immersion, the nature of things

the new myth, immersion is the way to go. with immersion, the wolves will understand the sheep better and vice versa. get them together, and they will live happily ever after. god has created these creatures called wolves and sheep. and i don't think it was his intention for them to live happily together. each is specialised in his role. each has his own destiny. if humans were to put 100 wolves in a herd of sheep, very likely a few hundred sheep will be eaten or torn to pieces. that is the nature of things. perhaps one sissified wolf may become sheepish and pretend that it can live with the sheep and eat grass. 'when the lions eat grass and live peacefully with the sheep.' this only happens in heaven. not on earth. but humans are not wolf or sheep. that is true. human is all animals. a human can be a wolf and also a sheep. or a hyenas or a cow. the human spirit is very adaptable. it can be anything. but each has his own destiny. each is meant for different things and shall walk his own path. not necessary that they shall meet in person. they can meet in other areas, in thoughts, in policy decisions, in statistics. when the wolves become sheep or sheep become wolves, the whole eco system will falter and be destroyed. the way, nature's way is the way. everything will go in cycles.

malaysia must learn from singapore

malaysia has a lot of land and landed properties. and the rich have invested their savings in many properties. there is a huge temptation to jack up the prices of properties so that they can reap a huge profit from their investments, like in singapore, where a flat can cost half a million to several millions. even govt built flats can reach more than half a million on a 99 year lease. malaysia must curb this desire to push up the price of housing and ended up with high housing cost. once done it cannot be unwind without very nasty consequences. by keeping housing cheap, car cheap, and essential services cheap, it can keep the cost of living low. this will mean that it does not need to raise the cost of its labour and can remain compeititive in the international labour market. with a lower cost of living, there will also be lesser pressure on the people to demand for bigger pay packet. unlike in singapore, without a big pay packet there are just not enough to lead a decent lifestyle. but keeping a high pay packet, which is very necessary given the high cost of everything, it becomes uncompetitive. when the time comes for downgrading, many will suffer. malaysia must learn and not to repeat such a mistake at a national scale. it is very nice to hear of owning a multi million property. but it is a vicious circle and more is needed to keep up with that kind of price. at the end of it, it will price itself out of the market. the material worth of a person is not the dollars that he earns but how much can the dollar buys.

nkf, testing the institutions

nkf is no longer a singular isolated case of mismanagement, corruption, exploitation, deceit, and abuse of power. it is now seen as a test case against all the institutions that we have been led to believe, all the cornerstones of our clean and efficient country. it brought into question our world renowned systems of management, corporate governance, how we are able to tackle corruption, how power corrupts, how easily the people are deceived, and even how our justice system could end up serving injustice at the expense of the poor who have no money to buy their own justice. we are now a nation under scrutiny on what we believe are good, effective and superior to the rest of the world. everything is now under the microscope. will we be able to weather and survive this crisis and prove that our systems and beliefs really work. or they are all myths or poor and groundless assumptions that cannot stand the test of time. what have gone wrong? why were past truths no longer truths?

USA is number 1. number ONE war mongering nation!

with the looming attack on iran on the card, with all the equipment and personnel ready, what it needs is for bush to say go. and we will have war again, and many innocents will die, iranians, iraelis and american boys. sons of chicken george and jeremiah, sons of italian americans and afro americans. but not the children of kennedy's or the bushes. the united nations and the world must stand up to this aggressive and hostile nation's bullying. the world bodies must put a stop to war, that war is not an option among civilised nations. and the usa called itself a civilised nation. it is number one in the number of wars it is engaging around the world. is the world blind? where are the righteous and god fearing people who denounce war, who denounce killings and even death penalties, but let bush and the usa to go around killing innocent people in the thousands. and many will stand up and support the killings by the americans. the whole world is full of hypocrits. shame to the united nations, shame to all the world leaders, for allowing this mad man and his madness to go on, unrestrained. what is the point of scrambling to be members or permanent members of the security council when no one can deter the usa from launching wars and naming their enemies? why is there no free press, western press to conduct a survey to name the most dangerous country in the world? where are the pressmen? oh but the most dangerous countries are from the axis of evil, including north korea, all waiting to be attacked by the most friendly nation, the usa.

nation building, when money is enough

we are going to spend billions in upgrading and redevelopment, providing more recreational facilities and given old estates a facelift. we could pump in $160 million to add in controversial features in an already over used and over crowded park. the singapore incorporation is on a buying spree around the world, buying everything that is attractive as an investment. compare these to the 1960s when the govt's coffer is practically empty. when everything that we wanted to purchase were either on credit or foreign aid. when public facilities were basic and shared by the whole neighbourhood. people had to watch tv at open air community centres. one tv for a few hundreds when it is now not new for one tv in every room, even in toilets. back to today, govt could push up all costs and prices of essential services, passing the buck of personal medical needs and personal well beings to the people. forcing people to save monies in amounts that they have not seen in their lives. we are in a state of abundance. when money is enough, to the state. never have we so much money that we have problems trying to spend them. and have to agonise for the lack of valuable ideas to make these monies really beneficial to the people. monies are seen to be spent on extravagance, on the frills, and for thrills. on the other hand we have people who are really feeling the pinch. many people are in a state when money is not enough. when life is still quite miserable, making ends meet, saving a few cents here and there to cover expenses in other areas. when tomorrow is another day of adjustments and to stretch every dollar. why is there such a huge gap, where money is more than enough at the national level and not enough at the individual level? public policies and public administration, statecraft, and nation building, all have something to do with the well being of the people and the distribution of wealth and welfare to the people. are we failing in this area? it is unforgiveable if we do, when there is plenty at the state's disposable but not reaching out to the people. it is like the nkf, with $260 million in reserve and kidney patients are still being turned away, dying, or continue to pay high treatment fees with minimum subsidies. and that is called good management and charity. we need to get our priorities right. our national wealth must be put to good uses to benefit the people. hsien loong's new year message covered many grounds, the citizens, the lower income group, the older workers, the aged and the ns men, are all in the radar screen. we are all going to move together, sharing the wealth of the nation. the issue is how are the people going to share the wealth of the nation? how would the less able and not so well endowed be made to live life a little easier? all the monies spent on physical upgradings? are they really that essential and necessary to uplift the lives of the lower income people? could they be put to better use by directly contributing to relieve the cost of livings of these people? could national resources be diverted to areas that really counts, the daily cost of commuting to work, the food cost, education, and medical fees. would there be a rethink, that the state really has a responsibility to look after the people and not to pass the buck back to the people in every area? the people pay taxes, enormous amount of taxes in gst, income tax, property tax and corporate taxes, road tax, import tax etc. everyone contributes according to his ability to the nation's growth. some are exploited and the benefits of their contribution still go to the state in some way. the people deserves to be taken care of by the state when they are unable to do so. and the state shall return some wealth to the people by reducing their cost of living. a little angpow from nss is but a little angpow that last for a few weeks at the most. it is the daily chores and expenses that must be really looked into. we need to rethink on how to manage a nation when money is more than enough. do we create a system that results in many being unable to afford to live in and have to depend on handouts? or shall we create a system that is affordable for the masses who can live their lives in dignity though with some deprivation?