Yale NUS tie up in pursuit of academic excellence

The setting up of this Yale NUS College must have cost quite a bomb financially. The object must be academic excellence, if not the product ie graduates, must be a college of bright professors living here to show the world we have the brightest talents money can buy. Its existence should take NUS or Singapore tertiary education up a notch, not the kind splashed across the media in rankings here and there. It must be real substance, either in producing great thinking graduates or great academics sharing their great thoughts on this little island, the merits of the latter is like pasting someone’s backside on our face. The former should be more desirable and the latter would be more like having more foreign table tennis players to show the world that we are also great in table tennis, great as long as money can buy greatness.

Yale has a great history and tradition in liberal arts and humanities, must be or we would not be inviting them here. This must have been brought about by the academic freedom, freedom of speech and thoughts in America, that make Yale a great university. And this can become a problem as academic freedom, freedom of the mind and thinking process are crucial ingredients to producing great thinking minds and great thoughts. And there has been a big tussle on this with some in Yale calling for a curtailment of this association. Singapore is just not the place for academic freedom in liberal arts and the teaching of humanities. They must have their points and beliefs to put up such a strong resistance.

While the college is ready to take in students in August, the debate is still going on and the intensity is not letting up. Now they have recommended a panel of Yale and NUS academics and administrators ‘to advise the new liberal arts college on issues that may arise, including academic freedom and discrimination’. This must be another first to have such a panel to advise and police a liberal arts college on academic freedom. And this is no joke. Hopefully the presence of this eminent panel of freedom guardians would not add to the cost of this expensive set up and raise tuition fees or increase govt grants to the college. And there is no further need to set up another committee of foreign dignitaries and academics to oversee this panel.

I wonder if it would be cheaper to send out students to Yale directly, with govt subsidies than to set up the college here? I also wonder if the environment here will be conducive or equivalent to that in Yale for the teaching of liberal arts or would it be money spent all for nothing but a fish? What is this Yale NUS model meant to be or to achieve? Is this the pathfinder for a more liberal Singapore or a more liberal academic environment for the fermenting and formenting of contrarian views and thoughts that may not be embraced by the authority? Is Singapore attempting to take the slow boat to freedom of expression, academic freedom and the American way?

How much is all this going to cost or already spent? Why are NUS and the other local universities not good enough? Would Yale NUS make a difference?

Gang rape by Democracy

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC PAP MP Zainudin Nordin stirs up a storm with "gang rape" quote from an American writer

Democracy in and of itself is not necessarily good. Gang rape, after all, is democracy in action. This statement by Zainudin is causing a big storm in a tea cup. Many bloggers are asking him to apologise. Apologise for what, and to who when he was just saying the plain truth? And this is not even a Freudian slip. Democracy is the rule of the majority in theory but tyranny of the minority that have been elected to rule over the majority in practice.

Now, what truth is he saying? Who kena gang raped in our democracy? The women? Come off it lah. Seriously, the women are not being gang raped by our democracy. No one is being gang raped lah. If there are they should be screaming out in pain right. How can that be? Anaesthesia in the anus or too much KY lubricant? That could take off the pain when being raped. But according to an Indonesian judge, the rapist and the victims both had a good time. The hysteria and screaming in this kind of thinking must be fake. This must be a learned judge.

Isn’t it strange that in a land where people are so ecstatic with just a BJ and would risk everything because of it, rape just could not happen unless committed by foreigners?  It does not make sense. Incongruent. Maybe figuratively speaking ya? More likely many people are blowing to get a little advantage and got raped happily.

And don’t miss the most important part. Democracy in itself is not necessarily good. It must be complimented by a dose of a caring and paternalistic govt that will take good care of the people from cradle to grave, making sure that the people got enough money to pay for affordable housing, to pay for world class medicare, to pay for a good retirement with no fear of high inflation and high cost of living. This part is just my observation.

And good jobs too. Anyone care to be hawkers or drive taxis? You may need a degree, a genuine one from the world class local universities to get into these prized occupations. Can this be considered as being raped? Does the 69 thing got anything to do with being raped? Or the money paid to CPF as akin to being raped?

Sorry, am I missing something? What is this gang rape thing?

Thanks for revealing a state secret.

For the record, Zainudin has clarified that he was only quoting Terry Goodkind. It is not right for the bloggers to put the blame on him.

Has the Govt lost its way?

Yes, we are a very rich country with a lot of money in our reserves. We can have anything that money can buy. We can buy anything we want or give away money to whoever we want. This is the privilege of being a rich nation. The question that many citizens are asking is how the money is being spent and they are not really happy about it.

Why are we giving so many scholarships to our schools and universities to foreigners when so many of our students could do with a bit of help?

Why are we giving away so many university places to foreigners while our children have to find university places overseas, and spending a bomb or draining the savings of their parents?

Why are we having a few hundred thousand foreigners gaining employed, in good jobs, earning good money, while our own citizens are jobless, under employed, working part time, working in jobs that they are over qualified?

Why are foreigners taking away so many plum jobs that we have created, in our govt services, govt owned companies, when these jobs could have gone to our own citizens? New citizens and PRs are foreigners who have not really contributed to the fruits that they are enjoying.

Why do we allowed foreigners to set up businesses here and employing their own people with very little benefits to our citizens?

Why are we throwing so much money to foreign sports people when the money could have been given to our children? Shouldn't the money be used to employ coaches to train our own sports people, to train our own coaches?

Why are we selling our limited land/properties to foreigners to add to our high property prices, some buying more than they need for speculation or ‘investment’? And Singaporeans have difficulties buying a home and the Govt not selling public housing to its citizens but foreigners turned new citizens can buy?

Why are we giving away citizenships that came with so many subsidies so easily and readily to foreigners?

