Over paying the super elite

It affects everyone when the system overpays in whatever ways. One unspoken and may be unnoticed fact is the grotesquely over paying of a super elite group in our system. This group of beneficiaries has members mostly in their 60s, 70s or older. These are very able people who have made good in life, with a lot of wealth and do not need a single cent more to live a life of unbelieveable comfort and convenience. They have everything material in excess. And with their dying years, many of them are going to die very very rich, with a lot of money unspent.

And they are still being paid by huge pensions, chairmanship, directorship fees, association fees, acquaintanceship fees, appearance fees etc etc. Many have long retired, many long past their useful lives, many past their shelf lives. But they are still collecting hundreds of thousands or millions annually, to fatten their bank accounts that they will have serious trouble using them.

For every one of these super elite, the amount paid could have been spread to hundreds or thousands of more needy people and make their lives so much better. On the other hand, paying these elites another million or a few more hundreds of thousands has become meaningless. It does not make a difference in their lives anymore than for them to smile at the bank statements showing how much more they are getting, that is if their face muscles still allow them to smile.

It is not that they are all worthless and not contributing or useless in what they are doing. The point is that they are in semi retirement, in retirement, or some, just passing time attending board meetings. But the most pertinent point is that what they are taking from the system is taking a toll on the income of many people, and making the lives of many people less comfortable. This need not be.

And this pool of super elites is swelling by the days. They are going to live till 80s or 90s, which means that the system must cater a budget to pay them the ransom they are demanding. The system cannot afford to keep feeding a group of super elites, oldies, that kind of obscene payouts for 30 or 40 years each. The money must come from somewhere. Where do you think this money is coming from? Who do you think is paying for them?

This system of paying the super elites crazily when they don’t need the money is best to be toned down, give them a small honorarium for their presence and wisdom. It is already an honour to have them, to give them some purpose and a little contribution, a status, a recognised position, a big title in some cases. What more do they want when money is no longer an issue in their lives?

It is necessary to redistribute the wealth of the country to those who really need them and not to those who don’t need them, those with abundance of money, and doing really very little except to grace the occasion and be in good company, to be adored in reverence.

NTUC helping PMEs

‘During the first “Future Leaders Summit” organised by NTUC yesterday (15 Jun) aimed at reaching out to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How said NTUC will do more to help the PMEs.

This will include providing assistance in skills upgrading, and more seminars and workshops….

He said, “The PMEs would also certainly face challenges at work, both in terms of looking for work, or placement, as well as progression – how they can make good in their respective careers….’

How to help the PMEs when they do not know how? Ask a simple question, why are the foreign and local companies employing foreigners instead of Singaporeans? Definitely the Singaporeans, schooled in the best universities and colleges, some with big city and big corporate experiences, cannot be worst off than those from third world countries even if their qualifications and experience are genuine. All things being equal, it can only mean that whatever training or courses we are giving or are going to give are inferior or not the right thing to give. It is better to send these PMEs for courses in third world countries or get the third world countries to come here and train our first world PMEs on how to find a job, how to qualify and upgrade themselves to make them more marketable. It is so sick to think that this is what our super talents believe in.

This is the reality on the ground, not training for the sake of training as if it is the panacea for employment and getting a good job. The other reality, a very painful one that the govt is still not doing much about it, is that the employment agencies and the foreign companies chose to recruit and employ their own kind. Why don’t our own employment agencies and govt and govt linked companies do the same, employ our own kind? This simple act of positive discrimination for our own citizens will solve all the PME problems. No need to waste time and resources on courses and training.

The assumption that our PMEs are not suitably qualified or lack the skills is false. Yes, our PMEs are being cheated of jobs here.

And the sad part is the local companies, including govt and GLCs are also happily and busily employing foreigners and not Singaporeans. For every foreigner our govt and GLCs employed, one Singaporean missed the boat. It is bull to say that the tens of thousands of Singaporeans are only good to drive taxis.

You want the truth?

Another reason to go to Hong Lim

MOE Offers SIA Youth Scholarship for Indian Students Only

Indiancolleges.com, 15 Jun 2013
Ministry of Education, Singapore is offering SIA Youth scholarship for Indian students in Singapore.
Study Subject(s): Courses offered by Singapore Junior Colleges.
Course Level: Scholarship is available for pursuing Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (or equivalent) certificate.
Eligibility:
-Nationals of India
-Born between 1995 and 1997
-Completed Standard 10 in the Year 2013
-Possess outstanding academic track record (at least an average of 85% / minimum ‘A’ with English as first language in the Standard 10 State/National examinations)
Duration of award(s): The Scholarship is for 2 years of Pre-University studies in selected Singapore Junior Colleges and is renewed annually subject to the satisfactory performance of the scholar.
What does it cover?
-Annual allowance of S$2,400 with hostel accommodation
-Settling-in allowance of S$500 (once only)
-Return economy class air passage
-Coverage of school fees (excluding miscellaneous fees)
-Coverage of GCE ‘A’ Level examination fees (once only)
-Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover.
How to Apply: There are 2 modes of application — online or hardcopy application. Each applicant should submit only ONE application and the online mode is recommended. Please do not send in a hardcopy application if you have already applied for the scholarship online and vice versa.
Scholarship Application Deadline: July 14, 2013

I copied the above from Singapore News Alternative. I presume that this is real and not a hoax.

Can we spend the money on our children?  I am sure this is not the only advert to one country. There must be more adverts to other countries? How many such scholarships will be given out and how much is the total? Can the MP ask in Parliament how much money have been spent on these scholarships and what is the annual budget. Also why is the govt spending money on other people’s children and not on our children? Is it because we got poor stock?

Why keep throwing taxpayers money to foreigners and children of foreigners? This is our money and any govt spending the people’s money better account to the people.

Deregulation is good for the banking and finance industry?

Who said so? The West said so. The bankers in New York and London said so. So we just follow, blindly, and things will be just fine. Today’s frontpage news,

‘SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has censured 20 banks in Singapore, after completing a year-long review of their rate-setting processes.
Singapore's central bank also wants to introduce a new regulatory framework to criminalise any future rate fixing activity.

Three local banks and 17 foreign banks have been censured by the MAS.
The local banks are OCBC, DBS and UOB.

The foreign banks are ING, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Macquarie, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC and Commerzbank.

133 traders from these banks tried to manipulate the Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR), the SWAP offered rates and foreign exchange spot benchmarks….’

The above is quoted from Channel News Asia online.

When the last financial crisis hit, the world’s financial institutions and framework were threatened to go down and collapse. Thanks to all the great recommendations for deregulations to allow the bankers to do as they pleased. And no man of any importance was found guilty or put behind bars for the crisis. The govts of the West could not find anyone doing anything wrong. How could they when the govts approved of what they were doing? Everything was legal and all approved by the govts. Oh, just one and because he was mad. It was written in his name, Madoff. So this Madoff was the only one found mad enough to be caught.

And did they know what caused the financial crisis? Yes. And did they do anything to prevent it? No? The whole damn system of frauds continues to run merrily in ever bigger scale and churning more paper profits.

So now what, 20 banks and 133 traders were caught here! Would any big fish going to answer or be put behind bars? No. I don’t think they can find anyone with a name ‘mad’ to nail. And ‘There was no evidence of “successful manipulation”.’ So most of them will get away scot free ya? Maybe a few small guys will be made an example of. The rest will get a tap on the wrist. Be good, be nice. Go home now.

