Briefly, the SDP’s recommendation looks pretty reasonable with cabinet ministers getting 40 times the mean wage of the bottom 20% of the workforce. This works out to be $42k pm for ministers, with the PM getting $50k and the President $63k. Yes, very reasonable, minus the big bonuses!
What the recommendation amounts to is a pay cut for the ministers of about 90% or more. Now isn’t it ridiculous? My theory of RAR applies here. Things can look reasonable but can instantly become ridiculous when look at from another perspective.
The only misgivings I have, actually it is an observation, is how people’s mindset can be conditioned to an extent that it is so difficult to change. After all the publicity and discussions about the role of the president and how little he really does compares to a minister, the SDP recommendation still pegs the President’s salary higher than the PM. Beats me.
This kind of conditioning is very typical in Sin. Even people whose thinking are more than the average layman are affected by it. I will say, give the President an honorarium, a respectable amount given the role that he is doing. To me the President should not be getting even 50% of what a minister is getting. He should not even get what an MP should be getting, but conceding a higher amount is a respect for the high office.
I think anyone recommending the new salary package for the political office must bear in mind that it is reasonable and not ridiculous. But I must qualify that being reasonable and ridiculous is relative. The recommendation could be really very reasonable. It only look ridiculous when comparing to the current salaries of political office. Or put it another way, the current salaries look very ridiculous compare to the recommendations. Anyway both look ridiculous.
If the recommendation is to be adopted, which is another ridiculous thought, one good thing will happen. Property prices will fall as there will be lesser people able to throw their millions freely at properties.
12/01/2011
The Art of RAR
I have developed a photography technique to capture images and turn them into photo paintings. The technique is called The Art of RAR, short for Reflection and Refraction. Basically the technique would not do away with all the reflection and refraction that would mess up an otherwise clean and clear image. Some of the details are in my Art of RAR blog.
Here I am talking about a different kind of RAR, the Art of being Reasonable and Ridiculous. When things are reasonable, seen or believe as reasonable, the people will accept them, some grudgingly, but life goes on. They will just shrug their shoulders and say what to do, it is the normal. When things become unreasonable or ridiculous, there will be under current, tension and anger, or more. The gap between being reasonable and ridiculous can be very wide and quite recognizable. Sometimes the two can be fused and confused. Sometimes what was reasonable, believed or thought to be reasonable can become ridiculous when there are conditions to magnify the differences.
When price of public housing was in the $30k or $50k level, it was reasonable. No argument about that. When they went to the $70k or $100k, still reasonable. People were happy to see their property prices appreciated. When the price moved up to the hundreds, $200k, $300k, still reasonable. Everyone feeling so much richer. Now the prices are $500k or more, still reasonable and affordable. Though the pain level has gone up, the threshold moves up as well. The frog in the boiling jar will get use to it. It will not spring up, no spring, unless it realizes that things have changed dramatically.
Everything is still reasonable. The young couple working through the prime of their lives to pay up a mortgage of 30 years for a public flat will not have any adverse feelings. Everyone is doing it. It is normal. This is the way things are supposed to be.
Would they ever change their perception that the normal is not really normal, not reasonable but ridiculous? It is just a matter of perception. While they are working their guts out to pay for the working class flat which is getting smaller and smaller, a retired minister could buy a much better flat quite easily with his pension, without working. And he need not have to take a 30 year mortgage, not 20 years, not even 10 years. No, he need not even have to take one year to pay. He could pay cash, in one day, instantly, with his pension.
When one compares this with the 30 year mortgage for a HDB flat, reasonableness becomes ridiculous, I think. But no, the Singaporeans would never think it that way. They would not have time to think, or would not even think about it. For the small minorities who think and are unhappy, they can get lost, be a quitter. They would not be missed. For every unhappy and unappreciative Singaporean there are thousands of hungry and appreciative foreigners waiting to take his place. It will be good riddance, a grouchy and potential trouble maker less if he quits.
For those who refuse to quit, all it needs is good communication to reach out to them, to tell them that things are so good. Everything is reasonable. Where got ridiculous? This is the Art of RAR, to be able to keep an even keel, to explain and ensure that everything is seen, believe and accepted as reasonable, even if they are plain ridiculous.
Here I am talking about a different kind of RAR, the Art of being Reasonable and Ridiculous. When things are reasonable, seen or believe as reasonable, the people will accept them, some grudgingly, but life goes on. They will just shrug their shoulders and say what to do, it is the normal. When things become unreasonable or ridiculous, there will be under current, tension and anger, or more. The gap between being reasonable and ridiculous can be very wide and quite recognizable. Sometimes the two can be fused and confused. Sometimes what was reasonable, believed or thought to be reasonable can become ridiculous when there are conditions to magnify the differences.
When price of public housing was in the $30k or $50k level, it was reasonable. No argument about that. When they went to the $70k or $100k, still reasonable. People were happy to see their property prices appreciated. When the price moved up to the hundreds, $200k, $300k, still reasonable. Everyone feeling so much richer. Now the prices are $500k or more, still reasonable and affordable. Though the pain level has gone up, the threshold moves up as well. The frog in the boiling jar will get use to it. It will not spring up, no spring, unless it realizes that things have changed dramatically.
Everything is still reasonable. The young couple working through the prime of their lives to pay up a mortgage of 30 years for a public flat will not have any adverse feelings. Everyone is doing it. It is normal. This is the way things are supposed to be.
Would they ever change their perception that the normal is not really normal, not reasonable but ridiculous? It is just a matter of perception. While they are working their guts out to pay for the working class flat which is getting smaller and smaller, a retired minister could buy a much better flat quite easily with his pension, without working. And he need not have to take a 30 year mortgage, not 20 years, not even 10 years. No, he need not even have to take one year to pay. He could pay cash, in one day, instantly, with his pension.
When one compares this with the 30 year mortgage for a HDB flat, reasonableness becomes ridiculous, I think. But no, the Singaporeans would never think it that way. They would not have time to think, or would not even think about it. For the small minorities who think and are unhappy, they can get lost, be a quitter. They would not be missed. For every unhappy and unappreciative Singaporean there are thousands of hungry and appreciative foreigners waiting to take his place. It will be good riddance, a grouchy and potential trouble maker less if he quits.
For those who refuse to quit, all it needs is good communication to reach out to them, to tell them that things are so good. Everything is reasonable. Where got ridiculous? This is the Art of RAR, to be able to keep an even keel, to explain and ensure that everything is seen, believe and accepted as reasonable, even if they are plain ridiculous.
11/30/2011
The world is black and white
Maldrid Braut Hegghammer, an assistant professor of the Norwegian Defense University College, Oslo has his article printed in the New York Times and republished in Today. The title of his article is ‘The real lesson of Iraq.’ His main argument is that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake for two reasons. One, the IEAE’s report was not reliable, and two, Iran’s effort to hide information about its nuclear facilities.
In his view, it was right for America to invade Iraq if the IEAE’s report was accurate and Iraq had the nuclear facilities to make nuclear weapons. This is the white countries logic that the black countries are bad, and will use nuclear arms if they have them, and it is the right thing for the white countries to attack black countries to prevent them from having nuclear weapons.
It is right and normal for white countries to possess nuclear arms and to use it or threaten to use it on black countries.
I must thank the Today paper to reveal this kind of black and white logic in the western world. That it is their right to have nuclear arms and to use nuclear arms. The black countries cannot be allowed to have nuclear arms. Black countries are dangerous while white countries are not. And it is alright to attack another black country using this justification.
Can Asean countries use this logic to attack one another should one country decides to go nuclear? This is White Rule. And the author and all white thinking readers will accept this Rule without question. One rule for the white and one rule for the black.
In his view, it was right for America to invade Iraq if the IEAE’s report was accurate and Iraq had the nuclear facilities to make nuclear weapons. This is the white countries logic that the black countries are bad, and will use nuclear arms if they have them, and it is the right thing for the white countries to attack black countries to prevent them from having nuclear weapons.
It is right and normal for white countries to possess nuclear arms and to use it or threaten to use it on black countries.
