The significance of Hong Lim Spring

Has anything changed after 16 February? Was the attendance at the protest rally loud enough to be heard by the Govt? Did the Govt hear or want to hear the voices of the people, its citizens, the people that voted them to power, the people that voted the MPs to parliament to represent their interests, to speak out for them?

The 77 MPs that voted for the White Paper, did they vote because the Party told them to vote, or did they vote because that was what the people wanted them to vote for? If they are voting against the will of the people, are they going to stick to it and go along with the recommendations in the White Paper? Or would they reflect and want to reconsider their duties to the people in parliament, whether they should rescind their votes and act to have the White Paper thrown out as the people wanted them to do so?

The main issue now is about representing the people or betraying the trust of the people. What would these MPs do? What would the Govt do now that the people have vehemently spoken out against what it wanted to do? Would the Govt continue its deaf frog way, do what it thinks is right and ignore the wishes of the people?

Assuming that the 77 MPs just buat bodoh, no, we didn’t see anything or hear anything, what is Hong Lim Spring or protest all about? Was there a protest? And nothing changes, that they did not want to do anything, what are the people going to do about it or can do about it? Similarly, if the Govt continues to pursue the things it set out to do in the White Paper, what can the people do about it?

Would there be any substantial changes from the Govt following Hong Lim? Would the people rise to the occasion to challenge the Govt not to pursue what the people did not want it to do?

Would things remain the same, things as per normal, business as per normal with the Govt and the ministers and MPs going about their lives as if nothing really happen? The best part is that the Govt could simply ignore whatever happened at Hong Lim, show no respect to the wishes of the people. The Govt not only knows best but has all the power to do as it pleases.

We are Singapore…16.02 to 2016

16 Feb was not the best day to hold a rally. It was still in the midst of CNY festivities and people would be too caught up with visiting friends and relatives and having parties and feasting. And to ask them to go down to Hong Lim Park in black was not exactly a good idea when the in colour was red. Though this would not affect the other communities, it was still a drawback in terms of getting as many people as possible to the ground.

Then the organisers were quite cheap skate too. No packet chicken rice and no free coaches to bring the supporters to the site. And no goodie bags too. I am sure by throwing some money up front the attendance would definitely improve. How many Sinkies would take the trouble to be there when getting there also cost money as public transport is not cheap any more. Then there was the risk of being caught in a train disruption and not even getting there.

And of all things, the sky was threatening. It was raining and could pour dogs and cats. Many would choose the comfort of staying at home, high and dry and continue with their CNY celebration.

And many did not even know that such an event was being held. There was not an inkling of news in the main media that there was a protest rally at Hong Lim. Only the internet savvy Sinkies were privy to this event. And they could do just so much to get it across to their close friends and people close to them. The dissemination of this event was slip shod at best and restricted by having no access to the main media, the newspapers, radio and TV. No neglect on the part of the organisers of course. They did their very best.

But they came, the Ah Gongs and Ah Mahs, the mums and pas with their children, toddlers and babies despite the inclement weather. The young adults were there too. I have never seen so many Sinkies in one place for a long time. At least 5000 were there, or more. And there were many familiar faces. Bumped into several old friends and acquaintances, and practically everyone present a Sinkie. You knew, you could feel it, you felt comfortable, felt like you were back to a time when nearly everyone was a Sinkie.

Where have you Sinkies been all these years and only to show your face in Hong Lim, to be together as one people, one country and one Singapore? We have lost that feeling. We have lost that sense of belonging, that this is our country. Our daily encounters, every one other person is a stranger, a foreigner. And the media and the Govt were talking non stop about these foreigners and how good they were and how indispensable they were to our good lives. We are now a poor and pathetic lot that could not help ourselves and are dependent on these foreigners for our welfare and well being.

When will this country become a Sinkie country once again? At Hong Lim, you could sense that the people were one, together as one people, and wanted to have their country back. They knew something was missing and they had to act to get it right again. Would they have the good fortune to recovering their country and be owners once more, or it is a lost cause. They are now nearly a minority in their own country. By 2030, they will be the absolute minority and may be herded into some reservations for their own protection and their own good, so that they would not become extinct, like the Red Indians. Johore, Batam and Bintang are good sites for reservations for Sinkies by then.

