Chingay Parade 2009 pictures

I have shot a few hundred pics of the Chingay Parade at the Padang. I will try to post as many of the pics here as possible over the next few weeks. My first set is a spread of the various groups of participants, both local and foreign performers. After this I will try to post a group each starting from the locals and ending with the guest performers. I have quite a bit of photos on the Thai, Filipinos, Indonesian, Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean and Indian participants. I could have a bit of others all mixed together. I was not able to cover all the other groups. I have seen some Europeans and Latin Americans if I am not mistaken. The Orchid Collection will temporarily be held back until this batch of Chingay pics runs out. Cheers and happy viewing.

Who formulated the Job Credit Scheme?

A big article was written today in the ST on the role and contribution of 5 talented young men and women in the Finance Ministry. They made submissions after submissions, simulations, computations to come out with this uniquely Singapore scheme to help employers during this economic recession. It was like a reduction in CPF contribution without a CPF cut. Their formulations went in and out of Tharman's office countless time before Tharman decided that that was it. In the process Tharman also gave his valuable inputs for the final product. It was an important piece of product that was key to the whole stimulus package. Now you see why the civil servants are very important as the main work horse of the govt. Without the civil servants, the govt is nothing or without the hands and legs, just a group of parliamentarians. The civil servants did all the major works and the politicians decide. In fact in many cases, the politicians decide first and the civil servants did the necessary. What kind of impact would it be if we change the civil servants and retain the politicians or if we change the politicians and retain the civil servants? Which is more dispensable? Ideally the two shall clap together.

Hire Americans and buy Americans

Obama is faced with a whole list of problems on his first day in office. And the first thing that irked him was the continued greed and irresponsibility in Wall Street. American financial CEOs are still paying themselves crazy in bonuses in times like this and when many of them are still being bailed out by the tax payers. It is time that minority shareholders start to claim back all the nonsensical bonuses paid to these CEOs including those in the past. They must be made to pay for the fiasco they have created. Many were highly irresponsible in their financial management of the organisations. Protectionism and giving jobs to Americans will also be a priority of Obama. Foreign workers will see their job opportunities cut or reduced. And many may have to go home. But hiring Americans has long been taking place in paradise. Maybe Obama should use us as a great example of hiring Americans. And he can also recommend that all the financial wizards of Wall Street who are jobless to hit direct to paradise where they will be welcomed. We definitely love the Americans, their skills, talents and high pay mentality. And they rob their organisations without anyone complaining.

True grit and true leadership

Seng Han Thong was badly torched and recovering in the hospital ward. Many would have been so depressed in his condition. But he did not. He had written a message to boost the morale of the workers in this depressing time. The message was encrypted in a Chinese New Year card he designed. "Mr Seng's message in the card read: 'Press on in the Year of the Oxen. Do not fear the opposing tides.' ...Mr Lim(Swee Say) described it as an example of how Singaporeans could exhibit 'positive energy' even in adversity. 'Even though he (Mr Seng) is recovering in hospital, he is also projecting his positive energy to the rest of us,' he said." This is what great leaders should possess, a strong spirit even in adversity, can be down but not out, and keep on standing up to the challenge.

The journalists have found a way around

While many are lamenting at the kind of news appearing in the old media, and many are wondering what is happening to the professionalism of the journalists, there is a glimmer of hope that things are not as dull as it appears to be. There may still be the coverage of pictures showing what the average Singaporeans may be doing, like walking to the market, hanging clothes etc, or there may be the great events like which celebrity is getting married or what theyare eating for dinner, there are still real gems in the midst of the papers. They have found their way around to write the conscience piece, the social justice piece, the wrongs of our society etc etc.. There is the art of not saying but saying, saying but not saying. Or another way of putting it, to say a little and let the rest of the story unfolds in the minds of the inquisitives. We have some ingenious reporting recently, very innocent and very ordinary. The reactions were far from ordinary, at times earth shaking. So do not underestimate the professionals. They know how to wield the mighty pen to create the impact intended. Journalism is not dead yet. The media, old or new, has a very important role to play in educating the masses, reporting what must be reported and keeping everyone informed of the good, the bad and the ugly. Responsible journalism just takes on a different guise. Just look out for the subtle messages.

