Protection against QE3

The printing of the greenbacks continues unabated. More American dollars will be flying all over the world and definitely some will land here, to gobble up some of our choice properties. Actually it is like exchanging banana currency for our real assets. It is not surprising that many of our good quality properties would be exchanged for going to be worthless paper currency called the greenbacks or the American dollar.

What is the govt going to do about this development? The Americans could just keep printing and buy up everything here. And it is not just the greenbacks as the dollar is linked to many other currencies and all will be bloated.

One thing the govt can do is also to print money Sinkie dollars to buy up more valued assets overseas, not junk stocks or bankrupt companies. And this could spare the need to fall back on the savings in the CPF. Just print like the Americans do. They buy up our island, we buy up the American continent.

Today I have done the unpleasant but necessary

Of late there were more comments filled with vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity that were simply unwarranted. Though I am very tolerant to some swear words here and there, but some bloggers appeared to be only comfortable to spice their comments with crude and naughty words. I hope they were not doing them with some private agenda, to tarnish the reputation and tone of this blog. I suspect that the intention was unfriendly.

I hope all bloggers take note that there are bloggers of all ages here and too much of the saucy stuff may be a bit uncomfortable to some. As for me, I would not want my blog to be infamous for all the wrong reasons.

Please bear with me and not to turn this blog into a smelly longkang. For those who are used to the use of naughty words and do not want their posts to be deleted by me, you are welcome to post in blogs that share the same interests and style of commentary.

Thank you.

Redbean

Opportunity for SWF to buy another fire sale company in Indonesia

“The Jakarta Post, 18 Sep 2012

Following its recent controversial verdict declaring PT Telkomsel insolvent, the Jakarta Commercial Court is asking liquidators to supervise the nation’s largest cellular operator’s assets.

The court has appointed Feri S Samad, Edino Girsang and Mohamad Solihin as liquidators to assess the company’s books and to enforce court orders to settle the company’s debts.

The court declared Telkomsel bankrupt on Friday after it failed to pay Rp 5.3 billion (US$557,000) to PT Prima Jaya Informatika, the company’s top-up voucher distributor.

Telkomsel, which is 65 percent owned by state-run telecommunication company PT Telkom and 35 percent owned by Singapore’s SingTel, has total assets worth Rp 58.72 trillion ($6.2 billion) and booked net profits of Rp 12.82 trillion in 2011.”

This is another good buy. Cheap, cheap and cheaper. Can turn around and make many times more. SWF must be queueing up to buy over this company. The dumb investors from Thailand and Holland will be looking at buying over APB and F&N and paying a high price for them. They did not know how to look out for bargains.

First world city infested with third world bed bugs

The invasion of FTs comes with the invasion of bed bugs. The notification and request for help to get rid of these pests are getting more frequent. And hopefully bed bugs are not the only pests sharing the homes of HDB flat owners. They crawl up and down the walls of flats and the flats next door. Wait a minute, heard that they are commonly found in bus seats as well. Now, what about the airline seats they flew in from?

What about hair fleas or lice? This one hops around and the closed proximity in the trains and buses are idea environment to share them around. The thought of fleas/lice already makes my whole body feeling like they are crawling all over me. We may need another few decades to make it to first world as we consolidate our gains of third world FTs living among us, including bed bugs and fleas/lice. And TB is also making an appearance in greater number.

Maybe with more integration we will get use to them and be more like them. Our population has actually grown many more millions of bed bugs, fleas and lice are included. Welcome to the new Third World city, once First World. I was joking earlier about returning to the past, to the Third World. Now it is not a joke. We got rid of many of these unhygienic pests and bragged about a clean and green First World city. It is going on a rewind down memory lane.

Buckingham Palace angry with press freedom

The Buckingham Palace is furious with the news that naked photos of Prince William and Kate will be in the printed media. They are threatening to sue the press publishing them.

Funny, what is so funny about a few naked photographs. They were quite decently taken, not pornography stuff or lewd acts. Why so much anger and protest? Having seen those photographs and the video on the Innocence of Muslims, which is worst?

The Western media are claiming press freedom to make that video and make it available as infortainment. What is so bad about a few naked photographs then?

Double standard, different moral values for different people?

My worst fear in Education becoming a reality

After removing the banding of schools, there are suggestions from the govt elite that PSLE should be scrapped as well. This is front page news in Today’s paper. With the scrapping of O level in the through train scheme, and with this, the only examination left is the A level. And with all the emphasis and pressure left on this last remnants of the old system, it may also be scrapped. We will then have the most stress free education system in the world, replacing the best education system we have at the moment but found too stressful and still not producing good students.

Sinkieland would become another kind of paradise for school children, no examination all the way to universities. It is possible if the parents continue with the pressure and some unthinking govt elite will just bend on their knees and say ok, ok. The past philosophy of making tough decision is discarded and a new culture of pleasing the parents and voters is emerging. The past mindset of the govt knows best is changing to one that the voters know best or make the voters happy. Talk to the voters, ask what they want and give it to them.

Many many years ago when I was a young undergrad, we asked the lecturer how he graded his students. He said it was simple. Though he had hundreds of papers to mark, it only took him a few seconds to do it. He drew two parallel lines on the floor, threw all the papers into the air. Those scrips that fell on the left will get B. Those on the right will get C and those in between the parallel lines will get A. The number of A grades will depend on his mood and how far apart he drew the two lines. This could be re introduced when examinations are scrapped totally and all the happy students took a ride on the through through train to universities.

We are progressing. Many parents and students will be in cloud nine. For those parents who insist on having examinations for their children and stubbornly wanting to put pressure on them, the govt can offer schools that have examinations. Freedom of choice is important. This way, the parents that do not want to have examinations will be happy. Those who want examinations will also be happy.

This is a good start for the National Conversation.

The tide turning against the Americans

Afghanistan is turning out to be a short lived Vietnam for the Americans. They are now on the withdrawal phase, to get out and move their forces back to East Asia to open another theatre of war that could be more profitable. There is oil and the countries like Japan and South Korea would have the money to buy more American weapons.

While the Americans have it all planned, they did not expect that the tide is turning so rapidly against them. More and frequent attacks against them and their allied troops are seeing better results with more death. The latest attack in an air base saw 6 fighter aircraft destroyed and several allied soldiers killed. Fortunately the British heir to the throne did not get hurt.

The most damaging of the attacks is that the soldiers trained and armed by the Americans are turning their guns at their trainers, the Americans. And this is not only happening in Afghanistan, but also in the Middle East and in Libya with the killing of the American Ambassador and embassy staff.

This is something the Americans have not bargained for. The experience of training Obama and arming Saddam Hussein did not teach the Americans everything. They thought they are like the Arabs, pay them enough and they would kill among themselves, for the benefits of their paymaster, the Americans.

The tide is changing and more violence against American troops and civilians could be the new happenings in the war zone and out of the war zone. The Americans have created an enemy they cannot be defeated unless they do another Red Indian act, a concerted genocide of the Arabs and the muslims which is a near impossibility. The war has just begun.

The contradictions and fallacies showing

With each passing day, the cracks get bigger and bigger. It was only hairline cracks and could easily be covered up with another thin layer of paint. Now you could sink a whole hand into it. And you need the experts to certify that there is no danger of a collapse.

Just a few decades back, the song was, ‘We are the best, the crème of talents, the best money can buy. And we can solve all the country’s and the Sinkies’ problem. We are simply the super talents.’ With this kind of branding, everyone went gaga, and it went to the extent that the spin doctors too believed in the spin. And because the daft Sinkies would just put up with all the craps, the super talents convinced themselves that since they were the best, the best in the world, they deserved to be paid the best in the world. The rest is history.

