (Slide of old boilers) Only the outlines of the piers, a carcass of the old docks are retained. But at least the coast line is kept accessible to the public, no doubt through legislature, but the condominiums maintain a level of exclusivity with gated property lines."

OK not very exciting prose, I'll admit, but it was supposed to be academic, you see. I guess I'm in the mourning-over-lost-places mood. The Caribbean is very photogenic today. But it's safe to bet that none of the residents know anything about its significant history, or about the hordes of Southern Chinese coolies the boats at Dock No.2 unloaded onto the shore of Singapore. At least, I bet Zi and Steven doesn't know.

Chup

The Hilltops

When Rajaratnam passed away, I was surprised by the number of Singaporean friends who did not know he penned the Singapore Pledge. There followed a lot of discussions in the Forum pages about how little we know of Singapore's post-colonial history, our founding fathers, etc.

The same could very much be said about Singapore's pioneer generation of architects, those from the 50s and 60s who were breaking the dominance of the ex-pat architects. Of this generation, I have been wanting to write something on Victor Chew, the founder of Kumpulan Akitek and co-founder of Singapore Institute of Architects, for some time now. I met him once, courtesy of his daughter, and he has a lot of stories to share. They were of a larger, social interest as well. He was one of the first to think about high-rise living for the tropics and the idea of a void deck was practically his invention. (He was also on the board of HDB for a while and I understand he used to give Liu Thai Ker a hard time as far as design was concerned.) One of his first large housing project was the Hilltops in Cairnhill, built in the early-60s, I think. It was a remarkable design for its time; practical, dense and yet arranged such that its density is minimised, spacious and orderly, and sculptural. Today this development is 40 years old and still looking handsome.

It is thus with a tinge of sadness that I read in the papers on 8 Mar that it will be offered up for en-bloc sale. Its plot ratio has been increased to 4.59 (why didn't they just round it up to 4.6?). The stretch of low-rise houses ringing it (also designed by Victor) will be developed for up to 2.8 plot ratio. Cairnhill has become too hot a location. As a matter of fact, I remember reading somewhere that the site of the Hilltops was the exact location where the original bungalow of the owner of the Cairnhill plantation had once stood. Undoubtedly it will be replaced by one of those soaring and senseless glass towers that litter the surrounding area today. It will be a pity. More so when another one of the invaluable works by a pioneer architect is set to be erased from the landscape of our collective memory.

Alfred Wong, who was once Victor Chew's colleague at Swan & McClaren (bet you didn't know that), once said that, "Only in Singapore does an architect outlast his buildings." By sheer coincidence, the Singapore Institute of Architects are currently holding a series of 3 talks over these 3 weeks given over to the old timers; Yang Soo Suan, Koh Seow Chuan, Ong Chin Bee, etc, and yes, including Alfred Wong. They ought to have these documented.

Victor Chew is today still in good health and spirits, despite a failing eye sight, and from the present reports, will seem destined to outlast the Hilltops.

Chup

Goodbye Nissan, Hello Lancer

And we're gonna miss you a lot... Just made a booking for the Mitsubishi Lancer 3 hours ago. It'll be the first time Lini and I will be getting a new car altogether. The Nissan March has been bought 2nd hand, something I regret now. Being 2nd hand, the resale value is lower and the dealer we bought it from had also given us recycled tires which we weren't aware of until it nearly caused us an accident last month. But the car itself has been great! I love its high headroom and wide windscreen. When you drive it, you don't see the bonnet and it's just you and the road. It helps that it's actually higher than the Lancer.

The data is Nissan's 1524mm height and 1661mm width versus the Lancer's 1430mm height and 1695mm width. In length, the sedan Lancer will be almost 800mm longer than the Nissan, so Lini may have to improve her parallel parking skills. And though I grumble about the leg room, the Nissan is still better than most stylish compact continental car. (I got into a Renault hatchback 2 nights ago and felt thoroughly imprisoned. In fact, getting in was itself a risky affair because I knocked my head against the door sill.) Its design was outstanding in 2003, when it first appeared. Nowadays, it's a pretty common sight, and its novelty has worn off. I'm also beginning to fret about its 1.2L engine...

But the car is only 3 years old, and only in Singapore is that considered an old age for a car. Sadly, the economics of COE rebate and current low price of COE compel us to get a new car. So, out goes a well-loved car and by the middle of April, we ought to have our new, black body, beige-leather seats, 1.6L Lancer. But for this month or so, I'll cherish the Nissan for all it's worth.

Chup