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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Aug-27 11:50 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>38081.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Abdul Malik: My thoughts on the Youth Olympic Games
August 28th, 2010 |
Author: Contributions
By Abdul Malik
For a start, let me congratulate our young Singaporean athletes and volunteers who have done us proud. You have put in many hours of training and I hope that you will continue to do Singapore proud in future sporting competitions. I am proud of every one of you, and to call you my fellow countrymen.
To Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Mr Teo Ser Luck, as well as the rest of the SYOGOC, I believe you have put in much effort into the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. That is an indisputable fact.
http://www.temasekreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Youth-Olympic-Games1.jpgWhen Singapore was announced to be the host of the first YOG, I was initially pleased that such a small island nation such as ours could have the honour of holding what promised to be a great international sporting event.
As time went by, I saw that the mood of the public was generally that of apathy. That dampened my spirits, and forced me to question why this was so.
The tripling of the YOG budget to $387 million from $105 million, which till date still remained unaccounted for, did nothing to lift my spirits, as I contemplated the fact that Singaporeans may end up footing a larger bill than we were originally prepared for.
I saw red with the fact that there was no consultation done with the public, when it was public funds that were used for this event. An increase of such magnitude should have, at the very least, been disclosed transparently by those in charge so that Singaporeans may be made aware where their hard-earned money goes to. $387 million is by no means a small amount of money.
As for the organisation of the Games, I would like to express that I would have expected a much better showing and level of support considering the large budget for the YOG.
For a country known for its excellence, precision and efficiency, incidents such as the food poisoning scandals and the collapse of the canvas roof at the 3 a side basketball venue should not have happened.
It mars our international image as a nation which prides itself on doing things right, all the time. It was certainly regrettable that they did occur, as it was preventable. I hope that such things will not happen again if we are ever to host another major event.
As for the issue of forced volunteerism which has been a hot topic on the Internet, my view is that students should never have been made to attend the YOG for CCA points to just make up the numbers.
I had watched some events on television and on the live internet feed, and most of the spectators looked as if they were in uniform. Is this a sign of real support from the public? I do not think students (and NSmen) who were made to go to the YOG as spectators and volunteers are representative of the People’s support of the YOG.
To me, the YOG has not met the expectations befitting of such an event. Empty seats at competition venues, even when they were supposed to be sold-out, does not bode well in the eyes of the international media.
It is the wish of Dr Balakrishnan to reposition Singapore as a “happening” place, but I did not see that “happening”-ness during the event. Empty seats again, at the Celebrations@Marina Bay, are indicative of that.
And if tickets had been sold out, why was there a need to resell those empty seats? To me, it seemed like a last-ditch effort to remedy the “ghost spectators” situation.
I believe Dr Balakrishnan has tried to explain the need for the tripling of the YOG budget. However, an explanation at a press conference is not enough.
Companies publish their reports openly for shareholders to scrutinize. Why should the YOG be any different? Aren’t we Singaporeans all shareholders of this event? There needs to be more transparency in showing where the money went.
Dr Balakrishnan has stated that he is confident Singapore will recoup its investment in the YOG. That still remains to be seen. It would help greatly if he could detail exactly why he feels that way. In the meantime, we are now confronted with the issue of $387 million of public funds being spent on a 12-day event that has scant mention in the international press and little support from the man in the street.
I would also like to take issue with the fact that we won our bid for the inaugural YOG with an initial budget of $105 million, thus possibly pipping Moscow’s bid for hosting this event.
An increase of 3 times the initial amount should have alerted the IOC that Singapore’s bid was unreasonably low and thus unfairly snatched the winning bid away from Moscow. If the Games were an exercise at diplomacy, I’m sure we did not win many friends in Russia. I may even go as far as saying it might have been an deliberate underhand tactic in winning the bid to host the Games.
But the YOG is now over. What’s done is done. We cannot turn back the hands of Time. Let us hope that something good will come out of these 12 days. I hope that Dr Balakrishnan will make good his promises of “tangible and intangible” benefits in the long run.
My aim now is to get the Government and those responsible for the YOG to be held accountable for the various issues that blighted the Games. Action needs to be taken to bring those responsible for the failures to task. Even if it means “burning” their future political careers. This is how I would want a leader to be seen as taking responsibility for the actions of his subordinates.
My initial view has changed drastically from one of support for the YOG to utter disappointment at the way the event was handled overall. Things could have been much better planned.
Abdul Malik
by Abdul Malik
Editor’s note: The writer was arrested at his workplace three days ago by three plain-clothes police officers from Bedok Police Division on the charge of “inciting violence and public disorder” under Section 267 Chapter 244 of the penal code. The Commander of Bedok Police Division is DAC Teo Chun Ching. Its Head Investigator is DSP Goh Tat Boon. His laptop was also seized. Mr Abdul Malik is an alumnus of Raffles Institution.
