Don't ask silly questions

We expect our children to ask a lot of questions. They must, it is the process of growing up. But as adults, at times asking silly questions one will get only silly answers. That is what asking questions is all about. You ask and expect an answer and the other party just gives you an answer. That's all there is to it. The process stops there. In the school environment, things are a little different. The children are expected to ask and the teachers are expected to give a decent answer. A child may ask what is a bird and the teacher will do his/her best to explain what is a bird. As an adult, you try asking what is a bird and you can expect a thousand answers depending on who, what and why the person wants to answer that question. The same process of asking questions in Parliament has been going on year after year. The MPs asked questions and the ministers replied. That is the end of the matter. Is that satisfactory? Would the people affected by the minibond crisis just want to ask questions? Would the people going to buy HDB flats with inflated prices based on market pricing happy with just asking why and be contented because HDB said it is fair? Obviously not. They are demanding for actions to change the situation. In the case of minibonds, they want their money back, they want the guilty to be punished, they want the selling of such products stopped. In the case of HDB pricing to market prices, they don't agree and want it change. They want the price to come down to something nearer to what the prices of the first batch. They are disgusted with the obscene profits the HDB is making at the expense of hanging a millstone on their necks for the next 30 years. Basically they are not just asking question to get a silly reply and to move on. But some still think that giving an answer, any answer, is good enough and the people are expected to move on, or the problem is solved. How cocky!