UNSW - The Angmo TuaKi Syndrome

The UNSW episode shows how vulnerable we are when we believe in the Angmo TuaKi Syndrome. Many would always want to believe that the Angmo will be benevolent and honourable gentlemen that we can look up to and adore. That they will not scuttle an agreement, pack up and run with not regards to the damaging consequences. That saving their own skin is all that matters. The govt should pursue the matter to the fullest and recover every cent that we spent on the project. Take them to court and sue them for every penny. We need to stand on our principles in negotiating a deal and stand by it. And the same principle must apply to our negotiation with those that are not Tauki but think that they are Tauki and would renegate on whatever that were agreed upon and signed. We shall not waver in negotiating a fair deal and will stick to it. We shall not succumb to tribal pressure and kampong mentality.

Sylvia Lim rebuked by Jayakumar

Sylvia Lim opposed the new bill to allow the PM to nominate two members to the Legal Service Commission and raised the spectre of executive interference in the judiciary. It reminded Jayakumar of the Conspiracy Theory of abuse of executive power. The last time this happened, an investigation was conducted and Jayeratnam was fined. Would we be seeing another investigation? Given the high quality of the people in political office today, such abuses of executive power is only a conspiracy theory. There are all kinds of checks and balances to prevent it from happening. Quite safe at the moment. Even in corporate governance in the private sector, when there are good people in charge, the present system will be more than adequate. For that matter, when a decent man is in charge of the old NKF, nothing of the like would have happened. It all boils down to decent men in charge. What happens if loanshark Ah Seng got elected into power? Or say a George Bush equivalent is elected into power? Can our system prevent such an eventuality? Are there enough safeguards in our system to prevent a rogue govt from coming into power? Given the past experience, the people has been proven to be quite naive and can elect any thing into power. This possibility cannot be ruled out. When that happens, and when too much power is vested into an office, would we be digging ourselves into a very deep shit hole.

$1 tax for use of plastic bag

Hongkong has done it. It is going to impose a $1 tax for the use of a plastic bag. The reason is to protect and save the environment. So the lesser plastic bag is used, the better for the environment. Thus to get the Hongkongers used to the valuable resource at a high price is a way to teach them to conserve the use of plastic bags. This reminds me of the theory on how to make the people appreciate how valuable water is and the need to save water. Make them get use to high water price by charging more plus higher tax in advance. We should apply the same principle in the use of plastic bag and follow the lead taken by Hongkong. We should prepare the people ahead in the need to conserve the environment, save gaia, and make them pay $1 for the use of each plastic bag. And we can excuse those who can't afford to use plastic bags for their swill to let them pour the swill into the rubbish chutes.

Political party manifesto 7

Political parties' support comes mainly from the poorer masses that form the bulk of the population. Without the support of the massess, no political party can come to power except from the barrel of the gun. Political parties have all the reasons to work for the masses. And the masses are the one that really need help from the political party in power. The two have a symbiotic relationship. Cost of living is a key concern of the masses. This is contributed by rising cost and taxation. The first will hit the masses very badly in every way. The second, taxation, is often skewed to favour the masses as they have less to pay tax and needed every cent to keep them going. Taxes that put a heavy burden on the masses are contrary to their interests. The pervasive nature of GST is not good for the masses unless it is fine tuned. No form of tax is good for the masses if they have to pay for them. The impact of the increasing GST will find the masses getting poorer despite the rebate. It will never be enough as life goes on day after day and year after year. In the long run the masses will still have to foot increasing taxes through GST. Why are there no political party fighting for the masses to modify the GST so that at least the essential services and food stuff are GST exempt? Why is it that political parties that claim to represent the masses and needed the support of the masses could so happily dismiss the plight of the struggling masses? Why are the masses supporting political parties who are not for their interests? Or is this a temporary trend, a transient phase that will be over taken by the basic realities, that the masses will eventually know which party is for them or against them?

How serious is profiteering?

There were little profiteering, very few raised prices. Now there are more appearing, and more complaints. The msm has done its survey and found only 4.8% of those surveyed raised their prices. Ask any housewives or any consumers and they will tell you practically everything is up. And if prices are not up, the quantity goes down. I had a personal encounter when the meat came in paper thin slices instead of the usual one cm thickness. I could not believe my eyes. I stared at the plate of rice and meat and the stall holder looked away. I know that that would be the last time I buy from that stall in a food court. But what is real? Are the people now being shortchanged by the stalls and shops? How much is a dollar worth now?

Li Hongyi - Abuse of email?

