S M Ong: Baey Yam Keng

Showing posts with label Baey Yam Keng. Show all posts

Saturday, 16 July 2016

MSIG Action Asia 10km run with my Baey

So I ran into MP and my former running companion Baey Yam Keng at the MSIG Action Asia trail run this morning, Well, not literally ran into him.

He was there to flag off the 10km race. I knew he did the same thing last year, so I wasn't too surprised to see him there.

But I was surprised he recognised me.

It has been more than a year since we ran together and nowadays I wear this stupid-looking bandanna when I run to manage my sweat.

The first thing he said to me at the start line was "I see you stopped writing about me".

Seeing my stunned reaction, he quickly indicated he was joking.

The last time I wrote about him in my column was when he posted a photo of himself with the Eiffel Tower after the Paris terror attacks last November.

It wasn't a very positive article. I would be surprised if he actually wants me to write about him more. So I hope he was kidding.

With so much going on, I didn't get a picture of him flagging us off.

The problem with the 10km route is that in the beginning, it crossed paths with the 50km and 21km routes. So you had to avoid running into the longer distance runners going the opposite way.

While I was running, I suddenly heard someone coming close from behind me.

It was Baey Yam Keng!

He said hi and gleefully overtook me.

So after flagging off the race, he joined the race and still managed to catch up with me. What the hell.

That's him in front of the woman in front of me.

About half way under a bridge, he slowed down to wait for a companion and that was when I finally overtook him for good, I thought.

Of course, I took a selfie to celebrate:

The 6km checkpoint:

It was an interesting and challenging course with a variety of terrain including mud, tall grass and plenty of slopes. Damn slopes.

As I approached the finish line, who did I see trying to overtake me?

Him again!

This time, I wasn't letting him pass me.

Somehow I still had enough energy to sprint to the finish line.

I did it!

I beat Baey Yam Keng!

According the official time, I came in eighth out of 34 in the 10km Men age 50+ category. So I'm in the top 10!

(Mr Baey came in 21st out of 87 in the 10km Men age 40-49 category.)

More importantly, I beat Baey Yam Keng!

CLARIFICATION: Even though I beat Mr Baey to the finish line, he finished the course faster than I did because he started later. His timing was 1 hour 16 minutes 11 seconds. Mine was 1 hour 17 minutes 13 seconds.

A photo posted by Baey Yam Keng (@baeyyamkeng) on Feb 5, 2015 at 5:01am PST

EARLIER: 50 shades of Baey: Run to be with him

Sunday, 22 November 2015

My French connection & was Baey Yam Keng wrong to post Eiffel Tower photo?

Blame it on my bae.

Okay, technically, Mr Baey Yam Keng is not “my” bae since he is an MP for Tampines GRC and I live in Yew Tee.

And I’m not so cray cray as to call someone my “bae” just because I went on one date with him a few months ago. Okay, it wasn’t really a date but a romantic run around Marina Baey, I mean Bae, I mean Bay. Why am I blushing?

A photo posted by SM Ong (@sm_ong) on Feb 5, 2015 at 4:10am PST

Uh, what was I talking about?

Oh yah, blame it on Mr Baey.

As a tribute to Paris after the Nov 13 terror attacks, I had intended today’s column to be about my visit to the city in 2000.

30 Sept 2000 #paris not #photoshopped

A photo posted by SM Ong (@sm_ong) on Nov 13, 2015 at 8:44pm PST

In the French capital for only a day, I made the mistake of choosing to walk from the Arc de Triomphe to the Musée du Louvre to see the Mona Lisa.

Strolling along Avenue des Champs-Élysées, I understood why Paris had been called one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

But the walk took so long that by the time I reached the museum, it was closed for the day.

So no Mona Lisa for me.

My consolation is that I would later read about Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous painting in The Da Vinci Code. Who knew the star of Titanic and Inception could paint too.

That was just a tantalising taste of what this column could’ve been if not for Mr Baey.

