My Rather Morbid Year To Cheer

This was 2016 for me, a mix of sweet, sour and bitter:

The Next Plot,

a short film about: "A grieving old man struggling against religious stigma to be buried next to his late wife," was released. I wrote, produced, directed and acted in this gig; collaborating with Red Dot Film Makers.

I was enduring an excruciating pain on my neck and my arms during the production, but the show must go on.

For more, click here.

The Next Life

I recovered from the crippling and excruciating pain through meditation and help from an Osteopath. This after seven months and numerous futile trips to mainstream doctors, alternative medicine, self medication, massages, spiritual healings and conmen healings.  For more, click here.

This seven month saga has changed my life forever. It was so painful that at one stage, I thought I was going to die. I really did. No exaggeration. It was so painful that I didn't know that such pain was possible or even existed. 'Health is wealth' rings very loud and true to the bone for me now. When I am in trouble now, I ask myself if I am in pain.  If not in pain, then I won't sweat it.

The Next Bank,... 

Soon after recovery, I joined a team working in a bank that was acquired by another bank. There was so much to learn working on the handover.  Virtually, I was going through a crash course in banking, spending long hard hours going through the tediums of merger. Despite that, it was a harmonious and happy environment, one that I was sad to see go after the takeover.

I congratulate the managers who have created this little sanctuary. Not easy being in an industry that is in the cut-and-thrust of the market economy.

On a different note and in the wider picture, there are currently a lot disruptive technologies changing the banking world that may even result in the demise of banking itself, as we know it.  To read more about it in 'Digital Banking', click here.

Pulau Ubin
This is where my favourite short film for 2016, "More than Words that Touches" (sponsored by Ogawa) was shot. It has been sometime since I have been there, but it remains as the same sleepy tropical isle. The 'uncle' selling coconut juice and cold drinks is still around, busy and healthy as ever. For more about the shoot, click here.

The story is about a daughter who returns to Pulau Ubin to visit her father after living in the mainland for many years. This is a reminder that we should spend more time with the people we love.

Here is the video:

Devil Revealed

A film maker whom I trusted, ran away with my money. I lent him some money, in the orders of four-figures to pay for a movie premier in a theatre. Another person I know of lent him another four-figure sum of money. But that is a paltry sum compared to his investor, who put in a six-figure sum of money and getting nothing in return. Not even a copy of the video.

He has since vanished. He is not in his home, with his family and had left the country. I don't know where he is now. I have previously persuaded him numerous times to return the money, but it was futile. He went the way of the Devil - really silly to ruin his reputation and nail his career to an early death, for a mere few thousand dollars. This is a pity because he is young and talented!!!  But without integrity, everything amounts to naught.

There is still time to surrender and repent. If not, he can be arrested and stained with a criminal record, upon returning to Singapore.

For more about the movie, click here.

Bloodline Blues

I directed an action genre for the first time. It is about a young heir to a noble family escaping from his obligations to reconcile with his lover in Asia, after the death of his father.

I realised that I had to decide on how much fantasy to allow in the fight choreography. In other genres, I work to make the film as close to real life as possible.  

Real life fights are different. They are brutal, bloody, ugly and fast. Few people would like to watch them. The audience will cringe at the blood, gore and brutality.

A major lesson I learned is that when there is a critical demand in a production for more moving parts, more actors, more locations, more props and higher criticality for editing continuity, there will be more noise (with a capital 'N'). Be wise enough to separate the signals from the noise - stay calm and know what matters and what don't; and what you can change and what you cannot. And...

"God, please grant more people with this wisdom."

RIP Mum... 

My mum died after succumbing to cancer. Weeks before that, she started asking for hugs. Surprising, as traditional Chinese parents don't hug their children after they have become adults. In her last days, however, my mother defied traditions and customs to hug us.  It was her way to express her love for us. She chose to go to where love is.

I have lived in the West for many years and now have problems adjusting to a culture of no-hugs. Some people still looked at me with suspicion when I hug them. Some Singapore guys who are badly constipated by this cold culture of no-hugs scorned at me when I hugged other people, especially women. They think that it all amounts to an excuse for sexual molestation. How sad when a hug is viewed from fear and distrust.

