In PS 101 the wet behind the ear political science students will be going everywhere talking about power in politics. Power is everything in politics. First year students will be made to think so as that was the first book on politics that they would be reading. And that would probably be their first assignment to submit.
As one progresses through the course, he would find that politics is about power but also about many other things. Any political leader that believes only in power will end up as a dictator, often a ruthless one who only thinks of himself and the power he wields. Familiar names like Marcos, Hitler, Mussolini, kings and military junta everywhere, all ruled for power and for their self preservation. The people are secondary or far down the line of importance.
Politics is about the well being of the people, the citizens of the country, not just about power and non citizens, not about the well beings of foreigners, not just about the existence of a state at the expense of its citizens.
When naïve political leaders got the formula wrong, thinking that politics is about power, about self preservation, about vested interests, about the well beings of foreigners, it is about time the people abandon ship and start to think of their own interest and own good.
Political leaders are like a ship and the people the water that keeps it afloat. The water can support the ship and sink the ship if they wanted to. Make no mistake about it. Political leaders that think they are there for the power to rule the people are in the wrong place and for the wrong reasons. Western democracy is afraid of the politics of power and has built in mechanisms to prevent the domination, control and abuse of power by political rulers.
One man one vote, 4 or 5 year term of office, limitation of tenure of the Chief Executive to two terms in office, separation of power, rule of law, the constitution etc etc, are all created to curb the power of power crazy politicians whose main interest is political power and monopoly of power.
PS101 and the politics of power is only a small part of politics. The political science students will go on to learn about different political philosophies, about govt, public administration, national interests, development economics, about benevolent leadership, about the well being of the people, about distribution of wealth, about jobs and the economy and a whole lot of other things. By the end of the course, a political science student would have all but forgotten about the politics of power unless his ambition is to be a dictator. And there will still be those who are obsessed with power and power is their only reason to be in politics.
No, politics is about people. No it is not about the people but about the citizens, the well being of its citizens. I must admit that this assertion about what is politics is youthful idealism bordering on being naive.
Vivian is right. In realpolitik, it is about power, about the contest for power and nothing else.
Hey RB
ReplyDeleteSome people want the power to decide whether you eat in a hawker centre, a food-court or a restaurant.
The last time I know I did not like or trust him.
Today, it's double-confirm.
'Politics is about power' is true but NOT ALL THE TRUTH.
ReplyDeletePower is about the Authority to rule and dictate.
Or
how others must live according to the terms of the Rulers.
And
how much the Rulers must get while in power to prevent them from getting corrupted.
The Terms are non negotiable and are only to be dictated by the Rulers.
The Above-mentioned may not be all, do add in those that are missing.
I think Sinkies do not have the power to create the right politics.
ReplyDeleteI mean, the right politics of being able to elect a better govt than the PAP.
This is the problem. And this problem, despite being a Sinkie problem and no one else, is even more difficult to solve than stopping the haze causing fires in Sumatra.
Politic is about running a sure profit business.
ReplyDeletePolitics is about having the power to squeeze money from the people.
ReplyDeletePolitic is really about money. One spends a lot of money to get elected into political office. From there the wealth flows.If our leaders dare to disclose the personal wealth before and after they got elected into office, one can really see how wealthy they have become!
ReplyDeleteBro, in Sin just forked out about a hundred thousand ir even less including the deposit.
DeleteFor next two weeks, put on your best behaviour, smile, hypocritical or otherwise and have your voice hoarse at the rallies
Legs cramped only for a while.
Afterwhich if gets elected. Annual allowance 210k by 5 years about 1.050m.
I'm parliament can relax thinking of your yearly bank and cpf statements.
Where so chance to talk
with so many Mps??
Dear Workers' Party.
ReplyDeleteWe know what is right and wrong.
What is important and what is trivial.
We Singaporeans are not so daft.
Please continue to do your good work for Singaporeans.
And ignore the background noise in parliament.
In GE 2016.
We will re-affirm our support for you in no uncertain terms.
You would have heard of "trickle down economics" but this is trickle down arrogance.LKY used to make such statements and get away with it but these imitatators have nothing to show for their for all their bluster.
ReplyDeleteGot to watch the Sg made documentary on Channel News Asia about the 'Ma Ch'ea'(female domestic workers from certain district in China).
ReplyDeleteOne worked for Tan Kah Khee and Lee Kuan Yew before she returned back to China.
As shown in the Documentary, those survivng Ma Ch'eas are well taken care of in China. They said so and the Narrator confirmed it by saying that the old Ma Ch'eas are living happily, free of worries.
