No one must be above the law

In ST on 25 Jun, it was reported that ‘The apex court has made it clear that neither the Govt nor judges can be sued for judicial decisions made, pointing to judicial immunity under the Govt Proceedings Act(GPA)… “In Singapore, the general rule is that the Govt may be liable for, inter alia, the tortuous acts of its public officers,” noted Justice Chao. This means that the Govt is liable like any ordinary employer. However, exceptions to this rule specified in the Act include those exercising judicial functions, he said.’

The above sounds logical and reasonable on the presumptions that the judges are honourable people performing the duties of judges free from interferences from other people or offices. This should be the case as Judge Chao added, ‘The independence of the Judiciary is one of the foundation pillars of Singapore’s constitutional framework and must not be shaken. To this end, the Govt should not be liable for the acts of the Judiciary, over which it has no control or influence.’

Here there is another assumption, that the Judiciary is fully independent of the Govt. What if there is a rogue govt and running roughshod over the judiciary and controlling the Judiciary? There is always the possibility of a rogue govt in office. If this law is to be read without exceptions, even if a rogue govt is in office, should it be valid to shield the Judiciary in such circumstances, or when a corrupt Judiciary is in cahoot with a rogue govt?

There is also another assumption that the Judiciary is made up of righteous men and women. In reality, there are always flawed characters in every profession and the Judiciary is no exception. What happens if there is a crooked judge or a compromised judge, a beholden judge, would he still be protected by this GPA, no exceptions?

I think this is a very dangerous precedent to set, to allow some people, in this case the Judiciary, to be above the law with no exceptions. As long as human beans are involved rogues will appear once a while. How can there be no exceptions?

Judges are also human beans and human beans are human beans, no exceptions. Just because one becomes a judge, one is flawless in character and above the law.

The only consideration that may warrant an exception is that the judiciary cannot be sued by the govt, but can be sued by the people. The people are the highest office in the country. All govt and govt offices, officials are there to serve the people. And if the judiciary committed errors or there is a miscarriage of justice against the people, they must be answerable and held accountable.

The point about cannot be sued by the govt is to protect the judiciary in case they have to rule against the govt. And this is a very likely case when no one can guarantee the characters of politicians and rogue govt. The judiciary must be free from the fear of the govt, independent and not beholden, to do what it is supposed to do, to deliver justice to the people. It is the people that the judiciary should serve and be accountable for and cannot be above the law.

What do you think?

Amos Yee – Baffling saga

‘I find the whole saga of “managing Amos” baffling. First, months ago, Amos’ mother told the court that Amos was assessed on 2 separate occasions before the trial began, by IMH psychiatrist(s).’ – Ang Yong Guan

Dr Ang is a psychiatrist in private practice. He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1979 and did his postgraduate training in psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh between 1984 and 1986. He served as a military doctor with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) for 23 years from 1980 to 2003 (17 of which as a military psychiatrist) and retired, with the rank of Colonel, as Head of Psychological Care Centre, Military Medicine Institute, SAF Medical Corps.

Dr Ang was the president of Singapore Psychiatric Association (1997-1998); chairman of the Chapter of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine (2001- 2003); and member of National Council on Problem Gambling (2005 – 2011). He is currently founder-chairman of Action Group for Mental Illness (from 2004 to the present), a national advocacy group championing for the mentally ill.

Finally, after so long, there is someone with a unquestionable credential on Psychiatry speaks out. No one can doubt whether his degrees are real or fake or from some degree mills. Ang Yong Guan’s qualification and experience are rock solid, a local talent and authority in this field. He posted an article in his Facebook and reposted in the TRE titled ‘ Psychiatrist: ‘Managing Amos’ saga baffling’.

This is the first time a person of authority and carrying some weight has spoken voluntarily on the Amos case. Let’s see if there is anyone else of some standing that would be bitten by his conscience to open his golden mouth to say something about this case.

Amos Yee is now in IMH and according to his mother he is the only sane person there among the insane. Poor boy.  If he is not mad, his residency in the company of the mad will get to him.  Is managing Amos Yee baffling?

I dunno. I really dunno. 人在做天在看

Here is a comment in his post at TRE

Detention Barracks: June 26, 2015 at 8:54 am  Detention Barracks(Quote)

@Ang

'As ex-Army Colonel shouldn’t you access whether he is suitable for enlisted straight to Detention Barracks instead?
You seems to forgotten your root that feed you for your career. Turning your back against the hand that feed you is not going to get any votes !
Seems like you have been influenced by Glucose Chee a serial loser than turn against his mentor.’

The reason for this comment is to chastise Ang Yong Guan for being ungrateful which is more important than being right or wrong. Being grateful is more important than being morally righteous and just, the rule of law can go down the drain.

PS. Amos' mother Mary Toh also has a post in TRE titled 'A mother visits her son in IMH'. Reading it gives one a creepy feeling and a sense of haplessness.

GE 2015/16 issues for the voters to consider – Issue 1 - Freedom to information

This is the first part of a series of issues that I would be writing about for the coming GE. I would deal with one issue at a time and put it simple and short for brevity and easier for the voters to remember.

The main question is who would the people want to vote for?  The first issue is about the right to information. Would the voters want to vote for a govt that want to decide on what they can see, read, hear or say? Is this simple enough?

Do you want to vote for a govt that dictates to you what you can or cannot read, what you can or cannot see, what you can or cannot say? In other words, would you vote for a govt that wants to control you, control your thoughts? Do you want to be controlled by the people you elect to be the govt?

Think about it.

Control the people’s thinking

Related to my post ofn Freedom to information, there is this big issue of modifying behavioural thinking in the media today. Peter Ong, the Head of Civil Service, touched on the discussions in the social media. He said policymakers would need to study human behaviour, particularly in the social media, to nudge the discussion in the right direction. To do this, the first few postings would normally set the trend and tempo of a discussion, ie you can control the discussion.

