Singapore Bicentennial 2019

Singapore Bicentennial 2019

Celebrating Racism, Slavery and Exploitation

By MIKOspace

Next year 2019 has been designated Singapore Bicentennial to mark the 200^th year of the founding of Singapore by the Englishman Sir Stamford Raffles, working for the British East India Company (EIC) on behalf of the British Colonial Empire. Singapore history is actually more than 200 years old with official verifiable records from the middle of the first century (about 100AD), some 1,800 years before Raffles.

Of course, Raffles did not “discover” Singapore. Singapore was neither lost, obscure nor an isolated and uninhabited island. Much documentary evidence points to events and activities involving ancient kingdoms, wars, communities and economic trade.

History has been revised to refer to Raffles as the founder of MODERN Singapore.  This attempt at re-creating history is even more dangerous and particularly disingenuous in the absence of any evidence that any specific past British Colonial policy was designed to create “modern” Singapore. 

In a 10 June 1819 letter to his friend Colonel Addenbrooke, Raffles stated that “Our object is not territory but trade, a great commercial Emporium, and a fulcrum where we may extend our influence politically, where circumstances may hereafter require. By taking immediate possession we put a negative to the Dutch claim of exclusion, and at the same time revive the drooping confidence of our allies and friends; one Free Port is these Seas must eventually destroy the spell of Dutch monopoly; and what Malta is in the West, that may Singapore become in the East.”  

Singapore colonial history has been carefully packed in chewable childlike lessons: a barely inhabited quite virgin island; Raffles’ landing (exact location unknown); promotion of free trade; growth of entrepôt trade; growth of immigrants from China and India; town planning; building of government centre; and the development of necessary infrastructure to support British rule over the local population and to preserve law and order so as not to disrupt British and EIC business interests.  The result is the erroneous conclusion that her 140 years of British colonial rule has been the springboard and foundation of today’s Singapore. 

Our school history textbooks have also propagated this alternative reality.  It was familiar and uncontroversial, also comforting without provoking any anti-colonial sentiments by fabricating false colonial history to foster an unthinking and uncritical mind-set that the tools of colonial subjugation have exceptionally moral good impact in Singapore, but not seen in any other British Colonies!

As Singaporeans enter the buzz and business of the Bicentennial, we need to deconstruct the myths of benevolent colonialism to discover for ourselves, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, the awesome truth that today’s MODERN Singapore would be impossible if we had continued with British colonial rule.

Racism

British colonialism, like the French, Dutch and American, is based in part on racism even as it is appears to be motivated by material wealth, financial gain and territorial expansion. They believe they have a God-given right to govern and subject indigenous people in continuous subjugation with their power and resources. The idea of a master race is inherent in imperial powers to justify their right to exploit, degrade, humiliate and rule over non-white peoples. 

Many racist comments in post-colonial Singapore can find its origins in British stereo-types, especially targeted at Malays.  A 1883 observation by Maj-Gen Sir George Leith, that “They (Malays) are incapable of any labour apart from the cultivation of paddy fields” sums up British sentiments regarding the Malays at that time.

Years earlier by the 1870s, the British had already placed Malays at the bottom of the racial competency order.  In the 1879 Commission Report into the Police of the Straits Settlements, the Singapore Attorney-General Thomas Braddell indicated that he preferred the “Klings” [Indians/Indian-Malay] to Malays as being more intelligent and more active, and better disciplined as a body” as more suitable to be as Police recruits.

A British tourist, Isabella Bird, also observed the Malay’s lack of interest in industry in The Golden Chersonese, 1883, p357: “The Malays won’t work except for themselves”

In May 1823, Sophia Hull, Raffles’ wife, founded the Singapore Malay Female-School. A report, betraying its racist bias and stereotype, expressed surprise at the progress made by some of the students "considering their native habits of indolence, and their want of energy." 

It is clear that race relations and racial conflicts in post-colonial Singapore are very much a result of nearly 140 years of British policies based on their racist altitudes and stereotypes regarding the Malays, Indians and Chinese communities. The various communities were also separated into spatial residential clusters and allocated to jobs based on “the ‘inherent’ biological traits of each race”. The consequence of deliberate geographical segregation and institutionalisation of jobs based on race effectively formalised the (artificial) differences among the races.  They also prepare the stage for the eventual economic inequality among the races with the Malays and Indians in lower pay jobs as compared to the Chinese.

Slavery

The growing workforce of colonial Singapore in the 19^th and early 20^th century composed of mostly indentured labourers.  The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought increased maritime activities to Singapore as the larger steam-powered ships became the major ocean ships.  Eventually, Singapore became the major port for the thousands of labourers brought by labour agents from India, China, Bugis (West Indonesia), the Malay Archipelago and the Dutch East Indies for the tin mines and rubber plantations in Malaya.  The Port of Singapore thus became the major slave labour hub in the region even though slave trading, but not slavery itself, was officially outlawed by the British in 1807.

Colonial Singapore would not have prospered without the forced labour needed to build roads and bridges, work on the booming rubber plantations and tin mines, as well as providing prostitutes, concubines and domestic maids to serve the rich businessmen, British and Anglophile elites for nothing or pittance.

Under the British, Singapore became a prominent network hub of slave traders which linked villages in China and Japan to procure slaves and prostitutes. Even before Raffles, Bugis ships have also regularly brought slaves captured from the Indonesian Archipelago for trading or as gifts for government officials.    

True, we did not get to where we are today by accident or natural evolution.  However, we also did not get here through British Colonialism.  The transformation of Singapore from a fishing village to modern metropolis was not driven by the vision and foresight of British politicians in London and their colonial administrators.  True again, independent Singapore on 9 August 1965 did inherit a collection of laws, institutions, structures and processes after a brief 2-year “marriage” to Malaysia. These colonial legacies however were neither appropriate nor designed for nationhood and nation-building.

For example, the economy of Colonial Singapore was centred on entrepôt trade, which became obsolete in the post-war global international trade faced by a fledging Singapore economy.  The journey to modernity was not easy for an independent Singapore.  As with Hong Kong on July 1997, the British colonial masters had not actively address the critical issues of housing, education and health because their only goal was economic and the only interest was a British, not Singaporean, future. Raffles’ 10 June 1819 letter (see above) clearly attested and confirmed as much. 

The notion that British colonialism was a tool for the moral good of Singapore, and therefore should be celebrated as the driver of our modernity and as the catalyst of Singapore nationhood is sorely misguided.  It is a fallacy and has no historical truths.

As we carefully deconstruct our long history of more than 2,000 years, we will realise that most of us today (80%) came or were born after the British surrendered to the Japanese in 1942.  And about half (50%) of us are born after Independence.

Singapore was in fact abandoned by the British in the greatest surrender by the powerful British military to a much inferior Japanese Imperial Army on bicycles.  Colonial Singapore ended on 15 February 1942, ostensibly the best Chinese New Year “ang-pow” present if not for the subsequent Japanese unmitigated pogrom of cruelty, rape, killing and torture of all things Chinese.  The epiphany of Singaporeans during the 1942-1945 war years was the realisation that we could only depend on ourselves, and not the British or any outsiders.  This is now deeply ingrained in Singaporeans and drives the motivation of our National Servicemen and the indomitable Singapore Armed Forces.

The Japanese surrender on 12 September 1945 saw the shameless return of British colonial masters who thought, wrongly, that business would be as usual with her former colony. In April 1946, Singapore became a British Crown Colony to be ruled directly from London. Again, Singapore was treated like a commodity not unlike the prostitutes in her ‘red-light’ districts of Change Alley, Geylang, Keong Saik and River Valley to be mounted by any conquerors.

The Japanese war years have toughen Singaporeans to resist the restoration of Rule Britannia. The British imposed martial law – The Malayan Emergency - from 1948-1960 on security grounds to counter the emergence of communism, whose fighters were bred and trained in the Anti-Japanese Army during the war.  During the Emergency, the British suppressed legitimate civil and political protests through legislations controlling the newspapers and radio, introduced arbitrary detention with trial, banned workers unions and legitimate trade union strikes, deny ordinary civil rights (enjoyed in Britain!), and banned legitimate anti-colonial societies eg student unions, old boys association, farmers associations and trade unions.  All forms of challenge to British colonial rule were ruthlessly struck down and make illegal.  

Know that the celebration of 2019 Bicentennials would also glorify the failed measures of the Malayan Emergency.  Ironically, if these measures were successful, there would be no MODERN Singapore!   

It is clear that British rule over Singapore was never fully and effectively restored after the War.  And the battle for MODERN Singapore began in 1945 with the Japanese surrender. 

MODERN Singapore is the creation of a small group of politicians and activists of various political parties with somewhat conflicting ideologies, and NOT the natural outcome of British colonialism.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) led by Lee Kuan Yew eventually won the electoral right to flesh out and actualise the aspirations of Singaporeans for a free, sovereign, just, prosperous and equal nation. All the infrastructures, education, human talent, social services and armed forces needed for MODERNITY were built from scratch from the ground up.  Nothing needed for MODERNITY was inherited from the British colonial past. In repeated fair and transparent general elections over the past 50+ years, the PAP has assured and ensured that Singapore will never again be subjugated and subjected to the humiliation and indignity suffered under the British and the Japanese.    

The proposed Singapore Bicentennial celebrations must provide the true history of Singapore’s journey to MODERNITY which began in 1945.  Otherwise, it would be just a celebration of misplaced and wronged history! Suggest we should wait for 2045 to truly commemorate 100 years of MODERN Singapore.

“Until very recently Singapore’s past was a matter of supreme indifference for most Singaporeans simply because they believed this island never really had a history worth remembering…” – S. Rajaratnam, ‘The Uses and Abuses of the Past’, 1984.

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4G PM hopeful not fixated to be PM

Indranee had said that the fourth generation PM candidates are too busy focusing on other things like jobs and social issues and not fixated on being the next PM. This speaks very well of these PMs to be, that they only care about the people rather than their promotion to be the next PM. I like it. You can smell the sense of selflessness and righteousness in them.
 
From a personal perspective that these are unselfish men that did not care too much about being the next PM and rather work for the good of the people is admirable and laudable. This is probably the first time that a country has so many such noble men waiting on the side line to be the PM but not really interested to be, or not concerned if they become or not become the next PM. Even the most eligible candidate, Tharman, has openly expressed that he is not interested in the job.
 
From another angle, this is bad, that no one thinks of running this country. How come nobody is interested in the top job and paying millions? If no one is interested, would the reluctant candidate be pulling his weight when thrust into the job? Or would he use this as an excuse eventually if he did not perform, that he was not really interested in the job, so don’t blame him? Or would the job eventually go to someone who volunteers to be the PM, like this a social service work, doing charitable work?
 
Whether these crown princes like it or not, this is not a wishy washy job for someone to volunteer or for someone that is not interested to take up. It is the most important job in the country and the well being of the people depends on it. This job is no pray pray thing. Whoever wants the job better be serious about it. There is nothing more important than wanting to do this job well as the viability and well being of the country and people depend on it. You don’t want a misfit to be the PM and eventually runs it to the ground or hands it on a silver platter to another country or to foreigners, simply because he is not interested, never mind if Singaporeans would be the losers in the end.
 
The PAP was very serious about who would fit into the shoe of the PM in the last two changes. They did not want to risk putting a dud as a PM. Chok Tong had 5 years of apprenticeship to see if he was fit for the job. Perhaps 5 years were too short and Hsien Loong had 14 years to measure up to it. Now we have less than 5 years before Hsien Loong retires. Would there be enough time to train the next apprentice? Trump, who do you think?
 
By the ‘callafarre’ look of things, this apprenticeship thing is really not important. Or at least this is the impression given, no hurry, never mind, they have more important things to do than to go under training for the job. If this job is not important, what else is? Or is it that the apprenticeship scheme is really unnecessary and thus whether they have 5 years or 14 years OJT, it does not matter?
 
How can it be? Even being an MP needs to be OJT to run a town council first to prove one is capable to being an MP. The PM job is definitely more important and complex than running a town council. If an MP needs to prove his worth in running a town council, a potential PM must prove his worth while an apprentice before being pronounced fit to be PM.
 
Maybe, maybe all the trainings are applicable only to opposition politicians. The crown princes are no ordinary politicians. They are super talents and born to be leaders, to be PMs. So got OJT or no OJT would not make any difference. They will be fit to be PM regardless, when the time comes.
 
So there is absolutely no need to rush to put them under the apprenticeship scheme. They are born natural leaders, born to be PMs. No one needs to worry why no crown prince is being appointed and to go under the wing of the PM, to be tested and to prove himself. Did I get the spelling right on crown prince?

What is the intention of China

In every conversation, forum or western think tank talks, this question would pop up. What is the intention of China's growing economic and military power? What a stupid question to ask. The Americans and the West are getting stupid but they should not think the Chinese are stupid. What kind of answer are they expecting from the Chinese? What would they think they would do or intend to do if they were in the position of China?

The only sensible western academic that has some sense of propriety and reasoning is Hugh White. His answer was simple commonsensical. When one is rich and powerful, one would just be rich and powerful just like the Americans. Are these westerners and Americans still believe that China would live in a world created and dominated by the West for the last two hundred years and continue to be subject to the rules of the West and the existing balance of power?

