Its really getting cold here. Sipping Tim Horton's english toffee cappuccino as you stroll down autumn's streets kinda than makes up for it. At least there are 4 distinct seasons here unlike the 4 seasons we have in a day back home. This also means unparalled fun at mixing and matching all sorts of autumn wear. The occasional Faux pas notwithstanding, everyone looks gorgeous. To my surprise, the apparel here is quite trendy and it seems most people tend to dress up a little on the weekends.

The latest edition of Law faculty's newspaper, Ultra Vires, had a most imaginative article this week - staff salaries and pay rises at the Law faculty. Unsurprisingly, an article as newsworthy as this made the centrepage spread. While I had a good time comparing the depth of the professors' considerable pockets, it struck me that we haven't had this type of disclosure in Singapore. Oh my, is this topic taboo? No doubt, I made a few assumptions here. One of which was that the faculty adminstration here provided the information and statistics that were the basis of the report voluntarily when requested by the student reporter. Given the possible sanctions that could follow from a clandestine effort to furnish such information (which may include late-night attempts to gain admission into administrative offices), I would like to think that no rational student would attempt a self-defeating stunt of this proportion. Besides, the sanctions that follow would only feed the rumour-mill and steal the article's thunder.

That said, would our faculty's administration back in Singapore furnish such information voluntarily if requested by a student reporter? Is it not in public interest that a statutory board reveal its monetary allocations and policies? Balance this against the "need to know" attitude that is largely prevalent in our society and the notions of privacy that no doubt will be argued. The NKF case, quite rightly in my opinion, marks a watershed in the debate. If one feels that to request such disclosure would be unreasonable 'hounding', what about the need for accountability and transparency.

Now, there will surely be some who will attempt to apply the "you so clever, you show me first lor" maxim. Though seemingly devoid of deeper meaning; in my opinion, there is some value to this ideology. It is one man's primitive (akin to animal instinct) attempt to enforce equal treatment under the law by making sure others will be subject to the same disclosure standards. Now, if there was valid public interest in my negligible wages as a bathroom singer, I would do the honourable thing too.