Issue 1

The Blue and Gold Bullion of Knowledge, Gears of Time January 2008

Voluntourism Confessions of an Undergraduate Thespian

hot in SMU? Things to expect before that stage act
Page II
Jeremy Wang

There aren’t that many of us

Virtuoso hits around.
We’re not that hard to spot either
high note – just follow the trail of loud, melo-
dramatic voices and you should be
Page II headed in the right direction. Yes,
I’m talking about thespians. And
I’m one of them.

Book review: With the Arts Festival just around

the corner, the good people at The

The No Blue and Gold thought it’d be fun

to invite a real-life, honest-to-good-
Asshole Rule ness thespian to talk about what to
expect if you’re thinking of joining
Page V our merry and motley crew.
Now for starters, the first step to
treading the boards of any stage is
to go for auditions. Yes, it is impor-
Bulldozing to tant to get off your lazy bum and
click ‘reply’ when you see an email
victory calling for auditions.
You may be God’s gift to theatre
Page V and acting, but no one’s going to
know unless you go out there and
get noticed! And I assure you, sign-
ing up for an audition is the easi-
Myanmar issue est part of the journey; it only gets
tougher from here on out.
key focus at Depending on the mood of the
play’s director, he may ask you to do
dialogue one of several things during your
audition: read from a script, impro-
Page VI vise a scenario, dance like you’re in
a really bad music video, roll on the
floor and play dead or more. The
Keeping the list goes on, but I think you get the
idea.
SMU spirit alive With any luck, the director will
love the way you pranced around
Page VI to N’Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye” and you
will receive the coveted role. How-
ever, it is also entirely possible that
the director may prefer Usher, and
5 minutes with you may end up with a “less glam-
ourous” role.
Daniel Mark But do bear in mind that in a play,
there are no small roles. Each char-
Chow acter, in some way, shape or form,
contributes to the telling of the
Page VII story. So please don’t sulk if you’re
not the star of the show.
Now, we come to the toughest part
of being in any play: rehearsals. It is
a common misconception that per-
forming on stage while conquering
stage fright is the hardest thing
about being an actor.
Nonsense, I say! By the time you
step onto the stage, you should be
able to chew up stage fright and
spit out a top-notch performance.
It’s getting to that point that’s dif-
ficult.
You may be required to rehearse
anywhere between one to five times
a week, depending on the scale of
the production and how close it is
to opening night. Rehearsals can
be as short as one hour, and as long
as ten hours. I’m not kidding. The
toughest rehearsal schedule I’ve
ever faced was when I had rehears-
als three times a week, during weeks
14 and 15. It’s not the most pleasur-
able experience around.
During these rehearsals, you will
sometimes be made to repeat a
scene over and over again. You may
get yelled at. You may have to wait
around for other people while they
repeat their scenes and get yelled
at - these two actions sometimes
occur simultaneously. And in the
course of these rehearsals, you may
sometimes feel inadequate and ask
yourself, “Why the hell am I even
doing this?” This question is easily
answered by copious amounts of al-
cohol. Okay, this time I’m kidding.
Eventually, the opening night will
arrive. You will either be raring to
go, or you will be in a quiet corner
praying that the electrical power in
the theatre will get mysteriously cut
off. Usually it’s the former, but you
never know.
When you perform, the audience
may laugh or cry unexpectedly. It
may not necessarily be a reflection
of the quality of your performance.
The most rewarding thing about
acting is obtaining a reaction from
your audience. It’s their way of say-
ing that they identify with what
you’re saying, verbally or otherwise.
And so, you will play out the
Photo: Ephraim Loy
role which you have spent the past
month or six honing to perfection.
You will in all likelihood be excel-
lent, and the audience will lavish
you with applause. Some of your
friends might even present you
with bouquets. Please remember
that it is not a wedding, and that
you should resist the temptation to
throw the flowers into the audience.
Your friends might not appreciate
the gesture very much.
Finally, when the applause has
died away on the last night of your
performance, and the crew is busy
clearing out of the theatre before
they charge you more money for
over-staying, you may feel a certain
sense of emptiness knowing that it’s
over.
You may also feel an itching sen-
sation. If it isn’t an allergic reaction
to your costume, it’s probably you
telling yourself to go for another
audition as soon as possible.
Congratulations, you are now a
seasoned stage thespian.

The Blue and Gold has attracted by Singapore Press Holdings. email account as well. These will be happenings.