Last Sunday, in his tribute to Paris, Mr Baey posted online a photo of himself next to the Eiffel Tower with the caption:

I was in Paris in May as part of President Tony Tan's state visit delegation. It is such a beautiful city with a rich culture.

The recent multiple attacks by gunmen and perpetrators with explosives resulted in many innocent lives lost. My heart goes out to those who have lost their loved ones.

Such planned acts are mindless but very real. This is a common security challenge that many countries, including Singapore, face in the world today. There is a need for constant vigilance and no place for complacency.

Which all seems pretty innocuous until website Mothership.sg called out the photo for looking like it had been Photoshopped.

This led to an online backlash against Mr Baey with jokers (like myself) Photoshopping him into photos of other famous international landmarks.

Two years ago, another website, New Nation, had alleged that a newspaper photo showing some errant cyclists on the road had been Photoshopped.

The website later apologised after The New Paper photographer proved that the photo was real.

The people behind New Nation went on to create Mothership.sg and are now alleging that Mr Baey’s photo is Photoshopped.

The MP has since posted another photo of him next to the Eiffel Tower to show that the first photo was real, but so far, no apology seems forthcoming.

A photo posted by Baey Yam Keng 马炎庆 (@baeyyamkeng) on Nov 15, 2015 at 2:39am PST

To call the Sultan of Selfies vain and narcissistic is one thing, but to accuse Mr Baey of deceitfully inserting himself into the photo in the context of such a horrific tragedy is to suggest that the Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth suffers from a pathological condition far more disturbing than mere vainglory.

I do, however, concede that photo looks awfully like it was Photoshopped even if it wasn’t.

But the controversy has also evolved such that it’s no longer just about whether the photo is real.

Even if it wasn’t Photoshopped, was it appropriate for Mr Baey to post the photo in the first place?

Why did he have to make the Paris tragedy about himself?

The former public relations company director appears to agree with the naysayers as he later posted yet another photo of the Eiffel Tower — but this time without him in it.

The last photo I posted had attracted much attention. I regret that it has distracted the message on the global challenges we face today. Besides the utter senselessness and disregard for humanity, the attacks meant something more to me as I was just in Paris six months ago. I had wanted to provide a personal connection to my thoughts beyond text and decided to re-post a photo I uploaded then. The photo was taken with a timer when I was having a rest during my morning run and I was able to chance upon this interesting perspective with the Eiffel Tower. I appreciate the frank comments by many and I do respect the views expressed. On hindsight, I could have been more mindful about the choice of photo. I would also like to thank those who gave me words of encouragement, both in public and private messages. I have chosen to be active on social media as it helps me connect with people and learn from others. This is an on-going journey that I am committed to. Thank you for your understanding and support.

A photo posted by Baey Yam Keng 马炎庆 (@baeyyamkeng) on Nov 16, 2015 at 8:24pm PST

Knowing how much he likes posting pictures of himself, I imagine doing that must have gone against every instinct in his lean body.

But it may still be not enough.

Why just a photo of the Eiffel Tower?

Why not also a photo of the Nejmeh Square clock tower in Beirut, where many were killed in a terror attack just a day before the Paris attacks?

Is not having been there a good enough reason?

Should I feel guilty about using a French flag overlay on my Facebook profile picture and not a Lebanese flag?

Well, Ms Ho Ching (that’s right, the Prime Minister’s wife) says no.

On her Facebook page, she wrote:

Millions and tens of millions of people from around the world have been to Paris, and love the time they spent there - the sunny serenity, the history, the food, the people, the culture, the cafe and the walk around.

Many millions around the world would have friends or people they know working or living in Paris.

And so it is natural that they are shocked by the terrorist attacks - it is a city where they have had wonderful memories, or have friends or colleagues, and may have visited repeatedly for work or leisure.

Many millions more would be tracking their loved ones, friends and colleagues, who may be there, or going there.

