And though the occasional positive comments have focused on the fact that a bunch of civil servants were willing to break out of the bureaucrat strait-jacket mould, the harsh reality is that on the execution front, the creative/ production team should have done much, much better. It’s produced lyrically and visually as a relic from the 80’s, and since the message is that Singapore is going to be “No.1 in content” and as they are the organization promoting creative content, they should have drawn on better producers.

And objectively speaking, it is that disconnect between the message and the execution that is extremely jarring and serves to undermine the message. Sure it has raised awareness of Singapore’s media industry but more likely along the lines of “Creative media hub? – you must be having a laugh!”….which is unfortunate, especially as there are pockets of great creativity in Singapore especially the advertising agencies which are constantly winners at the global award shows.

It’s interesting to note that one article in Singapore’s Straits Times tried to put a positive spin on it without even mentioning that the majority of the comments on YouTube are derisory- “MDA video on global high list” (http://digital....1127-38663.html ) . But thankfully, another Straits Times article balanced it out “Corporate rap videos cool or fools?” (http://digital....1125-38245.html )

As much as such cringe-worthy things do emerge every now and then, which country doesn’t have its fair share of wannabe-mistakes? And think about it this way — give our Confucian culture-ed, square and straight-laced generation some credit for breaking out of their shells. It probably wouldn’t be half as bad if some teens who had more rhythmic sense did the rap. Honest, albeit over optimistic…

P.S. A response to the chewing gum mention @39: This wouldn’t have happened if inconsiderate jokers could stop stuffing their gum on lift doors and buttons, seats, train doors and everything you can put a finger on. This topic included, from now.

What most people who don’t live here don’t get is that Singapore has created all kinds of industries right up from scratch – from petrochemicals to biotech to tourism – and they actually ARE succeeding at creating a regional media hub.

My two bits.

The sad part is, that beat isn’t too bad. It could have been used for more pleasant purposes.

Cassandra Tay is smokin’ hot, though. She could rule me in a totalitarian manner any day.

VERY STUPID.

Media Hub?!? Time to lose the old plans thats proven unworkable. Move on with the times. Look at South Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, etc. There are many contries out there which are taking serious initiatives and they’ll be ahead of us in 20 to 30 years time.

As a Malaysian Kiwi, we’re always looking ahead and changing with the times. No point in beating an old drum, or in this case, an old rap

The proposed name for MDA

MDA = WHC = William Hung Corporation