What is so bizarre in court?

The case of Han Hui Hui and his friends being accused of being a public nuisance to a ‘YMCA’s annual carnival Proms @ the Park when some performers who have Down’s syndrome were on stage’ is now in session. According to a Reginald Ang as reported in the Today paper, ‘People with Down’s syndrome are most sensitive to noise…Every segment of our dance is synchronised, but now everyone is doing their own dance, some stuck in their first pose, because they cannot hear the music.’ One also commented that the presence of the protestors was like bringing a coffin to a wedding.

The prosecution is pointing the finger at Han Hui Hui and her protestors for being inconsiderate and disrupted the event of children with Down’s syndrome and causing them great distress. How could the protestors be so unkind and inhuman to do such a thing in the presence of such children? This is one part of the bizarre happenings in Hong Lim.

The other bizarre thing is that why would parents or organizers, with such sensitive children in their care, host the event in the midst of a public protest and think everything will be peaceful? Do they really believe that a public protest and demonstration is a tea party of politeness?

The big question, are the parents and organizers being insensitive and irresponsible to put the children’s safety to unnecessary risk? Did they know that such a protest was taking place? Could they hold their event at another location so that it would not clash with a public protest that would definitely affect their sensitive children? They were very lucky that the protest was not big enough and did not turn violent. What would happen to the safety of their children should the protestors turned into a rioting mob? Does it require any exception foresight or hindsight to think that it was a wrong thing to do? Should they be taking steps to avoid such a confrontation or should it be the duty of the protestors to avoid the sensitive children?

Which is more bizarre, the protestors protesting and disturbing the sensitive children or holding an event for sensitive children beside a public protest? Who was more irresponsible and should shoulder the blame?

What do you think?

Big Fuss over Singapore GE2015 – One Month After

“A Great Victory for Singapore and Democracy”

By MIKOspace

To insiders who know the people, activists and workings inside the PAP, its organisation, values, activities, unshakeable grass-roots network and governance performance record, the outcome of Singapore General Elections or GE2015 was never in the slightest doubt. Pre-GE2015 pundits had probably created the Big Fuss of uncertainties and predicting disaster for PAP in order to encourage bets to profit themselves. 

    

Many explanations and analysis have been offered for the landslide victory on 11 September 2015 by Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) as if it was like finding water on Mars or discovering how to make gold out of lead.  Never mind that the PAP has always been repeatedly returned to power to form the government with comfortable majorities in Parliament for the past 50 years of Singapore’s existence.   

On an ordinary General Elections day on 11 September 2015, the PAP secured an exceptional 69.9% popular vote share to return to power again. It secured 83 out of 89 parliamentary seats in 29 constituencies, where 15 constituencies gave the PAP more than 70% of their votes. Overall, Singaporeans decisively awarded the PAP with widespread popular vote-swings from the 2011 GE with many from more than 10% to 15%.  Bottom-line, the PAP won almost 10% more votes, from a larger electorate base, from just 60.1% in GE2011. 

Many have pointed to generous SG50 “goodies” distributed by the Government to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Singapore as a major reason for PAP votes.  These may have a little positive effect but could not have been even a decisive factor in GE2015.  After all, the people are accustomed to regular “goodies” by the Government annually even during non-Elections years.   

Some cited the failed strategy by Opposition parties to contest every constituency, and thereby created a “fear” in the minds of the electorate of a “freakish (?)” elections outcome whereby the PAP may not win enough seats to form the next government. This argument is bizarre and absurd because the Opposition parties have adopted similar strategies to contest more than 50% of seats, and repeatedly failed, in previous elections. And if the PAP had indeed been performing sub-par to deserve being replaced, then this “100% contests” strategy would be best for the eventual Opposition alternative government. Unless of course, either the PAP performance was never an electoral issue (why change the government then?) or/and the electorate did not have any confidence in an Opposition alternative government (why vote for the Opposition?).    

Were there no issues worthy of General Elections showdown?  In fact, there were many and plentiful issues to anyone following the web-sites, Blogs and Speakers Corner speeches of the various Opposition parties as well as many armchair-bound commentators over the previous 18+ months.  The issues ranged from emotional CPF withdrawals, high medical costs, immigrant workers, Town Council mis-management, national service, university places and public transport inefficiencies.  These issues were actively argued and engaged in public conversations, public-square, Blog-sites as well as vigorously debated in Parliament.  Alternative solutions were also suggested in the various Manifestos of the Opposition Parties and formed the content of election rally speeches which were also widely published in the local newspapers.  Yet, judging from the final votes on GE Day, the PAP had won over the hearts and minds of the electorates with its narratives, conversations and proposed solutions on all the issues.  And then some.

