Overhauling of banking sector to regain trust

The CEO of DBS, Piyush Gupta, spoke to students and finance professionals about the need to overhaul the banking sector to regain public trust. This call is troubling as it touches only the surface of a major industry where trust was fundamental to its existence.

The banking industry used to be very conservative and operated under some fundamental rules like strong and steady without big risk taking. Today, the industry is the biggest gambler and risk taker in the history of modern finance. The risk the banking sector is taking is many times more than all the casinos in the world combined. A slip is all it needs to bring the world economy down to its knees. It did in the late 1990s and a bigger one is coming as nothing really changes. The gambling gets only bigger and more furious. They need to pay themselves crazy.

What Piyush Gupta said is nothing knew. Jackson Tai, his predecessor, also said more or less the same thing. But it was all words. Who would want to overturn the gravy train when every banker is filling his bank accounts with slush funds and easy money from big stake gamblings, yes, in derivatives and complex derivatives, not forgetting all the insidious dealings in money laundering, in rate fixing and crooked deals etc etc ?

So what, nothing will change and the game will continue as big money needs to be paid to satiate the big appetite of the bankers. How else or where else could they find the money to pay themselves?

At the domestic level Piyush pointed his fingers at ‘…ineffective boards, the outsourcing of risk assessment to rating agencies and the creation of overly complex derivative products.’ But these have been on going for ages. Even the recommendations by SIAS to hang responsibility on boards of directors for wrong doings in their companies were shot down for fear that there will be no directors willing to be directors when they can be found culpable and responsible for wrong doings or frauds under their watch. Can you believe that? All the directors are being paid humongusly and many will form a long queue to be one and some are claiming that there would not be any around if they are made to be accountable for negligent or wrongdoings? Who is kidding who.

As for derivatives and other high risk financial products and instruments, they have become the opiate of the banking industry. Remove the derivatives and funny deals, where are the banks going to bring in the big profits to pay the big salaries? So how?

Piyush called for a code of conduct to regain trust by doing the right and proper thing, by being not only responsible to the shareholders, to themselves but also to the public and society. This is a tall order, an aspiration, but unlikely that something will be done or anything will be done in this vein. The stakes are too high and the profits of banks will fall sharply to ground zero.

The whole banking industry needs a big overhaul. How and who is going to do it?

Occupy Singapore the FTA/CECA way

All free trade agreements have a lot of complex economic and trade issues, import export tariffs and quotas, taxation, goods, preferential duties etc etc to benefit both countries. But this free flow of PMETs is very deadly to a small country with a small population like Sin. It is so apparent that one or two million foreigners would create a big impact and havoc to this island in all aspects, from housing, goods and services, infrastructure, transportation and simply people on the road. Then there are jobs consideration, schooling, medical services, social services and social space. And in close proximity in a small space with so many people, tension is bound to rise and it is a matter of time when rioting in big scale is going to hit this rock.

We are now told that there are 200,000 Indian PMETs in the island, not counting the PRC PMETs, the Pinoys, and the others. The FTA would have opened doors for these foreign nationals to be here, to operate and work in the companies and factories/offices they set up. So we have big businesses and big number of people. Wonder if the 200,000 PMETs include their families, some three generations, being brought here. If that is the case, it could be nearly 1m.

Next the housing needs, other than the office and factory spaces for the commercial activities, for the families. 200,000 units or thereabout. They need a roof. They need all the supporting living facilities, schools and services. 200,000 plus families, that is bigger than one of our biggest township or housing estate.

This is the trade off for the economic activities and revenue brought in through FTAs. How many direct jobs did these businesses brought to Sin and is it worth the trade off? More jobs for foreigners or for locals?

Imagine if this keeps expanding, the Indians and PRC Chinese and Pinoys will go on to fill up several townships/housing estates. It is like occupy Sin peacefully with Sin openly its arms and legs happily, without knowing it.

What would all these lead to? How much of our island would we have to give up to these foreigners in such numbers, our land, facilities, jobs and what else?

We are being occupied, through these FTAs and CECAs. The Govt apparently is very comfortable with such a situation, but the Sinkies are not. In 2030 Sinkies will be 55% on paper but in reality much less. What about 2040, 2050….?

