myth 88

'Singapore has no talent for international acquisition' The names like Quek Leng Beng, Ooi Hong Leong, (this one think is a pr, or maybe citizen already), Ong Beng Seng, the late Khoo Teck Puat, Wee Cho Yaw, (he has a famous surname), the Royal brothers, Koh Boon Hui, Sim Wong Hoo etc, have been acquiring businesses all over the world, and some of them for many years. They may made some mistakes here and there but nothing earth shaking to raise any eyebrow. These are the seasoned and real mavericks who learned the ropes of doing business deals the hard way without the notes and textbook advises from an Ivy League University. And their records have proven that they are better international deal makers. They are consumate deal makers and will not end up in any rotten deals or paying a ransom for rubbish. The gratifying thing is that they are local talents. Why the need for foreign talents who came with a big basket to scoop and retire in their little paradise somewhere on earth?

no need passport

No need passport Singaporeans will be allowed to enter two selected areas in JB without the need for passports and can stay as long as they want. This is the latest announcement coming from Malaysia, and a very bold initiative that takes the competition right to the competitor’s doorstep. The Malaysians are serious to make SJER a success, and they mean business by pulling every plug possible. Such an act will be unheard off during the Mahathir govt when economics was playing second fiddle to politics. Now they are brave, aggressive, creative and business like, like Singaporeans in many ways. It would be interesting to see how Singapore reacts to this Malaysian announcement. It is like a bolt of lightning. It poses a lot of challenges and also offers a lot of opportunities. It is not only about economic cooperation and competition, it is also about the twinning or intertwining of social and economic relations between the two states. If things kick off with a good start when both sides see the benefits of closer cooperations, there will be tremendous improvement in inter state relations instead of biting rivalry. Other Malaysian states will soon follow with their own initiatives to develop economic links and cooperation with Singapore. And Johore, being a more convenient location relative to Batam and Bintang, will be a big draw for Singapore companies and Singaporeans. Even foreigners and foreign companies will stand to benefit with such a move. What if Singapore does not see this as a positive proposal and reacted with another ¾ thing or something cute but regressive? Any negative thoughts or rulings will be like slapping its own face. It will not only be bad for long term bilateral relations, it will destroy whatever goodwill that we have built for so long. And the Malaysians will gain all the initiative and support to lash out at Singapore for not walking the talk. We shall all hope that this Malaysian initiative will be the harbinger for better relations and cooperation. It is the kind of competitive strategy that Singapore should welcome and encourage, aggressive but rational business strategies devoid of politicking, emotions and sentiments.