Have we lost our direction, the meaning of a nation, a country with its own citizens and interests to take care of first and foremost? What happen to nation building, becoming a nation of people of shared values and a shared future for good or for bad? Inclusiveness is about own citizens, not foreigners, not PRs and not so much about new citizens that need to integrate over time.

What M Ravi has said is very true, WE are not in the big picture. We gave jobs that paid in the millions to foreigners, allowed foreigners to set up agencies for recruitment, housing etc to compete against our very own people etc etc. The citizens have been reduced to be machine clogs or cannon fodder to support a system for the elite and foreigners. And that is being lucky. Many would end up as dried orange skin, squeezed dry, discarded only good for recyclying as fertilisers.

We are the citizens and not in the big picture of things. 

Malaysia GE – Coalition of Convenience

The recent GE has propelled an unlikely and incompatible coalition, the Pakatan Rakyat, into a serious contender to form the next govt in Malaysia. If the accusation, not proven, is anything to go by, PR could have won the election and Anwar could have been the PM. When PR was formed, it was the most difficult alliance of mismatch political parties that were unlikely to see eye to eye because of their poles apart ideology and political goals. The DAP is a strongly non Malay party that was seen as promoting non Malay interest. PAS was seen as a fundamentalist Islamic party that wanted an Islamic Malaysia with Islamic Laws that are feared by the non Muslims if imposed on them. Parti Keadilan Rakyat was a brand new creation, led by a controversial leader in Anwar that was just released from prison and still facing many criminal charges.

The rise and rise of PR as a serious political coalition to take on UMNO and BN is a big gamble with very few chips. The stature of PR today is a far cry from its early years marred by a host of intractable problems between its three constituent parties. Many issues have been ironed our with the good grace of the three leaders and with a lot of give and take. An inconvenient coalition is now a workable model.

There must be a lot of compromises, a lot of negotiation and a lot of convincing by the leaders to take their supporters along this journey. And there must be a lot of trust and faith that the parties will play along agreed ground rules. The three parties are must closer and as equal partners than the BN coalition when UMNO was just bullying the other parties and hammering to shape to get along. BN is a case of square peg in round hole and all kinds of pegs hammered into a hole decided by UMNO. It was in reality a very unequal and inconvenient coalition compares to PR when all the parties negotiated their terms on an equal basis.

Anwar was clearly instrumental to the rise of PR. No other politician in Malaysia today can hold this coalition together, let alone bringing them to the negotiating table. Leadership is one of the main factor in PR. Anwar is a natural leader, acceptable by all three parties and their supporters. But more importantly is the push factor in UMNO.

UMNO over the years have alienated the people of Malaysia of all races through their self serving policies and racial policies. The non Malay parties were bullied to irrelevance and their credibility to their supporters became a big question mark. None of the non Malay party could tell their supporters that they were representing them. They were just passengers in a coalition where they hardly have any say.

The Malay base of UMNO was also eroded as the masses were not getting the benefits they deserved, only to see the rich politicians getting richer by means that they deemed uncomfortable and unacceptable. It is an elitist party, with nepotism and cronyism being practiced blatantly for selfish interests of the elite. The accusation of corruption is getting more sympathetic ears and the Malay supporters are deserting the party in hordes. Many of the middle leaders too are disillusion and some have switched camps and others are seriously thinking about it.

UMNO has worked itself out of favour among the Malay voters and arrogantly thinking that it could abuse their trust and support by giving lip services to their unhappiness. It is no longer the same party that it used to be. It is no longer for the people but for themselves, the leaders.

The PR coalition of convenience could only come about by the self destructing policies and acts of UMNO. There was a genuine need for a change and PR fill the hole neatly. They is an uprising among the Malaysians of all races, a revolt of kind, against a govt that is no longer trusted and respected.

The political landscape in Malaysia is a mirror image of what is happening in Singapore. But the opposition in Singapore is still not ready. There is no Anwar, a natural leader that could command the respect and acceptance by the opposition camp. And there are no leaders willing to put their party interests aside to come together for a coalition of convenience to stage a serious challenge to the PAP. Until such a development takes place, the opposition in Singapore is unlikely to put up a real alternative to the PAP, to replace it in the next GE.

There is no need for all the opposition parties to come under one umbrella. All it needs is three or so component parties to work together and that should be a sizable force to be reckoned with. Other than this, unless there is a little miracle, or the PAP did itself in by creating more unhappiness that are so unacceptable to the people that more concerned Singaporeans are willing to step forward to enter the political arena to boost up the strength of the WP or another major party, big enough to pose as an alternative party in waiting.

If a coalition is difficult, the relatively smaller political landscape could actually be circumvent if a strong party could garner enough new candidates to be field in the next GE, to mount a major assault on a declining and ageing party that is losing its grips of power and support of the people.

Would there be a coalition of convenience in 2016 or would there be a single party that is strong enough to take on the PAP? There is still time, 3 years to make this happen. PAP could help too, by continuing on its path and policies that are no longer acceptable and agreeable by the people.

The Pinoys - Asean cowboy strikes

The crazy Filipino cowboys fired and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the South China Sea, probably thinking that the fishing boat was Chinese. It then did what it stupidly done as before, by denying the accident only to admit again that they did kill the Taiwanese fisherman. And they claimed that the Filipino coast guards were just doing their duty and the Taiwanese fishing boat was attempting to ram the coast guard’s naval craft. So the Filipino coast guards were being attacked by an unarmed Taiwanese fishing boat and had to defend itself by firing and killing a fisherman.