I must thank the Today paper to reveal this kind of black and white logic in the western world. That it is their right to have nuclear arms and to use nuclear arms. The black countries cannot be allowed to have nuclear arms. Black countries are dangerous while white countries are not. And it is alright to attack another black country using this justification.
Can Asean countries use this logic to attack one another should one country decides to go nuclear? This is White Rule. And the author and all white thinking readers will accept this Rule without question. One rule for the white and one rule for the black.
40 years of good governance
The MAS is celebrating 40 years of good governance. The little glitch created by the toxic notes and Lehman bonds were the exceptions of an otherwise a glittering record of how well a govt treasury transcended smoothly from a developing to a developed country. And there were many good people at the helm of the MAS to make it happened.
The road forward is treacherous with the products of the great American Ivy League universities producing crooks and scoundrels to run the American and international financial system with no qualms about moral goodness. It was like if they were told to go out and grab everything they could with their privileged education and membership to an elite class.
MAS had done well but could not prevent major hiccups along the way that are beyond its control. No one will blame MAS for making a slip here and there. But MAS should do its utmost to ensure that slips that are preventable would not be allowed to happen too often. The toxic notes incident was a wake up call that deregulations and a laid back approach is just not workable.
Are there any more toxic notes equivalents in our system that is waiting to blow up in the face of the MAS? Hopefully there isn’t. When the toxic notes were allowed into the system, I believe, due diligence would have been done by the respective organizations and some confidence that they were reasonably sound products for the markets. One lesson from this debacle is never to allow the salesman who is peddling the product to do the due diligence. He will do whatever and just enough to convince everyone that all is fine. There are vested interests in the peddlar to want to push his products into the market.
What is the state of health of our financial market? Or specifically, what is the state of health of the stock market. Every piece of news reported is good news. Our stock market is in the pink of health and we are marching confidently to become a major financial centre in East Asia, contending for the top position with Tokyo and Hongkong. I really hope that this is the case.
There have been many uncomfortable noises in the finance industry since the introduction of high speed trading system and high speed computers, the latter being plug into the stock exchange’s trading system. Everyone is told that this is a good thing, the way forward. Everything is simply fine, going as planned.
The uncomfortable noises and reservations about high speed trading and the unfair advantages they have over ordinary traders have been highlighted by American and European experts. Many smelt foul but would not go too far to say anything worst. And the fouling is more than meets the eyes or at least this is the general perceptions of market stakeholders. The outsiders do not have access, and do not know enough of the high speed computer trading platform to make an informed judgement.
What is high speed trading and how much do we know of this new animal is still a big question. Is it simply a case of innocent computers that just attached itself to the exchange computer system to facilitate high speed trading, and nothing more?
Perhaps it is opportune at this time for MAS to commission an in dept study of high speed trading and whether it violates the basic principles of a level playing field for all stake holders. Or is high speed trading a Frankenstein in the making and the untold damages are still unfolding? An independent team to investigate this system is needed to address the discomfort among the stakeholders, and to confirm that any misgiving is unfounded. A thorough study is warranted to assure all stake holders that they are not sucked into a quagmire without knowing what is happening.
And MAS owes this responsibility to do its part for the interests of all stake holders. If there is a lemon in the financial system, it is important to sieve it out asap before it turns into another Lehman crisis. Would MAS take on this task, or it has done so and that everything is in order? The high speed trading platform and the high speed computers are fair trading instruments that do not have added advantages over other players, nothing unfair, and there is nothing to worry about.
Such an assurance will be most welcomed to put many insecure and suspicious minds at ease. Until then, the lack of understanding of the true nature of high speed trading, how it actually works, will only lead to misunderstanding, speculation and misgivings. Transparency and public education on high speed trading system are needed for it to be accepted as a neutral tool and fair to all stake holders. Everyone wants to believe that high speed trading and high speed computers are fair game.
The road forward is treacherous with the products of the great American Ivy League universities producing crooks and scoundrels to run the American and international financial system with no qualms about moral goodness. It was like if they were told to go out and grab everything they could with their privileged education and membership to an elite class.
MAS had done well but could not prevent major hiccups along the way that are beyond its control. No one will blame MAS for making a slip here and there. But MAS should do its utmost to ensure that slips that are preventable would not be allowed to happen too often. The toxic notes incident was a wake up call that deregulations and a laid back approach is just not workable.
Are there any more toxic notes equivalents in our system that is waiting to blow up in the face of the MAS? Hopefully there isn’t. When the toxic notes were allowed into the system, I believe, due diligence would have been done by the respective organizations and some confidence that they were reasonably sound products for the markets. One lesson from this debacle is never to allow the salesman who is peddling the product to do the due diligence. He will do whatever and just enough to convince everyone that all is fine. There are vested interests in the peddlar to want to push his products into the market.
What is the state of health of our financial market? Or specifically, what is the state of health of the stock market. Every piece of news reported is good news. Our stock market is in the pink of health and we are marching confidently to become a major financial centre in East Asia, contending for the top position with Tokyo and Hongkong. I really hope that this is the case.
There have been many uncomfortable noises in the finance industry since the introduction of high speed trading system and high speed computers, the latter being plug into the stock exchange’s trading system. Everyone is told that this is a good thing, the way forward. Everything is simply fine, going as planned.
The uncomfortable noises and reservations about high speed trading and the unfair advantages they have over ordinary traders have been highlighted by American and European experts. Many smelt foul but would not go too far to say anything worst. And the fouling is more than meets the eyes or at least this is the general perceptions of market stakeholders. The outsiders do not have access, and do not know enough of the high speed computer trading platform to make an informed judgement.
What is high speed trading and how much do we know of this new animal is still a big question. Is it simply a case of innocent computers that just attached itself to the exchange computer system to facilitate high speed trading, and nothing more?
Perhaps it is opportune at this time for MAS to commission an in dept study of high speed trading and whether it violates the basic principles of a level playing field for all stake holders. Or is high speed trading a Frankenstein in the making and the untold damages are still unfolding? An independent team to investigate this system is needed to address the discomfort among the stakeholders, and to confirm that any misgiving is unfounded. A thorough study is warranted to assure all stake holders that they are not sucked into a quagmire without knowing what is happening.
And MAS owes this responsibility to do its part for the interests of all stake holders. If there is a lemon in the financial system, it is important to sieve it out asap before it turns into another Lehman crisis. Would MAS take on this task, or it has done so and that everything is in order? The high speed trading platform and the high speed computers are fair trading instruments that do not have added advantages over other players, nothing unfair, and there is nothing to worry about.
Such an assurance will be most welcomed to put many insecure and suspicious minds at ease. Until then, the lack of understanding of the true nature of high speed trading, how it actually works, will only lead to misunderstanding, speculation and misgivings. Transparency and public education on high speed trading system are needed for it to be accepted as a neutral tool and fair to all stake holders. Everyone wants to believe that high speed trading and high speed computers are fair game.
When politicians were naïve
Those were the days, not too long ago, when politicians were naïve, just a figure of speech. They were young and highly charged, with bellies full of fire, to serve the people and the country. That was a time when the country was ruled by foreigners, the colonial masters. To these young intellects, the first question that bumped into their heads was why should the country be run by foreigners who were no better than them. Probably they also believed that they could do better for country and people when they were in charge.
That kind of idealistic thinking set a trend that changed the course of our history. Young and eager men and women fought to take back this country, to run it for the betterment of its own people. When they succeeded, the locals took charge of all the major ministries and institutions, to manage them for the good of the locals, not for the Queen of England. And with the locals thinking locals, and when the political leaders were thinking of bettering the lives of the people, things changed dramatically. It was local politicians and people serving local people, for the interest and good of the people.
Has anything changed? The politicians have all changed except for one. But everything else has changed. Oh, they are still saying that they are serving the people and the people’s interests. This has not changed. But the substance has. While the first generation of leaders replaced the foreigners with locals, we are seeing more foreigners replacing the locals. Don’t be conned by the term ‘new citizens’. And as for serving the people, this is relative depending on how one views it.
There used to be the govt providing facilities, building facilities, including housing and transportation, ahead of the people’s needs, and waiting for the people to benefit from them. The people needed housing, and houses were built. Schools, hospitals, transportation, jobs, industries, were waiting for the people. Today, the people have to queue up, to wait for these services and facilities. They don’t build public housing to wait for the people. The people wait for the housings to be built. The people wait for schools for their children, wait for hospital spaces and medical services, transportations etc etc.
