Homogenous constituencies

Our constituencies are by design, or by a stroke of nature, very consistent in their composition. The racial groups represented are similar, the rich and poor are similar and the number of people voting for the ruling party and opposition parties are also similar. The 66.6% for the ruling party and 33.4% for the opposition parties would be the norm across all constituencies. Now, under this kind of distribution, the ruling party is more or less assured of being elected. But would it throw out a strong opposition party? For 33.4%, never! In a democratice system, one can only be elected by a simple majority. 49% also will not be represented. Maybe we need to tweak the system to allow the 33.4% some representation in Parliament. Otherwise, because of the homogeneity of our constituencies, they will forever be left out.

The Big IF

What if Anwar is a victim of a political conspiracy to keep him out of politics? If this is the case, what can the Malaysians make out of their political leadership and all those in power, including the police and judiciary who are all out to get him? Has Malaysia degenerated to such an unhealthy state of affair when leaders of the country could stoop so low, devoid of all human decencies, ethics and moral conduct, to destroy a fellow man just to keep themselves in power? If this is the case, what kind of country has Malaysia become? And what should the people do when the leadership is totally immoral and has no moral authority to lead? The big IF, is that if what is happening is really so shamelessly ruthless. And the leadership still walks around like upright and honest men and pointing an accusing finger at an innocent man. This is the big IF. Any country that has gone down to this level is no longer a country but a hell hole. What is the truth in Malaysia?

Ingredients of our success

Come National Day Parade, it is natural for every Singaporean to be hit by a sense of awe and pride. We watch as the showcase revealed how far we have come. From the sophisticated weaponry and hardware to the organisation of a precise drill involving thousands of people, and a people in celebration of how well they are living. The message is that we have done well. And we got to thank the political system that we have developed, the dedicated and selfless leaders that are there to constantly improve the lives of the people, and an obedient and willing to be led populace that will listen and move along quietly, guided by a progressive govt. And many people feel that we have arrived. We shall maintain the status quo, not to rock the boat, everything is fine and well managed. We can only do better over the years and march into the future with confidence that things will be better. The life and progress of a nation is like the life of a person. It is a journey, a longer journey and will not end until the nation collapses or being overrun or taken over by someone else. To think that we have arrived and nothing more needs to be done is a sure sign of complacency. We need to keep on going, to improve ourselves, change and adapt to an unknown future, and be wary of death traps. The three ingredients that have brought us so far could also be the three ingredients that will destroy us. A small wrong step or wrong decision and we will face the wall. Our political system is so strongly biased in favour a strong govt that works for the people. It relies heavily on a strong team of men who will want to do good for the people and country. And the system allows such a team of men to do as they liked. In such a system, all it needs is a few scoundrels to take over the govt and run it for their own benefits. And that's it. The system will facilitate such a process, will facilitate the scoundrels to do what they want. The system does not check and restrain them. And the people, trained and moulded to be followers without questioning, unthinking, and a strong believer of the system and the leaders, will be led to jump over the cliff. The people will not know how to resist or check the govt. They will just go along, and go along for as long as they can. They have a very high tolerance to take pain. They have a strong belief that the leaders will always be the honest and selfless leaders that will take care of them. And they will be buried alive with that kind of thoughts and belief. They would not know how to react or sense that things are getting out of hand till it is too late. The three ingredients that brought us so much success will be the same ingredients that will do us in eventually. As we celebrate our National Day, we must constantly remind ourselves how long will it last.

Invasion of the journalists and reporters

Yes they are coming. The Straits Times is unleashing them into cyberspace to compete for readership. And ST has assured that they will continue to provide the quality of accurate reporting that is its trademark. So we will see more blogs by the professionals and read their views of things, events and issues. I think this is implied, other than just reporting on factual stuff. And would their blogs be censored and edited by the editors first before they can be read? This is getting interesting. Cyberspace will never be the same again.

The unusual burden shouldered by the poor

GST is across the board, no exception and no exemption. Who would this hurt most? Who would have to pay more as a percentage of their income? Under the old tax system, the poor do not have to pay taxes. Now they are shouldering the bulk of the tax in view of the large numbers of them in the population. Then everything goes up. They still have to pay. No escape. And their income has been stagnant for the last 10 years. All the good years they missed on real growth in their income. And now, when the economy is just beginning to show a little weakness, the message is that they should not get pay rises. And if they do, should not be too big to offset inflation. And they are expected to provide the workforce to clean up the rubbish and the lower level of jobs. They are expected to provide the bulk of the NS men to defend the country. And now they are expected to produce the babies to form the pyramid base. Can they afford it? Who cares. All is needed is for them to keep producing. The country needs the numbers.

Help me help you - Vivian said

This is what Vivian said to the residents of Cashew Constituency. He told them, 'What I will tell you is that anybody who needs help will get that help. I need you to help me and the grass roots leaders make sure that there is no hunger in Cashew. My advice to Vivian is to look no further. Ask Lily Neo. She will have a lot of good ideas if he cares to listen.

43 years of Independence!

The word 'independence' is a smear word in the history of colonised people. Independence from who or from what? If the land is yours, if you are the owners of the land, what independence, but independence from the colonial masters who came and took the land from you. You lost ownership of your land and your rights as an independent people. You became a subject of a colonial power. All the properties and land now belonged to the masters. They came and they took, including you. The only people who fought bravely for their land and their rights as a people were the Red Indians. They fought with bows and arrows against rifles and bullets. They were decimated. But they were willing to die for their land and the rights to be what they were. No one was going to take away their land and properties unless over their dead bodies. Millions of dead Red Indian bodies were strewn across the prairies. There are so few left of them today that the World Wild Life Protection Fund should rightly put them on the endangered species to be protected. The Africans were in a poorer state when the colonialists arrived. They did not know much about being a nation or a country. All tribes, and primitive weapons for hunting, worst than the arrows of the Red Indians. And they were easy meat. Hunted down like animals and shipped as beast of burdens. They called them slaves then, to work for a paltry 3 meals and in chains. No rights, no freedom. They don't even own their bodies or their children or spouses. All owned by the colonial masters. The Indians in India were far better developed. They had empires and kingdoms before. But they could not fight the power of new military weapons. Many chose to serve the colonial masters and be part of the empire. The pockets of resistance were too weak and disorganised to mean anything. Came Malaya, in a period of village chiefs. The only fighting weapons were the krises and spears, maybe some blowpipes. But as small groups of fishing villages, they were easily rounded up, a little carrot and stick, and all was peaceful with the colonial masters in full control and owning everything. Singapore was created as a trading post by the colonial masters. It grew and became their administrative headquarters. We became part of the Straits Settlement which included Penang and Malacca. Then came self rule in 1959. David Marshall and Lim Yew Hock were involved in political and administrative fights to win back some rights to govern ourselves. History helped us in our next phase of development when the British Empire was crumbling and they found it necessary to grant independence to their colonies but retaining authority and privileges to trade and administration. We became part of Malaysia in 1963 and then full independence in 1965. Finally, we owned the land we lived in, we became citizens with full rights to properties and liberty. Yes we became independent and owned everything here. There were some legal and political struggles, not the kind like fighting a war of independence when many were killed or ended up as martyrs. We were literally given our independence on a silver plate. Maybe we have got our independence too easily. So it is easier to give it away or share it with the world. Everyone is welcome to be a citizen. And everything can be sold for a price. Just name your price and we can negotiate. Will we sell everything we owned for some fiat currency? Would we sell our rights as a country, our people's rights as citizens for money? Will we eventually lose everything or sold out everything that has a monetary value on it? What is a country or nation when we don't own anything any more? What is a country or nation when no one feels any attachment to anything here? What is, if no one thinks it is worth fighting for, or a better option is an exit to another country, emigration? What is a citizen when anything of value is own by foreigners? And to make matter worst, we either have to pay dearly to enjoy or visit them or be excluded completely, because we are not a member or cannot afford to become a member, in our own country? It is not too far fetch to imagine that Sentosa or Orchard Road will no longer be freely accessible to the citizens unless they can afford a ransom for it. The trend of losing the rights to our land and properties, to the right of sight and smell, and even free air, is growing. If and when everything is sold, what are we as citizens of this land? We are 43 in a week's time. What will things be when we are 53, 63 or 100? Will we be citizens in name only but serving new economic colonial masters that own all our land and things on the land one day? Will the word independence takes on a new meaning some time in the future?

School bus fares won't go up

Thanks to the Competition Commission of Singapore, school bus fares that were supposed to go up by $10 to $15 form Aug 1 will not take effect. The Commission has 'advised them (Singapore School Transport Association) to take remedial action.' The Commission is not against price hike but must be done by individual bus operators independently. That may be the reason why fare hikes for MRT and public buses can continue to go up simply because they act individually. But it would be good if the Commission can also advised them a little after all these companies are making huge profits without competition. And they have just submitted for more hikes for approval by the Public Transport Council. Oh, the petrol companies should also be advised on the way they hike or reduce their prices, all in tandem and in the same amount.

Hither the opposition parties?