Catch us eyeballs since it’s launch in No-

vember last year. Not too bad con-
sidering that this publication is
Readers will be able to leave their
comments on articles in The Blue
and Gold on the online portal.
published on our letters page,” said
Ephraim Loy, Editor-in-Chief
of The Blue and Gold. But this is
Individuals who have knowledge
of producing videos will also be
roped into the team of writers.
in its infancy. Apart from sharing “Through this we are able to only the first step.The Blue and The online portal, omy.sg, has

online! content with the SMU population,

selected articles will also be avail-
able at omy.sg a bilingual website
have additional two-way commu-
nication. “We still hope to receive
brickbats and bouquets in our
Gold team will also help to iden-
tify potential writers to contribute
to omy.sg to write about campus
attracted more than 5 million
hits since its launch in September
2007.
 Issue 1,Page II
What’s Up @ SMU
The Blue and Gold
January 2008

Voluntourism hot in SMU?

Overseas community involvement projects get the flak
Sentill Ananthan
Voluntourism refers to overseas
trips which include some activities
focused on furthering a charitable
cause for which the participant re-
ceives no remuneration.
The types of volunteer vacations
are diverse - from low-skill work
cleaning up local wildlife areas to
providing high-skill medical aid in
a foreign country or even educating
the children.
Most of such volunteer vacations
were undertaken by personnel who
had some form of direct connection
to a particular cause. These were
considered more as short term, in-
tense volunteer projects rather than
vacations.
Many of these organisations are
long-standing international devel-
opment assistance organisations
that placed short-term volunteers
on work project sites.
During the 1990s, the very far-
sighted the travel industry devel-
oped niche products and firms to
provide volunteer vacations to peo-
ple who had no previous experience
with a cause, and to cater to the
increasing number of young people
with such a specific interest.
There’s even VolunTourism In-
ternational, an organisation that
provides online resource on volun-
tourism.
These providers expanded the
market which is commendable,
notwithstanding their own personal
agendas, but also drew criticism for
the impact of their methods. Vol-
unteer vacations participants are
FOUNDATION STONES: Students from Project Elephant Nature Park with their handmade bricks of dung and mud to be
used for the construction of an elephant museum in North Chiangmai, Thailand
diverse but typically share a desire
to “do something good” while also
experiencing new places and chal-
lenges in a climate which they oth-
erwise may not visit. However, it
now seems to be having a vacation
while also doing something good.
Note the subtle difference?
While some industry experts on
volunteerism welcome the expan-
sion of volunteer vacations as an
opportunity to provide more re-
sources to projects and to encourage
a volunteer ethic in people, others
have pointed out that the business
methods used by tour operators,
PHOTO: ELEPHANT NATURE PARK
such as exclusivity deals, and cater-
ing to the needs of the volunteer
rather than the volunteer project,
exploit the communities the proj-
ects are intended to help. I guess
commercialism has reared the ugly
side of itself again. However, it
must be reinforced that commer-
cialism by itself, is a necessity and
has its benefits. However, it might
just depend on which side of the
fence you sit on.
There is a new concern that in the
view of the rise in the number of
young people who choose to turn to
overseas expeditions to fulfill their
desires to do good for the commu-
nity, that these same people fail to
lift a finger when it comes to help-
ing people in Singapore. I really
wonder what their true desire is - to
contribute to society, use it as a con-
versation starter or to score brownie
points on their CV. In an interview
with The Straits Times, Mr Stan-
ley Tan, Chairman of the National
Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre
urged Singaporeans to volunteer at
home.
It can be said that the number of
such trips have increased dramati-
cally over the past couple of years.
I believe that no one is against the
spirit of volunteerism but rather
how we each embody it.
It must be admitted that this form
of overseas community involvement
project is indeed a great way to
meet like-minded people who are
interested in traveling and helping
the less fortunate.
However, what one would and
should find very sad is that, it seems
to be that the fact that one is doing
a good deed seems to be just an ic-
ing on the cake. Almost like a very
good excuse for a glorified holiday.
We should actually be doing self-
sustaining projects instead of just
painting or building something.
Just like the saying “It is better to
teach a man to fish, rather than to
give him a fish”.
Somehow, I feel that the present
trips seem to be more hell-bent on
making it onto the covers of maga-
zines and papers.
That being said, having a com-
munity project overseas is certainly
a good way for one to be more ex-
posed to the world, to see the pov-
erty prevalent elsewhere and endure
hardship.
However, it is as if we are going
abroad to help ourselves more than
to help others. If one really wants
to help, there are more than enough
people and organisations needing
help. If help is needed at home, why
are we going abroad?
I personally believe that volun-
teerism is more about giving than
about receiving. It is about helping
the needy and less fortunate.
Let’s start at home first.