And a big pleasant surprise, MAS is going to introduce new regulations and make some of these fraudulent practices criminal. Are we out of our mind? Deregulation is the right thing and the right way to go. More regulations are going against the recommendations from the Mecca of world finance.
Maybe we have come to our senses, that all that glitters from the West is not really gold. We need to find our own footings and do what is right from what we know best. It is time to stop blindly following the mad and irresponsible West in their destruction of the financial system. It is time to take stock, do the right thing, get rid of all the snake oils and dangerous products being sold here. Return the banking and finance system to basics, to the real business of banking and finance and not gambling and horse racing.

A few regulations are not going to help. It is the whole system designed by the West and the toxic products that need to be thrown out of the window. It is time to stop hiring the crooks from Wall Street and Fleet Street. It is time to send them home. It is time to do the right thing to protect our banking and financial system, to slow down, to scale down the wild wild west, free wheeling nonsense. As a financial centre, it is time to reset the standard and adapt only the safe practices, and be prepared to lower the expectations of the cowboy robber bankers. Only then can our system be shielded from the wild swings and frauds of the western system. We need to find our own way. The present one is flawed and treacherous.

There is an urgent need for a think tank group to examine what were wrongs and fraudulent practices and to make amends quickly.

Social Media, the new fourth estate that cannot be ignored

It is about 10 years since the internet becomes another serious source of news and voice for the masses here. The lighter touch by the Govt, should the citizens be grateful to this, has allowed social media to gain acceptance by people seeking a more honest view of things and events in the country. Of course social media will have its hordes of very one sided view bloggers, just like main media. But on the whole the more rational middle ground is emerging to give more credibility to social media as an alternative voice.

The recent events surrounding so many controversial issues have enhanced the status and importance of social media for that perspective that cannot be found in the main media. Social media is gaining an ever larger group of followers and readers seeking for the truth, a balance to the one sided reporting of main media.

The new role of social media can be seen in the recent protests in Hong Lim Park. Though these events were strangely not reported in the main media until the day after, social media is now able to inform and mobilize the public to attend such events of mass appeal. More national issues that somehow would not be spoken off in the main media, like AIM, or understandable issues, will see more coverage by social media. Yes, social media has its role cut out with the main media doing what is the right thing and reporting on the right thing.

The social media will report on its own version of the right thing, with scars and warts and stench. In this aspect, the main media has no equal and cannot compete. And social media is there for free, and written by volunteers whose qualifications and integrity are no lesser than those paid reporters and journalists.

Another role that will take on more prominence in social media is to demand for action from public and private institutions. It was the norm in the past to write to the main media for complaints and grievances of the small people that were ignored by institutions. Writing to the main media, and if found suitable by the editors, would elicit immediate responses from the agency or institution concerned. The qualification is suitability in the judgement of the editors. If it was found unsuitable, then it would not see daylight.

Social media will not enforce such censorship. Everything will be published except the outright objectionable. So, genuine complaints and grievances will enjoy air time in social media as they are. And no institutions can afford to ignore what is written in social media. Social media cannot be ignored.

Politically the Govt has come to accept the increasing role of social media and likely to make readings of what were published in social media necessary, particularly the well established websites. Many people are also attracted to the refreshing angles of news and views of social media and making social media a must read daily.

This is what the fourth estate is all about. The old fourth estate in the guise of the main media has been found dead, strangled and buried. The new fourth estate in the form of social media is doing what it should do and expected to do, the conscience of society. It is the real fourth estate that cannot be shut down or gagged. It is fluid, formless and elusive and will slip through any dragnet to emerge stronger, across oceans, and more relevant and more needed by the masses, to represent the interest of the masses against any oppressive regimes.

The role of social media is still in the process of defining itself. And this is only its nascent stage.

The tragic choice of a troubled and distraught mother

We have all read about the 31 year old unemployed mother who dropped her 9 year old son from her flat. The poor child died. The poor child was a special needs child, needing special attention and special school. The poor mother had to stop work to look after him full time. And she has only her own mother to support her with her mother’s miserable income of $1,000 pm. Yes, a $1,000 income in the richest country in the world is miserable, barely enough to keep one alive. Some will disagree and claim that a $1,000 income could afford to buy a public flat and get by. Well some will believe it is possible.

How could three persons, an old lady, a young mother and a special needs child lived on a $1,000 income. Maybe there were some handouts from the govt or some charitable organizations. This is a tragic story of the lives of three miserable beans trying to get by in one of the most expensive country in the world.

How many of you think it is easy to live with $1,000? After deducting some of the compulsory bills and expenses there would be nothing much left. The three would be lucky if the remainder was enough just for food and nothing else. No matter how reclusive a life they led, there must be plenty of other expenses to pay for, the schooling for the child, the medical expenses, and what not.

What choice is there for the young woman, for the poor child and the poor grandmother? What kind of existence, with money not enough, and with nothing but a life centred on caring for the needs of the special child. Don’t ask me.

Anyone in this most expensive city in Asia and probably the whole world, if struck by a sickness that needs repetitive care and medicine, unless one is a millionaire, how many will earn enough just to take care of the medical needs and medical bills? A person with kidney problem and needing dialysis, mind you the cheapest is still going to cost at least a $1000 a month if I am not wrong. An aged or invalid in a nursing home is going to cost a couple of thousands at the lower end and pray no extra medical costs. There are those that need chemotherapy, physiotherapy or ‘whateverapy’, as long as the treatment is prolong, the poor chap is going to be bankrupt in no time, or the poor chap is going to bankrupt the family members.

Long term medical care, long term care for the special needs children, long term care for the aged etc etc are very unaffordable. Many families are shouldering such emotional baggage and financial burden and only they themselves understand the meaning of medical cost.

The poor woman, now in prison for delivering her son, would probably think it is better to end it all. The poor child will be her life of living hell. She would have nothing else to live for short of a miracle, a little mercy from some kind souls.

How many people are in the same plight, and pondering to do the same, to end it all, in the most expensive city in the world where every one other person is a millionaire or half a millionaire? Not many of these millionaires or half a millionaires can afford a long term illness or long term care for a member of his/her family. It is no joke.

The poor woman in prison is likely to remain in prison for the rest of her life. She just switched from a prison without bars to behind bars. The latter may be less demanding financially and emotionally less draining. At least she will have a life of her own to live for, behind bars. At least she set free the poor boy trapped in a flawed body. Some may disagree and think it is better for the boy to continue to live. What about her mother, now with all $1,000 to herself for as long as she can work?

US China relationship, a changing balance

The ex CIA agent seek protection in Hongkong/China from the Americans has become the next most famous case after Julian Assange to thumb his nose at the empire. The Americans are furious and demanded for more information and the whereabouts of Edward Snowden from China. They are applying to extradite Snowden from Hongkong to the US. Would it happen? Or would China squeeze the Americans by the balls, as had the Americans did it to China for decades and in so many cases in the past?

China has responded to the Americans by claiming ignorance. They did not know of Snowden’s whereabout or anything that Snowden has leaked. Is this not familiar? This is the exact reply and position taken by the Americans whenever there is a dissident hiding in the US or helped by the US to escape to the West. The Americans would simply answer, ‘We don’t know’. So China is learning from the Americans, ‘We don’t know.’

