Boycott against Citibank

There is a thread in TRE titled ‘Singaporean should boycott Citibank’ by a blogger calling himself, Angry Singaporean Customer. He is unhappy with the knowledge that Citibank is one of the foreign banks that employed a predominant number of foreigners as staff of the bank. 40% of the banks staff is foreigners or it is more? Some banks regard PRs as locals and lump them together with Singaporeans. If this is the case, then the percentage of foreigners could be much bigger.

With the influx of foreigners into the little island and with many PMEs being replaced, and with foreigners and foreign banks found to practise discriminatory employment policies against Singaporeans, the anger is growing among the Singaporeans against foreigners and foreign institutions. Citibank has been quoted in many places as one of the biggest culprit in favouring the employment of foreigners.

In the thread concerned, the author is calling for Singaporeans to boycott Citibank and not to do business with the bank. Many bloggers have responded positively to the call and some claimed to have cut their credit cards from the cards and stop using them. Some have been urged to bring away their deposits or business elsewhere.

This is probably the second time in recent months that there were calls in social media to boycott foreign businesses. The first was against Jollybeans that was not much of a success. Would this call to boycott Citibank end with similar result that it was all noise and nothing much will happen?

How would Citibank head office in the US view this threat of unhappiness against Citibank here? If the anger grows and becomes widespread, it would definitely have some negative impact on Citibank and also affect the reputation of the bank as one that is anti Singaporeans or even a racist bank.

The thread just appeared today and still gathering responses from netizens that are unhappy with the situation created in the bank. Maybe it will just fizzle out in a couple of days, like all protests in this little sanitised island. A little noise is all there is to it.

A case of the thief crying. US hypocrisy on Cyber Hacking

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A case of the thief crying

Updated: 2013-06-19 08:55

By Wang Hui ( China Daily)

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Since Edward Snowden, the former US government subcontractor, stepped into the media limelight to reveal secret US surveillance programs less than two weeks ago, the war of words between the United States and China over cybersecurity has taken an abrupt turn. While watching the Snowden drama continue to unfold, the world has a chance to contemplate the US' hypocrisy and urge the country to stop peeping into other people's backyards.
In the past few months, high-ranking US officials had ratcheted up their accusations about cyberattacks and even cyber espionage allegedly by China. They claimed the Chinese government and military were behind the alleged wrongdoings. Such finger-pointing has cast a shadow on the generally rosy picture of China-US relations as it has helped whip up a new round of anti-China sentiment in the US.
China has repeatedly denied the US' accusations and the world's sole superpower has failed to provide any tenable evidence to justify its allegations. Beijing has offered to cooperate with Washington over cybersecurity issues as it, too, is a victim of cyberattacks. Yet it seems Beijing has been talking to deaf ears. Worse, with Western companies dominating the global media apparatus, Beijing's rebuttals and tangible concerns have more often than not been drowned out by the biased one-sided chorus of US politicians and the Western media, which have been loudly trumpeting a cyber threat from China.
Had it not been for the Snowden drama, the world might have remained ignorant of the fact that the US' holy-than-thou grandstanding was merely misdirection to reinforce the illusion that it was the victim not the perpetrator. According to the revelations of Snowden and a Foreign Policy website article, the US security authorities have habitually instigated cyberattacks against China in the past years.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post on June 13, Snowden made explosive claims that the US National Security Agency's controversial Prism program has for years been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and on the Chinese mainland in a systematic way.
Meanwhile, a Foreign Policy website article published on June 10, entitled "Inside the NSA's Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group", reports at length about the formation and function of the Office of Tailored Access Operations, under the NSA, which is the biggest spy surveillance organization in the world.
According to the article, TAO has successfully penetrated Chinese computer and telecommunications systems for almost 15 years, generating intelligence information about what is going on inside the country.
If true, both the scope and the long duration of the US hacking directed at China are beyond tolerance. Compared with the hollow US accusations against China, allegations of US hacking against China from an ex-CIA employee and a respected media outlet sound far more reliable and convincing.
Hence, the hypocrisy of Uncle Sam is self-evident: For a long time Washington has played the game of a thief crying, "Stop! Thief!".
Regrettably, there is still no sign that the US authorities are ready to learn a lesson from the on-going information collection scandal and stop wrongdoings that infringe upon the rights and privacy of other people and countries.
To continue their mud-throwing game, some in the US, former vice-president Dick Cheney most prominently have called Snowden a "traitor" and alleged that he may be a spy for China. Such a claim is clearly absurd, and it is clear that the US authorities are at their wit's end about how to deal with the chain reactions Snowden's leaks have set off.
An honest reflection on the wrongdoings and reparative measures are the right way for the US to cope with the aftereffects of the hot potato dropped by the ex-CIA analyst and a former employee working for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton at the NSA. Any attempt to shirk these responsibilities would only further erode the credibility of the US.
The author is a senior writer with China Daily
E-mail: wanghui@chinadaily.com.cn

