Dismantling the walls of Elitism

Meritocracy has done us good. In it purest form, meritocracy is fair, devoid of discrimination of any dimension. Anyone who merits to rise the stratosphere deserves to be there. But there is no pure form of meritocracy. Intended or not, there are barriers that would not allow the ablest to rise to the top. Some are social and economic, some are political. Meritocracy protected by barriers intentionally erected to safeguard a small group of people will lead to a bad form of elitism. We are beginning to witness more and more barriers being erected to protect the elite in the name of meritocracy and making stratosphere their own playground, forever. The elite are not only keeping the troughs to themselves, they are feeding on many troughs at the same time when one or two troughs will be more than enough to make them fat. This is an extreme kind of greed and will not be good in the long run. Just like the end game in the animal farm, greed and elitism will eventually be a sore point that will lead to grievances and opposition, which will lead to suppression and open revolt. When would the people rise up to notice that such barriers are not in the people’s general interest and even offensive? When will the people think that such barriers should be dismantled to level the playing field, to allow democracy and meritocracy to really thrive in our socio political system, untainted by unwarranted barriers?

Govt engaging bloggers in cyberspace

Today we are hearing that the govt may engage bloggers officially in cyberspace. That is good for communication and relations with the public. It is time to do away with the attitude that if the public want to speak to the govt they must follow certain procedures, go to the designated place and time, and agency. Otherwise the govt will not bother. The govt decides when, where, how and who to engage. Other than official engagement, has the govt been engaging the bloggers? Are there cyber insurgents out there demolishing the bloggers and attacking the bloggers in shameful ways? Probably not. It is unbecoming and shameful for govt to engage in such activities. What about unofficial groups that are somehow linked to the govt and went about attacking bloggers knowing that they are whiter than white? Are there such people creating a nuisance in people's blogs, attacking bloggers with govt blessing or with the blessing of people linked to the govt? I would think that it is fair for insurgents to counter insurgents, for engaging low lives to attack low lives. But I find it disgusting that my blogs and forums, two highly decent and respectable sites, are infested by low lives all out to attack me. I really hope that these low lives are in no way linked to the govt, directly or indirectly. If yes, it is terribly shameful. Our honourable govt with honourable people will never have sanctioned such distasteful and dishonourable activities and engaging such disgusting characters with pay to do such things. These must be pests that have no connections with the govt or links to the govt in any ways. Let's march towards a civil society where the people and govt can engage in decent discussion in cyberspace, free from pests and low lives.

The golden ox ploughing heaven

The golden ox is no ordinary ox. It doesn't plough the earth, it is set to plough the heavenly realms. It will turn heaven and earth upside down. Great changes can be expected. We have seen many changes around the world, from nations to individuals. Empires will rise and fall, fortunes will change hands. Many are still in a state of shock that family inheritance in the millions and billions could be wiped out in a matter of days. Tycoons became paupers. Power changes hands. And these are only the beginning of the year and more can be expected. How would the golden ox affect the power and wealth combination in our little island? Would we see the same fate affecting the world around us, when the rich becomes poor and power were lost? Such forces are more powerful than the economic forces of the mortal world. When the stars are not aligned correctly, nothing can be done to stop the change. Be prepare for more changes to come.

Of leadership and management

Just after my post on leadership and scholars, the ST has a full page article on leadership and management or true leaders and fake leaders by Tan Hui Yee. His article was based on the views of a Harvard Professor Dean Williams who was once attached to the NPB. Among the great observations of Prof Williams included this comment, 'Simply by virtue of you having an education at Harvard, or anywhere else for that matter, doesn't mean you are going to provide leadership. I can guarantee that even though I have very bright students in my class at Harvard, I'm actually disappointed in a good percentage of them for their unwillingness to go out into the world to provide leadership on many difficult challenges.' This instantly reminds Singaporeans of the leadership role taken on by Tan Kin Lian when leadership was needed. The professor also said this, 'Real leadership gets people to face the hard truths and take ownership of the problem. Counterfeit leadership, meanwhile, is preoccupied with dominance and perpetuates the idea that one party has all the answers.' Now what does he meant by this? He went on to acknowledge his respect for the leadership of LKY. That is the only leader he could find in Singapore. Sad, but it tells a lot about what he thinks of the leadership we are having or lacking. We have great managers, plenty of them. Leadership is still lacking and no where to be found. I think we should forgive him for he could not see nor understand what we meant by leadership, uniquely Singapore style. Only Singaporeans can appreciate our kind of leadership.

Of leaders and scholars

What does a nation need in terms of leadership in the govt? Why do I use the term leadership instead of something else? Leadership is something that is expected among the leaders of the world. It is good and desirable, that leaders should also be scholars, something in the league of philosopher kings. Often leadership and talent are found but in different people, not both in one. Scholars must not be confused with leadership. Many scholars are mere scholars, academically brilliant and destined to be in the academia where they shined like brilliant stars. Some scholars may even find the life of a top administrator or CEOs not their cup of tea. Leadership of a country is not simply a piece of paper with straight As. Leadership is not simply being CEOs of large corporations or ministries. Leadership of a country demands more. Talent, devotion, commitments, sacrifice and care for the people and nation. A nice piece of paper is simply not enough. Putting on a uniform, pinning a few stars on the shoulder of a soldier does not make him a leader or a general. Just like wearing a robe does not make one a religious leader. There are many fakes walking the streets. At the national level we need true leaders, leaders of men, not pen pushers or administrators. A simple example is to put our academic talents to stand side by side with a real leader, no need to stand beside Obama or Putin, any of their mayors or congressmen will do, and see the difference. I must say that we have excellent administrators. I am not sure about the term national leaders. In the World Bloggers Association, everyone is called a king. Does the title make the person a king? Far from it. The title is just a convenience to make a person sounds great in that position. Remove the title and see what he is in his true self. A true leader commands respect and lead. And he can only do so if the people are willing to follow him. Not because he has straight As and a big title attached to him.