Is there a gag order?

Or is there a unwritten order not to engage bloggers in cyberspace? Or is it a crime or a sin to be seen in cyberspace for official or professional journalists and reporters? More likely it is a kind of self censorship. Without the official nod, without anyone saying it is ok, better stay clear of cyberspace. I have on many occasions quoted journalists and reporters on their articles and views, with their names clearly written. I was hoping that they would come by and add in their views or to offer some alternative views. It was always silence. I have yet to see a journalist or reporter engaging the bloggers in cyberspace. For that matter, people in authority. Are they afraid that their names will be tarred with feathers? Or are they afraid that their views will not receive the same silent approval, or be attacked and they could not defend by censorship or by not printing the rebuttal? Cyberspace is the most level playing field one can get in a discussion. Everyone is free to post, from king to pauper. But titles are not respected. It is the view that carries the weight. When will official and professional journalists and reporters feel safe and comfortable to write and post freely in cyberspace?

Something slips by

We were ruled by the colonial masters and fought for our independence, to be free people, and to be able to determine our own future. Has anything changed? Yes, we got rid of our colonial rulers. We were no longer ruled. Did we? Have we gone to sleep and woke up to realise that we are being ruled again? We are now talking of the rulers and the ruled, or the rulers and the many rules. And the rulers are not denying that they are the rulers. Or at least no one thinks that such a perception is misplaced and needed to be clarified. Maybe the rulers are happy to let it be, to continue ruling. And the people also contented to let it be, to continue to be ruled. Is this political development, progress? Or have we gone back to the medieval days where kings and princes were born to be great and the people to bow in their presence? Long live the king! After more than 40 years of independence, this feeling of being ruled is creeping in and surprisingly very comfortable. Is this the mentality of Singaporeans, that they loved to be ruled, needed to be ruled, and wanted to be ruled? Without being ruled, without rulers, they will feel unease and lost? In the next general election the campaign should be, 'Elect your Rulers!' Then we need not live with the hypocrisy that we are electing people's representatives to Parliament.

The schools gone by

Some of the bloggers here reminisced about the days gone by when we studied very little and still got by with our lives with very little. Those were times when Standard 5 or equivalent of Primary 6 could land one a job as a Chief Clerk(tua chye hoo) in an organisation or even as a senior civil servant in the colonial civil service. And one could wear white long pants and white shirts, to be whiter and more similar to the white lords. Educational standards then were very low. Qualifications of teachers were equally low. It was a case of the blind leading the blind. The aim was to be able to learn the 3 Rs. That would be adequate. The colonial masters did not see the need for the locals to be too highly educated. The first Chinese secondary school, The Chinese High School, was a communal effort by the Chinese community to educate their own children. No, not the responsibility of the govt then. They paid for everything, including land and building and the teachers' salary. And school life was simple. As children, did we study? Play was all we knew, or staying out of the cubicles we called home. Sometimes home was a folding bed, or bed was a corner of a floor inside the cubicle if one was lucky. Or it could be the corridor or 5 footway. Staying out was the norm, at least for the children of coolies and odd job labourers. The outdoor was the living room. Tuition or proper guidance by parents in education was a luxury that few could afford. Even if some parents tried, the teachers were mostly school dropouts, whose parents could put them through a few years in school but they failed to progress to secondary school or at best Secondary Two. Anyway, who cared about education when parents too were illiterate and did not know anything that the children were learning in school except ABC? Life was simple and no big dreams. The common big dream of the labourer mothers was the 'tua chye hoo' or a pen pushing job in an office. That was a great achievement and improvement in the quality of life. A 'tua chye hoo' was the senior administrative staff in an office, and could often earned enough to own a car. In the minds of the children it was play and quickly grow up to work. Those who failed early were the joy of parents. They could start work earlier, in the kopitiam as kopi kias, or helping the kok kok mee to peddle the streets for business. When poverty was everywhere, no one felt that poor or miserable. The little corners of wealth were in the Bukit Timah, East Coast and Orchard Road areas when the Ang Moh resided and those enclaves of the babas who were mainly civil servants or working with the British forces as clerks. Stress? The only stress was when the legs were covered with cane strokes left by abusing parents. How to hide them in shorts at schools. Other than that, many passed their lives aimlessly. Life was unstructured and so was elementary education. What's happening today to our children? Striving to be the best that can be. We spent our times singing 'God Save the Queen.'

Over achieved and over stressed

That is the impression I get from the discussions in the ST on the way the students are pushed. As a generalisation, our Primary One starts at kindergarten now. And by Pre university the students are actually doing undegraduate works. The question is what for? So what if our PSLE students are taught at the level of Secondary students? So what if our A level students are taught at university level? Did they shave off a few years in the education system? Or did they becomes smarter than the cohorts in other countries? They are just learning ahead of their time. A simple analogy is for a young person to start dating. Some start at 12, some at 20. What is the big deal if they ended up in a mess? We either derive some goodness from increasing the pressure or else we should let things cool off a little. The pressure can be selective, only for those who are good enough and wanted it. The PSLE and O level should be flexible to accommodate the different standards of knowledge acquisition. Forcing all students to attempt unusually tough questions is wicked. The A level only allows the exceptionable students to do more papers and H3. So the less gifted need not be put through the pace and be unduly stressed. Have mercy on the primary and lower primary students. They cannot be cooked in the same pot.

We got our bets back...some

We put Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge on the betting table and won it back, but not all. Now ain't that clever? What if we lose all? The judges voted 12 to 4 in favour of us. There were 4 who ruled against us. If only 4 more thinks that way. I still think it was a silly thing to do. if we have lost...everything. We lost Middle Rocks and South Ledge. Now that the sovereignty of the island is settled, other issues are still left undecided. Ownership of the territorial waters around Pedra Branca is still vague but more likely to be in Malaysia's favour. They owned Pedra Branca originally, which means that they own the whole area. Only Pedra Branca was signed away to the British and we inherited it. The only thing now is to claim territorial water from Pedra Branca. How far from its shore or, in the case of Malaysia, from the shores of Middle Rocks. The southern waters of Pedra Branca are going to be cut short by Middle Rocks. Hopefully we can claim 200 km from the north and the eastern waters. Even 50 km will be great. Then built on it if we can. Bye bye Middle Rocks and South Ledge. We won! Really?

Chipping at the armour of resistance

As the bloggers keep soldiering on, their presence as an alternative news source cannot be ignored. Vivian Balakrishnan made the strongest statement yet on alternative views in cyberspace. He said in no uncertain terms that the govt is willing to listen to honestly held views from responsible people online. This is the first shift that we are seeing and hearing. Another step forward by bloggers to be heard. But bloggers need to be reasonable and post their views decently and stay away from inciting racial and religious tension. That is not only fair but necessary as we cannot afford to have such issues discussed in an irresponsible manners that will lead to more anger, instability and violence.

Purchasing power down by 2.4%

According to Irvin Seah, an economist, and as reported in Today, his estimate is that 'the purchasing power of wage earners is now 2.4% lower than a year ago. I am wondering whose purchasing power is down by only 2.4%. Perhaps those earning $50k or $100k a month. I think my purchasing power must have gone down by at least 10%. And for those whose income is primarily spent in food and transportation, I think it will be more than 20%. How many percent down will be someone who earns $800 pm when he has to spend $500 on food and $100 on transportation with the rest going to miscellaneous? Pray that he does not have a big medical bill to pay.

Don't expect any pay rise

Of course this statement is meant only for the workers. All the rosy pictures painted a few months back, golden years, full employment, needing more foreign workers and talents in a tight job market, employers paying extraordinary salaries to compete for talents (this is still true if we read how SMU fresh graduates are being paid $10K pm), job applicants can pick and choose their jobs, all these are no more. Despite the runaway cost of living, there will be no huge pay increases to soften the impact. But have no worry, the govt will be there to help. If the govt can afford to give another few hundred thousand dollars to raise the salary of underpaid ministers to market level, they will definitely be able to give another few hundred dollars to the poorer Singaporeans. It is not that bad after all. Employers don't pay more, there is the govt to back up. I don't think there will be another round of retrenchment or get rid of the oldies. Then again oldies can look forward to cleaning tables and washing plates in food courts. And they are all very happy doing that in their golden years. They have been interviewed and they have expressed their happiness to have a job and an income. I think the retirement age for such jobs will be raised to 80.

Feedback between the Ruler and the Ruled

I thought this is an outdated concept of the days of kings and emperors and feudal lords. But it seems that it is still relevant in a democracy like ours. Civil Servant Kathryn Ng of SingHealth commented that the Reach and Rap feedback mechanisms did not seem to work and all feedback appeared to have fallen into a dark and bottomless pit. She actually referred to it as a big, dark hole. She said that it would be better if the public knew what happened to their feedback and there would be better trust between 'the ruler and the ruled.' Her usage of these two words were very appropriate. The ruler replied and it included this, 'Leadership can't be held hostage to every idea expressed or every view or every solution offered.' That is quite a normal response from a ruler, I supposed. Or is this the norm in other democracies and this is how the ruler talked down to the ruled? Maybe it is not like that. Very likely is that we know what is best and what else can the ruled offered that can be better than our ideas? And we don't entertain simple and shallow ideas.