A debate is now on as to the tweaking of the political system for a stronger opposition party to partner the ruling PAP in the govt. And how the system will turn out will be at the discretion,magnanimity and mercy of the party in power. They will tweak the system in a way it deems fit for the participation of the opposition parties. Will the opposition parties be consulted or will they have a say in the tweaking? Will the people be consulted as well? Why am I asking such obvious questions? The opposition parties have taken a very low presence lately. Wondering why? Have they lost their scripts or are they having a retreat to re strategise how they should play their roles to win support from the people? Or are there things that we do not know that is happening behind the scene that led to the disquiet? What I thought a good strategy for the opposition parties is to learn from the master. The Malaysians and Indonesians refused to learn from the master and have been left behind, gasping for air and heading no where. The opposition parties need not reinvent the wheel. Just learn from the master from organisation, strategies and tactics, including styles and purposes. Just do a little tweaking on the objectives. Both are working for the people and country. The only difference is the methodology and the priorities. The opposition parties should start with the setting up of a parallel mode of organisation structure, committees, sub committees, grassroot organisations, activities, just remember to exclude things like bicycle rides or joggings in the parks that may cause riotings. And organisations/committees or cells should include the official and unofficial, the known and the unknown, to gather support and information on the ground. But all these requires a lot of resources and manpower and the opposition can only do it in smaller scale or selectively. I think this will be a good start. With an equivalent organisation, no need a shadow cabinet yet, the field will be more level. Both can take on each other on similar terms, strategies and tactics.

Why no need for season tickets?

Season tickets have been in used for public transportation in many countries for years. The main objectives, other than convenience, include discounts for frequent users or for those whose use a lot of public transport. It will eat a little into the profits of the transport companies but it is also a way to reward loyal customers. In countries where there is real competition, season tickets also help to retain customers if the tickets are only for designated transport companies. Why is season tickets such a pain and not being offered to the Singaporean commuters? Why are the transport companies mulling over it for so long and could not see its advantages to the commuters, which, ok, means a little disadvantage to the companies in terms of discount and lesser profit? The last past must be the reason. Why should they give discount to commuters when there is no competition and no need to? The other reason which commuters forgot, is that most of the commuters are already purchasing season tickets by paying in advance in their EZlink cards. So the commuters are already paying season. What for give them discount when they are already doing it? The is the same principle that is applied in many areas. Our hospitalisation bills are being paid in advanced, used or not used, through Medisave accounts. Fat hope that the season tickets will be introduced. Oh I heard it is in the plan.

Unleashing the power of the people

In his Jakarta Presidential Lecture, Kishore Mahbubani talked about the lessons to be learnt from India and China. What make the resurgence of these two ancient civilisations at such a rapid pace? Both countries have enormous human resources and both these resources were trapped by feudal systems that enslaved them for centuries instead of liberating them. What move these two sleeping giants was the unleashing of the power of the people, all more than 1 billion each. Freeing the people's mind, educating them and unleashing them to develop to their fullest potential. The miracles that are happening in these two countries are there to be witnessed. While Singapore embarked on its revival by embracing foreign talents, the biggest pitfall is that it is continuing to entrap the minds and power of its own people. It simply tells its people not to think, not to get involved in the nation's affair. Shut up and move on. Make your money and keep quiet. Be grateful, be happy. Don't think, no need to think. The few super talent elite will do the thinking. Was there a change to these thinkings? Can Singapore really transform itself into a new height given these kinds of feudal mindset where obedient to authority, authoritarianism, is regarded as the epitome of a political system?

Change in the offing?

Chua Mui Hoong wrote about the possibility of change as hinted by Chok Tong. In her view there could be changes but under the ruling party's terms. The ruling party shall call the shot, decide who can play and set the rules. Is this not the case all this while? The govt, she said, which is actually the ruling party, shall be the controller, the game master and shall work out a system that is fair to all players. What kind of system, and how fair, would come out of it if the game master is also the key player with vested interest to remain as the main player? Sue Ann Chia also discussed about the hints of coming changes, probably bigger GRCs, bigger deposits, to ensure that the ruling party continues its dominant position but with more participation in the form of nominated MPs. The possibility of ever bigger GRCs, maybe lesser than 5, or maybe 1 or 2 cannot be ruled out. Such a change could totally rule out any opposition participation because of the extremely high cost in deposit money and their inability to gather enough respectable candidates. It will deal a death blow to the opposition and for all. This is similar to what Zhu Ge Liang did when he advised Xiang Yu, I think, to tie all his ships together to form an unsinkable platform. It was a formidable strategy, like All In in a poker game. The rest was history. Correction. Abao has given the correct names of the general and advisor. It was Cao Cao and Pang Tong. The moral of the story was the tying of the ships together and they all got burnt together.

Would Singapore head the Malaysia way?

The political developments in Malaysia is tearing the country apart. Every political leader now appears a suspect, questionable in action and motive, what they said and did are all taken with a big pinch of salt. In short, unreliable, untrustworthy and unbecoming. What is more serious is the persecution of Anwar with malicious charges. After his first episode in jail and being beaten, Anwar is facing similar charges and possibly similar endings. Would Singapore, down the road, see a high profile politician being persecuted and pursued by the 'law' relentless to make sure it stick? Would the fortune of some high profile politicians hang in the balance because of political participation and the need to get rid of them? The danger and possibility of such a scenario cannot be ruled out. A new power or personality appearing in the arena could decide to set his own terms and deal with who ever he wants the way he wants it. And with the changing of political fortunes, things can become very nasty, and may go the Malaysian way. Don't ever say no way. Don't be complacent. Do we have a system of checks and balance to avoid such a downfall?

The growing dependency syndrome

Who needs help? Practically everyone is asking for help these days. From the middle income to those who are desperate. From those in the comfort of homes and Homes to the destitutes in the streets. From the citizens to the new citizens and non citizens. From the mother without child to those with many children or with problem children. And the govt says a welfare state is not the way to go. But disguised in all kinds of terms, help is everywhere, in billions of dollars made available in all kinds of funds. We have grown into a nation that depends on handouts and getting things free by just asking. That may be the reason why so many charity organisations sprouted out. Some are just self help organisations where the promoters were actually helping themselves. What happens to the migrant spirit of helping yourself and make do with whatever there is? The true migrants do not ask for any help from the authorities. They formed their own self help groups if needed. And most of the time they truly helped themselves just to be alive. They lived in broken sheds, in squatters, cubicles and backlanes. Mothers with 10 or more children running around like little piglets, picking up whatever nature could offer as food. Got school or no school, they get their own education and funny,... they survived and some did very well. Some even became prime ministers, ministers and MPs. It is not that those days were the ways life should be or how we should live. It is not that we should encourage our people to live in poverty like their foreparents. But the way help is being asked by every quarter is getting ridiculous. We are getting soft. And we are encouraging people to keep helping or come forward to ask for help. And we are creating situations in which the people have no choice but to ask for help. The latter is quite different from the past when the situation then was dire. Here we have created a social economic system that is quite mean for those who are unable and then tell them to ask for help. Please ask for help and we will help you. Don't be shy about it lah. And many are asking and demanding for help, except those who really need help and still too embarrassed or too shameful to crawl out from hiding.

Notable quote - What a Gem

What a GEM! To hold a by-election would be a waste of public funds and will be an invitation to political mercenaries to appear from the cold. They will promise the naive and the gullible the moon and the stars. Lionel De Souza (ST Forum) This is the most enlighten quote so far. If this has come out of Parliament, I will definitely insert it there. Once in a while wisdom speaks for itself.

Doing what's right, without fear or favour

This is the article by Lee Wei Leng in the ST today. She encourages people to speak up, speak up when it is right to do so. And speaking up is not necessarily being anti establishment. The fact that she has to say this is very telling. It tells on the stupidity or fear in the mind of Singaporeans, that they should not speak up and the fear of being branded as anti establishment for doing so. Redbean must be anti establishment. If Wei Leng were to say what she wrote in cyberspace, without disclosing who she is, some of the bloggers will tell her to leave if she is not happy. Some will brand her as anti establishment. And, would her article be deserving of a place in TOM?

So much fuss about foreigners

Everyday one is likely to face with some articles in TOM urging the people to treat the foreigners better, embrace them as friends, make them feel welcome etc etc etc. What about treating Singaporeans a little better? We don't even treat our Singaporeans well and we worried ourselves crazy that the foreigners be treated well. Just look at how Singaporeans treat each other, the neighbouring quarrels, the snubs in public places, the way they stared or glared at one another? But maybe that is the true character of Singaporeans. They are socially inept, callous, peasants with rude peasant manners. So what can we expect of them when coming into contacts with foreigners? The only people that can teach the Singaporeans how to treat the foreigners well are the SPGs. They are classic in the way they make foreigners welcomed here. Then there is another group, the counter salesgirls. Or even the taxi drivers. We should use them as role models, making some video clips and air them on TV.

Chinglish is the new English: Lian Pek

The author wrote about how crazy the Chinese were in their quest to learn English in an article in Today. And what actually turns out is Chinglish. They got it so confused that they even write their Chinese name sometimes the right way and sometimes the wrong way. Sometimes back first, sometimes front first. Now this author, is her name Lian Pek or Pek Lian? Is she a Miss Pek or a Miss Lian? Chinglish is really confusing. But that is progress in a way.

Merrill Lynch compensates Temasek US$2.5b

While we were all speculating on how much Temasek has lost in its bank forays, it is now reported that Merrill Lynch is compensating Temasek a sum of US$2.5b. This is about the amount Temasek has lost on paper at this point in time. So due diligence and contigency measures were built into the purchase. And if similar terms were included in the other purchases, then things are not that dire. And this must be expected from the professional managers at Temasek.