Jobs then were localized, decolonized. Today we are seeing a new kind of colonization in jobs. Foreigners are taking over the juicy and plum jobs all over again. And this is good, progress of a different kind. Foreigners changed shirt and become instant citizens to take over jobs from Singaporeans. From displacing foreigners we are replacing locals with foreigners/new citizens.
It is scary when a politician stands out and proclaims that he is in politics to serve the people and country. Scary indeed. The naïve politicians of the past were admirable, respectable and sincere in what they said and did. There were some honesty in their ethics, ambitions and idealism for being politicians.
Today they are pragmatic and honest. No more young and idealistic. They may even say if I am not pay so much, don’t call me. And they will delay the opening of an MRT station because there is not enough load, not profitable, not justifiable. They will build public housings, but you wait for another few years for them to be built. They cannot afford to build and wait for the people. Hospitals, transportations, public services, must be justified in terms of profits before they are built. There are exceptions of course, like public parks which were built together with public housing.
With some exceptions here and there, the ethos for public service is never the same again.
That kind of idealistic thinking set a trend that changed the course of our history. Young and eager men and women fought to take back this country, to run it for the betterment of its own people. When they succeeded, the locals took charge of all the major ministries and institutions, to manage them for the good of the locals, not for the Queen of England. And with the locals thinking locals, and when the political leaders were thinking of bettering the lives of the people, things changed dramatically. It was local politicians and people serving local people, for the interest and good of the people.
Has anything changed? The politicians have all changed except for one. But everything else has changed. Oh, they are still saying that they are serving the people and the people’s interests. This has not changed. But the substance has. While the first generation of leaders replaced the foreigners with locals, we are seeing more foreigners replacing the locals. Don’t be conned by the term ‘new citizens’. And as for serving the people, this is relative depending on how one views it.
There used to be the govt providing facilities, building facilities, including housing and transportation, ahead of the people’s needs, and waiting for the people to benefit from them. The people needed housing, and houses were built. Schools, hospitals, transportation, jobs, industries, were waiting for the people. Today, the people have to queue up, to wait for these services and facilities. They don’t build public housing to wait for the people. The people wait for the housings to be built. The people wait for schools for their children, wait for hospital spaces and medical services, transportations etc etc.
Jobs then were localized, decolonized. Today we are seeing a new kind of colonization in jobs. Foreigners are taking over the juicy and plum jobs all over again. And this is good, progress of a different kind. Foreigners changed shirt and become instant citizens to take over jobs from Singaporeans. From displacing foreigners we are replacing locals with foreigners/new citizens.
It is scary when a politician stands out and proclaims that he is in politics to serve the people and country. Scary indeed. The naïve politicians of the past were admirable, respectable and sincere in what they said and did. There were some honesty in their ethics, ambitions and idealism for being politicians.
Today they are pragmatic and honest. No more young and idealistic. They may even say if I am not pay so much, don’t call me. And they will delay the opening of an MRT station because there is not enough load, not profitable, not justifiable. They will build public housings, but you wait for another few years for them to be built. They cannot afford to build and wait for the people. Hospitals, transportations, public services, must be justified in terms of profits before they are built. There are exceptions of course, like public parks which were built together with public housing.
With some exceptions here and there, the ethos for public service is never the same again.
11/29/2011
Haloween and PAP MPs
Just visited Mr Brown’s blog and got a bit confused. He wrote that a PAP MP turned up at a Haloween party and was mistaken for playing the role of a PAP MP. Or was it someone turned up at a Haloween party dressed up as a PAP MP. Which is which?
What I know is that people either dressed up as cut out pumpkins, Frankenstein or Dracula for Haloween. Dressing up as a PAP MP must be pretty out of place. Not frightening at all. Sure cannot frighten any children there.
According to Mr Brown, he got the most applause and recognition for being in PAP MP uniform. And he did the hand shaking act damn well. And Mr Brown gave him the best candy he had.
Weird. I still didn’t get the punch line.
What I know is that people either dressed up as cut out pumpkins, Frankenstein or Dracula for Haloween. Dressing up as a PAP MP must be pretty out of place. Not frightening at all. Sure cannot frighten any children there.
According to Mr Brown, he got the most applause and recognition for being in PAP MP uniform. And he did the hand shaking act damn well. And Mr Brown gave him the best candy he had.
Weird. I still didn’t get the punch line.
Pakistan’s fate awaiting Asean
The plight of Pakistan today is simply pathetic. And they deserved every minute of it for flirting with the evil Empire. Once invited in, the Empire has no respect for the host, for national sovereignty or territorial integrity. They will brush the host aside and do what they want, like the raid on Obama deep inside Pakistan’s territory. Now they blatantly attacked and killed nearly 30 Pakistani soldiers in a prolonged and deliberate attack. So what are you going to do now Pakistan? The Empire has killed your soldiers.
Before the flirtation, the Americans would not dare to enter Pakistani territory or attack any Pakistani military positions. Now, it is fire at your own target and at your own time, at any Pakistani targets inside Pakistan.
Musharaff thought it was a great honour to be invited to the White House, to be feasted by the Emperor. He did not bargain for the outcome of his country becoming a semi colony of the Empire. That is the price Pakistan is paying today.
Asean leaders must be having wet dreams of being feasted in the White House as the honoured guest of the Emperor. The olive leaf has been waved and the invitation waiting to be delivered. Would Asean leaders take the bait and ended up with the same fate as Pakistan? For their personal ego of being seated on the right side of the Emperor, the price is their countries’ integrity as an independent nation, free from the Emperor’s troops. Some are eagerly waiting for the invitation, for the honour. The temptation is great.
Before the flirtation, the Americans would not dare to enter Pakistani territory or attack any Pakistani military positions. Now, it is fire at your own target and at your own time, at any Pakistani targets inside Pakistan.
Musharaff thought it was a great honour to be invited to the White House, to be feasted by the Emperor. He did not bargain for the outcome of his country becoming a semi colony of the Empire. That is the price Pakistan is paying today.
Asean leaders must be having wet dreams of being feasted in the White House as the honoured guest of the Emperor. The olive leaf has been waved and the invitation waiting to be delivered. Would Asean leaders take the bait and ended up with the same fate as Pakistan? For their personal ego of being seated on the right side of the Emperor, the price is their countries’ integrity as an independent nation, free from the Emperor’s troops. Some are eagerly waiting for the invitation, for the honour. The temptation is great.
Kishore Mahbubani – top 100 thinkers
Kishore has been listed as one of the world’s top 100 thinkers by a US based Foreign Policy magazine. It is a great honour to be there among the Europeans in an European centric magazine that only understands western language and thoughts.
Who is this guy? He is not angmoh. He is the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He got to thank the school for not replacing him with an angmoh to give the school greater credibility and be more believeable in the western intellectual circuit. Think of it, it is one of the rare corners of Singapore where the top dog is a Singaporean. For this reason alone, it is worthy to keep this School relevant as a pride of the country, that a Singaporean is found good enough to head the school.
I am not sure how long before the CEOs of the 3 local universities be headed by foreigners as obviously there are just not enough local talents of international stature to raise the profiles and rankings of these world class universities. Having foreigners to front these universities, like many of the Singapore institutions, is a good thing as they will spread the news of Singapore and how great this island is. Their presence will put the universities connected to the best universities of the West.
Then again, if we do not allow out Singaporeans a chance to take on high profile positions, how would they gain recognition by the international community? How would someone like Kishore be recognized if he ended up just another professor in the School of Lee Kuan Yew or any local universities?
Our angmoh is good mentality is a self debasing policy. If we keep giving the plump jobs to foreigners, our local talents will forever have their heads under water, to be another statistics and nothing more. We need to give more chances to the local talents and thinkers to be in the limelight, to be seen and heard, to be recognized.
Good that we have someone like Kishore. But he could be the last, just like we have a Lee Kuan Yew, and he will be the last titan this little island ever produced.
