Sandy Low talks about the resilience of a man’s fashion world and how it helps tide her through the cutthroat world of retail.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

The 2008 economic recession was like a wildfire that left only the hardiest businesses standing. In that turning point, 28-year-old Sandy Low’s slow and steady business model of marketing to men’s streetwear helped her hold fast. “People always ask me why I chose to go into menswear instead of women’s fashion. Ladies’ fashion follows trends closely, and once the trend is over the stock will be stuck. But menswear is more stable.”

Started in April 2007, SanStreet, Low’s streetwear shop specializes in unique, limited edition men’s streetwear pieces to youths. Targeting males 15 to 35, the shop carries affordable streetwear brands such as Extreme, Action Ladfigure and Zero Hour in Singapore. The shop also houses its own streetwear line, Sanz Moda and its line of handmade shoes which allows custom-made sizes for smaller-footed customers. Low  says  she sources her designers for the brand from all over Asia.

Low says of the concept of her shop, “I believe each individual is different. I hope to bring out the uniqueness of each individual by offering a variety of designs, some bolder for louder personalities, some more conservative.” The shop offers a full range of menswear from caps to T-shirts, jeans and footwear.

Her desire to be her own boss began when she took a retail management course in polytechnic, before she went on to study web marketing in university. Backed by supportive parents, Low went on to start her own shop at age 25.

Though financially, things were not as difficult as what many others might have faced, the soft-spoken entrepreneur describes the challenges she had to push through to start the shop. Competition was fierce, and she faced the difficulty of differentiating her shop in a cutthroat fashion environment, especially having had no background in fashion.

Low also admits she used to be a very timid and quiet person. “Starting a shop was really a big step for me,” she says. She strategizes, manages accounts and her staff all by herself. There were challenges in learning to oversee staff at her young age, and there would be times staff would not show up for work. Then there is the challenge of rental costs of her shops in Far East Plaza and Iluma, both in prime shopping locations.

But in spite of this, Low maintains her faith and a desire to be a positive influence in the marketplace. A graduate of the School Of Theology, she feels that it is the teaching of the Cultural Mandate that keeps her going. “I believe in developing good relationships with my customers, whether they intend to buy or not.” She talks about how she tries to befriend and relate to her customers as much as she can. As a result, she takes a very personal approach in marketing her products, often ending up personally text messaging her customers as they regularly ask her about new products.

Business-wise, she has plans to expand to nearby markets in the next five years in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and before that, to at least expand to two more storefronts in Singapore.

Her next big step for her shop is the Internet, where she intends to put her web marketing training to good use and start up a platform where shoppers can get her merchandise online.

San Street
14 Scotts Road
#04-26, Far East Plaza
Tel: +65 6734 2610

What does God have to do with avant garde dresses and torn black tights? Sabrina Goh explains how both came to be closely intertwined for her, along with her ambitions for her brand.

Contributed By Elizabeth Low

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

“It’s not easy being a local designer in Singapore,” sighs Sabrina Goh, 26. It is rather ironic, as she is fresh off the back of her latest triumph as Elle magazine’s Designer of the Year. This is not a carefully crafted response to a media interview, but rather, a very realistic challenge she has had to grapple with. Resources and finances seem to come in short supply in the local design market.

Sitting in her gleaming new shop in trendy Orchard Central, this seems almost hard to believe. But Goh talks about how she had sourced out many shops, looking in more affordable places like Haji Lane and Stamford House, and how the rental space in Orchard Central had came as a surprise, opening up at a very affordable price. “It really was a miracle,” says Goh.
Set for its official launch early next year, Goh explains that her shop will be part of a local designer enclave the mall is aiming to create. She describes her shop as having a stark white, minimalist-industrialist concept, which emphasizes her edgy dark and muted pieces, targeted at 21 to 40-year-olds. The shop also features interesting pieces such as leather necklaces and bags from other designers.

The brand name of Goh’s label, “Elohim” has been a source of bittersweet experiences for her. “I named it after God because when people ask me, I want to tell them these designs have been inspired by the God of creativity.” This is why some of her designs are made to allow room for creativity. For instance, designing a dress that can be worn in six different ways.
However, Goh relates how this has been badly misunderstood, with many overly zealous Christians calling up to protest that her brand was not “worthy” of bearing God’s name. Initially, this shook her badly, to the point of making her doubt her vision. She attributes her turnaround to messages of faith by Kong Hee, founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church. “It gave me faith to start the label. It would be almost like a sin to stop here, since I’ve already fought for two years (for my label), and I decided not to change the name.”