So it is natural that phone lines, emails and social media lit up as people around the world would try to check immediately if their families, friends or colleagues may be in Paris or they are safe in Paris.

Much much fewer visitors have been to Lebanon, or for that matter, to Ankara in Turkey, Urumqi in China, or Nigeria, so fewer people have memories of these places or people. At any one time, the number of visitors would be several orders of magnitude less with fewer dots to connect to the rest of the world.

Hence, news of terrorist attacks there don't evoke the same sense of shock or personal responses.

So even as we say our prayers for the victims of senseless killings, or pause to send our condolences to the families of the victims of terrorist murderers, we must know this is not about whether Parisien lives are worth more than others.

Still, to be safe, I’ve added the gay pride rainbow filter to the French flag on my Facebook photo, so I now have an exceptionally colourful profile picture.

And because I’m so afraid to get whacked like Mr Baey, this column is no longer about my poorly planned trip to Paris 15 years ago.

Instead of blaming him, perhaps I should thank him for saving me from myself. I wonder what kind of flowers he would like.

It’s sad that instead of condemning the killings, we seem more interested in condemning each other for how we respond to the killings.

In a way, we have indeed let the terrorists win.

- Published in The New Paper, 22 November 2015

Sunday, 8 February 2015

50 shades of Baey: Run to be with him

This was it.

It was as if all the training was to prepare me for this moment — and I didn’t even realise it.

All the Jurong Lake Runs, the Hello Kitty Run, The Urgent Run for World Toilet Day, the Army Half Marathon — they were just foreplay for the main event on Thursday.

That was the day of my first #runwithBYK.

“Who is BYK?” you may ask.

That’s when I look at you with disgust and ask: “Do I have to explain what a ‘selfie’ is, too?”

If not for this person, many Singaporeans may not have even heard of the word “selfie”, although that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Just like if not for Miley Cyrus, you may not know what “twerking” is and wish you didn't.

And no, I’m not talking about US selfie queen Kim Kardashian, primarily because her initials are not BYK, although like Kardashian, Singapore’s selfie king Baey Yam Keng is sort of like a reality star himself and not at all camera-shy.

And while Kardashian has a spouse who put her in his music video, Mr Baey has a spouse who put him in her play.

So the Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC not only runs but also walks the boards.

I had written so much about the man without actually meeting him that he was in danger of becoming like Hello Kitty, a disembodied construct that exists solely to provide material for this column.

So when the opportunity came to rectify this situation, I leapt at it. Or rather, I took the MRT train to Raffles Place at it.

It all started on Wednesday with a post by Mr Baey on Instagram with the hashtag #runwithBYK and an open invitation to join him in his “first ever evening run at Marina Bay tomorrow”.

A photo posted by Baey Yam Keng (@baeyyamkeng) on Feb 3, 2015 at 9:05pm PST

His previous runs were either in the morning or in Tampines.

I couldn't join him for the morning runs because I don't usually get out of bed until lunch time.

And because I live in Choa Chu Kang, I avoid going to the eastern part of Singapore since the people there tend to look down on us “westerners” as evidenced by the West Sucks Story Tumblr.

Also, Tampines is very far.

But Thursday evening at Marina Bay was the perfect time and place.

Next, I had to decide what to wear.

My 2014 TNP Big Walk tee had shrunk in the wrong places and my ST Run At The Hub tee makes me look fat.

In the end, I settled on a tight bluish grey Renoma tee which shows off my moobs.

Then I had another problem.

The Instagram said to meet at the Raffles statue by the river, but I Googled it and found there were two Raffles statues in the area.

As if my life wasn’t already difficult enough. Damn you, Sir Stamford, if you ruin this day for me.

So I took a big chance and went to the statue nearest the river.

I was 10 minutes early and saw another guy in running gear hanging around the statue. Was he here for the #runwithBYK too?

That meant I wouldn’t have Mr Baey to myself. My heart sank.

Nursing my disappointment, I walked as far away as I could from the interloper while keeping the statue in sight.

