a major test on our resolve and leadership

Our shipping vessels being arrested while plying the trade route doing legitimate businesses. Our assets being confiscated by drummed up fictitious charges. How would LKY have reacted when confronted with such issues? How are our leaders handling them? These are major crises. Would we come out of these tricky situations as a respectable nation or would we be forever thumbed down by bigger countries? How the present leadership handle these two crises will be an indicator of where we are heading.

Civil Service caught napping?

The salary of new entrants to the Civil Service has lagged behind the private sector over several years. And the difference is not 10 or 20%. The gap is HUGE. Depending on which level one is looking at, the difference can be more than 100%. But for the average entry level graduate, there is at least a 50% gap. And this has been going on for at least two years according to SMU survey. Does it mean that the Civil Service were underpaying their new employees or shortchanging them? What happens to the pegging to the market mechanism? Rip Van Winkle just woke up? Was the Civil Service caught napping?

signs of decline

After the whacking by our neighbours, now Changi lost to KLIA in the Best Airports in the World Ranking. And KLIA started with so many problems. Now who is laughing? Well done Boleh Land!

nkf story - the wayang continues

Is the $20k payment for work done? When David Tan was given the $20k by Durai, he was elated. It was reported that it was a token of appreciation for fundraising. Now it has become payment for consultancy work done over cheap chicken rice. The chicken rice was only the appettiser. The $20k was the main course. But why would David Tan return the money to NKF when he was questioned by the authority? Didn't he has any clue whether the money was payment, token of appreciation, legitimate or illegitimate? What a big puzzle. The recipient of $20k, told to raise an invoice which he did not know for what, returned the money and now admitted that it was payment for consultancy over chicken rice. What kind of wayang is this?

we were clobbered

There was no granite ban The Indonesians are just musing over whether to have a ban on granite. And according to the Trade Minister Mari Pangestu it is unlikely to ban granite sale. Those who are talking about protecting their environment should ban the exporting of oil or oil exploration and go back to use firewoods. Oops, firewoods would also harm the environment and send more haze all over the sky. Now that there is no ban, what happens to all our vessels that were seized? Have they been returned? Were there any compensation for the illegal arrest of legitimate shipping vessels with proper papers? Why is there no protest from Singaporeans when their vessels were seized by illegal and unauthorised means? This is the worst kind of piracy. Singapore as a nation is at the lowest in terms of respect from other countries. Our vessels seized, investments confiscated or slammed with all kinds of charges and probably ended up losing every cent. Our people being beaten up, robbed and killed in foreign land. And we are all living happily as if nothing has happened. We are small and that is our disadvantage. Growing our population to 6.5 million is not going to make even a ripple. What we need, maybe, is to consider becoming the 52nd state of the USA. Then we will no longer be small and we will walk in and take our vessels back. We will also confiscate or put a sanction on the properties of foreign countries that violate the legal process to seize our assets in their countries. We will called up ambassadors to give them a dressing and demand justice when our citizens are being attacked. Now would that be better than a little red dot? Just musing.