The history of Malaya and Singapore is full of rubbish interpretation

The latest drama of the Japanese Occupation of Singapore was replayed by a school teacher, Malcolm Tan of Chung Cheng High School. He rushed into the class in full Japanese uniform and samurai sword to a stunned class of secondary 2 students. It was a novel and interesting way of teaching history.

This was followed by a letter in the ST forum by Liew Khai Kuin asking for a more balance understanding of the goodness of the Japanese people. He was looking at the good and kind Japanese fallen victims to an act of God, the tsunami and their own nuclear bomb in the name of nuclear energy. He never suffer under the hands of Japanese beasts.

History must be told fairly, and the goodness and badness of war and the barbaric acts of human beasts must be enacted and not erased from the history books. I am not sure if Malcolm told the story of Japanese soldiers cutting sugar canes at an angle and throwing babies into the air to fall back on the sharp end of the sugar canes, like meat on skewers. The meat was live babies. This was recounted by a Filipino soldier in a documentary on the survivors of the Second World War in the Philippines. And the atrocities on women and children in all the countries the good and kind Japanese committed, gorging out unborn babies, were they fiction or unfit to be told?

And the factual accuracy of the heroism of the war was twisted by every side to glorify their own interests. In 1940s, Malaya and Singapore were not countries but colonies of the British Empire. The people did not even know that these were their countries. Can’t blame them. They were stateless, owned the British Empire. And rightly many go on as normal, nothing to defend. Singapore and Malaya were not their countries.

As for citizenships, the locals probably didn’t know what that word meant. For the Indians and Chinese, the Indians were also subjects of the British Empire, the Chinese were Chinese and their country was China, being invaded by the Japanese. It would be foolish for those without a nationality to be defending what was not theirs. At that point in time, Malaya and Singapore belonged to the British. Anyone thinking of claiming the two pieces of land as their own? If they did, why didn’t they take up arms to defend their countries? The fact was that they were in a state of limbo, stateless. Only the migrant Chinese had a country of their own in China.

It is foolish thinking expecting anyone defending British colonies other than the British themselves. But the British scooted, yes scooted, when the Japanese came. And Malaya and Singapore became Japanese territories, conquered land! No owners to defend them. What citizenship? No, Japanese subjects, all the residents became conquered people.

How to write about stories of heroism, nationalism and defending a country when there was no country to talk of and no citizenship or nationalities to be proud of? But historians bungled everything together as if there were an independent state of Malaya and Singapore and nationalities like Malayans and Singaporeans. The state of Malaya only existed in 1957, and Singapore in 1959 as a self ruled state but still under the British rule.

Who was there as citizens of Malaya and Singapore to defend these states? Or why should they be defending the land when they were not even citizens? For the residents of Malaya and Singapore in 1945, what would they be defending, their countries, their nations or the British Empire? The best thing to do is not to defend anything as there was nothing to defend. Many of the locals did that. None of their business. The British got their Empire and colonies to defend but they too chose to scoot. Funny isn’t it?

Today we have a country we called our own. We are Singaporeans and would defend this island as our own. We must not be confused by the fact that there was no country called Singapore and any misgivings about Singaporeans not defending Singapore can only come from a twisted mind. Such distorted perception of history is warped.

The Ferrari guy and the 5 ninjas

This is now another interesting story in the net. A young couple at a zebra crossing was almost hit by a Ferrari. The young guy, like all young guys with a girl, would naturally want to protect his girl and might have shown his disproval in some ways. I did not have a chance to see the video.

The macho Ferrari guy returned some rude gestures and came out of the car like a kungfu expert to confront the young man. After a few arguments he threw a punch at the young man. Then out of the darkness 4 ninjas appeared from nowhere to defend the young victim. The kungu expert was no match to the 4 ninjas and ended lying flat on the ground, knocked out.

The next day, the constable of Kaifeng county rounded up two ninjas and charged them in court. This became the talk of the town as the eye witnesses saw the earlier script and found the kungfu expert to be the aggressor and should be punished instead of the heroism of the ninjas who came to the aid of the young victim and his girl friend.

The judgement is something that everyone is waiting to know. Who would the judge find guilty and guilty of what? Would the kungfu expert be found innocent and walk away a free man? Or wound the ninjas be found guilty and ended behind bars? This story is gaining a wide audience and the judgement is anxiously being watched. The verdict can cause an uproar in the net.