So, by getting in early, the trend of thoughts in a discussion could be guided and modified in a way to suit the intent of the people wanting to lead a discussion. It is all about behavioural control.

What is missing in this line of thought, similar to those who claimed that everything can be explained away with good communication, is that the advocates are trying to treat a symptom but not the cause. If there is no cause, if govt policies are right and good for the people, there would be no need for opposing views and negativity. If policies are wrong, no amount of explanation can change that, no amount of behavioural modifications or control can change that. Any change would be momentary, when a clever argument may pull wool over the eyes for a short while. But the bad policies stayed and would still invoke objections and opposition when the wool is removed.

The crux of the matter is to get the policies right, administer policies that are good for the people, not silly policies pushed through by applying power logic. So many policies in housing that were silly and against the interests of the people were pushed through and have to be rectified but not before doing so much harm to the people. In a way, Murphy’s Law is also applicable to bad policies. Bad policies are bad policies and would bounce back at the face of the policymakers in a matter of time. You cannot get away with bad policies. No amount of foolish and contrived explanations or behavioural modifications can change a bad policy to a good policy.

There is one condition that may make it an exception. Use of power logic. Use of power to impose on the people, shaft it down their throats like before. Oh, there is also another assumption that may make such a thinking works for a while, if the people are really daft and cannot see the difference between what is good or bad for them.

Power logic and behavioural control are just that. Nothing is changed, bad policy is bad policy. It would be wiser to go to the root cause of the problem and save the need to explain what cannot be explained away, or to modify people’s behaviour and thinking that it would work.

You can bluff the people all the time. You can’t bluff the people and get away with it forever.

Beware of your pockets

If the forum pages of the main media are an indication of what is over the horizon, I am fearful of what is in the pipeline. The main media has rightly been perceived as the sounding board for the govt policies, what the govt has in mind are often tested first in the media for a ground feel or to signal what is coming next. And the preview could lessen the impact when policies are implemented with the people mentally prepared for the shock.

The last few days the signals are for higher cost of water consumption and hitting hard on car ownership. Two foreigners, I am guessing from their names, likely new citizens or PRs, one a Dr Asit K Biswa and a Cecilia Tottajada, wrote to the ST forum that the cost of water was too low, or cheap and it was time to tighten the tap on cheap water to reduce consumption. Another comment, not sure if it was from the same two, ‘the price of water has not increased since 2000’.

See the reasoning for the increase? So long never increase so much increase. The other reason, must increase price to cut down on consumption. Aren’t the people already paying too much for water with different kinds of water conservation taxes? Not enough, still want to increase? And the reason is to cut down on consumption. Did they know the history of water pricing and the cost of water instead of gut feel of cheap or expensive, based on what, market mechanism?

Hey professori from whatever university, I already limit myself to take bath once a week to cut down on water usage. Not enough? And I only brush teeth once in two days. And I also use used water to flush the toilet bowl, which means the water is used several times before flushing down the drain. Do you know or not? It is so easy to talk about cutting down consumption. Tell the poor worker to cut down on food consumption lah. But make sure you know how many meals he is taking and what he is taking in the first place. If the guy is already taking plain bread or plain porridge and only two times a day, how much more to you want him to cut down? You think everyone eat like a pig, 5 meals a day? You think everyone is hosing water on their cars?

Do these so called academics know what they are talking?

And the other call, not by an academic I think, to reduce car usage, is to make car use prohibitive. What a moron. The next thing, to manage the use of precious land, shrink the size of flats by half to make it painful. There are many people who must use car whether for work or for special needs. Using the car is a necessity and sometime unavoidable. And there are many small enterprises that need a car or they could not operate. Increase cost to make it prohibitive? I see shit coming out of the mouth.

But put these silly thinkers and comments aside. What is behind these calls, is it an indication of what is coming and the media or govt is preparing the ground for increase in water fees and more financial disincentives to car usage?

What are the real problems to water usage and car usage? What are the causes to high water usage and car population? You dunno meh? Think 10m or 6.9m. If the govt is crazy to keep pumping more people into this piece of rock, water will always be not enough and no matter how high the price is, the people would still need to use them. Fuck the pseudo academics. And so will be space for cars. 5m and we are so squeezed with so many cars, 6.9m and 10m, how would it affect car prices and car usage? Is this what we want? Is this for better quality of life? Prohibit car ownership, prohibit water consumption so that everyone would smell like a sweaty manual worker and cannot afford to bathe?

This is already one of the most expensive city to live in. Want to increase cost further by more stupid suggestions?