Dismantling the walls of Elitism

Meritocracy has done us good. In it purest form, meritocracy is fair, devoid of discrimination of any dimension. Anyone who merits to rise the stratosphere deserves to be there. But there is no pure form of meritocracy. Intended or not, there are barriers that would not allow the ablest to rise to the top. Some are social and economic, some are political. Meritocracy protected by barriers intentionally erected to safeguard a small group of people will lead to a bad form of elitism. We are beginning to witness more and more barriers being erected to protect the elite in the name of meritocracy and making stratosphere their own playground, forever. The elite are not only keeping the troughs to themselves, they are feeding on many troughs at the same time when one or two troughs will be more than enough to make them fat. This is an extreme kind of greed and will not be good in the long run. Just like the end game in the animal farm, greed and elitism will eventually be a sore point that will lead to grievances and opposition, which will lead to suppression and open revolt. When would the people rise up to notice that such barriers are not in the people’s general interest and even offensive? When will the people think that such barriers should be dismantled to level the playing field, to allow democracy and meritocracy to really thrive in our socio political system, untainted by unwarranted barriers?

Govt engaging bloggers in cyberspace

Today we are hearing that the govt may engage bloggers officially in cyberspace. That is good for communication and relations with the public. It is time to do away with the attitude that if the public want to speak to the govt they must follow certain procedures, go to the designated place and time, and agency. Otherwise the govt will not bother. The govt decides when, where, how and who to engage. Other than official engagement, has the govt been engaging the bloggers? Are there cyber insurgents out there demolishing the bloggers and attacking the bloggers in shameful ways? Probably not. It is unbecoming and shameful for govt to engage in such activities. What about unofficial groups that are somehow linked to the govt and went about attacking bloggers knowing that they are whiter than white? Are there such people creating a nuisance in people's blogs, attacking bloggers with govt blessing or with the blessing of people linked to the govt? I would think that it is fair for insurgents to counter insurgents, for engaging low lives to attack low lives. But I find it disgusting that my blogs and forums, two highly decent and respectable sites, are infested by low lives all out to attack me. I really hope that these low lives are in no way linked to the govt, directly or indirectly. If yes, it is terribly shameful. Our honourable govt with honourable people will never have sanctioned such distasteful and dishonourable activities and engaging such disgusting characters with pay to do such things. These must be pests that have no connections with the govt or links to the govt in any ways. Let's march towards a civil society where the people and govt can engage in decent discussion in cyberspace, free from pests and low lives.

The golden ox ploughing heaven

The golden ox is no ordinary ox. It doesn't plough the earth, it is set to plough the heavenly realms. It will turn heaven and earth upside down. Great changes can be expected. We have seen many changes around the world, from nations to individuals. Empires will rise and fall, fortunes will change hands. Many are still in a state of shock that family inheritance in the millions and billions could be wiped out in a matter of days. Tycoons became paupers. Power changes hands. And these are only the beginning of the year and more can be expected. How would the golden ox affect the power and wealth combination in our little island? Would we see the same fate affecting the world around us, when the rich becomes poor and power were lost? Such forces are more powerful than the economic forces of the mortal world. When the stars are not aligned correctly, nothing can be done to stop the change. Be prepare for more changes to come.

Of leadership and management

Just after my post on leadership and scholars, the ST has a full page article on leadership and management or true leaders and fake leaders by Tan Hui Yee. His article was based on the views of a Harvard Professor Dean Williams who was once attached to the NPB. Among the great observations of Prof Williams included this comment, 'Simply by virtue of you having an education at Harvard, or anywhere else for that matter, doesn't mean you are going to provide leadership. I can guarantee that even though I have very bright students in my class at Harvard, I'm actually disappointed in a good percentage of them for their unwillingness to go out into the world to provide leadership on many difficult challenges.' This instantly reminds Singaporeans of the leadership role taken on by Tan Kin Lian when leadership was needed. The professor also said this, 'Real leadership gets people to face the hard truths and take ownership of the problem. Counterfeit leadership, meanwhile, is preoccupied with dominance and perpetuates the idea that one party has all the answers.' Now what does he meant by this? He went on to acknowledge his respect for the leadership of LKY. That is the only leader he could find in Singapore. Sad, but it tells a lot about what he thinks of the leadership we are having or lacking. We have great managers, plenty of them. Leadership is still lacking and no where to be found. I think we should forgive him for he could not see nor understand what we meant by leadership, uniquely Singapore style. Only Singaporeans can appreciate our kind of leadership.