MANAGING DIRECTOR
The Blue and Gold

Alicia Ng Sue Yee

Virtuoso
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ephraim Loy Suan Je hits high
note
EDITORS Anirban Datta Gupta
Uday Rao

MARKETING DIRECTOR Cheong En Min

Singapore Institute of Manage-
ART DIRECTOR Michael Ng Wai Ting ment student Wong Jinglun walked
away with the top prize in the solo
LOGISTICS DIRECTOR Lee Cher Han category of Virtuoso 2007.
The event ended on a high note
TOP FAME: SIM student Wong Jinglun claims the top prize in the solo category
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sentill Ananthan and was held at the SMU Confer-
Jeremy Wang ence Hall on 15 December 2007. ed students from NTU, NUS and SMU scored in the songwriting
Abel Bong Since its inception in 2005, Vir- the local polytechnics. component. Second-year social sci-
Danny Ng tuoso has gone from strength to National serviceman Charles ence student Felicia Ngiam Li Ying
strength. Wong and NUS student Khoo bagged the award in that category.
CONTRIBUTING CARTOONIST David Lau The recent run did not involve Chew Meng John emerged tops in This event was organsied by the
only SMU students but also includ- the group category. SMU Music Interactive Club.

What’s your identity?
Find out how you can score perks at more than 550 outlets
Yeo Zhibin & Lim Zhimin
We hear you! For the past few years,
most of you would have seen or
heard about the SMU-OCBC card.
But ask you about the details and
you will give a sheepish look.
“It’s YOUR identity” – that’s the
tagline chosen to encapsulate what
it means to be a SMU student –
your dreams, aspirations, lifestyle
and your identity. Designed by by
SMU students for the SMU com-
munity the SMU-OCBC card is
uniquely yours.
At the age where most of us are
slowly gaining some form of finan-
cial independence, the need to have
a proper debit facility that suits our
needs is essential. The card does not
require a minimum account balance
just so to cater to students’ needs.
Gone are the traditional $2 bank-
ing fees that most banks charge
when your balance falls below $500.
There’s also the five-year card fee
waiver so you don’t pay a single cent
Issue 1,Page III
What’s Up @ SMU
The Blue and Gold
January 2008
ADVERTISEMENT
to be part of the program.
One other attractive feature would
be the free cheque book that comes
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tantly more merchant benefits for
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Current ties ups include those
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Apart from that, special promo-
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If you have feedback and suggestions
to improve the SMU-OCBC Card Hot in SMU: Winners from Hey Gorgeous!, Oh Jin Rui and Wu Jia Hui, pose with the SMU-OCBC card
email smu_ocbc_bc@smu.edu.sg
Tell us
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Email us at pubcomm@
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Join us
Do you have the
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word? Think you
can spin up a poetic
headline in seconds?
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can tell stories in a
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newspaper page like a
pro?
We are recruiting!
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sa.smu.edu.sg