Send them away

S’pore’s soaring food prices (video) Monday, 28 July 2008, 9:14 pm 320 views Al Jazeera reports on the soaring food prices in Singapore and how Singaporeans are coping. In the report, one lady, who lived in a one-room HDB flat, said she was given $30 when she asked her Member of Parliament for help. “The extra cash can be used to pay for the children’s expenses. Obviously, it’s not enough,” she said. “In the last couple of years, we’ve seen a concerted increase in these prices,” said Dr Chee Soon Juan, secretary general of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party. “So, we’re very concerned for this and as a government, they have a duty to ensure that the poorest segment of society are able to cope with these matters but they’re not doing [it],” he said. The above article is copied from theonlinecitizen forum. I would think these people who can't cope with the high cost of living should be send away. There are some bloggers who have been telling Singaporeans to quit if they cannot contribute or are just losers. How many shall we send away?

When the people lost faith in the govt

The latest turn of event in the Anwar sodomy case is more revealing than just an attempt to destroy Anwar. A medical report has been leaked, showing that Saiful went to see a private doctor to complain about a piece of plastic being shafted into his arse. The doctor found no lesion, ulcer, laceration or damage and told him to see a govt hospital for a second opinion. And this report is now leaked and available to the Anwar camp. What it means is that once a govt has lost its credibility, when the people even suspect that the govt is not trustworthy, would resort to play dirty, the people will do what they could to reveal the truth. And when the people have decided to champion their own cause, to fight a perceivably unjust and corrupted govt, it is impossible for the govt to top them. And the people is everywhere, from the man in the street to top govt officials, even those on the govt side. Injustice will find willing justice fighters to bring it out and be aired. The situation in Malaysia has reached a point where the govt is no longer believeable or respected. The whole govt is now in question. The people have lost faith.

Hanging a millstone around your neck

With property prices going higher and higher, with a 4 rm design and build HDB flat going for $500k and above, the loan portion of the transaction is certainly going to be bigger. Other than those upgraders, a new buyer is going to borrow in the region of $300k or more. Then there are the private property buyers when the loan can be half a million or several millions. But that is a market where the players are very well off and is not an issue. Back to the small people's market when a young couple starting life could be settled with a huge loan to service. Touch wood that everything goes smoothly, and the job and the high pay, and the higher pay expected down the line will be there, it is still affordable. What if, the job is not there, what if the plans are derailed, it is not easy to service that kind of loan. Thrift and frugal living are good virtues to live by. Do not over commit. But not many are giving such advices anymore. And the property developers will keep urging people to commit, it is cheap, can't get it cheaper, good buy. The sales pitch is irresistible. Who does not want to live well? And our system is designed as such. You want to live well, you are welcomed. Prepare to pay like well. There is no turning back once committed. With so much money committed to housing, to car and transportation, and education and medical, there is no savings and no safety lines available except rich parents or family fortunes. Many will be hanged by the millstones around their necks if things do not work as planned. An economic slow down, a crisis, and all will end in big debt. The good living will be gone with the wind as fast as the wind blows.

The Silence of the Lamb

Sssssshhh.... I heard the lamb roars ... and then silence.

New measures to boost fertility

'SINGAPORE: A new package of measures to raise Singapore's baby count will be introduced next month, said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng. Speaking at the 150th anniversary celebrations of the KK Women's & Children's Hospital on Sunday, Mr Wong warned that Singapore's population could be hard hit if its total fertility rate is not boosted....' ST. Let me offer a few suggestions. 1. Sack the whole Film Censorship Board. 2. Stop checking and arresting people bringing in VCDs and DVDs at the causeway. 3. Free prescription of Tongkat Ali and friends. 4. Generous buffet dinner of prawns and oysters huh. 5. No one allows to stay in office after 7pm. 6. No night ERP charges. This one a bit tricky. No ERP charges may slow down traffic and delay reaching home early. 7. Lights off at 10pm to save electricity. Video watching permitted. 8. Media Corp needs a new programming team. Too many comedies and laughters may drive away the urge. What else? Money not enough if the small stuff refuse to work.

Prepare for more parking hikes in CBD

We are cheaper than London and Sydney. And Sydney is charging as high as $1000 pm for parking in the business district. What we are paying, about $300, is way too cheap. Gear up motorists, there are plenty of rooms for higher parking fees. How can the operators be short changed when they can charge more. And we are not even the most expensive city in Asia. We need to be number one. Then we can brag about how good we are for people willing to pay number one prices to be here. It is a sure measure of a great city.

Sacrificing our child for our own benefit

A Primary One child starts school at 7.20am. Depending on the distance and mode of transportation, the child may have to wake up before 6am to get to school. Now why is there a need for a child at such a tender age to start school at 7.20am? Oh, the parents need to go to work. So they need to pack the child off to school first, could be on the way to work. Huh? For the convenience of the parents, for the convenience of meeting working hours, we force our little ones to wake up so early in the morning, sleepy eyes, to go to school. Are we humans or monsters? For all decency, there is no need for young children to start school before 9am. The parents can go and sort out their own problems. Do not sacrifice our children for the sake of the adults.

You are free to leave!

This is the often repeated message by Singaporeans or new citizens when Singaporeans are griping about some of the things that they are not happy with. Goh Wen Zhong, a LSE student also said the same thing in the ST forum today. This is a simplistic view of a snobbish response, an arrogant and thoughtless remark. Not only that many cannot afford to go, you need to be welcomed, qualified to go where you want to to. And the people who can do that would likely be the talents that we want to keep. The other is the issue of our right to stay. As citizens, it is our right to stay. And as responsible citizens, it is our right to demand changes for the betterment of country and people. Running away is not an option. And if any silly politician would dare to tell a citizen to quit if he is unhappy, kick him in the arse. He deserves that for being childish and rude. Singaporeans must stay in this place they called home. This is where they belong. How and what shapes the country takes shall be decided by them, not by a few individuals. Let no one threatens you or ask you to leave your home, your country. Singaporeans must be stayers, to redefine and rebuild the country to what they want. The country belongs to everyone who is a Singaporean. Running away is to give this island away be default.

Extortion on the rise!

Yes, and it seems legal, technically. I am sure many of you have received unsolicited credit cards and given lines of credit. When the cards plus all the terms arrived, you will find that you will have to pay an annual fee. Sometimes they called, and I politely told them that all my credit cards are free. If they are giving them free to me, I will keep them. If not they can cancel the cards and facilities. Now this practice is getting more arrogant. They just send the package to you, And they bill you if you did not call them to reject them. The onus is now upon the recipients to call and act on something he does not ask for. Now he has to take the trouble to make those nonsensical calls to a phone machine and to wait for several minutes, pressing stupid numbers to get through. And you don't normally get through on the first attempt but after several attempts. I just received another card, with lines of credit, with cheque books, and of course with an annual fee. I conveniently threw everything into the rubbish chute. I am waiting for the bank to call me for payment of annual fees. You can expect what I am going to show them. Is there any law that I can go to for redress against such extortionist acts? The banks may even use their legal muscle to threaten small people like us for not paying. What is this country turning into? Oh, and I remember sometimes back a big shot banker was complaining about unethical practices in the industry. Is this unethical practice?

Was jobless, penniless and a petty thief.

Salimudin was jobless and penniless and was a petty thief. That was his life offering. He offered a part of his liver for a sum of $44k in a illegal organ transplant. The operation did not pose a risk to his health if done professionally. This is reported in the Sunday Times today. He has since bought a house and live with his family, including two children, respectfully. He also bought a 5,000 sq meter oil palm plantation. He is a little rich plantation owner now, and life is comfortable. Is he exploited? The picture of him and his beautiful family flashing their happy smiles say it all. He is a very happy man. If there is no change in the current thinking to consider legalising organ trading, I doubt his case would stand a chance to be aired. It would likely be forgotten, better not to talk about things that the conventional wisdom is against. The mass hysteria being stirred up can end with people being burnt on the stakes. Now we will probably see more stories from the dark side, which actually becomes brighter because of organ transplant. But Salimudin was a lucky one. He did not get cheated by the parties in between. With organ trading being illegal, many could be cheated and there is no redress. That can become more tragic when he gets only a pittance and the middle men took the king's ransom. And both illegal donors and illegal recipients can be found guilty by the court of law and punished. Tang Wee Sung paid $300k and is facing criminal charges. His potential donor have been jailed and fined. And yes, some will enjoy discussing about it as a matter of ethics and morals while people are desperately trying to keep themselves alive or dying. And people like Salimudin will still be prowling the night as petty thieves.

Our political system, accommodative or hostile?

9 candidates will stand for the Indonesian Presidential election. We can't find even one willing to stand unless the ruling party nominates him. And the restrictive rule that one must be an elite before one can even qualify further removes a large number of good candidates. The Indonesian do have their rules governing eligibility, like being a member of a political party and with a 15% representation in Parliament. Another built in barrier favouring the ruling party. What is important is that there is no dearth of qualified and respectable candidates offering themselves to the people. In our case, even without the elitist ruling, not many will want to stand. Some misfits may stand up. But we cannot simply dismiss the intelligence of the people to vote for a freak. Let's have more trust in a people that is well educated, well informed and good enough to be comparable to a first world country. And Chok Tong was talking about tweaking the system to make it more relevant. The question is that why is the current system unable to throw up more good people in politics and the presidency? Is the system accommodative or seen as hostile to political participation? Obviously the latter, given the lack of participation and only participates when invited. If the system is allowed to continue without any serious changes, what will happen is that no good people will want to come out voluntarily. And those who come out will join the opposition and probability have a kind of attitude that the ruling party fears most. A recklessness or do or die attitude, bring down the system before the system brings them down. The divide will grow and becomes irreconcilable. And things will naturally gets more vicious and unrestrained, for the good of neither side. We are seeing this happening. Why would good and decent people want to get involve in politics when their little indiscretion could suddenly be a national issue? Things like putting a ball point pen from the office in his bag and use to sign his personal cheques as well. Or his little relaxation in a spa in Bintan suddenly floated in the rumour mill. Or worst things could even happen. Chok Tong talked about a system that would throw up good leaders in both the ruling party and the opposition. Is our system doing that? Looking at the opposition camp, we know that it is definitely not. Looking at the ruling party, it is apparent that they are scrapping at the bottom of the barrel. Other than the key appointment holders, let's face it, ...I shall save my comments as they are not very flattering. We need a system that promotes healthy participation from good people in politics. We need to accept and listen to alternative views and grow with them. There seems to be some changes in this line of thought in the ruling party, with more conciliatory messages for a better opposition. Would it turn into a reality or just a red herring? Under the present system and political climate, it is near impossible to have good people forming their own political parties to provide a decent alternative to the ruling party. They won't. The rules of the game is stacked against one side and the price for participation can be untold misery, when the opposition becomes a real potential to win an election. No one knows what will come out when the gloves are off. Can we really move forward and evolve into something healthier?

