TR EMERITUS

In light of the Jack Neo scandal, the Sports editorial team decided to veer slightly away from sports and come up with a chart of top 8 personal accolades which probably should not have been awarded in the first place. Granted, no one has the power of foresight and time is the best judge of character. However, that will not stop the editorial team from coming up with this list, with hindsight on our side, just for a bit of laughs and knowledge sharing. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 100% Opinion – The ranking is based on how grand the award is and how ludicrous it looks to award that award in retrospect. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8 ) Jack Neo (PBM or Public Service Medal, 2004) Granted, Jack Neo was awarded for his contributions to the local film industry and his personal life should have little to do with this. However, in light of things, should this prestigious local award go to someone who is clearly adulterous? At time of press, the Jack Neo saga is still unravelling and we could be only seeing the tip of the iceberg – hence the relatively low ranking on this chart. 7) Steven Gerrard (Member of the British Empire, 2007) Current Liverpool club captain Steven Gerrard was awarded with the MBE in 2007 for his services to football in the UK. It is a prestigious award, considering that he was only 27 when he won it. One of the reasons for him winning the award was that he was deemed a perfect role model both on and off the pitch. The latter certainly wasn’t true as he was involved in a court case in 2008 for allegedly assaulting a DJ at a local bar. He was eventually cleared by a jury, but CCTV footage clearly showed Gerrard landing a punch on the poor DJ. 6) John Terry (Dad of the year, 2009) Just last year, the UK public found it appropriate to vote Terry as the Dad of the Year days before Fathers’ Day. This now looks shameful, considering that millions of fathers who worked various shifts to send their kids through college had been overlooked, while a multi-millionaire footballer was selected instead. The aftermath is almost inevitable, as his affair with a certain ex-teammate’s ex-girlfriend is now out in the public.  5) Tiger Woods (California Hall of Fame, 2007) To be very fair, the Tiger Woods we know before his scandal came to light and after was a very different one. Before December 2009, he was a clear role model for all, a successful story of how one can overcome racism in sports. Afterwards, he is just another millionaire (billionaire?) playboy. He is only still just 34 and has years of golf-playing years left in him, so perhaps he can turn his legacy around with further sporting achievements. However, his “exploits” will never be forgotten by the media. 4) Victor Tan (Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, 2004) The name Victor Tan may have faded out of news in Singapore, but no one should forget what he has done. Tan was the ex-CEO and Managing Director of Accord Customer Care Solutions (ACCS), an ex-listed company in Singapore. Earlier last decade, Tan was the darling of local media and a classic rags-to-riches story. Having graduated with a diploma, he worked for years before starting ACCS and eventually getting it listed in the local exchange. However, he turned out to be a fraud, as he was convicted for his lead role in an elaborate scam to manipulate financial statements at ACCS in 2006. Extremely ironic, given that audit firm Ernst and Young was the one to award him with his award back in 2004. 3) Fred Goodwin (Knighthood, 2004) Ex-RBS Fred Goodwin was knighted by the Queen in 2004 for his outstanding services to the financial industry. In retrospect, it is fair to say that as the CEO of RBS, he had almost single-handedly shifted history of the industry, but perhaps not in a way the Queen would have agreed to. His ever-aggressive and high risk appetite had caused the near-collapse of RBS, which is now in the hands of the UK government. Goodwin’s pension plan have ensured that he can see out the rest of his life in relative comfort as shareholders of the bank took the full brunt of his reckless policies between 2000 and 2008. 2) Yasser Arafat (Nobel Peace Prize, 1994) To many critics, it is difficult for them to understand how Arafat could ever win the “Peace” Prize, given that he was a founder of one of the most active terrorist organisations over the last century. Middle East politics is a delicate subject which the editorial team does not wish to discuss here, but will like to conclude Arafat’s second place ranking by saying that ...  peace in Middle is still ever elusive 16 years after Arafat’s Nobel Peace Prize. 1) Myron Scholes/Robert Merton (Nobel Laureates for Economics, 1997) Scholes and Merton won the Nobel in 1997 for coming up with the Black-Scholes model (every finance student will know this), a mathematical model to calculate the value of derivative in the fuzzy world of financial. The pair became famous almost overnight and were also the co-founders of the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management (LTCM). Their meteoric rise to the top is almost as spectacular as their collapse as LTCM racked up losses of US$4.6 billions in four months in 1998 after the Russian Financial Crisis. The hedge fund was entirely liquidated in 2000. This clearly goes to show that the financial markets are unpredictable and even the smartest people on the planet cannot beat it. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The editorial team will like to seek the opinion from all  readers on what you think. Do you agree with the Top 8? Is there anyone that you feel is more worthy to be on the list? Leave a comment! If there is something that you will like us to feature as part of this top 8 series please leave a comment and our team will try to accomodate! If you want to speak to us, do drop us an email - [email protected]  Read More →

