Tsk tsk tsk

When I wrote the article 'Do we need change,' I expect people to rebut my points vigorously and point out all the flaws in my arguments. I would like forumers and bloggers to challenge the conventional truth or the accepted truth. And it is very easy to tear away at the positions I took. Our system is far from perfect. It is like a story in Disneyland. It is based on many assumptions that normally do not happen in the real world. And if they do, it is a temporary phenomenon, like a rainbow. It will not last. The first assumption is that we will always be blessed with wise, honourable and selfless men who will be in position of power to keep the lid on. And these wise men will be able to select equally honourable and selfless men to carry on with the job of good governance. Even now we are seeing the cracks and the peelings are coming off. And do we really believe that an elected President can check on a rogue govt? The evidence has proven otherwise. A rogue govt could simply bundle the President out of the Istana. Or they could simply ignore him, don't provide him with the information to work on. Just shut him out. And the President will not be able to protest outside the Parliament without a permit. He will be arrested. Where is the check and balance? Who is to check the guards or guardians? The Mas Selamat case is a good example. Who is to check the wise and honourable men if they turn bad? Our system cannot last after LKY. It needs a very strong man to pull all the strings to get everyone in line. Once this is not present, everything will be scattered all over the place. There is a saying, 'tree falls monkeys scatter.'

Dying is a natural way to say good bye

The Lien Foundation is funding a research on palliative care to adopt a different approach to those who are chronically ill or who are dying and beyond the scope of medical help. It is high time that such an approach be adopted than blindly trying to keep everyone alive and incurring a bomb in medical expenses. A lot of education is needed to educate the ignorant masses that dying is not a bad thing when the time has come. Prolonging life and suffering are. At the same time the education should also go on to tell the people that living to 80 or 90 is not necessary a blessing but could be a punishment, a life sentence in pain and suffering, in lonely, in despair. People should not be envious of those who live too long and clamouring to want to do the same.

A bad PR exercise

The Home Team has received a lot of bashing recently and Kan Seng may think it is time to do some morale boosting to keep their spirit high. There was a long news clip last night on Kan Seng's speech to the Home Team and another front page news in the msm. Many may have mocked the Home Team in cyberspace and it is natural for the Home Team to feel that the comments were unfair and unhelpful. But to think that it is time to air their grouses now may be a bit too premature if only they know what were said and not printed anywhere. The mistake was not only unacceptable, but approaches incredulity. It is hard for the people to accept it as a complacency or a lapse. It is also natural for the people to want to air their disappointment. No doubt some of the ridiculing may have gone overboard, but it is best that the Home Team accept the blame, continue with their good work and move on. The last thing the Home Team should do now is to take on public opinion or even to tell the public how sophisticated they are, how able are they to find a few hundred empty houses etc etc. What for when Mas Selamat is still on the loose? The morale boosting pep talk is best done in house as many officers have sweated and sacrificed their time that they could well spend with their loved ones. I think the majority of the people still have high regards for the Home Team and they should take the criticisms and praises as and when deserved.

Petrol price hike again

Oil price hits US$111. A good and justifiable reason to hike petrol prices. Is it? If I am not mistaken, oil prices are traded using US$. We are paying in S$. S$ is appreciating against US$. The petrol price hike is in S$. Are the price hike justifiable? Is CASE looking into this to make sure consumers are not taken for a ride and petrol companies are not profiteering? Can any thing be done to absorb the price hike? With a higher base price for petrol, revenue from petrol tax and GST will go up proportionally. Can this be adjusted to absorb the hike? Oil price cannot be controlled by us, external factors. But taxes are within our control. Or are we looking forward to another pleasant surprise of budget surpluses next year?

Hospital Resort concept

We are now seeing more people refusing to be discharged from our hospitals. Now why? Are our hospitals so comfortable, like hotels and resorts, that people are having a good time recuperating there than getting themselves discharged? Or is the hospital cost still too low and the patients find them still affordable? I think relatively the hospitals must be giving good value for money vis a vis the hotels. Otherwise these patients would have move out to stay in the hotels instead. Or is it because they have some savings in the Medisave which they might as well spend them or else it would be left untouched? I think Boon Wan must rethink his idea of making hospitals more comfortable and affordable. The latter is a contradiction. Make it cheap they do not want to leave. Die die want to stay in the hospitals. Boon Wan may want to reintroduce the natural selector concept in the hospitals. This may be a way to discharge patients and provide more bed space for those who really need them.