The Yodas will not go away

This is what I have heard over the last few days. Singapore needs the Yodas to continue to prosper. What it does not say, or also say, is that the new leaders are just as hopeless since the day they took over the country. And they are just a bunch of never grow up babies, inept leaders that need the Yodas to hold their hands forever. But who are saying such things? It seems that there are plans to institutionalised the forever presence of Yodas in our system. Come on, let’s not run down our A Team as if they are really a bunch of good for nothings. They are men and women in their prime, with many years of experience running the country. They are fathers and mothers in their own right. No longer sucking pacifiers while in bed. How many of you really think that we need the Yodas to be around forever? How many of you endorse the Yoda system? The Yoda system is not exactly bad. It retains the oldies for their experience, talents, fading memories and wisdom as resource for the younger generations. But they must not think that their views, values and ideas are forever relevant. Some may be obsolete or outdated or dysfunctional. The other part I find it unpleasant is the mismatch of cost and gratifications. The Yodas are awfully rich people. While the rest of the workers are getting pay cuts and smaller pay checks as they aged. The Yodas are demanding more or expecting more when their contributions are getting lesser. Sometimes I wonder why they need so much money when they can't do much with them. The gist is that they can contribute and enjoy the glory and power, but don't add to the cost of upkeeping and maintaining their presence. For those who do not know what is the Yoda system, it is about a system of elders, like the Jedi master in Star Wars, hiding in the cave to live for several hundreds, undead, but very powerful.

Our history book is flawed.

I happened to meet this unhappy father who was disgusted with the untruths told in our history books taught in schools. He explained that today, the history books said Lee Kuan Yew is the father of modern Singapore and he won the independence for Singapore. What's wrong with that? Presumably his history book told a different story. He said in his days, Lim Yew Hock was the one who won independence for Singapore. I am not sure how many people read this version of history in school. I did not and neither did I know of anyone with this interpretation of history. I was telling myself, hey, I must have been taught wrongly as a history and PS student. I told him that the British only gave Marshall self government and a table next to the staircase for his office as Chief Minister. Marshall was so insulted that he protested and subsequently resigned. Lim Yew Hock became the next Chief Minister with internal self government. Not independence. We broke from the British by becoming part of Malaysia in 1963 but gained full independence from Malaysia in 1965. Now he was not happy and not convinced with my version of our history. He threw up his credential as a Constitutional Law expert and that his facts were right. Lim Yew Hock was the one who won independence for Singapore. Self government is independence. I don't know how many Singaporeans are still living with this version of Singapore's history?

An issue of tolerance or inclusiveness?

I was out the whole day and have just rushed through the news. And Aware is still hogging the limelight as if nothing else matters anymore. And I must say that this saga is getting more interesting with more exciting angles coming into focus. We are now seeing the apathetic and disinterested Singaporeans coming forward to say, hey look, this is not the Singapore that we want and we want to change that. We do not want to see the social mores of this island going down into the gutters. Is this good or bad? One angle is that we do not want any particular interest group, be it racial or religious, to come out and impose its values on the general population. Are the activists in the new Exco of Aware pushing such an agenda or moving into such a direction? For the time being they are not. The govt is beginnng to show its concern with this development. So far it is only commenting on tolerance and be respectful of other people's views and choices. Nothing alarming yet and it does not see Aware presenting itself as a moral authority to replace the govt. As long as the contentious issues are kept within the association, the govt may just want to leave it alone to tackle its own problems. But should the govt detect anything more serious in nature than some individuals wanting to exert their influences in a social club, it may be forced to take a stand. We are seeing membership shooting to a level never seen before. Alarm signals will be raised the moment the govt sees its role in maintaining religious harmony and an authority on social behaviour being compromised. Andthe uneasiness will come forth once the membership each party could muster reaches a dangerous level. For the time being it is just a show and nothing serious. And the govt will be seriously in trouble should it see any interest group trying to usurp the govt's role in establishing certain decent social behavious. When a group like Aware starts to take on a bigger role, we can expect fireworks.

