How’s my maid doing?

I went for a little retreat over the long weekend and had a little problem keeping up with the happenings at home. The 100 page tabloid was on everything except news from paradise. At most there would be a little snippet of news that is not even 1/8 of a page long. And getting on line was a big struggle. The hotel did not have a business centre. Finally found a cybercafé and everyone was playing computer games. The kids must be wondering what this uncle was doing there. Managed a few posts before wringing my hands as the machine was crawling. Before I left, my maid promised to be good. She said she would change her ways and do everything to please me. I was back late last night and found things a little confusing. On one hand the maid was still talking about wanting to do things that I like. I have been telling the maids for so long, so many times, that she should do things that I have wanted her to do. She was either stubborn or just too much of herself, perhaps communication problems were in the way as well. She had been doing everything her way for so many years, at my expense of course. And believe me, she thought she was doing hell of a great job. But at the price that I am paying, I don’t think I am getting value for money. Lately she has been very flirtatious as well, fooling around with foreigners with no regards to how I fit in. In fact she had been callous in many things, at times very sloppy too. Keeping her is already a very expensive thing to do. And she insisted that I must have the best of everything, for my interests, and this has rammed up my household bill skyhigh. Everything she spent on must be the best, and she had burnt a big hole in my pocket. Wondering if she knew what she has been doing. I have refrained from firing her all these years. The maid agencies have called to offer better and cheaper maids, maids that are willing to do my bidding and really take care of my interests. Of course the old maid is still doing it, but at a very high cost, and bad attitude. Now I am seriously thinking of changing the maid. And surprise, the maid appears to be listening. All the things that I told her and ignored by her in the past, she is saying it voluntarily, like wanting to cut down my expenses, taking good care of me, and not talking back. Is it because she is sensing that things have changed and her time is coming to an end? This change of attitude is most welcome, and sounds pleasing. My concern is if it is real. What if she goes back on her words and goes on bossing around in the house again if I extend her contract? There are signs that she will still be the same pain in the arse if she can get her ways. She is still throwing tantrums now and then, and even threatening that the new maid will mess up the house. She has no kind words for the new maids. She still claims that she is the best, indispensable. I was telling myself, shit, with the amount I am paying, I can get 3 or 4 maids to serve me. Why should I continue to engage and to let her think that she is the only one available and no one else can do the job better. She must be thinking that I am daft. I still have a few days to consider whether to dump her or not. Think it is time. The leopard will not change its spots. And the agencies are offering a long list of willing and eager to please maids. Better to go for the change. After all no venture no gain. Can’t be worst, and there are good choices now.

Tan Jee Say not good enough

Chok Tong said Tan Jee Say is able but not good enough to be a permanent secretary. I may have a little dementia, but I remember what LKY said of him. I think something not much different from what he said of Jee Say, in his case, for the post of PM. He was not LKY's first choice. There was Dhanabalan, Chee Onn and Tony Tan. Then he became a PM for several terms. He was judged to be not good enough when compared to other better candidates. Was he good enough when he was a PM after being judged not good enough? If he was a good enough PM, then his assessor was wrong. If he was not good enough as a PM, then his assessor was right. But right or wrong, he still stayed on as a PM for more than one term. He said Jee Say not good enough to be a perm sec. The people did not have a chance to see Jee Say's performance as a perm sec. But what's that got to do with his potential or ability to be a good political leader? I can say that Beckham will not be good enough to be a perm sec. But I can't say that he can't be a good footballer. Neither can I say that he will not be a good politician. Winston Churchill too was not seen as good enough to be a PM, but he proved the British wrong as a good war PM. So, who is going to claim to be god to be able to judge someone as good enough or not? It is the people that is going to show their trust in him and whether to give him a chance to prove himself. And it is the people who is going to judge whether he is good enough. The same reason of judging can be applied to the ministers. Many were damn great in the eyes of the PAP and to Chok Tong and Hsien Loong. But in the eyes of the people, they have other ideas of what is good and bad.

After this election, Singaporeans cannot blame the PAP anymore

Ok, many Singaporeans are guilty of kpkb at the govt for policies that they are not happy with. By now the PAP is an open book. You know who they are, what they are, how they think and what they will do. And they have been very consistent and predictable in their actions and policies for the last few decades. And the ministers and MPs are know for what they are, what they stand for and what they can and cannot do. They have each a track record to prove their abilities. Now there is a general election in a few days time. So what shall the people do? There is no point in kpkb anymore. The future is in your hand. Vote wisely and live with the outcome once you have chosen. After that if still needs to kpkb, do it in front of the mirror. You deserve it, to give yourself a good kick in the back. This election is about telling the PAP that you like what they have been doing and confirming it by voting them to power again. Or it could be telling the PAP that you don’t like what they have done and are giving your vote to the opposition. It is as simple as that. And you can blame no one else anymore. You created your own future. You have been reminded over and over again, you deserve the govt that you elected to rule you.

The debate so far

On the opposition side, it was a time to let out the frustration and disappointment of govt policies. Yes, the govt claimed that all the policies were excellent and good for the people. But do the people buy them? Many issues were about bread and butter, about food on the table and about jobs. What the opposition was saying was simply that the people were unhappy with what was going on, and the people agreed. It was also about problems that multi million dollar ministers are expected to anticipate, to plan for, to nib in the bud by being proactive and not allowing problems to blow up to such a proportion. The people knew what these problems were but unfortunately the govt didn’t or could not understand, could not see. What the ruling party’s position is very simple, don’t rock the boat or Singapore will be in trouble. There are more problems over the horizon, and only they can overcome them, not the opposition. Vote for the ruling party or the island may sink. It is a strategy of threats and spreading fears. Who then is going to carry the votes? There is a political rock star that has risen from the two days of campaigning in the name of Nicole. Yes, it is Nicole all the way. Nicole is holding the torch. And she is supported by a team of respectable and experienced professionals that are no less able than the PAP team. It reminds me of the days of a young LKY tearing down the streets and backed up by an able team of generals. In this case, the generals are all the leaders in the opposition parties. And the ruling govt is getting to look more like the colonial masters. And what the opposition is saying is simply that the dead woods, the has beens, the overpaid, shall be removed. And the crowd loves it. There is nothing new coming from the PAP except more upgrading and more upgrading, and more FTs and more FTs, and of course, higher and higher pays. It is not looking very pretty at the moment for the PAP. And with the disgruntled citizens voicing out at every opportunity they could find, more are likely to feel that they are not alone, that the same frustrations are being felt by other fellow citizens as well. Before internet, no one had a real feel of what the ground feeling was like. And they kept their unhappiness to themselves, thinking that they could be the odd one out, so better keep quiet. Now the feeling is in the open, and everyone who feels the same knows that they are not alone. There is a groundswell. Could this really be translated in votes for the opposition? Still one week before polling day to know what is real and what is just emotion.

Sorry not enough, must explain!

This statement must be still vivid in many Singaporeans’ mind. Committing a mistake and saying sorry is not enough, and must explain, dunno explain what? But Singaporeans are generally very kind and forgiving. Take Vincent Wijeysingha as an example, after the threats of something bad from a video, he is letting matter to rest without demanding for any explanation. Then there is the Mas Selamat Jalan episode and Kan Seng said he had apologized or accepted responsibility. So it is over. No issue any more. No red faces, no one feel pressurized or cornered. Perhaps our society has matured, and small people who liked to seize on every opportunity to blow things up, the blow job professionals, are long gone. This is good for the people or else we will still have third world ruffians in our first world city.