Fast forward today, after some tears and apologies came the admission that mistakes were made. When the cracks were so huge and for all to see, you can’t say there are no cracks. The fouling up of a national home ownership scheme, the high cost of living, unbelieveable influx of foreigners as PRs and citizens, the discrimination against the citizens, a superb national savings scheme that went sour, transportation and high cost of car ownership, and many more, could not go away without an explanation.

And today, the govt is asking what the people want for their children and this country. Isn’t this the job of the govt or what the govt had been doing? What happens to the super talent tag, that the immortals knew it all and no need to listen to the people, deaf frogs are top brains? See the contradictions and fallacies? How could the super talents be seeking views and ideas from the daft and the ideas are free? Anything that does not have a price tag that is out of this world is not worthy. Remember that? You want good stuff, you must pay for it, quality education, quality healthcare, quality govt.

If the quality is a suspect, don’t pay for it. Why pay astronomical prices for things that are not worth its value? The open admission that the govt cannot solve everything, or even creating messes and messing up the people’s life, is a rude awakening. So, what about the out of this world pay when the govt is quite ordinary, really? Remember again, the huge pay for politicians is meant for top and super talents that claimed to know best and would solve all the problems of country and people, pro active, forward looking, nipping all problems in the bud before they become full bloom problems. With that kind of pay, they should be solving the problems of the world, not this tiny little island. The people will be very grateful if they did not create more problems while trying to help the people with their problems.

What an irony if the politicians, the top and super talents, are saying that they are not that good after all? Where are the immortals? Is the National Conversation an admission of a national myth?

The National Conversation so far

It was touted as the conversation for all Singaporeans to have a say in what kind of future they want for Singapore and their children. This is as national as it could get. Somehow the other part of Singapore is not being represented, the political oppositions that don’t agree with the govt’s point of view. The fact that none of them seems to be included or invited to join the conversation is beginning to tell. You cannot have a National Conversation by excluding 40 per cent or more of the population to call it a National Conversation.

And as some bloggers have pointed out, it has drifted towards a conversation of the converts, of the ‘safe’ people who share the same belief and ideology of the govt, of what the govt thinks is good for the whole population.

What makes this task predictable is that the converts would agree with the agenda and would not stray to topics or issues that have been OB marked. Some things are just not meant to be discussed and have already been pronounced as good forever, despite the claims of no stone unturned.

The National Conversation is looking like a divisive conversation dividing the ‘with us and the against us’, but including some the fence sitters. The eventual recommendations will not be too far off from the findings of the Ministerial Salary Review Committee, a recommendation that is expected and put up by like minded people. How different the recommendations would be if the members were neutral and have no political affiliation or interests.

And, how different would the findings of a committee and audience in this National Conversation when the composition of the participants already in a big way predetermined the agenda and the outcome? The future that is desired would be very similar to the future envisaged by the govt, more immigrants, bigger population, more growth, work till one drops dead, higher property prices, higher cost of living, no free lunch with some exceptions, and please, do talk or ask question about the CPF savings and its future.

A naked Japanese lie

The ownership of Diaoyutai is now the hottest topic in East Asia and could turn into an open military conflict. The conflicting claims to the island put set aside by Deng Xiaoping and the Japanese govt for the near future and to be determined by the wisdom of future generations. This brought about a period of stability when things were kept at status quo.

The latest development arose when Japan fabricated a lie, producing a Japanese owner of the island and trying to conduct a sales/purchase agreement of the island among the Japanese militants and the Japanese govt, ignoring completely the rights and interest of China and the sensitivity of the Chinese people.

Since the annexation of the island, which is a historical fact in 1895, Diaoyutai was officially taken over by the Japanese and renamed Senkaku. The Japanese even quoted its authority over the island by this official commentary, ‘Japan incorporated the Islands into Okinawa Prefecture after conducting thorough surveys from 1885 on, while ascertaining carefully that these islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of any state including China.’

The arrogant Japanese ignored completely the ownership of the island by China since the Ming Dynasty in the 15^th Century, and as they put it, since nobody was there when they conducted the survey, they could take it over. This kind of arrogant logic would allow Japan to take over any island even today if they conduct a survey and conclude by themselves that no one was controlling it. There must be plenty of islands in the Philippines and Indonesia that can be annexed by the Japanese.

Diaoyutai is no uninhabited island in the vast Pacific Ocean. It was Chinese territory since the Ming Dynasty. And Japan is claiming that those were not historical records but the annexation of the island in 1895 was. No need to look further back.

The situation has come to a boil and it may be time for China to reclaim the islands and help the Liuchiu Islanders to regain their independence from Japan. The Liuchiu Islands, annexed by Japan and called Ryukyu Islands, were an independent kingdom that paid homage to the Qing Dynasty. The islands are now sacrificed as the military base of the US and host to nuclear weapons. They would have to bear the brunt of a first attack should war breaks out. It would be opportune for the islanders to declare independence from Japan and become an independent country again, free from foreign dominations, and free from the risk of a nuclear attack.

China has sent 6 surveillance ships to patrol the Diaoyiutai and would encounter the patrol ships of the Japanese coast guard. This is no time for blinking, having come so far, with the Japanese acting more aggressively in their claim on the island. A stand off and naval clash is unavoidable with the Japanese govt officially fabricating and pushing this naked lie of ownership of the island. It is unimaginable that China would surrender its territory for a naked lie.

China would not tolerate another Marco Polo Bridge Incident again and fighting Japan is a must if the provocation continues. The wisdom of the future generations appears to be now.

The Prosecutor

A piece of rar art created by Mother Nature.

US a convenient scapegoat in Arab World

My dentures almost flew out when I saw this heading in the ST yesterday, of an article by Jonathan Eyal. He went on to describe the hatred for Americans by the Arabs as, ‘instinctive and often irrational hatred of the US remains one of the region’s most depressingly common features.’

The Americans and the Western journalists and their world view still believe that the Arabs are daft and unthinking primeval tribes that did not know what is going on to their countries? They believe that they could continue to bully and oppress the Arabs, divide and rule, and exploit them for their oil and oil money while running their economies to ruins with wars and sanctions.

The depressing thing is that the Americans and the West really believe so, that by telling the Arabs that they are their saviours, they could do anything they want to them, bombing their countries to ruins, killing the Arabs without acknowledging that they are also human beans, and conveniently calling them collateral damages.

The rise of nationalism after WW2 had swept across the world to liberate countries and people from the imperialists and colonial West. Unfortunately this liberating force is still not enough to help the Arab World to break free from the Western domination of their countries and people. Now there is an even more powerful force, the power of religion that tells the Arabs to die for the honour of Allah, people and country. And terrorism becomes a part of their lives. Believe me, the Americans and the West are blind to these forces. Seeing the dictatorial regimes as opportunities to increase their influence in the region, the West masterminded and bankrolled small dissident groups to over throw the established govts only to find that the new comers were all steeped in their religious cause and more anti American and the West than the dictatorial regimes. And they are even more gungho, more deadly, with Allah as their reason to die for.

The Americans are convenient scapegoat? Nay, the Americans are simply enemy Number One. The Arabs know who their enemies are. It is not a naïve interpretation of scapegoat or irrational hatred. It is deep seated hatred built up over the years by western domination and oppression.