Far from struggling to keep her vision afloat, Goh seems to be bolder than ever, outlining international plans for her brand. Goh will be focusing on refining the operations of her new shop in terms of finances and marketing next year. She will also be pushing the brand further overseas. Fresh back from a trip to Paris in September this year, her aim for next year is to take part in the Tranoi trade show in Paris—the biggest trade show which will have all the major buyers from America, Spain, London and more trawling the show for designers to take up. It will be a strong platform for her to showcase her works to the rest of the major fashion markets.

There are plans to launch a more design-savvy range for the European market as well, targeting high end buyers like Selfridges. Pointing out the different demands of the various markets, she says, “Some of the feedback I got is that Elohim is overly avant garde, and not wearable in Singapore. But in Europe, the comments I got was that it was too simple. The European markets want a label that is more high-end and has a wider range. Therefore, while I see Elohim fitting into Asian markets more, I will try to achieve a balance as I want Elohim to be more of an international brand.”

It is clear Goh has her mind set on breaking the curse of obscurity for local designers in the international scene. And her plan for breaking through is surprisingly simple and secure. “We have our own vision and designs and marketing plans. We don’t want to compete with anyone else, but we want to focus on what we are doing,” she shares.

Sabrina Goh
181 Orchard Road
#02-11/12
Orchard Central

This managing director of an elevator business shares his story of how coming back to God changed his life and his company.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RONNIE ONG

A 21-year veteran in the lift-building industry, Ronnie Ong, 45, was presented the opportunity to start his own lift-building company, Champion Elevators Southeast Asia in 2001, serving as the representative for the American lift manufacturer, Champion. With two partners and S$10,000, Ong embarked on his daring new venture.

His company, now called Aron Lifts International, specializes in installing elevators for commercial, industrial as well as private buildings. When asked why he chose this industry, he says, “Honestly, I did not plan it. I was directed into this by opportunity. I needed the work to pay bills. But I’m glad I did take this route.”

Things went awry soon after the company was set up. One short year later in 2002, Ong found himself left holding the baby when his two partners jumped ship. The company was experiencing slow business and low sales turnover. The company plunged close to bankruptcy level in its second year.

“The first three years were very tough for me,” says Ong. “It was very difficult to get a loan for business from any bank. To be honest, I was about to give up this lift business altogether. At that time, I remember praying to God for direction on whether to give up this business to start looking for a job again.”

Ong received a clear impression from God not to look for a job “but to break away from my partners and take total control of the company. It was challenging to do this, since my personal savings had already been spent on the company’s earlier expenses. I could barely pay my household bills and I had a wife and three children to feed. But because God spoke, I knew I had to put my trust in Him. I went ahead and took over the company. At that time, I had a few small jobs that kept me afloat but nothing major.”

Ong’s real turning point came when his father died in a tragic road accident the following year, in 2003. Finding himself at the end of his tether, Ong followed God’s lead to attend City Harvest Church. “I came to CHC in July 2003 right after my father’s funeral, and the first thing I did was to ‘make peace’ with God by giving my tithe again after a long time.”

The entrepreneur began to sense that his life was changing for the first time after many years. He and his wife Karis, and their three children, began attending CHC and found a cell group to attend regularly. At the end of that year, Ong experienced a powerful word during one service. “Pastor Kong spoke about how God wanted to bless us to become successful millionaires. I felt in my heart that this was for me and I believed it. Since coming back to church, my life has changed and I’ve experienced so many business breakthroughs.”

In 2004 and 2005, things took a turn for the better rather quickly. “We slowly started to win project after project. By 2005, we had secured enough projects to start employing working engineers.”

In 2007, the owner of Champion Lifts, Ong’s principal client, sold out to another company. Being unable to keep the name, Ong renamed his company Aron Lifts International. “We started getting really big breaks after our name change,” he says. “We signed contracts with shipyards for big projects that ran into few millions of dollars. To date we have secured work till 2012.”

Today, sales turnover is about S$3.3 million and the lift specialist firm counts major marine industry players like Keppel FELS Shipyard, Jurong Shipyard, Petro-Brazil, Maersk Line and WyWy among its clientele. From a one-man show, Aron Lifts is now 21-man strong.

