The early phase of the Water Margin story told of the marginalized and convicted officials who were fixed up by corrupt powers of the day. And they had no where to go, could not emigrate, except to escape to Liang Shan.
The first chief of the Liang Shan rebels was Wang Lun, a small minded selfish man of average intellect. As more and more able and more talented men flocked to Liang Shan, he felt threatened and tried to send them off. He wanted to remain the top dog for as long as he could.
To his disappointment, as more people and officials were driven away by corrupt court officials, he could not keep them away no matter how he tried. Eventually his reluctance and selfish desire to protect his own position led to his own demise. He was killed by Lin Chong, a powerful ex govt military officer.
Whether in govt or in the rebel camp, once the top dog has outlived his usefulness, and when more able and talented people appeared, they must make way or be removed one way or another. Resistance is futile. They will be bungled out to the wilderness.
2/01/2012
The deception of pay hike
How many of you really become richer when there is a pay hike? I am referring to the normal average Singaporeans, not those whose pay hikes are in the hundreds of thousands or millions. Many will feel richer for a moment but whether they are richer or poorer will depend on the subsequent events that follow the pay hike. Are there more hikes in fares, charges, rentals and services? If they do, then the pay hike could all be absorbed by the subsequent hikes of goods and services, or in short, inflation, unless of course the hike is much more than real inflation. Many could be poorer after the pay hike when the higher cost of living eats up more than their hikes.
There is also the reverse, when no pay hike can make one richer. If the cost of living can be lowered like the cost of goods and services, the same dollar can buy more, and thus makes one richer.
Many people have been robbed of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars by the runaway property prices. Buy a property at $300k instead of $500k, or $600k instead of $1m. The amount of instant losses is huge beyond comprehension and would wipe away years of savings and stinging.
Don’t be too happy with your pay hike.
In the early 70s, a $2k income could buy a 5 rm flat, a car and bring up a family quite comfortably.
There is also the reverse, when no pay hike can make one richer. If the cost of living can be lowered like the cost of goods and services, the same dollar can buy more, and thus makes one richer.
Many people have been robbed of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars by the runaway property prices. Buy a property at $300k instead of $500k, or $600k instead of $1m. The amount of instant losses is huge beyond comprehension and would wipe away years of savings and stinging.
Don’t be too happy with your pay hike.
In the early 70s, a $2k income could buy a 5 rm flat, a car and bring up a family quite comfortably.
Yesterday’s mantra, today’s high falutin
How things can change overnight. Many great arguments, uncontested and unchallenged, were elevated to become the daily mantras of Sinkies. Overnight, after a heavy thunderstorm, the dull Sinkie minds seem to have brightened up a little after the flood water subsided. Now they are calling all the mantras high falutins. They don’t believe in any of them anymore.
The first to fall is the high salary for super talent. This brought along the demise of high salary to prevent corruption mantra. No body really believes in it anymore. This is amazing. As they said, real gold is not afraid of fire. But gold plating is a different thing altogether. How many high mantras are going the high falutin way?
Maybe the Sinkies are going crazy and the old mantras are still valid but the daft Sinkies could not appreciate how valuable they were.
The first to fall is the high salary for super talent. This brought along the demise of high salary to prevent corruption mantra. No body really believes in it anymore. This is amazing. As they said, real gold is not afraid of fire. But gold plating is a different thing altogether. How many high mantras are going the high falutin way?
Maybe the Sinkies are going crazy and the old mantras are still valid but the daft Sinkies could not appreciate how valuable they were.
1/31/2012
Can PAP survive 2016?
This is an interesting question that many observers are wondering. In the last election there were signs that the ground had shifted. The support for PAP was weakening and all it needed was for the opposition to put up a stronger slate of candidates to make some inroad into Parliament. And we have seen a GRC fell. Actually another one or two could have gone to the opposition.
There was no lack of good candidates from the opposition camp to win a couple more GRCs. Goh Meng Seng was right in going at individual ministers that were weak and losing ground support with their bad policies. The fault was the dilution of opposition candidates, basically spread too thin. If they have adopted the same strategy like the WP, the NSP could have got Tampines hands down.
What would be the fortune of the political parties in 2016? The PAP will have a very tough time comes 2016. There is really nothing left to stand in favour of the party. After the ministerial salary debate in Parliament, all the political credits have vanished into thin air. The super talent and super salary myths have been shattered to pieces. Not many thinking people will find the super talents anything that super or unusual. The few good ministers could have held their grounds if not of flawed policies or the wrong direction that the country is being led to. And to keep to party line and direction, they could only go along but undermining their own credibility as super talents.
The policy of throwing money at problems is getting hilarious and comical. Money is not an issue. It is OPM. Just throw money at any problem. The more money is thrown the better the impression that great effort and intelligence are at work, and the problem will be solved.
The reverse is to make the people pay as much as they can afford, as long as there is money left in their pockets. Both do not need any intelligence to go with. Millions and billions have been blown away.
How many still believe that the PAP candidates in Parliament are the best people available to lead this country? Many of the opposition candidates in the last elections were many times better and several were even of ministerial material. It is regrettable that they are not in Parliament. It is equally regrettable that a few of the not deserving are now in Parliament.