Of leaders and scholars

What does a nation need in terms of leadership in the govt? Why do I use the term leadership instead of something else? Leadership is something that is expected among the leaders of the world. It is good and desirable, that leaders should also be scholars, something in the league of philosopher kings. Often leadership and talent are found but in different people, not both in one. Scholars must not be confused with leadership. Many scholars are mere scholars, academically brilliant and destined to be in the academia where they shined like brilliant stars. Some scholars may even find the life of a top administrator or CEOs not their cup of tea. Leadership of a country is not simply a piece of paper with straight As. Leadership is not simply being CEOs of large corporations or ministries. Leadership of a country demands more. Talent, devotion, commitments, sacrifice and care for the people and nation. A nice piece of paper is simply not enough. Putting on a uniform, pinning a few stars on the shoulder of a soldier does not make him a leader or a general. Just like wearing a robe does not make one a religious leader. There are many fakes walking the streets. At the national level we need true leaders, leaders of men, not pen pushers or administrators. A simple example is to put our academic talents to stand side by side with a real leader, no need to stand beside Obama or Putin, any of their mayors or congressmen will do, and see the difference. I must say that we have excellent administrators. I am not sure about the term national leaders. In the World Bloggers Association, everyone is called a king. Does the title make the person a king? Far from it. The title is just a convenience to make a person sounds great in that position. Remove the title and see what he is in his true self. A true leader commands respect and lead. And he can only do so if the people are willing to follow him. Not because he has straight As and a big title attached to him.

Is the election of Obama a mistake?

The Americans were joyous in their election of Obama into the highest office in their country. Many people around the world too received this news in good spirit. Behind closed doors in the guarded confines of our elite, I suspect this event was received with a big frown. How could an average man, with average achievements, without a first class honours from an Ivy League university, be qualified for such a job? He would not be qualified even to run for our Presidency. He is simply not good enough. The issue is that with our elitist system and assumptions, no ordinary man can even smell the highest office of the country. It is reserved for the elite. All kinds of elitist criteria have been thrown into the path to prevent the lesser mortals from getting through. Not even in the kinds of Obama. Definitely no George Bush. The Americans are simply too slack, too complacent, to allow any Tom, Dick and Harry to take office in the White House. They should adopt our system and choose the best men or women to do that job. They could introduce the same criteria as ours. Then perhaps America will be a country that will be forever great. Then their Presidents, Congressmen and Senators could stand as equals with our elite. Under the current selection criteria, they could not hold a candle to our MPs and Ministers, and our President. Ours are great achievers with a string of pristine academic qualifications and achievements. Our leaders will definitely stand a shoulder above theirs, not physically of course. But there is a hitch if the Americans were to adopt our meritocratic system. They would have to pay them according to their talents and qualifications. In America, such talents will be commanding a few hundred millions a year. They will likely to come from Wall Streets, the CEOs of the financial institutions like Citigroup, Lehman, Goldman Sach or the property companies of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or the top lawyers. I think the Americans cannot afford to pay for such talents, and it is better for them not to. Their leaders should pay more visits to this paradise to learn from our leaders. In monetary terms, we are the best paid and thus the best leaders in the world. Obama is not even paid as much as our Ministers of State or our Mayors. He is simply not good enough for paradise.

Finally it is happening

We have been blogging for so long, finally it is happening. It is a miracle in the making. Unbelieveable that we can see it in our life times. We have been complaining about using the reserves to help the people. We have cried for public transport fares to be lowered. We have been cursing at the high rentals of commercial/business space. We have been complaining about the high salaries of top civil servants and political leaders. We have been up to our neck with the high cost of living. Amazing that all these gripes will now be answered. It appears that the govt is listening and taking the people’s complains seriously. The govt is digging into the reserves, lowering public transport fares, lowering rentals, lowering salaries of top civil servants and political leaders, and overall, the cost of living should come down a little. Even being insensitive to the feelings and sufferings of the lesser mortals will be taken to task. Cannot sneer at the lesser mortals. We may see and hear lesser brutal truths and the losers will not be embarrassed publicly. This is a good start for more changes to come. Who knows, top civil servants and politicians may be banned from attending public functions in Mercs and BMWs. They may have to buy a small Japanese car for such activities to level down with the lesser mortals. At least the lesser mortals will not see the flaunting of wealth in their faces. It is a good sign that the govt is starting on the right note, to feel more for the people and to be more with the people. No more we the super talents and you the losers. No more we deserve to be paid world class salaries and your wages must be frozen to keep the workers competitive. Happy Lunar New Year to all.

