mtouche, you touch you pay

how could a company just send any nonsense to anyone and have the audacity to ask for payment? and how could those stupid telcos send the bills automatically to their customers to collect payment for these content providers without any verifications and authentications? and how could ida not step in and put a stop to it? the first contact, telcos, should have stop it immediately. they cannot claimed ignorant and that it is none of their businesses. by aiding the content providers to collect payment, would not they be part of the scheme, an accomplice? come on telcos, you are more professional than this to take a handsoff approach, that it has nothing to do with the telcos. your bills come with the demand for payment, and with your letterhead and big corporate logos. it is you, the telcos, who are demanding for payments on behalf the errant content providers. how could you do it and said you are innocent? we demand that telcos be more responsible in their billings to their clients. they cannot send the bills and claimed that it is system error. the system sent the bills blindly and they did not know can the subscribers claim for damages from the telcos for harrassment for payment? can they also sue the content providers for harrassing their lines by sending them nonsense? ida better clarify on these.

casino: no sacrifice like self sacrifice

sorry guys and gals. i was away for two days, using myself as the guinea pig, soaking in everything inside an active and very popular casino. how else am i to say if it is ok or otherwise. i must put myself to the test. to live my life as a occasional gambler. i am out, alive. not addicted but still thinking of returning for more. can that be an addiction. maybe i will go again next year. sorry for not responding to your postings. will start posting tomorrow. need a rest and catch up on what had happened over the last two days.

a listening pm

just heard the budget speech by hsien loong over the radio. what came across is that he is very interested in what people said in the media forum and he takes them seriously, and responded to the issues raised by the public. not sure about blogs though. this is a positive development as it shows that the media is becoming an important tool for communication with the govt. it would be good if the pm and ministers/mps/govt officers be more active and engage the people directly, once in a while. they are busy and cannot expect them to be so free like bloggers or site forumers. the full power and convenience of the internet shall be exploited by all parties to communicate and exchange views that are relevant to the people and affect public policies. writing a letter and waiting for another few weeks for a reply is passe. internet provides intant feedback and response. maybe they shall engage full time staff to man their emails or their message boxes.

general election held during good times

good times are back. there will be many goodies for everyone because the country is doing well. and the people can look forward to more goodies. this time probably more than the last time as the budget surplus is much bigger. elfred and i are expecting $15k per head. i am already smiling with the thought. how can they disappoint me and turn my smile into a frown ? : ) the budget is definitely not an election budget. it just so happen that it turns out this way. a coincidence. and it is only natural for the ruling party to call an election when times are good. i have no complain about this. as long as i get my $15k. and elfred too will be very happy. but one thing i sure know now. our economy is running on a 4 year cycle. every 4 years our economy will turnaround. and everyone can look forward to good times and to more goodies. lets cheer to that. hey, i am not complaining. just keep the goodies coming.

money grabbing philosophy

does the pap really believe that the people are with them and approve of all the money motivated solutions and profit making policies? do they really believe that the people do not think, cannot think, and do not know what is happening, and agree with how things are being done? maybe my interpretations of events are all wrong. that the people are all with the govt and are satisfied with how things are being done. but i still believe that when tan soo khoon said that the party is over, he probably understand the position better. and he knows what is the mood. he must have a good feel of things.

new police measures: for better or for worst

hey you girl, come here. how old are you? where do you live? show me your ic. what is your telephone number? i am the police. the police are concerned that young people are loitering in the streets late at night and take it as their duty to inform their mummies. good for employment. now we can employ more policemen to do nannying work on the streets. and employment rate will go down. there are thousands of teenagers on the streets daily. how many more policemen will be needed to check on them? i must say the intention is good. very good. it will be better if the policemen carry some spare cash in case these teenagers have no money for transport home. or they may be hungry after a night out. but will these actions by the police be seen as harrassing or intrusion into the privacy of a person's life? even a teenager does have his right to go anywhere to please himself. does the police think that it is ok for them to suka suka check on every teenager? does the teenager have a right not to tell them her phone number? is the checking of a person/teenager's ic at the whims and fancy of the police acceptable? good night nanny. i am going home now.

university fees: smu joins the fray

smu does not want to lose out in the race to be the most expensive university in singapore, which means the best education money can buy. the more you pay the better will be the university. smu has raised its fee the second time, each time by 15%. so on the same logic, the quality of its education is up by 30%. nus and ntu have raised by 8%. so in terms of percentage its quality is up by only 8%. so smu is now a better university. so we shall wait to see who will up the stake in the next increment. nus and ntu now have better reasons to up their fees as they can justify by quoting smu. smu is now more expensive than us. so we are charging below market rate. or smu up 30%. we up only 8%. that is a great anomaly. a miscarriage of justice. better up another 22% to make up. anyone dare to say our university fees are expensive? it is not even peanuts. what great universities we are having now. world class, in tuition fees.

ge: is there a coordinated effort or spanners in the work

it is election time and we can all expect everything coming out from the govt or govt related organisations to be carefully time for this big event. for any wrong move could make or break the ruling party, or at least the majority votes that it aims to win. we have seen and heard all the good economic, financial and employment data. for once the govt has stopped gloating over the greatness of foreign talents. and the govt is going to pump in a lot of money to beautify the infrastructure. a lot of giveaways, money going to be thrown down from the balcony. the people are all eagerly expecting some handouts. so far all these can only be good for the ruling party. but then we are also hearing irritating and sickening news coming out from other corners. we have had our transportation fee hike in bad times but ended with the transport operators laughing all the way to the bank. there were school fees hike for independent schools and now universities think they were given a blank cheque to fill in the numbers they want. the ire of the people is heightening. people are starting to grit their teeth. the money crazy people seems so distant from the politics on the ground. who cares, line up the pocket first. this country is not going to the dogs. but going to the greedy money grabbers. squeezing from the public seems to be the easiest way to grab money as the public are helpless and clueless. where are we heading? now the general election is around the corners. for every bad decision or bad news, it will take 10 good and pleasant news to remove the stale bitterness. when is the govt going to rein in this madness that money is the solution to all problems and money is there to be grabbed....from the people?

angmohs are really smart.

if i were an angmoh organisation, and if i want to spread my soft culture to influence the world, and at the same time provide high salary employment for my academics, this is what i will do. set up an agency to rank universities around the world according to my criteria. the same way the miss world or miss universe contests were organised and conducted. the same angmoh biased criteria. some of these criteria that will be important are: 1. the number of notable angmoh academics teaching in the universities. 2. how to judge them as notables? a lot of publications in renowned publications and professional journals. and for these, the angmohs have a comparative advantage as all or most of the renowned journals are angmoh journals. 3. and who to do the judging, the angmohs of course. so all the wannabe third world universities will be scrambling to meet these criteria to be ranked among the greats in this angmoh ranking organisations. they will end up employing all the great angmoh academics and pay them great angmoh salaries. and these great angmoh academics will be so highly regarded that it will be so easy for them to go out there to influence the minds and thinking of the future leaders of the third world countries. did i hear neo colonialism of the minds? and for those third world academics who ended up losing their jobs in their own national universities, just too bad. they are not good enough. don't fit the criteria of what is great. any angmoh reading this, please pat yourself on your back for such a brilliant concept. i mean it. the third world wannabes will be crawling on their knees to beg the great angmoh academics to grace their shores.

academics hired on merits and not nationality

for the past 5 years, 23% of newly recruited academics to our tertiary institutions were singaporeans. or put it the other way, 77% are foreign talents. at the rate it is going, we will need to rename the tertiary institutions as singapore world universities. singapore for the location of the universities. and world to tell people all the academics were recruited from around the world. now, a world class university is coming up right on our soil. now i know why the fees must keep going up. world class academics are really good and really expensive. now the question is whether our student quality is up to par to be taught and converted into world class graduates. then, whether the world will recognise our students as world class, on top of the world, after graduating from our world class universities. if our students are not of world class material, never mind. instant solution. offer their places to top students from china and india and neigbouring countries. by taking these measures, sure we will get world class academics and world class students to be turned into world class graduates. singaporeans who are not up to world class mark can go to polytechnics, or get a father's scholarship and go overseas to attend not so world class universities. we are the best. we are number one. we can buy quality, just like we bought honesty.

casinos: singaporeans are so lucky

after skimming through the newspaper reports on the casino debate, i spent less than 3 minutes, and that is how important or meaningful the debate was, i concluded that singaporeans are very lucky. and singapore is so very safe from disintegrating into a nation with loose morals. singaporeans must stand up and give a standing ovation to the strong moral standards on casinos that were displayed in parliament. many parliamentarians were worried for singaporeans and how singaporeans could be destroyed by the casinos. and they recommended many measures to protect the singaporeans. may i also take this opportunity to offer a few solid proposals for on the casinos. 1. do a means testing(i hate means testing) on any singaporeans who want to enter the casinos. and make sure they have at least $10,000 cash to lose. 2. make their family members sign a letter of consent before they be allowed to enter the casinos. with the letter of consent they can be issued with an ezlink card just for the casinos. 3. limit the number of times each person can visit the casinos. preferably once a month. too many times they will be addicted and become a danger to themselves, their families and society. 4. all gamblers must visit a psychiatrist once a month for pre addiction checkup, just in case they have been infected by the gambling bugs. they will then be issued with a pass to certify their clean bill of health. 5. more psychiatric clinics will be set up dedicated for these gamblers. 6. the anti vice unit shall set up a gambling squad to conduct surprise checks on these gamblers. i learn this from the snoop squads. they must carry their health cards with them at all times. 7. any gambler who skip their monthly appointment with the psychiatrist shall be fined and banned from gambling for 3 months. 8. the anti vice shall be empowered to call up the gamblers for interview when they deemed it necessary. wow, ain't i smart to come out with such morally correct recommendations.

