When education and medicine become so expensive…

Your health and physical well being is your responsibility, an individual responsibility. If one gets sick by not taking care of himself, it is a personal problem, maybe a little personal tragedy.

Education, getting a good education, is a personal aspiration. Anyone who wants to move up the social ladder, a better quality of life, at least materially, one has to acquire a good education, by working hard and paying for it.

Both are personal matters. True. What if education is so expensive that many cannot afford to go for higher education, or because the returns from higher education are just not rewarding and may be a losing concern? Why would people want to pursue higher education to become taxi drivers or become jobless or become part time workers? It becomes a losing proposition, a losing investment.

And when medicine is so expensive that people just cannot afford to pay for medicine or visit the doctors? What happens if people choose to remain sick, and worst, with transmittable diseases like Sars that could spread, could cause an epidemic? And they refused to seek treatment or be admitted because of affordability! Or because they do not want to be robbed of all their savings?

When the people are not going for higher education, when the sick are not going to pay for their medicine or see the doctor? What would become of the society and the workforce? More foreign talents to be imported? Driving taxis not really need a degree or diploma. And would there be people dying everywhere, diseases spreading every where?

Our population saturation has reached a point that any breakdown in MRT could stifle social and economic activities. Our housing prices have reached a point that it is going to become a social problem. When would the cost of education and medicine become a socio economic and health problem?

When people are voluntarily dropping out of schools, though very unlikely, and when sick people are staying at home waiting to die but infectious and spreading the diseases, what happen? Force people to pay up or else? No money no talk?

AIM aimlessly

The official verdict of the AIM saga is out. There is no wrong doing in the sale of the management software to AIM. Everything is done properly. There is thus nothing for the Govt to take AIM or the Town Council to task. The prosecutor will have nothing to work on, nothing to prosecute.

The WP is going to raise this issue again in Parliament. They are likely to pore through every word in the review recommendation with a microscope to shift out whatever little inconsistency or suspicious nature in the transaction, maybe lucky to show some wrong doings. Unless they can prove so, to give the Govt and prosecutor something to work on, there is nothing really to go on in this case. The Govt has already accepted the findings of MND and it is all clear.

Somehow this all clear signal or verdict is not going down well in some quarters. I am not sure how big are these quarters and how much it will impact the image of the Govt? Expectedly it is only in the social media that dissatisfaction is heard. You don’t hear them in the main media. So does it matter?

You see, in cyberspace, there is this prejudgment going on. AIM was guilty long ago in the views of those in cyberspace with whatever information they had. There is no kangaroo court in cyberspace. But one could detect the feelings and sentiment, they called it perception, right or wrong perception. And mind you, it may be just a feeling, a gut feel, but it can be wild and infectious. It is all in the mind of those who want to see this case as guilty.

Of course it is not right to pronounce an innocent case as a bad case. When there is no wrong doing, one cannot fabricate a wrong doing to please the unthinking masses because that is what they want to hear. Hypothetically it would be nice, a good PR opportunity if there were some wrong doings, a little wrong doing, and someone got his knuckles smacked. That could appease some of the negative feelings, that justice was meted out. It would take a lot of heat off the cooker, relieve some steam. Well it is not to be. This case is just another normal administrative process, unlike the Brompton bikes or golden taps, and no dirt can stick on it.

I must say many people must be disappointed. But what to do? No case means no case. I think these people just want to see someone got hang and if no one is hung they would not be happy. Some even expected a small gesture like an apology from the Town Council or whoever is in charge. How to manage such unfounded and unjustified expectations?

Malaysia GE – The Chinese scapegoat

Just when things were appearing to get better, the Chinese bashing in Malaysia has been reignited. UMNO and MIC leaders are calling the Chinese ungrateful for their poor showing in the GE. Utusan Malaysia front paged, “Apa lagi Cina mahu (What else do the Chinese want?) in what appeared to be an attempt to shape the results of Election 2013 as a Chinese-vs-Malay vote”.

Mahathir led the charge and questioning if Najib should step down. While analysts were saying that it was an urban shift, a shift of the urban Malaysians across non racial lines against the corruption and race insensitive govt. The poll results were clearly showing this is the case. The opposition PR won more popular votes than the BN but somehow only have 89 Parliament seats against BN’s 133. Given the absolute majority of the Malays, around 70%, the more than 50% popular voters for PR means that many Malays have voted for the PR, and not just the Chinese and non Malays that formed a small minority of the population. It the Malay ground shift that really matters.

Though Najib has called for a national reconciliation, this is going to be difficult when he is pressured to take a more racist line or face being ousted. With Mahathir firing his cannons and treading on racist politics, and with Anwar calling for a mass protest against the result, tension is going to rise. The Malaysians should best be reminded that they should cool it from stoking racist emotions or a 1969 crisis could be in the making.

The test now is whether Najib has enough support and clout to keep the racist thinking leaders within UMNO in check and to keep his premiership secure. The risk of the country going in flame can still be a possibility if the provocateurs were allowed to run wild. Would Najib survive this brewing crisis and steer Malaysia away from returning to racial politics and Malay dominance rhetoric?

There are many leaders eagerly waiting on the side line to see his downfall and to replace him at the first opportunity. The progress made under Najib’s watch could immediately go to waste if he is no longer in charge. Events in the next few days can be very unnerving.

Singapore’s media ranking – 149th

Singapore hits record low in World Press Freedom Index ranking
'Singapore fell 14 places to a record low of 149th position from the previous 135th position in terms of press freedom index in the latest annual ranking by Reporters Without Borders (RWB) [Link].

