4th of July is the American Independence Day, a day for celebration. 3rd
of July would become a very important day for Singapore and
Singaporeans. On this day, Hsien Loong would be defending his integrity
in Parliament, defending his position on his father's last wish, and
defending the allegations by his brother and sister on the abuse of
power or corruption of power. And all the MPs would be there to defend
him or challenge him. No, they are there not to simply ask question. At
the end of the session there is likely to be a vote of confidence on
Hsien Loong's integrity and leadership as the Prime Minister.
All 81 PAP MPs are expected to vote for Hsien Loong and all 6 WP's MPs
would vote against him should a vote of confidence is called no matter
if the whip is lifted. No need to guess further. There could be a few
votes less for Hsien Loong should a few think it wise to go to the
toilet or to be on urgent leave on that day.
What would these PAP MPs be voting for? No need to ask the this question
on the WP MPs. Would they be voting for honour, honesty, integrity,
moral righteousness or loyalty to Hsien Loong and the PAP? Or would they
be voting for the good of Singapore, Singapore's reputation as an
honest and rule of law country, a country free from corruption of power
and money?
On 3rd of July, all the PAP MPs must cast their vote and it will reveal
what they are really made of, what they stood for, what is important to
them and what is not. Not only that Hsien Loong's integrity would be
called to question, every PAP MP's integrity and honour would be called
to question. And they would be making a point in Parliament when they
vote, of who and what they are.
On 3rd of July, the people will be watching very carefully on what the
MPs said and do, on whether they deserve the respect and continue
support of the people, their voters and the people of Singapore. 3rd of
July would be the day to test the mettle of the PAP MPs. Abstain from
voting is not an option, you are in or out.
I remember the day when at the peak of his career, Mahathir thought he
was indispensable, told his ministers and MPs in Parliament that he
would step down thinking that they would go down on their knees to beg
him to stay on. Never would he expect that they were waiting just for
that day and for him to say he would want to step down. Without missing a
beat, his ministers quickly cut in to thank him for his good deeds and
regretted that he was stepping down but reluctantly accepted his
stepping down. They gave Mahathir no chance to retract from what he
said. It was over. This must have caught Mahathir with his pants down.
He could not turn around to say he was joking or did not mean what he
said, and wanted to stay on as the PM. He sealed his own fate himself.
Would there be a similar moment on 3 Jul when Hsien Loong called for a
vote of confidence believing that he would get 100% support from the PAP
camp but to his horror, 70% voted no confidence in him as the PM? This
of course is like the sun rising from the West, not in Singapore. But
should such an event happen on 3 Jul, Hsien Loong could end up like
Mahathir, unable to stay on as the PM. It would be a self designed
bloodless coup and Singapore would have a new PM. OK, OK, don't bet on
it that such a thing would ever happen in Singapore. In Singapore
everything is carefully planned and under control. Oops, don’t remind
me of the MRT. This is just a wild, wild thought, too much hallucination
perhaps… TGIF.
6/29/2017
Uncle Sam crying wolf again
The North Korean’s infant nuclear problem is a threat to the USA! Assad
is planning to use chemical weapons against his people! What else is
new? Has anyone complained that the Americans are the biggest nuclear to
every country in the world and a threat to the extinction of the human
race?
I was watching some American news reporting and the little American girls reporting these news as threats to the mighty USA were so serious as if they were real. They totally and sincerely believed them. It appeared that it has not crossed their little minds to question if the North Koreans are really a threat to the USA or is Assad that stupid to use chemical weapons against his people to give the Americans a reason to blast him off his office. With the American proclamation, some chemical weapons would surely be used against his people but you can bet your last dollar it would not be from Assad but from you know who. Assad can be any thing but not stupid. But he would still fall victim to false flag incident planned by the Americans.
Assad would not be as stupid as the unquestioning American girls reporting the news that North Korea is threatening the USA when China or Russia would not dare to be a threat to the Americans. Did they know that it is the Americans that are threatening North Korea and every country in the world and have taken the position that the USA reserves the right to use nuclear weapons on any country first while demanding that others cannot use nuclear weapons first? And knowing American’s black ops against the ME countries and North Korea and all the countries that the Americans called enemies, by making a warning that Assad is going to use chemical weapons, you can bet your last dollar that chemical weapons would be used, not by Assad, but Assad would be blamed for it.
Below is part of an article in counterpunch on the lies the Americans are spreading about the North Korean threats. How many silly people around the world are believing in this lie? The American little girls reporting this news surely would believe it with no question asked. So would many of the lawmakers in Washington who chose to want to believe in this American lie. Here is the article…
June 16, 2017
Nuclear Weapons Ban? What Needs to be Banned Is US Arrogance
By Diana Johnstone
In a context of almost total indifference, marked by outright hostility, representatives of over a hundred of the world’s least powerful countries are currently opening another three-week session of United Nations talks aimed at achieving a legally binding ban on nuclear weapons. Very few people even know this is happening.
Ban nuclear weapons? Ho hum… Let’s change the subject.
Let’s talk about Russian hacking instead, or the rights of trans-sexuals to use the toilet of their choice, or even about something really important: climate change.
But wait a minute. The damage to human society, and to “the planet”, from the projected rise of a few degrees of global temperature, while commonly described as apocalyptic, would be minor compared to the results of all-out nuclear war. More to the point, the degree of human responsibility in climate change is more disputed among serious scientists than the public is aware, due to the role of such contributing factors as solar variations. But the degree of human responsibility for nuclear weapons is unquestionably total. The nuclear war peril is manmade, and some of the men who made it can even be named, such as James Byrnes, Harry Truman and General Leslie Groves. The United States government consciously and deliberately created this danger to human life on earth. Faced with the United States’ demonstrated capacity and moral readiness to wipe out whole cities with their devices, other countries built their own deadly devices as deterrents. Those deterrents have never been used, which lulls the public into believing the danger is past.
But the United States, the only power already guilty of nuclear manslaughter, continues to perfect its nuclear arsenal and to proclaim its “right” to launch a “first strike” whenever it chooses.
The United States naturally calls for boycotting the nuclear arms ban conference.
On the occasion of an earlier such conference last March, President Trump’s gormless U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, wrapped her lame excuse in womanliness: “As a mom and a daughter there is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons,” she shamelessly uttered. “But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone that believes that North Korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?”
Well, yes. There are many people who have obviously thought more about this than Nikki Haley and who are well aware that North Korea, surrounded by aggressive U.S. forces for seven decades, considers its little nuclear arsenal to be a deterrent, and would certainly give it up in exchange for a convincing end to the U.S. threat.
North Korea is a very odd country, an heir to the medieval “Hermit Kingdom” with an ideology forged in communist resistance to Japanese imperialism of the previous century. Its highly eccentric leadership is using advanced technology as an imitation Great Wall. An all-Korean peace settlement would solve the issue.
It is absurd to claim that the threat of nuclear war comes from Pyongyang rather than from the Pentagon. Hyping up Pyongyang’s “threat” is a way to pretend that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is “defensive”, when the reality is the other way around....
From counterpunch https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/16/nuclear-weapons-ban-what-needs-to-be-banned-is-u-s-arrogance/
I was watching some American news reporting and the little American girls reporting these news as threats to the mighty USA were so serious as if they were real. They totally and sincerely believed them. It appeared that it has not crossed their little minds to question if the North Koreans are really a threat to the USA or is Assad that stupid to use chemical weapons against his people to give the Americans a reason to blast him off his office. With the American proclamation, some chemical weapons would surely be used against his people but you can bet your last dollar it would not be from Assad but from you know who. Assad can be any thing but not stupid. But he would still fall victim to false flag incident planned by the Americans.
Assad would not be as stupid as the unquestioning American girls reporting the news that North Korea is threatening the USA when China or Russia would not dare to be a threat to the Americans. Did they know that it is the Americans that are threatening North Korea and every country in the world and have taken the position that the USA reserves the right to use nuclear weapons on any country first while demanding that others cannot use nuclear weapons first? And knowing American’s black ops against the ME countries and North Korea and all the countries that the Americans called enemies, by making a warning that Assad is going to use chemical weapons, you can bet your last dollar that chemical weapons would be used, not by Assad, but Assad would be blamed for it.
Below is part of an article in counterpunch on the lies the Americans are spreading about the North Korean threats. How many silly people around the world are believing in this lie? The American little girls reporting this news surely would believe it with no question asked. So would many of the lawmakers in Washington who chose to want to believe in this American lie. Here is the article…
June 16, 2017
Nuclear Weapons Ban? What Needs to be Banned Is US Arrogance
By Diana Johnstone
In a context of almost total indifference, marked by outright hostility, representatives of over a hundred of the world’s least powerful countries are currently opening another three-week session of United Nations talks aimed at achieving a legally binding ban on nuclear weapons. Very few people even know this is happening.
Ban nuclear weapons? Ho hum… Let’s change the subject.
Let’s talk about Russian hacking instead, or the rights of trans-sexuals to use the toilet of their choice, or even about something really important: climate change.
