stomp, stomp, stomp

The Straits Times is stomping all over the cyberspace for the last few days. With the muscle of the the main paper, its advertising resources and the money it has, it is using all its marketing power to stage a claim to be the number one player. And it has been very successful in promoting itself, with free gifts being thrown at their visitors. I think the budget must be pretty substantial. The conquest and claim for a presence in cyberspace is on. The Straits Times means business, to gain its market share and readership in no man's land, in a new frontier. In the fun, pop culture and entertainment fields, there is no doubt that the Straits Times will have an upperhand over the other blogs and forums. These are fadish and politically neutral areas and are easily embraced by anyone who are in it. The true test of influence is in the social and political fields, providing views in these areas are politically sensitive. And as long as the Straits Times is seen as an official mouthpiece, its penetration in these areas are bound to be inhibited by its own history and background. The cynical, questioning, non conformist and rebellious readers will still seek the unregulated and freer blogs and forums for more refreshing views. What ever the Straits Times objectives, it is a welcome player in cyberspace and will make the scene more colourful, vibrant and interesting. Huh, more choices. Interest in cyberspace has blossomed and is now an area to be reckoned with. It now has a noticeable presence.

there must be distinction between state and party

Mah Bow Tan contributed an article in the Straits Times forum today to explain his stand on lift upgrading and the criticism by Sylvia Lim and some other letter writers. On this issue many people disagreed with him. His explanation is that the money used for the upgrading were earned by the PAP govt and thus can be used for party interest. How blind and misguided this kind of thinking can be. The whole nation's resources are available to whoever is in power and at their disposal. It is so because there are managing the nation on behalf of the people as one nation, one people. The nation's wealth and resources and revenue generated, belongs to the nation, not to the party in power. Otherwise the party might as well use it to build a monument or a huge party complex since it is now deemed the party's money and they use do it to serve party interest. This is the failure of being too long in power and unable to draw the line between the nation/state and the party. Can't blame him as many people have treated the govt as the PAP and also synonymous with the country. That's why you have people who are unhappy with the PAP and ended up being unhappy with the govt and the country. But the line must be drawn clearly just like personal selfish interest and interest of the country. For the good of the country or for the good of self or party. They are not necessarily complementary.

myth 17

'One party govt is bad.' This is a very familiar saying. Throughout the election, all the opposition parties and individual citizens were calling for a multi party govt, vote for more oppositions in Parliament. We have practically a one party govt for 40 years. The legacy of these 40 years is growth and growth and more growth. The standard of living of the people has been spiralling all the way up. Even after the latest financial and oil crisis, generally the lives of the average people are still resonably comfortable. There will be pockets of desperate cases that need assistance. But on the whole, things are manageable and still looking good. Compare this to the world, we are second to none in terms of progress and development over the last 40 year period. Then why the call for a multi party system? The one party system has done us well. People getting richer. The able and well position just get more and better than the not so well placed. But crumbs aplenty for those who are prepared to pick them up. Not that a one party system is all virtues. The fear of a one party system turning bad is there. The effectiveness and dominance of a one party system, under clean, honest and enlightened leadership, can do a lot of good to the nation and people. This same effectiveness and dominance can do equally or more harm to the nation and people if it is turned against the people. We have seen and heard nuances of how to fix, deal, manage or regulate those who disagree. This is what power can do. The question is how far it will go and when will things go bad. If the govt continues to be in the hands of good people, people who have a heart, selfless and not selfish people, magnanimous and not petty and mean people, there is nothing wrong with a one party government. But can anyone guarantee this happy state of existence to continue into the future?

myth 16

'What is right is right' This is a very simple myth that we have grown up with and increasingly glaring with events unfolding. The sneaky humankind have been doing this for centuries, distorting truth and right without blinking and eyelid. We are seeing many court judgements in our northern neigbour on Anwar being overturned by the court itself. Back home we have seen many things and reasonings which no one can agree upon as rational, reasonable or correct but still insisted and pushed to the people as right and good. Maybe we should add in a subclause to say right according to who.

new kid on the block

The latest revelation of who are in the party in Shanghai, attending the SCO conference is a startling development as far as the Americans are concerned. It is a diplomatic coup of sort by the Russians and the Chinese to win over the support of the East Asian and Middle eastern countries, including India. Several Middle eastern countries with Iran standing out prominently, is going to raise hell in Washington. The outsiders, the outcasts, the push arounds, have found a platform and supporters to bolster their cases against the domineering Americans. They are now not alone. A small insignificant grouping, starting with the Shanghai 6, it has morphed into a giant, as big as NATO, to be a counter weight against the pushy Americans. Its rapid growth in stature and influence in international politics are more a result of the push factor from the US. The SCO got the Americans to thank for their rising influence and importance in world politics. A new world order is shaping up.