Chok Tong is shaping up very well as the new Oracle

After the original Oracle left the scene the last thing people could think of is another Oracle to take his place. That is a very big shoe to fit and fortunately Chok Tong also a very big man, physically, and wears a pair of very big shoes. Just as everyone has given the idea a slip and this great city is going to move on without the Oracle, a new Oracle is easing himself into the chair.

Actually the sign was there just before the announcement of the GE. Chok Tong divulged that some of his friends had been encouraging him to retire while another group was telling him he had many more good years to stay in politics and wanted him to continue to serve the people of Marine Parade. This kind of information is vintage material and often associated with great leaders like the Oracle and Mahathir. There is subtle hint of indispensability and popularity, a leader that the people have grown dear to.

And Chok Tong’s reply was that he would decide if he would stay on or to retire. Another vintage reply like the Oracle and Mahathir. True leaders in charge would decide when to stay or quit in their own terms. Who would dare to tell the Oracle or Mahathir to retire? No big no small. And soon after Chok Tong shared his two hour meeting with Hsien Loong and revealed that Hsien Loong had asked him to stay to stay, maybe to give a bit more ballast to the Marine Parade team. In other words he is indispensable or at least still useful. He decided to stay.

Having secured his position as a candidate for the next GE, Chok Tong is now the most senior statesman in the PAP team, and the most experience. Now is his turn to carry the party along, to share his wisdom and his weight in wherever he is needed. And Chok Tong is finding it a piece of cake to fit into the vacuum left by the Oracle.

In a way he is looking and acting every inch like the Oracle, strutting around like the Oracle. His first piece of advice to his Marine Parade residents is not to be seduced by the WP’s offer to be the checks and balance on the govt. And if the voters are seduced, they would pay a price for it.

Reflect on this for a moment, to the pre GE time in Aljunied GRC. What did the Oracle told the voters there? If I remember it correctly, it was something like the people of Aljunied would repent for the next 5 years if they voted out the PAP team.  Does Chok Tong’s advice to the Marine Parade voters sound similar, instead of repent, he used the word ‘pay a price’? Very Oracle like.

As the senior statesman and party elder, this must be his role as the new Oracle, to give advice, warnings, and maybe a subtle threat to in favour of the party if needed. Yes the PAP has a new Oracle, one that is walking around and throwing his weight around to support the party.

Without FTs our economy will tank – Hsien Loong

In an article in the TRE with the above title, Hsien Loong was quoted to say this, ‘If we close our doors to foreign workers, our economy will tank.’ Is this a myth or is this real? As far as the govt is concerned, this is as real as it gets. No FTs, no open door policy, we will be finished. With this kind of thinking and planning parameters, you can expect the influx of foreigners to continue as long as the PAP is the govt. The question is how many more foreigners? And there will be many reasons for more foreigners.  If the economy expands, there will be cries for more foreign labour. If the economy tanks, there will be more cries for foreigners and population growth to generate economic growth. Either way, the one trick pony can only resort to this trick.

If this trick is the only trick in the books of govts and economists, why wouldn’t other countries jumped into it to generate growth for their people? There are many big and bigger countries that can take in more and more people for growth. Why are these countries and govts refusing to take this path? They cannot be stupid or less clever than our politicians. They must know what this solution entails. They must have seriously deliberated over it and come to the conclusion that this trick will cause more harm than good. Europe is going to pay a price it cannot afford to pay for their silly immigration policies. They are regretting today but too late. It’s a done deal.

What harm? There is nothing harmful in this trick? If it does, the govt will tell the people surely, and unlike Greece, will not hold a referendum to pass the buck to the people. There is absolutely no harm and the deaf frogs knew it is the best solution and the right thing to do. So they will pursue this policy at all cost, like zealots.

Did anyone say taking drugs is bad? Ask the drug addicts and they will tell you there is nothing wrong. Drug is good. Steroid is good.  Ask the drug lords they will tell you taking drugs is like heaven. Where got problem? Where got side effects?

But we are an immigrant country! We are today because our parents were immigrants. If they did not come, we would not be here and there would not be a prosperous Singapore today. Tiok. In the past the policemen wore shorts. In the past Two is Enough. In the past there was no country. The island was more or less seized by the colonialists, like a no man’s land to them. Then the immigrants were imported as labourers to serve the Empire.

Then we got independence. Does anyone know the meaning of independence? Does anyone understand the meaning of the song ‘Home’? This is our Home. This island is no longer a no man’s land. It belongs to us, to every Singaporean, not to everyone from anywhere. We built it from nothing, oops, from a fishing village, to a jewel of the East.

Today everyone wants to come here to make his fortune. There is no objection to that. But be careful. This is our Home. We the Singaporeans own this piece or rock. We welcome foreigners for as long as our existence is not harmed or compromised. When it does, when our well being, our children’s future is in danger, we must say No. We must not sell out or give away our island to foreigners. We earned the right to this island and our children must be the beneficiaries to our hard work. Remember the saying, ‘the pioneers planted the tree, the future generations enjoy the fruits’?

There is just so much foreigners that we can take in. We must never lose our country to foreigners, NOT by giving them pink ICs. This is betrayal of the people, some may want to call it treason, if we ever got booted out from our Home. Do not just blindly fill the country with foreigners without knowing the consequences.

What are the risks? Got harm or no harm?

Population growth is not the only trick to our survival as a country. Period.

Economy will tank? Whose belief is that?

