Should have let the British answer for Pedra Branca

As the legal owner of the islands handed down to us by the British Empire, and having governing it for more than a hundred years, it is quite silly actually, to go to court just because someone wanted to make a claim for it. In 1965, all of Singapore, including Pedra Branca, were in Malaysia. And when we separated, if the islands belong to Malaysia, they would have retained it without returning to us lock, stock and barrel. But they returned everything to us. Period. If there is any case, we should let the Malaysians take it up with the British like the Hindu Malaysians, Hindraf, are doing. Then we can just hold a watching brief. We need only fight the case if the British wish to entertain the Malaysian claim and fight an expensive legal battle with them. And if they lost, then we can come it and fight this battle if we so wish. But we should not. It is ours and there is no need to fight in court with anyone. Just put our Navy there and see if anyone dares to take it away from us.

Is the CPI relevant and meaningful?

From all counts, the people affected by the high cost of living will have little faith in a CPI that does not reflect their plight. When prices of all their basic needs are shooting to the sky and the CPI said it was up by 3.6% is really a mockery and very insulting. If the CPI is spouting nonsense, it should be thrown out or replace by a more realistic and relevant ont. Can someone post the true items of the basket of goods that were used to measure the CPI here and let the people know what this CPI is all about? We would want to know the prices they used and the computation and see if this index is for real.

The crumbling facade of integrity and infallibility

After the NKF, when prominent Singaporeans that were even hosted and feasted in all the high places by the Singapore Who's Who fell into ill repute, we thought it was only a bizarre anomaly. People tend to be very forgiving and life goes on. Then another couple of CEOs of charitable organisations fell foul of the law. One, a full time employee even absconded. Still the people believe that everything is alright. A few bad hats should not blacken the whole community of people held in high esteem. And charitable organisations continued with their fund raising as if nothing had happened. The tooth or the truth will prevail and all honest men will rise to the occasion. Is it? Is this the end or the beginning of more embarrassing tales waiting to be exposed?

Street protest in vogue

Monks in protest and road march in Myanmar against high oil prices and a military regime. Malaysians in protest for a clean judiciary and now Hindraf, fighting for compensation against the British for abandoning the indentured labour they brought from India and dumped in Malaysia. We also witnessed 35 protesters in Orchard Road by Myanmese against the military junta in Myanmar. Street protest seems to be quite fun. And Singapore has its unique brand of street protest. So does other countries. In Indonesia, you can have paid to order protesters by the busloads at will, and at a price of course. You can protest for any cause. Simply pay the price and the protesters will come, in the colour of Tshirts you choose and with whatever logos on it, including headband. Headband means extra charge. Now you know why there are so many protesters that come and go. In Singapore our protesters also come in Tshirts. Black has been used and so is red. The classic thing about the protesters is that they will come, carrying the Tshirts inside their bags. When they are in the designated place, they will then slip on the Tshirts for the few minutes of protests. When the police arrives, they will simply take the Tshirt off and everything becomes normal. Another special characteristic of a Singapore protest is that they will come in less than 4 and mingle around with the shopping or office crowd. And it will be a great achievement if they get anything more than 30 protesters. I think the Black September protest was the biggest though the number was unofficial and difficult to substantiate as it was a protest without a leader and without an identity. Singapore needs to be wary of people who carry more than one Tshirt in their bags. But nothing will come out of it as they will simply take them off when challenged.

Passion of being Singaporeans

We have passionate Singaporeans who stay and passionate Singaporeans who left. But they all share one thing in common, they love the country, feel for the country and are emotionally attached to the country. And they talk and share their views of things that are happening to the country. These are characteristics of a people who belong to a country. They are not sleepers, passengers or visitors, or guests. They are owners and they feel that they belonged here. Whether they have left, or still rooted here, they are still interested in things here, the good and the bad. This kind of attachment and involvement do not come about instantly. Many who have left to be citizens of new countries could not feel so much about their new homes and neither do they talk so much about them. It will take a life time or several generations to belong and call a country home. Not just a swearing in ceremony and the collection of a piece of paper to recognise one as a citizen. Often you will hear ex Singaporeans expressing strong views about the home they have left behind many years ago. But they would not have such strong views of their country of adoption. Or maybe their new countries were too big to feel that one is a significant part of that piece of land mass. Here, one is intricately and intimately interwoven into everything around us and the people, from the top to the bottom. We are that close as a people and that close physically to feel one another. A country without a people to talk and feel for it is not a country. Views and dissenting views are two sides of a coin of a people of a country.