Aron Lifts has an advantage over its bigger competitors in that “We serve as a one-stop shop for lift buyers of diverse industries. Our competitors, on the other hand, tend to focus on one-industry core products.”
Ong concedes that the lift industry is a specialist one, and Aron Lifts is uniquely positioned. “You need special skills and understanding of the business requirement. For lift applications for offshore and marine structures, there are only one or two players who are able to really compete with us here in Singapore, and even in many parts of the world.

“My engineer has since worked in numerous countries like Brazil, Scotland, Hawaii, China, Azerbaijan, to name a few. Also, finding suitable workers to fulfill company needs is a challenge. Most of the workers who join us do not possess the necessary skills and have to be trained.”

But small challenges notwithstanding, Ong says business was so good for him, that Aron Lifts was not at all affected by last year’s financial quagmire. “At that time of the crisis, I was very involved in the offshore and marine market which supports the oil and petroleum industry. The price and stock for oil was at its peak for the last five years and the demand for oil was strong. Many companies who invested in new equipment for oil exploration needed new vessels and rigs for oil. I was in the right place at the right time actually. Thank God!”

According to him, the lifts industry is hot, and still heating up, especially for skyscraper-loving Singapore. “You need lifts for many high places or buildings today. Our country is land-scarce so many buildings are going taller and higher. Imagine climbing 50 storeys every day!”

In fact, he’s been getting more requests for private homes even as Singaporeans get richer. “We’ve been seeing people actually ordering lifts to be installed in their private houses like bungalows and penthouses,” says Ong of the trend.

His company has also gained the support of various lift manufacturers, making it easier for him to purchase and supply elevators to clients on many levels. Aron is the representative of German brand Geda.

If there is a human element to Ong’s success, it would be his unchanging focus to “provide high quality service to customer standards at affordable prices” from the beginning of each project to the end.

“We are still exploring new markets in hope of expanding our services to become the industry’s leading service and maintenance provider. We are always looking forward to business opportunities from all over the world to establish relationships with,” he says.

He hopes Aron Lifts will grow to be a key player in Asia. “We hope to expand our influence into countries like China, Vietnam, Japan, and Taiwan by working closely with local appointed agents. We also plan to increase our sales turnover to S$10 million annually.”

Singaporean Isaac Lim is one of 30 in the world to get a perfect score in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

CN PHOTO: Desmond Tan

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is taken by students worldwide as an alternative way to gain entry into university. Recognized in over 2,000 schools in 75 nations, the challenging two-year course requires students to complete assessments in six subjects, submit two long essays, and perform community service. Each year, only 30 students attain a perfect score of 45 points.

This year, a Singaporean, 19-year-old Isaac Lim is part of that group of students, ranked in the top 30 globally to score their perfect 45 this year.

Currently serving in the National Service, the Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) graduate describes the experience as one of the most trying years of his life so far.

“Either by choice or circumstances, I found myself having to juggle numerous responsibilities and commitments in school, at home and in church. The pressure began to take its toll on me as it sapped my energy, leaving me with little time to concentrate on my studies. Although I had never truly struggled with my grades prior to the course, I found myself floundering under the tremendous pressure of the expectations mounted by all the people around me—teachers, friends, parents and above all, myself.”

He even described how the stress cumulated into bouts of insomnia during the exam period. “I found that for the first time in my life, I suffered from insomnia. I would lie awake in bed, worrying unnecessarily about the coming exams. The solution? I literally prayed myself to sleep, telling God that if I did manage to achieve the ‘perfect score’ I would give Him all the glory and the honor, because I knew that I could never achieve it of my own accord.”

The enthusiastic Christian attributes much of his academic success to his faith in God and encouraging sermon messages from the pulpit. “Constantly challenged by the weekend messages by Pastor Kong, cell group meeting messages and the encouragement from my parents, I decided to make the necessary sacrifices. It meant forsaking internet forms of communication, such as MSN and Skype, as well as the ever addictive Youtube. Instead, I invested time in studying, doing test papers and praying. I’ve been a Christian for pretty much my whole life,” he says.

He also describes the encouraging environment he had throughout the busy exam period to support him. “All the people in my life played a really important role in helping me through the tough examination period. My family really helped me through by being really quiet when they knew I was at home studying. During the exams, my mother met up daily with a group of other mothers to literally pray through the papers. My friends were willing to share and exchange notes, which made studying a lot more efficient for everyone and resulted in our school managing to achieve better results on average.”