Speaking words of wisdom...let it be

I still remember these words from the Beatles. The ST gave two full pages to Ngaim Tong Dow today to speak his words of wisdoms from his recollection of the past and using them as lessons for the future. Among the things he lamented was the selling of Natsteel, the company that contributed to the building of HDB flats and many infrastructure of the island in the early days. He saw it as a sale of a host of knowledge. And yet we have sold more things, a host of history when some foreigners are willing to pay for it. Raffles Hotel is one. What's next? Ngiam also talked about civil servants being flexible and understanding the need of the people. Not everything can be priced and price is not everything. The govt is about the people and the people's general good, about empathy and compassion. What he did not say, but could be read, is that money grabbing and money policies are not the way to go. He is speaking words of wisdom, not word of intelligence. You need not be very intelligent to be wise. And one can be very intelligent but very unwise. And many of the things he talked about are the things that cyberspace is talking about but not spoken in msm. Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.

Singapore's Hall of Fame

With so many super talents gathering in this little piece of rock, it is timely that we shall have our own Hall of Fame. To start with we can instal the honour to a few founding members like the Super Gambler, Super Fundraiser, Super Monk, and so on.

The Peanut Monk

From the view of the practitioners, paying a monk peanuts is the most appropriate means of compensation. Peanut is also vegetarian. Having more peanuts is good for a monk. From a professional and business point of view, a monk that can command $600k must be a super talent. To be able to raise that kind of fund to pay himself requires exceptional talent. An entrepreneur comes to my mind. Perhaps they can nominate him for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. For the prices he charged, or the temple charged to the consumers, it must be quality service and quality stuff. Value for money. The more you pay, the better you get. You want good stuff, you must pay for it. Soon someone will write to the media to extol his greatness and that he is deserving of the pay he is getting. Now what more justifications can I add in to support this kind of philosophy? The Hokien has a phrase for it, something like 'bird talk.'

Mahathir resigned from UMNO

What is he up to? Is he saying that if he is out and down, everyone, including UMNO must also be dragged down? I think it is a very irresponsible act for Mahathir to do. With this move, UMNO if finished. Just 20 or 30 candidates to follow him and Mahathir would have deliver UMNO to Anwar on a silver platter. But that is beside the point. UMNO will henceforth become a small and inconsequential race party, and soon be forgotten to history. It will be a has been, for the oldies to recollect their memorie of its former glorious days. But might as well. He has paved the way for UMNO's destruction for 22 years. Might as well take the honour to hammer the nails into the coffin.

Sichuan Earthquake Donation

The tragedy and death toll of the massive Sichuan earthquake have touched the hearts of many people both in China and elsewhere, including Singaporeans. Many people are donating very generously to help the victims. Hawkers voluntarily put up signs that they will donate their day's earnings to the victims. People queued up at the Chinese Embassy to donate in thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, in cash or by cheques. While many people spontaneously gave to help, there is always the question whether the money will get to the victims. The fund raising is voluntary and haphazard and depends on the goodwill and honesty of the people collecting the fund. Under such circumstances, scams or cheats will appear to take advantage of the people's generosities. The Charities Acts require anyone raising funds to submit an audited account. But in this case, it is not necessary at the request of the Chinese govt. In the case of small individual efforts like the hawkers, it may be cumbersome to manage the fund raising and a bit of give and take may be acceptable. But when the amount is big, proper accounting and auditing must be in place. I find it very unsatisfactory at the way the Chinese Embassy handles the fund collection. The procedure is totally unacceptable. People going there and handing over cash in the thousands and all they received was a piece of photocopy paper with a chop from the Embassy saying they have donated such a sum of money. That is the only piece of paper given to the donor. On the part of the Embassy, they did not keep any copy nor did they record it anywhere that the sum is received. Money were just shafted into a box. Presumably they will count it themselves and aggregate the sum collected. But such a procedure gives rise to uncertainties and possibilities of misconduct. The Embassy must do something quickly to assure the public/donors that the money is properly accounted for with a proper accounting procedure. Even the collection of money in a funeral wake is more credible with the donor signed a book against the amount he contributed. In this case, the Embassy will not know who donated and how much were donated.

MRT adds 700 more trips weekly

MRT has added more trains to alleviate the congestion in trains and lessen the waiting time. Commuters interviewed hardly noticed any difference though some said the trains were slightly less crowded. With 700 trips a week added and the impact was hardly felt. It can only mean that the trains were still travelling in full capacity. What is interesting is that some(two spoken to by the media) commuters expected a price hike for the additional trips and welcomed higher fares. MRT has commented the additional trips would cost another $5 mil annually. Would this be a reason to raise fare given the $150 mil profit it earned last year, and could be more with increasing ridership? The additional $5 mil cost could turn in more profit rather than lost as more people switched to take public transport. My view is that a price hike is good. It will force those who cannot afford the fare to give up taking public transport. They can walk to work. This will help to relieve the jam in the trains. For those who can afford to pay more, it will be a blessing in disguise as they will be able to travel in more comfort with lesser passengers to squeeze with, more free space and fresh air. Geeze, I am getting wicked, talking like an elite. My comfort comes first and I will pay for my comfort. Those who cannot afford to pay is their problem. They are not fit to be around. They should work harder and find the money to take public transport. And it is so cheap. How can they said they cannot afford to pay? And cheat some more! TParadise has no place for the unfit, lazy and untalented.

Crisis in Leadership?

'Leaders need to have an intrinsic sense of right and wrong. These qualities don’t seem to be apparent in our society. This is worrying. The difference between what is expected of a political leader and a senior civil servant is that the latter helps to formulate policies, while the former assesses the soundness of the proposed policies, their long-term implications, and then goes out to convince people to believe in them. While we have good people with credibility and integrity in cabinet, not enough of them appear to have the acumen to explain them clearly and simply, and persuade the ground. This is a key quality of leadership, which in turn is a tacit balance of IQ, and EQ – an intrinsic capacity to listen.' Viswa Sadasivan I have extracted the above comments of Viswa's recent speech on the crisis of leadership in Singapore. Nothing new, but surprising and unbelievable to know that this is the perception of Singaporeans from all walks of life. I also share the same conclusion. Why surprising? How can this be when we are paying so much for the best, and the best, so well paid, give people this kind of negative impression? What is wrong? Paying not enough or the best is simply not good enough? With the money we are paying, and the honing of interviewing and selection skills, and scrapping the bottom of every barrel, we should be having very outstanding leaders whom the people can easily accept and associate with, and say, yes, these are the best leaders we are paying for. What we have are doubts and a feeling of unease, that they are not what they are expected to be. How many of you share this impression? Or is this just isolated cases of a small group of people having such views? The quality of leadership is not what they think they are, but unfortunately, what the people think they are.

Revisiting our wasteful ways

With petrol prices going up, many cars will become collectors items. Bought and kept in the car park. Many will be driven only occasionally. Then there are the weekend cars that are used sparingly because of the usage restriction and owners' lifestyle. Now why must cars that are in excellent condition be made to pay additional road tax just because it is more than 10 years old? The mileage clocked in many of these cars are less than those clocked by normal cars. Should I ask the supertalents to take a look into this anomaly of unthinking past policies? Oops, sorry, better don't say policies are unthinking. They were designed to collect more revenues for any justifications. But please, please, think again and modify the formula for cars that are obviously under used despite the 10 year age.

The ugly and obnoxious poor

We have the ugly elite and the ugly Singaporeans everywhere. How about the ugly and obnoxious poor? Michael Palmer met a resident who demanded that he gave him $20k as a loan and he promised to repay him in 3 years with interest. Now, who in his right mind would hand over $20k to an asshole he does not know? And where is the MP going to find the money to give to one and many assholes who come to demand for that kind of money? While we discuss the plight of the poor in general and wanted them to have a less diffficult time, but on the individual level, many of these assholes do not deserve any kind of kindness. Do not be deceived by their pathetic and helpless sight. You do not know what they talked about the givers or what they scolded the givers for giving less. Heard of the beggar sneering at the $2 he got and demanded more with an insulting tone? In Today paper there was a complaint against this aggressive taxi drivers who tailgated a hogger. From the way he described the incident, the driver was definitely road hogging. But the threatening way the taxi driver drove and challenging him was uncalled for. Not only taxi drivers, bus drivers, sales staff, waiters and waitresses, hawkers etc, if only you hear what they say or curse at you. Even cleaners in foodcourts can be very nasty and abusive. Sometimes the Way or Tao is still worthy of retrospection. Let them be. It is their karma. They have to lead their lives the way they were, an experience that they need. The problem is that many don't seem to learn to be a better person. And if karma is real, they will repeat their sorrowful stories over and over again.

Pay up TV licence fee or else...