It was a wet day and it was umbrellas everywhere.

Spring in Hong Lim Park

As I drove down AYE towards Hong Lim Park the sky was covered by thick black cloud. There was a drizzle and lightning flashes across the sky. It was quite threatening and I was not optimistic of the turnout for the protest rally. Who is not afraid of rain, thunder and lightning in the open?

I arrived just after 4pm and the Hong Lim multi storey car park was already full. I ended parking right at the top level, and I was lucky as the few empty lots were quickly taken up. I hurriedly made my way to Hong Lim under a slight drizzle. The rain had petered off and no more lightnings. Thank God. Maybe the large crowd already at the wet and muddy field was strong enough to chase away the dark clouds. Umbrellas were everywhere, and the noise, the roar and tremble, could be felt as I approached the field. It was filled to the brim. I have never seen so many people in Hong Lim. The crowd was 10 times bigger than the Gay Rights Event, easily 5 to 6,000 in my estimate.

The drizzle, the wetness and the refreshing air, and a people acting in unison, with one dream and one purpose, it was like spring is in the air. I was busy trying to find some good angles to shoot some pics for the blog. The light was just good enough and can't complain about the rain though a bit worried about my camera. My disappointment was not able to meet up with Fish, but with the crowd it was near impossible. Neither was I able to catch a glimsp of Patriot and the rest of you. Manage to meet up with a few RI mafias who were there too. And yes, took a photo with Dr Wong Wee Nam too.

Here are some of the pictures which can better tell the story of the Hong Lim Spring.

The White Paper jigsaw puzzle

So many things have been said about this White Paper and so many pieces of thoughts or rubbish have been uttered to justify its relevance and execution. Let me just highlight the loose pieces here and try to piece them together to see if they make any sense and what is the complete picture. Life time crisis, worst case scenario, a planning paper, political suicide, TFR, senior citizen dependency, GDP growth, good quality living, more foreigners, Singaporean core, and 6.9 population target just for fun.

Let me deal with the most important statement of the White Paper, it is a life time crisis that we are facing. Is this crying wolf or for real? The crisis mentioned so far is about a fast ageing population and a low fertility rate. So our population will shrink. Is that a crisis or a life time crisis? Many matured economies are facing the same problem. Are they facing a life time crisis? There is an international call to reduce or at least stop the world population from growing. The human race is consuming too much of the limited resources in the world and over consuming to the risk of destroying Mother Earth. A slowing down or dwindling population is not a crisis and not a crisis of a life time. The solution is how to cope with slower growth without lowering the quality of life. The perverse solution of pumping more heads to sustain growth is pure nuts. It is like having a higher dosage of drugs to keep the high.

The population decline is over a period of decades, a slow ageing process and there is time to consider all the options and solutions to manage this process without rushing into an equally difficult position that will get the country and people into an even more in extractable situation in the future. Is there a need to force the country into taking a path that amounts to political suicide? Is the ageing problem that mounting and there is no better way out except to increase the population by bringing in more foreigners? Is this the best the Govt can think of?

And it was also said that this was just a projection by the planners to plan ahead. And the 6.9m is only a worst case scenario. They want to plan ahead, build ahead and provide for the future. What happens to the life time crisis? Is there a crisis or just a planning crisis? Why are the politicians so jittery about this proposal like it is a do or die solution?

Or is it about GDP growth and in order to have growth, it would need to increase the population. No population growth, no economic growth. So must increase the population by another 1.6 million. And because of the increase, more housing needs to be built, more land reclamation, and more economic activities and more growth?  Now, which comes first, 1.7m people or economic growth or more housing and land reclamation? If there is no need for 1.7m more people, all the infrastructure for them need not be built and no need to incur the cost, monetary and environment and social and also political. Can economic growth be achieved through other means? Is economic growth and numbers the reason for all the cravings and desire for more people?

Or is the White Paper about better quality living and not about any life time crisis? The future towns will be better, more well designed with greeneries everywhere. It will be just like Sentosa and the Avatar Garden, very green and very costly, all man made, to replace the natural greeneries that were nature’s gift for free.