Extraditing Snowden an unwise decision

Extraditing Snowden an unwise decision

Global Times | 2013-6-17 1:03:01 By Global Times

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For more, see Daily Specials: World reacts to Edward Snowden's leak

More than 20 public organizations in Hong Kong launched a demonstration last weekend, backing ex-CIA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. In the meantime, Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, has said that the government will handle it "in accordance with the laws and established procedures of Hong Kong." A poll initiated by the South China Morning Post shows that more than half the Hong Kongers surveyed are opposed to extraditing Snowden back to the US. But Beijing has not yet made an explicit statement.

Washington must be grinding its teeth because Snowden's revelations have almost overturned the image of the US as the defender of a free Internet. After losing this image, which has been abused by the US government to boss others around, there is no way it won't want Snowden to be extradited.

However, it would be a face-losing outcome for both the Hong Kong SAR government and the Chinese Central government if Snowden is extradited back to the US. Unlike a common criminal, Snowden did not hurt anybody. His "crime" is that he blew the whistle on the US government's violation of civil rights. His action supported "human rights" as defined in the UN Charter, and has been applauded  worldwide. 
Snowden believes in the democracy and freedom of Hong Kong. His whistle-blowing is in the global public interest. Therefore, extraditing Snowden back to the US would not only be a betrayal of Snowden's trust, but a disappointment for expectations around the world. The image of Hong Kong would be forever tarnished.

Diplomatically, Snowden has cast a shadow over the new Sino-US relationship right after the Xi-Obama meeting. The sooner the incident is wrapped up, the better the ties between the two countries will be.

Cyber attacks, a weapon frequently used by the US government, have turned out to be its own Achilles' heel. China is generous enough not to hype this incident in consideration of the Sino-US relationship.

The Chinese government has no responsibility to help the US quench the fire.

Sino-US ties have their own flexibility. On the one hand, under pressure from public opinion, Washington must have made preparations in case it can't extradite Snowden. On the other hand, Beijing needs to demonstrate it can't just be pushed according to Washington's wishes.

The consequences of extraditing Snowden back to the US would be more troublesome than the alternative, because the local reaction would bring more trouble to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

China's growing power is attracting  people to seek asylum in China. This is  unavoidable and should be used to accumulate moral standing.

The "no comment" attitude of the Chinese Central government and the ambiguous statements from the Hong Kong administration are the proper responses. China should follow public opinion and safeguard its interests.

You people are just too much!

How can you people blame our govt for the haze problem huh? Rightly Shanmugam has told the people to leave the govt alone. We are just a small dot and when our neighbours farted we are sure to kongsi the ‘ba ooh’ right. You people don’t be like dat lah. Everything also wants to blame the govt. And Vivian tried to talk to the Indonesians and kena slammed. Feel so sorry for him for trying to fight for our right and safety. If like that our airport may go out of business too. But still it is their domestic affair ok. Don’t anyhow go and kacho. Wait kena bokok then you know.

What happens inside our neighbour’s house is their business. They want to cook curry, eat durian, fried smelly toufu, and the smell comes over, just bear with it lah. Won’t die one.

Next time if we want to go nuclear, locate our nuclear plant in one of the southern most island or in the northern most island and tell our neighbours don’t kacho, it is our domestic affair also. And if our northern neighbor locate their nuclear plant just next to the Straits of Johore, also none of our business.

We shall all be good neighbours and fart for as much as we want. Think of the good stuff, free smoke, duty free some more. Don’t forget to say thank you.

Sinkie thinking?

• Ex-e2i Staff:


June 17, 2013 at 10:35 pm (Quote)

Until I left e2i in March this year to pursue my own venture, e2i had helped thousands of retrenched workers over the past 5 years. However, some remained retrenched and unemployed not because there is no job for them but because they are unwilling to face the reality that in their late 40s and 50s, they can no longer command the same pay they were getting prior to being retrenched.

• Many of you are saying you have friends who are very well qualified but still cannot get a job after so many years and their jobs are snatched away by foreigners.

Let me say this: There are many people who have gone through very difficult periods but got up from where they fell and rose again.