For more than two hundred years since the invading hordes of European colonialists went about conquering and colonising the rest of the world, the balance of power is such that they should be holding all the powers in the world and the rest of the world must be subject to their power. They would want to possess all the weapons of mass destruction and no one else should have them, and if anyone else has them, the West or the Americans must have 99 pieces while the other one can only have one. And every piece of the American or western weapon is to be bigger than the one possess by the other one. This is the balance of power for the last two hundred years. The Israel is trying to impose this formula on the Arab/Muslim countries as well.

Any country that want to have more than one weapon, even two or three, is immediately branded and demonises as aggressive, unconstructive and destructive, and not playing by the international rule they created. The Americans can have all the military bases around China, fly and sail their military craft on the coast of China, and this is the norm. The American Carrier Battle Group can sail freely in the seven seas to challenge and threaten any country, including China. China cannot fly or sail its military craft out of China or the seas around China. China cannot have military bases outside China. Doing so would be an aggressive and provocative act. China having anti carrier missiles to deny American CBGs from threatening China is accused of being an aggressive act. The Americans sailing CBGs to the Taiwan Straits to intimidate China is not aggressive? The bombing of Chinese Embassy in Belgrade is not aggressive? The rapes of Iraq and Libya and Syria are not aggressive?

The Americans can build military fortresses in the Indian and Pacific Ocean filled with nuclear weapons and WMD and not aggressive. The Americans proliferating nuclear weapons all over Europe and Asia not aggressive? China cannot have a few aircraft or naval ships in its islands in the South China Sea. This is provocative, expansionist, aggressive act that upsets the balance of power?

What is China's intent in doing all these? Do the Americans and the West believe that China, with all its economic clout and military might, would continue to be holed within its land and sea boundaries and allow the Americans to have free play around its borders, flaunting their military prowess and might?

Do the Americans and the West really believe the Chinese are so daft that after being invaded, their country looted and plundered during a time of weakness, would accept the same status quo imposed on them by the colonial and imperial powers of the West then and today?

China may not want to be like the colonial West or Imperial Americans, to want to control and dominate the world militarily. The least China would want to do is to look at the Americans straight in the eyes and to tell the Americans to back off and not to cross the path of China in its economic development and growth and in building its military power to defend itself. The least that China would want to do is to stop the Americans from telling and coercing them in whatever they are doing. China would want to be an equal member in the community of nations and would not allow the Americans or the West to dictate what China can or cannot do.

The balance of power would be 50:50 and no longer 90:10 in favour of the Americans and the West. If the Americans can have 11 CBGs, can have 1000 military bases all over the world, China would also want to have the same if their economic and military strength allowed them to do so, not that they would go that way.  China did not have the ambition to be an Empire and need all the military bases and CBGs to protect the Empire, to bully the world and to rule the world. China just want to be a rich and powerful nation, to chart its own destiny for the prosperity of its people and perhaps also for the prosperity of the rest of the world, without being a military Empire.

Did I answer the stupid question being asked by the West and the Americans? Or are they hoping that the bankrupt West would continue to dictate the terms of international relations in their favour when China is strong enough to say No to them, that China must continue to be push around by the West, by the Americans?

HDB/CPF transaction – Dead man is alive

I am wondering if this is a good analogy of the transaction involving the purchase of a HDB flat using CPF money. Many would believe that once the purchase is fully paid up, by cash or CPF money, the deal is done, the end of the story. In reality the purchase of a HDB flat using CPF money, even when fully paid, is like a man suffering from cancer. The ‘dead’ man may not be walking around, but inside him the cancerous cells are fully alive and kicking, non stop. Even if the man drops dead, the cancerous cells continues to multiply until the body is burnt or rotted away.
 
Many would thought they would have peace of mind once they have fully paid for the property even with CPF money. If it is cash, the transaction is done and everything ends. Once CPF money is involved, the whole deal is alive and kicking, because someone said the CPF money is not yours. There are two parts to this deal that will continue to be alive like the living dead. One part is the financial obligation owed to the HDB that could be changed over time. The second part is the interest owing to the CPF money which is rightly your money, but to some not your money.
 
In the case of the HDB part, when you sell the property, the HDB has the right to impose a levy on your capital gain. Who owns the property? And when you resell the HDB flat, you would have to pay up, to the HDB, a percentage of the sale price as levy. It is your property, you pay property taxes, but HDB is sitting there waiting to rob you of your capital gain as if it is a passive owner of your HDB flat. Clever or sneaky, up to you to call it. In the case of a really private property, you sell and get back whatever is the transacted price.
 
The CPF part is that though the money is yours, though the purchase is fully completed, the CPF is still counting the interest on the CPF money you used for the property. There is no such thing as a done deal. The CPF interest is forever kept alive, like cancerous cells. Some were so intrigue by this ridiculous thing of paying interest on using your savings to buy properties. When you sell the property, the interest would be computed, back dated to the day you buy the property with the CPF money. Clever or sneaky, say what you like.
 
It is as good as dead man alive. When one takes a bank loan to pay for a property, this transaction is fully closed. The part that is alive is the repayment of the loan taken from the bank. When using your CPF, you will still be owing interest to your own money you withdraw from the CPF. You borrow from yourself to pay for a property and you owe interest to your own money. If you die without selling the property, I dunno whether the CPF would insist on your beneficially to pay for the interest when they sell your property. Presumably they would not as you will be dead and gone.

Japan faces greatest danger since WW2?

This is what the lying Japanese PM is saying, that Japan is facing the greatest danger since WW2. From who, from North Korea? When have the North Koreans attacked or threatened to attack Japan? What did the North Koreans do that is posing the greatest threat to Japan? Building and testing their own weapons to protect themselves from the Americans threat of an invasion is a threat to Japan?
 
Which country had invaded North Korea? Which country had colonized North Korea? Which country had turned Korean women into comfort women to satisfy the sexual lust of the Japanese soldiers? The country that invaded, colonized and ruled North Korea is crying out loud that North Korea is a threat. And it is using this very excuse to remilitarize Japan, the most cruel invader of Asia and South East Asia, today pretending to be angels and a nation of peace, a nation threatened, exactly like the Americans across the Pacific Ocean.
 
A peaceful nation does not need to armed itself like Japan today and wanting to have bigger armed forces when it is already the second biggest armed forces in Asia. The Japanese armed forces and military capability dwarfed what the North Koreans have. A peaceful nation does not need to rewrite its pacifist constitution so that it can go to war. The pacifist constitution is already good enough for Japan to go to war when attack. Who is going to attack Japan? It was the Japanese that were attacking everyone else in Asia, wanting to conquer Asia and the world.
 
The slimy Japanese is following the example of the evil empire, just find some excuses, or provoke another country and then demonise that country as the provocateur or aggressor, then invade. They still believe they could run wild in Korea, butchered the Koreans, turned them into slaves, their women into sex slaves.

The Americans have divulged their private discussion with the Japanese and revealed that the Japanese have plans to invade North Korea. So by keep harping on a foreign threat, Japan would have good reasons to attack and invade North Korea again. It would be nice to see how many Japanese big cities, including Tokyo, be flattened by the North Koreans just like how the Americans flattened them. It would be nice to see a few nuclear bombs in Japan, bigger and more powerful than the two dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This is how mad the Japanese especially the likes of Abe are. The victim countries of WW2 have changed and are as strong if not stronger than the Japanese would want to believe. And the concentration of population in Japanese cities would mean the destruction would be of unacceptable proportion.

This is how devious the Japanese are, still thinking of going to war. A leopard would not change its spot. The ugly and hostile and aggressive Japanese are up to their nonsense again, to think of invading Korea and to colonise Korea, to have more Korean comfort women, to kick the Koreans around. It is a pity that the South Koreans have forgotten the Japanese colonisation and humiliation and would be on the side of the Japanese to kill their own brothers and sisters in the North.

Daft complaining about not getting CPF savings back

There is another article posted in the TRE by a JW complaining that the ever caring and kind hearted people in charge of the CPF are rationing her withdrawal of her savings till the age of 95. And for so stretching the time span, she is getting $16 a day for the next 30 years.
 
Here are some of her comments.
 
‘First excuse: “Increasing life expectancy ”. This is just a rubbish excuse not to return our sweat and blood savings and pretend to act as good guy to look after us till age of 95 (Of course there are people who can live up to this age but is rare). Even our SM don’t even live up to age of 95 despite of having the best medical team to attend to him. For me, an ordinary working class auntie, I might not even last for another 15 years with this kind of pathetic payout. Ridiculously, without knowing me or my medical condition, they can speculate I can last for another 30 years to receive the payouts. HaHa!
 
Second excuse: “Extra Interest”- another rubbish excuse. I have indicated many times that I am not interested in their extra interest. I might not be alive any more to enjoy. I am not begging for any handouts but only getting back my rightful savings which I had worked so hard for the past forty years. Initially we were being told that these savings will be released to us when we reached 55 years of age….
 
CPF Board has been very inconsiderate and very cruel in giving this kind of treatment to senior citizen. I am not sure whether I am the only unlucky one or there are other brothers and sisters in the same situation. We are the ones who had struggled very hard to build up today’s nation. Instead of showing appreciation, we are being treated like old dirt with such low respect. Where is justice?
 
I have copied my mails to the Labour Minister who oversee the CPF Board. As expected, the betterer guy is acting blind and deaf to my concerns. Lastly, I have to thank my MP’s effort who has helped me along.’
JW
 

She is asking for respect and justice! Did she really believe that she will get justice and respect at the way they held on to her savings and finding all kinds of reasons to delay returning to her? Did she not condone this act by voting for the people who made these rulings to be the govt? She should be very grateful and thankful that she had made the right choice. And yes, she is very grateful that her MP is trying to help and very helpful. See how daft it is? Who does she think the MP is working for and when come to the issue of the CPF, what is the stand of the MP, what did the MP voted for?
 
These daft deserved the govt they voted for. And they will keep voting for the same govt over and over again to show their appreciation. Maybe this is their way of showing how happy they are with the govt for caring for them and planning their retirement with their life savings. Why are they complaining when they voted for all these policies that are for their own good?
 
PS. Just accept the fact that CPF is not their money and everything will fall in place, and all will be fine.

Singapore China relations

Finally, after avoiding making any comments directly on the strained relations between Singapore and China, Wang Gungwu, the Confucianist gentleman, wrote a piece in the ST on 18 Dec highlighted the 4 major events that were the roots of the problems. What he said were nothing new but a repeat of everything that had been said about the tedious and unnecessary souring of a relationship built and cultivated earnestly by Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew must be turning in his grave seeing his good work being dismantled and dumped as trash into the dustbin by silly politicians with egos bigger than a coconut but intellect the size of a pea.
 
With all the cock advice to put all the eggs in the American basket and thinking that it was alright to poke at the eyes of China and China would not dare to do anything, things finally came to a rude ending and Hsien Loong had no choice but to make a trip to Beijing in September to make amends. This was a serious effort at the highest level on the Singapore side and everyone hoped that relations would be back to normal. At least that was the picture painted by the Singapore side and the Singapore media. Sino Singapore relations are on the mend and everything will be warm and rosy going forward after Hsien Loong's return.
 
Even Wang Gungwu also has the same impression that things could only be better as the trip by Hsien Loong must have been made with great sincerity to bring relations to an even keel. Apparently from what I have observed, things are getting worst and not better. After relations had hit rock bottom, it could not return to normal just because Hsien Loong made that trip and had a meeting with Xi Jinping. The sincerity to improve relations must be seen to be so and Singapore would have to backup with more friendly gestures towards China. There were some signs of the media publishing more China friendly reports for a while, but somehow, the anti China articles kept coming in greater frequency as before. China could not fail to notice this lack of sincerity to get the relations back to normal, or the back to normal is to continue as before, with more anti China articles by silly academics and foreigners and dumb locals as the norm. Any China watcher could not miss the tone, nuances and the choice of articles and authors that are unfriendly to China being given greater exposure all over again.
 
Not only words but deeds would be telling of the state of Sino China relations. If my reading is correct, Singapore has taken a hardened path to move away from China and there is no turning back. The biggest pain in the arse in the geopolitical equation in the region is India, the pretentious superpower to be and its hostile and aggressive stance towards anything China. India has been flirting with the Americans, Japan and even Vietnam to be a spoiler in the region against China's interests. India had been involved in bi lateral and multi lateral war games with them around China’s coasts and the enemy is clear as daylight.
 
Though India is inconsequential to China, it is still an irritant and any country thinking that it was a good idea to invite the Indians to be more involved in the region cannot be seen as being innocent and naive and could not see the part India is playing against China. For Singapore to openly invite India to park its warships in Changi at a time like this is too obvious on the stand of Singapore and its relations with China. No amount of pleas of ignorance would be accepted and forgiven.
 
The trip by Hsien Loong to Beijing in September is as good as a bad dream, wasted, unnecessary and should not have taken. Singapore's relations with China is far from being on the mend and is fast deteriorating. Well, if that is the intent of Singapore, then there is nothing to cry about. It might as well go that way, quicker, faster and more direct. There is no need to wayang to pretend that Singapore desires to improve its relations with China.
 
Has Singapore decided to just do it and so be it? The new future of Singapore is to get closer with the pretentious power to be, India. As for the USA, Trump is unpredictable but would not turn away from American supremacy and primacy in this part of the world. In fact Trump has no interest in Singapore and probably Singapore has read this correctly and is not cosying up to Trump. Singapore would never receive the same kind of attention that Obama gave and Hsien Loong would never be able to have the same kind of rapport with Obama in Trump.
 
Looks like Singapore is going to put all its eggs in the Indian basket. This is my observation. Clever or muddy thinking?

Singapore - A proud British colony

Singapore is a proud ex British colony, is going to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the colonisation of Singapore by the British in a big way. While many ex colonies have erased everything they could from their humiliating past under the rule of colonial masters, with names like Calcutta, Bombay, Goa etc totally wiped out, Singapore retains and cherishes all the ex colonial trimmings in the island and often glorifies them. Stamford Raffles was dearly embarrassed as the white god that founded Singapore. 

The statestimereview has reported, "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also announced that he will be having an undisclosed budget to “celebrate” 200th anniversary of British colonisation of Singapore in 1819:
 
“We should commemorate this bicentennial appropriately, just as we marked the 150th anniversary in 1969. It is an important milestone for Singapore; an occasion for us to reflect on how our nation came into being, how we have come this far since, and how we can go forward together.”


1819 is indeed an important milestone in the history of Singapore. The colonisation of Singapore by the British that then turned it into its colonial outpost and commercial headquarter for ruling SE Asia was the event that transformed Singapore from a fishing village to a commercial hub, a thriving entrepot of the day. That was the foundation that contributed to what Singapore is today.
 
Many Singaporeans remember and cherish that day they read in British written history books when Singapore was colonised as a glorious day. The reason must be that without the British landing here to rob the island from the native ruler Singapore would not be what it is today. A point to note here is that Singapore was returned to the native rulers when Singapore became part of Malaysia. The British in a way handed back Singapore to the Malay rulers in 1963 to square the score. The robbing of Singapore from the native ruler ended on that day.
 
With a twist of fate, the Malay rulers gave their blessing for Singapore to be an independent state to start a new chapter from a clean slate. In 1965, Singapore became an independent country, not robbed or stolen from Malaysia. The leaders of both states signed an agreement without a gun pointing at their heads.
 
In terms of significance, 1965 is more important to Singapore as an independent nation than 1819 when it became a British colony. Singapore became a free independent country with the blessing of Malaysia, no more stolen by British raj from the Malay rulers. 1819 was a milestone, a watershed in that it was colonised by the British, similar to the colonisation of Syonan-to by Imperial Japan in 1941. They are historical milestones of Singapore's history. Singaporeans should remember these dates, 1819, 1941, 1959, 1963 and 1965 and earlier days that predates to the time of the Sri Vijaya Empire and Parameswara. I hope Singapore would never think of celebrating 1941 just like naming the Ford Museum as Syonan Museum. There are days of glory and days of infamy and both must be treated accordingly.
 
1819 is controversial. Was it a day of glory to be celebrated in a big way or a day of infamy to be remembered dearly? The white Americans remember the landing of Columbus in America as a day of discovery, Thanksgiving Day, a day to be celebrated for conquering a new land. The American natives remember it as a day of infamy, a day when their forebears were massacred by the Europeans and their land stolen from them. The natives of America would not celebrate Thanksgiving Day. That day their land was stolen by the white invaders and their forefathers killed! They knew their history. They remember the day they lost their country and the massacre.
 
Singaporeans must know our history from our own perspective, not from the perspective of the colonial masters. The sillies would still have fond memories of singing God save the king or the queen and think affectionately of the times when they were British subjects and longed to be British subjects once again. Wait till they lose this country once again and become boat people, then they will know what it is like to be stateless.

2018 - A year when sick men seek to destroy human civilisation

The UN Secretary General has issued a red alert for the new year. He knew what is coming as the sick men in power are sounding out their intent to start a nuclear war that would wipe out life on earth. The sick men are so sick that they think it is possible to start a war to their enemies but not destroying the rest of the world, including their own people and themselves. This is what Antonio Guterres said and reported in Yahoo News,
 
"In his New Year message on Sunday, Guterres said the world appeared to have "gone in reverse" before adding, "On New Year's Day 2018 I am not issuing an appeal, I am issuing an alert -- a red alert for our world."
 
He continued: "As we begin 2018, I call for unity. ... We can settle conflicts, overcome hatred and defend shared values. But we can only do that together."
 
Reflecting on his January message when he assumed the secretary-general position -- in which he called for peace -- Guterres said that conflicts have deepened, global anxieties about nuclear weapons have increased, inequalities have grown and nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise."
 
The Secretary General is still fearful of naming the sick men that are plotting and planning to start this war. He was only willing to use nuances. The whole of the UN knew who is going to start this war to bring an end to civilisation. No, stupid, it is not the North Koreans. They are building their defence capability to protect themselves from being invaded. They are defensive in nature. They did not have the capability to destroy planet earth. They are rational human beans that would not bring about their own destruction by starting a war that they cannot win but certain of being annihilated. Only the stupids believe the lies of the sick men that the North Koreans are ready to start a nuclear war, for no reasons.
 
Kim Jong Un has sent a message to South Korea for talks and his intent to send a team to participate in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Let’s hope the Koreans would not be fixed up by the sick men in Washington and Tokyo to start to kill themselves for the perpetuation of the evil Empire.
 
By now it is obvious who these sick men are. They have the capability and a nuclear arsenal that they are ready to use. They know that no one would dare to take them on as they are the number One super power and can obliterate anyone that resists. Have no doubt about it, the USA is the number warmongering nation that is bent on war and would risk a nuclear war with North Korea for the sake of their evil Empire. They flaunt their overwhelming military superiority over the North Koreans to give themselves a false confidence that all can be controlled, that they could wipe out the nuclear facilities of the North Koreans before they are launched. They are sounding out this intention to all the countries that mattered, to Russia, to China and to their allies in Europe, Japan and South Korea. Everything is on the table. They forgot the lives of all the Americans and the rest of the world are also on the table if they gamble on this abominable crime against civilisation.
 
The world enters 2018 with this threat of a nuclear world as clear and present danger, scripted and produced by the evil Empire, the USA, and waiting to be executed. And all the UN Secretary General could do was to issue a red alert. And what about the other key person that is preaching peace around the world, like the mad and sick men in Washington, the one in white robe in Vatican City? He too spoke about the dangers facing the world but unable to name the warmongers. And the warmongers continue to preach peace but planning to destroy the earth and all its people.
 