Amos Yee – Autism Spectrum Disease 人在做天在看

‘District Judge Jasvender Kaur today (23 Jun) ordered teenage blogger Amos Yee to be remanded for 2 weeks at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) to undergo a psychiatric assessment.
The court heard that an RTC report had found the 16-year-old physically and mentally fit to undergo reformative training. However, a report by Dr Munidasa Winslow also said that Amos may be suffering from autism-spectrum disorder.’ TRE Editorial 
What is this ASD? According to a psychiatrist interviewed by CNA, an Adrian Wong if I remember correctly, there are three signs to watch out for. Difficulties in reading or articulation, difficulties in relationship, and a kind of stubbornness in views on things. And generally almost everyone has such symptoms in varying degree. In my view, of course I am not a psychiatrist, I also can say maybe everyone has ASD. Tiok boh? 
Look around us, how many people did not have the three signs? Cannot speak properly, plenty of them. Have relationship problem with people, how many people did not have this problem? I will say none, everyone has some relationship problem with some people. Have a kind of stubbornness in views of things like insisting that Amos is sick when he is not. How many people are sticking to this sick view? I think in this case, everyone is suffering from ASD except Amos Yee. Yes Amos is the only normal one. 
Let me put up my justifications. Amos is extremely articulate, no problem with communication. Relationship with people, he is so friendly. See how he waved to everyone and smiling all the time despite being charged with this horrible crime? At his age, with the whole state machinery and a lot of sick people gunning him down, he has a mind of steel, standing rock solid and not breaking. This is a sign of a very emotionally strong person. Many people would have broken down. Not Amos Yee. It is the other people that are having relationship problems, and with him. It is not Amos having problems with other people. And all those people are sickly sticking to an obtuse view about Amos that the UNHCHR and HRW are saying all hogwash. There is nothing wrong with Amos Yee. He is a healthy young boy and behaving like many young boys of his age and intelligence. 
How, my justifications can jalan or not? Reasonable or not? And Amos is fit for Reformative Training but suffering from ASD? Tiok boh? Like also can? If Amos has relationship problems with people, how can he be but put in the same confines with troublesome youth in the Reformative Centre? Would they not murder him since Amos cannot get along with them? Is it the right thing to do? Oops, wrong question to ask about right or wrong thing. 
I think everyone should be sent for Mandatory Treatment Order instead of Amos Yee. In my view, not the view of a psychiatrist, everyone is sick except Amos. Just my layman’s view.  
Please, disagree with me as much as you like. I am not an authority on this ASD thing.

Mahathir declares Langkawi a new nation

News Flash--Mahathir bought Langkawi island for new Nation

Now, he can build his crooked bridge n treat the kampong folks as their medical director apart from landlord (King Mahathir).

Mahathir said he had bought the island from the Sultan of Kedah for an undisclosed sum and has declared it as an independent state.

Who is cheating the Malays of their inheritance, if this is true?

Can someone verify this? If true he can joined his nemesis in the club of founding nation members.

PS. GiGo confirmed it is a joke.

Khaw Boon Wan – Every Sporean couple a chance to live in HDB flat

I told you right, this is the best minister in the PAP. His thinking at least is thinking. He is the only one who can see the silliness of depriving a Singaporean from buying a HDB flat and living in a HDB flat. Only sick minds can deprive a Singaporean from living in a HDB flat. It is a betrayal to all NSmen to deprive them of buying a HDB flat when new citizens that never served NS can buy and live in HDB flats. And it takes so long until a good Buddhist man comes up with a clear idea of what is wrong with that insidious policy against NSmen. Imagine no one can see anything wrong with it. It must be Boon Wan’s meditation and he saw the light.

And many young couples have been excluded from buying HDB flats and forced to buy private flats and have to live with a huge mortgage that many would find it a big burden to carry. It happened. And asses would be blaming them for not having enough savings for retirement.

Now, when would Boon Wan correct this wrongful policy, a crime against our young people? Let’s hope he does not take another 56 man years to make this right. All NSmen paid a heavy price to serve the country, how can they be excluded from buying a HDB flat? And to rub salt into their wounds, new citizens never serve NS can buy HDB flats to resell to these NSmen at a profit. I want to use the four letter word already,  but must respect Boon Wan, so I try to be polite here.

Even in practical terms, every young couple would start life earning $2k or $3k and be eligible to buy HDB flats other than those whose parents are ministers and can afford to buy private homes. Many have to delay buying because of circumstance beyond their control, unable to find the right partners or other reasons that made them to do so. And by the time when they needed a flat, their incomes could have exceeded the stupid income ceiling imposed by HDB. And they became the citizens that sacrificed 2 and ½ years of their precious youth to serve the country, pledged to defend the country with their lives with more years as a reservist, and cannot buy HDB flat! Can you believe it?

Lucky, so very lucky, there is a wise and good man in Boon Wan to make things right. So, how are they going to compensate for the wrongs done to those young couples out there? And please, no more silly schemes to force young couples to buy bigger flats just because they are earning more. Prudence! You know what is the meaning of prudence? It means don’t anyhow spend. Spend only when necessary and save your money for the rainy day or for retirement. Do not let silly fucks to blame them for buying bigger flats and ended with little savings for retirement. It is elementary isn’t it? And it is a sickness of the mind to continue to victimize the young people with silly policies.

Ok, the ball is now in Boon Wan’s feet. Do the right thing and the decent thing. No more silly schemes and silly explanations please.

1974 – The last supper

1974 was the year the British pulled out of Singapore to wave goodbye to their Empire and one of the last colonies left in the Far East. 1974 was the 1997 of Hongkong, the last vestiges of the British Empire. What the British did here, though in a small scale, was similar to what they did to Hongkong in a huge scale.

In Hongkong, the Treasury was open to the British to help themselves. And they spent and spent, on anything they fancied, for the good of Hongkong or for good of Westminister. The Hongkong Treasury had a lot of cash waiting to be emptied and the one holding the key, the British of course, would make it easy for Chris Patten to do the necessary.

In Singapore, by 1974 we were already an independent country and the Treasury was out of bound to the British. We were an independent country and governing ourselves except for the military bases that were still in operation.

I was a young officer in RAF/RSAF Tengah. All military units under the British tradition have this thing called Officer’s Mess where the officers dined and wined. Though the beer and liquor were tax exempted, still the Mess was able to have a nice  surplus over the years, including revenue from the jackpot machine.

What would the British want to do with the money? They have contributed a big chunk to it by their drinking in the bar. They are not going to leave it behind for us to inherit. They are going to spend it one way or another.

That December of 1974 was a grand last supper before the British packed up and leave, leaving behind nothing in the Mess kitty. They organized an opulence party to celebrate for one last time. It was not so much as to have a good time. It was how to finish off the money in the kitty. The spread of food and drinks was not only generous, but wasteful and very unnecessary. There were less than a hundred of them left and about a similar number of us locals taking over the Mess.