How ludicrous can it be? Only third world minds can think that this is a good and acceptable explanation. The stupid Filipinos could not even tell a decent lie and make it sounds a bit logical. These crazy nuts only know how to attack unarmed fishermen, probably being instructed to do so to create tension with China. Unfortunately they were so dump that they could not distinguish a Taiwanese fishing boat from a Chinese one. Now it is up to Taiwan to flex its muscle, if it has any, to take on the Filipinos. An apology and compensation are demanded but the Filipinos are trying to find excuses for their stupidity and avoid responsibility.

If the Filipinos continue to be evasive, the best thing for the Taiwanese to do, to redeem some national pride, is to go hunting for the coast guards and drag them to Taiwan for trial. China can help the Taiwanese to arrest the rogue coast guards to bring them to justice. The Americans would be caught with their pants down as the Taiwanese are American allies and the Americans could not deny Taiwan the right to pursue and arrest the rogue Filipino coast guards if the Filipino govt refuses to hand them over.

Taiwan has to show that it has balls and the ability to protect its fishermen and its territorial integrity and not be bullied by this pathetic country. So, Taiwan, the ball is in your court. Are you going to look like a lame duck and be a joke to the world and to the Taiwanese people? Or are you a respectable country that would protect its people and kick the butts of the pirates that claimed to be the coast guards of the Philippines?

Now, isn’t this interesting? A silly people that was tasked to be the provocateurs but messed up the job and looking like idiots? The Taiwan Govt has to redeem itself and answer to its people that it would not allow its people to be shot and killed in the high seas, or in Taiwanese territorial waters.  What a show and what a fumble? Taiwan and China should work hand in hand to apprehend the Filipino coast guards and bring them to face justice in Taiwan. There is not other way if the Taiwanese Govt is going to be respected by the Taiwanese people.

A Sino Japanese war inevitable

The Abe-Aso Administration, filled with a slate of ministers that are mainly militant in thinking, will continue to push for the remilitarization of Japan and would adopt a military approach in its relations with its neighbours. These are men and women that would want to relive the glory of their imperial past and a martial Japan, willing to go to war if necessary. The belligerent rhetoric and the aggressive diplomacy to drum up support against China, to cling on to its war loots, the islands of Diaoyu and Dokto and an intransigent policy will set Japan on a war path with China and the Koreans.

War between Japan and China is only a matter of when and how. China will not allow Japan to keep Diaoyu Islands and Japan is adamant not to return them to China. And Japan has been upping the ante, increasing air and sea interceptions of Chinese air and naval vassals, increasing military spending and attempting to forge a military alliance with Russia, Mongolia, India and Indonesia to prepare for a war with China. And there are the every ready USA, Vietnam and the Philippines, already converted and ready to take the Japanese side.

When could actually mean imminent, as any miscalculation or the recklessness of a naval or air personnel, could lead to a shoot out any moment. What is holding back the parties is the nature of this war. Could it be a limited conflict between Japan and China or would it lead to the involvement of the USA and its allies? A two party warfare has more chances of not escalating the war to a regional or world war, with both countries giving the other all they had, including aerial bombings of the other country and an invasion by ground troops. Still it is a testy situation as the outside parties are very tempted to get involved directly or indirectly.

An involvement of the Americans would mean that the conflict will be totally out of control and it will be a world war, a nuclear war even possible. Once the two nuclear powers locked horns, what is there to hold them back with both parties wanting to secure a victory? Defeat in a conventional war between the US and China is not acceptable to either party and it will simply escalate to a level beyond anyone’s imagination. All the allies of both sides will be in battle. The outcome is simply unthinkable.

Can a conflict between Japan and China be fought just between the two combatant countries? The balance of power will see Japan being decimated and overrun by China with much certainty. Such an end result is unacceptable to the Americans. Both China and the US know the outcome and would probably have made all the calculations and whatever needed to be done if they allow this war to go on in the first place.

To allow a war between China and Japan to flare up, both China and the USA must have come to an agreement, including the Russians, to accept the outcome without going one step further, a nuclear holocaust involving all the nuclear powers. Given such considerations, can a war really kick off between Japan and China? Are the Japanese that crazy to think they could walk away as victors?

What is in the minds of Abe and his hawkish ministers to want to start a war with China? Unless they believe that they could defeat China and suffer acceptable destruction and casualties. They cannot win a war with China without involving the Americans.

The remilitarization of Japan is a certainty guaranteed by the Americans. It was the Americans that imposed a pacifist constitution on Japan, making it illegal to do so. In all counts, Japan has rearmed and has a military force bigger than any countries in Asia except China and India and perhaps North Korea. And now the Americans are saying go ahead, they are going to keep mum about the pacifist constitution. And America will support Japan’s military adventure against China.

The war is coming soon.

CPF minumum sum raised again, to $148,000!

Yahoo! News Singapore, 7 May 2013

From July 1 this year, CPF members who turn 55 between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014 will need to set aside a minimum sum of S$148,000 in their Retirement Account.

The minimum sum for those who turned 55 last year was S$139,000.

In a statement on Tuesday, the CPF board announced the Medisave minimum sum for those turning 55 and above will also be raised from S$38,500 to S$40,500. This is the amount that a person needs to set aside in his old age for his own or his dependants’ healthcare expenses and basic MediShield and ElderShield premiums.

Can this keep on going without the consent of the people, the owners of the money? How many people have died after saving for a life time without the luxury of enjoying a little of their savings? How many people are still struggling for a living when they have so much money in their CPF? How many people would like to buy themselves a decent meal, a little present for themselves or for their loved ones but cannot do so because so much of their money are retained by the Government against their will, without their consent? Is this morally right a thing to do?

Whose money is that? Who has the audacity to take the people’s money away from them claiming that it is for their own good?

CPF is our money, not your grandfather’s money!