But wait a minute. The damage to human society, and to “the planet”, from the projected rise of a few degrees of global temperature, while commonly described as apocalyptic, would be minor compared to the results of all-out nuclear war. More to the point, the degree of human responsibility in climate change is more disputed among serious scientists than the public is aware, due to the role of such contributing factors as solar variations. But the degree of human responsibility for nuclear weapons is unquestionably total. The nuclear war peril is manmade, and some of the men who made it can even be named, such as James Byrnes, Harry Truman and General Leslie Groves. The United States government consciously and deliberately created this danger to human life on earth. Faced with the United States’ demonstrated capacity and moral readiness to wipe out whole cities with their devices, other countries built their own deadly devices as deterrents. Those deterrents have never been used, which lulls the public into believing the danger is past.
But the United States, the only power already guilty of nuclear manslaughter, continues to perfect its nuclear arsenal and to proclaim its “right” to launch a “first strike” whenever it chooses.
The United States naturally calls for boycotting the nuclear arms ban conference.
On the occasion of an earlier such conference last March, President Trump’s gormless U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, wrapped her lame excuse in womanliness: “As a mom and a daughter there is nothing I want more for my family than a world with no nuclear weapons,” she shamelessly uttered. “But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone that believes that North Korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?”
Well, yes. There are many people who have obviously thought more about this than Nikki Haley and who are well aware that North Korea, surrounded by aggressive U.S. forces for seven decades, considers its little nuclear arsenal to be a deterrent, and would certainly give it up in exchange for a convincing end to the U.S. threat.
North Korea is a very odd country, an heir to the medieval “Hermit Kingdom” with an ideology forged in communist resistance to Japanese imperialism of the previous century. Its highly eccentric leadership is using advanced technology as an imitation Great Wall. An all-Korean peace settlement would solve the issue.
It is absurd to claim that the threat of nuclear war comes from Pyongyang rather than from the Pentagon. Hyping up Pyongyang’s “threat” is a way to pretend that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is “defensive”, when the reality is the other way around....
From counterpunch https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/16/nuclear-weapons-ban-what-needs-to-be-banned-is-u-s-arrogance/
6/28/2017
Lee Kuan Yew’s will – When white can be black
The will of Lee Kuan Yew is now the hot topic of dispute between his two
children and his party, the PAP, and between the eldest son and his
younger children. What is so puzzling and disputable about the will of
this top legal trained politician? Here is the part that is in
contention.
‘I further declare that it is my wish and the wish of my late Wife, KWA GEOK CHOO, that our house at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 (“the House”) be demolished immediately after my death, or if my daughter Wei Ling, would prefer to continue living in the original house, immediately after she moves out of the House. I would ask each of my children to ensure our wishes with respect to the demolition of the House be carried out.’
To me or any layperson, the will is so simple and clear. But we are just laypersons and cannot see anything wrong with the will. Only the legally trained experts, called lawyers or legal counsels, could tell you it is not so simple, and the whole will can be torn apart for so many grey or contentious areas. To these legal experts, the simple will is full of holes.
The Singapore public and the whole world have been given a lesson in how the legal experts and politicians are able to cast doubts and spin stories on a simple will by one the greatest lawyers Singapore has produced, and an eminent politician known not for shoddy and wishy washy unclear stuff. This was a man that was precise to a comma or a full stop in their proper place. In this case the legal experts and politicians are having a field day displaying their prowess, applying all their strategies, tricks and tools of the trade to prove that this will is not what it was or meant to be.
The first thing is to cast doubts on the authenticity of the will. If this does not work, cast doubts on the people that were involved in writing the will. If this does not work, question the intent of the beneficiaries, or the intent of the drafters of the will, or even the intent of the owner of the will.
Some have called these types of questions or doubt casting as clever, professionally expected, and legal ways to win a case or an argument. Some have called these brutal, devious, cunning, sly and whatever negative expressions you can find in the dictionary.
The will of Lee Kuan Yew to those that want to question his will is not only suspect for many reasons. In their attempt to cast doubt, the man himself has been dragged out into the open as an old fool, careless, unthinking and with a ‘tiada apa’ attitude when he signed the will. He did not known nor understood what he was signing, or he was conned, deceived or wrongly advised or tricked into signing a will against his wish or intent. He needed legal assistance and advice! And he did not know about it even after he is dead and buried. And now his will is becoming a joke, and he is also becoming a joke. Where is the respect for this man?
Is this how Singaporeans want to remember this man they cried for during his funeral and lined the streets under pouring rain to send him off in his last journey? While the politicians and lawyers are attacking his will directly or indirectly, while targeting his children, it is sad that this man, once revered by many and with many that pledged loyalty to him and even publicly expressed respect to him like a father or a demi god, becomes the victim of the dispute.
Lee Kuan Yew, his name and reputation are now dragged through the mud for all to see. Lee Kuan Yew and his Singapore have become an international joke by the people trying to prove their cleverness on his will.
Is this the kind of ending Singaporeans want for their renowned founding father? Before more damage is done to this man, let’s have some discretion and stop doing more harm to Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore by showing a little respect to the man for what he was. I am starting to feel sorry for this man for the way people turned against him, betrayed him, shown disrespect to him. Did he deserve this treatment?
I rest my case. Please do not throw this man into the toilet bowl in whatever you are doing. If the govt chooses to gazette his house into a national monument, just do it and spare the disgraceful gripes. Why is Lee Kuan Yew’s will an issue when the govt has all the power to gazette it?
‘I further declare that it is my wish and the wish of my late Wife, KWA GEOK CHOO, that our house at 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 (“the House”) be demolished immediately after my death, or if my daughter Wei Ling, would prefer to continue living in the original house, immediately after she moves out of the House. I would ask each of my children to ensure our wishes with respect to the demolition of the House be carried out.’
To me or any layperson, the will is so simple and clear. But we are just laypersons and cannot see anything wrong with the will. Only the legally trained experts, called lawyers or legal counsels, could tell you it is not so simple, and the whole will can be torn apart for so many grey or contentious areas. To these legal experts, the simple will is full of holes.
The Singapore public and the whole world have been given a lesson in how the legal experts and politicians are able to cast doubts and spin stories on a simple will by one the greatest lawyers Singapore has produced, and an eminent politician known not for shoddy and wishy washy unclear stuff. This was a man that was precise to a comma or a full stop in their proper place. In this case the legal experts and politicians are having a field day displaying their prowess, applying all their strategies, tricks and tools of the trade to prove that this will is not what it was or meant to be.
The first thing is to cast doubts on the authenticity of the will. If this does not work, cast doubts on the people that were involved in writing the will. If this does not work, question the intent of the beneficiaries, or the intent of the drafters of the will, or even the intent of the owner of the will.
Some have called these types of questions or doubt casting as clever, professionally expected, and legal ways to win a case or an argument. Some have called these brutal, devious, cunning, sly and whatever negative expressions you can find in the dictionary.
The will of Lee Kuan Yew to those that want to question his will is not only suspect for many reasons. In their attempt to cast doubt, the man himself has been dragged out into the open as an old fool, careless, unthinking and with a ‘tiada apa’ attitude when he signed the will. He did not known nor understood what he was signing, or he was conned, deceived or wrongly advised or tricked into signing a will against his wish or intent. He needed legal assistance and advice! And he did not know about it even after he is dead and buried. And now his will is becoming a joke, and he is also becoming a joke. Where is the respect for this man?
Is this how Singaporeans want to remember this man they cried for during his funeral and lined the streets under pouring rain to send him off in his last journey? While the politicians and lawyers are attacking his will directly or indirectly, while targeting his children, it is sad that this man, once revered by many and with many that pledged loyalty to him and even publicly expressed respect to him like a father or a demi god, becomes the victim of the dispute.
Lee Kuan Yew, his name and reputation are now dragged through the mud for all to see. Lee Kuan Yew and his Singapore have become an international joke by the people trying to prove their cleverness on his will.
Is this the kind of ending Singaporeans want for their renowned founding father? Before more damage is done to this man, let’s have some discretion and stop doing more harm to Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore by showing a little respect to the man for what he was. I am starting to feel sorry for this man for the way people turned against him, betrayed him, shown disrespect to him. Did he deserve this treatment?
I rest my case. Please do not throw this man into the toilet bowl in whatever you are doing. If the govt chooses to gazette his house into a national monument, just do it and spare the disgraceful gripes. Why is Lee Kuan Yew’s will an issue when the govt has all the power to gazette it?
6/27/2017
The Lee Family Feud – Objectively speaking
There are basically two parts to this family feud. One is about the fate
of the family house in Oxley Road. The second part is about allegations
about Hsien Loong’s integrity. The first part is easy to deal with,
legallee, oops, sorry should be spelt legally.
LKY being a lawyer by training and knowing what his rights were as a citizen, knew very well that his will is but the will of a private citizen. He could write his will but ultimately it is the govt that would make the decision on what it wants to do with the house. And the govt has all the right and reasons to gazette it as a national monument under the National Heritage Board. LKY had conceded this point if you read his will carefully. He is not above the law and the law or the state has the final say in this matter.
What is this thing called the Ministerial Committee and why was it delving into the intricacies of the will? The Ministerial Committee should do all its due diligence on what is the best thing to do with the house and make a recommendation to the govt on what should be good for country, taking note of LKY’s last wish. And if it so chooses to gazette the house as a national monument, it would be nice and polite to explain to the family of its decision and make the appropriate compensation for acquiring the property.