If you don’t have what it takes to succeed, don’t complain. Doesn’t mean that by virtue of being Singaporean you are entitled to a GREAT LIFE.

• Ex-e2i Staff:

June 17, 2013 at 11:07 pm (Quote)

And for goodness sake, please stop instigating Singaporeans to hate foreign workers.

The above are comments by this ex e2i staff in my thread on NTUC helping PMEs in more training posted in TRE. Reading his comments we can understand the few underlying assumptions or principles that he subscribed to and probably could also be the same beliefs and assumptions that he learned from his organizations.

1. A person who is in his 40s and 50s must expect to earn less

2. It is okay for citizens to lose their jobs to foreigners in their home country. Or as he put it, it is okay for foreigners to snatch away jobs from citizens

3. Singaporeans cannot expect anything more than foreigners in our own country. Yes, must compete with foreigners in a level playing field. Try to go to another country and see if they let you compete equally in their country.

4. And there is the assumption that foreigners are fighting equally and fairly for jobs in Singapore with Singaporeans. He has not heard of foreigners hiring their own kind and discriminating against Singaporeans. He has not heard of fake qualifications and experience.

5. Fighting for the rights of Singaporeans to have jobs in Singapore in preference to foreigners is anti foreigners. Singaporeans have no rights to jobs in Singapore vis a vis foreigners.

Could this person be a foreigner, a PR? Is he really a Singaporean? If all Singaporeans think this way, soon all Singaporeans will be out of jobs and their jobs taken over by foreigners.

What makes me angry about my country

The most annoying thing whenever I returned from an overseas trip and found myself at the checkpoints and had to face some foreigners sizing me up, looking at me with distrust and doubt as if I am a potential terrorist or a danger to my country. And to have them asking me silly questions as if they are the owners of my country and I a foreigner needing to appease them so that I can get pass the checkpoints quickly.

I am not sure how many of you share this same piss off experience as a Singaporean, completed our NS, trained to defend this country and now treated like a threat by foreigners. In my case I am even more angry as minding the safety and security of my country was once my business. Why must Singaporeans be frisked and checked out by foreigners on returning home?

Something is crazily wrong with this process. This is like hiring ex convicts to be security guards of vital installations. Singaporeans should be the ones at the checkpoints checking foreigners and worrying about the foreigners doing harm to our country and our people.

Then there are many govt bodies and institutions where Singaporeans ended up with some problems or issues and have to plead with foreigners who are employed to boss around with Singaporeans. Some even throw their weights around, looking at Singaporeans as pain in the arse or some pathetic forlorn travellers needing their help and mercy to make life less troublesome. Why are Singaporeans put in situation to be shafted around by foreigners employed to position of power and authority over Singaporeans?

In the name of security, in public and commercial places, many foreigners are employed to be security officers. Put a uniform on them and even a rapist or murderer instantly became a security officer. In shopping centres or outlets some of these jokers can even restrain customers and conduct personal searches. What is happening? And they could shoo Singaporeans at will, thinking and behaving as if they are the guardians of Singaporeans. What do we know of the background of these security personnel to push Singaporeans around and hustling Singaporeans as security officers in our country?

What do you think?

Singapore a green country?

The call for saving mother earth is gaining momentum around the world. And Singapore, like all young and impressionable kids, will rush in to join the crowd, to be part of the crowd, to be green. And we have done quite a bit in many areas and even won mentions in our conservation effort, green architecture, energy saving buildings, water conservation, and all the nice little bins around the island to save paper and plastic bottles and drink cans. Hope the cost of the bins is not more than the money saved from collecting papers and plastics. And we gave ourselves a pat for doing such great stuff to save mother earth. So is Singapore really a green country?

Every time I see young people picking plastic bottles trying to save a few pieces of plastic I start to wonder, how much could they save when the country is wasting so much resources unnecessarily? We try to save on plastic bags, on plastic bottles but on the other hand we are wasting and consuming unnecessarily beyond anyone’s imagination.

Our whole economy is built on wasteful pursuits, wasteful consumption and unnecessary consumption that need not be. Economic growth for the sake of economic growth is simply waste, wasting scarce resources of mother earth and in huge quantities. Economic growth, economic activities, particularly the excessive and redundant types, are destroying mother earth at an increasing rate that is unstoppable. Think the number of good cars and vehicles that can run for another 10 or 20 years but scrapped for newer ones! How much resources were wasted? Think of the pulling down of buildings/flats that can last for another 50 or 100 years but pulled down to rebuild! How much wasteful energy and resources were blown away? Think of the number luxury bags, mobile phones, apps, TVs, consumer durables that were used and thrown away when they were in good working conditions! Think artificial gardens.