While the transport companies are going after the small time cheats, MDA is going after those who refused to pay the TV licences for their own reasons. Many just find it ridiculous to pay for things that they do not want. There are many channels, yes, but how many want all those channels that are programmed for them? Many will be contend to live by one or two channels and some may not want a single channel at all. Haven't technology caught up and be able to monitor which channel people tune in to and charge for usage, and not because the provider wants to provide and the viewers have NO CHOICE but to pay? It reminds me of the Medisave, Life CPF, Minimum Sum retention scheme etc etc, when the people have NO CHOICE. Who cares if MDA provides for 10 or 100 channels free if those are not what the viewers want? Who cares if MDA thinks it is important or good to provide 'TV and radio programmes that "inform, educate and entertain our multicultural and multiracial society"?' Why are the masses made to pay or subsidise for the effort of MDA to want to cater to everyone? Personally I only watch one channel. Not even listen to radio and all the craps the rowdy and at times silly DJs are gabbing about. So why should one pay for services and programmes that one does not want? Compulsory woah. If MDA thinks that they are the one to decide what the people should hear or see, then they should pay for it themselves and not demand that the viewers and listeners pay for them when the people did not want to hear or see.

Time to catch the bus/train cheats

Public transport companies are going all out to catch these petty thieves for cheating the transport giants for a few cents or a few dollars per trip. These are big monies to lose and it is estimated that the total amount lost is $9 mil annually. At $1 a trip cheated, that is 9 mil trips or roughly 25,000 trips daily. Either we have so many cheapskate buggers or cheats, it is still no good. Cheating is cheating, even for a few cents. It is now like a war against these petty thieves, and manpower and all resources, including satellite technology will be harnessed to save the $9 mil and to teach these useless buggers to be honest. People who have to cheat for a few dollars are not worth living. And worst still, there is a higher justification for the huge amount of money going to be spent to tackle this cheating problem. If not because of the cheating, transport companies need not keep on raising transport fares. So the cheating hurts the majority of the honest fare paying commuters. All fare paying commuters must be grateful and should lend a helping hand to catch all these cheats. And when the problem is solved, they can expect fares to be lowered. Or at least there will be lesser fare hikes. The moral of the story is that if these people want to cheat, they must cheat big and in style. And they would not even be called cheats if they are smart enough to do it. They will even be respected for being able to collect hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars without anyone knowing what is happening. The real and big cheats always get away and it is the small petty thieves that are caught and embarrassed.

We don't need subsidies

Just like we don't need help from the govt, we also do not need subsidies if the real cost of inflation is arrested. Many of the high costs can be attributed to inflation and 'market value.' Both need not be the case and need not add to the high cost of living. One angry example is the high price of HDB flats, priced at a subsidy to market value or market price instead of the actual cost of building the flat. And the govt feel damn good, and expect the people to feel damn grateful because it is giving the people a subsidy. When has this mindset of really serving the people's interests been changed to one where, 'the people would be worst off without the govt subsidies and have to pay real market prices' while allowing market prices to runaway? HDB pricing is not the only area that the people are made to pay much more than the cost of goods. Medical services is another sore point. Why must HDB insists that medical practitioners pay market rate rentals of space that were built donkey years ago at a fraction of current day prices? Essential services should be charged or cost at as low a price as possible to keep the price of such goods and services down. Why can't the govt identify specific essential services and charge them at minimum profits so that the service providers need not pass the cost to the consumers? It is time to shut those who keep trumpeting about how much subsidies are given to help the needy. They are not subsidies. The people are charged with inflated market prices with a little discount called subsidies. The high cost of living must be tackled at its root. Many services and goods must not be treated simply as a business to make profits. In certain areas, making obscene profits from the users is criminal or morally unacceptable, disgraceful. As costs keep going up, cost of public transport and many essential services must be brought down to help the poor communities. The high transport cost is going to take its toll on the tertiary students and their parents. These are the country's assets, young people being educated to come into the workforce and having to pay like hell to go through their years as students/undergraduates without any income. Do away with subsidies like clamping down on those who are scheming to help the people with their obscene schemes when the people become worst off and may not even benefit from their schemes.

Classic material

Leadership lessons from a sub-contractor

Lim Chih Yang It is not often that one can learn leadership lessons from The New Paper. While our local tabloid is a surprisingly good resource on how to manage one’s finances, enjoy fine dining, get the latest gossip, and contains the most comprehensive coverage of football news, it rarely comes up with soul-inspiring stuff...(until this comes along).

Mr Lam Teck Foo, a sub-contractor, was fined a total of $150,000 for “failing to take reasonable and adequate fall protection measures, under the Workplace Safety and Health Act”. He was fined as a fatal accident had occurred to one of his workers, who fell to his death while working on the rooftop on September 2006. While his workers had been wearing safety helmets, safety goggles, gloves, safety harnesses and belts, they had no lifelines to secure their harnesses to.

The fine of $150,000 is huge when we look at Lam’s income tax return of a little over $43,000. He had not contested the charge and had in fact acknowledged his responsibility for the worker:

…I was not around the work site, but my foreman said that the worker was feeling dizzy. He was walking backwards when he fell off the roof. But, he admitted, that as the boss of the company, he is responsible for the safety of his workers….

While we are in no position to gauge Lam’s financial means, I am nevertheless touched by his gesture and sincere apology to the family. Feelings aside, though, a few questions are still in my mind.

While Lam is the boss, he was not physically present at the worksite to personally supervise the workers, and ensure that his workers had their life-lines secured. So why, then, is he being held responsible for the accident?

Perhaps Lam should have taken a leaf out of our Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng’s example. Here is how the scenario would have played out had Lam been an attentive student in Wong’s leadership class.

1) Upon knowing that the accident had happened, Lam would have made a gesture of apology by telling the deceased family, “This should not have happened. I am sorry that it has.”

2) Then, he would have convened a Commission of Inquiry (COI), including one of his own safety officers as part of the committee.

3) Thirdly, he would then have released the COI’s findings and absolved himself of all blame, since he is the boss and he is reasonably not expected to be on site to check all lifelines.

4) Fourthly, he would have gotten his colleagues to be both cheerleader and defence attorney, and exhort everyone to “move on”.

5) Lastly, he would have lain low and waited for it to blow over.

Hey if Lam had learned his lesson, he would have saved his company a whopping $150,000 in fines, plus all the other costs he incurred in compensating the deceased’s family.

But no, Lam did not evade responsibility. In fact, he did just the opposite. He stood up, accepted his part of the blame, apologised to the family of the deceased, paid the $150,000 fine, paid for the funeral and even pledged to give the family $3,000 for the next three years at Hari Raya.

Now that, dear readers, is true leadership – from a sub-contractor.

Mr Lam has, according to The New Paper report, five children aged 3, 11, 12, 14 and 15. His request to pay the $150,000 fine over ten months was rejected by the authorities.

[The above should be copied, bounded and included as a module in management studies in our universities. It can be used as an SOP by top executives in both public and private companies as an efficient and effective way of crisis management, and keep the job.]

Celebrating the Civil Service

The Civil Service as an entity deserves special mention as the backbone that holds Singapore together as a nation. Not only that the Civil Service is the storehouse of talents, not many in Parliament can match the academic and intellectual talents of the civil servants, it is also the longest, continuous surviving organisation in the history of Singapore. Political masters and politicians come and go, the Civil Service will stay and continue to serve the people, through the politicians. Without the Civil Service, the politicians will be more like a bunch of magicians pulling white rabbits from a hat. It will simply be magic for a show. It is the civil servants that turn magic into reality. What is important and vital for Singapore is for a Civil Service to remain politically neutral, not beholden to anyone or political party, to do what it should do, as the non political govt organisation, looking after and managing the country's affair. An independent Civil Service shall be there to provide the continuity of govt as govt will change overtime. And it is this independence of people and mind and purpose that will ensure its legitimacy and continued existence, traversing different govts. A Civil Service that has compromised its independence and neutrality will only see to its own demise whenever there is a change of govt. Singapore should count itself lucky to have maintained the Civil Service as an independent institution of govt, uncorrupted by politicians and the swing of political powers. The sanctity and independence of the Civil Service must be protected and the tradition preserved for the long term viability not only of the Civil Service/Servants but also of the nation.

Breaking the religious armour

Lian He Zao Bao reported that the abbot of Leong Hua Monastry, Sek Meow Ee earns $660,000 a year, owns a condo and 4 companies. And he is a monk! What is a monk? A monk is one who has taken a vow to detach himself from the attachment to worldly material things. A $660k salary, a condo and 4 companies are material things that monks are not supposed to crave or own. Any monks want to dispute this fact? What looks wrong, usually becomes wrong. The services at the monastry, from my experience, is anything but cheap. It is a monastry to relieve the pains and sufferings of ordinary beans. The last thing is to relieve them of their money for services at commercial market prices. We are seeing more and more of money grabbing religious organisations among us. It is time that the govt takes a tough stand on such money grabbing organisations and tear away the religious armour of protection. No one shall be allowed to hide behind a belief to fleece money from the unthinking believers and worshippers. Religions are innocent. It is the human beans who are exploiting religions and the blind believers to line themselves with money and more money. As these are public organisations, feeding from the generosities of simple and sincere beans, accountability and transparency must be absolute. They are not private organisations established to make some people rich and earning money legitimately as a business organisations. In such religious organisations, the money were given in most cases, to the religion to do good for the sufferring transient beans.

Cyberspace one up

The news of Hsien Loong's mother in ICU came out first in cyberspace. Timely news of important or relevant events reported in cyberspace ahead of the msm. Now isn't this one up over msm in timeliness of reporting? Cyberspace has literally millions of reporters. Everyone can be a reporter and report on anything that is of public interests. The msm with their limited number of paid reporters will find this difficult to beat.