When would the rest of the world stand up to this evil bully to stop it from starting a nuclear holocaust? When would the leaders of the world come together to tell the evil warmongers to stop doing what they are planning to do? Appealing to the American people to stop their mad leaders is equally hopeless. They think it is ok to attack and destroy small and weak nations and people as long as they came out victorious, to celebrate their victory. Only when they know that their lives and homes are also on the table in a game of 'all in' and both winners and losers would lose everything would they wake up to the folly of their mad leaders.
 
Prepare for the worse to come in 2018. Unfortunately there is no where to run. The lives of the rest of the world are also on the table. The stupid allies are too oblivious of the danger facing them should the sick men in Washington press the button. Kim Jong Un has given notice that his fingers are also on the button and will respond in kind when needed. He is not going to press first. He will only respond to the sick men in Washington, the warmongers, to start this war.
 
Without an invasion of North Korea to slaughter the North Koreans, Kim Jong Un is doing a pretty good job in raising the standard of living of his people, building a new nation from scratch after the complete devastating destruction of his country by carpet bombings by the Americans during the Korean War that destroyed all infrastructure and natural features leading to droughts and famine and killing millions of his people. Without war, North Korea would be the next economic miracle in East Asia, like South Korea.
 
The crime of the Americans was conveniently passed to the North Korean govt for mismanagement when the truth was that the country was totally destroyed, and the evil Americans have on many occasions bragged about nothing man made was left standing, above 3 feet from the ground when the war came to a truce. That was how bad the country was.
 
The evil Americans are planning to repeat this dreaded feat once again, except that this time it would be nothing would be standing one feet from ground zero. And the fate would apply to some American cities. Kim Jong Un has prepared for that day with his fingers on the buttons.

How to wish everyone Happy New Year when the threat of a nuclear holocaust is awaiting everyone and doom is hanging over their heads?

Truth and Spirituality for 2018

Truth and Spirituality for 2018

By MIKOspace

Spiritual awakening begins from wisdom.  With wisdom comes understanding [1Cor14:20]. Wisdom comes with age, at least for some.  Others choose to remain as immature children [1Cor 13:11].  Those who dare to go forth, grapple with and engage the mysteries of creation and divine intentions, will discover a spiritual awakening as they mature towards a fuller understanding when living in truth and spirituality [Eph 4:13].

The expansion of consciousness involved grounding in realistic truths.  Of the perennial persistence of good and evil; of the very human tendency to act in greed and selfishness instead of love, compassion and grace; of the very unequal power balance between those with abundance and those who hungered for a small share of that abundance; of the hypocrisy of religious leaders in promoting their own interests of wealth, power and influence instead of lifting up and enhancing the lives of their followers; of the blatant exploitation by huge corporate powers to monetise the valuable labour surplus of the poor and vulnerable; of international institutions like the United Nations and international trading blocs who legitimise increasing poverty and ignore the self-evident plights of refugees from wars, child soldiers, victims of children and women trafficking, subjugation and dehumanisation of women in the name of culture, tradition and religions. 

The greatest truth of realism is that good only triumphs over evil in movies and story books; never and only occasionally, in real life.

        

I cannot remember exactly when my spiritual awakening journey actually began.  I first wrote about it around my birthday in 2004, a few years after the darkness from the passing of my beloved wife Rosie of 14 years in 1999.  Marrying the wonderfully beautiful Pingping in 2012 began a new celestial galactic cycle according to the ancient Mayan calendar, as eternity continues to unfold and expand my consciousness by revealing new truths.

For a vast majority of Christian believers, the “abundant” life promised in [John 10:10] is characterised by poverty, want, pain and disappointments.   They are lulled and deluded by their priests and pastors, often using human psychological sciences and the science of economic, to blame themselves for their conditions.  They blind their believers to the obvious and glaring abundance enjoyed by priests and pastors, unbelievers as well as others who are less righteous and criminals, and the gullible and naïve mass of believers accept their fate to be vastly poorer and hungrier believers to value instead the divine promise that “the poor will inherit the kingdom of God” [Luke 6:20].   Indeed, the poor has inherited the trash, sand, mud, wastelands and deserts, while every resources, food and built infrastructures are owned and controlled by the powerful others.    

The conventional human wisdom is that religion today has made mankind better.  One easily points to World Vision and other similar Christian organisations whose humanitarian work among refugees, children, women and the sick, setting up food distributions, hospitals and establishing missions as evidence of beneficial religiosity without being spiritual or evangelistic.  Indeed, they are essentially human enterprises, being spiritually Christian only in name or association, but who understand the real human condition only too well. 

Strangely, the “success” of philanthropic Christian organisations adds little to empower and embolden a deeper spirituality in Christians who yearn, naturally, for a more intimate connection to something or someone greater then themselves. 

Religious work does not add to Christian spirituality, which is the original intention of God’s revelation as the human Jesus Christ. Religious transcendence over spirituality makes religion both anti-God and anti-Christ.  In truth, religion - in its self-focus and self-importance - denies God as the source and essence of all goodness and the motivator of all things loving and healing.  Religion is therefore anti-spirituality.  

Spirituality is diluted and overwhelmed by religion. Spiritual awakening re-establishes the deep sense of authentic identity in every human being.  The immediate evidence is the realisation and discovery of eternity, a sense of timelessness, which in turn acts to transform daily living and relationships with new ways and experiences.  St Paul also refers to this sensation as “the peace that surpassed understanding” [Phil 4:7].

Spirituality cannot be understood by conventional human logic or scientific reason.  In this sense, spirituality is supernatural.  Insofar as our spiritual awakening unfolds, the new realities shall emerge gradually in our consciousness, and our own construction of new social realities quickly manifested in changed behaviors becomes self-evident to others around us. True spiritual growth results in personal development as one expresses the new realities unfolding in our sub-conscience made self-aware by a heightened consciousness.

Spiritual inspiration provokes new understanding of the universe which would fire the human imagination for creative outcomes.  Truths are revealed as the Holy Spirit teaches and provides profound understanding to revisit our knowledge in new perspectives.  New and revised truths immediately set free the human consciousness hitherto trapped in a self-imposed prison constructed with man-made religious and human worldviews to be able to see things “as directed with God’s eyes” [Psalm 32:8].  Suddenly, the enlightened universe lights up as the Holy Spirit lifts you out of human ignorance into divine illumination. Trust me, I know.

Spirituality is individual [Job 33:4].  Collective or communal spirituality, even in a gathering of self-proclaimed spiritual people, does not exist.   Spiritual persons are naturally anti-religion since religion is essentially anti-spiritual.  