The tricky part is how to say it to the family especially when it was LKY’s last wish and many people would like to grant him that for what he had done and would hope that the govt could agree, not that the govt must obey LKY’s last wish. Period.
What is disgusting and patronising is for people to cast aspersion about the intellect and soundness of mind of Lee Kuan Yew when he signed the will. LKY, should these people forget, had a double first in law from Cambridge, a rare honour given to the brightest law student from this great university. Many of those that are making silly remarks about LKY not knowing what he signed in his will, that he carelessly signed without reading, without knowing, is uncalled for. Some even suggested that he needed legal advice from those that would best got a second class upper law degree or the very few first class from NUS.
How many of these people could advise LKY when they could not even hold a candle to him in matters of law and when writing a will is not rocket science?
The less these people try to discredit LKY when he is already not around to use his knuckle duster on them the better it is for their own credibility. No one is really good enough to tell LKY what he should write in his will. This is a no nonsense and very meticulous man. This is a no brainer. He is not senile or mad when he signed his will. And he is no fool. No one could trick him into doing things that he did not want. Want to question his intent?
The second part of this feud is the troublesome one. Hsien Yang and Wei Ling had said many things that questioned Hsien Loong’s character and suitability to be the PM. At the moment these are just allegations and they have to prove what they said with concrete evidence to make it stick. Hsien Loong on his part would have to defend these allegations, to clear his name, that he is an honourable man and a man of unquestionable integrity.
How are these allegations and Hsien Loong’s defence to be settled? Is a PM statement in Parliament satisfactory to prove that Hsien Loong is what he said he is and Hsien Yang/Wei Ling’s allegations were baseless? In Parliament it is a one sided affair with Hsien Loong saying his peace in the absence of the accusers, Hsien Yang and Wei Ling. When there are two conflicting versions to the matters at hand, it is only right and proper to settle it in a court of law where there is a neutral arbitrator to allow both sides to say their peace supported by evidence and then make a judgement on the allegations. How else can such a matter be resolved if the two parties did not meet on a level playing field? If Hsien Yang and Wei Ling could not prove their case, then it is defamation, defaming of the Prime Minister, a very serious thing.
The allegations are serious and would affect Hsien Loong’s credibility as a PM and he has no choice but to defend himself vigorously, not in a Parliament when one side with an absolute majority could just shout down the other side giving the impression that more or the majority means right or the truth.
What do you think? Can this matter rest without a judgement, without an answer? Can these allegations be left floating in the air and the people left scratching their heads or gossiping behind Hsien Loong’s back?
LKY being a lawyer by training and knowing what his rights were as a citizen, knew very well that his will is but the will of a private citizen. He could write his will but ultimately it is the govt that would make the decision on what it wants to do with the house. And the govt has all the right and reasons to gazette it as a national monument under the National Heritage Board. LKY had conceded this point if you read his will carefully. He is not above the law and the law or the state has the final say in this matter.
What is this thing called the Ministerial Committee and why was it delving into the intricacies of the will? The Ministerial Committee should do all its due diligence on what is the best thing to do with the house and make a recommendation to the govt on what should be good for country, taking note of LKY’s last wish. And if it so chooses to gazette the house as a national monument, it would be nice and polite to explain to the family of its decision and make the appropriate compensation for acquiring the property.
The tricky part is how to say it to the family especially when it was LKY’s last wish and many people would like to grant him that for what he had done and would hope that the govt could agree, not that the govt must obey LKY’s last wish. Period.
What is disgusting and patronising is for people to cast aspersion about the intellect and soundness of mind of Lee Kuan Yew when he signed the will. LKY, should these people forget, had a double first in law from Cambridge, a rare honour given to the brightest law student from this great university. Many of those that are making silly remarks about LKY not knowing what he signed in his will, that he carelessly signed without reading, without knowing, is uncalled for. Some even suggested that he needed legal advice from those that would best got a second class upper law degree or the very few first class from NUS.
How many of these people could advise LKY when they could not even hold a candle to him in matters of law and when writing a will is not rocket science?
The less these people try to discredit LKY when he is already not around to use his knuckle duster on them the better it is for their own credibility. No one is really good enough to tell LKY what he should write in his will. This is a no nonsense and very meticulous man. This is a no brainer. He is not senile or mad when he signed his will. And he is no fool. No one could trick him into doing things that he did not want. Want to question his intent?
The second part of this feud is the troublesome one. Hsien Yang and Wei Ling had said many things that questioned Hsien Loong’s character and suitability to be the PM. At the moment these are just allegations and they have to prove what they said with concrete evidence to make it stick. Hsien Loong on his part would have to defend these allegations, to clear his name, that he is an honourable man and a man of unquestionable integrity.
How are these allegations and Hsien Loong’s defence to be settled? Is a PM statement in Parliament satisfactory to prove that Hsien Loong is what he said he is and Hsien Yang/Wei Ling’s allegations were baseless? In Parliament it is a one sided affair with Hsien Loong saying his peace in the absence of the accusers, Hsien Yang and Wei Ling. When there are two conflicting versions to the matters at hand, it is only right and proper to settle it in a court of law where there is a neutral arbitrator to allow both sides to say their peace supported by evidence and then make a judgement on the allegations. How else can such a matter be resolved if the two parties did not meet on a level playing field? If Hsien Yang and Wei Ling could not prove their case, then it is defamation, defaming of the Prime Minister, a very serious thing.
The allegations are serious and would affect Hsien Loong’s credibility as a PM and he has no choice but to defend himself vigorously, not in a Parliament when one side with an absolute majority could just shout down the other side giving the impression that more or the majority means right or the truth.
What do you think? Can this matter rest without a judgement, without an answer? Can these allegations be left floating in the air and the people left scratching their heads or gossiping behind Hsien Loong’s back?
Experiencing the evil of Japanese and Western Imperialism at an early age
I was born in Amoy, Hokkien province, China, on 5th August, 1938. According to my parents it so happened that after I was born the Japanese were bombing Amoy. So even before I was ten days old they had to take me to Singapore for safety. My father was a Singapore businessman whose business took him to travel to China, Philippines, Malaya and Indonesia quite often. That was the reason how I was born in Amoy. It would appear Japanese imperialists would not give my family peace . The Japanese invaded Singapore in 1942. My family had to flee to Muar, Johore. Even in Muar we could not run away from Japanese imperialists. My father was arrested and eventually tortured in prison.
During a prison inspection tour by a Taiwanese Japanese officer something strange happened. It seemed the Taiwanese inspector recognised my father as one of his uncles while he was living in Amoy as a young boy. Being a senior Japanese officer he was able to decide on my father's fate. My father was freed. Posters and written instructions were pasted in the front door of our house to warn Japanese soldiers not to trouble our family again.
After the Japanese surrender in late 1945, my parents moved the family back to Singapore. in January, 1946. My brothers and I went to study in a mission school, St. Andrew's Junior School. In the second year of my study in St. Andrew's Junior School, I was to experience imperialism of a different kind, Western imperialism of imperial Britain. During one recess time while my friends and I were playing marbles, an English boy from another class would always disrupt our games by taking our marbles. This resulted in a fight or scuffle. Two monitors caught me and the English boy fighting. We were brought to see the principal who happened to be a lady from England. She spoke kindly and lovingly to the English boy and even hug the boy in her bosom. Then turning to me she gave me a dirty stern look and said some unholy things and warned me not to involve in a fight again. Then picking up one of three canes hanging on the door she asked me to stretch out my hands and gave each hand a cut with her cane.
At a tender young age I already suffered pain and discrimination from Japanese and British imperialism. It was to register in my mind forever. Now I hate the Japanese and the British like venom.
As I grow up I read a lot of books and discover and realize the tremendous evil of Western and Japanese imperialism and colonialism. I also discovered how from 1830s to the 1940s the Chinese in China and other parts of the world were always despised, disrespected, trampled and bullied by Westerners, the Europeans the Caucasian stock. It was a hundred years of shame and humiliation. China was cut and carved out to to be shared and divided among the invaders. Chinese in US and Australia were always beaten and genocided
I realised very early that Chinese everywhere were trampled and illtreated with great disrespect and lost of dignity because our ancestral country was poor and weak. At a young age in school I was always praying and hoping that one day China must become strong economically and militarily to regain her pride and dignity and take her rightful place in the world where for millenium years before the 1830s she was highly respected as a great nation and a glorious civilization.
I am glad that after the Second World War in 1945, Chairman Mao Tsetung and Premier Zhou En Lai and other of their contemporary leaders were able to establish and build up a strong and mighty China where nobody would dare to trifle with. Fortunately subsequent second, third and fourth generation leaders are able to reinforce the economic and military strength of the country year by year. Today Chinese everywhere from China to any part of the world can walk with pride and dignity and look with disdain any European or American who still dares to harbour any false notion of their past superiority. Any country who dares to meddle and trifle with China now must be insane for they will surely create and meet their own destruction.
I am glad to share my moments of pride and dignity for the last many years when I was in many countries in Europe, Canada, USA and South Africa. When I go shopping or dining in hotels or restaurents I was always addressed with respect as "Sir" by whitemen or women. They always think I am from China, though I am a Singaporean which they hardly know. This shows the importance of having a rich and powerful ancestral country as a momentous moral and dignified back up. Therefore every overseas Chinese no matter what must be happy and proud of a rich and powerful China which can be the unseen hand of extending intangible moral and commanding respectful support.
