Tough leaders and tough decisions

While the leaders of Afghanistan and South Korea are acting tough, and they are expected to live up to that image as strong leaders, that they will not yield under pressure, the fate of the 22 hostages hangs in a limbo. Heard that one more was shot last night. So 21 left. And at the rate it is going, the leaders can act tough for another 21 days before the ordeal is over. Great men think alike and behave alike. They will be remembered as strong and tough leaders. Stupid people need to be shot to learn a lesson in life. And they can be remembered, either as martyrs or fools.

Citizen journalism

It is reported that NowPublic, a citizen website in Vancouver, now has 120,000 contributing 'reporters' in more than 140 countries. Though the figure is definitely exaggerated, but even a 10% active contributors will mean a figure of 12,000. Thats very good. Redbeanforum and Mysingaporenews have quite a lot of readers and some contributors. It will be nice if everyone do a little reporting and contribution and we can grow a bit bigger. Everyone is a citizen journalist. It is not just reporting, but expressing a different view point on things and events. The age of citizen journalism is here. Technology has make it so convenient and efficient for anyone who has something to say to say it, without having to be vetted or edited to suit someone else agenda. Citizens must exploit this new tool to the fullest for personal development, satisfaction or to better the life of the people or the cities or countries they are living in. Gagging of public voices is a thing of the past.

Better quality public transport

So we are going to see better quality public transport and a transformation of the quality of life of the commuters. Travelling in public buses is now going sci fi with life information of bus arrival time. That's not all. Information will also tell whether the bus is wheelchair able. And since we are having such a sophisticated system, as a commuter, I would like to see more information provided. How about displaying how many empty seats available, the aircon temperature in the bus, the type of bus and the type of seats, cushion or plastic? Some may not be able to sit on hard plastic because of medical or physical conditions. We can add on more quality services later on. And with so many things to read on the screen, bus stops must be upgraded so that commuters can spend more time to enjoy the facility in comfort, eg air condition and pipe in music, to read books. Another thing that they must upgrade is the quality of the drivers. Oops, sorry, captains. Lets have something like airline captain standards, with nice manners and at least clean and nicely pressed uniforms, and with a captain's peak cap to go with the new image. And must send them for personal grooming courses so that they appear more like a captain. We will look quite futuristic as a city. Clean, green, sophisticated, hi tech, sci fi, and well groomed. Talking about making use of satellite technology to the fullest. It was reported that the first proposal cost $100 mil and the second was $40 mil. Both were scrapped because of cost and now this one is cheaper. But no figures given.

Retirement village in oil palm plantation

I was discussing with some investors on the viability of setting up retirement villages in Johore, inside oil palm plantations. The return would surely be much better than what oil palm can give, and faster. With low land and labour cost, it is an attractive proposition. The only hitch is security. How to keep the place safe and really safe that safety and security would never even be an issue, that safety and security can be taken as a given? For retirement villages, the residents may be rich, but old and feeble. They are very vulnerable and safety and security will be the number one concern. This is a comparative advantage that has yet to be exploited for financial gains.

Malaysia's comparative advantage

Najib is saying it again to reassure foreign, esp Singaporean investors, that the IDR is a long term investment and there will be no flip flops of policies again. I think the Malaysian govt knows very well the problems and issues and is trying to alleviate the fears of investors. But talk is one thing. It is actions and concrete rules and regulations that the investors are waiting. And Najib also understand the huge comparative advantage which Johore has vis a vis Singapore in terms of land and labour cost. The Malaysian govt should exploit this fully as the ridiculous land and property prices and rentals in Singapore would make Malaysia extremely attractive. Why are the Malaysians waiting? This is the time to compete aggressively with Singapore and wrestle as many investments as they can to Johore. And it is so easy if they can ruin in the parochial and kampong mentality of the local politicians and keep them at bay. A rich and prosperous Johore is good for everyone. And Johore stands to gain to become the most developed and industrialised and modern state of Malaysia. Only if they have the political will to grab the bull by the horns.