I am impressed with Western Australian Police

Saw this video clip on Australian Police manhandling an aborigine man on the news last night. I was so impressed by the use of force to protect the policemen. Oops, I mean to protect the aborigine. The whole episode should be used for training purposes for policemen around the world on how to handle a ‘violent’ aborigine. Let me try to recall the procedure involved. First you will need about 6 to 8 burly policemen, preferably twice the physical size of the victim. Then give them a Taser gun each. The next important thing is to handcuff the victim. When the victim, in this case an aborigine, is safely secured, take turns to use the Taser gun on him. The safety of the policemen is guaranteed. But just a precautionary statement, don’t be over zealous in the application of the gun. And never exceed 13 times. By 13 times, death is highly possible. In this case the aborigine died after being hit by the Taser gun for 13 times. Oh, one more precaution. When conducting such an exercise, make sure that no one is video taping it, whether by a handphone or a close circuit TV. The aborigines in Australia are in good hands. They are safe under the protection of the Australian police.

Behind the veil of civility

Everything on the surface looks fine and nice. All the pleasantries and heaps of praises poured in. Everyone has something good to say, so refined and well mannered, so cool and measured. Everyone is so sweet. Why am I seeing things? Behind the veils of niceties and civility I am seeing the face of a beast. I can’t really figure it out, could be a tiger, a wolf, a hyena or a crocodile, but a beast alright. The great pretence is first class, betterer than anything MediaCorp can produce. It even beats the best make up artistes of Hollywood. The battle will soon be fought. The daggers are hidden for the time being. Occasionally a little blinding reflection flashes across the scenery when a knife is unsheathed prematurely, only to be quickly put away. Brutus, where are ye? Brutus, my good friend!

While there is still time

For the good of the country, LKY must divorce himself from all aspects of govt while he still can. Goh Keng Swee was also a giant in Singapore politics. His passing away did not rock the boat and life goes on as usual. It should also be the case for LKY. But this is not going to be if LKY is still in the thick of govt and the sudden eclipse of his overwhelming presence will trigger a shock, and foreign funds will use the opportunity to sell down the stock market for sure. It may be a knee jerk reaction but the damage can be severe. There is still time to prevent this day from happening. LKY should retire completely and be out of the picture to let the govt run without him. There is a need for a transition period for the world to know that nothing changes with or without him in charge or in the govt. His fading away is good for the country and for everyone. No one knows how long he will be around and the earlier he takes step towards this end will give the govt that much more time to run on its own. It will also prevent the doomsayers from creating havoc at the crucial moment when it arrives. As long as he continues to grant audience to state dignitaries, there is no doubt who is in charge of the country. LKY owes it to Singaporeans to make the transition of Singapore without him as smooth and uneventful as possible. That will be his last great contribution for the country.

When workers raid the treasury

How could that be when they are still begging for some kind of minimum wage for their labour? And they are fighting only for another $30 or $50 more, not like asking for thousands or millions more. The workers that are raiding the treasury are those at the top of the heap. Whether they call themselves presidents, MDs, CEOs or whatever, they are workers, employees, employed to do a job. The owners of the property or organisation are the minority shareholders, who are lost, disunited, and did not know their rights. And the expensive workers at the top took over the organisations and began to pay themselves crazy without the owners consent, but by default. That is when the workers start to raid the treasury. It is happening everywhere, from small to big companies. When this takes place, it is a matter of time when the greedy workers break the bank and let it go bust. It happened in America and Europe, during the financial crisis. It is back to square one when the workers are back to do what they know best, for their own interest, by raiding the treasury. Until the minority shareholders wake up and exercise their rights as shareholders, to stop the raiding, the raid will continue. The raiders will usurp the power granted to them with the silent consent of the powerless shareholders and manage the treasury as their own personal coffers. And they will tell the workers at the bottom of the heap to take whatever there is left and not to ask for a cent more.

The lure of the dark side

It is officially approved. MAS has given the green light to Chi East, a joint venture between Chi X Global and SGX to operate a dark pool trading platform here. This controversial trading platform that hides under a cloud of secrecy for big traders as against the principle of aboveboard and transparency trading is not new in Europe and America. So the big boys, the front runners, the smart asses are doing it and it cannot be wrong. I remember toxic notes and minibonds that were then so respectable because it came from the world's centre of finance and cannot be wrong too. The dark side has always been sexy and exciting. And playing with secrecy, like James Bond, with a licence to kill, is that much more glamorous and adventurous. It has all the thrills of cloak and dagger and the advantage of being above the law. Has any trading principle been undermined by the dark pool operation? Are the operators having an advantage over those that trades in the open? Is the principle of a level playing field been violated? Every step taken, even a small step, towards the dark side, is a wrong step. It may not be apparent now. It will eventually, but only when the sky turns dark. A frog being boiled to death never know how far it had crossed to the side of death. Little incremental changes are deceiving and comforting. Skirting with the danger of going down the slippery slope may not be evident. Yes, a single step has been taken. Welcome to the dark side.