We watch, as the house crumbles...

We are entering the golden era. We are entering a crisis, an exceptional crisis that needs exceptional budget and solutions. Is there a contradiction? Our economy is in a recession, immediately after the proclamation of golden era. We did not see it coming. We watch as the minibond crisis unfolded and the financial industry crippling with toxic products. We did not see it coming. We watch as the stock market collapsed. We did not see it coming. No, wrong. We did not know that it has collapsed. We still think that it is fine. We watch as medical cost shot through the roof, rental and property prices gone berserk. No we did not see anything wrong with them. It is good, healthy and normal in a free market. We watch as top civil servants and ministerial salaries gone to heaven. We cannot see anything wrong with it. It is good for the system. In fact the salaries should go up further. We watch as the cost of living, public transportation, etc ate into the little income of the lesser mortals. We did not think it matters. We think they are necessary to keep the system running. We believe it is all affordable. We watch as the job market is taken over by foreigners. We celebrate the diversities and the arrival of new talents. We did not see the consequences to our citizens. We want our citizens to embrace and invite the foreigners into their homes. We believe all these are good for the country. Where is the contradiction? No, there is no contradiction. The best example to prove this is in the ST today. It has two pictures of a 59 year old man and a 21 year old undergraduate commenting on the dipping into our reserves. Here are their comments. David Ching, 59, old businessman, 'These are really hard times. If you don't make use of the reserves now, I don't know when is a hard time...' Charlene Sng, 21, undergraduate. ' $4.9b is a lot of money. I don't quite feel the pinch of the recession yet so I don't agree now is the right time....We should at least wait till things get worse.' Both are right in their perceptions of things. They live in different worlds, different lifestyles and different roles. One has to support a whole family and pay all the bills. The other only studies and receives pocket money for her own expenses. You can imagine what the demigods or immortals will say. 'Now is the best time to spend and enjoy the good life. We can go on long long leave. Everything is fine.' And the best part of all these, while we are watching the house crumbling, nothing is being done to prevent it from hitting the ground. For they could not see the problem and thus no need to do anything. Everything will be fine when the economy of the world recovers. Just wait. The resilience budget will buy us some time. We have done everything right, and put in the best systems with the best people in place. We need to pray that gods and demigods are kind and will do the right things. Pray, pray harder. Ignore Gurmit if he says 'Don't pray, pray.' In god we trust.

Frugality is a false virtue

Someone sent me an email about how frustrated teachers are today. And the in the email were several works of students that made my day. I quote a few sentences from this one. ‘I am a boy. I am a boy because I am not a girl. A boy is a boy. I have two mothers and one father. They are mad. I am also mad. I hope they have plenty of money. And when they die I can have all their money….’ Actually I will love to have such students. The life of teachers must be hilarious. There was this MP who was invited to a trade association dinner. He started his guest of honour speech this way. ‘A car is a car. A small car is also a car. I drive a small car. You all drive big cars. My small car takes me here. Your big cars also take you here. I am smarter, right? Oh, he did not say all these lah. I just made it up. I think the MP was trying to impress the big businessmen that just because they were driving big Mercs and BMWs, they don’t make any difference to him. Maybe he was trying to educate them on frugality and not be show offs. The new catchphrase is boastful. But he forgot that lesser mortals are just lesser mortals. All show offs. He can continue to drive his small Japanese car, the lesser mortals will still want to flash around in their big continental limousines, yes to show off. Oh, I remember someone telling me that in paradise only the rabbis drive around in Rolls Royces.

