Singlish - The language of the sentosa !!

kiasu (kee-ah-soo)

A Hokkien adjective literally meaning, "afraid of losing". Commonly part of the Singlish dictionary(the Singaporean English lah!!) , kiasu has a certain philosophy A highly pejorative description beloved of Singaporeans and is evident there in every aspect of life. Possibly the defining of a major characteristic. The nearest English equivalent is "dog in a manger", though even that is pretty mild."You went to get a handicapped sticker just to chope a parking space? How kiasu can you get?"

You can see them in the trains trying to enter first before the three alarms ring to close the door ..in the escalators running down or up to catch the unknown...in the ticket counter rushing others to get the ticket only to stay ahead of a few seconds difference with the next guy standing in there...

Though kiasus are ubiquitous,but the word got labelled to Singapore..

I believe that having the trait is good...but too much of it as exhibited will personify the greed and fear of unknown...

Now Everyone can fly!!

This is the tagline of the regional low cost acrrier (LCC) in Malaysia -Air Asia.They had done that rightly since their inception in 2001.Much had been written about the emergence of LCC in the region and the fillip that brings to the economy.Can they manage the sky rocketing fuel costs and poaching of qualified staff?These challenges are for every other sector too..The airline which had a modest beginning like the desi version Deccan now commands a total of 30 flights and has ordered additonal Airbus to handle the traffic.The media savvy CEO Tony opines that the trend is to stay and the plan is to open up to countries like China apart from Indonesia,Phillipines,Thailand where the carrier currently caters to.

The innovative price models adopted by carriers like Deccan offering starting at INR 1 (Plans are in place yet the exact details will be announced when the time is appropriate as per the CEO Cap.Gopinath) will drive the growth and the price elasticity of demand.

We can look for a brighter future for these companies adding the bottomline as well apart from pricing pressures.It is often stated jocularly that if you come as a billionaire and start an aviation business you will end up being a millionaire...We hope to see the reverse trend where common man can become billionaires provided they have the right model like Air asia and Deccan..

Asian fashion

Finally it has arrived....The third edition of the KL fashion week showcased some of the best of breed designs from all across Asia.It is quite satisfactory to note that the fashion had been redefined here and many names including India's Rohit Bal were exhibiting their designs.The ramp shows and the cat walks brought in huge crowds in the venues.Now there are plans to get an international affiliation to add some more recognition to the show.

The corporate bigwigs,fashion freeks and the common man thronged the mega malls to witness the gala shows though very few shows were open for public.It is better that India can learn few pointers from the show.The Tourism Board of Malaysia promotes and supports the show along with L'oreal and the Star Publications as the main sponsors.

Among the other noted figures spotted were Allan Chai from Singapore and Liang zi from China.