Let's free all hugs from taboo and sexualisation.

HANIFF

I walked the red carpet for the first time at the 4th Hanoi International Film Festival (2016), where "Certified Dead (2016)" was premiered. Click here.

We were treated as VIP for 7 days with gala dinners, award ceremonies, a trip to Halong Bay, ...etc. It felt surreal, as I have never dreamed of being an actor, let alone as one that was now walking down the red carpet with reporters and fans snapping photos at the sidelines.

It is easy for actors to be carried away and believe that they are larger than life under such conditions. Though, it remains that the crux of acting will always be about telling stories and making the emotional connections with the audience.

RIP Jackie Liong

An actor friend died instantly in a tragic car accident. He was on the way to work with his wife on the highway when another car came from the opposite direction, hit and toppled his car, killing him instantly. His wife seated next to him survived and was warded in hospital.

This above picture is one of Jackie (far right) and me at the "Back Alley Bulls" movie shoot. RIP Jackie.

Fore more about "Back Alley Bulls", click here.

Here is what happened during that tragic day...

The human journey is fragile. Live everyday to its fullest, as if it is your last,... or first.

Film Award...

"Certified Dead" won the Best International Film Award at the 14th Royal Bali International Film Festival (2016).

That brings the year to a happy end. Something to cheer about.

How to design a reliable banking system...

Sending money across countries should be easy, and normally so. Not unless you are unlucky and run into a snag like I had in the last two weeks. What was supposed to be a simple transfer became a painfully long nine-day drag and still with no money arriving at the other end.

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As Murphy's Law has it, if things can go wrong, they will! And it can't choose a worse time than this, as the money had to reach some businesses quickly or they will go bust. Employees will be laid off and families will be affected.

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Understandably, the bank will not reveal what went wrong, but based on my discussions with them and my twenty odd years experience as a IT and management consultant for banks in major international banking centres, this was probably what happened:

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1. When the bank staff entered the transfer details on screen:

The beneficiary account details was too long and exceeded the field space provided. As a result, the account details got truncated.

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2. When sent to the beneficiary bank, they didn't know what to make out of the truncated data (beneficiary account details) and the transaction just sat there.

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Diagnostic tedium:

1. The banking software that facilitated the transfer should have a longer field size. If this field size is exceeded, the bank staff must not be able to press the 'send' button.

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2. So granted that the software is poorly designed and failed to prevent it to be sent, there should then be automatic error handling to auto-correct the beneficiary account details before proceeding to 'send'.

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3. If it failed to implement corrective actions for 1 and 2, then the transaction with truncated data should be flagged in the transaction log when it reaches the beneficiary bank. I suspect, there is such a log, but the operator sitting in front of the screen was probably 'sleeping'.

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Moral of the story:

What started as a 'minor' mistake of poor user-interface design and error handling, can result in business going bust, employees being laid-off and families spiralling down into a financial grind.

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So in whatever you do, even the seemingly mundane ones, do them mindfully, for the ripple effects whether big or small,always travel a long way. It is harder to see this in the cold and impersonal Internet and mobile phone age, but nevertheless the impacts on humans, other life forms and the environment remains unchanged from the ages of old.

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Rule of Thumb:

Put love first in whatever you do. When you do that, everything falls in place. In this instance, if the designer had done so, he would have captured the user requirements more comprehensively. He would then not just see the entry fields as just a place to handle account data, but an opportunity to serve and help the end user send money to a chosen destination on time.

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The operator sitting in front of the transaction log screen, admittedly a mundane role, will get his drive from being able to serve his clients so that many others will be happy and sing praises for him. If he treats it as a 'job', then it would be mundane and possibly fall 'asleep' like many others.

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Conclusion:

While it is important to get the technology right during software development, quite often, a disproportionate amount of time is spent on the aesthetics of the screen, the programming language to use, the server to use, the communications protocol to adopt...etc, compared with the user requirements.

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In the end, any system will be a system to serve others. If it doesn't serve others, then it would have fallen short of its purpose.If the designer of the banking software could cut his mind across time and space, he would be able to take delight that I would be able to send the money on time and save some people from going bust and families away from financial hardships.