Those Chinese who still look down upon China and have no pride to being a Chinese they should look themselves in the mirror and see for themselves how stupid they can be. Many of these queer characters are not proud of their Chinese names and even discard their surnames which is the essence of the Chinese roots and culture,
Tuesday, 27th June, 2017
During a prison inspection tour by a Taiwanese Japanese officer something strange happened. It seemed the Taiwanese inspector recognised my father as one of his uncles while he was living in Amoy as a young boy. Being a senior Japanese officer he was able to decide on my father's fate. My father was freed. Posters and written instructions were pasted in the front door of our house to warn Japanese soldiers not to trouble our family again.
After the Japanese surrender in late 1945, my parents moved the family back to Singapore. in January, 1946. My brothers and I went to study in a mission school, St. Andrew's Junior School. In the second year of my study in St. Andrew's Junior School, I was to experience imperialism of a different kind, Western imperialism of imperial Britain. During one recess time while my friends and I were playing marbles, an English boy from another class would always disrupt our games by taking our marbles. This resulted in a fight or scuffle. Two monitors caught me and the English boy fighting. We were brought to see the principal who happened to be a lady from England. She spoke kindly and lovingly to the English boy and even hug the boy in her bosom. Then turning to me she gave me a dirty stern look and said some unholy things and warned me not to involve in a fight again. Then picking up one of three canes hanging on the door she asked me to stretch out my hands and gave each hand a cut with her cane.
At a tender young age I already suffered pain and discrimination from Japanese and British imperialism. It was to register in my mind forever. Now I hate the Japanese and the British like venom.
As I grow up I read a lot of books and discover and realize the tremendous evil of Western and Japanese imperialism and colonialism. I also discovered how from 1830s to the 1940s the Chinese in China and other parts of the world were always despised, disrespected, trampled and bullied by Westerners, the Europeans the Caucasian stock. It was a hundred years of shame and humiliation. China was cut and carved out to to be shared and divided among the invaders. Chinese in US and Australia were always beaten and genocided
I realised very early that Chinese everywhere were trampled and illtreated with great disrespect and lost of dignity because our ancestral country was poor and weak. At a young age in school I was always praying and hoping that one day China must become strong economically and militarily to regain her pride and dignity and take her rightful place in the world where for millenium years before the 1830s she was highly respected as a great nation and a glorious civilization.
I am glad that after the Second World War in 1945, Chairman Mao Tsetung and Premier Zhou En Lai and other of their contemporary leaders were able to establish and build up a strong and mighty China where nobody would dare to trifle with. Fortunately subsequent second, third and fourth generation leaders are able to reinforce the economic and military strength of the country year by year. Today Chinese everywhere from China to any part of the world can walk with pride and dignity and look with disdain any European or American who still dares to harbour any false notion of their past superiority. Any country who dares to meddle and trifle with China now must be insane for they will surely create and meet their own destruction.
I am glad to share my moments of pride and dignity for the last many years when I was in many countries in Europe, Canada, USA and South Africa. When I go shopping or dining in hotels or restaurents I was always addressed with respect as "Sir" by whitemen or women. They always think I am from China, though I am a Singaporean which they hardly know. This shows the importance of having a rich and powerful ancestral country as a momentous moral and dignified back up. Therefore every overseas Chinese no matter what must be happy and proud of a rich and powerful China which can be the unseen hand of extending intangible moral and commanding respectful support.
Those Chinese who still look down upon China and have no pride to being a Chinese they should look themselves in the mirror and see for themselves how stupid they can be. Many of these queer characters are not proud of their Chinese names and even discard their surnames which is the essence of the Chinese roots and culture,
Tuesday, 27th June, 2017
6/26/2017
Powerlifting world record by Matthew Yap
Matthew Yap sets world record but had no money to come home. After
setting a world record at the World Classic Powerlifting Championship
in Belarus for lifting 208kg in the men’s Under 66kg sub junior division,
Matthew and his brother, acting as his coach, were caught in a
misunderstanding by the Belarus immigration. The immigration officer
demanded US$600 for not having the requisite visa. As a result of the ruse they missed
their flight and had to purchase new tickets at $1,470 each. They only had
$72 left.
MFA came in to assist to negotiate for the fare to be lowered to around
$1,000 each. The young men did not want to burden their father as he has
his own financial matters to take care of. Powerlifting Singapore too were
unable to help as it is not a National Sports Association and did not
receive any public funding. Friends of the polytechnic student then resort
to crowd funding to raise $2,685 to pay for their return.
Now who said Singapore is rich and everywhere is flowing with money when a
mere $2000 plus sum would have to go to crowd funding to rescue the two
young men? Pathetic, despite their effort in lifting the name of Singapore
in this sports, and with a world record to boot they were left in the
lurch. Where were the millionaires and multimillionaires to offer a helping hand?
in Belarus for lifting 208kg in the men’s Under 66kg sub junior division,
Matthew and his brother, acting as his coach, were caught in a
misunderstanding by the Belarus immigration. The immigration officer
demanded US$600 for not having the requisite visa. As a result of the ruse they missed
their flight and had to purchase new tickets at $1,470 each. They only had
$72 left.
MFA came in to assist to negotiate for the fare to be lowered to around
$1,000 each. The young men did not want to burden their father as he has
his own financial matters to take care of. Powerlifting Singapore too were
unable to help as it is not a National Sports Association and did not
receive any public funding. Friends of the polytechnic student then resort
to crowd funding to raise $2,685 to pay for their return.
Now who said Singapore is rich and everywhere is flowing with money when a
mere $2000 plus sum would have to go to crowd funding to rescue the two
young men? Pathetic, despite their effort in lifting the name of Singapore
in this sports, and with a world record to boot they were left in the
lurch. Where were the millionaires and multimillionaires to offer a helping hand?
6/25/2017
The Lee Family Feud – The public trial begins with the jury out there
Many of you have not noticed and still waiting for 3 Jul for the pre trial
of the Lee Family Feud. What has actually happened is that the trial has
commenced with the used of main and social media by the respective parties.
Hsien Loong’s position is being reported in the main media and Hsien
Yang/Wei Ling are getting their points heard over the social media, ie
facebook and other social media sites.
Both parties are throwing out punches and parrying with counter punches and
all reported fully in the respective media. This is as good as an open trial in court but
reported in freely for everyone interested to read. And it is as good as it
gets without the legal counsels trying to distract from the main issues
with their legal jargons and nuances. It is not that the legal counsels are
not involved. Every statement made by either party is carefully vetted and
advised by their respective counsels before being aired in the media.
Trump has been so disappointed with the main media with their lies and
private agenda and has resorted to Twitters to air his points as clearly as
what he intended to. Using the alternative media is now a tool of choice
for one to express one’s position without being distorted by the main
media or not being reported.
Hsien Yang/Wei Ling are adopting the same methodology, to use a media that
they can trust and have full control over what they want to say. Now who is saying social media is untrustworthy, producing fake news when such important issues are published in social media and deliberately avoiding the main media for their 'credibility' issue. Hsien
Loong is also using his choice media to say his peace, a media that he can
trust to say exactly what he wants.
And what comes out of this episode is a trial by public media, in an open
court and both know that the judges would be the people. Yes it would be judged by a jury and the jury is the public, the people at large. They are speaking
to the people to explain their case. And in a way acknowledged that the
people are the unofficial judges that they have to convince and win over.
This is a new development in the age of technology and instant
communication presenting exactly what the authors wanted to present. And
you, the people out there, you are the judges. Welcome to the brave new world
of instant media. And in such a trial, the person using social media
actually has an advantage over the main media as their positions are aired
instantly while using the traditional media would have to wait for the
media to be printed and delivered in the streets. The audience is wide and
plenty and not restricted to just a few learned judges to decide what is
what. Here everyone reading is a judge and would make his own judgement on
the case. Enjoy being entertained and being given the privilege to judge
this case in the comfort of your home. No need to pay for train or bus fare
to attend court, and at your own time.
PS. Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims.
of the Lee Family Feud. What has actually happened is that the trial has
commenced with the used of main and social media by the respective parties.
Hsien Loong’s position is being reported in the main media and Hsien
Yang/Wei Ling are getting their points heard over the social media, ie
facebook and other social media sites.
Both parties are throwing out punches and parrying with counter punches and
all reported fully in the respective media. This is as good as an open trial in court but
reported in freely for everyone interested to read. And it is as good as it
gets without the legal counsels trying to distract from the main issues
with their legal jargons and nuances. It is not that the legal counsels are
not involved. Every statement made by either party is carefully vetted and
advised by their respective counsels before being aired in the media.
Trump has been so disappointed with the main media with their lies and
private agenda and has resorted to Twitters to air his points as clearly as
what he intended to. Using the alternative media is now a tool of choice
for one to express one’s position without being distorted by the main
media or not being reported.
Hsien Yang/Wei Ling are adopting the same methodology, to use a media that
they can trust and have full control over what they want to say. Now who is saying social media is untrustworthy, producing fake news when such important issues are published in social media and deliberately avoiding the main media for their 'credibility' issue. Hsien
Loong is also using his choice media to say his peace, a media that he can
trust to say exactly what he wants.