Or is the White Paper about strengthening the Singaporean core? There is a compelling reason to bring in more foreigners in order to strengthen the Singaporean core, in quality and not in quantity. I don’t buy that. Do you? For if such a logic is true and taken to its final conclusion, the lesser the number of true blue Singaporeans is left, the stronger will be the Singaporean core, and finally we will be left with the strongest of the strongest Sinkie core of 77 or 80 Sinkies.

The senior citizen composition in the population is a natural and transient problem and will go to pass. And the problem is not as big as it is blown up to be. The baby boomers, many are very well off, if not, they will have their CPF savings or a HDB flat to live through their last days with enough to eat. One caveat, if they are not robbed off of every savings by the hospitals and the medical professionals in their dying days. And many are working, through the years, 65, 70 and more. Many have families to take care of them. The dependency ratio is outdated in our context when personal and national savings are one of the highest in the world, and many are asset rich and can be traded off for retirement.

Where is the problem, where is the life time crisis? What is it that is real in the White Paper? Why the urgency and political suicide to pass through a paper in such a rush? A major crisis will need more time and serious considerations to ponder over what is best to be done. Looks like this crisis can wait for no time. It must be done immediately, saved by this White Paper and nothing else will work.

I have tried to put the puzzle pieces together, but they don’t seem to fit and many gaps are still waiting to be filled. How transparent is this White Paper and what is the real crisis proportion problem that the people are led to believe? Anyone any wiser?

Poll result for Hong Lim Park Rally

First let me say a word of thanks to all the respondents to the two recent polls on the White Paper. It is very heartening to have more than 600 people participating in a poll on a small blog like this. It is even more encouraging to know that the people are of one mind, or at least 97% of the people share the same values and thinking.

And now the poll on the attendance to tomorrow’s protest rally has just ended and we have 79% (191 of 239) indicating they will be there and another 11% indicating maybe, which will definitely boost the number attending to well over 80%. My experience with some of the gatherings at Hong Lim was that the number of participants was anaemic, about 200 at most in most instances. And just from the bloggers here alone we have almost that number going to attend. This is a small indication that this event is going to be big and the number is going to surprise many people.

The response in other blogs and sites are equally encouraging. Just a simple rule of thumb, if 20 blogs could generate 200 participants each that will be 4000 heads. And if one were to include those not counted, the number could easily double, or if everyone is to bring a friend.

It is nice to see the Sinkies being interested in national issues that affect them dearly. This is also the feedback that the Govt is asking for. This is the maturing of a people, with eyes open, to want to know and to want to have a say in matters of the nation.

Thank you all once again. And thank you for your coffee. Just keep it coming and let the advertisers pay. Thanks everyone.

The passion of Fish

Singaporeans must recognize the enormous amount of work and effort Gilbert Goh and his team are putting in to organize this protest rally at Hong Lim Park this Saturday at 4pm. This is real sacrifice! The manpower, the logistics, the invitations to speakers, and the spectrums of things that he and his team are putting in, all for free, are very demanding for volunteers, people acting on their free will. It is a people’s movement started by a core of very passionate citizens who wanted to have a say, and also to shape the future of their home country.

Gilbert and his team will labour on to make this event the Event of the Year, with no organizational or institutional help or support. They cannot snap their fingers and have highly trained people at their finger tips. They have practically no financial resources and have no goodies or goodie bags to give away, to entice greater participation. But they soldier on. It will be a sad day if their effort should go to waste if the people of Singapore fail to show up, fail to show support to a very important cause that will transform their lives and the lives of the future generations to come.

Other than Gilbert, there is another very passionate individual among many individuals that are drumming up support for this event. He is none other than the never say die FeedmetotheFish or simply Fish. He will be there with his family and grandchildren. He is calling every Singaporean to be there or at least sending a representative from each family to be there. He is shouting his voice hoarse, despite his troubled heart, both organically and emotionally. Fish is going to lead the charge of the Sinkie miserables. This word, miserables, may not be appropriate or relevant today but could be a pain in the neck in the future when the island is flooded by immigrants.

