Significant progress on hot button issues

In yesterday’s programme on Asking the PM, Hsien Loong was to a certain extent congratulating the govt for making significant progress on hot button issues like housing, public transport and foreigners/employment. I could not hold my eyeballs steady as they kept rolling while he was saying these things.
 
Should the people be jubilant, praise the govt for reacting to these painful issues that have hurt the people real bad for so long? How in the world could a proactive govt with its fingers on the pulse of the people allowed these problems to escalate to a point of losing control is amazing. And who the hell created all these problems in the first place?
 
My eyeballs rolled faster when he talked about the sense of identity, strengthening the Singaporean core, about individual citizens sacrificing for the national goals and blaming this generation for being different and less sacrificing than the early generations.
Somehow I got this feeling that citizens and the interests of citizens were cast aside in the mercenary pursuit for economic growth at all cost over the last decade or so when foreigners were brought in to replace citizens in nearly every aspect of life in the island. 

The housing problem is a big shit that could not be unwound with the people all deep in debt. The employment scene when foreigners are happily employed by the millions and poor Sinkies ended jobless or underemployed or even being discriminated to favour employment of foreigners did not happen yesterday. How come the govt allowed it to happen, or the govt did not know?
 
Should the people pat the govt for doing a good job or whack it with a big stick? The FCF that is being rolled out is greeted with a lot of mixed feelings, sneers and suspicion that it is going to be another wayang. This tells a lot about the trust the people have on the govt. No need to say more. How did the govt reach just a state of distrust if it has been doing all the good things for the people? The people are daft and ungrateful?
 
Solving problems together, the govt thinking ahead and the people not thinking ahead? What was the govt thinking and saying when the people were crying out loud about the housing problems? No housing problem, no need to build more, housing was affordable, where got problem? If the people have not screamed their heads off in cyberspace about the employment shit when citizens were booted out of their jobs to be replaced by the foreigners, would the govt look up and listen, and take note?
 
Actually all the problems in a way were faked, over blown in cyberspace. If there is no internet and social media, there will be no problem at all. Nothing would be heard. The netizens are a nuisance, creating false and imaginary problems and giving the govt a hard time for no good reasons.
 
Now that the govt has acknowledge some of the problems raised, now that the MOM has started to do something about it, let’s hope the cynicism of the people does not turn out to be true, that it was all a wayang. The govt needs to rebuild its trust by the people if it is to stay relevant and believeable and be re elected. The people are watching with a very critical and cynical mindset. They are not going to take the words of the govt for granted. They want to see actions and real results that favour citizens, not locals.
 
So? Where do we go from here? Does the govt know that a medical appointment with the specialist in govt privatised hospitals can take more than a year? Is this an acceptable state of affair?

Material Singapore kena slap, slap

The 5 day visit by Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi ended yesterday with a confirmed slap slap on materialistic Singapore. Many Singaporeans must be squeezing to get up close with this lady from a Third World country, economically and materially, with a whole list of what Singapore can do for Myanmar. Come see this Singapore and that Singapore. Come see Orchard Road and Sentosa, Changi Airport, HDB flats…. We can build industrial parks for Myanmar, airports, sea ports, shopping centres, artificial gardens, artificial beaches and parks, and yes HDB flats. We can teach Myanmar, plenty of things, and plenty of things for Myanmar to learn from us.
 
Aung San Suu Kyi was more amused than anything. What is there to learn from Singapore except materialism, mad rush, rat race. She was quoted to say, ‘That made me think, what is work all about? What are human beings for? What are human lives for? The Singapore answer will be to work, work and work. Work is everything, work is pride and dignity.
 
To this lady of international fame for fighting for democracy and human rights, there is more to just work and money, and work and work. There is a life worth living for. The quality of life is not just about materialism. She conceded that there are things that Myanmar could learn from Singapore but definitely not to copy our model of work, work and work. Myanmar would want to walk its own path to find its own way and happiness.
 
Her parting shot to Singapore, ‘Perhaps Singapore could learn from us a more relaxed way of life. Perhaps warmer and closer family relationships. I think we have much to offer you, you come and find out.’ Oooh la lah… This must be shocking to many successful Singaporeans with a lot of cash to paste on their faces. This woman from Myanmar wanted to teach us? How can?
 
