Sizzling debate

The presence of foreign workers and the concerns of the people have been brewing for many years. Now it has come to a head and a sizzling debate is going on. As the number grows, as empty space near rubbish dumps and cemetries got used up, they will be moved closer to the residents. It has to be. The hardlanders are less vocal when their private space were encroached. Anyway they are seen as nothing much better than these foreign workers and their lifestyles should melt into each others quite easily. They might not look too different either. Now the encroachment is getting a bit too near for comfort for the more well off segment of our people. And they are not going to take this sitting down. But can we do away with them? They have become integral to the well being of our economy. They may be here to stay for good, helping us. One solution is to increase the dosage. Bring in more, another 3 million foreign workers will do the trick. That will dump the Singaporeans into a minority and drown their voices. And we can develop a bigger infrastructure to take care of the existence of this group of people. We can designate a Dep PM to look after the 4 or 5 million foreign workers, a Minister in charge of their welfare, another for their housing, another Manpower Minister to look after jobs for them. And more MPs to be elected from the foreign workers to represent them. This will also help to bring our population to the optimum level of 7 to 8 million. Then no need to bring in any more. And our economy will then be sustainable, self sufficiency, and we can all live happily ever after. Another option to dilute the great divide between them and us is to offer Singapore citizenship to all foreign workers. That will make them one of us. No more distinction and cannot call them foreigners anymore. All problems solved. And we can revive the great HDB building programmes and all properties will increase in value too. Both are great solutions that are worthy of serious considerations.

The numbers are numbing

A recent indication of the scope of the dilemma was the rising number of Singaporeans who asked for a document needed to apply for permanent residency overseas. It has exceeded 1,000 a month to reach 12,707 last year from 4,996 in 1998, or a rise of 170% over 10 years, said Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng. These people, over the age of 16, could be leaving for good, but they also included students and businessmen, who may eventually return. In 10 years, they totalled 97,990 Singaporeans (a far greater number if children were included).... By Seah Chiang Nee in the Star online News on Sep 06. These numbers are worrying to some but not to everyone. The more they leave, the more we replaced them with new citizens. What is the problem? Our intake is so big that we have a net gain. Good riddance. This a statement of truth. Singapore is just a social political construct. The citizens are just people given a piece of paper. If all the Singaporeans leaves Singapore, they can be easily replaced by more new Singaporeans. It is a non issue. So no need to cry over spilled milk. And for those who have been saying, if you are not happy here, please leave. I must admit that they have a point. I can read the message clearly. This is the Singapore that I have created. And this is the way it is. You like it, good. If you don't like it, also good. Just go.

Senoko Power sold

Senoko Power is sold to a Japanese consortium. 2 out of 3 power stations have been sold. One more to go. Will we also see the water treatment plants be sold? If that be the case, electricity and water bills will be generated by private companies. And when they raise prices, it will be a commercial decision. These are private organisations are there to provide a service and to make money for their shareholders, just like SMRT and Singapore Bus and privatised hospitals and HDB. One thing that the people can expect is better quality of service and higher efficiency. Good for the people, good for the economy.

Hey you're mad. No, you are.

Would such a statement be sufficient ground to suspect that someone is mad? Would someone heard cursing and swearing at a religious ceremony in the neighbourhood be arrested for disturbance? The law of a state is to protect the people from being harmed. If someone beats you, you are to take up a lawsuit yourself against that person. It is a private matter. If someone disturbs a wedding procession, is it a private matter? How serious would a disturbance be good enough for one to be arrested and sent to psychiatric checkup to determine his sanity? And if the psychiatrists could not find anything after two or three weeks, can the psychiatrists demand that one shall continue to be detained for further observation? How long would such observations become unacceptable? Shall I warn all those bloggers calling people stupid, mad, irrational, fools etc not to do so for their own good? Will such libellious remarks be a problem between the parties involved or can one party insist the other party be sent for psychiatric observation? Freedom of expression or anonymity in the internet has led some bloggers to go shooting from their hips. Some even fabricate stories and half truths. Would they end up under the microscope of the psychiatrists? Oh, the heading of this post is just an illustration only. I am not calling anyone mad.

Matilah Singapura is Alive!

I have to repost this thread here as the original thread is too far deep down and many will miss it. This thread is posted by Matilah in the earlier thread which I started, 'Matilah, wanted, dead or alive.' Nice to know that you are still kicking, chum. From Matilah Singapura. My dear fans, and redbean,Let me begin by thanking everyone for their concern.I hope that I am wanted more ALIVE than I am dead, but then again I have no control over such things as 'other people's opinions' :)Unlike Gopalan Nair, I don't tease the state of S'pore, and challenge them to come after me...so to one anonymous poster...sorry to disappoint. I quit Thailand 2 months ago--at least for the foreseeable future. The political situation is not good and staying there, IMO, is exposing myself to unnecessary risk on several fronts. Frankly speaking the novelty of Soi Cowboy gets old quickly when your office is a mere 7 minute walk away.S'pore is also out of the question--I stopped by for a week or so to recce and decided 'no go'. It's way too expensive (i.e. factors of production), and my margins would be too lean to make it worth my while. On the upside, returns from rentals are the best they've been for years...so the best position to be in is a landlord and to be elsewhere. I am back in Aust, settling into a new home and getting started on projects which I hope will bear fruit. Aust is still very strong economically depite the naysayers. The average weekly wage is now over AUD1k and the spirit of 'can do' private enterprise is the best it has ever been. I have therefore decided to hang-out here for awhile. It is truly a wonderful place, especially now that the weather is warming up!So that's basically an update of my ordinary life. I've posted a bit on Singabloodypore, but my internet time is essentially restricted to an hour or two a day now as my time is taken up with more "social" activites—interacting with real people in the real world. The only reason I stopped by to post this was I did a Goggle on 'Matilah Singapura' and redbean's post was at the first listing. Such is the efficacy of the web!SE Asian politics are, for the most part, a part of my past. It saddens me to some degree that my social, political and mostly my economic predictions (all derived form natural laws and understanding of 'spontaneous orders', like 'markets' and the nature of collectivism) have come true, and Singapore proves itself more and more to be on a path of decay—on many fronts. My ego doesn't require 'stroking'--to be honest, I hope to be wrong.Unfortunately I do make part of my living from using methods to 'manipulate' human conciousness. I'm not the only one who knows how to do this, but I do understand how EASY it is once you know how. I also know that governments use these tools to manipulate their voters, such that the average person lives in a world of MYTHS. As if this wasn't bad enough—the surprising thing is how readily the avergae person will DEFEND these myths from any form of critical analysis or criticism. That is how effective states can be—the people don't 'govern' themselves, they IMPRISON themselves. Anyway, I wish all of you well, and hope you find the truths you are seeking on your own terms. Redbean, it's good to know that you're still blogging furiously. Well done. Warmest regards MS