And what comes out of this episode is a trial by public media, in an open
court and both know that the judges would be the people. Yes it would be judged by a jury and the jury is the public, the people at large. They are speaking
to the people to explain their case. And in a way acknowledged that the
people are the unofficial judges that they have to convince and win over.
This is a new development in the age of technology and instant
communication presenting exactly what the authors wanted to present. And
you, the people out there, you are the judges. Welcome to the brave new world
of instant media. And in such a trial, the person using social media
actually has an advantage over the main media as their positions are aired
instantly while using the traditional media would have to wait for the
media to be printed and delivered in the streets. The audience is wide and
plenty and not restricted to just a few learned judges to decide what is
what. Here everyone reading is a judge and would make his own judgement on
the case. Enjoy being entertained and being given the privilege to judge
this case in the comfort of your home. No need to pay for train or bus fare
to attend court, and at your own time.
PS. Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims.
6/24/2017
NTU to remove Chinese words in foodcourt signages
Below is a post in All Singapore Stuff on the removal of Chinese signages in NTU.
‘Food stall vendors in the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are complaining about a new management regulation that is trying to force them to remove Chinese wordings on their signboards.
According to Chinese newspapers, the food court, North Spine Food Court, is managed by Select Group.
Vendors told reporters that they had received instructions from the management to remove Chinese wordings from their signboards by end August. Many stall vendors were unhappy with the change as the university has strong cultural ties with Chinese students.
However, many vendors said that they would comply with the instructions as they did not want to strain relations wit the management.’
What? NTU does not allow Chinese words in its premises? What is NTU? Nanyang Technological University! What was it before? Nantah or Nanyang University, a Chinese university built by the Chinese community to provide Chinese education to their children. To think that Chinese words cannot be put up in the foodcourt except English is outrageous. What is happening? Who decided on this ruling? Does the person know the history of Nantah? Who is this person? A Singaporean or a foreigner?
The same matter has been reported in the Straits Times and a Professor Kwok Kian Woon, the Associate Provost has come out to explain that this was a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding or not wanting to understand? He said, ‘NTU would like to assure everyone that Chinese can be used in the signage in its foodcourts, as long as the same information is also displayed in English for the benefit of non Chinese.’ What is this nonsense? Is there anywhere in Singapore where one has to put up a Chinese signage, the condition is that it must also be accompanied by English or else not allowed? When is this ruling implemented in Singapore, in NTU? Who set this ruling?
Chinese is an official language in Singapore. Why should there be restriction or condition for its use? ‘The issue was not limited to the foodcourt. Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported yesterday that Prime supermarket, at North Spine Plaza, was told by NTU it could not have Chinese promotional signs displayed inside the supermarket. The foodcourt is located in the plaza.’ Is this also another misunderstanding? How can such a serious and unacceptable ruling be made without anyone in NTU objecting to it? How can this be a misunderstanding?
What is happening to NTU? What is happening to Singapore? Tan Siah Kwee, President of the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore said, also reported in the Straits Times, ‘that removing signs that had Chinese words on them “would not be acceptable at all”.’ Now, what would the Chinese Chamber of Commerce got to say about this? What would the Chinese Clans say about this? What have the Ministers of Education got to say about this? What has the Prime Minister got to say about this? Is having Chinese signage unconstitutional?
I suggest a Ministerial Committee be set up to find out why was this thing happening in NTU. Is it a misunderstanding? If not, the culprit must be made to answer for it. What is wrong with having Chinese signages in a university which has its roots in Chinese education? What is wrong with having Chinese signages in Singapore? Too many foreigners in charge?
Are we back to the Suharto era in Indonesia? My God, I almost faint reading this news. I feel so violated! This is Singapore isn't it, where Chinese is an official language and the language of the majority of its citizens. What has become of my country?
What would be next?
6/23/2017
London - White man drove car into Muslims after prayer
For several years, the Islamic extremists aka terrorists, have found a
formula to hit back at the Americans and Europeans for attacking and
invading their countries, destroying their economies, homes and lives.
Of course the Americans and Europeans would deny such terrorist acts
against the Islamic world. Where got, the Americans and European
soldiers and bombers in the air were there for regime change, to rid
them of their dictators, to save them from the horrors of their
dictators. The Americans and Europeans were the angels of God to save
the Arabs and Muslims in the Middle East states. The Americans and
Europeans may still think it is their right, white men’s burden, to
civilize the uncivilized hordes of Asia and Africa, particularly the
Middle East. They took all the problems in the Middle East as white
men’s problems and blasting them to the Stone Age is ok, killing and
destroying their countries are ok, to help and civilize these people.
But these people are not going to accept this fate anymore. They are hitting back and found the best way is to drive cars into crowds in western cities, creating fear and destruction along the way to make these cities and countries inhospitable, just like the American and European terrorists did to their countries and people. No?
For every few men that rammed their cars into the civilians, the whole police force, including the military, would be jolted into action and the city locked down. But nothing really much could be done as the damage had been done and the terrorists were prepared to die for their acts. The western govts were hapless and did not know how to end this rage of aimless destruction of lives and properties.
Now one white man came out with the answer, tackle violence with violence of the same kind, applying the same formula. The white man just drove his car into a muslim crowd after midnight prayer in a London mosque and delivered the same destruction and hurt to the innocent crowd of Muslims. And he got the gumption to shout, ‘I want to kill all Muslims’.
This act alone has changed the picture of the war against Islamic terrorism and the Islamic terror war against the Americans and Europeans. The Islamic terrorists would not believe that white men could use the same method of terror to get even, to get at them, at their Muslim community, the innocent ones. The cries of hate, fear and anger were just as loud as the cries when the Islamic terrorists hit the innocent crowd of non Muslims.
What could happen is that there are just as many extremists in the white community as they are in the Muslim community that would think this is the way to deal with the problem. The Islamic terrorists think they could get away with their acts of terror but no more. The more they attacked the innocent whites, the likelihood of copycat attacks by some white extremists on the innocent Muslim community would be greater. It could and would become a game of tit for tat. You hit us we hit you where it hurts you badly. Both are acts of terror that should not be allowed to go berserk, uncontrolled and beyond control. Would sanity rule the day and bring an end to such terrorist acts from both sides? Or would the Islamic terrorists continue to do what they think is best and provoke more white extremists to return the favour, an eye for an eye? Would there be more white men driving their cars into Muslim crowds? When would this end? How would this end? Let’s pray for peace on earth. Let’s pray to God and Allah to do something right for the sake of human beans.
Shit, why have I this feeling that both are sleeping or on vacation.
But these people are not going to accept this fate anymore. They are hitting back and found the best way is to drive cars into crowds in western cities, creating fear and destruction along the way to make these cities and countries inhospitable, just like the American and European terrorists did to their countries and people. No?
For every few men that rammed their cars into the civilians, the whole police force, including the military, would be jolted into action and the city locked down. But nothing really much could be done as the damage had been done and the terrorists were prepared to die for their acts. The western govts were hapless and did not know how to end this rage of aimless destruction of lives and properties.
Now one white man came out with the answer, tackle violence with violence of the same kind, applying the same formula. The white man just drove his car into a muslim crowd after midnight prayer in a London mosque and delivered the same destruction and hurt to the innocent crowd of Muslims. And he got the gumption to shout, ‘I want to kill all Muslims’.
This act alone has changed the picture of the war against Islamic terrorism and the Islamic terror war against the Americans and Europeans. The Islamic terrorists would not believe that white men could use the same method of terror to get even, to get at them, at their Muslim community, the innocent ones. The cries of hate, fear and anger were just as loud as the cries when the Islamic terrorists hit the innocent crowd of non Muslims.
What could happen is that there are just as many extremists in the white community as they are in the Muslim community that would think this is the way to deal with the problem. The Islamic terrorists think they could get away with their acts of terror but no more. The more they attacked the innocent whites, the likelihood of copycat attacks by some white extremists on the innocent Muslim community would be greater. It could and would become a game of tit for tat. You hit us we hit you where it hurts you badly. Both are acts of terror that should not be allowed to go berserk, uncontrolled and beyond control. Would sanity rule the day and bring an end to such terrorist acts from both sides? Or would the Islamic terrorists continue to do what they think is best and provoke more white extremists to return the favour, an eye for an eye? Would there be more white men driving their cars into Muslim crowds? When would this end? How would this end? Let’s pray for peace on earth. Let’s pray to God and Allah to do something right for the sake of human beans.
Shit, why have I this feeling that both are sleeping or on vacation.
6/22/2017
The world’s number one terrorist wants China to step up effort against terrorists
Who is the
world’s number one terrorist? Judge not by what the media said but what the
terrorists are doing. Judge them by how many wars of terror they are engaged
in, how many cities, countries they have destroyed, how many lives they have
taken, how many have been maimed, people, young and old became homeless. No
matter what they called their terror acts, wars, legitimate wars, fabricated
wars, wars against terrorism, wars against mad leaders, regime change, they are
all acts of terror when many people were killed.
Incidentally,
who have been training, breeding, feeding and arming the terrorists around the
world, the number one terrorist of course. And after creating so many terrorist
groups, training and arming them with the latest weapons from the Americans,
the number one terrorist is asking China to help fight these terrorists. And if
China says no, then China is irresponsible and not doing its part as a
responsible nation.