Think of the crazy idea of increasing population for the sake of economic growth? How much resources and energy will be wasted just to feed the number of mouths, to clothe and house the number of bodies that are called growth?

And we are so happy about saving a few plastic bags, a few plastic bottles, a few drink cans? Go buy, spend, buy and consume for the sake of the economy.

TRE kena sabo?

I am having difficulties accessing TRE. I keep getting an image of a sleeping dog with a hard hat and the message, 'We'll be up and running soon....We are doing some nerdy stuff to our website to make it better.

TRE is there anything wrong or it is just my pc?

We hack you, we spy on you!!!

This is what the Americans were accusing China of doing. Now Edward Snowden got one step further and told the world that the Americans and the British were doing more, spying on friends and foes. Matthew Aid, an intelligence historian in Washington said this, ‘the reports (by Snowden) have confirmed long standing suspicions that the NSA’s surveillance in this country is far more intrusive than we knew…This is just what intelligence agencies do – spy on friends and enemies alike….’

The AGENCIES reported that the British intelligence agents had gone as far as setting up fake Internet cafes and tapping into foreign diplomats’ Blackberry messages and calls. Among those tapped were Dmitry Medvedev, then Russian President and now its PM.

China and several other nations have stepped up the pressure on the Americans to explain what they have done. But the allies of the Americans and British are keeping quiet, embarrassed that they were spied upon by their guardian, the empire.

So what is Obama going to say now? And Dick Cheney is claiming that Snowden is a Chinese spy. Waaahahhahahha. The greatest hypocritical evil empire will do anything and say anything to cover its arse. They have been spying and hacking into every country for ages and wanted to accuse China of hacking into American systems. This is swift retribution.

China must hold on to Snowden and make sure that the American killer squad does not get to him first.

Why do we need Yale NUS?

We have two of the world’s top universities in NUS and NTU, why is there a need for a Yale NUS? Are we going to have Cambridge NUS, Harvard NUS, MIT NTU, Oxford NTU? Should not the effort and resources be poured into NUS and NTU to make them greater and better universities? By having joint universities, they are going to draw more of the limited good students we have and will only dilute the quality of the NUS and NTU. A good university is not only about having good infrastructure and good academic staff, it also needs good quality students. Oh sorry, I forgot that we can get all the good students from third world countries to fill up the places to raise the standard of the universities.

If Yale NUS is just a commercial money making university, to bring in the foreign student dollars, that is a slightly different matter. But as another full fledge govt funded university, it will definitely put a dent to the quality and eventually the stature of NUS and NTU as good national universities. Would it then be better for Yale NUS to outshine NUS and NTU with the two losing their shine and rankings?

For the cost of setting up this joint university, this is not a small amount. Do we really need this university? Who is it supposed to cater to? Foreign students or to feed more foreign academics? And what would the students get, an Yale degree that is not Yale and a NUS degree that is not NUS.

Art of RAR featured in Artsy Shark and indiegogo.com

Hi,

My works are now featured in Artsy Shark hosted by Ms Carolyn Edlund effective today. Please visit http://www.artsyshark.com/2013/06/17/featured-artist-chua-chin-leng/ to enjoy the paintings and write ups.
My project in indiegogo.com, a crowd funding platform is awaiting support from art lovers who can appreciate what a piece of art from Mother Nature means. Please visit http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paintings-of-gods/.

Cheers.

The pathetic state of Singaporeans in the banking and finance industry

We did not become a financial centre yesterday. We have built a good reputation as a financial centre for the last 50 years. We are perhaps the most advanced financial centre in the region. And we don’t have the financial talents and needed to fill the top management positions with talents from third world countries when their financial systems are at best rudimentary. Maybe I am wrong, the financial industries of third world countries are superior and they have superior finance talents too. And given that they are better, it is only natural that third world talents should fill the top management positions of this first world financial centre.
 
Tharman and Chuan Jin have been talking to the CEOs of the banking industry to right this pathetic situation, to rebalance our lousy talents or to train our lousy talents for top management positions. Or is it just to make up the numbers, with many doing the backroom work or as junior staff? If nothing is done quickly, it will become a vicious negative cycle and Singaporeans will all be relegated to the backroom or to work in middle or lower management positions. Our banking industry will become heavily dependent on foreigners and can be held at ransom by them threatening to pull out. How did we work ourselves into such a shitty situation? What have our super talents been doing? On holiday or counting money in their bank accounts?
 