Who is this guy? He is not angmoh. He is the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He got to thank the school for not replacing him with an angmoh to give the school greater credibility and be more believeable in the western intellectual circuit. Think of it, it is one of the rare corners of Singapore where the top dog is a Singaporean. For this reason alone, it is worthy to keep this School relevant as a pride of the country, that a Singaporean is found good enough to head the school.
I am not sure how long before the CEOs of the 3 local universities be headed by foreigners as obviously there are just not enough local talents of international stature to raise the profiles and rankings of these world class universities. Having foreigners to front these universities, like many of the Singapore institutions, is a good thing as they will spread the news of Singapore and how great this island is. Their presence will put the universities connected to the best universities of the West.
Then again, if we do not allow out Singaporeans a chance to take on high profile positions, how would they gain recognition by the international community? How would someone like Kishore be recognized if he ended up just another professor in the School of Lee Kuan Yew or any local universities?
Our angmoh is good mentality is a self debasing policy. If we keep giving the plump jobs to foreigners, our local talents will forever have their heads under water, to be another statistics and nothing more. We need to give more chances to the local talents and thinkers to be in the limelight, to be seen and heard, to be recognized.
Good that we have someone like Kishore. But he could be the last, just like we have a Lee Kuan Yew, and he will be the last titan this little island ever produced.
11/28/2011
When the crunch comes
Seah Chiang Nee wrote the above article in his Littlespeck blog. He is reading the warnings by the political leaders of an impending recession coming Singapore’s way and how it will impact the people.
The worst hit will be the PMETs, especially those with a million dollar or half a million dollar mortgage. What will they do if one of the paymasters got retrenched?
Don’t forget that there are many who have several hundred thousand dollar mortgages in HDB flats. There are many Singaporeans in this category which includes many PRs as well. When the crunch comes, when they lose their jobs, the 30 year mortgage will not go away. They all depend solely on their monthly incomes to service the debt.
I reckon this time the impact will be much greater as the outstanding housing loan sizes are much bigger, all expecting a 30 year free ride without having to worry about any financial crisis.
Just a few months back, it was all sunny skies and full of optimism. Dark clouds are forming overnight.
Be frightened, be very frightened.
The worst hit will be the PMETs, especially those with a million dollar or half a million dollar mortgage. What will they do if one of the paymasters got retrenched?
Don’t forget that there are many who have several hundred thousand dollar mortgages in HDB flats. There are many Singaporeans in this category which includes many PRs as well. When the crunch comes, when they lose their jobs, the 30 year mortgage will not go away. They all depend solely on their monthly incomes to service the debt.
I reckon this time the impact will be much greater as the outstanding housing loan sizes are much bigger, all expecting a 30 year free ride without having to worry about any financial crisis.
Just a few months back, it was all sunny skies and full of optimism. Dark clouds are forming overnight.
Be frightened, be very frightened.
The new story
I wonder if any of you noticed the theme in the media with regards to housing. As I scanned through the articles over the last few weeks, there is a new song being sung almost daily. Small is good. Small flats are good. Small flats do not compromise on the quality of life. There are many beautiful parks outside that the people can go to for the space they want. Small flats are ideal for smaller households.
Small is the way to go. And we have a very long way to catch up with Tokyo and Hongkong, to go smaller. It is not only a trend. Our population is growing and we need to keep housing small to make way for more people, for economic growth and better quality living.
Small is the way to go. And we have a very long way to catch up with Tokyo and Hongkong, to go smaller. It is not only a trend. Our population is growing and we need to keep housing small to make way for more people, for economic growth and better quality living.
PAP Convention
Caught some reporting on the PAP Convention and Hsien Loong’s speech over the news last night. The party has done quite a bit of work in assessing the last GE and what needs to be done to win the next GE. And they are confident that they are on the right track with all the mistakes figured out and the appropriate remedial actions will be put in place. And though the party acknowledged that the next GE will see fiercer competition, and clean sweep is not that easy anymore, they are quietly confident of taking back Aljunied.
My personal view is that they are in for a rude awakening in the next GE. The ground has shifted. More and better candidates will be moving to the alternative party camps as wearing white and being invited for tea is no longer a guarantee for a safe passage to Parliament.
What about govt policies and the bread and butter issues, unemployment, housing, foreign talent, transportation etc that the people felt aggrieved about? Would there be any real changes that will win back the support of the people?
The party still believes that their policies are good for the people and supported by the people. And very likely there will be more cooked policies for discussion in Parliament, though Inderjit was advocating for more half cooked policies to be better discussed before they are cooked.
I think this is the main area that the party is going to lose more grounds as it marches towards 2016. The attitude and mentality and the logic of past policies do not seem to change. Everything is still as per normal. The rapid ramming up of public housing is only treating a superficial wound when the cancer is still growing untreated. So are the high property prices, the high population and congestion issues, and the presence of great numbers of foreigners that the govt sees as the cure all for economic growth but irks the people in general.
As long as the govt thinks it knows best and what is good for the people, it will continue to push through its bestest policies and distance itself from the people who do not agree with them. They believe that the only problem is communication with the people. That is their only fault. If they can communicate well, there is no policy problems.
How could the party with the bestest talents accept that their bestest policies have to change to appease the not so talented views of the people? This is a tough one.
Unless the party is willing to compromise its bestest policies, undermine its bestest talents effort and say, ok, the daft Singaporeans need to be listened to and their less talented views and wishes be accommodated, there will always be a conflict and constant tension between what the party wants and what the people want. Explaining to the daft Singaporeans is easy, especially with clever arguments and statistics. Would the people buy? How many ministers would be able to do the explaining and be able to win the hearts and minds of the people?
Caving in to the daft Singaporeans is never a thing that the party will give way. It is the core value of the party, they will continue to push their cooked policies through, like deaf frogs.
This is the strongest virtue of the party, to do what it thinks is best, to implement tough policies for the good of the people. The question is whether the people think so and whether the policies are really good for the people. The servants will judge the masters or the masters judge the servants? Who will have the final say?
My personal view is that they are in for a rude awakening in the next GE. The ground has shifted. More and better candidates will be moving to the alternative party camps as wearing white and being invited for tea is no longer a guarantee for a safe passage to Parliament.
What about govt policies and the bread and butter issues, unemployment, housing, foreign talent, transportation etc that the people felt aggrieved about? Would there be any real changes that will win back the support of the people?
The party still believes that their policies are good for the people and supported by the people. And very likely there will be more cooked policies for discussion in Parliament, though Inderjit was advocating for more half cooked policies to be better discussed before they are cooked.
I think this is the main area that the party is going to lose more grounds as it marches towards 2016. The attitude and mentality and the logic of past policies do not seem to change. Everything is still as per normal. The rapid ramming up of public housing is only treating a superficial wound when the cancer is still growing untreated. So are the high property prices, the high population and congestion issues, and the presence of great numbers of foreigners that the govt sees as the cure all for economic growth but irks the people in general.
As long as the govt thinks it knows best and what is good for the people, it will continue to push through its bestest policies and distance itself from the people who do not agree with them. They believe that the only problem is communication with the people. That is their only fault. If they can communicate well, there is no policy problems.
How could the party with the bestest talents accept that their bestest policies have to change to appease the not so talented views of the people? This is a tough one.
Unless the party is willing to compromise its bestest policies, undermine its bestest talents effort and say, ok, the daft Singaporeans need to be listened to and their less talented views and wishes be accommodated, there will always be a conflict and constant tension between what the party wants and what the people want. Explaining to the daft Singaporeans is easy, especially with clever arguments and statistics. Would the people buy? How many ministers would be able to do the explaining and be able to win the hearts and minds of the people?
Caving in to the daft Singaporeans is never a thing that the party will give way. It is the core value of the party, they will continue to push their cooked policies through, like deaf frogs.
This is the strongest virtue of the party, to do what it thinks is best, to implement tough policies for the good of the people. The question is whether the people think so and whether the policies are really good for the people. The servants will judge the masters or the masters judge the servants? Who will have the final say?