Perhaps, the respective quality of the Opposition candidates as compared with PAP candidates, were found deficient and sorely wanting in experience and educational qualifications. Actually, the slate of Opposition candidates is about the best ever mustered in any Singapore General Elections. To be fair, just comparing them to the new PAP candidates is sufficient to conclude that they are probably quite evenly matched in their relative lack of political and grassroots experience.  Yet, the new PAP candidates fared generally much better than Opposition candidates from their respective final vote-count.  Individual candidate’s family backgrounds, educational qualifications and their political experience (or lack thereof) did not appear to matter to the electorates.  Sitting PAP candidates did well; the PAP’s overall distributed vote counts attest to and confirm the PAP as indeed and still “THE Party of the People”.

The most obvious and true explanation for the landslide GE2015 outcome is the PAP itself.

The untimely demise in March 2015 of Singapore’s Founding Father and First Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) brought forth such over-flowing and out-pouring of national grief and gratitude to the one who led the nation from a Third World island state to First World metropolis as he had promised.    

Throughout the National Mourning Week at the end of March 2015, PAP activists discarded their customary “white” attires as they joined common cause with the “People-in-Black” united in the common painful sorrow of the death of the People’s Champion.  The PAP’s Men-in-White (“MIW”) were indistinguishable. Then dressed in common black, the MIW and people entwined in painful grief as they comfort one another to make the transition easier to bear.  The pain grew deep and unbearable as to be intolerable at times during the funeral procession.  Together, they – the Party and the People - were one; united in loss, side-by-side as one people, facing tomorrow as one nation and reaching beyond our grasp towards realizing the fuller vision of the remarkably extraordinary man who took us on the road of no return arriving at the Metropolis as he promised.

That week in March 2015, almost 6 months earlier, was the defining moment for GE2015.  A grateful nation would demonstrate its eternal loyalty to her Founder by re-affirming his Party’s rightful and well-deserving place as the continuing Government by a landslide mandate later the year.  

As a political party founded in 1955 to fight for independence from British colonial rule, the PAP has been in power since self-government in 1959.  Over these 60 years, the PAP has seen the rise and fall of many political parties from Europe, US, Americas, Africa and neighbouring South-East Asian countries.  Far too many political parties who had fought for independence have become victims to its own greed for power and money corruption; and with many others have also suppressed and repressed their own people in order to remain in power undemocratically.  Very few corrupt political leaders actually want to remember that the purpose of forming democratic governments is to create wealth and prosperity for its people with opportunities leading to the greatest benefits for the largest number.     

The landslide victory of GE2015 for the PAP augurs well for Singapore into the future towards SG100, our 100^th anniversary in 2065, as we continue to build on what we have been entrusted and bequeathed by LKY – to be One People and One Nation forever.

For the PAP, its transparency and anti-corruption values have created a tremendous social capital deserving of unshakeable public trust, which translated repeatedly into decisive electoral votes in General Elections like GE2015.  

By MIKOspace

Related:

Future of Democracy in Singapore

Two ego maniacs with a common misplaced mission

An article by a Philip Stephens titled ‘China spurs Modi’s pivot to Washington’ appeared in the Today paper on 12 Oct 15. It had a subtitle, ‘US is vital guarantor of Indian effort to check Chinese power’ to emphasise what is important to Obama and Modi. The article reviewed the big power ambition of two countries, one a fading empire and another an aspiring one, and in both fearing the rise of China as a superpower.

In the case of the Americans, it is a case of I am the number One super power and China must not be allowed to usurp or challenge that position. In the case of the Indians, China is getting too power and would swallow up India or over shadow India, so must lean on the Americans as a counter force. While both countries are obsessed in their paranoia of grandeur and power, does China bother?

While China has been boosting its defence capability, it is in no position to challenge the Americans militarily for the next generation or two. As long as China is strong enough to prevent the Americans from behaving madly, thinking that they can strike at China at will with impunity, China is safe and has no intent to compete with the Americans to build all the aircraft carriers and a nuclear arsenal to match. It would be wasteful spending of money and resources that can be put to better use. China would be happy to let the Americans spent its way to bankruptcy on weapons of war. That is the safest and most economical way to challenge American supremacy, in the economic front.

While the Indians are having nightmares and self delusion of a China marching across the Himalayas, and scurrying to buy and built more military hardware, building military alliances, China is oblivious to the Indian hallucination. China does not bother and will not be bothered by this ambitious upstart and its tantrums. China will continue to expand trade and economic developments around the world, building infrastructures in every corner of the earth and gain influence and economic power. Why would China waste any time and resources with an India trapped in its own imaginations of greatness and big power ambition?

India and the USA can continue to pursue their military objectives and feel good about their military alliance and acquiring more military hardware. China would not have anything to do with them as economic growth is China’s top priority.

The big gangster and the regional gangster can share their dreams and nightmares and spend time and resources worrying themselves sick. It does not matter a wee bit to China. The raising of tension in the South China Sea by the Americans’ intent to sail close to Chinese islands is the most serious threat and a flare up is highly possible. China would not take the American provocation at its doorstep meekly and a robust response is expected. China has a big range of actions it could take, including flying fighter aircraft over the American ships, radar tracking and locking on the targets, aiming anti ship missiles at the Americans and ramming American ships with fishing boats.

Basically with such hostile provocations by the Americans, China must react to protect its territorial rights. On the other hand it is about time China tells the Hongkong government to send the Pinoys working in the island bak ot the Philippines and stop buying Pinoy bananas and other agricultural products.

Retaliatory measures would only escalate in the South China Sea and the best hope China can bet on is the rising tension in Syria, Middle East and Afghanistan to keep the Americans busy. And to add to the icing, more protests from the Okinawans against American military presence in Okinawa and risking the island as the top priority target in a war, to be nucleared.

‘Move you Asian *****’

Briton Joshua Powell Koke, 24, a pilot with Jetstar, was fined $5000 for punching a 18 year old student, Dxxxx Oxxxxxx Mxxxxx. The incident happened in the wee hours of the morning at Raffles Place Building. Koke had finished a quarter bottle of Vodka at 1 Altitdue Bar. The victim and his friends, several ladies in high heels, were blocking the path of Koke in the stairway.

The group moved slowly as the girls were wearing heels and Koke shouted, ‘move you Asian *****’ and that started a verbal dispute between the two groups. Koke than punched and hit the student.

ST reoorted that ‘DPP Yong did not press for a jail term but noted Kpke had consumed alcohol and was physically and verbally aggressive towards the victim.’

It is right that such valuable foreign talent must not be ill treated even if they misbehaved and are fond to spout ‘Asian *****’. Not sure what that ‘*****’ meant but must be complimentary. He is unlikely to be sacked though his lawyer said ‘Koke has suffered mental distress as the case could mean termination by his airline’.  Let’s be kind to these talents. Spouting words like ‘Asian *****’ is second nature and nothing to it. Asians, especially the ‘*****’ are used to it and love to be seen in their company.

We must not be too harsh to them or they would not come here to grow our economy. For the sake of growth, let’s welcome them and integrate more with them.

Case closed.

Singapore in 2015 World Universities Rankings Fraud … AGAIN!

WHY Do We Continue to Risk Our Brand of Honesty, Trust-worthiness, Reliability, Integrity, Probity and Incorruptibility?

By MIKOspace

Have we no shame?  No sense of decency?

Is this the way to Honour our Late Founding Mentor LKY?

Is this the manner to celebrate 50 years of Authenticity and Integrity?

Are we so Unthinkingly STUPID and DESPERATE to allow those who tweaked their “Criteria” to elevate us on their False pedestal of dubious Excellence that we should therefore wear their Shameful Badge of Bogus Acclaim?

In the 2015 ranking by London-based education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the National University of Singapore (NUS) took the 12th spot this year, up from 22nd last year, and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) was placed 13th, up from 39th last year. 

Wow, indeed! NUS and NTU have leapt incredibly into the top 13 of the annual World University Rankings, partly due to a change in how research citation is evaluated. 

Hold it, people … ! An Eminent Professor has once called the QS Rankings “a Fraud on the public.” Another Eminent Professor said: “QS simply doesn’t do as good a job as the other rankers that are using multiple indicators”. 

“University world rankings are pointless”, said University College London’s President, “because there is no definition of the ‘ideal’ university.

Under vigorous academic evaluation, the QS Ranking Methodology failed to withstand penetrative scientific scrutiny. In essence, World Universities Rankings contain serious fundamental conceptual and methodological flaws to render Word Universities Rankings practically useless, irrelevant and immaterial for any serious educational policy purpose. 

An European Union Research Centre concluded that the Rankings was not statistically robust in numerous aspects and highly unreliable for inter-University comparisons.  Their different Ranking Methodologies are also fragile in their ranking approaches and often inconsistent in its treatment of objective data and subjective variables extracted from surveys. 

In fact some survey results used in QS study were strangely re-cycled for 3 years for unknown reasons and in accordance with no associated research methods. 

IT IS OUR RIGHT AS SINGAPOREANS TO DEMAND ANSWERS AS TO WHY, in 2015, OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE STILL Participating in Bogus Ranking Standards of Dubious Excellence?