Chok Tong – PAP’s new oracle has spoken

For being in politics for nearly 50 years and at a ripe age of 74, Chok Tong is speaking with wisdom and authority. And for once I can’t really disagree with what he said. What did he say? He is asking the people to give the PAP a strong mandate but conditional. Very wise. If Singaporeans are happy with what the PAP has been doing, has done and want the PAP to continue what it is doing, they must give the PAP a strong mandate. What the PAP has been working so hard over the years for the interests of Singapore is well known and legendary. The CPF, Medishield Life, Population growth, economic growth, more universities and university places, they even solved the housing problems and brought down the cost of living. COE prices also come down recently and prices of train fares were reduced without the people asking for it.

Chok Tong even said that the PAP has been its ‘own check’ and ‘For many years, the PAP was the only party in Parliament. Has the PAP gone corrupt in those years?’ My answer is a definite NO. PAP is NOT corrupt. But Chok Tong should put his ears on the ground to hear the noises. Though PAP is NOT corrupt, the ground noises are anything but NOT corrupt. But of course the daft did not know the truth and anyhow talked. Just a different in perception. These noises would not affect the PAP getting a strong mandate for More Good Years and More of the Same vintage PAP, maybe even the elusive Swiss standard of living.

Here is another interesting quote from Chok Tong reported in the main media. ‘They are seducing the people and if the people are not careful, they get seduced and you know what happens when you are seduced. You will pay a price.’  Immediately there were images of opposition politicians in the campaign rallies dancing on stage and performing strip tease shows to seduce the audience came to mind. But Chok Tong was not saying such crassy stuff. He was referring to the opposition’s call for more checks and balance in Parliament. What for when the integrity of the PAP leaders and MPs are impeccable, they are the best checks and balance on themselves. There is no need for more opposition members in Parliament. Short of saying a one party rule with absolute majority is the best, and I must agree also, PAP is the party that is always doing good for the people and doing self checks. Where on earth can you find such a dream party? It is unreal but it is real, only in Uniquely Singapore. The oracle says so, and the old oracle also said so. These are men of wisdom and words of wisdom. This is actually another miracle that the govt has not announced openly. A national secret.

Let me come back to the issue of seduction. Only daft and gullible people will be seduced by little goodies here and there. The PAP does not believe in small and little goodies. The PAP believe in doing good for the people in a big way, like upgrading programmes, lift upgrading, more playgrounds, more childcare centres, Pioneer Generation Packages, Baby bonuses, more subsidies for housing and everything, and big party bashes, and everything that it can do for the good of the people. Even unpopular policies like more foreign talents to grow the economy, holding back the people’s life savings in the CPF, compulsory Medishield Life etc etc they have no fear of doing when they think are good for the people.

Singaporeans who believe in the PAP as the miracle party that will bring More Good Years for the people and continue with what it is doing, Singaporeans who believe in the wisdoms of the oracles, old and new, must give the PAP a strong mandate, even if all 89 seats in Parliament lagi good. There is no need for checks and balance when you have good leaders with unquestionable integrity doing their own checks and balance. Who says power corrupts? Not in Singapore, the miracle state with miracles happening everyday and everywhere.

This new oracle is speaking in all humbleness. He asked the WP, 'Would that same arrogance be able to replace me and my team in Marine Parade? Let them try.' This is classic humbleness in action.

Celebrating Singaporeans – Tan Boon Hui appointed Asia Society Museum NY

I must congratulate Tan Boon Hui, former Singapore Art Museum(SAM) director on his appointment to the prestigious Asia Society Museum in New York as its new director and also as the vice president for global arts and cultural programmes. This is the type of Singaporean talent that we have and are being hunted by other countries. I am sure he does not need to take the e2i course in NTUC to prepare him for this job.

How did Tan Boon Hui got to be recognized as a global talent? He earned his spurs as assistant chief executive for museums and programmes at the National Heritage Board and from SAM. This is what our country must do, to give opportunities to our own talents to gain the experience before launching them into the international arena. If we don’t give them the opportunity and foolishly hire foreigners to fill top positions, we will never nurture our talents for the international market. I must say NTUC’s intention is good in the e2i, but is this the right thing to do, what credibility or value is added to compete in the international talent pool?

Now have we hired more foreigners to head he NHB and SAM, to train them to be internationally competitive and give a miss to our own talents? Have we been doing this silly foreign talent game in all the industries, particularly in banking and finance and leading to a hollowing of our talents in the industry?

Even an idiot could see the stupidity in the whole process. If we don’t train our own talents, if we don’t give them the opportunity but give them to foreigners, what would be the end result? Oh, we are giving our talents a lot of opportunities of be hawkers and bus captains. My apologies, we are taking good care of our local talents, nurturing them to compete in the world market, sending them out after they get their degree or diploma from e2i.

We are heading in the right direction with such great policies to train our talents or is it training foreign talents to be international talents?

No more Singaporean core? Why? Dunno leh. Oh, oh, we will issue pink ICs to the foreigners and called them Singaporeans and Singapore talents.

More typo errors

There was big embarrassment when the Jubilee Notes were rolled out when a brochure printed the first President's name as Yusok Ishak instead of Yusof Ishak.

Read the first Presidential decree above on the dissolution of Parliament, the one on the right and look at the date carefully. I read it as 29 Aug 15. The one on the right is 25 Aug 15.

Oh the copy in the Straits Times has the correct date. So is the above copy a doctored copy?

What is happening?

PS. Picture credit from TRE.

PAP – We shall run the country

The key agenda for the PAP in this GE is to vote MPs to run councils. It is all about running town councils, and getting people who can run councils to be elected. MPs, like someone commented, should be clearing longkangs and picking leaves and soiled pampers, so that they would not chock up the longkangs and cause pondings. MPs ‘to be’ better get a team of town council managers and contractors ready in case they win the election as this would now be their top priority job, taking care of municipal affairs, make sure the lifts work, the bus services run on time, and the playgrounds and parks are in good conditions for the enjoyment of the residents. Oh, don’t forget to collect the S&CC fees and send legal letters to those who failed to pay up.

