Hsien Loong's May Day Message

'We will continue to redesign jobs, reskill workers and upgrade productivity, to enhance wages progressively and sustainably...But to achieve such goals, Singapore needs an "outstanding team of leaders who are capable, competent, committed and dedicated to the country. They must have the right values and the passion to serve Singaporeans and improve your lives... The above is only a small bit of Hsien Loong's full message.

May Day Message

The Govt vows to listen more to the public, instead of predicting what is best for them....In the past, we in the govt used to think about what can be done for the people...This line of questioning is actually wrong, even though it sounds grand. We should instead be asking ourselves what we can achieve together with the people. - Donald Tsang. This is a message from a populist governor. Will it work or will the Singapore way work better?

Means Testing and hospital bills

There were two letters pleading for mercy in the wake of Means Testing and the increasing hospital bills. Doris Ng Hui Choo has a daughter that needs to be hospitalised every now and then for a week and her household income is $3,500. She asked whether this HUGE INCOME of $3,500 is adequate to pay for her daughter's medical bills? And Adeline Koh Kwek Poh commented that even the Medisave accounts of a few siblings may not be enough to pay for hospital bills that come in 6 figures. Can such people be mercifully allowed to opt for C or B2 wards? Would our compassionate and very rich people think a little about the plight of the common folks? I have challenged the notion or perception that a $5000 household income is heavenly when it is the combined income of 4 or 5 adults, each earning about $1k. Their personal expenses will eat up every cent, forget about having spare cash. But would people whose income is in the millions appreciate that life is tough for families with $5000 household income?

Patients can withdraw more from Medisave

With effect from 1 May, patients can now withdraw more from their Medisave to pay their medical bills. What it means is that they need not fork out so much cash. Now is this a good news or bad news? My old illiterate and ignorant mother used to say that going to hospital is free, cause can use CPF to pay. How nice. Does this big news really change anything? Is the medical fee and cost going to go down? Hmmmmm.....can we blame people for not having enough savings in their CPF for retirement?

I expect the Press to whistle blow - Vivian

That was what the Press was told by Vivian Balakrishnan. But according to PN Balji, the local media was taken to task by the foreign media for an obvious lapse in their reporting of the SGX affair. It was Dow Jones and The Asian Wall Street Journal that forced the issue and a change of mind at SGX. The episode is best described by Balji as 'A Fortnight that shouldn't be forgotten.' And Balji's article is in the Today paper. So at least the Today paper is feeling the pinch for the local msm for not playing the role of a watchdog. And it needs the foreign media to do the job. What does all these means? When Taksin was in power, everything was alright. So was the time when Suharto was in power. Their local media just played along with the power. But once power changes hand, all the skeletons came out. That is the powerful role of the press when it acts the role that it knows best.

Myth 135

The easiest job to do Many professional jobs require many years to strenous training and discipline to acquire knowledge and skills before one qualifies to practise. The lawyers, the doctors, the engineers, scientists etc. Even a chef will have to take years of training and practice to learn the rope. If we consider the discipline and years of training required as a guide to how difficult a job is, then politician is the easiest of all jobs. One can be a cook, a driver, a lecturer, an engineer, doctor or lawyer, but without any formal training, tomorrow one can become a politician. And the presumed expertise or ability is dependent on how successful one is in the previous profession. The higher one was paid before, the more able one is supposed to be as a politician. Maybe this part is a little tricky as a qualification. The loan shark or mafia boss or drug lord also earns in multiple of millions and should easily qualify as politicians. That is why in countries like Taiwan, Korea and Japan, the mafias are behind the politicians and with some becoming politicians. In brief, the requirement for a good politician is a clean moral record and be successful in any profession. Definitely much easier than any other professions.