How many Sinkies will heed the call? How many Sinkies will think this event and the issue are important enough to move their butts to Hong Lim Park? How many are still ignorant of this event? I have yet to read it in the main media. This is an event of the people that have been ignored. Will the people, you, be ignored?

The social media is taking on this daunting task to raise the concern of the average Sinkies and all Sinkies. It is the voice of the people, the silent majority that has not been heard and will not be heard without the social media. There are many heroes in this Event of the Year. Fish, Gilbert and many others stand out as shining examples that Sinkies have awakened and will rise to the occasion when it really matters.

Will you be there?

Multiculturism can do us in - LKY

Below is a quote from LKY on multiculturism and how America could be done in if multiculturism makes America more Hispanics than Anglo Saxons. It is about tribes, about the vitality of certain species over other species. This is his quote in Forbes.com, ‘He(LKY) also gives U.S. immigration practices a failing grade, declaring that “multiculturalism will destroy America.” The key question is: “do you make the Hispanics Anglo-Saxons in culture or do they make you more Latin American in culture?”’

We are moving aggressively into multiculturism above the historical four major ethnic groups. Now we are pouring in the cement and mud of other immigrants into our mix. Are we putting in more mud or cement like the Hispanics versus Anglo Saxons mix? If we are bringing in more of poorer quality genes, we will be just as worst off as the Americans as described by LKY. We will also be done in.

What would the 6.9m mix be like? Or have we included too much mud into the 5.3m mix already and have to live with it in the future?

Hri Kumar’s suggestion on defence tax on PRs and foreigners

With so many outcries on the grave disadvantages Sinkies are facing vis a vis PRs and foreigners, finally the plea has landed on the ears of Hri Kumar. And he has proposed to level the playing field a bit more in favour of Sinkies. His suggestions, since Sinkies serve NS, the PRs and foreigners too need to contribute to our defense for enjoying the protection provided by our soldiers. He is talking about some taxes to be levied on the PRs and foreigners.

The principle is right and no one can argue against such logic. What were disturbing were the kind of excuses and protests being made by some of the commentators. This is one of the comments from former NMP Paulin Straughan, ‘Yes, it is important for us to distinguish Singaporeans from non Singaporeans, because citizenship should matter in any country. But in doing so we have to be careful…the tone with which we introduce it is important and also how we differentiate should not stand out from what other countries do so much so that we stand out as a place where if you go there as a foreigner you will be shortchanged.’

Now what is this all about? The underlying assumption is that we need foreigners who are more talented than our locals to come here. True? Look around you and ask yourself how many are real talents? Two, this island is not really that attractive and the foreigners will go somewhere better? Really, go where? Which country is so happy to open their legs to be screwed by foreigners so willingly?

The third point is more hurtful. We must be careful with our tone so as not to offend the foreigners woah, and we must not shortchanged them. Sayang, sayang, please don’t get angry, please come, we need you…. Bull shit! We have been shortchanging our Sinkies for so many years and in so many ways and hurting our citizens in favour of foreigners for too long. Why no one bothers to say anything about shortchanging the Sinkies? Can shortchange the Sinkies but not foreigners?

What do you think?

Hong Lim Rally - Do not ignore us!

How many Sinkies out there feel strongly about the increasing population and more foreigners that are going to be brought into this country without their consent, and despite their disapproval? The voices of objection have been spoken and the 77 men and women have heard it. They don’t take heed. They are ignoring the people of this island that called this island home and wanted to fill it up with more and more people. After creating this life time crisis, they are offering another solution that could lead to a many life time crisis as the only solution.

No, the people, excluding the 77, did not want more people here. No, they want growth but through other means. No, there must be other ways to create growth without having more people. There can be growth without increasing the population. There can also be growth with 5m or 4m people. Whose theory is it that without population growth there can be no economic or GDP growth?

GDP growth and population growth are not inseparable, that they must go in tandem, that without one you cannot have the other. They are not inseparable twins. The people want growth but not the huge population that will be introduced into this little piece of rock. Don’t ignore the people, don’t ignore the more than 5m people.

This Saturday’s Hong Lim Protest Rally could be our answer to the Tea Party Rally, our very own Kopitiam Rally.

