Travel Green!

Being the sort who would drive out to the supermarket 5 mins away, I was prepared to have my conscience pricked by Howard Shaw, Executive Director of the Singapore Environment Council, when he dropped by to talk about greener transport alternatives.

But what I took away was that it's OK to own a car (preferably a fuel-efficient or hybrid one), but be conscious that there are other options available to us. If the destination is nearby, walk. Or take an MRT or bus to town once in a while. After all, we all know how crazy traffic & parking can be!

In Singapore, there's a whole array of options available to us. We just need to factor the environment into our daily decisions and make greener choices to reduce our carbon footprint.

Howard himself owns a car, but when the weather is nice & traffic isn't too heavy, he opts to cycle to his appointments. When I met him recently at Borders Cafe, he had walked over from Ion Orchard where he was attending an event. He plans his daily schedule smart, so that travel is minimised (it accounts for 30% of carbon emissions!).

Now that I can do. I felt empowered after chatting with Howard as well as Dawn Low, Director of Corporate Marketing & Communication at SMRT, and Chairperson of SMRT's Green Committee. All this ahead of Green Transport Week 2009 (22-26 Aug).

Howard Shaw & Dawn Low appeal to our Green Souls.

Dawn shared SMRT's move to greener alternatives, including importing more fuel-efficient buses, turning to CNG-fuelled cabs, and embarking on a Join the Green Revolution campaign. In fact, if you make a pledge to go green with SMRT, you stand to win a whole year's free travel on the MRT for the family. To take part, click here.

Green Transport Week kicks off this Sat 22 Aug, 6pm with Formula Green Concert @ SMU Campus Green. Kumar, Jack & Rai, Dawn Ho, Alemay Fernandez & many more will be spreading the message of travelling green, so don't miss it! Also, the latest hybrid concept cars not yet on the market will be displayed.

And hey, if you're planning to head down for the concert on Saturday, do try to take a bus or MRT there! *wink*

Event: Border X's Via Ferrata!

The Living Room is organising a special event for our listeners, and we'd love for you to join us!!!

Stan & Pam @ Border X's Via Ferrata wall.

If you've heard the trailers on 938LIVE, you'll know that we're getting our butts off the Living Room couch and doing something different.

We're climbing the tallest indoor Via Ferrata wall in the world!!!

EVENT DETAILS

Sat 29 Aug

11am - 4pm

(climb is abt 2hrs, so pick your slot!)

Border X's Via Ferrata wall @ Orchard Central

$30 per pax / $50 for 2 pax

How Do You Start A Chain Reaction?

BE A SPARK.

And that's what these four spunky girls did.

"We want to find a cause, and have an effect. And from there, grow our initiative to cause others to effect change together with us," the girls explain. And from this premise, the Chain Reaction Project was born.

Over 5 days, they will mountain-bike 450km across Timor Leste for a good cause. This is part of Tour de Timor, an initiative of Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Hota.

"Recently, we had the privilege of meeting President Hota who shared with us the needs and the progress of his nation, along with the hopes he has for it. With President Hota's blessings, TCRP will be working alongside his office on a project to build homes and sources of water supply for the nation's poorest," the girls tell us.

Girls from The Chain Reaction Project in the Living Room: [L to R] Tingjun, Jasmine, Alexandra & Anina.

And who are they? Zhang Tingjun (if she looks familiar, she represented Singapore in netball!), Jasmine Wong, Alexandra Toh & Anina Boshoff. They are such a chatty, spontaneous & engaging bunch, and the one hour we had with them just flew by!

They not only exude a spirit of adventure but also boasts big, big hearts. And such natural poster girls!

The girls are pleasantly surprised by the amount of support they're receiving from individuals & companies who have jumped on the bandwagon to sponsor them stuff from camping tents, nutrition bars to airline tickets!

"It's really a chain reaction happening," Tingjun remarks. "Everyday we see the number of fans on our Facebook page increasing, people approaching us to sponsor stuff, media support... it's amazing."

Talking about Facebook, the girls will be uploading photos & updating fans during their 5-day ride (24-28 Aug). So if you'd like to follow their adventure, join them now on Facebook!

TJ, Jas, Alex & Anina: The Living Room wishes you all the best in your endeavour! And as promised, we'll be having you girls back on our couch when you return. We're already looking forward to hearing your stories!!!

In the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles

If you enjoyed our chat with Dr Nigel Barley, author of In the Footsteps of Stamford Raffles, and would like to find out more about the life & times of our Founding Father, we have 3 copies of the book to give away ~ compliments of Monsoon Books.

Nigel is actually very tall! He's squatting here to accommodate me!

To get a copy, drop us a Comment and leave your name, address & contact number. All winners will be contacted soon, and a copy will be heading your way!

WINNERS:

Seraphina Teow

XXXX-7727

Lai Chie Kai

XXXX-3168

Patrick Ho

XXX-8495

Michael Ho

XXXX-6964

Kelvin Lim Teck Boon

XXXX-5364

CONGRATS!!! Monsoon Books will be contacting you soon...

An Overseer of Residents, Patients & Family

Forty thousand residents, clinic patients in multiples of hundred, three children and one wife. Don't ask me how he manages the needs and meets the expectations of so many, he just does. This is the life of Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC, Dr Lim Wee Kiak. Ophthalmologist by day (and sometimes night), he meets his residents regularly in the evenings and on weekends and also works around parliamentary sessions and other governmental level meetings he has to attend. While most of us grapple with being able to pack as many things as we can into 24 hours, Dr Lim has you know his primary philosophy for life, "Take it as if you are living the last month of your life, but plan as if you'll live forever."