Raring to climb his next mountain, Lim says: “I hope to be able to pursue a degree in the Wharton Business School in the University of Pennsylvania. I would also love to start investing in the stock market, which I have been following sporadically over the years, but have yet to get into action.”

Reflecting on the achievement, Lim said: “Success comes with sacrifice. You have to devote time and effort into practicing the same type of problems again and again, so much so that the process of answering a question becomes intrinsic and almost mechanical—especially for math. In order to do well, you have to really want it.”

Undergraduate Andy Teoh starts up a thriving—and highly unorthodox tuition center.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDUCLINIC

If you were a concerned parent paying tuition fees to see tangible improvement in your child’s grades, there’s a good chance you’d be hopping mad to know that the tuition teacher spends much of the time chatting and cracking jokes.

And if you were parent to a moody, rebellious punk-loving teen, it is quite unlikely you will win him over by suggesting he take a physics lesson.

But hold the protests and complaint letters. These tactics may actually work.

Student-entrepreneur Andy Teoh, 25, owner of tuition center Educlinic, is confident that they do.

“In school, students already have a formal teacher who is strict with them. As for me, I treat my student as friends and forge a relationship with them. This is not wasting time; if they come to your class with all these problems, it is likely they can’t focus.”

“Funny, I Remember This”
While most teachers believe in establishing a clear sense of teacher-student authority, Teoh believes in breaking down the barriers. Educlinic is painted bright yellow, orange and green with wall stickers. Pop music plays at the reception area, creating a hip and fun study environment that puts students at ease.

While discussing math equations, he intentionally throws “lame” jokes at his junior college students to keep their attention and to appear more approachable. When he explains complex physics theories, he even constructs his own experiments and videos to demonstrate. In lessons, he comes off as eccentric with his huge gestures, flailing his arms and scribbling pictures on his white board to make his point.

According to his students, this unorthodox approach works. Anglo-Chinese Junior College graduate Lim Jiaxuan says her grades jumped from E to A in H2 Math and U to B in Physics for her preliminary exams. She says the analogies and videos he used helped her to understand complex theories in these subjects.

Cassandra Leong, 17, has had a similar experience. She says: “Andy has helped me to improve my grades for A maths from F9 to a B3. I like how he is dedicated in his teaching and can explain and simplify problems in many different ways.”

An engineering science undergraduate in his final year at the National University of Singapore, Teoh first started giving lessons as a means to earn a little extra cash. Surprisingly, his home classes began to overflow so he decided to open a tuition center to accommodate more students.

Broken Hearts Don’t Learn
From his years of tutoring students, Teoh began to see the importance of taking a relational approach with his students.

“I had a Secondary 4 student who was quite resistant when she first came. I found out that she had not initially wanted tuition, but had been forced to come by her mom.” She remained quiet in class, but he made constant efforts to talk to her. After having conversations with her, he realized she was facing many relational and social problems in school, and it was hindering her from focusing in class. He gave her advice from his own experience, helping her solve her problems, and further on, to score good results.

“I do my best to ensure that if a student needs help, I’ll be there,” says Teoh with passion.

Teaching and learning comes naturally for this student who is on the NUS dean’s list. As improbable as it sounds, he says, “I love to study. I guess I’ve been through the process of realizing the importance of education, that’s why teaching is my passion.”

One, Two, Three; Diagnose Your Student
Teoh says the Educlinic caters to students’ individual learning styles, based on his concepts of teaching. He shares with City News the key goals and beliefs he wants his center to hold.

Firstly, there is a seed for success in every student that can be discovered and grown. Secondly, every individual should be inspired and motivated to pursue and achieve their personal goals and mold them in a holistic manner. This is why he runs leadership camps to provide students with personal development.

Thirdly, if there are “wounds” of previous failures in every individual, Teoh and his team of teachers try to help them get over these. Saint Andrew’s Junior College graduate Melissa Doutzhen Cher relates her experience. “I started tuition with Andy only towards the end of my JC2 year, with very little time left before my A level exams and with a defeated mentality. However, throughout the three months that I was tutored by him, not only did he patiently impart his knowledge about physics and chemistry to me, he went to the extent of teaching me life lessons. He was more of a friend and mentor who gave me newfound confidence in myself, than a run-of-a-mill tutor who was concerned about monetary gains and academic excellence.”