Under building and overbuilding are both troublemakers

The Govt did a marvelous job in solving the housing problems left behind by the colonial masters. It was sheer neglect, disinterest, to build for a growing population after the war. But that was what colonial masters were. They only looked after their own interests, not so much the interests of the colonized people if they could get a way with it.

It was a mammoth task to house a population that was huddled into clusters of attap and zinc roof huts, dilapidated old buildings of cubicles spreaded across the island. The massive rebuilding of the city and country was achieved within a matter of a decade or slightly more. The people were well housed and with a few to spare. One could buy a flat like walking into a departmental store.

Then came the brilliant idea and logic of a super talent. Too many flats not sold meant a lot of assets unused or under used and a heavy cost to the Govt. Get rid of them! And so they did. Then came the next flawed logic. Build only when the demand was firmed. Place the order and pay the deposit first. Only then would the Govt start to acquire the land, do the planning and design and then build. It would take 4 or 5 years. But that was the price for a clinically systematic Govt that prided itself of super efficiency at the expense of the people. There would be no wastage. Every unit of flat built would have an immediate buyer/owner who waited for the last 5 years.

The policy was not to build in advance but to under build. And now we have the gigantic problems of today with housing prices shooting through the roof, with many young people having to wait and wait for their flats. With many marriages delayed, babies delayed and all the consequences of a housing shortage.

Now another new and enlightened wisdom has surfaced. We shall build in advance, we shall over build to provide for future needs. Whoa, like dat oso can. Macam masak masak. Yesterday like that cannot, not like that is the brilliant answer to a wronged policy. Would anyone be crying out loud that a few hundred billions of assets be laid in waiting and costing a lot of money and interests to the Govt? Tiok boh? How can build so many flats in advance and waiting for buyers? Now, who is so clever to come up with such a policy? KNN, I also dunno what is right or wrong, what is good policy or bad policy. Toss a coin to see which one is good or bad.

Is this what super talent is all about? Is this why we have to pay millions for the crème ala crème?

The real test of a Sinkie

There is no need to ask any high brow question about what is a Sinkie. There is no need to know about shared values, culture, experience growing up and all the craps of what not, can speak the language or know the history of the island. The real test comes when there is a crisis and a letter or a public announcement that all adults must register at specified centres for service to the country. This is not necessarily restricted to NSmen. Every Sinkie will answer the call, will go to the reporting centres to sign up. There will be no question ask, no second thoughts. Cause they know that they are Sinkies and this is their country and this is what they have to do.

When a Sinkie has to question himself if he has to sign up, if he wants to sign up, or should he take the next flight out, nationhood has failed. It may have already. How to expect foreigners or new citizens, don’t bother about PRs, to report to the centres when many don’t even want to do NS? A Sinkie is a Sinkie by nature, it is in him or her to serve the country when needed. No erat erat, no reasoning on whether it is good or bad, or what is there for me, they will answer the call of the country.

At least I know that the older generations did just that, before NS came into effect. Being a citizen is a part of the psyche of a citizen, something like falling in love, no need any reasons or justification. I wonder how many of the new citizens, forget about the PRs, will react when there is a crisis and a general mobilization.

Quote by Joey, a blogger in TRE

This is a quote by a blogger in TRE to my article on How much GIC and Temasek have contributed to the public coffer. And I take liberty to modify it a little. This is the original comment, ‘People working harder and harder for lesser and lesser to feed an elite group which is getting fatter and fatter.’

This is my extended version…People working harder and harder for lesser and lesser to buy smaller and smaller flats at higher and higher prices and the elite getting richer and fatter.

How to weaken the Sinkie core?

This is a simple question with many simple solutions. But there is a catch. When one is talking about the core, it reminds me of biology lessons when the core of a cell is the tiny nucleus. That is the core, and the core is meant to be very small though a very important critical mass. Is this the population core that the Govt is talking about, a smaller core is still acceptable, the smaller the stronger, or strengthening by making it smaller?

In conventional logic, to strengthen the population core, it must be increasing the numbers that are making the core. A 70% Sinkie core is definitely a stronger core than a 60% or 50% core. No craps about quality replacing quantity and a core of 30% of super talents is better than a 70% core of the masses. Theoretically this is good on papers but rubbish in reality. No country can have a population of super talents and no average or below average citizens unless the latter are all culled in a screening process, or expelled.