The young bailing out the old

With the inflation game to stimulate growth and provide liquidity, the housing Ponzi Scheme will get an added boost and prices will spiral even higher over time. The fact that a $20k HDB flat can fetch $400k or more is already a norm, even when the remaining lease is getting shorter and shorter. And when new buyers got to pay for higher and higher prices, any fall in housing prices is going to hurt the these buyers. And in order to protect the buyers, the late buyers and later buyers would have to bail them out.

The young of today will have to bail out the buyers of yesterday. And the buyers of tomorrow will have to bail out the buyers of today. The ultimate buyers will have to pay the ultimate price for their purchases.

In between, those who are able to jump out of the scheme will benefit from this Ponzi when the prices are artificially kept to go one way, up up and away. And the people benefitting from this will be the foreigners who come and go, buy and cash out. A guaranteed investment promising guaranteed great returns! It cannot go wrong. The FTs know the game plan and they have the options. They can game the Ponzi and laugh all the way to the bank.

And who are the suckers left to buy the ever higher priced flats but those that have no where to go, ie the Singaporeans. Like it or not, they will have to buy the flats no matter how expensive they are. They cannot pitch tent at the beaches or in the parks.

These captive buyers in a market that is carefully crafted to move up, will end up the biggest suckers. The current prices of HDB flats are cheap, really. If no serious effort is taken to prick the bubble, which would hurt mort people, the prices can only go higher and higher. Don’t ask me who created this problem. Don’t tell me they did not know.

Who is going to save the young from this enforced ransom of their lives, to bail out the early buyers, speculators and property developers? It is highly irresponsible to make the young to be the victims of the Ponzi Scheme. It is outrageous!

New banking laws to rein in playing with dirty money in the banking industry

Jul 1 when the new banking rules kick in, banks handling dubious money will have to face hefty fines, criminal charges and licence gantong. And this is what one European banker said, ‘The good old times in Singapore are over…We don’t need dirty money anymore.’

What this banker knows and is not telling is that the banks are playing with dirty money all the while. Unbelieveable. Isn’t it legal, criminal? With so many stringent controls and all the laws against money laundering and fraudulent practices, dirty money seems to be the main driver of the banking industry. How many banks and bankers are in it with eyes wide open? No wonder there are so many banks here and so many bankers. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. The recent report on the arbitrary fixing of the rupiah rate by bank traders, the continuation of selling toxic products in various forms, derivatives that are no different from betting chips, what else is new?

The clamp down, if real, may see the moving out of some dubious banks to Virgin Island or some new havens for money laundering and illegal banking activities. What is intolerable is to know that this is common knowledge and common practice in the banking industry, and quite prevalent here.

I am seeing a lot of halos hovering around innocent bankers’ heads.

So what is happening?

Malaysia – What it could have been

If Anwar was not ousted and thrown into jail by Mahathir, this GE would be Anwar’s third term in office as the PM of Malaysia. Or Anwar could step down and this would be Najib’s first term. Badawi would not have been the PM and Khairy would have been Anwar’s son in law.

The next ‘what it could have been’ is akan datang. Najib could be forced to step down. And things would get a bit messy if the future next PM is meant to be Mukhriz. If Mahathir wants to slate him in as the PM, it would be one after whoever is to succeed Najib after he steps down. The whole game plan would be built around Mukhriz. If he is to be the PM, he must be the next Dep PM. This would mean either he is deputy to Muhyiddin, thus bypassing Hishammuddin and Khairy, a very tough act to do. Hishammuddin is not going to make way and he has strong grassroot support to back him for the post.

The possibility of PM Muhyiddin and Dep PM Hishammuddin would mean Mukhriz would have to mark time as the Education Minister. Khairy can be forgotten with Badawi not in the PM seat and when Mahathir is calling the shot. But this scenario is still not good enough for Mukhriz as it could be another 20 years if both Muhyiddin and Hishammuddin would to remain for two terms.

A more likely outcome would be to engineer the removal of either Muhyiddin or Hishammuddin to go with Najib. That would put the Dep PM slot open for Mukhriz and he could be nicely placed to take over after whoever replaces Najib.

What would have been if Najib is removed, the possibility is getting clearer by the day and now it is up to Najib and Mrs Najib to hold on to the fort and defend the Mahathir onslaught to replace him. This would demand the skill of the greatest political strategist or genius to walk this tightrope and stay on course.

What could have been or would have been, who would be the PM this time next year, is being shaped today.

NUS ranked Number 8!

The Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking system has ranked NUS as the 8th top best university in the world. NUS, according to this system, is ranked higher than Princeton and Imperial College of London. And since Yale is not in the top 10, Yale must now rank lower than NUS. This is a great honour, said NUS Provost Tan Eng Chye, a recognition of how good NUS is today.

What are the implications? When NUS was ranked much lower and like unknowns, there was a need to boost its credential by cooperating with other higher ranked universities like Yale and Imperial College. NUS is now ranked higher than these two great universities. Would it thus not really necessary to be linked to them, not that it is not good, but in terms of rubbing off some of the glitters? With such a high ranking, there is really no longer any necessity to be have joint campuses with other top universities as only a few are better ranked than NUS, like Cambridge or Harvard.

Looking at it from another angle, all the lesser rank universities will be forming a beeline to be linked to NUS. And this is a great money making opportunity to lend our good repute, the name of NUS, to other lesser known universities, the same formula as Yale NUS. A slight problem is that there may be a need to hire more American and western professors to make it desirable.

Another good repercussion to this high ranking is that employers must also be forming a beeline to hire NUS graduates. True or not? No need to hire foreign graduates from western universities and Third World universities. This high ranking must be added in the testimonials of NUS graduates to prove how good and the type of pedigree they are.