crooked bridge: another sound argument in its favour

a lot of sound is coming down from across the causeway in support of its demolition. this time the reasoning is that the water in the straits is like water in a giant toxic sink. funny that no fish has been found floating belly up over the last 82 years. for the same reasons, the water in all the rivers are water in a toxic sink. and all the lakes must be containing deadly water. the living and thriving fishes in the straits is the best testimony of the quality of water in the straits. hey, come off the craps! the water is a huge waterway leading into the open seas on both sides. it is not dead water. come to think of it, our reservoir must be containing poisonous water as the water are land lock. the giant toxic sink description would fit our reservoirs perfectly. and we are drinking them. we should all be dead now. or no, all the aquatic life in the reservoirs should be dead, poison, under this kind of stretched and contrived logic.

the best news today

nus and ntu are both raising their fees, again, the second time in two years after acquiring autonomous status. this augurs well for the education scene in singapore. the two universities will soon be among the top few universities in the world. they needed the money to raise the standard and quality of their courses and degrees. well, at least if they don't get it to the top in quality they will be in the tops in fees, in no time. maybe they are already there if we measure the fees relative to the income of the population. and if these hikes did not improve the quality, they should make a more hefty hike next year and the year after. sure the quality will improve. if i were in the opposition parties i will place education on top of my agenda. and tell the voters, if elected, fire all those who are the reasons for the fee hike. this silly thing about money equals quality must be put to a stop. we have a lot of quality shit everywhere.

national service: the singapore solution

as expected, the over reaction mentality is again put into motion. heavier penalties and more stringent regulations to curb ns evasion. children below the age of 16 will now be affected if they stay overseas for more than 3 months without permit. fines and fines. this is the standard way of public policy making. just whack the people with more fines, use the stick, use more disincentives. why can't the approach be more incentives for citizens and those who serve ns as a dutiful citizen? the concept of tightening the noose around the citizens neck is very negative. the nation cannot force the people who longer wish to stay... to stay. by tightening the noose, it only increase the push factor for people to want to get out. and citizenship becomes so restrictive and a huge burden of can't dos. i would thought a better approach would be to let those who want to leave... leave. and then add on the incentives for citizens who stay, who do their duties as citizens. make citizenship really worthwhile, an attractive and desirable choice. not a citizenship that has nothing more to offer except more restrictions, regulations and penalties. why are singaporeans be put on a leash? what is clear now is that citizenship is nothing better, but a worse off option. is that what singapore citizenship is all about? where is the value and heart and soul to be a citizen?

ge: you want my vote? listen to me

in every election it is always the politicians who tell the voters this is what i am going to do for you. this is what you will get when you elect me. never did the politicians ask the voters what they want. and this is about the best time for the voters to register their minds and thoughts. you want my vote, listen to me. this is what i want. this is what i think is good for me. is there a platform for the people to tell the politicians what they want? the internet chat sites and blogs and the media forum may be the place for it. this is an opportunity presented for the voters to say their piece. these are what i want, if you want my vote. 1. i want my cpf back at 55. you may keep $10k for a medical insurance. the rest is my money and i want it back. 2. i want public transport to be returned to the people. deprivatise public transport and return it to the stats board as an essential service for the people. no profit motive. 3. no more essential services to be privatised. if they do, make sure that the citizen's access to such service is not subject to profit motive. 4. take care of the citizens first. all jobs between $1000 to $10k must first be offered to the citizens. only if no takers shall it be given to ft. exceptions can be given to mncs. all govt and stats boards and glcs must prioritise to give jobs to citizens. 5. keep medical cost down with every citizen accessible to c wards if he so chooses. these are just the starters from me, for my vote. don't tell me what is good for me. i tell you what is good for me.

budget terminal budget decision

when i switched on the news i chanced to hear sin boon ann asking the minister of transportation whether the building of the budget terminal was a hasty decision. it seems that till now only one budget airline has committed to use the budget terminal. what about the rest of the budget airlines? lim hwee hua said that they were adopting a wait and see approach. sin boon ann also questioned whether there were excess capacity at changi where budget airlines could operate temporary while the situation was still developing. or could the transport ministry also adopt a wait and see approach before committing millions to the new budget terminal. when have singapore reached this state of affair when million dollar decision were done hastily and now we got a practically empty terminal. a buangkok terminal? but there were only what, 4 budget airlines in operation? so one out of four, that is 25% of the market. not too bad statistically. it would only look funny when the rest of the airlines choose not to use the budget terminal. why is transportation in singapore so difficult to handle? must go to waterloo street and bathe with flower water, i think.

when will the teachers grow up?

students prevented from entering schools to collect 'o' level results or told to come back later, properly attired, hair dyed black and not in primary colours. these were the actions taken by the educators of our children, who deemed spaghetti straps, short skirts or punkish hair improper or undesirable inside a school compound. many years back in the 60s or 70s, long hair rock stars were not allowed to perform in singapore unless their hair are cropped short, like singaporeans. today this kind of mentality is still with our teachers. better tell choktong and hsienloong cannot wear red shirts while on tv. must wear clean white long sleeve shirts. by the way, the school children have left the schools after sitting for the 'o' level. some could be working or in other schools. they came back only for the result slips. why are these schools still think that they have the right to regiment them? can they let the young have their fun? why must every young one dressed up like old spinsters or monks? come on teachers, relax lah. if they are bad they are bad. otherwise it is just some innocent fun of the adolescence. making them come back in dresses that the teachers found palatable is not going to change anything. i think the teachers need to grow up. with such rigid minds, how can there be creativity?

futuristic singapore

the infrastructure of singapore will be designed to be handicap friendly, from lifts, walkways, roads, to public transport. with the ageing population, singapore is preparing itself for a nation of wheelchair bound communters. i am not sure of the economics, but i think it would be easier and more economical to set up a dedicated transport service to cater for these people than to turn the whole island into a white elephant. i have seen all the beautiful metal strips and buttons on mrt station floors. i have yet to see one handicap person using them. sure there will be some handicap people using them. but the frequency and cost of having them need to be studied carefully. and stop passing the buck of a poorly thought out solution to the commuters. it is easy to make everyone pays. another crooked bridge solution. i am not against making life easier for the handicaps. but i think the solution must be practical and cost effective. imagine redesigning all the buses for wheelchairs? how many buses need to be redesigned and how much will it cost? would it be better to have a fleet of taxis with such additional capabilities and be subsidised by the transport companies. more thinking needs to go into the concept before ploughing more public money into it. it will be public money, everyone's money. the transport companies are going to pass the buck to everyone. so please think carefully when using public money. transport companies have a moral responsibility to spend such money wisely and efficiently. if they want to spend on more gimmicks, please pay for it themselves, from their own pockets. maybe it will be better to have powered wheelchair vehicles. afterall at that age, many will have all the time in the world to sight see at their own time.

crooked bridge: a rip off for poor commuters

After more than eight decades, it has really outlived its usefulness, painful though this may be for some of us to admit. It is understandable that there are those who cling on to the Causeway and loathe to see it go. It is so much a part of their psyche that its demolition could well leave a psychological, sentimental and emotional vacuum in their version of the republic’s history.Such sentiments could be shared by some Malaysians, too. But this is the 21st century. We owe it to the younger generations on both sides of the strait to optimise the economic potential of the region. The economic and non-economic arguments for the Causeway’s removal are compelling. Opposition to the new bridge should not be rooted in outmoded fears about Singapore Port’s status, perceived threats to its economic well-being and its regional role as a transportation hub.The republic has progressed way beyond its once heavy dependence on its port. ... In fact, the beneficial impact on Singapore from an improved economic hinterland in Johor with the Causeway’s removal will far outweigh any adverse effect, if at all there is any. Johor is already a major destination for Singapore’s investment dollars, which have contributed immensely to the State’s economic growth and prosperity. There will be more commercial and investment opportunities when the bridge is built.... The mutual benefits of a new bridge are not difficult to fathom. Hopefully, economic realities and common sense will win the day for the bridge. by Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing is president of the Malaysian Institute of Directors. i have extracted parts of an article by lim kok wing posted in singaporesurf. i think this is an idiotic parroting of a silly idea that is not tenable economically. the bridge is anything but a ripoff of the people who needs to commute daily to and fro from both sides. with the bridge no one can save a few dollars walking across. with the bridge, all transportation is limited by the bridge and with its dangers of mishaps. with the bridge, room for expansion is so limited than with a land bridge. no sensible person will spend billions to cut off a land bridge to be replaced by a flimsy bridge just for some water to flow under and a few small pleasure craft or small ships to sail through. it is definitely water under the bridge. the people of malaysia and singapore must stand up to protest against this silly bridge concept. when are these people going to think for the people on both sides of the causeway, sincerely, than for their own pockets?