Living with spirituality means drawing upon God’s own creative essence – His Spirit [or “ruach” in Hebrew] – for the energy, inspiration and motivation in living the eternity life here at this time.  A wise man chooses only to live a spiritual life.  For him or her, religion is optional and often unnecessary. 

Every Christian has direct access to Jesus and God, who are both one and the same.  There is no need for pastors, priests and “saints” to be intermediaries with God.  Quite contrary to man-made religious teachings, each individual Christian is a “temple” of God and that the “Spirit of God dwells” in him or her [1Cor 3:16].   Since the Holy Spirit exists in every Christian, there is no need to build human structures, however grandeur, as testaments to the Creator God.  Man is God’s greatest creation and mankind is his lasting crowning testament. Therefore, “collective” worship is laudable but not mandatory. And the bible establishes a group of only three to be sufficient for communal worship [Matt 18:20].  

Ultimately, it is the individual Christian who is responsible and held accountable to God, not the collective “Church” [Rom 14:12].

Change is fundamental in living the eternal life.  The future is constantly unveiling itself.  The universe is in a constant state of change.   Meaning, life and everything around us are in a perpetual process of unveiling and evolving, of becoming into some eventual final state. Religion however teaches constancy as the key characteristic of the universe.  Living with spirituality means living with the certainty of change but without the fear of the unknown because the Holy Spirit – God Himself – will empower the believer with the knowledge of things to come [John 16:13].  Know again that in Christianity, there is absolutely no need for pastors, priests or “saints” to be intermediaries with God.  

A calm sense of the unknown follows spiritual awakening and spiritual inspiration leads to wisdom.   Wisdom is the principle of living in complete spiritual awareness that God is the guiding principle in living the eternal life to grow, lead and act with the highest endowed human potential.  For me, spiritual awakening parallels my life of service.  I realise that living the eternal life in the present in truth and spirituality is hard work and active.  It is not armchair activism.  Nor is it simply attending church services and praying that “God, the mission need is great, please send the other guys and I shall pray for them!”    

True spirituality empowers you to nurture compassion, and develop in others a greater capacity for love and for you to receive their love in turn. When you are at your best authentic self as you live in truth and spirituality, you will enjoy the eternal life in the present without fear or limit to bring out the spirituality in others as well. 

Readers are invited to share in the “expansion of consciousness” experience in 2018. 

  .

Best social political blog and blogger

This is the time of the year when people sit back to relax and to reflect on the happenings of the year. The main media and several industries and organizations have been holding events to honour their champions, like best journalists, best actor and actress, best author etc etc. It has been nearly two decades since social media burst into the scene of news reporting, reporting news of the people, news that the people think are relevant and interesting to them, soldiering tirelessly without any form of financial reward. Just think of the hundreds of thousands that are being paid to full time news makers and reporters and the pittance or zero being paid to part time social political writers in the social media, it is like what they said, a thankless task and with the risks of being on the wrong side of the political divide and ending up behind bars or bankrupt or run road.
 
Perhaps it is time that social media readers and bloggers do something to honour this group of tireless soldiers banging away at the keyboards to air what the main media would not want to print. I was hoping that the bigger and more popular sites like TRE, Statestimereview or TOC would do the honour to put up some awards to give recognition to the relentless efforts of the bloggers, to keep the social and political news flowing to satisfy readers hungry for alternative news.
 
While waiting for them to come up with something in this line of thought, I would like to suggest two awards, one for the Best Social Political Blog and one for the Best Social Political blogger. Readers here can submit the names of their favourite blogs and bloggers and we can hold a small survey to honour them. The rewards would not be any monetary kind, just a name, Best Social Political Blog and Best Social Political Blogger. For the latter I have a few suggestions, Phillip Ang, Cynical Investor, Leong Sze Hian to start the ball rolling.
 
As I am initiating this project, mysingaporenews and redbean should be excluded from the nomination as there is an issue of conflict of interest. There are many blogs and bloggers out there to be recognised and honoured for keeping the readers informed of the real and important stuff that one would not read in the main media. This is a highly essential role that must be filled if the people are to be kept well informed and not be misled by fake news or biased news from the main media. These bloggers keep a balance of what is real and what is unreal and maintain a sense of sanity in this world of fabricated truths.
 
This is an effort to honour the people that are really making the news out of a genuine interest to produce news that affect our country and people, unlike those that did it for financial rewards. Not that it is wrong to do so for monetary benefits or for a living. It is that much more meaningful doing it out of passion, justice and righteousness.
 
Many bloggers and blogs must have contributed to the readers knowledge of current affairs and helped them to form clearer and informed views of things and events. They deserved your support and recognition. Please get the ball rolling.

Australia – Attack not terror related

This was the headline of the ramming of pedestrians in a crowd in Melbourne and with subtitles, “People were flying everywhere. We heard ‘thump, thump’. People were running everywhere.”
And the assailant was a 32 year old Australian of Afghan descent. This guy has a string of minor offences, maybe a bit mad, so not terror related. Altogether 19 people were hurt and 4 seriously.
 
The Australians can continue to hide under a state of denial, not terrorism, so ok. They can pretend that this is just an accident. And they can go on believing in their self delusion. No these foreigners are not there to kill the Australians. This is just a natural reverse order, that the Asians are coming back, to take on the white men, the Europeans that conquered, colonized, robbed and looted their countries, killing many of their people. Now they are coming back for the white Europeans, to inflict into them the same pain and terror their forefathers suffered under the hands of the forefathers of these Europeans. They are coming back to take back what belongs to the Asians and Africans.
 
This development has been going on for decades in Europe and the USA. The Afro Asians are going to breed themselves to replace the non breeding Europeans not just in Australia, but in their homeland in Europe and the stolen land from the native Americans. With the dwindling European populations and the propensity the Afro Asians are multiplying themselves, the European as a civilization would go extinct in a matter of a century or so.
 
The Afghans in Australia are not terrorists. They are there just to reclaim land robbed and stolen by the Europeans from the natives outside Europe. Since the days the white convicts were dumped into this piece of land, they have been arrogating themselves as the overlord of the natives, bullying them and stealing their lands.

The white Australians did not stop there. They have been bullying their neighbours, the Indonesians, the Papua New Guineans, the Timorese and the natives of Pacific Islands. They were also part of the American Empire, terrorising every country in the world, including China.

Is was lunacy for Turnbull to tell China that Australians have stood up, in particular to China when the fact is that since they were dumped into this region, they were strutting around like a cock, no matter that they were convicts and descendants of convicts. They had never been lying down, they were screwing everyone with their cock standing.

