wp so foolish to fight in angmokio

a letter by a harry chia said that low thia khiang is so foolish to waste 5 or 6 candidates in angmokio. he is so foolishly sure that the wp will lose. no doubt i will think that the wp will lose. 99% sure in my view. but can people be so certain that tomorrow the sun will rise? the judgement is that it is a forgone conclusion. this is like god speaking. knowing the future. though i don't think wp will win, i still think that it is not a bad idea to contest at angmokio. let's not take things for granted. not to take the voters for granted. in a fair contest, in a fair election, you don't really know the results until the fat lady stands out to sing. why would people take risk, be entrepreneurs, try the impossible? singaporeans will not?

president's salary increases by another $115k

they are increasing the president's salary again, what to $2.5 million? from the perspective of those who are earning in the millions, what's wrong, just another what 5%. small change. from the point of view of those who are earning $1200, this must be madness. but then the argument is that there is only one president. so in terms of percentage against the whole economy or govt wage bill, it is so small. when a person is earning $1200, give him $1000, it will change his life. if one is earning in the millions, given him another $1 million, very likely the comment will be peanuts. and the money will not make any difference to him except to inflate the already inflated savings account. how a nation distributes its wealth and who or how many people will benefit from the nation's wealth is an issue which the academics will have a world of a time discussing it. oh, all the poor citizens will get some, don't worry, it is very fair. the poor will be well looked after.

is there a problem?

i am not too sure about this. but what i have gathered so far is that a born singaporean can only exercise his right to become a citizen of another country only when he attains the age of 21. this means that all male singaporeans who intend to take up another citizenship will still be a defaulter if he does not serve his ns. he is thus liable to be charged in court when he steps into singapore even if he is now a foreign citizen. cannot even be a pr here until after he has been charged as a defaulter. 'sway' to be born a singaporean. if born from anywhere else, malaysia, india or china, or indonesia, can come here and work as pr and be treated as a foreign talent. there is no possibility for the govt to accede to a request to defer ns pending application for foreign citizenship at 21. so technically cannot escape.

nkf to review its mission - khaw boon wan

i am wondering what is nkf? is it a national hospital with responsibility to look after kidney patients and the problem of kidney diseases at the national level? or is it a charity set up to help kidney patients who cannot afford the expensive treatment? from the way boonwan talked about nkf's future roles and responsibilities, looks like nkf is a national hospital with national responsibilities. then it is better to privatise it and run efficiently as a profit organisation. no need donations from the public. if it is set up as a charity, then it must be able to reduce the cost of treatment for the patients. setting up all the clinics and running at a cost higher or almost as high as a profit making hospital does not justify its existence. it is better for nkf to concentrate on subsidising the medical cost of patients from donated money. return or sell the clinics to the govt or private hospitals to run them at lower cost and better efficiency. (hi anonymous, trying to locate your latest post on this but couldn't find it.)

no shame in being poor - speedwing

i fully agree with speedwing that there is no shame is being poor. often in life a person is dealt a poor hand and got to live with it and make the best out of it. for the religious, there are many reasons for life to be this way or that way. society has looked at poverty differently. and there is often the intent to want to help, but just enough for the poor to continue to eke out a living, to extend their life in misery. no poor people can expect society to feed them and cloth them and to live well. but the poor needs help and help will be given, on conditions. this brings to the issue of means testing. my personal view on this is that the poor is already poor. help them if one can. no need to humiliate them more by subjecting them to embarrassing questions. the argument that there will be those who aren't really poor but will take advantage of the help given is valid but not really that serious. this can be dealt with on a case by case basis. the people in authority somehow find it so easy and comfortable to ask for means testing. what is means testing? basically it demands a person to be stripped naked for another person or a group of people to see, to inspect his finances. i have seen some of the questions asked in the forms issued by charitable organisations. many were simply intrusive and out of line with the realities of life. but basically the questions intend to make sure that the person being checked is penniless, totally broke. how many are so desperate when earning $1,200 is now considered poor and needed help. and this is officially acknowledged. many financial checks are way behind time. but that is not the point. the person who thinks that it is acceptable to subject another human beings to this kind of humiliating checks must be prepared to put himself through the same process. many people have asked that the people in authority declare their assets. but it all falls silence. who in his right mind would allow people to peep into their finances and personal matters? if this is objectionable to the rich, then it is objectionable to the poor too. both deserve some respect as a human being. many poor would rather suffer in silence and in poverty that than to lose their pride. the recent case of the 3 children who missed school is only a drop in the ocean. yes, those who have may say, if you are poor, when your stomach is empty, when you needed help, what is pride? should society be so harsh and passionless to treat a person in dire straits in a callous and insensitive way?