Demand for news that you pay for

Reading news in cyberspace is free and thus one cannot demand what should be written. But one still has a choice of choosing what one wants to read and which blog or forum to go to. In the case of commercial media, one pays for the news and has a right to demand on what to read or stop paying. Are the commercial media delivering to the consumers what they paid for? I would want to read more about the family of Mas Selamat and how they are coping with his disappearance. I would also like to know about all the big earners, not just the CEOs, but the chairman, board of directors, the top 10 senior executives of high paying organisations. Would the media do some justice by serving their paid customers better with news they want to read and not news that are mountains made out of mole hills? I accept that what is important and readable is a personal preference. And for people who desire to read saucy news and gossips, they know which media to go to. And for those who want something more serious in nature, they too know which media to pay for. These choices are similar in cyberspace. There is a wide spread of blogs with different agendas to feed the big variety of readers, gossips, rumours etc all for free.

Storms in a sick society

The storms are here and to stay. For more than a week, the public are being exposed to the unfortunate sagas of the monk with expensive taste and love for materialism, and the increasing tension between groups of educated women clashing over values of gays, lesbians and Christianity. The best part is that these will be here to stay. No one is questioning what religious people should be or expected to be. And now there is a new interpretation that modernisation, materialism, moneyism are all acceptable norms in religion. The other battle is about tolerance to defiant lifestyles versus traditional or conservative values. Someone asked me if liberalism is equivalent to conservatism, to allow, accept with enthusiasm, or to let live without kicking a row. While the storms are brewing, the celebration or revelation of such tussles as part and parcel of modern life is a sure sign that the society is sick. And while there is no sign of how these sicknesses will be addressed and put right, we shall not be consumed by these raging storms and forget about the bigger issues that we have been talking about and feeling bitter or unhappy about. The old issues of billions of dollars lost, the outrageous high cost of living that are stuffed to the people must not be forgotten while we watch the battles that are going on.

Aware - Kan Seng's new challenge

I did not want to indulge myself in this catfight which many think is a damn great issue that deserves the attention of the whole nation. But since the media deemed it so important to devote pages and pages of seriously written articles on it, let me just add my few words to the episode. Membership was a paltry 200+ before the new members flooded in for the AGM to stage a successful coup de tat. It then claimed a membership of about 400. Now a counter coup is being planned and membership has shot up to 600+. I reckon both sides will be mustering for more support in the coming EGM and membership may even hit 800 or 1000. And the mood in the EGM is not going to be just a friendly debate. We can expect a fierce cat fight. Just hope that it would not turn into a riot and spread into the streets. Kan Seng better position all this men to cordon off the area and be prepared to fire tear gas and water cannons. For good measures, some canines will come in very useful in a cat fight.

Shameless covering ups????

No, I am not referring to the two silly twits that walked around naked to think that it was cool. I am referring to the obvious, for those who can see them, past and present, the things that were covered up and a different truth being pronounced. Now, are you with me? Never mind. What is very shameful and destructive is that cover ups can never be covered up in this internet age when someone will know the truth and will spill the beans. Cover ups will only destroy the integrity of the system as well as the individuals, their moral standing and respectability as an individual. People in high offices, if they indulged themselves in cover ups or making misleading statements will only fall flat on their own faces. It is so stupid to try to hide the truth. The truth must be allowed to surface and the guilty shall be found guilty. The system and country is going to the pigs if we allowed the acts of covering up to be a norm in our society. Let those who have to fall... fall. Carrying them and covering them up in blankets will not do. It will not only lead to cynicism, it will lead to mistrust and a corrupt and bankrupt system of values and ethics.

Motor Insurance Scam

No evidence does not mean that there is no fraud or cheating or false claims. And the culprits are a whole lot of people involved in the chain if what the insurance people claimed to know. And everyone is happy. Too difficult to unwind the mess. Insurers simply pay up or face an expensive lawsuit. Cheaper to pay and charge it to the innocent motorists in the form of insurance premiums. What the hell is going on? What kind of country are we becoming when scams of such a huge nature affecting hundreds of thousands of innocent motorists could just be ignored with a shrug of the shoulder? Are we going to accept that this is the societal norm, that cheating can go on because it is too troublesome to nail the culprits? Actually I don't think it is that difficult. Hang a few of them, jail them or make them pay hefty fines and put their faces on the front page of the newspaper, be they CEOs, workshop owners, doctors, insurance surveyors or lawyers or the motorists involved in the scam. We cannot become another Nigeria! Is our country going to the pigs?