More good years

Recent events centred on the issue of succession for Hsien Loong, less than three years after he became prime minister. It was a subject he himself raised. During the debate over pay and good government, the younger Lee surprised Singaporeans by saying that the search for his successor would start now. He would be ready to name him by 2011 and he should be ready to take over by 2016. If this timetable plays out, he would have served 12 years – two years less than his predecessor Goh Chok Tong. This could mean one thing. Lee Kuan Yew will be around to help decide who will succeed his son to become Singapore’s fourth prime minister. (This was first published in The Star on Apr 28, 2007) The above is an extract of an article by Seah Chiang Nee posted in the Star newspaper. I have only copied the last part of the article. The main article dealt with the bigger role player by LKY in domestic politics recently. Chiang Nee ended by saying that LKY will be around to decide who will succeed Hsien Loong as the next Prime Minister. What is pertinent to the above quote is that the ruling govt is sure that nothing will change in this island and in the next few elections PAP will still be the ruling party. This is how predictable Singapore politics or political system is. We already know who will win the next few general elections. Singaporeans can sleep in peace that there will be more good years.

Little birds busy catching worms

When all little birds are busy catching their worms, all things under heaven will be peaceful. Everyone will be happy making their fortune in their own ways. People will simply be turned into economic animals and be contented in what they are doing and all the merry makings. But things will not be simply wished and the problems will go away. The political animals will have a field day engineering the system to their advantage. And Rip Van Winkle will wake up one day not knowing where he is or what has happened. The world around him would have changed without him knowing, without his input and without his interest.

The Indon Alladdin Lamp

Make a wish, rub it hard enough, and genie will appear to make it happen. Apparently the Extradition Treaty is seen in the same light. With the treaty, all the Indonesian problems of corruption will disappear. There will be no more corruption in Indonesia. What a magic formula. This is cheaper and better than Singapore's solution of making everyone a multi millionaire. Should Singapore test whether the treaty work by asking to extradite those who beat up Singaporeans or illegally detaining the Singapore barges? The first case is obvious as the treaty provided for the extradition of people murdering or hurting citizens of either country. The second should be covered under piracy and terrorism. Detaining of barges on legitimate business and plying the sea lanes is definitely piracy. And setting off bombs in the quarry in Karimum is definitely terrorism. Singapore should start the ball rolling.

Extradition Treaty and DCA

They did it! They signed the Extradition Treaty and Defence Cooperation Agreement in godspeed! Unbelieveable. This has taken all critics from both countries by surprise. Yes it happened, it did not get drag on for another few more years. I too am greatly surprised. I never thought that it is possible, or at least under the present conditions when both political and legal systems are as diverse as day versus night. And our bureau chief in Jakarta, Azhar Ghani, wrote about the shockwaves and disbeliefs in Jakarta. All those who were angry with Singapore for dragging its feet, all those who thought that Yudhoyono was a lame President, have the carpet pulled off under their feet. It is a great piece of work for the Indonesian President to get this inked. Now the critiques will take on another form, that they must have inked a rotten deal and that Singapore is going to benefit more than Jakarta. A very familiar tune ala KL. Would the two countries move forward from this agreement and raise the level of cooperation to another level? Or will the next President tear it into pieces and everything return to square one, with more barges arrested and more bombings? But before that, does the agreement need to be ratify by the Indonesian Parliament and be passed? There will be another round of wayang kulit in Jakarta before this treaty be accepted as a statement of better ties between the two countries.