A few minutes later, I saw Mr Baey talking to my new enemy and immediately went to make my presence known.

As I laid eyes on the MP's lean, tanned body in a black Adidas tank top, I finally saw in the flesh why I once called him the Sexiest Man Alive.

He recognised me and said: “S M Ong.”

I could die now.

Shaking my hand, he said: “You look better in person than in your photos.”

I know, right? Not everyone can be as photogenic as His Selfieness.

Then the most coincidental thing in the universe happened. The other guy (the interloper, my new enemy) recognised me and I recognised him.

We used to work at MediaCorp together. He was a producer-director for Singapore’s groundbreaking sitcom Under One Roof, which I also wrote for. I haven’t seen him in about a decade.

He, too, had never met Mr Baey before and decided to join the #runwithBYK after seeing the post on Instagram.

Who knew #runwithBYK could reunite old acquaintances better than Facebook?

Suddenly, Mr Baey seemed like the third wheel.

But after some quick catching-up, it was time to run.

From the Raffles statue, Mr Baey led us past the Esplanade, over the Helix Bridge, past Gardens By The Bay to the Marina Barrage where we took a break. That was over 3km.

Along the way, we were approaching an intimidating flight of stairs when I whined: “Stairs?”

Mr Baey immediately changed direction and we ran up a gentle slope instead. He is considerate like that.

During the break at Marina Barrage, I explained I was still recovering from a 14km run at MacRitchie Reservoir the previous day, so I wasn’t in the best of shape. I think they believed me.

After we took the all-important selfies to commemorate the occasion, it was time to run back, this time round the other side of the bay past Marina Bay Sands and Clifford Pier.

But I lagged so far behind the other two that at One Fullerton, I completely lost sight of them in the evening rush-hour crowd.

Despite all the Jurong Lake Runs, the Hello Kitty Run, The Urgent Run and the Army Half Marathon, I couldn’t keep up with BYK.

Would I see him again?

I figured if I could find my way back to the Raffles statue, I still had a chance.

As I wandered through the maze of tunnels and bridges, I must have stumbled onto a shortcut because I suddenly see Mr Baey and my ex-colleague crossing the road in front of Victoria Theatre.

The road was so busy, I was worried they would be killed by oncoming traffic. That would certainly affect Mr Baey’s chances for re-election.

But I caught up with them and we made it across the road alive.

Alas, it was time to say goodbye — but not before I took one final selfie with the selfie king.

Who knows if we’ll ever meet again?

We’ll always have Instagram.

Here’s looking at you, BYK.

Valentine’s Day is this week. Should I get him something?

- Published in The New Paper, 8 February 2015

A photo posted by Baey Yam Keng (@baeyyamkeng) on Feb 5, 2015 at 5:01am PST

EARLIER: A Singaporean for Sexiest Man Alive?

Sunday, 18 January 2015

Why I'm afraid to bump into Glenn Ong

Sometimes I’m asked whether the famous people I write about have ever responded to my column.

Like, did my former MediaCorp colleague Gurmit Singh reply to my open letter asking him to introduce his open letter-writing daughter Gabrielle to my son after the Forever 21 incident last October?

Did SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek come after me for suggesting that his company should follow parody site SMRT Ltd (Feedback) and have a disclaimer on its Facebook page that says, “Believing in us is like believing that Kong Hee is Jesus”?

And did Ah Boys To Frogmen filmmaker Jack Neo address the objections by some former naval divers last March that he was directing a movie about the Naval Diving Unit despite being an “arsehole” who has “no clue as to what directing a movie requires”, to quote one incensed ex-frogman?

To answer all those questions — no, they have better things to do than bother with a column called “Act Blur”.

I mean, it’s no Heart Truths.

I doubt if they’re even aware I exist. Or perhaps in Gurmit’s case, he would rather pretend I didn’t.

But there have been a few rare occasions where the subjects of this column acknowledged that they were the subjects of this column.