Fourth, lessons should be customized to meet the needs of every individual. And lastly, Teoh believes a “strong three-fold cord” should be established with the tutor, parents and student to achieve good academic results. This means clear communication between the three throughout the learning process.

And the results have been positive. Teoh says student numbers grew from 30 in June 2009 when he started, to 70 in February 2010. The center has at least 10 other teachers. He has also started up science camps as well as leadership camps for his students for their personal development. He says the business is now aiming to reach the students in the nearby schools in Sengkang.

But this young entrepreneur admits it is no walk in the park to manage Educlinic full-time while handling his school work and university exams. “It’s hard to juggle, especially since I don’t have any full-time workers.”
The center is run largely by himself, with the help of his girlfriend Napalie, who does administrative work for the business. But Teoh says his faith fuels the dream.

“When I get tired, I pray to God about it. I find it helps me to have the positive thinking I need to keep going. In fact, my hope is to keep running the place for a few months until the business runs by itself, so I can move on to serving God full-time.”

PHOTO: Shutterstock

Why do people eat chocolate rabbits and hunt for eggs at Easter? City News investigates.

If you have trouble finding any coherent link between the resurrection of Jesus and egg-laying rabbits, relax. There isn’t one—not really.

The modern Easter holiday celebration abounds with egg hunts and chocolate rabbits—it is actually a Frankenstein of many different traditions.

Easter retains some Jewish roots. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha, meaning Passover. Easter has close links with the Passover celebrations, seeing as Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred after He went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites’ exodus from slavery in Egypt.

Today, the Pesach has come to mean Easter for most, except for orthodox Jews who celebrate it solely as Passover.
The timing of Easter is apparently related to pagan traditions. The early Christian church at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. decreed that Easter must closely follow the Spring equinox, the way pagan Spring festivals do.

The name itself, Easter is not found in the Bible. In fact, most sources agree the name is likely to have sprung from Eostre or Eastre, a Teutonic (or ancient German) goddess of Spring and fertility. Which would also explain the myth of the Easter bunny perfectly because Eostre’s symbol was, you guessed it, a rabbit.

A symbol of fertility, the rabbit later found its way into American Easter traditions when Germans settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700s, bringing with them tales of the osterhase, the mythical egg-laying rabbit responsible for all the colored eggs showing up each Easter. (City kids will, however, tell you that Easter eggs come from Cadbury’s.)

Long before Easter was celebrated, it’s said that many cultures were already exchanging eggs, which represent rebirth. Early Christian missionaries had to celebrate their own holy days in a clandestine manner with the then prominently pagan tribes of Europe, hence the meshing of pagan cultures with Christian ones. Early Greek and Syrian Christians dyed their eggs crimson to represent the blood of Christ.

All said, Spring is a meaningful time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus—the season symbolizes new life after death (winter).

Biblical accounts follow that the Sunday after his death on the cross, Jesus’ gravesite was visited by mourning women, only to find the tomb empty. Later that day and for 40 days after, many encounters with and sightings of Jesus alive gave His followers cause to believe that He had been risen from the dead by the power of God.

The resurrection of Christ is great significance in the Christian religion; it is the central justification for the Christian faith and walk. Romans 4:25 explains that, “Jesus was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

This pivotal event is the basis of the Christian belief that humans need no longer live under the dominion of death or the power of sin. Romans 6:9-11 explains, “For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus Christ.” And on that is what hangs the hope of every Christian around the world today.

So if you are looking for an Easter goodie that’s free of pagan roots, have a hot cross bun. Originating in English, the bun has a white cross in the middle, signifying Jesus.

When Imperial Treasure Restaurant first opened, it seemed that it was merely to challenge Crystal Jade’s monopoly on dim sum lovers here. But in our opinion, the Imperial Treasure certainly has its own clout amongst dim sum die-hard fans, with its high quality and super fresh offerings
(we’re also really enthusiastic about their fantastic roast goose).

The winner in our dim sum dinner was the char siew sou (barbequed pork pastry). It comes beautifully glazed in its fragrant yolk skin; stuffed
full of moist, chunky char siew (barbequed pork) infused with, what we suspect to be, a nice dose of choice wine in the sauce. We liked it so much, we also ordered its sister dish, the humble yet famous char siew bao (baked pork bun). This one had pretty much the same filling but the different skin was similarly satisfying, thankfully.

