Policies Good, Politics can do better

This is what sums up the views of Chua Mui Hoong about what’s happening in Parliament and what the Govt has been doing. Before anyone starts to throw chairs and tables at her, let me make a point here. What she wrote is just her opinion. And this is what she called herself, Opinion Editor. Her title says it and you are free to disagree and also you may have your own opinions that may not agree with hers. I think that is fair.

How many of you agree with her that the Govt policies are good? I am stretched to find any. Maybe I will do a contortionist act by agreeing with a few that are good depending on who you are. High ministerial pay is good and helps to fight corruption too. And it gives our President a lot of dignity too.

High property prices are good as they turned Sinkies into millionaires without having to work and can collect higher rentals.

All the changes regarding CPF are good as they made Sinkies smiled at their monthly or quarterly statements that informed them how rich they are till they died. The money is guaranteed to be there, and would not runaway even if preventing the owners from squandering it.

Allowing medical cost to go unchecked is also a good policy as it means the quality must be damn good as good things don’t come cheap. Our medical fees are now like branded goods, paying for quality for those who can afford it. For those who can’t, just stand far far away to admire.

Our policies on foreign talents are even better, starting from paying for their education with generous scholarships to giving them high paying jobs to replace Sinkies that are not good enough despite world class university education that emptied their savings. And fakes are also excellent for the economies, don’t disturb them as long as the employers are happy with them, and the displaced PMEs are not complaining and happy driving taxis to be their own bosses.

I could go on with another long list of good policies, but that would become too boring.  Let me quote Ignatius Low on Housing. ‘It has been this resolve to move quickly without being encumbered by the decisions of his predecessors that has been the basis of Mr Khaw’s success.’ He went on to ask Boon Wan to take a bow for a job well done. I don’t know how many of you would agree but I don’t think it is such a difficult thing to do when someone shitted and vomited all over the place and one has to clean up the mess. But the stench stayed, a lot of money and effort wasted with many home buyers forced to buy sky high priced properties that would strangle them one day when they lost their jobs. They would be displaced PMEs as a matter of time. And there are many high income earners that were either forced to buy expensive private properties, migrated or still depending on renting properties, booted out from buying cheaper public housing.

The damage had been done and the prices are still in high heavens. Good job done?

And how many would agree that the report card for Health and Manpower be rated as satisfactory? As for Transport, appalling is quite appropriate though the report card said, ‘Can and must do better’.

Anyway it is all about personal opinions and it is good that we can share our opinions on things without being personal. A bit of civility will go a long way.

Kopi Level - Green

TRE – The shadow Parliament

In a way the TRE is looking like the shadow Parliament where national issues are discussed furiously by the people and their representatives. Every issue is hotly debated and reflected the real feelings of the people, the tension, the angst, the misery, the pain and the frustration and exasperation, all came out as real as you can get. Though there might be some fakings, but it is hundreds of times more real than the real Parliament.

Here not only genuine issues are raised, genuine questions are also asked, issues that really affect the lives of the people. There is no time for superficiality and no material issues raised for the sake of raising just for fun.

The people’s representatives here are really the representatives of the people. If they are not and speaking 

against the people, they will be ‘goreng’ and chewed to pieces.

You can imagine how the parliamentarians or MPs and ministers appearing here and talking nonsense or incomprehensible things or things they wanted the people to believe are right or good for the people when they are not? They will be striped naked and whipped and torched here. Oops, cannot say such things like whipped and torched or some people will take it literally. Only figuratively like all the good things they said in Parliament, figuratively also.

What do you think, which is the more real Parliament? Or which Parliament is a talk cock session?

Khobragade won against the American bully

She was an Indian diplomat in New York and accused of making false submission on her maid and even suspected of drug smuggling. To make things more embarrassing, she was arrested in broad daylight in a public area and subsequently subjected to the most humiliating search conducted on a woman by the American police.
 
This sparked a diplomatic row and the Indian govt cried foul, brought her home and then appointed her as a counsellor to India’s mission in the United Nation. This immediately raised her status and protected with diplomatic immunity. Though this was technically foul as it was done after the accusation and charges, so what? This is the only way to deal with American treachery and devious plots against their political target.
 
After months of diplomatic chest thumping, the Americans finally backed off and dismissed the charges. India has succeeded in facing up to the international bully by being tough, as tough as the Americans to win this case.
 
Well done India. Other countries must learn from this episode and take the Americans by the horns when they turned devilish if they are to get an even chance to shrug them off. China better learn from India in how to deal with the American bully.

MH370 and Mas Selamat similarities

When Mas Selamat disappeared from the detention centre, it was like falling out from the radar screen. Troops were activated to search the estates around Bukit Timah. And the search extended to all the parks in all corners of the island. The only area that was left untouched was the water catchment area around the reservoirs. Not a trace was found of the disappearing act.
 
MH370 had disappeared and all the searches were in the area around where it was last seen. This is perfectly logical on the assumption that it had crashed or exploded in mid air. Now these two possibilities have increasingly been written off and the theory of hijacking is gaining prominent. And the search started to cover a wider area and into the Straits of Malacca and Indian Ocean. And like Mas Selamat, the South China Sea is left practically untouched except for the vicinity of the last sighting. And like Mas Selamat, not a trace was found.
 
Both cases are like they have disappeared into thin air a la David Copperfield’s magic show. And there were even leads or false leads pointing towards the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca. Could the aircraft be sitting somewhere safe in Peninsula Malaysia or somewhere in the east, in the islands of Philippines?
 
When a crash is ruled out, the next logical thing is to look at the possible destination of the hijackers and how much fuel the aircraft had and how far this would take it to. It is likely to be an isolated or deserted location that has little human traffic or activities to conceal its presence. And by now, if this theory is to be true, the hostages would have been splitted into smaller groups and scattered in many safe houses very far apart to avoid detection or rescue by any task force.
 
The aircraft and the passengers/hostages could be like Mas Selamat, sitting safely somewhere by now.
 
PS. If the aircraft would to fly another 4 hours as rumoured, the destination is likely to be the Philippines.

Medisave tweaks, to save pockets?

So many reports on how the Medisave is being tweaked and becoming more flexible to allow the people to use to pay for more medical services, including drugs. These must be music to the ears of the people who are short of cash.
 
One thing has been silent through out the reports and all these months when the cost of medical services were reported. It was all about how to pay, and even the buffet spread of Medishield Life is also about how to pay. Though the equation has two parts, the Govt seems to be only interested in how to get the people to pay and nothing much really was said on how to bring down medical cost.
 
Not a word, yes, not a word in this as if it is something that nothing can be done to it. Why? You think and tell me.

Kopi Level - Yellow