Of Mavericks and supertalents

Either our education is a fake, a failure, or our selection process for govt scholars and top talents is missing something. We talked openly about identifying and selecting mavericks for the civil service but did we see any? Philip Yeo and then who else? Oh, one who ran his ministry so well that he could go on leave to pursue his passion, knowing that without him, the ministry will do just as well. Where are the mavericks? Then we look at Temasek, presumably with so many local talents, they could not find one to fit the shoe and went around looking for something cheap and good. I think Liew Mun Leong should comfortably fit in with the wealth of experience that he has been exposed to, if none internally is good enough. We should not keep on telling the world that we have no local talents and dismiss our local talents as furnitures. Look at all the actors and actresses in MediaCorp! If we don't give them a chance, would they be what they are today? Would Hongkong and Taiwan entertainment industries give them the same chance? Lim Goh Tong was never a supertalent. But he built an empire that stretches through several continents. So were some of our not so talented entrepreneurs like Wee Cho Yaw and the Queks. So, what is the truth, system failure, no talent, or what?

No shame, no guilt, no remorse

Did anyone notice any sense of shame, any feeling of guilt or any hint of remorse? Any sensible person faced with such blatant and outrageous acts of impropriety would have long said, enough, can’t take it anymore, run away to hide, and not to face the world again. But no, there is nothing wrong. Everything is justifiable, can be explained and is reasonable or normal. I am above the law, above all human norms and behaviour, nothing can stain me. I have done so much good, so much merit, whatever things that I have done were mere little indiscretions. No, not indiscretions, they are normal acts of a human bean and I am a normal human bean, with all my greed, lust, and extravagance. The above probably explain why all the shit were allowed to be aired in public over so many days, for all to see. Is there any decent man kind enough to advise the tart that the whole thing is so ridiculous it is better to call it off immediately, not even to have it started in the first place? Anyone with an ounce of intelligence could see the senseless nature of the whole proceedings. But no, it must go on public record that I have done no wrong. I am beyond reproach, and if I have done anything stupid, they are excusable as I have done big things and done great things. All the great things that I have done must be enough to mitigate the little silly things that I have done. Oops, whatever I done were not silly or wrong. I have done no wrong. That is why I am standing here facing the music. For no dirt or shit can stain me. Oh come on, spare the people and the teacher and the truth from being tarnished by your stupidity. Or have we reached a stage when all the rich and powerful believes that with money and fame, there is no fear of shame, there is no shame as long as your bank account is full of money.

Peeking into stock orders 'an unfair advantage'.

'The hallmarks of our markets are that they are open and above board, and the little guy has as much of a chance as the big guy.' - Senator Charles Schumer, Chairman of the Senate rules and administration committee. What is happening in Wall Street and many stock exchanges across the world where the hedge funds are operating is that they tapped into the main exchange operating system to peek into stock orders from other investors. This gives them a 0.03 sec lead time to compute and place their orders to take advantage of other investors with their powerful computers. According to the Tabb Group, it reported that these high frequency traders accounted for more than half of all the trades and pocketed 'about US$21 billion in profits last year. Who lost? Schumer wants a stop to such advantage against the small investors and wants to prohibit trading by high frequency traders. Well, the Americans have some decent man to call a thief a thief. There is conscience to do right and justice. Do we have such high frequency traders trading here and taking advantage of the small guys? If there are, what are we going to do about it? Or why did we allow this go on for so long? Fair game? Caveat emptor? This is worst than minibonds! Are we fair to the small investors? If billions have been lost by the small investors because of such malpractice, who is going to pay for it? No one is responsible for sure. Does anyone know what is happening?

An old story rehashed

He was a botak, with short crew cuts, not the stylish marine type. A typical Chinaman style, nothing fashionable. He wore a short sleeve white shirt, and probably a pair of China brand leather shoes. His office was just as spartan. Outside his office there would be a queue of well dressed western gentlemen in fine business suits and expensive briefcases, waiting eagerly to meet him. Once in his office they put on their best manner to present what they want, to sell to this Chinaman. The boorish, apparently ill mannered Chinaman would stroke his botak head, dug his nose or popped up his denture occasionally, while listening to the elaborate presentations. He controlled a war chest in the multi millions, to buy expensive equipment. The polished and well dressed gentlemen were there, eager to please him, all for his nod to get to his money. Yes, they came for his money. The moral of the story is that when they want your money, they will queue up and be nice to you, no matter who you are. You can be a little dictator, a military junta or a cruel monarch, they will come to please you to part with your money. We have plenty of money in our sovereign funds, and in our stock markets. We need not go around the world begging the thieves to take it. They should be the one begging for the money. We need not live by their rules and dictation. Why should we employed an Angmo to front our SWF or other set ups that we paid for? Because the thieves said so? Because the thieves demanded that it be so or else they would not want to take our money? Just like the stockmarkets around the world, the thieves and robbers will come if there is money to make. There is no need to bend backwards to accommodate them, to play by their rules, or rules designed and determined by them to their advantage. We have the money. We have money flowing out of our pockets. We need not be beggars, to plead with the thieves to come and take it. They will come. When they said no, they do not want your money, they are bluffing.

Can students assume that all is ok?

With the closing of Brookes Business School and its subsidiary school, can students attending classes in all the existing private schools feel secure that they will not get into the same problem as those from these two schools? Case's Executive Director Seah Seng Choon has explained that CaseTrust is just about protecting the fees students paid and welfare practices. The role of ensuring academic excellence is the responsibility of Spring Singapore. In 2004, EDB's press statement said that an accreditation council was supposed to be set up. This somehow did not materialise. Can we assume that all the private schools thus did not go through a screening process to ensure that what they claimed were genuine and that all of them are sound and proper? A new regime will be set up under EduTrust to regulate private schools and the quality of the services they are providing. Until then, Case is stepping up to check on private schools to see that all is in order. There is a lapse of 5 years of free enterprise when everything goes. 5 years of caveat emptor while the foul smell was floating around and with several other incidents and several schools closed down. What a pathetic state of affair that was allowed go on for so long without any body stepping in to protect the students and the image of a reliable and world class education hub that we are building. Can students assume that everything is ok now?