Dear readers, We are currently looking for bloggers to helm our newly set up "Entertainment" subsection which will be focused on tabloid news in Singapore and the region. As our extensive coverage of the Jack Neo scandal over the last few days has shown, such news are able to attract large number of readers which will help raise the profile of the site. Though Temasek Review is a socio-political blog, we need to leverage on other non-political news to draw readers here where they can then be "educated" on Singapore current affairs and politics. Based on past experience, we are usually able to retain between 10 - 20 percent of first-time readers who discover our site when searching for non-political news. The Temasek Review has no central editorial team. It is a "blog within a blog". Our news, opinion, Chinese, sports, world, entertainment, lifestyle and technology sections are all run autonomously and independently of one another by different bloggers who have never met one another in real life and there is no need to. With our increasing readership, it will be a rewarding experience for you to contribute to our site as your article will be read by thousands of fellow Singaporeans. If you are interested to write for us, please drop us an email at [email protected]   ADMINISTRATOR TEMASEK REVIEW  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Though PBM Jack Neo's wife Irene Kng had begged the media to let her family off during a brief press conference this morning, SPH journalists from the two Chinese evening tabloids Shin Min Daily and Lianhe Wanbao continue to flame PBM Jack Neo for "wasting their time" by conducting an "insincere" press conference lasting only 3 minutes. Prominent grassroots leader and movie director PBM Jack Neo was embroiled in a series of juicy sex scandals of late involving women from as young as 16 to as old as the mid 30s. Soon after the eruption of the scandal, more and more women stepped forward claiming that they had been "sexually harrassed" by PBM Jack Neo whose close friend Foreign Minister George Yeo immediately issued a call for Singaporeans to rally around him. At the much anticipated press conference held today 10am at the Scorpio East Holdings building belonging to PBM Jack Neo's entertainment company, Jack and his wife spent only 3 minutes talking to media instead of the "tell all" as promised earlier. PBM Jack Neo apologized while his wife said she has forgiven him. There was no Q&A session to answer questions from the public. Lianhe Wanbao today criticized PBM Jack Neo's press conference as "lacking sincerity and not resolving the problem." It questioned if Jack Neo is really sincere in his apology as he knew all along that his wife had been putting up with his extramarital affairs. One journalist said: "It lasted less than 5 minutes, this is not a press conference. He has one entire week to cool down and should clarify matters to the press and not just wriggle his way out and wasting everybody's time. Since he wants everybody to give him a chance, he should show some sincerity first." Another added: "He cried, she cried, then she fainted, he screamed....It's all too dramatic!" Straits Times journalist Dong Wei Wen also questioned if PBM Jack Neo was "acting": "I believe in Irene Kng's tears. As for Jack's, I am not too sure." Shin Min Daily quoted a "crisis management" expert Ms Yip as saying that the press conference was too brief and will leave more questions and doubts in the future. She felt that Jack Neo should have come forth and clarify matters to the press as well as explain to the public what really happened. Netizens remain divided about Jack Neo's press conference too. While some felt that it is time to move on, others accused him of staging the entire fracas to win public sympathy. Jack Neo and wife Irene Kng’s press conference on 11 March 2010: 1. Video recording of press conference 2. Mayhem at Jack Neo's press conference 3. Photo Gallery 4. Field Report: Jack Neo and wife broke down in tears 5. Live coverage of press conference Related articles: 1. Irene Kng: Jack Neo is like my "baby" 2. George Yeo slammed by netizens for supporting Jack Neo 3. Jack Neo makes advances to 16 year old French girl 4.Jack Neo’s 10 other flings after Wendy Chong 5. Wendy Chong on how Jack Neo initiated sex with her in his car 6. George Yeo supports PBM Jack Neo 7. Foyce accuses PBM Jack Neo of sexual harrassment 8. Wendy Chong: I had sex with Jack Neo twice a week 9. Jack Neo’s wife forgives him for extra marital affair 10. Jack Neo begged Wendy Chong to let him off  Read More →