Viewpoints
EPHRAIM LOY
My twin brother barged into
the room one day with a copy of
freesheet Today in his hands. He
pointed to the headlines on the
bottom area of the cover.
“Look at this!” he screeched
almost like tires against the asphalt
road some 50 meters below my
block of flats. “They finally realised
what they have done,” he came
running with hands gesticulating as
though it was bull-charging season
and I had my face painted red.
“What” I exclaimed acting inno-
cently (thanks to the tips I picked
up from the actors and actresses at
MediaCorp). “Now what have they
done again,” I murmured to myself.
“It looks like they are really seri-
ous this time”, the staunch WP
supporter looked at me as though
SMU Prof shares her thoughts
Congrats on a very nice first issue
of The Blue and Gold - nice to fi-
nally see some attempt at generat-
ing some real discussion about big
issues on campus! I used to keep
despairing at the usual/typical con-
tent of other campus publications.
A little suggestion - try to focus
attention of this publication purely
on campus issues and have articles
about other general news issues
(e.g. Bobby Jindal, sub-prime etc.)
only to the extent that it bears on
some campus issue - there is way
too much out there about other
Congratulations and
keep up the good work
I would like to congratulate you on
The Blue and Gold’s launch. what was intended: particularly
There wasn’t any publicity about
the publication at all (never knew
it even existed) and I happened
to pick up a copy by chance at
the Lee Kong Chian School of
Business.
I have never picked up anything
from that area to so it was really a
rare twist of fate that The Blue and
Gold landed in my hand.
I must comment that it was a
really good and interesting read
plus I continued reading even after
I got home.
Issues were intellectual and close
to the heart especially at this time
of the year.
The style of writing too - humble
and non-imposing - which I think
every SMU student must learn.
All the photographs were also
2007 – What a blast!
hoping for an off the cuff answer.
I returned a blank stare just like
how a politician in denial would
react. “Come on, I know nothing
about this,” I said.
“So what have they realised now
I asked?” That they unknowingly
blurted out that they made some
calculation error in the nationwide
PSLE scores or something? Or
something more serious such as
the eradication of poor Hougang
residents. What could be worse?
“Just look”, he said. “Tharman
takes over as Finance Minister
from PM tomorrow,” he mouthed.
I thought to myself. I remem-
bered PM talking about buy-
ing votes during one of his rally
speeches during the elections. I
quickly brushed that thought aside.
Worse still, I could end up in jail
for even thinking.
stuff - books, movies, politics,
etc. - and way too little discussion
and reporting on what is happen-
ing on campus. So it’s easy to get
distracted and its easier to fill up
pages with non-SMU stuff, but in
the long run it helps more I think
if the focus is squarely on the cam-
pus, broadly defined - alumni, staff,
visiting speakers, students, CCAs,
faculty, visiting faculty, et al.
All the best.
Seshan Ramaswami
fabulous such that they portray
Prof Margaret Chan’s expression
in Convocation which seemed to
strike a chord with the on-going
“SMU culture” theme.
Lastly it ended with SA presi-
dent’s thoughts - a very honest,
humble and sincere attempt to fa-
cilitate thoughts within the reader’s
mind which seemed to be a plea in
some sense to preserve the inten-
tions of the “SMU culture”
Once again, congratulations and
keep up the good work.
Elvin Seah
Want to write us a letter?
Write to us at:
pubcomm@sa.smu.edu.sg
Issue 1,Page IV
The Blue and Gold
January 2008
“It’s just a coincidence,” I ac-
knowledged. Just like how dad met
mum and you know how the story
goes.
“See, I told you before,” he shot
back like an angry dog that’s been
just unleashed at the same time
ignoring my last sentence. “How
can the Prime Minister be Finance
Minister at the same time?
“It’s outright corruption,” he
blurted out.I shook my head. “You
don’t know. It’s the transition
phase,” I said sheepishly.
“You think countries become
democratic overnight,” I proffered.
“They don’t.”
“No. But but…” his voice trailed
off. “You can’t seem to under-
stand that one cannot become the
Chairman and concurrently be the
Treasurer of the same organisation
right?“
The Blue and Gold:
an honest, straightforward publication
Great job on the first issue! I really
enjoyed the cover article and felt
that it echoed everything that is
going through my mind about
SMU at this point! It’s great to