What the British did was to open up three dining areas for the night with all kinds of food, Asian and European and what not. As if this was not enough, there were, if I can remember, three separate bars, with free flowing of beer and liquor, on the house of course, like the food. And that was not enough, I think there were three bands playing in three different areas.

It was like money everywhere and money to be spent to make everyone happy. They were throwing the money at everyone, at themselves and to us, to partake everything in that one evening. They were still in control, in control of he money, the money soon to be OPM, no longer theirs if they didn’t spend it. It was so easy to spend money that was OPM and had a good time.

When the curtain is about to fall, why not? At least they made themselves happy and emptied the kitty at the same time. They are not looking back. They know that the money would not be theirs anymore to spend. It was like ‘It’s now or never’.

That was 1974, the last day of the Empire. We never see them again. Or we never allow them to take control again, not with our money.

American Pivot part 2

In part 1, I gave a broadbrush treatment of what a new Asia will be if the Americans succeeded in implementing and enforcing its American Pivot strategy and objectives in East Asia. With willing allies like Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, possibly Singapore, the Americans would first want to have a combined force to launch a war with China. They may even have the Europeans on the sideline ready to join in the fray. It is the same formula of divide and rule, signing up all the willing gangsters to take China alone and tear it apart, piece by piece and to share the loot among the gangster nations. This is the standard formula of the western powers in taking Asian and African countries one at a time.

This time the game may be a bit more complicated. China is not alone. And there are other countries that would come to the side of China, knowing that not doing so would they end up the same fate as a defeated China. For their own interests, they would have to take sides with China. Russia, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, would be left with little choice unless they are willing to come under the domination of an unfriendly and bullying Emperor.

Before the Americans and its allies, Japan, the Philippines, Australia and Vietnam could roll out their military plans to deal with China, China would not sit idly waiting to be shot. What would be the likely option or options for China? Taking on the Americans alone would put it in a severely disadvantaged position and defeat would be the likely outcome. Trying to take on the Empire alone would encourage the fence sitters like the Europeans to feel more comfortable to join the side of the Empire.

A better option would be to link up with Russia and North Korea, plus Taiwan and possibly South Korea to replicate what the Americans are doing, ie ganging up. And the target would be Japan. The combined forces would be too much for Japan to take on alone and to survive they must bring in the Americans. The question is whether the Americans would come in when faced with China and its formidable allies. China and its partners all have issues with Japan, including territorial disputes and the humiliation by the Japanese in WW2.

Japan has been the Number One military adventurer and invader in Asia. The genie of Japanese Imperialism was bottled up by the Americans after WW2 and not allowed to create more mischief in the region. Now that the Americans are so happy to release the Japanese Imperialist genie out from the bottle, the Japanese have started to behave predictably like their former self, creating mischief and edging to go to war.

China and its allies would have all the same reason to want to put this genie back into the bottle. A combined force to invade Japan would be a piece of cake and could lead to the break up of Japan into concessions by them. Russia could take hold of not only the four disputed islands but also Hokkaido. China could be generous and be contented with Kyushu and the Ryukyu island chains. The rest can be offered to the Koreans to let the Japanese have a taste of what it is like under brutal colonial rule, in the way they ruled over Korea. The Koreans would love to return the courtesy to rule the two main islands of Japan.

The dismantling of Japan would be a key factor to keep the Americans out of Asia and to bring their pivot home. Asean would be able to enjoy the same peace and stability without the Americans inciting some of their members to adventurism.

The Americans have not seen or faced with a combined force of a number of nations against them. It has always been the Americans and Europeans joining hands to attack other countries. And they are doing it again in East and South Sea. They have the advantage and the initiative to decide when they want to harasss or provoke China. The gangsters are calling the shot and the initiative to start a war with China at their own timing and choosing.

The China/Russia/Korea alliance would be a force to contend with. They must regain the initiative, to call the shot instead of letting the Americans and Japanese to call the shot when to start a war. The China Russia Korea alliance should put on the pressure to harass and provoke the Japanese, put them on the defensive, and be the one to decide when to declare war on Japan. Then both sides can play the game on a more level playing field. Japan would for once be faced with a combined force to keep its wild Imperialistic ambition in check. They would think twice about adventurism in the South China Sea. Open up a new theatre of tension the North, in the Sea of Japan. Haul back the Japanese to be on the defensive. An attack, breakup and occupation of Japan would put an end to this menace of war in Asia for good.

The map of Asia would practically be unchanged except for the division of Japan to be ruled by Russia, Korea and China. This thought would make the Japanese go crazy. So far they have only been thinking of doing it to China and Korea. They cannot imagine that the same fate can happen to them if they continue to adopt an aggressive and war mongering policy. Japan could be the new Middle East of Asia, fighting an unending war against overwhelmingly superior forces till the end of time. The Americans would stay at the peripheral of Asia and remain a super power unchallenged in the eastern Pacific Ocean. They would not risk a nuclear war with the China  Russia Korea alliance. They would not be so scatter brain to think they can station hundreds of tanks along the Russian border to threaten Russia.

There will be a new peace and a new Asia. With the genie of Japanese Imperialism put away for good, peace would return to Asia for another century or more. And the bigger menace, the American Empire would have to contend to remain in the Americas.

Why must it always be the Empire and the Japanese Imperialist threatening and attacking other countries?

Amos Yee - latest developments

Roy Ngerng is making a public call to Free Amos Yee in his Facebook with a dedicated  yellow and red sticker, ‘FREE AMOS YEE – PROTECT OUR CHILDREN’.

In the main media it is reported that the  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bangkok has called on the Govt for Amos Yee’s IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

http://bangkok.ohchr.org/files/ROB%20Press%20Statement%20220615.pdf

 I dunno what to say.