It is Singapore’s worst ranking since the index was established in 2002.

Singapore is even behind countries like Ethiopia (137th), Tunisia (138th), Oman (141st), Congo (142nd), Cambodia (143rd) and Russia (148th)….'

Now, what is this Reporters Without Borders or RWB? How could they ranked

Singapore’s award winning media in the company of countries like Ethiopia, Tunisia, Oman, Congo etc etc? Does RWB know that Singapore is a First World country, rule of law, and one of the most open society in the Free World?

This ranking of 149th is very disrespectful of Singapore even if there are still 20 or 30 countries ranking lower than us. Our people are free to read all the news in the world and can tell the difference between craps and truths. Even if craps are printed, the readers will know they are craps, so does not make any difference really. It would be different in closed countries when the citizens only read state media and knowing one side of the story. In our case, telling lies is simply naïve and easily exposed and sneered at by the well educated and well informed readers.

RWB should take this into account when rating our official media. And don’t forget, many of our reporters are foreigners or new citizens. So they cannot be as blind as daft Singaporeans. And our official media also reposted many great and highly rated articles from the New York Times, Washington Posts, from Reuters, AP, AFP etc especially those on China and North Korea. The writers of these articles were often renowned academics from the West. With such great names from the Free World, how can our media not be free and get a better ranking?

Or they may want our editors to be westerners to gain more credibility and score more points. This ranking could be a subtle pressure for our local media to recruit and pay westerners to be our journalists and editors. CNA has already taken the first step to have anchor programme host from the West, a kind of compromise to allow westerners reporting and commenting on Asian news and Asian affairs. It used to be the locals reporting on their national issues to give the local flavor. Maybe in order to sell, western flavor is still important. And we have quite a number of western journalists too, but apparently must be too small to gain more recognition and a higher ranking.

Like the university ranking system, the ranking system for the Press by RWB can also be gamed, and spending some money could get us to a better ranking. We should aim to be in the top 10. It would be money well spent, if money can do the trick. Money can do wonders.

Sino Indian border tension – The self deluding Indian Govt

Sino Indian border tension heightened with claims by the Indian Govt of Chinese border guards crossing to Indian territories. And both sides sent troops to boost up their defences. Last heard, both sides have withdrawn troops and tension has cooled. Both India and China have disputed claims along their borders. Thanks to the British colonial empire that took liberty as the colonial power of the day to draw their own maps. They drew the whole of India as part of the British Empire, including Pakistan, East and West, many parts of Africa, Middle East, SE Asian and the rest of the world. And along the Sino Indian border, the British did the same, writing Chinese territories as part of the British Empire. And when they gave independence to India, they gave the same British map to the Indian Govt who now claimed that those lands too were Indian land. This is the source of the Sino Indian border dispute. Indian conveniently assumed that what the British took, they too could take or inherit.

What is hilarious is the regular drumming up of fear by the Indian Govt, echoed by the western powers, that China is an expansionist power and covet Indian territories, the disputed territories, and would invade India.

The truth is that since the communist took power in China, they have respected all treaties, including unequal treaties signed during the years of the weak Qing Dynasty. They kept to their words and did not use force to retake their territories like Macau and Hongkong, which they could take back any time before the lease forced upon a weak China. They have yet to take back Diaoyu Islands, a war loot signed away when China was defeated by Japan in a naval battle in 1894. And in the case of border dispute with India, China has not resorted to force to take back its land.

In the 1962 Sino Indian border war, it was India that attempted to seize the disputed territories by force. After losing that war, the Indians have been rewriting their history to sell the story that it was China that invaded India. The facts were as clear as daylight. After the incursion by India, China suffered initial losses which was natural for a country that was hit unprepared. This was the first proof that India was prepared for the war and took the initiative, the element of surprise. A China that was preparing to attack India would not have suffered that kind of losses.

China mounted a counter attack and chased the invading forces all the way to the outskirt of New Delhi. The supremacy of the PLA was unquestionable and the ability or lack of ability of the Indian Army was infamous. The Indian Army simply capitulated. China could take over all the disputed territories it claimed then, open a few more fronts to take over every piece of land it wanted. It did not and withdrew to the earlier disputed border. An aggressive invader would not do such a polite thing. Its policy of not using force to retake its lost territories was consistent as the consequences of such an act would mean perpetual war and hostility with India at the border, just like Israel taking over Palestinian land, the West Banks and Gaza. China seeks to negotiate for a peaceful settlement of the border dispute. Taking them back by means of war, by military force is not an acceptable solution.

The noises made by the Indian Govt then and now are not only mischievous but naiveity. China had all the chances to take over the disputed land many times over. Why would China want to do it now and start a war with India? It is childish diplomacy on the part of India, making childish pranks daily drumming the fear of a Chinese invasion. China is not the USA.

The recent China Japan tension at the Diaoyu Islands is another example. Deng Xiaoping has set aside the island problem with earlier Japanese leaders not to do anything to force a settlement. China is prepared to leave the disputed islands to posterity, to the far future as it is not something that is easy to resolve without going to war. The Japanese were the ones that created this recent tension by pushing the Chinese to react. The Japanese created the farce of buying the islands from another Japanese to create a fait accompli situation. China had no choice but to interrupt this ruse. And Japan is continuing to raise tension by tough talks of force. China could overrun Japan tomorrow if needed. Japan’s cockiness will be their wrong doings.

India better stop talking foolishly to try to raise tension at the Sino Indian border and let the status quo remain. It is better for the two giants to be friendly neighbours and live in peace than to bicker and raise hostility.