hear that I’m not alone. I agree
with Sentill that we are responsible
for our actions, but I feel it has
largely to do with the administra-
tion as well - who they accept and
on what basis. If grades are the
primary criteria for being accepted
into SMU, then grades will remain
the primary criteria in SMU. The
challenge and the primary goal
Leadership in SMU? Here are some tips to improve
I think the front page article by
Sentill Ananthan is an insightful
one. It serves to wake up students
who have spend too much time
on studying and lost the campus
“spirit” which attracted me at Bukit
Timah Campus.
The article on student leader-
ship also pinpoints the lure of
“prestigious” positions in clubs
and societies. I believe such places
should only be given to people who
truly deserve it, instead of becom-
ing a reward for the most popular
person around.
That said, I like to make the fol-
lowing suggestions:
Having a mid-term report for
clubs and societies. Presently, clubs
and societies are pretty much
left alone in running their affairs
with the only supervision coming
“It’s like the NKF and Durai.
Don’t you seem to get it,” he blared
again like the sounding of the horn
of the start of the Standard Char-
tered Singapore Marathon.
“Calm down, I shot back.” What
was I to say? It seemed like a con-
spiracy theory gone wrong. Just like
how I used to imagine that Osama
was just an imaginary person used
by Bush as an excuse for his “war
on terrorism”.
Knowing that I couldn’t offer
much consolation, I stood up, went
to the kitchen and poured him a
cup of tea.
I pulled out a chair and offered
him a seat in my cosy sofa. “Why
don’t you blog about it?” I sug-
gested. We need more excitement
online since the closure of Crazy
Horse.
I must concede that he thought
should be to take in students who
perhaps haven’t fared too well in
JC/high school, and mould them
into overachievers during their
time here using the core principles
that we thought we stood for:
camaraderie, team work, and work-
ing smart.
Keep up the great work! We
needed an honest, straightforward
publication and this is what you
have provided!
Nirav D Shah
during the Budget period. If the
purpose of clubs and societies is to
make student life more vibrant or
add a different dimension to our
experiences here at SMU, shouldn’t
they be appraised? I know that
clubs need to submit a quarterly
report on their events, but there is
no follow-up on it. 
Is it possible
for an “audit committee” to con-
duct spot checks on their meetings
or events? I heard of certain clubs
who use the club booking hours for
mugging purposes, which wasn’t
the original intention.
Include a quantitative aspect for
elections (specifically SMUSA and
CBd). The current system allows
the candidates to get in the Exco
via the standing during voting.
As such, it is possible for people
who are very popular and not very
it was a good idea. Cause days
after that argument he started his
own blog – complete with his own
theories and beliefs.
At least he has found a way to
vent his frustrations.
I heaved a sigh of relief and went
back to reading “Confessions of an
American Media Man” drowning
my thoughts in the array of insight-
ful adventures of Tom Plate.
How about that edition of
Today? It lies buried among my
pile of The Straits Times hoping to
get picked up again for a chance to
be shoved into the spotlight of the
discussion arena.
It is just a few more days to the
end of 2007 as I write this. Here’s
to a brand new and honest 2008.
What it should have been
In the article “An Eventful
Term So Far” in our November
2007 issue, we inadvertently
left out the photo credits for
the Freshmen Team Building
Camp. We would like to credit
Low Cheng Sing for taking the
photos. We are sorry for the
omission.
We would like to acknowledge
the source of our references,
Amazon and Random House,
for the book review of “The Last
Tycoons: The Secret History
of Lazard Frères & Co.” in
the November 2007 issue. We
apologise for the omission.
capable to get in. Is it possible to
have a quantitative aspect to this?
We can create a scoring system
for those who have done well in
certain areas, such as President of
a club, leading an event, organiser
of a CIP, representative for a sports
club. The system and grading crite-
ria should be transparent so that all
candidates know how it will affect
the chances of them getting into
office. It can take up a portion of
10% - 30% of the “score” for get-
ting into office.
Leadership and the presence of
clubs and societies should be given
to deserving individuals. Let’s
take it away from those who don’t
deserve it.
Ben Toh Zhi Sian