Can the Americans and the West get it? Sending in more warships and inciting more regime changes? This is the 21st Century. The Arabs cannot be blinkered forever. Once they band together as an anti American and anti Western force, they are a very formidable force to deal with. How long can the western tactic of divide and rule be effective and to prolong the domination and oppression of the Arab World?

This latest provocation against the Arab World is unnecessary and would only fume their anger and hate for the Americans and the West to a greater height. Who is the real mastermind in the movie? The result is staggering and the consequences are grave. Please, the Arabs are not idiots and definitely not daft.

An economic and military East Asia Pact

China, the Koreas and Taiwan should sit together and work out an economic and military pact in the face of unceasing territorial aggression by an incalcitrant militant Japan. Japan is still arrogantly sticking to its militaristic past and wanting to hold on to the war loots it seized from its neighbouring countries. And they would not return them unless defeated in a war.

And the Japanese Foreign Minister, Koichiro Gemba, got the cheek to call on the Chinese and Koreans to remain calm in the wake of Japanese reasserting their control over the islands taken from the two countries from conquest, and to look at the bigger picture. What bigger picture? The bigger picture is that it is time for Japan to return the war loots if it ever thinks of having a cordial and lasting relationship with its neighbours. Do the Japanese really believe that the Chinese and Koreans would accept the loss of their territories and would take that lying down and the Japanese peeing on their faces? It is a national shame, national humiliation, every day the islands are in the control of the Japanese.

The Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese should form an economic/military pact to deal with Japan directly. Not only the Japanese and Americans can sign military pact. Take on the Japanese economically and if necessary, militarily, if the Japanese persist in humiliating their neighbours by not returning the islands looted from them. No more trades with Japan for a start by the three countries and be prepared for war as the Japanese are infamous for sneak attacks, like Pearl Harbour.

After banding, what’s next?

The quashing of the banding system for schools seems to be a most welcomed move by parents, educators and students. Although it is symbolic, it is still a big step forward to want to change, to want to listen to the people, to want to do good for education and make the parents happy. Malaysia made that move many years ago when parents complained that it was too difficult to use the English Language, and they took English out of their system. We almost took Mandarin out of our system as well. Any way the standard of Mandarin taught in schools today is way below par from yesteryears.

Before people get too excited and go overboard with the relac mentality, before we enter the age of narcissism, let’s look at the status of our education system and its products. Is our education really good? Are the products really first class? I am putting aside the other greater values of education, like opening the mind to see the real world, critical thinking, an educated and better person, values, goodness etc etc.

For the first question, relatively, yes. Compare to the third world countries, we have a good education system. Or at least the infrastructure and the hardware are first class, brand new and with modern comfort and facilities.

What about the quality question? Forget about the older generations of leaders that were mostly the products of foreign universities. In fact many of our top talents in govt are also products of foreign world class universities. What does this say of the quality of our local education?

In the employment scene, are our local products, all those with straight As, good enough? I think so, at the middle management level. Would they also be good at the top management level? This is a tricky question. Apparently it seems that our local products are not good enough for top level management, both in the govt and private sector. In those govt positions where there is no competition from foreigners, it is hard to tell.

And many organisations, including govt linked organisations, are happily recruiting foreigners or foreign educated professionals in preference to local graduates. Why? Foreigners are cheaper or are foreigners better? If foreigners are found better, then we have a problem, a real problem. And if foreigners are from third world countries and found to be better to boss around with our world class straight A products, now this is not funny. It simply says that our super products are useless or not worth their grades on paper.

The situation on the employment scene is not speaking very well of our local products. And this is in spite of the high pressure cooker system, including banding and branding of schools, to squeeze out the best from each cohorts. Would it be worst if the high pressure is slackened to appease the parents? Would we produce junks that are not even good enough to work in third world countries when everything is relaxed? Can we afford to lower our standards, make schooling fun and stress free as all parents and children would love to have, and everyday a happy and carefree day, a fun day in schools?

How far and how low would the education system go when we are not even producing graduates that can compete with third world countries even now? Would there be a day when all the top and senior managements must be imported, from third world countries, to manage our happy and stress free products from our friendly and wholesome education system?

What do you think? Did anyone say levelling down? There must be competition to get the best to be the best. There must also be moderation so that those that are meant for better things in other fields could excel and not feel dumped into the rubbish heap. Let’s not have an Olympic Games to compete for sportsmanship and not to excel. There can be another Olympic Games for other purposes like not winning and every participants would come home with a medal, the same medal for everyone to make everyone happy.

Will there be a shift in the direction and mission of our education system?

The first pain in Middle East

After lording and messing around with the lives of the Arabs, and killing so many of them, the Americans are tasting the first bitterness of their aggressive intent in the region. Bombing Libya, killing Gaddafi, turning the country in civil war and probably messed up for the next 30 years, the table turned yesterday. The Libyans turned their guns at the US Ambassador Chris Stevens. He was killed with 3 other officers.

And Hillary gasped, ‘How could this happen in a country we helped liberate, in a city we helped save?’ She believed that the Americans were there to liberate and save the Libyans. Did she ask the Libyans if that is what they wanted and what they asked for? Or was the help unilaterally offered, like it was good for the Libyans and must be done? The pain of war so far is only felt by the Arabs, not the warmongers.

Now the answer came from the Libyans, a kind of thank you America, for killing Gaddafi and turning their country into ruins. And here is our present and our gratitude. You can bring the present home in black plastic bags.

A country that makes war a way of living will have war brought into its home soil.

Sinkies are not xenophobic

The accusation and branding of Sinkies as xenophobic is simply bad. It must not be allowed to stick. Sinkies have never been xenophobic. Other than some bad encounters with criminals, most visitors or foreigners working here have pleasant experience and memories to bring home with them. Many also have enjoyed the hospitality and generosity of Sinkies when they were here and some when in deep trouble. Those who have bad experience here are the racists that would not find any place good enough for them, not even their own countries. They will be the first to bad mouth any country that welcomed them to stay.

Sinkies must protest against this unjust labeling as anti foreigners. No one from any country would want their home to be flooded by so many foreigners in so short a span of time and with the infrastructure stretching and barely able to cope. The anger of Sinkies is not against the foreigners but against the policy of having too many foreigners leading to over crowding, unwanted competition, high cost of living, and a better future for our children.

No, Sinkies are definitely not xenophobic. Sinkies must denounce this xenophobic branding. It is having too many foreigners that is hurting the average Sinkies. The only good that can come from this branding is to frighten foreigners from thinking that Sinkieland is a good option to migrate.

First sacred cow slaughtered

The abolishing of the banding of schools is a major policy change in education. With this change, it could impact many areas of educating the children as it would in a way release some pressure on competing for good schools, good grades and a very demanding not doing well is not an option system. The annual panic of school selection when going to a school in the lower band brought immediate stigmatization could be less felt by parents and children with the change. It is a big step to make education less pressurizing and maybe more enjoyable for all, parents, teachers and children. Just don’t go over board and do away with examinations and grades as well.

Heng Swee Kiat is new in politics but his approach is like a veteran. Make the necessary changes that are needed, not the piece meal approach like the other veterans in the game. This is exactly what is happening in housing. It is all piece meal and the major policies are still hanging over the head. Would Boon Wan do the necessary and dismantle the wicked policies of his predecessor and make housing, choosing a flat, buying a flat, less stressful to the citizens? The babies may come faster too.

Would there also be more major changes coming the ways of health and manpower, the latter more with respect to the population size of this little rock, and not blindly looking at economic growth as the sole determinant of how many people it can take.