Ho Kwon Ping -Spore beyond LKY

There is a followup article on this issue in the media by Ho Kwon Ping. This is a much better piece of things to read than the voluminous pages on cat fights. At least it is something worthy of the money we paid for. Basically the article examined the current status quo and what it would be before it arrives, a kind of thinking ahead, of the problems that may hit us. Ho Kwon Ping's first question is about PAP's ability to 'produce leaders of sufficient calibre that people will continue to support the unique one party dominant system' . Sadly, from all the signs we are seeing, from the policies and decisions made by the present generation of leaders, quite a few are simply doing a great disservice to themselves and their image as leaders. Oh, please feel free to disagree with my observation. It's ok. His second question is whether the future generation can find their way ahead without LKY and the PAP. He has faith that the new generations are much able and capable of taking care of themselves, something that we should be reassured. But this is contrary to the myth that there is no political talents and our best team is so so. See the contradiction? If we can't find any good calibre people to lead today, how can we ever hope of the leaderless people finding their way through choppy times? But I would like to agree with Ho Kwon Ping's optimism, and that in reality there are many able and capable people at the side line and they will step forward when needed. But sadly again, they were not coming forward exactly because of the current system that is hostile or at least inhospitable to their presence and their challenge to the chosen leadership. The system that brought us so far today will be the system that will bring us down, or will be done away with when the opportune time comes. I must qualify that it will not be thrown out, lock, stock and barrel. Only the bad policies and myths.

Electronic voting system for Singapore?

This is about the most perfect voting system we can think of. We should seriously consider this despite all the worries about how computer can be programmed to produce whatever results the programmer wants it. I read Ng E Jay's blog saying that the US is concerned about such a move. Fear not. Though computer is reputed to produce results according to the input, GIGO, it still boils down to human integrity and honesty. If we can have the most honest and high integrity officers operating the system, we can be sure that the system will function according to what it is supposed to do. Trust me, computer voting is not only convenient but also efficient and accurate. Tust me. I will leave it to everyone to trust the administrators of the system. This is very personal.

Singapore beyond Lee Kuan Yew

3 prominent politically well versed citizens spoke about a Singapore after LKY in a seminar organised by NTU yesterday. Mahbubani, Cherian George and Ho Kwon Ping gave their takes on what Singapore will become by then. There were concerns and optimism that all the things that needed to be done have been done to ensure that Singapore will continue to survive after LKY. But the 'huge political vacuum' created by LKY's sheer presence is very telling on whether anyone can fill his shoe. To make such a remark, it shows that after all these years, not a single one that is being groomed is close to fill the gap. Is this what we called a very successful leadership grooming and transfer process? Why is the best and ablest still fall so fall short of the expectation? Ho Kwon Ping made this observation, "This is not a pent up society waiting for the demise of the strongman in order to overturn highly unpopular laws." He added, 'Rather, the Govt has the support of the politically vital heartland in its pragmatic, incremental approach to change, even as it responds to tomorrow's generation.' These remarks suggest that Ho Kwon Ping has a lot of faith that nothing will change and the heartland is all behind the unpopular laws of the Govt. I am wondering how he came to such a conclusion. My reading is just contrary to his observation. But mine is based on my own reading of the mood of the people and what I have heard and read. The very fact that there is great fear of a split within the PAP is an indication of the differences in the views of the current leadership. And if that be true, how big is the schism and would it be big enough to overturn most of the unpopular policies? As for the heartlanders, they are very reticent in what they feel except for the kopitiam talks and what one heard inside a cab. I have my doubts that the present heartlanders are the same heartlanders of yesterday.

Should MPs be allowed to have full time employment?

The recent case of Josie Lau revealed the startling discovery that employees holding senior positions in an organisation should carefully review their ability and time commitment if they are to take another important appointment outside their organisation. This is particulary pertinent if both appointments are senior appointments that demand more of their time and effort. A good reference point is an appointment like the President of Aware and a VP position in a big organisation. If such a combination is deemed taxing enough on the appointment holder and to be discouraged, any combination that has more senior appointments than these must be avoided, if not, be disallowed. The rationale of time, commitment and responsibility to wear two such important hats is obvious. Can they really do a good job without compromising on the quality of their work? Unless such a fear is unfounded. Then we look at the job of an MP. Surely this must be at least 10x or 100x more demanding and taxing on the MP than the President of Aware. And what make things worst is that many of the MPs are holding more senior positions than just a VP. Many are CEOs with the responsibilities of the whole organisation. Should the issue of part time MP be reviewed in the light of such concerns? How can such an important appointment be done by part timers?

Son versus Son

This is the gist of an article by Seah Chiang Nee in www.littlespeck.com. I agree with him that this is a good thing for the political development of Singapore and a maturing political elite. I can only hope that the contest will be a contest of ideas between decent men, between leaders of the people, and not a contest of how to fix each other up. Singaporeans deserve honourable men and women to be our leaders.