The pan-fried carrot cake was fragrant with a generous amount of shredded radish littered throughout the cake.

Char Siew Sou PHOTO COURTESY OF YONG TE-CHONG	Steamed Custard Bun

Another hot favorite with me was the steamed custard bun. It was soft on the outside and oozed with lavish yellow hot custard mixed with salted mashed yolk, and we liked how light and non-greasy it was. However, this dish only works when it’s piping hot, as long as you don’t scorch your taste buds.

Another plus point of the place is its affordability. For under S$20, you can have a high quality dim sum meal.

Our verdict in the dim sum duel: (We’re sorry, Crystal Jade) Imperial Treasure gets our vote.

Overall Rating:

As told to Elizabeth Low

Ayam penyet

Being lovers of all things fried and spicy, it’s really no surprise Singaporeans have taken an instant liking to the Indonesian ayam penyet. Not to mention how it bears certain similarities to perennially popular Hainanese chicken rice but laced with a fiery Indonesian attitude — a formula for predictable success here.

As it usually is with all popular dishes, ayam penyet stalls have been popping up en masse all over Singapore, and we find it our imperative to sift out the best from the dry and tasteless ones.

We love that the one at Sri Bistari Changi Village makes the cut with us. Despite the unavoidable queue that trademarks all popular Singaporean food stalls, the fragrant and fluffy (though we’re guessing hardly authentically Indonesian) Hainanese chicken rice, the accompanying MSG-yummy soup and stinging sweet sambal chilli made us most happy in the belly indeed. The chicken was wonderfully tender and well-seasoned, and tasted even better with a heap of the spicy but flavorful sambal chilli.

Just don’t try this without stocking up a good round of iced drinks and tissues at your table. Things could get ugly.

Overall Rating:

As told to Elizabeth Low

PHOTOS: APEC 2009 site

Speaking at the last session of the Leaders sessions at the APEC, Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave his candid take on the countries of the world after the global crisis. During the 45-minute discussion, the Minister Mentor spoke frankly on the issues various nations are going through. Moderated by TIME magazine’s International Editor Michael Elliot, MM Lee took questions from the multinational APEC audience and even shared anecdotes from his own experiences.

What has changed after the global crisis?

When asked what he thought were some key changes in the world after the global crisis, MM Lee said that he expected a shift of economic weight from the Atlantic to the Pacific, though how quickly this would happen is uncertain. However, he did say that he would not expect consumers in Chinese and Indian consumers to replace the American consumer. “Chinese consumers spend one eighth of the American consumer and the Indians, one sixteenth.” The differences in magnitude are too large to make up in the short term, he believed. He did emphasized that the manner in which the USA exits the crisis will still have crucial implications for global geopolitics. If America could keep the dollar as the dominant currency, and to maintain confidence, the world order would remain stable, and probably be better off. But “if Americans allow their deficits to grow and grow without provisions to make up the deficits”, Lee warned of the dangers of fundamental changes, uncertainty, and potential collateral damage. But he chose to suspend his verdict until things became more apparent on how the country was dealing with the economic crisis.

Is the US a declining power?

Talking about the US’ role in the Asia Pacific, MM Lee commented that its presence had decreased, and the country had had to reengage or risk losing the “economic race”. He said that the reason was that America had been preoccupied with Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran so much that it had left its relations and affairs with East Asia fallow. For example, the USA had so far only ratified one FTA (with Singapore), while the only other signed FTA with Korea was still incomplete in Congress. In contrast, China extended a free trade agreement to all of Southeast Asia, strategically extending “early harvest” benefits. Moreover, “if the US continues this anti-free trade, anti-outsourcing [practice], its economic interest in the Pacific Asia and also in the Indian Ocean will decline,” he warned. The administration has the right priorities but populist sentiment and the nature of the democratic system makes it unlikely that any pro-trade legislation will pass Congress. He also expressed belief in the current Chinese government, that they are very capable, and have an admirable long-term focus. He mentioned the constant flow of well-educated, increasingly sophisticated leaders, not decided by the “whims of election.” When Elliot mentioned China’s stand on democracy, MM Lee replied candidly that China was not looking to catch up with the rest of the world. Rather, he felt that the Chinese people were more interested in having lives like the ones they are seeing in Hong Kong and in Singapore, than they are in having voting rights or free speech.