Should not
the whole world get together to stop the number one terrorist from engaging in
wars of terror and wars of destruction all over the world first? This is like
creating all the shit and demanding China to clean up the shit.
The number
one terrorist should stop shitting and there would be no shit for anyone to
clean. They are still stirring shit in the South China Sea, in the Korean
Peninsula and tell China it is China’s problem to solve. They repeatedly
provoke and threatened North Korea and tell China it is China’s problem. They
want China to do their bidding, to undermine its relationship with its allies. How
convenient, how clever?
In Today’s
paper, Christopher Hill also chipped in with the American fabricated narrative
that North Korea is planning to invade South Korea despite the American war
machine and nuclear weapons hanging over his head. The only country that has been invading other
countries since WW2 is none other than the number one terrorist nation. They
invaded Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and latest the Philippines by sending
in their soldiers without the consent of the Philippine’s President.
The
terrorist problem in the world is everyone’s problem, not the American problem?
6/21/2017
Ministerial Committee versus Hague Tribunal
Jeannette
Chong-Aruldoss, another member of the SPP, described the Ministerial Committee
as a “tragic joke”.
“It is like the Boss of a company has a quarrel
with Mr Someone. Then the Boss gathers a number of his employees and empowers
them to decide who is right: he (the Boss) or Mr Someone. Boss submits a long
testimony to this group of his employees giving them his account of the events
and his opinion about Mr Someone’s motives.
How on earth can such a group of subordinates,
who are otherwise answerable to the Boss, be expected to act independently and
to able to make an objective decision? Does such a dubious committee really
have the option to decide against their Boss?
It is a rule of natural justice that a man
cannot be a judge in his own cause: “Nemo judex in causa sua”. Asking your
underlings to determine the outcome of a case in which you have a personal
interest in, is to me a breach of that rule.
Tragically, the joke is on us, the citizenry.
For it does not bode well for us when we cannot detect, turn a blind eye to or
condone conflict of interests and use of state powers for personal benefits.”
After reading Jeannette
Chong’s comment about the Ministerial Committee it straight away reminded me of
the ‘UN supported’ Hague Tribunal that ruled against China on the SCS Islands
case. In this tribunal, supposedly a private court that willing parties went
for an arbitration but the western media trying to con the world that it was a ‘UN
backed’ organization as if it was an UN body, it was set up unilaterally by the
Philippines and its backers ie the USA and Japan, without China participating,
chose its own judges, paid the judges to decide in their favour against China.
And the Americans and some western countries including little USAs went about
trumpeting that it was a fair and ‘UN backed’ court and that its decision must
be complied with. Today all these silly buggers are like what the Hokien phrase
said, ‘chui tat lan’, all voiceless, become dumb, after their scheme was exposed
as hollow, silly and mischievous.
Now, would this kind of
court be a tragic joke, ridiculous? Setting up
your own court, choosing and buying your own judges to judge against another
party that did not agree and did not want to be a part of it? Compares the
Ministerial Committee to this kangaroo court, which is the bigger joke? Was
there any natural justice, did supporting this kangaroo court bode well for
Singapore as a country that has been touting the rule of law?
6/20/2017
The Lee Family Feud – petty or grave
Singapore will not be
dragged down by Lee family's 'petty disputes': ESM Goh
Above are two headlines
in Channel News Asia online appearing one above the other on 17 June as if the
editor intentionally placed them there to let the readers see the
contradiction. Whether this is petty or grave is a matter of opinion, and depends
on whether one is a party to the feud or just a bystander watching with
disinterest on the sideline.
Many have been saying
that this is a petty family matter and should not be out in the public as it
concerns the inheritance of LKY. Is it that simple, about whether his family home
should be demolished or to be gazetted as a national monument? Or perhaps it is
like what Lee Sheng Wu said, if one’s million dollar salary depends on not
understanding an issue, then it is petty to them. The second issue would be of
public interest for sure. The squabbles between the siblings could be private
and personal that the public need not know.
The open joint letter
added a few other factors to make it a public concern, ie the abuse of power
charges, using state organs and threats or fear of personal safety. What would
these allegations mean to the public? Petty or grave? The PAP likes to talk about
the intent and purpose of an issue. The allegation of abuse of power is no
petty matter, or is it? The abuse of state organs too is no small matter. What
about the fear or threat of personal safety? This last part is more a
digression from the main issue.
Hsien Loong is going to Parliament
to defend these allegations. So, do you think it is petty or grave? Hsien Loong
even lifts the whip and encourages all the MPs from both camps to question him
vigorously. Not sure if the format of questioning is still the same, that MPs
must submit questions one week in advance or something like that, or would they
be allowed to throw questions at him off the cuff, on the spot? Whichever, this is the first time that a PM
has volunteered to be challenged and questioned vigorously, ie giving
permission for the MPs to ‘tarok him jialat jialat’ in Parliament. He must have
believed in the saying ‘genuine gold not afraid of fire’ or 真金不怕火. The
MPs can light all the fire in Parliament but he would stand out unaffected.
See how grave is this matter? Hsien Loong even apologized to the
people. Now who is saying that this is petty and the people are tired of it?
The next big question, would
Hsien Loong dare to sue his brother and sister, the children of Lee Kuan Yew, or
put them behind bars for whatever charges? The loyalists and the old guards
would not allow it, the cabinet ministers would not allow it, the people of
Singapore would not accept it. Doing so would be the downfall of Hsien Loong
and the PAP, I think.
There is a stronger
message in the joint statement that was made public. What did Wei Ling and
Hsien Yang want the public to know that is more important than the status of
the family home and the family squabble? What is the message? I would not venture further than where the
angels fear to tread. Obviously Hsien Loong and those that could see that this
is not a petty family dispute can see the picture very clearly.
6/19/2017
The ultimate test for Singapore and all Singaporeans
A family
feud is now in centre stage in Singapore’s plastic squeaky clean politics.
Everything is now on display and the media could do itself more harm to attempt
to take sides as the social media is there to offer the truth in its purest
form, uncensored, as it is. Two opposing views will be aired unrestrained for
all to see and judge. Every Singaporean, every foreigner living in the little
island would be watching and would have his views and opinions plus a generous
dose of gossips and wild interpretations of the event. The good, bad and ugly
would have no where to hide but be exposed or exposed themselves.
Right at the
very top is the integrity, honesty, conduct and honour of the PM at stake. What
he said and what his siblings said would all be weighed and he has to come up
clean and shining as before the event. Anything else would not be good for him
and his party and govt. The PM is put on the spot light, put under severe test
and severe examination and cross examination in the public court of the people.
Then the
members of his Cabinet/MPs too would be watched carefully on what they said or
what they did not say, what they did or failed to do right. They cannot be
neutral or hide under ‘no comments’. They will have to take positions, legally,
politically or morally on this feud. Can they afford to be neutral, to hide in
the toilet? They are not just politicians but deemed honourable, righteous and
responsible leaders of the country, to stand up, to speak out and not to hide
under the table. How could they have no opinion or no view on this affair?
Would they take positions based on political convenience, morally right or legally
correct? My guess, the parrots would have lost their voice and remained ‘diam
diam’ for good measures. No comment! Eh, this is not just a family affair, many
aspects of it concern the govt of the day, the integrity of leaders.
The opposition
political parties and politicians would also be expected to make their comments
and keeping mum is not an option especially for those that have made this a
second nature or a policy.
Govt organs
and civil servants too would be watched on what they do or say. Making a wrong
move, choosing the wrong side, could be deadly, a misstep can be very costly,
pun intended.
And the
people, the supporters of the PAP/govt, the grateful hoi polloi of LKY, and
those that are in the opposing camp would be watching closely on the happenings
and would be making their own judgement, not just on legal issues but moral issues
and the issues of filial piety, issues on honouring their idol and fulfilling
his last wish. Would they grant their hero his last wish or would they refuse
him his last wish now that he is dead and gone? Worst, when the lion king is
dead, would they devour his young lions?
This is an
occasion when the whole country is under watch, put to a test. Singapore is a
nation under a microscope. What is Singapore all about, what kind of govt and leaders
are ruling this island are now being questioned. Is Singapore the honourable, rule
by law, morally upright priesthood nation, or it has all been a myth, a bad
dream, and the truth is ugly and embarrassing to talk about?
6/18/2017
Govt debunks a sms message on CPF nomination
SINGAPORE: When Central Provident Fund (CPF) members pass away, their
savings will be given to their nominees in cash - and not transferred to
their Medisave account as claimed in a message making the rounds on
social media.
"There is absolutely no basis to this rumour," stated a post on the Singapore Government website on Saturday (Jun 17), debunking the message circulating on WhatsApp, SMS and social media.
"The truth is, by default, your nominees will receive your CPF savings in cash when you pass away. This is unless you have opted for a different type of CPF nomination," it said.
The above govt statement is to debunk a sms message going around saying that in the event of death, all CPF money would be paid to the nominee's Medisave Account. This sms message is not true or inaccurate. But what Phillip Ang wrote about the ENS scheme is true. Read the govt statement above,
"The truth is, by default, your nominees will receive your CPF savings in cash when you pass away. This is unless you have opted for a different type of CPF nomination," it said."