Seems like their local employers in Sin were not able to give them enough comfort for them(Ma Ch'eas) to want to remain here.
From the Documentary one also gets to see the environment and setting that provide the retired workers to live in serenity. They were, are wise to have left Sin.
"politics is about power"
ReplyDeleteis just like
"Redbean is about dessert"
why don't that pussy tell us something new (not that it is new to us) and honest ? Like PAP's politics is about abusing power ?
The 17th to 18th century British philosopher Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism approach was based on the principle of "greatest good for the greatest number". The Italian Philosopher Machiavelli's belief was "the end justify the means". The premier in the state of Qin during the Zhou Dynasty Warring States Period, Shang Yang , advocated harsh brutal laws to achieve the state's political objectives. Social sciences and realities seldom reside in black and white domains. It is in this big domain of grey areas that a society gradually settle down to some semi-equilibrium level which in itself is a dynamic variable. Given that choice is inevitable in politics, it is then obvious that as much as a society aspires to have all the cakes including prosperity, social stability, universal education, racial and religious harmonies, law and order, national defence, etc etc and eat them, it is inescapable that economics comes into play and trade off has to be made. Which objectives to prioritise and which have to be consigned to the tail end of queue is obviously a highly debatable big grey areas. It is this determination of national goals and priorities that political contests of power subsist and the victorious group sets to define the parameters of what they deem as most crucial goals. If say a green party prevails, their political objectives maybe to turn this island back into a one big swarm and jungle with aborigine type tribes running around with bows and arrows chasing wild boars and antelopes. In such a natural and pollution free habitat, the only piece of fashion one possibly wears is a big piece of water lilies palm leaf secured with a piece of natural rattan around the waist. Who knows? A progressive political party may set that as their political platform and ink it into their party manifestos. Such objectives could then be fervently advocated in election rallies as well as distributed door to door as political pamphlets. Surely, such rallies would draw crowds of unprecedented numbers. No?
ReplyDelete@ anon 9.11 pm
ReplyDeleteHow anon? Is the above comment something new and refreshing that you are working for? Hope I did not misread your mind or rather your political objectives for this island?
Thank goodness I only earn $20,000 a year.
ReplyDeleteI would hate to be one of those self-sacrificing Ministers earning over $1 million a year and paying slightly more in taxes.
Yours Sincerely
A Grateful PAP Voter
PAPig Joke About Employment Opportunities for Singaporeans
ReplyDelete=============
Lee Hsien Loong was chatting to a Singaporean architect at a dinner party.
"You know," Ah Loong says, "if I weren't Prime Minister, I would probably design buildings for Singapore."
"Great," says the Singaporean architect. "If you weren't Prime Minister, I probably would be designing buildings for Singapore too."
Power to the Ruler is for them to give themselves the Authority to control the Citizenry. And the Rulers will want to have the Authority as long as they can, if possible they will want the Power transfer to their offsprings.
ReplyDeletePower to the People means as Bentham put it; majority and ideally all, benefit from whatever that is achievable fairly and evenly.
People Power theoretically is the stronger as it is comprised of the Masses. It should be so if the People have some uniformity in their ideology. It is clear that People Power can only be potent when they are together in pursuing a common goal(objective). When the People act in unison, they do not have to depend on politician/political party to rule them. The People need only Administrators in the Civil Services to run the State System in defence, law and order, education, healthcare, transportation and essential goods and services etc.
The Citizenry in democratic country using international sufferage/voting system should wisely go for a multi party coalition government to dilute the powers of the Rulers and not have the power concentrated in a single party. Given absolute power, most regimes have natural tendency to abuse it. Thus, we have the conmon saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely and it invariaby so whence the same group of people retain the power for decades.
Ultimately, People Power can ONLY COME FROM THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES AND NOT PUT IN THE TRUST OF ANY POLITICAL PARTY. Definitely not to just one party, that will be silly of the People.
Apology for spelling mistake in the Above Post, 'suffrage' to replace 'sufferage'.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:03 AM.
rb
ReplyDeletesorry ot but this is serious.
remember that clown from malaysia who got kicked out of nus , after he posted video of his sexual escapade on the net ?
in the latest *master piece*, he sent a greeting on the ramandan, while slurping on a bowl of bakuteh, with malay captions sayin *hmm, delicious, yummy* !
needless to say, the muslims aint amused, police report has been made ,
some commenters says this a calculated in ur face insult, he is obviously picking fight with the malay communities.
with the grassroot sentiment still raw from the recent election, when chinese were accused of *betraying the malays* , this asshole's antics is like pouring oil over fire.
the idiot ought to be locked up before he get the chinese into trouble.
why would anyone do something so stupid, is this creep mad or what, has he never heard of 5-13 ?
wait a min, was he paid by the cia to do this, an unwitting patsy of the evil empire, which is always looking out for ways to screw chinese.
