Our football A Team

Anyone watched the match between Singapore's A Team against Vietnam last night? It was our best team and half of the players were foreigners. And they were playing against this greenhorn team that just started to learn to play football after half a century of warfare. It was so humiliating to see how good the Vietnamese were. Their speed, aggression and the accuracy in their passing. Our footballers were just kicking the ball without knowing where the ball will go to. The Vietnamese could do anything they want even in front of our goal posts. They dribbled and wriggled pass the Singapore players as if the latter were pieces of stiff woods. How could the Vietnamese learn to play football the way they did? And they did not have to pay for foreign talents. All local born talents. Maybe they learnt to play footballs during the war years. It was so unfortunate that they did not get a goal through our goal posts. They were clearly superior, a class above our local/foreign talent team. If Vietnam can do it, if Thailand can do it, why can't we?

Only ONE Way

Mahathir and his sons are pushing to revive the building of the crooked bridge. It seems that this is the only way to save all the problems in Johore and the CIQ. There is no other way! Why can't or won't they consider expanding the Causeway? It is cheaper to build and to maintain, and more efficient. Or is it too cheap to build and thus cannot charge too high a toll fee when built as compare to a crookd bridge? Mahathir must learn to live by his own principles, that there are many ways to skin a cat. If a crooked bridge is obviously flawed and doesn't make economic sense, try other ways.

Wrong ways to treat a super talent

Madoff, in all counts, is a supertalent in a league of his own. How many supertalents can count so many other supertalents as victims of their talents? And Madoff has the whole world's financial talents and the super rich crawling on their knees to feed him. And now the Americans are not only charging him, they confiscated his properties and passports, and put an electronic tag on his leg. This is very demeaning and inappropriate to treat their once hero. He was a very generous man, helping a lot of people, with charitable foundations in his name. These should be good enough mitigating factors to treat him nicely. And his talents can still be put to good use. Such a waste.

Don't ask silly questions

We expect our children to ask a lot of questions. They must, it is the process of growing up. But as adults, at times asking silly questions one will get only silly answers. That is what asking questions is all about. You ask and expect an answer and the other party just gives you an answer. That's all there is to it. The process stops there. In the school environment, things are a little different. The children are expected to ask and the teachers are expected to give a decent answer. A child may ask what is a bird and the teacher will do his/her best to explain what is a bird. As an adult, you try asking what is a bird and you can expect a thousand answers depending on who, what and why the person wants to answer that question. The same process of asking questions in Parliament has been going on year after year. The MPs asked questions and the ministers replied. That is the end of the matter. Is that satisfactory? Would the people affected by the minibond crisis just want to ask questions? Would the people going to buy HDB flats with inflated prices based on market pricing happy with just asking why and be contented because HDB said it is fair? Obviously not. They are demanding for actions to change the situation. In the case of minibonds, they want their money back, they want the guilty to be punished, they want the selling of such products stopped. In the case of HDB pricing to market prices, they don't agree and want it change. They want the price to come down to something nearer to what the prices of the first batch. They are disgusted with the obscene profits the HDB is making at the expense of hanging a millstone on their necks for the next 30 years. Basically they are not just asking question to get a silly reply and to move on. But some still think that giving an answer, any answer, is good enough and the people are expected to move on, or the problem is solved. How cocky!

The people get the govt they deserved

This is Matilah's favourite line. And it holds a lot of simple truth. I will elaborate a little of this wisdom here. The HDB said the market pricing is fair. The hospitals preferred to have more A and B1 wards instead of B2 and C wards. High rentals and high property prices are good. If a govt is for all these things, what can the people do? Nothing. They have elected the people to form the govt. And those elected are expected to make the decisions. It is their right to do so. This is what it means by the people get the govt they deserved. Period. They have to live with their decisions till the next GE. The people have some rights too. They may have elected these people to be in charge. But they need not agree with them in everything. And they can disagree openly. They can scream and shout until they are heard. But the elected govt still can decide whether they want to listen to the people's unhappiness or disagreement. The elected govt can ignore the people if they so choose. Or they can set their own agenda, their own values of what is good or fair. After all they are the govt. So both parties have their rights and role to play. The govt can keep on doing things which it thinks is right according to their own logic and wisdom. The people can continue to kpkb according to their own interests and pain level. It will be good if the govt will listen to the people and moderate its policies. If not, they can continue to do what they think is best. The best part about democracy is that there is a GE every few years. This is the only safeguard for the people. In a one party or dictatorial system, this right to change and get the govt they deserved would even be forgone. Some in an elected govt may think that they will be there forever and can ignore the people's cry. And they can be there forever if the people just continue to vote for them. It is up to the people to decide what they want and who they want. In between the two GEs, the people can at best kpkb. During a GE the window is open for change. If the people choose not to change, then it is their choice. They deserve the govt they get.