Standardization of pre schools

Standardising pre schools or setting standards for pre schools. Are they joking? Pre schools are play schools, not the proper schools for older children. Are they going to set standards as to how many words a child must acquired in pre schools, how many numbers, how many this and that?

As far as educators are concerned, there are wide and varied views as to what pre schools should be, what is good or bad for the little children. There is still no agreement as to what is best or what should not be done. The thought of setting stands for pre schools could end up with the same problems as proper schools, academic achievements, banding and branding.

Perhaps they are not talking about such standards but the standards of the infrastructure and the teachers. What would probably be important are the quality and professional training of the pre schools teachers and their compensation. Raising the standards of the pre school teachers is important as better trained professionals would be better placed to look after the little tots relative to untrained caregivers that are not more than caretakers with little value add other than feeding and looking after their physical needs and safety.

Good and well trained professionals must be recognized and rewarded accordingly for their level of training and expertise. They have invested time and effort to be more knowledgeable and professional in their very specialized field of childcare that requires them to know and understand a whole new skills set and information.

With quality and trained professionals as the standard, the pre schools should be allowed the freedom to design their own programmes for the toddlers. Some may emphasize play, creativity, relationship, social skills, confidence, cognitive skills, motor skills, etc. Different schools should be allowed to market their own programmes that may be very different from another school. The last thing that pre schools should become is straight jacket curriculum and ended up as factories with a standard mould and producing one type of toys that will respond similarly when the right button is pressed. Variety and free wheeling activities are the keys at this tender age and regimentation or standardization should be frown upon.

In praise of great Sinkie schemes

The last few days have seen many young Sinkies crying out loud and screaming for blood. They are unhappy about the rising property prices. On the other hand, 800,000 Sinkies with HDB flats and many more with private properties are quietly congratulating themselves of their new found fortunes. And many are secretly praising the great schemes that the govt have devised to make them all so rich.

What the young Sinkies did not know or could not understand is that this great scheme of paying forward will also reward them when their time comes. Their parents bought flats at $20k/$30k and are now worth $400k or more. Some bought at $200k and are worth $800k or so. So what is the problem for them to pay a million now when they could see their flats worth several millions later? Just close the eyes and pay, and good things will happen. Don’t worry. No need to worry. We have the brightest and most talented with the best interest and intent to serve the people managing the schemes. It is all for the good of the people. Be thankful and grateful

This is a housing scheme, savings scheme and retirement scheme all rolled into one. All Sinkies that faithfully follow this scheme will be handsomely rewarded. The current oldies will retire as millionaires. The young today will retire as multi millionaires or billionaires in times to come. It is a sure win scheme.

Look at the good stuff, the bright future ahead and stop complaining. The schemes are very well thought out and planned by the best talents money can buy. Trust me.

Malaysia’s third grade thinking ticking again

I call it envy thinking or missing the woods for the trees. Malaysia is unhappy that their companies are paying Malaysian employees less than Sinkie employees. They want to pay their employees as much as the workers in Sinkieland are being paid.

The first question, are the Malaysian workers really underpaid? I don’t think so. A Malaysian employee earning RM3000 or RM5000 will probably be much well off than his Sinkie counterpart earning $3000 or $5000. His cost of living is so much cheaper relatively and he could own a much bigger home, maybe even landed properties than the Micky Mouse flats which Sinkies called home and so bloody proud of it. But you can’t blame them when they have been so conditioned to think less is best.

And every Malaysian could easily own a car to travel around the vast country and paying cheaper petrol for it. Everything costs lesser in Malaysia when it used to be the other way. What is this talk about Malaysian workers being underpaid? Maybe the companies could pay them much more if they take into consideration the cheaper cost of business and rentals, not forgetting their top management are not robbing the companies to pay themselves crazy. They can afford to and still be more competitive than their Sinkie counterparts. That is the reason why many Sinkie companies are moving over, and more will do so.

Does Malaysia seriously think that it should go the Sinkie way, to price itself out of competition in the international market? China’s manufacturing factories are being pressurized by the Americans to pay more and to price themselves out. Is this what Malaysia wants? The Sinkie model is designed for self destruct in the next 10 or 20 years, or earlier should a major world crisis hit. Life will go on as per normal in Malaysia should it happen. Sinkies will be jumping off from their million dollar Mickey Mouse flats when they cannot service the huge mortgages and debt that they have acquired. The truth is that the average Sinkies are all heavily in debt and this will only get worst.