More bus rules

Some bus lanes are full day, some are only for certain times. Fantastics. I think all cars must be fitted with a bus lane detector device to tell the driver which is which. With so many traffic rules, where got ERP gantries and when they are operational and how much to pay, it is going to be very troubling. Then got to remember where got traffic cameras just in case you go a bit faster. Now buses are fitted with cameras to capture errant drivers and each fine is $130. Wondering how much is each camera costing the bus company and how much it costs to maintain the system. And who is paying for the increase in cost? Obviously not the bus companies. Next cameras to catch littering in HDB estates? Cameras in foodcourts to catch smokers. Please include the lifts also.

Time to do a little national service

Or maybe put it another way, time to reciprocate and return some profits to the commuters. This is what SMRT and Singapore Bus should think of doing. The govt is working so hard erecting ERP gantries and raising ERP charges to pressurise motorists to take public transport instead of driving. And the results can be seen by the packed trains and buses at all hours. All these through no effort of the public transport companies but the govt. Public transport companies' profits are going to soar with such heavy usage and instead of trumpeting their huge profits, why not help their loyal commuters a bit huh?

In the mood for Celebration

Reading the msm on home news, I just got this feeling to celebrate. The National Day is around the corner and a lot of exciting programmes have been lined up. Then the Nature Walk from Mount Faber to West Coast. This has been reported over and over again over several days. I too got into the mood for the walk. But thinking about logistics, parking the car and finding the way back to the car is going to be a big hussle. And don't forget about the parking fees. Singaporeans are truly lucky. Cyclone in Myanmar, tornadoes in US, bombing in India and earthquakes in China with tragedies unfolding. Here we are safe and sound and looking towards celebrating and enjoying our parks.

Electing masters or representatives?

Since everything is so peaceful and blissful, let me indulge in this issue a bit more. The older generations elected their representatives to look after them, to give them a better life. Actually during those days, they don't care if the people elected would assume a greater role as their masters. When living conditions were bad, they were only concerned about basic needs. A good material life was all they want. And they got it. And their elected representatives gave them what they want and still remained as elected representatives. Now the newer generations have everything and wanted more. They want their elected representatives to be elected representatives and not their masters. They are beginning to question the formula or the relationship between their elected representatives and how it resembles a master/serf pattern. One thinks he is there to be the master and the other accepts that but not very happy that it should be this way. And they are getting quite edgy. When a relationship is unnatural, not what it should be, it is unbalanced. It needs to return to what it should be or else more screws will be needed to tighten and hold the unnatural balance in place. The problem is when it is too tight, it might break. The people and elected representatives must be made aware, told and retold, that the relationship is a temporary one, one built on the consent and trust of the people, that the elected representatives will be there to look after the interests of the people as the people think fit. Not one where the elected representatives think that they have become the masters and decide what is fit for the people. Master/serf relationship has no place in modern democracy.

India students prefer Singapore

[Singapore: An emerging destination for Indian students Kaustubh Kulkarni / Pune May 14, 2008, 0:05 IST reporting in Business Standard The Indian student's dream foreign university is usually either from the UK or US. Other countries find it difficult to attract Indian students. Singapore, however, is trying to position itself as the destination of choice for Indian students. The country wants Indian students to enrol in its institutes, from the higher secondary or the junior college level onwards. Singapore is basing its pitch on its geographical proximity to India, professional education that provides excellent job opportunities, the business and trade environment of Singapore and its cosmopolitan culture.] Why would Indian students want to pursue their education in Singapore when India is producing better and more talented students that are replacing Singaporeans in the local job market? Indian talents are more sought after than Singaporean talents and this can be seen in their strong and growing presence here. So what is the attraction? The quality of Singapore education or job opportunities vis a vis the less talented Singaporeans?

From 146th to 153rd

Does Singapore deserve its press freedom ranking? Posted by theonlinecitizen on May 13, 2008 [Terence Lee In a 2008 survey by Freedom House, Singapore has shown no improvement in its freedom of the press, despite the maturing of online media as a medium to air alternative views. The latest results reveal nothing new: much has already been said about the deplorable state of press freedom in Singapore, ranked a lowly 153rd out of 195 countries, sharing the same ranking as Iraq. The idea that Singapore is first-world in economic competitiveness but third-world in press freedom and civil liberties has already become an over-sung tune.] Funny that I agree with the Freedom House ranking. Anyone want to disagree? With so many high brow and talented journalists, it is strange that our ranking is at par with Iraq. What? Iraq? And Terrence Lee was hoping that the online media viewing alternative views will lend some weight to our media ranking. Terrence forgot that online media and cyberspace are two different entity. One is part of msm and the other is citizen reporting. The latter not counted lah.

Lest we forget- Just a little reminder

This island is a republic, not a kingdom, dictatorship, a communist state or whatever. It is run on democratic principles where the people elect their representatives to manage the island for the benefits of the people. How is it that the people so easily forget that they are the owner of this island and the elected representatives are there temporarily and can be removed if they are not living to the expectations of the people? Not only that the people forget easily, even the people's representatives also forget that they are elected by the people to serve the people's interests. And for this, any major decision made that will affect the people must have the consent of the people and not simply be decided by them. Am I being confused? That once elected, the people's representatives have full power to do whatever they think right? There must be some big issues that they need to go back to the people, go through a referendum, to get the people's consent. One issue I think deserves to go back to the people is the growing population by unnatural means, ie, importing more foreigners to a target of 6 to 8 mil. This is helluva decision to make. The people are going to be affected by it, and hopefully it is good, but it can be very bad too, depending on how things turn out. For such an issue, I still think that the people must have a say on which way to go. In some European countries, even rebuilding and changing the buildings in a place needs a referendum. The people must consent to tearing down and building new buildings and structures. The people's representatives are only representatives and are temporal in nature. They are not there forever and neither could they bear the burden and responsibility of such a big decision that affects everyone, now and in the future. No one shall be given this right to decide what he thinks is good for the people without the people's consent. Maybe they will say I am talking cock. The elected representatives can do whatever they want or whatever they think best.

All problems solved

The msm is a pleasant read the last couple of days. In fact it is quite boring. Nothing of significance was reported except for the natural disasters overseas. Locally, it is all quiet in the western front. Anyone reading the papers will be feeling very comfortable. There is no problem in paradise. All problems were either solved or non existence. No more cries for help because of rising food prices. That must have gone away. No unemployment problem or housing problems. It is just so blissful.

Myth 180

Singaporeans are the richest people in Asia Other than the Japanese, on the average, Singaporeans believe that they are the richest people in Asia. How true is this statement? There are many rich people, true, and many millionaires. But we also have the highest percentage of people having financial difficulties, needing govt handouts. 200,000 households are struggling to make ends meet. That is a huge percentage of people in trouble. Now why is that so? The people with the highest savings needing to go for the dole. What kind of paradise is this? Got flats, got a lot of CPF savings but begging for govt assistance. Tak boleh tahan! So are we the richest people in Asian outside Japan? Or is this a myth?

When will they be caught?

The spate of kidnapping scam is getting to the nerves of Singaporeans. It is a traumatic experience for the older folks and those weak at heart. Has any of these bandits been caught? They are thinking that Singapore is Shanghai 1930s or are they going to turn Singapore into one? The law enforcement officers must work doubly hard to nab them and display them in the Padang for public caning for one week, chop off their hands before deporting them. Don't be soft hearted in dealing with these bandits as the harm they intended is much more than the pains of chopped hands. Need to set a few examples as a deterrent. Let there be no mercy. They better hurry to get rid of these pests before it gets too prevalent and others start to imitate them. It is a serious social security threat.

Do not forget the moral of U Turn signs

While the debate is on with the regulation or deregulation of cyberspace, let's not forget the morals of the U Turn signs. If it must, and the govt insists on regulations, let's hear more of No U Turns than to implement the U Turn signs when everything is not allowed unless allowed. Let's go for the specifics that are not allowed and that are not already provided by the existing laws. With this mindset, bloggers will be given more space to roam and explore and avoid the clearly defined OB areas which are actually non issues. Otherwise we will again end up with everything is OB unless specifically stated as permissible. In cyberspace age, the U Turn sign mentality is terribly dangerous.

Please come forward if you need help

Don't be shy, don't feel ashame. If you are a failure, if you cannot look after your family, or you have no money to pay for the housing mortgage, it is alright. You are just a useless bum and admit it. But we will help you. We will help you. You see, we are so helpful, so caring and so generous. There are several types of people who will come forward to seek help. The really desperate when there is no more rice in the rice container and no money to pay for the bills. Then there will be the professional tricksters and those who live by charity. But there is a big group of people who needs help but will not come forward. People who blow their trumpets loudly calling others to come forward to beg for charity are quite senseless and very insensitive to how other downtrodden beans feel. They think that they are inviting these people to a party. Even if the desperadoes brave themselves to walk into that door, they better bring all the proof and documentations to please the person sitting across the table. For that person will have no qualms to strip him naked to see if he is deserving. A man that goes on his knees for charity is a broken man. And so were his family. It is a terrible feeling of despair and helplessness. Don't ever think it is damn great to shout for people to come forward for help. The system is failing when so many people need help. A sound system is one that prevents people from getting into desperate situation, that make sure that people can live with some dignity and get by with their lives on their own. Our system is stinking despite the wealth that we have created when people are told not to be ashamed to ask for charity.