What is this different type of CPF nomination? The govt statement did not elaborate and stopped there. This different type of CPF nomination is the ENS or Enhanced Nomination Scheme that Phillip Ang was talking about in his post that I quoted in this blog on Saturday.
What Phillip Ang is warning about is this ENS scheme. Make sure this is what you want for your nominee when you opted for this ENS scheme. Your CPF savings will go to your nominee's CPF account and not paid out in cash if you opted for the ENS.
"There is absolutely no basis to this rumour," stated a post on the Singapore Government website on Saturday (Jun 17), debunking the message circulating on WhatsApp, SMS and social media.
"The truth is, by default, your nominees will receive your CPF savings in cash when you pass away. This is unless you have opted for a different type of CPF nomination," it said.
The above govt statement is to debunk a sms message going around saying that in the event of death, all CPF money would be paid to the nominee's Medisave Account. This sms message is not true or inaccurate. But what Phillip Ang wrote about the ENS scheme is true. Read the govt statement above,
"The truth is, by default, your nominees will receive your CPF savings in cash when you pass away. This is unless you have opted for a different type of CPF nomination," it said."
What is this different type of CPF nomination? The govt statement did not elaborate and stopped there. This different type of CPF nomination is the ENS or Enhanced Nomination Scheme that Phillip Ang was talking about in his post that I quoted in this blog on Saturday.
What Phillip Ang is warning about is this ENS scheme. Make sure this is what you want for your nominee when you opted for this ENS scheme. Your CPF savings will go to your nominee's CPF account and not paid out in cash if you opted for the ENS.
USS Fitzgerald collided with a ....
Transcript of an exchange between a USS Fitzgerald and ship captain, off the coast of Japan yesterday. This radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations after the incident.
Americans: “Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.”
Ship Captain: “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.”
Americans: “This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.”
Ship Captain: “No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.”
Americans: “THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’ ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH. THAT’S ONE-FIVE DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTER MEASURES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.”
Ship Captain: “This is an ultra large crude oil tanker. Your call.
After landing American troops in the Philippines without the approval of Duterte, some Pinoys were very angry with the Americans....
6/17/2017
CPF - Watch it very carefully
Below is an abridged article by Phillip Ang posted in TRE that explained
clearly what the Enhanced Nomination Scheme is all about. Be very
careful that you want your nominee to receive your life savings in their
CPF account and not in cash. When it is deposited in their CPF account,
it will be subject to all the restrictive rules of withdrawal by CPF,
ie it will be stuck for good like why you are unable to withdraw your
CPF now. To me it is NOT and enhanced scheme.
Why is PAP still trying to scam CPF members?
June 15th, 2017
....A few years ago, CPF Board (CPFB) introduced the Enhanced Nomination Scheme (ENS) without any debate in Parliament, zero public input/feedback and no media announcement. The ENS allows a CPF nominee to receive CPF savings in their CPF accounts. Members are required to contact CPFB for details of the suspicious scheme.
The ENS is described in ONE SENTENCE on CPF website:
Some inconvenient questions for CPFB:
Why didn’t CPFB consult CPF members before the introduction of this scheme?
Why didn’t CPFB publish all material information on its website?
Why did CPFB introduce a scheme which defies logic and common sense?
I have checked with CPFB and what I found out should worry CPF members.
I’ll use the example of a CPF member with a $218,000 bequest to his nominee. Under this make-no-sense scheme, members are given 2 ‘options’ for the transfer:
1 – Top up Medisave Account (MA) limit followed by topping up Special Account (SA) limit with balance going into Ordinary Account (OA) or
2 – Top up SA limit followed by topping up MA limit with balance going into OA.
Under the ENS, MA and SA must be topped up to current limits of $52,000 and $166,000 respectively!
Hmm ....Clearly, the scheme was introduced to trap more CPF for GIC to speculate in risky foreign assets.
CPF members would have preferred all monies to go into the nominee’s OA which could at least be used to finance housing or education.
If the nominee is a 15-year old child under ‘option’ 2, the money will be trapped in the SA till he reaches 65, ie for 50 years! At the stroke of a pen, PAP hopes to trap our CPF for another 2 generations.
Why would any CPF member plan for the nominee’s retirement which could be 5 to 6 decades down the road?
This is a clear case of PAP trying to scam CPF members and it doesn’t help with elected MPs playing deaf and dumb in Parliament, WP MPs included.
Readers should share the information and be very wary of CPF Board. Do not anyhow assume your CPF will be, logically, transferred to the nominee’s OA. Once the transaction has been effected, your nominees will surely cry no tears as it will be impossible to be reversed. Can you imagine $200,000 trapped for 5 to 6 decades at GIC’s disposal?
Is GIC in such urgent need of funds that PAP has to resort to introducing a scheme to scam CPF members?
Phillip Ang
* The author blogs at LikeDatOsoCanMeh.
Why is PAP still trying to scam CPF members?
June 15th, 2017
....A few years ago, CPF Board (CPFB) introduced the Enhanced Nomination Scheme (ENS) without any debate in Parliament, zero public input/feedback and no media announcement. The ENS allows a CPF nominee to receive CPF savings in their CPF accounts. Members are required to contact CPFB for details of the suspicious scheme.
The ENS is described in ONE SENTENCE on CPF website:
Some inconvenient questions for CPFB:
Why didn’t CPFB consult CPF members before the introduction of this scheme?
Why didn’t CPFB publish all material information on its website?
Why did CPFB introduce a scheme which defies logic and common sense?
I have checked with CPFB and what I found out should worry CPF members.
I’ll use the example of a CPF member with a $218,000 bequest to his nominee. Under this make-no-sense scheme, members are given 2 ‘options’ for the transfer:
1 – Top up Medisave Account (MA) limit followed by topping up Special Account (SA) limit with balance going into Ordinary Account (OA) or
2 – Top up SA limit followed by topping up MA limit with balance going into OA.
Under the ENS, MA and SA must be topped up to current limits of $52,000 and $166,000 respectively!
Hmm ....Clearly, the scheme was introduced to trap more CPF for GIC to speculate in risky foreign assets.
CPF members would have preferred all monies to go into the nominee’s OA which could at least be used to finance housing or education.
If the nominee is a 15-year old child under ‘option’ 2, the money will be trapped in the SA till he reaches 65, ie for 50 years! At the stroke of a pen, PAP hopes to trap our CPF for another 2 generations.
Why would any CPF member plan for the nominee’s retirement which could be 5 to 6 decades down the road?
This is a clear case of PAP trying to scam CPF members and it doesn’t help with elected MPs playing deaf and dumb in Parliament, WP MPs included.
Readers should share the information and be very wary of CPF Board. Do not anyhow assume your CPF will be, logically, transferred to the nominee’s OA. Once the transaction has been effected, your nominees will surely cry no tears as it will be impossible to be reversed. Can you imagine $200,000 trapped for 5 to 6 decades at GIC’s disposal?
Is GIC in such urgent need of funds that PAP has to resort to introducing a scheme to scam CPF members?
Phillip Ang
* The author blogs at LikeDatOsoCanMeh.
6/16/2017
Dark clouds over Red Dot
The open
letter by Hsien Yang and Wei Ling took all Singaporeans by surprise. The
allegations were serious and Hsien Loong would probably in a state of shock. Could
he have seen this coming? Not likely as he is on holiday mood. He would not have gone on vacation if he has
seen this coming.
What were
the allegations?
1.
Abuse
of power
2.
Fear
of personal safety from state organs
3.
No
confidence in Hsien Loong’s leadership
4.
Disagreement
between Hsien Loong and LKY over the demolition of 38 Oxley Road house
Details of
the allegations are in the open letter by Wei Ling and Hsien Yang at http://statestimesreview.com/2017/06/14/original-letter-what-has-happened-to-lee-kuan-yews-values/
The
allegations are very serious indeed and Hsien Loong would be compelled to make
a defence to clarify the matters raised or he would not look good. His
integrity is being questioned. In other cases that were slightly similar in
nature when Hsien Loong’s integrity was questioned, a legal letter on
defamation would be delivered to the alleger in double quick time.
Would Hsien
Loong follow up like before after returning from his holiday? Many things,
negative things, are now on the table. Not disputing and clearing them would
put Hsien Loong in a very bad light and Singapore’s reputation too would be
affected. He has replied with a 41 points argument today.
How would
this family saga continue from here? And the matters are not only just about a
family feud, many of the allegations concern Singapore as a free and democratic
state, transparent and rule by law. There is now a dark cloud overhanging the
bright little Red Dot and the whole world is watching, not just Singaporeans,
in silence. The whole episode would describe what Singapore is all about, warts and all, baring all, for all to
see. This will be the ultimate hard truth about Singapore that no one would be
able to read under normal circumstances. The shocking revelation and truth that
all Singaporeans and the whole world would finally see and read about are
surfacing.
Who is going
to sue who? Hsien Loong definitely has ample grounds to sue Wei Ling and Hsien
Yang if the allegations were untrue. Do Wei Ling and Hsien Yang have any
grounds to sue Hsien Loong before being sued? And whichever happens, more beans
will be spilt for sure. This is Battle Royale uniquely Singapore that no one
could expect coming from the near perfect family.
