What is Third World politics?

Let me try to figure out what are the features of a Third World political system from what we see in the Third World countries. 1. Often it is run by a dictator or near dictator leader who leads with an iron fist. 2. Political power is used in every aspect of life to the advantage of the political leader. It is as good as power is right, power talk. 3. Money is a very important element to the political leadership. They just keep amassing themselves with wealth and become very wealthy. This is not true for the masses, and the income gap is always very wide, beyond any reasons. 4. The political leader is always surrounded by henchmen that do his callings. And the henchmen can be ruthless but always mindful of who they are beholden to. 5. Govt machinery and organisations are used to pursue the political objectives of the leader, especially in dealings with political opposition. 6. Political opposition are treated with disgust. They are often harassed, intimidated, persecuted, threatened and imprisoned. 7. Change in political power to another party is unheard of and cannot be accepted 8. Political power is often transferred from father to son or within the family. 9. The military is often used to back the political leadership and could be unleashed to seize political power if needed. 10. Children and family members of the political leader are often blessed with exceptional talents and abilities and are thus appointed to head all the important agencies. We can see these features very clearly in the times of Saddam Hussein, in Libya, in North Korea and many Afro Asian countries.

Notable quotes by LKY

'The Taiwanese are ruthless, Hong Kongers are shameless and Singaporeans are ignorant. People who are ignorant are not corrupt and reliable.' The above is quoted from Today paper 13 Jul 10.

A little bit of unhappiness

The people are getting a little noisy with their small unhappiness. The latest is the fare hike in public transport which is also reported as a fare deduction. So which is which is a bit hazy and may also cause a little unhappiness. We have many little unhappiness here and there and everywhere. Many people will have their little unhappiness but nothing serious. And the govt knows that all this crap about unhappiness is really nothing to worry about. It is the serious matters that will count and the people are mostly very happy with the appreciation of their property prices and counting how much they are worth everyday, and smiling as their networth is increasing rapidly. Half the population are millionaires in their own rights. Would the cumulation of little unhappiness be compressed over a short interval of time into a big unhappiness like the torrential rainfall over one or two hours resulting in flooding? The coming GE will see all the little unhappiness coming together and bring out as one major problem by the opposition. Will it work to the ruling party's disadvantage or will they simply fade away like all little problems do?

A brave 9 year old

The 9 year old boy was not only brave, but sexually mature for his age. He initiated a discussion on sex with his 36 year old man tutor. And when the man went into the toilet, he pushed open the toilet door to have oral sex with him. The man was like a defenceless victim being pursued by an aggressive sex predator. The helpless victim was found guilty for not warding off the advances of the 9 year boy and was sentenced to 6 years jail and 6 strokes of the cane. Ouch, I thought he was being raped and the rapist was being jailed and caned. This whole episode in today's paper is so confusing. Who was the victim? Was the act so horrendous to deserve 6 years of jail and 6 strokes of caning? And actually there were two willing partners who were not trying to hurt or harm each other. I am very perplexed. What if the victim was a 36 year old woman? Still a crime for sex with a juvenile. But what would be the punishment?

Signs of cracks coming to the open

“I hope branch leaders do not make statements that they do not like Singaporeans investing here. “We must be consistent with our signals both from the top and bottom. What is the difference of an investor from the United States or Singapore? There is no difference actually. “We cannot be carried away with emotions or be parochial as we must realise that we are in the 21st century and the country must be developed,” Najib said.... These are clear signs that opposition towards Najib's policy to bring Malaysia to the 21st Century, to become a competitive country like the rest of the developing world, is meeting strong resistance. There must be some quarters trying very hard to derail what he is doing. And UMNO Johore seems to be a good candidate especially when there are so many issues that can be stirred. The railway station issue, crooked bridge issue and the Iskandar DR are still works in progress. Having been kept and held back for so many years with tribal and communal politics and mindset, it is not easy to bring them forward to see the new world. The medieval forces are as strong as the forces of modernisation. Singaporean investors will be more worried of their investments in IDR and how long Najib will last. And as the investments are going to be long term, what's next or who's next after Najib?