Right bro, this bastard ought to be cuffed into the four corners of the padded bed in a six by four room with no human contact for a week.
DeleteThen he will declared that he is no more sick in the mind.
A lot of these youngsters are insensitive to the beliefs of others and want to make fun of them not knowing they are causing lots of harm to other innocent parties.
These westernized chow ah quas think they are a class above the rest of society and do what they deemed are their rights.
@ anon 12.03 am
ReplyDeleteWith the current world made "much smaller" by modern technology and ever more integrated than before by globalisation, being uncompetitive and making one wrong turn could mean a situation not unlike Spain where overall unemployment is about 25%. The unemployment rate among their youths and young adults is much higher. Though relatively small by world standard, Spain is a country with more than half a million square kilometres of land area. As a comparison, it is about 80% larger in land size than Peninsula and East Malaysia combined. The Spaniards produced their own European Cup and World Cup winning soccer teams in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Technically, they are a relatively tough and competitive people, not just in soccer alone. The Spaniards are also known for their bravery and tenacity such that bull fighting is as Spaniard as kiasuism is as Singaporean. Agriculturally, the Spaniards even produce sufficiently to export some of their fruits and crops. Now, anon 12.03 am, your recipe of political plurality of say 10 cooks for the same soup may land us in a worst situation economically than Spain. This is not instilling fear but a very frightening reality. I am not sure you are contemplating some trial and error experiments as in the US, a country of more than 9 million square kilometres of land and blessed with huge arable land, favourable climatic condition for agriculture and a fairly abundance of natural resources as well. Conducting a political and social trial and error experiment in a 715 square kilometres red dot island may be akin to committing economic suicide. I am not advocating that in areas that we are not getting it right, we blindly and stubbornly stick to it. There are many areas going right for this land if we benchmark ourselves on many measures and goals objectively. Be it social stability, prosperity, home ownership, health care, infrastructure, ports, air travel and cargo, education, civil service etc etc, we are up there amongst arguably the top 20 in many aspects globally though not necessarily in areas such as soccer, gymnastic, movie-making, painting, song composing, singing etc. As a small nation where the longest point to point distance does not even exceed 60 km, very tough choices and priorities need to be made with very little margin for error. What Singapore needs are probably incremental reforms and precision targeted improvements in specific areas where inevitably some imperfections and inefficiencies exist. Frankly, Singaporeans on the whole are well educated, smart and practical. The call for plurality for the sake of plurality is something that I am afraid at this point is unlikely to get majority support and gain much traction among the all-important moderate voters. To assemble a team as strong as the ruling party and as successfully managed may be as difficult as aptly personified in the famous Chinese adage: 难如登天. Having said that, modern technology allows one to get up in the sky with $99 budget airline travel. Politically, economically and socially, managing Singapore as a cohesive and responsive team is far more complicated and onerous. Almost every aspect has to be gotten right. In the end, to succeed as a nation and to prosper sustainably over the long term, we must possess the ability to agree on the trade off and that it is just not humanly possible to get everything almost perfect. As a tiny entity globally, feedback, consultation, discussion, exchange of ideas and friendly competition may be the way to go. This may include responsible, self-policing and self-discerning on line kpkb and peaceful, orderly HLP protest cum photo taking and like-minded citizens reunion sessions. What Singapore needs in important, crucial and highly sensitive areas are probably gradual, incremental thoroughly and well-thought out reforms and improvements than any high sounding but potentially disastrous "Great Leap Forward" changes or directional turns.
Singapore is moving towards many serious challenges, high inflations,unusual high properties prices, high car prices, debt ridden youth or societies, haze, dengue, gambling habits, casinos, prostitutions, cheap foreigners taken over Singaporean jobs, high suicides rates, broken families etc, one wonder how Singapore going to solve it, in topsy turvy? Leaving Singaporean with lesser and lesser room for error?