11/27/2011
A New World Order
The recent appearance of Obama in the Asean Summit in Bali and his pronouncement of a new strategy for American dominance in the Asia Pacific Region is a reminder that the Americans have not accepted the geopolitical changes in the 21st Century. The US is still living in the era of post WW2 when everything is about American supremacy, America Number One, and US foreign policies is all about power, military superiority, confrontation, subversion, military intervention, military alliances and war to settle cross national disputes. The US and its empire, American hegemony for the last 60 odd years, are gradually being eroded by the primacy of economic growth instead of military power.
For the last few decades, American continues on its path of being the Number One military super power and spent most of its valuable financial resources to maintain that position while China on the other hand devotes its main effort in economic development and growth. The presumed power today of China being a super power is more economic than military. China has not engaged in any major warfare since the Korean War. The Americans on the other hand have been in continuous warfare ever since. It is still engaged in several wars, to uphold its image as the Number One military power, unchallenged.
The preoccupation with its world dominance and empire is best seen in its adversarial policies of building military alliances, intervention, wars and enforcing sanctions or coercions in all corners of the globe against any country that does not toe the line. From the encirclement of the Soviet bloc of countries it is now embarking on a new phase of containment of China, which is basically an emerging economic giant. China is in no haste to overtake the Americans in becoming the Number One military power for years to come. It is pure foolishness to maintain a naval fleet of several aircraft carriers and military bases across the world as the financial cost is phenomenal. Any attempt to be near what the Americans are doing will bankrupt China in no time like its is bankrupting the Americans in double quick time.
But China is sure in posing a serious challenge to America as an economic power house. And the days when China overtakes America as the biggest economy is just around the corner. For sure, being an economic super power will not make China poorer but richer and a better quality of life for the Chinese people.
So what is America’s strategy to meet the Chinese challenge to becoming the biggest economy? More military alliances, more resources and finances in the military fields, more adversarial and confrontational policies, and all of everything to maintain American hegemony, while pointing at China for being more assertive, and Chinese hegemony when there is none.
The East Asian and South East Asian countries will now be forced to take on a more confrontational position against China, on the side of the Americans. The Trans Pacific Partnership was a disguise for another military alliance against China with Australia as the key partner in the making. Japan and South Korea are likely to follow suit as semi colonies of the Empire.
Would Asean countries be drawn into this American set piece and become the frontline to the American strategy of protecting the American home land and fighting a war in other people’s territories? There is no mistake that any conflict will be in the East China Sea or the South China Sea and involving the littoral states in the region.
The Philippines and Vietnam have some reasons to want to be part of the alliance to confront China and grab a piece of the South China Sea. Would the rest of the Asean states be willing to be pawns on the American chess boards and be played, be traded or sacrificed for the American interest? What will likely be the end game?
In the American calculation, they only think America and presume that the leaders of Asean will be unthinking and will simply go along with the American agenda at their behest. Have the Asean states grown up from the days of colonialism and want to be truly independent states and not be embroiled by big power rivalry when the price to pay is their own independence and freedom to drive their own national policies? Would Asean be abandoned or subsumed by the TPP and all its effort to build a non aligned neutral regional organisation go to waste? That’s what the Americans are saying. Asean can be history.
A New World Order could be in the making when military conflict and supremacy is no longer relevant, when wars between big powers are just too destructive to be conceivable. Only madness and mad men will still be thinking of conducting war as an extention to failed diplomacy.
The New World Order could be one where every state would grow and prosper economically for the betterment of their people without military conflict. The balance of military power today is such that no one country can get away with a military conflict without getting themselves into a state of comatose. The emergence of China, Russia, India and probably other regional powers would allow the smaller states more room to navigate free of the big power politics if they choose to be. It is an opportunity for more trade and economic diplomacy than building military alliances and adopting confrontational policies that could lead to an irreparable war of a scale untold in history.
No country can bear the loss and destruction of a modern 21st Century warfare. Vietnam War was bad, with a major part of the country obliterated. But that was miniscule compare to what could happen when the big powers unleash the full might of their fire power. The thought of Australia with it few million inhabitants as a player in a major war is foolish thinking. It is not even worth a pawn in the chess board of the super powers.
Would the New World Order have a chance to succeed, or would WW2 mentality and diplomacy take precedence and a more devastating war takes its place? Whither is Asean with the Trans Pacific Partnership? Would Asean want to be counted in as a pawn in the TPP to serve American interest foremost?
For the last few decades, American continues on its path of being the Number One military super power and spent most of its valuable financial resources to maintain that position while China on the other hand devotes its main effort in economic development and growth. The presumed power today of China being a super power is more economic than military. China has not engaged in any major warfare since the Korean War. The Americans on the other hand have been in continuous warfare ever since. It is still engaged in several wars, to uphold its image as the Number One military power, unchallenged.
The preoccupation with its world dominance and empire is best seen in its adversarial policies of building military alliances, intervention, wars and enforcing sanctions or coercions in all corners of the globe against any country that does not toe the line. From the encirclement of the Soviet bloc of countries it is now embarking on a new phase of containment of China, which is basically an emerging economic giant. China is in no haste to overtake the Americans in becoming the Number One military power for years to come. It is pure foolishness to maintain a naval fleet of several aircraft carriers and military bases across the world as the financial cost is phenomenal. Any attempt to be near what the Americans are doing will bankrupt China in no time like its is bankrupting the Americans in double quick time.
But China is sure in posing a serious challenge to America as an economic power house. And the days when China overtakes America as the biggest economy is just around the corner. For sure, being an economic super power will not make China poorer but richer and a better quality of life for the Chinese people.
So what is America’s strategy to meet the Chinese challenge to becoming the biggest economy? More military alliances, more resources and finances in the military fields, more adversarial and confrontational policies, and all of everything to maintain American hegemony, while pointing at China for being more assertive, and Chinese hegemony when there is none.
The East Asian and South East Asian countries will now be forced to take on a more confrontational position against China, on the side of the Americans. The Trans Pacific Partnership was a disguise for another military alliance against China with Australia as the key partner in the making. Japan and South Korea are likely to follow suit as semi colonies of the Empire.
Would Asean countries be drawn into this American set piece and become the frontline to the American strategy of protecting the American home land and fighting a war in other people’s territories? There is no mistake that any conflict will be in the East China Sea or the South China Sea and involving the littoral states in the region.
The Philippines and Vietnam have some reasons to want to be part of the alliance to confront China and grab a piece of the South China Sea. Would the rest of the Asean states be willing to be pawns on the American chess boards and be played, be traded or sacrificed for the American interest? What will likely be the end game?
In the American calculation, they only think America and presume that the leaders of Asean will be unthinking and will simply go along with the American agenda at their behest. Have the Asean states grown up from the days of colonialism and want to be truly independent states and not be embroiled by big power rivalry when the price to pay is their own independence and freedom to drive their own national policies? Would Asean be abandoned or subsumed by the TPP and all its effort to build a non aligned neutral regional organisation go to waste? That’s what the Americans are saying. Asean can be history.
A New World Order could be in the making when military conflict and supremacy is no longer relevant, when wars between big powers are just too destructive to be conceivable. Only madness and mad men will still be thinking of conducting war as an extention to failed diplomacy.
The New World Order could be one where every state would grow and prosper economically for the betterment of their people without military conflict. The balance of military power today is such that no one country can get away with a military conflict without getting themselves into a state of comatose. The emergence of China, Russia, India and probably other regional powers would allow the smaller states more room to navigate free of the big power politics if they choose to be. It is an opportunity for more trade and economic diplomacy than building military alliances and adopting confrontational policies that could lead to an irreparable war of a scale untold in history.
No country can bear the loss and destruction of a modern 21st Century warfare. Vietnam War was bad, with a major part of the country obliterated. But that was miniscule compare to what could happen when the big powers unleash the full might of their fire power. The thought of Australia with it few million inhabitants as a player in a major war is foolish thinking. It is not even worth a pawn in the chess board of the super powers.
Would the New World Order have a chance to succeed, or would WW2 mentality and diplomacy take precedence and a more devastating war takes its place? Whither is Asean with the Trans Pacific Partnership? Would Asean want to be counted in as a pawn in the TPP to serve American interest foremost?
11/26/2011
It takes 9 months for dental appointment
A Goh Cher Choh waited for 9 months just to see his dentist for the chance of getting a subsidised denture. And he has resigned to this new normal of efficiency in this super efficient island. The normal time for waiting is 10 months for root canal treatment, 7 months for dentures, but his case must be an exception, and 5 months for crowns and bridges. Not forgetting a year or more for braces.
