a half causeway is not a causeway

syed hamid did the sensible thing by asking malaysian politicians not to make comments on the bridge while the negotiation is still on.. this is different from the gagging of non muslims from discussing islam.. the appeal to tone down the heated talks is to help the negotiation process. as for the cutting of the causeway, lets look at it from another angle.. if both parties are owners of a house or bridge, can one party decide unilaterally to cut it into two? a half house or half bridge is neither a house or a bridge.. this is not just breaking down a dividing wall. when a bridge is no longer a bridge, or when a causeway is no longer a causeway, there is a change in its utility.. would the party causing the change and a loss of value to the causeway be made to compensate the other party? would the party who made the bridge or house no longer a house pay for the damage or loss in value? even if the bridge or house is now connected to a new structure, it is no longer the same bridge or house.. the causeway in this case is no longer a causeway but a hybrid, like a liger.

ge round seventeen: a nightmare?

tan sai siong's article in today's paper asks this question - 'whose worst nightmare will it be if the pap makes a clean sweep at the next general election and,...?' in her view it will be the nightmare of chiam and low thia khiang as it will prove that the voters do not appreciate what they have done all these years. in my view it will be the worst nightmare for singaporeans.. the reasons do not need much imagination and i would leave everyone to ponder over the consequences. the gist of sai siong's article is that the singapore system of a one party dominating the political system with a clean sweep is an excellent model that we shall be proud off and can sell to the world that it is an alternative to the western bi polar or multi polar systems. she could not see any flaw in such a virtuous system.. how could anyone see the flaws? i mean how could anyone taking a king's feast everyday see any wrong with having a king's feast everyday? and she added, despite dispelling the need for opposition members, that our system ensures 3 dud ncmps and several appointed nmps as effective voices for opposing views.. they are voices no doubt.. and voices but nothing more. anyway, everyone is entitled to his own opinion of what is the best system for singapore.. matilah would want anarchism.. so sai siong would love to have a 100% one party system.. it is a personal choice.. i am feeling the nightmare creeping up my spine.

ge round sixteen: carrots, sticks and chaperon

it is all good for sitoh to have choktong to carry him up in parliament, to be seen and to be heard.. the assumption here is that choktong is guaranteed to be in parliament.. i am not doubting that he will not win his grc.. for choktong to win his grc, his chances are hundred times better than tiger woods winning his tournament.. but before the ball goes into the cup, anything can happen.. there are obs that are not part of the game to contend with.. tiger loses last weekend because his heart was with his father. and choktong is encouraging sitoh and eric to speak their minds.. and probably behave a little like opposition candidates.. but just be careful and don't get carried away when they do it.. check with amy first on what to say and what not to say. and the gamemanship of lose i quit is in play again.. first we got steve chia saying he will quit if he loses.. now eric low also say so.. maybe chiam should also tell his voters that this is his last election and if not elected he will not be standing anymore..

ge round fifteen: lets be gay

after giving up his pmship, choktong is now more relax, and putting on weight as well.. and he is starting to make jokes even in a general election campaign.. that's good for him. his latest is to tell the voters in hougang and potong pasir that eric and sitoh can act as opposition members in parliament if they got voted.. that would give the voters who has nothing to look for in an mp but just want an opposing voice another way of voting for the pap. this reminds me of a gay marriage where one gay will act the part of a woman.. so there is a male and a female.. but would there be a child in the outcome, will there be any fruit? it is a sterile exercise. but what is very telling during the weekend discourse is that no pap candidate, no upgrading.. potong pasir no upgrading after 38 years and will not have any if chiam is reelected.. or maybe tan ku ku.. and hougang can only be beautiful when eric is elected. another comment by charles chong that there would not be many occasions in which pap mps personal convictions differ from the party and if there are then they should resign, is not very good for mps who claimed to have different views of things.. and neither will it make much difference for pap mps to act as opposition mps when the core values are the same.

tudung compulsory for malaysian policewoman

abdullah badawi confirmed that tudung is compulsory, not optional, for non muslim women in the police force.. and this happens only after a few weeks ago when najib said tudung was not compulsory in schools.. why are the malaysians so obsessed with their women covering up? why is songkok acceptable as an official dress in parliament and official functions? the distinction is that one being a part of the national character and national dress.. tudung is not really a part of the malay culture but a middle east import with religious connotations. it is not only that, compare to the malay scarf that the malay ladies used to wear, one is graceful and feminine, the other is ugly and distasteful.. the tudung is a vestige of the medieval past when women were a sex object of the men, a possession, to be covered up for the private entertainment of the male owner..it is actually quite derogatory to subject women to such a backward practice of male dominance and sexual inequality. in our hot tropical climate, the thick and dark piece of sack is very unhealthy.. couple with the perspiration, it smells.. try following a tudung down a escalator in a hot day.. unless the wearer changes it daily and is not the sweaty type, the 'ba ool' is very unpleasant. wrapping one's head in thick cloth is very unpractical.. even the sikhs are slowly giving up their cultural turban for a short clean cut.. the human specie always adapt things for their betterment, to go forward, not backward. the tudung is not only a step backward in hygiene and practicallity, it is to extend and continue the subjugation of the women by men.. the men takes great pride in imposing their will on their weaker womenfolks.. it is very sad that a modern intellectual like badawi would succumb to such a medieval practice.. and it is sadder to see the modern malay women wearing this badge of inequality with pride. could these women think for themselves and stop allowing the men to dictate what is good for the men and bad for the women?