Wednesday, January 11, 2017

No megaphone, but microphone diplomacy as Singaporean pens song on Terrex vehicles


Source Website: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/no-megaphone-microphone-diplomacy-singaporean-pens-song-terrex-vehicles
By AsiaOne, grongloh@sph.com.sg, Tuesday, 10 January 2017


Give Me Back My Terrex Chia - ALVIN OON

From: https://savetubevideo.com/?v=71jP7SWvR5s


When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

In the realm of statecraft, soft power can amplify loudly when wielded correctly.

Moments after Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said in Parliament yesterday (Jan 9) there was no need to engage in megaphone diplomacy over the Terrex vehicles confiscation, a Singaporean has taken to the microphone, singing about the nine armoured vehicles.

'Give me back my Terrex chia' is a song posted on Youtube yesterday by Alvin Oon.


The Terrex AV-81 eight-wheeled vehicle, which was used by the Singapore Arm Forces for training in Taiwan, was seized by Customs in Hong Kong and has not been retrieved so far.
PHOTO: The Terrex AV-81 eight-wheeled vehicle, which was used by the Singapore Arm Forces for training in Taiwan, was seized by Customs in Hong Kong and has not been retrieved so far. The picture shows the AV-81 armoured vehicles. (From www.armyrecognition.com)
Picture posted by xinguozhi on 05 December 2016 at 7:15 PM
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PUFsGHDMmQ5MWYj-tikBemiIiL-CkVWM3Ubpc2e-CaVtEEo4oDrQV8A9vLbFws50tMuGIZxJggoshKeNOiIvre6uRBIpbuR5hWzFrjlevvSQUV0Mi8okFdv0x1Pc-_bAuvZiytNFZDxY/s1600/20161124-051814_U1841_M221036_3888.jpg
https://i0.wp.com/image.cache.storm.mg/styles/smg-800x533-fp/s3/media/image/2016/11/24/20161124-051814_U1841_M221036_3888.jpg
https://xinguozhi.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e6%89%a3%e6%8a%bc%e6%98%9f%e5%9b%bd%e8%a3%85%e7%94%b2%e8%bd%a6-%e5%9b%bd%e5%ae%89%e5%8d%95%e4%bd%8d%ef%bc%9a%e5%81%b6%e5%8f%91%e6%84%8f%e5%a4%96-%e4%bd%86%e4%b8%ad%e5%9b%bd%e6%8a%8a/

Inspired by dialect songs from the old days, the kitschy song is peppered with colloquial phrases, such as "cannot suka suka (as you please) take from me".

"It took me two days to write the lyrics and tune, arrange the music, record all the vocals, do a quick mix the tracks and edit the video," Mr Oon told AsiaOne.

Mr Oon, who is self-employed in the creative entertainment field, added: "The inspiration for this song is to express how we, the average Singaporean, view this ongoing deadlock, to put into context the situation concisely in a humorous song."


Singapore Army Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle (nighteye)
PHOTO: Singapore Army Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle (nighteye)
Picture posted by Flickr Hive Mind
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRG8-VpO3ne1BNK-zssszlgQM8y0Y0doKAGo8IkzKAuRXswvaa9cwW1_nDeiMafslOZ8ka7ljPBRZeMYqv7oRG_tEYIhyphenhyphen_rEFSricw9EWS6WaSykpddFc0wtCcYIgfvQeX7z7MQu5j5Oh/s1600/14815169172_b26b973489_b.jpg
https://farm6.static.flickr.com/5575/14815169172_b26b973489_b.jpg
https://hiveminer.com/Tags/singapore,terrex/Interesting


"Maybe a light-hearted song will lessen the tensions and see the return of Singapore's nine Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles," Mr Oon wrote on his Facebook page.

The song has since been shared on community Facebook pages such as The Reservist and SAF Professional Reading Programme.

"Music soothes the soul and humour give us an outlet to smile and release tension. It is my hope that such a simple tool can make everyone take a step back to be more gracious and kinder to one another for a better world to live in," said the 49-year-old, who was an infantryman back in his National Service days.


Music soothes the soul and humour give us an outlet to smile and release tension. It is my hope that such a simple tool can make everyone take a step back to be more gracious and kinder to one another for a better world to live in.
PHOTO: "Music soothes the soul and humour give us an outlet to smile and release tension. It is my hope that such a simple tool can make everyone take a step back to be more gracious and kinder to one another for a better world to live in."
Picture from Wikimedia Commons - Wild water monitor (Varanus salvator) near Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBsZiphrrVLXfAh5fdwNMFTGVGhW955GrTccvfMiN0IiE0E0rozrsWCjYnqwhTonSvMWEvIuPzF80XXyWdpfPdHiTD50muCzdQQW-HgomARZVyv9FIb1PIEmsKaVF2NYQj4nyB91UTNDm/s1600/Varanus_salvator_-_01.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Varanus_salvator_-_01.jpg
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soubor:Varanus_salvator_-_01.jpg


Not to be outdone, blogger and satirist Mr Brown came up with his own song about the seized vehicles.

The song is set to the tune of the Chinese New Year favourite "Gong Xi Gong Xi", and features lyrics like: "How long do you need to check, give us our Terrex back".

If megaphone diplomacy is an out-of-bounds (OB) marker, how about some microphone diplomacy?


Chinese New Year favourite
PHOTO: Chinese New Year favourite
Picture posted by sanianhotelbajawa.com on Wednesday, 20 July 2016
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOSpInrqhYZyxO1F-0Mo6KVNblg2hYI6vPOSZlcC0Zd_FcsTrNv7T45w-GkL50SHl6ML2BFpEOo63m-a5PYSNrL-BQ3IR3C30gSvY6eEQh-E38EDca5RYbt3rjh_7T29mOe4jo8Gc7dmg/s1600/new_tourism_view__place_2_5_20160720_2036613541.jpg
http://www.sanianhotelbajawa.com/index.php/gallery/image?view=image&format=raw&type=orig&id=41
http://www.sanianhotelbajawa.com/index.php/gallery/new-gallery/new-tourism-view-place-2-5-41#joomimg

By AsiaOne, grongloh@sph.com.sg, Tuesday, 10 January 2017



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