Thomas Koshy said Li Hongyi was a victim of abuse of email. He also said the matter he raised, AWOL, was a matter that hardly concerned the whole SAF. Does Koshy read the details in the publicised email and the problems raised? If the email circulating is accurate, it is not a case of AWOL alone. It is repeated AWOL and hardly any action taken with people treating military duty like a boy scout camp. Does Koshy know what it means by Duty Officer of a camp over the weekend? It simply means the whole camp is under the charge of a Duty Officer. He is to take full command of the camp. In the absence of an officer, the next person, probably an NCO, will now have to shoulder the full responsibility. What if the NCO burns down the camp and ransack the place? What if the most fear things happened in his absence? Dereliction of duty is a very serious offence and if this is allowed to continue without being stopped, I wonder what would happen to the whole system. Of course it is a matter that concerns the whole well being of the SAF. It must be reported one way or another. It is a case of a lesser evil by raising the issue to the highest authority since it was ignored at the lower level. By passing the normal procedure using email is a lesser wrong than correcting what he set out to do. It is good that the problems are addressed immediately and discipline restored. Can't imagine officers can go AWOL and taken lightly.

Perpetuating a tragedy

How to condemn your children to a life of misery and poverty? This seems like a textbook case here and around the world. For the illiterate, poorly educated, often jobless, the only thing they care to do is to produce as many children as possible with no thought of how to feed them and provide for them. Just read in the papers this morning of two often jobless parents with 12 children. Whose fault is this if the children continue a life of poverty, even becoming drug addicts or delinquents, becoming misfits of society? Is this the responsibility of the govt and the general public to take care of them? The people can expect the govt to help those in trouble. But should the govt help those who voluntarily bring trouble upon themselves? If the govt takes on such a responsibility, it will only encourage the irresponsible to continue with their stupidity and recklessness. The parents deserved to be caned for condemning their children to a life in the gutters. All the horror stories and tragedies are being set up for the future.

Buddhism is not a belief

Buddhism, unlike other religion, is not a belief, but a philosophy of life, how to live life. But to the laypersons, and the not so enlightened practitioners, even decorated high monks, many have treated is as religion of belief. The ridiculous thing about a belief is that one can believe anything if one is willing to. One can believe that the tooth of a cow can be the tooth of a human and adamantly tell the sceptics that 'All the time I believe it is true and I do not want to question its authenticity.' So get lost and don't argue or question whether it is real of fake. We all have different perception of what is real. And I must be strong in my faith and I shall not waver. I know that one must be strong in understanding the teachings of the old masters. I am also very sure the old masters did not teach the followers to believe blindly or that he will insist that his followers must believe in things that are claimed to be his. Such an attitude is bad for the religion and followers. Many would be turned off by such disregard of real and false, by stupidity to the extent of being moronic. That is why I always encouraged believers of any religion to question the truth and reject falsehood when it stares them into the eye. A lump of shit is a lump of shit no matter what the person wants to believe. And worst, making all the followers believing in his shit. Modern people of today have the privilege and advantage of modern science and technology and knowledge that are several thousand years more advanced than the ancient believers whose understanding of things that were rudimentary. When today's truth is obvious, it is pure stupidity to believe in yesterday's falsehood as truth.

My home - the toilet

58 year old mother and 14 month daughter in tow, Madam Hong's home is a public toilet in the Park. Her husband, an odd job cleaner, earns $600/$700 and sleeps in his work place. They have no where to go after losing their 4 room flat for failing to keep up with the mortgage payments. Squatting in relatives' place only last a while before patient runs out. We also have people who cannot pay their dialysis treatment and owing NKF thousands of dollars. To these people, the treatment is a matter of life and death. Some people may say that these are useless people that deserve to be where they are and it is their own problem. They fail to make it in this island of opportunities and it is their fault. That is a pragmatic point of view, and also a realistic one. It is forgiveable as a private individual view. But when we are talking about a nation, its govt and people, we are talking about a people like a family. No one shall be left behind cannot be an advertising slogan and not to mean anything. We are not living in the animal kingdom where the lion king lives supreme with his harem and there is no room for the feeble, old and sick. The weak shall perish or be eaten. Even the lion king will be driven away when he loses his teeth and has to wander in the wilderness, alone till his solitary death. Human society needs to spend some resources to keep the weak and helpless going. The other option is to terminate them and their misery. Every society will have the burdensome and the irresponsible. Every case has to be looked at differently and for the irresponsible, the country still cannot terminate them but to help them to be on their feet again. But make sure that they are willing to pick themselves up and the help is something like co payment. Help as much as he is willing to help himself. Otherwise $290 is also too much. The $290 is only for those who no longer can help themselves. The desperate cases of old and unable to work anymore.

