Chinatown hawker centre. Hawker Centres are a national heritage, selling a wide variety of food at very reasonable prices. They are spread across the whole island and is part of the Singapore way of life.
11/08/2010
Is our govt selfish?
Saturday there were several pages of reports on how the poor foreign workers are losing their pants for patronising the casinos. They could lose half their salary in a few hours or several months of their salary in a few days. The amount may not be big, $500 or $2000, but still big money to them. And some are in debt and their families back home are desperate.
Singaporeans are well protected by the $100 entrance levy. I have been prevented from entering the casino and lose my money because of this levy. Our govt is very good and protective over Singaporeans. Singaporeans must say thank you for such a paternalistic govt. Singaporeans are in safe hands.
Should the govt also apply the levy on foreign workers as well? This group of people are very poor and cannot afford to lose. They are already in debt for coming here. Now with the casino they are going to incur more debt.
Can our god protect them as well, be merciful and impose the levy on them to keep them out of the casinos? Or is our god so selfish, only protect the chosen people and let the rest suffer for their own foolishness?
This is time to beg for mercy and forgiveness, and a helping hand from god. And don’t forget that a financially troubled foreign worker is likely to resort to crime and the protected Singaporeans may end up as victims.
11/07/2010
Please don't bring down property prices
With so many people kpkb in the internet about high property prices, I mean so many people which is false as there are 80% of flat owners all wanting their property prices to go up, Hsien Loong is also worried. He is quoted to have said, 'the red-hot property market is causing consternation.' Dunno what that means. But for all the property speculators and investors, they will be fuming if the property price falls.
We have been entrapped by this high property price that just happened, beyond our control, and let it be known that it must not come down, and cannot come down. Or else bodies will be falling from the sky. High property prices is a good thing as it makes all property owners feeling very rich. The more properties they have, private properties better still, the richer they will become.
Let's work harder to keep the property prices higher. We don't want anyone to jump from their flats because their properties become negative assets like in the late 1990s. We have learnt our lessons, that we cannot let property prices drop like coconuts.
No consternation. Just maintain the high prices to make property owners happy and everything will be alright. Sure win the next election. The kpkb in the internet is hogwash. Don't believe in them.
Invasion of Senkaku/Occupation of Diaoyutai?
I was the video clips on Youtube on the recent incident at Diaoyutai. A Chinese fishing boat was crusing in the sea and two Japanese naval came in to shadow it. Then they moved it to sandwich the Chinese ship and one moved into the path of the Chinese ship to cut it off. The provocative manoeuvre was aggressive. Intentional or not it was not easy to move out of the way or stop a ship in motion, and the Chinese ship brushed the starboard tip at the back of the Japanese ship.
It is strange that the picture in the press showed the area of impact on the port side of the ship and almost in the middle section instead. How come?
The Japanese video has this headline, China invasion of Senkaku. Now, is it China invasion of Senkaku or Japanese occupation of Diaoyutai?
What happened in the incident is similar to the days of foreign concession in Shanghai. The foreigners, British, Russian, French, Americans, Germans, Japanese, etc etc each seized a part of China as their own and police it with their police and applying their own laws, in Chinese territory. Same as in Diaoyutai. Chinese who happened to be in the concession or occupied territories were treated as intruders or foreigners and subject to harassments by the occupied forces. They could be arrested, extorted or humiliated or chased out of the concession. And the occupied forces would declare the Chinese as intruders, or invading their territories.
The truth is that the territories belonged to China, Chinese territories, and Diaoyutai is Chinese territories like the Kurile islands which are Japanese territories. The Japanese are demanding that the Russians returned the islands to them, seized from Japan in the same way as Diaoyutai from China.
How could the Japanese tell the world that it was a Chinese invasion when they are occupying Chinese territory and harassing Chinese ships in Chinese waters? Bloody imperialist liars!
11/06/2010
A Nation it never will be
This is my impression of what this island will be if the policies are not changed. We will always be in a constant state of flux, with the infusion of new people from different backgrounds, race, religion and culture, to keep the city state vibrant. And the concoction of race and religion is a highly inflammable mix that could go up in smoke in the slightest miscalculation, or a loose statement. Basically we are playing with fire.
We could have made some headways after the first 40 years of nation building when the poor migrants, leftovers from the colonial legacy, and very pliable given their impoverished background and simplicity, shared a common history and growing up together, were gradually blending together with one another quite comfortably. They were less demanding of their racial, cultural or religious superiority and purity. They are quite comfortable with being chap cheng. No big deals.
Things were working quite well until the policy changes of the last 10 or 15 years when foreigners were welcomed in the shiploads or planeloads to live and be part of our citizens/residents. And basically we are starting all over with a new brew. And if the policies of coveting other people’s talents are the way to go, we will continuously be in a state of change and uncertainties. We will never mature and develop into a stable society like the countries in Europe.
Race, culture and religion will forever be sensitive issues as the new migrants are not the poor immigrants anymore(the foreign workers excluded as they are here only temporarily) and have high expectations, demands and pride. They will present a different threat to the establishment as they are likely to be less tolerant and adaptable to the whims and interests of lesser beans.
And the price for that is that the country must be always put on a leash by a strong hand govt, and press freedom and many liberties of a mature society will be put on hold, possibly forever. An immature society with a people that do not see themselves as a people of a country or nation cannot have the luxury of a loose press and freedom of expression. The people will be immature, insensitive and would turn a well meaning debate into a personal vendetta. This is no good. So, the rigid control of the media stays…forever and ever, in a country that will never grow up, always in a state of change, with new people replacing older ones that have left.
Have we traded a nation for economic growth and development, that economic growth is everything and the making of a nation is secondary, unimportant, a hotel is just as good? Secuity threats and fears are legitimate reasons to justify stringent control of the media. Maybe one day when security threats and fears have disappeared, press freedom will be returned to the people...one day....
11/05/2010
The Singapore Death Penalty Blog
I read an article posted in the Singapore Death Penalty Blog and I must said that I am not pleased. In fact I am terribly worried. The discussion was centred on the killing of Darren Ng in Downtown East. And the Blog took to questioning the cries to hang the assailants of Darren Ng. It gives the impression that if there are good reasons to the killing, like there is no intention to kill but to harm, or that it is not just a staring incident, then perhaps it is wrong to hang the killers.
Below are some of the reasons raised and I quoted from the Blog.
'There are many questions left unanswered from the incident:
* Was Darren Ng murdered or mobbed (with weapons), which resulted in his death? (The implications are important as they decide the charge and sentence of the accused persons)
* Was it really a simple random staring incident resulting in a cold blooded murder?
* Did Darren try to stand up for his friend, which resulted in a confrontation and the mob attack?
* How many of the dozen or so assailants were carrying weapons?
* Was there a real intention to murder Darren, or were the knives use with the intent to cause serous injuries?
* How many other suspects are still at large?
* If 10 men mobbed and caused the death of one person, should all 10 be charged for murder, a crime which carries mandatory death sentence?
* Out of the 4 arrested and charged for murder, who attacked Darren, how many were doing so because their peers were doing it?'
Do all these reasons or questions make any difference to the vicious killing of Darren in a public place? To me it does not. A young man was killed. It was not a case of simply two persons fighting or self defence. It was a mob attack. Or a mob attack deserves lesser punishment? Oh, perhaps they just want to give Darren a few cuts without any intent of killing him. The knives were just another tool and not meant to be for killing. Oh, there are other reasons...So? And 10 people killed one man. Maybe no need to hang 10 people, only one for one?
The questioning and doubts cast sound pretty sick.
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