And our students need not have to go overseas to study in lower ranked universities like Yale and Imperial College. NUS is better. Can save a lot of money too. The Govt too can save a lot of money by sending their scholars to NUS now.

This ranking has many good economic implications and savings for the Govt and parents whose children wanted to go overseas. No need to do that anymore. NUS is the place to go, the place to be.

When education and medicine become so expensive…

Your health and physical well being is your responsibility, an individual responsibility. If one gets sick by not taking care of himself, it is a personal problem, maybe a little personal tragedy.

Education, getting a good education, is a personal aspiration. Anyone who wants to move up the social ladder, a better quality of life, at least materially, one has to acquire a good education, by working hard and paying for it.

Both are personal matters. True. What if education is so expensive that many cannot afford to go for higher education, or because the returns from higher education are just not rewarding and may be a losing concern? Why would people want to pursue higher education to become taxi drivers or become jobless or become part time workers? It becomes a losing proposition, a losing investment.

And when medicine is so expensive that people just cannot afford to pay for medicine or visit the doctors? What happens if people choose to remain sick, and worst, with transmittable diseases like Sars that could spread, could cause an epidemic? And they refused to seek treatment or be admitted because of affordability! Or because they do not want to be robbed of all their savings?

When the people are not going for higher education, when the sick are not going to pay for their medicine or see the doctor? What would become of the society and the workforce? More foreign talents to be imported? Driving taxis not really need a degree or diploma. And would there be people dying everywhere, diseases spreading every where?

Our population saturation has reached a point that any breakdown in MRT could stifle social and economic activities. Our housing prices have reached a point that it is going to become a social problem. When would the cost of education and medicine become a socio economic and health problem?

When people are voluntarily dropping out of schools, though very unlikely, and when sick people are staying at home waiting to die but infectious and spreading the diseases, what happen? Force people to pay up or else? No money no talk?

AIM aimlessly

The official verdict of the AIM saga is out. There is no wrong doing in the sale of the management software to AIM. Everything is done properly. There is thus nothing for the Govt to take AIM or the Town Council to task. The prosecutor will have nothing to work on, nothing to prosecute.

The WP is going to raise this issue again in Parliament. They are likely to pore through every word in the review recommendation with a microscope to shift out whatever little inconsistency or suspicious nature in the transaction, maybe lucky to show some wrong doings. Unless they can prove so, to give the Govt and prosecutor something to work on, there is nothing really to go on in this case. The Govt has already accepted the findings of MND and it is all clear.

Somehow this all clear signal or verdict is not going down well in some quarters. I am not sure how big are these quarters and how much it will impact the image of the Govt? Expectedly it is only in the social media that dissatisfaction is heard. You don’t hear them in the main media. So does it matter?

You see, in cyberspace, there is this prejudgment going on. AIM was guilty long ago in the views of those in cyberspace with whatever information they had. There is no kangaroo court in cyberspace. But one could detect the feelings and sentiment, they called it perception, right or wrong perception. And mind you, it may be just a feeling, a gut feel, but it can be wild and infectious. It is all in the mind of those who want to see this case as guilty.

Of course it is not right to pronounce an innocent case as a bad case. When there is no wrong doing, one cannot fabricate a wrong doing to please the unthinking masses because that is what they want to hear. Hypothetically it would be nice, a good PR opportunity if there were some wrong doings, a little wrong doing, and someone got his knuckles smacked. That could appease some of the negative feelings, that justice was meted out. It would take a lot of heat off the cooker, relieve some steam. Well it is not to be. This case is just another normal administrative process, unlike the Brompton bikes or golden taps, and no dirt can stick on it.

I must say many people must be disappointed. But what to do? No case means no case. I think these people just want to see someone got hang and if no one is hung they would not be happy. Some even expected a small gesture like an apology from the Town Council or whoever is in charge. How to manage such unfounded and unjustified expectations?

Malaysia GE – The Chinese scapegoat

Just when things were appearing to get better, the Chinese bashing in Malaysia has been reignited. UMNO and MIC leaders are calling the Chinese ungrateful for their poor showing in the GE. Utusan Malaysia front paged, “Apa lagi Cina mahu (What else do the Chinese want?) in what appeared to be an attempt to shape the results of Election 2013 as a Chinese-vs-Malay vote”.

Mahathir led the charge and questioning if Najib should step down. While analysts were saying that it was an urban shift, a shift of the urban Malaysians across non racial lines against the corruption and race insensitive govt. The poll results were clearly showing this is the case. The opposition PR won more popular votes than the BN but somehow only have 89 Parliament seats against BN’s 133. Given the absolute majority of the Malays, around 70%, the more than 50% popular voters for PR means that many Malays have voted for the PR, and not just the Chinese and non Malays that formed a small minority of the population. It the Malay ground shift that really matters.

Though Najib has called for a national reconciliation, this is going to be difficult when he is pressured to take a more racist line or face being ousted. With Mahathir firing his cannons and treading on racist politics, and with Anwar calling for a mass protest against the result, tension is going to rise. The Malaysians should best be reminded that they should cool it from stoking racist emotions or a 1969 crisis could be in the making.

The test now is whether Najib has enough support and clout to keep the racist thinking leaders within UMNO in check and to keep his premiership secure. The risk of the country going in flame can still be a possibility if the provocateurs were allowed to run wild. Would Najib survive this brewing crisis and steer Malaysia away from returning to racial politics and Malay dominance rhetoric?

There are many leaders eagerly waiting on the side line to see his downfall and to replace him at the first opportunity. The progress made under Najib’s watch could immediately go to waste if he is no longer in charge. Events in the next few days can be very unnerving.