This is what Tharman said, ‘There are differences between the banks – some of them have Singaporeans much better represented in the range of functions, some others have Singaporeans pretty much in the middle and back office…’ Is this good enough? This is Singapore and not Timbuktu. Singaporeans should be represented in top management levels in most of the banks, particularly local banks. This is what developing a Singaporean core is all about.
 
The composition of foreign banks may be a bit more tricky to expect more Singaporeans in top management. But there is no reason why the top management of local banks should be staffed with so many foreigners. This kind of situation is a reminder of the colonial days when the colonial masters sat at the top to order the subjects, who were designated mainly as clerks or chief clerks, around. Are we taking the path back to the good old days when foreigners are our bosses? If we are just a corporation, a MNC, then there is nothing wrong with it. But we are a country, a nation, and this is our country, our nation.
 
Talking about training Singaporeans to fill top management positions? What nonsense! Shouldn’t Singaporeans have acquired enough expertise and experience to be training third world talents instead of third world talents training Singaporeans?
Someone or somewhere got short circuited and thinks that this island does not belong to Singaporeans anymore? And Singaporeans are from the third world, ignorant, unsophisticated and needing assistance and training from third world experts sent in by UNESCO. Singaporeans are begging to be trained by third world experts.

Over paying the super elite

It affects everyone when the system overpays in whatever ways. One unspoken and may be unnoticed fact is the grotesquely over paying of a super elite group in our system. This group of beneficiaries has members mostly in their 60s, 70s or older. These are very able people who have made good in life, with a lot of wealth and do not need a single cent more to live a life of unbelieveable comfort and convenience. They have everything material in excess. And with their dying years, many of them are going to die very very rich, with a lot of money unspent.

And they are still being paid by huge pensions, chairmanship, directorship fees, association fees, acquaintanceship fees, appearance fees etc etc. Many have long retired, many long past their useful lives, many past their shelf lives. But they are still collecting hundreds of thousands or millions annually, to fatten their bank accounts that they will have serious trouble using them.

For every one of these super elite, the amount paid could have been spread to hundreds or thousands of more needy people and make their lives so much better. On the other hand, paying these elites another million or a few more hundreds of thousands has become meaningless. It does not make a difference in their lives anymore than for them to smile at the bank statements showing how much more they are getting, that is if their face muscles still allow them to smile.

It is not that they are all worthless and not contributing or useless in what they are doing. The point is that they are in semi retirement, in retirement, or some, just passing time attending board meetings. But the most pertinent point is that what they are taking from the system is taking a toll on the income of many people, and making the lives of many people less comfortable. This need not be.

And this pool of super elites is swelling by the days. They are going to live till 80s or 90s, which means that the system must cater a budget to pay them the ransom they are demanding. The system cannot afford to keep feeding a group of super elites, oldies, that kind of obscene payouts for 30 or 40 years each. The money must come from somewhere. Where do you think this money is coming from? Who do you think is paying for them?

This system of paying the super elites crazily when they don’t need the money is best to be toned down, give them a small honorarium for their presence and wisdom. It is already an honour to have them, to give them some purpose and a little contribution, a status, a recognised position, a big title in some cases. What more do they want when money is no longer an issue in their lives?

It is necessary to redistribute the wealth of the country to those who really need them and not to those who don’t need them, those with abundance of money, and doing really very little except to grace the occasion and be in good company, to be adored in reverence.

NTUC helping PMEs

‘During the first “Future Leaders Summit” organised by NTUC yesterday (15 Jun) aimed at reaching out to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How said NTUC will do more to help the PMEs.

This will include providing assistance in skills upgrading, and more seminars and workshops….

He said, “The PMEs would also certainly face challenges at work, both in terms of looking for work, or placement, as well as progression – how they can make good in their respective careers….’

How to help the PMEs when they do not know how? Ask a simple question, why are the foreign and local companies employing foreigners instead of Singaporeans? Definitely the Singaporeans, schooled in the best universities and colleges, some with big city and big corporate experiences, cannot be worst off than those from third world countries even if their qualifications and experience are genuine. All things being equal, it can only mean that whatever training or courses we are giving or are going to give are inferior or not the right thing to give. It is better to send these PMEs for courses in third world countries or get the third world countries to come here and train our first world PMEs on how to find a job, how to qualify and upgrade themselves to make them more marketable. It is so sick to think that this is what our super talents believe in.