Ravi Philemon - Forever a City of immigrants

Forever a City of immigrants and a population that is being diluted daily and never be able to gel as a nation of people. At the rate it is going, Singapore will forever be just a City or hotel of people. It will not be a country or a nation. The 46 years of nation building is now just a wet dream. The people are being encouraged to welcome more and more migrants as citizens, to allow the citizen core to ‘strengthen’ into a minority. Our forefathers were immigrants, we were of immigrant stocks, so we must embrace immigrants. Crazy asses!

Ravi Philemon has written an emotional piece on the same issue, that we cannot be immigrants forever. Many Sinkies have been here for more than 5 generations. The true blue Sinkies have been here for at least two generations. We have sunk roots here, this is home that we built. Remember the song ‘This is home, surely….’ sang by Kit Chan at the National Day Parade? Why are we giving it away so easily to new immigrants? We don’t want to be forever immigrants. We want to be a country, a nation of people, one people, one country and one nation. Not many people, no country and no nation, but a city, a hotel.

Singapore and Sinkies cannot continue down this road of dissolution. There must be pride of ownership, pride of a country, nation and a people that believe they are one people with a common destiny. And this is sacred and worthy to be protected, and not be given away, not to be traded or offered to anyone like credit cards.

Sinkies must take possession of their country as their home and must have a say in how it is to be run for their own good and not for the good of a few individuals or foreigners.

It is truly pathetic that after 46 years of nation building, our nationhood and national identity are now being undermined by the presence of so many foreigners at our detriment. No, the foreigners are not here to help us but to help themselves. If anyone still says the foreigners are here to help us, send him to IMH. They are not philanthropists or social workers here to do charity to help Sinkies.

Do you want to work a whole life just for a pigeon hole?

Do you want to save a whole life and still don’t have enough for retirement, for medicare?

Do you want to pay dearly for your children to slog through a pressure cooker education system only to lose out to immigrants?

Do you want your children to pay millions for a small little 99 year lease flat?

Serious mental stimulation or fear mongering?

This is what LKY said about China in a report by The Australian on his new book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grandmaster’s Insight on China, the US and the world, ‘Will an industrialized and strong China be as benign to Southeast Asia as the US has been since 1945? Singapore is not sure. Neither is Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand or Vietnam. He says “many small and medium countries in Asia are concerned. They are uneasy that China may want to resume the imperial status it had in earlier centuries, and have misgivings as being treated as vassal states.’

What is so intriguing about such a westernized view now spoken by LKY? The Americans have been selling this fear daily in all the western media to frighten the shit out of unthinking Southeast Asian countries that China will be eating them up piece by piece. This is American and western fear mongering all these years. It is ‘wolf, wolf, …wolf, wolf’. So what is the big deal parroting an American/western loaded view?

The more dicey part is to link this to a China that ‘wants to resume the imperial status it had in earlier centuries’ and making Southeast Asian states China’s vassal states. How possible and realistic is such a thought? This is antique thinking. The geo politics of the world have changed. The dynamics of world politics have changed. There is a bigger monster in the USA riding roughshod over smaller countries around the world, particularly in Africa, Middle East and recently in Afghanistan.

The main purpose of such rumour and fear mongering is to justify the military presence of the Americans in the region, the American pivot. What else could it serve other than pandering to the interests of the Americans? Of course the Americans will say, good boy.

A China to dominate over Southeast Asian countries is a near impossibility for at least the next 50 years as long as there is a mighty American military that is unchallenged in the world. And as have been proven by the belligerent and imperialist Americans and the Russians, the world today, with nationalism a vital force, no superpower can conquer and subdue a country when the people are ready to fight the invaders. The Americans could not subdue the North Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Arabs, the Africans and now facing the same fate in Afghanistan like the Russians.

World domination by military means is no longer a viable and sustainable option. There cannot be another evil empire to rule the world unless it is so overwhelmingly powerful and it could press and extinguish any form of military resistance like a cockroach. And even if possible, the cost of maintaining peace and security will be a perpetual pain to any evil empire.

It is a different world in a different century. Old ideas and imaginations no longer hold, and the new world order is not going to be like history, Imperial empires, vassal states and all that jazz. It is all about playing computer games and more. The world has changed baby.

By the way, is the USA a benign superpower? Ask how many wars it had started and how many countries it had invaded and bombed and how many innocent people it had killed. Ask those countries that were victims of US aggression and invasion. We happen to be useful and play by the rules of the USA and got some crumbs to feel grateful. Also, thanks to our Muslim neighbours for taking a not too friendly anti USA stance to make us useful to the USA.