The strange thing is that an American now feels that China is a place he can feel safe from the clutches of USA, the evil empire. Before this event, the safe heaven is always North America. And dissidents escaped from everywhere, from China, to be safe in America.

Would there be more western dissidents seeking solace, comfort and safety in China? Heheheh. The wind is changing direction.

And oooooohhhh, Edward Snowden has disclosed that the Americans have been hacking into China and Hongkong since 2009. And the Americans are accusing the Chinese of hacking into American institutions as if the Americans were all so innocent. Tsk, tsk, tsk….And perhaps Obama was so happy to use this incident to pressure Xi or to embarrass him in the recent visit. Perhaps Xi is now on the hot line to Obama asking him if he cares to explain.

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

The exuberance of foreigners working in this little island is understandable. They need not be at top management to be able to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And if they do rise to top management level this is heaven on earth. After their stint in the island, with good quality living and a reasonable income, many would have made a small fortune to bring home and live a life very much better than their contemporaries. Many could even join the ranks of nouve riche back in their countries.

Look at the Singaporean counterparts, the citizens of this island. Unless one is in the top 10 or 20 percent of the income bracket, many will remain in the asset rich and cash poor category, feeling rich but living from hand to mouth, every month just enough. Many will remain living in their HDB flats, unable to own a car, and trying to feel good, to justify taking public transport to work or to play.

Where is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the average Singaporeans? Many of the PRC Chinese, India Indians, the Pinoys, Malaysians, and other Southeast Asians will be returning home rich while just an average Joe here, earning much less than the average Singaporeans. Isn’t it an irony, a kind of sick joke, that many of the citizens of one of the richest country in the world will spend the rest of their lives chasing the rainbow but not finding the pot of gold. On the other hand, the average foreigners are all counting the days when they can return home rich, some very very rich. Many will have their dreams fulfilled with great certainty.

Why like dat huh?

The irrational fears of the Americans

Actually the fears are not irrational but concocted in one way and a self inflicted fear in another way. The Americans could not stomach the huge trade deficits they have had with the Chinese and the huge debt that they owed to the Chinese. But they cannot help not wanting to trade with the Chinese, buying extremely cheap products, or keep selling Treasury notes to the Chinese. No other country could sell them reasonable products at ridiculously low prices, and no country will buy Treasury notes in such big numbers. In fact the Americans were begging the Chinese to do so. The Chinese are funding the Americans in their big spending appetite and consumption. The Chinese are extending credits to the Americans to live a good life.

And the Americans keep blaming the Chinese for taking advantage of cheap Yuan to make their products cheaper. Unfair trading practices! The Yuan must rise to make Chinese products more expensive to buy. Is that what the Americans really want? Now the Chinese have gone ahead to appease the Americans by allowing the Yuan to rise. It has gone up by more than 10% since the American Congress started to rattle the sabre.

So now what? Aren’t the Americans happy that they have forced the Chinese to heel? They should, they got what they wanted. But everything is a double edged sword. Now there is a new heighten fear in America. With the appreciating Yuan, everything in America becomes cheaper for the Chinese to buy. With more than 3 trillion US dollars in their war chest, the Chinese could buy up quite a bit of America. The big names are going, Walmart, Apple, Boeing, General Electric, General Motor, the banks and finance houses etc etc.

But of course the Americans are not going to sell. And this is the main reason why they are having such a huge trade deficit with the Chinese. The Americans just want to buy from the Chinese but did not want to sell to the Chinese. How silly? Oh, there is a long list of strategic reasons not to sell to the Chinese. Everything can be explained in terms of national security. So military stuff is off the shelf. Then strategic products, aircraft, electronics, ITs and financial institutions, mines, golf courses, everything can be explained in terms of national security too.

Believe it, the buying of a hog factory producing food, also came under heavy fire for strategic reasons. Food is strategic, sure, of course. What else is not? Educating the Chinese in American universities is transfer of knowledge and technology. The Chinese should be barred from being schooled in America. Better still, the Chinese should be barred from entering the US. And there should not be any trades with the Chinese, not even peanuts as this is also a food item.

Well well, what else is new in the brilliant American mindset? Is it irrational? Can the top thinkers or congressmen and women be irrational?

Dengue epidemic reaching a critical level

More than 9500 cases so far this year or 1,500 cases a month. Last week alone 820 cases were reported. Vivian Balakrishnan is warning the public that this may become more serious if the spread of the disease is not controlled. It is spreading from the East to the West of the island or is it from the West to the East?

For the first time I read that 1.2m insect repellants will be distributed for free! At $5 a can, that is $6m. This is to prevent people from being bitten by the mosquitoes in their homes.

Being bitten is one way the disease will spread. The mosquitoes will carry the viruses to pass on to the next victim. So anyone falling sick because of dengue is going to be a carrier. And if they did not seek treatment or cannot afford to seek treatment, they will be a walking carrier, feeding the mosquitoes with more viruses to pass around.

Apart from giving free insect repellants, maybe it is time that all dengue patients should be given free medical treatment. This will encourage every dengue patient to come forward for treatment and will cut down the source of virus carriers in the chain.

Would this be possible? Free medical treatment for a near epidemic disease that is starting to take lives? Would there be affected patients who chose not to see the doctor because they could not afford the fee? If you think this a joke, read what Vivian has to say,

"Infectious diseases are a test of special cohesion as a society and we need everyone to understand that our own health depends on the health of our neighbours and we need to exercise personal and collective responsibility for each other."

An infectious disease that is spreading in the community is not the problem of an individual. It is not a heart problem that stays with the sick person. It is a living sickness that is going to be passed around. This will take commercial interest of selling drugs at a profit to selling drugs to prevent an epidemic. Can the govt say no money no drugs, no treatment?

PAP, the most confident supreme political party ever

I am going to write something in praise of this great political Party. It has been so successful for so long that even its opponents have conceded that the Party will continue to rule till kingdom comes. I would like to caution readers that some of you may find the content upsetting, uncomfortable, unbearable and nauseating. Those with a weak stomach may choose to skip reading from here.

Historically I don’t think any political party has ever enjoyed such high popularity and dominating the Parliament with more than two third majority for so long, and be able to make changes to the country’s constitution almost at will for the good of the country and people.

The best part about the dominance and confidence of this Party is its ability to push through very unpopular policies with no fear of losing the votes from the people. Take the population growth as an example. It brought in about 2m foreigners into the country within a decade or so as if it was just a walk in the park. For the uninitiated, 2m is more than 50 percent of the citizen population. By the time the citizens realized it, it was too late to do anything. And better still, the Party even pushed through a very unpopular Population White Paper in the face of strong objections from the people to bring in another 1.7m people by year 2030. Oops, it was only a planning parameter.

By the time IF the new arrivals arrived, the Singaporean core will be an absolute minority. But the Party could convince the Singaporeans that the Singaporean core will be strengthened as a result of the immigrants. Simply brilliant.

The unpopularity of this Paper led to an unprecedented public protest, twice within a few months and with a crowd that was unseen before. Who dares to protest when 4 persons are considered illegal assembly?

And knowing how unhappy the people are, the party simply ignored the people, thumping its nose as if there is nothing the people can do about it. Any political party acting in this manner will find itself out of power before one can finish saying hallelujah. There will be protests and street demonstrations to remove the party. But no, the PAP is confident that nothing will be able to rock it from power. It will be in power despite the people’s unhappiness and protests cause it was doing the right thing.

