The ultimate test of leadership - Thaksin

A few hundred red shirt protestors are on the streets of Bangkok in support of their democratically elected leader who was robbed of his titled as the PM of Thailand. Several years after being ousted, in exile, found guilty in court, half of his fortune confiscated, Thaksin is still the leader of the rural Thais. Can anyone doubt that he is a leader of the people, by the people and for the people of Thailand? And it looks like he is going to ride back to power with the people's power behind him. Ahbisit is now hiding in an army barrack, protected by the military. Would there be a clash between the soldiers and the farmers? Would other farmers and ordinary Thais stand up and take sides, join hands with the farmers? Would the soldiers unite or split and some take sides with Thaksin? Would Thailand be splitted as a result of the surge of popular support for a leader cut down by the Thai elite and soldiers in Bangkok? Like him or be against him, Thaksin is sure a formidable leader of the Thai people, to be able to command their support and loyalty to challenge the establishment in Bangkok against all odds. It is a mark of true leaderhip.

Say a big thank you to Mah Bow Tan

In the programme Talking Point, he gave the impression that he had done a damn good job in housing and probably expected the people to give him a pat on the back, and say thank you. He forgot that the good job was done by his predecessors, and in his case he messed it up. He still thinks that his BTO, his control of supply, and his market pricing policies are the next best thing that could happen to Singapore after PAP. He still cannot see the damages and hardship he had caused to many young people seeking to buy their first home. Even the taxi drivers are complaining as Lim Wee Kiat said. With the income of driving a taxi, they could buy a 5 rm flat. Their graduate children could barely afford a 4 rm flat, on two incomes. Is this a problem? Has this tell something about affordability? I would like to give a pass to this by not posting about the issue. But if everyones does that, the smart alecs will say, see, no one is complaining anymore. The people are happy with our policies.

Why didn’t Singapore think of it?

For years, the only way to get to Sentosa was by ferries or hanging on a piece of wire from Mount Faber. The latter, hmmm, they find it more amusing and interesting, never if it takes longer, to drive up a mountain before being flung into the island by the sheer force of gravity. Getting to Sentosa was never easy, and to move masses in a short span of time will need an ingenious mind to carefully think it over. And they came to the conclusion that causeways, one and latter two, will be the most efficient way to do so. And one is now running and collecting tolls and paying for itself. My thought, why didn’t they think of a more efficient way, like a bridge, and then another bridge? And in this case, there is no need to spend dismantling a causeway, just build the bridges anywhere they want. It was clean and tidy, and no extra cost, no need to change mindset on how to get to the island. And a bridge will make walking across near impossible, thus ensuring that more tolls can be collected. And they didn’t even consider the water on both sides of the causeway that will get stagnant and foul. And the ships cannot sail from one side of the causeway to the other, from Pasir Panjang to Tanjong Pagar. And shipping is a major revenue earner for the island and facilitating trade. Are we making things difficult for ourselves? And the pleasure craft cannot take a short cut from Keppel Marina to the South China Sea. We have done it all wrong! Imagine how beautiful and functional it will be to have bridges to Sentosa instead of causeways. Or is it a case of pride, that copying other people’s great idea would make us look second best?

The roaring business of infidelity

While we have refrained from joining the mob in tearing up the parties in the recent case of infidelity, the case has been receiving more than warm attention. All the tabloids and media have allocated significant space and resources to it. In cyberspace, some blogs have dedicated themselves to it with gusto, constant updates and youtube clips. It is a roaring business and everyone is happy enjoying every little bits of the news. It it showbiz all the way. With such news all over the pages, what else is news or interesting news for the masses? I wonder what will happen to the General Election should a piece of such infidelity appears concerning some big time celebrities. Maybe they will have to call off the election. For good business and a decent bottom line, the one and only major newspaper would do well to produce a tabloid of its own to cover such matters of the hearts. Sure to sell very well. We have enough celebrities to produce materials on a daily basis, and a hungry mob of imitation paparazi that have nothing better to write about and want a little attention of their own. The advent of the casinos and liberation of lifestyle, many juicy things are there waiting to be reported. Then we have the new age felines that believe, with some truth, that kiss and tell will pay. And telling such stories is like wearing a badge of recognition and instant fame. They did not invent the word infamous or infamy for nothing. Fame and success are attainable in many ways and there is no right or wrong ways. Our society is maturing, getting more like Hollywood, more glittering. Someday any attention seeker would be inventing hit/her own juicy stories to tell and to appear on the front pages of the media for that bit of fame.

High quality debate in Parliament

The Speaker of Parliament, Abdullah Tarmugi, thanked the MPs and Ministers for their high quality contributions and debate in the House. He said it was the best session he had seen in his 26 years in Parliament. Chua Mui Hoong in her article in the ST this morning lamented that if the MPs and Ministers would just speak instead of reading from scripted pieces of papers, Parliament seatings will be that much more livelier and interesting. Our Parliament has been turned into an exercise of reading essays. The questions were written and submitted in advance for the Ministers to reply. They will then be read out in Parliament and the Ministers will then read out their replies. Was there any debate at all? Maybe thanks should also be given to the ghost writers for their contributions to the quality of the essays. I wonder how many of the essays read out in Parliament were written by the ghost writers. I think I can offer my ghost writing services too, with full confidentiality of course, at a small fee.