When asked which group of people would be the toughest to meet the expecations of, this was his answer, "It is intuitive for people to think that being an MP is tougher, but if you ask me, being a father is tougher. The direct responsibility, one-to-one, and all parents want the best for their children. The best gift a parent can give to the child is memories (of) when they are young".

The former medical officer in the navy who counts gardening among his hobbies is the CEO of Eagle Eye Centre. Seeing how dentists are always expected to have a good set of teeth, we asked if his vision were as sharp as an eagle's. To this, he confessed that while in primary school, he adored his classmates who wore glasses because "they looked so studious and smart". He added that he even tried to cheat at an eye test by mis-reading some of the letters and numbers. Looks like this MP was once a cheeky little boy, but Dr Lim puts it down to good genes. No contact lenses and no Lasik for Dr Lim! Those genes somehow were never inherited by his three children who all wear glasses. With a teasing look, he says his wife has something to do with it.

Multi-tasker Extraordinaire: Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Sembawang GRC.

On a more serious note, we probed about his role as an MP and a voice representing his constituents in parliament. This was his reply:

All policies, just like medicine, will have side effects. Even the best medicine will have some side effects. The big question is - How do you deal with these side effects and can you predict these side effects in advance so that you can help this group of people? For all bils and policies that are forumalted, as far as I'm concerned, they have to pass what I call 'three tests'.
Number 1 - Does it benefit the majority?
Number 2 - What does the policy mean to my children? How dies it affect their future? Some policies are very short-term; it sounds good at this point but in time, it may be adversely affecting my children.
Number 3 - Who are the one that are affected and what are the mitigating factors? What measures are you introducing to lessen the pain? If the medicine is bitter, how do you sweeten it?

A Milestone for Human Rights Here

I'm indignant that detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is treated this way. She is supposed to be the Prime Minister of Myanmar. Her party, the National League of Democracy, won by a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections. Fair & square.

But she was never allowed to assume that role. The military junta ignored the results and put her under house arrest without trial. Right now, just as the elections are around the corner, she's again put on trial and on the verge of being sentenced to prison.

Where is the justice in all this? How can the Burmese people & the world put up with what the military junta is doing in Myanmar? It's ridiculous.

But we learnt today that the whole process of restoring justice, of promoting & protecting rights, is not a straightforward one. The international community can't just step in and take over. The sovereignty of a nation has to be respected, and non-interference in the internal affairs of the state is still the way to go.

But I'm glad for one thing, and this is a historic milestone for Southeast Asia. At the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Phuket last month, we took a step closer to regional cooperation on human rights. The 10 members states agreed to certain terms of reference and established the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

This is a move that took 16 years in the making. The wheels of change were set in motion back in 1993, according to our guests today: Braema Mathi and Peter Low, both founding members of MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism).

Shedding light on ASEAN's new human rights Commission:

Peter Low & Braema Mathi.

Braema was a former Nominated Member of Parliament & former President of AWARE. Peter is a lawyer & former President of the Law Society. They gave precious insights on the likely role of this new Commission and how it will impact citizens in the region.

Right now, a national representative for each member state is being selected - in time for the ASEAN Summit in October. The danger is that if these representatives are not properly selected, if they are not strong advocates of human rights, then this Commission becomes nothing but a white elephant.

We all need to play a part, seriously. My suggestion is to find out all you can about this Commission, and to have a say in the selection process. Whether we like it or not, it will affect all of us. For more information, visit the ASEAN Secretariat website here. Or better yet, participate in the upcoming consultation workshop by MARUAH:

CONSULTATION WORKSHOP

ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights

22 Aug (Sat)

8.30am - 3.45pm

Novotel @ Clark Quay

To register, click here.

My hope is that this Commission will be a force to be reckoned with - that it will be that united voice of conscience for all levels of government, and truly stand for human rights advancement here.

In a fragile region like ours (with Myanmar being part of ASEAN, and Cambodia, Thailand & Indonesia, where child-sex trafficking is so rampant), this is so, so needed.

We're Modern Day Lumberjacks

I love trees! I love lying on my back and looking at the arching branches above, seeing the sunlight dance through the foliage.

But today, I was reminded by an unwelcome, jarring sound that each time I click on 'Print' on my computer, and print something I may not need, that I'm contributing to the felling of one of these.

How many times have we printed an email and not deleted all the previous responses tagged to it? What could've been on 1 page ends up being 4 pages long!

Well, there's now a brilliant way to remind ourselves each time we click on 'Print' that trees are being felled to make that piece of paper. By downloading i.Saw, clicking 'Print' triggers the jarring sound of a chainsaw & a falling tree!

I know, sometimes Ignorance is Bliss. But seriously, are we really ignorant? Do we really want to pretend the problem is not there when it's our environment we're talking about?

i.Saw is the brainchild of advertising firm BBH Asia Pacific, and we had the pleasure of chatting with its digital creative directors, Shawn Loo and Noel Yeo in The Living Room today to find out about the inspiration behind this environmental campaign.

Well, if you'd like to download that chainsaw sound, click here. Spread the word!