AIM is looking like Boon Wan’s Waterloo

When Boon Wan bravely took on the task of solving the housing problems created by his predecessor, it was really a piece of cake. There is not much ingenuity needed to solve a housing shortage problem caused by under supply and over demand. He must have read the situation and was rightly confident to score a resounding success in the shortest time possible.

He embarked on a massive building programme. This solved the first half of the equation. He somehow did not tighten enough on the demand side and the problem was halted from sliding down further, but not improving much either. He did not count on the 800k home owners that have already been sucked into the system by overpaying for their flats and trying to undo too much will upset them and the value of their assets adversely, including the prices of private properties.

The present status, housing problem is like a stalemate, going nowhere. No one can blame Boon Wan for not trying. He did. But the problem is too complex with too many knots that could not be untied at the same time.

By being the MND he is now caught into this AIM thing that he did not bargain for. It was something he did not see coming. Is this something that wrong? It depends. Officially it is already reported as nothing wrong. But is it? Why then is this case drawing so many blanks? Why were the opposition members having a merry time taking aims and pot shots at this issue? And the replies were not so brilliant and did not help in anyway to remove the doubts and acrimonies of this case. It cannot be willed away by a review committee unless the explanations in Parliament are reasonable, logical and acceptable to the public. Are they?

Getting angry and feeling cornered would not do any good. Boon Wan’s reply that the software can be bought off the shelf took everyone by surprise and a turn for the worst. Why was so much money spent on something that can be bought outright and definitely cost a pittance relative to the customized and specially developed software? Was it in exasperation that Boon Wan blurted this out or was it a considered fact that he knew all along and wanted to tell Parliament?

Think he must be having nightmare dreaming of Teo Ho Pin and how this case is developing. Many more questions will now be raised and make defending it that much more pointless. Can Boon Wan and his team, or Teo Ho Pin, put up a sound defence going forward? First thing, he needs to keep his cool. He is losing it and opening up gaps to be attacked.

This is like a rook’s gambit in chess. Instead of losing a rogue, oops, I mean a rook, by calling in all the pieces to protect the rook, it may end up losing more pieces and the game as well.

Sex slavery was necessary, says Osaka mayor

This is the heading of an article in mypaper from AFP. The obnoxious lying Japanese mayor, Toru Hashimoto, described the 200 thousand Chinese, Koreans, the Filipinos and from other countries to provide sex for the Japanese Imperial Army as necessary. These ‘comfort women’ or forced prostitutes, were snatched from their homes against their wills but the Japanese claimed that only some were against their will, meaning many did it willingly. How to trust the Japanese for moral righteousness and for telling lies with their eyes wide open?

And ‘he said there was no evidence that the system had been officially sanctioned by the state, and the use of prostitutes was not unique to Japan’. So this is an acceptable practice in the eyes of the Japanese. And the Emperor did not know that there was a war going on.

So, should there be a war and foreign forces invaded Japan, it is ok to make Japanese women become comfort women for the foreign soldiers. And bet you, the Japanese, like this Hashimoto, will agree that it is ok.

The Japanese are revealing their attachment to their past atrocities and that they are all for it and will do it again. Basically they are saying that they are the same people then and now, and are itching to return to militarism and Japanese Imperialism. They are gearing up to be another military power like their father and grandfather generations.

Just listen to how aggressive they have become in their speeches, threatening to use force, to spend more money on military forces and weapons, to rewrite the pacifist constitution, to beef up their military, to engage in military adventures overseas.

Should the world welcome the remilitarization of Japan? They are the same Japanese that invaded East and South East Asia in their ambitious plan to colonise these countries. Their barbaric acts and killings of women and children are still being remembered by all the victim countries? They have taken down their mask of decency and respectability and as civilized modern people. They want to go to war again, to be the beasts they used to be.

TCMS software can be bought off the shelf

When Sylvia Lim asked Boon Wan whether one month termination period was sufficient for the new management to take over a town council and introduce a new management system, Boon Wan offered her two possibilities. One was to ask for an extension of the existing system and alternatively just buy a standard software in the market. Based on his experience, such software is quite common, could be generic and many companies are using them.

I think this is a reasonable advice as a town council management system is nothing extraordinary that you need to customise it which will mean costing a bomb. By the way, what is it that is so special to want customisation? And even if customisation is needed, is it something so difficult to modify or add on to a generic software package? Boon Wan has a good point there. His experience will tell him that a town council management system does not need any leading edge or frontier science software technology to function. Aljunied should just buy off the shelf.

