I REFER to the report, 'Good they kept S'pore Girl, but...' (The Sunday Times, March23), on reactions to the new Singapore Airlines (SIA) advertisements.

The only thing that attracted me to the ad which featured flights to Zurich was the image of the Singapore Girl at the corner. That is probably the only warmth I could feel from the ad.

Perhaps SIA should use Singapore-based advertising agencies to do its ads. I am sure such agencies can better convey a Singapore flavour.

Many people here have probably not seen SIA's new television or print ads. There are many overseas visitors here. SIA ads should appear more on TV, and its posters should appear more in tourists spots and hotels.

Baby Law (Ms)

Don't reinvent the wheel

SIA should not lose sight of the Singapore Girl by trying too hard to reinvent the wheel in branding.

Danny Chua Hock Chye

Superb service still the key

NO MATTER how effective SIA's ad campaigns are, the most important thing is that the airline lives up to its reputation by providing superb service to its passengers in all aspects. Otherwise, no matter how much it invests in its ad campaigns, they will not yield the expected result.

Raymond Loh

Batey ads are decades 'young'

I VIVIDLY remember Batey's SIA ads in the 1970s, especially the inaugural flight ads featuring a multiracial SIA hostess. Now that's Singapore - multiracial and multicultural.

We are talking about ads which are more than three decades 'young'. Obviously, the ads had impact. Batey's SIA ads were good, and are still good.

Sorry, TBWA, your ads are cartoon-like. A cartoon is a cartoon is a cartoon...

Ho Sok Kim (Ms)

Hillary camp here strong too

I REFER to the report, ''Obama fever' hits young Singaporeans' (The Sunday Times, March23). It reflects the views of only a few young Singaporeans and certainly not of many others here who are staunchly pro-Hillary Clinton and anti-Obama.

I am currently pursuing my master's degree at the National University of Singapore and I have many friends who are thinking of setting up pro-Clinton blogs and forums to counter the efforts of those in the 'Obama camp'.

If Mr Barack Obama actually defeats Mrs Clinton and Mr John McCain to be the next United States president, many of us would really reconsider pursuing our doctorates or postgraduate studies in the US.

We do not want to stay in a country which has a president who has come under attack for his double talk on free trade and his ties with a controversial land developer, among other things.

While Mr Obama is certainly eloquent, we believe that the US would do well to have a president who can 'walk the walk', not just be able to charm Americans with his rhetoric.

Robin Chee Ming Feng

Obama a 'rookie' for top post

I DON'T think it is strange for Singaporeans to root for Mr Barack Obama (''Obama fever' hits young Singaporeans'; The Sunday Times, March23).

So what if Singaporeans support him? It is not going to affect the United States elections. The support is probably due to the high profile of the US elections.

I am not so sure if Mr Obama will get that level of support, though, if he were a Singaporean politician.

For instance, if we have an untested MP running for the post of prime minister, will we support him?

That is, of course, not the way our political system functions. When it comes to our own turf, perhaps we will think twice about supporting a 'rookie' for the country's top job.

Of the three US presidential candidates, I support Mr John McCain. If I have to choose an African-American candidate, it will be retired general Colin Powell (though he is not running). And if I have to choose a woman, it will be US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The US is seen as a 'big brother' of the world. It needs someone who has experience dealing with other nations - diplomatically, financially or socially - to lead it.

As for Mr Obama, I think he is a great guy with leadership potential. If he is not elected US president, he should be given international exposure. At a later stage, he would then be more prepared to run as president.

Eric Chiang

Watch out for 'plastic pisang'

THE article, 'Plastics makes pisang fantastic?' (The Sunday Times, March23), carried reports that some hawkers in Malaysia are adding plastic straws and bottles into their cooking oil to make their goreng pisang (banana fritters) crispier.

There is a simple explanation as to why putting plastics into boiling oil could make the goreng pisang crust stay crispy longer.

The plastic will melt in the boiling oil, and being miscible with the oil, it would form a very thin layer of film over the fried food upon cooling - very much like a shrink-wrap plastic film. This thin film forms an impermeable barrier to prevent the absorption of moisture from the air which could make the crust go soft, and thus helps the goreng pisang stay crispy longer.

The temperature of boiling vegetable oil is around 250degC. Polyethylene - which is used to make plastic straws and bottles - remains inert at this temperature and will not decompose or react with the starch and protein molecules in the food.

But there are other chemical additives that have been added to the plastic resins in the manufacturing process that will.

These additives can degrade in boiling oil, and are the real culprits that can create a potential health hazard in the fried food.

So the practice of adding plastic straws or bottles into the cooking oil to enhance the crispiness of goreng pisang cannot be condoned. We should all be vigilant and report such cases to ensure food safety here.

Fok Kar Kee

MOM, why the differing views?

I REFER to the Ministry of Manpower's newsletter, The Employment Act And You (The Sunday Times, March23), which stated that a person is not covered under the Employment Act if he is: