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COVID-19 Singapore: Expect More Infections And Deaths!
The pragmatic ruthlessness of Ong Ye Kung has been revealed by himself for us to see, when he said:
"Singapore must be prepared for more Covid-19 infections, deaths with reopening" - Ong Ye Kung
To him as the Health Minister, the health and lives of the people can be sacrificed for the sake of opening up Singapore for travels.
To him, the interests of the businessmen and managers, the interests of Multi National Companies, and their ability to travel in and out of Singapore freely are of paramount importance:
"Our companies cannot grow if businessmen and managers cannot travel overseas to meet clients and partners. MNCs (multinational corporations) will find it hard to invest here if their people are not able to travel in and out of Singapore." - Ong Ye Kung.
Reference:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/singapore-must-be-prepared-for-more-covid-19-infections-deaths-with-reopeningLIPS
With all due respect to Minister Ong Ye Kung:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the primary and main role and responsibility of the Health Minister? It is the Health of the people of the nation he is supposed and has been sworn in to serve? Or the travels in and out of Singapore for the Multi-National Coronavirus, oops I mean Corporations, and businessmen? Or the economy?
If the Health Minister does not know or couldn't be bothered with his primary and main role and responsibility, then he is in the wrong place, wrong position and wrong appointment.
Why did the Prime Minister moved him from the Education Ministry to the Transport Ministry and then to the Health Ministry within a short span of time?
1. Is it because he is a super good talent?
2. Or, because he has been a square peg in the round hole, unable to fit in, in the roles that he has been put in the previous two appointments?
3. Or, because the Prime Minister wanted him to experience and realise the difficulties of playing the role of the Health Minister because as Education Minister and as Transport Minister, in both instances, he has been giving the Health Minister a difficult time by opening the schools when they were supposed to be lockdown, and by opening up the airport, the SIA, the trains and buses that resulted in another wave of infections in Singapore when they should have been lockdown as proposed by the Health Ministry and the Multi-Ministry Task Force.
I think it is all of the above.
If the newly appointed Health Minister still does not get it, then I believe the Honourable Prime Minister must do the honourable thing in the interests of the whole nation. The nation is bigger than the party.
I wonder what kind of narrative will come out of their mouths if a few of the ruling elites themselves succumb to the COVID19 and kick the bucket themselves. Will they say we can expect more deaths among them? This present variant may not with vaccinations, but new variants may. Who can tell?
ReplyDeleteNever discount the eyes of heaven looking down. The USA and Japan are witnessing a resurgence of infections, with hospitals in some states having difficulty in coping. Some prefectures in Japan are in the same unpalatable straits.
The Human Face Of The American Ruthlessness Of Atomic Proportion
ReplyDeleteA Japanese filmmaker has launched a documentary film portraying the life of her father, an atomic bomb survivor in Hiroshima. "8:15" has hit screens across Japan.
The movie is based on a book written by Shinji's daughter Akiko. She says she not only wanted to show people the reality of the damage done by the explosion and subsequent radiation, but also humanity’s ability to persevere in the face of an unthinkable disaster.
Japanese children, especially in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, grow up hearing the stories of atomic bomb survivors. That was the case for Akiko, whose father was only 19 years old and 1.2 kilometers from the bomb’s hypocenter when it was dropped.
After graduating from university in Hiroshima, Akiko left Japan and went to the United States to work as a medical psychologist.
She decided to make a major life change 11 years ago, while attending business school in France. She gave a presentation to her class about how her father survived the bomb and started his own business.
"People were in tears after the presentation, They told me that I should write a book and share my father's story out to the world," she said.
When she shared her idea for a book with Shinji, he insisted that she write it in English.
"I told him that he cannot read it if I write in English. He said, 'It's my story so I don't need to read it.' If I write in English, more people from all over the world can learn how it was under the mushroom clouds and also his philosophy. My father was looking toward the world and he wanted to send a message."
It took decades before Shinji was open to sharing his experience in minute detail. But by the time he was in his late 70s, he felt the need to share his story publicly.
"Before that, when my father talked about what happened 76 years ago, he would be talking about how his father was heroic and dependable, focusing about the family perspective. But gradually, he started telling me more details about the painful part," Akiko said.
The book was published in English in 2013 and in Japanese the following year. After its publication, she immediately looked for a way to get her father’s story on film.
She got her wish last January, when shooting began in both Hiroshima and New York.
Much of the movie’s power comes from the way it shows viewers how the bomb blew Shinji from the roof of his family home 76 years ago.
For days he and his father pushed on despite their injuries to search for help, as Hiroshima descended into chaos and fires grew all around them.
The film also depicts several months later, after his father’s death, when Shinji returns to find the remains of their family home.
Under the debris, he somehow manages to find his father's pocket watch. The intensity of the bomb had burned 8:15, the exact moment when it hit, into its face.
It was his only family memento, but Shinji also recognized the symbolic power of the cherished object.
He eventually donated it to the peace museum in Hiroshima, which sent it to be showcased by the United Nations in New York.
After Akiko moved to the United States, she couldn’t help but pay it a visit. But when she arrived, she was greeted by an empty case. The irreplaceable item had been stolen.
"8:15" strives to give a realistic portrayal of the bombing.
Shinji passed away last year at the age of 94 before the film was ready.
Akiko says her father's message of forgiveness and understanding lives on, and remains as relevant as ever.
"The pandemic creates a lot of anxiety, fear, and self-protectiveness," she said. "My father told me that it's easy to point the finger at somebody who is supposed to have caused the pain and the loss, but that doesn't really do anything."
Did the Japanese apologise for massacring more than 3,000 American naval crew in Hawaii?
ReplyDeleteDid the Japanese apologise for the invasion and massacres of more than 20m Chinese in China?
Did the Japanese apologise for colonising Korea, the massacre of many Koreans and subject them to brutal and humiliating oppression?
What about the massacres all over SE Asia and the pain and sufferings of their victims and their families?
If the Japanese did not start the war of invasion, did not bomb Pearl Harbour....
ReplyDelete@LIPS - Respect to Akiko and also her father for bringing her up well. Forgiveness is the key to happiness. Revenge and resentment is the reason for lifelong unhappiness.
ReplyDeleteCompassion is the key to happiness.
ReplyDeleteGreed and hatred are the bases for eternal sufferings.
LIPS - Agreed. Plenty of both in Singapore.
ReplyDeleteYah lah. LTC in Navy, Ang Mo Tua Ki on MRT, ah pek and satay seller go KTV all dont wear mask, we sure kena covid. No need to talk about greed and sufferings and happiness. This is common sense.
ReplyDeleteWe wear mask, we protect our loved ones. Happiness.
Don't wear mask = selfish , you go prison. If can cane them, thats ever better.
But now since everything opening up, we don't cane. We have compassion and just sent them to prison. For a long time. :)
Hey, you talk so cleber ah. What England you talk? From Ah Beng school is it?
DeleteMr Virgo,
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that he has been appointed as a newbie Health Minister, not a DPM.
THERE IS ALREADY A DPM. He is HENG SWEE KEAT.
The assumption that he is aiming to be the PM does not and cannot refute the fact that he is neglecting his primary responsibility as a Health Minister and intruded into the role and responsibility of other Ministers.
Moreover, he has overstepped the PM and DPM to indirectly make look bad. This is a political acumen problem. It is no wonder he was not voted in by the voters in his very first attempt to become an MP.
SSO - wah lao you go to poly or Cambrige doesnt mean you are the Ang Mo and can be the papaya here.
ReplyDelete