Why not cheaper medicine?

A Mdm Chin Fong wrote to the ST about her experience with the Singapore General Hospital. Her husband is a retired civil servants. She noticed that another patient was given similar but branded medicine while her husband, being on govt medical benefits, were given cheaper medicine. She enquired whether the two drugs were equally effective and was assured the case. And when she asked further, she was told that patients could not opt for the cheaper medicine. And I ask, why not? If the drugs are equally effective, why can't patient ask for the cheaper one even if it is not branded and pay less? This is an obvious case of a possibility of lowering medical cost with cheaper medicine. What happens to all the great motherhood statements about being prudent, being frugal and reducing cost? The people, patients, must be given a choice to elect for cheaper medicine or more expensive medicine. Cannot is rubbish. Can someone answer to this simple question, why people must be made to pay more for branded medicine when cheaper unbranded medicine can do the same job? I can't believe that this is happening when everywhere we are talking about cost cutting measures. Unbelieveable is the word. Does Boon Wan know about this?

Man, you are less than a man

How much are you taking home? Any man that is taking home less than $300k pa is less than a man. It was computed that a housewife is worth $300K a year. That is her contribution and worth. Are you worthy of $300k? Terribly embarrassing huh?

No reason to die

Malaysia introduced a form of National Service for their young men and women. It was not the rigorous form of military training expected of NS in Singapore. It was aimed at nation building and racial integration. Despite the less demanding physical and military training required for fighting soldiers, death seems to be quite frequent. Quite a number have died for strange reasons. Parents are questioning how their young and healthy sons and daughters could die after a short stink in training. They are angry and in deep pain for these things to happen to their loved ones. The random selection for NS is like striking a death lottery. How could this continue to go on?

Nature starts its culling

The earth is getting too congested and nature has no way out but to start its culling. Tsunami, cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts etc are simply nature's way of getting the excess fat away. Those people that perished must be not deserving to live. This is a tough statement to make. For if that is true, and if nature wants them out, why help? Civilisation also has its own way to cull people. Financial crisis, recession, job losses etc are social ways of letting the less able to go. Yes, these less able people are either of bad genes or lazy or stupid, and do not deserve to exist. For the strong and able, the rich and mighty, time to cut the crap and hypocrisies, laugh and sneer at those that can't make the cut. They have failed, it is their problems and they have themselves to be blamed. And if anyone wants to give them or show them a little kindness, that is strictly voluntary and they better appreciate it and don't ever demand. This is the tough and cruel realities. No more niceties. The fittest survives. I think many will live by such principles and truths. No one owes anyone else a living. They have made it and others must or should also make it. If they don't or can't, it is their funerals. And when nature has started to cull a population that is growing too big for its own good, when resources are exploited to its maximum and used up at a rate that is higher than it is able to replenish, it will lead to doomsday. Better be careful about that silly 6 mil, 7 mil or 8 mil population. Instead of going green, stop producing or increasing the population is the solution.

A timebomb ticking

Friday � April 25, 2008 CHITRA RAJARAM Deputy Editorial Director chitrarajaram@mediacorp.com.sg ARE Singaporeans racially sensitive as a society? Do we merely tolerate each other or do we really understand and care about the different races and sensitivities in our midst. While we pride ourselves as one people, one nation, one Singapore; I am not sure there is real depth of understanding at all when it comes to racial sensitivities. My recent experience with public transport is testimony to this. I drive to work four days a week and every Friday I take taxis, sometimes even in the wee hours of the morning. I have to confess, I have been appalled at the lack of sensitivity by taxi drivers. Why? Every time I had gotten into a taxi, it was to blaring music in a language I do not understand. The first few times, I kept quiet and endured the "noisy" journey back home. But once, after a 14-hour exhausting work day, I refused to take it any longer. When I told the driver to turn off the music, he told me he had to listen to it because it gave him traffic updates!... As a Singaporean, I find such behaviour rude and somewhat odd. We have grown up here on the mantra of four races. We have inter-religious organisations (IROs) to build understanding and tolerance. We also have celebrations of the four main festivals.... But my experience is not uncommon in societies where there are predominantly majority societies. The hegemonic behaviours of such groups of people is not extraordinary. But it is the minorities in these communities who perpetuate this hegemonic behaviour by adopting "paths of least resistance", one of which is silence. Once the sounds of silence set in, then the behaviours transcend from the personal, to the state and systemic levels. Admittedly, the Government has recognised this and has provided many avenues for us to be sensitive and sensitised to our innate differences. However, we are products of the socio-cultural systems we are born into and learn these traits in our social context, traits which are not biologically determined. So, we as a society (majority and minority) need to unlearn and reconstruct ourselves. How? To put it simply, we need to challenge ourselves, speak up when we are uncomfortable and reconstruct the social dynamics of our society � then we will truly be one people, one nation, one Singapore. Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. The above article is an early sign of the stresses building up in our society. It is good that it is being aired for if kept unspoken and unchecked, it will blow up in the most unexpected and ugly way. I have personally witnessed a few cases of citizens finding one another annoying in SMRT, and they spoke up, with their fists. If we cannot appreciate the intensity of this tension, we should expedite it by increasing the population at a faster speed and hit our 6 mil or 7 mil target quicker. Then everything will become real for all to see and experience. Our 40 years of nation building is going to go under with this thoughtless influx of superficial residents that would want their rights to be different in our own home.

I am sadden

I read from the feedback of MPs that more and more people are seeing them for help, for handouts. These people used to be from the lower income group. Now increasingly they are from the lower middle income group. What is happening to these Singaporeans huh? Giving them the best education money can buy and they are now in queue for charity? Why can't they buck up, work hard, and like the smart Singaporeans, earn $100k a month? In this land of opportunities and possibilities, how can they be in the queue for free money? That is the wrong queue. What have gone wrong? We are the best, the most highly educated in this part of the world or among the best in the developed world. Why are our people begging? They must be lazy, and maybe our claims that we have the best workers are not true. And yes, yes, we need more foreign talents to replace them. These useless Singaporeans only have themselves to blame when foreigners can work here and be so happy. Or like the little girl said, my father is earning so much, these people who cannot make a decent living here should get lost.

Bring back the foreign worker statue

Some time last year someone thought of honouring the foreign workers' contribution to the growth of Singapore and created a statue to stand side by side with Stamford Raffles, sharing equal honours in the history of Singapore. I was cynical about the idea and was unhappy that such a thought did surfaced, not that their contribution should be ignored, but what about the contributions of all our citizen workers past and present? With the recent publicity given and explanation of the greatness of foreign workers, I am having second thought. After hearing all the reasonings, I am starting to be convinced that foreign workers are our saviours and deserve a special place of honour. The statue that was discarded and kept in wrap last year should be brought to life and put at a high profile place. I think the most appropriate place would be in front of the NTUC Building in Finlayson Green, to replace the piece of tin can there. Now what made me change my mind? 1. They do the works that Singaporeans did not want to do. 2. They save the embarrassment of Singaporeans for allowing their parents to work as cleaners cleaning tables and washing plates or sweeping floors. Without them, all these cleaners will be the fathers, mothers or grandpas and grandmas of Singaporeans. 3. They create work for Singaporeans, like littering the parks which means more cleaning works and more contracts for cleaning companies. 4. They create demands for rentals. So Singaporeans can retire living on their rentals and can dump the CPF Life for good. 5. They create demand for goods and services, ie higher sales. This also leads to more jobs for service staff and foodcourts. I believe the public transport companies high profit is to a great part contributed by foreign workers. 6. They help to reduce cost to manfacturers who will then relocate here. We will become more competitive. 7. They provide a talent pool to bolster our otherwise talent depleted manpower. 8. They keep Singaporeans on their toes so that Singaporeans will not be complacent. 9. They can buy over the properties of cash strap Singaporeans or Singaporeans who are migrating, thus maintaining the value of properties. 10. The presence of these talents will rub off to the less talented Singaporeans and Singaporeans will get smarter in the process. And I can go on and on. They are indeed our benefactors and we must give due respect and recognition to them. They also teach Singaporeans not to be too gullible, and be easily conned by kidnap scams or washing dirty money. I rest my case.

Dirty Index - Another dictation culture

ST May 5, 2008 Conservancy fees may be tied to index, with dirtiest precincts paying more By Alfred Siew TIRED of hardcore litterbugs, Aljunied GRC plans to start measuring the cleanliness of its precincts under a new litter index to be introduced in October. Officials also said they will consider raising the conservancy charges for the dirtiest precincts to cover the extra work that goes into maintaining them. The index, the first of its kind in Singapore, was unveiled on Saturday by the GRC's Members of Parliament.... Aljunied Town Council chairman Cynthia Phua said... that the plan is under consideration and would not be confirmed until next year, she said. The above is another case of Dictation Culture.