Singapore’s media ranking – 149th

Singapore hits record low in World Press Freedom Index ranking
'Singapore fell 14 places to a record low of 149th position from the previous 135th position in terms of press freedom index in the latest annual ranking by Reporters Without Borders (RWB) [Link].

It is Singapore’s worst ranking since the index was established in 2002.

Singapore is even behind countries like Ethiopia (137th), Tunisia (138th), Oman (141st), Congo (142nd), Cambodia (143rd) and Russia (148th)….'

Now, what is this Reporters Without Borders or RWB? How could they ranked

Singapore’s award winning media in the company of countries like Ethiopia, Tunisia, Oman, Congo etc etc? Does RWB know that Singapore is a First World country, rule of law, and one of the most open society in the Free World?

This ranking of 149th is very disrespectful of Singapore even if there are still 20 or 30 countries ranking lower than us. Our people are free to read all the news in the world and can tell the difference between craps and truths. Even if craps are printed, the readers will know they are craps, so does not make any difference really. It would be different in closed countries when the citizens only read state media and knowing one side of the story. In our case, telling lies is simply naïve and easily exposed and sneered at by the well educated and well informed readers.

RWB should take this into account when rating our official media. And don’t forget, many of our reporters are foreigners or new citizens. So they cannot be as blind as daft Singaporeans. And our official media also reposted many great and highly rated articles from the New York Times, Washington Posts, from Reuters, AP, AFP etc especially those on China and North Korea. The writers of these articles were often renowned academics from the West. With such great names from the Free World, how can our media not be free and get a better ranking?

Or they may want our editors to be westerners to gain more credibility and score more points. This ranking could be a subtle pressure for our local media to recruit and pay westerners to be our journalists and editors. CNA has already taken the first step to have anchor programme host from the West, a kind of compromise to allow westerners reporting and commenting on Asian news and Asian affairs. It used to be the locals reporting on their national issues to give the local flavor. Maybe in order to sell, western flavor is still important. And we have quite a number of western journalists too, but apparently must be too small to gain more recognition and a higher ranking.

Like the university ranking system, the ranking system for the Press by RWB can also be gamed, and spending some money could get us to a better ranking. We should aim to be in the top 10. It would be money well spent, if money can do the trick. Money can do wonders.

Sino Indian border tension – The self deluding Indian Govt

Sino Indian border tension heightened with claims by the Indian Govt of Chinese border guards crossing to Indian territories. And both sides sent troops to boost up their defences. Last heard, both sides have withdrawn troops and tension has cooled. Both India and China have disputed claims along their borders. Thanks to the British colonial empire that took liberty as the colonial power of the day to draw their own maps. They drew the whole of India as part of the British Empire, including Pakistan, East and West, many parts of Africa, Middle East, SE Asian and the rest of the world. And along the Sino Indian border, the British did the same, writing Chinese territories as part of the British Empire. And when they gave independence to India, they gave the same British map to the Indian Govt who now claimed that those lands too were Indian land. This is the source of the Sino Indian border dispute. Indian conveniently assumed that what the British took, they too could take or inherit.

What is hilarious is the regular drumming up of fear by the Indian Govt, echoed by the western powers, that China is an expansionist power and covet Indian territories, the disputed territories, and would invade India.

The truth is that since the communist took power in China, they have respected all treaties, including unequal treaties signed during the years of the weak Qing Dynasty. They kept to their words and did not use force to retake their territories like Macau and Hongkong, which they could take back any time before the lease forced upon a weak China. They have yet to take back Diaoyu Islands, a war loot signed away when China was defeated by Japan in a naval battle in 1894. And in the case of border dispute with India, China has not resorted to force to take back its land.

In the 1962 Sino Indian border war, it was India that attempted to seize the disputed territories by force. After losing that war, the Indians have been rewriting their history to sell the story that it was China that invaded India. The facts were as clear as daylight. After the incursion by India, China suffered initial losses which was natural for a country that was hit unprepared. This was the first proof that India was prepared for the war and took the initiative, the element of surprise. A China that was preparing to attack India would not have suffered that kind of losses.

China mounted a counter attack and chased the invading forces all the way to the outskirt of New Delhi. The supremacy of the PLA was unquestionable and the ability or lack of ability of the Indian Army was infamous. The Indian Army simply capitulated. China could take over all the disputed territories it claimed then, open a few more fronts to take over every piece of land it wanted. It did not and withdrew to the earlier disputed border. An aggressive invader would not do such a polite thing. Its policy of not using force to retake its lost territories was consistent as the consequences of such an act would mean perpetual war and hostility with India at the border, just like Israel taking over Palestinian land, the West Banks and Gaza. China seeks to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the border dispute. Taking them back by means of war, by military force is not an acceptable solution.

The noises made by the Indian Govt then and now are not only mischievous but naiveity. China had all the chances to take over the disputed land many times over. Why would China want to do it now and start a war with India? It is childish diplomacy on the part of India, making childish pranks daily drumming the fear of a Chinese invasion. China is not the USA.

The recent China Japan tension at the Diaoyu Islands is another example. Deng Xiaoping has set aside the island problem with earlier Japanese leaders not to do anything to force a settlement. China is prepared to leave the disputed islands to posterity, to the far future as it is not something that is easy to resolve without going to war. The Japanese were the ones that created this recent tension by pushing the Chinese to react. The Japanese created the farce of buying the islands from another Japanese to create a fait accompli situation. China had no choice but to interrupt this ruse. And Japan is continuing to raise tension by tough talks of force. China could overrun Japan tomorrow if needed. Japan’s cockiness will be their wrong doings.

India better stop talking foolishly to try to raise tension at the Sino Indian border and let the status quo remain. It is better for the two giants to be friendly neighbours and live in peace than to bicker and raise hostility.

