More upgrading is needed

More upgrading is needed in all jobs. We are now in the first world where everything is about being the best. Our dirty wet market is going and will be a thing of the past. Our hawker centres too will join the dinosaurs. We will keep improving our quality of life and lifestyle. Our universities are producing more and more graduates and the graduates will fill the jobs of those used to be filled by O level certificate holders.



The call for training and upgrading is a necessary call. The housing agents, insurance agents, stockbroking agents, all need to go for courses to upgrade their professionalism and image of professionalism. It is a matter of time that all these agents, excluding secret agents, will need to be graduates. If not, where else are they going to put all the graduates?



Taxi drivers too will need upgrading. So would be train drivers and eventually down to the table and dish cleaners at the new upgraded air conditioned foodcourts. Cleaning tables and washing bowls and plates need specialised skills and the use of modern equipment to improve productivity. Send them for more courses, if not improving their skills and attitude, it is also good to know. But don’t expect any salary increment for attending all the courses and upgrading. Some are necessary, some are good to know and some are good without the need to know.



There are very few professions where there is no need for upgrading or to attend more courses. For those who want to get more salary increment without having to attend courses or the need for upgrading, be a politician. The additional courses or higher degrees are kind of wasteful training as they are mostly not needed. What kind of skills transfer and benefits will there be for a surgeon or lawyer to become an environment minister or housing minister or sports minister? It has been proven that all the politicians, no matter how many PhDs they have or in whatever field, or if they don’t have any, did not make any difference. They will all still become an expert in the ministry they are posted to, quite instantly in some cases. No need for any training or upgrading or good to know courses to attend, to pay for them, and to sit and pass examinations.



Sometimes I wonder if it is the job that is too easy or the incumbent that is too talented to make political appointments and jobs look so easy, and rightfully deserving of more and more increments, and without the need for more training nor productivity increases. Would any smart Alec dare to suggest putting politicians to attend upgrading and good to know courses, make them attend classes, pay to sit for examinations because it is good for them to know?

When doctors waited for you

This is a strange thing to happen. The doctors, dental surgeons and other medical professionals were there waiting to treat you. We used to have only one general hospital and a few clinics to serve the population. The population was smaller and the number of medical professionals too was smaller, and private doctors and clinics were not many.

Those were the times when the medical fees were relatively cheap and the doctors were often found waiting for patients. But their lifestyle was much better, driving Mercedes and living in landed properties still.

Our population has grown and so have our medical facilities and medical professionals. The mentality of the people has also changed. Every little pimple appearing on their backside or a little black spot on the face and they would want to queue up to see a specialist. They would not bother to squeeze out the pimple or scratch away the black spot with a pen knife.

We have several big general hospitals and several big private hospitals today. And the number of practitioners has grown too. We probably have more specialists today than we have GPs in the 60s and 70s. When we made an appointment then it was a week or a few days ahead.

Today, an appointment with a dental surgeon or GP in public hospital or clinic, if one is paying subsidised rate, can be one year or several years down the road. 3 years wait is quite common. But if you tell them you are willing to pay, suddenly the queue is immediately shortened. How much shorter depends on how much one is willing to pay to jump the queue, especially in the private sector.

This is progress. We have more than 5m people and when everyone is willing to pay for good service, the one who has a bigger bank account will get the best service available. No one is or will be deprived of medical services. It may just take a little longer. The medical condition just needs to wait for its turn to be treated.

Could there be a message in a 1 year or 3 year appointment? The first is simply, pay if you can’t wait. Or maybe the condition is just not urgent enough. Or is it another way of telling the patient,  ‘Hope you will be smart enough to go somewhere. Don’t come and waste my time.’ Or it could be another hope, that the patients may not survive the 3 years wait and the problem will take care of itself naturally.

We have progressed, and our way of solving pesky problems has also improved, very diplomatically. If one is unwilling to pay the ransom or market rate, one has to wait for the doctors. 3 years is reasonable, it is subsidised what do you expect? Today we have progressed from having lower quality services when doctors waited for patients, to world class services when patients have to wait for doctors.

Singapore’s top of the pop chart

 

The most popular songs in the island are:

1.    We need more immigrants

2.    Big income gap is unavoidable

3.    High medical bills equal top quality

4.    High property prices are affordable

5.    High wage increase for workers is dangerous

6.    Singaporeans first, but wait, all immigrants will become Singaporeans

7.    Salary increment must have productivity

8.    Workers rejects high wage rise

9.    High wage increase causes inflation

10.                       Workers want wage rise to fight inflation

11.                       Workers are not stupid

12.                       COE not high enough

13.                       Public transport is world class

14.                       HDB flats never shrink

15.                       Small flats good quality of life

16.                       We want more babies for the economy

17.                       No need by election

18.                       Wait for 2016

Bush and Blair guilty of war crimes

 

Bush, Blair found guilty of war crimes in Malaysia tribunal

BY 

HALUK DEMIRBAG

 – MARCH 19, 2012POSTED IN: FEATURED STORIES, MALAYSIA, UK, USA, WORLD

Former US president George Bush and his former counterpart Tony Blair were found guilty of war crimes by The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal which held a four day hearing in the Malaysia.

The five panel tribunal unanimously decided that Bush and Blair committed genocide and crimes against peace and humanity when they invaded Iraq in 2003 in blatant violation of international law.

The judges ruled that war against Iraq by both the former heads of states was a flagrant abuse of law, act of aggression which amounted to a mass murder of the Iraqi people.

In their verdict, the judges said that the United States, under the leadership of Bush, forged documents to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

They further said the findings of the tribunal be made available to members of the Rome Statute and the names of Bush and Blair be entered into a war crimes register.

Both Bush and Blair repeatedly said the so-called war against terror was targeted at terrorists.

Lawyers and human rights activists present here say the verdict by the tribunal is a landmark decision. And the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Foundation said it would lobby the International Criminal Court to charge former US president George Bush and Former British prime minister Tony Blair for war crimes.

Countries of the world should unite and form parallel organizations like those controlled by the Americans and the West that were used to serve their political interests in outright violation of human rights and human decency. Mahathir has done the right thing for once, taken the right initiative to provide a more level playing field in the stage of international relations. Well done Mat.

Chen Guangcheng wants to see the world

Chinese activist and dissident wants to leave China to see the world. But a huge political row erupted between the US and China like a circus in town. The US wants him, China does not want him but wants to keep him. Why doesn’t China just help the US, makes the US happy and send Chen and his families, plus extended families to the US?

Mao Tse Tung once offered to send 100m Chinese women to the US. China can afford to send all its activists and dissidents to the US, even 100m of them and let them be US citizens. It is a win win situation. The US loves dissidents and activists and their fight for freedom. They and the activists can cohabit happily in the US. China will not have any more trouble on home ground to deal with the activists and dissidents and give excuse to the western world to take pot shot at her.

China should liberate the activists and set them free. And the US will go down on its knees to beg China not to do so. They would have to show their ugliness by slamming the door at all the activists. China, what the hell are you thinking? Give them everything they want and save the trouble and bring out the hypocrisy of the US and the West.