PS. This just came out.
For Immediate Release

Singapore: Exonerate 16-Year-Old Blogger
Uphold Amos Yee’s Free Expression Rights, Child Protections

(Bangkok, June 23, 2015) – Singapore authorities should exonerate a 16-year-old convicted for a blog and video post about the death of Singapore’s founding prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, Human Rights Watch said today.

Should Malaysia use the ISA on Mahathir

Malays could suffer the ‘fate of Spore Malays’ if Najib stays on: Dr M.

Such a statement if quoted by someone in Singapore would be seen as inciting racial unrest. In Malaysia it would be the same if the speaker is not Mahathir. No one would see this as a very racist comment and could incite racial violence when uttered by Mahathir.

Mahathir again is rumour mongering to strike fear among the Malays, that they would be marginalized like Singapore Malays. How true is this statement? There is always a saying that one must compare apple with apple and orange with orange to make a good case on what one is talking about. It is a demographic fact that the Malays in Singapore is a minority race and relatively lesser of them would be in the Who’s Who list. But in general, are the Malays in Singapore less well off than the Malays in Malaysia without the bumiputra policies of affirmative actions in favour of the Malays?

The second point, can the Malays in Malaysia ever lose their dominance and control of the country and wealth given the disproportional distribution of power in the country? There is the Constitutions that enshrined Malay dominance and power that is unchallenged, cannot be challenged. There are the political powers sanctioned in the institutions of the Malay Rulers that are also unquestionable to protect Malay rights and dominance. And the hard realities, the Malays are holding absolute power in the govt, in the civil service, in the military and police forces. The Malays are in control of the economy and in politics. How could the Malays be marginalized under Najib or any Malay PM and govt? To quote a Sinkie saying, even if a dud is the conductor, the orchestra would go on playing and no one would miss the dud.

Mahathir’s assertion is that the Malay as a race is inferior to the other race and needs protection forever. After 4 decades of NEP and the continuation of affirmative policies, priority in education and economic opportunities, are the Malays still inferior to the other races? If this is the truth, then God helps the Malays. I really dunno what to say.

This assumption of Malays as inferior needs to be proven or rebutted. Even on a general basis it may appear so if the Malay poor is highlighted as an example. But there are poor in other races as well. Among the Malays there are many very able and brilliant people that are as good as the other races. And if there is a good core of talented Malay leaders, and with political dominance, absolute majority as a race, and control of the country, there is no way for the Malays in Malaysia to be marginalized. The Malay elite in Malaysia are in control of everything to ensure their continuous rule of the country and a bigger share of everything.

Mahathir is just stroking the fear of the unthinking masses to go against Najib in particular and the non Malays in general. Mahathir has never changed in playing racial and religious cards to divide the people of Malaysia. How many will believe in this latest claim by Mahathir? How many would believe the Malay majority in Malaysia will suffer the ‘fate of Singapore Malays’? Presumably the Malays in Singapore are in a worse off state than the Malaysian Malays. Compare apple to apple, put a Singapore Malay elite next to a Malaysian Malay elite and see the difference. Who is the better half, excluding state given largesse.

The best man for the job, not about nationalities

‘Running a business means the best man for the Job

Japanese companies such as Sony and Nissan are taking the first steps to hire foreigners for top management positions.

In 2011, the firm with the largest number of foreign professionals in South Korea was Samsung, with 16 foreign executives, followed by LG Electronics, with nine.

These expatriates were recruited for their experience and innovative thinking, to help the companies develop their international presence….

In Singapore, our ageing population means that baby boomers in top positions are going to retire, causing companies to lose lots of experienced talent.

Unless our universities have better training schemes, our locals will not be able to compare with expats. Companies will find it hard to get replacements locally, and will have to import foreign talent.

It is time to address the mismatch between what schools are producing and what companies need.

Competition for talent will force companies to cast their nets wider. We must come to terms with this reality as this is what globalisation is all about.’

Francis Cheng

 

The above is part of an article by Francis Cheng posted in TRE. It does not take much effort to see the flaws in this simplistic view and trying to be clever by quoting empirical data with superficial understanding. Japan is starting to hire foreigners, and did the author know that this is the beginning of Japan’s trouble in the car and electronic industries? The number of faulty cars being recalled is staggering and costing the Japanese car companies hundreds of millions of dollars, and the reputation of Japanese Made cars. And did he know that Sony and a few Japanese consumer goods makers are going broke?

Then look at the figures of the Koreans, 16 foreign executives in Samsung and 9 in LG. What is the workforce of Samsung and LG? Samsung has a workforce of half a million. What is 16? Did the author know the percentages of foreigners in our GLC, especially in banking and ITs? Here the 16 and 9 are in terms of percentages. In fact, the percentage could be even higher in top and middle management, going to 70% or more. What do these figures mean?

In the Japanese case, they are bringing in the wrong talents that instead of helping are destroying their companies. In the case of the Koreans, they are very selective and going for the best or hiring foreign executives in very specialized jobs. That is why there are 16 and not 50% or 70% foreigners.

In Singapore, we are hiring all the shits, from the top to bottom and called them foreign talents. This also means that we are empty of talents from the top to the bottom. And what is the cause? Our ‘baby boomers in top positions are going to retire, causing companies to lose lots of experienced talent’. Is this a reasonable comment? Does it mean that our universities are capable of producing one generation of talents and subsequently went to sleep and not producing anything except shit?

The universities are educating and producing talents every year. What happens? Suddenly no more talents? So now the schools and universities must wake up and start to train the needed talents? What cock is that? Our best education system and universities did not know what they are doing, did not know what to produce and their products cannot match the daft and cheats of dysfunctional education systems and universities from the 3^rd world?

So our universities must start to work? Heng Swee Kiat, what do you think? Your MOE is a dud for all these years, wasting precious dollars from the taxpayers, and allowing the schools and universities to produce duds and mismatch? Would you care to comment?