This is the reality on the ground, not training for the sake of training as if it is the panacea for employment and getting a good job. The other reality, a very painful one that the govt is still not doing much about it, is that the employment agencies and the foreign companies chose to recruit and employ their own kind. Why don’t our own employment agencies and govt and govt linked companies do the same, employ our own kind? This simple act of positive discrimination for our own citizens will solve all the PME problems. No need to waste time and resources on courses and training.

The assumption that our PMEs are not suitably qualified or lack the skills is false. Yes, our PMEs are being cheated of jobs here.

And the sad part is the local companies, including govt and GLCs are also happily and busily employing foreigners and not Singaporeans. For every foreigner our govt and GLCs employed, one Singaporean missed the boat. It is bull to say that the tens of thousands of Singaporeans are only good to drive taxis.

You want the truth?

Another reason to go to Hong Lim

MOE Offers SIA Youth Scholarship for Indian Students Only

Indiancolleges.com, 15 Jun 2013
Ministry of Education, Singapore is offering SIA Youth scholarship for Indian students in Singapore.
Study Subject(s): Courses offered by Singapore Junior Colleges.
Course Level: Scholarship is available for pursuing Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education ‘Advanced’ (GCE ‘A’) Level (or equivalent) certificate.
Eligibility:
-Nationals of India
-Born between 1995 and 1997
-Completed Standard 10 in the Year 2013
-Possess outstanding academic track record (at least an average of 85% / minimum ‘A’ with English as first language in the Standard 10 State/National examinations)
Duration of award(s): The Scholarship is for 2 years of Pre-University studies in selected Singapore Junior Colleges and is renewed annually subject to the satisfactory performance of the scholar.
What does it cover?
-Annual allowance of S$2,400 with hostel accommodation
-Settling-in allowance of S$500 (once only)
-Return economy class air passage
-Coverage of school fees (excluding miscellaneous fees)
-Coverage of GCE ‘A’ Level examination fees (once only)
-Subsidised medical benefits and accident insurance cover.
How to Apply: There are 2 modes of application — online or hardcopy application. Each applicant should submit only ONE application and the online mode is recommended. Please do not send in a hardcopy application if you have already applied for the scholarship online and vice versa.
Scholarship Application Deadline: July 14, 2013

I copied the above from Singapore News Alternative. I presume that this is real and not a hoax.

Can we spend the money on our children?  I am sure this is not the only advert to one country. There must be more adverts to other countries? How many such scholarships will be given out and how much is the total? Can the MP ask in Parliament how much money have been spent on these scholarships and what is the annual budget. Also why is the govt spending money on other people’s children and not on our children? Is it because we got poor stock?

Why keep throwing taxpayers money to foreigners and children of foreigners? This is our money and any govt spending the people’s money better account to the people.

Deregulation is good for the banking and finance industry?

Who said so? The West said so. The bankers in New York and London said so. So we just follow, blindly, and things will be just fine. Today’s frontpage news,

‘SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has censured 20 banks in Singapore, after completing a year-long review of their rate-setting processes.
Singapore's central bank also wants to introduce a new regulatory framework to criminalise any future rate fixing activity.

Three local banks and 17 foreign banks have been censured by the MAS.
The local banks are OCBC, DBS and UOB.

The foreign banks are ING, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ANZ, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Macquarie, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, HSBC and Commerzbank.

133 traders from these banks tried to manipulate the Singapore Interbank Offered Rates (SIBOR), the SWAP offered rates and foreign exchange spot benchmarks….’

The above is quoted from Channel News Asia online.

When the last financial crisis hit, the world’s financial institutions and framework were threatened to go down and collapse. Thanks to all the great recommendations for deregulations to allow the bankers to do as they pleased. And no man of any importance was found guilty or put behind bars for the crisis. The govts of the West could not find anyone doing anything wrong. How could they when the govts approved of what they were doing? Everything was legal and all approved by the govts. Oh, just one and because he was mad. It was written in his name, Madoff. So this Madoff was the only one found mad enough to be caught.

And did they know what caused the financial crisis? Yes. And did they do anything to prevent it? No? The whole damn system of frauds continues to run merrily in ever bigger scale and churning more paper profits.

So now what, 20 banks and 133 traders were caught here! Would any big fish going to answer or be put behind bars? No. I don’t think they can find anyone with a name ‘mad’ to nail. And ‘There was no evidence of “successful manipulation”.’ So most of them will get away scot free ya? Maybe a few small guys will be made an example of. The rest will get a tap on the wrist. Be good, be nice. Go home now.

