Leslie Fong’s no anonymity in forums

Leslie Fong, the ST’s former editor and current senior executive VP gave his reasons for no anonymity in ST forum. All writers must identify themselves. He wanted this to extend to bloggers as well for the same reasons. I could agree with the reasons but not with the reality of its relevance at this point in time.

He argued that there must be openness, transparency and accountability. He even brushed aside the fear by employees that their employers would not find their writing to forums acceptable. In his ideal state, the openness, transparency and accountability is applicable to all sides, including those in authority. He also assumed that the employers are all fair and well informed and are secured individuals who can distinguish rights from wrongs and would stand by them. He also assumed that the govt and political climate then and now are conducive to openness and transparency. Or is it a case of demanding every critic to be open while the executioner has all the right and power to remain anonymous and to wield the axe when it deems fit?

I also encourage openness and for all bloggers to identify themselves and take their stand without fear. But this is a good aspiration at this point in time. There are a hundred and one reasons why bloggers would not and could not and must not reveal their identities. That is the reality I feel should be seriously recognized. Too much cock and bull will just be cock and bull and no one would believe in cock and bull when the truth says don’t believe in them.

I would celebrate the day all bloggers are confident enough to use their real names. It will be a sign of progress and maturity, not in the bloggers, but in the authority. Till such a day, anonymity is still needed for people to express freely and confidently.

While anonymity is still an acceptable practice in mysingaporenews, I hope bloggers would not abuse this state of affair and allow it do go down in disrepute. So far the bloggers have been quite discipline and hardly abuse this privilege of remaining in anonymity and speaking the truth without getting too wild to discredit their credibility and the quality of their posts.

All, including the govt, should work towards openness, transparency and accountability other than state secrets. And it is no good hiding under state secrets to be non transparent and not accountable. And the govt needs a lot of confidence building measures, not in words but in deeds to be transparent and to respect contrarian views. There is some progress in this area but it is still too early to tell whether the Hundred Flowers Bloom campaign is what it is.

When the people are confident that being open, transparent and accountable are the new ethos, the new normal, there is no need for anonymity anymore. The ball is in the court of the authority and employers.

A national conversation for our common future

What is the point of having a national conversation for the sake of conversation, to give the impression that the govt is willing to listen, to engage the people, when all the decisions have already been made unilaterally by the govt? It has been like that all the time to the extent that a minister proudly claimed to be deaf and do what is right rather than listening to the lunatics.

If one is to read the Sunday Times today, the same attitude is printed in black and white, the govt has decided which way to go and that’s it. ‘Get married, have babies’ screamed the headline. ‘If we go on like that, this place will fold up because there will be no original citizens left to form the majority….So the choice is simple. Either accept migrants at a rate which we can assimilate them, and make them conform to our values….said LKY. He ended his speech with the following questions. ‘Do we want to replace ourselves? Or do we want to shrink and get older, and be replaced by migrants and work permit holders?’

Can a national conversation lead to a change of this migrant policies or a conversation that leads to nowhere if the people did not want to go along with the migrant policies? Can a national conversation lead to the govt returning the people’s saving in the CPF, or the lowering the public housing prices, or the lowering of the cost of govt?

The sad fact is that the policies in place are already replacing the Sinkies with migrants, and ‘If we go on like that, …there will be no original citizens left to form the majority.’ Isn’t this fear of being replaced by migrants the major concern of Sinkies and the source of their unhappiness?

And making babies is not so simple as the govt wants to put it. How many people can really afford to bring up two babies given the high cost of living, the shrinking of flat size and high cost of flats? Any citizen that goes forth and multiplies more than two is seriously undermining the social fabric of the nation unless they are able to afford them financially. If not, there are going to be many stray children running around, half educated, half fed, and poorly brought up, to roam the streets like unwanted cats and dogs. This would pose a bigger social political problem down the road when irresponsible citizens would reply that they were doing national service as told by the govt.

What do you think?

Quote from Seah Chiang Nee

'As the public opposition grew, the pro-government media argued strongly for the players, and acting Cabinet Minister (for Social and Family Development) Chan Chun Sing congratulated the table tennis team for “uniting the nation”.

Seah Chiang Nee wrote this in his column in The Star paper.

How rich and poor countries reward their Olympians

The Olympic Games is facing a parallel contest in how countries reward their winners in addition to the Olympic medals. Poorer countries were more conservative while the rich countries were more lavish.

Poor countries like Britain and New Zealand were quite stingy on the rewards. The cheap British probably did not have much money to spare and only offered to put the pictures of the winners in their postage stamps. Really cheapskate. It is quite pathetic really for Great Britain to save on the pennies. Some poorer countries did not even offer anything and the support and Olympic medals are considered good enough a recognition. 

New Zealand could not afford instant cash but a $60k grant for a year, maybe to study or whatever for a gold medal. Australia and the USA were not much better, offering A$20k and US$25k respectively.

China was a bit richer and paid their winners a healthier S$99,500. But it was outshone by richer countries like the Philippines, $146k and Russia and the other ‘tan’ countries with payouts of US$135k to US$250k.

The richer countries like Malaysia and Singapore were more generous and their purse strings were looser. Malaysia offered $410k for a gold but is a far distant second to the richest country in the world, Singapore. The latter offered its gold medalist a handsome $1m.

Athletes and sports people would definitely find it more rewarding to represent the richer countries than the poorer Europeans or Americans. Like they say, money talks wonders. How rich a country is cannot lie. Whether they can or cannot pay their winners is a sure sign of the monetary well beings of the countries. Singapore’s open door policy on immigration is going to get a boost. If the 4 Jamaican runners were to make a queue here, Singapore can be assured of a few golds and silvers in the Rio. It is time to send some feelers out.

The mysterious utility bill hike

Many bloggers are complaining about the mysterious hike in their utility bills in the recent months, more accurately after they have a little cheap thrill of receiving $110 U Save out of the blue. The little happiness is quickly turning into a nightmare and demanding a quick explanation.

An example of the complaints is a comment by Poor Singaporean in TRE.

‘My utility bill averages around S$80-90+ a month. So far, our electricity, gas & water consumption have not varied much until July according to SP Powers.

I got a rude shock upon receiving the bill, our electricity consumption had doubled. I don’t understand how is this possible when our lifestyle still remains the same. Our electrical appliances are still new; we have just moved in to our BTO HDB flat a year ago only.

After deducting the U-SAVE Voucher of S$110, my bill amounts to S$95+. Which is around the usual range for our monthly utility bill. No savings in the end, so what’s the point of giving us the voucher?’

If what Poor Singaporean is experiencing is widespread, it must warrant an explanation from the govt and an investigation on this strange phenomenon. It could be an error that affects only a few Sinkies knowing that errors and glitches are now a common occurrence in many areas. Just hope that it is just a glitch and nothing more to it.

Was there a hike in the utilities charges that was not announced? If so, this is unbecoming and unacceptable. If there isn’t, and if the surge in the bills is true, what is happening?

CSI bloggers would be welcome to do a more thorough investigation on this matter as they are much more efficient and zealous in discovering the truth and the concerns of Sinkies. There are the only reliable and dependable investigative reporters available today. And this is a very serious issue that affects all the average Sinkies. Every Sinkie should take a close look at their utility bills to make sure that there is no error in the bills.