Has the Govt lost its way?

Yes, we are a very rich country with a lot of money in our reserves. We can have anything that money can buy. We can buy anything we want or give away money to whoever we want. This is the privilege of being a rich nation. The question that many citizens are asking is how the money is being spent and they are not really happy about it.

Why are we giving so many scholarships to our schools and universities to foreigners when so many of our students could do with a bit of help?

Why are we giving away so many university places to foreigners while our children have to find university places overseas, and spending a bomb or draining the savings of their parents?

Why are we having a few hundred thousand foreigners gaining employed, in good jobs, earning good money, while our own citizens are jobless, under employed, working part time, working in jobs that they are over qualified?

Why are foreigners taking away so many plum jobs that we have created, in our govt services, govt owned companies, when these jobs could have gone to our own citizens? New citizens and PRs are foreigners who have not really contributed to the fruits that they are enjoying.

Why do we allowed foreigners to set up businesses here and employing their own people with very little benefits to our citizens?

Why are we throwing so much money to foreign sports people when the money could have been given to our children? Shouldn't the money be used to employ coaches to train our own sports people, to train our own coaches?

Why are we selling our limited land/properties to foreigners to add to our high property prices, some buying more than they need for speculation or ‘investment’? And Singaporeans have difficulties buying a home and the Govt not selling public housing to its citizens but foreigners turned new citizens can buy?

Why are we giving away citizenships that came with so many subsidies so easily and readily to foreigners?

Have we lost our direction, the meaning of a nation, a country with its own citizens and interests to take care of first and foremost? What happen to nation building, becoming a nation of people of shared values and a shared future for good or for bad? Inclusiveness is about own citizens, not foreigners, not PRs and not so much about new citizens that need to integrate over time.

What M Ravi has said is very true, WE are not in the big picture. We gave jobs that paid in the millions to foreigners, allowed foreigners to set up agencies for recruitment, housing etc to compete against our very own people etc etc. The citizens have been reduced to be machine clogs or cannon fodder to support a system for the elite and foreigners. And that is being lucky. Many would end up as dried orange skin, squeezed dry, discarded only good for recyclying as fertilisers.

We are the citizens and not in the big picture of things. 

Malaysia GE – Coalition of Convenience

The recent GE has propelled an unlikely and incompatible coalition, the Pakatan Rakyat, into a serious contender to form the next govt in Malaysia. If the accusation, not proven, is anything to go by, PR could have won the election and Anwar could have been the PM. When PR was formed, it was the most difficult alliance of mismatch political parties that were unlikely to see eye to eye because of their poles apart ideology and political goals. The DAP is a strongly non Malay party that was seen as promoting non Malay interest. PAS was seen as a fundamentalist Islamic party that wanted an Islamic Malaysia with Islamic Laws that are feared by the non Muslims if imposed on them. Parti Keadilan Rakyat was a brand new creation, led by a controversial leader in Anwar that was just released from prison and still facing many criminal charges.

The rise and rise of PR as a serious political coalition to take on UMNO and BN is a big gamble with very few chips. The stature of PR today is a far cry from its early years marred by a host of intractable problems between its three constituent parties. Many issues have been ironed our with the good grace of the three leaders and with a lot of give and take. An inconvenient coalition is now a workable model.

There must be a lot of compromises, a lot of negotiation and a lot of convincing by the leaders to take their supporters along this journey. And there must be a lot of trust and faith that the parties will play along agreed ground rules. The three parties are must closer and as equal partners than the BN coalition when UMNO was just bullying the other parties and hammering to shape to get along. BN is a case of square peg in round hole and all kinds of pegs hammered into a hole decided by UMNO. It was in reality a very unequal and inconvenient coalition compares to PR when all the parties negotiated their terms on an equal basis.

Anwar was clearly instrumental to the rise of PR. No other politician in Malaysia today can hold this coalition together, let alone bringing them to the negotiating table. Leadership is one of the main factor in PR. Anwar is a natural leader, acceptable by all three parties and their supporters. But more importantly is the push factor in UMNO.

UMNO over the years have alienated the people of Malaysia of all races through their self serving policies and racial policies. The non Malay parties were bullied to irrelevance and their credibility to their supporters became a big question mark. None of the non Malay party could tell their supporters that they were representing them. They were just passengers in a coalition where they hardly have any say.