Govt policies a major cause of low TFR

Come on, let’s cut the shit. The low TFR of Sinkies is largely the result of bad Govt policies. The other problems, though presumed to be personal, are also related to Govt policies. No?

NS already robs the guys two to two and a half years of their lives from the activities of finding a partner and procreation. Many would have to start dating all over again as their relationship with the opposite sex could have been prematurely terminated while in NS. Absence does not necessarily lead to growing fonder when there are plenty of guys around to pick and choose from, or there to make the move.

The high cost of living cannot be ignored. It is no joke getting married when everything is so expensive, and getting a flat is top priority. Don’t talk cock by asking the young and well educated to stay together in a HDB flat with their parents. They want to start life anew, to create their own little paradise. Can’t blame them. And due to the high cost, they need a few years of working life to save up for the marriage. Money does not grow from the tree, or to be so fortunate to having a rich papa and mama to provide the big ticket items.

And the savings are not limited to just housing, some may want to have a car, but most important, having babies doesn’t come cheap. The medical fees and all the accessories needed for a growing child, the school and tuition fees and all other fees to equip them for a better life, all costs a lot of money. Not many can afford to marry young. Several more years will have to be set aside for this saving phase of their lives.

Then the biggest asshole pompous policy must be housing. Getting a HDB flat is the biggest pain in the arse for many young couples. Many got to put off marriage or having babies because of this. And the wait was 4 or 5 years if they are lucky, though now reduces to 3 or 4 years.

Not only that the flats take a long time to come, and expensive, but small, baby, small, for small families only. Having two is already too big a bundle to handle. Young and upward mobile couples with babies need maids, a place for live in maids. Govt policies right, shrinking flat size and wanting more babies, what a contradiction? But not Govt’s fault really. Govt’s policies are all well thought out, well planned ahead into 2030. All the ministries know what the other is doing and will coordinate to have a set of well considered and coherent policies that make sense and not nonsense, and pro family. Don’t worry, trust the Govt.

And hey, by the time these young people got their flats and are ready, they have lost almost 10 years of their youth, and for the ladies, the biological clock too is a big disadvantage, and many would not have that many productive years left to risk making healthy babies.

Whose fault is that?

Then there is this subconscious memory of Stop At Two that have entered the psyche of many Sinkies. Many would not have broken free of this psychological barrier to have more children, and for good reasons. With the high cost of living and medical fees, stiff competition even at the tender age of schooling, having babies is no longer masak masak, just poot poot and out come the babies. Serious considerations and thoughts must be put into this long and arduous process of bringing up children, to love them and enjoy them, not to become someone’s economic data for GDP growth. That would be the saddest thing to happen.

Australia opens its door to convict immigrants

A White Paper will be submitted to the Australian Parliament on the need to increase the population of Australia to ensure a high GDP growth rate. One of the key features is the need to allow more immigrants into Australia. The TFR of Australia is low, just like any developed country.

The choice of immigrants is more specific. Australia is founded and built by the early immigrants that were mainly convicts from the British Empire. This is the rich history of Australia and it is appropriate that Australia should allow more convicts from Europe to settle in the continent, the caliber of people that has the drive and talents and motivation to build what is Australia today.

Many Australians were angered by this proposal. When challenged, the MP said that the proposal is not without precedents. He was inspired by Singapore for forever remembering that their forefathers were immigrants and so immigrants become part and parcel of the nation’s psyche. Singapore will always welcome immigrants as that was how it started. It will always be a nation of immigrants, with shallow roots, more like instant trees. Forget above national identity and culture and all the bull shit, those are at best only an aspiration. And this is how the City grows and prospers. The ageing immigrants and their descendants have lost their drive and ability and talent to sustain the continued growth of this progressive City. The City needs the drive and oomphs of new immigrants to keep it alive and vibrant. The City needs help from talented immigrants.

Similarly, Australia is suffering the same fate, low GDP growth and a lazy population. Australia needs to lay down the red carpet and welcome convicts, the European types, to reinvigorate the population and reinvent itself, more drive and vitality and vibrancy, like before.

Still many Australians are angry with this silly MP and his silly logic. But his White Paper is likely to be pushed through when the Whip is in force.

Why 6.9 and not 7m?