Weakening the Sinkie core is so easily done, by reducing their numbers or percentage in the population. Another way is to dilute them with foreigners as new citizens to hide the truth, that there are now more Sinkies but not really Sinkies as a Sinkie would know.

There are many ways to get rid of Sinkies. Forcing them to emigrate, some left because they find themselves no longer competitive vis a vis foreigners, under pressure by the system, disadvantaged. How about a policy that invites foreign talents to replace local talents? Sounds logical, clinical, practical, functional but totally devoid of the intangibles of country and citizens, of a social contract between govt and its people with share values and a common bond and destiny. It is all so numerical, so calculative and economic. Man is not just an economic animal. A country is not an economic unit.

Nothing can be worst than to replace local talents with fake talents or half baked talents. And that is not strengthening the core but eroding the core, undermining the Sinkie core. It is so easy to weaken the Sinkie core.

North Korean bomb making East Asia a safer place

Contrary to all the hue and cry about the latest detonation of a nuclear bomb by North Korea, this act and the nuclear capability of the North Koreans have in many ways helped to stabilise the East Asia region from going into war. Japan and South Korea will now have more reasons not to provoke the North Koreans or threaten military actions every other day. The consequences of a hostile act by any of these two countries could be devastating. There are now more reasons to want to be nice to the North Koreans and develop more lasting and peaceful economic and diplomatic relations instead of making enemies.

The bigger threat of war in the region, the evil Empire in the US too will have to take cognizance of the North Korean’s ability to deliver the black eye. The Americans cannot afford a nuclear bomb on any of its major cities. Any preventive strike, any hostile act of aggression, any premeditated invasion, threat or provocation, or war games, will have to be very carefully calibrated and restrained. The cowboy’s shoot first talk later cannot work anymore as the price to be extracted by the North Koreans is unacceptable.

And no, the North Koreans, like any nuclear power, will not be trigger happy to fire a nuclear missile at any country any moment. Such an act is assured self destruction of North Korea. The American nuclear arsenal is formidable and unchallenged and cannot be challenged. The nuclear capability is an insurance certificate the North Koreans have bought for themselves against any cowboy president in the US that thinks he could strike with impunity. The North Koreans have secured their country from foreign attacks.

The current spate of fist waving and table thumping are likely to subside and reasons and cool heads will take over. The war rhetoric and war games the Americans and South Koreans conduct regularly near the North Korean’s border would have to be toned down for good measures. Any military intervention for a regime change in North Korea is now out of question. When the bully does not have overwhelming superiority to hit out at a weaker enemy that cannot hit back, the bully would have to talk less aggressively from now on.

The North Koreans have bought peace and avoided the fate of an Iraq or Libya. It is now the turn of the Iranians to do the same to protect themselves against an invasion led by the evil Empire and its proxies. Only then would Iran be safe from the evil Empire and Israel. No country would want to start a war with a nuclear power. For they cannot win and should it come close, the nuclear power will just unleash its nuclear might to end it all.

Strange but it is the hard truth. The world is a safer place with the acquisition of nuclear power by small nations to protect themselves against aggressive and belligerent evil Empires and their proxies that believe in might is right.

How much weight to carry around?

Do you want to walk around with 60kg, 100kg or 150 kg as your body weight? Between 60 to 100kg I think many could still feel quite comfortable to move around with their daily life routines. Beyond that, to carry more than a 100kg of body mass, getting around is not going to be easy and there are many other negative side effects. The first part is to keep and maintain that weight, it is going to be very costly in the consumption of food and medical services/products. Even the whole wardrobe got to be changed, as well as the furniture.

On the lighter side of 100kg, living is that much easier, and that much cheaper. One does not need to eat a pail of rice and all the meat and vegetables to go with, maybe a bit obese but not too heavy on the knees and the feet and the heart. There is no need to eat like a glutton, wasting so much food that is totally unnecessary. The intake of a 150kg is going to be more than twice that of a 60kg, and more of everything.