Legacy of the babyboomers

This is the generation that sees the transformation of the world and this island, from war to peace, and from poverty to wealth. And they are the ones who are holding on to all the wealth and power, and not letting go. They will cling on till their deaths whatever they have, position, money and power. On their passing, in 10 or 20 years time, we will see what they have left behind. One thing for sure, they will be a lot of properties passing down. Many have several properties for their children and themselves. At the worst each will have a HDB flat. Their children or grand children will be the beneficiaries of the wealth. The next generation will not be roofless. They will have more than one roof or a better roof over their heads. Any demand for housing will be more of a case of upgrading. But there will be a net increase in the availability of housing/flats in the market and a dwindling demand for various reasons. Other than the many already well provided for by the babyboomers, or inheriting an extra unit, the population is not growing at such a healthy rate to generate a growth in demand for more residential properties. Can there be a continuous demand and a running away of property prices? It can, with another 3 million foreigners coming in to grab up all the high end properties. The demographic pattern will change. Today it is the old and new rich that are holding onto their landed properties and the masses in HDBs. This may changed when the bulk of high end properties in expansive downtown be all owned by foreigners and the citizens living in the outskirts of town. And living in downtown will be so expansive that it will be a truly foreign city within a city. Singaporeans could be alien in downtown other than workers in the hours of light. When darkness falls, Singaporeans will return to their HDB estates away from downtown. Would we see a day when the new choices part of the island, the new downtown, be a paradise of foreigners?

Li Hongyi - The making of a future leader

The case is now officially in the msm. A very interesting case study on the integrity of our system and the development of a fine young man. Personally I feel that the case is very well handled and with a lot of transparency. As for Hongyi, he is starting to cut his spurs. It is good to be young, to test the waters, get your feet wet and learn from the experience. We were all brash young things once. We have our own tales of innocence and flirting with the authority. It is the right of all young men to make controversial decisions and to learn along the way. The last historical Hongyi turned out to be a fine emperor. This modern Hongyi could follow the same path. Everyone should enjoy the passage of youth as a growing up process and to live to remember the good times.

Upgrading peasant expectations

We have made progress. We started by squatting on the roadside eating from street peddlers. We have moved to hawker centres, aircon food courts and into restaurants. Now we are even into fine dining. At hawker centres, the dirty hawkers would throw the plate of char kway teow at you, with the dirty chopsticks as well. And you cannot demand for anything. That was what you paid for. In fine dining, things changed. The cooks are of international standards and paid top dollars. They knew perfectly what they are expected to deliver. The ingredients are the finest and freshest. The dining tables and chairs, the crockery and cutlery, each piece may cost a few hundred bucks. The table cloth, the service staff, not simply waiters and waitresses, are specially trained with fine manners to pamper the diners. These are what the peasants must learn to expect in fine dining. And they need to upgrade their taste and attitude. They cannot simply accept slipshod services and quality of food. When the service staff are rude and uncourteous, they must be rudely told off. When the food are not well prepared, they must demand to see the chef. There is no excuses for poor quality. They cannot turn around and tell the peasants, 'If you don't like huh, you could yourself lah.' They may be peasant made good chefs, no matter. Professional chefs of international standards, and paid in millions, must live up to their reputation and deliver quality stuff. Anything less is shortchanging. There is no such things as asking the people on how to cook a meal. They are the experts, and they called themselves the experts. When the menu is for French cuisine, it must be French cuisine. How would the peasants know how to prepare fois gras or escargots? How would the peasants know what is good wine or higher grade vinegar? The attitude and expectations of both peasants and chefs must change. Peasants should be more discerning and demand for good service and quality products. And they must know what is good service and quality products. They have the right to demand. For they are paying top dollars for it. The chefs must have some self respect to do what they are paid for. They can't be expected to continue with hawker fares and shaft it down the throat of the peasants. It is terribly embarrassing for top chefs who can't deliver and still collect top pay checks. As we progress, everyone must upgrade their mindset, their training and skills and expectations. Then only we will have real progress.

How not to make friends?

I was staring at the Today paper this morning. And staring back at me, on the top right hand corner of the front page, titled, Where Money Talks, Some of Asia's least and most corrupt countries. Standing right on top is the famous brand, Singapore. Right at the embarrassing bottom, Indonesia. The thing is that there are many ways of presenting data that can help to blow our own trumpet without blowing foul air at people whom we have no reason to dismiss. Why can't the column just post the top 5 best and leave it as that? Or is it our nature to tell the brutal truth? I am best, you are last!