general election: prelim round 7

george yeo, the affable gentleman minister, said he will work very hard for every vote. he will not take voters for granted. this is a big contrast from the initial outburst of arrogance, that pap will win in any contest that we heard. perhaps the feedback has its effect. or maybe it is just george yeo and his sense of humility. but why is aljunid a hot seat that attracts the opposition? they failed the first time for technical reasons. what a shame and what a fish. why would wp do itself in on a simple procedural matter? is there something fishy inside wp? in my perception, george yeo is a very bright and sensible minister. i even rated him as a sure win minister. but why would the opposition want to challenge him when there are very obvious weak and controversial ministers to take on? did the opposition reads the ground differently, that george yeo is weak in aljunid and the ground is sweet? or, someone fed misinformation to wp to take on a strong minister, thus wasted their valuable and limited resources in a sure lose contest? there is something very strange in wp's strategy. it defies logic and sensibilities to contest against george yeo. but the worker's party may known something we don't. or they could be misled.

general election: can sm goh produce another miracle

this is the title of a post in ypap forum. can sm goh produce another miracle? it reminds me of a friend of mine. he has a bag full of miracles. so if anyone needs a miracle he is the man. for every club in his bag is a miracle. from his 3 irons to his sand wedge, his driver to his 5 woods, everyone is a miracle. we used to have a good laugh when he pull his miracles from his bag. we can expect something great, except his shots. hope he is not reading this. a bag of clubs named miracles! a bag full of miracles!

general election: political parties

on a sunday morning, i was musing with the names of political parties. we have our fair share of punts on our political parties' names. then i look north and things are very different. they called themselves, or recognised themselves as umno, mca, mic, gerakan, keadilan and pas. one feature that is very different from singapore that the missing of 'p' except for pas. pas can still be recognised as p...a...s. the rest are called quite differently. 'p' is a common denominator in singapore's political parties. we have p...and...p, w...p or worker's p, s...d...p, s...u...p...p, s...d...p, and s...p...p. so all our parties are called p's. we used to have the singapore alliance and the barisan socialis. but maybe because there don't have p's and can not exist here. looks like p is key to political success. i was thinking, if i were to name a new party, what kind of p would sound good? people' p, worker's p, citizen's p, singapore's p, as long as it has a p sounding at the end. but i still prefer not to p. somehow p does not sound so nice.

freedom of expression: how far shall it go?

Singapore A small reaction Arab-Muslim coffee shop puts up 'Danes Not Welcome' sign, but.. By Satirat Dam-ampai. scanasia.com.Feb 10, 2006 After the furore over the published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed made it to Singapore, a coffee shop there has put up a sign saying that Danish citizens were not welcome. The sign, which said “Citizens of Denmark are not welcomed in Samar till further notice” was displayed at the entrance and also inside of the Samar café on Friday 3 February, 2006. However the sign was removed on Monday 6 after the owner of the shop was ordered by the police to do so. He has also been ordered to go to a police station for questioning. The café supervisor Saiful Bahari told TMCNet News, "Basically we did it to express our freedom of speech because the cartoons touched on Islam and our beloved Prophet Muhammad. "As a Muslim, I do feel angry with what happened as it was totally insensitive." This cafe is located in the heavily Arab commercial area of Singapore and is owned by a Singapore citizen of Arab descent. i extracted this from littlespeck.com. on the ground of freedom of expression, i agree that there is nothing wrong with the sign. the cafe owner has a right not to welcome whoever he does not wish to welcome. then the next thing can happen is that every shop and restaurant starts to put up signs not to welcome this and that. then what? more heat will be generated and one leads to two and we will have riots on our streets. is freedom of expression worth what it is in such a case? contrast this with the white elephant issue and the little school girls selling white elephant t shirts, i think the police did it right this time. i do not think any sensible singaporeans will be offended by the police action in this case. as a people, we respect different races and their cultural and religious practices as long as each group keeps it within themselves. no group is allowed to make expressions that are rude or unpleasant to another group. to be selfish, the world can burn. but we shall live our lives the way we want it, peacefully. who says we must always court excitement? that singapore must be as exciting as other places? excitement often courts danger.

general election: a reflective moment

before the heat of the election proper gets in the way, there is time for a little reflection. lky asked what would he do if he were in the opposition. his formula, go for a single ward, get elected, established your credibility, then get a few good men and go for a grc and later a few grcs. chiam seetong had walked that road, intentional or by accident. he had the opportunity to do exactly what lky said. it did not work out for one big reason, he did not have good men with him. there was this lingering doubt as to the quality of the people he had then. hypothetically, if he did have good and decent men with him then, would it make any difference? would the ruling party be in a more generous mood to accommodate these new upstarts? would the road would be full of obstacles that making further advances treacherous? we have seen many casualities along the way. would it make any difference if these were genuine and sincere men who wanted to offer themselves as leaders of the nation? there are many good men but unwilling to step forward for good reasons. no one who is thinking would want to fight an uphill battle, no matter how fair and hard they fought, when defeat meant total destruction of life in the country. when a defeat meant a ticket of no return. in today's road map, can lky's formula work? unlikely. no independent candidate can hope to fight a decent election and win. there are too few single wards available and a one on one contest with the ruling pap is impossible. every single ward will be contested by the existing opposition parties. an independent candidate will find himself in a 3 corner fight, further weakening his chances. unless of course, there is a real change in the thinking of the ruling party, to welcome good people to stand and compete with them on equal terms. is lky's message an invitation for more good people to step forward? the number of single wards available will be a sign of whether there is a real change in perception of things to come. my formula, get a clean slate of good men and go straight for a grc. the time has come when a group of good men can take a grc from the ruling party. provided of course there is no underhand tactics being employed. and what is good and decent is very subjective and would need the approval of the 3 wise men, in a similar way.

general election: crystal ball gazing

this is my guess of the chances of pap ministers in the coming election. i will classify them under four categories, sure win, sure win but can have upsets, quite safe, and anything can happen. sure win: chok tong, jayakumar, chee hean, george yeo, kan seng, boonwan, sure win but can have upsets: hsien loong, lky, eng hen quite safe: yaacob, vivian, tharman, boon yang, raymond anything can happen: boon heng, swee say, bow tan, hng kiang, cheow tong just my gut feels. i think a fortune teller will also have his own take and so does anyone. you guys are welcome to make your guess. no prizes for the best forecast.

medisave: is cpf violating the law

there are two laws on medisave. one requires a self employed to continue to contribute to the medisave regardless of his age as long as he is self employed. does it mean that if a person is 100 years old and still self employed, he is still required to contribute to his medisave? obviously it is and no one in cpf cares two hoots why or is this an anomaly. the second law says the ceiling for contribution to the medisave currently stands at $32,500. this means there is no need to contribute to the medisave once this ceiling is reached. but the cpf practice is to transfer the medisave contribution into the ordinary account. or if this account is closed for members above 55 years, then the excess will be transferred to the retirement account. is this legally right to do so? all these laws seems to be conceived separately for different reasons in different times. should not the cpf straighten these laws to make them more sensible and relevant to the other cpf regulations like partial withdrawal at 55 and paying out at 62? should there be a law to stop cpf from demanding contributions from the self employed after a certain age? why is it so fun and shiok to keep collecting people's money? is cpf in violation of the laws that it introduces and implemented for its own convenience?

snoop squad kenna snooped

a snoop squad broke into a room, beat up the young man and followed up by molesting the girl. then they hauled the couple to the police station. the police on hearing the girl's story decided to arrest the snoop squad members for molesting. what about beating up the man? this kind of kangaroo court still exists in malaysia, the icon of modernisation in the muslim world. this type of tribal behaviour is quite frightening for the innocents. is it a country with laws or lawlessness?

singaporean IQ: an interesting post in soc.cul.spore

Hello there, I am an Indian graduate from the University of Madras. In the next few weeks, I will be traveling to your country Singapore to take up a job as a Chemical Engineer. I hope that I can integrate well into your society. I am a fresh graduate without any working experience, but was surprised to get this job with a handsome pay package. May better than most of you all. I understand through my daily news that young working Singaporeans is less intelligent than their elder. Is that true? Someone told me that you people have very low IQ, and because of this, your government had no choice but to import foreign workers. More than half the population is foreign workers I supposed? Anyway, immediately I was told by my interviewers that I will be classified as a foreign talent. I hope that I can impart some knowledge or teach you while I am there. As you know, Madras University is among a few top universities in the world, and from my judgment, it should be much higher in subject level and competency and more prestigious than any of your universities in tiny Singapore. Although it is not officially stated that I shall be employed as a foreign talent, I wish to be treated as one with due respect base on your lower IQ. above is an article posted in soc.cul.spore. i am truly amazed by the responses to the above articles, presumably by singaporeans. though a couple expressed doubts that the article was from a genuine indian foreign talent, several took him and his comments seriously. now what does that say of singaporean IQs?

general election: prelim round 6

this is more a kopitiam impression of how things have changed over the years. not too long ago the most frustrating compliant by the opposition is that they find it very difficult to contest the election. and the reason was not the redrawing of boundaries or grcs. the reason against the opposition is simply the brand name. it was often heard that you wear the badge on anyone or anything, it will be voted into parliament. the pap brand was so strong that it was quite pointless for the opposition to think of winning. today kopitiam talk is quite different. the impression is that if you wear the badge on anyone or thing, it is likely to lose. what a reversal in trend. a 180 degress about turn. would such an impression really be an indication of a big vote swing? kopitiam talk is one thing and the voting pattern or the actual voting is another. given the track record, the goodies, and the lack of good decent candidates from the opposition, even if there is a vote swing, the impact is not likely to be very great. but it will all depend on how good the opposition is. the issue now is not how good the pap is. so if the opposition is able to attract and put up good people, the mood may be more favourable to them to get voted in.

