#rememberingmrleekuanyew A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

            force to be reckoned with

Fig. someone or something that is important andpowerful and must not be ignored.

I wish that I could have seen Mr Lee in his prime years when he was battling it out with the 'bigger and better' countries to establish Singapore as a force to be reckoned with, just like himself.

I love how he asked to be able to say things for himself without having them reworded for him.

I love how he asserted that he was Singaporean and not Chinese. (There is a big difference. IKR!) 

His intelligence is mind-blowing. He single-handedly tackled the various questions confidently and cleverly. 

Mr Lee = Amazeballs

#mrleeisamazeballs
#isaluteyoumrlee
#youaremyidolmrlee

#rememberingmrleekuanyew Thank You from the Bottom of My Heart

Mr Lee Kuan Yew is Singapore. Mr Lee Kuan Yew is the Heart of Singapore. Now that this heart has stopped beating, Singapore will never be the same again. 

I write this as the 'grandchild' of Mr Lee. As one of the kids from Gen X, Mr Lee was like a revered grandfather. I knew about his existence, of course, and knew about how remarkable a man he was. The adults would talk about him and share stories about him and his contributions. The benefits of being the 'grandchild' are that I am enjoying the fruits of his labour and the reaping what he has sown for all Singaporeans. 

Without Mr Lee, I will (likely) not be bilingual and be at the losing end. Sure, I grumbled at school and whined sometimes about coping with more than one language but it was 'his insistence' that I took two languages and so, I did. Well, 'grandpa' knows best, isn't it? Now, English, for me, is my working language, literally. Without English, where would I be? What would I do? That's food for thought.

English is a working language, a business language. Due to his amazing foresight, many Singaporeans are able to compete on an international level and platform. A video that I watched recently showed interviewers asking Koreans and Japanese why they were not confident at using English despite studying the language for many years in school. I'll leave this video for those interested to watch but my point is that Mr Lee's Bilingual Policy has helped us so much. Gen X and Gen Y have truly benefited from learning two languages from young. 

His contributions towards Singapore cannot be summed up like a 150-word summary. He has dedicated his whole life to Singapore and as the 'grandchild' of Mr Lee, even a heart-felt gratitude is not enough. Despite the immense and painful loss, I feel that we have to embody his pragmatism and push forward to make our Singapore, the Singapore that he will be proud of, always. We cannot and should not let him down because he has given his whole life to building a successful Singapore. The least that we can do as 'surviving members of the SG family' is that we ensure that Singapore remains successful and better yet, make Singapore even more successful. 

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This has to be translated to Chinese for the effects to be felt but here goes...

Others: You think you very up there and all that is it? Who's your 'grandfather', eh? 

SG Gen X: Mr Lee Kuan Yew. 

Others: Oh... You win, okay? You win. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mr Lee, for being someone whom we can boast about. Because of you, your 'children', 'grandchildren', 'great-grandchildren'... can hold their heads up high and say, "Yes, we are Singaporeans and Singapore is our homeland which is where we belong." 

Dear Mr Lee,
You are deeply missed. You are forever revered and respected. Thank you, thank you so so so much for building up Singapore. 

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Please note that the thoughts written here are my own. Please note the judicious use of Open and Close Quotation Marks. We are not related by blood but our bonds hold fast and true.

Mutual Respect regardless of Race, Religion, Sex and so on. Come On, it's 2015!

What a Sassy Lady and I Salute Her!

I salute television host, Rima Karaki, for staying calm, assertive and 

polite enough in the face of sexism and outright rudeness. She has 

turned the tables and has shown what a misogynist bigot this 'respected' 

Sheikh is. 

Confrontation is very stressful for me and I loathe facing such 

unpleasant and potentially explosive situations. Karaki has taught me 

that it is necessary to love myself and hold my good self in such high 

regard that any slights against me should not be taken lying down. 

There is a need to be firm when people are out to trample you and call 

you terrible names. 

Additionally, I'd like to add: #comebackto2015, 

#stoplivinginyourownbubble, 


#respectpeopleregardlessofsex, 


#mutualrespectandcommoncourtesyplease, 

#thinkbeforeyouspeakorelseyouaregoingtoshootyourselfinthemouth. This 

bigot has got some serious growing up to do. Stop living in your own 

ancient world and narrow mind. Seriously, give the person whom you are

talking to due respect. There is no need to resort to below the belt and 

childish means like calling another person horrible names. Such uncouth 

behaviour reflects extremely badly on him. He disgusts me through and 


through. 

Respect the PERSON regardless of sex/gender. Celebrate the 

PERSON's uniqueness and abilities regardless of sex/gender. Come on, 

we are more than our physical attributes, are we not? Man or Woman. 

Boy or Girl. We are Human Beings. Let us see the Person and not

judge just based on sex/gender. 

Dear Rima,

Thank you for speaking up! Thank you for keeping cool and calm in a 

situation that was possibly frightening and anxiety-inducing. You have 

taught as that there is no need to back down in the face of bigots. Let's 

hope that things change for the better and that this so-called respected 

Sheikh learns the error of his ways and that he releases his prejudiced 

notions and welcomes ideas like mutual respect despite differences and 

thinking before he speaks. You Rock! 

Sincerely,

The BRAINS behind The Bubbling Brain

TV host shuts down rude guest on live television

By Mia Fitzharris | Trending Now – 17 hours ago

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https://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/tv-host-shuts-down-rude-guest-on-live-television-211732023.html 

(Article taken with respect. No intention of copyrights intended. Please refer to URL above.) 

A television host in Lebanon got the last word while interviewing an outspoken guest. When Rima Karaki from the news station Al Jadeed spoke to London-based Sheikh Hani Al Sibai, the discussion was meant to cover reports that Christians are joining IS. Al Sibai appears to be avoiding the question at first, instead giving a long history lesson on the matter. Then a frustrated Karaki asks Al Sibai to stick to the discussion topic, reminding him of their time constraints: “For your own benefit, I’m telling you that we are running out of time.” Al Sibai shoots back, “Are you done? Shut up so I can talk.”

After the “shut up” heard round the world, Karaki decides the interview is over, saying, “How can a respected sheikh like yourself tell a TV host to shut up?” The sheikh responds, “It’s beneath me to be interviewed by you. You are a woman who …” Not wanting to hear how that sentence would end, Karaki takes back control of her show by saying, “Either there is mutual respect, or the conversation is over.”

The video of the interview was posted to YouTube, where it has been viewed more than 2.8 million times. Karaki is also getting support from social media, with tweets calling her “courageous” and a “boss.”

Behind the Scenes

What happens behind the scenes is as important as what happens on stage for the lead characters to shine and show off their best. Nay, what happens behind the scene sometimes be even more important than what happens on stage. 

I was cleaning my daughter's shoes at 11pm one Sunday night and as I cleaned it, I was overcome by emotions. How many times have my own parents stayed up while I slept to do stuff for me? To think that I have taken it as my right to shine on stage and take many things for granted, just like how my daughter is behaving now. The tables have turned and now, I am the one 'slogging' behind the scenes to make sure that she has 'little things' like clean shoes for the school week. Does she know that her shoes were cleaned by mummy late at night while she slept like a baby? No, she doesn't. 

But, the 'strange thing' about people who work behind the scenes is that they are quiet workers. They go about doing this and that and being as busy as bees without crying out for acknowledgement or screaming for attention. Those who work behind the scenes know that they are working hard for the lead characters to shine like diamonds on stage and they are most delighted when the lead characters steal the show with their sleuth-like assistance. 

Cheers to those who work behind the scenes. You are Important. You are Needed. Cheers to all mothers out there :):)