In fact, the United Nations Education agency, UNESCO, has challenged the validity and reliability of University Rankings:

“Global university rankings fail to capture either the meaning or diverse qualities of a university or the characteristics of universities in a way that values and respects their educational and social purposes, missions and goals. At present, these rankings are of dubious value, are underpinned by questionable social science, arbitrarily privilege particular indicators, and use shallow proxies as correlates of quality.”

UNESCO’s found it “difficult to argue that the benefits offered by the information they provide, given the lack of transparency that we have observed, are greater than the ‘unwanted consequences of rankings’. For there is a danger that time invested by universities in collecting and using data and statistics in order to improve their performance in the rankings may detract from efforts to progress in other areas such as teaching and learning or community involvement”.

Singapore universities should never have participated in the “Global Universities Rankings” Frauds.  Singapore’s presence in the Global Universities Rankings invariably lends our hard-earned Reputation for Authenticity and Honesty to mask their lack of credibility, validity and reliability. OUR Universities MUST be held to the same high standards of integrity and authenticity as the rest of the Nation. 

And “Yes”; even Nunzio Quacquarelli who is the Founder of QS has publicly urged that Governments should Ignore QS Rankings precisely because they were never intended for strategic education policy use. 

Our new Ministers for Education should launch an investigation into NUS/NTU’s continuing annual participation in the ongoing Fraud. 

We must continue to uphold the honest Truth before the World and ourselves, not because of laws and penalties but because this is WHO WE ARE.  Our High Standards of integrity and honesty reflects the Society we want to live in, and the values we uphold and hold ourselves to embrace.

 

By MIKOspace

Related:

NUS, NTU in Top 13 of World Universities Rankings

Singapore in World Universities Ranking Fraud in 2014

True Lies about World Universities Ranking

UNESCO - University Rankings of Dubious Value

Why We Should Not Trust Global University League Tables

Laws Broken for Top Universities Rankings

Singaporean Students and Professors Sacrificed for Top Universities Rankings

Singapore NTU is Number 1 University

QS Ranking - A Fraud on the Public

Scrutiny of QS Universities Ranking

QS - Governments should Ignore Rankings

Malaysiakini article on Najib

‘There are two separate ways to move a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the upcoming parliamentary sitting, Bersih vice- chairperson Thomas Fann revealed today.

Apart from having MPs table a motion in the Dewan Rakyat, he said the MPs can also opt to vote down Najib’s budget proposal after it has been debated.’

Read this article in Malaysiakini dated 9 Oct. Is this Thomas Fann going to table the motion to move a no confidence vote against Najib? Does he know the consequences of the aborted Red Shirt Protests in Petaling Street and downtown Malacca? The Chinese could breathe a sigh of relief just a couple of weeks back when they were living in fear. Hope this Thomas Fann is not going invite another Red Shirt Protest and risking a bloodbath by tabling such a motion in Parliament. The Chinese minorities just had two narrow escapes. Do not tempt trouble for a third time.

It would be better for the Malay MPs to make such a move if needed. For a non Malay MP to do so is delusional and irresponsible. There is no fight and only inviting disaster to the Chinese minority when violence breaks out. And it would be a one way blood letting, and no Malay leaders will be there to stop it.

Think very carefully. Do not throw eggs against a stone wall. Bilahari is right to warn the Malaysian Chinese to know what they are up against. Let Mahathir and his gang to take the fight to Najib. It is not a fight for the Chinese or Indian minorities. In a way it would be better for the Malaysian Chinese to squabble with Kausikan instead. This would be harmless other than some letting off of verbal diatribes. The goals of fighting for freedom, justice, rules of law and good governance are only good if they could be seen in those context. But the extremists would not and would turn them into another anti Malay issue.  Idealism and aspirations must be tempered with realism. The minorities in Malaysia have very little room to move around.

Mahathir has rounded up his team of Malay leaders to challenge Najib. Let them do battle in their own terms and do not offer yourself as the convenient diversion and scapegoat for a bloodbath waiting to happen. Spend more time engaging with Bilahari. He is doing the Malaysian Chinese a favour as a convenient target to divert their attention and anger from flirting with death and destruction.

Leadership style – Hsien Loong versus LKY

The no nonsense style of LKY is well known by the pioneer generation and those who had worked with him or during his watch. No mistake was tolerated and any major mistake would mean heads would roll. There was little room for kindness and tolerance. When a major mistake was committed, out you go. In a way it worked. Everything was tip top, efficient and everything was expected to work with the push of a button. We were the best in many things, we were clean and green, a model city to be admired and emulated.

We are still good in many things, but some are showing signs of crumbling. The multiple train breakdowns would see heads rolling, but not under Hsien Loong’s watch. Everyone still got paid just as much and happily going about their work as if everything is normal, the breakdown is normal, just work on it to get it better.

