SuperMas

How talented is Mas Selamat? He has outwitted the whole Home Team and literally walked away in broad daylight with thousands of men and women chasing him but without a clue where he was for a year. And he lived the life of a free man in Johore without the Malaysian police knowing that he was there. He must be a man of exceptional talent, easily better than 10 or 100 of our supertalents put together. How else could one compare him when two police forces, three, if we are to include the Indonesians, could let him slipped away and be out of sight for so long. It was just unfortunate that Mas Selamat was born in Indonesia. If he is a full blooded Singaporean, he would probably be shortlisted for the Gifted Programme. This would be followed by an educational path taking him through RI and RJC and a string of straight As. And being an exceptional brilliant minority, he would definitely be handpicked for an overseas scholarship, even a President’s Scholarship could come his way. And you know what that would lead to? A political career and a minister in time to come. Such is the wasted talent in Mas Selamat. He was not given that kind of opportunity a talented Singaporean like him will be given. And he had to find his opportunity in a terrorist organisation where his talent were given a free hand to blossom. He is now a celebrity and well respected by the elite Singaporeans. Another opportunity is now presented to Mas Selamat. Fame, wealth and glory are knocking at his door. Hollywood could easily offer him US$10 million for his story and the right for a book and a movie. With that kind of offer, Mas could buy a big landed property in district 10 or Orchard Road and live next to a minister. I am very sure he will be most welcomed in the company of supertalents. The IISS or LKY School of Public Policy can offer Mas Selamat a chair as Professor in International Terrorism and JI. Mas can go on a circuit giving talks on terrorism like Clinton and Al Gore and pocket a million per talk. In addition he can conduct courses on how to escape from detention to our men in uniform. I am getting my autograph book ready for him to sign.

Who is responsible for educating our children on moral values?

Who is responsible for educating our children on moral values? Going to school for a secular education, to acquire knowledge in whatever fields, can be quite straight forward. Given the complexities of organized societies, the multiplicity of race and religion, and now sexual orientation and lifestyle choices, it is simply too obvious that what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, what is normal or abnormal, is not the same to different groups of people. Who shall be responsible to teach children the proper or normal values? Who should be authorized to impart their values to the children? Teaching about the birds and bees may look simple enough. What is not so simple is the morality and values ascribed to them. Who is arrogant enough to think that he/she, his or her organization, shall be the one to decide what to impart to the children as The right thing? Should Aware be authorized to do this part of a child’s education? Or, should any religious group be authorized to be the One to impart its values as the acceptable or right values? Or should there be a consolidation of agreed values by the various groups, a common set of values for all children? Or should each group or parents be the authority to impart their own values to the children? Who is responsible or ultimately be responsible for how these children will turn out eventually? Does the state have a set of values for the children? I think there is and parents do expect that these are the values that their children should be taught and not any other variants of it no matter which group thinks its values are superior or the best for the children. The MOE thus is responsible to ensure that the right values be taught in schools, not someone’s private agenda or values. Failing to ensure that this is done is unacceptable. The parents have certain expectations and they must have confidence that MOE shall deliver what it is expected to deliver.

Notable quote by Obama

'We cannot continue down the same dangerous road we've been travelling for so many years, with costs that are out of control.' Barack H Obama Obama was referring to the high medical cost in American and his health care plan to cut it by US$2 trillion. And we are happily plodding along the same path, with the US as our reference point. As long as we are cheaper than the US, we are ok. Our health care is affordable.

If there was no Thio Su Mien and Josie Lau...and gang

Yes, Thio Su Mien and Josie Lau and gang were booted out of Aware. Everyone clapped. Everyone happy. The majority have spoken. What if this event did not happen? Would the Aware CSE curriculum still be taught to the school children?

Year 2025 - A wedding

Now it is year 2025, and I am still alive. All my friends are still kicking around too, not mati yet. And I got a call from my anonymous friend. Hi Redbean, my son is getting married next Sat. You are invited. OH congrats. He must have found a beautiful bride. Ahem, not like that man. My son is the bride. And the groom is a tall and handsome Greek god, bronze in colour man. Wow, that must be exciting. So, you aren't planning to be a grandpa? Not really, they said they will adopt one from Kampuchea and one from Mamiya. So I will have two grandchildren. And I am truly happy to see them together. My son is so happy when he is with him. It is all about finding true happiness man. Great. So is the event formal or informal? Redbean, you are really 'swa koo'. This is year 2025, where got formal or informal. OK, then I will come in my tux top and jeans bottom. Would that be cool enough? Just come in whatever you like lah, as long as it is pink. Ok, no problem, I will just bleach one of my red shirt overnight. That shall do the trick. Oh, just for your info, the wedding is approved by the govt. How so? What has the govt got to do with the wedding. You son or son in law must be somebody important huh? It is like that lah, they are holding it at Hong Lim Park. Anything held there is approved by the govt. Oh, that's true huh. So clever. I am really looking forward to the wedding. I have been shooting orchids and dragonflies all my life. Now I have something real exciting to shoot at. Will be there. The above could be the reality of the future generations. Don't pray pray.