This is a very simple analogy of what a population of 5m, 6m and 7m is going to be like. If we can get along fine with 5m, why pushing for 6m or more? Can we live with 5m and remain healthy? The Govt’s view is that we are hitting a crisis of a life time if we don’t go the 7m way. The reasons given were not convincing and never look like anything of a crisis. There will be major adjustments that needed to be made. The adjustments are much easier at the current level than when it balloons to 7m. It will then be a 7m kind of problem.

There is often the call to be mean and lean and fighting fit. 7m is not going to be fighting fit but going to slow down everything as the cost to sustain a 7m population is going to be very much more difficult and the returns will be marginal. The fact that the GDP will only grow by 2 – 2.5% for a 100k increase of heads annually just does not make reasonable sense. Why are the social and other costs and consequences not spelt out for the people? So far everyone has been told of the good things but no one is telling the bad part.

We all know what it is like of a 150kg body. The similarities need no imaginations.

Japan, the first of 21 Demands in the 21st Century

Japan is back to its mischief once again like it did to colonise Korea, Manchuria and China and eventually the whole of Southeast Asia. During its imperialist days, it repeated fabricated acts and incidents in China and blamed it on the weak Qing Govt and later the ROC. And after creating every incident it will demand apologies, compensation and special concessions from China. It kept on bullying China and eventually invaded China in an attempt to colonise the country.

Japan has started to create incidents to provoke China by first making a fictitious buying out of the Diaoyu Islands which it snatched from China in the late 19^th Century. This has forced the Chinese hands to exert their rights over the islands. The Japanese escalated the tension by scrambling fighter aircrafts and naval crafts to intercept Chinese surveillance planes and ships. The latest tension is the accusation that a Chinese frigate locked radar onto a Japanese destroyer. This is like the Tonkin Incident when the Americans accused the Vietnamese for ramming their patrol boats against an American warship.

And the haughty and arrogant Japanese PM Abe is making his demand that China apologise for the act. This is going to remind the Chinese of the 21 Demands Japan made on China to control China and seized Chinese territories. Many Chinese are going to be riled by this demand and will react in a hostile manner and raising the temperature in the island dispute. Japan is provoking China to defend itself and to accuse China of acting aggressively. This is likely to be part of an American Japanese plot to show to the Southeast Asian nations that China is indeed an aggressive big power.

What can China do? China cannot run away from this fight. It has to take the Japanese and the Americans on or it would have endless troubles and even losing Diaoyu Islands for good. China must demand that Japan withdraw all its ships from Diaoyu Islands or face the consequence of war. This is the new bottom line.

How much have GIC and Temasek contributed…

How much have GIC and Temasek contributed to the national coffer annually? The combined asset managed by these two SWFs could be near a trillion. One used to claim a return of 17% annually but lately the numbers seemed to be more down to earth, something like 5%. Correct me if I am wrong on this as I am recalling it from some faded memories.

At 5% interest for a sum of $1 trillion it will work out to $50b annually. It the sum managed is $600b, the profit is some $30b annually. DBS Bank’s profit is about $3b lately and used to be between $1b to $2b. The two funds are equivalent to 15 to 25 DBS Banks in terms of profit. In a more general term, the amount could be the profits of a whole industrial estate like Jurong. It is big money and can make the budget that much easier on the Govt.

With this kind of profits, the contribution to the national coffer must be quite substantial and is a major source of national income. How have these returns benefited the people, in what ways, how much, not many people really know. It would be nice for the Govt to tell the people how great the contributions were from these two very profitable organizations and how the citizens have greatly benefited from them. Would there be some numbers coming out soon?

What is Singapore’s GDP now? $300b or $400b? The White Paper is planning for a GDP growth of around 2% or 2.5%. At 2% growth rate, the GDP should increase by $6b or $8b using the $300b as base. And this is what the White Paper seeks to achieve with the import of nearly a 100,000 immigrants annually over the next 17 years. This is really pathetic for the added social and economic costs of housing an additional 1.6m people in the island.

Compare the profits that could be generated by GIC and Temasek combined? With a lower average of $30b in annual profits, do we really need to import 1.6m people just for a token $6b to 8b increase in our GDP and to live with the consequences of a highly densely populated city? If the two SWFs could increase their profits by 10%, they could do what the import of 1.6m people could do. That would be neat isn’t it?