The latest hepatitis C breakout when innocent lives were lost is the same. And Hsien Loong said, the important thing is to find out what happened and make sure that it would not happen again and do better the next time. Would there be heads rolling, no, don’t bet on it. This is the new style and new ethos. Work hard and do your best, we understand you are doing your best. No need to worry that you will lose your job if some big mistake is committed. It’s ok, make sure it does not happen again.

Working under this new leadership style of Hsien Loong must be easier and less stressful. The boss understood and would be kinder, would not carry a big stick. The contrasting style is obvious. Would the new leadership style lead to a more efficient Singapore? For sure, it would be a more pleasant work environment, more people oriented and not necessary less task oriented.

 

Make a mistake, admit your mistake, say sorry, apologize and explain. Then move on.

Stockholm Syndrome in Malaysia’s Race Relations

By MIKOspace

“It is Better to be Dominated than to be Victimised.”

The recent spat between Malaysian opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) Tony Pua and Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large Bilahari Kausikan provides an interesting insight into Malaysian race relations in the mind of some in the “minority” Chinese ethnic group. Kausikan had argued as “delusional” what he saw as efforts by some Malaysian Chinese youths to change the Malaysian political system which has been built around the principle of Malay dominance.  DAP Tony Pua counter-argued that they were not against Malay “dominance” but against Malay “supremacy”.  Tony also accepts that “Malays will dominate Malaysian politics and economy since they comprise the majority”.

Tony is clearly being disingenuous in his feeble attempt to distinguish between Malay “dominance” and Malay “supremacy” in any meaningful manner. He did not elaborate.  Malaysian history bears the undisputed witness to the fact of Malay “dominance” which motivated and led eventually to the imposition of Malay “supremacy” in Malaysian politics, economy and social life.  Today, Malay “dominance” and Malay “supremacy” are in fact the same side on a man-made Malaysian political coin.  It is wishful and politically immature thinking to believe that one can change either “dominance” or “supremacy” without affecting each other.     

By accepting Malay “dominance” simply because “they comprise the majority”, Tony is obviously oblivious of the fact that in 1963 when Malaysia became independent, no one ethnic group, whether Malay, Chinese or Indian, constituted more than 50% of the Malaysian population.  That’s why Malay “dominance” has to embrace the non-Malay indigenous tribes to form the larger concept of “Bumiputra” – or “sons of the soil” – in order for the Malay political elites to claim political legitimacy by virtue of numerical majority. 

Historically, classifying Malays as “sons of the soil” together with the indigenous tribes also create other problems, since most Malays actually arrived in Malaya only from the 14^th Century from Sumatra and Indonesia.  And if one prefer to go even further back in time, the very early Malays actually came with the very early Chinese from the same villages in Southern China, mostly from Yunnan. Truth is the Malaysian Malays are undisputably not the “sons” of the Malaysian soil.

The natural urge in many Malaysian Chinese to deny any “natural” Malay “dominance” or “supremacy” is therefore understandable. The political struggles in the early Malaysian years are between the competing and mutually exclusive visions of a “Malaysian” Malaysia based on multi-racialism and social equality vs a “Malay” Malaysia based on Malay dominance and supremacy. 

In 1965, Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia for her strong advocacy of a multi-racial and equal Malaysia.  History has proven the superiority of a multi-racial politico-socio-economic approach as practiced in prosperous Singapore instead of the racialist discriminatory model of Malaysia who continues to struggle in the doldrums of a devaluating currency and languishing economy.

For too long, Malaysian Chinese and Indians have been politically enslaved, economically oppressed and socially discriminated. Many non-Malay politicians are also reluctant to escape from the status quo political bondage and few nowadays advocate for a more equal treatment of their non-Malay constituents.  The reality of the political landscape of Malaysia has over the years evolved a class-based society very much in favour of the rich and powerful elites in all the political parties, who have much in common with each other the many privileges and benefits that should have “trickled down” to the poorer and lesser endowed segments in the population.        

For many non-Malay Malaysian politicians, however well-intentioned like Tony, they usually appear quite blinded to the reality of their own political enslavement after more than 50 years of subjugation to the combination of class and racially based political and economic forces.  Such is the Stockholm Syndrome nature in Malaysian race relations. For while they may complain and agitate against the extreme symptoms of her corrupt and racialist political system, the minority ethnic groups (as well as the vast number of poor Malays) seem strangely incapable of comprehending the precise nature of their situation so as to formulate feasible solutions to escape or reform the political-economic and social status quo.      