If MPs are to do such mundane and routine stuff, do you need super talents to become MPs? Do you need top doctors, lawyers, police commissioners and generals to run town councils? I think Ah Lian and Ah Huat would be more than able to run town councils as long as they don’t try to be clever and start to invest in funny bonds and notes.

Actually this is only half of the story. MPs running town councils is more applicable for opposition MPs. They need to be tested in running town councils first, if passed, then they can think about running the govt. For the time being they can go to Parliament and ask questions. And if too busy with running town council works, can apply leave from Parliament also. Running town councils shall be top priority.

As for the top doctors, lawyers, police commissioners and generals, they would not be running town councils. They would be running the country. The PAP is the ruling govt and they need these top talents to run the govt. No need for them to prove themselves in running town councils. They have the talents to run the country without having to run town councils.

The PAP shall run the country, the opposition MPs shall run the town councils. Full time MPs run town councils.

What do you think?

Time for a little frivolous thought

There is still a bit of time before the pressure of the GE comes to bear for me to indulge in a little frivolous activity, but with a subtle message for the people as well. Before I begin, I would like to quote Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar of Johore. He said, ‘The rakyat (people) today are a generation of smart and learned people who can dissect the information they receive, so please do not take them for fools by feeding them rosy news and information to hide what is really going on.’ This comment is equally applicable in the Singapore context without a word and comma out of place. Yes, Singaporeans are also being fed with misinformation that calling it frivolous is being polite.

While foreigners of undisclosed authenticity, many from dubious universities that are equivalent to junk bonds in the finance world, are touted by the govt as talents, and brought in by plane loads while Singaporeans with their genuine degrees from some of the best universities are condemned as talentless, no skill sets to compete with the fakes and cheats brought into this island.

And they are encouraged to go overseas to compete with the rest of the world’s talent armed with a certificate from the Trade Union to boot. My god, if they can’t make it in home ground against the dirts and shits, can they make it elsewhere? Maybe in some god forsaken places, in some little villages probably.

The second point, knowing that the competition is unfair against crooks and cheats, with many local PMETs dumped or sacked and ended up unemployed or underemployed, instead of protecting their livelihood with legislation like other countries are doing, even the countries of the cheats and fakes are doing it, they are fed with illusions and delusions. Sinaporeans are expected to compete with the fakes and cheats on a level playing field in home ground. How stupid can this be when the foreigners are cheating all the way?

Never mind. Since Singaporeans cannot compete, let’s tell them to try to do good in other trades like hawkers and crane drivers. There is no need for a university education. Tell the Singaporeans that these are great jobs. Set up institutions to produced degrees for hawkers. Now this will serve two purposes, getting a degree and a good job. You can’t beat this kind of ingenuity.

For those PMETs who can’t get a job anymore, tell them it is a very good thing to be their own boss by driving taxis. And they can paste their degrees, masters and PhDs on the back of the driver’s seats to show their passengers, the maids and foreigner workers and the fakes that took their jobs, that they are highly qualified.

Now the latest, brag about how good it is to be bus drivers.  Oops, they called them bus captains! The aspiration for undergrads today is to be bus captains, a dream job. And the qualifications for a bus driver, first get a diploma in molecular science and follow up by a degree. Then go and apply for this dream job, especially the girls. They can drive something since car ownership is out of reach and see the world.  Little bird said many girls are applying to read molecular science in the polytechnics and aspiring to be bus drivers after graduation. Oops, pardon me, I mean bus captains. They have a very bright future ahead of them in their dream job.

How silly has this country become? Is this where you are going? Is this where you are being led to? Is this the future for our young graduates?

You have a last chance to decide your future, your fate, in the GE, in two weeks time. Think very carefully. Read the message of the Sultan of Johore over and over again. It makes sense.

9 -11 is Polling Day

Parliament is dissolved today.
Nomination Day is 1 Sep 15
Polling Day is 11 Sep 15

The 50 year battle has started. 911 it will be, but will it be as monumental as bringing down the Twin Towers in New York?

Would 11 Sep be ground zero for Singapore and pave the way for a new beginning?
Or would it be the same all over?

Singaporeans are eagerly waiting for this day for great change and great expectation.

AHPETC - Aljunied residents elevated to be judges

There were lapses in the AHPETC, just like there were lapses in other town councils and grass root organisations. There was no dishonesty and all were acting on good intention. I thought these would be good enough to say let’s move on, leaving the benefit of the doubt to the individual to decide what he chooses to believe.

The conditions leading to the problems and lapses faced by AHPETC are there for all to see, starting from the handover of accounts, the AIMS saga, the transfer of surplus funds to the reserves and no longer touchable, and the withholding of govt grants etc etc. In the case of other town councils and grassroot organisations, the lapses were from different circumstances, more voluntary in nature with no exciting saga or drama.

For the moment, and likely, for whole election rally period, the AHPETC issues would be on the lips of all PAP politicians and ministers. They are going to drum, WP is bad, WP is bad, WP is bad. Some even gone so low as alleging whether money was lost without any proof or justifications.

The attack against the WP is furious if you read the main media. It is all over the pages daily with very wide and detailed coverage. While the PAP is launching a massive PR exercise against the WP, they forget that the WP MPs are the elected representatives of the people of Aljunied GRC, Punggol and Hougang. They forget that the masters of the AHPETC are the people of the GRC and the two SMCs. Attacking their elected representatives is in a way attacking the people who elected them to Parliament, that the people made a bad choice. WP is bad, PAP is good or better.