The Malay base of UMNO was also eroded as the masses were not getting the benefits they deserved, only to see the rich politicians getting richer by means that they deemed uncomfortable and unacceptable. It is an elitist party, with nepotism and cronyism being practiced blatantly for selfish interests of the elite. The accusation of corruption is getting more sympathetic ears and the Malay supporters are deserting the party in hordes. Many of the middle leaders too are disillusion and some have switched camps and others are seriously thinking about it.

UMNO has worked itself out of favour among the Malay voters and arrogantly thinking that it could abuse their trust and support by giving lip services to their unhappiness. It is no longer the same party that it used to be. It is no longer for the people but for themselves, the leaders.

The PR coalition of convenience could only come about by the self destructing policies and acts of UMNO. There was a genuine need for a change and PR fill the hole neatly. They is an uprising among the Malaysians of all races, a revolt of kind, against a govt that is no longer trusted and respected.

The political landscape in Malaysia is a mirror image of what is happening in Singapore. But the opposition in Singapore is still not ready. There is no Anwar, a natural leader that could command the respect and acceptance by the opposition camp. And there are no leaders willing to put their party interests aside to come together for a coalition of convenience to stage a serious challenge to the PAP. Until such a development takes place, the opposition in Singapore is unlikely to put up a real alternative to the PAP, to replace it in the next GE.

There is no need for all the opposition parties to come under one umbrella. All it needs is three or so component parties to work together and that should be a sizable force to be reckoned with. Other than this, unless there is a little miracle, or the PAP did itself in by creating more unhappiness that are so unacceptable to the people that more concerned Singaporeans are willing to step forward to enter the political arena to boost up the strength of the WP or another major party, big enough to pose as an alternative party in waiting.

If a coalition is difficult, the relatively smaller political landscape could actually be circumvent if a strong party could garner enough new candidates to be field in the next GE, to mount a major assault on a declining and ageing party that is losing its grips of power and support of the people.

Would there be a coalition of convenience in 2016 or would there be a single party that is strong enough to take on the PAP? There is still time, 3 years to make this happen. PAP could help too, by continuing on its path and policies that are no longer acceptable and agreeable by the people.

The Pinoys - Asean cowboy strikes

The crazy Filipino cowboys fired and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the South China Sea, probably thinking that the fishing boat was Chinese. It then did what it stupidly done as before, by denying the accident only to admit again that they did kill the Taiwanese fisherman. And they claimed that the Filipino coast guards were just doing their duty and the Taiwanese fishing boat was attempting to ram the coast guard’s naval craft. So the Filipino coast guards were being attacked by an unarmed Taiwanese fishing boat and had to defend itself by firing and killing a fisherman.

How ludicrous can it be? Only third world minds can think that this is a good and acceptable explanation. The stupid Filipinos could not even tell a decent lie and make it sounds a bit logical. These crazy nuts only know how to attack unarmed fishermen, probably being instructed to do so to create tension with China. Unfortunately they were so dump that they could not distinguish a Taiwanese fishing boat from a Chinese one. Now it is up to Taiwan to flex its muscle, if it has any, to take on the Filipinos. An apology and compensation are demanded but the Filipinos are trying to find excuses for their stupidity and avoid responsibility.

If the Filipinos continue to be evasive, the best thing for the Taiwanese to do, to redeem some national pride, is to go hunting for the coast guards and drag them to Taiwan for trial. China can help the Taiwanese to arrest the rogue coast guards to bring them to justice. The Americans would be caught with their pants down as the Taiwanese are American allies and the Americans could not deny Taiwan the right to pursue and arrest the rogue Filipino coast guards if the Filipino govt refuses to hand them over.

Taiwan has to show that it has balls and the ability to protect its fishermen and its territorial integrity and not be bullied by this pathetic country. So, Taiwan, the ball is in your court. Are you going to look like a lame duck and be a joke to the world and to the Taiwanese people? Or are you a respectable country that would protect its people and kick the butts of the pirates that claimed to be the coast guards of the Philippines?

Now, isn’t this interesting? A silly people that was tasked to be the provocateurs but messed up the job and looking like idiots? The Taiwan Govt has to redeem itself and answer to its people that it would not allow its people to be shot and killed in the high seas, or in Taiwanese territorial waters.  What a show and what a fumble? Taiwan and China should work hand in hand to apprehend the Filipino coast guards and bring them to face justice in Taiwan. There is not other way if the Taiwanese Govt is going to be respected by the Taiwanese people.