But what do they expect, 1 month, 2 weeks or 1 week? Just go to a private clinic and pay for it if one cannot bear to wait. You can choose world class clinics, neighbour clinic or polyclinic, no need to complain.
Looking down memory lane, the kind of free dental care we had in the 50s and 60s was world class, heavenly, actually out of this world. And it was a time when our country was really poor, and probably not enough dentists too. Imagine, every week without fail, the Institute of Health’s bus would be at the school to pick up the students for dental treatment, including free dentures. Where got such thing as waiting for 7 months or 9 months?
Then again, if one wants something that is subsidised, what is a little waiting? The good old days are gone and that kind of experience would never be repeated in this money minded world. Compare to those waiting 3 to 4 years for their housing flats, these dental patients must count themselves very lucky.
The applicants for public housing are paying good money, in the hundreds of thousands, and they too have to wait. And the mantra is that it is their problem caused they did not plan when to get married and when to buy a flat. In my dream I heard someone saying, ‘I build only if there is enough demand. And they just have to wait 3 to 4 years.’ Is this the mentality of serving the people or the other way, I master, you servant?
Thank God that Hsien Loong had reminded his politicians that they are the servants and not the master of the people. Really, why would Singaporeans elect politicians to be their masters and happily live with it as the normal state of affair?
Iskandar, you have a golden opportunity to bum up your dental industry and what are you waiting for?
But what do they expect, 1 month, 2 weeks or 1 week? Just go to a private clinic and pay for it if one cannot bear to wait. You can choose world class clinics, neighbour clinic or polyclinic, no need to complain.
Looking down memory lane, the kind of free dental care we had in the 50s and 60s was world class, heavenly, actually out of this world. And it was a time when our country was really poor, and probably not enough dentists too. Imagine, every week without fail, the Institute of Health’s bus would be at the school to pick up the students for dental treatment, including free dentures. Where got such thing as waiting for 7 months or 9 months?
Then again, if one wants something that is subsidised, what is a little waiting? The good old days are gone and that kind of experience would never be repeated in this money minded world. Compare to those waiting 3 to 4 years for their housing flats, these dental patients must count themselves very lucky.
The applicants for public housing are paying good money, in the hundreds of thousands, and they too have to wait. And the mantra is that it is their problem caused they did not plan when to get married and when to buy a flat. In my dream I heard someone saying, ‘I build only if there is enough demand. And they just have to wait 3 to 4 years.’ Is this the mentality of serving the people or the other way, I master, you servant?
Thank God that Hsien Loong had reminded his politicians that they are the servants and not the master of the people. Really, why would Singaporeans elect politicians to be their masters and happily live with it as the normal state of affair?
Iskandar, you have a golden opportunity to bum up your dental industry and what are you waiting for?
11/25/2011
The world’s most peace loving country
I can’t help it but to repeat this quote from dear Hilary.
‘…Washington is “very strongly against any nation using coercion or intimidation instead of using the law to try to resolve these issues.’
The US together with its peace loving friends in UK and Canada are imposing more sanctions against Iran for believing that Iran is building nuclear weapons which the US and UK have plenty of. And they are not using threats or intimidation against Iran. Just friendly sanctions.
And there is another level of peaceful means to resolve the issue. Both the US and Israel are openly telling the world that they are going to attack Iran’s nuclear plants. Now, please don’t get it wrong. This is a peaceful gesture to resolve the Iran nuclear issue. There is not a little hint of coercion or intimidation at all.
The Americans don’t believe in coercion or intimidation. They are so friendly and peaceful. The whole world knows about it. And they are begging the Americans to be the policeman and now the policeman is bringing in more soldiers and weapons to the Asia Pacific region to police the area for peace of course.
The weapons and soldiers are, incidentally, not to coerce or intimidate anyone. They are friendly soldiers and friendly weapons, for peace.
It is good that China is conducting a big scale naval exercise off its seas. China should conduct more of such exercises and make its stand clear about conduct in its surrounding seas, especially when other pesky countries think they can go around arresting Chinese fishermen with impunity. And also countries that happily shot at Chinese sailors and killing them.
China has to take a tough stand on such provocations or the provocations will continue to test its will. With so many provocations and if China continues to show them the other face, China will forever be slapped left and right and still be branded as an assertive and rogue nation by the rogue nations. I say wallop them when they do it.
All the pesky nations, including the rogue Americans, only understand the language of force. Obama is reminding the world that the Americans can still project its power. And it is up to China to say, hey, this is how far you can go. No more cruise missiles into Chinese Embassies or Chinese missiles can also make the same mistakes on American assets.
When dealing with thugs and gangsters, China needs to speak the same lingo and behave like them. No need to worry about the opinions of pesky nations. They have already taken sides. And the message will also get through to them.
‘…Washington is “very strongly against any nation using coercion or intimidation instead of using the law to try to resolve these issues.’
The US together with its peace loving friends in UK and Canada are imposing more sanctions against Iran for believing that Iran is building nuclear weapons which the US and UK have plenty of. And they are not using threats or intimidation against Iran. Just friendly sanctions.
And there is another level of peaceful means to resolve the issue. Both the US and Israel are openly telling the world that they are going to attack Iran’s nuclear plants. Now, please don’t get it wrong. This is a peaceful gesture to resolve the Iran nuclear issue. There is not a little hint of coercion or intimidation at all.
The Americans don’t believe in coercion or intimidation. They are so friendly and peaceful. The whole world knows about it. And they are begging the Americans to be the policeman and now the policeman is bringing in more soldiers and weapons to the Asia Pacific region to police the area for peace of course.
The weapons and soldiers are, incidentally, not to coerce or intimidate anyone. They are friendly soldiers and friendly weapons, for peace.
It is good that China is conducting a big scale naval exercise off its seas. China should conduct more of such exercises and make its stand clear about conduct in its surrounding seas, especially when other pesky countries think they can go around arresting Chinese fishermen with impunity. And also countries that happily shot at Chinese sailors and killing them.
China has to take a tough stand on such provocations or the provocations will continue to test its will. With so many provocations and if China continues to show them the other face, China will forever be slapped left and right and still be branded as an assertive and rogue nation by the rogue nations. I say wallop them when they do it.
All the pesky nations, including the rogue Americans, only understand the language of force. Obama is reminding the world that the Americans can still project its power. And it is up to China to say, hey, this is how far you can go. No more cruise missiles into Chinese Embassies or Chinese missiles can also make the same mistakes on American assets.
When dealing with thugs and gangsters, China needs to speak the same lingo and behave like them. No need to worry about the opinions of pesky nations. They have already taken sides. And the message will also get through to them.
A good cause to support PAP
It was so rare that I have to support a cause promoted by the PAP in recent years. Now there is really a good cause for all Singaporeans to support the PAP. Why is it good, it affects Singaporeans in general, some directly, some indirectly.
The PAP Youth Wing or Young PAP is going to the Speakers Corner this Saturday to speak up for lowering of transport fares for polytechnic and university students. These students, still not working and have no official income, are paying twice what college students are paying for MRT and SBS fares. They are still not financially independent and many would need support from their parents. Reducing their transport cost will help to alleviate the burden of their parents albeit in a small way. It still counts over the 3 to 4 years when they are studying.
It is good that the Young PAP is pushing for this cause. It is a cause that all Singaporeans regardless of their political inclination can share and support. Though the Young PAP has called for people turning up at Hong Lim to wear white, a symbol of cleanliness, incorruptibility and everything that is good, some have been peeved by this. I say never mind. The WP supporters can go there in their reds, some in blue, some in orange, some in pink, but all with a common goal, to fight for the lowering of fares for these students.
It will be an opportune time for all the parties to unite and tell the people that they can support a righteous and good cause no matter who raises the issue. And that all the parties will not bicker unnecessarily just because someone else and not themselves brought it up. It will show to the people that the politicians and their supporters are growing up.
I hope all the parties, PAP, NSP, SDP, WP, PKMS, SPP, SDA and any other party that I could not remember and mention, could go to Hong Lim Park this Saturday and make enough noise to support this good cause. It will be a moment when all Singaporeans are united, to stand as one.