TOM showing what it can do

Two articles in the mainstream papers show how important it is for the media to take on the role of a watchdog for the people by reporting on news that are important to the general public. One article is about '1 man, 152 board seats'. The fact speaks for itself. No matter what the justifications, the only thing the public can conclude is that this man is of exceptional talent, maybe a demigod. Singapore should have more of such supertalents and we will beat the rest of the world with hands down. The commoners can just carry on with their routine jobs and make sure they don't take on more than one job, even if one is a voluntary job that does not warrant full time commitment. Another important report is on the pathetic state of the motor insurance industry. Both Goh Eng Yeow and Christopher Tan have done a good job in fishing out information that were there but not pick up by anyone or any media. Without bringing these to light, these could be buried for centuries to come without anyone being aware of what is going on. In the case of the motor insurance, accountability and the stick must be used to whack the guilty party, be it insurers, lawyers, workshops, drivers or even the investigating officers. Like Kan Seng said, go down heavily on the culprits and bring justice and fairness to the decent majority of drivers who have been made to pay for the crimes of these dastardly violators of the system. The govt owes the people the responsibility to clean up this mess and bring order to the industry. The crimes perpetuated by false claims and fraudulent accusations and charges are no worst off than the crimes of the loan sharks. I read the ordeal of Henry Phua, who had to be dragged into a long legal tussel and at times even warned as if he was the guilty party. He would have been guilty if he had no resources or the persistence to see justice done. And we would have another miscarriage of justice on an innocent soul. And the parties that when through the whole mischievious acts, apparently without any clue of the truth until the liar owned up. The law must come down hard on everyone who is responsible for the stupidity of letting the case drag on for so long. Bring justice to bear on the perpetrators of misjustice. Let this be made an example to warn those who still think they can continue with the game of deceit and trickery. The public deserves justice and must not be made to pay through their noses through no fault of theirs. I hope no one is sleeping on this issue.

What are Singaporeans being taken for?

The media had been inundated with spurious reports of cat fights as if Singaporeans are nosey people and have nothing better to do. And that cat fights are really something that is worth reading and talking about. Maybe there is nothing better to print or too much space to fill. But these are all so petty stuff in my view. It is just my view? The other aspect that is more disturbing is that after all these years of development, from illiteracy, poverty to a first world country, the mindset of a helpless, unthinking and stupid people is still unchanging. Did anyone notice any difference or agree with my observation? I am writing based on the comments and attitude coming out from Parliament. Every papa and mama in Parliament are thinking of how well to look after all these lost kids that never grow up and did not know how to take care of themselves. They wanted to set all kinds of rules to make sure the kids are not exploited or bullied in the streets. Even the little boys and girls who suddenly walked into Parliament also think so, that they are now the mamas and papas with heavy responsibilities in their hands. They fear for the safety of the kids, and the only wise thing to do is to set more rules for them to follow in case they misbehaved. Singaporeans are the forever never grow up kids that need to be told how to behave, how to walk, eat and sleep. And the lines are drawn very clearly for them. It is all for their own good. Without these papas and mamas running their lives Singaporeans will be lost, helpless and their lives in jeopardy. Thank god, or thank the papas and mamas, Singaporeans are so well looked after. It is also like when someone puts on a robe, he is instantly a well informed and enlighten person to dispense wisdom of the world for the laymen and laywomen..

All the hype about nothing

Not exactly nothing, but about 400 women in Aware. That is all the members in the association and the whole country is aroused. The main media went to town with something like 6 pages devoted to the association and recent happenings after non stop daily reportings of the grab for power. And even DBS has to come out in public to rebuke its senior staff for the gumption to accept the appointment as the President of the association. It is only an association of women for god sake, not an association of witches and vampires that could turn the country upside down or cast a spell on anyone that is considered enemy. Have we gone overboard over a none issue? Oops, sorry ladies, it is big issue.