Related:

Racial Discrimination in Malaysia – A Never Ending Policy

Again, Malays are Lazy, said Dr Mahathir

PANORAMA: A History of Singapore's Battle for Merger

"Flesh and Bone Reunite as One Body" -  Dr Thum Ping Tjin

Singapore's 1962 Battle For Merger ReVisited

PS. Above post by Michael Heng

Authentic Made In Singapore Hospital

The glorious days of Singapore hospitals with an impeccable track record of quality hospital care, great medical professionals from the top to the bottom, to the nurses and the assistants and drivers, all Singaporeans, are dimming. This outbreak of hepatitis C in the SGH is unacceptable, cannot be tolerated, cannot happen, but happened. People admitted to hospitals to be cured and healed, but found dead or infected with hepatitis C they did not bring along.  How to explain this cruel change of fate and medical conditions, and they paid for it with good money, expecting the best, to walk in alive and leaving alive and better?

I think it would be a good marketing theme to market an authentic Singaporean Hospital, all the staff, from the specialists, doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators, supporting services, drivers and assistants, all genuine true blue Singaporeans. That will set a new kind of standard and expectation that paying patients can expect to be care for by the best Singaporeans can do for them.

The Singaporean Brand, the pride of Singapore, needs a revamp, a rebranding, to be true and authentic, not diluted or compromised, to be the deliverer of first class quality services, must be resurrected.

Would there be a hospital to adopt this Brand and policy, to give the patients the best quality of professionalism and services, the Singaporean way, the Singapore Brand, to differentiate from those that put on the Singapore Brand but manned by people from all corners of the world? There is a great difference between a coating and a homogenous product, Singapore on the outside but foreigners, 3^rd World on the inside, or Singapore through and through. You can scratch it, drop it, hammer at it, it is Singaporean thick and through. And Singaporean means quality, dedication, commitment and devotion, to be the very best.

Ignore the fools who think Singaporeans are daft, untalented, no skill sets and needed to be replaced by foreigners.

Let there be a Made In Singapore authentic Singaporean Hospital, to show the rest the difference in being part of the Singapore Brand. And this authentic Made In Singapore Brand is applicable to other services, products and industries as well. The call for this differentiation is necessary and urgent to save the Singapore Brand.

Jokowi to put out fires in two weeks

‘JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities target to put out forest fires burning in parts of the country in two weeks, with the help of other countries.’ Channel News Asia

Indonesia has found the solution to the fire burning across Sumatra and Kalimantan. The answers will come from 6 countries in the form of big and bigger aircraft that can carry more water to douse the flame. With these aircraft, Jokowi is confident that Indonesia would be able to end the fire in two weeks.

Actually there is no need for such aircraft and fire fighting equipment. The raining season is coming, and the fire will go off by itself just like a bout of flu. But Indonesia is so impressed by the big planes and their capabilities that they are planning to acquire some of them to fight the next fire in the next haze season. And if the planes proved effective, they would probably buy more to continue to fight the fire annually till eternity.

Would it not be cheaper to think of ways and plans to prevent the fire starters from starting the fire? If the fire fighters can be stopped, there is no need for more expensive planes and logistics to fight fires. The present inventory of planes and fire fighting equipment would be more than adequate if there is no fire or only a few fires that could and should be killed in the early stages. Prevention is better than cure.

By the start of the raining season, there will be no more fire. The Indonesian govt only needs to ensure that no one starts the fire in the next season. There could be bush fires started naturally by the heat of the day. I am sure the planners would be able to come up with ways to prevent these fires from starting. The fleet of fire fighting equipment could be deployed to throw water in vulnerable areas even when there is no fire to prevent fire from starting. Oops, apologies for suggesting this weird way of pouring water when there is no fire.

Would it be better, be more cost effective to set up a fire prevention force than a fire fighting force? For a start they can set up a review committee or a BOI. If they did not know how to set up these committees, ask Singapore, we are the experts in setting up BOIs and review committees. We have such committees after every fiasco that occurred in our little island. We just have one for the hepatitis C outbreak. We have had committees for the Little India Riot, the Mt Kinabalu earthquake too. We can even lend them the experienced officers who have sat in such committees as advisors.

What do you think? Chicken and egg problem?

All roads lead to China

While the Americans continue to flex their muscle all over the world, and now in the South China, to show who is the biggest gangster, China continues to dedicate all its effort and resources to build a new world. The Chinese planners and strategists have done a great job in rebuilding ancient agricultural China into a modern China with hundreds of cities bigger and more sophisticated than anything you can see in any part of the world. The latest city, Liangjiang (two rivers) in Sichuang is twice the size of Singapore, 1,200 sq km of modern city complexes that rivaled anything you see in Singapore. Forget about our Jurong Industrial Park. The student has excelled the master. Any Singaporeans still thinking that they can go to China to teach them about building modern cities must be still in dream land.