Aung San Suu Kyi lives a life to improve lives, for freedom and human rights. We live a life of materialism, money and work. We even have to pay the govt for visiting our parents or our friends in their HDB flats. How is that for building kampong spirit and building a warmer relationship with friends and dear ones? We pay for everything and thus have to work and work to pay and pay.
 
Well, it is a matter of opinion and expectation of life. We still want to pay that hundred or two hundred thousand bucks to the hospitals to keep us alive to 100 years when we are 90. We need to find more money to live to 100 years. Thank God there is this god sent Medishield Life to help the Singaporeans to live a good life.

The Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) consideration

The much awaited policy change from Chuan Jin has finally arrived. As usual this is received with much trepidation, scepticism and jubilation. Some welcomed it as something that has to be done, better late than never, some dismissed it as too little too late, and why must it take another year to be implemented. Reactions from the employers are muted but fairly agreeable except for the recalcitrant companies that are keeping mum for their indiscretion over the years.
 
Singaporeans should welcome this move or gesture as a step in the right direction. It may seem too little and lacking in what it intends to achieve, but like the atrocious housing problem that was left to ferment and rot for too long, the problem is so immense and widespread that a simple policy change like this would not do very much and cannot do very much. We should give Chuan Jin some time to fine tune this change along the way. And he has mentioned that there will be close monitoring and follow up measures to rein in the culprits that are taking advantage of the generosity of Singapore and Singaporeans.
 
What can also be done is to look at some other measures that could compliment the works of MOM. Patrick Tay of NTUC is still mooting over the introduction of dependency ratio or quota for the employment of PMEs. Let’s make this very clear as some are still talking about foreign workers. This is an issue that concerns PMEs and the policy change should be confined to this sector. For those still sleeping, please leave out the issue of foreign workers from this discussion. They are a different matter to be dealt with separately. NTUC should not miss the chance to take the initiative to reinforce the FCF with their own recommendations to give more meat to this change and make it look real and not wayanging. It would lose its credibility as a national institution for not looking after the interests of Singaporeans.
 
What could also be done is to dovetail this process by overhauling the HR practices of Ministries, stats boards and the civil service, and GLCs. Chuan Jin may want to give these organizations the same one year grace to put their house in order. Govt service, ministries and stats boards should be the employer of citizens and PRs only, and the ratio could be 70:30 for PME positions. There is no need for foreigners to be in such services unless some jokers believe that there are no Singaporeans that can do the job. Only nuts will believe in such nonsense. There are exceptions where specialists or professionals are needed due to their special skills or a shortage in the industry. Exceptions can always be handled separately.
 
In the case of GLCs, these are also within the control of the govt, and not market forces like the housing farce, the dependency ratio could be 70:20:10 for PMEs ie citizens, PRs and non citizens. I need to emphasise PMEs again and again to make sure idiots do not start uttering about foreign workers in the same breath.
 
In both the govt service and GLCs, the ratios quoted are only a guide and could be toggled and fine tuned to meet the realities of needs and supply and demand. For a start, all HR positions in govt service and GLCs must be filled by a Singaporean to protect the interests of Singaporeans. There is absolutely no need for HR positions to be filled by a foreigner. And to avoid people gaming the system, new citizens of less than 5 years should not be allowed to fill such a position.
 
Get our own house in order first, ie govt service and GLCs. The MNCs and private organizations can be tackled at a different pace with a lighter touch, but a dependency ratio is still needed.
 
Chuan Jin and the MOM staff have worked hard for this change. And they did not waste time and money going on overseas trips to learn from other countries to come up with the measures. This only shows that they meant business and not thinking of ‘jia hong’ and another wayang. Let them do the job and make changes along the way. Many things have to change for this Singapore Spring to take place within the govt, with govt support and the will to see it through.

HEALTH ALERT - Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption

HEALTH ALERT -- Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption

By Mike Adams

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer.  Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption.  Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.  Processed meats include bacon, sausage, hotdogs, sandwich meat, packaged ham, pepperoni, salami and virtually all red meat used in frozen prepared meals.