The bottom line of the AHPETC saga would end up becoming case of who the respective constituents choose to believe. Would they believe the PAP story that WP is bad, incapable of running a town council, or would they see this as ploy, as a set up by the PAP against the WP? The PAP has presented its case and would continue to hammer their points in till Polling Day. The WP has spoken and laid their cards laid bare on the table. Both sides have spoken.

Now who is going to judge who is right and who is wrong? Not the supreme court judges, not the whole of Singapore, but the residents of AHPETC. They are now the judges to this saga. They will pronounce who is right and who is wrong. This is about the fairest judgement that can come about, a judgement made by more than a hundred thousand residents. They will deliver their verdict on Polling Day.

If WP is booted out, it would mean the PAP has made their case and the residents believe the PAP story. If the WP wins again, it will be a resounding rejection of the PAP story, that the residents believed in their representatives and trusted them and did not find anything wrong with them. The case would be a test of the intelligence of the residents of AHPETC. Are they intelligent enough to sift through the smokes and know what the whole saga is all about?

Is it a case of right versus wrong, a case of wrongdoings, and who is the wrongdoer? Or is it a plain and simple case of political bickering and petty politics?

The people will be the judge in this case. This is as fair as one can get and the losers would be dealt a severe blow for losing the trust of the people. It would be a case when the majority of the people speak in one voice, we don’t trust you, we reject you. It is a mini referendum in a way. The people will deliver the justice against the unjust.

The Koreans on the verge of war

The South Koreans claimed that their soldiers were killed by landmines planted by the North Koreans and blasted their loudspeakers across the border. This led to the North Koreans firing at the South’sloudspeakers, each set consists of 48 big loudspeakers and with 5 or 6 sets in 11 locations facing North Korea claiming to reach a distance of 24 km. Do the South Koreans believe that it is a friendly thing act, blasting propaganda across the border? And with that excuse, the South Koreans fired more artillery across the border.

And the South Koreans blamed the North Koreans for provocations. Who is really provoking who? Who is conducting annual large scale military exercises to simulate an invasion of North Korea? What about regular monthly exercises? What about the loudspeakers and balloons with propaganda to incite rebellion in the North? No, these are not provocations. The provocations came from the North when they reacted  angrily to these initiatives from the South and the Americans.

Come on, who are you kidding? How many more provocations would the South do before the North hits back? The latest crisis has reached danger point and the North Koreans have started to deploy their troops near to the border. And their fleet of submarines have left their bases and their positions unknown and undetectable. With the attack submarines out in the sea, war is imminent.

Since the South Koreans are so eager to have war with the North, the world might as well give them the blessing and encourage them to go to war with the North. After all they have been provoking the North almost daily and preparing for an invasion of the North.

Good luck to the Koreans if they manage to wipe out each other out and leave the Korean peninsula as a war zone, no man’s land, as a buffer between Japan/USA and China. Leave the peninsula as a waste land with no Koreans.

Is that what the South Koreans want? Is that why they are constantly provoking the North to a fight?

Fortunately the North Koreans are more sensible than the South and would not be drawn into a suicidal war to destroy the Koreans as a people. The North has initiated high power talks to defuse the tension. Would the South Koreans be wise enough to back off or would they be ordered by the Americans to take a tougher stand and to provoke the North into an open war? The South Koreans deserve to be annihilated for their provocations. The North Koreans do not deserve that. They have been the victims of the South Koreans and Americans plot to go to war and are avoiding it like crazy.

On the other hand the western media have been on a campaign to paint the North as the provocateurs and the war mongers, the demons, and the South Koreans were the victims and the Americans were the angels.

Go, South Koreans, go and kill all the North Koreans as well as South Koreans. The Americans and the Japanese love that and will be very happy to be on your side, to see the two Koreans kill and destroy each other. Amen.

This Asian tragedy is waiting to happen if the reckless and stupid South Koreans continue to be manipulated by the Americans and Japanese to want to kill their Korean brothers and sisters.

The changing fate of the opposition parties

 

 

The opposition used to be a joke for decades, a fumbling and incompetent group of ‘unripes’ going into the political arena to ‘tikam tikam’ or to make a fool of themselves. And in every election, without fail, they would compete among themselves in multi cornered fights against the ruling party at the peak of its power. Even on a one on one they would barely stand a chance. And they would still go in like a pack of ‘gilas’ to challenge the ruling party. Competing was all they wanted, not winning, and making a fool of themselves was something to be proud of.

 

There were some credible and serious candidates and parties but their credibility and reputation were dragged into the mud when the opposition camps were filled with the unspeakables. Occasionally a couple of opposition candidates could make it to Parliament by sheer will of the people and pernicious personal zeal. For decades, the cries for an opposition representation in Parliament, a greater representation, were there. But the people could not put the cross on the opposition boxes for good reasons. They were not presenting themselves as serious choices.

 

The ruling party’s game plan and how they systematically destroyed any good candidate and opposition party added to the demise of the opposition camp. But still, the biggest enemy of the opposition camp was themselves.

 

Things are changing. The political scene has never been like this before. Thanks to the ruling party and their great plans and great policies that they thought were good for the people and ignoring the people’s objections and pain living with them, more good people have started to move into the opposition camp. The 2011 GE, the by elections and the Presidential Election were clear signals that the people were voting the oppositions. As long as the opposition can produce serious and credible people, they would be in the game.

 

A fortnight ago, the opposition camp did the impossible by coming to an agreement to prevent a 3 corner fight. This has never been possible, but it came at the right time and brought a lot of hope and comfort to the people wanting a strong opposition presence in Parliament. There was opposition unity and the clowns have fled the scene.

