Today I was invited to a fund raising carpet auction for the Esplanade to fund their philanthropic efforts to reach out to the community. The carpets were from Lotto carpets and I was told they had done another charity auction for the Esplanade in 2015.
From the sale of proceeds of the auction, 50% will be given to the Esplanade.
There were altogether 38 pieces for sale. All handwoven in either silk or wool from different places. From Iran, Kashmir, Turkey and Central Asia. Beautiful pieces of different vintages and some signed.
Pity there was no crowd. Only 5 people turned up. I was told 30 people had signed up but didn’t turn up in the end. I felt sorry for the auctioneer. They had brought down all these carpets and had their staff there for so few people. I did feel the Esplanade could have organized this much better.
Anyway I bought a signed Ispahan and I am considering some Herekes from Turkey!
One of my happier achievements in recent times was the setting up of this Chamber.
Sometime during Covid in 2021, a good friend introduced me to the Mexican Ambassador to Singapore, Agustin. The ambassador was promoting trade between Singapore and Mexico and wanted to set up a business body to facilitate this. They had tried doing something for some time without success and now they wanted my help.
I came up with the idea of a chamber and managed to set this up for them in 3 months. We had a very successful launch of the Chamber at the Gardens by the Bay with MOS Alvin Tan officiating. I became the Advisor to the Chamber.
Gerson, Luis and myself
The chamber is now about 3 years and is firmly established with 160 members,which is quite incredible for such a young business chamber set up with a specific country focus.
During the last 4 years of the Biden administration, Mexico has attracted large investments, mostly Chinese. They have set up manufacturing facilities there to avoid existing and potential tariffs by the US. Another reason was to take advantage of the USMCA.
Of course the US has noticed this and there is quite a bit of pushback from them to crack down on this. Mexico is careful now and monitoring this to ensure that the rules of origin requirements are strictly adhered to. They are also careful in not attracting new investments from China at the present time.
Anyway there is a lot of interest in Mexico currently and how the tariffs will play out. Also Singapore is finally opening an embassy there this year, confirming the increasing importance of Mexico to Singapore.
So yesterday we had a breakfast meeting with Gerson (the CEO) and Luis (the President) from the Chamber to discuss what we can do at this time. We have decided to organize a business seminar towards the end of May and a trade mission to Mexico in December to coincide with the opening of the embassy there. We are also planning some activities to take advantage of the World Cup there next year!
Trump has used the term Liberation Day before. In an early spring day in the 1990s, Trump telephoned a consultant to his company and declared to her that it was liberation day that day.
According to the consultant, Maggie Haberman, liberation day to Trump was the first warm spring day when women stopped wearing coats and liberated their upper bodies!
It is amazing how a man who thinks and behaves this way has come to occupy the position he does today.
What does it say about the country and the voters who elected him twice, and the second time with an increased majority? What does it also say about the people who surround him and do his bidding everyday and parrot his message?
It makes you wonder what it now takes to become the leader of any country. Is competency even necessary? Does integrity or the lack of it make any difference anymore? Is a sense of duty and service even important? What is the value of a good education?
Makes me wonder what moves the needle for people nowadays. Do they just want someone who can entertain and make empty promises? Would just plain bald bravado with no substance get you all the way?
Today is nomination day for the 2025 General Election.
When I was younger, I remember the PAP would form the government on nomination day itself as the opposition parties did not have enough candidates to fight in every constituency. In face during that era, there were some PAP MPs who have never had a contested election. This started to change after the 1990s when the opposition started winning some seats in Parliament.
Now every seat is contested and some constituencies even see a 3 cornered fight.
The strongest opposition party currently is the WP and they have said that they will be fielding some 36 candidates. Everyone has been talking about the caliber of the new candidates they have introduced this time around. We shall see how well they do…
The first time I attended an election rally was in 1984. I remember getting permission to skip a lecture to attend a lunch time rally at Fullerton Square. The first time I was involved on nomination day itself was in 1997, when I helped out Lim Swee Say at Buona Vista. That was quite an experience to make sure that everything was done correctly!
The last election, I was watching the announcement of the election results with friends. This was after a Japanese dinner followed by durians. That was the year the voting was extended by 2 hours because of some software issues. There were huge queues in some places because of that. So the results came out really late that year. Hopefully this year is smoother..
I drove back from KL this morning. I left KLCC at about 1040am. Left with a 100% charge. Arrived back home at 240pm with 18% battery left. Very smooth traffic coming back and no jam at the Tuas checkpoint on both directions. So it looks like if you time yourself correctly, you can do a 4hr journey in either direction. So if you avoid the weekends and public holidays, it is quite safe driving an EV to KL.
It was just announced that Pope Francis, aged 88 died on Easter Monday.
This is sudden because the news recently was that he was recovering and he was seen in public on Easter Sunday in the Vatican giving blessings.
I am so grateful that I got to see him in September last year when he visited Singapore. He looked strong then and he undertook a fairly punishing schedule when he was here. I suspect now that he has passed on, Singapore may well have been the last country he visited.
Today I read that Trump has prepared a draft executive order that drastically cuts down the size of the State Department. It proposes to cut down the many programs and initiatives it currently runs in many places and even the number of embassies around the world. It clearly looks like the US engagement with the world will be greatly reduced. With the reduction in engagement, its influence in the world and our region will certainly diminish.
