Eerie silence in the world of elite

Are there any talents, thinkers and concerned individuals in the world of elite? Obviously there are plentiful. Do they have a view or any view on how our country and society is progressing and the direction we are heading? I think they must have. Do they agree with all the policies and what is happening? I think they do. That is why there is a total silence coming out from that world. Nothing will affect them or move them to say something. They are just too comfortable and too entrenched in their own world of luxury that nothing else is important to them. How long will this eerie silence last?

When the wheel of fortune stopped turning

2008 ended with the wheel of fortune stopped turning. The first financial crisis that hit the people was the minibond. The bigger financial crisis hitting the people without much fanfare was the collapse of stock prices. The losses were in hundreds of billions. Came 2009, the year started with mean testing. What does it mean? The first answer probably is the torching incident. Now the country is staring at a bigger crisis, recession and job losses, unemployment, defaults in paying mortgages. We are only in the second week of the new year. What more lie in store for us and how bad could things be?

The Seng Han Thong Incident

With sentiments and emotions calming down, lets take a second look at the Seng Han Thong Incident and the reactions in the media. The main media's reaction was quite expected, shock and awe and condemnation. The reaction in cycberspace was distinctively different. The immediate response to the incident showed a lack of sympathy, more of a it was coming and to be expected. Some went to the extent of rooting for it, that it was deserving. There was a kind of release of anger and frustration, not necessarily to Seng Han Thong in particular but to the govt as a whole. The mood in several of the forums were very negative. Here we had an MP being set on fire and these people were taking it in their stride, like a protest against the govt. This is definitely an unhealthy development and would set the party thinking why? The oldies were the party's strongest supporters all these years. The violent act was conducted by an oldie. The reaction in cyberspace came from a bigger spectrum, from oldies to the youngies. Could this be a little indication of bottled up feelings that need an expression and the incident was just it? Could more outlets for kpkb and letting off steam help to release the pressure along the way leading to less explosive actions? Suppressing expression of anger and frustration could only keep the feelings under the lid. When the heat gets too high, suppressing them will do more harm. Maybe the new year angpow could soothe some nerves and let the incident pass quickly as another unfortunate incident, to be forgotten. It was a shocking incident that was totally unexpected in a first world country. Perhaps many of the people are still of the third world with their world habits and mentality.

MP set on fire

This is the headline news in the papers. Seng Han Tong, and MP, was set on fire by a disgrunted 70 year man who is also a patient at the mental hospital. This kind of things is unheard of in our history. The background of the attacker suggests that this is an isolated case and should not be seen as an increase in social violence. I believe our MPs and ministers would still be able to walk the streets without being harm. Violence has not been in our culture, or political violence has not been a part of our lives since the 1950s. Poor bugger. He is hurt very badly for public service.

How useful is Talking point?

Last week CNA put up many reminders on the programme Talking Point to be aired last night at 10.20pm. The topic to be discussed was the AIMS' recommendations and the govt's responses to them. It must be an important event for CNA to keep reminding the viewers about it. I was reminded to tune in. There were two co hosts, a lady whose name just slipped out of my amnesia prone memory, and PN Balji. This gave the programme some recognition. You don't put in two hosts to tackle a programme unless it is worth the while. Two invited guests, Cheong Yip Seng, Chairman of AIMS and Gerald Giam of TOC were also present. The four should give a meaningful treatment on the important AIMS paper. After all it was commissioned by the govt. The whole programme last not more than 10 mins. In fact 8 minutes. How could 8 minutes do any justice to an important issues with 4 participants. Each could only have 2 minutes if the time is distributed evenly. Balji followed up with an article this morning in Today. His message is this, 'By now, the likes of Mr Giam should have known how this Govt behaves and operates. It cannot appear to be pressured to make changes; it will change at its own pace and comfort.' This is very plainly put by Balji. Don't expect too much. The mountain does not come to Mohammed. Bloggers are not significant bodies and must to go the mountain.