Now I have a better proposal than the White Paper and the WP’s paper. No need to increase the population at all. Just work on the productivity of the two SWFs and to raise their annual profits and there is no need to live in a congested concrete jungle with everything shrinking except the population.

Lim Wee Kiat prefers suicide to euthanasia

“The feedback I received from my friends was that the alternative plans would kill the economy and this is euthanasia for Singapore. Between suicide for PAP versus euthanasia for the country… my choice is clear, I support the White Paper.” Said Lim Wee Kiat.

This is the first time that a PAP MP spoke honestly about what he thought of the White Paper. He knew that it was political suicide. This is one thing that the people will deal to the PAP comes 2016. What is of greater concern is whether the White Paper would also lead the country into a suicidal path. Many think so except the 77 and are speaking out to stop this self destruction down the road. The fact that the country has come to this juncture where the PAP admitted is a crisis of a life time and going along with the White Paper, a road of no return, speaks for the quality of the Govt to lead the country to a safe landing. Sinkies are now offered an option to jump from a frying pan into the deep blue sea.

Why not give the WP’s proposal a chance as they have not contributed to this crisis that needs another no choice do will die and don’t do will also die proposition of the PAP? The PAP may try to run down the WP proposal or any proposal from anyone, and to call it euthanasia. But that is PAP’s view of things and the WP did not think so and neither do the people. On record, every policy or decision by the PAP is a near perfect solution as claimed, a most well thought out solution, carefully calibrated, but still ended up with this crisis of a life time. It is also a historical fact that none, nothing from the opposition will ever be deemed as workable. Thank God that this is the case and the WP can sleep well that they did not contribute anything to the current crisis and needs another crisis loaded White Paper that is, as expected, touted as the only solution for the day.

Could the current crisis be avoided if the PAP had borrowed some ideas from the opposition, listen a little and not to adopt a ‘knows all’ and infallible attitude? The PAP deserves the full credit of what is happening today and the crisis that it has brought to the people. They have adopted the deaf frog attitude to do what it thought were best that lands the country into the current state of affair.

Without the Whip and without any regards to party loyalty, how many of the 77 would vote against this White Paper? When Hsien Loong shouts charge, how many will be charging with him and how many will just stay put and watch him charging ahead? Hsien Loong can be comforted by having the ministers running beside him, and of course Lim Wee Kiat and a few others.

The GE may come much sooner than 2016. This White Paper could have caused a serious rift within the PAP and a break could come into the open at the earliest opportune time. Surely not every PAP MP is agreeable to this suicidal path. In the last breakout the breakaway camp formed the Barisan Socialis, But history was not on their side and PAP came up tops. Barisan Socialis is history. The impending break could turn the table and the PAP could be on the losing end. All it needs is 37 PAP MPs to walk away to form a coalition with the WP, they could form a majority and the next Govt. This would force the PAP to call for a GE prematurely.

Don’t say not possible.

Who is qualified to comment on national policies?

‘According to the snapshot which TR Emeritus (TRE) received from a regular TRE reader, a Facebook user calling himself “Zhi Hao” has opined that only those who have studied economics, law, sociology, history, anthropology, public administration, public policy, national politics, international relations, comparative politics, psychology, political organization and political theory are qualified to comment on “policy the government came out with”.’ This is an extract of an article posted in TRE.

I am posting this article in jest. If we agree with this Zhi Hao, doctors and engineers, architects, among those excluded from his list should not be commenting on govt policies and national issues. But can doctors, engineers and architects be politicians and sit in Parliament talking politics and making decisions on national issues? : ) Taxi drivers and the Ah Pehs and Ah Mahs in kopitiams sure not qualify to talk politics. And all those who never make it to universities cannot also.

This is definitely from a young man. It is good to be young and say what you like when you are young and when people know you are young. The young will grow up one day.

Weekend is good for such snippets. Sinkies shall enjoy their blessings while it lasts.

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone

祝大家新年快乐

These are two of my rar arts from the Bloodline Series. Both are untitled. Maybe I shall call them Chinese New Year Celebration I and II.