Japan Asean Co Prosperity Sphere

‘Japan and Asean can regard security cooperation as a realistic option because China is their common adversary.’ Dr Hideshi Takesada, a Japanese defence expert, former professor at South Korea’s Yonsei Unversity.

This is the gist of the vice ministerial meeting in Tokyo hosted by the Japanese for the Asean ministers. It is a new tag to bring the Asean countries into the Japanese sphere of influence not much different from the failed Asia Co Prosperity Sphere of the Second World War. The difference then and now is that Japan was the enemy, the invader of China and Asean countries. Now Japan is touting China as the common enemy of Japan and Asean.

Would the Asean countries bite this Japanese line and pitch themselves as the enemy of China, taking sides with their brutal and barbaric occupation force that attempted to colonise and rule over them? Japan has a real pricky problem with China, having seized Chinese territories during its imperial days through wars. There are disputes between some Asean countries with China but over islands in the South China Sea that have not belonged to any Asean countries in the first place. The Asean countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, including Malaysia and Brunei are staking claims over some rocks in the high seas that China had claimed centuries ago.

Japan is arrogantly and adamantly sticking to keep the Chinese territories it seized from China and is likely to go to war with China for that. Would the Asean countries be prepared to go to war with Japan against China for uninhabited islands that they are just staking claims to but with very little supporting documents of ownership?

The stage for a Sino Japanese war is imminent. Would the Asean countries, those with counter claims against China, willing to be sucked into such a war and fight for the Japanese that was the aggressor and holding on to war loots from China? Japan is luring the Asean countries and telling them China is their common enemy. Are the Asean countries that gullible to be conned by another revisionist Japan Asean Co Prosperity Sphere with Japan as the over lord? The tagline is very humiliating to the Asean Ministers attending the Meeting. The Japanese must be thinking that the Asean Ministers are impressionable little school boys with no knowledge of the past, of Japanese colonialism and atrocities, and can be easily talked into fighting with Japan against China.

Foreigners issued with Employment Agency Licence

‘De Luna was actually issued a licence to operate her own employment agency, RSD, in Jul 2010. While still engaged as director of RSD, she set up another agency with her husband, William, without obtaining a licence for it. William was then in Singapore on a social visit pass.’ Quoted from TRE.

The process of bringing in foreign workers to work here involves local knowledge of both countries. At the PMET level there are the Search and Recruitment Agencies and Consultancies. These businesses are similar in nature to student agencies bringing in foreign students to study here. At the executive search level, the recruitment of foreigners to work here is or was not a major business as the number used to be small and at very senior levels or for specialized jobs. The line is now blur with recruitment agencies bringing in huge numbers of low and medium level executives that are nothing different from recruiting workers.

Again this is an area that approving foreigners to operate recruiting/employment agencies will put the local agencies at a huge disadvantage. Our agencies will not have the local knowledge that the foreigners located here will have in their home countries. And these foreigners being here will have local knowledge as well.

The question, why don’t Singaporean agencies operate offices in the foreign countries where the workers are? There is a comparative cost disadvantage here for Singapore agencies. Would it be cheaper for the agencies of both countries to operate within their territories and cooperate in the recruitment process as it was originally done and the cost savings filter down to the workers? Both sides will do their own business and earn their keeps respectively?

There are many agency licences eg recruitment/employment for maids, foreign workers, junior executives, housing agents, student agents etc etc that do not need to be given to foreigners to compete with our locals right here. There is no real value or skills added except putting more competition and even unfair advantages to the foreigners. There is no loss if foreigners are not issued with such licences and our local agencies could thrive or more locals could take up such small businesses.

Limiting such licences cannot be protectionism. Opening them to foreigners to come here will only make life of local small businesses tougher. What or where is the advantage to have foreigners coming here to set up such small businesses that locals are more than adequate to provide. No need foreign talents really.

Leadership style and generation gap

The leadership styles of the first generation political and govt leaders and those of the present generation have quite distinct features. In those days, political leaders and permanent secretaries were more individualistic, more confident and also abrasive. The fact that they were tasked to carry on the responsibilities of building a nation and the single mindedness in the way they went about their mission could also be a cause for their domineering and high demands on people working with them. There is no room for errors. Niceties were things that did not exist, or a rarity. These individuals behaved like gods in their own right. They were bossy and arrogant and ruthless. They were very task oriented, task masters. From the PM and his permanent secretaries, even to the RSM in SAFTI, each one was a terror in his own right and personality.

No one dared to make mistakes. Minister of Housing took his own life. The permanent secretaries went screaming, yelling and smashing things when things went wrong, particularly in Mindef. Senior officers trembled when called to see to the perm sec. There was little camaraderie at the senior level. Everyone was expected to perform and to perform. Many heads rolled. The bosses were real mean and had little tolerance for incompetence.

Such impersonal leadership style has its good and bad consequences. LKY, Goh Keng Swee, Pang Tee Pow, Howe Yoon Chong were names most fear for those having to work with them. The good part was that things got done efficiently or people got removed. Many second generation ministers were removed prematurely for under performing.

Some time in the late eighties the management style changed. The next generation of permanent secretaries took over the helm and valued teamwork, relationship became important. Political leadership also took on a kinder style. A change in a perm sec or CEO would see a new team being installed in the organization. The CEO or perm sec would bring along his most trusted lieutenants, people he had worked with, comfortable with, tested and dependable. He needed not to watch his backside when the men around him were his men. When he played tennis, all would play tennis. When he refused to play golf, all would not play golf.

It was a different leadership style and different personality cults. Though this style was supposedly more friendly, it could also be unforgiving for those not in the same camp. But generally those within the camp were assured of their rice bowls, maybe iron rice bowls. Heads no longer get chopped. The tolerance for mistakes and underperformance was must higher. Wrong doers were forgiven, ka ki lang mah!

