myth 74

'The govt failed to deliver a Swiss standard of living' Many have accused the govt of failing to live up to its promise to give the people a Swiss standard of living. But how fair is this criticism? Some may not yet attain this high standard of living. And it is expected that some will never reach there. The less able must be expected to live and feed on less. The widening income gap is only a natural and uncontrollable state of things caused by globalisation. The people must be realistic and cannot expect everyone to reach the Swiss standard of living in such a short time. Some will get there first and some later. One day all will get there. As of today, many who used to live in HDB flats have already move into huge bungalows and have enough fortune to last at least 5 generations without having to work. And all because of the govt and all the good policies to raise the standard of living of its people. The govt has achieved what it set out to do, at least partially. This is telling the whole truth, the whole picture and not half truth. Telling half truth is to blame the govt for not doing what it promised. This myth that the govt has failed has to be debunked. The govt has made it happened to many Singaporeans to attain the Swiss standard of living, even surpassing it.

when your neighbour decides to poison you

When your neighbour started to do his/her cooking outside the house or flat, or when they decided to smoke outside, and let all the smell, smoke, ashes into your home, what shall you do? When after reminders and reminders of the health risks that your neighbour is subjecting you and your family to, and all your neighbour says is that he/she has done its best. Nothing else can be done and the smoke, smell and ashes will still get into your home and you just have to live with it.... Bring in George Bush. ASEAN needs a George Bush to mean business when your neighbour only cares about his/her own selfish interest. ASEAN need to have a strike force and move into Indonesia, whether it likes it or not, and douse out the fire. In times like this, George Bush is a most welcome hero.

the hypocrisy of asean

How far will ASEAN walk down the road of hypocrisy? After putting so much pressure on Myanmar to respect human rights and democratic processes and institutions, ASEAN did not breathe a single word about the coup in Thailand which brought down a democratically elected govt. And all the ASEAN leaders quickly sent congratulatory messages to the new govt installed by the military junta. How coup ASEAN stand up to face the world and said it is defending the democratic institution? Myanmar should now be applauded as the role model of what ASEAN countries should be, ruled by the military. With Thailand now another military regime, who is next? Phillippines, Indonesia,...? Singapore will become another military regime if the opposition will to win the election. It will be exciting to see ASEAN as an association of military run countries.

the hip hop controversy

Some younger MPs are attempting to parade themselves during the 2007 Ching gay procession doing hip hop. I don't know what that is. Must be something the young is doing. To be hip, to be cool and hopping around. Why is a simple fun activity generating so much controversies? Why can't young people have fun? Oh, they are MPs and are expected to be like MPs, speak up in Parliament for the interests of their constituents. Doing hip hop, now... is that what they are paid to do? There are all kinds of perceptions and expectations by the people, all kinds of people. What is acceptable to one is not necessarily acceptable to another. What a young MP thinks is a great idea may be a great idea to some but there will also be some who think otherwise. The volume of remarks in cyberspace and MSM is still flooding in, from the complimentary to the outright rejection and cynicism. But that is what being in the limelight all about. One stands out to be recognised and will receive all the accolades and all the rotten eggs. Not everyone sees things in the same way. What is good to you is not necessary good to other people. What is affordable to you is not necesarily affordable to other people. Hip hop is good to these young MPs but some will not agree. The moral of the story is that when they are in Parliament and thinking and speaking what is good for the people, please check with the people first.

myth 73

'The truth of half truths and truths in Cyberspace/MSM' Cyberspace has been accused by the MSM as something like the twilight zone, harbouring anything but truth. And many proclaimed truths are actually half truths. Truth can only be found in the MSM, spoken by honourable and reputable people in reputable publications written by professionals. Do I need to say anything further? A cup is half full, so I say. The other party say no it is half empty. So who is telling the truth? The Emperor is not wearing anything, so say Cyberspace. The MSM sees the same thing but not saying anything? Who is telling the truth or half truth? If Cyberspace talks about the poorer 20% of the population and MSM brags about the good life of the top 20% of the population, who is telling the truth and who is telling half truth? If Cyberspace cries out for the people who find that public transport fare is expensive, and MSM quoted comparative figures of New York, London and Hongkong and concluded that our fares are cheap, who is telling the truth and who is telling half truth? Is Cyberspace only spreading half truths and MSM only telling the whole truth?