The mistakes of the govt have been so gross in so many areas, that without acknowledging it, are hardly unrecognizable. Despite all the great numbers and data that this is a miracle island, the flaws are so painful that they erased whatever goodness and goodwill that should be duly acknowledged. Funny, with so much wealth, talent and resources, the problems are found so difficult to solve. Just throwing more money at the problems will and can work, if the govt is willing, like throwing money into the pay of the elite to attract the best of the crème la crème into politics.

It’s time to bury the hatchet, when there is still time

The news of Chee Soon Juan’s offer of $30,000 to settle his defamation damage awarded to LKY and Chok Tong, and the acceptance by the two, came as a relief after so many years of acrimony. It is time that the age of brutal body blows to opposition politicians be put to an end and a new and clean chapter be allowed to start anew.

All Sinkies know what happened and how ugly that things had been and at times feel very shameful over the whole ordeal, but keeping a disinterested silence. It does not mean that Sinkies are apathetic to the unpleasantness and smell of the politicking that went against the grain of human decency.

Now that we are seeing a closure to this ugly past, let us all hope that it will be the last and will not happen again. We have civilized politically over the years, I hope, and any animal instinct or savagery should not stick onto the new designer suit. We have to progress politically and individually to be a better country and better people.

But until the last nail is in, anything untoward can still happen. Pray that things will be better as we step towards a brighter future of genuine inclusiveness and not just another hope or inspiration.

The Foreign Concessions

In the dark days of Chinese history, China was branded the Sick Man of Asia. In its own territories there were places designated as foreign concessions, The British Concession, French Concession, Japanese Concession, Russian, American etc etc . In these concessions, the foreign powers ran the places like their colonies, their own laws, police, and treated the Chinese as foreigners to be victimized and kicked around. They have no regards or respect to the Chinese who owned the land that sat the concessions. They humiliated the Chinese and ignored the catchphrase, 打狗看主人, or showing some deference to the owner before whacking the dog.

I was reading the plight of the local PMETs in Gilbert’s Transitioning.Org and could see the similarities in concessions being sprouted in this little island whereby foreigners held the locals in contempt and treating them as pariahs. I hope the cases mentioned in Gilbert’s blog are not true and not even exceptions. Sinkies cannot be treated as pariahs by foreigners in their own land. Sinkies cannot have concessions in their own country where Sinkies are bullied by foreigners. When foreigners did that, it is the end of the nation. Foreigners should try to belittle the locals in the Middle East and see what will happen to them.

But it cannot be true here. It must be Sinkies bullying the foreigners and that is why we have this integrate the foreigners call, help and love the foreigners campaign. Incidentally the foreigner that bashed a local taxi driver, a Sinkie, has returned to face judgment. Another two bashers were still at large. Let’s try to integrate this Sinkie basher since he is already given a PR as reported. He can become one of us. Maybe he can then direct his disgust at foreigners when he becomes a Sinkie.

Are there foreign concessions in Sinkieland where Sinkies are ill treated, mistreated and their presence unwelcomed? Have Sinkies lost their country?

What do you think?

The owner of this bull is having a party. His manager told him the bull is in the pink of health. Some suggested blowing hot air into its arse and it will spring to life.

What do you think?

China again the Sick Man of Asia

Despite its new status as the second super power, China is behaving like the Sick Man of Asia once again. And Japan is treating China as such and telling the Chinese it is ok. They are going to proceed with a scam to buy Chinese islands they looted from China during the days of gunboat diplomacy and Unequal Treaties. And they even said the Chinese would not feel hurt.

The whole episode tells two things. The Japanese are back to their militaristic past and will gang bang China and think they can get away with it. On the part of China, it is behaving like the Sick Man of Asia of the past, allowing the Japanese to kick it around at will.

Though it is China’s policy of not bullying a smaller nation, and trying to use diplomacy to solve international problems, Japan is no small power but a military power in its own right. It is bullying China and not the other way. Japan is not the Philippines or Vietnam. It is necessary to stand up to this militaristic nation that is bent to assume its imperial past as a military power.

China cannot avoid a conflict with Japan as Japan believes it can take on China. China cannot avoid trouble when trouble comes knocking at its door. Like the saying, 无事不早事，有事不怕事, China have to act in the Diaoyu case. Once the Japanese get away with the buying and selling of Diaoyu and China could not do anything about it, it becomes a fait accompli, a justification to be used in the future to strengthen the Japanese claim on the island.

It is time to send in the naval ships to patrol the island, and even erect a sentry post to tell the Japanese China means business. As Deng Xiaoping said, sovereignty is not negotiable. Definitely China cannot negotiate with the conniving and cheating Japanese. Doing nothing is not an option and will be seen as a sign of weakness, and in the Japanese mind, inviting trouble.

Pension gone!

Read in the paper that the pensions for office holders, MPs and top govt officers have been scrapped. I presume office holders include ministers as well. And those still serving, on reaching 55 and eligible for pension will not be able to get paid their pension together with their monthly salary, which in toto, is getting two salaries at the same time instead of one.

As they said, things that cannot stand the scrutiny of justice and fairness will have to go when discovered. The principle of clean wage system as Chee Hean said, must stay clean. Anything unclean must go. The disturbing question is how could unclean stuff get into a clean system manned by highly honourable and righteous men and women?

This one is definitely not about bad policy, just unclean.

Consequences of bad govt policies

When a murderer killed his victim, only the victim and his closed ones would suffer the consequences and live with the pain. Even if the murderer killed two victims, at most 4 families will be badly affected. When someone in govt makes a bad policy, thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions will be affected, good or bad. The karmic retribution is not some to fiddle with and to be ignored. When a bad policy affects thousands of people, the grievances and curses of the thousands of people would be directed at you know who.

The bad housing policy of the past decade is a ‘bad’ example of what bad policy is all about. Take the current revision of eligibility for singles to buy direct from HDB. If they were allowed to do so 10 years ago, they need not have to pay such a high price of today. Some may no longer be able to afford the current prices even from HDB as their income may not have kept pace with the price surge. Some may no longer be eligible as the 10 years could see their income exceeding the HDB ceiling. For those who could buy, the price is so much higher. They were all victims of bad policies.

The single mother and divorced parents too become victims with the runaway prices. Allowing them to buy now instead of 10 years ago is no real reprieve as the prices would be beyond many. They too would have to pay for the price of bad govt policies.

The policy of not building until the order book is full and the 4/5 year wait also affected many adversely in monetary terms. Many waited, from being eligible to ineligible as their incomes grew. Many Sinkies could not even buy a HDB flat while foreigners who just turn citizens could do so and profited from those Sinkies who were forced into the resale market, and to buy from the foreigners. How crude and callous could govt policies be, favouring foreigners and discriminating against its own citizens. Many have to pay so much more, like paying a fine for a crime, to buy from the resale market or the private developers. Could clever policy makers realise that something is wrong in their bad policies?

There are others who were affected not financially but equally bad. The haughty and arrogant demand that young people who want to buy flat better quickly get hitched to be eligible had seen many rushing to the ROM to register as man and wife. And after the 4/5 years’ wait, before the arrival of the flat, they could end up as divorcees, without even married in the traditional way. They could have still stay apart, like two individuals. Now they would be classified or known as divorcees. If the divorce gets through quickly and smoothly, things may not be so bad. Some drag on and on, all because of the edict from the HDB, get married or else no flat. And get married fast to get flat earlier.

Then there would be those who saw a good financial gain by getting married, get a flat, sell it for a good profit without thinking much. And by the time they sold their second flat, they will find themselves at the end of the road. No place to stay, no more HDB flats to buy except from the resale market. The profits they made could be enough to buy that new car that would no longer be new and gone in 10 years. So they ended in the beaches or the parks, or waiting for rental flats.