crooked bridge: a bridge with no returns

by now the message to the malaysian govt must have been very clear. it is a bridge that has no value to singapore but going to burn a big hole in the pocket. now why would the singapore govt go ahead to spend public funds, in the billions, on something that is not only of no real value, but comes with a string of liabilities. this just does not make economic sense to the singapore govt who would have to justify to the population for its unsound decision. but then again, if the money is spent as a goodwill for some other tradeoffs, maybe that can be considered. simply spending the money for no returns is absurb and out of question. now if the malaysians can say, ok, these are the sweeteners for the goodwill. then the issue will be what kind of sweeteners will be worth a billion singapore dollars? that will be the money the singapore govt will have to cough out to go ahead with the bridge. now the horse tradings start. you want the singapore govt to pay, then what is there to offer?

thaksin, shin corp and temasek

the trouble with thaksin is trouble for the sale of shin corp to temasek. and the fallout can be quite painful if the emotions of the thai public is played up. will temasek and singapore be embroiled in a domestic uprising in thailand and scuttle a seemingly business transaction? the rise and fall of thaksin is so dramatic that fortunes can change overnight. let's keep our finger crossed that this is strictly thai internal politics.

expensive health care

i have touched on this topic many times and will continue to bring it up every now and then until the cost of health care becomes reasonable to the average singaporeans. for this is going to be a pain to many singaporeans as age catch up with them but without the money catching up with the high cost of healthcare. and many singaporeans know that this is a serious problem close to their heart. the government's health care expenditure for the year 2004 is $1.71 billion or about $500 per citizen using a rough population of 3 million. on the other hand, govt subsidy for healthcare is a whopping $1.28 billion for the same year. now that is very high indeed. in fact far too high if one extrapolates on the amount of subsidy to the actual users. why is the govt unable to bring down health cost? or are we having the same kind of formula or logic used in the computation of hdb flats and subsidies? there is no reason for healthcare to be so expensive when all the people needs is basic healthcare. maybe a different set of figures shall be produced to look at health expenditure according to the classes of wards. how much is being subsidised at the lower end and upper end. i always call for govt hospitals to provide decent and adequate healthcare and not the luxurious kind. the latter can be provided by the commercial hospitals. and if govt hospitals do provide such services, there must be no subsidy. but the bottom line is still the factors used in coming out with the cost of healthcare.

cartoon caricatures: muslims retaliate

the indignation felt by the muslims over the cartoon incident is expected and understandable knowing how they revered prophet mohammed. the spontaneous protests in muslim countries around the world have driven home the message of how sensitive the issue is and should not be repeated. and i think this point is well taken by the western nations. but further violence and destruction of life may negate whatever injustice felt by the rest of the world for the muslims. the muslims must not assume that the incident is a licence for them to take lives or go on a rampage. the recent incident in sydney should be a reminder to the muslims that there are many westerners who can be as violent as them. there are many rightists and anti muslim groups in western countries that could not wait to retaliate and respond in kind to what the muslims are doing. attacking europeans and their properties in muslim countries may give reasons and justifications for the violent prone to similarly attack muslims and their properties in western countries. it is not an issue for any party to prove how violent they can be for whatever reasons. hatred begets hatred and violence begets violence.

taro aso: taiwan benefitted from colonisation

taro aso is really an arsehole. he is telling the taiwanese that being colonised by the japanese was a good thing. this is like telling a woman that being rape is a good thing. and what have chen shui bian and the rest of the taiwanese got to say about it? i think they agree. maybe japan should colonise taiwan one more time.

32 year old thinking of emigrating

why would a 32 year old professional think of emigrating and separated himself from the comfort of home and love ones? his reasoning is that the shelf life is too short here. imagine being over the hill by 40 and unable to find decent employment by 50. this is a very serious problem for professionals who spent so many years acquiring the paper qualifications only to see the end of the road staring at their faces. a 20 year working life prospect is very depressing what is happening to our system?

the botak incident was anything but racism

the shaving of the heads of several senior citizens having a game of mahjong, similar to bridge, is serious enough for a police raid and the men, ordinary citizens in their 50s and 60s, were arrested during chinese new year and bungled to the police station. a very petty crime, if there was, the men were shaved bald by the police. and what did the politicians or opposition or interest groups complained about? police abuse of power, violation of human rights, high handedness. no one dare to whisper the word, 'racism.' racism is so entrenched and institutionalised in the country that if anyone from the minority dares mentioned it will bring the wrath of the majority and the law upon him. only the majority has the privilege to use that term when they like to harass and threaten the minorities. so there is no racism. it is the police hitting back at the calls for police reformed.

life is getting tougher at home

forumer jimmy ho kwok hoong wrote a long article in today paper explaining why life is tough from birth to death in this prosperous country when unemployment rate is as low as 2 and a half per cent, and wealth and richness are on display everywhere. how can life be tough? isn't that a misconception or an irony? people are all doing very well, million dollar salaries, landed properties, driving around in mercedes and bmws, car show rooms are packed with happy customers. jimmy then listed out the struggle of a child, their parents to bring them up, and the parents lost of high paying jobs, the short lifespan of working, and the downgrading of lifestyles when one becomes unemployed. foreign worker's policies seemed to be the biggest culprit. this is supported by another forumer nelson quah who wrote that in australia, citizens and prs have priority over foreigners when employment is concerned. hey, this is alien to singaporeans. we have been following the western model of free economy and free everything, even giving our citizens' jobs to foreigners on a free competition basis. how can such things happened in australia? why are countries protecting their citizens for jobs and we think it is alright for our citizens to lose their jobs to non citizens? with the election around the corner, will the govt pay a heavy price for such a policy? or the views of the two forumers were wrong. that people are all very happy and well taken care off by the govt? looking at the confidence and happy faces of the mps and ministers, everything is fine. the people will continue to give a strong vote of confidence for the policies of the govt. now who is right?

general election: more single wards?

given the situation where grcs are no longer a sure win formula with several doubtful ministers able to carry them home, maybe there will be a slight change with more single wards being offered. this will allow more contest and a chance for the voters to exercise their rights of choice. this will be good for every one, the voters, opposition as well as the pap. for once, the seal of invincibility is no longer there. the apparent weaknesses are now exposed through years of scrapping the bottom of the barrel. not many strong leaders were churned up that can command the votes without being questioned. many are good administrators, number crunchers, playing with figures and statistics, but as people motivators, they seem to be wanting. would pap then change strategies and break up a few weaker grcs and hope to lose less instead of the whole grcs? or would pap still perceive that they are invincible in grcs with all the ministers carrying their weight? or will grcs become bigger and lesser ministers need to be called upon to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of a home run. the number of single wards being offered for contest will be the first indicator of what the real perception is.

must RI join the crowd

Letter from Elias Tan posted in Today Online. I refer to Raffles Institution's (RI) letter (Feb 1) in response to Today's article "Are the 'brains' unwilling to face defeat" (Jan 25). .It seems its communications head has, in a roundabout and verbose manner, admitted "yes". Why else would a school as rich in resources as RI say they do not have enough resources to dedicate to competitive soccer when neighbourhood schools can? .Why else would a football field (albeit only one, as RI stresses) be used for everything else under the sun — rugby, track and field, cricket — except football? Perhaps, RI should check its history books for the reason it stopped playing soccer at a competitive level. Was it because they started losing to neighbourhood schools, which was when returns on investments proved no longer viable? .Enough debating — either you play or you'll never win. And the best of luck to RI's boys who enjoy playing ball with the school staff and among themselves. why should ri play football if it chooses not to? if everyone goes to the casinos, does it mean that the rest must also do so or be censured as not team players, not one of them? there is no shame not to play football. do what you are good at and do them best. ri should continue to produce their champions in academics and in the sports that they excelled in. let those who have their brians embedded in their feet to excel and marvel in football or whatever foot related sports. let them be the maradonna or the ronaldhino. why shall the twains meet?

jack neo: i not stupid

to the english educated, jack neo's spoken english is not that refined, halting, singlish, and sometimess not so elegant. to those who do not know that he is chinese educated, jack neo's came out as not so cool, not so clever. maybe N level material. jack neo belongs to those generations of lost talents educated in the chinese medium. because of language, and their inability to be fluent in english, and a chinese certificate that the english educated could not fathom, he will probably ended up selling vcds on the roadside or in pasar malam. but talents will find its own way to surface. he was also fortunate that our media and entertainment industry were flourishing, giving him an avenue to show off his talents. he may not by an lee ang or zhang yimou yet, but he has proven that there is more in him. for those who constantly attacked the chinese helicopter stereo type, it is time to try to talk to them in chinese. it is a different world. they will find difficulty in understanding your accented english as well. would they also think that how come you not in N level stream huh?

the politicisation of islam

i have posted on this topic before. today, its relevance and the danger it poses to world peace is even more stark. the world must thank the americans for lighting the fire for a united islamic movement. not that islam was disunited. it is a very huge potent force that connects all the muslims around the world for good or bad. the muslims too have cherished the day of the revival and glory of islam and the islamic world. the recent events in europe and around the world are seeing the rise of islam as a force that will challenge the western domination of power. the usa sees china as the only power to contest for world supremacy. they forgot that they have unleased the most powerful force yet to be seen. it is not war in the conventional sense. the superpowers will not be dragged into a war of mutual assured destruction(mad). it is the continuous confrontation, skirmishes, terrorism, sabotage, and outright civil violence that will disrupt the cities around the world. the rise of islam, the unifying force of islam, is based on hatred. a hatred sowed by the western world. samuelson's clash of civilisation has begun. the west against the muslim world. now that is not going to go away by buying the arab royalties. the arab royalties will be ploughed down along the way. it is the muslim masses against the western masses that will contest this war.