Anwar Ibrahim and the Malaysian GE 2013

There were many significant changes to the Malaysian politics during this GE. One of the major developments is the recognition and resurgence of non Malays and their votes. Anwar Ibrahim has pulled the most unlikely combination of DAP and PAS together again to be part of the Pakatan Rakyat. This time the coalition is warmer and more accommodating.

On the side of BN, this is the first time since the racist politics of Mahathir, that BN warmly courted the votes of the non Malays. There was much lesser racist rhetoric from UMNO leaders against the non Malays and about Melayu Ketuanan. UMNO has abandoned a lot of its Malay supremacist politics, coming out to win the non Malay votes. Though not every UMNO leader was supportive of this change, it seemed that Najib was able to bring them together for his One Malaysia formula.

At the rakyat level, the election results were proof that the people of all races were voting for parties and change. The multi racial support for PR candidates was manifested in Malay candidates particularly from PAS being elected in predominantly Chinese constituents and Chinese candidates being elected in Malay majority constituents. This is a much welcomed sign of progress being made by the Malaysian rakyat, that they would no longer be moved by racist politics.

This did not mean that racist politics have been uprooted. Many were still voting on racial lines. But many Malay and non Malay BN supporters were also voting for Najib’s One Malaysia policy. Otherwise BN would not be able to continue as the next govt. BN cannot win the election strictly on the support of a Malay based voters. Many of the Malay voters have moved over to support PR.

The other major shift was that Chinese votes that were for MCA had gone to DAP. MCA is at the verge of becoming history. Gerakan is history. DAP has taken over as the main Chinese based party. BN is left with an ineffective and baseless MCA and other non Malay parties.

All in all, the voting was much lesser on racial lines, more for a more inclusive Malaysia both envisaged by PR and the BN. And if Najib has his way, the new Malaysian govt is likely to be less divided on racial issues and would be pushing for a more Malaysian Malaysia. It has to go that way if it wants to prevent losing more seats to PR in the next GE. PR’s brand and goals of a more inclusive Malaysia is striking the right cord among the rakyat of all races. Najib and BN has no choice or it would only have to count on the remaining Malay votes. It is also the first time that an UMNO leader made a call for reconciliation after a GE, a gesture that reflects a more conciliatory politics of convergence than division.

The other unfortunate development of this GE is Anwar Ibrahim. He failed again in his bid to be the Malaysian PM. In all counts, Anwar could have been the PM long ago. He was the Dep PM under Mahathir and was groomed to be his successor. He fell out of favour and suffered the most brutal and serious violation any Malaysian leader had ever received. He was charged for sodomy, locked up in prison, beaten up by the Police Chief while under custody, suffered physical, mental and emotional assault that could break down any ordinary man.

Anwar was no ordinary man or politician. He was a self made man, a self made leader. He rose to national leadership on his own steam. He is articulate, an intellectual with few equals among the Malaysian leadership, a natural leader and very charismatic. He came out of prison and no one could imagine that he could still garner the support of his followers and believers to fight his way back to Parliament after what Mahathir had dealt him. He was finished, but no. He is the proverbial phoenix that rose from the ashes.

This GE was his swan song, his call. All the predictions gave him a very good chance of leading his coalition to power. It seemed that he was cheated once more. A cruel fate, a cruel twist that deprived this man from his rightful place as the PM of Malaysia.

Anwar Ibrahim was and is the most unfairly treated and victimised Malaysian leader in its history. He has everything in him to beat his competition hands down. He overcame so many odds and harsh obstacles put in his way. Unfortunately fate was not on his side. Inshallah, he may still have one more chance in 5 years time when he just hit 70. Would it be too late? Would Anwar get what he deserves, to lead his country and people as the future PM of Malaysia? He paid a very heavy price to be one, robbed of the premiership by Mahathir and more or less ‘cheated’ again in this election. His PM dream is still an elusive dream that is getting more difficult to realise with the passing of time. So close yet so far. Life has been very cruel to this man. That’s all I can say of Anwar Ibrahim.

I will belanjar him kopi if I meet him.

The capture of tax haven Ireland: "the bankers, hedge funds got virtually everything they wanted"

The capture of tax haven Ireland: "the bankers, hedge funds got virtually everything they wanted"

Cross-posted from the Treasure Islands blog

‘The Financial Times is carrying an important and fascinating story about the tax haven of Ireland. It focuses on a particular issue which is dear to my heart, and the subject of a whole chapter of Treasure Islands.

This is, at heart, a story about how small financial centres become entirely 'captured' by financial services interests, with the deliberate removal of democratic checks and balances and carte blanche given to financial services interests to write laws in secret. This is exactly why I call offshore the 'smoke-filled room,' where gentleman arrange the world's financial affairs over cognac and cigars....

“The bankers and hedge fund industry got virtually everything they asked for while the public got hit with a number of austerity measures”.

There you have it...The last sentence epitomises the captured financial state. ...

Now take a look at what happened in Cyprus. The very same phenomenon, in different form. It's just the same in Jersey. And in Delaware. And the same, in more diluted forms, in Switzerland, the United States, and the UK.

This is what's happening, all over the world. Anyone wanting to understand the offshore phenomenon needs to understand: this is what it is all about.’

Posted in Tax Justice Network.

The power of bankers and hedge funds to control financial centres is not new. They have even controlled the operations of stock markets around the world. They determine how stock markets should be run, the rules and operating systems.

Stock markets that are modelled around New York Exchange have similar features that were dictated by the bankers and hedge funds to give them undue and unfair advantages over the innocent investors.

The main features that change the game plan of stock markets are as follows:

1. They demanded the Exchanges to allow them to plug in their super computers to the Exchange’s trading system to have privy information of the ‘buys and sells’ in the market and use their computers to compute and take the best positions against other innocent traders.