The next episode will be aired in Channel 5 sometime later, maybe next week, maybe next month.

All politicians must sit and pass a module on national security

Politicians and political leaders are there to look after and protect the country and people. No matter what portfolios they are holding, there is a need for them to know what is national security and the security of the people. National security involves not only defense matter, but police matter, financial products, health products, etc etc. It is good for them to know and to upgrade themselves and be more professional. A module on national security must be developed and politicians must sit and pass the module every three years. And they must pay a fee to sit for the module. If they failed, they shall be disqualified from dealing with such matters.

I know, the above is a tongue in cheek comment about doing the unnecessary at unnecessary cost and effort. The ministers and MPs have matters cut out for them to do. But asking them to do the extra is so easy to say and implement, if it can be made compulsory, for the politicians. Who can argue against such logic of good to know, to upgrade, to be more professional? Never mind if most of the ministers and politicians need not be directly or are marginally involved in such matters.

The requirements for remisiers to be more professionals by sitting for an examination involving dangerous derivatives and toxic products have been met with great unhappiness and anger. A letter by Allen Tan and signed by 327 remisiers is now appearing in the ST forum today on their grievances for being compelled to do the unnecessary, studying about products that they are not dealing with and refused to touch. For the remisiers to put their signatures onto the letter, it only shows how pissed off they are to this requirement.

Would Chee Hean talk to those responsible on doing the right things and doing them well? And doing the right thing is definitely not doing the unnecessary excessively. But of course, doing the right thing is very subjective. And when god says it is the right thing it must be the right thing. Who is there to tell god that god is overdoing things or going overboard?

Time to use the ISA

The reckless influx of foreigners into the country is showing its ugly and dangerous side. Singaporeans have been battered quite often by foreigners like a past time. The streets and fields are dirtier. More crimes are surfacing. The latest is a spate of reports in cyberspace about attempts to kidnap children. Finally these cases are reported in the main media today. Parents are told not to be alarmed as investigations are on going and police are treating these cases seriously. Police also advised parents to keep a close watch on their children and not to let them out of sight.

Prostituting to the world and the two casinos are going to bring along undesirable elements into the country and some are very difficult control. And the due process of the law can be tedious and at times difficult to deal with crimes or attempted crimes with the criminals or would be criminals allowed to go free to commit their criminal activities.

The ISA is not only for Singaporeans. It is time to use ISA on foreigners that are here to commit crimes and to beat up Singaporeans. If there are enough ground, even suspicion that are reasonable to the police, just deport them immediately. No need to waste the legal resources while risking the safety of the people. ISA is for internal security of the people and country.

The police should make an example of a few cases, blow them up as front page news as a clear warning that foreigners are not welcomed to commit crimes here, and definitely not allowed to beat up the locals. The punishment is immediate deportation. And this shall apply to PRs and new citizens as well.

We need to make this place safe as a first world country, an oasis in the third world. A list of deportable crimes should be published to keep the potential violators at bay. Those that have beaten up Singaporeans and are still here should be served a notice that they will be deported immediately if they repeat their offence.

And for those involved in the suspicious kidnapping attempts, deport them immediately. There is no need to be soft and sissy about it. They are dangerous and can inflicted pain and hurt in the most dreadful ways on their victims. Have no mercy. A little suspicion is good enough reasons to send them away. We don’t need this kind of foreign talents here.

We welcome all law abiding foreign talents and will treat them well. Criminals are a big NO. This must be the message. Foreigners must not get the wrong message that they can kick the asses of Singaporeans and get away with them. The message, this is Singapore and Singaporeans are the owners of this island. The foreigners are guests at our pleasure and must observe the law of the country.

Making sense with numbers

Are we better off today than in the 1970s? In 1970, many average people could earn $600 pm. And that amount, $7,200, was enough to pay for a 3 rm flat in a year.

Today, what is the average income, per head, not household? $3000? Can that pay for a 3 rm flat in a year, ie $36,000? Even with two persons income of $6,000 pm, it is only $72,000. How much is a 3 rm flat, new?

Are we really better off than before? Or are the HDB flats really affordable?