China bullying the little Sheriff of SE Asia? When did that happen? Just because now they could not have their ways, they are accusing China of bullying them. The Australians should not worry about being bullied. Once the non whites become a majority, they are going to make the white Australians kneel and bend to their demands for a fair and more equitable share of the stolen land and its wealth. And if the white Australians think of resisting they would be driven back to Europe. And the shock awaiting them is that Europe is also taken over by the Africans and Arabs.

Your days are numbered, mate. 50 years at the most, and the land would be returned to rightful owners. Your arrogance and pomposity are going to be a fleeting past, history. There will be no more white Australia just like there is no more white South Africa, no more white America, no more white Europe.

Next PM, a succession plan that was not there

The statestimesreview has posted an article on Inderjit’s comment about Hsien Loong’s succession plan, and that is too late and too little. Here are a few paragraphs of the post,

‘Former PAP MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC Inderjit Singh yesterday (Dec 26) criticised Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for dilly dallying on his decision for a successor, saying that it is already too late to choose one now. The ex-PAP member said the successor should have at least 10 years of experience as a Deputy Prime Minister as preparation before taking up the PM role, like as was the case for Goh Chok Tong and Lee Hsien Loong:

“The next PM should ideally have served for two terms as a deputy and be given the exposure and responsibility on major policies before he or she can confidently take on the job. The future Prime Minister should have started taking key duties by now… It is already too late.”….

Former PAP NMP Eugene Tan told state media Today that he is worried that the new PAP administration have no time to be ready for governance:

“For a government that has always emphasised renewal and succession, this raises legitimate questions about the readiness of the fourth generation leadership, if not about the much vaunted process. By the time PM Lee steps down, he (could) be the oldest of our Prime Ministers.”

There are currently two front runners for the PM race – former army general Minister Chan Chun Sing and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. The army general however lack etiquette and depth to lead due to his numerous gaffes. Minister Heng Swee Keat may be more thoughtful and measured his words and actions, but his health was a major concern after he suffered a stroke during a Cabinet meeting in 2016. …’

My question, is there really a plan? PAP always bragged about its meticulous planning and thought processes, to be proactive, to plan ahead, and the succession plan cannot be an exception.

Taking Inderjit’s thinking, a typical PAP mindset that foretold of a dynastic thinking behind everything, that a political party is so entrenched that it has taken for granted that all the future PMs will be from the PAP, and PAP would forever be in power.  With these assumptions, a PM must undergo 10 year apprenticeship to be fit to be a PM, to have time to learn the ropes on how to do the job of a PM. Without this training no one is fit to be a PM. This is typical ruling party hogwash.

How many PMs or Presidents in the world have such a privilege and opportunity to undergo 10 years or more of apprenticeship? And how did they perform for those that went through formal apprenticeship scheme and those that did not? Were those that had gone through political apprenticeship performed better than those without?

According to this PAP mantra, the one with apprenticeship scheme must be performing very well against those that did not. So opposition parties that won an election would be bound to fail as they would not have the chance for apprenticeship scheme, not just to be PM, but also as ministers and MPs.

Given that this is a serious premise to start with, why are the two potential PM material not acting PMs like Chok Tong and Hsien Loong to prepare them for the job? Why were the two DPMs appointed when they are not going to be the next PM and having the privilege of acting as PMs, ie learning the ropes?

Is this not queer? If there is a succession plan, it has to be put in place at least 5 years ago, with the crowned prince appointed and going through his apprenticeship. Who is the next crown prince and undergoing apprenticeship training? None? If this is the answer, where is the succession plan? It is one thing to put it into motion and another to talk about it without implementing it.

If Chan Chun Sing and Heng Swee Kiat are the successors and be put to take on heavier responsibilities, then the two DPMs would have nothing to do. How can, paying two multi million dollar DPMs for doing nothing?

The other reality or truth, many heads of govt around the world did not have the privilege of an apprenticeship scheme and are doing fine, very fine, excellent in their jobs. How much value should one put into such a political apprenticeship scheme except for princes of kingdoms and sons of dictatorship?

An apprenticeship scheme is not the prerequisite to become a PM or to become a good PM. A dud will never learn or will not learn anything good. Political leadership often is not nurtured but a product of history, a leader of the time thrown out by society and circumstances to deal with the issues of state and people’s livelihood. A leader in most circumstances is born and made by the events of the time, by history, a calling. A textbook leader is just what it is, a textbook leader.

Is Singapore a state of the USA?

The media has reported widely about the corruption case involving Keppel O&M and a Brazilian company. And somehow the US Justice Dept is the authority on this case as if it has jurisdiction over Keppel O&M operating in Brazil or jurisdiction over commercial crimes in Brazil. Below are some details of the case posted by Kenneth Jeyaretnam in TRE.
 
‘Quietly over Christmas the US Justice Department announced that it had reached a deferred prosecution agreement with Keppel Offshore and Marine. Under the agreement Keppel O & M, a unit of Keppel Corp, will pay $422 million to resolve charges that it paid $55 million in bribes to Brazilian politicians to win business from the state oil company Petrobras, an offence under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
 
According to the WSJ, “Keppel admitted in court documents that it paid about $55 million in bribes to officials at Brazilian state-owned oil company Petróleo Brasileiro and the then-governing party in Brazil from 2001 to 2014 to win 13 contracts with Petrobras, as the company is also known, and another company. It paid the bribes through outsize commissions to an intermediary, who in turn made payments to the officials and the political party, prosecutors said.”’
 
Keppel O&M committed an offence under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? OK, one of the parties involved in the corruption is a US citizen. This person could be charged under US law. Does this mean that Keppel O&M, a Singaporean company operating, maybe registered in Brazil would also come under an American Law, governed by an American Law? How could this be? How could this happen? Is Singapore or Brazil a subject member of the American Empire that an American Law can be applied over them?
 
I can’t believe this. This is just like the Americans legislating a law to conduct relations with Taiwan and telling China to obey and respect this American Law. Like that the Americans can fabricate all kinds of laws to govern all the countries in the world.
 
Can other countries also legislate laws to govern citizens and organisations of other countries including American citizens and corporations? Can China, Russia or Singapore come out with their own Foreign corrupt Practices Act to apply to everyone, including Americans?
 
If the crime of Keppel O&M were committed in US territory, there is no question about US jurisdiction. This offence was committed in Brazil, why would Keppel O&M subject itself to American laws and sheepishly and willingly admit to the crime, accept the fines of an American court?
 
I don’t see why Keppel O&M should submit itself to American jurisdiction, to be judged by the American courts, with no objection, no protest as if this is a right and normal thing to do, and so happy about it. Are Singaporeans subjects of the American Empire?
 
The American Empire rules! Singapore has to accept the rule of the American Empire? Singapore and Brazil are sovereign states, not states within the USA.