Myth 148 - The Golden Period

Many people will be turned off by this phrase. Many will sneer at its pomposity. Many will rubbish it off. But believe me, it is true. This is not a myth. We are indeed in the golden period. Never in our history have so many people who upgraded from HDB flats to live in mansions. And not only one mansion but another 5 or 10 private properties. And some better still, a few more properties overseas, to hedge just in case Singapore sinks tomorrow. With so much money to play with, they can have all kinds of contingency plans. Never in our history have there been so much wealth that $600k is rubbished as small change. And there are many people who have so much money that they can say, 'What is $5 million or $10 million?' And never have there been so many people bathing in money, earning millions and millions. If this is not the golden year, then what is? And the phenomenon is not only happening here. The same thing is happening in Malaysia. Many are also laughing all the way to the banks. Many have exceeded the Swiss standard of living by all means. For those who are left behind and cannot experience the golden ray, it is their fault. This is a land of opportunities. Exploit the system to your benefit. If you can't then don't blame others. I don't blame others though I am not experiencing any of the golden ray. Just not talented enough.

Infidelity - The Andy Ho Twist

We spent some time last week speaking tongue in cheek about lust and the sweet young things and about ladies night. The issue was how lusty and alluring these young things were compared to the more mature and experienced ladies in their matronly age. Who would be of more value to lure men to spend money on them in night clubs and to sought their company? It was all about how sex sells. Andy Ho has given the issue a new twist in his article in the ST today. He compares the value of the womenfolks with the value of aged women like his grandmother. Interesting way to include grandmother into the discussion on human lust. Now I am amused. Cheers Andy, for the humour.

Golden Period or Golden Era

There is a big debate going on now. No they are not arguing whether it is a period or an era. It is about who owns the most gold. And gold is what people should be going after. The prophecy of Matilah is coming true. The fiat money is shrinking so fast that once it took $1 million to buy a home, now it is going to take $2 million. Once it took $3 to buy a plate of noodle, not it is $4.50. Once it used to be $4 or $5 a trip on a taxi, now it is $8 or $10. The safest thing to do now is to convert all the fiat money to gold. Soon we may be trading, buying or selling things with gold when the fiat currency turns into banana currency. Good luck to your $200k or $1 mil savings in the CPF when you lay your hands onto it. Now you know why your savings will never be enough. Better to ask CPF Board to allow depositors the choice to convert their savings into gold. Welcome to the golden period.

Myth 147 - The good news myth

The landlord goes to his tenants with the good news. The economy is doing very well. Property prices are going up. But he is going to increase the rental by $500 a month. And another good news, he is giving the tenants 3 month's of rebates. So for three months in a year he would waive the $500. And a sweetener. Every month he is going to provide one packet of 3 in 1 coffee free for his tenants.

Why are prices higher?

Lilian Lee Pei Lin went to Shop N Saves and found that all the prices are higher than it used to be. And there are many signboards shouting loudly that the store is absorbing the 2% GST increases. A pack of eggs used to be $4. Now it is $4.08. Anyone needs a calculator? Wondering why is she asking 'Why are prices higher?' It will be more fun is Shop N Save puts up another sign saying 'It is good for you.'

A surprising GDP growth

8.2% yoy growth in the second quarter and economists are revising the whole year estimates which can possibly be double digits. That's a big surprise. Would there be surprising news for the people, I mean the citizens, the good kind of surprises? Basically, what's in it for the people? Higher income, higher employment rate, higher prices, higher costs? Would the better than expected economic data be justification for raising fees and rates in good times, quickly before the feel good moment is gone? That may not be surprising. Not at all.

Red Mosque - Violence begets violence

The situation at the Red Mosque left Musharraf with little choice. When militants chose the path of violence, it must be met with violence. Procrastination or appeasement will only bring on more pressure to the Musharraf govt. He is left between the devil and the deep blue sea and not between god and prosperity. The storming of the Red Mosque is like a repeat of the Tian An Men Incident. It is controversial and will be attacked by one side and defended by another. Once violence has been promised, it must be delivered to quell further violence. And it needs a greater violence to stop it in its path. Unfortunately, the violence of muslim militants will not be stopped by the storming of the Red Mosque. The disease is too widespread, it is an international problem and will be supported by international movements and organisations. It will never end until one party is extinguished. A similar situation is festering in southern Thailand. Peaceful negotiation is no longer an option. It is now a fight between God and Allah.