Why did they use the figure of 6.9 M instead of a round figure of 7 M?

After all it's only an estimate.
Please take out your calculator:
Since the population will grow from 5,300,000 to 6,900,000
from 2013 until 2030 ( 18 years )
6,900,000 minus 5,300,000 = 1,600,000
Divide it by 18 years and see what you get!!

------>88,8888888888......HUAT AH!

If you use 7,000,000 minus 5,300,000 = 1,700,000
Divide by 18 years will give 94,444.44444 .... that will be to die forever!
So ???

Same reason why we have a "ba-gua" shaped $1 coin!

The above was sent to me by a friend. Must have been circulating everywhere by now. Huat ah!

Myth 232 - Ageing population crisis

Demography expert, Professor Wolfgang Lutz declared that the negative effects of an ageing population have been blown out of proportion and argued that Singapore’s vast tertiary educated population core will counter the consequences of low replacement levels. So, have the Sinkies been fed with myth or deception, that there is a life time crisis because of this ageing population? The expert said otherwise.

I would like to add that the expert would have an even stronger case if he knows the real situation on the ground. Our highly educated seniors also have acquired a lot of wealth, a lot of savings and do not need charity except for the first batch of baby boomers where many were illiterate. Many from this batch have passed on and the younger baby boomers are more than able to take care of themselves. Then the Asian culture of looking after the elders, the family, will be there to support those that need support. And many will be economically active way past 70 with very few years to twiddle their thumbs and doing nothing. Bloody hell, some are even making millions in their 80s to provide for their grandchildren. What problem are they causing to society?

But one more serious consideration that no one seems to want to talk about. From 3m, our population has been pumped to 5.3m in something like 10 to 15 years. At replacement rate of 2.1% TFR, using simple arithmetic, the population should increase by 21% or 30% for the same period, ie to 3.6m or 3.9m. Round it up our population should be not much more than 4m today, but we have 5.3m! That is many times more than the replacement rate. We have over replaced haven’t we?

And for ramping it up to this number, shouldn’t more care be taken to minimize the ageing process with younger people? Or it is another case of just adding more senior citizens into the pool to aggravate the situation, to create a life time crisis? The flexibility to bring in more than 2m new people must have plenty of rooms to do the right thing, to avoid the ageing process and problems, not to add on to it.

Now, do I make any sense? Why bring it 2m people without solving the ageing problem and wanting to bring in another 1.6m people and hoping to solve the problem? Who is kidding?

Foreigners accusing Low Thia Khiang of xenophobia

‘The Straits Times reported on how Mr Li Yeming, vice-chairman of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, had made a charge on Worker’s Party chief Low Thia Khiang that he was “inciting xenophobia”. Li “accused Mr Low and the WP of fanning anti-foreigner and anti-immigrant sentiments during the White Paper debate.”’

Can you beat this? Foreigners here accusing our MP Low Thia Khiang of xenophobia! No, worst, inciting xenophobia. This is serious and anyone doing so can be arrested, mind you.

We are only 3.3m people, including many new citizens in this 3.3m. In fact the number of true blue Sinkies are much lesser than 3.3m, and our population is 5.3m. How many foreigners are there in this island? And we welcomed them. But their presence is getting to become more of an annoyance and irritation. The people are angry but still tolerating.

Now we have foreigners arrogantly and dismissively telling us off, accusing our MP and in a way Sinkies of being xenophobic. And we also have India wanting to take us to WTO for not allowing more Indians to work here when there are already 200,000 Indian PMETs here, excluding the 300k to 400k construction workers. Hey, this is no small numbers. Add the PRC Chinese, the Pinoys and the rest of foreigners, and they are still kicking us, Sinkies for being impolite to them and not allowing more to come in.

How long will Sinkie tolerate the bullying and abuses of the foreigners here, taking our jobs, our businesses, driving up our property prices, cost of living, beating up our people, insulting us, scolding us, and dirtying our land. And we laid the red carpet to bring them in, spent public money to make them feel comfortable, offering them jobs, pandering to their whims and fancy, even have to accept their peasant mentality and behavior.

What do you think, Sinkies? Are we going to take this sitting down? Our MP being attacked publicly by a foreigner! Unbelieveable!