And a big pleasant surprise, MAS is going to introduce new regulations and make some of these fraudulent practices criminal. Are we out of our mind? Deregulation is the right thing and the right way to go. More regulations are going against the recommendations from the Mecca of world finance.
Maybe we have come to our senses, that all that glitters from the West is not really gold. We need to find our own footings and do what is right from what we know best. It is time to stop blindly following the mad and irresponsible West in their destruction of the financial system. It is time to take stock, do the right thing, get rid of all the snake oils and dangerous products being sold here. Return the banking and finance system to basics, to the real business of banking and finance and not gambling and horse racing.

A few regulations are not going to help. It is the whole system designed by the West and the toxic products that need to be thrown out of the window. It is time to stop hiring the crooks from Wall Street and Fleet Street. It is time to send them home. It is time to do the right thing to protect our banking and financial system, to slow down, to scale down the wild wild west, free wheeling nonsense. As a financial centre, it is time to reset the standard and adapt only the safe practices, and be prepared to lower the expectations of the cowboy robber bankers. Only then can our system be shielded from the wild swings and frauds of the western system. We need to find our own way. The present one is flawed and treacherous.

There is an urgent need for a think tank group to examine what were wrongs and fraudulent practices and to make amends quickly.

Social Media, the new fourth estate that cannot be ignored

It is about 10 years since the internet becomes another serious source of news and voice for the masses here. The lighter touch by the Govt, should the citizens be grateful to this, has allowed social media to gain acceptance by people seeking a more honest view of things and events in the country. Of course social media will have its hordes of very one sided view bloggers, just like main media. But on the whole the more rational middle ground is emerging to give more credibility to social media as an alternative voice.

The recent events surrounding so many controversial issues have enhanced the status and importance of social media for that perspective that cannot be found in the main media. Social media is gaining an ever larger group of followers and readers seeking for the truth, a balance to the one sided reporting of main media.

The new role of social media can be seen in the recent protests in Hong Lim Park. Though these events were strangely not reported in the main media until the day after, social media is now able to inform and mobilize the public to attend such events of mass appeal. More national issues that somehow would not be spoken off in the main media, like AIM, or understandable issues, will see more coverage by social media. Yes, social media has its role cut out with the main media doing what is the right thing and reporting on the right thing.

The social media will report on its own version of the right thing, with scars and warts and stench. In this aspect, the main media has no equal and cannot compete. And social media is there for free, and written by volunteers whose qualifications and integrity are no lesser than those paid reporters and journalists.

Another role that will take on more prominence in social media is to demand for action from public and private institutions. It was the norm in the past to write to the main media for complaints and grievances of the small people that were ignored by institutions. Writing to the main media, and if found suitable by the editors, would elicit immediate responses from the agency or institution concerned. The qualification is suitability in the judgement of the editors. If it was found unsuitable, then it would not see daylight.

Social media will not enforce such censorship. Everything will be published except the outright objectionable. So, genuine complaints and grievances will enjoy air time in social media as they are. And no institutions can afford to ignore what is written in social media. Social media cannot be ignored.

Politically the Govt has come to accept the increasing role of social media and likely to make readings of what were published in social media necessary, particularly the well established websites. Many people are also attracted to the refreshing angles of news and views of social media and making social media a must read daily.

This is what the fourth estate is all about. The old fourth estate in the guise of the main media has been found dead, strangled and buried. The new fourth estate in the form of social media is doing what it should do and expected to do, the conscience of society. It is the real fourth estate that cannot be shut down or gagged. It is fluid, formless and elusive and will slip through any dragnet to emerge stronger, across oceans, and more relevant and more needed by the masses, to represent the interest of the masses against any oppressive regimes.

The role of social media is still in the process of defining itself. And this is only its nascent stage.

The tragic choice of a troubled and distraught mother

We have all read about the 31 year old unemployed mother who dropped her 9 year old son from her flat. The poor child died. The poor child was a special needs child, needing special attention and special school. The poor mother had to stop work to look after him full time. And she has only her own mother to support her with her mother’s miserable income of $1,000 pm. Yes, a $1,000 income in the richest country in the world is miserable, barely enough to keep one alive. Some will disagree and claim that a $1,000 income could afford to buy a public flat and get by. Well some will believe it is possible.

How could three persons, an old lady, a young mother and a special needs child lived on a $1,000 income. Maybe there were some handouts from the govt or some charitable organizations. This is a tragic story of the lives of three miserable beans trying to get by in one of the most expensive country in the world.

How many of you think it is easy to live with $1,000? After deducting some of the compulsory bills and expenses there would be nothing much left. The three would be lucky if the remainder was enough just for food and nothing else. No matter how reclusive a life they led, there must be plenty of other expenses to pay for, the schooling for the child, the medical expenses, and what not.