Would that be nice?
The PAP Youth Wing or Young PAP is going to the Speakers Corner this Saturday to speak up for lowering of transport fares for polytechnic and university students. These students, still not working and have no official income, are paying twice what college students are paying for MRT and SBS fares. They are still not financially independent and many would need support from their parents. Reducing their transport cost will help to alleviate the burden of their parents albeit in a small way. It still counts over the 3 to 4 years when they are studying.
It is good that the Young PAP is pushing for this cause. It is a cause that all Singaporeans regardless of their political inclination can share and support. Though the Young PAP has called for people turning up at Hong Lim to wear white, a symbol of cleanliness, incorruptibility and everything that is good, some have been peeved by this. I say never mind. The WP supporters can go there in their reds, some in blue, some in orange, some in pink, but all with a common goal, to fight for the lowering of fares for these students.
It will be an opportune time for all the parties to unite and tell the people that they can support a righteous and good cause no matter who raises the issue. And that all the parties will not bicker unnecessarily just because someone else and not themselves brought it up. It will show to the people that the politicians and their supporters are growing up.
I hope all the parties, PAP, NSP, SDP, WP, PKMS, SPP, SDA and any other party that I could not remember and mention, could go to Hong Lim Park this Saturday and make enough noise to support this good cause. It will be a moment when all Singaporeans are united, to stand as one.
Would that be nice?
The perplexing discovery of Sinda
Sinda did a review on the performance of Indian students in the PSLE examination. And horrors, the Indian students are underperforming in mathematics, achieving only 73% pass rate against a national average of above 80%. And many Indian students dropped out of secondary school for being unable to cope with mathematics.
This discovery is more startling given that Indians are well reputed to be maths wizards. Many of the American banks and Singapore’s financial institutions are headed by Indians, be they Singapore Indians or Indian Indians. They must be very very good in mathematics to get into those positions. Just depending on the gift of the gab would not get them that far. Their mathematical talents must have proven to be really good.
Now, what is this nonsense that Indian students are having serious problems coping with mathematics? I am scratching my head. Is our schools and teaching methodology for maths the reason for the Indian students poor grade? Cannot be, we have the best teaching methods for maths and our methods are being copied and adopted even by the Americans.
There cannot be any doubt in the genes of Indian students as there are many fine examples of top Indian finance professionals like Tharman, Gupta, and the MD of MAS just to mention a few.
What is happening man?
This discovery is more startling given that Indians are well reputed to be maths wizards. Many of the American banks and Singapore’s financial institutions are headed by Indians, be they Singapore Indians or Indian Indians. They must be very very good in mathematics to get into those positions. Just depending on the gift of the gab would not get them that far. Their mathematical talents must have proven to be really good.
Now, what is this nonsense that Indian students are having serious problems coping with mathematics? I am scratching my head. Is our schools and teaching methodology for maths the reason for the Indian students poor grade? Cannot be, we have the best teaching methods for maths and our methods are being copied and adopted even by the Americans.
There cannot be any doubt in the genes of Indian students as there are many fine examples of top Indian finance professionals like Tharman, Gupta, and the MD of MAS just to mention a few.
What is happening man?
Communal living back in Singapore
The idea of communal living was thought to be dead since Singaporeans got richer over the years. Those hand to mouth years of living in cubicles or sharing a flat with several families, sharing kitchen, toilets and common facilities were just a bad dream best to be forgotten. Those were times when most Singaporeans were poor and they had to make do with strangers living within the same four walls.
With today’s affluence and with Singaporeans owning or leasing their own flats, it is like coming full circle to see more and more Singaporeans renting out and sharing their homes with strangers. And with flats that are built smaller and smaller, having more than one family inside a flat is like reliving the past once again.
With more retirees having to remortgage or sublet their flats, living with strangers is going to be more popular for the losers in life. But it should not affect the quality of their lives. Having more people in the flat means more company, more people to chit chat and to look after each other.
There must be some draw backs in communal living. I was reading the case of this Chinese national who killed three women and seriously injuring one in roughly one hour, in the same flat. I am not going to speculate how all the screaming and crying and shouting and banging could go on for so long without anyone barging in to stop the killing.
What I am going to say is that living with strangers can pose high risk, very high risk, for the weaker sex and the old. And the stranger could be very disarming with his friendly smile and pleasant disposition. Not to worry, this kind of things don’t happen too often. It is a risk worth taking. A few cases like this are quite normal as more and more people start to rent out their flats to strangers.
And there are many happy and warm stories to tell of communal living, of friendship built, of help and assistance given, and kindness and gratitude repaid. They get to know more people, make more friends, and help to show how friendly Singaporeans are. They will benefit from the richer experience in life.
Just a wonderful experience to many, except bad luck to a few losers. Forget to add, the quality of life will be so enriching.
With today’s affluence and with Singaporeans owning or leasing their own flats, it is like coming full circle to see more and more Singaporeans renting out and sharing their homes with strangers. And with flats that are built smaller and smaller, having more than one family inside a flat is like reliving the past once again.
With more retirees having to remortgage or sublet their flats, living with strangers is going to be more popular for the losers in life. But it should not affect the quality of their lives. Having more people in the flat means more company, more people to chit chat and to look after each other.
There must be some draw backs in communal living. I was reading the case of this Chinese national who killed three women and seriously injuring one in roughly one hour, in the same flat. I am not going to speculate how all the screaming and crying and shouting and banging could go on for so long without anyone barging in to stop the killing.
What I am going to say is that living with strangers can pose high risk, very high risk, for the weaker sex and the old. And the stranger could be very disarming with his friendly smile and pleasant disposition. Not to worry, this kind of things don’t happen too often. It is a risk worth taking. A few cases like this are quite normal as more and more people start to rent out their flats to strangers.
And there are many happy and warm stories to tell of communal living, of friendship built, of help and assistance given, and kindness and gratitude repaid. They get to know more people, make more friends, and help to show how friendly Singaporeans are. They will benefit from the richer experience in life.
Just a wonderful experience to many, except bad luck to a few losers. Forget to add, the quality of life will be so enriching.
11/24/2011
East Asian stability at risk if US trashes its defence budget
The above is the title of Ng E Jay’s article in his blog. And I would like to say that I completely disagree with him. Come on E Jay, you are thinking like an American now.
‘Cuts to the US military budget on the magnitude projected if the Supercommitte’s political impasse fails to be resolved would inevitably results in a significant scaling down of US military commitments worldwide, include an enormous downsizing of its global naval capabilities. This would invariably lead to increased geopolitical tensions in the ASEAN region and beyond.’ Ng E Jay
‘US military commitments worldwide’ is an American terminology to mean conducting wars worldwide. East Asia and the world would be much safer than it is today. There will be little dictators trying to throw their weights around but these will be limited to local skirmishes and small warfare. Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi will still be running the shows. There will be no big scale wars like in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Libya. Don’t forget the Korean and Vietnam Wars. There will be smaller civil wars which dictators could easily suppress without the US and Nato interfering by supplying more arms and weapons.
And small pesky countries would not dare to agitate or provoke bigger countries to risk a war on themself. China, the non belligerent country that has been painted as the trigger happy one, will be even friendlier when no pests dare to irritate her.
The trigger happy Americans are able to conduct wars everywhere exactly because they have the money to do so. Without the military budget, the world would be much more peaceful and safer. The South Koreans would not dare to rattle their sabers daily at the North Koreans. Any Singaporean who thinks that the North Koreans are going to attack Singapore should go get admitted to IMH.
The pesky countries of Asean would not dare capture Chinese sailors or make nonsensical claims against Chinese territories or ever raring to go to war with China. There will be a new balance of power and a new status quo. Peace will have a better chance when little pests know that they cannot stir trouble and think they can get away with it.
An aggressive evil power is the temptation for small countries to destabilize the region, with the evil power nudging them from behind. Fear not, for the evil power is behind them. It is a good thing if the defence budget of the US is slashed drastically. Then calm and peace shall return. They would not have the money to start wars everywhere.