Many little birds said

I have spoken to many little birds or many little birds have said to me, the same trend of thinking, why waste time posting? We have a great system, a new paradise, make the best out of it. Go out and make all the money that you can and enjoy life, more wine, karaoke, golfs, Batam etc. That's life and living for the successful Singaporeans. Let me qualify. Firstly, that I am not wasting time. My postings are done on my spare time which I can find plenty throughout the day. A little thoughts here and there and ideas pop up. And I am still trying to grab some money as best I can to have a little life the Singaporean way, the Singaporean aspiration. Now, how first world is a country that thinks this way? Read the msm or listen to the bird talks, it is all about the great buys and the big profits from the rising property prices, the killings in the stock exchange, the million dollar salaries. There is a lot of buzz of this kind. But where is the buzz that will see a little renaissance in this first world wannabe extraordinary island? If there are any worthy social or political discussions, very likely they are conducted behind closed doors. Snippets did came through in the msm, probably considered not too harmful. And there is also the official line of discussion by those who can set the agenda. I saw this article in the morning paper talking about what it takes to have more Einsteins. Walter Isaacson's theme is best summarised in this phrase, 'The whole theme of the last century, and of Einstein's life, is about people who fled oppression in order to go places to think and express themselves...he believes that the only way to have creativity and imagination is to nurture free thought - rebellious free thought.' How does this compares to what the little birds thought was best for this little island? Make money and live life! Isaacson was talking about producing great talented people with great minds. And one of the prerequisites is to 'nurture rebellious, imaginative free thinkers, rather than try to control expression.' Actually this is probably the most important message the the msm is trying to put across discreetly through this little article. The absence of alternative or rebellious views on social and political issues is stark. And to some, it is good for everyone. There is only one source of political view and one truth and one superior thought, and we are selling this to the world as the model for the future on how to govern a state. That is how extraordinary we are. Time to talk to the birds and be another little bird. Birds of the same feather flock together. Imagination is more important than knowledge - Einstein

I disagree with Don McKinnon 'Singapore's decision to give hefty pay rises to government ministers is a test case on keeping corruption at bay in a region where it is rampant, the Commonwealth's chief said Thursday. Don McKinnon, secretary-general of the group representing Britain and its 52 current and former territories, said it was premature to say if Singapore's new public compensation model could help Asia shake off its corruption problems.' AP If all the Asian political leaders are paid like our ministers, definitely there will be no more corruption in their countries. I will even think that if they are paid half of what we paid to our ministers they will also become corruption free. Don McKinnon said it is premature to make any conclusion. I also say that the conclusion is obvious. We have proven that it can be done.

indeed we are extraordinary

It is an undeniable fact that this little red dot is an extraordinary country. With a population of slightly more than 3 million and as an independent country for less than 50 years, we are teaching the world a lot of things. It will be a matter of time before all the govts around the world will adopt our model to pay their ministers. And we are even teaching and advising China on it economic development strategy. And China is a country with an uninterrupted history of more than 5000 years and a foreign reserves of more than US$1 trillion dollars. And this is real. So who can deny us this honour of being an extraordinary country?

censorship in a first world country

Loh Chee Kong was not very pleased with the censorship of the film, Zahari's 17 Years. He questioned the necessity to continue to ban a film on Zahari when books on him are available in the shops. Could the film be that different in presenting a different truth or truth from another angle? Or the motions, pictures and sound can have a greater impact on the viewers? What the film is about is the political activities of a man of an era and idealism that are history today. Like communism was once a taboo topic, today it is openly discussed as just another ideology that is no longer relevant to the creating of a new world. Would the life of Zahari be that influential and emotional that exposing it to the interested public would lead to unrest in our society? Have our society and people grown over the years, matured and be able to cope with the drama and issues of the past? Or we are still the naive and impressionable little country bumpkins that must be protected from the influence of the media, that we are still deemed to be unfit to see a different truth? We are first world, man!

Right of reply

After Balji shared his disappointment on the two 'could have been great leaders' but failing to nurture successors, the Today paper did the proper thing by allowing replies by Tan Kin Lian and another forumer to address the issue. Both came out with their facts to prove that the two leaders actually have done very well in developing many successors especially in the case of Philip. And the forumer, Rodney Tan Wee Hong, even have all the names to show what Philip had done. Rodney also made the comment that it is easy to criticise but one must support it with facts and not making sweeping and unsubstantiated statements in the main stream media. What has happened is that it proves that the right of reply is very important to balance out a one sided view. It gives a better and clearer truth.

