Siang si Uncle Yap?
NEWS RELEASE BY UNCLE YAP
http://uncleyap-news.blogspot.com
Uncle Yap was the ID I used
when I set up an email account to communicate with my
nephews and nieces. I then used it for several online forums and lo
and behold, people started calling me Uncle Yap. I never intended
it as something to make me look or sound more important than I am.
Actually, I find it embarrassing sometimes; even someone as senior
as the late Mr. J.B. Jeyaretnam (JBJ) used to call me Uncle
Yap.
I’m an electronics engineer and now
run my own IT consultancy business. I worked in
Silicon Valley for a good four to five years and also in Los
Angeles for a short while in the ‘80s. Living in the US gave me the
opportunity to drive across the country from Florida to Canada, and
that was an amazing experience.
Standing at Niagara
Falls will
make you realize how miniscule humans are in the
grand scheme of things. The rock you stand on to look over the edge
has been there for tens of millions of years and it will continue
to be there for just as long.
I’m not a member of any political
party or NGO. I’m an independent activist and a
blogger. In recent years, ever since the 2006 General Election,
I’ve come out as a volunteer for different opposition parties and
helped JBJ set up of his Reform Party.
No way would I want to join a
political party; I wouldn’t want the burden of party
discipline. I like doing my own thing and I have the liberty to
practice my own brand of activism.
I feel I have the gift to help
society and I feel it’s my duty to contribute towards
the betterment of the world.
My activism started
way before
the Internet era. I ran a research and development
office based at the Science Park during the ‘80s and I used to
write articles and distribute them via fax or “Junk Fax” as we
called it in those days.
With JBJ’s passing, we’ve lost
somebody who was very senior in the legal sector, one
of the most senior members of the bar. Politically, we’ve lost an
icon, somebody who was very noble and possessed a huge amount of
integrity.
During the second day of JBJ’s wake,
the Reform Party ran out of JBJ’s books and people
were disappointed at not being able to buy and contribute something
towards his memory. So I had the idea of printing t-shirts with his
face on it, so the Reform Party could sell it to raise some funds.
They sold by the hundreds.
Hong Lim Park is a good
training ground for activists. The trend of more groups going to
Speakers’ Corner at Hong Lim Park for demonstrations cannot be
reversed. And I see more young people getting socially and
politically involved.
I’ve served two 10-day stints in
prison. During this time I went on hunger strike, not
eating and drinking during the entire duration. The prison
authorities then put me on a drip. Twenty-four days was my longest
hunger strike record. I can go two weeks without water.
I meditate and practice
qigong and wushu. These things keep me happy and
strong.
I don’t watch films anymore.
In Florida I worked for a film company and since then
whenever I’ve watched films I seem to pay more attention to things
like the post-production aspects like special effects and such. It
became too distracting; every scene I’d think “something can be
improved here.”
I don’t stand for
democracy or freedom. I stand for truth and honesty,
and I fight against selfishness and greed.
http://is.asia-city.com/city-living/article/singapore-blogger-yap-keng-ho