Instant baby solution

Why is the govt struggling with the baby problem? Our baby growth rate may be lower, but why is there a need for more babies? We are not producing enough babies to keep the pyramid game going? Or is it that we are still chasing the 6.5 mil target? More incentives and more money will be considered to make parents start to reproduce again. The question is, reproduce for what? To keep the economy going, to keep the social and family structure viable? To keep the main core of the population local Singaporeans? Having more babies should not be just a simple case of economic consideration. It used to be a natural thing, get married and keep mating and producing babies. Today, having babies bring along a life long series of problems of maintenance and making sure that the babies are going to get a reasonable life when they grow up. The rich have accumulated wealth, bought houses in advance, to make sure that their progeny will have a comfortable life. What about the poor who are struggling to even feed themselves? Is it responsible to ask them to go ahead and produce recklessly without much thought of their children's well being? Many from the lower income homes will grow up handicap, unable to compete with the more materially well endowed children. Many will start life with a ball chained to their legs. Is this a good thing, producing cannon fodders? What about a promising future, a brighter future of hope and happiness? Many at the lower rungs of society will only continue to perpetuate their pathetic life of deprivation by bringing more children into this competitive and highly stressed country. It is very difficult for them to break free from the poverty trap they are in. If they so choose to have a couple of children, that is a choice that they have made for themselves in their given circumstances. But to push that choice into a non thinking quest just to produce more cogs for the economy, that may be quite tragic. We have done it for many years. Instant trees, instant population, and why not instant babies? Are we having second thoughts on the consequences of having instant babies that may lead to more instant problems when they grow up? Would such questions be unnecessary as we claimed that we are all migrants and having more migrants is only a natural thing, a good thing? We can have a more migrant and vibrant people in the future. And they shall be the new Singaporeans and they shall decide what kind of Singapore they want. No need to sweat the small stuff and coming out with more and more costly options. We have created a system that technically is fair to all but in reality put those in the lower income group in a very disadvantageous position. Why are we making things so hard, so expensive to raise a family by pushing up cost of living without a second thought of how it will impact the people and change their lives and expectations? Did someone say we create our own problems only to find superficial solutions for them?

Singaporeans are doing well

Despite the high inflation rate and prices of everything going up, Singaporeans are coping excellently without govt assistance. All they did was to tighten their belts a little, apply food substitution theory for cheaper products and kpkb to let go some steam. Then life goes on as normal. Actually Singaporeans were hit more with the introduction of more ERPs and higher tolls to pay. They took it in their strides. No problem at all. This is the strength and depth of Singaporean wealth and healthy income. And the workers would not be expecting much of a wage increase to compensate for the rising prices. Singaporeans should be proud of themselves to be living in the 5th most expensive city in Asia and 13th in the world, and doing fine.

More than US$10 billion in losses

"Temasek Selling Merrill Lynch Half or total of 87m shares have been sold off at a loss, according to US recorded filings. By Seah Chiang Nee Jul 24, 2008 Temasek Holdings has sold off half its ill-timed investment in Merrill Lynch - or about 87m shares, according to a mutual funds report on institutional trades on US stocks. The online report, MFFAIRS (Mutual Fund Facts About Individual Stocks), reported it sold off 86,949,594 shares (50%), leaving a current holdings of 86,949,594 shares (50%), according to the filings made public.... At that price Temasek would have suffered a loss of $17 a share - or a total loss of about US$1.48b for the 87mil shares.... Huge paper losses The disposal leaves Temasek Holdings and the Government Investment Corporation (GIC) still holding substantial parts of big troubled Western banks. Its remaining investments in UBS (Switzerland), Citigroup, Barclays and Merrill Lynch - at an original cost of US$21.88b - have declined on by some 47 percent in value. That is a paper loss of US$10.28b. However, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had said these investments were made as a long-term strategy of 30 years...." The above was extracted from www.littlespeck.com Murphy's Law working? Things that can go wrong will go wrong? When I first posted on the acquisition of these top international banks, I was a little optimistic that this was a god sent golden opportunity to be a big player in the internation financial market. I was also expecting that enough groundworks were put into it and the risk factor of this turning bad has been factored in. And should the investment becomes a bad deal, the losses are limited and we are protected from digging a big hole for our reserves. I am feeling very depressed now. It was a huge investment, an opportunistic one as someone has called it, but betting with such a big sum of money cannot be taken lightly. Didn't the financial experts cover their arses just in case it goes like what we are seeing? In stocks we always talk of trading in short term but often we are caught and short term trading turns out to be a bad long term investment that could eventually melt away. This is going to be a really long term investment now.

TOM is flawless

News reporting by the TOM is as flawless as you can get. They have been impeccable in their reports on govt policies, what political leaders said, or on national issues. It is tough to find them being critical or taking a dissecting knife to cut them to pieces to show just a little flaw. Generally, everything is flawless. I am not sure about reporting on other issues or on alternative parties and their members. But glancing through some of the criticisms in cyberspace recently, I think TOM must be good at critical analyses that naturally will incur the wrath of netizens. The drawback of a flawless TOM is that the flaws will be left to the netizens to expose and report on. And netizens are never kind in writing about things they are unhappy about. The division of roles will continue. The more flawless one side is being painted, the more flaws will be repainted in cyberspace.

Money babies

Money solves everything. Have babies, more babies. We will give you money. No one wants to know why must have more babies. No one wants to know what life will be like for the babies when they come. Having babies is no longer an emotional or sentimental thing. It is about got money or no money. It is not about loving the children and giving the children a life that is worth living. No need to think about such things. How much you need? Tell me how much you want for each baby you produce. Very clinical. Very economic. The state needs your babies. For what? Come to think of it, it is better to produce babies for money. At least there is a reason to do it. Many produce babies without knowing why? No reasons, just keep producing.

Myth 186 Foreign talent and cosmopolitan city

We need the vibrancy of a cosmopolitan city to prosper like New York or some big American cities. We also need the foreign talents, given the few and limited talents we have among ourselves. The American formula is the way to beat the world. But the American formula comes with other terms. A big country with abundance of resources and opportunities, a lawlessness culture with a can do attitude. Then the contradiction of a strong constitution and a legal system. The fourth estate and a people who are ready to challenge the highest office when the law is broken or undermined. There are many other conditions to add on, not just the influx of foreigners to make America a great country. And obviously an authoritarian culture with a submissive or dismissive population are not compatible to what makes America what it is today. Then there is that big American Dream to look forward to. Actually America is an aberration. Not many countries can survive a mixed bag of communities and continue to be the number one super power, the number one economy. If foreign talents is the prerequisite to making a nation great, there would not be any German Empire, Dutch or Spaniard Empires, the British Empire or the Japanese Empire. All these empires rose to prominence because of a strong sense of nationalism and homogeinity. If the American formula is right, we can forget about the reemergence of India and China, both relying heavily on indigenious talents and resources. On the other hand, the former empires like the Brits are falling apart and fading into oblivion with a huge influx of foreigners into the countries. But the homogenous countries like Germany and Japan are doing exceptionally well. Is the American Dream sustainable? Or is the American formula the way to go? Before we get near to our Singapore Dream, there may not be a Singapore to talk about in the future if we no longer become a people built on some shared values and history. The broth is too small and too little and will not be able to retain its originality when too much new ingredients are added into the cooking pot.

A little window dressing may do the trick

As the opposition corner quiets down in their protest against organ trading, there are still some whimpers of unhappiness. Words like organ trading, selling or buying organs seems to be getting on the nerves of the protesters. To overcome such great misgivings, I would suggest that we shall henceforth desist from mentioning the words organ trading or buying/selling organs. In its place we shall creat a Organ Donation Charity Fund. The organ donors can donate their organs to this Fund and be allowed to have a lucky dip. Depending on where he/she is from, the price will be the equivalent of a sum of money decided by the Fund either in S$, US$, rupiah, pesos or whatever. On the other hand, kidney patients can donate a sum of money as decided by the Fund and be entitled to another draw which will be his date for a transplant operation. By doing these, both will be donors to a charity fund, no buying or selling. And the public can help by donating as well to boost up the Fund. And celebrities can also do their parts to participate in a Organ Donation Charity Show. The telco will be happy as well. Actually all will be happy. Nothing changes. And some eminent people can lend his or her name to the Fund or charity show. Back to square one. To cater to those who have strong objections on moral, ethical or religious grounds, HOTA scheme should remain. The poor or those who do not want to donate to the Fund can continue to remain in this scheme. And people who do not want to donate their organs to the Fund can have their organs harvested by HOTA and distributed free to those in the waiting list. Nothing changes. Nothing to cry about. And we shall not deprive those who have the money and willing to pay for it from external sources on their own effort. They should be allowed to do as they please as long as they don't cut the HOTA queue or the queue in the Organ Donation Charity Fund. With these well thought out plans, am I brilliant, I think no one shall have any more objections or unhappiness, except me. I will be giving this plan away free, not collecting the consultancy fee, the survey fee and the research fee. My estimate is that I will lose about half a million by sharing my plan openly. What the heck, it is for a good cause, though a bit silly not getting paid for it. Hope people would not think it is not a good plan because it is free.

