the other govt

The Other Govt A young boy asked me in my blog yesterday whether I am pro govt or anti govt. It is a profound question to come from a boy who does not know what constitutes a govt. So I told him that I would toss a coin and see which side it landed. I am not going to discuss about the three arms of the govt or the complex machinery of the whole govt. To that boy, what is govt to him is pretty obvious. Actually in his thuggish behaviour, he is asking me whether I am for his party or gang? This prompted me to the other govt that is running parallel to the legal govt that we have today. This other govt runs a gamut of businesses ranging from spas, entertainments, security and money lending. The most prominent and explosive arm of this other govt is of course money lending. They charged exhorbitant interest rates. And failure to pay will subject the borrower to threats of violence, something like the young boy was trying to do in my blog. But violence or personal harm was more of an intimidating tactic. What they would normally do is to lock up the borrower's flat, and with thick strong chain by their bailiff. Instead of posting the Notice of Seizure, they will just paint it on the adjacent walls or in the lift to make sure the borrower did not miss it. More efficient that way. And if this failed, they will burn the door to the flat. They might place a pig head for decorative purposes. Now they have taken it further by demanding the neigbours to pay or they will burn the neighbour's flat as well. And they do it in broad daylight, walking freely everywhere. Now that is truly another form of govt. We have parallel imports of cars. Now we are having a parallel govt. Am I talking about JB or Hatyai?

Amazing Singapore

Amazing Singapore Below is a quote from an ex Malaysian that I plucked from littlespeck.com. ExMalaysian wrote: By my own experience I can tell you that it's great being a new citizen in Singapore. You are judged by what you can contribute and not but some NEP policies. The education in Singapore is also about the best in the world. Yes, even the educators from the native English-speaking countries adopt how Mathematics and Science are taught here Best of all, every time you cross the causeway to visit Malaysia you are rewarded by at least 2.3 times in your spending capability. What are you waiting for? Singaporeans are lucky.

cyber pests and bounty hunters

Cyber Pests in my blog There are a few cyberspace pests helping me to generate traffic into mysingaporenews blog. I am not sure whether to thank them or to curse them. Their presence has definitely raise the ratings of my blog, except that their intent was just to disrupt and hurl abuses. The age of professional thugs in cyberspace has arrived. Elfred has a new opening now, to be paid to disrupt blogs and forums. Another business that may sprout out from this is bounty hunters. These will be hunters out there hunting down such pests and bring them to court for a reward.

myth 104

'Meritocracy Myth' Thomas Koshy added to the meritocracy myth in his article in the Today paper today. What is meritocratic, as he has reaffirmed our views discussed in cyberspace, is not really that meritocratic in the true sense or ideal sense. There cannot be true meritocracy when there are differences arising from 'race, sex, age sexual orientation, physical disability, region, religion and physical appearance.' One could add inheritance, in wealth and genes. In society, superior ability, as Koshy termed it, may not be given a chance because of unequal access to resources and opportunities. But what is dangerous is that a state that is based on the philosophy of meritocracy will have the same ending as any state based on any other political philosophies. The elite will become arrogant and be disconnected with the people and will eventually be overthrown by the people, according to Michael Young's fictional book, The Rise of Meritocracy. One could read it like The Animal Farm. Is there hope for meritocracy to survive in this island state? The writings are ominous.

Who needs Blogger's Code of Ethics?

Below is an article calling for a code of ethics for bloggers, posted in Singapore Patriots, assuming that bloggers are the culprits for some of the mess in blogosphere. However, in my blog, which I do not attack anyone in particular, nor do I use vulgarities, maybe some exceptions, there are a few pests that have obviously been sent there to disrupt my blog with their personal attacks. Now who needs a Code of Ethics? Who are behind these pests? In support of a Singaporean bloggers' Code of Ethics - Part 2 Dharmendra Yadav's TODAY article calling on bloggers to self-regulate continues to draw mixed reactions from local blogosphere. Aaron, Yuhui and I generally support the suggestion. BL agrees that blogs should self-regulate, but doubts the feasibility of implementing the idea. Other bloggers, including Dr Huang, Cowboy Caleb and Elia Diodati feel that it is unnecessary and impossible. I don't think Dharmendra and Aaron were calling for a formal blogger's association which will censor or censure its members who do not toe the line. That is not only undesirable but also impractical—bloggers simply won't join the association. There is also no intention to muzzle the "last bastion of truly free expression", as Dr Huang colourfully describes blogosphere. "Censorship" is as much a bad word to bloggers, as "welfare" is to the Singapore government. Rather than any type of association, whether formal or informal, I would prefer a Code of Ethics that the majority of law-abiding bloggers would willingly agree to. This Code should be concise, localised to the Singapore context, simple to understand, easy to adhere to, and non-binding. Its function would be symbolic rather than regulatory. It would be somewhat like the our National Pledge. The Pledge, penned by our first foreign minister S Rajaratnam, is a short and straightforward, yet deeply meaningful statement. Almost all Singaporeans from all walks of life and political persuasions agree with it. The Pledge itself has no legally binding requirements, but those who choose not to adhere to the statements set forth in the Pledge are likely to find themselves contravening some laws of our land.