crooked bridge: a defence perspective

Not only is the bridge a crucial deciding factor of Johor’s future, other analysts believe there’s a defence reason for Malaysia, too. Since former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew declaring years ago that in an event of Malaysia’s unilateral cut-off of crucial water supplies to Singapore, Singaporean tanks would move in to defend the Republic’s survival.He said If that happened, he would not wait for United Nations to intervene because by then it would be too late. Unlike the Causeway, the new replacing link will have a drawbridge that can be raised at intervals to allow ships to pass under. So even a crooked half-bridge would have a defence value for Malaysia. A raised drawbridge could stop the Singaporean tanks from crossing into Johor in the unlikely event of war. above posted by seah chiangnee in littlespeck.com we have been discussing all the economic, social and political aspects of the crooked bridge. now there is this defence angle to look at. chiangnee's view is that the malaysians are concerned that in the event of a war, the most immediate concern of the malaysians is the tanks rolling across the causeway. sounds reasonable after quoting what lky said. as for the issue of a war between the two nations, it is a possibility that both countries would avoid and would not attempt to get into. the destruction and loss of lives will be too costly for any decent thinking leader to even contemplate. war is not an option unless they are prepared to get into a brawl that will last a few generations. both will be destroyed in the process. just tension alone is disruptive enough to bankrupt the two countries. for a small country like singapore, it can never afford a war with anyone. it can only work to prevent war. assuming that it happens, and assuming that the tanks rolled across and occupied the state of johore, what next? the state of hostility will be perpetual. and there is also the element of the indonesians. there is no way for singapore to flirt with such a thought unless it is provoked, like chen shui bian provoking china through a declaration of independence. what can malaysia do to force singapore into a hobson's choice? is there a reason for malaysia to fear tanks rolling across the causeway? only one. and that is the cutting off of water supply by whatever means or pretext. do the malaysians have any such schemes up their sleeves to worry about provoking singapore to make a death plunge? now that is a good question to ponder over.

nude squat, snoop squad to botak squad

the nude squat and snoop squad incidents have barely faded from people's memory and now botak squad is the latest that surrounds the infamous police of malaysia. is malaysia returning to the medieval age? with the death of the msc and the waning of mahathir's drive to 2020, a modern malaysia, the dreams are fast fading away. the comfort of returning to the behaviour of kampong chiefs are easier to adapt to. what is all these difficult things called human rights and international behavioural norms? why must the police behave like decent and sophisticated law enforcer, as protector of the citizens? the police is the power to be used to deal with whoever they liked. even giving the dpm a black eye. so shaving bald the heads of innocent citizens having a little fun in the privacy of closed doors is the right thing to do. it is the duty and responsibility of the police. it is a big operation executed in the most professional way with the full force of the police paid by tax payers money. the country is so crime free that the police must find something better to do. will we see people being publicly whipped or burn on the stake? akan datang.

charisma in leadership

leadership comes in many forms, but the strongest and most influential of leadership is perhaps the personality of the leader and how this is projected and perceived by the people. a powerful and charismatic personality is undeniably a tremendous asset to have. we have seen many such personalities in the past. they carried themselves around as undisputed leaders, man of man. they do not have to shout or keep telling people i am the man. they are natural leaders. they have developed a certain aura around them. unwritten, unmentioned, but felt. lky, keng swee, chin chye, raja, pang boon, sui sen, chok tong, teng cheong, tony are among the names that will just pop up when people asked about the leaders of singapore. and in an election, throwing their names will be as good as winning the election. such are the qualities of leadership that cannot be explained, and cannot be taught. the academics may be having courses in grooming leaders, telling people what are the qualities and characteristics of good leaders. they can go as far as identifying them. but to transfer these qualities into another person who just don't have it will only fail. we have many new leaders among the ministers. how many have such qualities? many are outright no. as simple as that. remove the title and they will be lost, unrecognised by anyone in the street. will people stand up and listen to them when they talked without wearing the title? that will be the real test of a leader. that is the quality of leadership. the impression is that what we are having are administrators or leadership by virtue of position or title. the leadership comes with the job or title. remove the job or title, nothing is left. a few have the potential, but too new and yet to be truly felt. somehow, for these latter batches, this aura of power and leadership takes a bit longer to form. you can see them in say hsien loong, tharman, boon wan, chee hian, who else? scratching my head to feel that kind of dominance of personality as the leaders of the people... given a bit more time, maybe a few will grow and develop their influence while in their jobs. but as of now, throw some of them to lead a grc and it does not mean anything. they do not carry the weight to give the impression that with their presence, the grc is as good as won.

racial harmony or peaceful coexistence

a forumer, michael heng, wrote in the straits times lamenting that his son did not have a malay friend in his school. he is worried that his son will not be able to understand his malay friends and their culture etc. such atrocious situation shall not have happened. such parents must send their children to a school where there are more malay students so that their sons will grow up in the company of malay friends. if they did not do so they will undermine our objective of racial harmony and peaceful coexistence among the different races. and if they are stubborn, like michael heng, and keep their sons in such schools, they should be caned. and schools that have few malay students must make special effort to recruit more malay students or students from minority groups into their cohorts. or the principal must be made to explain why they have failed to do so. now am i making sense?

general election: prelim round 5

after the initial exchanges of a few blows, all has quieten down. both sides are reassessing their positions. who has done the right things and is on the upper hand after the brief encounter? pap started by attacking the wp manifesto as a time bomb and a poison and demanded condescendingly that the wp must change its manifesto or else. it is a talk down tactic by the strong against the weak and it puts the wp on the defensive, giving the impression that wp has erred seriously and pap knows best. this immediately drew response from the opposition as a high and mighty attitude and undemocratic. a bullying tactic. how are all these gesturings being perceived by the voters? would the voters bite the pap reasoning and say yes wp is dangerous and up to no good. cannot be trusted to be given the vote. or would the voters said, well, all these are political stance and may even say, stop the bullying. if the later, then it will put the pap in a not so comfortable start. a big bully small contest. and then there were some follow up comments that pap sure win. would this be taken by the voters as jumping the gun or taking them for granted? arrogance? the issues are simmering and probably both parties are discussing their positions after the initial standoff. anyone gains an upper hand?

islam tested in europe

the current rift in denmark over the caricature of the prophet mohammed is gearing up for an ugly fight. according to islam, no image of the prophet is allowed. this is banned. and the danish paper made caricatures of the prophet is a violation of islamic laws. this is now a boiling issue and could become nasty as the muslims felt very offended. the european papers' position is that it is freedom of the press to write or present whatever to the readers. and they defended themselves by asking whether islamic law applies to non muslims. if it is banned by islam, does it mean that it is banned to non muslim as well. now this is a little tricky. islam bans the eating of pork. when non muslims eat pork does it offend the muslims? obviously it does. but does it allow the muslims to demand the non muslim not to eat pork? where is the line drawn? it is reported in the press that a cleric said the danish paper's caricature was not done for press freedom but to offend muslim. does this distinction means that if it is done not to offend but say for a genuinely decent purpose like the teaching of islam, would it then be ok for non muslims to use images of the prophet? when does the sensitivity of muslims stops and why should non muslims be subject to the same restrictions as muslims?

banks are not for poor people

we used to have a people's bank or a poor man's bank. it started as a poor bank and accept poor man's money. even school children's pocket money of a few cents and pasted as stamps. that was how the poor man's bank started. today this poor man's bank has forgotten all the poor men who helped to build it up into a rich bank and becomes a rich man's bank. it does not welcome children's little savings anymore. or it does but make sure that it is more than a certain amount. and any poor man who thinks of putting a few hundred dollars into the bank may end up with no money after paying administrative fee for having too little money in his bank account. instead of earning an interest, the bank levy a fee for putting too little money there. this is the price of progress. no money no talk. the poor man's bank now would not even want to know you. so poor people with a few dollars of savings better keep it under their pillows or in plastic containers and hide them somewhere at home. would there be a day when the banks go back to woo the poor man? ingrates?

not govt's responsibility to help the poor

we have heard this statement many times. it is not the govt's responsibility to help the poor. the govt will only help the poor when there is a surplus in the budget or in the govt's investment. is such a position acceptable to the people? what is the role of the govt towards the poor of the country, assuming that there is no surplus to be given away?

the poor indians in singapore

There are many complaints and unhappiness among the Singapore born Indian community. Tamil phrase: "Mattam mana allu" English translation means the old man Lky is a lousy cheapskate fellow. Tamil phrase : "Mavan vanthe methevangalum othevee saye oode mathan avanum oothevee saye mathan" English Translation : The "son" Lhl is a more cheapskate fellow than the father, he also wont help the others much and does not let anyone help the other's much also Tamil phrase : "Lalle velai vangete adimai yakirvanu" English translation: They make use of you do the work for them and make you a slave and pay you very little or play games and don't pay you at all or give useless gimmicks. What is going to be done to help livelihood of the "groups" and societies of Singapore particularly among the Singapore born Indian community ? Where is the action required, where is the help, where is the closure on unresolved problems , where are the results ? Who or which People should be held answerable ? Jason Vincent i have extracted a part of jason vincent's article posted in soc.cul.spore. what jason has posted is that the indian community is feeling very neglected by the govt. he even suggested building 2 shopping centres and several other facilities for the indian community. now this is a problem isn't it?

