time to build bridges - parameswaran

"Singapore should consider a gesture to move relations with Malaysia forward. After all, we are its most immediate neighbour. .. "Similarly, now would be a good time to turn to Malaysia and offer a gesture of goodwill," he told a meeting of the Rotary Club of Johor Baru on Tuesday. The above were spoken by the Malaysian High Commisioner to Singapore, Parameswaran and reported in the New Straits Times. Agree that both sides should build more bridges as we are going to be neighbours for a long long time. Better to be friends than enemies. But with a big battle looming in Malaysia now, it is better for Singapore to stay clear and wait for the storm to pass or we might get very wet when we are engulfed by it. Wait for clear skies when things are clearer before treading in the water.

UN and Middle East

Below are two posts I lifted from redbeanforum on middle east. Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:00 pm Post subject: If you agree, then the UN is a farce? It costs billions of dollars to run, it is corrupt, it is ineffective, it is biased, What is it for but to give a platform for people to practice the oratory skills? Won't the money spent on running the UN be more effective in providing medical care to the poor, raise their standard of living a fraction, and let the Big boys brain one another senseless, because that is what they are going to do anyway? The UN is one huge White Elephant! Post by elle in redbeanforum. Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:18 am Post subject: Hahaha elle, Nice thought. That's why they should put Chok Tong there as the next UN Sec Gen. He would clean up the place and introduce Singapore's work culture, ethics and incorruptibility in the UN. Not only that, the UN will also become a profit centre and making money from all its operations and aid programme. Nothing is for free. It is biased alright. Everyone is looking after their own interests. The US just blocked a motion for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and Israel has pledged that it would intensify its pounding of Lebanon. What Israel and the US should do is to get a coalition of 20 or 30 countries and wipe out whatever they want to wipe out in Lebanon and put in half a million troops there, just like Iraq. There then will be some kind of security there and Israel will no longer come under attacks from Hezbollah. And the Al Qaeda can activate all their cells around the world and start to hit at Israeli and American targets. That would be interesting. And since both sides are so keen to outdo each other, let them have a free hand to go all out to achieve their objectives. It will come to an end faster than if there are so many restraints facing them now.

2 room flats - when reality sets in

"This is part and parcel of what we've been doing, to expand the range of options for Singaporeans from all walks of life to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment, to own their homes and have a stake in Singapore." Mah Bow Tan Singaporeans from all walks of life, from the very rich to the very poor, will now have the opportunity to enjoy the privileges and pleasures of living in a HDB environment. So I would presume that there is no family income to exclude those with higher incomes to buy 2 room flats. Otherwise how could the rich Singaporeans qualify to buy 2 room HDB flats? And I didn't know that it is so pleasurable to living in a HDB environment. And it is also a privilege! Singaporeans are so lucky. They better quickly sell off their private and landed properties to enjoy such pleasures which they have missed. And these 2 room flats are made affordable for Singaporean, meaning that many cannot afford them if there is no subsidies. What is the reality of all these? Are the bottoms falling off and Singaporeans no longer able to afford 3 rooms or bigger HDB flats? OK let me qualify this statement before it becomes brown soup. When talking about HDB flats, I am referring to the heartlanders/hardlanders. Not the successful and super rich in their private and landed properties. So are the heartlanders now becoming hardlanders? Are their lives improving, are they better off today than yesterday? Is downgrading into 2 room flats a lifestyle choice, a privilege for people to enjoy the pleasures of HDB living. What is real? When the stake of a Singaporean is a 2 room flat, is there really anything worth defending or fighting for?

use a bully to fight a bully

Irfan Husain, a columnist for Dawn, an English language newspaper in Pakistan, has an article published in the Today paper titled, 'Insecurities of the Local Bully.' The gist of his article is about a big bully, Israel, bullying its weak and helpless Arab neighbours. It is such an irony that this big bully was once weak and helpless under the Nazis in Europe. They were meekly marched into concentration camps and gas to death without much resistance. The Arabs actually show more resistance to this bully than when the bully was bullied by the Nazis. It is all a game of power. In the face of a stronger bully, the weak will surrender meekly. The nemesis of the Israelis must be the Nazis. Maybe the Arabs should work closely with the Nazis, get their help, to fight the Israelis. The Nazis sure know how to frighten and intimidate the Jews. And when come face to face with the Nazis, the Jews will have no answer. You need a bully to handle a bully.

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...