Some corners of the public are lamenting that there are still not enough good candidates. Actually they were several very good candidates from the opposition in the last GE, definitely better than those from the PAP. And it is likely that more will be stepping forward in 2016. If each of the opposition party could attract enough good candidates to wrestle one GRC from the PAP and with the WP doing a little better, there is a good possibility of another 4 or 5 GRCs going to the opposition. It will deplete further the already dearth of real super talents in the ruling party.
The invincible wall of super talents has fallen. There were really no super talents to talk of. And with so many mediocre talents in the GRCs, if the opposition parties could concentrate their fire power with good candidates in their GRC teams, the balance can easily be tipped. The Tony and Hazel Poa, Benjamin Pwee, Vincent, Jee Say, Nicole, just to name a few, were equals to the PAP’s best and should rightfully be in Parliament. The electorate has seen them and is likely to place their bets on them and other equally good candidates that will show up in 2016.
What else is there in PAP to hold against a new slate of able and good candidates from the opposition when practically every minister is now looking so vulnerable? As for the rest of the MPs…well….
Can the PAP survive 2016?
There was no lack of good candidates from the opposition camp to win a couple more GRCs. Goh Meng Seng was right in going at individual ministers that were weak and losing ground support with their bad policies. The fault was the dilution of opposition candidates, basically spread too thin. If they have adopted the same strategy like the WP, the NSP could have got Tampines hands down.
What would be the fortune of the political parties in 2016? The PAP will have a very tough time comes 2016. There is really nothing left to stand in favour of the party. After the ministerial salary debate in Parliament, all the political credits have vanished into thin air. The super talent and super salary myths have been shattered to pieces. Not many thinking people will find the super talents anything that super or unusual. The few good ministers could have held their grounds if not of flawed policies or the wrong direction that the country is being led to. And to keep to party line and direction, they could only go along but undermining their own credibility as super talents.
The policy of throwing money at problems is getting hilarious and comical. Money is not an issue. It is OPM. Just throw money at any problem. The more money is thrown the better the impression that great effort and intelligence are at work, and the problem will be solved.
The reverse is to make the people pay as much as they can afford, as long as there is money left in their pockets. Both do not need any intelligence to go with. Millions and billions have been blown away.
How many still believe that the PAP candidates in Parliament are the best people available to lead this country? Many of the opposition candidates in the last elections were many times better and several were even of ministerial material. It is regrettable that they are not in Parliament. It is equally regrettable that a few of the not deserving are now in Parliament.
Some corners of the public are lamenting that there are still not enough good candidates. Actually they were several very good candidates from the opposition in the last GE, definitely better than those from the PAP. And it is likely that more will be stepping forward in 2016. If each of the opposition party could attract enough good candidates to wrestle one GRC from the PAP and with the WP doing a little better, there is a good possibility of another 4 or 5 GRCs going to the opposition. It will deplete further the already dearth of real super talents in the ruling party.
The invincible wall of super talents has fallen. There were really no super talents to talk of. And with so many mediocre talents in the GRCs, if the opposition parties could concentrate their fire power with good candidates in their GRC teams, the balance can easily be tipped. The Tony and Hazel Poa, Benjamin Pwee, Vincent, Jee Say, Nicole, just to name a few, were equals to the PAP’s best and should rightfully be in Parliament. The electorate has seen them and is likely to place their bets on them and other equally good candidates that will show up in 2016.
What else is there in PAP to hold against a new slate of able and good candidates from the opposition when practically every minister is now looking so vulnerable? As for the rest of the MPs…well….
Can the PAP survive 2016?
$750m to solve ponding problem
The govt took less than a month to decide on spending $750m to solve a little ponding problem in Orchard Road. The recommendations by the committee of experts were revealed only a few weeks back in the main media. Looking from a positive angle, it is decisiveness, a govt on the ball and is trying to tackle the problem as fast as it could. I still remember that it needed one whole year of studies to decide to give those on public assistance $50 extra a month. I am not privy to how long the committee took to come out with the recommendations but the decision was made super fast and super serious.
I don’t know how many and how big were the ponds. If there were 10 ponds, it means each pond will cost $75m to remove. And looking at the works to be done, many of the facilities were meant to be for monitoring and data collecting purposes and not really to solve the flooding problem. I think the $124m map is one of them, plus all the CCTVs and early warning system. By the time they have the map ready and all the new data, another big sum of money will be needed to implement more new measures from the new findings.
Well, money can solve all problems. True or not? Or money down the drain into the ponds? What is $750m? May not be effective as the sum is too small.
I don’t know how many and how big were the ponds. If there were 10 ponds, it means each pond will cost $75m to remove. And looking at the works to be done, many of the facilities were meant to be for monitoring and data collecting purposes and not really to solve the flooding problem. I think the $124m map is one of them, plus all the CCTVs and early warning system. By the time they have the map ready and all the new data, another big sum of money will be needed to implement more new measures from the new findings.
Well, money can solve all problems. True or not? Or money down the drain into the ponds? What is $750m? May not be effective as the sum is too small.
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