en bloc angst

This en bloc rule seems to be getting quite a hearing as more minority flat owners are affected. Apparently the majority have been dictating and imposing their goodness to the minority and getting away with it. Now what is the fuss when the minority are also having a beneficiary to it? They should be very thankful to the majority for carving out a deal which they would not be able to get on their own. I say, the minority should just live with the deal and should not be the stumbling block to progress and development. And the minority should not hold the majority at ransom just because one or two wanted a little more. It is just the rule of the game and everyone should play by the rule. In the name of progress and democracy, the en bloc ruling is a good thing and should be upheld until a better or more briliant formula is available.

of people or sheep

I share the views of Nurul Aziah Hussin in her letter to the Straits Times today titled 'Encourage ownership of national issues.' I quote, 'Public response to issues such as the recent debate on the ministerial pay hike, is more than an expression of "emotion" - it is the expression of citizens taking ownership of these issues, and asing our Govt to rise to the challenge of accountability and justification beyond performance legitimacy.' Basically what she said is that the people must change gear, move up, play a bigger role, take more interest in national affairs. If the people are just sheep, contend to grazing their little patches of grass and oblivious to all things around them, then what good are we as a nation...of sheep?

Power relationship between the ruler and the being ruled

In a totalitarian, authoritarian or dictatorial system, the power relationship is very simple. The ruler has absolute power and owns everything, including power of course. And they act in such a way that power will be theirs forever. This in many instances lead to the wielding of power without any restraint, and abuses are unavoidable. But the rulers have no fear as the ruled are unlikely to do anything, nor can they do anything to the rulers. Unfortunately, history has proven that this is not true as in the case of Saddam Hussein and his family. Also happened in ASEAN countries. But during the reign of these rulers, the ruled will accept whatever that they have to take. It was a defeatist attitude, a hopeless situation. The sheep and the shepherd. The people were owned by the rulers and their lives were meaningless except just to exist, but at the mercy of the rulers. In the western democracy model, the US and Europe, the rulers understand that their power is temporal, transcient. They are elected only for a number of terms. And it is only a matter of time before they become common folks, walking side by side with the people in the market or laughing together in the football stadium. Such rulers tend to be less dismissive and arrogant. For they will fall flat on their face when power is not there. And the people knew the formula. So the people are freer in their thoughts. They speak up when they need to. They need not fear that the rulers will fix them up nicely. And if the rulers do that, they have ways to answer back. Perhaps this is the strength of the western model, when power is not perpetuated as if it will always be there and those who assumed power can do what they want. The probability of abuses is that much lower as all good things will come to an end very rapidly. Where are we? Why did so many people that I talked to, even my friends, all have this undisclosed fear? Didn't they know that the bugger could be his kampong kid or the boy in the next HDB flat, but once in power, he becomes something different, someone to fear? Would they feel the same if they know that the bugger will in a matter of time become being ruled rather than the ruler?

myth 134

Intelligence not linked to wealth I can't help but to quote this amazing truth that was confirmed by a US study. "People don't become rich because they are smart.' Jay Zagorsky, a research scientist at Ohio State University. He added that IQ has really no relationship to a person's wealth. So for those who wanted to acquire more wealth to prove that they are smart, or afraid that they will look stupid to the stupid guy who is richer than them because of money, have no fear. If you are smart, you are smart. If you are stupid you are stupid. And for those who still want to pursue more wealth to look smart, then it is a case of plain stupidity. But if you can, you should grab more. Nothing wrong with having more money even if one is stupid. Hope this will take away some pressure for some people: )

En bloc Rules

Why are people crying foul of the en bloc rulings? In a democracy or democratic system where the majority rules, this is what it should be or must be. The majority, even if 51%, assumes all the power of the rest. And this en bloc ruling is even more stringent, demanding that 80% majority only can the group impose their wills on the 20% who disagree. Yes, the 80% can sell off your property against your will. And that is what the minority must accept. This is the beauty of a democratic system. I think when the rules were first mooted, it was a way to prevent a small unreasonable minority from going against the good sense of the majority. Now the table is turned against the minority by the tyranny of the majority. They knew that the law is on their side and they just lumped it to the minority. And they even ignored the minority completely by not informing them. I am impressed with such intelligent people. Play by the rule and take full advantage of the rule that favours you.