time to learn from malaysia

Who says Malaysia has nothing to teach us? Slowly but surely we are starting to copy the good ideas coming from across the causeway. The first hint of such a mental shift is to build the underground road network in the city and allow the developers to collect tolls. Collecting tolls is the masterpiece of Malaysian infrastructure development. It is their trademark. Now we are going to fly our national flags in taxis, buses and private cars. The Malaysians have been doing this for donkey years. Now Singapore is catching up with the idea. What else that we can learn from our neighbours? Would we be considering building a half bridge too? Good for toll business. Or are we going for more Guinness Book of Records? The Malaysians have beaten us to that in the number of records they have created, the largest national flag, the largest ketupat, the biggest kettle, the largest drum orchestra, etc. We can have the longest queue in Orchard Road, the longest popiah, the longest sarong....the most artificially created icons, the merlions...

myth 46

'Know who is more important than know how' In a society that prides itself as prim and proper, without any cronyism, and the best man wins based on his own merit, it is quite surprising to here such a myth being spread in the kopitiams. Often you can hear people whispering that the guy who is rising rapidly in the corporate ladder has very little know how but plenty of know who. Isn't this familiar? Of course this is a myth. Everyone attains their position of authority and power definitely not just because of know who. Knowing who is important, but not that important. Being the who's who is the thing. When one is the who's who, there is no need for knowing who. But this is not something that is peculiar to any country. It is common to all countries and all cultures. Being a son in law is good enough to aspire to be the youngest CEO or the next Prime Minister. Being the son, like Richard Li, will be given billions of dollars to play monopoly. Real stuff! So, what's so great about know who? The next time when someone whispers about knowing who, point to the who's who.

MPS - meet and punch session!

This taxi driver is just too much. How could he turn a Meet the People Session into a Meet and Punch Session. No matter what, should charge him for assaulting a public servant. It is not joke being a MP and be beaten up by a resident. I hope the MP is covered by some insurance for such occupational risks.

74 and still desperate to work!

Why would a 74 year old grand dad got so desperate as to punch a member of parliament all for a taxi licence? Shouldn't he be happily retired, living in retirement resorts or marking time in HDB void decks? Didn't he have enough CPF savings to keep him going? The CPF minimum sum scheme should have been introduced earlier and Singaporeans need not be so desperate when they are old. A normal Singaporean should expect to work for about 30 years to earn enough to feed him for another 30 years. And in the mean time he has to pay for his flat and to bring up a family. Simply put, he has 4 things to work and budget for. Flat, family, his own upkeep for 30 + 30 years. Plus one more, inflation. Singaporeans are rich.

myth 44

''If we fail to do so, leadership renewal will falter, the PAP will inevitably decline and Singapore will suffer.' by Lee Hsien Loong I can agree with Hsien Loong, in fact fully agree with him, that if there is no leadership renewal, PAP will and must decline. That is a truism. As for the second part that Singapore will suffer, that is very subjective and is based on the assumption that Singapore's well being is linked to PAP. Without the PAP, even in the future, Singapore will suffer. This is as good as a belief. Without the PAP in the future, why can't there be a better and more professional and dedicated group of people coming forward to serve? And why is it that only the PAP can attract good people and other parties can't? What will happen tomorrow is anybody's guess. Who knows, Singapore might need to be saved by a new party if PAP falls into the wrong hands. Linking Singapore's well being with the PAP is thus a very subjective claim.