the dumb and selfless heroes

Reaching out to the needy in the heart of Singapore. This is a heading in the Straits Times by Radha Basu. 'There are around 22,000 vulnerable residents in the heart of Singapore who may need financial help, according to estimates by the Central Singapore Community Development Council.' And island wide there could be hundreds of thousands of them. And we are arguing that $1.2 mil a year is not enough. And the people pounding the ground, doing the sweatings, are volunteers of welfare and grassroot organisations. These are the dumb heroes of the people who work without getting paid. Socially responsible and with a heart to serve the people without asking how much they are going to get for their sacrifice. Maybe they get a pat on the back and be invited to the Istana for a year end party. These are the selfless men that should be the examples for all Singapsoreans to emulate.

The biggest bullshit

The biggest bullshit Ho Kong Loon wrote, 'Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew spoke so plainly and precisely that dissenters to the proposed salary increase for ministers and top civil servants cannot but nod, albeit reluctantly, in assent at the sheer force, simplicity and veracity of his stand.' I can agree that it was spoken plainly, simply, precisely and with sheer force. I can agree that civil servants should be paid well but nor exorbitantly. But for once I find the justification totally unacceptable. We are no longer paying peanuts at the top level. What is enough or not enough is relative. Ho Kong Loon added that Singapore is what it is today...'only if the leadership is focussed, steely minded, possess extraordinary IQ and EQ, and is socially responsible and incorruptible. Good governance is a rare commodity.' Again I agree but with a little exception. Can you use the word 'incorruptible' on anyone who tells you that he will become corrupt if you don't pay him his asking price? An incorruptible man is incorruptible no matter how much you pay him. He may have a stupid principle that tells him that he should not be corrupt. And he lives by it. This is the plain, simple and precise message. Is this the compelling reason why Ho Kong Loon is so convinced? To me, just this point alone is deeply troubling. Only in Singapore can such an argument be used to justify one's own pay rise. Tell that to the American Congress or the British Parliament and see what the elected representatives of the people will have to say. Can anyone see what I am saying? Can anyone understand the underlying assumption of this kind of logic? Do we need to pay so bloody well to attract the best and talented and incorruptible Singaporeans to come forward to serve the country and people? Or maybe I should rephrase this and ask why are all the good and able men shunning the political minefield? Do we have a political system that encourages the best to step forward willingly for altruistic reasons or are we creating a system that is attracting people who are only interested in the money? If people step forward simply because there are a few millions on offer, what kind of men are they? Socially responsible and incorruptible? If we are serious in getting more able people to step forward to serve. we need to re examine why they are not coming forward in the first place. Singapore has many talents. Singapore's success speaks for itself. Singapore's success cannot be attributed to a handful of individuals alone. It goes all the way down. And at the top, people who are able to run the country as well as the current leadership, you can bet there are at least a few thousands of them with such ability, integrity and honesty out there.

George Bush demands for more money or else...

Heard this story in the lift. A FT was telling his peers. It goes like this. George Bush went to congress and threatens to quit if he did not get what he asked for. And he also threatens to go the corrupt way to get it. George was fighting for a noble cause, asking for money to protect his troops in Iraq.

how predictable!

How predictable! Even before the ink is dry the expected backtracking has started. The two free access zones in the IDR are now scrapped because of domestic politickings. How much confidence can foreign investors have on a govt that is so fickleminded and will bend to local political pressure no matter how hysterical and irrational they may be? Who is there to guarantee that 3 weeks or 3 months down the line all the terms and conditions will be changed? Will the IDR becomes an Internal Development Region catering to the domestic markets and interests like all the housing estates built but cannot be sold? With all the backtrackings as a norm, investors must think very carefully before putting money in the IDR. The other point that led to the scrapping of the FAZs, other than the irrational fear of becoming slaves of foreigners in their own country, is the anti semitic mindset. Historically, the Bumis and the Jews were living in two separate corners of the globe and hardly know each other. Why is there so much hatred for the Jews to be a reason to scrap the FAZs?? This kind of unthinking hatred for another race is very frightening. Don't the Bumis have a mind of their own and think what have the Jews got to do with them that they have to hate the Jews so intensely? There will be reasons to hate their former colonial master for exploiting and ruling them as a subject people. But what have the Jews done to deserve such acrimony?

The artificiality of an Aquarium

The artificiality of an Aquarium Nobody begrudges anyone earning too much money. Even the ministers are not begrudging other high earners from earning too much money. But they only said that they deserved to be earning as much as other top earners by virtue of the assumption that they are the top talents and holding the top jobs in the country. It is even suggested that all of them would be offered more by top foreign companies, a proposition that has not been proven. Maybe a couple of them could receive that kind of offers. I doubt more than one will have such a rare privilege. What were thrown out in all the debates recently re nothing but a green eye syndrome. What other's have I must also have. Like the 'eye' which they called it the 'flyer.' Other countries have the ferris wheel so must we. This is hardly a rational justification for being paid the same as the private sector. A business concern is totally different from a public service. One is money and profit oriented, the other is people oriented, a lot of nobility, passion and mission towards a country and the people's well being. The rewards are different. The political structure or system that we have is an artificiality that cannot be replicated nor continue to exist forever anywhere in the world. Up to a point it will look ridiculous and will self destruct. It will be dismantled or become a joke in times to come as all things artificial must go the same way. Our system is built by a one party dominance system that has entrenched itself and thinks that this is it and will be institutionalised for perpetuity. A political system is a political system. It is never meant to be an occupation where people can built a lifelong career, as an employee. The conditions, prerequisites, mentality and expectations are totally different. In the first place the political appointees do not need any objective qualifications. Anyone, a barber, taxi driver, or even a comedian without any skills in govt, or the discipline of higher education, can stand for election and get elected by the people. The supertalent concept is only a system applied by the ruling party. No other party is doing the same. And given the unpredictability of the electorate, the party of supertalents may be voted out and replaced by a party of average talents. When it happens, the whole pay system will become incongruent to the reality. It is no laughing matter paying millions to a wayward group or pretenders. And whose millions are being used to pay the politicians? It is the people's money. The billions of the nation's money are the people's money and cannot be used to pay politicians to serve the interest of any political party. Everyone receiving public money must be accountable to the huge sums he is being paid. If he is redundant or not doing a job worthy of that kind of money, then it is a misuse of public fund. The value of the job must justify the money paid and not for any other reasons. In a commercial enterprise, especially a family owned business, the grandfather and grandmother can continue to draw exorbitant salaries for doing nothing, maybe given a big title as chairman or director. That is private business and private money. One can do whatever one is happy with his own private money. The govt must look at the bigger picture and understand that the current aquarium set up is a temporary condition, an artificiality that may not hold in the longer run. Sooner or later, the longkang fish, the tadpoles, and the worms are going to infest the aquarium and it will not look so perfect on the window display. And a country cannot be held at ransom for fear that the elite will become corrupt or be offered a higher pay by the private sector and leave the people in the lurch. There will be a few not so clever individuals who will step forward to serve the country for more noble and altruistic reasons. Unless this money culture has already set roots in the minds of all Singaporeans. Then we will be doomed for sure. And I can assure everyone that it is a matter of time before the nation will be sold to the highest bidder.