Telling the good news

In these trying times the media could sing a few songs of greatness to cheer up the people and lift their spirits higher. There is no need to fear. The financial crisis is nothing if we know that we have the best leaders the world can offer in charge. If money paid is a judge of the talents of govt leadership, we have the best. Each of our minister is probably 5 or 10 times better than the best of the West. And if we are to compare to Hu Jintao or Wen Jiabao, our leaders are better by hundreds of times over. So the people should not feel depress that we are being dragged along by the financial crisis. Everything is in control. And also we have so much money in reserve that we can use them to benefit the people. Cheer up, nothing to worry. Let's crack a few little jokes to put a few smiles on the people's faces.

More leeways for judges

This is the interesting headline in the ST. In fact the ST devoted several full pages to the revolution that is going on in the legal fraternity. There were proposals that judges be given more leeways to pass sentences. And frivolous prosecutors could be fined and the victim be compensated. The most remarkable of the changes is Walter Woon, the Attorney General, defending the perception of two laws, one for the rich and one for the poor. Instead of using the stick, he took pains to tell his learned friends that this was not so. Imagine if people are being hauled for contempt of courts or the legal system for questioning the fairness of the courts of law. We are progressing by talking to each other instead of treating everyone as an adversary. Good for Singapore going ahead. Would such an approach be the new ethos applicable to all Singaporeans?

The good news - More job losses

Some may take this news negatively, especially when they are going to be hurt badly. From the national point of view, from the employers' point of view, this is good news. There will be more workers available, hungry some more, and they need not have to pay them an arm or a leg to get them. So operating cost will go down. We will become more competitive. And the residents who are afraid of foreigners, they may see more of them returning home. Then their neighbourhoods will be back to normal. Singaporeans losing their jobs can go for retraining to become construction workers. And the ladies, maybe can be trained to be domestic maids too. Think positive.

Obscene profits at the Pinnacles

The craziness of the $200k increase in the price of the second launch of Pinnacle Duxton flats is again in the news. See Leong Kit wrote to The New Paper asking HDB to justify the hefty increase. Silence. I think this was casually raised in Parliament, or some MPs did asked a few questions about it and the answer was given. So case closed. The fact that it was raised in Parliament and no further follow up action is taken can be seen as an approval, that everyone in Parliament agreed with the increase. So it is an acceptable thing to do. So, all the kpkb in cyberspace will be pointless and there is no need for HDB to reply. And many like See Leong Kit still could not see the point and were asking for the costing. The costing is no longer an issue. It is market pricing. If HDB can provide data to show that similar flats are sold at those prices, that is good enough. OK HDB should at least put up some data to prove that similar public flats, not private flats are sold at those prices and how many were transacted. The logic of market pricing is not to be questioned any more. It is a govt policy. Oops, it is a HDB policy.

Sanctity of Office violated

Conflict of interest, opposing goals, human greed, have led to the violation of the sanctity of many offices and professions. The medical profession's primary mission is to heal and save lives. The legal profession is to see that justice is served. Both now come with a huge price tag. You don't get heal or get justice if you cannot pay the price. And this violation is not only confined to these two professions. It is so stark and blinding that no one can see it any more. It is like me looking into the mirror in the morning and still claiming how beautiful I look, with all the scars, blemishes and wrinkles. But I am so used to them that I no longer see them. Or at most I will apply a little cosmetics over them, get a plastic surgeon to pull at the wrinkles to give it a little freshness. Then I go around thinking that all is well and good. The fact is that the little cosmetics is only a make belief. Everyone can see the fakeness of it. When the sanctity of a good office is violated and the violators are so happy that that is the way to go, there is nothing that can be done except to wait for nature to take its toll. The time will come