The Singaporean Phobia

The fact that this letter is circulating all over paradise simply means that it strikes a familiar cord among many Singaporeans. Yes, this help thing is getting sickening and frightening. How about the govt got kicked out in the next General Election and the reason is that the people do not want to be helped and want to be left alone? This is an interesting development and may prove my theory is correct. Whatever that is good will end up bad. Whatever policies or good intention that can bring a govt to power could at the end of the day bring it down. The people who support the govt or are instrumental to keeping the govt in power will be the one that will bring down the govt. The formula for success is the recipe for disaster. This fear of too much help is no longer a joke. It is a genuine fear that help is really no help. Just think about it.

See GP and pay polyclinic rates

This is the latest innovation to help the elderly and not so rich Singaporeans to pay lesser medical fees. Those who are above 65 are entitled to apply for a Primary Care Partnership Scheme cards to enjoy this privilege. The conditions, Singapore citizens and a per capita household income of $700 pm. Just bring your ic, proof of income or no income, and a CPF statement or payslip to a Community Development Council or a community centre or club. Ok, to prove per capita household income, I think you may have to bring more documents to prove the number of people in the household and how much each is earning or what they are doing. How else to prove if one just bring his/her own payslip or CPF statement? Gone were the days when a GP would automatically run through his mind the affordability of the patient and charge accordingly. The place or type of residence, the general appearance or clothing, the neighbourhood, and if he knew the occupation. They did not ask for so many private information in the past. So a richer patient would be charged a higher rate than a poorer one. Not foolproof but a general practice by the GPs then. A kind of self regulation and social consciousness. Now this got more money pay more is being institutionalised.

Boon Wan should go on holiday

There is an email circulating in cyberspace pleading to the PM to stop helping Singaporeans. With Boon Wan working so hard, he should also read that same email and take the message as addressed to him as well. He is just working too hard to help the Singaporeans which I think many are finding it giddying and must be wondering whether too much help is a good thing or a bad thing. The latest is a Health Promotion Board letter for health screening at a discount rate. Whenever I receive a call from a bank or a flyer telling me about a promotion or discount, I never trust them. The discount, no matter how much, will end up with you parting with your money. It is like a foodstall saying $2 a plate. You will end up paying more when you have to ask for more as the $2 does not give you what you want. Or a beauty salon advertising a hair cut for $10. Once in, you may end up with bleaching, perm, massage, facial, steaming etc etc, and from $10, the bill may come to more than a $100. Just don't help the people so much. Too much kindness can be repulsive.

Best way to help Singaporeans

There is nothing better than to have the best and able men and women to run the country. Let's go for the $10 mil quality of leaders who can then come out with even better policies and formulas to help Singaporeans. $3 mil quality is a bit jaded and does not seem to be good enough. We need the best and deserve the best. And we need real change, the meat and the bones as well. It will be unproductive if we pay $10 mil for the same meat and bones.

Pride and Nationalism

The engineered protest by the West during the recent Olympic flame run has rekindled a long forgotten passion among the Chinese youth. They were enraged by the attempt to humiliate China and sponstaneously stood up to defend China and Chinese interests. This is a new phenomenon from a people that have been humiliated for the last two centuries. They have found a new pride and confidence to fight back and to tell the West that they will not be pushed around. How this sense of pride and nationalism came about is to a great extent a result of the economic growth of China and the general well being of its people. There is now a renewed pride to being a Chinese and China. And this comes from the people itself. Some may say that it is supported and encouraged by the govt. There is some truth to it. But if the country is not governed well, will the people stand up to defend country and govt, even with govt backing? Would Singaporeans stand up and defend country and govt if the country is attacked? This is a strong signal of how the people feel for the country and whether they are behind the govt. What is the present mood of the Singaporeans? Will they stand up spontaneously for country and govt or will they join the attack? We have seen many criticisms in cyberspace and many strong negative feelings at the moment. Are these isolated and from a small minority or could they be willed away in the presence of a crisis or external threat?

Flogging a dead horse

Conrad Raj is tenacious in trying to rein in the abuses in corporate governance and the way independent directors are appointed. Today he wrote an article telling companies not to appoint cronies as independent directors. And he praised those independent directors who resigned when they saw things were not right. For this part I strongly disagree with him. The independent directors are there exactly for this purpose, to make right what they see is wrong. Running away is running away from problems or in army terms, a dereliction of duty and responsibilities. It is important and honourable and a duty for independent directors to stay on and right the wrong or if they could not do so, tell the shareholders why they have to leave. I am still waiting for a system that works to replace the present system when companies could appoint cronies as independent directors. How could we allow such a system to exist in the first place? And how could we allow it to continue to exist without doing anything to it? Beats me. An international financial centre could not come up with a better system!

Abusing Quota System

There is an article posted in www.littlespeck.com on the abuses of the education quota in Malaysia. What the writer said is that bumi students with very bad results, not even qualified for university places were not only admitted, but were also given scholarships. The saddest part is that they failed after 3 or 4 years in university, in engineering disciplines, when you really must have the academic knowledge to pass. What is bad about such abuses is not that money is wasted for a helpless cause. There are many very bad consequences. Universities and their degrees being discredited, university education being wasted, and the time of the students are also wasted. Why waste these poor students time in the university when they could be placed in an institution more suitable to their level of academic and skill needs? They could graduate with a useful skill to earn a living. If a piece of paper is all the govt wants to give them, just designate a third rate university and print the degrees for them. It will save a lot of money and the time of professors and students, and money for scholarships could be put to better uses.

Mica responding

Mica has responded to the initiative by TOC and Yawning Bread and said it would take their proposals into consideration when regulations concerning cyberspace are being studied. What is interesting, and too good to be true, is the comment by Bhavani, press secretary to Boon Yang, that Mica is continuing with its lighter touch approach and may even go lighter. Wow! She said, 'Our intent... was to foster the growth of the Internet and to enable us to exploit its vast potential while safeguarding our society from its undesirable aspects.' Sounds promising, to foster the growth of Internet and to exploit its vast potential. But what is a bit dicey and may need to be looked at carefully is the meaning of 'undesirable aspects.' This is a motherhood phrase that can mean anything according to whoever is interpreting it. Just keep the finger crossed.

As the truth sinks in

The spectre of high cost of living is sinking in gradually. One of the first to be hit is car ownership. You may be able to buy, pay the instalments, but you cannot afford to drive that precious car of yours. Every trip out is going to cost that much more. The MPVs and SUVs are going to be hit badly. Cars that guzzle petrol are going to be sidelined. The latest COE dip for cars under 1600cc is a clear signal. The big cars will go on selling as that market is quite inflation proof. The rich will still have plenty of small cash to spare. The hardlanders who wanted that car to enjoy a little luxury will find it that much more expensive for the thrill. Malaysia is rethinking on the high toll fees and may reduce them to lower the high business operating cost. We are still sitting mighty high in ivory towers and will not budge in cutting a little on petrol tax to bring down the cost of transportation and related essential services. Always good to err on the high side with more taxes. Then can be generous to throw a few handouts around and the lucky few who are dying may relive for another few months. Those that miss the net, sorry lah.

Yes, speak out when necessary

The reply by CCS that the market is better to be regulated by more competition came under attack by readers in Today paper. Two letters, by Angeline Lee and Alvin Hoon, were not satisfied with the reply. They demanded that CCS should take action now against the $5 charge by Nets claiming that there is no competition in the market now. Net is the only provider of this service at the moment. The hike is only acceptable if there are competitors. (My view is that if it is pseudo competition with a few providers it will not make any difference and profiteering will go on at the expense of the consumers. That will be the CASE.) The people are now getting more vocal and would not take crappy answers and reasonings for granted. The people are learning to speak up. They are not going to let unfair actions be simply explained away. This is the only way to make sure that their rights and interests are not trampled by big organisations and big voices. Let's see if CCS will take some action against Nets. But from the look of things it is already a done deal. Pay up.

I challenge you!

The last time I remembered challenging someone was 40+ years ago. And we ended up in the backlane wrestling each other. The last we heard of the Seng Han Tong challenge to the Workers Party was for the WP to hire only Singaporean workers. And I heard a second challenge was issued to WP for its contractors not to hire foreign workers. This game of challenge is getting interesting. Would the WP start to challenge the govt to allow foreign talents to stand for election? Or would the challenge be on the reduction of petrol prices, reduction of hospital bills? Or would the WP make a challenge that if they become Ministers they will only ask half the present pay? The possibilities of throwing challenges at one another is enormous. And why not when there is no consequences.

High price ok provided...

Chin Yen Yen, Dep Director, Corporate Communications Competition Commission said, '...under the Competition Act in Singapore, a high price set by a dominant player does not in itself imply an abuse of dominance.' This is only true if certain conditions exist. She added that there must be 'competition among different suppliers in a free market environment. In many instances we actually have a near monopoly situation here and a free market environment is not present. Public transport quickly comes to one's mind. TV licence, news provider, privatised public services etc etc. The public needs to be protected from such monopolistic environment or in industries where cartel like practices are possible.