The issue of Malaysiansskilled personnel working in Sin is a totally different problem. The proximity of Sin and the comparatively higher salary, and the ability to return and spend the money in Malaysia is a strategic factor Malaysia would have to cope with. But this is not the only reason for the brain drain. The Malaysian govt should know better why. Given a decent govt policy to value their own talents on their own merits, many Malaysians would be the first to run back to Malaysia today. Their salary though comparatively lower than Sin does not mean that their standard of living will be lower as the cost of living is so much lower. Simply put, it is bad govt policies that created this problem.

Malaysia should be thankful that its economic system has not been taken down the Sinkie way, a system that is unsustainable and is likely to cause much grief in a crisis. The Malaysian system will grow slowly and steadily. They need not work themselves to death. They can afford to stop in their path to smell the roses and take a nap under the coconut trees.

Sinkies will die or be in deep shit if they stop working before they die at the ripe old age of 80 or 90. Malaysia should stop this rubbish envy thinking and look at how blessed it is and can only get better with good and positive govt economic and political policies. Malaysia can only get better. Sin can only get worst. And Malaysian workers are not paid worst relative to their cost of living.

When or if the Malaysian govt embarks on a path of enlightened economic policies, and discards the unproductive and counter productive political policies, it will seriously undermine the economic development of Sin. Many of the highly trained and experienced Malaysians would rush back to lift up the quality of life in Malaysia in all fields. Malaysia could be a shining first world country when the talents returned. The past policies were doing just the reverse, leveling down in all aspects of economic, technology and social endeavours.

A lesson from Genneva

Genneva, a gold trading company that offered its customers 24% returns on their investments has its business suspended. It was definitely too good to be true. Its office has been raided and is now under investigation by CAD. It was under the watchlist of MAS all the while.

When the company was set up, it tells a story of good returns and everything good. The returns were absolutely good, very good, outstanding. No one borders to ask what can go wrong to make the promises turn sour. The company would be the last one to want to tell what can go wrong.

Sinkies are now living it up, in high heavens. Everything is so rosy, so good, so very good. The housing price is just on one track, up. The savings in the CPF with 4% interest rates for the oldies must be excellent. Jobs aplenty and more foreigners and more citizens are needed. Nothing can go wrong. Really?

Murphy’s Law says that what can go wrong will go wrong. Same thing happened to Genneva. Same thing happened to toxic notes and Lehman Bonds. Same thing happened to all the too big to fail banks in the US and Europe.

Anyone believes that nothing can go wrong? Anyone believes that the housing price will be happily stay up there? Anyone believes that the high population is only good? How many believe that their CPF savings will not be worthless at the end of the day?

And how many believe what the ministers said, that the young today will have a lot of money when they retire? Anyone out there willing to say what can go wrong, what can go awfully wrong?

How dangerous can internet be?

A Caroline wrote in her Facebook ‘…I will always make sure that they know our govt is to b blamed for what is happening to us n to Sg: )’

A MJ Rina Huang replied, ‘Dear Ms Caroline, if you are married and have kids, please pray that they don’t hear you, or that no one tells them that their mummy is to be blamed for what’s going to happen to them: )’

The Caroline posted the above and received a threat from another blogger in their Facebook posts. Though both signed off with a : ) sign, the latter can still be interpreted as a threat. One cannot be blamed to think that some harm or something bad could happen to the children.

Caroline went to make a police report and it was reported in TRE that Rina Huang had since removed the offending post from her Facebook. The ball is now in the police’s court. Is there a criminal intimidation threat made by Rina Huang against the children of Caroline? If there is, what are the police going to do about it?

The internet is no place for intimidation or causing mischief. Everyone should have freedom of expression, differences in views and opinions. But no one should be allowed to go around abusing one another, threatening another or irritating others. There must be some form of discipline, decency and not to do to others what one does not want others do unto them.

I would suggest the police set up a unit to make tracing of the mischief makers easier when an official report is made. There is no room for gangsterism or thuggish behavior in the net. Some may think that these are reasonable and part and parcel of freedom of expression, I must say I disagree. The right to speak freely does not give one the right to abuse another person or to threaten another person. With the police providing such a facility, you don’t need any more code of conduct to keep some peace and decency in the net. The wrong doers and mischief makers will know that even hiding under anonymity will not let them get away scot free. This facility is always there, don’t think it is something new. It is only how accessible it is to the public or to people who are being offended.

It is okay to post using a nick or even anonymous, and to exercise freedom of expression. It is another thing to use it to attack people personally or to cause mischief, and worst, threatens others. Why should anyone think that it is alright to verbally attack another person in the net or to abuse another person?