The New Undeclared War

The war that is starting in England is a new kind of war. It is undeclared war, fought in undefined territory by undefined enemy using undefined methodology and weapons. It is sporadic and erratic. And this war makes the soldiers obsolete. It is a war being fought by the police against an enemy hidden among its people. It is a war where the targets are the people and not the soldiers. It is a war when the police find themselves fighting and not patrolling the streets to guard against petty crimes. The world should brace up to this new warfare, the newborn child of the Iraqi war.

Good news, property prices up

There must be a lot of cheering and happiness going around for all the property owners, including HDB flat owners. Then there are cries from analysts and property trading firms that the red light is on. It is alarming that the price is running to the pre crisis level of 1996. They are calling for the govt to take appropriate measures to curb the exuberance. When the crisis hit in the late 1990s, harsh measures were taken to curb property speculations. So far nothing much was done except some cautionary words. Maybe we need the bubble to burst before something harsh will be introduced. In the meantime all the rich property owners are laughing to the bank. Their money and assets growing in leaps and bounds. For those who are genuinely looking for a home, sorry mate, your money value has just gone down by 7.9% if you are looking at the private property market and 2.9% in HDB resale market. Yes, your money is getting smaller. Not forgetting that practically everything is going up. Are the people really benefitting from all these price hikes and property boom? Some obviously are. The en bloc owners will be very happy too. Who is the last to laugh?

Political Party Manifesto 2

What should be the priorities of political parties? The current ruling party's main priority is economic development and growing the pie. There are progress in many areas. Many people are getting very rich. But many people may not feel that way. Many are expected to continue to work and work and never ever think of retirement. There should be a relook at the priorities of govt. The people and their lives, their well beings must be the first priorities. Not the obsession with accumulation of money. The top 20 percent are quite happy with what they are. But the 80%, the sloggers, horses and the cows, whose lives have become one of non stop working and with no security in old age. Everyone will get poorer by the day. Forget about the money in the CPF. Those money will never be enough. Forget about falling sick and getting hospitalised. That will be the end of whatever savings one have. What happened to the long term planning of the people's life? The planning from cradle to grave does not seem to be right. Compare to the older days, just 20 or 30 years ago, many did retired and managed to survive quite well. Why is it that people are now expecting to have more than $120k in their savings and still not enough? Still living in fear? Would any political party be able to come out with another super plan from cradle to grave that is not so precarious? What has gone wrong? Why is it that the people must be made to put aside more and more money and still not enough?

Brazen challenge on modesty

Below is a post submitted by a forumer. On Saturday 30 JUN 2007 @ about 1045 am, i met my client a SIN PR @ East Coast hawker centre. My client chose a seat (4person away from a Singaporean man) on same long bench. After buying coffee, i joined my client on the table. That man turned towards my client and said somewhat in this manner " Excuse, my wife is coming back here, can you put your legs down...it is not nice." My client was in his shorts & running shoes and i noted he was cross-legged while seated opposite me. My client was shocked and so was i. My client muttered, "there is nothing indecent here .." I added to the man " there is nothing indecent here.. you are acting out of jurisdiction..." My client insisted i carry on our conversation on the property and not to be distracted. In fact, i wanted to address the man again, but my client said to ignore him, which i did as we had important issues to talk about the property. The man man drove off first while me & my client continued our discussion in the car-park. The crux of issues was,... i do not think my client was acting indecently by crossing his leg which is very common. Besides it was a hawker centre not an air-con restaurant. Besides it is Saturday, it is encouraged that we do sports and take regular exercises. Neither was my client out of syn in his choice of running short. It was a decent running short. Why did the Man acted in this manner shocked me till today.. I personally do not think we had escalated matters here but think there was a serious breach of individual freedom & ways which makes SIN an attractive place to do business and deemed us an international cosmoplitian society. This incidence showed a) imposing one's standard of dressing on another using decency issues to intimidate. Using a "so-called" sikit atas attitute to impose, frustrate and cause maximun anger. b) Using the "wife" as the sufficiency of reason or to act as the actual barometer to issue a compliance to a fellow SIN resident. Is the wife the moderator of LAW & Compliance? Is the wife a walking judge issuing out arbitrary judgement based on his/her feelings of the day? Going around ticking people off for their behaviour based on his/her judgement... c) my client is small built but he was decently dressed except in his running shorts.He is well travelled and had lived in many bigger cities elsewhere. He is a banker not a Ah Beng. d) a form of extremism using method of intimidation through asking for compliance over a matter which possibly could cause conflict and to put challenge to the concept of racial harmony and/or written rule of Laws. . Using a upper crust scholarly attitute imposing one's standard using "decency" as a cover to disrupt harmony, rub society,imposing on one's civil liberty rights; as an excuse for rights of engagement ; this causing fractionalism & subtle anger to built up to disrupt another person's way of life. I hope SIN will not head down this road where individual rule the street using subtle methods of intimidation, imposing on other civil liberty rights and./or imposing on others their arbitary judgement. The above post describes a normal outing that could turn ugly when another person starts to impose his values and conduct or morality on others. What is unacceptable to him may not be acceptable to others. The danger is that it is very provocative and could start an argument or fight that could turn ugly. Every community and religious organisations should take it upon themselves to teach and educate their people to accept that in a multi racial society we must accept that other people are different and have different values and way of life. Modesty, morality, decency should be confined to one's own group and not imposed onto others. Obvious obscenity in the public is of course not acceptable. I would like to goreng that man's pisang. Tolerance man!

Too much caring

Anyone who is working, irrespective of his age or income or wealth, must contribute to Medisave and CPF. This is good for them. For by the time they reach the elusive withdrawal age, not likely to be a fixed number, they can withdraw a few hundred dollars a month from their CPF to pass the day. And very wealthy people like our millionaire bankers, property owners, ministers etc will benefit from this withdrawal, to keep them going on their retirement. How nice. I am sure people like Ong Beng Seng and Wee Cho Yaw or Quek Leng Beng or Ng Teng Fong would be very grateful. Their retirement pocket money is well conceived and protected. They will not run out of money. Straight jacket?