Globalisation is not so simple as the best replacing the not so good. Theoretically that can be the case. In our case, we are replacing our best with fakes and cheats and half bakes. And our daft Sinkies did not know, could not see the truth, and believe that our best cannot compete with shit, cheats and fakes.

My God, what is happening? Maybe it is true, our education system and universities are sick to the core, producing duds that cannot think, did not know what the hell is going on. Must hire the best man for the job and the best man must be a foreigner no matter how shitty or even cheats. This is the thinking of fuckheads who believe that they are thinking and very clever.

Tomorrow when another fuckhead were to tell them to cull their parents because they are no longer productive, they will do so as a matter of fact. No need to think.

American pivot and a new Asia

What is the American pivot all about? After going round in circles, the Americans have finally admitted that it is all about the American Empire, about America’s dominance as the undisputed Number One Super Power. China would not be allowed to challenge this state of being. No, the Pacific Ocean is not big enough for the USA and China. The world is not big enough for two. Or like the Chinese saying, one mountain cannot have two tigers. In the western Pacific and the whole Pacific Ocean, there can be only one Super Power and America would not tolerate anyone challenging that position. Cut the craps, the Americans are here to rule. China should save its breath to tell the Americans the Pacific Ocean is big enough for two. The Americans want it for themselves.

What would be the American pivot mean? It would mean the containment of China or better still the defeat of China. The whole game plan is to keep China under control. And what would be the map of Asia be if the American pivot is successful? China would be a semi colonised state like Japan under the rule of another Gen MacArthur. With China’s fall, North Korea would be overrun by a combined force of the USA, Japan and South Korea. The two Koreas would be reunited under the dominance of South Koreans.

The Russians would be cornered and would be dealt the same blow by the combined forces of the US and its allies and suffer the same fate as China. Vietnam, being another key member of the Empire would enjoy the largesse of having Laos and Cambodia in the larger entity of Indochina.  Further to the west, India would be emboldened to close rank with the Americans and run over Pakistan to end the century old rivalry. All the neighbouring states of India, including Myanmar, would have come under a new regional warlord in India. Iran and the Middle Eastern countries fate need no elaboration.

Further to the south, Indonesia would then have Australia as the new regional power to contend with. The rest of the Asean countries would know which side to take.

This would be the new map of Asia under the American pivot. America is Number One, the undisputed Super Power of the day, Pax Americana.

Would China, Russia and their allies be able to do anything? What would be their options? They can’t be sitting helplessly waiting for the curtain to fall and all march to the concentration camp by the American Empire.

Wait for American Pivot part 2.

Khaw Boon Wan – We support strong family ties

‘Strong families make strong communities and a strong nation. This is why we don’t just build flats; we also help families live closer together.

There are many benefits for such an arrangement. Grandparents can help look after grandchildren, and children can support their parents and grandparents.’

The Chinese text used a combination of two characters to define a nation, ‘guo jia’ 国家. The two characters are country and family. The family is the basic building block of a nation. Without the families, a country would just be a piece of empty land. It is the people and families that turned it into a nation. And Boon Wan must have reflected on this concept when he was doing his meditation, and he is now enlightened. He understands the importance of families and family ties. And he explained that HDB policies are crafted with the building of strong family ties in mind.

Unfortunately many netizens did not see his viewpoints and lambasted him and his policies that they said were bad for families. They quoted things like small micky mouse flats, over priced HDB flats, including his idea of sending old folks to JB nursing homes. They were furious about some of the things Boon Wan suggested that meant well. They see the Medishield Life as a transfer of govt liabilities to the children, to make them bear the cost of providing medical insurance for their parents.

They even called Boon Wan a hypocrite. Now that is a bit too much, to call a good buddhist a hypocrite. Look at the calmness in his face, non violent, always smiling, every angle you look, he is like the laughing Buddha. How can he be a hypocrite? And they even blamed him for young couples turning to their parents to foot the down payment for cheap and affordable HDB flats. How can like that?

Let me attempt, with my not super talent ability, to explain away the wrong perceptions the netizens had of Boon Wan. Yes with good communications, everything can be explained away. I hope my explanation is good enough and not half past six.

Let’ take the first issue of micky mouse flats. I think the original objective by HDB was to make the flats cheaperer and more affordable. Now people complained too small and cannot keep three generations under one roof. Ok, that was a lack of foresight. But they might look at small flats different. You see, being small, everyone will be closer to each other, at least physically, cosy and warm. 

Anyway Boon Wan is correcting that judgemental error and is building 3 generation flats. Swee boh? You people complained and he heard and responding to your feedback and trying to make it better. And he also got give good grants to help the families live together. Children want to live near parents, Govt give them money to be filial. Like that cannot say bad, tiok boh?

What, three generations flat also very small inside? This one I dunno.  Never mind, have faith in Boon Wan. He will make them right, bigger flats, bigger rooms, for happy family ties. Give him a bit more time, and allow the Govt to bring in more foreign workers to help him do a good job. Maybe the small mickey mouse flats were due to labour shortage, so build smaller flats can build faster right? Then again, if the flats are built bigger, got to pay more you know. Nothing is free.

Boon Wan is trying his best. The problems were created by his predecessors, not by him. And he volunteered to do the right things. See, now no more housing problems. Maybe the price is still affordably unaffordable.  Only two years on the job and he solved housing shortage problem. He is good. The National Day Award I want to recommend him for the highest award in public service. What bintang or star they called it?

Maybe he can do more, bit by bit, one at a time. There is this complaint that visiting parents is becoming very expensive. Children want to spend time at parent’s home or grandparents want to help out in children’s home also very expensive. Every time visits parents must pay except on Sunday or public holiday. Maybe Boon Wan can look into this. Oh, he already thought of it, that’s why 3 generation flat, stay together, no need parking fee.  Did someone say don’t drive, save money? And the media also have been encouraging the people to take public transport. Private car ownership no good, take public transport betterer.