 

Unfortunately it was too good to be true. Someone sent in the clowns again and opposition unity was shaken. The open criticism by NSP against WP, which was also part of the unwritten agreement not to bitch at each other, was not well received. The intent to go for a 3 corner fight in MacPherson was a hit below the belt. The agreement in the opposition camp could be torn wide open and a clear break was just a matter of time. Fortunately the other parties hold on to their horses and did not jump at the cue and fall into the trap set.

 

Without anyone breaking ranks, except for NSP, everyone will be watching NSP’s next move very carefully and its intent and motive. They knew that there is a bad apple and the circumstances have forced the bad hats to wriggle out from their holes. The bad hats have unmasked themselves in broad day light and social media followed the lead to dig out more evidence of what was taken for granted, with a pinch of salt.

 

Hazel Poa’s fall out and resignation from the NSP is a good thing. It comes at the right time, still in time for the GE before more damage is done to the opposition camp. The voters are now shown the true picture and hopefully the full picture of the credible opposition parties they should be voting for. There are still some doubts as to which opposition party is real or unreal. But a few parties have stood out as genuine and reliable and would receive the blessing of the voters.

 

WP, SDP, SingFirst, SPP and Reform Party are now in good stead as the opposition parties of choice. They have gained credibility and acceptance from the voters by their actions and their stand. I was at the launch of the SDP new office and could sense a quite confidence in the party and the supporters. And there were many young people coming out to support them. SDP is back as a respectable party with respectable leaders. Chee Soon Juan is no more the leper to fear and to stay away. He has matured and looking every inch an opposition party leader. Then there are Low Thia Khiang and his team, and the newcomer in Jee Say with a strong support base among the professionals. Lina Chiam has also earned her spurs in Parliament as a NCMP with her serious questions.

 

Many good things are happening on the opposition camp. The best thing to happen of course must be the unmasking of the questionable parties representing the opposition camp. This rain has clear the sky and no one can hide or disguise himself as opposition if he is not. The old game plan of confusing the voters in 3 corner fights has fallen through. Things are so much clearer as to who should receive the votes from opposition supporters. 3 corner fights there would be, but the real opposition parties would get all the votes from the voters. The voters would not be deceived and would vote for the opposition parties that count even in a 3 corner fight.

 

The feeling and support for the opposition camp has never been better and focussed. And the choice is clearer and simpler for the voters. No more deceptions and impersonations and misrepresentations.  And with an enlightened voters who would only vote for an opposition party that can win, not like before, vote blindly, this GE is going to be a big battle for or against the two camps, the ruling party or the opposition.

 

It is PAP or the best opposition party. No fakes or imposters or callafares. The winning formula is the Punggol East formula. The voters will vote in the same way and send the spoilers packing and losing their deposits.

Silver Support Scheme – Your money or my money?

The govt has announced the Silver Support Scheme to pay a stipend to honour the pioneer generation and as a form of retirement benefit.

According to the Straits Times, “Seniors to enjoy payouts from 2016” (Aug 18) – “150,000 eligible Singaporeans, aged 65 and above, to get a quarterly payout of $300 to $750 from early next year.”

The details have yet to be published and theoretically all the pioneers will get something. There is something like 500,000 pioneers out there which means that more than 2/3 will not be getting this stipend.

Where is this money coming from? Is the govt dipping into the reserves or is it taking from the interests accrued from the CPF savings it has ‘tangkap’ from the pioneer CPF members?

The other question is that for the sum of the stipends, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, belong to the people, is it a fair trade off for the pioneer generation to receive the stipends? Should the pioneer generation be grateful, be thankful to such a generous govt, out of the blue offering to pay them a few hundred dollars every quarter? Or should they cry foul, and demand to have their CPF money back?

Some pioneers would be grateful, especially the older cohorts that have little in their ‘tangkap’ accounts. But for those with hundreds of thousands in jail house rock, I don’t think they are happy with the peanuts being returned to them.

Where is the money or where is my money?

Who do you think? Happy, grateful or angry, feel cheated?

Steve Chia withdraws from MacPherson SMC

On Sunday morning Steve Chia wrote on his Facebook, ‘The trolls have won’ and announced his withdrawal from contesting in the MacPherson ward. He also said he would not contest in this GE. In the same message he commented that Tin Pei Ling was not a strong candidate and wished the WP well in the election.

This is a big contrast to his earlier angry remarks, attacking WP for not responding to the overtures by NSP during the husting to prevent a 3 corner fight. And the NSP CEC’s decision to send in a team was somewhat a reaction to WP’s stance, a kind of defiance. If WP was aloof, they would put in a team to challenge them.

The events following NSP’s decision to engage in a 3 corner fight was not well received and social media went on overdrive to dig out every scrap of juicy news of Steve Chia’s past and the nude episode with his maid. This might prove too much for Steve Chia. The heat was too hot to take and would not go away at least till the GE if Steve Chia were to contest MacPherson. Steve Chia also admitted that he had to take care of his family and their feelings and thus this withdrawal.

Steve Chia is not the only victim of this saga. NSP’s President Sebastian Teo also had his dirty linen brought out for airing. According to an article in the TRE, Sebastian Teo was charged in court for corruption and was bankrupted. The information was not volunteered or disclosed to the NSP. Netizens wondered aloud why such sensitive information was not raised by the PAP, suggesting something fishy in the matter. They openly concluded that NSP is a mole party of the PAP or at least many members of the CEC were. Of course these were just allegations and difficult to prove.

The biggest loser is of course NSP. NSP has lost all credibility after this incident. It appears to be a wishy washy party and acting rashly, even negated on its commitment, on its words not to engage in 3 corner fights. The comments in the social media have put NSP as a party with no standing in the eyes of the electorate, a questionable party with a hazy background. It would not be easy for NSP to redeem itself from this mess and to regain its credibility as a trustworthy  opposition party.