I may not have heard from the SMRT CEO, but online pranksters SMRT Ltd (Feedback) tweeted, “@sm0ng is the first columnist from The New Paper that actually made sense about us,” after I wrote about them two weeks ago.

@sm0ng is the first columnist from The New Paper that actually made sense about us.
— SMRT Feedback (@smrtsg) January 5, 2015

I just hope they weren’t being sarcastic.

You can never really tell what the reaction would be.

That was why I avoided Mr Baey Yam Keng when I saw the Member of Parliament for Tampines GRC at the Swissotel Vertical Marathon in 2013. This was on the same Sunday I nominated him as the Singapore candidate for People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.

Would he be flattered? Would he think I was being sarcastic? Or would be insulted that I was interested in him only for his body?

So I kept him at Baey, pun intended.

A photo posted by SM Ong (@sm_ong) on Nov 23, 2013 at 6:24pm PST

But you know who I’m afraid to bump into the most?

Glenn Ong.

He was in the news recently for quitting MediaCorp Radio after almost two decades as a DJ there.

I have written about him a few times over the years, usually to make fun of his marriages.

Remember TVMobile? It let you watch TV on the bus. Even though people hated it, complaining about the noise and that it showed too many Chinese programmes, TVMobile inexplicably lasted from 2001 until it was finally put out of its misery at the end of 2009.

In a column celebrating its overdue demise, I expressed amazement that TVMobile lasted longer than Ong’s second marriage.

I wrote:

“And if you take into account that the public trial for TVMobile started in 1999, it actually outlasted both of Ong's marriages to Kate Reyes (2000 to 2003) and Jamie Yeo (2004 to 2009).”

After the article came out, I was a little worried that he would call me out on his radio show and recommend that I should be put to sleep like a mad dog or something.

But I flattered myself. Why would he bother with a nobody like me?

Two years after his break-up with Yeo, Ong announced his engagement to Jean Danker, another MediaCorp radio DJ, like his two ex-wives were.

It was as if the man was addicted to marrying his colleagues. He was going to run out soon.

So I wrote in a column:

“Someone should do an intervention and save him from himself — and also Danker from becoming the next member of his Obedient Ex-Wives Club.”

I braced myself for a response from him, but once again, I flattered myself.

A year later, their wedding plans were put on hold.

Danker told The New Paper in May 2012: “The gowns were beautiful. Then I was like oh-oh, we were jumping the gun. I panicked a bit.”

Even Ong said: “Many times, I feel like I shouldn't have proposed.”

They’re still not married today, although apparently, they’re still engaged.

Did my column have anything to do with their cold feet?

I shouldn’t flatter myself. Even though I met Ong once a long time ago in the 90s, he probably doesn’t even remember I exist.

Then on Jan 7 last year, out of the blue, I received this tweet from “Glenn Egoman Ong”: “Wahaha! Smong Smong...”

It was him!

He does remember I exist. I was flattered and panicking at the same time.

But to my surprise, his tweet wasn’t related to anything I had written about him. It contained a link to an article I wrote about another celebrity called “Why was Ivan Heng watching TV on New Year’s Eve?”

Wahaha! Smong Smong... Why was Ivan Heng watching TV on New Year's Eve? | My Paper | 我报 http://t.co/sy7lfr1APP”
— Glenn Egoman Ong (@GlennEgoman) January 7, 2014

Hmmm, so it’s possible that Ong is aware of my existence and yet hasn’t read any of my columns about him?

Interesting.

I was worried there for a moment.

Last week, it was announced that Ong has a new job as director at a consulting firm called CIR VIS.

So now he has a new bunch of colleagues he can marry.

That’s a relief.

And no, I haven’t heard from Ivan Heng.

- Published in The New Paper, 18 January 2015

UPDATE: Another 'online spat': Glenn Ong versus... me?

S M Ong

Sunday, 6 May 2018

MP Baey Yam Keng, Razer CEO Tan Min Liang or me? Take the quiz!