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PS. I cancelled the old transfer and re-sent a new one today. The bank branch manager offered to lend me the money personallly to re-send, as re-calling the money will take too long. I was touched! So, even in a critical fallout like this, pleasant things do happen. In darkness, there is light; and in light there is darkness. Perhaps such events occur so that we have opportunities to exercise compassion. :)

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Usury 4

I had the good fortune to speak to a wise old man, who was looking for investments into a commerical property development. Investors for properties are hard to come by in a credit crunch. When I asked why he did not look into borrowing money from the bank, he told me that it is not wise to play the 'financial game'. He wouldn't even borrow in US dollars as this will mean exchange risks with his local currency. His grandfather lost billions playing the financial game.

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Too many people are playing the financial game and he thinks that this is fundamentally the problem leading to the current global economic and financial crisis we are in. In other words, we are living in a society of borrowed money, not always used for legitimate investments. A "legitimate investment" is one that essentially creates life supporting wealth. When we move away further and further from creating life supporting wealth and the true objectives of money, an economic crisis will be inevitable.

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"There is money found in the project itself", he said.

"The investor can make his profits in the project and that is better than borrowing from the bank and incurring interests and charges", he continued.

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Not unless if he seek money from an Islamic bank - one that shares the project risks and profits. In Islamic banking, trading of financial risks is forbidden as it is 'haram' like gambling.

Read more about "Usury" here

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Please to know that ABN-AMRO Bank is exercising their social responsibilities of not financing the operations of casinos in Singapore. They will still be financing the construction of the casino though, as they view it as any other real estate development.

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Gambling - for one to win, many have to lose. :)

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ABN Amro says no to casino financing

Dutch bank among big firms with 'green' social conscience

Christie Loh, Today, Wednesday April 18 2007

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Unlike governments and companies increasingly lured by the lucrative casino business. ABN-Amro is saying not to the glitz and gains.

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The line that the Dutch bank will not cross: Financing the casino operators of Singapore's two upcoming integrated resorts (IRs). "That is against our social and ethical risk model, " said Mr David Wong, the bank's managing director and chief executive for South-East Asia.

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What is acceptable is the financing of the IR's construction, as it would be "like any real estate project", he said yesterday on the sidelines of a forum on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the environment.

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As the event participants heard, ABN Amro is part of a rising tide of global businesses guided not only by their social conscience, but by a "green" heart too.

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Last year, environmental concerns led the Dutch lender to turn down 4 out of 33 financing projects in Asia. The rejections - none of which were for Singapore proposals - were for sectors such as forestry, mining, oil and gas, and gambling, said Mr Wong. No money is loaned if a proposal fails to meet the Equator Principles, a set of business guidelines adopted by 40 global financial institutions since 2003.

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ABN Amro itself started sustainable development initiatives in 1998. It has, for instance, refused to lend money to an Indonesian miner until the bank has inspected and found the firm's nickel mining process eco-friendly, said Mr Wong.

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Admittedly, however, it is "not easy to reconcile commercial demands with sustainable needs", he added.

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This is a challenge facing businesses on the path to sustainable development.

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"There must be economic drivers for human behaviour to change," said Lee Tzu Yang, chairman of oil giant Shell Singapore.

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In his presentation during the forum, he recounted how the multi-national corporation effected a change in the public sector mindset. Shell had a project in southern China that involved uprooting an entire rural community.

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Instead of leaving the people to fend for themselves, Shell asked the province's government to find them homes and jobs, said Mr Lee. These are relocating issues that the officials would never have thought of without the oil giant's beckoning.

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In Singapore, it is a case of a lukewarm private sector, said Ms Claire Chiang, president of Singapore Compact, a non-government platform which promotes CSR. She cited the "very limited response from Singapore" for another "green" event here; the United Nations' first Global Business Summit for the Environment starting tomorrow.

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"Singaporeans don't pay to got to forums unless htey are being funded to do so by the Government, " said Ms Chiang. Until chief executives are convinced of the benefits of sending their employees for such conferences, public awareness will not grow, she said.

Related post: Usury