Of the whole debate on the AIM saga, this is the most important and valuable point raised by Boon Wan.

If Aljunied GRC would to buy off the shelf, and with a little customisation, I think, off the cuff, it should not cost more than $140k and with customisation maybe $200k at most. I cannot imagine an off the shelf software would cost that much. Ok throw in a couple of millions for safe measures. Definitely cheaper than the $23.8m paid in the past and the $16.8m that is going to be paid.

Why must town councils go and ask for tender to develop a brand new town council management system instead of buying off the shelf and do a little customisation? Such a system normally can last for centuries and, if need be, a little modification will do the job as the functions are quite standard and generic in nature.

Why doesn’t all the town councils just buy one off the shelf and every other town council can use it? Sure will have a lot of savings. It would be a good idea to call off all the tenders and just buy one that is easily available at a fraction of the cost. Boon Wan could help the Town Councils save a lot of money by issuing a directive on this if still in time.

Perhaps there should be a new review committee to look into the necessity to tender and develop new town council management software and why a simple thing like buying off the shelf was overlooked. This looks like a case of group think. Like the kids driving their minis, and because one modified it, everyone also wants to modify without looking at the necessity or alternative options. Dunno how much money could be saved if Boon Wan’s suggestion is accepted?

The Town Councils or Parliament should acknowledge this great money saving suggestion from Boon Wan.

The Shane Todd case

Anyone will sympathise with the parents of Shane Todd for losing such an able son. The emotional stress and grief must be terrible to describe. The Singapore Govt has bent backward to the American request and diplomatic pressure to reopen this case for reexamination. Let’s hope that everything is proven to be above board and everyone, our police, the new investigators, will review the case professionally and do not indulge in politics or whatever baggage or agenda they are carrying. Hopefully there is none.

This case is unprecedented and no country would allow it to go to this stage. The Americans better appreciate what Singapore has done and stop making all kinds of insinuation or unnecessary comments that are unhelpful to the case.

The reopening of this case has put the whole Singapore Police Force and the judiciary under the spot light and should they be found to be negligent or unprofessional, it can be very damaging and politically stressful to the country and individuals concerned. The Govt has consented to put its reputation under scrutiny by a foreign govt. Let this be the last incident of this nature to happen to this country. This case should never be allowed to be a precedent for the future. It affects national sovereignty and integrity and no country, not even the Americans should be allowed to trample on our sovereignty and integrity under whatsoever pretext.

We cannot be pressurized by a case of ‘WMD’ to let the Americans frisk and search us to prove our innocence. The Americans cannot be allowed to do this to us or to any country. Pray this case will prove beyond any doubt the capability and integrity of our officers and our system. It will be dreadful if found otherwise.

While the Govt should put an end to any such request in the future, and ensuring that our officers are beyond reproach in professionalism, we must put it to the Americans that they owe us one for it. Hopefully there is no need to use this reciprocity and both countries will continue with a friendly relationship among equals with mutual respect, and not one that would use threats or ‘WMD’ to con its way to interfere in our internal affairs.

Freedom of navigation and passage in South China Sea

The latest pursuit and killing of a Taiwanese fisherman is a little revelation on the piracy and danger posed by the Filipinos to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. And this is an ally of the Americans who have been screaming about freedom of navigation and free passage in this area. And for the arrogance of the Filipino coastguards to behave like gangsters of the seas, like pirates, they must have borrowed their gall from the Americans. The latter must be backing them to go chasing Chinese and Taiwanese fishing boats and turning the South China Sea into a trouble spot.

Why are the Americans keeping silent to this hostile act in the sea? What is the real role or agenda of the Americans? You don’t see any other country committing such piracy acts in the sea except the Filipinos. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Many Chinese and Taiwanese fishing boats have been arrested, some shot and killed for many years. And those arrested would have to pay a ransom to these uniform pirates to get their release, fishermen and boats.

The Chinese have put their foot down and will arrest or shoot the Filipinos if they dare touch their fishing boats again. Now it is left to the Taiwanese to do likewise to get rid of this scourge in the South China Sea. Don’t count on the Americans. They are behind the Filipinos to create trouble to justify their military presence here. They want the South China Sea to be turned into a trouble area that needs their protection to keep peace when they are behind stirring shit for the ships passing through.

See how quiet are the Americans over this shooting, and so many earlier shootings and robberies in the sea? It is time for China and Taiwan to arrest and shoot at these pirates of the South China Sea and assume the policing role for the safety of ships and fishing boats in the surrounding seas.