laremy.sg

So I was riding along Bendeemer Road one day when I saw this van headed in the direction of Little India.

I quickly whipped out my mobile phone to take a picture of it because I was quite pleased by the symbolism of the image/advertisement.

Why?

• The name of the company that owns this van is Sri Ram Exports Pte Ltd.
• The image on the van is that of Hanuman moving a mountain (click on the link and read the entire page to understand why Hanuman is moving a mountain).
• Ultimately, the story of Hanuman moving a mountain is supposed to demonstrate his devotion toward Ram.
• Whoever commissioned the advertisement wanted to portray the Export company in a similar light i.e. we’ll get your goods to you in good time even if we have to cross oceans to reach you.

That’s quite clever, right?

(On hindsight: yes, it’s clever – so long as my assumptions are correct i.e.

• For all I know, whoever commissioned the ad could’ve just done so without making any of the connections I mentioned above.
• Also, my knowledge of Hindu mythology is quite limited so I could’ve got the interpretation wrong.)

Dear Madam/Sir,

I REFER to Mr Peter Heng’s letter (“Act tough to curb motorcycle fatalities”, Nov 3).

I acknowledge that speeding motorcyclists and reckless riders have contributed to the high fatality rate for motorcyclists on Singapore roads.

As with any issue, however, it takes two hands to clap.

Dangerous driving is also a major factor in the deaths of motorcyclists on the road.

I have been a rider for six years and have both seen and experienced two main instances of dangerous driving that have resulted in accidents:

• Intimidation, where lorries and buses tailgate riders unnecessarily e.g. when riders are already in the leftmost lane, and
• Callousness, where cars cut into lanes of riders at exceedingly fast speeds and at angles which are too close for comfort.

Unfortunately, motorcyclists have no means of redress or protection from these actions.

Mr Heng’s suggestions might also exacerbate the current situation, as motorcyclists will then be deprived of a degree of speed to escape from their tormentors.

To address the root causes of the problem, I would like to propose the following measures instead:

• Courtesy campaigns by the Traffic Police to remind road-users to share the road in a friendly and respectful manner,
• Motorcycle lanes, if the Land Transport Authority will consider this, to protect riders from drivers,
• A hotline for motorcyclists to report dangerous drivers, where the Traffic Police can then take action against deviant behaviour, and
• Driving re-education classes conducted by the Traffic Police for errant road-users, who will have to watch videos of fatal road accidents to remind them of the sanctity of life.

I will be happy to partner the agencies I have mentioned in working together for a safer and death-free road experience for all.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Laremy LEE (Mr)

(Published as “Don’t blame just (sic) motorcyclists” on 8 Nov 2010 in the Straits Times Forum Online.)

I’m extremely annoyed with the lack of ethics that a lot of Singaporean mechanics possess.

These wrangling pirates revel in a cut-throat ethos that places their customers’ needs below their shop’s bottom line.

To explain, Pooters’s battery finally yielded the ghost at the start of the work-week.

Because I didn’t have the time to get a replacement earlier, I went down to the shops near my home in the hope that I could buy a battery, return home, fix Pooters up, and carry on with the rest of my Saturday.

FAT CHANCE IN HELL.

I was quoted a price of $90 at one shop and $60 at the next shop. I knew a battery didn’t cost that much, but I had no way of verifying that at that point in time.

Anyway, I gave some excuse about having to make sure it was the correct model and left the shops.

But I was so furious that they tried to take advantage of me obviously because of my n00b-ly ‘jiak kentang’ demeanour/inability to speak a Chinese language well: Hokkien Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, etc.

Pseudo-sociological ramblings aside, this pillagery probably worked last time in the age of no Internet.

Now that information is more perfect than it was before, however, a phone call to Lim Ah Boy (LAB) Shop when I got home provided more clarity – a Yuasa 12N9-4B-1 battery is worth $32, if it matters to anyone else.

I learnt something though: I could have saved myself much grief if I had called up the shops to check the prices + convinced myself that the trip down to LAB was worth the trouble.

Since the worm of conscience will never begnaw the souls of most of these louts, I’ve never been more convinced that there’s probably a market for English-speaking, socially-conscious motorcycle mechanics.

Unfortunately, there’s only so much one can do with a BA in English (and a PGDE to boot). But if you’re my student, and you can tell me how many King Richard III references I’ve made, you win a prize.

Had to go for a Digital Storytelling Workshop organised by the National Book Development Council of Singapore over the last few days. This is the product of the workshop.

The YouTube link here in case you can’t see the embedded video.