ReplyDelete@ Anon 7.05 am
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily dispute or disagree with all the challenges or rather some of the problems you highlighted. I must qualify that I do not speak on behalf of anybody but am expressing the points in my own personal opinion and capacity with situations as they are now locally and internationally. Balancing the exchange rate is probably the main viable monetary policy tool available to a small, open and price-taking economy like Singapore. The government is probably more worried than anybody else on high inflation wrecking havoc on our domestic general price level, affecting the lower income, fixed income earners and prudent savers, the adverse impact on businesses and on a macro level our export competitiveness given that demand for our exports are likely to be elastic and responsive than otherwise. With the "tons" of economists in the government sector, how can they be unaware of these potentially highly slippery slopes that could be fatalistic economically and socially if left untended. As mentioned previously, in realities, many things come in the form of fish and bones. We as a society can circumvent many "bony" aspects while consuming the "meat" but we must always recognise that many things in realities come 2-sided and double-edged. For example, I believe the government is tackling potential inflationary risks in the economy and all the congestion and overloading problems both in our private and public transport systems with all the might and viable policy tools and options in its disposal.
@ Anon 7.05 am
ReplyDeleteAnyway, uncle, I need to go for my work liao. As for the other problems and challenges, this evening or some other days when I have the free time, I can further discuss them with you and the possible and viable approaches we can take to bring about a desired outcome. But in the meantime, some may wish to highlight their objectives and manifestos and what and how they can be achieved viably and realistically without costing the voters "some arms and legs" and the time frame needed to make their objectives come true and not some "promised bread and pies in the sky".
Aiya bru ,
ReplyDeleteXiao peng ever say ..
dun care u r a white cat or black cat,so long u can catch a mouse then u r good cat.
Xiao lang say, politics is not about who is right or who is wrong, but who is left ...
Happy national day singapore ....huat ah
Fully agree that the ex Asean scholar is not only an idiot but dangerous. The MCA and other non Bumi parties must rein him in before he causes more serious racial troubles.
ReplyDeleteHe in not the naive little cute boy. He is ugly and mischievous.
Thanks for the discussion above. Singapore is in a very serious inflation spiral with cost of housing and medicare going out of control. Even Vivian has raised this issue at the convocation of medical students. Any average Sinkies admitted to hospital will be in financial trouble if not faces bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteThis is no good and must be stopped. It is irresponsible for the cost of medical and housing to reach such levels.
/// It is irresponsible for the cost of medical and housing to reach such levels. ///
ReplyDelete60% Singaporeans voted for these talents.
And we pay them millions every year to create these problems.
So redbean.
60% of us should go stand in front of mirror and slap ourselves.
Dearest Anon 6:40 AM
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your interaction.
Me read some philosophers, however, other than '老子' Laozi and 毛泽东 Maozedong, me does not remember much of the Others.
Laozi makes living simple for he advocated simplicity.
Maozedong impresses me with egalitarianism.
I can see and even feel how You want or like us, the readers here, to see Your POVs. Hope You get some to understand them.
Me am inclined to understand living in my own ways. It is not in my nature to interpret living according to any set of philosophy. The nature of geography, culture and conditions differ or vary from place to place and how best to manage shall have to be in accordance to the nature and conditions of the land.
There are no ideal or comprehensive ideology or philosophy for all nations. Furthermore, changes take place all the time and situations become different, such that no single system will be practical all the time.
To cut it short, the existing system in Sin is far from ideal and it is as glaring as the Sun.-
When the Rulers(Regime) are swore,cursed and spat at, naturally, one knows something seriously wrong has happened. Do You sense anything?
Power is liquid. If people are daft, it will stay with the dictator. If people are smart, it will stay with the people. Utimately, people must learn to look beyond the glamour (fake gardens, yog, gold medals etc) and vote based on the reality and facts based on housing, transport, medical, education, jobs prospect, environment conditions. Are they expensive? Are the poorly managed?