Whether NSP is really a mole party is now immaterial. The immediate impact is that it has a lot to answer and given the imminent GE, it does not have time on its side to do damage control. The fate of NSP in this GE is as good as gone with the wind. Many netizens have been calling the NSP to withdraw from the GE and allow other opposition parties to replace them in the constituencies they have choped for the GE.

Maybe NSP may just have to do it to show some sincerity, take a break to explain what actually happened, to rebuild the trust of the people. Failure to win back the people’s trust could see it being thrashed in the GE and losing their deposits as well.

Who are the trolls? This is a question in everyone’s mind.

When would you consider losing your country?

Every country guards their independence and the right to live according to what they believe is the best way for its citizens zealously. They built a strong military force to keep foreigners out of their country so that their people can enjoy what they have built and what is in the country. And every citizen has a duty to fight and die for the country, to defend the country and its people and its way of life.

We have gone down this hazy road of filling our country with foreigners. Other countries also have done so for different reasons and under different circumstances and conditions. The European powers went on a path of conquest and colonisation, to own countries and people. After WW2, many of the colonised countries were returned to the natives who declared independence from their colonial masters, to decide the fate of their countries and peoples.

In some countries like Australia and New Zealand, and some islands where the natives are insignificant in numbers, the colonialists seized the countries for good and imposed their own laws on immigrations. Australia and New Zealand have been very careful in letting the right type of people they want into their countries and at a number they are comfortable with. They ensure that they are the owners and the dominant people in the new countries they seized from the natives. Countries like Australia and New Zealand would never allow immigrants to swarm their countries and turn themselves into a minority.

The colonialists conquered countries by forced and ruled the natives with the gun. They may be small in numbers, but they controlled the population as their subjects and with lesser rights than them. The end of WW2 found that colonialism was no longer acceptable as a way to conquer and rule over the natives of the land. But in countries like Australia and New Zealand, and the USA, their overwhelming majority allowed them to continue to be the masters of the land and with the natives existing as a subgroup in the country.

We gained independence and we called ourselves the people of a country called Singapore. We are the majority, the four major races as one people of a nation.

The unrestrained immigration policy in recent years by the govt has filled the island with so many foreigners, that in absolute numbers, the Singaporeans are now a minority. The govt thinks it is ok. The people did not think and did not care if it is ok or nor ok as long as their lives are not too adversely affected.

It is not too far wrong to say that there are 50% foreigners here or more, if new citizens are included. This seems ok for the moment. What if the percentage of foreigners goes higher, 60%, 70% or 80%, will it be ok? What if the foreigners turned citizens seized political power and become the new leaders and start to change the rules of citizenship and discriminating against the original Singaporeans? Not possible?

Take a hypothetical case for a mental exercise to see if it is acceptable and putting aside the question of possibles. Are Singaporeans comfortable with the foreigners turning new citizens cum PRs forming more than 70% of the population. This is not counting the transient workers and Employment Pass holders. What about 80% or 90%?  If Singaporeans are not bothered with the numbers and percentages of foreigners and new citizens here, and if the govt also thinks it is a good thing, a right thing, and this state of affair really happens and Singaporeans become like the insignificant natives of Australia, New Zealand and USA, is it ok? Would it be too late to rewind the clock?

At what point, at what percentage of the population becoming foreign/new citizens would it be considered that the country has been taken over by foreigners, invaded?

Or does it need to reach a stage when the new citizens/PRs start to discriminate against the original Singaporeans and with the latter unable to resist anymore, would it then be called an invasion and the lost of the country to foreigners?

As it is today, some foreigners have already started to practise discrimination against the Singaporeans and with the Singaporeans unable to do anything about it, hapless, and the govt not sure what it is thinking and doing about it. Are we already invaded and on the verge of losing our country to foreigners? There is no need to invade a country by military forces or to raise a different flag to take over a country, especially if the people are willing to give it away freely, or did not know what is happening.

What is the definition of an invasion or a country taken over by foreigners? Or is it something that is not important, no need to think about, will not happen or let it happen, a natural trend of globalisation.  Some tweets are crowing about globalisation, states being irrelevant, and borderless. While they are blowing their loudspeakers, they are raising barriers against free immigration. But silly countries believes this propaganda and went head in, opening up their countries to foreigners and allowing foreigners to take over their industries and countries in blissful ignorance of what lies ahead. Leave it to market forces? Globalisation is the in thing. Borderless is the way to go. We are just a hotel and so be it?

What do you think? Have we lost our country or on the way to losing it?

The impossibilities and impracticalities of MPs running town councils

The AHPETC case exposed the huge flaws embodied in the town council system whenever a new political party wins an election and a management change. The sheer tediosity of handing over the administration of a town council and its accounts to another party is enough to disable the process for months or years.

A town council must conduct a full audit of its accounts before it can hand over to the new management, with all the outstanding matters as well, plus its operating system. How long would an audit team take to complete such an audit for a GRC? A month or 6 months or a year? No political party/town council management would conduct such an audit prior to an election to prepare to hand over to a new political party. They cannot be assuming that they would lose an election. But a General Election is a general election and every party/MP must presume that they can lose. So it must become a necessity and mandatory to do such an audit a few months before a GE.

How much will it cost for such an audit and who is going to foot the bill?  What if the new management insists on bringing in their own auditors, not trusting the incumbent’s auditors? Is this fair or a good thing for the residents to pay for such a system to test if an MP can run a govt by running a town council first? Better still, all candidates standing for election should be sent to IMH for a thorough check up on their mental health and also a full medical check up on their medical conditions to certify they are fit to be an MP.

