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Saturday, November 10, 2007 ; 3:42 PM♥

What's up with Pedra Branca?

TOTALLY clueless about the Pedra Branca saga? Well, here's to clear some doubts so you will at least know what's going on if you're asked about it when school reopens.

Pedra Branca, or Pulau Batu Puteh is basically a bunch of rocks with a lighthouse on it. To be more specific, a bunch of rocks under Singapore administration (even under the British) since 1851, the same year that the Horsburgh Lighthouse was built on it. So why the dispute?

When Singapore separated from Malysia on the 9th of August 1965, ownership of Pedra Branca was never set in black and white. Singapore assumed it still had rights over the island and continued maintaining it. All the drama started when Malaysia included Pedra Branca in a map of its territories. Singapore, of course lodged a formal protest against it. Singapore proposed bringing the matter up to the International Court of Justice in 1989, and finally, in 1994, Malaysia agreed and their case is being battled out these few weeks. Singapore presenting its case in the first 8 days, Malaysia the next and then they would be allowed to rebutt each others points in the next few days.
(additional resource: Wikipedia article)

Being a whole lot closer to Malaysia than it is to Singapore, one could easily understand why Malaysia wants the island and claims that it is theirs. However, being a Singaporean, I shall talk about why Singapore needs the island and the implications of Malaysia gaining the right to the island.

As I had mentioned earlier, Horsburgh Lighthouse is located on Pedra Branca. The aim of this lighthouse being erected there is to guide ships into Singaporean waters. Needless to say, that lighthouse is very important up till this day for Singapore trade.

Now,imagine what would happen if Malaysia gained rights to the island and shuts down the lighthouse. Ships would not be able to steer into Singapore waters at night or during bad weather. Ships that attempt to do so would crash into Pedra Branca (it being rocks and all) and because of that, less ships would get into Singapore ports and the trade would decline SHARPLY. Billions of dollars would be loss and what would that mean? Yes, that's right, the economy would be very badly affected and many people would lose their jobs, especially those dealing with the ports. With people jobless, many more families would have financial difficulty leading to social problems and the like. I could go on, but it will turn out so long, it would be like a mini-essay =\

Besides affecting the economy, the loss of Pedra Branca would also mean the loss of nautical miles. Law of the sea; anything within a certain distance from the land mass belonging to a country belongs to that country. Meaning fish and whatever found within. Needless to say, that has it's own importance.

Apart from the importance of the lighthouse, can anything be done with Pedra Branca? Well, personally I don't think so. The island is too small to build anything on it and I really doubt land reclamation being possible. It is, of course mainly rocks right now but that's beside the point. Let me draw something to illustrate.

The routes would become narrower if land is reclaimed making it harder for ships to reach Singapore ports. Also, the routes are all around the island, just imagine, how many lighthouses need to be built on the reclaimed land just to ensure that the ships are guided safely? More than one, I'm sure. Because of the land mass, one lighthouse can't possibly be enough.

But of course, everything in this post is what I think. If you have any comments or additional points to add, feel free to comment =)

Thursday, November 8, 2007 ; 5:11 PM♥

Love,

LOVE. That four-letter word that everyone yearns for. That force that is SO STRONG that it could make or break a person. The invisible entity that moulds a person's character. The master plan of how an individual turns out. How can one word, four letters, mean so much? Well that, remains a clear mystery that everyone wants to solve. Regardless, this feeling, this emotion, is truly a force to be reckoned with.

There are many types of love, for example, love from your partner, love from your friends, love from your siblings and love for your parents. Even then, these forms of love can be further split up, like take for example, parental love, maternal love as compared to paternal love is totally different. Generally mothers would feel a stronger bond to the child than fathers, after all, they are the ones who carried the child around throughout the 9-month gestation period. She was the one who felt the first little kicks of the baby, experienced the pain as well as satisfaction of childbirth. However, despite the difference in experiences of the mother and father in bringing up the child and the difference in the bond they share with said child, nothing, and I mean NOTHING transcends the love of the parents for their children. Which parent wants to see their children suffer? It kills them inside. Even though they don't show it outright, they DO care for you. Sure sometimes they piss you off so badly but you can never deny that, deep down, buried beneath the thick uncaring facade you sometimes see them put on, is a caring heart. And in that heart, a love that will never fade. A love that will last till the afterlife. If you ever wanted true love, there you go.

Speaking of true love, I'm sure all of us dream of a fairytale ending with the one we love. A romance that would last "'till death do us part" and a raging flame of passion that never seems to die down. With each and every romance, we hope that our partner would be The One, our soulmate with whom we can spend the rest of our time with. Sadly, our first love, more often that not, does not turn out to be our last. Most of us do not know what we are looking out for in the first place. However, which each and every heartbreak, our perception of love alters slightly. Instead of "I love him because he makes my heart skip a beat when he smiles" it becomes "I love him because he knows how to make me smile" to "I love him because he loves me and that's all that matters". And slowly, but surely, we will come to find our REAL soulmate. The One that would make us happy for the rest of our lives. Sure, for a number, it does not turn out that way but in most, it still does. However when a relationship DOES end, no matter what, we should just cherish the memories we had with that special someone and smile back at the memories, and not end up scowling. After all, you will not be able to move on if you keep sending off a negative vibe to the whole world.

With the talk of love interests, comes the dilemma, which is more important? Significant other or friend? Well, the love of a friend does play an important part in one's life. A friend is someone you share your secrets with, bitch with and do many silly stuff together. With these experiences, a special bond is forged. Some call it platonic love. The strength and magnitude of this love varies from each friend to the next, depending on how close you are with each other. For example, I'm sure you would be more affected if your best friend is sick as compared to if the person is just a classmate. Usually, platonic love is long-lasting. There are friendships that can last throughout the years and even grow stronger as the time passes by. However, not many friendships remain that way. People change and friends have the tendency of drifting apart. As we grow up, we will realise that our friends change. Although some remain, many have disappeared totally from our lives. This is normal, but keep in mind that even though friends come and go, they will leave create an impact in our lives at one point of time and we should cherish them no matter how much of a bitch they are to us in the present. With that being said, I do not hate those certain people for the way they have been treating me lately. I do, however, thank them for once being my friend and those memories, they changed my character and influenced who I am. Once again, thank you. You know who you are.

One very special bond I share with an individual is of course with my brother. The love one shares with their sibling is something truly wonderful and is stronger than any other form of love I know of. Even though we may not get along well with our siblings during our younger days, the bond would be eminent as we grow older. Covering up for each other, sharing secrets and asking for advice being things commonly done with siblings. Blood is, after all, thicker than water, and ultimately, in times of dire crisis, one would rather turn to their sibling than to a friend. No matter what, your sibling is still a relation and you're stuck together whether you like it or not so it is better to maintain a good relationship with them just like I have with my brother. I love my brother, I can never say this enough. No matter what happens, I know I can trust him and he will always be there for me, come what may.

Overall, the meaning of love varies from individual to individual, the views mentioned above are merely my own thoughts. One's perception may also change as one grows older and wiser. Perhaps a few years from now my view on love would be radically different and a 180 degree change from whatever I wrote but for now, this essay stands accurate.