A Sino Japanese war inevitable

The Abe-Aso Administration, filled with a slate of ministers that are mainly militant in thinking, will continue to push for the remilitarization of Japan and would adopt a military approach in its relations with its neighbours. These are men and women that would want to relive the glory of their imperial past and a martial Japan, willing to go to war if necessary. The belligerent rhetoric and the aggressive diplomacy to drum up support against China, to cling on to its war loots, the islands of Diaoyu and Dokto and an intransigent policy will set Japan on a war path with China and the Koreans.

War between Japan and China is only a matter of when and how. China will not allow Japan to keep Diaoyu Islands and Japan is adamant not to return them to China. And Japan has been upping the ante, increasing air and sea interceptions of Chinese air and naval vassals, increasing military spending and attempting to forge a military alliance with Russia, Mongolia, India and Indonesia to prepare for a war with China. And there are the every ready USA, Vietnam and the Philippines, already converted and ready to take the Japanese side.

When could actually mean imminent, as any miscalculation or the recklessness of a naval or air personnel, could lead to a shoot out any moment. What is holding back the parties is the nature of this war. Could it be a limited conflict between Japan and China or would it lead to the involvement of the USA and its allies? A two party warfare has more chances of not escalating the war to a regional or world war, with both countries giving the other all they had, including aerial bombings of the other country and an invasion by ground troops. Still it is a testy situation as the outside parties are very tempted to get involved directly or indirectly.

An involvement of the Americans would mean that the conflict will be totally out of control and it will be a world war, a nuclear war even possible. Once the two nuclear powers locked horns, what is there to hold them back with both parties wanting to secure a victory? Defeat in a conventional war between the US and China is not acceptable to either party and it will simply escalate to a level beyond anyone’s imagination. All the allies of both sides will be in battle. The outcome is simply unthinkable.

Can a conflict between Japan and China be fought just between the two combatant countries? The balance of power will see Japan being decimated and overrun by China with much certainty. Such an end result is unacceptable to the Americans. Both China and the US know the outcome and would probably have made all the calculations and whatever needed to be done if they allow this war to go on in the first place.

To allow a war between China and Japan to flare up, both China and the USA must have come to an agreement, including the Russians, to accept the outcome without going one step further, a nuclear holocaust involving all the nuclear powers. Given such considerations, can a war really kick off between Japan and China? Are the Japanese that crazy to think they could walk away as victors?

What is in the minds of Abe and his hawkish ministers to want to start a war with China? Unless they believe that they could defeat China and suffer acceptable destruction and casualties. They cannot win a war with China without involving the Americans.

The remilitarization of Japan is a certainty guaranteed by the Americans. It was the Americans that imposed a pacifist constitution on Japan, making it illegal to do so. In all counts, Japan has rearmed and has a military force bigger than any countries in Asia except China and India and perhaps North Korea. And now the Americans are saying go ahead, they are going to keep mum about the pacifist constitution. And America will support Japan’s military adventure against China.

The war is coming soon.

CPF minumum sum raised again, to $148,000!

Yahoo! News Singapore, 7 May 2013

From July 1 this year, CPF members who turn 55 between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2014 will need to set aside a minimum sum of S$148,000 in their Retirement Account.

The minimum sum for those who turned 55 last year was S$139,000.

In a statement on Tuesday, the CPF board announced the Medisave minimum sum for those turning 55 and above will also be raised from S$38,500 to S$40,500. This is the amount that a person needs to set aside in his old age for his own or his dependants’ healthcare expenses and basic MediShield and ElderShield premiums.

Can this keep on going without the consent of the people, the owners of the money? How many people have died after saving for a life time without the luxury of enjoying a little of their savings? How many people are still struggling for a living when they have so much money in their CPF? How many people would like to buy themselves a decent meal, a little present for themselves or for their loved ones but cannot do so because so much of their money are retained by the Government against their will, without their consent? Is this morally right a thing to do?

Whose money is that? Who has the audacity to take the people’s money away from them claiming that it is for their own good?

CPF is our money, not your grandfather’s money!