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Whilst I was meeting up with my good friend U Zyn for lunch yesterday at Ah Yat seafood restaurant, to my surprise, I bumped into a friend from a long time back at the next table having lunch with his wife.

I first met Mark Yeo in 1986. It was at the Toa Payoh police station. I was sent there after my studies because I was then a local PSC police scholar. Mark was there because he was an overseas PSC police scholar, and he had just completed his law studies in Oxford.

We bonded, even though I didn’t stay on in the police force. It could be because we were both from ACS, we both had done law or that he continued to have an interest in law and visited the law faculty regularly, where I was then based

We used to meet regularly for lunches in the early days. But after he finished his stint in the police force and went to work in Dubai, we lost touch.

It was very good seeing him again and we have arranged to meet up again soon at the same place.

I was having tea with Ken and Harvey this afternoon. Ken told me that at a yacht event in Singapore last week, he met a lady who runs the Hainan Yacht Club and deals a lot with very wealthy people. He had asked her how she manages to deal with and interact with tycoons.

She told him that there are 4 critical rules involved. I was intrigued by what he told me and I wanted to write it down so that I could reflect on whether on these “rules”.

Rule one is that there has to be a reason for a tycoon to want to interact with you. There must be an expertise or specialty that you possess that is of use to them and which they need from you.

Rule two is that there must be chemistry between you and the tycoon so that they feel comfortable spending time with you. In that way, being a likeable person and having a pleasant personality helps.

Rule three was interesting. Whether a tycoon trusts you and interacts with you depends a lot on who recommended you. These rich people tend to be suspicious of outsiders and they therefore rely a lot of personal recommendations from people they trust. So having someone saying nice things about you certainly helps.

And the final rule is that it is important never to put any kind of pressure on them. They dislike pressure from anyone, especially from one providing them a service.

As I am writing this , I wondered if these rules were limited to just interactions with the ultra rich. On reflection, these rules are common sense principles which can apply in our interactions with clients, business partners and political leaders. But it is also sad because it reflects a utilitarian view of how the world operates. People will want you if they need something from you and if you and your services are no longer needed, they will discard you. It will only be a very small group of people who will be able to cultivate true friendships during this process.

Last night’s dinner, hosted by Chelva Rajah, was at Plu, a newly opened Thai restaurant at Goodwood Park Hotel.

As for the food, I didn’t care too much for it. I have never been a fan of thai food. There are too many fried items and the curries have too much coconut milk and cream. I always feel bloated after a Thai meal.

Even having said that, I didn’t find the food quality at the restaurant exceptional but to be fair, the others seemed to enjoy the food. Perhaps my views on the food are just me. I am beginning to wonder if this is just part of a systematic decline in food standards in Singapore. Also I was surprised that a new restaurant was opening its doors in Singapore during a time of economic slowdown and high prices here.

The parking at this hotel is horrendously expensive. I arrived at 645pm and left at 915pm and the car park charges were $11. They charge $5 per hour till 7pm and then $6 per entry thereafter. Shocking.

As always the company and conversation were interesting. We talked about travels. Mostly about the Northern lights. Some of them have seen it. Peng Tiam wanted to see it. I haven’t seen it. I am just not sure if it is something so spectacular that I would spend so much money and brave the cold weather to watch. Peng Tiam spoke extensively about his shopping experience in China, and especially his online shopping experiences. He has offered to buy things online for us if we need anything. The ongoing Hyflux trial was discussed. Some of them know the personalities involved and so it was good to hear about how they felt the trial was proceeding.

We also spoke about the book, the Albatross files. I had the most to contribute on this topic as I was the only one who has read the book. I have already done a post on this and I was able to share with them some of the things I have already put out in my post, including the quote by Tunku in his signed copy of his book to Lee Kuan Yew.

Now to look forward to the next dinner in June.

I had my regular lunch with Ashwini yesterday. Ashwini is the Head of Chancery at the Indian High Commission and we have been meeting regularly over the last 2 years.

First the actual discussions we had. We talked mostly about the Middle East war and the folly of Donald Trump. The consequences of the war have affected countries differently and according to him, India would see some effects, though not devastating. The inflationary effects will of course be felt worldwide but the impact would be felt keenest in countries which lack foreign currencies to pay additional sums for the higher oil prices. Especially if their governments have been subsidizing oil prices for their domestic market consumption.

