Man, you are less than a man

How much are you taking home? Any man that is taking home less than $300k pa is less than a man. It was computed that a housewife is worth $300K a year. That is her contribution and worth. Are you worthy of $300k? Terribly embarrassing huh?

No reason to die

Malaysia introduced a form of National Service for their young men and women. It was not the rigorous form of military training expected of NS in Singapore. It was aimed at nation building and racial integration. Despite the less demanding physical and military training required for fighting soldiers, death seems to be quite frequent. Quite a number have died for strange reasons. Parents are questioning how their young and healthy sons and daughters could die after a short stink in training. They are angry and in deep pain for these things to happen to their loved ones. The random selection for NS is like striking a death lottery. How could this continue to go on?

Nature starts its culling

The earth is getting too congested and nature has no way out but to start its culling. Tsunami, cyclones, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, droughts etc are simply nature's way of getting the excess fat away. Those people that perished must be not deserving to live. This is a tough statement to make. For if that is true, and if nature wants them out, why help? Civilisation also has its own way to cull people. Financial crisis, recession, job losses etc are social ways of letting the less able to go. Yes, these less able people are either of bad genes or lazy or stupid, and do not deserve to exist. For the strong and able, the rich and mighty, time to cut the crap and hypocrisies, laugh and sneer at those that can't make the cut. They have failed, it is their problems and they have themselves to be blamed. And if anyone wants to give them or show them a little kindness, that is strictly voluntary and they better appreciate it and don't ever demand. This is the tough and cruel realities. No more niceties. The fittest survives. I think many will live by such principles and truths. No one owes anyone else a living. They have made it and others must or should also make it. If they don't or can't, it is their funerals. And when nature has started to cull a population that is growing too big for its own good, when resources are exploited to its maximum and used up at a rate that is higher than it is able to replenish, it will lead to doomsday. Better be careful about that silly 6 mil, 7 mil or 8 mil population. Instead of going green, stop producing or increasing the population is the solution.

A timebomb ticking

Friday � April 25, 2008 CHITRA RAJARAM Deputy Editorial Director chitrarajaram@mediacorp.com.sg ARE Singaporeans racially sensitive as a society? Do we merely tolerate each other or do we really understand and care about the different races and sensitivities in our midst. While we pride ourselves as one people, one nation, one Singapore; I am not sure there is real depth of understanding at all when it comes to racial sensitivities. My recent experience with public transport is testimony to this. I drive to work four days a week and every Friday I take taxis, sometimes even in the wee hours of the morning. I have to confess, I have been appalled at the lack of sensitivity by taxi drivers. Why? Every time I had gotten into a taxi, it was to blaring music in a language I do not understand. The first few times, I kept quiet and endured the "noisy" journey back home. But once, after a 14-hour exhausting work day, I refused to take it any longer. When I told the driver to turn off the music, he told me he had to listen to it because it gave him traffic updates!... As a Singaporean, I find such behaviour rude and somewhat odd. We have grown up here on the mantra of four races. We have inter-religious organisations (IROs) to build understanding and tolerance. We also have celebrations of the four main festivals.... But my experience is not uncommon in societies where there are predominantly majority societies. The hegemonic behaviours of such groups of people is not extraordinary. But it is the minorities in these communities who perpetuate this hegemonic behaviour by adopting "paths of least resistance", one of which is silence. Once the sounds of silence set in, then the behaviours transcend from the personal, to the state and systemic levels. Admittedly, the Government has recognised this and has provided many avenues for us to be sensitive and sensitised to our innate differences. However, we are products of the socio-cultural systems we are born into and learn these traits in our social context, traits which are not biologically determined. So, we as a society (majority and minority) need to unlearn and reconstruct ourselves. How? To put it simply, we need to challenge ourselves, speak up when we are uncomfortable and reconstruct the social dynamics of our society � then we will truly be one people, one nation, one Singapore. Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. The above article is an early sign of the stresses building up in our society. It is good that it is being aired for if kept unspoken and unchecked, it will blow up in the most unexpected and ugly way. I have personally witnessed a few cases of citizens finding one another annoying in SMRT, and they spoke up, with their fists. If we cannot appreciate the intensity of this tension, we should expedite it by increasing the population at a faster speed and hit our 6 mil or 7 mil target quicker. Then everything will become real for all to see and experience. Our 40 years of nation building is going to go under with this thoughtless influx of superficial residents that would want their rights to be different in our own home.

I am sadden

I read from the feedback of MPs that more and more people are seeing them for help, for handouts. These people used to be from the lower income group. Now increasingly they are from the lower middle income group. What is happening to these Singaporeans huh? Giving them the best education money can buy and they are now in queue for charity? Why can't they buck up, work hard, and like the smart Singaporeans, earn $100k a month? In this land of opportunities and possibilities, how can they be in the queue for free money? That is the wrong queue. What have gone wrong? We are the best, the most highly educated in this part of the world or among the best in the developed world. Why are our people begging? They must be lazy, and maybe our claims that we have the best workers are not true. And yes, yes, we need more foreign talents to replace them. These useless Singaporeans only have themselves to blame when foreigners can work here and be so happy. Or like the little girl said, my father is earning so much, these people who cannot make a decent living here should get lost.