ReplyDelete@ anon 4.35 pm and @ anon 3.44 pm 15 Jul 2013
ReplyDeleteHousing 70 marks (>80% ownership) Pte Transport 60 marks (high coe,parf )
Public Transport 70 marks ( mrt breakdown ) Medical Public 80 marks (gd)
Medical Pte. 50 marks ( costly.) Education Presch 60 marks ( ok )
Education Pri.60 marks ( ok) Education Sec. 60 marks ( ok )
Education JC. 55 marks ( not so ok ) Education. Uni 50 marks ( foreigners overly subsidized ) Jobs 55 marks ( not balanced)
Environment. 51 marks ( too much construction. )
Foreign Affairs. 55 marks ( can be improved. )
Defence. 50 marks ( over spending. )
Home Affairs. 55 marks ( need to keep a close watch )
Civil Service. 65 marks ( efficient but some ...... )
Finance. 58 marks ( can be better. )
Procreation. 05 Marks ( worst track record ..... )
Manpower. 55 marks ( can be improved. )
Social affairs. 55 marks ( rooms for improvements. )
Media. 50 marks ( can afford some opening up )
Arts/ culture. 51 marks ( too materials focused. )
Trade. 50 marks ( the 99% invisible man. )
Infrastructure. 60 marks ( need more ground level supervision )
Community svc. 61 marks ( generally efficient. )
Casino. Zero marks ( negative externalities too high )
Tourism. 70 marks ( boost retail, local sector. )
Social Stability 90 marks ( maintain ..... )
Harmony. 90 marks ( maintain ..... )
Policy communication 40 marks ( room for improvements. )
Institutionalisation 90 marks ( ensure long term continuity )
Overall Policies 70 marks ( good but need to be vigilant. )
Leadership. 79 marks ( good given the circumstances. )
Holistically, it is highly unlikely any alternative group can come anywhere near the current team or ruling party in running and managing Singapore in the foreseeable future.
Despite the on line criticisms, many are generally one-sided and may not be the case across the board. Health care is a good example. Though we are not the cheapest, on the other hand, in terms of cost and quality wise it is very probably not the case as painted by some on line arm chair critics. From own feedback from old people and also the poor and from own, health care is generally affordable, heavily subsidised especially for low income group, well managed and of relatively high standard. Of course, there are probably some outlier cases which should be lowered to the minimum humanly possible. Public health care is generally good in Singapore as of now. Private health care is generally meant for the wealthy and well-heeled. Obviously, private health care is expectedly high cost and inevitable. Nonetheless, from observation, I believe the government is playing an active role to ensure reasonable charging is practised in private healthcare.
Generally, civil service and government agencies are fairly well run and efficient. We should not doubt that much efforts have been put into them to ensure that people generally are cared for when necessary.
I am a father of a few kids. Over the past many years, over all the major critical areas and services, I actually would give our government high marks.
Lastly, all the above are my own opinion, observation, experiences encountered and I only speak for myself. Assessment are based on my own observation and experiences gathered over the past many years. Everybody has his or her own opinion. I am just expressing my personal opinion, observation and view. I am not asking everyone to agree or share my same opinion or experience which in all likelihood is impossible.
For those who are far from sharing the same view or experience, I am not asking anybody to go by my view or experience. Perhaps they should share theirs so that we can learn, improve and grow together. Take it as a small contribution to society in the form of feedback, friendly and civil discussion for the sake of the general well being of our society.
Hi Anon 6:20,
ReplyDeleteI believe many would agree with your comments. The Govt has done very quite for many years. But going forward I am not optimistic as the cards are stacked to high and waiting to collapse.
Many critics of the Govt are only pointing out the problems and the bad policies that are being implemented. The fact that there is no riotings in the streets says that the Govt is doing ok. But do not be complacent as things are going wrong, and very wrong in many fronts.
Unless there is a thorough reform and a change of priorities, all the good works of the past will be passe and the future will be very very tough.
The people are disillusion and losing faith in the current Govt and where it is heading.
We had our many good years in the past and we are still ok living on the momentum of yesteryears. But many are seeing the cliff ahead.
Where did the Marks come from as revealed in Anon's 6.20 AM Post?
ReplyDeleteWhat or where are the Benchmarks?
Comparing Sg to other countries? Can we be independent of others? Are we not capable of doing the best for ourselves in our own way?
It is hard, very hard in fact, to accept or even agree with exhortation dispense or offer by the lucky ones who enjoy all the trappings of good living. Those loaded folks that make plenty of money; can afford good foods, big houses, cars, expensive hobbies and leisures. They talk they nothing is impossible.
It is quite easy to understand where they come from. These are folks that cannot understand and feel the plights of others. Talk is not only cheap, it is also easy.
Why are there so many strife and violence in the World? Does anyone thinks that those millions of live sacrificed in past struggles were the works of the fools? Or are they the resultant events of people suffering from oppression misrule?
Apology.
ReplyDeleteThey talk like nothing is impossible to replace 'They talk they nothing is impossible'.
Anon 1209 Above
@ Anon 12:09 pm
ReplyDelete>>>>>It is hard, very hard in fact, to accept or even agree with exhortation dispense or offer by the lucky ones who enjoy all the trappings of good living. Those loaded folks that make plenty of money; can afford good foods, big houses, cars, expensive hobbies and leisures.