Tea Party protest

The Americans are organizing a nation wide Tea Party protest against the govt of Obama for high taxes and high spending. For the size of America, the protest could easily reach out to millions of Americans and millions will be on the streets or assembling in public areas. Just imagine what would happen when they turn violent and go rioting? They will be out of control and there will be damages to properties and lost of lives. A highly dangerous thing to do. But the protest will go on in America like another Sunday church gathering. And very likely there will be no rioting except for a lot of noise and the people letting off steam in a boisterous way. Compare this with the dangerous cycling event that the WP was trying to organize in East Coast Park. Unimaginable. We were so lucky that such an event was not allowed to be staged, or else it could become dangerous to public safety and security. Now why are Singaporeans so dangerous and not allowed to assemble in groups of 4 or more? Basically Singaporeans are still a bit wild, irresponsible, reckless, a bit uncivilized or primitive I supposed, prone to violence, very typical of unruly Asians. Better if they can be caged for their own good. It will take years before Singaporeans will become civilized, to be like the Americans and be allowed to stage peaceful protest in the public. Singaporeans need to be educated to be peace loving and responsible. We need to learn a lot from civilized countries like the US. One day we will be civilized and will be allowed to stage peaceful protest. One day, but this one day will not be here sooner or in the foreseeable future. The thought of letting Singaporeans on the loose is so frightening. Don’t even think of it.

Are we capable of thinking for ourselves? II.

The example of the public demonstration in Thailand has been quoted as a bad thing. How could the people demonstrate in the streets, destroying public properties and hurting people, disrupting the economy and breaking down public order and security? Think for a moment, why did all these happen? At face value all these are bad, no doubt. But without understanding the background to what is happening to Thailand and how the Red Shirts were forced into the streets, one will be making a false or wrong judgement on the people and event. Violent demonstators! Guilty, no good, lock them up. Beat them up. Let me post a hypothetical case, say an event happening here in the future. A President Bum is installed at the Istana. He is not happy with a popularly elected PM and his cabinet. He incited the army generals and some groups to wear Yellow Shirts to demonstrate in the streets. He eventually forced the popularly elected PM and govt out of power and installed his own men as PM and govt, without the people electing them. Should the people then demonstrate in public about such an abuse of power or a violation of the democratic system of electing the govt? And if the people do demonstrate, is it bad, is it wrong? Or should the people just accept everything that has happened, do not break the law, do not demonstrate and disturb the peace. Peace and public security are paramount and under no circumstances should people be allowed on the streets. What you think?

Are we capable of thinking for ourselves?

This is the perpetual question that Singaporeans should be asking themselves. Or would they bother? The recent incidents of the Aware election and the Red Shirts in Thailand are two cases that we should be pondering. Or should we let others tell us what to believe, what is good, what is right and what should the way things should be? Let me start with the Aware case. The public was being bombarded with the following positions. The new committee are unknown, no track record, no experience, dunno what they are capable off, and more importantly, they may be up to no good. The only talents and acceptable people to run Aware must be the old horses. Only those who have been there have the right to be there or the right people to be there. Anyone who wants to fit in must be of the same mould or be acceptable to the old horses. A very familiar story. Why can't the public give the new committee a chance to prove themselves, the benefit of the doubt? Why can't the new committee ended as the better team eventually? I am not making any judgement on them without seeing what they have done. They may have different views, values and different ways of doing things. Are these really bad? Do we want to accept that there is only one way, one set of values, and only one group of people possess all the rights and goods and virtues that there is no talent left outside this group to provide a better alternative? Is change always bad? I remember some eminent people said that change is the essence of life. No change no progress. With change, there will be disruption and readjustment, but not necessarily bad. Give the new committee a chance. Give the new talents a chance. Or we have already prejudged that they have no talent? The fact that they could wrestle control from the incumbents proved that they are good and mean business. At least they are able of outfoxing the old talents in their own game.

Aware's new chief from DBS

The new committee of Aware is headed by a VP from DBS, Josie Lau Meng Lee. The team looks very able and respectable. Why is it that so many comments have been made which in a way have pronounced them guilty or with ill intent? Why is it that people only think of the negative, that these people are up to no good? Guilty before proven! Anyway, looks like Josie may not be able to continue with the appointment as the President of Aware. An official statement from DBS in Today said, 'DBS Bank requires all employees to obtain approval before running for or taking on an external appointment,...It had informed Ms Lau prior "to the Aware election" last night that, although the bank supported her involvement in Aware as council member in her own personal capacity, it was however "not supportive" of her intent to run for president of Aware, a spokesman told Today late last night. "We believe that as a VP in DBS, she already has a challenging job with many responsibilities and the role of president would demand too much of her time and energy."' This is a very reasonable position to take. No matter how talented a person is, wearing two hats or too many hats will definitely affect the quality of work of the person. How could anyone really think that he/she is so talented to wear two important hats, let alone 5, 10 or 20 hats? It will only dilute their attention to what they can do to each job.