The No Asshole
Rule
Building a Civilised
Workplace and Surviving
One That Isn’t
Alicia Ng
This was one of the more amusing
reads of 2007. Authored by Rob-
ert Sutton, a Management Science
professor at Stanford University,
The No Asshole Rule sheds light on
the variations of being an asshole,
complete with a two-test strategy
that Sutton employs in identifying
these workplace cretins, as well as
a quick reference to twelve actions
typical of assholes.
Bulldozing to victory
UDAY RAO
The recent South Korean presi-
dential elections were a done
deal much before the votes were
counted in.
Lee Myung Bak of the Grand
National Party (GNP) won con-
vincingly with 48.7% of the votes.
His closest rival in the polls was
Chun Dong – young, from the rul-
ing Liberal Party with 26.2%.
Despite being the 12th biggest
economy in the world, the South
Korean Public were getting tired
and weary of out going President
Roh Moo-Hyun whose promises
of spurring the economy ended in
failure.
This issue was the essential
golden ticket for Lee Myung Bak
who had promised of growth levels
of 7% (South Korea is currently
experiencing growth of approxi-
mately 4%).
This issue takes precedence as
well for the fact that South Korea
is geographically sandwiched be-
tween a High Tech country Japan
and mass production, at cheap
costs, China.
Herrings: More than just fish David Lau
The No Asshole Rule isn’t just
intended for the hapless co-worker
who is caught in the quandary of
an asshole attack. Chapter 4 is a
personal favourite - “How to Stop
Your ‘Inner Jerk’ from Getting
Out”. Sutton offers more than a
few methods of avoiding the dark
side, from avoiding the poison ap-
ple as much as possible to recogn-
ising one’s personality traits, going
so far as to provide a rudimentary
self-test. It could not be more aptly
titled – “Are You A Certified As-
shole?”
Jokes aside, there is justification
in his research. The actions of as-
sholes don’t just impact the victim
but have also demonstrated damage
on several scales for management,
such as a reduced motivation level
He intends to achieve economic
progression through reduction of
taxes, reduction of trade barriers
and enhancement of transparency.
Furthermore his appointment
will mean strengthening of foreign
relations especially between South
Korea and America.
As a matter of fact his first visit
after winning the elections was
the American embassy in Seoul
whereby discussions were held on
North Korea, as part of the 6 Party
Talks.
Lee Myung Bak has taken a
stronger stance on the issue of
North Korea.
He has mentioned on a couple of
occasions of possible retraction of
financial aid and supplies if issues
are not ironed out and agreed by
North Korea.
In South Korea, the National
Assembly has an equally powerful
role to play.
Held on the 8th of April, 2008,
it will determine which parties will
be represented in congress.
If majority of opposition to Lee
Myung Bak do get elected, this
may undermine the very political
Issue 1,Page V
The Blue and Gold
January 2008
of staff, high turnover rates and
employee replacement costs and in-
creased costs incurrence from liti-
gation or compensation to affected
employees.
The flood of real-life examples
provided with each example of an
asshole was a pleasant bonus, and
a welcome contrast to the perfect
leaders that we so often read about
in management textbooks.
Overall, The No Asshole Rule
provides much reassurance that
someone out there is well aware of
a growing epidemic in workplaces
today, and balances between being
a business book, self-help resource
and entertaining read. And if all
else fails, hey, it makes a brilliant
gift for the jerk in your graduating
class.
plans that won him the elections.
All is not settled yet.
Conservative Lee Hoi-chang has
vowed to form a Chungcheong
Province-based party to compete
with the GNP. Lee Myung Bak’s
ability to repair the split in the
conservative movement remains in
doubt and could be dependent on
the degree to which he incorpo-
rates former GNP Chairwoman
Park Geun-hye into his adminis-
tration.
President Lee Myung Bak may
need to shift his policies - especial-
ly on North Korea - to the right
in order to gain legislative support
from Lee Hoi-chang in either a
formal or an informal conservative
coalition.
On a personal note Lee Myung
Bak seems to be just the man a lot
of Koreans feel right for the job.
A candidate who is more likely
to improve the economy, induce
domestic and foreign investment,
create jobs, and improve South
Korean competitiveness against
China and Japan.
The public also wanted a centrist,
less ideological candidate and
Reaffirming
the faith
Posters and desktop wallpapers
are common sight. But those that
spread the core mission of SMU
are few and far between. The
challenge for a group of SMU
students to develop a branding
campaign for SMU using clean,
professional and eye-catching set
of posters and a desktop wallpa-
rejected candidates at the farthest
ends of the political spectrum. Lee
Myung Bak had positioned himself
in the middle and moved the
conservative Grand National Party
toward the center in order to make
it more election favorable.
He has a strong record of
achievements that backs his objec-
tives for South Korea.
Despite coming from an impov-
erish lifestyle, Lee worked his way
up to become the youngest Chief
Executive Officer of Hyundai.
During his tenure Hyundai
experienced positive and strong
growth. He essentially laid the
foundations for Hyundai to launch
itself on the global platform.
Thereafter he became the Mayor
of Seoul. In his charge, he reduced
poverty in Seoul and has consider-
ably modernised the infrastructure
Bulletin Board
per was initiated by Prof Marcus
Lee. This project targets three
areas of the SMU population –
students, staff and alumni and the
final pieces were showcased at a
week-long exhibition at the Lee
Kong Chian School of Business
in November. The main perfor-
mance indicator for the designs
will be determined through an
annual online satisfaction survey
as well as the level of participa-
tion by staff, students, and alumni
at various SMU events through-
out the academic year.
in Seoul making it the hub for
economic activity.
As described by a fellow profes-
sor in SMU, Lee Myung Bak is a
“legend”.
No doubt there are allegations
of fraud and illegal mingling in
the stock market, which has been
chasing Lee Myung Bak since his
victory.
But one has to realise that such
alleged activities seem to be rather
common affair with politicians in
South Korea.
Interestingly enough all the
Presidents in South Korea bar Roh
Moo Hyun have been impeached
at one point or the other and
sentenced to jail.
Source: http://www.heritage.
org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/
wm1758.cfm