40% of Singaporean households will be millionaires

By 2017, according to a report, that is. Now isn't that good news? If we are looking at asset worth, we can make 50% of Singaporeans millionaires tomorrow by simply raising the prices of public housing. And Singaporeans will be boasting to one another that they are now millionaires. But every Thursday night they will queue up to see their MPs asking for help as they have no money to buy rice, pay instalments or medical bills. What is important really is the purchasing power. In the 60s, one needed not be a millionaire to buy a semi D at $40k. Today, a millionaire cannot even afford to buy a semi D, or come 2017, can't even buy a 5 room HDB flat. So shall we celebrate this great news to be millionaires in 2017?

Is LKY having a change of heart?

Quote: Lee(LKY) said the Chinese should learn to take the western media on the western media's terms. If protesters get into the Olympic stadiums waving 'Free Tibet' banners, China should shrug it off, he said. If I were them I would expect that and say 'So what?' Lee added. Unfortunately they are still in the old set way they react, but they're learning. Unquote Would LKY apply this advice to the Chinese govt to our local context? When there are demonstrators, would the authorities shrug it off and say, 'So what?' Now if this is going to be the things to come, it would be interesting.

The Mahathir Syndrome

When Mahathir was in power, everything he said and or wanted to do would be done. All his cronies who enjoyed all the perks would just joined the bandwagon, got fed and became fatter, without a single word of criticism or guilt. Now that Mahathir is out of favour, he is now free to crusade against all the wrong things done during his time. His former cronies too were doing the same. Suddenly everything seems so wrong. But when they were in positions of power, they cannot see anything wrong. What takes them so long to realise the wrongdoings? Why didn't they say anything or do anything when they were in a position to do so? Is it because they are no longer being fed, so nothing to lose now?

Move on and be forgotten

Imagine if there is no internet and blogs, every embarrassing episode will be forgotten and the people would have moved on. No more reminders of NKF and peanuts, no more high salaries to haunt anyone while the poor were asked to tighten their belts and eat potatoes, who is Mas Selamat or Selamat what? People have short memories and have many things to take care of. The internet will now be the mother of all memories, be there constantly, to remind people of embarrassing things, 24/7, 365 days a year. There will be no such things as move ons. The msm may not want to talk about some issues and events because of space contraints and the need to move on to new news. News have to be news, fresh and of current interests. In cyberspace, what is important is not currency but relevance and continuity. Things that are really important to the citizens, things that the citizens hold dearly and care about. And for some things, they will not move on but cling on.

Horrifying news

I read in the weekend papers of people commenting that they need a $1000 or $1200 pm income in order to get married. What were this people thinking? Still living in the 60s when a 4 figure salary is a big deal? Even if both are earning $1200 pm, it is a big drag. They will barely get by on their own. No more free school fees, free medical, free tuition, etc. Correct me if I am wrong on these. Some may be getting a lot of freebies from Community Welfare Funds, and there are plenty of them if they are qualified. If not they could appear in TV Charity Shows to help to raise fund for themselves. Yesterday I posted about the guy with a $600 pm single income and two kids. He is brave enough to bring two innocent lives into this paradise when nothing is free. I do not know whether it is foolhardy or idiotic, whether he is doing a meritorious act to help in the birth of two human bean, or he is setting up for two tragedies to happen? With the high cost of living, a minimum combined income of $3000 may barely get by with one kid. People need a lot of education on the cost of living here and how much is needed to start a family. Long gone were the days where families lived off the land with 10 or more children, each with one pair of shorts and a singlet to live by. And where food can be found in the forests or hunted. Or where fire is free from fallen tree trunks and water free from the well. This is a big city and all facilities are world class with world class price tags. Want to have more world class facilities? Want to pay more?

The Dictation Culture

Over the years, this Dictation Culture, where people in position of authority will dictate to the people in the name of 'for the good of the people' has been part of the Singaporean psyche. Singaporeans grow up thinking that dictating to the people is an acceptable form of behaviour. And when in position to do so, they too will do it. And those at the receiving end will just accept it. Our CPF money is subjected to this Dictation Culture. We often hear people suggesting that Singaporeans should be subject to compulsory donation of their money to charities or special self help funds as if the money is there for the taking, and the owners have no right to them. Recently, the NTUC Income is in the news for 'arbitrary changing its bonus payout structure' to policy holders. This change was decided and done by NTUC Income and it then informed the customers of the change. Though the customers bought the policies under a set of agreed terms and conditions, this change came as a surprise to many, including former Income Chief, Tan Kin Lian himself. But all the protests will be useless if there is provision for Income to change the terms as it likes. The changing of the CPF withdrawal age and terms over the years, the compulsory Medisave Account, the CPF Life etc were all new terms that were decided and shafted it to the people. No choice. Compulsory and for the good fo the people. And since there were no public protest, it is settled, that the people approved of them.

Planting Trees

There is a Chinese saying that the present generation plant trees and the future generations will reap its benefits. What the govt is doing, in investing for the future is similar to planting trees and is a laudable initiative. A more short sighted govt would have used the money now and make many people happy and win many popular votes as well. The worst govt is to spend the future earnings now, like what the American govt is doing. They are bankrupting themselves into the future. We have seen a lot of our money, billions, being invested for the long term, and recently the buying of big foreign banks. The timing, a golden opportunity, also presents risks. The immediate short term losses have naturally invited a lot of criticisms. With hindsights, some were saying that it would be better if the decisions were delayed a little. And people would expect the professionals to do their sums right. In this case, it is easy to say we were a bit hasty. The loss is no small change. The other angle of unhappiness is that while we have so much money to invest for the future, we are seeing immediate pains and suffering affecting some of our less able citizens. It is a question of how much to invest and how much to share with the people. Admittedly it is very subjective and what one sees as right another will see it as wrong. While planting trees for the future is definitely a prudent move, it should not end up as an obsession as the present needs to be taken care of too. Many of the owners of this national reserves will not be around in the future to reap the fruits of long term investments. And when we have more than enough, a little more generosity for the present is most welcomed.

Msm and political parties

The Malaysian system allows for political parties to have their own mouth piece in the form of commercial papers. PKR is going to have its own paper to be sold to the public with a political view that is PKR's. Umno of course has its own papers. With political parties owning their own newspapers, it is normal and acceptable to have such papers towing the party lines and saying good things about the party and defending the party. What is the status of our msm? Are they owned by political parties or are they strictly private organisations? My understanding is that our msm are commercial and privately owned enterprises, not owned by political parties. Not even own by the govt, not a statutory board, or is it? I read somewhere that the local msm's stance is to be pro govt. So whichever party comes to power, they will have the support of the msm. Is this support unquestionable or unconditional, under all circumstances?

No subsidised petrol

There is no difference in the definition of subsidy between what we know here and what it is known in Malaysia. Both subsidises by making the buyer pays less from the market price. The Malaysians subsidise their petrol and we subsidise our flats and hospital bills. The difference is that the Malaysian petrol subsidy also allows foreigners like Singaporeans to take advantage of them. (We don't regard PRs as foreigners.) Now the Malaysian govt is thinking of abolishing this ruling. And foreigners buying petrol in Malaysia will have to pay non subsidised prices. That will make the petrol buying trips to JB unnecessary. It will also put an end to the Uniquely Singaporean 3/4 tank rule. So no one can continue to joke about it anymore. The best thing is that the jams at the causeway will be a thing of the past. It may be a little tough to the shopkeepers and restaurants that benefitted from the Singaporeans going over for petrol and at the same time enjoying the cheaper food and groceries. When the incentive of cheaper petrol is over, the hustle and the little savings may not be attractive enough anymore. Only genuine visitors going for holidays will be seen crossing the Johore Straits.

Living on bread alone

A family of 4, with two young children, survives on bread for lunch and inner. Didn't know what they take for breakfast. Maybe skip breakfast too. And compare their plight to the destitutes in charity homes with 3 proper meals, I think the homes are a luxury. His income is $600 pm. Unbelieveable, but it happens. He probably earns less than a foreign worker or cleaners in the food courts. Some may want to throw the brutal truth at them, that they are to be blamed for being useless and unable to earn a decent living in paradise. With cost of living skyrocketing, life for those in this category is going to be tough.

Next Parliament sitting

The last sitting was overshadowed by the escape. Even the high cost of living were not touch on, or was it skimmed through? With the Mas Selamat issue as water under the bridge, and with everyone moving on, we can expect more outstanding issues to be tabled. Many ministers were significantly 'absent' or unheard of in the last sitting, all taking a backseat and quietly watching the spectacle of Kan Seng under the spotlight. Raymond would surely be in the picture with his seat belts buckled tightly. Boon Heng may do an update of his oldies ministerial portfolio. Eng Hen could continue to take a break after solving the annuities for the oldies problem for Boon Heng. Now where is Mah Bow Tan? I think he can relax a little with all the backlog HDB flats sold or nearly sold and with HDB prices going to seventh heaven due to rising demands. Good job done. And Boon Yang, is he in Trade and Industry? Tharman should be a happy minister with so much money in hand and happily giving them away. Hopefully Chiam See Tong would not tell him not to kill the goose and only giveaway the drumstick will do. Bloggers should be waiting in anticipation of what new laws will come out from Shanmugam. Oh, Boon Wan has solved the high medical fees problems. Everyone now can afford to pay their medical fees to the 80s. Looks like the only major thing in the next sitting is not even ERPs or high profits of privatised public transport system but seat belts for school children.

