Deep holes, weak leaders

This is the title of Thomas Friedman’s article in the ST today. Let me just do a précis of this article to make sense in the Singaporean context. I would leave out the irrelevant and may alter or substitute a word or phrase here and there to make it more interesting to read.

One of the most troubling features of today’s global economic crisis is the lack of political leadership anywhere. No one has the courage to tell people the truth. And the truth, alas, is that ‘five’ of the pillars of today’s global economy – Europe, America, China and the Arab world – have, each in their own way, squandered huge dividends they enjoyed in recent decades, and how they have to dig out of their respective holes with fewer resources, less time and, almost certainly, more pain.


There is no way out. But, as confronting these hard truths becomes unavoidable, I think we’re likely to see some wild, angry and destabilizing politics that could make the economic recovery even more difficult. Deep holes and weak leaders are a bad combination….


“Someone among the leaders must finally tell the people the truth: This fresh start can only be achieved with a radical first step,” he said….


But the leaders used their surpluses of power and wealth to ignore the United Nations’ Human Rights Report…Instead, they enriched a small slice of their populations and distracted the rest with shiny objects….


“To its credit, it used its huge export dividend to build 21st century infrastructure and to educate its people, creating a rich upper middle class. But the current leadership has not used this surging economic growth to also introduce gradual political reform. Corruption is as bad as ever, institutionalised transparency and the rule of law remain weak and consensual politics nonexistent. If growth slows and incomes widen further, more and more steam will build up in the system with no outlet, which is surely one reason that the country will reach ‘a critical stage.’


So for these countries, in different ways, these have been the years the locusts ate. Getting healthy again will be wrenching for all of us. At a minimum, it would need a sensible plan to fix the economy – which is what people want most and many in the business would surely support it. The country cannot wait until 2016 to do serious policy changes again.

Dr Lim Hock Siew, on the wrong side of history

A man of principle, detained without trial under the ISA for leftist political belief, passed away on 4 June 12 at the age of 82. He could have walked out of prison earlier if he just said he would denounce the use of force to overthrow the govt. He refused on the ground that his detention was unjustified and chose to stand by his principle. He said,

"I am not interested in saving Lee Kuan Yew’s face. This is not a question of pride but of principle. My detention is completely unjustifiable and I will not lift a single finger to help Lee Kuan Yew to justify the unjustifiable. In the light of what you say, is it not very clear that I have lost my freedom all these long and bitter years just to save Lee Kuan Yew’s face? Therefore the PAP regime’s allegation that I am a security risk is a sham cover and a facade to detain me unjustifiably for over nine years."

Dr Lim was also a founding member of the PAP but broke away to join another party, the Barisan Socialist.

A dirty house

When the house is dirty, the cockroaches, ants and flies will make it their homes. They will infest a dirty house to run riots in every nick and corner. They will become irritants to the owners. The owners can start spraying them and see their dead carcasses littering everywhere. But they will not go away. More will return to occupy the dirty house.

A more effective way is to clean the house, put it in order. Get rid of bad habits, dirty habits, disorders, and impose strict discipline and good behavior. When a house is in order, when a house is clean and not shitty, the roaches, rats, flies and ants will find it unsuitable or inhospitable to stay. They will go away naturally and will not reappear.

Buying insecticide spray, swaps, rat poison, roach traps, is only a temporary solution. The real and long lasting solution is to keep the house clean. And gluttony, eating too much and dropping crumbs everywhere, too much unfinished and unable to consume food, too will cause a house to become unhealthy and smelly. That’s when the irritating pests will return to haunt the owner.

Keep the house clean and in good order. And don’t anyhow bring in fair weather friends who are only interested in sponging and feasting in the house and with one foot outside, ready to scoot when the buffet is gone.

After Hougang

With Png Eng Huat secured as the newly elected MP, the WP has started to do what they need to do to serve the Hougang residents and win more hearts for the next GE in 2016. Desmond Choo too would be busy mapping out his strategies to win the Hougang residents to his side, which, given the current development and sentiment, is likely to be a daunting task.

Winning back Hougang is a much smaller issue to the ruling party than the bigger picture of winning the rest of the Sinkies and to remain relevant in 2016. What is the party’s position in the aftermath of the Hougang? What would it be thinking and doing to win back the support it has lost, not only in Hougang but across the island? I think they must know that the ground has shifted. What would the master strategists be plotting after the Hougang fiasco?