For some time now, I could already sense many Singaporeans becoming anti US because of its position on China. This will when the US was targeting China and restricting high tech and chip exports to China. That was during a period when the US was actively engaging the world. Now with the negative reactions worldwide to the tariffs and to the punitive tariffs proposed against China and to the proposed diminished US engagement worldwide it cannot imagine what is going to happen.
With Jonathan and his partner
I remember meeting the former US Ambassador Jonathan Kaplan and telling him on many occasions that the US should engage more with our young people to at least to explain to them their position on several issues and hear people out. Even then I could sense a lack of interest or drive in doing this. I myself cannot recall any occasion where they did any such sessions. Any engagement by them was only at the government level and its own US citizens.
I liked the Ambassador. Friendly and engaging with a smile always. But once Trump won the election, he resigned immediately. The post of ambassador is still vacant.
At the end of the next 4 years, I cannot imagine how the world and Singaporeans will view US. It is a bit frightening. We grew up with such a US centric view of the world. We watched their movies and tv shows growing up. Many have visited the US and studied there. We read and follow their media. We have seen them as the good guys in the world, going out and taking action against any negative forces out there. I thought that they will be a shield to any bullying or attack against Singapore.
That will all change. To what extent, I don’t know…
With the Ambassador and the owner of Madras Woodlands at his restaurant
This morning I woke up to a wave of viral videos from China alleging that the bags from the top luxury brands including Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel are made in China and then sent back to Europe to do the final packaging there. They claim that the manufacturing costs of these products are a fraction of the cost they are finally sold at.
With the number of these similar videos all coming out at the same time, this does appear to be a coordinated move. Perhaps it is a response to the Trump tariffs to get overseas buyers to buy directly from them? Or perhaps it is to cast doubts on the claims by luxury brands that their products are made in France or Italy and then create volatility in that market?
I do own Hermes and Louis Vuitton bags. They cost a lot but to their credit, they do last a long time. I do not believe Hermes and Louis Vuitton make their products in China.
But the prices have also been increasing steadily over the years and with hefty rises since Covid. I think a Birkin has more than doubled over the last 15 years. I remember it used to cost about $7k for the Birkin if you bought it in Paris. I am sure the production cost has not increased by that much. The pricing now, I suspect, has more to do with the fact that to maintain a luxury image, the product has to be priced to keep it away from the masses and at a level to create a yearning to obtain it. Unaffordability seems to be key nowadays to maintaining a high end image. Of course making a healthy profit out of selling luxury doesn’t hurt.
A Hublot watch, when they first started becoming known to the market, then cost me $7k. Now it’s going for about $20k. Inflation?
Maybe the fault is that of the consumer. We have started becoming brand and image conscious and we buy brands without asking whether the asking price for the product makes sense. There are numerous quality products out there which are much more affordable but without a French or Italian brand name.
Perhaps the purpose of these Chinese videos is to educate you on the cost price for these products should be. What you are ultimately paying for in the stores is for the image and the marketing and packaging. Also by showcasing these products in their videos another subtle message may be that they can manufacture products as well as their French and Italian counterparts at a fraction of their price.
Its not a public holiday here unlike Singapore so it just another Friday here. As always I see more buzz here. Not that many tourists at this time of the year. But I understand the Chinese President’s visit here 2 days ago created massive jams around the Istana area, where the meetings were held.
I last visited this prata shop during Covid when travel was again possible. So must have been about 2021. KL was a bit of a ghost town then with many shops shuttered. I stayed near the Megamall and I visited this place for breakfast. I remember it being really good even then. Came here again today. Fortunately as good as I last remembered it!
Since I was at Megamall, I decided to try a Japanese restaurant called Kintsugi, at Japan Table in Isetan. I have never heard of this place and I just walked in. It’s by Chef Jeff Okada Ramsey. I had their bento set which was 158 RM. Good value!
The last time I drove to KL must have been around 2008. From about 2001 to 2008, I used to drive regularly to KL. I will leave Singapore after work on a Friday at about 6pm. I will arrive in Kl before 10pm, park the car at the hotel car park and have supper at the Marriott Hotel. I used to do this once a month.
I remember staying in a hotel which used to be right in front of the Marriott (where the present day Pavilion Bukit Bintang now stands). I would spend the weekend there and watch an MPO concert. The MPO used to be top class those days. During each visit, I will always visit Sungei Wang Plaza and buy CDs, Vcds and DVDs.
On Sunday, I will leave KL about noon and arrive back in Singapore about 5pm. This routine stopped after the traffic jams got very bad on the Singapore side when the Mas Selamat incident happened. They started checking every car leaving and arriving at Singapore and it just didn’t make sense to drive after that.
So this morning, I left at about 540am. It was raining and I took the Tuas Second Link. Because of the rain, I drove slower.
First time driving an electric car in Malaysia and I managed to get to KL without any stops or charging the car! Arrived at 1005 am with 18% of the battery still left! Actually with an EV car, it is quite cheap getting here cos I save a bit on not having to pump petrol.
Good start. Now to see how the return journey turns out.
daily musings 