Tyranny of Majority or Minority?

I have posted several times on the en bloc issue and the tyranny of the majority to force their will on the minority. The law provides for the majority to do what they deem fit in an en bloc sales and this has been taken full advantage of to the detriment of the minority by some unscrupulous majority. The minority are now crying out loud at the abuses of the majority and getting themselves heard in the main stream media. Today there is another letter by a Paul Amstrong in the Today paper trying to get the public and developer to understand the views of the minority. As he explained along the way, I sense that he got himself carried away by making quite ridiculous demands of expecting everything to be what they were before, to the extend of expecting the same view, the same space, design, nooks and corners etc. This is actually what the law makers fear, the tyranny of the minority, the unreasonable minority that will not move for their weird sentimental reasons. The majority may be held captive by the unjustifiable demands of a few crannies and everyone be held at ransom. One must admit that no laws can be crafted to meet all situations. There are limitations and these can only be taken care of by the good sense of reasonableness which is often expressed as the spirit of the law. We do not want people to take advantage of the law to sue someone for a pair of lost pants for US$65 million. When laws are applied strictly to the letters, it makes the people all look so stupid. It reflects on the stupidity of a nation. What is needed in the en bloc dilemma is not more laws but a moderator appointed by the govt to mediate and ensure a reasonable settlement for all parties.

Charity begging on TV

I was watching the Thye Hua Kuan Charity Night on TV last night. It was very successful, bagging another $4 million from the generous and kind hearted people from the public. The public, mostly earning less than $5000 a month, many less than $2000, made almost 500,000 calls during the 3 hour programme and raised about $2.5 million alone. I hope no one is going to laugh and make private jokes about the poor and the paupers trying to skim a few dollars to help their comrades in the shitholes. What is interesting about the programme is the formula being used. The phone calls, foreign and local artistes, the parading of people in trouble, the pathetic pleas etc etc, except that there is no lucky draw. Whoever came out with this idea is simply brilliant. Is it the old NKF, Durai or some programme producer or some PR agency? I am sure they can copyright the programme blueprint and collect royalties from it. This is a formula that can be marketed internationally.

Of race and language

PN Balji raised a very important and sensitive issue of race and language in the Today paper. He forsees the problems of how the Tamil group, being the majority in Singapore, feels threatened by the influx of Northern Indians and the use of Hindi instead of Tamil. And as they feel threatened, there is a discussion going on in cyberspace calling for the greater use of Tamil as well as the appointment of an Indian Affairs Minister. This is a timely call as Singapore starts its massive programme of injecting the population with better foreign talent blood. This infusion of better quality blood would inevitably bring a long some pulls and stresses in our society. The most important of these problems is the diversities of the new talents. And I believe the govt is prepared and have preview to the colourful Singapore that is yet to come and will embrace all kinds and colours in its stride. The call for an Indian Affairs should be taken up seriously. And we need a China Chinese Affairs Minister to go along as the problems of the China Chinese is never the same as indigenious Chinese. Then an Indonesian Affairs Ministers as well. And probably an European Affairs Minister as well. It will perhaps add on another $8 million into the cost of the govt's budget. But it is all worth it to make Singapore more colourful and lively. This should include the use of more languages in Parliament. And all the street signs should have all the languages of as many dialect groups as possible. And we can decorate all the signages beautifully. That will make Singapore not only unique, but very friendly to the world. Oh, I have forgotten about the Japanese, the Vietnamese, the Koreans, Thais, Filipinos, the Myanmars and the Bangladeshis. How about a minister to take care of each of this group? As we bring in more foreign talents, we must be prepared to cater to their demands sensitively. Or else we might one day be like England or France where the immigrants will start to plant bombs everywhere because they were not treated equally or fairly. But being an extraordinary country with extraordinary talents, we shall prevail. Such problems will not affect us. The talks and discussions in the internet are by innocent or naive forumers talking nonsenses and will have no impact to our society.

innovative ways to get donations

Charity organisations are looking for more innovative ways to get donations from the public after the NKF fiasco. Taking the same course of actions like lucky draw prizes, charity shows, soliciting using the pretext of free medical checkups, signing monthly donations etc may draw an unpleasant taste. New and more innovative ways are needed. I can imagine that an opt in/opt out scheme for the money in the Medisave would be an attractive proposition. Just make a ruling that everyone must opt out of the scheme or else the money left after their demise will go to charity. And with so much money left unused, many will likely die without touching their Medisave, this will be a huge source of donation for charity organisations.

of vintage and artifacts

The Sunday Times reported on Lim Swee Say's talk to a group of young and bright eyes unionists. And the reporter, Keith Lin, reported that Swee Say gave them 'an insight in the challenges of governing Singapore.' For his insightful anecdotes, Swee Say was described as 'vintage'. I can imagine all the impressionable young unionists going ga ga with what Swee Say had shared with them. If Swee Say has risen to the level of vintage, and he is only in his early 50s, and bearly 10 years in politics, what would he be appropriately called in another 10 years, artifacts or antiques?