The huge influx of people into the little island led to the inevitables, high cost of living, high property and car prices and congestion in roads and public transport and many more problems. And these problems were compounded by the housing ministry for slowing down its housing programme to a trickle. Such a huge housing problem would have thrown any political party out of govt. But the Party knew the people very well, that the people loved what the Party had done, the high property prices, the high car prices and the high cost of living were happily embraced, quietly, with just a little show of public disapproval.

The unhappiness expressed was not real. The Party knew what the people wanted and gave it to them. As long as property prices keep going north, the people would not be bothered even with their CPF statements and the money in the CPF. The minister may be smiling at his CPF statements, the people will be laughing everyday at their high property prices.

Many jobs were given to foreigners and many local professionals have been booted out. So what? These are the minorities and likely to be the losers, the untalented and undeserving. What would the people expect the Govt to do? Nothing really. A few statements that the govt understood the problem would be enough to appease the people. The people would not remember the problem the day after. The govt is also giving a lot of top management and CEO jobs to foreigners instead of Singaporeans and it knows that Singaporeans would not mind. This is a necessary move as no Singaporeans are good enough. So there is no complains.

The number of unemployed due to this will be too small to affect the Party from being elected again and again. The less experienced and less confident political parties would be having cold sweat alienating these voters, but not the PAP. While losing a few votes, they are getting more votes from new citizens who are so happy and grateful to the Party for the opportunities given to them.

Some parents have been forced to empty their savings for their children’s overseas education. They complained like having a lot of grievances against the Party. Would the Party worry? Definitely not. For every unhappy parent, the Party is making many more parents happy. And there are foreigners who are invited and paid to study in local universities, given jobs and are only too happy. As long as the Party knows that it is making more people happy than unhappy people, it is in good shape.

Many Singaporeans seem to think that the Party will be voted out of power by making so many unpopular decisions and anti citizen policies. But they are damn wrong. The Party knows that it is doing the right things and the people may grumble, but deep inside, the people knew that all the things done were good for the people.

That is why the Party can continue to do the right things without fear of losing power. They don’t even have to listen to the people, and know that things will be just like they have planned, in 2016, 2021 or further away. There is no way for this Party to lose power. People may deceive themselves to think that the Party is doing all the wrong things and its days are limited. Don’t bet on that. The little noises over the new media regulations will be just a little noise and will not mean anything in the 2016 GE.

Sorry to disappoint you guys thinking that 2016 will see a change. How can PAP be doing so many unpopular things to get itself out of Parliament? Cannot right? This is the most confident political Party ever existed in human history, and it knows exactly what it is doing. It may even win more seats by 2016, retake Aljunied GRC as well. There is no political party like the PAP.

I feel so good writing this article.

A betrayal of trust

‘This lens makes you more likely to share the distinct strands of libertarianism that are blossoming in this fragmenting age: the deep suspicion of authority, the strong belief that hierarchies and organizations are suspect, the fervent devotion to transparency, the assumption that individual preference should be supreme….

Another is the rising tide of distrust, the corrosive spread of cynicism, the fraying of the social fabric and the rise of people who are so individualistic in the outlook that they have no real understanding of how to knit others together and look after the common good….For a society to function well, there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures….

He betrayed honesty and integrity, the foundation of all cooperative activity. He made explicit and implicit oaths to respect the secrecy of the information with which he was entrusted. He betrayed his oaths. He betrayed his friends. He betrayed his employers. He betrayed the cause of open government.’

The above is an extract of an article by David Brooks in the New York Times and reprinted in the Today paper today. Brooks used this article to thrash Edward Snowden, the young CIA spy that exposed the dirty works of the US Administration for spying on its own citizens in a scale never seen before, an outright violation of individual rights to privacy in the name of good for country and people.

The assumptions of Brooks are that the US Govt is honest, clean and virtuous and doing the honourable and right thing. Is that so? Or is the US Govt violating everything there is in the Constitution, abusing its power and privileges, and betraying the people, betraying its citizens and a scum in all counts? When a govt indulges in dirty schemes and things against its citizens, it is the govt that is betraying the people. And other than an exposure like what Snowden did, there is really nothing much the common folks can do to a rogue govt.

What is the moral of the story? A govt needs to act in a way that earns respect and trust from its citizens. When a govt betrays its citizens, there is nothing that the people can do about it except unconstitutionally.

Lesson 2 from China

I would like to bring you back to the 1930s, the days of Shanghai Tang or Shanghai Bund. Those were glorious days of a new but corrupt China under the Kuomintang. Chiang Kai Shek was presumably the President of China and the corrupt elite who thought more of themselves, preserving their personal wealth was the order of the day. There was no accountability and the wealth of the nation was like the private wealth of the elite, Chiang’s family and the Soong family were infamous. The line between what belonged to the country and what belonged to these families were non existence.

No one knew how much money was in the national coffer. They became private fortunes. And when the Kuomintang fell, these families took everything they could and fled. The CCCP were equally blur as to how much were taken out of the country, stolen, by the Kuomintang and the Soong family. The senior Soong was the finance minister then. Without knowing how much was lost, there was nothing that the CCCP could do. And with a hostile West in support of the Kuomintang, the CCCP could not send out hit men like the Israelists to track down the criminals.

Fast forward to 2050 when Singapore still exists but decadent and run by a corrupt govt like the Kuomintang. And the nation’s wealth, the reserves, was still in the country’s two sovereign funds. And the people still did not know how much were in these two funds. Then came the dreadful day when the govt collapsed, brought down by a popular uprising. And the fund managers, the people entrusted with the nation’s reserves in the two sovereign funds, just scooted with the money.

When that happened, when no one knew who were vested with the authority to move the funds, and when no one knew how much was at stake, and if the funds, the nation’s reserves, were to be shipped out of the country, how are these money to be recovered? How would the new govt go about tracking down the people responsible for the money and how much money they have taken out?

This may be a moot point now. But if the non transparent style and policy of managing our national reserves continue into the future, come 2050, there will be a little problem. It would be old China once again. Money stolen and gone, and no one is wiser, except the ones holding the money bag.

Ex CIA man says exposed US spy scheme to protect the world

By Mark Hosenball and Richard Cowan

‘WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An ex-CIA employee working as a contractor at the U.S. National Security Agency said on Sunday he was the source who leaked details of a top secret U.S. surveillance program, acting out of conscience to protect "basic liberties for people around the world."… Edward Snowden, 29, said he had thought long and hard before publicizing details of an NSA program code-named PRISM, saying he had done so because he felt the United States was building an unaccountable and secret espionage machine that spied on every American.

Snowden, a former technical assistant at the CIA, said he had been working at the super-secret NSA as an employee of contractor Booz Allen. He said he decided to leak information after becoming disenchanted with President Barack Obama, who he said had continued the policies of predecessor George W. Bush.’

The greatness of the American people is that once in a while there will be honourable men and women who were pricked by their conscience to stand out and tell the ugly truth to protect fellow citizens. There were Woodward and Bernstein of Watergate, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange of the Wikileak, and now this leak that revealed some of the obnoxious things the American Administration is doing in the name of good for the country.

Many leaders of democratic countries, walking under the halo of goodness, conduct and act in very dubious manners, even targeting their own citizens. And not many countries have civil servants who are honourable and brave enough to expose their evil political leaders. Some even drink from the same cup and enjoy the holy patronage and largesse.

This is what Snowden said, "I'm willing to sacrifice all of that (US$200k salary) because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."

Free our Internet.

Vivian Balakrishnan making a political comeback?

‘Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has joined in the hawker centres’ cleaning disputes.

He said it is “arrogant and wrong” of Ms Sylvia Lim to make a political attack on National Environment Agency (NEA) officers for simply doing their job….’

Vivian is calling Sylvia Lim arrogant and wrong for taking a shot at NEA in the hawker centre cleaning dispute. So who is arrogant and who is not arrogant, and who is right and who is wrong?

Vivian has been out of the limelight for a while after the Youth Festival and the acrimony he incurred for blowing the budget by an astronomical sum. Netizens were quite hostile to him and only stopped when he went out of sight and out of the news media. He was eclipsed politically.

Vivian’s latest attack at Sylvia Lim is unwise as the bad blood against him is still there. What is he hoping to do by this attack? To defend his NEA officers is one thing, to attack another politician by calling Sylvia arrogant is not going to be well received. If he is thinking of making a political comeback, to be in the lime light again, he will be surprised. He will hoard the limelight for sure, but for all the wrong reasons and he might regret making this latest statement.

Personally I think his political career is over, even if he is fielded in the next GE. His public image is far from the early days when he entered politics or before he entered politics. He is always remembered for his infamous reply to Lily Neo in Parliament. That is quite a chip to get rid off from his shoulder.

Lessons from China

Some may think this is ludicrous. What can we learn from China, a developing country, and we are first world, China learnt from us. But don’t forget that this developing country is the Number Two superpower now, and is the economic powerhouse, the factory of the world and the biggest owner of American debt.

What can we learn from China? Revisit China in the 60s and 70s, about the same time we became independent and went industrialization. China was still a backward impoverished agrarian country. They have leapfrogged ahead of us now. Why and how?

Inspiration is what that takes China to what it is today. The Chinese were inspired to be a big power, to over take the Americans, to be respected as a rich and powerful nation, to be a rich civilization, PRIDE. Yes pride to be themselves, to believe in themselves, to slog to be where they are today. This is something that we can learn from the Chinese, the belief in your own people, your people’s talent and ability and the pride to succeed, to be a better people and nation.

For the last couple of decades, we have sunk so low that we have no pride in our people anymore. We believe our people are daft. We import idiots, fools, conmen, tricksters, cheats and all and sundry, and called them talents, and pay them like hell. We no longer want to rely on our people, our own talents. We want to buy talents, get talents from everyday, even faked talents, and think that is the way to go forward.

We choose to school and train foreigners to be our talents. We choose to employ foreigners as talents and kick our own talents aside. We don’t believe in ourselves anymore. We don’t believe in our own people. We neglect our own talents. We discriminate against our own talents. No, foreigners cannot and did not discriminate against Singaporeans. It is us, our system that allows them to do so. It is our own making. The fault is with us, not the foreigners.

The people are inspired by faked logics and deceptions to believe that they are losers. And more and more foreigners are employed to be CEOs and in top management in many public funded, govt and govt linked institutions. We are inspired to be a sick and untalented people, needing foreigners to help us, to make our lives better. We are told we needed help from foreigners. And we believe.

Is there anything we can learn from the Chinese in China? They inspire their people to believe in themselves, that they have talents and can compete with the world, with no need to import or rely on foreign talents. They just do it, by themselves.

Inspiring a people to believe in themselves is fundamental to the growth of the people and the nation, the progress of a people, the uplifting of a people to a better country and a better life. Is there anyone out there to inspire Singaporeans, true blue Singaporeans to greater height, to scale the highest mountain? Is there anyone out there to tell the Singaporeans that they are the best, and the best they can be, without the need to look towards half baked third world fake talents as our inspiration, as our saviours?

We need leaders to inspire our people to greatness once again.

Contribution from foreigners to our economy

We had dengue before, but not to this extent. If not put under control, the whole island could become a dengue cluster. We knocked out TB for decades and it is making a grand entrance in this island again.

Now the newest disease descending on this island is chikungunya. It is spreading, from the highly populated foreign worker enclaves in Sungei Kadut and Kranji it is now spreading towards the nearby affluent district of Bukit Timah. First our foreign workers brought them in, and now their generosity is shared by our rich and famous, our elite. The non elite in their high rise flat may be less risky as their surroundings are made up of concrete and not foliage and forests.

Chikungunya is not a native here. Thanks to the foreigners, it is going to be a permanent resident soon. We would not issue them with citizenship, but chikungunya will not go away. And this is only the beginning. What else will the foreigners contribute to our economy to improve the lives of our people? Are there any diseases that have come on board and not reported?

80 year lifespan a threat to retirees

A longer lifespan is conventionally seen as good, as people can now live longer. Not many would want to know that this could be a curse to many in particular those that have ill health with the soul or life being trapped in a rotting and malfunctioning body that costs much more than anything to be alive. But this is only a biological problem.

The other big issue is the social problem. Our whole structure of employment and retirement age are screwed. You can no longer retire people at 55 or 60 or even 70 when they need an income to keep on living. And added to the problem is the art of inflating away huge debt into the future. The savings or pensions of retirees will be eroded at blinding speed that the once enough pension or savings could last so much lesser time. Inflation will reduce their spending power and whatever savings/pensions that were enough would not be enough.

Now I can understand why the smart ones would want a million dollar to keep their good life forever. Those with a few hundred thousands will be caught in the inflationary trap. They would not believe their savings could be expended so rapidly. And that is only confined to normal expenditure without incurring big expenses like medical bills.

With a public housing scheme that is designed to soak up the incomes of buyers under the affordability concept, many will be making just enough to pay for public housing and nothing left for retirement. And no one is seeing this flaw and keeps blaming the people for not saving enough while allowing property prices to rise.

How can anyone save enough when the price of public housing is pegged to what they earned? And to sustain this Ponzi Scheme, the prices must keep going up, which means the need to print more money, leading to unceasing inflation at ever higher rate.

The problems of the oldies will only snowball as the inflation based economy cannot be stopped and the value of money will simply shrink and fritter away. With more oldies joining the ranks of longer lifespan, this is going to be a very critical issue when the number hit the million mark.

Wake up Chinese – Serdarlah Cina

Apa lagi Cina mau was the headline of Utusan Malaysia after the GE. The shrinking support of UMNO/BN had led to angry cries by the ultras blaming the Chinese for not supporting BN. This attack on Chinese voters was refuted as not a Chinese tsunami but an urban shift of Malay and non Malay voters to PR. There was a lull as if the ultras have simmered down and things going back to normal.

Yesterday Utusan Malaysian again attacked the Chinese with another headline Serdarlah Cina and sanctioned by the collective voice of its editorial under Awang Selamat. The paper’s continued attack on the Chinese calling them greedy, ungrateful amounting to racist started last week. This is an indication that the moderates of UMNO and Najib are losing ground and the ultras are now calling the shot and setting the agenda, a dangerous trend for Malaysian politics. And Mahathir apparently is in charge.

Last week Mahathir wrote in his blog that the Chinese are racists for not voting for the UMNO, MCA, MIC Kongsi, the BN. Only by voting for this BN Kongsi would the Chinese be seen as not racists. He does not question whether the policies of this Kongsi is racist or non racist.

The Malaysian Chinese actually voted for another Kongsi with two Malay majority parties, the Keadilan and PAS. Why are they called racists by voting for a Kongsi that is 2/3 Malay majority? Shouldn’t they be accused of voting for a more Malay party? In this sense they are racists by voting for more Malay leaders.

In terms of policies, the PKR is in many ways more multi racial than UMNO with its Malay Ketuanan policies. So who is the real racist? This looks like a case of the racists accusing the innocents of being racists. And if Najib fails to take control of the situation, Malaysia may be heading to a road for more turmoil.

The Wake up Chinese call is quite appropriate in another way. The Chinese are political naïve and condescending, thinking that others in power will be kind and generous to them. In a way this can be seen down south when foreigners are being brought in in great numbers and thinking that foreigners are benign and will be fair when the original Singaporeans become a minority. This naivity will have serious consequences when foreigners become a majority and assume power in the future, just like what is happening to Malaysia. Serdarlah Cina!

Fundraising through indiegogo.com

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paintings-of-gods/

I have initiated a fund raising project at indiegogo crowd funding site above. You are most welcomed to contribute to my project to promote this new mixed media art form of mine. You can do so by being a contributor, ie buying a painting through indiegogo or help to inform your friends about this fund raising project.

This project is not just about raising fund but to share the paintings of gods or Mother Nature to as many people as possible.

Many thanks.

Singapore: Towards deNationalisation

Singapore is a unique country that is not a country, a nation that is not a nation. While many countries have developed themselves into distinct nations with distinct people and culture, Singapore is in a reverse process. We seem to have abandoned the path most travelled by young and old nations, to build a country into a nation of people, proud of what they are, their distinct and unique culture.

Singapore is in a process of deNationalisation. We have gone through a 40 year process of nation building when the people were talked and educated about nationhood, about being Singaporean, about defending the country, about us as a new people of a new nation. We were progressing quite well and could be a nation today, when the citizens are proud of what and who we are, that we are a successful and rich nation with our own people, our distinct culture and way of life.

Did we fail in this process and a new philosopher has taken the people along a new ideology of no nation, no nationals, but just an economic organisation where anyone with some merits or ability is welcomed to reside in the island? Our citizenship is given away freely, our national identity prostituted and bastardised by new residents and ever changing and evolving. Our national identity is in a constant state of flux, and we do not know where we are going or what we will become, maybe a vague idea of being international citizens, or citizens of the world, but no country?

Our national mantra, or just mantra without the adjective of national, is survival of the fittest regardless of creed, colour or country of origin. We sell our citizenship, we sell our little piece of land, we sell our strategic assets, we sell our jobs and people to foreigners with no qualms of what the consequences will be when everything is sold. The next thing we will be selling our parents and children and wives, if they make economic cents. Nationalism and citizens of a nation have lost their meanings.

Singapore is pioneering a new paradigm of deNationalisation, without borders, without citizens, everyone a resident for only one reason, economic well being. No sentiments, no emotions, no roots, everyone be proud of being a migrant and be prepared to be migrants again in someone’s country when everything is sold and gone, including their rights as citizens. Citizens that cannot contribute better than foreigners are best discarded in favour of the latter. There is no need for frivolous ideas of nationalism, patriotism, loyalty or defending the country, for there is no country or nation to defend and be loyal to. Such ideas are just silly aspirations of medieval people. Clinging on them is meaningless and has little economic values.

This deNationalisation process has been gaining momentum in recent years without much fanfare or any official pronouncement of its existence. Perhaps it is just an unconscious outcome of years of pragmatism that is stretched to become another animal of different stripes and colours. Was there an originator of this trend, or it just happens, just like the population explosion over the last 10 years and the ballooning of property prices due a grave shortage in supply and an overflow of demand? No one knows a shit how it happened or had an inkling that it is happening.

Why is there a need to call ourselves Singaporeans? ‘Sinkies’ is any time more appropriate in all aspects. The bottom line of such a philosophy is all about self and self interest above all interests. And the idea of country or nation is simply superfluous, a meaningless attachment. The next thing to be sold away will be the soldiers and all the weapons and equipment of wars when there is nothing left to defend for. DeNationalisation will eventually lead to no nation, just a corporation run and own by a few elites.

More pictures from Hong Lim

Me and a couple of friends.

FreeMyInternet Protest at Hong Lim

The protest organised by TOC got on to a slow start. At 4pm when I arrived, there were about 200 to 300 people around. This was what many had expected for this event. As the clock ticked away, more and more people streamed in and to my pleasant surprise, there were around 2,000 people at the Park. And we had a bright sunny day as contrast to the earlier two protests that were wet and all umbrellas.

Amazing, and more amazing, many were of the younger set, and several of the speakers too were from the younger generation. This is most encouraging, seeing the young people showing more interests in how this country should move forward.  Below are some photos taken at Hong Lim that will give a better description of what happened there this afternoon.

PS. I left a bit early as my legs were weakening after two hours of standing and walking around. And I missed a few speakers at the end, including the one from Leong Sze Hian. Just listen to the youtube. Quite interesting.

Andrew Loh of PublicHouse, the MC for the event.

Ravi Philemon, one of the speakers

Richard Wan of TRE

Roy Ngerng from the HeartTruth

Choo Zheng Xi from TOC, a promising young lawyer

I missed out his name. Was it Rafi? He spoke in Malay and English.

Dow up 207 points

Dow was up 207 points while most European bourses rallied. And the whole of last week all the bourses, including Asian bourses were sold down to recent lows amidst fear of an economic Armageddon. Fed is cutting down on buying bonds and a financial crisis is over the horizon, all the funds are selling and getting out of equities.

In Singapore, all the gains in the last 6 months were wiped out in less than two weeks. What the hell is going on? Everything is like doomsday! Fear is everywhere.

And Dow rallied, Europe rallied yesterday as if everything is fine, the sun is shining again. The fundamentals were wrong for a week and right overnight with nothing changes. Asian bourses would follow and rally on Monday.

Who do you think is benefiting from the swing? Who is wiser or smarter?

A govt that does not need to listen to the people

There is another protest gearing up this evening at the Hong Lim Park at 4pm. This time the issue is about freedom of expression that is seen as being threatened by the new regulations on social media sites. Though the Govt in the name of two ministers have spoken to assure the netizens that there is nothing to it, that the Govt has no intent to gag the internet community, no one believes it to be so except for a few you know who. The fact that the new regulation is so loosely drafted to cover everything under the sky, the fear is there that it can always be used to clamp down on bloggers at the most critical time when needed.

So the bloggers and the internet community are up in arms, calling for a protest in Hong Lim, the safest little corner in Singapore where one can think he is safe from harassment and can speak freely, even against the Govt. Many speakers have been lined up to express their misgivings. So what? What will be the likely outcome?

From the experience of the two recent protests against the unpopular and unacceptable Population White Paper, the ending will be just the same. You can have 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000 people turning up, nothing will come out of it. You can have another 10 protests, nothing will change. When the Govt has made up its mind on what it wants to do, that is final. The fate of a 6.9m population is closed. And the fate of this new regulation is just as good as closed.

A minister, Swee Say, even proudly commented that when the Govt decided that something is right it will just do it, and they will even acted like deaf frogs. They will ignore the noises, especially from the lunatic fringe, and do what is right. And the Govt is absolutely confident that the noise will subside after a few dins. And the Govt knows for sure that it will be re elected in the next GE come what may. This is the precedent being set, the way the electorate will behave and it will not change.

This is a Govt that knows the people very well. There are many grievances and unhappiness among the people caused by Govt policies. But comes election time, it will all be the same over and over again. This Govt knows that it does not need to listen to the people and knows what is best for the people and the results will show.

The day when this Govt listens to the people will be the day it loses power. That would be the day when it no longer has all the right solutions from all the super talents in the ranks and has to accept the insane suggestions and views of the daft Singaporeans. For the time being, the Singaporeans can go protest and protest, for a little fun and letting off a little steam on the generosity of the Govt.

The awakening of a sophisticated electorate

As everyday passes by, the age of the ignorance and the illiterate, our parents and grand parents, is fading away. The literacy rate of Singaporeans is among the highest in the world and the presumption that they are still as dumb as their parents and grand parents is not going to hold anymore. The two by elections and the Presidential Election must be open the eyes of many that things are not the same as before. Thinking and treating the Singaporeans as daft will have a very high price to pay.

The AIM case must have a logical and honest closure that is seen as proper and correct. There is no running away from it by sweeping it under the carpet or by some unacceptable reasoning. No, the people will not buy it. It is best to come clean and give the people a proper answer that the people are expecting.

And the licensing of the social media is coming in swiftly in a manner that is amazingly naïve, thinking that it can still be done, presuming the people to be daft and dumb. No, the people will not accept it anymore and will take it badly.

More daft and dumb policies assuming that the electorate is daft and dumb will have very serious consequences. It only explains and confirms who is really daft and dumb, refusing to understand and accept the new reality of an intelligent and politically sensitive and discerning people. The people have upgraded their intellect and the govt must upgrade its intellect as well. What we are seeing is a mismatch, a growing divide between the growing intellect of the citizens and the declining intellect of the govt.

Believe me, this is the truth. Failing to notice this, refusing to acknowledge this new development and living in the past is not going to be a viable political option. It is a losing position to adopt. Time to face the unpleasant truth. Time to take stock of the unavoidable truth. 

The perversion of Nationhood

A state cannot exist without citizens. A state is created by the citizen as a protective umbrella for the common good of a collective citizenry. A state and its citizenry co exist in a symbiotic relationship. One cannot exist without the other. A people without a state become stateless. A country without a citizenry is waiting to be taken over, or a loose or disorganized state will soon be taken over.

The role of a govt is an intermediary between the citizens and the state. A govt in a democratic state is voted by the people as a caretaker of the state and to promote the interests of the citizens. Promoting the interests of residents or non citizens is incidental and can only be pursued by the good grace of the citizens, on the generosity of the citizens. A govt that usurped the power given to it by the people to take care of non citizens and neglect the interests and rights of the citizens has no reason to exist or be supported by the citizens.

Permanent Residents are not citizens and owe no loyalty or responsibility to the state but to themselves. They are fair weather residents and will move to greener pasture when things are not favourable to them. They have no right to vote and be represented in Parliament. They cannot enjoy the same privileges as citizens. Period.

Non residents or transient workers have even lesser rights than PRs. It is pure stupidity to allow non residents and PRs to have the same opportunities in all things, especially in employment opportunities. There could be exceptions for those who are here to contribute extraordinarily to the country and people. Such people, like the tycoons, may even get special privileges in some areas to make their stay worthwhile but not to compromise the well beings of the citizens. One glaring problem is the buying up of properties and high property prices.

Top talents in their respective fields, not joker talents dressed up as talents, can also be welcomed and bestowed with certain privileges. This group is unlikely to be more than 1 or 2% of the foreigners here. The rest are here to benefit themselves more than the state and better enjoy their time here and the hospitality of the state and people, and not to exploit the people.

Discrimination by foreigners against the citizens must be made a crime. It has no place in the country. The govt of the people, by the people must be for the people, must be there to protect the people in its own territory. Neglecting this principle cannot be tolerated. When a govt sees it its responsibility to care more for the foreigners than its citizens, it is a dereliction of duty to the citizens, a perversion of nationhood.

Tan Chuan Jin the new poster boy of PAP

It used to be Khaw Boon Wan the devout Buddhist, the one that was full of compassion and very in touch with the ordinary people. Many could identify with him as a good minister. Boon Wan was THE man to front the party on any difficult issues. People used to listen to him in his cool, slow and measured demeanour. This is all history.

PAP now needs another poster boy to carry the flag. Among the new ministers, Chan Chun Sing is obviously out. Then there are Lawrence Wong and Heng Swee Kiat left. Baey Yam Keng was noted to be the auntie killer, but could be too junior to front the party. Between Heng Swee Kiat and Lawrence Wong, the party must have found Chuan Jin has a better face. So Chuan Jin is to be, the new PAP poster boy to get the party out of difficult position.

Now this should solve the mystery of why an unpopular new media regulation needs to be explained not by anyone from MDA or the Minister of Infocomm but an acting Minister from the MOM. What relationship has the MOM got to do with this media regulation to have its minister trying to explain away the unhappiness of the netizens? Anyone got any clue? I don’t.

So it must be an issue of putting the best face forward, the best front man. If Chuan Jin can carry this through, his future is going to be bright. But with a very unforgiving and cynical internet community and a very unpopular regulation that is seen more as not only unnecessary but obstructive, a good looker is not going to look much good in such a situation. Hope Chuan Jin does not get a broken nose or jaw in the process, and keep his poster boy image clean. He could be considered as having done well if he got away with a few scratches.

After Chuan Jin, can’t see anyone else good or pretty enough, or likeable enough to be the party’s mascot, except Singa.

Social Media Blackout – What you no longer read

Yesterday was the first time social media stopped writing about Singapore news. What the people could read was only news from the main media. Does it make any difference if there is no social media around and the people continue to read only news from the main media? Not really, life will go on as normal.

So, what is the point of a social media blackout or the total obliteration of social media? The main media will continue its responsible and professional role of feeding the people with the right thing to read and all the feel good news. The negative side of the news, the other version of the news, the other truth, will not be seen or heard. The people will be safe from reading the wrong news or not right news. No one will miss anything.

Would things be just as fine? It all depends on whether the main media is doing an adequate job in reporting all the right news. It all depends on whether the people are satisfied with reading all the right news. It all depends on whether the people, having been exposed to the other side of the news think the main media is doing enough and giving them a balanced news.

More than a hundred social media blogs and sites went black yesterday. Many of the bloggers saw the need for a protest to prevent the clamping down of information flow and news about Singapore from being black out in the social media in the future. What happened yesterday was a little blackout, a temporary blackout. The new regulation with its all encompassing rules could lead to a total blackout, a permanent blackout if not stopped in its path.

Remember the incremental changes to the CPF rulings, the incremental changes to the housing policies, the incremental changes to the import of foreigners to the country. The new social media regulation has set out with a very wide net. The implementation of bringing 10 websites under the regulation is only a very small step forward. The assurance by the ministers may seem comforting to some and brought about a false sense to relief that this is all about the new regulation. But with the provisions, incremental steps could be taken along the way and one by one could come under the net. Soon, when one becomes too complacent, the net could rope in every blog and social media site before you know it.

Don’t be complacent and drop your guards. Don’t ever think this is it and everything is ok or will be ok. Be afraid.

PS: The internet gives everyone a voice, a say in what he/she wants to say. Without social media, the people's mouth is shut for good.

FREEMYINTERNET

BLACK OUT DAY BLACK OUT DAY
BLACK OUT DAY BLACK OUT DAY
BLACK OUT DAY BLACK OUT DAY

MDA’s clarification on new regulation

After Yaacob and Chuan Jin’s clarifications the MDA’s position on the new regulation has been sieved and some concerns are slightly clearer though not conclusive. Both have stated that the regulation is meant more specifically for news sites or sites that report regularly on Singapore news. Blogs are not the concerns of the new regime and bloggers are encouraged to keep on doing what they have been doing, writing commentaries about Singapore affairs.

Both are taking a kinder and conciliatory approach towards bloggers and were in a way telling the bloggers to keep commenting on local affairs and express their opinions. The Govt’s position, presumably they are expressing the real Govt’s position, is that bloggers or citizens have the right to discuss and comment on local affairs.

This is actually a new situation as it takes a more positive turn from the past when anyone commenting on local affairs was frown upon and may be visited by Sue. There was this over aching fear that something untowards could happen any time. The invisible hand of the dark side is always around the corner waiting to lash out at the most unsuspecting moment.

The lighter touch and the more accommodating posture of the Govt is noted and welcomed. Let’s hope this will stay and citizens are encouraged to participate in the affairs of the country and not seen as enemies of the Govt when they hold contrarian views or are critical of Govt policies. This departure is a little progress towards a more liberal and inclusive society.

Another point that was acknowledged by Yaacob and Chuan Jin is that the internet is not easy to regulate and a lot of works need to be done if the Govt ever intends to take on the big international news providers. So who is the Govt going after other than Yahoo Singapore? TRE and TOC have been cleared as not the target news sites, and they are not news sites at least for the time being. Both have exceeded the two criteria of reporting on Singapore news and the 50,000 IPs by more than a mile. Having confirmed the fate of two of the biggest local aggregators, these two sites would now be the barometer for other bloggers to gauge themselves if they have crossed the line vis a vis the new regime.

Some of the doubts and worries of the bloggers and internet community have been explained and the fear allayed. But more assurance is needed from the MOM to include provisions in the new regulation to exclude the bloggers if they are to sleep in peace. Would there be amendments directly on this regulation or would MOM wait till the major review of the Broadcasting Act next year as mentioned by Chuan Jin? Before the ink is dry, before anyone breathes a sigh of relief, anything can still happen. This new regulation is encompassing as cyberspace.

Abe and a militant Japan

The road that Abe and his rightist ministers is taking is leading to an intractable position and war with China over the Diaoyu Islands is inevitable. The logic and slant taken by Abe's group is that of Imperial Japan when might is right.

The accusation that only in 1971 that China made a claim on Diaoyu was proof that China did not own the island is a white lie. China was weak, had too many issues to deal with domestically, that should it try to make any claims before, it could lead probably to another military defeat by Japan or a lot of embarrassment as it could not do anything about its claims with a military more powerful Japan and a hostile US.

The Diaoyu was taken by force, as war loot signed away by the 1895 Unequal Treaty. And Abe is claiming that this was legitimate. In a way, yes it is treaty, an agreement. In order for China to take back Diaoyu, if Japan refuses to return it peacefully, will be to take it back by force with another treaty with Japan to over ride this treaty. Is that what Japan wants?

China is no longer a pushover though Japan may think it could repeat its aggressive invasion of China once again. Let's see if Japan is up to it and if China can turn the table around and invade Japan to return the favour.

Many on the side of Japan are refusing to see the historical records of Diaoyu and claimed that Japan has some grounds to claim it. The only legitimate ground is the Treaty of Shimonseki which if Japan is insisting on it, will be to abolish this treaty by the same means, war.

Abe and his hawkish ministers are taking Japan back to militarism. The pretension that it is difficult to change the pacifist constitution is simply bullshit. Many Japanese are waiting to relive their glorious Imperial Japan days. Put it to the Diet and a 2/3 majority to change the constitution is just a formality. The Japanese psychic of domination and superiority and militarism has never changed. It is reviving with greater gusto and arrogance.

The lie that Japan did not have a military force but a Self Defence Force is only unnoticeable to the blind. Japan is already a big military force and can engage in wars of aggression. Its 5 trillion yen annual budget for defence is no small feat.

And what is wrong with China expanding its military expenditure and the deceit of claiming that China has expanded it by 30 folds? China's military expenditure came from a very small base. China should be spending similar amount in defence as the US for a country of that size and for its own defence from its bad experience of being invaded when it was militarily weak.

The right of self defence is the right of every nation. China's defence expenditure is defensive in nature as against the US that is for world domination and hegemony.

Abe will lead Japan to a war with China if he is allowed to continue in this path.

MDA – Loosening the G string

I sat through the live telecast of Talking Point on the issue of new licensing of online news sites. The most unbelieveable thing to happen in the programme is that the MDA personnel was not there, not Yaacob or Koh Lin Net but the Minister of MOM, Tan Chuan Jin. Isn’t this odd? Don’t tell me the new regulation was initiated and approved by Chuan Jin and he has to kuai kuai come out to explain his stand? Quite possible isn’t it? If I were Yaacob or Lin Net, even if my name is named after internet, I would not want to explain anything so unpopular if I have nothing to do with it. Your guess why Chuan Jin has to front this show.

What came through very clearly was that the regulation was rushed out without much thought, with many blanks left unanswered. Now they are going to relook at the details and to fill in the blanks. The main purpose is to target sites that are reporting on Singapore news and not so much about the right news. But right news still came out for some discussion and by the end of the show, no one really knows what is the right news or what is the right news all about.

The other point that came out clearly is that bloggers or individual websites will not be targeted. Then why was this not spelt out in the first place? Or is this an after thought, that bloggers were originally in the scheme of things? Imagine how much venom would have been taken out from the bloggers if from the first move the MOM clearly said bloggers will not be affected by the new regulation. It is still not too late to make an amendment to make it official that bloggers will not come under this regulation. Will the MOM just do that?

The truth is that MOM was not sure how things would develop and they wanted the provision that when blogs take on the characteristics of news site, reporting on Singapore news, then they will come under the regulation. Then I must say many bloggers will eventually come under the regulation despite the denial. Don’t trust me, let me explain. What if I keep reporting on the number of crocodiles in Sungei Buloh Wetland? Is that not reporting on Singapore news? What if I keep reporting about MRT jams or breakdowns as I take the train daily? Is that not reporting on Singapore news? There is no where to run when the definition of news is everything under the Singapore sky. Would MDA want to make this ‘Singapore News’ more specific?

Bertha Henson kept asking the minister what was the real intent of the regulation. And some callers asked a very simple question, ‘Is there anything that is not covered by existing regulations that made the rushing out of this new regulation that necessary and urgent?’ Anything criminal, defamatory or inciting violence on racial and religious issues are fully covered by existing laws. Then why ah? Why in such a hurry to rush out this regulation without making sure that the G string is properly tied and in the right place. Now the G string is found to be too tight and a lot of loosening and readjusting will need to be done, exposing many embarrassing holes and parts that should not be exposed.

What is the real intent of pulling this G string?