Club, club, club, how many kena clubbed?

It is in the news today that Seletar Golf Club is the latest victim to the minibond fiasco. $5m was reported to be invested in similar product and probably nothing much will be left. Fortunately Seletar had made $5m of profits over 5/6 years to offset this loss. Otherwise the members may have to cough out some money to patch the hole. Maybe because of this that the members are reported to be quiet and not kicking a fuss. The members are very understanding. With this first revelation, perhaps more clubs will also stand up to admit that they too were clubbed. Now, the members of other clubs may not be as easy going as Seletar members, or if the losses are much more, then temperature will rise.

The evolving A Team

The recent events that are turning paradise topsy turvy is churning up an unexpected result. We are seeing the spontaneous appearance of people into the political scene. This is the kind of development in history, that in times of crisis or of need, able men and women, some kind of mavericks, will stand out to find their rightful places, to do the needful. Tan Kin Lian is one of them. Then you have Leong Sze Hian and to a certain extent you have Goh Meng Seng, and a few others sprouting out in the field of Hong Lim. Another one that is increasingly making his presence felt is PN Balji. And when Subhas Anandan made his mark yesterday in the Probono, he too could be another new maverick in the making. Among them we can easily field an A Team for a GRC. A Team like this will easily win in the next GE. And as the day progresses, more of these men and women will step forward to be counted. This is the kind of development that will occur when change is inevitable and is near.

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.