But not everyone is suffering. The happiest people are the new citizens who bought direct from HDB and could sell to these loser Sinkies at a huge profit and to renounce their citizenship and disappear. Great job and sure profit that daft Sinkies would have no choice but to pay.

Many Sinkies are badly affected by the bad housing policies. And there is no recourse, no restitution, no apologies, no regrets. It is just too bad. It is all their fault, not the bad policies. No policymaker has to miss a heart beat for these losers. They have all done their jobs very well.

While Boon Wan is still trying to unravel the mess, would he bother to look at those victims of the bad policies still hanging and dry? I doubt so. Not his problem. He did not create them. Life goes on and the thousands that were affected are history. How many were made much poorer, how many still cannot buy a HDB flat, how many are divorcees and unable to remarry because of their past status?

Putin puts Hillary in her place

If a photograph says a thousand words, there were two interesting photographs emerging from the APEC Meeting in Vladivostok. One very nice photograph of a very nice Yingluck in a very nice long skirt and with several male admirers around her appeared in the ST today. Yingluck must have soften the harsh and tough image of the meeting where non other than the macho Putin was hosting.

And Putin made no one guessing who was the boss man. In the group photograph of the leaders, he chose to have the Sultan of Brunei on his side at the centre of the photo. And he made his feelings for Hillary or the US clear to all by banishing her to the back row on his far left. This must be a very uncomfortable position for Hillary or any American dignitaries to be in, having all the time claiming the spotlight and be the centre of attraction in any gatherings.

Maybe I am reading too much in the photos. Maybe Hillary was keeping herself clear of the Russian bear by staying far far away from Putin. Maybe there just walked into the photo shoot at random.

National Conversation topic

One major topic to be addressed in the National Conversation is the amount of authority to be given to an elected govt of a 5 year term. A democratically elected govt with a short life span of 4 to 5 years is very different from a dictatorship or a dynasty where the country in a way belongs to the dictator or the royal family. The people living in a dictatorship or a dynasty have no choice but to live with whatever decided for them by the dictator or the royalty. They can do whatever they want with the country without the consent of the people. They owned the country, not the people.

In a democracy, the country belongs to the people and the elected represenative govt is only a caretaker govt that can be kicked out of office in the next GE. Should such a govt be given so much authority to decide the future of the country and its people without the latter's consent? Issues that will affect the people for a long time is the population, property ownership, freedom, the people's savings, the national reserves, among other things.

This National Conservation should look into the power of a democratically elected govt and remind such govt that the country belongs to the people, not the few elected representatives, and major and far reaching policies must have the consent of the people, preferably through a referendum. Bringing in so many foreigners as new citizens, selling land and properties to foreigners are critical issues that should not be decided by a few without the consent of the majority shareholders.

Of prudence, prudence and prudence

This funny word seems to be appearing more often on the lips of people in authority. Prudence is taking on the image of a good word. It used to be a good word to the old and wise. Prudence or being not wasteful, careful in words and money, not extravagance, is an old value of goodness.

Prudence can be practiced by the govt, by organizations and by individuals. Prudence in the layman’s view is not overspending, or spending within one’s means. Extravagance is just the opposite, spending beyond one’s means, spending without a care of tomorrow or spending every cent one has.

How is this word prudence being practiced here? Are the govt’s policies based on prudence? Is the govt extravagant, encourages over spending instead of prudence in its own spending and in policies dictating to the people to over spend, or to be prudent?

Think of hospitalization and mean testing? Are they policies of prudence or extravagance? I think they are of extravagance than prudence. Any disagree?

Similarly, housing policies, despite all the crap calls about affordability and buying within your means, it is all about extravagance, buying at max with what one has in the CPF or according to one’s income. See the hypocrisy? The pricing of public housing cannot be prudence, and the income ceilings dictating one to buy more and more expensive flats according to one’s income, are all about extravagance.

Prudence, anyone talking about prudence? If prudence was the intent and purpose, why are people now finding that they savings are not enough for retirement? It must be the result of extravagant spending. It cannot be otherwise. If the people are prudent in their spending, they must have a lot of savings for retirement. What has gone wrong? Prudence? Yes it must be prudence that has gone wrong.

Developing properties for investors

I was kind of, er, uneasy when I heard someone from the property industry talking about developing properties for investors as the next big thing. This statement came after the announcement on changes to allow banks to manage the conveyancing money of buyers. We had a few too many cases of honorable lawyers running away with their clients’ money.

Properties are perhaps the only local produce that we can sell to foreigners for huge profits. We cannot prevent the property developers or anyone who want to make big bucks from selling this product. But we need to be very careful as land is a very limited resource here. Once sold, especially in freehold properties, it is sold forever, like selling Alaska to the Americans by the Russians. We need a policy to limit how much land and freehold properties can be sold to foreigners. If not, all will eventually be sold. The foreigners have all the money to buy up everything on the table.

The other main concern is the public housing market. In the absence of a long term policy to protect housing for the citizens, we may plunge into a deep hole and unable to climb back up. Like it or not, when private property prices shoot to the sky, they will drag prices of public housing along. Good huh?

For now, everyday we are hearing people trumpeting that our public housing prices are affordable. Even so, there are already people living without a roof on their heads. Blame them on their stupidity, losers, misfortunes, luck, etc, they are still citizens of the country and they need a roof over their heads.

And as the prices hit the roof, the number of homeless will only increase. Not everyone is born lucky to be a minister’s son, not everyone is able to inherit a fortune, not everyone is born with super talents. Then there will be the silly ones, the couldn’t care less ones, the ones that live for today and think about tomorrow when tomorrow comes, and the irresponsible ones. Still they need housing.

At the moment the problem is small and a few of these homeless can be kept away from sight. When the problem snowballs, they will be in every corner, every void deck, and the parks and beaches. Someone selling a 4 rm flat the second time could still downgrade to 3rm flats. Those selling 3 rm flats can only hope for a rental flats as the money could not buy them anything in the resale market and neither would HDB sell them a third time.

There must be safeguards and protection of the people’s housing. Public housing must be sheltered from the greed of developers and speculators. If public housing is also thrown into the ring, many will become victims of circumstances and their own wrong doings. In a sea infested with hungry sharks, the hapless will quickly fall victims to the predators.

The superficial huge profits to be gained by some will soon be the misery of many. Don’t play with people’s homes and run people to the streets or the beaches.

The APEC Meeting in progress

Leaders of Asia and the Pacific rim countries are huddling in Vladivostok for their annual powwow to solve the contentious issues in the region. There are territorial claims stretching from the Sakhalin Islands in the north, Dokdo, Diayu and the Spratleys and Paracels in the South China Seas. These are potential flash points that could be ignited by the provocative acts of any party involved in the disputes.

In other parts of the world, the flash points that are boiling in full heat are the Middle East, that somehow is in a perpetual state of warfare. When one flash point died down, another would somehow start to burn.

In South America, the last flash point was in 1982 in the Falkland Islands that somehow belong to the British and not to the Argentines. This is part of the legacies of colonialism and finder’s keepers past.

What is amazing and coincidental is that these flash points are away from Europe and North America. Anyone cares to guess why North America and Europe are free from such flash points but were always involved in one way or another with such conflicts?

Maybe the rest of the world are countries that are contentious, belligerent and enjoying bickering and war. Maybe they are foolish and cannot establish good neighbourly relations. Or maybe there are some other reasons.