In the AHPETC case, we also read about a $20m or $24m computer system being sold for a few thousands and re leased to the town council and subsequently withdrawn and the new management had to pay for a new system. Does this mean that theoretically, all town councils would face the same administrative problems and to pay for the cost of a new system? And how long would it take for a new system to be developed and implemented, another 6 months or more? How would all these affect the efficient running of the town council and the resident’s interests?

The handover and takeover procedures of a town council is not as simple as one would think. If there are discrepancies in the audit, in processes and outstanding matters, the successor may not be willing to take over unless they are sure that all things are in order, which means more delay and haggling.

And who adds on this unnecessary task of demanding a potential MP to hunt around and prepare a team of town council management and operation staff to be ready to take over after an election even before he wins an election. Is this a fair requirement? Is it a fair requirement for the independent MPs or small parties that would not have any fair chance of running a govt to have to prove themselves to be able to run a town council? Would someone needs to prove that he can be a minister or PM before he is allowed to be one?

There are huge time constraints, practical problems and issues in the handing and taking over of a town council, and the very serious consideration of cost. Why are all these necessary? It is simply impractical and very tedious to change the management of a town council every time there is a change of MP and incurring huge cost and time and an interruption of the services to the people.

How can this be a good thing when many of the problems faced by AHPETC would not be there if it is run by a stats board like it was done previously by the HDB? Is this really a good idea, a clever idea?

What about the idea of emptying the surplus fund and transfer them to an untouchable reserve and the new management have to start from ground zero? Is this fair and functional, operational sound? The money belongs to the residents and should be retained by the town council for the needs of the residents. Is this not daylight robbery? Whose money is that? Why are other town councils allowed to retain and hold on to the money for the residents and a new management not allowed and like AHPETC, ended short of fund?

The town council system is effectively compromising and sacrificing the interests of the residents for this nebulous objective of testing the ability of MPs to run a govt. 

Really?

What do you think?

Pasir Ris GRC – The biggest upset in the making

Many voices are heard in the social media about Desmond Lim and his SDA. Some even accusing him of being a mole but no one knows. What is this Desmond Lim may become irrelevant for many reasons. It could be the biggest victory for the PAP in this election in Pasir Ris. The voters, from reading the social media, are now one head two big, not knowing what to do. Some were saying they did not want to vote for both.

In desperation, some anti PAP activists are calling voters to vote for anything except PAP. Even if they have doubts about Desmond Lim and his SDA, they are encouraging people to vote for him and SDA just to vote out the incumbent party and Chee Hian.

What would be the contest in Pasir Ris be like assuming that it is status quo with no opposition party willing to step in to put up a 3 corner fight? Would it be opposition versus PAP or as some were rumouring, PAP Team A versus Team D?

There were comments that it is better to have a mole party than the PAP in Parliament and the voters should just blindly vote for Desmond Lim and the SDA.

Another angle to look at this battle will be to vote SDA in and to knock out Chee Hian and his team which may have office bearers or potential ministers in them. So, would the battle cry for Pasir Ris voters be to vote out Chee Hian and his team. This is equally a very significant loss to the PAP and would cost a very big upset in Hsien Loong’s cabinet. It would be unbelieveable but a very strong message that it is all over for the PAP. Actually if this were to happen, it is likely to be the same across the island with PAP suffering a serious defeat.

Chee Hian is a DPM and said what you like he is still a big chess piece in the PAP camp. And facing him is a no hoper party led by Desmond who managed only a few hundred votes in Punggol East by election and lost his deposit as well. This team is about the weakest the PAP can hope to face short of a walkover.

Losing Pasir Ris is as good as losing the whole game. Would there be so much discontent and cross overs in Pasir Ris to deliver such a heavy blow to the PAP? Could a perceived D Team beat an A Team?

And the SDA has also come up with a Singaporean First agenda for the election. This would put those parties that are anti Singaporeans or foreigner first in a corner. Anti Singaporeans parties will be put under the spot light. They can keep on shouting foreigners good, foreigners to help daft Sinkies.

More bright and crazy ideas for cyclists

The ST forum pages have received more suggestions on how to regulate cyclists and make cycling more convenient. One suggested licensing all cyclists and making them to sit for safe cycling courses, something like driving licence for cars and highway codes. I am not going to comment on this as it would make me even more stupid to do so.

Another suggestion is to provide conveyor belts so that cyclists can travel on it with their bikes. So convenient. How many conveyor belts will be needed and how much will it cost? How many technicians will be needed to maintain and service these belts? Don’t ask me, ask the one who suggested it.

And SMRT is restricting folding bikes into the trains to off peak hours. A 20 inch folding bike would take up less space than a pram or baby strollers or even a large travelling suitcase. Why is SMRT so kiasu when a folding bike is very necessary and compliments the commuters going to office. The distance to the stations, from home and office, can be quite taxing on the seniors.

Shouldn’t the SMRT also relax a bit on this ruling, to allow folding bikes that are 20 inch or less to be allowed in the trains to promote cycling and taking public transport?

Maybe got to wait for a minister to suggest it before they think it is a good change, a right thing to do. Go green, taking public transport, but no bikes in the trains except off peak hours? Holy shit.

2/3 Singaporean core workforce

Reading the paper today is quite refreshing and pleasing. I feel like Alice being in Wonderland all over again, with all the right things that I would like to hear. Swee Say fired away with a new policy shift that he said would be for the medium and long term, a govt goal for the workforce to have a two thirds Singaporean core.