All the wars are started by the Americans. Make no mistake about it. Remove the blinkers to see the truth. They create the tension, the instability, the suspicion, and then invited themselves in to be the policeman, the peacemaker, the leader. And of course, to sell more weapons.
‘Cuts to the US military budget on the magnitude projected if the Supercommitte’s political impasse fails to be resolved would inevitably results in a significant scaling down of US military commitments worldwide, include an enormous downsizing of its global naval capabilities. This would invariably lead to increased geopolitical tensions in the ASEAN region and beyond.’ Ng E Jay
‘US military commitments worldwide’ is an American terminology to mean conducting wars worldwide. East Asia and the world would be much safer than it is today. There will be little dictators trying to throw their weights around but these will be limited to local skirmishes and small warfare. Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi will still be running the shows. There will be no big scale wars like in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Libya. Don’t forget the Korean and Vietnam Wars. There will be smaller civil wars which dictators could easily suppress without the US and Nato interfering by supplying more arms and weapons.
And small pesky countries would not dare to agitate or provoke bigger countries to risk a war on themself. China, the non belligerent country that has been painted as the trigger happy one, will be even friendlier when no pests dare to irritate her.
The trigger happy Americans are able to conduct wars everywhere exactly because they have the money to do so. Without the military budget, the world would be much more peaceful and safer. The South Koreans would not dare to rattle their sabers daily at the North Koreans. Any Singaporean who thinks that the North Koreans are going to attack Singapore should go get admitted to IMH.
The pesky countries of Asean would not dare capture Chinese sailors or make nonsensical claims against Chinese territories or ever raring to go to war with China. There will be a new balance of power and a new status quo. Peace will have a better chance when little pests know that they cannot stir trouble and think they can get away with it.
An aggressive evil power is the temptation for small countries to destabilize the region, with the evil power nudging them from behind. Fear not, for the evil power is behind them. It is a good thing if the defence budget of the US is slashed drastically. Then calm and peace shall return. They would not have the money to start wars everywhere.
All the wars are started by the Americans. Make no mistake about it. Remove the blinkers to see the truth. They create the tension, the instability, the suspicion, and then invited themselves in to be the policeman, the peacemaker, the leader. And of course, to sell more weapons.
Pension is 10% of annual salary at most
Hsien Loong has spoken on the impending findings of the Salary Review Committee, likely to be out in time for Christmas. He touched a bit on how the pension scheme works and that the max a minister will get is 10% of his annual salary. In his short revelation, everything is in percentages and nothing absolute was revealed.
What is 10% of annual salary? Or what is annual salary? Does this annual salary comprise the basic monthly salary, 13th month AWS, performance bonus and productivity bonus based on the GDP? If the annual total is $10m, 10% will be $1m, assuming that last year the bonus was really huge and the average was $10m per minister. And if the bonus was bigger, then the percentage will be smaller and vice versa.
If the pension is based on annual salary which includes many variable bonuses, presumably the pension should be variable over the years as well. But this is just too perplexing to compute. I would rather believe that the pension is based on the fixed monthly salary. Given a minister’s salary of say $3m a year, the pension of 10% should be about $300k. Right or not?
If the pension is computed using gross annual salary that includes bonuses, then something is not in order as the performance factor and GDP growth should no longer be applicable to a pensioner. As the pension is a monthly payment, even the 13th AWS should not be in the computation. It should be a simple computation based on the last drawn monthly salary and nothing else. Tiok boh? What about allowances?
The other problem about adding all the bonuses into the annual salary is that it is going to vary from year to year. So ministers retiring on a good year like George and his colleagues, the pension is going to be better than those who retire in a bad year. This doesn’t make sense.
So I would think the annual salary is based on 12 months or at most 13 months. And definitely all other allowances for all kinds of appointments other than the minister’s salary will be excluded. We will have to see what the final figure is, if it is not a state secret like the cost of building a HDB flat. If not at the very best, the figures given will be only a matter of percentages.
No self respecting human resource professionals will include performance bonuses and the country’s GDP performance as components in the computation of a person’s pension. Pension does not take into account individual or the country’s performance into the future.
What is 10% of annual salary? Or what is annual salary? Does this annual salary comprise the basic monthly salary, 13th month AWS, performance bonus and productivity bonus based on the GDP? If the annual total is $10m, 10% will be $1m, assuming that last year the bonus was really huge and the average was $10m per minister. And if the bonus was bigger, then the percentage will be smaller and vice versa.
If the pension is based on annual salary which includes many variable bonuses, presumably the pension should be variable over the years as well. But this is just too perplexing to compute. I would rather believe that the pension is based on the fixed monthly salary. Given a minister’s salary of say $3m a year, the pension of 10% should be about $300k. Right or not?
If the pension is computed using gross annual salary that includes bonuses, then something is not in order as the performance factor and GDP growth should no longer be applicable to a pensioner. As the pension is a monthly payment, even the 13th AWS should not be in the computation. It should be a simple computation based on the last drawn monthly salary and nothing else. Tiok boh? What about allowances?
The other problem about adding all the bonuses into the annual salary is that it is going to vary from year to year. So ministers retiring on a good year like George and his colleagues, the pension is going to be better than those who retire in a bad year. This doesn’t make sense.
So I would think the annual salary is based on 12 months or at most 13 months. And definitely all other allowances for all kinds of appointments other than the minister’s salary will be excluded. We will have to see what the final figure is, if it is not a state secret like the cost of building a HDB flat. If not at the very best, the figures given will be only a matter of percentages.
No self respecting human resource professionals will include performance bonuses and the country’s GDP performance as components in the computation of a person’s pension. Pension does not take into account individual or the country’s performance into the future.
11/23/2011
TPP – The Poverty Pact
The Beggar’s Sect was a very big social gang in the fables and legends of the Chinese pugilistic literature. It was a big gang of beggars that boasted of great martial arts exponents to protect their turfs and areas of operation. They set up their own rules, collect protection fees from their members and would beat up challengers to their territories and their controlled businesses.
The thing is that the Beggar’s Sect was mainly for beggars, and the rich would keep themselves away from the Sect. The Sect continued their existence with members from the begging community.
There seems to be a revival of the Beggar’s Sect in the Pacific region, led by the Americans, the country that is deep in debt. It is roping in more indebted countries as members in a pact called the TPP, standing for the Trans Pacific Partnership, or is it The Poverty Pact? And it is beating all the drums to make it attractive and teasing China to join the pact. The thing is whether China, with all the money in its treasury, and being the biggest creditor of the US, would want to join the poor countries that could only shout but with nothing left in its treasury?
Would China be deceived into joining the TPP or The Poverty Pact? Anyway, with Asean as an established regional grouping of countries and linking up with the big economic countries of the world, is there a need for a new pact to be led by a poor country from the eastern Pacific coast that is many thousands of miles away? Why should these Asian and Southeast Asian countries be led by a country in America? Are they that helpless, and lack of leaders to need to be led by someone else who simply walked in and say I am your leader?
And there is also an APEC. So why dance to a new pact because the Americans say so? APEC and Asean are all redundant and there is a need for another new animal to get things done?
The thing is that the Beggar’s Sect was mainly for beggars, and the rich would keep themselves away from the Sect. The Sect continued their existence with members from the begging community.
There seems to be a revival of the Beggar’s Sect in the Pacific region, led by the Americans, the country that is deep in debt. It is roping in more indebted countries as members in a pact called the TPP, standing for the Trans Pacific Partnership, or is it The Poverty Pact? And it is beating all the drums to make it attractive and teasing China to join the pact. The thing is whether China, with all the money in its treasury, and being the biggest creditor of the US, would want to join the poor countries that could only shout but with nothing left in its treasury?
Would China be deceived into joining the TPP or The Poverty Pact? Anyway, with Asean as an established regional grouping of countries and linking up with the big economic countries of the world, is there a need for a new pact to be led by a poor country from the eastern Pacific coast that is many thousands of miles away? Why should these Asian and Southeast Asian countries be led by a country in America? Are they that helpless, and lack of leaders to need to be led by someone else who simply walked in and say I am your leader?
And there is also an APEC. So why dance to a new pact because the Americans say so? APEC and Asean are all redundant and there is a need for another new animal to get things done?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)