be rewarded for everything you do

this is actually an advert by hsbc on the front page of today paper.. what is interesting is that a big article on teachers leaving the service has this headline 'look beyond pay and career issues.' the article by victor ng beng li has an equally interesting starting paragraph..'the moe is planning to pay consultants good money to review teachers' pay and career structures...those who choose to leave or avoid the teaching profession are influenced not only by lacklustre remuneration or unpromising career prospects.' is victor suggesting that the good money should go to the teachers instead? but then again the headline said teachers should look beyond pay.. that explains it.. no need to pay teachers more.. just pay the consultants will solve the problem. unfortunately the teaching service is not noted for corruption. otherwise that would be a good reason to pay them more.. the only reason for paying them more now is to pay them enough not to leave. victor then provided 9 areas for the moe to look into.. i agree with doing away with assessments of senior teachers annually. i also agree with the quota of 5% D graders.. how could this be introduced in the first place? by having this quota, 5% of teachers, no matter how good, are already condemned before the assessment starts. but i think it is a bit exaggerated to suggest that it is too much of a chore for teachers to collect fees, forms, donation money etc.. the donation money part should be seen as an education in its own right. then the presumption that the teaching service is a demanding and stressful profession which implies that other professions are not demanding and stressful, is not really a good argument. quite a confusing article.. a simple solution to the problem, perhaps, tongue in cheek, is to create a myth that teachers too can be corrupt.. i say creating a myth, so teachers don't be angry with me.. that would provide a very good reason to jack up the salary of teachers to a level where they will beg to stay in the service. then there will be no problem of stress, unattractive career prospect, no prestige or self esteem etc.

the andrew kuan sorry

derrick paulo reported in the today paper, 'it all began when someone leaked a story to the media that mr andrew kuan had been 'ousted' from his condominium's management council in may 2001.' all because andrew kuan offered himself as a presidential candidate. and the story ended with andrew kuan saying sorry, paying damages, and all the negative things being said about him. that is the price andrew kuan paid for wanting to stand for public office. 'mr chia, a partner with khattar wong and a people's action party member, dismissed any notion that his actions were politically motivated.. "its absolutely nothing to do with politics. it's my reputation."' this is a great victory for justice, for telling the truth.. and andrew kuan apologised unreservedly to chia for the embarrassment and distress the statements had caused him. it is also a lesson for people with skeletons in their cupboard not to offer themselves for political office. our political system is for squeaky clean people.. absolutely no blemishes.

cyberspace forumers all sound and fury

tan sai siong took a dig at forumers in blogosphere for so much sound and fury but hiding behind a pseudonym or remaining anonymous.. she lambasted all the forumers for not taking their cries to the real stage, to stand for election.. she presumed that forumers all are eager to stand. actually any forumer here would be able to write a stronger piece to hit out at cyberspace forumers.. i would be able to write a more interesting and teasing piece in the same vein.. it is so easy to take pot shots at forumers and even getting frontpage coverage in the local media. but for forumers to lash out at the establishment is a different thing.. forumers, like i say, also have a voice now to tell their stories.. but this is a naked voice.. unprotected voice.. and forumers hitting out unjustifiably better be very careful.. for you do not know when the wall will come crumbling down. no forumers can expect any coverage from the media for being too gungho.. their posts will simply be ignored.. maybe i shall write a piece to ridicule cyberspace forumers.. in that way it will have a chance to be on print. forumers must always understand that they are on their own.. whatever they post, they are soley responsible.. and alone, when ask to face the music. three cheers to sai siong for such an enlightened piece. or maybe she was trying to encourage cyberspace forumers to step forward, to get into the ring.. a woman's way of saying things.

local talents can do well

look at mardan mamat! look at him! how much did we as a nation supported him financially to this big success? i think panwest paid him more. thank you panwest. this is the homegrown talent that we should be supporting and put our money in. even if mardan be as big as vijay, wherever he goes, he will call himself singaporean. those bought talents, unless they are from countries with traditional and cultural links with us, many will throw away our passports once they move out. an african will go back to call himself african again. we need to save all the precious money to nurture our own talents and in sports where we stand a chance of winning. football and athletics are two sports that we can forget about. we are physically not build to compete internationally in these sports. spend some money for the sports, but don't put too much hope in them. the football and footballers shall be an industry on its own, a commercial enterprise and supported by the money it can generate. let them have their fun. but be more careful on spending taxpayer's money on this sport.

tudungs not compulsory in malaysian schools

hishamuddin, the malaysian education minister, a potential pm, said muslim girls should not be forced to wear tudungs in schools. 'according to education ministry rules and regulations, it is very clear there is no compulsion for students to wear tudung.' in the same article reported in the straits times, marina mahathir even said that 'muslim women here are only going backwards...only in malaysia are muslim women regressing...it is all politics. there's a kind of race to see who is more islamic. it is unfortunate because the more conservative voice has become louder while the progressive ones find it harder to speak. it's scary.' it is scary indeed. a fatwah might be issued against her, just like against muslim madonna for stripping her veil to reveil her bikini. the threat against conservative muslim is very serious. what perhaps can be done is for the muslim leaders to form a body to outlaw extreme groups as non muslim or anti muslim. this will turn the table and allow them to point their fingers instead of being pointed at.