Next the food. The choice of the restaurant was his. I have been to the original restaurant in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2016. There was a lot of hype about this place. I tried it and I wasn’t impressed at all. The food was expensive and just above average.

I haven’t been to the Singapore outlet and neither has he and so he wanted to try this out.

Unfortunately the food quality was below average and the prices high. The chicken curry we ordered didn’t have any curry at all and the rice and chicken were dry. The street bread was just dry local bread. We had ordered a crab. After a while when we realized we had finished our lunch and the crab still hadn’t been served. We called over the waitress to check our order. She had completed missed placing the order. I was happy to just stop and leave at that point but Ashwini wanted to try the crab. So we waited another 20 minutes for the crab dish. Again very average quality.

I think this is becoming symptomatic of Singapore. High prices, poor quality both in terms of food quality and service. Why would anyone want to visit Singapore and put up with this?

We both agreed that food quality and service in KL and Bangkok were far superior to Singapore and that it was only a matter of time before the tourists realized this.

He will soon be posted out of Singapore as his 3 year term is ending in July. We agreed to meet for another meal soon, this time my choice.

I was invited by U Zyn to this exhibition yesterday evening. He had informed me that he visited this exhibition some time back and wanted me to visit the exhibition and the couple who own the gallery. The couple had their first exhibition,Ink and Paper 10 years ago at this same location and so appropriately they have named this recent exhibition Ink and Paper 10 years on. Although this is the first time I have visited their gallery.

Unfortunately the gallery is located at Penjuru Lane, which is far. It took me a good 35 minutes drive to get there. The isolated location is, in my view, not conducive to those who do not drive and therefore may deter more regular visits. I felt sorry those who did not drive because it must be difficult to find transport to get there and back.

The gallery is in a warehouse complex with adequate parking. The gallery comprises a small viewing space with the storage unit just next to it. Looking at the sheer number of items they had in the storage unit, I think they must be one of the largest private collectors of art in Singapore. I used to think that with my roughly 160 pieces in Helutrans, I had too much but my collection pales in comparison to theirs.

They showcased some of their Singapore artists yesterday and there were about 24 pieces on display. The pieces were interesting and varied and Linda introduced the guests to each and every piece. I know of some of the artists whose pieces were displayed but I have never been keen on Singapore artists. A lot of local artists end up doing Chinatown and Boat Quay scenes and that has never appealed to me. I have a few in my own collection but I have never actively sought out to collect local artists.

The owners, Linda Neo and Albert Lim, started their collection sometime in 2005 and started out by collecting local artists.

I spoke to both Linda and Albert quite a bit about their collection and on the joys and pain of collecting art in Singapore. It is a joy to view beautiful art and want to own it. The problem comes about because Singapore weather is unforgiving to art and the heat and humidity destroy art rapidly. The only way then to preserve what you treasure is to wrap it up and store it carefully. This means you never actually get to see and enjoy what you bought and also additional costs incurred by storage charges.

Linda and Albert are a wonderful couple who fortunately share the same passion in art and collecting it. I was happy talking to them about their collection and their family. Hopefully their children will share their same passion in art. It is good that they put in the effort to open their doors to others to view and enjoy their artworks and share their passion.

Last night was the thank you dinner for the organising committee of this year’s Club 100 dinner. We did well and we managed to hit our target of maintaining the membership at 750.

The dinner was at Jia He Grand restaurant at Farrer Hospital. I used to go there a lot some years back but for some reason, which I cannot recall now, I stopped. The food was good and the price was reasonable for that menu. I think I will organise my next ACS dinner here.

I sat next to the Mayor and I really enjoyed our conversations. We talked about a variety of topics and I find it useful because he knows what is happening and so I learn and understand quite a bit listening to him.

Towards the end of dinner, as an entire group, we talked about the various initiatives to address job seeker’ concerns in Singapore, especially the role to be played by the CDC. This is something I will need to get my teeth into, as I chair the committee for this at the CDC. There are just so many initiatives and so someone looking for a job will find help. I am not sure how the impact of the effect of AI on white collar entry level jobs will be addressed at some point in the future.