And now we have the Americans, in the form of Hillary Clinton, working so hard, flying everywhere, trying to prevent these flash points from bursting into flames. She and the Americans are really the angels, and the saviours of the quarrelsome Asians. Without the Americans, these countries would have gone to war many times over.

In another way, the Americans are like a dog owner with several dogs on leash. Every now and then the dog owner would release the dogs and let them go people chasing. Then they would pull back the leash and those being chased by the dogs would be so grateful that someone is there to control the dogs. The dog owner is the good guy.

Myth 231: The Inclusive Myth

An inclusive society was broached as a national policy only quite recently, perhaps during the last election or the one earlier.  When inclusiveness became a national policy, it was like an acknowledgement that exclusiveness was being practised before. So there is a change now, to include all Sinkies as one people, no alienation, no one is left behind.

For how long and how many people were excluded by govt policies and in what areas are difficult to account for. This morning’s paper confirmed that 4 groups of citizens have been excluded and fell victims to govt policies in public housing. But only 3 groups were mentioned and the fourth group is conveniently not spoken of and would probably be left out again, excluded in an inclusive society when no one is left behind, except this group.

For the mismanagement of the public housing policies that victimised many citizens financially and in a way also the fate of baby making and TFR, 4 groups of people were not eligible to buy HDB flats on the false justification that the supply was not enough. The real reason for the shortage is not building enough. But the daft Sinkies ended up fighting against each other for priority and seeing other groups joining the queue as their enemies. They are so daft that they would not think or could not think, and would not see that the real culprit for not building enough public flats for the people is not the demand but the supply. And they blamed themselves, the buyers, and accused each other, and to exclude others from the queue to protect their own interests and priority.

The 3 groups identified as victims of systemic discrimination are, ‘those who have never married, single parents and those married to foreigners’. The fourth group is silent and would remain as the victims of a system that bragged about inclusiveness but excluded them. The pain is greater when foreigners turned new citizens are favoured against them. Who make up this group?

How could a govt policy exclude single parents from buying HDB flats and did not think it is nasty? It really describes the kind of people formulating such policy, totally devoid of compassion. Are the single parent families not human beans and need a place to stay as well? Do they have any alternative if they could not buy HDB flats? Imagine how long this group has been leading their lives like lepers? They have been written off, no one wants to know of their plight till now. Can our caring govt be so uncaring?

The same kind of inhuman touch applies to those who are married to foreigners. They too need a place to stay. For the family to be half citizen, there could always be a formula to differentiate the level of subsidies and this need not be the same as citizens, but they must have a chance to buy a flat to stay. They can’t camp at the beach or Vivian will come visiting.

The singles may see a reprieve. But it may not be much of a reprieve at the end of the day. Don’t forget that there is a $10k income ceiling in place for households. Would this mean singles can qualify if his/her income is $5k? And quite a big number of these singles are professionals and high income earners, due partly because of their jobs and partly because they cannot buy when younger when income was lower. Many could still be excluded by the income ceiling like those newly married couples who married late and ended with higher income that kicked them out of the system.

Nobody, single or married couples, started work with income exceeding the $10k limit. They have to work their way up. So if they married earlier, or buy their flats earlier, they would all be eligible. But for one reason or another, definitely not their faults, they ended up with higher incomes and become victims of an inclusive myth. It was a systemic failure that would not be admitted and would likely not be put right.

Out of the 4 groups, one is forgotten, the singles will hardly be a solution, those married to foreigners who are high income earners too may still be excluded. The solutions may still be found wanting with many still excluded from the public housing scheme.

Did someone say every young married couple, first timer, will be able to buy a flat? The inclusive cry is mainly for foreigners who have become new citizens. They are the ones that benefited most at the expense of original citizens.

My National Conversation Thread

I seriously want to engage seriously in the National Conversation, either here or wherever that is fitting for such a conversation. I have only one caveat. Would anyone want to pay me for doing so? Time is money, effort cost money, and one cannot really do justice in a National Conversation without putting in serious time and serious effort which don’t come free.

It would really be nice, very nice, to engage in a National Conversation, for a month or two, I could dedicate the whole blog to it, if I am paid to conduct the conversation. I will really enjoy conversing with anyone on anything national, with pay of course.

They say talk is cheap. But National Conversation cannot be cheap right. How nice, being paid just to conduct a conversation here.

The new transparency game rule

After all the cry father and cry mother about not being transparent, there are positive signs that transparency is the new game in town. And some elite of the society have started the ball rolling, starting with the public airing of medical reports and diagnosis of client’s condition.

We have a case of a client’s mental condition being read out in the media. And as the nature of the condition was so life threatening, I presume, that the recommendation to put the client behind the doors of a mental institution also became public knowledge, with a public warning to act against the client/patient. I am not sure if I am comfortable with this kind of transparency, but transparency it is. And the public now are deserving to know the details of client’s medical condition if deemed fit by the doctors. At what point would a doctor openly make his findings public is not specified in details yet. But patients must now be prepared for laundry washing at the prerogative of the professionals they are seeking help.

Then we have this old man telling his MP how racist he was, his thinking and attitude. Of course it is always good for the public to know that such racist odd balls are living among us and to be guarded of their twisted views. People with such tendencies are bad and should be sent to the psychiatrist for an assessment and tested for suitability to become permanent residents in Woodbridge. It is not just quipping about their idiosyncrasies and thinks nothing of it. Follow up measures must be taken to keep the problem under the lid. I just hope that this guy did not have bipolar sickness or other psychiatric problems. If he does, better to put him away for good.

Then there was a couple who wanted their MP to tell lies. How thoughtless and unreasonable people can be and demanding an MP to tell lies. Got shadow or not? 有影别？There seems to be a new level of transparency in the profession of MPs as long as no names are mentioned. No one will know who the party was and no one will be wiser. 

This kind of transparency practice is good. It is a good start. The people can now expect to see more and more transparency in all fields of activities. The bloggers also must discard their anonymity, those anti establishment and those insurgents planted to discredit bloggers as well. It must be both ways right? Cannot be transparent for some and not transparent for some.

There must also be some caveats to this road to more openness. Conversations that would be otherwise confidential and could now be divulged would need cautionary notes pasted at the door so that people understand the new rule before entering to confide with another party. Me thinks of confession to the fatherly figure and whether it is also applicable to this new transparent norm. And there are certain things that no matter how, cannot be transparent. Things like construction cost of public flats as these could fall under the category of national secrets. The people should understand what can be transparent and what cannot be transparent, particularly things relating to money matters.

Other than these exceptions, let’s all be more transparent, like wearing transparent clothes.

Asean farting nonsense

Asean lately is preoccupied with its quarrel with China, and the main issues stated are freedom of sea navigation, territorial dispute and Asean’s unity. Let me just deal with the strawman within Asean, its unity as a regional bloc of countries trying to present a single view or position to other blocs or big countries.

The differences within the Asean bloc of countries need no further clarification, from social, political, economic and religious angles, Asean countries are like oil and water. For Asean countries to come together, the glue is at best the lowest common denominator. The only area that Asean could ever think of gelling together as one in a lose way is economic cooperation. Politically, with the entry of Vietnam, another ambitious regional power, the level of complexities increases by leaps and bounds.