Swee Say also noticed that ‘Not everybody from all over the world can just go to New York or London, take up a job and settle down. Management of foreign manpower in any global cities of the world, in fact, is a norm. So, Singapore is no different from anybody else.’ Oops, Swee Say, can I just disagree with this last part? Singapore is different from everybody else with our open leg wide wide to let every Tom, Dick and Harry to come in with all kinds of fake degrees from funny universities that no one would want to know. And many of these fakes and cheats are likely in high places and holding high positions.

Never mind, please continue. Swee Say also said that one reason why foreign multinational companies are here is ‘that they can tap on local talent’.  Sure or not? I dunno how true it is, many people are complaining that many foreign companies are here and operating with a whole company full of foreigners, some 100% foreigners, many more than 70% foreigners, because they cannot find local talent good enough for low level, mid level and top leve executive jobs. Who is telling the true?

Ok, this two thirds Singaporean core is a good thing even if it may not last after the GE. Medium and long terms could have different definitions as time span is relative. It is good that foreign companies should follow this govt policy. Is there a time limit for them to make this happen or they can suka suka take their time since this is a medium to long term objective? Would the govt ask them to pack up and move off if they insist on hiring foreigners and telling the daft Singaporeans they could not find local talent and fill the whole company with foreigners?

What about local companies and GLCs, do they need to follow this two thirds policy? Do they really need all the foreign talents that are doing works that Singaporeans can do better, with local knowledge? What is the advantage for local companies and GLCs to hire foreigners to work in the local environment and local business? I heard some high powered HR directors said that in the local environment hiring Singaporeans has a big advantage because of local knowledge. There are now so many foreigners in middle management jobs in GLCs that do not need foreign talent and skills. At these levels, do they really ‘can bring the expertise and know how to complement and supplement what we have in Singapore’?

It is nice to read such news in the morning. But as the day wears off, reality sets in. What is the beef? What is real? What is nice to hear during an election season?

Abe’s words and deeds don’t match

In an article by a Martin Sieff appeaing in the Mypaper on 20 Aug 15, the author explained why Abe’s words didn on match his actions. In his view, he said Abe ‘believe that a few highly qualified and clearly limited expressions of polite regret can wipe clean Japan’s historical debt towards China’ and Korea. He asked, ‘Can the murderous, horrific slaughter of 20 million people in China alone from 1937 to 1945, not to mention the enslavement of the Koreans people for 35 years, be banished by 25 minutes of mumbled politeness?’

What Martin Sieff did not say about the colonization of the Koreans was the brutal oppression of the Korean people to alter their ethnicity and culture, to take on Japanese names and learn the Japanese language, in other words the Japanisation of the Koreans to become Japanese. And this was done in very harse and cruel ways, demeaning and insulting to the Koreans.

So, Abe thought what he said in 25 minutes was enough and Japanese can forget about their crimes against China and Korea and the rest of Asian. There is no need for the future generations of Japanese to apologise anymore.

And what has he been doing while apologizing at the same time? ‘Abe has pushed ahead consistently and relentlessly with policies to resurrect the Japanese armed forces and clear the way for their use far from Japanese territories and waters.’ Abe is repeating what his grandfather did in the Second World War and shoving aside the objections of the Emperor. Emperor Akihito and the royal house have been defending Article 9 of the Constitution and the values it embodies, to renounce war. If this is an indication of what the Emperor thinks, and if this was what his father, Emperor Hirohitho believed, we are seeing Japanese history being repeated. The hawkish politicians are seizing power to conduct wars and overruling the Emperor. A weak Emperor would eventually be put to blame for the war crimes committed by the politicians who would wage wars in the name of the Emperor.

Abe and his warlike politicians are unremorseful of their heinous war crimes and wanted the country to go to war in the name of defense, the same myth the Americans created to justify war. The Americans have been conducting wars all over the world since the end of World War 2 in the name of defending America and the rest of the world, in the name of peace. Japan under Abe is adopting the same warmongering formula, to reject its pacifist Constitution, to set Japan in the course for war.

How can China and Korea forgive a unrepentant Japan that arrogantly thinks a few words of apology could atone their war crimes against other countries and people?

Singapore is or was Honesty and Integrity

Honesty and Integrity were the two pillars that differentiated Singapore and Singaporeans from the crowd. For a few decades, maybe 3 or 4 decades, Honesty and Integrity have be the hallmark of Singapore and Singaporeans. Singaporeans were prized catch wherever they go, as honest, reliable, hardworking and unquestionable integrity.

How long can Singapore preserve this glittering image that keeps us standing a head above many other countries? We built and crafted these qualities in Singaporeans for several decades to produce a culture of trust and a people that are dependable and trustworthy as second nature.

Now comes the change. 50% or more of our population are foreigners, including many new citizens. These people come from cultures and societies where cheating, bribery, corruption and fakes are par for the course. And we are happily integrating them into a Singaporean people that have moved away from those value systems.

What would be the impact to Singapore and Singaporeans? Would the foreigners become like Singaporeans, imbibing Honesty and Integrity as a way of life, become more like us? Or would the Singaporeans be diluted and we become more like them, and our Honesty and Integrity brand becomes tarnished?

When coffee is mixed with milk, you are not going to get black coffee or white milk. Depending on the percentage of each item, you either get brown coffee or white coffee. It would be lying to think that our Honesty and Integrity brand would still be as shining as before.

Thank you for your silly indiscriminate immigration policies. Talking about Honesty and Integrity will be different today and it can only get worse. Even whiter than white washing powder would not be able to remove all the coffee stain when you have such a high concentrate of coffee in the mix. They could to some extend remove transparency, honesty and integrity.

What have you done to the pillars of Singapore’s successful brand with people from cultures where corruption and cheating are a way of life?