Gems of Parliament

'Tapping into past reserves, instead of exhausting current savings, allows the Govt to act quickly to deal with future challenges.' The above is quoted from Jeremy Au Yong's article, quoting Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Don't use current savings. Use the reserves. This is another logic that lesser mortals can never comprehend. CPF, do you understand the logic? If you do, please allow the people to use their savings in the CPF in times like this instead of their little savings in their bank accounts. And many don't even have any savings and can only rely on their CPF savings.

World Bloggers Association

I have just founded the World Bloggers Association(WBA). I have proclaimed myself as the Emperor of this Association. All bloggers of the world shall now be my members and they must pay homage to me daily. They are also to pay a blogging fee for the right to blog in the free world of bloggers. The first two bloggers paying homage to me shall be appointed as the King of Eastern Blogosphere and King of Western Blogosphere. Those following behind will be appointed as Kings in their respective regions. And for those who are late in joining, they have my permission to appoint themselves as Kings of whatever their fancies. Redbean, Emperor, World Bloggers Association (WBA)

Extraordinary budget working

Public transport companies are going to cut fares! The sun is rising from the west! Did I hear it right? This is an industry whose cost can only go up and not down, so how can it drop fare prices and remain profitable? The extraordinary budget to the rescue. They are going to pass the savings to the commuters. Without this budget, prices will continue to go one way, up. Public transport is the only business that is dependent on fuel price, labour cost and equipment renewal. This is an unique industry. No other industry is affected by fuel price, labour and equipment renewal cost. That is probably why the cost of other industries do not affect the prices of their goods and services. Oh, there is another industry where the price must go up. Rentals and property prices. They must be dependent on fuel, labour and equipment renewal as well. I nearly miss this one. Oops, actually I miss a lot more industries and services. They all depend on fuel price, labour cost and equipment and the prices must go up. And there are industries or services that don't depend on fuel prices or equipment renewal, but the price of their services must also go up? How so? On the contrary, there are industries that depend on all 3 but the price of their goods and services only come down, or can come down. How so? Ah, extraordinary men with extraordinary skills and ideas. Only real extraordinary men can provide better services, better quality goods at lower prices or at the same price. The rest are all bull even if they called themselves supertalents. The only thing super about their talent is to collect super pay.

Where is the wow factor?

We have this extraordinary budget, marked by the first time that we have to dip into the reserves. Wow? Where is the wow factor? Why don't people get this feeling but feeling ordinary? $2.6b for family and $4.4b for homes. These together add up to $7b. Quite a substantial sum. If only they be given to the less than 1 million Singaporean households directly with each household getting $7,000, would it be more meaningful in times like this? And confining it to citizens only, the number of households could be just 500,000 and each household can receive $14,000 each. This will be the kind of angpow that will give the wow in the budget. The amount of effort put into dividing this sum under the budget is great and complicated. The amount given is so diversified that it would not create any ripple effect on the recipients. It is extraordinary to hand out such a big budget but not getting the feeling that it is a great relief from the people.

The exciting blogosphere

How could the old media(TOM) match the excitement in blogosphere? Last few days have been tremendously invigorating, amusing and exhilarating. The cooking class and the lesser mortal episodes were given full coverage, something that TOM can never do. There were plenty of vinegar, chilly, pepper and salt added to make the cooks irresistible to savour. TOM must be able to report them as profusely as the new media or they will lose out on the readership. Unfortunately this is something they cannot keep up with. But credit must go to TOM for firing the first shot. The new media simply followed through, seized the initiative and covered grounds that were taboo to TOM. And TOM could do nothing about it except to watch silently on the sideline. Come to think of it, if TOM and the new media could work hand in hand, wow, it will be an exciting new recipe.

Extraordinary budget in extraordinary time

$20.5b of aid package for the people and industry to tie over a difficult period. How did we end up in such a state that needs extraordinary measures? Don't we have extraordinary men and women doing extraordinary things to keep us in good shape? Or are we still looking for extraordinary men and women to make sure that we don't end up in such a state in the first place? Where were the extraordinary men and women? Enjoying their Porches and Louis Vuittons. I heard that these are the things to accumulate once a person has arrived. But these are common stuff now. Everyone has it. The next statement of having arrived is to attend Le Cordon Bleu culinary courses. That is a creative way to separate from the ordinary.