6/15/2017
QS ranking downright shady and unethical
Would anyone not under
the influence of drugs believe that NUS and NTU are better universities than
Princeton, Cornell or Yale? Well, some Singaporeans are gloating over this
great achievement by the two local universities, no ill intent in my statement
as one is my alma mater. I should be proud that my alma mater is better than
top Ivy League universities in the US. Soon many top American universities
would be asking for joint NUS degrees to boost up their reputation instead of
Singapore begging to host joint Singapore American university degrees here.
Ok, maybe on face value, maybe the top American universities are living on their past glories while NUS and NTU are what they are today by today's standard. The good American universities were good in the past but no longer. Time has changed. For the well informed, the comments are different and some are outright cynical of the outcome with good reasons. Below are some comments taken from the onlinecitizen.
'On Thursday (8 June), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was named Asia’s top university in the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, surpassing the National University of Singapore (NUS).
NTU is also ranked 11th
in the world, ranking above other notable institutions such as Princeton
University, Cornell University and Yale University, and two positions above its
previous 13th spot.
Below is a response
written by John Ouserhout on question-and-answer site, Quora on
the question of "How accurate are the 2018 QS rankings? They seem to rank
Nanyang Tech higher than Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Columbia, and Berkeley."
Ouserhout's response in
full
(Haha, this Ouserhout
does not know of the many great Nobel laureates hiding in the Singapore
universities or akan datang, ie coming soon, going to happen).
Is it just my
Anglo-American bias speaking? I know these universities have made rapid strides
in funding and encouraging cutting edge research, so perhaps it’s inevitable
that they’ve caught up and surpassed the more well known Ivy League
universities. That is obviously partly the case, but after digging around for a
bit, there seems to be a whole host of articles about the flawed methodology
and downright shady practices of the QS organisation.
Some of the flaw
methodology include counting more foreign students and faculty as good without
any relations to academic merits. More foreigners mean more points. How silly.
And 50% of the points
come from surveys from Academics and Employers. Look, there are hundreds of
good American universities and only 2 or 3 good Singapore universities. In the
latter, all the scores would go to these 2 or 3 universities while in the US
the scores would be thinly spread. See the flaw? Which university would the
Employers hired from? In the US they could hire from hundreds of universities
but only 2/3 in Singapore.
Ouserhout went on with
many other flaws in the methodology. Below are a few more.
Secondly, QS’s business
model is really shady:
Some of the Singaporeans
that were so impressed with the rankings are the uninformed or ill informed
uncles in the kopitiams and aunties in the wet market. I heard them chirping
about it with great excitement, and I can understand, given their exposure and
lack of understanding on the QS criteria for judging.
Ok, maybe on face value, maybe the top American universities are living on their past glories while NUS and NTU are what they are today by today's standard. The good American universities were good in the past but no longer. Time has changed. For the well informed, the comments are different and some are outright cynical of the outcome with good reasons. Below are some comments taken from the onlinecitizen.
'On Thursday (8 June), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was named Asia’s top university in the 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, surpassing the National University of Singapore (NUS).
First impressions
suggest it is almost laughably inaccurate. UC Berkeley at #27? This is
the same university that is affiliated with 91 Nobel Laureates, 13 Fields
Medals, 23 Turing Awards and 16 elements of the Periodic Table. The rest of the
ranking seems similarly strange as well; NUS and NTU ranked right alongside or
higher than Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Columbia and Johns Hopkins?
- A dubious Star ranking system,
where universities pay to be evaluated. (Conflicts of interest anyone?)
- ‘Branding Opportunities’ for
$80,000 with QS Showcase
- A highly lucrative ‘consultancy
service’ to help universities rise up the rankings
In short, ranking
systems might have their flaws, but this one is downright shady and unethical.
No need to
say anything more, just let the daft to gloat over this mirage as a badge of
honour. I don’t blame the uncles in the
kopitiams or the aunties in the wet market. I understand where they are coming
from. Would any reputable academics bother to question the allegation by Ouserhout that the ranking system 'is downright shady and unethical'?
6/14/2017
Hsien Yang and Wei Ling leaving Singapore
From Yahoo
News.
In the statement, Lee Hsien Yang said he felt “compelled to leave” Singapore “for the foreseeable future”.
“This is the country that my father, Lee Kuan Yew, loved and built. It has been home for my entire life. Singapore is and remains my country. I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” the statement quoted Lee Hsien Yang.’
Wei Ling
is also saying the same thing, that she did not want to leave Singapore as this
is home but will also be leaving.
‘The
siblings of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have issued a statement of
“no confidence” against their brother, saying that they felt threatened by his
pursuit of a personal agenda ….
Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, …made
the open statement through their Facebook accounts in the early hours of
Wednesday (14 June).In the statement, Lee Hsien Yang said he felt “compelled to leave” Singapore “for the foreseeable future”.
“This is the country that my father, Lee Kuan Yew, loved and built. It has been home for my entire life. Singapore is and remains my country. I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” the statement quoted Lee Hsien Yang.’
Malaysia China relations: When shared interests dominate the narrative
The sale of Malaysia's national car, the Proton, to China has
raised many objections from the nationalists in the country, especially
Mahathir who gave birth to the idea. There must be good reasons for Najib to
want to part with this national project that is all about pride and progress of
the bumiputra policy. It is easy to criticise Najib for selling a national
asset, though not strategic in any sense, on emotional grounds overriding
economic and financial considerations. If the Proton is such an attractive
proposition, not losing money but gaining popularity as a national car, with
new technology and engines to propel it into an international product, Najib
would not have done what he did.
The logic behind the sale of Proton to China is very similar to
the sale of Lotus by Britain to Malaysia or Sweden selling its Volvo to China.
In the case of Lotus and Volvo, there are technologies involved that the
Chinese are interested. There is nothing of this when the Proton is concerned,
an antique dressed up with bright colours to be sold only to the locals as a
cheap product but losing its glitters as the days gone by. Najib either sells
it now when there is a buyer or would have to end up folding the company when no
one else is interested in this shell of a car manufacturing company. There is
nothing worthy or worthwhile for anyone to want to buy the Proton unlike Lotus
or the Volvo. Period. China is actually doing Malaysia a big favour by pouring
money into a dead end product and giving it a future with the injection of
modern technology and engines to give it a new life. Would the critics be able
to see it in this light?
There are times when interests collide and times when common
interests compliment and would bring about more cooperation to benefit both
parties. China has a great strategic interest to want to invest in Malaysia for
strategic and economic reasons. The greatest fear of China is the choke point in
the water ways through the Malacca Strait and the Strait of Singapore. 80% of
China's oil flow through these narrow channels of water and with the Americans
posing a greater threat in its increasing belligerent rhetoric against China. The
latter has to do something to avoid a blockage of the Straits by the Americans.
China is looking at the geography of the region and found several
alternatives to break away from the choke points. China is making big plans to
find alternative routes for its oil supply from the Middle East bypassing the
Straits of Singapore and Malacca in Gwadar, Pakistan, oil pipeline in Myanmar,
a possible cutting of the Kra of Isthmus and cutting across from peninsula Malaysia.
The strategic plan would involved several options and Malaysia is just one of
them.
Why would Malaysia want to be part of this Chinese strategic plan?
What benefits would Malaysia derive from it? For centuries, Malaysia has been
bypassed by the strategic location and infrastructure of Singapore as a
regional transportation hub. In the Chinese plan, involving great engineering,
infrastructure development and financing, Malaysia would become the next
transportation hub of the region to rival Singapore. China stood to gain
strategically with its development in Malaysia. And Malaysia stood to gain
economically enormously in replacing Singapore as the new transportation and
financial centre. When both countries have so much to gain, there are all the
reasons for Malaysia to rethink its strategic interests to participate fully in
a plan that would make Malaysia a vibrant hub of economic activities. Or would
Malaysia choose to let this piece of pie go and seek closer ties with the
Americans that are meddling in its internal affairs and could only offer to
sell more arms and weapons that are totally unproductive and a waste of money?
Malaysia can also decide against being aligned and enmeshed
intricately with China as some critics would caution. Malaysia has a choice,
and so has the Chinese. If Malaysia does not want to come on board, China would
accelerate its plan to cut the Kra Isthmus in quick time and by pass Malaysia
totally. China has to do one or the other. Malaysia could choose one or the
other. When China chooses to go the Kra way, all the benefits that Malaysia
could gain would go up in smokes and Malaysia would remain on the side line of
the world's major water way and transportation network.
The Chinese proposition makes a lot of economic sense to Malaysia.
The Chinese would find a way out from the potential American blockage, and
Malaysia would become the new shining centre of global trade. Najib and his
govt must have gone through the whole thinking process to want in and the
instant reward is the sale of a karung guni car that no one would pay a cent
for to China, and at a good price and with potential of the Proton name gaining
more traction with new technology and engines to compete in the international
market. To Malaysia, there are so many avenues and opportunities to benefit
from this strategic alignment with China's economic and strategic plan with no
compromise to its national interests.
Now what would the critics say or could offer other than emotional
gripes? Would the Americans buy the Proton for a song? Would the Americans turn
Malaysia into a new transportation hub and a new financial centre, or into
another war zone?
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