myth 40

'Singapore is a dictatorial or totalitarian state' This is a label that many have branded Singapore and have even thrown many wild accusations at the political leadership. How can Singapore be associated with a dictatorship or a totalitarian communist regime? Any Singaporean would be able to tell easily what an elected representative govt is as compared to a dictatorship or communist regime. We are a freely elected democracy modelled against the British system. What stands out glaringly in a dictatorship or a totalitarian state is the use or abuse of power. Power in such states is absolute and resided mainly in the dictator or in a small group of men at the top. And the use of power is without shame, embarrassment or qualms. Power was used often in its naked form. People were pulled up and put away, unheard off, forgotten and disappeared. No excuses needed, no reasons given. In communist or totalitarian states, sometimes they did try to give some resemblance of a people's govt. And people to be put away often were labelled as reactionaries, revisionists or committing crimes against the state or doing things that undermine national interests. These are the clear cut dictatorial or totalitarian regimes. Then there are the mixed regimes or disguised regimes like the Marcos and the Suhartos. The military junta in Myanmar is simply what it is, no need for any pretension. The Phillippines under Marcos was a dictatorship called democracy. The Indonesia under Suharto was also a dictatorship under the cover of guided democracy. How can Singapore be a dictatorship or a totalitarian state when the govt are honest, sincere and respectable people of high integrity? If one considers the kind of polities under Marcos and Suharto, we must feel very bless with what we have here. Totally no abuse of power, and the citizens are free to live their lives and get rich, and feeling very safe. And we have been such a great model of a successful democracy that many countries are modelling themselves after Singapore. The best example is China. The Chinese system though communist, is actually communist in name. It is very pragmatic, very Singapore like. The rate that China is copying and imitating Singapore, soon it will be accused of becoming a democratic country, Singapore model. Oh, Communism in China now is a myth.

Singapore Flyer and Sky Park

http://aserialnumberonmyvote.blogspot.com/2006/05/grounding-singaporeflyer.html Grounding the SingaporeFlyer When the concept of the Singapore Flyer was first announced, I wondered what sort of attraction one could see 160metres high above Marina Bay. Look south, and all we will see are various oceangoing-ships at anchor. We look east, and we just might be able to see planes leaving Changi Airport. Look West, and we'll see signs of Singapore's economic muscle in the container business, and the huge CO2 emitter that is our Petro-chemical plant called Jurong Island. Look north, and we'll get a nice view of the Skyscrapers, and possibly a view into the heart of Singapore. Apparently, according to a Wikipedia entry, a 'flight' on the Singapore flyer is expected to cost around S$27.50.The London Eye, on the other hand, cost me £13 (S$40) back in 2003. What the flight gave one the opportunity to see was London, and all 800 years of its development into the capital of the United Kingdom. In a sense, it was boring - all around, you could see were lots of typical english housing roofs, stretching for as far as the eye can see, a testament to London's long history of civilization.It was fun to see the various railway lines snaking into the huge train stations, and watching trains come and go. And to look at the various statements of each generation, in examples such as London's Gherkin, and the Millennium Dome. The flight was over too quickly, and I longed to watch the trains go all day from literally a 'bird's eye view' of London.Insulted by many, and initially only given a 5 year planning approval, The LondonEye is now one of London's top attractions, and if you want a overview of London, a trip up the London Eye has no substitute. (except a Helicopter flight over London maybe.)Unfortunately, for Singapore, our inability to really create complementary planning has enabled us to score an own goal for the SingaporeFlyer even before it boards its first passenger. That is the Marina Bay Sands. With the Singapore Government accepting the Las Vegas Sands bid, it seems, a perfect substitute for the SingaporeFlyer has shown itself.The planning proposal indicates that "A 1-hectare Sky Park at 50th storey (above the three hotel towers ) offering panoramic views " is part of the offering from the Marina Bay Sands. Now, I could be wrong, and "Location, Location, Location" holds true that the real estate the Singapore flyer sits on will never be the same as the one Marina Bay Sands sits on, but looking at this particular picture, and imagining where the Singapore flyer will be, most economists and real estate professionals will be hard pressed to say that the experience offered by the SingaporeFlyer's has NO substitute.According to Yawningbread, he says that the Sky Park will be a 'public park', which means no entrance fees(?!). I cannot conclude that it will be a public park from either STB, and the LasVegasSands website fails to load (on both IE and Firefox) , so the question remains open, but I do doubt that it will cost S$27.50 to enter the Sky Park, unless the operators are perfect collusionists with the SingaporeFlyer firm.So, I guess, the most important questions for investors of the SingaporeFlyer now are: When will I ever recoup my multimillion Singapore Dollar investment? Is s$27.50 still viable given the presence of a near perfect substitute less than 1 kilometre away, and possibly with free entry? Why didn't I put in my contracts a no-compete that Singapore was not allowed to approve any development that could create a near-perfect substitute for the x-years? Is there any way of getting compensation for the loss of revenue a-la when Singtel was "forced" to give up its "telecommunications" monopoly early? Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! [Oh, the fun of being an STB bureaucrat dealing with the SingaporeFlyer people ;-)]Way before the Marina Bay Sands was confirmed, back in 1999, I already felt that it would be difficult for people to want to take a trip up an oversized Ferris Wheel, when half of the view was just empty sea. Now, with a near-perfect substitute, I think the SingaporeFlyer will become a perfect business case study on business uncertainty and the failure of vision.Anyone with investments related to the SingaporeFlyer best be calling his broker now or consulting his online brokerage web site? Theodore Ong wants to share the above article here. I find it quite interesting and informative. The link also gives some beautiful pictures of the Singapore Flyer and the Sky Park on top of the Marina IR.

