EVENTS | LUMEN
15 teacher . “ But at the end of the day , we are left with human beings . Some of whom are fully dedicated ; others lie behind ... But the reality is they will stay with you . In any major movement or change in the world , you don ’ t need 100 % dedicated people . You only need a core group who will be able to influence all the rest . Stick it out with this small group . You don ’ t need a very big number . The scriptures in Christ say you only need 12 people to transform the world . One of them will be Judas .”
When asked about his vision for the Philippine education system , he says that IT in education is one important aspect . “ My dream , at least in Asia , is to be able to get the educators to be the driving force behind what and where technology should be moving , because educators cannot just educate those in their classrooms . We know that once I educate one child , I have to ensure that this same module , this same lesson , is accessible to others ... The make or break thing is how Asia and teachers and educators will be able to use technology to make education accessible .”
Mr KF Seetoh – Founder of Makansutra and Curator of the World Street Food Congress , was the most entertaining speaker to date , filling the lecture with many jokes and stories he had .
Better known as the makan guru , Seetoh ’ s affinity with food all began in Geylang , where he was born . “ I am an observer . You can ’ t talk about life and business if you don ’ t observe . You can ’ t just sit down with your laptop and go Google and write reports ... So if you walk the streets and you look at people and take a look at their faces stand there and observe them with a kopi-O at Geylang Lorong 18 . You see how life is at that level , and people are at that level . You can hear their heartbeat and you get a lot of ideas . You grow up with that heartbeat there .”
He recounts his SJI days , “ In school , I was a bit of a rascal . Not the top rascal but probably about third or fourth , isn ’ t that good ? But we were very good in our sports ; we were very active … I don ’ t know what kind of relationship we had , we were good friends , but we would fight . And , just for no reason , we would fight ... so we have those people , we have ministers , we have ... Fr John Bosco who played football with me . We have everything . Then in school , the teachers told us to be the best of who you can be . If you want to be a hawker , the SJI hawker will be the best ... minister , the SJI minister will be the best .”
As for the food , he misses the ngoh hiang at the old SJI campus the most . “ She made the Ngoh Hiang on the spot . You wonder why you enjoyed it . Much later you realize that the guy ( lady ) was selling you an artisanal plate of pleasure . You wonder where have all these artisans gone . No more ! Nowadays if you want ngoh hiang , you go and order it from a factory .”
When asked by a member of the audience if queuing is part of the food culture in Singapore or should people put their time to better use , Seetoh replied , “ When you are queuing up , you are waiting to be pleasured . What else do you want ? You sit there and you reflect on life . When the plate of lor mee comes and you wallop the food , all is good . What do you want to do during that time ? What you should fear is that while you are queuing up , the hawker will switch off the light and say “ Bo liao ” (‘ no more ’ in Hokkien ). You should pray , pray that won ’ t happen ... Pray and work . Ora et Labora .”
Best known for his food guides Makansutra the food critic does not just stop at recommending places to eat . Seetoh recently started the World Street Food Congress – a 10- day event of discussions on how to preserve street food culture and to showcase the richness of the street food scene around the globe . “ It was something I had always wanted to do with
Makansutra .
“ Because after recommending food , I was telling some top food bloggers , if you do not address the continuity of the World Street Food Congress , then what are you going to blog about ? How many times are you going to blog about the char kway teow man at Hill Street ? Until he dies ? Why don ’ t you , by the power of your pen , encourage and find new stars , new heroes ? Seek people . Then the power of your pen becomes so much more meaningful .”
“ I see food as a culture ... It is the most democratic culture . When a hawker ’ s food is no good , you vote ... If you feel the heartbeat of a food center or hawker center , that ’ s where the Singapore soul resides . When you walk into a hawker center , be it a CEO , a Colonel or a Captain , they take off their badges and they are all equal . They come together for food . A lot of people initially saw food as just a function . Now , people are beginning to understand that it ’ s a bigger part of our culture , especially maybe over the last 10 years when Singapore was beginning to lose a little bit of our identity . So to me , I can say that food saved my life because I understand more about you , my country , and myself through food .”
Hence , in his efforts to save this culture that he loves , Seetoh feels that the “ talk ” needs to be translated into action . “ Food culture cannot be a class project … I think there ’ s a lot of talk about it ( on preserving the food culture ); I think we need new hawker heroes . The younger generation need ( s ) to see their young hero hawker who is up there appearing in shows , who ’ s teaching , who ’ s getting the queues and getting Facebooked every day , getting gigs to perform and demo ... I guess we have to create programmes and create heroes and stars ; you have to create doors for people to walk into the industry and say “ wow ” this is a respectable industry .”
If you want to be a hawker , the SJI hawker will be the best – minister , the SJI minister will be the best .
Mr K F Seetoh