SMUdge
Keeping the
SMU spirit alive
Alumni get new University Lounge
in the Administration Building
Danny Ng
The strength of a university can be
seen from the quality of the people
that has passed through its doors.
As SMU’s alumni grows from
year to year, so does the need for a
body to represent them and to help
fulfill their unique needs as alumni.
The SMU Alumni Association
was set up to take on this task by
the pioneer batch of graduates and
aims to be the link between the
school and alumni.
Although it has only been three
years since its inception, the as-
Myanmar issue key focus at dialogue
Foreign Minister engages SMU students on Singapore’s Foray on the international scene
Sentill Ananthan
What happened to Pedra Branca?
Even though Singapore was in
the midst of a legal battle with
Malaysia over Pedra Branca, this
was not brought up at an informal
dialogue session that Foreign
Minister George Yeo had with
Singapore Management University
(SMU) students on 9 November.
Instead, the focus was mainly on
Myanmar and Singapore’s relations
with it. Why is this so? What is it
that intrigues the concerns of SMU
students about Singapore’s support
of another government rather than
the fight for territory? Are we so
magnanimous?
The Pedra Branca dispute is being
heard at the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague
Netherlands. Both Singapore and
Malaysia claim sovereignty over
the islet about the size of a football
field, and two outcrops - the Middle
sociation has achieved significant
milestones beyond what its age may
suggest.
Various activities such as the
Movie Night, the Saxo Capital
Market Talk as well as the annual
Chinese New Year Reunion gather-
ings provide a platform for alumni
to network with one another.
It has given back to the university
through the Alumni Scholarship
Fund which raised $200,000 help
finance a needy student’s education
fees.
The Association has also shown
support for student activities such
Rocks and South Ledge. It is 40km
east of Singapore at the eastern
entrance of the Singapore Straits.
Were they not concerned about
this issue involving our nearby
neighbour? Or was it because the
results of the court case were not
out when the dialogue was held?
Or were they more concerned with
human rights issues in Myanmar?
One student had ventured the
question on the foreign media’s
perception that Singapore indirectly
supports Myanmar junta based on
its still continuing engagement with
the strife-stricken country. Giving
a quick overview on Singapore’s
overall position on the issue, Mr
Yeo said: “The general policy of
Singapore is to continue engaging
the government of Myanmar.
There has to be engagement. There
may be sanctions in bad cases, but
engagement is necessary because
the moment you disengage, then
your ability to influence becomes
Issue 1,Page VI
The Blue and Gold
January 2008
as the Freshman Bash Impressmu
and Euphorique, the Evening at
Bras Basah as well as the Know Thy
Major series.
Recently, more than 300 former
students and guests were gathered
at GV Grand at Great World City
for SMU Alumni Association‘s
(SMUAA) 4th Movie Night on 14
December 2007.
The annual event, organised by
the SMUAA and the Office of
Alumni Relations was for members
to mingle with one another and cel-
ebrate the holidays and of course, to
enjoy an exclusive screening of the
Christmas blockbuster, The Golden
Compass.
Old friends seized this opportu-
nity to catch up with one another
as they enjoyed a delectable spread
complete with complementary
goodie bags.
Upping the stakes was the high-
light of the evening - not the start
of the movie but the eagerly antici-
limited.”
Referring to calls for Singapore to
freeze bank accounts, Mr Yeo said
that Singapore, with its position on
the apex as a global finance centre,
has to honour contracts and ensure
high standards. On junta leaders
seeking medical treatment here,
he said turning them away was not
helpful due to Singapore’s “policy of
engagement”, which is what works
best to get a country to change.
Mr Yeo asked: “What else can we
do? Invade Myanmar? The way
the Americans removed Saddam
Hussein? Then what after that?”
Other issues raised at the SMU
dialogue included the sensitive and
delicate situation in the Middle
East, our nation’s ever-evolving ties
with the rising superpower that is
China, and the meltdown of the
US economy due to the sub-prime
crisis. On the topic of Singapore’s
role in the global economy, Mr
Yeo said the country is now riding
Photos: Danny Ng
pated Lucky Draw.
Three lucky winners walked away
with an early Christmas present of
an Olio Dome voucher, a pair of
Golden Village Gold Class ticket
vouchers and the grand prize of an
iPod Shuffle.
As the last prize was given out,
the cinema hall darkened, and a
hush fell over the audience as they
watch the movie unfold on the big
screen.
Previous attendees of the Movie
Night enjoyed exclusive screenings
of blockbusters including Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoe-
nix, Charlotte’s Web and Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory.
The alumni of SMU form an in-
tegral part of the SMU community,
and are central to the future devel-
opment of the University.
Recognising this importance, the
Office of Alumni Relations and the
SMUA Alumni Association con-
tinue to nurture and develop more
on the presence of an economical
wave that is sweeping and lifting
out entire continent. However, as
much as we are on the upside at
present, things are also possible
to drop and that is something we
should be prepared for. He also
cited some examples of how cities
in Vietnam, Indonesia and China
are developing at a relentless pace,
and Singapore has to continue to
learn and be competitive in order
to stay ahead of the chasing pack.
He mentioned how when he was
visiting Vietnam, the schools were
packed even on weekend nights.
I must conclude by saying that
it was a pretty big crowd we had
at the library considering the fact
that, it was in the midst of exam
preparations and presentation
and report deadlines for many.
Appreciation must also be extended
to all those who made this possible
especially the SMU Social Science
Society who mooted the idea.
meaningful connections between
the alumni and the University.
A comprehensive alumni relations
programme aimed at engaging our
alumni through multiple touch
points will be the way forward.
2008 will be especially exciting as
the association looks forward to the
launch of a new University Lounge
in the Administration Building.
This will provide a brand new venue
in the heart of town for alumni and
friends to chill out after a long day
at work.
Enhancements to the member-
ship benefits are also in the pipeline
as well as the creation of more over-
seas chapters.
The SMU Alumni UK Chapter
was established to provide SMU
graduates working and living in the
United Kingdom opportunities to
network on a professional and so-
cial basis.
Graduates journeying over for the
first time will also be assured know-
ing that a support group exists to
help them in a foreign land.
New chapters are slated to be es-
tablished in China and the US to
extend these services to more grad-
uates and students.
‘Rojak’
university team
scores at QF
What do you get when you put
students from various local uni-
versities together?
It seems to be something out
of the ordinary - not disaster but
synergy.
And that was the winning for-
mula at the DBS-SMU Quanti-
tative Finance Challenge.
In the finals held on 7 Decem-
ber 2007, the team comprising
students from NUS, NTU and
SMU emerged tops.
“There were many challenges
as the one-hour MCQ test por-
tion was very technical in na-
ture,” said final-year economics
student Fred Goh who was part
of the winning team.
For the final showdown, each
team had to fight the battle using
knowledge of discrete hedging
and the complex Black Scholes
model. Teams had to present
their case solutions to a DBS
judging panel after a three-day
preparation period.
The aim of the challenge is to
provide participants with a plat-
form to interact and learn from
their fellow peers, as well as ex-
pose them to the latest practices
and research in the field from
industry practitioners. The win-
ning team walked away with a
prize of $5,000.
 Issue 1,Page VII
SMUdge
The Blue and Gold
January 2008
do you think the SMU team would As a team, we have learnt to play
5 Minutes with Daniel Mark Chow miss players from the national with more intensity. As Sevens are
squad? How do you think SMU played over just 15 minutes, it is