Govt’s response to Hong Lim Spring

So far only two ministers, actually one minister and one ex minister have commented on the Hong Lim Rally. And as expected, nothing flattering. One said the unhappiness to the White Paper was expected but forgot to complete the sentence…would go away after the venting of anger, nothing to worry. Another, just rhetoric, or another way of saying, all sound and fury but no substance. He added, the views were one sided and appealing to emotions.

The PM and DPM have not said anything, or maybe it was nothing important and not worth talking about. What can 5,000 people standing under the rain do? Standing under the rain actually has a very significant meaning. Hsien Loong recalled proudly the National Day Parade when he was a drum major, I think, and how the whole parade, soldiers, working adults and students, stood under a heavy downpour at the padang. So too were the ministers and MPs, and the President, all braved the rain to make a point, a proud nation and a people that would not be subdued by a little rain, a little difficulty or discomfort. They stood their ground as one proud people, united and resolved to face the future and whatever difficulties and challenges there be.

Hong Lim Rally was not a National Day Parade, no national leaders, no parade commander or regimentation. The people were there on their own accord, and could walk away freely. There was no need to brave the rain, no compulsion to get wet all over, with mud under their feet. But they stood the ground to make a point. They were unhappy, angry and wanted change.

Can these people be ignored? Are they alone, or each one has a family and friends that shared the same thoughts? And there must be many more that would like to be there but could not be there for some reasons. It was not 5,000 people that opposed the flooding of the country with more foreigners and a bigger population. There were more.

I am sure the political leaders know that the unhappiness was not limited to those present at Hong Lim. Many who were overseas too wrote to express their support for the movement. How widespread is this movement and how serious are they to want to oppose the White Paper?

My gut feel, there are many more not there that felt the same way. Ignore them if you dare and want to be re elected in 2016. Dismiss them as mere noises, rhetoric, lunatics that thought it was fun to stand under the rain, or plain stupid. Just do that. No need to bother with these lunatics. Less than 3 years to ignore them.

The seed of a new Spring has been planted in the mud of Hong Lim, and watered by the Spring rain on 16 February 2013. It will sprout roots and new shoot, and take a life of its own.

Sinkies, please be nice to foreigners

When every one other person is a foreigner, it will also mean that your neighbor is likely to be a foreigner turned new citizen. Maybe both sides of your immediate neighbours will be new citizens. This is a very high possibility if the ration is 1:1 or worst. When that day comes, you better be very nice to foreigners who are holding pink IC or PRs. You will then be a minority in your own country and would be at their mercy if there is any neighbourly dispute or disagreement.

In such a situation, your Sinkie neighbor would be of no help. They would probably close their doors like they are doing now, with more urgency. And you will have to face the new citizens all alone. And knowing their attributes and penchants for being rough, be ready to be roughened in your own neighbourhood.

My advice is to be nice to foreigners in your own country should Sinkies become a minority. Sinkies are very friendly people, they are not prone to violence, not xenophobic. Can you bet your new neighbors will behave like meek Sinkies?

Frankly I dunno what life will be like for Sinkies then. What would you think? But it will not be a life time crisis I am sure, just some personal crisis to deal with individually. By then there will be no need for campaigns to break in and help the new citizens to assimilate to the local Sinkie culture. There will be campaigns to help Sinkies break in and live harmoniously with their new neighbours and foreigners.

There is a bright and challenging future awaiting Sinkies with the help of the talented foreigners.

Why CECA?

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CECA) between Singapore and India came into effect since 2005. In this agreement, if I can recall, both govt recognize the degrees of both countries and to allow their graduates, mostly PMETs, to work in their respective countries. How would a tiny country like Singapore with 3.3m citizens going to benefit is such an agreement with a country with 1b people? And how are the qualifications of the respective universities, probably several hundreds in India and a handful in Singapore going to be equitable?

The new changes in Employment Pass requirements to work in Singapore is drawing cries of foul play by India. And the Indian Govt is thinking of taking the Singapore Govt to the WTO for violations of the CECA.

’This stance by the Singapore Government is expected to affect Indians working as middle-level managers, executives and technicians.

Speculations are rife that India might take up the issue with World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body. However, according to Singapore such a decision was imperative in the interest of the natives as the share of the foreign workforce is rising very rapidly….

Currently, there are about 200,000 non-resident Indians in Singapore working in ITES, financial services and scientific research sectors among others, according to one estimate.’ Source from business -standard.com.

