what's with a man with a girl's name

i always listened to dr vivian balakrishnan whenever he takes to the stage to talk about something. today on i-contact, speaking to students from a spectrum of schools and colleges, he struck me with his calmness, sensibility and wisdom as always as he addressed policy issues, his personal life and his take on life so to speak.

one thing that struck me was his perspective on choice. speaking about the casino dilemma, he says the crust of the issue is whether the singaporean society is one that does not expect the government to help if they gamble away their wealth at the casino. that's just putting it plainly.

his point is two-fold.

first, that public policy is more than just decision-making. it is not even about making the best decision. it is about making a decision that would be in the best interest of society even if it goes against what they think would be best. he urged singporeans to be realistic about the rate of change. that change cannot be over night. that change would eventually come. and if this comes at a price of being tagged a nanny state, then so be it.

that was on a macro scale. on a micro scale, the issue of personal choice. this was expanded in the segment where students quizzed him on his personal life. that we do not always make the most informed of choices. at 18, as he illustrated, he had to decide between medical school and law school. he chose the former and went all the way so to speak. he also spoke also of the consequence of choice. sometimes we just cannot have everything. the most important thing was to be true to himself. he talked about how he gave up doing nothing but studying 3 months into medical school. he was a president scholar and felt the need to upkeep the image and grades. but he only lasted 3 months. after which he decided that if he had to to forego some of his grades to do other things in his 5 years in medical school, then he would be willing to count the cost. that being responsible also means taking the consequences like a man. that doing something passionate and not compromising is important. but not to be confused with being older and wising up.

i thought it was so timely. it's getting to be busy again in the office and all my contemporaries already have understudies. i have none and have to bear the workload alone. and i am beginning to revert to old habits like whining and dabbling in office politics again.

i remembered dr vivian as being a feisty young doctor a few years ago at pre-university seminar. i remembered his address being the only one i paid total attention to because he made so much sense. i always respected this one man because of his values and his faith. this is a man of passion. today on television, he's noticeably not feeling well. his frame is a tad more frail from a few years back, but he seems to be happy about his place in society. i don't know if it's bravado on his part, but i do know he has got a lot on his shoulders and he's probably tired.

he's definitely mellowed a lot. but i am glad he's a politician even though i remembered being so shocked he actually joined the people's action party after being such a critic of it. but he's a man of passion. a man of action. a man with the compassion for the common man. what he lacks, he makes it up with his sincerity. awesome.