National success for rugby will cope in your absence?

The players within our stable are
good and are really capable of per-
possible to string many matches
within a day. I have learnt to be ex-
tremely disciplined in maintaining

player on target
forming when the time comes. And
the current batch of freshmen has
been contributing towards the team
and I see great potential there.
Out of curiosity, are there any ritu-
als that you practice before each
match?
Before entering the field I would
say a prayer to thank God.
What did you gain from the SEA
Games? How will you use this ex-
perience to improve your game and
prepare for future tournaments?
my fitness levels before and during
the tournament.
When would the national team
be in action again? What are your
goals this time round?
The next thing on our calendar
would be the Asian Div 1 Cham-
pionship. We will be playing China,
Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka. Al-
though these teams are strong, I
am confident Singapore is able to
match these teams. As long as we
have good preparation, getting pro-
moted is within our grasp.

Abel Bong
Daniel Marc Chow (above, right),
the indefatigable 23-year-old SCC
flanker, will be one of the many high
profile athletes returning to school
from the 24th South East Asian
Games in Thailand. The Singapore
national rugby team emerged with
a credible bronze medal beating ri-
vals Malaysia 12-5, exacting sweet
revenge after losing against the
same opponents in the group stages
(Malaysia won 21-14).
Daniel, who is affably known as
‘Big Daddy’ Chow by his mates,
When the final whistle went, we
just felt a great sense of achievement
for the hard work and effort put in!
Well, we were pretty unfortunate to
lose to Malaysia in the group stages.
Some tough calls from the ref and
critical errors allowed the Malay-
sians to beat us in the second half.
Of course, we wanted to get the
gold, however we lost to the quicker
Thais in the semi-finals. We had to
overcome the mental barrier of fac-
ing Malaysia yet again and had to
just remain focused on the battle
for bronze.
a new CEO coming on board. And
I feel the team has finally crossed
the hurdle for greater things.
What positions do you play? Could
you enlighten us about their roles in
rugby?
Well, I am a flanker for the national
team. The flanker has the responsi-
bility to clear up play and to start a
new passage, and he is part of the
scrum. Whilst for SMU, I am the
‘number eight’. Basically, I am the
link man between forwards and
back.

speaks to The Blue and Gold on a
variety of matters from the national
rugby team’s historic achievement as
well as his meteoric rise within the
ranks of the national rugby team.
Could you tell us what was going
through your mind when the final
whistle blew?
You debuted for the national team
in 2005 and have proceeded to be
an integral cog in the national team.
How much has the team improved
since that time?
We are actually quite a young team,
with many players still studying or
in the army. We are currently mov-
ing out of the transition stage with
Being a human battering ram, and
one of the heftiest players, has it got
anything to do with your alias ‘Big
Daddy’?
Ha! You have to ask the team cap-
tain about that!
Along with fellow national team
player, Desmond Wee, how much
Under Construction
Finishing touches are added to a total of 12 works comprising jigsaw
puzzles, mixed media, video displays, acrylic paintwork and installation art
are featured in Always Here but Not Always Present: Art in a Senseless
World. The visual arts exhibition by 13 local artists examines the role of art
in comtemporary society.
 Issue 1,Page VIII
SA Page
The Blue and Gold
January 2008

“ From its conception, SMU was

designed to provide a different
model of university education here
in Singapore. We wanted to start
with a clean slate instead of just
adding another public university
in the mould of the existing ones.
From this starting point emerged
a confluence of factors that make
SMU special.”
Dr Tony Tan Former Deputy Prime Minister, Singapore
SMU Commencement 2004

Is SMU Special?
Dear friends,

SMU as a university has been designed uniquely. Its construct,

teaching methods, structure, and environment all have been made
distinctively different from the other local universities.

The university has been marketed and publicised that we are different.
But that doesn’t really matter. What matters is, do YOU believe that
SMU is different, that we are special? I understand it would be hard
to believe that in the midst of a hectic work and project schedule. We
all feel the pressure to perform and we work very hard to achieve our
goals.

However, we do have a choice. We can make the decision to step up

and make SMU special for ourselves. We can choose to engage in the
sport that we love to play, or dance our hearts out with friends. We
can choose to take that time off to explore new horizons, travel abroad
for exchange or trek the road less travelled. We all have the capability
to do so. But firstly and most importantly, it is up to us to make the
choice. The environment, the culture in which we are all in, is ours to
make.

Let’s make SMU special for each one of us.

SMU is special to me. Will it be for you?
The choice is yours.

God bless,
Andrew
President,
SMU Students’ Association