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By Abdul Malik
For a start, let me congratulate our young Singaporean athletes and volunteers who have done us proud. You have put in many hours of training and I hope that you will continue to do Singapore proud in future sporting competitions. I am proud of every one of you, and to call you my fellow countrymen.
To Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Mr Teo Ser Luck, as well as the rest of the SYOGOC, I believe you have put in much effort into the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. That is an indisputable fact.
http://www.temasekreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Youth-Olympic-Games1.jpgWhen Singapore was announced to be the host of the first YOG, I was initially pleased that such a small island nation such as ours could have the honour of holding what promised to be a great international sporting event.
As time went by, I saw that the mood of the public was generally that of apathy. That dampened my spirits, and forced me to question why this was so.
The tripling of the YOG budget to $387 million from $105 million, which till date still remained unaccounted for, did nothing to lift my spirits, as I contemplated the fact that Singaporeans may end up footing a larger bill than we were originally prepared for.
I saw red with the fact that there was no consultation done with the public, when it was public funds that were used for this event. An increase of such magnitude should have, at the very least, been disclosed transparently by those in charge so that Singaporeans may be made aware where their hard-earned money goes to. $387 million is by no means a small amount of money.
As for the organisation of the Games, I would like to express that I would have expected a much better showing and level of support considering the large budget for the YOG.
For a country known for its excellence, precision and efficiency, incidents such as the food poisoning scandals and the collapse of the canvas roof at the 3 a side basketball venue should not have happened.
It mars our international image as a nation which prides itself on doing things right, all the time. It was certainly regrettable that they did occur, as it was preventable. I hope that such things will not happen again if we are ever to host another major event.
As for the issue of forced volunteerism which has been a hot topic on the Internet, my view is that students should never have been made to attend the YOG for CCA points to just make up the numbers.
I had watched some events on television and on the live internet feed, and most of the spectators looked as if they were in uniform. Is this a sign of real support from the public? I do not think students (and NSmen) who were made to go to the YOG as spectators and volunteers are representative of the People’s support of the YOG.
To me, the YOG has not met the expectations befitting of such an event. Empty seats at competition venues, even when they were supposed to be sold-out, does not bode well in the eyes of the international media.
It is the wish of Dr Balakrishnan to reposition Singapore as a “happening” place, but I did not see that “happening”-ness during the event. Empty seats again, at the Celebrations@Marina Bay, are indicative of that.
And if tickets had been sold out, why was there a need to resell those empty seats? To me, it seemed like a last-ditch effort to remedy the “ghost spectators” situation.
I believe Dr Balakrishnan has tried to explain the need for the tripling of the YOG budget. However, an explanation at a press conference is not enough.
Companies publish their reports openly for shareholders to scrutinize. Why should the YOG be any different? Aren’t we Singaporeans all shareholders of this event? There needs to be more transparency in showing where the money went.
Dr Balakrishnan has stated that he is confident Singapore will recoup its investment in the YOG. That still remains to be seen. It would help greatly if he could detail exactly why he feels that way. In the meantime, we are now confronted with the issue of $387 million of public funds being spent on a 12-day event that has scant mention in the international press and little support from the man in the street.
I would also like to take issue with the fact that we won our bid for the inaugural YOG with an initial budget of $105 million, thus possibly pipping Moscow’s bid for hosting this event.
An increase of 3 times the initial amount should have alerted the IOC that Singapore’s bid was unreasonably low and thus unfairly snatched the winning bid away from Moscow. If the Games were an exercise at diplomacy, I’m sure we did not win many friends in Russia. I may even go as far as saying it might have been an deliberate underhand tactic in winning the bid to host the Games.
But the YOG is now over. What’s done is done. We cannot turn back the hands of Time. Let us hope that something good will come out of these 12 days. I hope that Dr Balakrishnan will make good his promises of “tangible and intangible” benefits in the long run.
My aim now is to get the Government and those responsible for the YOG to be held accountable for the various issues that blighted the Games. Action needs to be taken to bring those responsible for the failures to task. Even if it means “burning” their future political careers. This is how I would want a leader to be seen as taking responsibility for the actions of his subordinates.
My initial view has changed drastically from one of support for the YOG to utter disappointment at the way the event was handled overall. Things could have been much better planned.
Abdul Malikby Abdul Malik
Editor’s note: The writer was arrested at his workplace three days ago by three plain-clothes police officers from Bedok Police Division on the charge of “inciting violence and public disorder” under Section 267 Chapter 244 of the penal code. The Commander of Bedok Police Division is DAC Teo Chun Ching. Its Head Investigator is DSP Goh Tat Boon. His laptop was also seized. Mr Abdul Malik is an alumnus of Raffles Institution.
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