The Chinese was the worst affected in MTL

As a group, the Chinese was the worst affected group by the Mother Tongue Language policy. Other than the numerous dialects spoken at home, many homes were using Malay or English, or any other languages except Mandarin. Mandarin was a foreign language to the majority of Singaporean Chinese who were mostly southerners. The peranakans spoke a mixture of Hokien and Malay and English. When the policy was introduced, many Chinese children were caught in a very difficult position. The worst affected are the Babas and those who used mainly English at home. Many have opted for Hopson’s Choice and migrated, for the sake of their children’s education. For without a good pass in Mandarin, the door to tertiary education is closed. More importantly, the children would have to struggle with more tuition to try to make the grade. It was misery and a painful childhood to many Chinese children. If any, the Chinese should be the group that would be shouting discrimination and being put in a very disadvantageous position vis a vis the other races. The Malays should have lesser difficulty in MTL as Malay is their mother tongue and spoken at home. I think the Indians too have quite a comparable problem with the Chinese as many spoke different dialects as well as English at home. Some of them also ended up migrating. They too did not shout discrimination. They have accepted the MTL policy grudgingly for national integration. If the Chinese and Indians would have taken the MTL policy badly and protest strongly, the situation could become ugly. Thank god that the MTL issue has subsided and is now part and parcel of life here. There are still problems and are being sorted out. For the Chinese, dialects are disappearing with the passing of the grandpas and grandmas and the younger breed are now speaking English and Mandarin. The new citizens from China would only have to struggle with English. I am not too familiar with the situation among the Indians. Tamil is not the only dialect that is being used at home. Now with the influx of the Northern Indians, there may be contention for the recognition of other Indian languages other than Tamil. This could present another situation as more non Tamil speakers become citizens. The situation among the Malays should be fairly the same then and now.

Unrest in ME, China and Russia at risk?

This is the way western analysts are thinking and hoping everyday. Tomorrow if there is a health epidemic, a financial meltdown, and industrial or manufacturing mishap, it will be China and Russia or any other country except the US and Europe that will be next in line. These silly no hopers are praying and praying everyday to see the demise of Russia and China but forgetting that the next big collapse could be the US and Europe. The US is all ripe for a revolution with the income gap widening, the middle class becoming poor and beggars, and a national debt that they may not be able to repay short of turning the greenbacks into banana currency. They are still trying to keep the lid close and hoping for a miracle. The whole can of worm could splash out tomorrow and the US could be the beggar overnight. And Europe with several countries already in the critically ill list, and many more to go but not yet disclosed. As long as Russia and China can keep on feeding its people well and improving their standard of living, the West can keep on hoping and praying for their downfall. But before their prayers are answered, the West could have gone to the rubbish dump of history first. All Empires will have to call it a day. The West is no exception. The revolution in the ME is a revolution not only against dictators but a revolution against corruption and poverty, and against Western domination. When the West loses its grip on the ME and its oil, they will come tumbling down like a house of cards.

No growth better than growth

Yes, it sounds contradictory. Growth is the essence of our economy and the vital ingredient to the good life we are having. How can no growth be better than growth? The old mature economies are flowing along with lower growth rate but maintaining a high quality of life. We have experienced many years of high growth and the quality of our life has improved by leaps and bounds. The thing is that we are now witnessing diminishing returns from our growth. In fact, while the rich are getting richer and enjoying real growth, the middle income and lower are not getting better, and many are not enjoying any real growth or bettering their living condition, despite good economic growth. A simple illustration, if economy grows by 5% and income grows by the same amount, broadly speaking, the people should enjoy a 5% growth in their disposable income or spending power. Or at least they should be slightly easier in their pockets. But not everyone got a 5% increase if the economy goes up by 5%. Yes, some got 10% or more increases. That’s why some are doing very well and very happy. Another problem is that the inflation beast that we have today is eating away everything. If inflation is 5%, everyone is back at status quo. If inflation is double or more, though the economy looks good, though the income goes a bit higher, there is really a net contraction in the spending power. It is negative growth to those whose income does not keep pace with inflation. On the other extreme, low economic growth with low inflation could be better when inflation is lower than economic growth and income growth. How much of our growth has been translated to the wealth of our people in the middle and lower income bracket? Are they really better off, sharing the growing economic pie, or are they starting to feel the strains in their pockets? A $100k increase in property price means many will have to work 5 to 10 years for nothing, not improving their income at all. This goes to the prices of cars, of high medical bills and other big ticket items. The couple of hundred dollars of salary increases are easily eaten up by the high cost of living of everything, from basic necessities, transportation, food on the table, and consumer durables. We may be in a situation when no growth or low growth is better off than high growth if the standard and cost of living can be maintained. At the rate inflation is eating up everyone’s income and savings, we should think carefully of chasing high economic growth for its sake. It could be an effort in vain. What is important is real improvement in standard of living, cost of living, not fictitious dollar increases when the value is depreciating by the days.

No child be denied an education

This is the assurance by the govt. No money never mind, just ask and will be given. Any small prints to read? Any conditions attached? Will the parents be subject to mean testing? What income level is considered as affordable and disqualified from govt handouts? A $2000 household income for one child or $5000 income for four children qualified? I think the first thing is to prove how challenging the family life is. The term challenging and affordable can mean anything to anyone. Nevermind, when a family is in that condition, no need be shy, just go and ask for help. The govt will be most happy to help. The devil is in the details. Something like no one will be denied medical treatment in our hospitals. Then why are citizens going to Malaysia for treatment? Fail the mean testing, or too shy to ask or beg?

If only Malaysia agrees…

If Malaysia agrees to let us build all the facilities we need in Johore, like hospitals, schools, housing etc etc, we can save a lot of money from paying sky high prices for these facilities and services in the island. There are obvious competitive advantages in terms of land costs. And if that happens, Singaporeans can all move over, hopefully can still work in their own country. And the whole country can be sold or lease to foreigners who can afford the high prices. As a hotel, there is nothing sentimental about this place. Let it go to the highest bidders. Singaporeans can go and park somewhere else. The cheaper land and labour costs will make living in those places much more affordable for the 21st century nomads. And we can extend the work in progress in nation building forever. No sweat, as long as Singaporeans can be shifted out and rent out their expensive HDB flats and earn rentals to live cheaply in Johore. Medical and hospital services would also be cheaper. Come to think of it, renting out the whole island and live on the rentals is not a bad idea. Our beautiful island paradise can be home to the rich and famous, our world class hospitals to serve the rich and famous…. Provided Malaysia is willing. We can truly become the modern nomads, people without a home in their own country. Oops, got homes, but need to rent out to live on the rentals outside the island as the high cost of living becomes prohibitive to the average Singaporeans. OK, the average Singaporeans can also call themselves landlords, till the lease expires. Isn’t this a damn great idea? No need to worry about nation building, no need to worry about country and citizens. Just treat the whole place as a hotel to make money for nobody. The concept of renting out our homes to collect rents and live simpler is already being in practice by some Singaporeans. Some have rented their private properties and live in HDB flats. And Singaporeans are already going to Malaysia and Thailand or elsewhere cheaper for medical treatments while our hospitals are doing fine business treating the rich from all over.