This one I dunno want to agree or not. Got car can bring whole families to ‘chiat hong’ either in East Coast Park or go to Malaysia. Whole family, 3 generations all can go, better than staying inside mickey mouse flats. If no car, no choice, mickey mouse flats also must pretend to be good. Quality of life is not about big space small space. It is how you make do with it, go around it, buy small furniture, everything smaller, then can feel big space.

After building so many micky mouse flats, cannot simply demolish them right? And how to cope with 10m population if flats are built bigger and bigger? Like that how? Big is not necessary good you know. This one, a bit physical constraint, can’t be helped lah. We need to have 10m population to have growth and better quality of life. So no car, smaller micky mouse flats must bear with it lah. Today someone wrote to Today forum, make car use prohibitive. This is a brilliant psychotic Sinkie mind at work. And no car can save so much money, no need to pay parking when visiting parents or parents visiting grandchildren.

Ok, now I help explain leow. Take it or leave it up to you. Boon Wan good or bad you all can see. So don’t anyhow hantam him. He is good man, the best in PAP. If he is bad, then no more good man in PAP. You people so lucky to have Boon Wan in the PAP and still want to ask him go back to Malaysia? You dunno how bad things would be without him.

What the IBs and his party stand for

Spewing your rubbish again Redbean. The old folks having to work as cleaners and dish collectors at the foodcourts are just making a living. If you think that is harsh then change the system by standing for election and have a voice in the parliament. There are oppositions in the current parliament and why are they not doing something for these unfortunate folks? You have written about this issue before and we are all tired of reading this topic over and over. Do something about it. Do not just spew this issue over and over. Singapore will always be this way, a system with the haves and the have nots. It is the way Singaporeans are. As long as I and my family are OK, it is none of my business if others around me die. Nothing will change. So, stop writing about this inequality issue. You are just wasting our time and your time. STOP IT.

June 21, 2015 6:36 p.m.

 

The above is written by an IB posting as anonymous in my blog. And he more or less threatened me to ‘STOP IT’, ie that I must stop writing articles or else. See the gangster like behaviour of this IB. He mentioned ‘we are all tired of reading…and, You are just wasting our time’ meaning he is a member of an organisation or party. I am not sure which organisation or which party he belongs.

What is important is what he said, ‘Singapore will always be this way, a system with the haves and the have nots. It is the way Singaporeans are. As long as I and my family are OK, it is none of my business if others around me die. Nothing will change.’ This is what is important to him, he and his family while others can die never mind. Is this just his view or also the view of his organisation or party?

Whichever organisation or party he is representing, we can figure out what kind of organisation or party that is and whether they care about the people or only for themselves.  To them, the big divide in the haves and have nots is natural and they would not do anything about it and this is the kind of Singapore they believe in.

Try to find out or extrapolate who he is representing and if it is a political party, you should know whether you should or should not vote for this party with this kind of values, a party that cares for themselves while ‘others around me can die’ is not their interest. They don’t care. And they behave like gangsters, threatening people as if they own this country.

Can anyone track down this IB and expose the party behind him? It is frightening to vote for a party with members behaving like gangsters and with this kind of thinking.

Agree or not?

Australia – The boy pretending to be a man

Australia is thinking seriously about sending military aircraft and naval ships to skirt Chinese territories in the South China Sea. It did that during the cross strait crisis by sailing a few warships through the Straits of Taiwan as a show of force, a flexing of military muscle at a time when China was still militarily inferior to the Americans. Standing on the shoulders of the Americans, the Australians are howling how strong they are and wanting to taunt and even go to war with China.

A midget militarily and no better than the Philippines, they still think China is the China they could push around. Remove the American military umbrella, the Indonesians could run through that island continent they robbed from the aborigines and make it part of greater Indonesia like a piece of cake.

Peter Jennings, a military analyst, is pushing and goading the Australian govt to flex its muscles with China, to show that Australia can snub at China at will. And many Australian politicians also believe that Australia should prove its manhood to China and China would be cowered in fear.  The Alice in Wonderland mentality or is it Crocodile Dundee, is still prevalent in this British colony. The Australians still believe they are a big player in geopolitics. They still could not see why their mining industry gone turtle up when the Chinese stop buying their iron ores.

The provocative measures the Australians are flirting with to test the resolve of China is comical. The dragon has awakened and the crocodile will become crocodile meat in Chinese herbal brew. It would be safer to send Crocodile Dundee to New York than to the South China Sea.

Grow up mate, the world has changed.

New tourist attraction – The Pride of Paradise Island

‘We have all seen them – the elderly folks who toiled away at our food centres such as hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts, cleaning tables, collecting dishes and sweeping floors.

They have become such a ubiquitous feature that we hardly notice them anymore.

But even so, sometimes certain situations we witness still raise questions about our society and how we treat these folks.

At about 10pm on Saturday night, Ms Jenny Quek was at the Kopitiam food court at Vivo City. The unusual thing about what she witnessed was the number of tables which were littered with used and uncollected dishes – and that there was only one elderly cleaner toiling away trying to do her best to clear the tables.

Ms Quek took a video and posted it online:’


The above is posted by Andrew Loh in the TRE. Though the content and description of senior citizens at work was not treated as a glorious thing, I will take it as a difference in opinion. In some quarters, the opportunity for senior to work is a great privilege and a very desirable thing. It gives them financial independence and the dignity to enjoy what they are doing without becoming a burden to children and the state. I cannot quarrel with this view either. It sounds so logical and noble and I am won over already.

I think this is one of the great policies that keeps Singapore thriving and the envy of the world. The old folks of the world would love to be here to enjoy the opportunity and the dignity of financial independence. PMETs must be very encouraged by this since many found themselves redundant, unemployable by the time they hit 50. Now other than driving taxis they can look forward to a new career till 80 or more, working as cleaners in the food courts. No diplomas or degrees needed.

