myth 85

'Haze, an amazing Indonesian myth' The Asean Ministers attending the haze conference were so simplistic in their approach to the haze problem. To them, the haze was caused by irresponsible plantation owners and small farmers clearing land for cultivation and development. The solution is thus very simple. Set up effective laws against such practices, enforce them, and put the culprits behind bars. Unfortunately they were so far from the truth and the Indonesians were there to educate them on the problem and how to solve them effectively. To the Indonesians, the haze is a natural disaster, something like the tsunami. And one way to tackle it is to provide a good early warning system like a dedicated satellite so that the affected countries will have enough time to react before the haze hit and will not be drown. The second cause of haze is the smouldering fire under the debris of fallen trees and peat. To prevent such fire which can burn for a long time to re ignite the forest, the solution is to build a lot of dams to raise the water level so that all the grounds are virtually flooded and no fire can be kept alive. Still the Asean Ministers don't get it and failed to understand these ingenius analysis of the problems and the well thought out plans. All the Asean Ministers are concerned is cost. To have a dedicated satellite and building dams across Sumatra and Kalimantan will cost hundreds of millions. And they are not going to spend those money. So they told the Indonesians to set these ambitious and clever plans aside and just go and catch the fire starters. Now, without spending the money, how could the Asean Ministers expect the haze to go away? And there are no fire starters. These are natural phenomenon. Blame nature.

my article in new paper today

Oh, my second article is out in the New Paper today. pg 18. And with my smiley face too. Now you can get a glimpse of how I look like. : )

who is a leech?

'I know the whole argument against welfarism. Welfarism is a dirty word in Singapore. No! We are a meritocratic society! We survive and prosper on hard work and our own efforts! If we allow for welfarism we will have leeches in our society feeding off the wealth of those who had worked hard for their achievements. ' The above is quoted from coffee and cigarette blog. When I read this term 'leeches' I begin to wonder who are the real leeches? If someone is sitting around doing FO and collecting a ransom, would he also be considered a leech?

ministry of charity

With so many charities and public money floating everywhere, it is time to creat a new ministry, Ministry of Charity with a Minister in charge. That will keep those money collected under close supervision and avoid any monkey businesses. It is so uncomfortable to see so much money in the hands of volunteers who have very little financial expertise and could not manage the money for the best return. There should be professional managers employed just to manage all these money.

did he jump in vain

A copycat jumper fell flat on his face The Clementi MRT jumper could have died in vain. If he were a copycat jumper, thinking, or after serious contemplation, that his death could bring a windfall to his family, and jump...he is going to be very, very disappointed. So would be his loss and the family's loss. In the absence of the press playing up the tragedy, the whole episode went away just like a pee. It did not cause a stir nor did any emotions play up to pull the heart strings. There was no rush to donate generously. Neither were people dialing their handphones to donate their $5, $10 or $25. The media can play a very effective role in telling people how to act and behave. Put a few helpless and pathetic faces in front of the camera, tell a few sad stories, and people will willingly empty their tear bags and pockets. Everyone has a heart, and it is very easy to be sentimental and emotional. Of course there are exceptions who would tell anyone in trouble to get lost. Now did this jumper died in vain? Were the reporters in the Tan Jee Suan case more responsible or the no show reporters in this case more responsible? Damn if you report the story, damn if you don't.