wage gap will continue to widen

there is this peculiar practice in singapore that will ensure the wage gap will continue to widen. it is entrenched in the system. the more important or senior a person becomes, he can expect to be appointed to many chairmanship positions or figure head positions and be paid extremely well but without much to do. some of these positions are just honorary, but still pack a huge pay packet. so it is very easy to earn several chairmanship pay and leave the job of running the company to the professionals. what a nice perk! how then can the wage gap gets narrower? it cannot be helped? is it? this is what unequal distribution of wealth is all about. you got more money, people give you more money. and what's wrong with that? why can't these important jobs be really important and the incumbent has to contribute time and effort to justify his huge pay so he can only assume one position and more can be pass around? but then there is a dearth of talent in this nation where the high density of people with high paper qualifications are found to be lack of talent. so only a few rare breed have the talent to receive such easy remunerations. do these positions really need highly qualified people in the first place? but, come to think of it, there is nothing wrong. this is the natural order of things. even a genius will tell you that it is perfectly normal and the correct way to do things.

why should govt act to ensure political freedom?

a straits times forumer, teoh chin leong, asked this question after commenting on catherine lim's article on political freedom. he said catherine lim has not answered this question? i was taken aback by his question. did he mean that limited freedom is accepted and the people must give good reasons for the govt to allow political freedom? isn't political freedom the people's basic right and any govt curbing political freedom is taking away the right of the people? is this the mindset of singaporeans? so well bred to be obedient, to be restrained. even accepting that they should be limited political freedom when freedom was theirs in the first place. such mindset concedes that it is ok for one's political right to be taken away. teoh chin leong did discuss a little on the need for political freedom. but his conclusion is that singaporeans are not ready for political freedom, that political freedom must be conditional on an educated society and a people who can discussed dispassionately on political issues. i am very sad to think that educated singaporeans think this way. how many countries can boast of a literacy rate higher than us? how many countries can boast of a concentration of people with tertiary education like us? if we are not an educated society, who is? the sheep will be led to the slaughter. and all they can say is bah bah and bah.

crooked bridge: lets be good neighbours

badawi has confirmed that the half bridge will be built. it is in their interests. they know what is good for them. let them build the bridge whatever way they want it. lets be good neighbours. we shall not engage in any dispute or hot headed argument over the bridge. we shall not make a protest or take them to the international court. we shall not make any comment in response to johore mp shahrir samad calling us stubborn. we shall not even reply to him to explain who is stubborn. we shall just keep quiet and let it be. and we hope by doing so, giving them our blessing, they will leave us alone and build their bridge.

general election : prelim round 4

the general election mood is here. a lot of ground work and footwork were done over the chinese new year. the pap must be very confident that they have done well and will continue to do well in the general election. lets try to pry into their thinking cap and see what were in their minds. 1. economically they believed that they have done exceptionally well. and this is supported by all the economic data that were released recently. gdp up, export up, manufacturing up, national reserves up, unemployment down, more surpluses to give away. the people must be very happy and satisfied with the govt. 2. $1 billion will be given to the 240,000 marginally poor. they too must be very happy. and having 240,000 marginally poor families are acceptable in a rich and prosperous country. nothing wrong with it. maybe give them a little more if they cry louder. there are plenty of money to go round. 3. the people will be very grateful with the $2.4 billion upgrading plans and a better east coast park. better facilities and the contractors will have more jobs to do. 4. a big pay rise coming. starting with the president. and the people will all be very happy that the president shall get $2.5 mil for this very important job. the people will not mind. after all, all civil servants can expect something since the president has started the ball rolling. and the higher the appointments, naturally they will get more. this is the nature of things and singaporeans are all very happy about it. 5. nkf. no problem. all very well managed. see, the fees are coming down. more patients will benefit from it. and now better management and transparency. it is a good job and the people will forget about the whole episode come election time. 6. peanuts? what peanuts? no body remembers a thing. 7. medical fees, hdb flats, buangkok, all resolved. no problem at all. mrt fee hikes? very good, mrt makes a lot of moneyfor the shareholders. that is business, to make money. 8. withholding of cpf and increase in medisave contributions. singaporeans are rational people. they will listen to the govt. they know all these were done for their own good. they will secretly thank the govt for keeping their money. 9. corporate failures and corporate governance. small things. does not affect the people. only some directors were affected. but everything will go on as normal. 10. stockmarket is going up. people must all be making money in the stockmarket. so people must be happy. they must be many people rushing to open trading accounts again. people are bullish and confident again. well, everything seems to be well under controlled and well managed. a sweeping victory is expected. and the opposition is still not able to present more credible candidates. and worst, their manifesto is already a poison and a timebomb. the people will be wise to see that and vote for pap. the majority vote will increase, and thats for sure. all the grass root leaders are working hard and the feedback received have been very encouraging. the people are all behind the pap.

singapore, what's next?

Lee had anticipated more qualified Singaporeans joining opposition parties to challenge the PAP after he's gone.... Speculation abounds as to why Lee is keen to remain in control. One theory is that he first wants to see the 18-month-old leadership under Lee Hsien Loong firmly settled in.The first priority: To ensure that he gets a strong mandate.Lee's presence is assuring to the younger leaders as the PAP faces one of the strongest election challenges for decades. Lee may be reluctant to let go for fear that if he does, the Singapore that he helped to create will slide. This partly stems from the fact that he has such a high assessment of good leadership that few people can fit in.... He sees the need to free up on Singapore so that it can become a creative world city, but the steps taken have been relatively few and small - insufficient to make a major impact.The general thinking is that as long as he remains in the government, the Lee Kuan Yew era looks set to continue, irrespective of who the prime minister is. His mere presence in the Cabinet will tell Singaporeans they can expect no major political change within the ruling party. Everything will be played according to what is set out - at least for a few more years. Jon Huer, a professor of sociology (University of Maryland University College Asia), said the post-Lee era is fraught with uncertainty."After Lee dies, Singaporean stability and dynamism may encounter turbulence, as Lee's larger-than-life dominance of Singapore may leave a void that no successor can fill."That means trouble. Voices demanding change may rise, and the harmony and peace among different ethnic groups that are so uniquely Singaporean may shatter. (This article was published in The Sunday Star) by seah chiang nee. when lee kuan yew and his bunch of innocent and inexperience young men took over singapore, there was literally a dearth of local talents that could run the country. keng swee, raja, chin chye and himself were as fresh and brash as undergrads. but they pulled it through, learning and experimenting as they went along. but the basics were right. for the people and for the nation. today if we fear that there will be a dearth of talent, it is a bad joke. 40 years of nation building, at least 30 batches of the best brains were educated and trained overseas and have all the years to learn the ropes. if these bunch are useless brats, then singapore has failed and will be doomed. it will be the greatest failure in leadership. there is no denying that there are many able people, very talented, that will be capable to take over the reign of singapore. their only shortcoming is that they will not run singapore the way lky ran it. they are not lky. whether that is good or bad is a matter of perception. there will be trouble too. and trouble from having too many good brains who want to build their own empires. there will be more contest for leadership and how to run the nation. it definitely will not be a case of a dearth of talents.

chinese new year: a tradition, a culture, a way of life

happy chinese new year. this phrase will punctuate all conversations for the next few weeks. it is a time to offer your blessings and best wishes to family members, friends and acquaintances and all. happy chinese new year. it is just a wish, a sharing of good will. have a good time, bon voyage, good luck. etc. chinese new year is a time for such trivials. but there are other things as well. family reunion, giving children a little hongbao for luck, for a good year, for growing up. everything is spruced up for a bright and good start for another year. a time to take stock and to prepare to live life again. why are the young people lamenting that chinese new year does not mean that much to them anymore? time changes thing. we grow older. our little childish enthusiasm of a time of plenty during the new year, seeing many happy faces, rousing gatherings, money to collect and spend, goodies around have all been left behind. we grow up. the young men and women are in a transitional phase. they have so many things to occupy their time and attention. chinese new year is just another event that competes for their time. they have time to go to parties and enjoy party gossips chatting on anything and everything meaningless and say they have a good time. but doing the same things among family and relatives are...yak, boring and distasteful. lifestyle has changed. the older folks who have less things to do, may treasure the chinese new year as a time to see how the seeds they have planted have grown, and planting new seeds. it is a time for reflection, a time for satisfaction or a little disappointment. but if all things are not measured in material things, the oldies will find a lot of comfort in the new generations and their new future. not everything in the chinese new year tradition will be treasured or valued, or retained with the passing of time, and lifestyle changes. but some little things will remain forever. some traditions will be kept and some will lose their fascinations. i have earlier written about the hongbao being too expensive for many. and about hongbao becoming jinbao. expensive wedding dinners will, i think, lose its attractiveness when it will burn a hole in the guests' pockets. sending an invitation to a friend and knowing the pressure he will face to dig deeply into his pocket will eventually make inviting people to a wedding dinner too demanding a friendly gesture. a time will come when the party handing out the invitation cards will be told to get lost. and it will be a good thing if wedding dinners are reserved as a family affair and among very close friends. the chinese new year will go on to be celebrated but differently. maybe it will be commercialised and make to be cool one day.

