general election : my manifesto version 1.01

1. we will turn singapore into a global city of the future with standards of living better than the swiss. 2. housing. our motto is to strive for talents and we reward talents. our talents will live in landed properties or posh condos. those not talents will live in 2 and 3 room design and build flats. 3. quality living for the talents. the most talented can look forward to a lifestyle of the rich and famous, with all kinds of resorts and entertainments and the world class theatres to watch phua chu kang. 4. we will not forget the poor. we will provide them with budget facilities including budget transport system and budget foodcourts. 5. medical facilities will be the best. and we will make sure that every citizen will have enough in their medisave to pay for it and no one will be deprived of treatment. 6. education. we will have the best fuzzy education system designed specially to fit every student. they can take a 10 year course or a 20 year course at their own time as long as they can afford the fees which will be affordable. 7. high income for the talents. talents can expect incomes in the millions. no talents will also be looked after by the govt's generous billion dollar welfare schemes.

horie's pursuit of profit goal

"The sense of ethics is crumbling to a crisis level," Eda said. "The government must take these cases seriously.".... PURSUIT OF PROFITS Prosecutors say Horie and three other executives who were also arrested had sought to boost share prices by spreading false information, issuing new shares to "acquire" firms already under its control and then selling them for a profit to pad its books.... Horie said in his Web diary on Sunday he had no recollection of doing anything illegal... The Livedoor case has prompted calls to beef up Japan's securities watchdog, as well as laments about the unabashed pursuit of wealth for which Horie was well known.... "The Livedoor shock has poured cold water not only on stock prices, but on Mr. Horie's often-emphasized view that money is everything," said an editorial in the Mainichi newspaper. "We should not pursue fleeting profit. We should take Mr Horie's arrest as an opportunity to think about this."... Horie has many fans, especially among a younger generation who admired his innovative tactics and flashy lifestyle, and some saw his arrest as a reprisal from the "Old Japan" establishment which he had snubbed. A dropout from the prestigious University of Tokyo, Horie set up Livedoor's predecessor, Livin' On the Edge, a decade ago with just $50,000 in capital. By adopting an aggressive acquisition strategy and promoting himself as a brand symbol, he turned that into market capital of more than $6 billion just before last week's raid. the above are extracts from reuters business news about the japanese wonder kid who rose to fame and fortune and now is under police custody. many of the facts and things said are very familiar. i believe he will have many admirers here.

general election : fight on 4 issues

the wp comes out with a 52 page manifesto. the pap chooses 4 as time bombs and cornered the wp to fight on these 4 issues. for the moment the pap is taking the initiative to launch an assault at wp, especially at the two leaders low thia khiang and sylvia lim. would the wp be cornered and let the pap set the agenda for the fight? eng hen challenged the wp, lets fight on these 4 issues. very neat. surely the wp is not going to confine itself with just 4 issues. there are hundreds of issues to be debated. how wide will the battlefield be? given the resources of the pap and so many ministers still in the background, waves of attack can be expected to follow suit. there will be increasing pressure with more coordinated atacks as the election approaches. the campaign trail has started, sooner than the announcement of an election. is it a good thing to start the fight so early? would the issues be talked to death and people be bored by the time the election actually started? sometimes harping on issues too early and too often may lose its novelty and impact. would it be better to throw them out hot in the midst of the election instead of discussing now when the election could even be delayed to god knows when. the date has yet to be fixed. lets hope the contestants will fight fairly and not hit under the belt. lets hope the issue will boil and be properly fried during the actual election campaign.

general election : factors favouring the opposition

below are my initial take on what may favour the oppositions? 1. need for change. too many things have been taken for granted by the ruling party that they no longer appreciate their significance. these include the intangibles that are not talked about but kept within the hearts. 2. high salary. the recent increase to the president's salary will send more votes to the opposition. this is a clear sign of how insensitive the ruling party has become. 3. cpf retention. no one knows how strong is the feeling of dissent over money retained in the cpf. 4. nkf. it is generally seen as a govt's problem and failure. and the associated events have many unfavourable implications against the ruling party. 5. foreign talent. another issue that digs deep inside the electorate but not well articulated to appear as a serious problem. but it is a serious problem that cannot be swept under the carpet. 6. hdb. the pricing of hdb and the declining value of ownership is gaining importance as a source of grievance. 7. transport fares. this issue seems to be underestimated by the govt and may cost a lot of votes to land on the opposition's lap. 8. unemployment. includes those who are displaced from well paying jobs and ended in low paying jobs. 9. erosion of moral authority. the casino will lose votes from the diehard moralists. and the exposure of several flawed personalities among the elite have shaken the faith of many strong believers.

general election : factors favouring pap

with the approaching general elections, it is time to kopitiam talk about the fight for power and the who and the what of the election. lets start with a preliminary take of the position of the ruling party and the opposition. i will like to touch first on what favours pap in the general election? 1. track record. some people are happy with what pap has done and think this is good enough. 2. opposition weakness. if the opposition cannot present good and decent candidates in the eyes of the electorate. 3. organisation strength. grassroot and party organisations and membership. 4. finances. pap has superior finances to run the election campaign and to finance the candidates, including deposits. 5. grcs. the opposition will have problem fielding enough candidates to contest in grcs. 6. promise of goodies and handouts. 7. the candidates are mostly known. the party is known. all its goodness and warts. more predictable for those who fear to thread on uncertainties. 8. intangibles. favourable things that are difficult to describe or quantify. this is possibly the strongest unaccountable factor that the opposition will have to contend with but with no replies.