Will India grow as fast as China?

MM Lee felt that India’s enormous bureaucratic impediments would be a major hindrance to growth and business. “India is going at about 60 per cent of China’s rate of change. Can they go faster? Yes they can. How? They need to change the system. Can they change the system? [This is] very difficult. Their system is set in stone and very difficult to change,” he says. However, he added that India, unlike China which is made up of a population with 90 per cent Han Chinese, is a multiracial society, and that their current system helped to keep it in one piece, though some speed of their growth would be sacrificed for the sake of that unity.

How does he see the greater interaction of Russia in Asia?

Relations in Russia are strengthening, with increasing investment in Vladivostock in particular, but that would take effort and time. He felt that the infrastructure in Russia’s east is not as developed as it is in western parts, for example Moscow. But he felt that Russia was keen to build on these areas.

What is the future of ASEAN?

“It is what we make of it,” said the Minister Mentor. He explained that the ASEAN as a collective of Southeast Asian countries provided a common market that was at the least comparable to India, a goal that was not possibly to pursue if the countries operated merely on an individual basis.

Is North Korea the greatest uncertainty to East Asia?

Lee said, “I do not think it is the greatest uncertainty in terms of how Asia will develop. The uncertainty merely lies in whether they choose to make a nuclear weapon.” He felt, however, that China’s relationship with North Korea would help it to keep a more balanced stand as he felt China would not want them to make a nuclear bomb, but at the same time, China would also look out for the interests of North Korea and not want it to disintegrate. He spoke of a recent piece of news in which Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao went to visit the grave of Mao Zedong’s son who was killed in the war. He felt that it was a sign from China saying to North Korea: “We have spilled blood for you, we will not let you go down, so please listen to us and be reasonable.”

What is his take on the future of smaller economies like Vietnam and Taiwan?

Lee described Chinese Taipei’s current position in the context of what he sees as years of missed economic growth that occurred in the 1990s and 2000s as Taiwan tried to stem the flow of investment to the mainland. He felt the current policy position of the Taiwanese government would be more conducive to growth, which if achieved would ease political friction in the country. He spoke well of Vietnam, calling it the most dynamic of all ASEAN countries. He spoke of his experience with Vietnamese students who come to Singapore and “are the most serious, score high marks, and go back to build Vietnam.” In 20 years Vietnam will be a “big tiger or a small dragon,” he said.

For Asia’s recovery in the financial crisis, will it depend on the government or on enterprises?

The Minister Mentor said that governments must ultimately carry the main burden of recovery. Only then would private enterprises pick up and carry on. He also cautioned against overzealous government policies like limiting salaries and bonuses, which could affect the the nature of the successful American system of rewarding the people who make the companies successful. He finally ended by giving America the benefit of a doubt.

“Suspending judgment, I’m waiting to see what emerges out of America.”

Named after the famous beloved wife of India’s Prince Khurran, who tragically died before the completion of the Taj Mahal, a palace her husband commissioned for her, the Mumtaz Mahal restaurant is a great place to fall in love with Indian cuisine. Possibly the only unfortunate thing about this place is that it’s tucked away in a corner on the fifth floor of Far East Plaza, which makes stumbling upon this great eatery an unlikely situation. However, you’ll find it is “vaut le detour” (worth seeking out, to quote the Michelin guide).

In fact, everything we ordered at the place was incredibly satisfying, from the crunchy poppadums to the stuffed-to-the-edge samosas.

Crunchy poppadums	Chicken tandoori

The chicken tandoori was a great starter, grilled to a nice smokiness without losing the juiciness of the meat. The prawn vindaloo was scorchingly spicy, but well worth the burn. The chicken korma came in a nice smooth gravy that went great with the accompanying fluffy garlic and cheese naans. In any case, wash down the burn of the spicy dishes with the fantastic fruit lassis available on the menu. (We liked the strawberry and mango ones.)

Fruit lassis	Paneer spinach

Eating your veggies isn’t very much of a chore here either. The paneer spinach was a creamy and comforting concoction, it went down very easily. The only danger at this place is over ordering as the dishes are pretty filling. A likely thing to do, considering everything tastes so good. If you’re on a budget, the mid-to-high prices may keep you in check. Be prepared to pay S$20 and above per person.

Overall Rating: