the haze is back?

The haze got worse last night. This morning it appears to be getting bad. It seems that the Asean Ministerial Meeting is not bearing any fruit. Or is it that the ransom asked was not paid and the haze will not go away? Looks like the Asean neighbours would have to buy the Indonesians a satellite and build all the dams they want for the haze to go away.

we are not finished!

We are not finished! In many organisations, private or public, the young punks have taken over the reign. Many are in their 30s and 40s. Intelligent, dynamic and impatient to make their marks. Invariably the sight of the oldies are not so pleasant and grudgingly tolerated. The common comment is that they should be at home looking after their grandchildren and should not be in the office. And in the drawing boards, all kinds of plans are being crafted and to be put in place to get rid of the oldies. Some of the oldies are still as strong and healthy and have many good years to go. No matter. Once they pass the 50 mark, they are considered finished products. Time to disappear for their own good. While scheming to get rid of the oldies, they forgot that it is only a matter of time that they too fall into the same unpleasant category to be got rid off. Age is fair to all. Everyone must go through the ages. All the Papas must teach their young upstarts to show a bit of deferrence to the older specimens of human kind. And a great example to follow is Hsien Loong. He has kept two oldies as bouncing boards and as his resources, to provide the gaps that need to be filled in his thoughts and thinking process. The days of the oldies are not over. With better medical care, the oldies are going to be hopping around for another 20 or 30 years more. And if the oldies can master the computer and internet technology, they can make themselves very useful as these requires only their finger muscles and a lot of the knowledge that they have accumulated and stored over the years. The danger of a nation being run by kindergarten kids has been demonstrated over the last few weeks. In their little raw brilliance, they could destroy everything, their families and themselves.

myth 88

'Singapore has no talent for international acquisition' The names like Quek Leng Beng, Ooi Hong Leong, (this one think is a pr, or maybe citizen already), Ong Beng Seng, the late Khoo Teck Puat, Wee Cho Yaw, (he has a famous surname), the Royal brothers, Koh Boon Hui, Sim Wong Hoo etc, have been acquiring businesses all over the world, and some of them for many years. They may made some mistakes here and there but nothing earth shaking to raise any eyebrow. These are the seasoned and real mavericks who learned the ropes of doing business deals the hard way without the notes and textbook advises from an Ivy League University. And their records have proven that they are better international deal makers. They are consumate deal makers and will not end up in any rotten deals or paying a ransom for rubbish. The gratifying thing is that they are local talents. Why the need for foreign talents who came with a big basket to scoop and retire in their little paradise somewhere on earth?

no need passport

No need passport Singaporeans will be allowed to enter two selected areas in JB without the need for passports and can stay as long as they want. This is the latest announcement coming from Malaysia, and a very bold initiative that takes the competition right to the competitor’s doorstep. The Malaysians are serious to make SJER a success, and they mean business by pulling every plug possible. Such an act will be unheard off during the Mahathir govt when economics was playing second fiddle to politics. Now they are brave, aggressive, creative and business like, like Singaporeans in many ways. It would be interesting to see how Singapore reacts to this Malaysian announcement. It is like a bolt of lightning. It poses a lot of challenges and also offers a lot of opportunities. It is not only about economic cooperation and competition, it is also about the twinning or intertwining of social and economic relations between the two states. If things kick off with a good start when both sides see the benefits of closer cooperations, there will be tremendous improvement in inter state relations instead of biting rivalry. Other Malaysian states will soon follow with their own initiatives to develop economic links and cooperation with Singapore. And Johore, being a more convenient location relative to Batam and Bintang, will be a big draw for Singapore companies and Singaporeans. Even foreigners and foreign companies will stand to benefit with such a move. What if Singapore does not see this as a positive proposal and reacted with another ¾ thing or something cute but regressive? Any negative thoughts or rulings will be like slapping its own face. It will not only be bad for long term bilateral relations, it will destroy whatever goodwill that we have built for so long. And the Malaysians will gain all the initiative and support to lash out at Singapore for not walking the talk. We shall all hope that this Malaysian initiative will be the harbinger for better relations and cooperation. It is the kind of competitive strategy that Singapore should welcome and encourage, aggressive but rational business strategies devoid of politicking, emotions and sentiments.

myth 87

Myth 87 'A Singapore fiction' Saturday, October 28, 20062 hours that change me I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first time visiting a one-room HDB flat. I had agreed to help bring a few students to visit a few of these homes that the school had adopted as part of the CIP (Community Involvement Programme). This should be good, I thought. I wasn’t prepared for this. The walls were dotted with black splotches of what we were told were the droppings of bed bugs. We were warned not to remove our shoes, lean on the walls or sit on the floor. Mr Y sat on a stool and seemed nonchalant about the infestation in his home. The mattress he slept on bore testimony to the nightly battles he had to endure. The bed sheet was clouded with blood stains. Mr Y used to be a coolie who carried sacks of rice. The bachelor now lives alone in his decrepit rental flat, his emaciated body racked with sickness, the money he earned in his younger days long gone to feed his parents’ opium addiction many years ago. He gets $260 from the welfare agency every month, of which about $100 goes into paying his rent and utilities. The remainder he has to magically stretch to cover his food and medical costs. The bugs had spread from next door to a few flats on the 5th floor where Mr Y lived. You could see them flitting about on the wall, on the floor, among his clothes, even along the corridors. Nobody there could afford a professional pestbuster, and the town council wouldn’t do such favours anyway. So living with these parasites has become a fact of life. Residents living on the other floors talked about the 5th floor as if it was Purgatory and it didn’t seem an inappropriate description. Then there was 92-year-old Mdm C – so small and wiry she couldn’t have weighed more than 35kg. She had a hole in her neck where her voice box had been removed, so she couldn’t talk. When she saw us, she simply gestured with her hands that she wanted to die. Looking at her forlorn looking home, who could blame her for feeling that way? The food in her kitchen had all gone bad so we gathered she hadn’t eaten for days, or perhaps she had been eating all the rotten stuffs. When you are sick and have to depend on the kindness of neighbours to help you buy even the simplest food, what other choice do you have? She has 2 daughters, one who visits her occasionally. Another, we heard, comes by and steals the NTUC vouchers that volunteers give to her. Is it any wonder Mdm C would rather die? In all, we visited 7 homes, each one with its own sad story to tell. My heart is exceedingly disturbed by the scenes I saw today. On the one hand, we live in a country that’s boasting of having island-wide free internet access soon and building world-class integrated resorts and yet, in pockets of this land which worships success and one-upmanship shamelessly, there are the forgotten lot who live in homes with rotten food and bug-infested beds. I thought that by visiting the poor, I would be helping to cheer them up somewhat. How naïve I was. How arrogant I was to think that a simple 20 minute visit can alleviate the misery of people who have to face squalor every single moment of their lives and where sleep offers no respite either from the reality of their wretchedness. I thought I was doing community service. But no, something was done to me. Today, I felt as if the earth beneath my feet had shifted. In the days that follow, I would still go on to live my life of considerable comfort, plan my holidays, do Christmas shopping and enjoy the trappings of prosperity that I have been blessed with. But I could no longer plead ignorance of the shadowy existence of Mr Y, Mdm C and all these unfortunate people who live just a stone’s throw away from me. I find myself asking Him, “Lord, what will You have me do now?” Tonight, as I crawl between my nice clean sheets, I think of Mr Y and how long the night will be for him. I saw real, in-your-face poverty and human misery today and I’m at a loss as to how to respond. Nothing I can do or say will ever be enough. And yet, if we don’t do anything, what kind of human beings are we? * * * * * * * * * posted by trisha @ 8:08 AM I extracted the above from Sammyboy. Myth or fiction, you decide.

alternative media

Ken Kwek's article in today's Straits Times lamented the lack of political humour in the MSM. Anyone wanting to read them can only find them in cyberspace which he called Alternative Media (AM). There seems to be a lack of tolerance for political humour in MSM, or is it a conscious decision to play down on AM? From the reaction so far, MSM regards AM as a strategic competitor, to borrow a phrase from Bush, and will keep it underwrap for as long as they can. There is a noticeable silence on cyberspace activity in MSM. The only cyberspace news that is allowed to grace the pages of MSM is from their own little baby called Stomp. Stomp has been receiving a lot of funding and promotion to get it kicking. Looks like it is only attracting a very select group of visitors and not enough. Even Media Corp is coming into the fray for blogger's attention. When will MSM start to embrace or engage AM and allocate some space to report on what is happening in cyberspace? If this cold treatment is to continue, the divide can only widen and the two worlds will just stay apart, the Main Stream Media and Alternative Media, each competing for their own audience for their own kind of news. And with a virtual monopoly in the past, MSM can only stand to lose more readers to the young upstart that starts off with nothing.

what the president says

Singapore will become a nation divided by wealth, race and religion. All three are sensitive subjects to be discussed with extreme care. Talking about them careless can undermine the govt's effort to build a cohesive and inclusive society. Race and religion have always been sensitive. Now wealth can also be a sensitive subject. Bloggers have been dragged to the court for blogging on sensitive issues concerning race and religion. Lets hope no blogger is dragged to court for discussing wealth. It is not just simply black or white as in the past. The grey area is getting wider, including maybe brown. Singapore must not become a welfare state in extending help to the people. 'We would like the govt to do even more, but the govt can only spend within its means,' ie the govt must spend only when it is affordable. And looks that the govt has done all it can afford and to do more will be unaffordable. The President said, 'Let us build a competitive economy and an inclusive society for ourselves and our children in Singapore.' I was not in the house but would presume that 'us' includes all Singaporeans.

why push people to take public transport?

Below is my article. Why push people to take public transport? The Transport Minister wants our public transport system to be world class. And one of the measurements of a world class transport system is the number of commuters. This has gone done from 67% in 1997 to 63% in 2004, which is bad news to him. So must push more people to use public transport. But then people are getting richer and can afford to travel in the comfort of their own cars. The car population went up 10% over the same period and daily car trips went up by 23%. Now is this a good thing or a bad thing? Travel by cars must be bad, or else why would the Transport Minister want to push more people to take public transport? ‘We will have to work harder to make public transport a choice mode for the vast majority of Singaporeans for routine day to day commuting.’ Said Raymond Lim. But surely to be able to drive around in a car would be the preferred choice of most Singaporeans. Would it not be better if the objective is to develop a first class road system, complimented by a first class public transport system for those who choose not to travel by car? If public transport is such a great deal, perhaps the minister can set a good example by taking public transport to work. Or make it a national campaign that all senior civil servants, MPs and Ministers must take public transport to work. Leading by example will be a better way to encourage people to do something which they would not want to do if they can afford it. I fully agree with the Minister when he said, ‘This is because, for a dense urban city state such as ours, it will be catastrophic to allow private transport to be the dominant transport mode,…’ And what I like to hear best is ‘Our transport system, while having to be as efficient as possible, must ultimately serve the people who use it.’ But I am worried when he added, ‘The comprehensive view,…will take into account the views of the travelling public and stakeholders such as transport operators.’ My fear is higher fares. The Minister’s aim is for bus and rail system to account for 70% of all morning peak hour ride. Without questioning why this is the best mix, this should be achieved by making public transport so attractive and convenient rather than by a string of disincentives and punitive measures for those who opt to drive. A transport system cannot be world class when people are pushed to take public transport and not because it is a preferred choice. Another point that I am worried about is ‘how to cater to commuters who are willing to pay more for better bus services.’ My immediate thought again is to get ready to pay more. There is nothing wrong if the Minister wants to aim high for those who can afford it and wanted to pay more. Actually those who can would just drive their cars. Why buy an expensive car and park it at home. Only those who are barely able to afford a car would be convinced to do the switch. For the rest of the working class, first class transport system or third class, they will still be taking them. And cost is of prime concern. What I thought would be an improvement is to stick to the fundamentals, ‘promote public transport, optimize road usage and manage demand for private vehicles,’ and let people own cars and use them at their convenience. Make people feel very comfortable to leave their cars behind not because they were coerced to but taking public transport is a better, more convenient and effective means of commutation. Then we will have a world class public transport system. And for the non car owners, an efficient public transport system should not burn a big hole in their pockets. And don’t add in more frills to make them pay for more.

myth 86

'The Govt does not understand the people' There are so many people whining and moaning in the forums of MSM and in cyberspace that the govt does not understand the people and not helping the people. This is so far from the truth. It is the people that do not understand the govt. The govt is doing all it can to help the people. The problem cannot be solved just by the govt alone. The govt has done its part. The people must also do its part. And the policies and solutions are well thought out. They are all for the good of Singaporeans, and based on the assumptions of meritocracy. If you are good everything will be good. The system will work for you, to your favour. The paper reported that there are now more millionaires in Singapore, officially only 1,738. Unofficially could be more. Take a walk along geylang and all the proprietors there, including the ah longs are probably millionaires too. Don't the people understand? It is time the people stop moaning and whining and try to understand the govt and its policies. It is written everywhere. Even an 18 year old knows. Now be productive and constructive. Get to work.

myth 85

'Haze, an amazing Indonesian myth' The Asean Ministers attending the haze conference were so simplistic in their approach to the haze problem. To them, the haze was caused by irresponsible plantation owners and small farmers clearing land for cultivation and development. The solution is thus very simple. Set up effective laws against such practices, enforce them, and put the culprits behind bars. Unfortunately they were so far from the truth and the Indonesians were there to educate them on the problem and how to solve them effectively. To the Indonesians, the haze is a natural disaster, something like the tsunami. And one way to tackle it is to provide a good early warning system like a dedicated satellite so that the affected countries will have enough time to react before the haze hit and will not be drown. The second cause of haze is the smouldering fire under the debris of fallen trees and peat. To prevent such fire which can burn for a long time to re ignite the forest, the solution is to build a lot of dams to raise the water level so that all the grounds are virtually flooded and no fire can be kept alive. Still the Asean Ministers don't get it and failed to understand these ingenius analysis of the problems and the well thought out plans. All the Asean Ministers are concerned is cost. To have a dedicated satellite and building dams across Sumatra and Kalimantan will cost hundreds of millions. And they are not going to spend those money. So they told the Indonesians to set these ambitious and clever plans aside and just go and catch the fire starters. Now, without spending the money, how could the Asean Ministers expect the haze to go away? And there are no fire starters. These are natural phenomenon. Blame nature.

my article in new paper today

Oh, my second article is out in the New Paper today. pg 18. And with my smiley face too. Now you can get a glimpse of how I look like. : )

who is a leech?

'I know the whole argument against welfarism. Welfarism is a dirty word in Singapore. No! We are a meritocratic society! We survive and prosper on hard work and our own efforts! If we allow for welfarism we will have leeches in our society feeding off the wealth of those who had worked hard for their achievements. ' The above is quoted from coffee and cigarette blog. When I read this term 'leeches' I begin to wonder who are the real leeches? If someone is sitting around doing FO and collecting a ransom, would he also be considered a leech?

ministry of charity

With so many charities and public money floating everywhere, it is time to creat a new ministry, Ministry of Charity with a Minister in charge. That will keep those money collected under close supervision and avoid any monkey businesses. It is so uncomfortable to see so much money in the hands of volunteers who have very little financial expertise and could not manage the money for the best return. There should be professional managers employed just to manage all these money.

did he jump in vain

A copycat jumper fell flat on his face The Clementi MRT jumper could have died in vain. If he were a copycat jumper, thinking, or after serious contemplation, that his death could bring a windfall to his family, and jump...he is going to be very, very disappointed. So would be his loss and the family's loss. In the absence of the press playing up the tragedy, the whole episode went away just like a pee. It did not cause a stir nor did any emotions play up to pull the heart strings. There was no rush to donate generously. Neither were people dialing their handphones to donate their $5, $10 or $25. The media can play a very effective role in telling people how to act and behave. Put a few helpless and pathetic faces in front of the camera, tell a few sad stories, and people will willingly empty their tear bags and pockets. Everyone has a heart, and it is very easy to be sentimental and emotional. Of course there are exceptions who would tell anyone in trouble to get lost. Now did this jumper died in vain? Were the reporters in the Tan Jee Suan case more responsible or the no show reporters in this case more responsible? Damn if you report the story, damn if you don't.