scenic bridge or cynic bridge

the people who came out with the new name to replace the crooked bridge must be applauded for their ingenuity. and they cannot escape the brilliant mahathir who instantly recognised what they meant. all said, mahathir has not lose his sense of humour by jumping onto it first. ha, scenic or cynic, he asked.

hsien loong's new year pledges

reported in the paper that hsien loong pledges to review policies on public housing, public transport and medical fees. unfortunately he is only referring to the older folks. i hope hsien loong will take this opportunity to make a thorough review and introduce changes take will benefit the whole nation, especially the lower income groups, rather than just the older folks. this is the time for him to make a real difference, to turn around some of the errorneous policies of profit comes first and people suffer never mind. many of the presumptions and policies of the pap were totally out and he is the man to make the change. but if it continues the way it is, support for pap will only go one way. and while he is reviewing the $1 bil assistance for the lower income, he should also consider all the mothers and grandmothers who are technically unemployed but actually gainfully employed in looking after babies and little ones, and without income but a little allowances. they should also be considered together as those who are employed and earning less than $1,000. will hsien loong make the difference?

charity organisations: top exec salaries no need to disclose

the inter ministry committee has introduced a series of measures to improve corporate governance in charitable organisations. and these include not insisting on the disclosure of the salaries of the top 3 executives. why is it that the salaries of the president of singapore, the prime minister of singapore and the top civil servants are disclosed but not charitable organisations whose income comes from donations? practically all civil servants or public officers' salaries are known to the public. there is no reason why the top executives of charitable organisations be an exception. there is every reason for this to be transparent. it is not tax payers' money. it is money given by the public for a generous activity and accountability in the use of such funds is that more important and necessary. why should the top executives of these organisations be uneasy in disclosing their salaries? is it because they are ashamed that they are overpaid? or they are ashamed that they are underpaid? if the former, then more it should be disclosed. if the latter, then don't call it salary. call it an honorarium, if that makes them feel more comfortable. people working in charitable organisations must expect their salaries to be reasonable, maybe competitive but definitely not excessive or be paid very well compare to money making organisations. their organisation does not make money and are not supposed to make money.

GONG XI FA CAI

a new year greeting to all my contributors, visitors, guests and all my friends. Wishing you Happy New Year !! Must be happy!! For the past one year, if I offended anyone, please forgive me. I am still gentle and nice, so don’t be angry with me.

crooked bridge is a blessing

let's count the blessing from the crooked bridge. 1. it takes away the grouching and bitching between the two countries. let them build it and be happy. they have to appease their own people. and we need not finance a bridge that we do not want. 2. probably they will have to terminate the railway at jb. the train can't possibly climb the crooked bridge. we can then join up with our mrt, maybe under the causeway if it is demolished. 3. a good tourist attraction for both sides. 4. the cost of paying new toll may persuade casual singaporean visitors not to go in unless it is worth the trip. this will help to ease the jam. 5. hopefully when the malaysian side raise the toll fee the singaporean side will not do so as the cost of the bridge is borne by malaysia only. but singapore side can charge a fee for a view of the infamous bridge.

general election : tanjong pagar is the weakest grc

in my opinion tanjong pagar is the weakest grc in this election. though lky is the stalwart and the grand old man in the constituency, his strength is now his weakness. the older generation of voters are now either gone or disinterested. too old to be bothered. the younger generation is a totally different game. no care for old senior politicians. their perspective is totally unfathomable from the old mindset. koh boonwan may be a good support to carry the constituency. but the nkf will do him in. and his strength could not balance off the negative weight of lky in the constituency. everyone would like to see lky as the president to guard the national asset, not as another mp. his role as minister mentor? well, this is seen in many ways. the pap may think it is a good thing. but will the people think so? i think if i gather a good team i should be able to win tanjong pagar today. haha, what a dream! but i think if the opposition put up a good team and fight tanjong pagar on the merits and achievements of lky and retire him, they will have a lot of listening ears. never fight tanjong pagar to discredit lky. fight tanjong pagar with the good deeds of lky and win. what a contradiction! what a paradox!

general election : prelim round 3

the response by sylvia lim to pap's attack is very sensible and reasonable. and she puts it across in a very pleasant manner. i think all politicians shall learn from her on how to communicate gentlemanly or lady like, with respect and courtesy to the other party. nothing condescending or intimidating. her defence is also very tactical. let pap sets the agenda. but wp will also set its own agenda. this is like the calling by some quarters that elite schools must play football, a game which they have conceded as not their strength, as the game is their strength. the elite school shall play whatever games they are strong in and choose to play. so in politics, same method. you hit me at my weak points. i siam and hit you at your weak points too. not that i cannot engage in a full discussion. i choose my battle ground, my time and what to fight and my agenda. so it is likely that pap will be shouting about poisons and time bombs and the opposition too will be shouting the same thing but of different nature and characteristics. i don't have to play football if i am not good in it. the show is warming up.

now i know why singapore is a racist country

one forumer wrote to the straits times relating how he was accused of being a racist in singapore. he is a chinese belonging to the majority. he told one guy to stop smoking in a queue for taxi. instead of snubbing out the cigarette the smoker, who was a minority, shouted at him that he was a racist for telling him to stop smoking in the queue because of his race. in another incident he shouted at a cyclist to prevent him from hitting a pedestrian. he was accosted as a racist for shouting at the guy because he was a minority. our fragile race relations can be easily torned to pieces, not by the majority bullying the minority but by the minority bullying the majority. and it is so easy to call the majority racist. what would happen if the snatching of body incident in malaysia is reenacted here and involved the majority against a minority? hell will break lose.

general election : preliminary round 2

the wp's manifesto is perceived as poison, timebombs. wp responded by shouting undemocratic. what are the issues and why? wp sees the grassroot organisations as a political tool and wanted them remove. this includes the grcs and the presidency as well. the pap counters by saying that wp is trying to undermine social cohesion. who is right or telling the truth. both are right from their perspectives. no one can believe that wp would want to create racial strife. they are just calling for the removal of organisations that would give them a disadvantage in the political contest. but pap chooses to see it differently and call it differently. the counter blow of calling pap undemocratic is in response to the call/advice or demand by pap to change wp's manifesto. to pap, it is just an election tactic. they talked down to the wp like a school master. you change or else. this puts wp in a dilemma. they cannot change for doing so will immediately be recognised as a defeat. not changing will put them in a position like they are threatening national unity or worst. is wp's defence on the ground of undemocratic justifiable? can a communist party put up a manifesto for communism be allowed to contest? or can a socialist party put up a manifesto that resembles communism be unconstitutional? or can any party put up any manifesto and be disqualified to contest? who is the final arbiter to say whether the manifesto is acceptable to the people?

the road to mediocrity

for many years we have been relentless in the pursuit of excellence. that is the drive that pushes this little pimple ahead of many countries. today it seems that this zeal to excel is seen as wrong. the champions must not be champions. the road is too tough. slow down, compromise, take the easy way out. or try not to work so hard, play more. this kind of mentality is best seen in khoo swee chiow's personal quest. the mount everest climb. no body would argue, is a tall order. then the antartic etc. but when he dipped inside a bath tub, that was very disturbing. is singapore heading in the same direction? the next national goal shall be 'fly the biggest kite.' not try to outdo bill gate or be an einstein. at least we get mentioned in the guinness book of records. on the other hand the poor country called china is producing nobel prize winners. all their students in our local universities are tops in their cohorts and are 100% nerds. no time to play or even leave their dormitories. maybe this is a bad thing in singapore. we have arrived and can afford to go slow. it is all a matter of choice and personal sacrifices. you want to be good in anything, you pay the price to be good. you want to be mediocre, you pay the price to be mediocre. if one chooses to be a jack of all trades, and be happy with it, good. if one chooses to be a champion gymnast and start to train at 3 and ended up stunted in growth, that is a decision to be made. why complain about individual choices? just because some people wanted to play football and enjoy themselves others must also be forced to play ball with him?

islam under attack in malaysia?

the recent furore in malaysia and the petition by the non muslim ministers is seen by the muslims in malaysia as an attack on islam. is that so? what about the seizure of the dead bodies from their families by islam? why is this being ignored or accepted as the norm of a civilised secular state, or even a modern islamic state? from the non muslim perspective, it is the encroachment of islam into their lives. it is islam that is threatening the privacy of non muslim citizens, not the other way round. but the clerics, the fundamentalists, will claim it as otherwise. it is their right and duty, in the name of islam, to push aside the non muslim private lives and sensitivity. islam is above the law. islam is the law. this is the sign of a fundamentalist islamic state in its infancy.

smrt profit up 36%

third quarter profit of smrt rose by 36% over the same period last year to $30 mil. well done smrt. big bonuses coming up. the brilliant management must be thoroughly rewarded for such a sterling performance. they must have improved a lot on their services and other revenue generating projects and decisions. i am very sure the great improvement in profit is not due to the increase in commuter fare. thank you commuters for your contribution.