They are usually manufactured with a carcinogenic ingredient known as sodium nitrite.  This is used as a colour fixer by meat companies to turn packaged meats a bright red colour so they look fresh. Unfortunately, sodium nitrite also results in the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human body. And this leads to a sharp increase in cancer risk for those who eat them.

A 2005 University of Hawaii study found that processed meats increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 per cent. Another study revealed that every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 50 per cent. These are alarming numbers. Note that these cancer risks do not come from eating fresh, non-processed meats. They only appear in people who regularly consume processed meat products containing sodium nitrite.

Sodium nitrite appears predominantly in red meat products (you won't find it in chicken or fish products). Here's a short list of food items to check carefully for sodium nitrite and monosodium glutamate (MSG), another dangerous additive:
* Beef jerky
* Bacon
* Sausage
* Hot dogs
* Sandwich meat
* Frozen pizza with meat
* Canned soups with meat
* Frozen meals with meat
* Ravioli and meat pasta foods
* Kid's meals containing red meat
* Sandwich meat used at popular restaurants
* Nearly all red meats sold at public schools, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and theme parks

If sodium nitrite is so dangerous to humans, why do the FDA and USDA continue to allow this cancer-causing chemical to be used? The answer, of course, is that food industry interests now dominate the actions by U.S. government regulators. The USDA, for example, tried to ban sodium nitrite in the late 1970's but was overridden by the meat industry. It insisted the chemical was safe and accused the USDA of trying to "ban bacon."

Today, the corporations that dominate American food and agricultural interests hold tremendous influence over the FDA and USDA. Consumers are offered no real protection from dangerous chemicals intentionally added to foods, medicines and personal care products.

You can protect yourself and your family from the dangers of processed meats by following a few simple rules:
1. Always read ingredient labels.
2. Don't buy anything made with sodium nitrite or monosodium glutamate.
3. Don't eat red meats served by restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels or other institutions.

And finally, eat more fresh produce with every meal. There is evidence that natural vitamin C found in citrus fruits and exotic berries (like camu camu) helps prevent the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines, protecting you from the devastating health effects of sodium nitrite in processed meats. The best defence, of course, is to avoid eating processed meats altogether.

[Ed. Note: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger a leading authority on healthy living -- is on a mission: to explore, uncover and share the truth about harmful foods and beverages, prescription drugs, medical practices and the dishonest marketing practices that drive these industries. For his latest findings, click here.]

Bo Xilai, the man who could be President

Seeing this man in handcuffs is creepy. He was the forerunner to be the President of China. He was charismatic and had a string of records in public administration, taking on tough appointments and the triads in his last appointment. A bright rising star eclipsed at the peak of his power.
 
China has just brought down one of the most power man in the Communist Party, stripped off his post and sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption and abused of power. His wife is serving a suspended death sentence for the murder of a British, Neil Heywood, whom they trusted and entrusted with the well being of their son and their overseas investments. This story is a repeated of the colonial days when the decadent rich sucked up to the foreigners to guard their ill gotten wealth and eventually got ripped off by them. History is repeating with the pathetic Chinese rich not learning the lessons of the past.
 
This is perhaps the biggest story of modern China, to take down one of their close comrades at such a high level, put him on trial and ended with a life sentence. The evidence was so overwhelming that justice was served in accordance with the rule of law and the rumour of a revolt by the supporters of Bo fizzled out quietly.
 
There were fears of a coup of sort or instability. They were fears that justice would not be served. The trials of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai were a showcase of modern Chinese legal system and transparency. It was also a statement that corruption would be dealt with even at the highest place of power. This is not seen in many countries, including Asean.
 
The verdict on Bo Xilai is a signal the Xi Jinping leadership is sending to the Chinese bureaucracy that corruption and abuse of power will not be tolerated. Would this lead to more heads being rolled? Given the prevalence of corruption at high places, this is only the beginning, an unnecessary evil that has to be done and seen to be done to keep China on an even keel and prevent it from collapsing prematurely.
 
Xi Jinping needs to run a tight ship to keep the Chinese govt in a healthy state for the future. Allowing corruption to sink roots and corrupt officials to run the country would see the growth of China going down quickly as predicted by many doomsayers in the West. The taking down of Bo Xilai is a gingerly step forward and more needs to be done to prevent China going back to its decadent past.