TR EMERITUS

The news has come out that Pele, the legendary Brazilian football star has died. He was 82 and suffering from colon cancer, so you could say that this was to be expected. However, there is a sense that the world has lost something valuable and for the second time this year, I find myself feeling emotional over the loss of someone I never knew at all (the first time being the Queen). Why does the loss of a man, I never met, feel so sad? I guess, you could say that although I am as far away as possible from Pele, it feels like he was part of my life for so long. The funny thing is, when I started watching international soccer, Pele had long since retired and the star of international soccer in the 1980s was Diego Maradona. I grew up seeing the magic of Maradona, yet, Pele whom I never saw seemed so much “greater.” So, the question of what defines “greatness” needs to be asked. In answering that question, I would probably say that the answer lies in “artistry” and “humanity,” which are inevitably hard concepts to understand in a world driven by data and statistics. Pele has statistically done many things which today’s modern superstars are still struggling to overcome. However, the old saying is that “records are made to be broken.” The recently retired Roger Federer, for example won 20 grand-slams and has seen his two rivals overtake his record. Yet, he’s still a leading contender for the “greatest-ever” title. So, nobody doubts that Pele’s records will eventually be surpassed, yet like Mr. Federer in tennis, nobody doubts that Pele will remain the “greatest” in the minds of generations to come. So, greatness has to be more than something about recordable statistics. I’d argue that a great figure is someone who transcends their profession and all sorts of boundaries like race, class, nationality and so on. They are figures that belong to humanity rather than to a particular group. Let’s take Nelson Mandela for example. He was the first black president of South Africa. However, as far as humanity is concerned, he’s more than a black politician in South Africa. He’s an example of what the rest of us try to emulate. In the case of Mandela, it’s easy to see the greatness – he was a national leader of high moral standing and inspired hope on a continent where national leaders are better known for inspiring despair. Can the same be said of sports-heroes? Unlike say, artist or musicians, the don’t leave behind something tangible. You can see a Van Gough and you can listen to Mozart but do you know who was the best boxer was two-hundred years ago? Well, there are two sporting icons that come to mind when you talk about greatness. They are Mohammad Ali and Pele. Both became greater than their respective professions. You don’t have watch boxing to know Muhammad Ali and you don’t have to watch soccer to know Pele. Both men were artist. Watching Ali fight was to watch an artist in action. Watching Pele in action was watching a virtuoso: [LINK] As current Brazilian superstar Neymar points out – “Pele turned football into an art.” How do you define an art? Well, I guess you could say that an art is something so beautiful that it makes people stop and look and feel something. Paintings of great masters for example, are so powerful that people stop what they’re doing to admire. For a sports star, you become an artist when even those on the opposite end of the field find the privilege of playing against you greater than the sting of defeat. Former England player described his experiences with Pele as “I was proud to be on the pitch with him.” The tributes from today’s stars also make the point that greatness is also about inspiring others to be great. Like Mohamad Ali, Pele also worked beyond his sport. After retirement, the man worked tirelessly to give the poor hope and he fought against the corruption in Brazilian soccer, earning him the enmity of fellow Brazilian João Havelange, who ran FIFA at the time. Pele was also accused of having “leftist” sympathies by Brazil’s military dictatorship. Whilst Pele was a little fond of the ladies (he was married three times), he avoided the hard partying lifestyle of many of his contemporaries, including Diego Maradona (Pele died at 82 – Maradona died at 60). He argued that it was important to set an example. I never watched Pele play except for the clips of him on Youtube. Yet, he was a presence in my life and I look at soccer matches through image that he created. This is a greatness that lives beyond your prime and even your own life. If anyone deserves to rest in peace, it is Pele.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.      Read More →

Many people observed that I have a positive view about the government of China. This is largely true. But, I do not think that the government in China is perfect. There are negative aspects as well, but this probably applies to all governments. I generally do not like to play up the negative aspect of any situation, unless it is systemic and cannot be changed. I believe that the China government is working hard to improve the living standard and well being of the ordinary people, and they are doing it in an honest way. They may have to adopt some harsh measures at times, but this is necessary to combat some forces that are intent on creating social disorder or to disrupt their progress. On some occasions, they may have adopted the harsh measures wrongly. It may occur at the lower levels, due to the lack of experience of the officers. Mistakes are made. But they can be corrected. I have less faith in other systems of governments which seek to enrich the elites and the super rich at the expense of the general population. They may claim to be "democratic" but I find them to be hypocritical and dishonest.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

If Politics is Tea, PAP is just like those Expensive atas Brand of Tea... Not much substance, made use of propaganda as marketing, raise their price as in salary unjustifiably for such unworthy quality, bland in taste and mostly mediocre at best. They only know to price themselves high without knowing their lack value within. But sad to say, most Singaporeans love to vote for them because they only follow the "branding" made out of the propagandas marketing.   Goh Meng Seng      Read More →