education and personal fun

there were complains by parents that top elite schools did not play football. the reason given by the schools is that they excelled in other areas and football is not their cup of tea. this is what i think a reasonable answer. but no, it is not acceptable. the reasoning is that the elite school students must play football to socialise with the non elite students. is that a good reason? the next reason is that the parents want their children who enjoy playing football to play them at the school level, for fun. now, is that another good reason? for fun they can play any where, can't they? schools, and independent schools, yes independent, must be allowed to think independently and do what they think is good for their students. it is their choice to allocate time and resources to what they do best or want to do best. what's wrong with not playing football? there are many other ways and opportunities to socialise with the non elite students. or why can't the non elite students socialise with the elite students in activities that the elite students do? why is the onus or burden be on the shoulder of the elite students? or is elitism bad? if bad then we should not promote elitism. make everyone average and happy playing football. or shall all the elite students pierce their ears or roam orchard road because the non elite students do that, and get the chance to socialise and understand them better? smoke like them and dress like them to be like them? for those parents who want their children to have fun playing football, send them to the football fields anywhere or in the hdb courts and play lah. why must insist that the school provide for them? the school don't provide then cannot play?

nkf reducing dialysis by $4

gerard ee announces that dialysis fee will now go down by $4 and another $8 later. total reduction over the last few months came to an overall reduction of 25%! what does this mean? the patients were paying so much more unnecessarily due to nkf's inefficiency or what? the monthly expenditure for a patient is $2,730. this will be reduced eventually to $2045. but still a huge sum for any poor bugger or even not so poor buggers. and to qualify for partial subsidy, the cut off household income is $3,500. without going into details of how much is partial subsidy proportional to income less than $3,500, lets look at those whose household income is above this magical number. and assuming that this is nett and not before cpf reduction. technically, a patient with $3,600 will be disqualify from subsidy and has to pay the full amount of $2,730. what is left of the $3,600? $870!!! even with a household income of $4,000, the disposal income left is only $1,270. almost 3/4 of the household income for dialysis. that is what people think a kidney patient deserves to live on, or his family deserves to live on. is that mean? and they have mean testing to ensure that this is so.

general election : preliminary round

the pap is still throwing their punches on the wp's manifesto. boon wan has come into the ring and hit at the same points. what is the wp doing? are they going to parry blow by blow? or are they taking the side step to evade the blow and taking aim at what they think will be better openings that can knock out the pap? not standing to take blows and trade blows is one tactic to adopt. but looks like wp is doing the cowboy way. stand and take the blows. and i would presume they will throw their punches while absorbing the pain. this could be the wp's strategy, knowing that pap will hit at their weaknesses, they might just take a few punches but attack the pap with more of pap's weaknesses. and at the end let the judges count who score more hits. now lets see where the wp will hit and how many punches it will throw.

general election : my manifesto version 1.01

1. we will turn singapore into a global city of the future with standards of living better than the swiss. 2. housing. our motto is to strive for talents and we reward talents. our talents will live in landed properties or posh condos. those not talents will live in 2 and 3 room design and build flats. 3. quality living for the talents. the most talented can look forward to a lifestyle of the rich and famous, with all kinds of resorts and entertainments and the world class theatres to watch phua chu kang. 4. we will not forget the poor. we will provide them with budget facilities including budget transport system and budget foodcourts. 5. medical facilities will be the best. and we will make sure that every citizen will have enough in their medisave to pay for it and no one will be deprived of treatment. 6. education. we will have the best fuzzy education system designed specially to fit every student. they can take a 10 year course or a 20 year course at their own time as long as they can afford the fees which will be affordable. 7. high income for the talents. talents can expect incomes in the millions. no talents will also be looked after by the govt's generous billion dollar welfare schemes.

horie's pursuit of profit goal

"The sense of ethics is crumbling to a crisis level," Eda said. "The government must take these cases seriously.".... PURSUIT OF PROFITS Prosecutors say Horie and three other executives who were also arrested had sought to boost share prices by spreading false information, issuing new shares to "acquire" firms already under its control and then selling them for a profit to pad its books.... Horie said in his Web diary on Sunday he had no recollection of doing anything illegal... The Livedoor case has prompted calls to beef up Japan's securities watchdog, as well as laments about the unabashed pursuit of wealth for which Horie was well known.... "The Livedoor shock has poured cold water not only on stock prices, but on Mr. Horie's often-emphasized view that money is everything," said an editorial in the Mainichi newspaper. "We should not pursue fleeting profit. We should take Mr Horie's arrest as an opportunity to think about this."... Horie has many fans, especially among a younger generation who admired his innovative tactics and flashy lifestyle, and some saw his arrest as a reprisal from the "Old Japan" establishment which he had snubbed. A dropout from the prestigious University of Tokyo, Horie set up Livedoor's predecessor, Livin' On the Edge, a decade ago with just $50,000 in capital. By adopting an aggressive acquisition strategy and promoting himself as a brand symbol, he turned that into market capital of more than $6 billion just before last week's raid. the above are extracts from reuters business news about the japanese wonder kid who rose to fame and fortune and now is under police custody. many of the facts and things said are very familiar. i believe he will have many admirers here.

general election : fight on 4 issues

the wp comes out with a 52 page manifesto. the pap chooses 4 as time bombs and cornered the wp to fight on these 4 issues. for the moment the pap is taking the initiative to launch an assault at wp, especially at the two leaders low thia khiang and sylvia lim. would the wp be cornered and let the pap set the agenda for the fight? eng hen challenged the wp, lets fight on these 4 issues. very neat. surely the wp is not going to confine itself with just 4 issues. there are hundreds of issues to be debated. how wide will the battlefield be? given the resources of the pap and so many ministers still in the background, waves of attack can be expected to follow suit. there will be increasing pressure with more coordinated atacks as the election approaches. the campaign trail has started, sooner than the announcement of an election. is it a good thing to start the fight so early? would the issues be talked to death and people be bored by the time the election actually started? sometimes harping on issues too early and too often may lose its novelty and impact. would it be better to throw them out hot in the midst of the election instead of discussing now when the election could even be delayed to god knows when. the date has yet to be fixed. lets hope the contestants will fight fairly and not hit under the belt. lets hope the issue will boil and be properly fried during the actual election campaign.

general election : factors favouring the opposition

below are my initial take on what may favour the oppositions? 1. need for change. too many things have been taken for granted by the ruling party that they no longer appreciate their significance. these include the intangibles that are not talked about but kept within the hearts. 2. high salary. the recent increase to the president's salary will send more votes to the opposition. this is a clear sign of how insensitive the ruling party has become. 3. cpf retention. no one knows how strong is the feeling of dissent over money retained in the cpf. 4. nkf. it is generally seen as a govt's problem and failure. and the associated events have many unfavourable implications against the ruling party. 5. foreign talent. another issue that digs deep inside the electorate but not well articulated to appear as a serious problem. but it is a serious problem that cannot be swept under the carpet. 6. hdb. the pricing of hdb and the declining value of ownership is gaining importance as a source of grievance. 7. transport fares. this issue seems to be underestimated by the govt and may cost a lot of votes to land on the opposition's lap. 8. unemployment. includes those who are displaced from well paying jobs and ended in low paying jobs. 9. erosion of moral authority. the casino will lose votes from the diehard moralists. and the exposure of several flawed personalities among the elite have shaken the faith of many strong believers.

general election : factors favouring pap

with the approaching general elections, it is time to kopitiam talk about the fight for power and the who and the what of the election. lets start with a preliminary take of the position of the ruling party and the opposition. i will like to touch first on what favours pap in the general election? 1. track record. some people are happy with what pap has done and think this is good enough. 2. opposition weakness. if the opposition cannot present good and decent candidates in the eyes of the electorate. 3. organisation strength. grassroot and party organisations and membership. 4. finances. pap has superior finances to run the election campaign and to finance the candidates, including deposits. 5. grcs. the opposition will have problem fielding enough candidates to contest in grcs. 6. promise of goodies and handouts. 7. the candidates are mostly known. the party is known. all its goodness and warts. more predictable for those who fear to thread on uncertainties. 8. intangibles. favourable things that are difficult to describe or quantify. this is possibly the strongest unaccountable factor that the opposition will have to contend with but with no replies.

education: fuzzy logic or delusion

i read with some concern at the views being promoted recently and the changing mindset of administrators and students and the public. what they want is for a students to do everything, be a sportsman, be a businessman, entrepreneur, social worker, inventor and also do well in their studies. for a student to be able to do all these, they are either geniuses or little gods. a little experience and exposure here and there other than the main task of building a strong academic foundation are good and welcome. but to over emphasise the secondary and good to know things at the expense of the core knowledge acquistion function is very dangerous. a student must be firstly a student and must do well in his studies. for those who are able to and can afford the time, go and do whatever they want. but do not compromise on your basic role as a student. do not compromise on your first class honours. in a free environment, a few geniuses will shine. but many pseudo geniuses will waste away, fooling themselves. a real genius will thrive in any situation, in any environment. the dismissal of our inability to produce world beaters is all bull. very shallow thinking. our lack of world beaters is a result of our small critical mass and the short time span of our existence. and also, the brightest were channelled to adminstrative functions and the govt. what is really needed is the allocation of talents to where it is needed. if we want scientists and inventors, put the best brains there. what A star is doing is the right thing. there is a chinese saying, 'nian chuan bu nian gong, hou lai yi zhang kong.' what it means is that if one is training in martial arts, learning the moves without training the basic physical strength, eventually is worthless. education is the same. the acquisition of knowledge, technical knowledge, cannot be abandoned for foolish things like trying to be fun, to be a businessman, to excel in sports, all at the same time. know one's own limitation and endowment. if one is so talented or gifted to do all things, thank your parents for the good genes. if one is gifted to be an einstein, don't try to be a tiger woods. likewise tiger woods would not try to pretend that he can be an einstein or vice versa. lets not confuse fuzzy logic with delusion.