This last feature could be the weakest link in the new leadership style. Ka ki lang, or my people were put into positions of power and responsibility. This could be good and bad depending on the people being put into those positions. Poor or bad performers were tolerated and remained to make more mistakes. This was getting more obvious by the days and very glaring today. No one seemed to have to answer for his mistakes, no matter how gross. It is kind of ok, never mind, put him aside, let’s move on. No one gets shouted at. Everyone is pally pally with the bosses and the bosses with their kakis.

The softer and team building style is easier to live with and everyone is just a close associate, a close friend. And if only they all performs well and doesn’t make grave mistakes, life will be a bed of roses. Unfortunately it is not to be so. It starts to rot and smell.

The harsher and less tolerant style was boorish, intolerance and hard on the individuals, on dignities and pride, very impersonal, but very task oriented and very little wastage holding onto not too able talents. No good, out you go and next please. It did not smell nice but smelling good was not an issue.

The old civil servants and politicians paid their price for serving under hard nosed no nonsense bosses. Some got very disenchanted and really pissed off, losing their pride and self esteem. Today, everyday is like a party, everyone so friendly and warmth and easy going no matter how they messed up things. Working life under the new style leadership is like a ball.

Oh, I forgot. The bosses then were mean, and so was the pay. Today the pay was so fat and comfortable that no one would want to retire or offend the more than friendly and generous bosses to trifle with their good fortune.

Singapore can learn from the West how to become a big and powerful country

                    The West inclusive of Russia and USA will teach Singapore how to become a big power through war and aggression.

It is a good idea that Singapore's defence minister is upgrading Singapore defense with the intention to buy the most up to date  US all purpose fighter aircraft F 35 as well as the latest and most advanced submarines. What a clever forward looking defense minister we have? But what an oversight he had as someone suggested he should also build the all powerful aircraft carriers and the all fearful space killer satellites and ICBMs to enable Singapore to conduct strategic cyber warfare when the needs arise. But all the money spend on the strategic military hardwares will be nullified if they are not used and employed. I suggest since Singapore like to ape or follow the West ( inclusive of Russia ) especially US way of thinking and doing things it should adopt their policy of vicious aggression, invasion and conquest. Remember England was only a tiny country of less than one hundred and fifty thousand square miles about four hundred years ago , around between the years 1600 to 1700. Then it went on a rampage of aggression, invasion and conquest through raw military might. It invaded and controlled  the whole of North America until the secession in 1775 of the thirteen states to form the nucleus of the satanic United States of America. Then it went on to attack and invade Africa, India , Australia and eastern part of China. The US of thirteen states comprising an original   territory of only about five hundred thousand square miles followed the footsteps of its predecessor England and went on never ending streaks of aggressions and conquests when it swallowed up all the self governing native Indian states as well as invading and annexing about one million six hundred and fifty thousand square miles of Mexican lands comprising the present states of Florida, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and California. US then continued its aggression and conquest across the Pacific Ocean when it forcibly invaded and annexed the island kingdoms of Hawaii and Guam. Russia which originally had a territory of about less than half a million square miles followed the aggressive war path of England. It attacked and invaded much of Finland, Sweland, all the separate and independent states or kingdoms in the Caucasian region as well as Ukraine and  all the territories around Black Sea. Russia continued its aggression and invasion across north Asia  and took away by force illegally about four million square miles of Chinese lands extending from lands around Lake Baikal to the Maritime Province facing the Pacific Ocean. From a small country of about half a million square miles Russia has extended its territory to about nine million square miles through war and aggression. Malaysia and Indonesia acquired much lands and territories at the expense of many different states with the collusion of the British and the Dutch. So there is a precedence for Singapore to expand its territories through war and aggression and of course through military might . A country or nation in a small dot of a few hundred square kilometres is unsustainable. In any case Britain had sold out the people of Singapore, Penang, Malacca and Sarawak which originally should have been merged or united to form the country of  Sinpenmasawak.  Now Singapore is not only rich and wealthy but also well equipped with superior military might. So there is nothing to stop us from taking Penang, Malacca and Sarawak and if possible Johore , Batam and Bintan Islands for after all these territories were arbitrarily divided between the British and the Dutch to prevent fighting between themselves. Only  when Singapore can expand and command vast territories then it will be able to accommodate not only 6.9 million people but also not less than 69.9 million people. So you see England, Russia , US and many other countries started small but now they are very big through military might , war and aggression. They have shown us the way how to expand and become big, strong and sustainable. So what is stopping us now. All we need now is to gang up with one big power and once we have achieved our purpose we can tell this big power ally to go to hell. Singapore has a bright future if it can expand, and unite the territories and the people around its periphery. After all nations wax and wane , coalesce and cast asunder and now is the time for Singapore to wax and coalesce and form a strong truly multi-racial nation.

Housing prices - No room for failures

The most talk about slogan in town is Singaporeans cannot afford to fall sick. A few days stay in the privatized govt hospital can clean up whatever savings the patient has. Hospital bills are no joking matter and a few weeks or longer can lead to bankruptcy to many.

The other dreaded problem is people falling into hard times and losing their homes. With housing prices so high, several years to wait for one from the BTO schemes, anyone caught losing his home is as good as losing his pants. How could a person losing his jobs and losing his home through some misfortune or business failure afford to buy a home again? Possible but very very tough. And if this happens to a family, the family members will be in dire straits.

Not able to fall sick, now don’t ever lose your home. Some may use their homes like they say, as gambling chips, trading and hoping to make gains, may end up unable to buy one back again. The two bites of the cherry may not hit home to some but when it hits, it is too late to regret once both cherries are gone.

Don’t pray pray when housing prices are getting beyond the reach of more and more Singaporeans.