Signs of decline or complacency?

In one of my earlier posts I did mentioned about the unusually high standards set by the first generation leaders and their intolerance for mistakes. Basically the message coming down from them was that 'Don't fool around and no slipshod work.' No mistake was tolerable. Zero defects was the standard. What we are hearing from Parliament yesterday would make our first generation leaders cringe or turn in their graves. We are not perfect. So mistakes must happened. Fatigue, too much work, different facts, different circumstances, so mistakes happened. We are only humans! Yes we are only humans. We all made mistakes every now and then. But to use such arguments as justifications is simply bad. A mistake is a mistake, is a mistake. Period. Deal with it. No amount of excuses is good enough and the more one tries to explain them away, the more ludicrous it will sound. Just simply said, yes, it is a mistake and unacceptable and inexcusable. How to react to all the finger pointings? Just listen quietly and show some shame and remorse. Nod the head in acknowledgement that the criticisms and unhappiness are justified and deserving. Eat the humble pie.

No gems in Parliament

The brevity in the reports on TV last night did not disclosed any gems worthy of posting here. The closes that one can get is a gleam of a shiny and beautiful head of Siew Kum Hong. I was so distracted by the glare that I totally missed out on what he was saying. I will now have to refresh myself from the factual reports in TOM.

Would Singaporeans be motivated by money?

In Parliament Kan Seng announced that a $1m bounty is waiting for anyone who squealed on Mas Selamat's whereabout and leading to his recapture. What he emphasised is that the money is from private individuals, not from the govt. Maybe the govt does not believe that people can be motivated to work for money. But apparently the two individuals thought so. And they would like to sacrifice half a million each to motivate the poor Singaporeans to look out for Mas Selamat. Will it work? Is money that important in the psyche of Singaporeans that they will not work harder to capture Mas Selamat? Why won't Singaporeans go out and hunt for him in the name of country and nation? What happen to the selfless Singaporeans that believe in some virtues like sacrificing for the nation, dying for the nation, instead of working just for money? The other point to note is that till now, 5 months after his 'escape', there is not a thread of news on his whereabout. There are two possibilities. He is long dead in the wilderness. That explains why no one knows where he is. The second explanation, more frightening, is that the people who helped him to escape and harbouring him, are damn professional, committed and will protect him at all cost. And these are people who are unlikely to be moneyminded. They are unlikely to sell him out for money. People who are motivated by a cause will die for the cause, like those suicide bombers. Money is not important to them. Money only motivates the superficials or those who need money. As a country, we need to motivate our people to work, sacrifice and die for the country on more noble causes or on some silly idealism. This kind of motivators will beat money anytime. Our NS men will die and fight for the country even if they are paid a pittance. Without such sense of duty and commitment to a nation, we are as good as a goner. The $1m will be a test to see if Mas Selamat's accomplices could be bribed by it. And if $1m is too little, maybe gradually increase the stake and see how much will they bite. Eventually the price should be high enough to move some of them, hopely.

Fear not retirement plan

Singaporeans got it made for life. They should not fear being unemployed and penniless. I am not referring to the CPF Life. That one is bull. The real stuff is to cash out when property prices are up. And it is up and up as it has been reported almost daily. Just pray that more foreigners keep coming onto our shores to support the property market. After selling their HDB flats, should be between $500k to $750k, park the money in fixed deposits and live frugally. That will be enough to last them for 30 or 40 years. Where to stay, squat in a temple if possible or with the children. If not, rent a room from the FTs who have bought over their flats. Two old folks, why do they need more than a room? They could not even have the energy to mop the flat. Renting a room will remove such a chore. Let the FTs look after and maintain the flats. Never mind if they become the new landlords. When you have more than half a million in the bank, nothing to worry about. Sell everything, don't own anything. Just convert to cash. This is the latest mantra now I think. And the beautiful surroundings and parks will be like the garden of Eden to be enjoyed in the twilight years.

Housing glut

HDB must have sold the 10,000 units of unwanted flats by now. Today, despite some trying to talk up the private housing market, the numbers are telling, that many are unsold and the stock is growing. The developers must have built and continue to build on the premise of a 6.5 mil population. With this as a guiding principle, building another 50,000 units would not be a problem. But should there be a change of the master plan, many of these private units will be left high and dry. Then again, knowing that we don't meddle with market mechanism, we can still open the immigration door a little wider and the new arrivals will quickly snap up the excess in supply. Private developers are in such a privilege position and in land scarce Singapore, investing in properties is a sure win formula. This may be the reason why the 6.5 mil population target is unshakable. Too many stakes involved.

More gems coming our way

Parliament sitting today and we can expect more gems to come out from it. And with topics like organ transplant and ERPs to wet the appetite, I think we can expect a glorious time. Let's wait and see if some will argue on high moral grounds and invite their gods or religions to sit on the high pedestals in Parliament. Would not that be a forceful way to get their points across? With such uppertance, sectoral views can easily be used to influence or be shafted into the throats of people who don't believe in the same virtues, gods, religions or cultural smugness. This is normal in a small society like ours when the gods are already in place and know that they can command order and respect. Relax and wait for the fun to start. I don't think we will be disappointed.

A little icing and confetti

Below is an extract of a ST report that ERPs are well received and motorists are happy with their brightly coloured designs. I think they could make motorists happier by giving them a cup of free ice cream or coffee every time they pass through gantry. That will be great service! And the motorists will all be talking about how good the ice cream or coffee was, and how thoughtful. "MOTORISTS are giving the thumbs up to ERP charges - at least the way the amount payable is displayed on gantries. Snazzy colourful icons of vehicles and the amount motorists have to pay at various times are now revealed brightly in a panel at the top of the gantry. First unveiled on July 7 when five gantries downtown became operational, the new-style display has since been set up on 40 of 65 gantries in use. By Nov 3, the panels, each costing about $65,000, will be on 70 gantries. This is when five more gantries will come onstream in places like Commonwealth Avenue, Jalan Bukit Merah and Alexandra Road."

Neo colonialism can save the world

During the days of western colonialism, things were cheap. Cheap labour, cheap land, and low tariffs or no tariffs. The British came and just take over Africa, India and Malaya, including Singapore and many Indonesian islands. And they plant rubber trees on them, mining tin etc. No land cost to talk about. Then they imported indenture labour cheaply from India and China. No need to pay for work permits, maid licence, levies etc. And their import and export to their colonies around the world, tax free also, or very low taxes. A world economic systems built under the same principles of the colonialists must be a god sent solution to the worlds problems. There will be no inflation as all the costs of production will be very low. Instead of planting rubber trees on colonised land, they can opt for palm plantations. But better still, build high rise and high end residences for the rich. And they can sell them cheaper if they want to, as the land is free. Or they can maintain market prices and reap in obscene profits. And some land or sea are rich in oil. And labour must also be must cheaper as colonised people cannot bargain nor have they any rights or be protected by labour law. The wages can be suppressed and kept very low. Looking at all the advantageous of colonialism, it looks very attractive for the 21st century!

Karmic debt

Sunday is a good time to relax and ponder over things in a leisure pace. Time to take a look at issues that one tends to set aside in a fast pace lifestyle. Over the weeks we have talked and discussed about things and certain views need a little reflection when there is no pressure from time. There is one particular point that some bloggers like to point out whenever the CPF money issue is raised. To put it more correctly, our money in the CPF, not CPF money. Or to put it even more correctly, our money that does not seem to be our money as we no longer have any say in it or know when it will be returned to us, if it ever will. At this point in time, there seems to be some timeframe and formula for us to expect that one day some will be returned. But we cannot be very sure of this either. Some gods may discover that we may live till 100 years, and hold back the money till we reach 99. What particularly concerns me is that there is a view, often cited, that the reason for delaying the return of our hard earned money is because someone already have designs on it, to use it for his or her investment plans. And our CPF money is the most handy, with low interest rate and also the ability to delay repayment if the investments did not turn out right. Just push back the repayment to a latter date, or hopefully some may not live long enough to claim back their money. It becomes an endless source of fund. Is this view valid? I am sure no one has any proof that this is the case. But the people will have their own perception of things and will speculate whatever they want depending on how their minds play with their emotions. Would people do such a thing, I mean scheming to use the people's savings for their private thrill of investing or gambling? If hit the jackpot, claim all the credit and pay themselves crazy. If not, just delay payment for as long as possible? Assuming that this is possible? Is there any thing to change the minds of these people? Legislation is not an option. Public demonstration is also not good. Pleading, kpkb are about the only avenues left, but are totally ineffective. Can we call on god to deliver his justice for the disadvantaged people? I think highly successful people are never god fearing. Any signs of god fearing is only a show, to put the people's guard down. See, god fearing people are honest people, do no evil. People who are too successful have a tendency of self delusion. That it is their destiny to be god of the people, to decide the fate of the ruled. They have full control over the direction of the future, and they will do want they think best. And they are beyond reproach. Above law, beyond god, what else could man be made to watch their actions and be met with justice should they erred? The Buddhist has this concept of karma, and karma debt. It is like Newton's Third Law. Every action has a reaction. But it is just a belief, a philosophy of life. Do evil begets evil, do good begets goodness. In reality, there were some examples of bad people ended badly. But there were also many evidences of bad people, evil people, living a life of abundance, and enjoying their wickedness happily. For the meek and weak, they can only hope that something that will deliver justice to them will work. Only such untainted justice, above race, wealth, power or religion, can level the playing field and turn the table on the strong and mighty. The bigger the misdeed, the more people suffered, the greater the retribution. This could explain why royalties or rich landlords did not last forever. It is nice to think about an invisible hand or natural justice standing up there watching over human beans and will strike or reward appropriately. Then again, this is another opiate of the downtrodden. The victims of might and social injustice will dream of such dreams. But life goes on. The poor and weak will continue to be exploited and abused by the strong and powerful, as sure as the sun will rise.