Happy news for retirees

HDB rental market remains strong with high demands from foreigners. The median rents for 2 rm is $1,000 pm and 3 rm is $1,400. Now, that will take care of my retirement surely. No need CPF Life or buy back schemes. If people can start a family with a $1,200 income, $1,400 will be too much for a retiree who is happy with instant noodles and 3 in 1s. And for the bigger flats, 4 rm can fetch $1,600 while 5 rm can get $1,800. Singaporeans who own a HDB have it made. No more worries. Just pray hard that more foreigners will come to our shore and continue to drive up rental demands. Now I am fully convinced that we need more foreign workers, foreign talents or anything, as long as they are foreigners and can afford to pay more for renting HDB flats.

MP pushing for new laws

Finally there is an issue grave enough for the MPs to speak up strongly in Parliament. The high cost of living, minister's pay, and the Mas Selamat escape were not able to kinder the fire in the belly of the MPs. It is reported in the front page of the Sunday Times that several MPs would lobby for new laws to make seat belts in school buses mandatory. Enough is enough and they want it implemented immediately. They would even question Raymond Lim 'What's next?' since he has not spoken a word on this earth shattering issue. There will be sparks in Parliament on May 26. Just wondering, is Raymond running out of favour?

Compare prices and save

'Consumers can save money if they shopped around, Case said, noting that there were variations in prices across supermarkets, even for the same item.' And when I study the price comparison table carefully, I am fully convinced. And I am going to put this great saving idea into practice today. I will buy canned luncheon meat and eggs from NTUC Fairprice, canned sardines and baked beans from Shengsiong, condensed milk and toothpaste from Giant, shampoo and soap from Shop N Save, dishwashing detergent from Prime, and bread from Jasons. Wow, I am starting to count my savings from buying the cheapest from all these supermarkets. And don't worry about my petrol and time. I have plenty of spare time, and I can walk.

A pathetic existence of a life gone drastically wrong

I truly admire, and even envious, the old hags that sit in the board of directors or even as chairman of huge conglormerates and actively employed even in their 70s or feeble 80s. These are the men and women who have a good life. After toiling for half a life time, they ended in a job that demands them to attend a few board meetings and being paid in the millions or at least a few peanuts. And in between board meetings, maybe once a month, and a few corporate functions to grace the occasions, the rest of their time is for their own enjoyment. They can go travelling or spending quality time with friends, girlfriends, boyfriends or grandchildren. It is a life worth 'working' and living for. Anyone in such a privilege position will want to 'work' till death makes them part.With plenty of money and plenty of free time at their own disposal, 'working' for a life time makes a lot of sense when 'working' is once a month to attend board meetings. 'Working' really makes sense to these privileged individuals but not to those who have messed up their lives, wittingly or through a spate of misfortunes. No judgement here as many got into their predicaments through many reasons, self inflicted, environmental or circumstantials. It is a very sad state of affair to see a different set of old hags wiping tables and clearing plates in kopitiams or high end food courts. These octogenarians are a frail presence of their exuberance youth. Now their presence in stark contrast to a new generation of affluent young that have everything that they did not have in their life time. And the new young are enjoying every minute of their time in luxury while these old hags are told to value and treasure their economic independence and dignity, to earn a living at a time when they should be lying beside the boxes and waiting to be carried them home. Is this what life should be in a rich beyond belief first world paradise? That the oldies must toil to the last day of their pathetic existence? That this is called dignity and pride of living? Strongly encouraged by the state! I think this is the most shameful thing to see, and to believe that it is good. Don't we have any better options, a new thinking on what life should be for the oldies? A little tropical paradise as suggested by Boon Wan is not a bad idea as a choice, no compulsion and with true subsidies, to allow the oldies to retire in grace, comfort, stress free and with dignity. Walking the aisles of kopitiams and foodcourts can never be something to be proud of or to look forward to in one's twilight years.

And now I understand

I happened to step into Robinson last week and, to my amazement, the store was so crowded. I didn't know there was a sale on. I picked up a couple of items and headed for the cashier. I almost dropped what I was holding. There were something like 50 people in the queue. I looked around for other cashiers and the same picture struck me again. It might be a big sale. But hey, that's Robinson, and every item there is not cheap ok. And the customers were just grabbing, each with a few items in the hands and under their arms. Easily every customer would be hanging on to a couple of hundred bucks of items. Now this is also a part of paradise. While in the NTUC Fairprice the same crowd was there. But you could notice that price checking seems like a past time. The customers were checking and rechecking the prices and comparing similar items. If one patronises stores like Robinson, it is very excusable to exclaim that the good times are here. What is a few hundred bucks? It is good time and spending is a good distraction to the boring life. What a different world! Please forgive me if I don't have the same world view as you.

Different style

Below article was posted by a blogger in Tan Kin Lian's blog. It presented a different style on the issue of responsibility and accountability. I am not making any value judgement here as it is not a matter of right or wrong. It is just a style, and people do it differently. (Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum , Philadelphia , March 22,2008) Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, leaders should manage failure? Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's 'Rohini' satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space.... By 1979 ...I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure. That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference....Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization. ...in July 1980, ... and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, 'You conduct the press conference today.' I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team....

The new battle on foreign workers

We have discussed this many times over. Though some were more against foreigner workers, many narrow down to foreign talents that are not really talents but cheap white collar workers. And the gripe is that they are taking away these jobs from Singaporeans who are just as well qualified. Reading the msm today, a new battle is being fought between the govt and the opposition parties even to the extent of ridiculous challenge asking Worker's Party to just hire Singaporeans. This is the same kind of challenge asking Singaporeans to come up with alternative solutions when it cannot happen simply because the one being challenged is not in a position to carry them out. Ya, hogwash. So now we have the trade unions and the govt strongly for foreign workers. On the other corner, the natural opponents, the opposition parties. As far as workers are concerned, it is now an established fact that many jobs are shunned by Singaporeans and only foreigners are willing to accept them. So there should be no question as to whether the employers should or should not employ foreign workers for these jobs. What is needed is in jobs that Singaporeans want and are qualified to do. If these jobs are lost to Singaporeans, with so many things stacked against them, we are going to see many educated, qualified and angry Singaporeans hogging the net and kpkb.

Mahathir into blogging

Mahathir has joined the blogging world to say his piece. And this is a world that he had no special liking for when he was in power. For then, the msm was his mouth piece, saying and printing what he liked and his fancy. Things have changed when he lost power. He lost his voice in the msm. They no longer say or print what he likes. And knowing that he has no other choice by cyberspace, he accepts what he thinks is best. Now he has cyberspace to thank for in giving him a voice. Whether people listen to him is another thing. But at least he is talking again He is using his pen name of Che Det. Welcome to the world of talking nonsense, or saying what you feel, Che Det. No one is going to censor your free speech now.

Don't worry, we have plenty of rice stockpile

This is a very comforting message. And then there is NTUC Fairprice advising people to switch to housebrands that are cheaper or go for special discount promotions. And the govt has assured the people that they will help those who need help, directly. A Lily Cheong wrote to the ST complaining, yes, complaining that 'A 10kg bag of rice rose from $17.50 or $18.50 to $20.80 one week ago. On Tuesday, the price rose to $26.80.' Using the $17.50 as base, this is more than 50% increase in slightly more than a week. She added that for low price cooking oil, 'For a 2kg bottle, the price rose from $2.35 to $5.25 or $5.35 a week ago. On Tuesday, the price spiked again to $5.90...for cooking oil sold under Fairprice's house brand, labbeld a low price item.' Total increase is more than 150% from $2.35. At the rate this is going, the people better be afraid. Be very afraid. There will be plenty of rice and basic essentials available. But money will not be enough.

The fascinating world of internet

Blogs and forums are sprouting out daily in cyberspace. There must be several thousands of local blogs and forums out there, from students talking about their school and social lives to hobbyists, food and gourmets, pornography and social political sites. It is blossoming with each day passing. There must be plenty of interesting and exciting things said or happening in cyberspace. OK, I shall not deliberately avoid mentioning Stomp, CNA, P65s and other sites that are being promoted by the msm. All of them are competing for readership. With such a vibrant community existing in cyberspace, the strange thing is that there is no interest in the msm to cover this ground. All we get to hear occasionally is a brief mention of Mr Brown, Yawning Bread, Mr Wang and maybe TOC and no more. Oh, maybe about someone selling food or comics. And if there is any article on internet and cyberspace, it is about something that not many people will not bother, or about blogs existing in Siberia or Timbuctoo perhaps. I read something in the ST talking about starving a dog in Nicaragua and Bonsai Kitten where kittens are stuffed in bottles by Tan Shzr Ee. To be fair, she was skirting around to talk about the meaning internet rants and kpkb. She said people argued that internet activism is ineffective because it was easy and cheap, and would be ignored. She disagreed. She said 'internet furores create a sense of greater awareness, or at least an opportunity for one to find out more.' Views in cyberspace are intentionally and deliberately ignored for obvious reasons. They present a serious challenge to not only the approved truths, but also posed as a serious challenger for readership with the msm. No business enterprise will promote the interests of their competitors or give credits to them. That is expected. Will msm give greater coverage of cyberspace one day, devote a page or a column for it? Not much of a chance if they can help it.