The landlord's logic

When everyone is increasing the rental or the sale price of the properties, I must also increase lah. But your propertiesre built 30 years ago and your cost of maintenance did not go up so much, why are you doubling or tripling your rental and price? It is business lah. Business means make profit, as much as the other party can pay. And don't forget, my own pay and bonuses must go up to keep up with my higher standard of living.

Tenacious pursuit of a cause

The fortnight outings at Hong Lim where the minibond bond victims congregate to hear the sermon from the mount is still going on. The number is dwindling. I am surprised that it could go on for so long. But knowing the habit of Singaporeans it will die a natural death. Soon no one will be there except for Tan Kin Lian and his friends. It will be just another event gone by and assigned to the dusty collections of history. Many issues that touched the people very dearly too were sent to oblivion. There is no tenacity in the Singaporeans pursuit for a cause except for the rebel. Rebels there were and still a few. They are the one who will stick to their cause and tailed their targets everywhere. Unfortunately there are too few of them and with even fewer supporters of their cause. Time will take care of everything. What would happen to the minibond case if there is no Tan Kin Lian? What would happen to the case when the attendance in Hong Lim becomes zero?

The fairness of natural justice

On Shu Kio, the wife of Richard Yong of NKF fame, has pleaded guilty in Hong Kong for money laundering and could face up to 14 years jail and a fine of $1.1m. And the money she transferred out, $4.6m may also be gone with the wind. Richard Yong had served his due for his part in the NKF. But On Shu Kio is at best a collateral damage. And she is paying an extremely high price for it. In fact Richard Yong and wife paid the heaviest of all. This prompts one to ask how big is Richard's role in the NKF to deserve such justice. Several of the board of directors of NKF were dealt with. Some spared. And they are still hunting the lone foreigner in India. They will catch him one day, hopefully. But India is such a big place. Richard Yong and his wife should have gone to China, an equally big place and probably they will still be hunting for them. How fair is natural justice?

My A Team

What is an A Team? I can handpick many A Teams according to my fancy. For one, I can pick from all the President or Overseas Scholars and I can even fill the whole Parliament, all 84 of them. Another version of my A Team is to pick the best of each profession, a few doctors, a few lawyers, a few architects, a few engineers, a few academics. There you are, another A Tea, all excellent in making money. Or to be more colourful, I can pick Jack Neo, Zoe Tay, Christopher Lee, Tao Li, Lam Chi Beng, Mamat Mardan, Agu, a few more sportsmen and women, and I will have an A Team of celebrities. All these great talents of the respective fields have one thing in common, talent in what they are doing. The question is where is their interest, where is their heart? No matter how great they are in their respective professions, do they bring along their hearts to serve the people, care for the people, put the people's welfare first? What is likely to happen is that a footballer may think of how to make football more profitable, an actor may want to make more money for the movie industry, or a top professionals may transfer his knowledge in making money to making more money from the people instead of for the people. What we need is an A Team with a heart, thinking of how to make life better for the people, not slamming them with a few hundred thousands and make the people pay for the rest of their lives, not increasing fees, fares to make more profits from the people. Where is such an A Team? I can't find it among my A Teams of super talents.

Myth 198 - Fear of collapse with new party

There is this myth that is circulating that the demise of the current ruling party will lead to the collapse of paradise as a country. Without the current ruling party, there will be uncertainties, fear and flight of capital and investments, and everything will simply breakdown. It is just like being under the curse of a wicked witch, overnight and we are gone. To believe in such heresy is being too simplistic, too naive and, very insulting to the intellect of the people. What is very likely for a new party to come to power is that there are enough able men and women to be elected to replace the current ruling party. And these able people need not be first class honours in everything. As long as they are able and decent people with sufficient knowledge/education, and a good heart to lead, they will be good enough. This country is not run by 82 politicians. It is run by an army of very able men and women in the civil service, stats boards and the uniformed groups. They will not simply disappear at the stroke of midnight. They will continue to serve whichever party that comes to power. To claim that the demise of the current ruling party is the end of everything is like saying that all these thousands of able men and women are of no significance, that they have no ability and no mind of their own. They could not function without the current ruling party. In reality, among these able men and women, many are even brighter than many of the politicians that we have. There are enough talents among them to form several cabinets, to fill the GRCs many times over. Paradise will survive with or without the current ruling party. In the 70s we used to claim that one block of 5 rm HDB flat has enough talents to run the country. Today, there are hundreds of blocks of 5 rm HDB flats, executive flats, and not counting the landed properties and private properties. Who say we have no talents? Is paradise in such a deplorable state, so fragile and vulnerable? What the hell have we been doing all these years to nurture and cultivate the best of our talents and then claim that we have no talents? Didn't we have been told that we have the best civil service, the best armed forces, the best of everything? But no political talents!