The script we had to write:

Pooters the Happy Scooter
By Laremy Lee

The first thing I do before first-time pillion riders get on my bike is to introduce my scooter to them. “My scooter’s name is Pooters,” I will say. “Pooters?” they will ask. “But why?” My response: “Because it poots.”

Pooters is a Vespa ET8 that I’ve owned since receiving my motorcycle license back in 2004. When I bought Pooters, it was black in colour. After Pooters and I met with our first accident in 2005, however, my father nagged me into painting Pooters white. Since then, Pooters and I have been in two more accidents, so maybe it’s not really about its colour.

Pooters has a knack of endearing itself to everyone it meets. While Pooters’s fan base is innumerable, let me settle this matter once and for all: I am Pooters’s biggest fan. After me, comes my girlfriend, and after her, the cats in my neighbourhood. I just wish they’d stop leaving their paw prints on Pooters’s seat.

I like to think that the reason why Pooters is so popular is because Pooters is A Happy Scooter that smiles at everyone and everything it sees. I know it sounds like mere whimsy on my part, but rest assured that you’re not gonna get a chance to ride on Pooters if you don’t agree with us.

Though it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns with Pooters, you know. One of my biggest bugbears is Pooters’s temperament: it often breaks down at the most inconvenient of times. Compound that with Singapore’s penchant for rain, and it’s a surefire recipe for an unpleasant commute.

Does this mean I’ll be trading Pooters in for another vehicle anytime soon? Well, for all its quirks, Pooters occupies a special place in my heart. Until the day comes for us to ride under the giant ERP gantry in the sky, you’ll still find us pooting merrily down the roads of Singapore together, Pooters and I.

Nearly knocked down by yet another taxi again – this time it’s a driver from ComfortDelGro.

~

Begin forwarded message:

From: Laremy Lee
Date: December 21, 2009 12:20:15 PM SST
To: feedback@cdgtaxi.com.sg
Subject: E-mail of Complaint against SHA 3519 B.

Dear Madam/Sir

I would like to lodge a complaint against one of the taxi drivers in your fleet – the driver of Vehicle Number SHA 3519 B (hereby referred to as “3519″ in this e-mail).

At around 9pm on Sat, 19 Dec 2009, I was riding my motorcycle along Loyang Avenue (heading away from Changi Village) when the encounter with your taxi driver occurred. This is the flow of events as it happened:

1. I was riding in the left lane, when I signalled right to change lane, as I wanted to overtake the vehicle in front of me.
2. I changed lanes safely and without mishap. However, after I changed lanes, the vehicle which was then behind me (3519) turned on its high beam for an extended period. I noticed this as the glare from the reflection in my side mirrors was extremely bright and distracting.
3. After I overtook the vehicle, which was now next to me, 3519 followed suit. It then tailgated me by driving behind me at a very close distance.
4. Furthermore, 3519 continued shining its high beam at me – for no apparent reason.
5. 3519 then overtook me in a dangerous fashion – it cut into the left lane at a high speed and at a tight angle, even after I had sounded my horn to alert the driver of my presence.
6. This troubled me greatly, as it meant that 3519 nearly sideswiped my motorcycle. Hence, I followed the vehicle so that I could alert the driver to the fact that he had been driving in a dangerous manner.
7. When 3519 stopped at the red light, he showed no signs of remorse. He did not even wind the window to talk to me; he merely glared at me in a menacing way.

These are my concerns as follow:

1. That 3519 overtook me in such a dangerous fashion demonstrates that the driver had complete and utter disregard for the safety of my pillion and I, along with a deficiency in knowledge of what it means to drive safely on the roads.
2. That 3519 had complete and utter disregard for our safety, plus the fact that the showed no signs of remorse proves that this was no accident – the driver had every intention to be a bully on the roads.

It is clear that your driver is at fault for driving dangerously and endangering the lives of my pillion and I. I would like to request for the following actions to be carried out:

1. I want to know the driver’s name.
2. I want to know why he did what he did that night.
3. I want a meeting to be arranged so that I can speak with him as I would like a personal apology from him.

I don’t think this is too much to ask. For one, this is not the first time that an incident of this severity has occurred – there have been other taxis who have been equally threatening, and I have written in to their respective companies before. For another, I do not want you to punish him or ‘counsel’ him, as other taxi companies have done in the past, as it might not serve a purpose in rehabilitating this driver and making sure he does not commit the same mistake again. Rather, I believe that the driver will pay more attention to other road users subsequently when he meets me, as it might help him to realise that other road users are human beings as much as he is.

I hope you will respond favourably to my request. Problems like these must be nipped in the bud; a failure to do so will be irresponsibility on our parts, as it will only breed the possibility of more accidents on the road in the future.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Laremy LEE (Mr)