Why would Singapore sign such an agreement with India to allow, theoretically, several hundreds of millions of Indian graduates to work in Singapore when there are barely a handful of Sinkies that would want to work in India? It really beats me.

Talking cock about meritocracy

Every joker, Sinkie or new Sinkie or non Sinkie, is waving this thing called meritocracy to justify the existence and influx of foreigners into our country. Indeed meritocracy is a pillar in our social economic system, but it must not be taken out of context and spoken in vacuum. There is more to just meritocracy about the people of a country, just like children of a family, there must be a line drawn between us and them, between family and outsiders. Once this line is blurred or removed, meritocracy on its own is treacherous with no other attachments. It becomes hardnosed economics, emotionless, devoid of feelings, ties, attachments, nationhood and other aspirations. Everyone is dispensable if he is not good enough. The concepts of nation, sacrifices, citizenship, NS, defending or dying for a country with little pay or even no pay, will just be degraded to rubbish, irrelevant, stupid and hogwash. It becomes what is the price!

Anyone talking about meritocracy without reference and consideration to the interests of nation and citizens is purely talking cock, talking through his arsehole.

Nationhood, citizenship, the well being of a nation and its people cannot be compromised by simply farting about meritocracy. If meritocracy is the uno factor, then it is rightful to get rid of all the oldies and inepts, the sick and disable, and the unproductive and not so intelligent, those that are not meritocratic.

Any joker talking about meritocracy, please be reminded that this is a country with citizens and the interests of the citizens is top most priority. Meritocracy with no regards to the citizens is as good as survival of the fittest. Let’s be careful in what we are talking about, and know what we are talking about. Meritocracy must also be about citizenship at the same time.

Meritocracy? Would you dump your children for someone more meritocratic because your children are dull, disabled, sick, have Down’s Syndrome or dyslexic or less able?

And make sure we are comparing apple with apple and not apple with potato. The kind of pressure cooker education that our citizens had to go through, the degrees from our world class universities, versus some unknown universities or fake degrees, what kind of meritocracy are these people talking about?

How many people were at Hong Lim Spring?

I was there for nearly two hours. I walked around the whole park taking photos along the way. My estimate is that there were at least 5 to 6,000 people there at its peak. But I don’t think anyone will trust me because I am not a reputable newspaper like Reuter, AFP, AP, CNN or the ST.

Who is the most authoritative or suitable party to give a good estimate of the number of people on the ground? A foreign media or a local media, an interested party like the organiser or a non interested party like me?

The number of people present and quoted by the various media ranges from 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 3,000, more than 4,000, 5,000 etc etc…. I am just a blogger, with no official credential and professional tag on my chest. And my estimate is just layman and subject to error or not as good as the professionals. But when I look at the numbers quoted by the professionals and their media, they were so silly and hilarious. Anyone quoting a number below 3,000 obviously did not know what he/she was talking about. One can guesstimate but cannot be so far off. How could these authoritative media and professional journalists or reporters get their numbers so wrong and so wild?



And bearing in mind that many are foreign journalists, not that counting the number of people is rocket science, I would rather believe the local professionals than someone from another corner of the world. This is Singapore, and we are reporting news in our own backyard, and shouldn’t we be the most authoritative on such matters? Do we need to depend on the foreigners that came from afar to tell us what to report and what was the number of people present?

On this basis, other than trusting my own estimate, I should rightly quote the numbers from ST as the most authoritative media on this issue. Unfortunately ST did not commit any number and instead quoted a number from AFP! ‘…Straits Times reported the event with the following headline today (17 Feb) – “White Paper protest draws big crowd”. … No official figures on the number of people were available as police said they were not monitoring the crowd size, though organisers claimed close to 5,000 turned up. An Agence France-Presse report put the number at 1,000 to 1,500.’ And why AFP and not another foreign media with a bigger number? AFP more credible than the rest?

This ST quote was lifted from an article in TRE. What is happening? ST did not send anyone there and needed to use a number from AFP which is as good as another estimate? Would it be better for ST to make its own estimate and let the foreign media quote from ST? After all this is Singapore and Singapore news and ST must be the authoritative source for foreigners to fall back on in a local event. If not, there is another authoritative Singapore news source, mysingaporenews that is a local source of news. : ) It would be nice if one of the major foreign news agency quote my estimate in their reports. Heh heh.

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?