Vietnam and the Philippines have territorial claims with China and their willingness to drag in the Americans will only raise the temperature and tension in the region. It is increasing daily with the Americans fanning the fire and waiting to make the most out of this regional dispute. Asean unity is now in the frying pan. Can Asean countries afford to take sides as a united bloc on such national and territorial issues? Fat hope. But some Asean countries seem to differ and wanted Asean to be united as one in its negotiation and claims against Chinese territories. Only foolish govt will think that the Chinese will allow their territories to be taken from them because some jokers decided to make a claim for it. The Filipino mentality of claims did not fade away with the Marcos. And they really think that with the American gunboats behind them they could succeed. The same kind of thinking applies to Vietnam. China will go to war with the US if its territorial sovereignty is challenged. They are tolerating the Japanese to maintain good relations, but some Japanese are seeing this as a weakness to be exploited. Think of the eventualities if there is a war between China and Japan today?

The most silly issue Asean is farting around is freedom of navigation. This is an issue that has never been an issue until the Philippines and Vietnamese started to harass and arrest Chinese ships. Funny isn’t it? The trouble makers are pointing the fingers at the Chinese. But when the real devil has its fingers in the region, tension will rise and non existence conflict will simply flare up.

The real threat to freedom of navigation at one time was the Malacca and Sunda Straits. But with regime changed, pragmatism and common sense prevail and the two waterways are now free for ships to cross as international highways.

What about east Africa? Is there a problem that threatens freedom of navigation? Why is there a problem and the Empire with all its resources is unable to quell it? Why are the 6th or 7th Fleets of the world’s most powerful navy not there to clear the waterway to ensure freedom of navigation? Where is Hillary? Still cooking her soup in the kitchen?

There is a clear and present danger, and threats to freedom of navigation in the east African sea. Instead of defending the freedom of navigation there, the Americans are harping up a threat in South China Sea when there was none except when the Vietnamese and the Filipinos start to behave like pirates. And Asean, as usual, have to act on someone else’s agenda, acting on an imaginery threat that is non existence before. And they are blowing hot and cold, from Manila, Jakarta, Singapore, Hanoi to Beijing. The ill wind actually came from across the Pacific Ocean in the guise of peace and stability, and the hegemonic umbrella of the Empire. So Asean now has a monster to fight and the Asean countries are having sleepless nights, sharing the same bed and the same nightmare. The threat of freedom to navigation is as real as they make it and want to believe it in, or as spun by the Empire.

Asean can go on farting and act important. It is as good as NATO in credibility in forming a united front against any super power. Its agenda in the annual Asean Summit Meeting has been hijacked unceremoniously without it knowing what has happened.

What constitutes a racist word

Lately the word keleng has appeared more often than usual and quoted as a racist term used by the non Indians on the Indians. The Indians have also often been called mama or mamak, also seen as racist by some Indians. Are these words really racist in intent? What were their origins? Actually I don’t know. Some relate the word keleng to Kling, a battery of Indian soldiers during the colonial days. Today I heard it was from the word Kilinga or Kaligina, an Indian warrior tribe, which cannot be derogatory. I could still remember a long long time ago when I heard my mother referred to the Indians as kelengna. And when she used the word, there was not the faintest trace of racism or dismissal. It was just a word to call the Indians by the illiterate.

Many tend to forget that the early immigrants here were mainly from the uneducated peasant class who knew of very few things and words. They just adopted and made use of whatever words in their limited vocabulary to get by their daily lives. And in those days, people were simply hungry and had no time for anything but just to work and sleep. Racism was not in the mind of hungry migrants. It is not a luxury of the pseudo affluence or nouveau riche.

Just like the word mama or mamak. It was just picked up in the pasar by the non Indians without even knowing what it meant, a convenience of ignorance. Fortunately when I later found out, it was meant to be uncle in Indian. But the illiterate and unschooled would not know and would not know if it is intended to be racist. And it is unbelieveable that some Indians took offence for being called mama or mamak. I hope some can enlighten on this perception.

I used to call the Hongkongers Hongkie for convenience. But Hongkie was used by many with a tinge of insult. I used it for convenience just like I substitute Singaporeans, a tongue twister to Sinkie, sometimes with full innocence, sometimes with a tinge of mischief.

You are so cheena. Now that word is used in the right sense, not very friendly. The word China was traced to all kinds of origins by apologetic scholars not to offend the Chinese, linking to Chin Dynasty and some other craps. But it was used by the Brits to insult the Chinese as a people as breakable as clay. And since they wrote the maps, they conveniently used it, China for a country that the Chinese used to call Zhongquo or by dynastic names, never China. China was never a Chinese word except used by the Brits to describe a kind of porcelain. Likewise India was likely to be a British creation like they called the American natives Red Indians. Some said the word Indian is derogatory too. Of course the same apologetic scholars will link it to something like the Indus River or something like that.

Many words were created or used by users without knowing what they originally meant. But to the receivers, depending on how sensitive or highly sensitive they are, they can be offended and think that it is an insult or racism. Hongkie is in a way less naughty than chinky or chink. Chink or chinky will definitely fall clearly to the derogatory category and more so than Keleng or mama or mamak.

How many Chinese are called PRC chink or Sinkie chink and just ignored it without screaming racism? Many a time, such words were uttered by an individual against another, and yes, sometimes with racist bias. A laundry tag is racist mind you, if one understands its origin and the context when it is used. The Brits have a lot of racist terms incorporated into their dictionary as acceptable usage but really racist in origin and intent. Yellow culture, yellow press and turning yellow are their racist terms for anything Chinese. But many banana Chinese are using these terms happily without knowing why.

So, what is a racist word will depend partly on how racist a person is, the user and the target. Sensible people would not relate every word said to racism. Often it may be due to ignorance or density.

The enlightenment of Tharman

Front page ST material. Tharman says, ‘Inclusive growth needs govt hand…Market forces will only widen S’pore’s wealth gap.’ Many of his colleagues could not see this. And it is refreshing and promising to see Tharman finally came to this realization, that market forces can not be counted on to take care of the people across the board. I hope this light of wisdom will spread to his equally brilliant and well meaning peers so that they can now find the answers to serving the people at the lower end of the economic strata, to tilt in favour of those with less.

‘Singapore’s social compact cannot be left to market forces because these will only widen disparities in wealth and income.’ Tharman added. Obviously they could not see anything like this in Lim Chong Yah’s shock therapy which is exactly about tilting in favour of those with less. Maybe Tharman could impress among them that what Lim Chong Yah said made sense. Let the light of his enlightenment embraces those that are a bit duller or a bit dense, and viola, the govt will bless the people with more people centric policies.

Tharman is now convinced of goodness of a more equitable society when wide income gap is not meant to be a necessary evil. Govt intervention can close the gap and there are four components to make it happened. ‘First, an activist govt focused on social mobility and on guarding against extremes of wealth and income.’ For Tharman to raise this point means that he has some misgivings about this, that there were lapses in this area. His second point about childhood education when some had a head start is valid only partially. The head start can only get them up to O level. Pass that the intellect embedded in the child will take over and no amount of head start can do much subsequently. But it is good that every child should have an equal footing to start with. His third point is individual effort and responsibility. Today wealth is gained by many by not working but sitting on inheritance in property. The rage of property prices is killing not only enterprise but draining the resources of the ordinary Sinkies through high cost of living. The fourth point about community initiative and activism is a bit wishy washy and is like those youthful idealism.

The crux of the matter is still his enlightenment, to finally realize that market forces have to be curbed and not be the master of the people’s economic well being. It is so difficult to understand this perplexed idea but good that he now knows. Please enlighten your dull and dense colleagues and Sinkieland could be a better place for the lower half of the population.

PS. Shit, I deleted this article at the same time.

Hongkong oldies having a good time, with pension from the govt.

