Obesity a national issue

The problem of obesity is important enough to be raised as a national issue in Parliament. We don’t want NS men to walk around looking like barrels do we? If that is the case, we can parade a contingent of these barrels at the National Day Parade. No, they need not have to march. They just need to roll along. And the marching orders, got to be changed to rolling orders, ‘Parade, ke kiri…roll’ instead of ‘Ke kiri… pusing.’ And a more serious problem is that all the buses and MRT trains got to have their seats changed to barrel size. Not only it will cost money to the transport companies, it will bring down their profits as they can now take lesser passengers per trip. Lagi susah is that fuel cost will go up as the passenger loads will be heavier. Now where is the root of the problem? The mummies and grannies of course. They have been feeding their children with the best food and best herbal soups to ‘por’ them while they are growing up. And probably 6 meals a day instead of 3. Looking fat and chubby is a sign of wealth and prosperity. They would not want their children to have that skinny and hungry look of the have nots. It is so malu if relatives say ‘Oh dear, chai chai is so thin!’ It is another way of saying ‘eat not enough’. The MOH shall start to conduct courses for the grannies and mummies on how not to fatten their children and also looking thin is not necessary shameful. This will give a boost to the ego of the have nots as their children are thin simply because they don’t have enough to eat. Now they can pretend that thin is good or not so bad, and walk with a little confidence.

Climb Kilimanjaro For Kids 2011

A Singaporean teacher in York University doing something for kids. Climb Kilimanjaro For Kids 2011 Fundraiser: Andrea Goh Donors can visit www.uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AndreaGoh

The Myth of Mas the Supernatural

He walked out of the detention centre like David Copperfield, in broad daylight, leaving the guard guarding an empty toilet. This second act is like the disappearing act of a magician walking into a box but appears somewhere else. Pretty good magic show. There is also the belief that after burying a few pieces of bawang, he can literally become invisible. Now for the facts. His escape from detention and fleeing into Johore were anything but unusual. Ok, ok, the part about walking out of a detention centre with ace gurkha guards is still an unknown phenomenon. Subsequently taking a walk to Tampines may not be that difficult but physically a bit demanding on him. The hiding in a brother’s flats, no need too much intelligence unless it is a game of poker, both parties trying to second guess each other’s move. That means Mas came out on top. Finally, the make up and wearing of tudung to pass off as a woman, a piece of cake. Simply text book stuff. No need much imagination. So, where is the part that made Mas Selamat that extraordinary or supernatural? Or he is an expert in disguise, in escape from prison. Oops, escape from prison is not easy. Not many people have succeeded. He may be the only one in paradise to do it. This point could make him that extraordinary. Or is it the event or the circumstances made him extraordinary? They use to say that in the land of the blind, the one eye jack shines.

Definitely not enough

Loan shark harassment cases dropped 8.4% for the period Jan to Oct over the same period last year. Is this good enough? It dropped from 15,120 cases to 13,848 cases, or more than 1000 cases monthly, or 33 cases daily. Did I get the numbers wrong? 33 cases daily is a very intolerable number. In 2007 there were 9,400 cases, 2008 there were 11,400 cases and 2009 there were 17,900 cases. Numbers quoted from the media. My goodness, we have been living with so many harassment cases without knowing. With the publicity given to tougher police actions and more arrests, the number does not seem to be making any significant progress. Or the loan sharks are still ruling their turfs and their activities are as per normal. When will the harassment stop? Oh, never mind, there can never be no harassment. Some harassment cases are normal and expected. So, what is an acceptable number?

Singapore needs Paul Volcker

Dr Volcker, the former Fed Chairman, is in town. Hopefully the govt can bring him on board in some kind of advisory role to curb the madness we have been sucked into. Volcker is famed for his Volcker Rule which forbids proprietary trading and speculations by banks in the financial market. His fear of the menace created by reckless banks which came true during the financial and subprime mortgage crisis has led to the US curbing proprietary trading by banks. His experience on the ground is invaluable. The conflict of interest and unfair advantages of banks in trading and speculation is obvious but blind to those who see short term gains. Singapore has adopted this practice of allowing banks to be thickly involved in proprietary trading or with trading arms as an extension of the banks to dabble in more exciting adventures in the wider financial jungle. The only way to throw out such voyeurism which has ruined the American finance industry is to have a giant like Volcker to tell the super talents that they are going down a slippery slope of no return. There is still time to unwind the mess before the whole financial industry got sucked into the abyss and spin into thin air. The other main fear of the financial industry is the ingenious and crooked ways of writing pieces of papers for trading. Derivative trading is not much different from playing monopoly when everything is worthless and trading with worthless money. A return to real value, assets and industry is the key to return sanity to the intoxicated financial market. We really need a heavy dosage of Volcker wisdom, prudence and thrift policies. Would the super talents listen or are they too high in the clouds and not able to see the mess that the industry is in?