The easiest task of all would be to relook at the policies and how they can be tweaked or fine tuned to benefit the original citizens more than new citizens or PRs. The people’s aspirations and expectations are not difficult to match. The people are not asking for the sky. They do not expect money to be thrown at them for their votes. The Hougangkia have made sure that this point was not missed during the by election. The electorate is sensible and is just looking for more favourable and people centric policies. Any attempt to sugar coat or to smooth talk unfavourable policies as favourable policies, like affordability when it is not, would be taking the electorate for granted and would only backfire as in the by election.

Positive actions for concrete positive results would easily win back the fence sitters or those that have switched camps. Many still would not want too big a change. What could be unfortunate would be negative thoughts and negative actions that would only generate more anger and distaste. It is very easy for some to think of how to deal with those that were opposing the party or spoke ills of the party. It is very easy to bring out the hatchet and go hacking away. An ‘inquisition’ will go down very badly and will not work in an increasingly transparent environment.

Like they say, winning a battle only to lose a war, any mis-steps and miscalculations along such line will only lead to more desertion from the ranks and an abandonment of the party. The party cannot afford to create more distrust and bad publicity. The brash tactics of the past belonged to the past and a new strategy of winning the electorate would have to be formulated on the basis of mutual trust, respect and fair play. Are there still elements that think it is still acceptable and doable to return to the old ways?

There are many critical voices in the social media that meant well. Would they be embraced and won over by genuine and good policies with good intentions, or would there be a witch hunt? Witch hunting is as easy as doing the right thing with right policies to better the lives of the people. It is just the other extremity and will have extreme results.

Ironically, the party should thank the critical voices that want the party to do well, to look after the people well. Ironically too, the enemies of the party are the hatchet men that could only think of wielding the choppers to go around slashing indiscriminately. Such negativity will never go unnoticed and will only bring more adverse reactions to the party. The internet can be very unforgiving and transparent, and go viral.

Win the critics and the sceptics by genuine good works and policies, and everything will fall back in place. Dismissing the critics/sceptics and not doing the rightful, and to take on a combative style to deal with everyone as enemies will lead to a sure gone conclusion. The people are not your enemies.

Could we see a renewed party with a conviction and on a constructive path to redeem itself, or a vindictive party on a rampage? Would the party embrace the change, the new normal and take on the new challenge in its stride? The third path is to do nothing and continue with business as usual, as if everything is ok.

What is the intention of the USA?

The Americans and the western powers have been repeatedly asking about the intention of the Chinese growing military power. Does anyone want to ask or want to know the intention of the American’s overpowering military power? Does anyone want to know why are the Americans putting more than 50% of its military forces in the Pacific Ocean region? Does anyone want to know why are American bases scattered all over the eastern Pacific Oceans?

The answer is clear and transparent. America is the Empire and it will rule the countries in the region. And China, being an emerging power, will not be allowed to threaten the American position as the number One power, the Empire. In the recent Shangri La Dialogue, the Americans made it very clear, with no apologies to the Southeast and East Asian countries that they are the boss and no one can do anything about it. The Americans will dictate the terms of engagement and move its military forces into the region and no one can say no.

During the dialogue the Americans revealed their latest warship, a stealth destroyer that can penetrate the Chinese defense system and move into coastal waters to attack China mainland. The American strategy is all about offence, about attacking other countries to show who is the Empire and who rules the earth.

How did the Chinese respond to this new aggressive threat and intent of the American? They will continue to defend their coastal waters, by using fishing boats to block the path of this stealth destroyer. The Chinese strategy and equipment are defensive in nature, against a hostile and aggressive American military that is threatening war and the threats of war to oppress any emerging power that may pose a challenge to its dominance. Chinese fishing boats against the most advance stealth destroyer that will be invisible to radar but not to the naked eyes of fishermen.

In the Asia Security Summit, the host, Asean, was rudely told that the Americans will be here to stay, like it or not. And it will bring its military prowess to support its Empire status in the region. And for all intent and purposes, the Asean countries would want to minimize big power rivalry and tension in the region, and keep all at a distance. The Asean countries also plead that emerging powers big and small shall have room to grow and their interests be recognized. The Americans say, ‘Don’t bet on that, our strategic interest is supreme.’ The French and Canada are also claiming strategic interests in the region. The former even called itself a power of the Indian and Pacific Ocean. India now got another contender as the Indian Ocean’s only regional power.

The moral of the story is, never to invite the wolf for dinner. It would not go away. Is Southeast Asia seeing a resurgent of colonial powers returning to stake a claim in the region, to carve out their sphere of influence? They all claimed to have strategic interests in the region. Do the countries in the region have any strategic interests as well and will these interests be respected?