When the once richest man in America, Vanderbilt, built the railroads across North America, it was a feat of enormous proportion, of continental scale. And he deserved to be the richest man then. What Vanderbilt had done then is miniscule compared to what China is planning to do, and some parts are already completed, with the rest in the blue prints. China is building railroads to connect the whole world. Yes, connecting the whole world on land, by railroads. The lines will go out from China to Singapore, the southern tip of the Asia continent, South West to India and the Middle East and forward to Africa, West to Europe, with Germany in the first phase and ending in London, off the European continent. The next major road will go North East through Siberia, Alaska to Canada and North America, onwards South to Latin America.

This ambitious plan was never thought possible for a long time. To conceptualise this plan itself is unthinkable. But with today’s technology, political stability and the resourcefulness and industry of the Chinese people, and the financing muscle, the whole world can be linked by railroads.  Well almost, as the Pacific Islands, the Southeast Asian island states and continental Australia would be a bridge too far.

The programme currently being screened on Channel News Asia, ‘The New Silk Road’, gives a very good view of this grand and mammoth initiative of modern China. The Chinaman has remastered their railroad building skills and enterprise to build a railroad complex that would connect the five continents of the world together. All roads will lead to China and to the rest of the world.

While the Americans continue to waste their money and resources, including their best men and women, in the pursuit of war, instigating war, provoking war and conducting war, and telling the world that America is the most peace loving country, China is dedicated to rebuild a new world in commerce, trade and cultural integration of the communities of the world. China is building a new world of peace, to uplift the standard and quality of life of the peoples of the world.

A new world is emerging with China as the main architect, minus the bullets and the guns, in the New Silk Road Plan, an intercontinental project beyond the imaginations of the Americans and Europeans. And all roads or railroads, will lead to China.

NEA takes great pains to explain why not to give hourly PSI

The mounting pressure on NEA to provide hourly or live PSI so that people can use them to make life choices decision have led to the Agency coming up with a long grandmother story on why they are not going to accede to the people’s request. The explanations are all in the media yesterday. I just dunno want to laugh or want to cry or want to use the four letter word.

Ok, the NEA has valid reasons not to want to tell the people the current truth. They said the information is complex and people could not understand what they meant like water vapour and dust particles. They forgot to say that the pollutants in the haze could also have poisonous gases in it if there are foul intentions. Nevermind, the accepted practices by those agencies and institutions and academics and professionals are to rely on averages of 24 hours, 3 hours or whatever but not on hourly or live indices. So?

Should I suggest that the NEA provide whatever appropriate data to the agencies and organizations that needed those data professionally and provide the people, the masses, the data that they want? The data, 24 hr or 3 hr, make sense to those professionals but no sense to the masses and the public. The 24 hr data or even 3 hr data are totally useless to people on ground zero but important to the analysts and academics and institutions that need to study and record them and to write fanciful reports for the records. What would someone that wants to play football or bring the children to the park want those data for?

The public are not dumb asses and did not know the limitations of live data and the complexity of the air and the haze. All they want is a guide, to go out or not to go out. Is it therefore too much to ask the NEA to give the people the live data to act as a guide? What is the fear? Is there any life threatening issue if the NEA is to broadcast live data of the haze? Is it so difficult to produce the data? Hey, no need to collate or do complex computations, just the raw data. And if needed the NEA can add in all the backside covering clauses to say they are not responsible for anyone acting on those data and got into trouble.

Why provide data that the people did not want and not to provide data that the people want? Khaw Boon Wan should talk some sense into these PGO nuts.  Oops, we got a new minister in charge. Would he be able to see the farce and tell the NEA to give the data the people want? Or is it the similar to employment data, we only tell you what we think is good for you to know, give data on locals and not to show how many are Singaporeans and how many are PRs? Does the providing of live or hourly PSI data have the same secrecy considerations?

What do you think?

1MDB, Tony Pua and Bilahari Kausikan

The 1MDB affair has spilled over across the causeway with Bilahari calling the Malaysian Chinese delusional. And Tony Pua is furious and rebutted Bilahari just as furiously as he could. Sometimes such spate is unnecessary and uncalled for. When commenting about Malaysian politics, if possible it is better to be more discreet. A wrong word said or used could mean temperature shooting into the empty cans between the ears. For calling the Malaysian Chinese delusional, what did Bilahari hope to gain? I can see that he is trying to tell the Malaysian Chinese to back off and not to invite a May 13. The expected effect is exactly what Tony Pua did, mind your own business and don’t act smug.