2. They insisted that the trading bits be downsized to the smallest unit possible to enable them to trade in big volumes and ensure profits by simply scalping the system.

3. They insisted that commission will be neglible for them to make profits while normal traders could not do so. They mostly trade at minimal charges or no charges at all.

4. They made Exchanges to invest in high speed super computers to match their super computers while normal traders were trading manually at snail pace.

5. They made Exchanges to provide large scrip lending facilities for them to cover their big short positions when they sell down the market for profits.

6. They made exchanges run continuously without lunch breaks to facilitate their computer trading.

7. They made HFT legal when it is illegal, HFT is basically front running.

8. Above all, they made unfair trading activities legal when they are against the laws of securities trading.

9. And together with bankers, they create high risk and toxic products in derivatives and made them legal for sale and tradings. Derivatives are a big financial nuclear bomb that is waiting to blow up the western financial system.



Charlie Munger, the right hand man of Warren Buffett, has openly denounced the bankers as cheats, cannot be trusted, and needed to be reined in before they blow the whole financial system up. And while all the Exchanges were coerced to allow HFT knowing that it is illegal, it needs a brave man like Munger to call a spade a spade, that HFT is illegal. And this is not the only thing that is illegal in the finance and securities industry. When the bandits or robbers are dictating the law, dictating how the system should be played, and the law is either on their side or simply helpless to touch them, the exploitation will continue till it blows up on its own face.

How and what should govts do to bring an end to such criminal activities in the finance and securities industry? Not doing anything will make govts accomplices to these horrendous crimes against the innocent traders and investors. Who is robbing the people? Would the Americans start to clean up their house and set the standard for the rest of the world? If the Americans continue to allow the bankers and hedge funds to cheat the main street, the rest of the world will just follow this fraudulent system blindling, thinking that since the Americans are doing it, it must be ok.

Khaw Boon Wan discourages ITE and polytechnic graduates from pursuing university degree

Finally some wisdom and hard truths from Boon Wan. Our university education is anything but cheap, and 3 to 4 years to waste. So what if our universities are among the best, among the highest ranked, when the graduates have difficulties finding jobs or uncompetitive to third world graduates? The reality is that the piece of paper must be useful and wanted. There is no point even if one gets a degree from Harvard or Cambridge if the employers prefer one from Sungei Road University.

I still recommend that for those who want to secure a good job with a tertiary education to send their children overseas, to India as the top designation. For those who want an easier degree, maybe the Philippines. And for those who want a degree immediate, without have to go through the mills, there are degree mills to issue the degrees.

Singaporeans must act smart, street smart, not book smart. Go and get a degree from universities that are preferred by the employers, employers who believe that those universities are really good. Forget about all the claims and rankings. There are gimmicks, academic. And of course, a polytechnic diploma is much better. At least there is lesser competition with the FTs. The PMET level of jobs are the exclusive market for FTs. Singaporeans are better advised not to compete in those levels or are likely to end up as taxi drivers, with degrees.

Enemies of the State

The second major protest Rally against the Govt’s White Paper to increase the population to 6.9m went off smoothly on May Day. The international media were there to cover the event to brief the world of the kind of democracy and freedom of expression in this First World model city with a mixed of western democracy, Confucianist mandate of Heaven and a tinge of dictatorship. I hope I would not be called up to meet Sue for mentioning the taboo word like dictatorship. But that was on a placard during the Rally. It read, ‘We need a new dicktator’.

It is good that such irritating protest is gradually being accepted by the Govt without bringing in Sue into the picture though Sue was mentioned many times in the speeches of the speakers. Sue is a famous national icon and often sent a chill down the spine of unwary Singaporeans who talked too much, the opposition politicians, the comic writers and yes, the bloggers as well. One just does not know how far one has crossed the rubicon. They called it the OB markers.

Many things happened prior to the May Day event in Hong Lim with many fearing for the safety of Gilbert, the organiser, and the cancellation of the protest Rally for some unknown reasons. There were some correspondence between Gilbert and the authority in the innocuous guardians of Parks. Though the police did not ask for anything, Gilbert received a kind reminder by the Parks minder that it would be appropriate for him to apply for a Police permit to hold the rally. Somehow, this friendly gesture became a kind of nightmare and many people read many things into it. Of course it was silly of them to do so as it was just a formality for the Parks minder to do the necessary. And Gilbert did the necessary by politely replying to the Parks’ guardians that there was no requirement to do so. It all looked so polite and friendly, but there were great tension and trepidation coming out from the exchange, of course there was nothing to it really.

Why was there an element of fear being spread around with people saying that they would not attend the Rally to avoid being troubled? And there were many discussions in the social media with the pro rally activists trying to dismiss the fear element and the opponents playing it up. Gilbert and his team were somehow seen as enemies, being watched closely be unseen eyes, and as if something nasty could happen to them. Why should it be in a democracy for the people to fear the people they elected to be their Government, to look after them and protect their interests? It is a difficult contradiction, must be.

Recently many bloggers and activists had their encounters with Sue and were sweating cold sweat instead of thinking of having a good time with her. Are they also enemies of the State? Many bloggers were openly threatened and harassed in social media by forces that assumed that they had the right to do so and acting as if they were the law, or above the law. I too was harassed and attacked daily and threatened for acts of sedition, and may have the good fortune of meeting Sue. There appears that certain groups of people are seen as enemies of the state and are living life dangerously without having to commit any crime but just because they did not agree with policies of the authority, or have different viewpoints.

Are the citizens living in fear of the dark forces in a democracy? Is there really something out there, forces that will devour citizens in the name of the State, in the name of Sue? Who are the real enemies of the State?