Paradise here I come

Singapore is indeed a paradise not only to Singaporeans, but to the many PRs and foreign talents working here. They have good jobs, good pay, good environment, and treated very well by Singaporeans. And the govt is still trying to convince the locals to treat the foreigners even better. Where on earth can a foreigner find another country that is so friendly to them? Filipino Mac Gregore Ponce Tan (31, architect), a PR since last year, balloted successfully for his daughter to a school of his choice. And he had this to say, (I quote from Young pay and pay blog), "Although I am a foreigner, I am not discriminated here. I receive the same privilege and rights as Singaporeans. This is very fair. This is a place I like most!" Native Singaporean Foo Wang Heng (My own translation of his Chinese name. 40, stockbroking sector. ) was unsuccessful. He said: "(My daughter,) such a little girl, every day having to spend so much time on transport, it's not a good thing! And as for the school's quality, we have now reach a stage, where we no longer have a choice (because it's now up to MOE to anyhow allocate)" I think any Singaporean who is in Foo Wang Heng's shoe and claimed that he would not feel unhappy about the situation must be lying or an idiot. It is good that we treat our new citizens and PRs well since we welcome them here. We shall provide them with the best environment possible to make their stay comfortable and pleasant. We want them to enjoy our hospitality as a gracious people. I still think we need to do something more for our very own people. We must provide enough classes to accommodate all the children of our citizens and PRs. But putting them together under the same balloting scheme will surely create bitterness among the citizens when they got out balloted by non citizens. It is only a human reaction. It would be better to give priority to Singaporeans by separating PRs and Singaporeans into two balloting schemes. If we can assure the PRs that there will be places for their children in our good schools, I don't think they will be unhappy. I don't think they will demand to be treated as equal as a citizen. Some may have the audacity to demand so. We can tell these talents to go home if they think we are not treating them well. But the process to ensure that children of PRs have a reasonable chance of being enrolled in good schools will be something the talented administrators have to work out without incurring the wrath and unhappiness of the citizens. Perhaps a percentage of PRs to provide a healthy mix be use as the justification for an admission formula. Call it the PR phase or whatever, but let them ballot among themselves. For citizens to be ballotted in the same phase as PRs will definitely incur some displeasure no matter how reasonable or magnanimous the citizens are. Something to think about. I think we are being very insensitive to the feelings of citizens.

Singapore style entrepreneurship

The term 'entrepreneur' connotes a certain kind of adventurism, dynamism, gungho, pathfinders, self reliance, risk taking etc etc. The Singaporean style entrepreneurs are slightly different. It is all about reliance, about relying on the govt. Singaporeans want a gold medal at the Olympics. The govt knows the answer. Singaporeans want to venture overseas, the govt will take the lead. The govt is the pathfinders. They beat the path to China, India, the Middleeast and Russia. And the Singapore Inc follows. Now, Singaporeans who are lonely and not knowing how to go dating, the govt steps in. The govt will teach them how to go dating and find a mate. Actually the one and only entrepreneur in Singapore is the Singapore Govt.

A Singapore without LKY

When Chok Tong became the PM, LKY took a step back. This was the first phase of preparing Singapore to continue without a LKY. It was the beginning of a transition. LKY was like the dowagers behind the veil, there in the background to keep things in check. When Hsien Loong took over the rein from Chok Tong, it was expected that the transition to a Singapore would move one step ahead and be complete, and LKY would fade away from the political scene. He had achieved what he wanted for Singapore and what he wanted for himself as a father. He could spend his time telling stories to his grandchildren. The transition of Singapore to the next phase, to run efficiently and effectively in the absence of LKY, is vital to give the impression that Singapore can continue on its own under a new leadership. And even without LKY, it will not run to a halt, there will be no leadership crisis and no drastic changes in policies and direction. The ethos and ways of doing businesses, running the country, will be as predictable as before. In other words, have faith and confidence that things will be normal. The last couple of years have seen LKY not only in front of the veil, but walking beside Hsien Loong in the running of state affairs. In some instances he was walking ahead. The direct participation of LKY in state affairs can be seen in different ways. From the positive angle, we have the strongest team ever, the Dream Team, running the country. We have two Dep PMs, a PM, an Immediate Past PM and LKY himself. It is a formidable team. The strongest team that Singapore ever had. What is a bit troubling is that the transition of a Singapore to a post LKY era is back at square one. It is still the LKY era with LKY fully in charge. It may be a perception, a wrong perception, but still a perception. For those doomsayers, there will be a new song to be sung. Or old song actually. What would Singapore be like without LKY? Will it sink, will there be a leadership crisis, will the new team be able to manage without him? Will there be fear, a loss of confidence and a flight of capital and investment? We have unwittingly taken a big step back in our process of having a Singapore running confidently and proving to the world that with or without LKY nothing changes. Is this good or bad?

Give now talk later

In this extraordinary time while many people are still gasping for breath chasing at runaway prices of basic necessities, PN Balji suggested that the govt should consider a new approach, a give-now-talk-later way. During Hsien Loong's ND Rally speech there were a lot of giveaways, but all came with a series of conditions. These may not be good enough when some people need an immediate jab of morphine to be revived. This formula of giving with conditions, a proven formula to underline the need for self reliance, that nothing comes freely, has worked for some times but needs to be tweaked. It will also show a little more caring and compassion and less calculative. This is only one aspect to look at the govt. But how could this give-now-talk-later style match up with mean testing? The principle of mean testing is to take as much as you can. Check and see how much he has left for you to take. It also goes against the principle of thrift. When inflation is eroding the value of money so rapidly, when things are getting more expensive by the days, everyone is fearing that his/her little savings may not be enough. But the principle of mean testing wants people to spend and eat sharksfin if they have a few dollars more is really bad. What the govt needs to do is provide the medical services that the people want and willing to pay for. Not the type of services that people want but cannot afford to pay or services that people do not want but must want and pay. Somehow it is like take-now-talk-later instead of give-now-talk-later.

Age is Anwar's best defence

At 60 or 61, Anwar can easily walk into a clinic and ask the doctor to certify that he is suffering from ED, Erectile Dysfunction. Period. No more case. Just a little embarrassing on his manhood but solve all his problem. Someone can whisper this to his advisors : )