In a way I agree with Bilahari that the game is over for the minorities in Malaysia. The Malays have absolute control over everything and their dominance is not only unchallengeable but cannot be challenged. The threat of the Red Shirts running amok, burning down Petaling Street and killing the people there must not to be taken lightly. And the another slightest provocation will lead to it. The fate of the minorities has been sealed long ago since the May 13 of 1969. That is the ultimate weapon and could be unleashed for the right or wrong reason, or for no reason.

The minorities in Malaysia can at best hope to have a more progressive Malay leadership that would work with them and tap on their industry and commercial skill to grow together to benefit the country and people. Pushing the boundaries of race and religion is inviting a massacre. Pushing for a non racial and religious issue would come to the same end. The minorities may want to think that 1MDB is not a racial or religious thing. I too agree with that. It is about bad govt and corruption. But by now they must have learnt their lesson, that anything can be changed into a race and religion thing. Even if it is not, they will make it so.

Malacca could be in chaos if the planned Red Shirt protest is shifted to downtown Malacca. Thanks to the police for killing it. And thanks to the Malaysian court for ruling that there is no wrongdoing in the 1MDB case. Najib’s position is now safe and has no reason for a diversion and a racial bloodbath.

The so called tussle for Malay leadership will go on. Let the Malays choose their leaders. The minorities can only watch from the sideline and give some support, but not to be seen as a force de majeure. They would be taken down, they will be turned into target number one.  The top political leadership will not change hands to the minorities for the next century or forever. That is Malaysia today and likely forever.

There is no need to huff and puff between Bilahari and Tony Pua. Venting anger and letting off steam would not change the realities in Malaysia. This is the new normal of Malaysian politics.

Singapore students brightest in the world

Can you believe it? Of course I can.  And not I said one. The Mypaper reported this on 8 Oct 15, ‘In a  programme this week, American television station CNN examined an official finding that named Singapore’s  secondary school students as the brightest in the world, by interviewing international experts.’ Can this be bluffing? No, Singaporean students have been consistently topping in international assessments and competitions and scoring very well in top American and British universities and universities across the world.

Only fools in Singapore believed that Singaporeans are talentless, no skill sets, unemployable and unfit to fill top management positions. Don’t ask me who are the fools? And they believe in the comments and remarks of 3^rd World trash that Singaporeans are unfit to work in Singapore and should be replaced by 3^rd World villagers that are mostly fakes and cheats.

I do not want to elaborate more. We have the best education system and universities but producing duds. How to explain that? Ask the fools. And our PMEs, with years of experience and track records to prove, are now only good enough to drive taxis or to be retrained to be counter sales people or security guards? How did this happen? Don’t ask me, ask the fools.

I believe the assessments of the experts mentioned above and we have all the track records to prove that our students are the best in the world. Not duds! So what is wrong? Either our universities and education system are so flawed and designed to produce duds, or our PMEs and graduates are being cheated in the employment market. And the fools continue to believe that the Singaporeans are daft and unemployable, and they will continue to go to the whole world to hire less talented people, cheats and fakes to replace our real talents.

The fools in Singapore believed in the fools of the 3^rd World and not in the talent of Singaporeans. Or I shall put it in another way, the fools in Singapore are easily conned by the fools of the 3^rd World.

This is Uniquely Singapore.

Uber and Grab taxis and Khaw Boon Wan

Gintai wrote an article about the new ‘pah ong chia’ or private taxis in the more sophisticated form of Uber and Grab taxis and why they are providing unfair competition to the rejected PMEs now driving govt licenced and control taxis that required them to take a Taxi Vocational Licence(TVL) test. To qualify for a TVL one must be a Singaporean and to take a crash course plus security vetting for criminal records.

The ‘pah ong chia’ drivers need not require to go through all the stringent processes and could simply drive their taxis under whatever rules or checks of these operators. No need to be citizens. Of course they claimed to check their track records too.

And no one could see anything wrong with these ‘pah ong chia’ drivers. It must be the right thing to do. It started in the West, so much be good. The West are doing it, so should be no problem. And this is another form of free enterprise, deregulation, free trade and all the jest. Finally we have someone who has a little commonsense to question this silly thing.

I only have one question. How many of you would put your parents, wives and children in a car driven by a total stranger, maybe not even Singaporean, whose track record or criminal record is not questioned? Or how many of you think it safe enough even for yourself to be driven around by an unknown  element where the authority has very little knowledge or control over them?

Are we so innocent and naïve to take personal safety so carelessly? The Singapore today is not the same Singapore of the past. We are in an open space for all and sundry to be here.

PS. If the drivers of Uber and Grab are subject to the same security regiment, and Singaporeans, then the issue is different.