After 45 years of independence...

Have we progressed in the area of political development where the people feel more Singaporeans, more involved, more participatory, and feel more as owners of this island? Or are we still in the third world stage, where the people are still ignorant, illiterate, unthinking, wild and violent, bankrupt of ideas, naive fools? Or we have progressed to another plane, the ethereal plane of sheep, a sound proof plane? While we are seeing more people speaking out in the media forum, and more in cyberspace, we are also seeing fear resurfacing now and then. And for those who are talking, they are very guarded and fear treading on people's shoes, and watching the OB markers like hell. Can we blame them? How can we blame them when the official view is that if you want to talk politics, you better be a politician or join a political party. With such middle age mindset still existing in the minds of our veteran politicians and instant tree politicians, I don't think we are progressing at all. We are still Africans in our political make up. Or at best we are living in the days of the dynasties where authoritarianism is the only virtue in statecraft. Alvin Yeo is quoted in the ST as saying, '...political discourse should be carried out through the political process and through political parties, not societies or associations.' What is political discourse? HDB flat allocation is political discourse. Number of babies is political discourse. National Service is political discourse. Jobs and wages are also political discourse. What is not political discourse? Sex and drugs perhaps? I glance through the discussion on the role of the Law Society and the gag on their learned comments on political issues with a big yawn. Maybe we should define the law more clearly. Every profession can only comment on issues related to their specific expertise. The medical profession only on medical matters. Lawyers on legal matters, architects on bricks and mortars, and workers on how to get more pay rises. etc etc And politicians can comment on all matters as all matters are political matters. This must be the best part of this kind of thinking on division of roles and responsibilities. As all things can be seen from a political angle, the politician shall have the privilege to comment on all things. When will we grow up politically despite the world class education and first world economic status?

Moderations, Mum!

In any discussion or issue, there is always the tendency to go overboard or to take an extreme view. The organ trading is one and will continue to be a hot issue as different people harbour different views arising from their social, religious or cultural background. Unless people are prepared to moderate their positions and take a sensible look at the issue objectively, nothing will change. We will see if there are any fanatics in Parliament on Monday. Let me just talk about another current issue, babies. Go forth and multiply, so says the lord. And some mothers are literary taking this as a new commandment and wanted to have more and more subsidies or assistance. Careful mummies. 3 or 4 looks a sensible number in view of the high cost of bringing up children and the time and attention available for them. Going beyond such numbers must be the privilege of the very rich who can afford to look after them and pay for them. Expecting the society to pay for such personal interest or affection may be asking a bit too much. And that is exactly what 5 mummies are asking in their letter in the ST forum today. They are all mothers of 5 or 6 children and wanted the govt to provide more support for the 5th, 6th or more children. It is all good if they are able to provide for themselves if they so choose to have more children. Just keep it as private matters, private endeavours. The govt is not against people having 5 or more children. Please go ahead if you have the means. If not, be aware of the tragedies that may follow. But for the govt to go all out to support such a desire, we may end up with different problems. Population explosion! Be sensible and pursue your dreams or hobbies within your ability. Done excessively may not be a good thing. Modern living and lifestyle is very stressful and time demanding, and money demanding. Just take it easy. And of course these are educated mothers who are aware of the high cost of living and the problems associated with money not enough. Anyone who knows that money is not enough and goes ahead to produce without restraints is very irresponsible. We must be responsible for our own actions.

Paradise for the rich and famous

7 gleaming blocks of high end condominiums will rise along Farrer Road. And the developer, Capital Land, can rest assured that these flats will be quickly mopped up by the rich and famous. As Liew Mun Leong has said, Singapore is such an idea place for the rich and famous to park their money and enjoy their lifestyle in peace and comfort. We are indeed a paradise. Efficient infrastructure and security for people and money. An oasis of glorious living in a sea of uncertainties. At the rate the rich and famous are buying up the high end properties here and moving in, we are going to live among the very wealthy of the world. Just hope that their wealth will trickle down and benefit the economy and the locals. Our service industries should do very well with people willing and can afford to pay for their services. While one end is seeing constant upgrading, will we see the other end contantly downgrading, trying to keep up with the high cost of living with their miserable pay and existence? How could we keep this lower end happy and improve their living condition and lifestyle? We have heard of many beautiful plans but am just wondering whether they are affordable when the plans are completed and offered to the people.

Revisiting some undead issues

Many issues have been deliberately forgotten by the media or people. But they are not dead. They are still very alive and painful to the people affected. Just because they have been swept under the carpet does not mean that the people have accepted them and will move on. It is important that these issues be aired regularly to remind people that the people would still want them to be done right. Otherwise some people will declare, 'See, no one talking about it anymore, no protest, so the people have accepted them.' The most important issues that should be contantly talk about is our money in the CPF. It cannot be left as it is. It is our money and must be returned to us when we are still alive and kicking and needing them. The money to be locked up in CPF Life and those in the Medisave, are our money. We want them back when they are still useful to us. Not when we are dead. Then the whole concept of CPF contributions needs to be reviewed. When people are expected to live and work till they drop dead, why is there a need to keep on pumping money into CPF after 55? Why are self employed people still needed to keep contributing without an age limit to stop? As it is today, we are expected to keep contributing to the CPF as long as we are working, even till 100 years. People are too busy and no time to look at these issues huh? OK, if they have no time to know that these are the people's concern, we should remind them that it is high time they relook at them given the changes in the working environment. Then there is the high cost of living where the prices of things are pegged to our income, our affordability to pay but not the actual value of the goods and services. With such a philosophy, no matter how much you are earning, the pricing will take care of your income so that you will not have much left for your retirement. Many things have changed and many policies need to change. The old ways of thinking and doing things need to change accordingly, to better the life of the people. The money is everything policy is going to do us in if we keep going in the same direction.

Notable quotes by LKY

One freak election will ruin us - LKY I think this is very real. Under a normal electoral system of one man one vote and one MP one constituency, the chances of a freak election is lesser. Today, our election is decided by slightly more than 10 GRCs. And with the way things are happening, all it needs is one MP or minister in a GRC to incur the wrath of the people, and the particular GRC can go kaput. And it is not easy to lose a handful of GRCs at the way things are going. Losing a handful of MPs in a single ward electoral system will not cause any harm. Losing a handful of GRCs can be as good as losing an election. The GRC can cut both ways. It can entrench the position of a ruling party, it can also cause the ruling party to lose everything in a freak election. It can happen. Murphy's Law is very powerful.

Authoritarianism is good

The new mantra that everyone is singing is that authoritarianism is good. At least it is good for Singapore. And China and Russia are coming here to learn our new authoritarianism. I think this could be our national day message. Singaporeans prosper under authoritarian rule and Singaporeans love it. Long live authoritarianism. We are going to teach the world about this new authoritarianism.

Myth 185 - Causes of inflation

As I type this post my fingers are trembling with joy. It is such a profound idea that I have come across since an apple fell on Newton's head. Even in the darkest hour of the night, the thought of it could make me see light everywhere. I could even feel the surge of orgasmic pleasure rising in my veins. We have heard about imported inflation. And this could be managed somewhat by maintaining a strong currency. The raising of fees and prices of goods and services will not cause any inflation. This is true. You just pay more that's all. What then causes inflation? It is the workers' salary. The workers form the bulk of any population. Controlling their spending power is the key to inflation and controlling inflation. And the easiest way is to make sure they don't get any pay rise. Freeze their wages and you will freeze inflation. If the wages of workers is frozen for 10 years, we will have inflation controlled, or no inflation, for 10 years. The simplicity and enormity of this powerful idea is stunning.

Disbelief!!!

Many are shocked and many still in disbelief that Ren Ci's Abbot Shi Ming Yi is being charged for cheating in court. The complacency is quite deep rooted and has been inculcated into the Singaporean mindset over many years. Singaporeans have been taught to accept and believe that everything is in good hands. Do not question. Questioning is creating trouble and will have its due consequences. Better shut up and let the gods do what they think is best. Even in blogs and forums, you can feel the discomfort expressed by the fearful that speaking up is bad. You may even be attacked for speaking the uncomfortable truth. We need more fakes to be exposed to kick Singaporeans out of their long slumbers. And the higher the profile, the better. Let's have a few more big ones. We need the shock treatment to get Singaporeans questioning again and not to accept things as they are told to accept. We need a relearning process which could take another whole generation to rise up to be competent first world citizens. As of today, we are still third world in mindset. We are simply believers in blind faith. Best part is that we are told to be believers. Where got complacency?

Step aside SIA, DBS, Temasek!

