The writings on the walls

The graffitis are getting bigger and more colourful. They are painted on lift doors, doors of HDB flats, on windows, on staircases. They are the works of loan shark runners. Despite quite a few have been arrested the number of reported cases of loan shark harassment has gone up to 13,771 for Jan to Sep , exceeding the 11.789 cases reported for the whole of last year. What are the loan shark graffitis saying? The message is simple. This is loan shark country. They are the boss. Now the men in blue are up in arms to deal with them seriously. New laws are being passed with stiffer penalties, heavier fines and caning for the runners, and now also the masterminds and the big guys. The question is whether the new punishments are enough to deter loan shark activities which are criminal in nature? Maybe the MHA can take a leaf from SGX on how to solve irritating problems. The exchange is very disturbed by the need to buy back shares which investors/remisiers sold by mistake or carelessness. These are not crimes but silly mistakes. The number of shares or values maybe very small, tens of dollars or a couple of hundreds of dollars. The penalty for the first unsuccessful attempt to buy back is $1000 fine or 5% of the contract value whichever is higher. And the penalties will go up with each day of delay in buying back the shares. After due date +3, the penalty is $5000 per day until the shares are bought back. And there will be disciplinary actions as well. The penalties are so effective that the remisiers and small investors are trembling in fear of making such mistakes. This is what is called effectiveness. Would the loan sharks and their runners tremble in fear with the new laws and penalties? We will have to wait for the harassment stats to tell the story.

Mysingaporenews joining Asian Correspondent

Announcement - We are going international Hi everyone, I have accepted an invitation from the Asian Correspondent to be one of their correspondents. There will be some minor changes to the format of presentation when the switch takes place either this week or next. The important thing is that the URL to mysingaporenews will not be changed and you can still log on to the blog as before. Also very important is that the style and content and the way I write will still be the same. I have full independence in posting in the same way as before. Not subject to any editorial policy or approval. The main advantage of this cooperation is that we will be riding on a bigger platform and gaining more readership and exposure. Please continue to enjoy and post as before. Cheers.

A new enlightenment has dawned on Singapore

Linguistic skill is not directly linked to intelligence. Singaporeans are finally enlightened to this fact. A Mrs Goh Su San wrote to the ST forum to salute LKY for telling it to the people. This Mrs Goh narrated the anguish and pain she and her family had to go through when their two sons fared badly in the Chinese Language in schools and they had to uproot from Singapore to settle in a foreign land. And loo and behold, their two sons blossomed and are now professionals in their chosen fields. The victims of language policies are not confined to just the second language, in particular Chinese Language. In the days of Senior Cambridge Examination, a student could have a string of As. But if he failed the English Language, he was a goner. No place in A level. And for those who did not pass GP in A Level, no place in the university. Failing the English Language was as good as failing the whole examination. How many brilliant students were lost through this language policy? It is history now. On the other hand, a student with a credit in English and all the donkeys and elephants could be admitted to the university. And many ended up as highly acclaimed intellectuals because to their university degrees and the command of the English Language, while the failures in the English Language could at best try their luck in business or else ended up in some clerical jobs or as mechanics. But it is better late than never that we are enlightened to this great truth today. With this great discovery, we could be entering an age of renaissance. Thank god, we are wiser now.

Celebrating Singaporeans - Dr Lim Hock Siew

Stories of the victors and the vanquished The APEC Meeting was a scintillating example of what life can be for the victors of a political contest, a gathering of fine wine, fine people and fine company. Everything is so beautiful and glamorous for the victors. Last night I viewed the video of Dr Lim Hock Siew who told his story of the vanquished. He was detained under the ISA for nearly 20 years. His was a life moving from one dungeon to another. He spoke of the miserable conditions that he went through for being a political prisoner on the losing end. He spent all those years in darkness, no friends, no niceties, no finer things in life. He could have got out much earlier if only he was willing to repent, to confess, to say something like quitting politics or things like that. He had the choice, if he was willing to go with the tide. He did not, chose not. He stood by his principles, beliefs and ideals. He would not be beaten or compromised on his ideals. He was no criminal but a contestant in a political game for power, or for the right to govern a country. In Africa, the dark continent, they made people like him into President and honoured with the Noble Peace Prize. In paradise, he is history, forgotten and lost among the debris. Or is he part of our history? I did not read the MIW book and do not know if his name was mentioned. If it was, then he is part of the new history. If not, he will have to wait for a new history to be written. His parting shot in the video was about man and ideals. Man without ideals is hollow. He paid a very heavy price to live his ideals, 20 years of his prime life under detention.

Supply and demand of HDB flats to be raised in Parliament

Several MPs will be raising questions on the supply and demand of HDB flats in Parliament. And their key concerns are young couples, first timers being forced out of the public housing markets. Some have tried several times and had to give up when their salaries exceeded the $8k ceiling and forced to buy private flats that are beyond their reach or stretching their incomes. And there is also the issue of profits which Chiam See Tong wants to know, and what is meant by affordability. First question that came to mind is why is it necessary to raise such questions in Parliament when Mah Bow Tan and the HDB had painstakingly explained that the problem of shortages in public housing was only a perceived problems, or due to the choosiness of the applicants? Data were given to prove beyond any doubt that there are enough public flats to meet the demand, and first timers, more than 90% will get their flats in the first try or at most second try. And many media professionals also chipped in to confirm with their brilliant articles that there is no real public housing problem. Would the questions to be raised in Parliament superfluous or a waste of time? Why raised when there is no problem, or is it that the MPs do not agree with the public explanations, that there is a real problem, not simply perceived and to be swept under the carpet? Why, when Chok Tong had also came out to assure the people that the govt would ensure that the flats would be there and affordable? The other question is, what do the MPs expect to achieve? To get a few explanations from Mah Bow Tan and close the case, duty done for speaking out in Parliament? Would it be more meaningful and constructive for the MPs to not just raise questions but come out with ALTERNATIVES of what they want the minister and HDB to do? Wasn't it a common reply that if anyone is not happy they should come out and offer a better solution, not such criticise the policies? I would like to hear the MPs saying why they are unhappy, and what alternative solutions they are proposing instead of simply asking questions. Tell Mah Bow Tan what they want done, that they don't agree with the HDB policy of selling at market price subsidy, that public housing is for the people, the core pillar of our country, to keep the people housed and rooted here. It is not a commercial enterprise to make huge profits and should not be one. Without a good and decent home, what is there to defend this country for? How would people living in expensive mickey mouse flats and shoe boxes feel about the affluence around them, that they are a part of the affluence and well being? The bulk of the country's population are housed in public flats. When these are no longer affordable and no longer comfortable, according to the hardlanders definitions, not defined by people who do not live in them, what is there to hold them to this piece of rock and call it home? Would the raising of this issue in Parliament just another of those question and answer sessions and nothing comes out of it?