This is an Uniquely Singapore thing, old folks working happily and integrating with the young people, and making themselves useful instead of wasting their time away. I don’t think there is another country that will buy this philosophy of working their seniors to the last day as part of their retirement privilege. No need to worry about not having enough savings to retire. And no need to withdraw their CPF savings and can watch their savings grow and grow and grow.

The govt should table this as a paper to the UN for consideration and for praise. And the Tourist Board can promote this as the newest attraction in Sin City, a near miracle. Come to Sin City and see how our old folks are happily working to serve the young people in the food courts. It is a social symbiotic relationship that reduces wastage of human resources to near zero. And there is no need for retirement savings or retirement funds. That is why they don’t have to withdraw their CPF savings and letting them grow in the safe custody of the Govt.

To make it more interesting and participatory, the Tourist Board can conduct a Spot the Happiest and Oldest Cleaner Contest and tourists can also participate. The business in the food courts would be good. And if the prize money is big enough, Changi and the airlines would also be making big money as well, with eager tourist coming to see our happily employed oldies. And instead of sending our ministerial delegations to learn from other countries, other countries will be sending their delegations here to learn how we treat our senior citizens so well.

The old folks are very rich, with a lot of savings in their CPF, and very happy. See how dignified they go about cleaning tables and dishes. There is no thought of retiring to watch the sunset.

Politicians scoring brownie points

The AHPETC case has given the politicians a lot of opportunities to score brownie points. And they appear to be quite successful and some were even thinking that the Aljunied GRC is going to return to the ruling party. Excellent jobs for the goal scorers.

I am wondering why the opposition MPs are not trying to score points on bigger issues using the same premises and arguments? There are issues like CPF, Aims, TC funds, GIC, Temasek and even issues like Roy and Amos that could arouse some emotions on the ground. But the bigger question is whether the ground will be moved by these issues or the AHPETC issues. Are the voters looking at these issues on the grounds of facts presented and how clever the arguments are? 

On the other hand, given that voters are emotional and unpredictable and at times daft when they did not do the right thing, would the voters be looking at the current controversies objectively? Or would they look above the skirmishes and at the intent and motive of the tussle. If it is the intent and purpose that they are looking at, what would be the intent and purpose of the fight? And if they could figure out the intent and motives, that it is all about politicking, would they see through all the hypocrisies and vote according to what they perceived the issues were about and not as they were told? 

And if they are looking at the intent, how would they perceive the politicians politicking for the sake of politicking instead of trying to serve the people? Intent and motive are very important factors in judging what the issues are about and not the issues themselves. If it is so simple, then the outcome of the next GE would be so predictable. 

Sometimes people vote for or against a party or candidate based on the spite factor rather than a simple right or wrong or good or bad. Sometimes too much of a good thing could turn bad and nauseating.

Has the ground shifted because of the AHPETC issues? Has the ground shifted because there are other more important issues that were swept under the carpet or not spoken about?

Indonesia concerns about security issues with Singapore

‘A non government organization has filed criminal charges against State Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno for authorising Indonesian communications provider Telkom to build a data centre in Singapore, which is partly owned by Singtel and would host Indonesian government data…it had no issues with the data centre serving corporate clients, but that its proposed hosting of Indonesia’s e-government services violated state intelligence and electronic communications laws. “What we’re reporting about is the sale of state secrets,” Mr Gigih Guntoro, director of the Indonesia Club…’

Why is Indonesia so concern about such practices? Singtel owns 60% of the joint venture? What Indonesia should do is to buy over Singtel and have full control over its operation. Singapore’s policy is that everything is for sale. Singapore tried to buy the Australian Stock Exchange too. So the Indonesians can always buy over Singtel and all issues of state secrets would be solved by employing Indonesians to run Singtel.

Singapore is an open country and it is in the process of internationalizing everything, starting from private corporations to govt link companies. Do not be surprise if ministries may also be internationalized. There are already foreigners working in them. The security of the country like manning entry checkpoints have already been outsourced and manned by foreigners to check on Singaporeans returning to their country. Big govt linked companies are run by foreigners, and to by pass the sensitivity of Singaporeans, foreigners are issued with pink ICs and called Singaporeans. Where got problem? If any of these new Singaporeans were to leak out state secrets, it would be Singaporeans leaking state secrets as they are now new Singaporeans. And the good part, so far no such problems. No state secrets has been leaked out, no sensitive corporate information or trade secrets have been leaked out. There has been no report of such things. Where got problem?

The Singaporean experience has proven that all the hype about national securities are humbugs. More than 50% of our population is foreigners and many are holding high positions with access to very sensitive information, and some running corporations and with full access to all information that could be copied and sold. But nothing of such happened. Even the highly sensitive IT industry is operated mainly by foreigners and you can imagine what damage they could do if they wanted to. But have no fear. The foreigners are very nice people and would not do such things. Ask the Pinoys. Have faith in the goodness of people, even foreigners.

So, Indonesia, there is no need to fear locating govt data centre in Singapore. If still not comfortable, buy over the whole of Singapore Inc and run it yourself. That would make them feel secure for sure. It is just the mindset. Singapore has no such fear. We welcome the whole world to be here. We belong to everyone here. We are an international cuntry. Oops. I misspelt. It should be country.

And our people feel very safe, because we got NS and Total Defence. We protect our country from a military attack by foreign soldiers in uniform. But anyone can buy up everything in the island. Everything is for sale. Everyone is welcome.

We are international. We go everywhere to buy up everything. We also sell everything. Free trade at its freest. When a country has the mentality of buying and selling freely, then one would be less sensitive about security of data and information or threats by foreigners.

Indonesia can learn a thing or two from us in this internalization of the country and free trade, borderless world. What is citizenship?