myth 87

Myth 87 'A Singapore fiction' Saturday, October 28, 20062 hours that change me I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first time visiting a one-room HDB flat. I had agreed to help bring a few students to visit a few of these homes that the school had adopted as part of the CIP (Community Involvement Programme). This should be good, I thought. I wasn’t prepared for this. The walls were dotted with black splotches of what we were told were the droppings of bed bugs. We were warned not to remove our shoes, lean on the walls or sit on the floor. Mr Y sat on a stool and seemed nonchalant about the infestation in his home. The mattress he slept on bore testimony to the nightly battles he had to endure. The bed sheet was clouded with blood stains. Mr Y used to be a coolie who carried sacks of rice. The bachelor now lives alone in his decrepit rental flat, his emaciated body racked with sickness, the money he earned in his younger days long gone to feed his parents’ opium addiction many years ago. He gets $260 from the welfare agency every month, of which about $100 goes into paying his rent and utilities. The remainder he has to magically stretch to cover his food and medical costs. The bugs had spread from next door to a few flats on the 5th floor where Mr Y lived. You could see them flitting about on the wall, on the floor, among his clothes, even along the corridors. Nobody there could afford a professional pestbuster, and the town council wouldn’t do such favours anyway. So living with these parasites has become a fact of life. Residents living on the other floors talked about the 5th floor as if it was Purgatory and it didn’t seem an inappropriate description. Then there was 92-year-old Mdm C – so small and wiry she couldn’t have weighed more than 35kg. She had a hole in her neck where her voice box had been removed, so she couldn’t talk. When she saw us, she simply gestured with her hands that she wanted to die. Looking at her forlorn looking home, who could blame her for feeling that way? The food in her kitchen had all gone bad so we gathered she hadn’t eaten for days, or perhaps she had been eating all the rotten stuffs. When you are sick and have to depend on the kindness of neighbours to help you buy even the simplest food, what other choice do you have? She has 2 daughters, one who visits her occasionally. Another, we heard, comes by and steals the NTUC vouchers that volunteers give to her. Is it any wonder Mdm C would rather die? In all, we visited 7 homes, each one with its own sad story to tell. My heart is exceedingly disturbed by the scenes I saw today. On the one hand, we live in a country that’s boasting of having island-wide free internet access soon and building world-class integrated resorts and yet, in pockets of this land which worships success and one-upmanship shamelessly, there are the forgotten lot who live in homes with rotten food and bug-infested beds. I thought that by visiting the poor, I would be helping to cheer them up somewhat. How naïve I was. How arrogant I was to think that a simple 20 minute visit can alleviate the misery of people who have to face squalor every single moment of their lives and where sleep offers no respite either from the reality of their wretchedness. I thought I was doing community service. But no, something was done to me. Today, I felt as if the earth beneath my feet had shifted. In the days that follow, I would still go on to live my life of considerable comfort, plan my holidays, do Christmas shopping and enjoy the trappings of prosperity that I have been blessed with. But I could no longer plead ignorance of the shadowy existence of Mr Y, Mdm C and all these unfortunate people who live just a stone’s throw away from me. I find myself asking Him, “Lord, what will You have me do now?” Tonight, as I crawl between my nice clean sheets, I think of Mr Y and how long the night will be for him. I saw real, in-your-face poverty and human misery today and I’m at a loss as to how to respond. Nothing I can do or say will ever be enough. And yet, if we don’t do anything, what kind of human beings are we? * * * * * * * * * posted by trisha @ 8:08 AM I extracted the above from Sammyboy. Myth or fiction, you decide.

alternative media

Ken Kwek's article in today's Straits Times lamented the lack of political humour in the MSM. Anyone wanting to read them can only find them in cyberspace which he called Alternative Media (AM). There seems to be a lack of tolerance for political humour in MSM, or is it a conscious decision to play down on AM? From the reaction so far, MSM regards AM as a strategic competitor, to borrow a phrase from Bush, and will keep it underwrap for as long as they can. There is a noticeable silence on cyberspace activity in MSM. The only cyberspace news that is allowed to grace the pages of MSM is from their own little baby called Stomp. Stomp has been receiving a lot of funding and promotion to get it kicking. Looks like it is only attracting a very select group of visitors and not enough. Even Media Corp is coming into the fray for blogger's attention. When will MSM start to embrace or engage AM and allocate some space to report on what is happening in cyberspace? If this cold treatment is to continue, the divide can only widen and the two worlds will just stay apart, the Main Stream Media and Alternative Media, each competing for their own audience for their own kind of news. And with a virtual monopoly in the past, MSM can only stand to lose more readers to the young upstart that starts off with nothing.

what the president says

Singapore will become a nation divided by wealth, race and religion. All three are sensitive subjects to be discussed with extreme care. Talking about them careless can undermine the govt's effort to build a cohesive and inclusive society. Race and religion have always been sensitive. Now wealth can also be a sensitive subject. Bloggers have been dragged to the court for blogging on sensitive issues concerning race and religion. Lets hope no blogger is dragged to court for discussing wealth. It is not just simply black or white as in the past. The grey area is getting wider, including maybe brown. Singapore must not become a welfare state in extending help to the people. 'We would like the govt to do even more, but the govt can only spend within its means,' ie the govt must spend only when it is affordable. And looks that the govt has done all it can afford and to do more will be unaffordable. The President said, 'Let us build a competitive economy and an inclusive society for ourselves and our children in Singapore.' I was not in the house but would presume that 'us' includes all Singaporeans.