who is the boss?

I remember this story that was often repeated about the relationship between a man and a woman, pre and post marriage. During the courtship stage, the man is all gentle and nice, opening doors, pulling chairs, waiting for his date and promising everything under the sky. The man will build a career, buy a car, build a house, diamond rings, holidays and all the goodies to charm the woman. And the woman will enjoy all the attention for those brief moments of courtship. Quietly the man would be saying to himself, 'Wait till after the wedding night then you know.' And sure after the wedding, when the rice is cooked, the man becomes the boss. What holding doors, pulling chairs? Go and prepare food, wash clothing, and look after the babies. And don't try to complain or the woman would get slap. If talk more nonsense, they will be locked up, in the house. Who is the real boss is only known after the contract has been signed. And the cycle gets repeated every now and then. And the woman never learn, and will find another man to boss them around.

in celebration of militarism

Today I would like to celebrate the might and arrogance of being militarily powerful. The last few weeks we have seen how the North Koreans flexed their muscles and how the Americans and Japanese started dancing to the Korean tune. And then Japan stood up and tell the world, including China and the two Koreas that they are military strong enough to take on anyone and will not hesitate to knock out North Korea. These are signs of pure military arrogance. And the world went along happily without any protest. Now Israel has even gone one step further. They choose to hit any part of the Middle east they like and nobody can stop them. The poorly equipped and divided Arabs are minced meat on the chopping block. Helpless and pathetic. While the Americans, the backer of the Israelis, sit by and enjoy the spectacle. So is the rest of the western world. Military might is right. Power comes from the barrel of the gun, so say Mao. Respect and right to live in peace comes from being militarily strong and self sufficient. Any country that is militarily weak is asking to be raped. And no one is going to apologise for doing it and no one is going to condemn the rapists. This is the new world we are living. Actually it has always been like that. Weaken your defences and you will be trampled upon. No leaders, in their right mind, will voluntarily disarm themselves. In fact they should do the reverse.

world conned by the japanese

The world has been conned by the Japanese. I have seen a map published in the Nihon Keisai Shimbun showing where the Korean missiles had landed. And for simplicity of explanation, if one divides the Sea of Japan into 4 quarters from the Korean to Japanese coast, the missiles landed on the first quarter nearer to the Korean and Russian coasts. Even the flight path of the missiles was pointed to travel parallel to the Korean and Russian coasts, avoiding the direction of Japan. What this proves is that the North Koreans are careful and did not want to be accused of firing the missiles in the direction of Japan and thus becomes a provocative act. There is no chance of the missile falling down on Japan even if there is engine failure. It is the Japanese that insisted that the act was provocative. This is the same kind of logic Bush used against any adversarial nation. Just called them aggressor, axis of evil, and that gives them a reason to attack or invade that country. The Japanese is using the same principle as an excuse to attack North Korea. And this is a very dangerous principle to live by. Actually the Japanese is the hostile and provocative aggressor instead of the North Koreans. A similar Marco Polo Bridge incident!