The folks in HongKong are enjoying the longest life span in the world.




“If you ever wonder why, here are the reasons:

1. Seniors in HK have truly world class government health care which is virtually free by world standards

2. Seniors enjoy a very active life-style in their daily get-togethers with other fellow seniors to do voluntary social work, because public transport for all seniors is very heavily subsidised

3. Every senior is rewarded with a no-means-test-required monthly stipend of HK$2200 in recognition of their past contribution to build up HK.



How is the HK government able to provide all these benefits even with absolutely zero percent GST?

The answer is because the bureaucracy does not charge astronomical salaries for the services of ministers and top civil servants.



One senior minister in HK has put his own view very clearly:

“Just being given the opportunity to work for my fellow citizens is already a

great honour for me that does not need to be waxed with any high salary.

I cannot bring the high salary with me to my grave, but I can leave this Earth

with the greatest satisfaction that I have helped my fellow citizens, and I will

leave behind my humble honour in Hong Kong’s history books.” “

I received the above in my email. I was kinda uh, true or not? Ubelieveable leh, where got so good govt? And Hongkong is not even richer than us, with lesser national reserves. We are the richest country in the world. If Sinkieland cannot afford it, who else can? Mind you, while we have been on the path of the people paying for their own welfare with their savings and dished out by the govt like it is from the govt, the Hongkong govt has been paying for it for all these years. Must not be true huh? If like dat, our govt will definitely want to outdo Hongkong and be number one also.

Even if it claimed that the high salary for our govt will mean that it cannot provide such benefits, I disagree. We have so so many billions or trillions in our reserves, sure can one. If not, raise the GST, raise the ERP, COEs, transport fare, and what more, sure can one. KNN, does Hongkong got GST or not, got ERP or COEs? And their public transport fares are even cheaper than ours. It is thus a matter of only got heart or no heart to want to do. Or at least put some money into the special account or retirement account lah, long long time cannot touch never mine, but can feel shiok also good what.

Maybe Hongkong govt not very smart and cannot attract the top talents without the top salaries. So they stupid stupid, give free money to the seniors. And one joker political leader said it was an honour to serve the people woah, greatest satisfaction and no need high salary! Must be a nit wit. Must be too idealistic. Come Sinkieland sure kenna reject from standing as a MP.

PS. My apologies. I accidentally deleted this article with all the comments while trying to delete another article that crowded the blog.

Japan pushing the limits of China’s tolerance

The Japanese govt is pushing ahead with its farce buying of Diaoyu Island from another Japanese whose fictitious claim to ownership of the island must the height of Japanese trickery. They did this kind of shit over and over again during Imperial Japan to bully a decadent and weak China. It is trying to do the same today to a China that could give them a bloody nose any time.

Japan is forcing the hands of Beijing and the latter has no choice but to respond robustly or it would lose its credibility in the eyes of its citizens and would also encourage adventurism in South China Sea. China would now have to mount a military force to protect its island, like it or not. This could lead to a military confrontation that China has chosen not to oblige for a long time.

The world, the Asean countries and the US are watching how China would respond to this aggressive act against its territories. Backing out and allowing the Japanese to continue in its heady encroachment of its islands is a no option.

Japan has made the first offensive move. The ball is now in Beijing’s court.

 International ties

China's new face in the global arena

Updated: 2012-09-04 16:20

By Aaron Jed Rabena ( chinadaily.com.cn)

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China has changed a lot since its opening-up policy in 1978. China is now the world's second economic and military powerhouse. As China continues to rise, so does the wrong misconceptions and deceitful stigma about how it will continue to waltz out and evaporate.
China's approach now is with a strong emphasis on economic diplomacy, stern professionalism, and cultural exchanges. In the common parlance, it is known as "business is business" or "strictly business." Political liberalization is gradually following economic liberalization. An American scholar, Michael Roskin, once said "You have freedom here (China)."
What makes China different from other rising or emerging powers is that is has peppered itself with a strong emphasis on bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and international commitments. This is evidenced by their strong participation in international governmental organizations. No other emerging power in history has done what China is doing in terms of a very wide reach of economic linkages and activism in international affairs and global responsibilities which actually signals to the world they have no ulterior motive.
China has also committed to engaging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the East Asia Summit among others.
Key to this success is the profession of the leaders and bureaucrats. In China, the most popular professions are engineering, business, architecture, IT, and the like. All these point to the fact that the leaders orientation will be reflected on the things that they do in society. This has been evident in the grand implementation of the national high-speed railway system, towering and magnificent mega-infrastructures, stretching flyovers, and booming high rise residential buildings – which are all aimed to provide for the needs and comforts of the people.
Leaders in China do not like to talk as much as leaders in "democratic countries." But rather, they devote their time for talking about the creation of material and tangible outputs for the benefit of the public. Most of the statesmen in China do not belong to the law profession, but what they have done for their country to achieve perpetual success is truly praiseworthy and has already been palpably embedded to improve people's lives. In China, their actions not their words are what achieves democracy -- which is done by a strong and overdriven government.
It is by the provision of efficient public services at a fast pace in which other democratic countries are not able to deliver due to much political bickering, partisanship, and squabbling. "Democracy" is just a nomenclature, what is important is a strong government that can effectively cater to the needs of its people in a swift and willful manner. There is no demagoguery in China, only productivity and non-stop activity managed by leaders that possess wisdom.
This goes to show that there is no best political form of government or political system. Every country has its own reception and perception towards its own constituency and nation-building. All nations must discover for itself what is good for it. This is what makes China flag their "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" which bespeak that everything shall be adapted and dealt with on a case to case basis.
The Chinese are now becoming the top source of tourists and foreign students abroad especially in many Western countries, bringing along money that can contribute to the economy of the country where they are going.
Football player Nicolas Anelka and NBA idol Stephon Marbury among others have come to China to grab the opportunities that can be realized. So, from the US version of an "American Dream," there is now seemingly an emerging "Chinese Sensation" where more and more people are starting to join the bandwagon. The world is changing, where Asian states are rising, and on the forefront of that comes China's new face to the world.

The author is an overseas student from Philippines mastering in International Relations with a Holistic Law Background and Service Experience at Shandong University in China.

The opinions expressed do not represent the views of the China Daily website

China cancelled meeting with Hillary

I was expecting this to happen for a very long time. There is no reason why the host of a country would want to discuss his neighbourhood problems with his guests, and definitely not one from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Why should Hillary or the Americans be dictating the agenda, on what to discuss and what not to discuss, and what more, the disputes between neighbours? Who do the US think they are to tell the neighbours how to behave and what to do? Oh, I forget, the Empire.

It is about time that Asian and Southeast Asian countries decide what they should talk to their guests and not be dragged along by the guests. And this is what happened in Beijing today.

‘BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sat down Wednesday with Chinese President Hu Jintao to press Beijing to agree to peacefully resolve territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors over the South China Sea. But as she began her meetings here, China questioned the stated neutrality of the United States.

At the start of the talks with Hu, Clinton said the U.S.-China relationship is strong. "We are able to explore areas of agreement and disagreement in a very open manner, which I think demonstrates the maturity of the relationship and the chance to take it further in the future," she said.

There was no immediate comment on the talks, but a scheduled meeting with Vice President Xi Jinping for later Wednesday morning had been canceled by China "for unexpected scheduling reasons," said a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.’

The next time China may not even want to see her, or maybe no next time unless Obama is reelected. The host country should determine the agenda of the visit and not about meddling with other countries’ affairs.

Send her home.