You are all small boys in the big league. You have tried so hard, think so hard, employed the best money can buy from the world. You have the best super talents to do the sums. How much are you making together? $5b, $10b? Petronas made $24.4b just simply pumping oil from the ground. No need to work so hard, think so much, hair all turning white, and taking great risks. And they are raising petrol pump prices by 41%! They cannot afford to subsidise their people because everyone is not subsidising. Err, not exactly. Everyone is the non oil producing countries or net oil importers. For the oil producers, some are selling oil to their people for less than US 30c per gallon. No wonder the Malaysians are protesting. What a lucky country! Only unfortunate thing is that the leaders are not thinking. People cut subsidies they also must cut subsidies.

Please exploit me, please!

Exploiting the poor if organ trading is allowed is the most popular reason so far to ban such trades. The poor will not know what they are doing and the rich, the middle men, the thugs, all will target them for their organs. They will be hunted down, cheated, kidnapped, murdered etc just for their organs. Here this poor guy is pleading to be exploited. He has two aged parents, an uneducated wife and 4 young children. He does odd jobs and tends to a small patch of land for vegetables, and a small chicken coop for eggs and meat. Their home is a broken wooden shed that barely shields them from the elements. Having 3 meals a day is a problem. And the children are unlikely to go to school. He is willing to exchange his kidney for $30k which he could build a nice decent house for his family. He could put food on the table for the next 20 years. He could clothe them and send his children to school, buy a bigger piece of land to farm. He is pleading for someone who is kind enough to buy his kidney. He is pleading to be exploited to give his family a better life. Please help him. Or don't help him. Tell him selling his kidney is bad for him. Tell him that the govt is protecting him and his family from being exploited. Tell him to keep his organ. It is good for him. He goes down on his knees, crying, 'Please, please exploit me, do a good deed to help my family. My children are hungry. I want to send them to school. I want to buy them new clothes to wear, shoes etc.'

Another fake exposed!

After Joakim Kang and Durai, now Shi Ming Yi. And we have the names of the Catholic Church, the NKF and Ren Ci all dragged into the mud. How many more fakes are there waiting to be exposed? Are we really what we are, pristine, clean and incorruptible? Or are we waiting for time to tell the ugly truth? I hope this will be the last of the fakes. But I know that this will not be the last. What is happening in paradise? Or should we take it as part and parcel of the tooth in paradise and move on?

Workers' right to ask for more pay

Hong Wai Leng wrote to ST forum saying that it is the right of workers to ask for more pay. This is only natural and it is the right of management to decide to give or not depending on the business and their ability to pay. To tell management not to give pay rise to workers because it will lead to inflation is pure nonsense. And she went on further. Why didn't the minister tell the oil companies not to raise petrol prices, the govt not to have more ERPs, govt services not to raise their fees, as all these must lead to inflation? Good questions. Very good questions. The govt is elected by the people for the people. Obviously someone has forgotten this.

After debating, murder also can...

We should encourage more debate on the organ trading issues. And after the debate, whatever the decisions we take, at least we can claim that we have discussed it thoroughly and not based on gut feel. Then we can close the topic, satisfied that we have done what was needed. Is this good enough? If the decision is not to allow organ trading, many kidney failure patients will continue to die, will continue to wait to die. Have we done justice to them? Then the very desperate poor who want to sacrifice to better their families' lives, are we closing the little window that can give them a better life and be happy about it? We have decided, the not involved party, distinterested party, the neutral party with no vested interest in the process, must be the best people to make the decision. Is this so? There is a saying, if you have not lived in the other person's shoe, you do not know what you are talking about.

The need for a balanced and objective media

With the internet opening up and challenging the views in TOM and exposing how one sided TOM can be, how many readers still have faith in TOM being fair, objective and balanced in its reporting of political events and issues? Though this realisation is nothing new and people have resigned to it, things have changed lately when any unfair and biased reporting will come under immediate heavy artillery. This must have greatly affected the credibility of TOM. It is very difficult for TOM to continue with the make belief that they are highly objective and unbiased or neutral. Nothing to cry about actually. Most TOMs take a certain view that are necessary given the specific environment that they operate. And readers would have to come to accept that this is the fact of life and the truth to live with. What therefore would be welcomed is for different political groups to have their own media of expression and report political issues from their own perspectives. This is happening in many mature polities, and Malaysia too is having the same practice. What if we continue to deny the alternative parties to have their own media? The answer is obvious. Cyberspace is already a ready and effective alternative. But what is bad is that many sites will sprout up and take the position of hate press, expousing very negative and extreme views against the party in power. It will become a black and white divide. A pro govt TOM and and anti govt cyberspace. Now this must be bad. What is a better alternative development?

What do Singaporeans want?

The average Singaporeans are not too demanding, I believe. I will venture a guess on what an average Singaporean would think is a decent and comfortable life. 1. To be able to raise a family of 4, ie two children, put them through schools, polytechnic or university, without begging for assistance. 2. To live in a 4 or 5 rm flat, and being able to afford it. 3. To own a car, and be able to bring the family around for leisure. This may be a bit difficult given our space constraint and further complicated by the thoughtless ambitious dream of a 6.5m population. 4. For those without cars, decent public transportation that does not cause them an arm or a leg. 5. Basic medical healthcare that will not empty one's life savings. 6. Able to retire by 60 or 65 without having to work till death. I don't think the above expectations are unreasonable for a first world country. But it is evident that some of these basic dreams of the average Singaporeans will be unattainable. Bringing up two children is now impossible to a big number of Singaporeans. I was being generous in my earlier post suggesting that a family income of $3k could put a child to university by setting aside about $1k a mth. In reality, many, even with a household income of $4k cannot afford to save $500 pm. $3k is a bit far fetch. Then to retire at 60 or 65 is going to be very difficult. And buying a 4rm or 5 rm flat is gradually moving out of reach of the average Singaporeans. Medicare, if hospitalised, is going to bankrupt many Singaporeans or at least empty their live savings. It is time the govt rethink their policies on what is good for the average Singaporeans to live their lives and at a cost that is manageable. No need to waste so many millions and billions on gardens and world class resort facilities that the average Singaporeans cannot afford to enjoy.

Higher revenue with no effort

This is exactly what is happening with the LTA's drive to get more people to take public transport. The ERPs are hurting the people's pockets and more are switching to MRTs and buses. Both service providers are going to see higher profits through no direct effort of theirs. MRT reported that last month the number of trips taken have increased to 41.27 millions. At an average of $1.20 per trip, that is a cool $50 mil a month of revenue. Profit is going to soar. And they are going to apply for fare hike still. Oops, I have forgotten, the fare hike will benefit the greater majority of the commuters, which means the greater majority will pay less.

Supertalents deserve high pay

The coming transport fare hike is not only affordable, but also manageable. It may be 3% or 1%, regardless of how many millions the transport companies are still making. They needed the fare hike in view of higher oil prices, and of course accounting to the shareholders for a better profit. That is not all. The most brilliant part about the fare hike is that they will ensure the 'greater majority of commuters gain from the adjustment'. This is just as ingenious as the GST increase to help the poor. These supertalents must be nominated for the Nobel Prize for such creative fare hikes and GST hikes. No where in the world can increases in tax and fare hikes ended up benefitting the poor or the majority of commuters. This is uniquely Singapore. The same formula should be applied to other ministries and stats boards. The new ERPs will also help and improve businesses. Can we have more taxes to improve the well being of our population? Singaporeans should appeal for more increases in hospital bills and other bills to better their lots. Uniquely Singapore. That's the way to go. More pay for the ministers to better our lives. Just don't tell us to tighten our belts.

Time for mean testing

Yes, we need to mean test the population to see how many can still bear with the high cost of living. We need to know how much have the value of their money fallen or how much can each dollar buy now. We also need to know how much is need to get by for a family or 3 or 4. Mean testing is needed to see how mean is the runaway inflation caused by the upping of prices, of everything, is affecting the livelihood of the hardlanders.

Stop the influx before it is too late

Another sign of the bursting of the seams. Lack of hostel space is pushing up rentals at HDB flats. Is this a good sign? We are seeing signs everywhere that this little rock is about to burst under the weight of an exploding population. MRT squeeze, more ERPs needed, property prices and rentals skyrocketing, parents fighting for place in schools for kids, students fighting for place in universities, patients fighting for place in hospitals, public places jammed to the brim etc etc. How much more can we take? How much more signals will it need to waken the fanatics to stop the inflow of foreigners into the island? We are doing more harm to the country by feeding the appetite for those who seek economic growth through population explosion at the expense of the general population. What can be done to stop this madness? This is our country and we must not allow mad people to run it to the ground.

Legalising Organ trading - Just do it.

At the moment the inertial against legalising organ trading is very strong. And the medical profession have their valid reasons for keeping it so. There are different schools of thought and different opinions. And if one chooses to take the traditional view, there are all the reasons and apprehension to say no. On the practical side, there are also all the reasons to say yes. No one will be able to absolutely say that one position is right and the other is wrong. The only thing that is wrong is legal, the law says so, for the time being. Watching Tang Wee Sung walking in and out of the subordinate court is the best reason to say that we should legalise organ transplant. Otherwise we are condemning him to a sure and slow death, and a pathetic existence. On the other hand, the CNA programme on kidney donors in the Phillipines showed that some people are will and can benefit from selling their kidneys and live life normally, and quite happy about it. Of course the critics may shrug this off as superficial. Yes, the poor always have to sacrifice and pay a heavier price to live a little better, even selling their organs. What is the alternative for them to break out from the poverty trap? Or shall the righteous condemn them as well to a life of drudgery? Can we give them a choice?