What choice is there for the young woman, for the poor child and the poor grandmother? What kind of existence, with money not enough, and with nothing but a life centred on caring for the needs of the special child. Don’t ask me.

Anyone in this most expensive city in Asia and probably the whole world, if struck by a sickness that needs repetitive care and medicine, unless one is a millionaire, how many will earn enough just to take care of the medical needs and medical bills? A person with kidney problem and needing dialysis, mind you the cheapest is still going to cost at least a $1000 a month if I am not wrong. An aged or invalid in a nursing home is going to cost a couple of thousands at the lower end and pray no extra medical costs. There are those that need chemotherapy, physiotherapy or ‘whateverapy’, as long as the treatment is prolong, the poor chap is going to be bankrupt in no time, or the poor chap is going to bankrupt the family members.

Long term medical care, long term care for the special needs children, long term care for the aged etc etc are very unaffordable. Many families are shouldering such emotional baggage and financial burden and only they themselves understand the meaning of medical cost.

The poor woman, now in prison for delivering her son, would probably think it is better to end it all. The poor child will be her life of living hell. She would have nothing else to live for short of a miracle, a little mercy from some kind souls.

How many people are in the same plight, and pondering to do the same, to end it all, in the most expensive city in the world where every one other person is a millionaire or half a millionaire? Not many of these millionaires or half a millionaires can afford a long term illness or long term care for a member of his/her family. It is no joke.

The poor woman in prison is likely to remain in prison for the rest of her life. She just switched from a prison without bars to behind bars. The latter may be less demanding financially and emotionally less draining. At least she will have a life of her own to live for, behind bars. At least she set free the poor boy trapped in a flawed body. Some may disagree and think it is better for the boy to continue to live. What about her mother, now with all $1,000 to herself for as long as she can work?

US China relationship, a changing balance

The ex CIA agent seek protection in Hongkong/China from the Americans has become the next most famous case after Julian Assange to thumb his nose at the empire. The Americans are furious and demanded for more information and the whereabouts of Edward Snowden from China. They are applying to extradite Snowden from Hongkong to the US. Would it happen? Or would China squeeze the Americans by the balls, as had the Americans did it to China for decades and in so many cases in the past?

China has responded to the Americans by claiming ignorance. They did not know of Snowden’s whereabout or anything that Snowden has leaked. Is this not familiar? This is the exact reply and position taken by the Americans whenever there is a dissident hiding in the US or helped by the US to escape to the West. The Americans would simply answer, ‘We don’t know’. So China is learning from the Americans, ‘We don’t know.’

The strange thing is that an American now feels that China is a place he can feel safe from the clutches of USA, the evil empire. Before this event, the safe heaven is always North America. And dissidents escaped from everywhere, from China, to be safe in America.

Would there be more western dissidents seeking solace, comfort and safety in China? Heheheh. The wind is changing direction.

And oooooohhhh, Edward Snowden has disclosed that the Americans have been hacking into China and Hongkong since 2009. And the Americans are accusing the Chinese of hacking into American institutions as if the Americans were all so innocent. Tsk, tsk, tsk….And perhaps Obama was so happy to use this incident to pressure Xi or to embarrass him in the recent visit. Perhaps Xi is now on the hot line to Obama asking him if he cares to explain.

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

The exuberance of foreigners working in this little island is understandable. They need not be at top management to be able to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And if they do rise to top management level this is heaven on earth. After their stint in the island, with good quality living and a reasonable income, many would have made a small fortune to bring home and live a life very much better than their contemporaries. Many could even join the ranks of nouve riche back in their countries.

Look at the Singaporean counterparts, the citizens of this island. Unless one is in the top 10 or 20 percent of the income bracket, many will remain in the asset rich and cash poor category, feeling rich but living from hand to mouth, every month just enough. Many will remain living in their HDB flats, unable to own a car, and trying to feel good, to justify taking public transport to work or to play.

Where is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the average Singaporeans? Many of the PRC Chinese, India Indians, the Pinoys, Malaysians, and other Southeast Asians will be returning home rich while just an average Joe here, earning much less than the average Singaporeans. Isn’t it an irony, a kind of sick joke, that many of the citizens of one of the richest country in the world will spend the rest of their lives chasing the rainbow but not finding the pot of gold. On the other hand, the average foreigners are all counting the days when they can return home rich, some very very rich. Many will have their dreams fulfilled with great certainty.

Why like dat huh?