my rumbling to robertteh's rumbling

My rumbling to robertteh's rumbling in redbeanforum. We do not have a very long history and tradition to develop core skills and industries like some European countries, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Germany and some of the Scandinavian countries. It is unfair to compare our development with them. It is very flattering to compare ourselves with the failed countries in the Third World and keep patting our backs to say we have done well. Indeed we have done well so far. But going down the road, we need to be excellent in some manufacturing industries, R and D or service industries. There were aspirations to be the best in everything. But so far we have not really develop something to differentiate us from the developed countries. We started off almost at the same time as the Koreans and Taiwanese, maybe a bit slower than Japan. The Japanese took off long ago. The Koreans and Taiwanese have surged ahead from us. We are still like Hongkong, banking on trading and shuffling of funds and as shopkeepers. Maybe we were trying to be too many things. We are ahead of our neighbours in many areas. But the time for us to build a clear cut advantage were not maximised and it is so easy for our neighbours, or China and India to overrun us. Then we will be in shit. Shouldn't we pour in all our heart and souls to develop say the medical services and facilities to be way ahead of the region or the world? The electronics and consumer goods manufacturing are relatively new industries that we could capitalise on like what Apple and Microsoft have done. These are areas where education and high skilled workers are needed and not really land and labour intensive. And they are new industries which would not put us in a too disadvantageous position. We could have invested heavily with Creative to make it real big. But Creative was left to fight its own battle against the world giants. Imagine if we are now the capital of manufacturing all the little gadgets, softwares etc. As it is we are just subcontractors. Not much value add and easily replaceable. Now we are facing the real challenge, a tsunami of sorts with the Chinese and Indians edging us out of the game. Everything we can do they can do better and cheaper. Even as shop keepers, we are losing out as the barrier to entry is so low. And our high land cost etc will only drive us out of the competition. And they are still crazily raising the rentals and cost of service as if Singapore is the only place on earth to buy genuine quality goods at attractive prices. Without core manufacturing expertise, I am not talking about heavy manufacturing industries, everyone can provide good and cheap services. Where do all these left us? A good political and state administrative system. But these are not marketable or scalable. They can make the IRs and other industries look better being here. But they are not productive on their own. Actually very costly and over valued. I am just rumbling. The crunch will come and is coming.

we are competing with thailand

Now I know why Thailand is angry with us. For so many years they have been branding their country as the Land of a Thousand Smiles. Now, how can we upstage Thailand by calling ourselves Island of 4 Million Smiles. : )

peace coming to east asia

North Korea has agreed to return to the table without conditions. So said Christopher Hill after secret talks between the US, North Korea and China. That's a good boy. North Korea is going to abandon all its nuclear programmes and arms, presumably for nothing. The US negotiators are real mavericks. No more armed interdiction of commercial vessels, I hope.

elfred, good news! no need to go china

It's raining jobs this year This is the headline of the Today paper. 123,100 jobs were created before the year is over. Wow. Who needs job? Have no fear, jobs are aplenty. Now this must be great news for Elfred. No need to go for posting to China. And for those who are complaining about the IRs, look at the good things they are doing to our job market. And they haven't started yet. Still several years away and the benefits are already kicking in. Imagine when the IRs are up and the multiplier effect does its work. Singaporeans are in for a good time. The future is so promising. I am going to can this thread for good. And no more jumpers. The problem will solve by itself with jobs everywhere. And we can afford to have more foreign talents too. Now I am feeling so high.

doggie bag or ta bao

Of doggie bag or ta bao When you have over ordered for your meal and plenty were left on the table, what would you do? Ask the waiter for a doggie bag or ta bao? Many would simply ask the waiter to ta bao, to bring back the leftover food for another meal when stomach has emptied, or for someone at home to share the expensive meal. Some will ask for a doggie bag, to bring the leftover for the doggie back home. No matter if the left over is a $200 plate of gourmet food, it must go to the doggie. Lucky dog, feeding on a $200 meal from a top end restaurant. But some dogs may be of the two legged type. Still they have the good fortune of a wonderful meal. So next time when you see someone with a huge leftovers on his dinner table, just wait and listen to see what he ask for. But there will be some who will be too embarrassed to even ask for a doggie bag. It is below them to take leftover food home. Or leftover food are not fresh and should not be consumed. The taste maybe a little stale. What you ask for, a doggie bag or ta bao, will describe your background, who you are.

plenty of charity money, still not enough

It is reported that 18 IPCs, Institute of Public Characters, or charitable organisations, have at least $10 mil in their reserves. Another 18 have less than $5 mil in reserves. These work out to be $180 mil plus about $90 mil or $270 mil in their savings. There are also hundreds of smaller charitable organisations. There are many govt or quasi govt charitable organisations with lots of funds. Comcare alone has $600 mil. Not sure how much savings the NKf still have. But together, there is a huge sum of money to help the needy and can do a lot of wonders. There is no reason for people to jump down from flats or onto MRT tracks. Why are these money not reaching the people who badly needed them? Is it because they are savings for another day just like our CPF? Don't spend first. Save for tomorrow. Must be prudent. Are we more concern about tomorrow than the plight of people who cannot feed themselves today, that today is the people's problem and tomorrow is the fund managers problem? For a rich country like ours, to have so much money for charity, and still not enough, looks like the problem of the needy is really a very big one. I think we should be more circumscribe in trying to raise money to send students overseas to have a smell of foreign air when they return only to be less desirable than the genuine foreign talents. They will still not be regarded as foreign talents.