They talk like nothing is impossible.<<<<<
Confucius:
“饭疏食饮水，屈肱而枕之，乐亦在其中矣。不义而富且贵，于我如浮云。”
Regards,
Anon 06:20am
Frugal a rich man maybe, even ascetic.
ReplyDeleteStill rich with no worry.
Empathy maybe aplenty, but stomach it fills not when they are just mere words.
@ anon 7.35 pm
ReplyDelete>>>>>Frugal a rich man maybe, even ascetic.
Still rich with no worry.
Empathy maybe aplenty, but stomach it fills not when they are just mere words.<<<<<
Anon,
Goody-goody an indifferent man maybe, even holier-than-thou.
Still nonchalant with no urgency.
Sanctimony maybe aplenty, but hope it gives not when they are just mere harangue.
Regards,
anon 5.41pm
@ anon 7.35 pm
ReplyDelete杜甫诗:
“孔明庙前有老柏，柯如青铜根如石。
双皮溜雨四十围，黛色参天二千尺。
君臣已与时际会，树木犹为人爱惜。
云来气接巫峡长，月出寒通雪山白。
忆昨路绕锦亭东，先主武侯同［门必］宫。
崔嵬枝干郊原古，窈窕丹青户牖空。
落落盘踞虽得地，冥冥孤高多烈风。
扶持自是神明力，正直元因造化功。
大厦如倾要梁栋，万牛回首丘山重。
不露文章世已惊，未辞剪伐谁能送？
苦心岂免容蝼蚁？香叶终经宿鸾凤。
志士幽人莫怨嗟，古来材大难为用！”
Regards,
anon 8.25 pm
Dear Anon:
ReplyDeleteLike to say that it is very interesting having this conversation with You.
Despite the Anachronism and historical, cultural and geographical differences; Dupu(杜浦/Tang Dynasty Poet China) does have some relevance to the Discussion here.
Dupu was very concerned of the political and social developments of his country as they happened. Like us, he witnessed the waning of the Tang Dynasty and lamented at the situation. He did his best to contribute, though as to how much that had improve the situation is impossible to quantify. That as it be, his greatness in literature and sense of patriotism have lasted to this day and likely long into the future.
Me likes to say that there are various ways to contribute to nation building.
The normal and usual way is to augment a benign/ benevolent regime to greater height. Conversely, a despotic and tyrannical regime has to be removed and overthrown, best by peaceful means. Or by any means if the Rulers are beyond correction.
Human history has been replete with such recurrence and there can be no end to it till Eart is ridded of humans. Such is human nature that there different solutions to a problem and they could all yield the intended result albeit there will be different consequences along the process.
Events, by and large, happen according to situations and our reaction and behaviour to them may differ. The Only common thing that we invariably share will be the Wish that we live in a society that is free from any abuses and that all can live in peace.
Regards from:
Anon 12:09
@ anon 02.08 pm
ReplyDelete>>>>>Events, by and large, happen according to situations and our reaction and behaviour to them may differ. The Only common thing that we invariably share will be the Wish that we live in a society that is free from any abuses and that all can live in peace.<<<<<
Confucius:
"其身正，不令而行；其身不正，虽令不从。"
Anon 12.09, thank you for sharing your views on moving Sg forward and becoming a better and peaceful place for all Singaporeans. As said before, "All fishes invariably come with some bones."
Perhaps you may wish to "chew on" the following six verses written by our ancestors:
1) "我被盖你被，你毡盖我毡。
你若有钱我共使，我若无钱用你钱。
上山时你扶我脚，下山时我靠你肩。
我有子时做你婿，你有女时伴我眠。
你依此誓时，我死在你后；
我违此誓时，你死在我前"
2) "得便宜处欣欣乐，不过心时闷闷忧。
不讨便宜不折本，也无欢乐也无愁。"
3) "海鳖曾欺井内蛙，大鹏张翅绕天涯。
强中更有强中手，莫向人前满自夸。"
4) "势不可使尽，福不可享尽，便宜不可占尽，聪明不可用尽。"
5) "惜衣有衣，惜食有食。"
6) "人无寿夭，禄尽则亡。"
Regards,
SgM aka anon 06.20 am
Dear Anon 6:20 AM:
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome and it has been a most wonderful encounter.
Anon 1209
aka patriot
@ 9.49 pm
ReplyDeletePatriot,
刘禹锡: "山不在高，有仙则名。水不在深，有龙则灵。"
Regards,
SgM
You guys are very conversant with the classical Chinese in poetry forms. I am struggling to understand them
ReplyDeleteRespect.