A few good men and a thinking citizenry

PN Balji wrote an interesting article about a world class nation needing a few good men and a thinking and questioning citizenry. In paradise, such a thought will be simply denounced as bull. We don't need a thinking citizenry. That is about what we have been brought up to believe in. Mind your own business, make your money and live your life quietly. Only a few good men are needed to carry this nation to a higher platform. We used to have a few good men with us for the first 20 years of our history in nation building. Good, decent and selfless men. Today's conventional wisdom is that these are foolish men who sacrificed for the nation at their own personal expense. So today we claim to have a few good men but of a different kind. A few good men that needs to be paid top dollars or else. Would this kind of good men really carry the nation forward? Self before nation or nation before self? The latter is naive idealism. Balji said this nation will be doomed if these few good men suddenly disappeared for there is really a dearth of good men available. This is a false assumption surely. We have many men that have been trained by the best universities. I believe there must be some good men among them, but because of the political system and culture, they rather stand aside. Anyway, if they stand up to say that they will run the country for half the pay they will be immediately denounced as only half as good. For if they could not command the top salary which top brains are associated with then they are no good. I believe some of the good men will know that they are being paid beyond their abilities and contributions. A good man will stand forward and say, look, you are overpaying me. I don't deserve so much. Balji also talked about a thinking and questioning citizenry to fill the second part of his equation of a great nation. We are not a nation but a hotel. Everyone who is able is hoarding as much wealth as he can to prepare to run. Only the less able and losers will stay behind when the dam breaks. In a nutshell, do we have a few good men and a thinking citizenry? Maybe not. But I am contradicting myself as I have said earlier that there must be many good men sitting on the sideline. Maybe we need a revamp of the system and the values for the really good men to come forward. Under the present system and values, it will invite a different kind of good men to rule the country. Is this system sustainable, able to last in this form into the future? I have my doubts. Our system started well. But when its continued existence or perpetuation of its existence is for the wrong reasons, it will end up in the dumps of history.

A new beacon of light

The centre of growth has shifted to the East. The two old giant civilisations have woken up and powering ahead. Then there is the revitalised Russia in the north, and the Koreans slightly to the east. And the old war horse, Japan, and Taiwan, Hongkong etc. Then there is Australia to the south and the world's biggest commodity producers, Indonesia and Malaysia. Singapore is strategically placed in the midst of these spectacular growth and growing economies. And we are gradually becoming the centre for the region. We will be the beacon of growth, playing the role as a capital city for these countries. We will draw their talents, their products and services and their funds here. We will manage and process them with our expertise and first world infrastructures and systems. We will grow with them. We have everything they need, and the ability to balance the delicate sensitivities of these countries by being neutral and acceptable to all of them. We have a bright future as the centre of this growth.

ERP is a big success

The recent addition of more ERPs and higher toll rates is a huge success in terms of effectiveness and acceptance by the motorists. About 70% of motorists and motorcyclists polled would rather pay more for a smoother ride. The poll was conducted by The Sunday Times on a sample size of 200. With such a high rate of acceptance, the LTA should give themselves a pat on the back for being proactive and for being able to read the minds of the people. It is a tough decision that the people know is coming and will accept it as they know it is good for them. There were some grouses of course. A commuter complained that MRTs are too packed. A shop owner complained that business has dropped. A cabbie complained that he would lose out if he pays for the higher tolls but could not pick up fares. But all these are a minority and they will get use to the new changes. And they will soon appreciate the goodness of the ERPs and be thankful for it. Things will die down and be normal again. As for the MRT jams, I think this will be resolved when the circle line comes in in 10 years time. Not to worry. Time will solve all problems.

The Incongruence of intent and purpose-part 2

We are hearing the all for a new direction or misdirection, have more babies. We need to bring back the good old days and our mamas and grandmas. We need to worship them as the heroines for producing by the dozens. It was a time of ignorance, of who cares, of wanton irresponsibilities perhaps, or were the children born in those days were children of love? The new mothers are shunning to have more babies for very practical and serious reasons. The days when children will grow up by themselves and fend for themselves are over. The children who will find their own food and live with a pair of pyjamas shorts tied by a piece of cotton string will not return. Simply, having babies is not cheap. Only the ignorant and irresponsible will keep producing beyond their means. And what will become of their children? Materially deprived, mentally disturbed, psychologically suffering from a complex of the have nots, and educationally good to be guards and waiters and waitresses, maybe salesperson. That is what many of these lower income children will become when they grow up. Not many parents can afford to bring up children to university levels, a minimum qualification to live a decent life. Given the high cost of everything, including education, how much would it need to bring up a child? Conservatively $250k or more for his first 25 years of dependency, ie $10k annually. Any parents who want their child to be properly and adequately brought up and educated, need to be able to set aside $1000 pm for 25 years. How many families can afford such a sum? Can a double income family with a $3k take home pay be able to set this aside? Barely, given each needing $1k to live by. This will rule out any family with an income of less than $3k to have babies if they want their children to grow up normal and live reasonably, and to be the pride of the family. But how many of our population is earning less than this amount? With the rate of inflation running away, with everything going to cost more, especially education, are we serious to call people to go forth and simply multiply? Yes, many irresponsible parents will do that. They will see their wrongdoings and the problems their children will face in the future when money is not enough. If we are real in wanting our people to procreate more, then the cost of bringing up a child must be brought down. The cost of education must be brought down to a manageable level. Otherwise we are asking these people to dig a hole to bury themselves in the future. What we can expect to hear for sure tomorrow is that education fees will go up and up. Then what will happen to the children who cannot afford the education?

Tharman has the making of a PM

We need strong and tough leaders who dare to tell the brutal truth even if it hurts. It is bad if leaders say all the nice things to gain popularity. Leaders must say the right thing and do the right thing. And Tharman has just done it. He said the most unpopular thing, but good for Singapore. He has warned employers against giving pay rise to workers to offset inflation. And the best judge of his wisdom is that the union leaders also support this view. And not only the union leaders, 2/3 of the people also voiced out in support of his position. I have read 6 comments in the ST and 4 were in agreement with him. Only two were slightly in disagreement. This only shows that the people are reasonable and thinking and will support hard policies as long as the reasons are sound. And in this case, 2/3 of them support Tharman. That is a good sign of Tharman's potential as the next PM.

The incongruence of intent and purpose

There is a new Singapore in the making. Singapore will be transformed in a world class city with world class facilities for world class people. We are inviting all the rich and famous to our shores. They are going to be greeted with world class universities, medical facilities, recreational and entertainment facilities, world class transport system, world class housing, in short everything world class. And we all know that we have to pay world class prices for world class servicesand facilities. It has to be. It is going to be better than the Swiss standard of living. It is what every Singaporean is dreaming off. How many can afford to live this dream? For the lower income wage earners, inflation is soaring and eating into their petty income. Not only that they are getting not enough, it is dwindling. And we are going to keep their wages down, to remain competitive. With low income and shrinking income, how are these people, the majority of the Singaporeans, going to pay for their dreams? The only way to live their dreams is by dreaming. The reality is too harsh and will not be attainable to them. And many are agreeing that their wages should be kept low. It was reported in the ST, 'Deputy president Philip Lee, 51, said his union(SISEU) would not push for higher wages because economic prospects were uncertain. "If jobs are not coming in, employers may retrench workers," he said.' He has his point. Job security is important. Meantime we have full employment to the extent that more foreign workers are being brought in to cover the shortages. And more foreign workers and foreign talents will find employment here while Singaporeans are worried of losing their jobs and competitiveness. The best part is that we cannot stop the inflow of foreigner workers. For they are here to help the Singaporeans and to provide jobs for the Singaporeans. Low income Singaporeans would just have to bear with their low pay jobs. Better to have jobs than no jobs...and keep dreaming of a world class lifestyle.

Quote by Cedric Foo

“If the operators’ returns are satisfactory, then it is a win-win situation. If they are unduly penalised, they do not get returns commensurate with their risks … then you would have a new set of problems – too few trains, too old buses.” Cedric Foo (TODAY) With this kind of statement and acceptance that public transport will be allowed to run to the ground if profit no enough, it is time that the govt should consider taking public transport back as a statutory board. With so many supertalents in the stats board, I am sure they can do a better job without being profit crazy. And if they cannot perform, sack them. You don't pay people so much who cannot perform. And I hope no one is going to say that only privatisation can make an organisation efficient and effective. Bull.

More fare hikes coming

Look at it positively, this is another measure to curb inflation. The people are having too much disposable income. Take a bit away then they will spend less, and travel less. All in all, there will be less demand for goods and services. So inflation pressure will weaken. Good for everyone. And lesser congestion in MRTs and buses. Just hope the motorists don't go back to driving.

Is there an Inquisition going on?

Tang Wee Sung should have spent a short holiday in the Phillipines. I was watching CNA last night and there was a programme showing trishaw riders in the Phillipines. Several healthy young pedicab drivers were being featured. They were so vibrant, energetic, healthy, and happy. There have all sold one of their kidneys and are not only happy, but living life normally. And one kidney was sold for US$3,800! For that one of them said he could buy a pedicab to earn a living and also a small store. They all did it for the well being of their families. Who is to say that they are wrong, exploited, suffering? They did it willingly, as a personal sacrifice. Of course we the rich Singaporeans felt very sorry for their plight. But can we offer them any help except to deprive them of the opportunity to do something for their families? This is the haughtiness of a self centred and self proclaimed morally righteous people. No it is wrong, don't let them do it. Let them continue to live in poverty and indignity, begging for handouts. And let the kidney failure patients die. These are the honourable and right things to do. And the witch hunt is on.